It took a few moments for Shiro’s vision to focus. All he could do was lie motionless in his bed for a couple of minutes until his lone eye adjust to the sudden influx of lights. His initial response was to obstruct the assaulting beams of light with his palm, yet the sun had a certain vendetta with the boy that morning, as if it was intentionally concentrating on him. He rolled from side to side beneath the bedsheets before he waved the white flag of surrender. All in one sluggish and horribly executed movement he pushed off the cloth and oriented himself towards his night table. Sitting on the flat wooden surface was an arrangement of translucent pill bottles, organized by alphabetical succession.

Although Shiro was known for his haphazard personality, he was secretly quite the neat freak. A bottle which was placed the night before rested next to the organization of medicine. The boy had repeated this systematic process over and over, changing out certain prescriptions with others as his doctor went along administering him a continuous life. At this juncture, he wasn’t sure what was going into his body, more so he simply didn’t care. Life was too short to be wallowing over the adverse effects. He was an entity that thrived in the moment, and didn’t want to waste a single second of it. Following that little thought of reassurance, he indulged in the repetitious process once again.

Shiro had just finished weaving his tie through his collar when a notification popped up. He swiped his way over to the messages and quickly skimmed the page. A slight tilt of the head was the only response, a lackluster one at that. All a morning assembly was to him was a strenuous activity where he was forced to sit in a seat for what seemed like an eternity. An endless turmoil of droll, monotone voices going into one ear and passing out the other. Distress suddenly riddled his face as his eye slowly moved over to the time. ”Crap! I’m going to be late!” Shiro quickly stomped around the room, yanking his bag off of a chair, additionally grabbing a slice of bread from the night prior. He shoved the supplement for breakfast in his mouth and quickly messaged a friend of his.

To: Angelina Jackson
From: Shiro Kawabata
Subject: I dun goofed

”Um, hey, morning Lina! Kinda woke up late! And by kinda, I mean I did. Able to grab a cup of joe from the cafe or your dorm? I’ll pay you back, I swear! Cross my heart and hope to not die!”

He tried his best to keep the slice of bread in his mouth while scaling the stairwell. But, on the bright side, he would make it to the morning assembly on time. Just barely.

Eris woke up in her lone dorm room as soon as the first rays of sun broke through the half closed curtains. Beads of sweat crested her brow and, actually her night shirt was translucent and sticking to her skin. Certainly an unsightly vision, on Eris' opinion, if she were to be sharing the room with someone else.

The reason why the blond German girl had woke up covered in sweat was simple, but also a possible point of disagreement if Eris gets a room mate some day. The fact was that Eris never turned the air conditioner on, since the dry cold air makes Eris feel short on breath. Preferring instead, to use a simple electric fan that, even for a machine of its kind, does a rather poor job when it comes to cooling someone.

"Even so, I wonder why this room is so hot when compared to the others." Eris thought as she gazed at her bedside clock and noticed that she still had plenty of time left to get ready and leave school, before she removed her clothes and threw them at the laundry basket, took a quick shower and dressed in her uniform once again.

Leaving her spartan accommodations behind, Eris went to school and received the mass message from the president just as she walked into a small café that she frequented usually, in time to get the best of the breakfast menu. After finishing her meal and buying a boxed lunch, Eris finally made the last stretch of her morning walk to school, wondering if the morning assembly would be a good opportunity for her to meet Cassandra.





"Mmm... mmm..." Yuuno groaned as she forced her body out of the bed earlier than usual and shuffled through her room half-blind, before going to the bathroom and letting the shower's near ice cold water flip her brain into awake mode. "Kya! I'll never get used to that." Yuuno grumbled to herself, before noticing that she had gone under the shower with her pajamas... again "Ow, that's the third time this week, if the laundry doesn't get done today I'll have to sleep only my underwear..."

"Anyway, I'd better get going. After all, the early bird get the worm." Yuuno said to herself, after finishing her morning preparations and remembering to send the dirty clothes basket to the laundry. On her way out, Yuuno picked a stack of papers that was resting over her desk and went to school way earlier than most students would ever think of going.

As soon as she arrived at the gates, Yuuno received Yoshino's message about the morning assembly and thought that she was actually rather lucky that all the students would be gathering in a single place for the first part of the morning. Almost immediately, Yuuno replied to Yoshino with the following message:

---

From: Yuuno Kurogami

To: Yoshino Tsugumi

About: Good Morning!

Good morning, Yoshinon, how are you? I've got your message about the assembly. I hope it's not about something bad.

See ya!



PS: Have you still not decided if you will join us or not? Well, you become a bum I guess that I'll have no choice but to marry you. ;p

S2, Bye!

---

After hitting the send button, Yuuno went to the entrance of the auditorium and began to distribute the flyers, that she spent a good part of the previous night to do, to any students that she came across. On the decorated paper, the following message was written in cool, bold letters:



Along with the outrageous message, there was a referral code that would grant a 5% discount on any consumable purchases within the guild for one month, or 100 purchases, whichever comes first. Actually, said discount was taken from Absinthe's EXP pool, but the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages of such a deal, in Yuuno's opinion, since having even a dozen more members on the guild would mean an increase on her EXP income from various odd businesses.

And so, hoping that she wouldn't actually take a loss from such a bold maneuver to please her Titania-sama, Yuuno continued her advertisement campaign, until the time of the assembly would come.

Retsu's alarm blurred the red-haired girl awake, and lazily she slammed her hand on her digital clock to make it stop. She laid there for a good seven minutes debating if she should wait until the secondary alarm to awaken her, but she chose to get out of bed. The first thing she did was head to the bathroom, to wash and relieve herself. Stepping out from her shower stark nude Yoshino than went to go put on her school uniform. A dark purple blazer with a white collared shirt, her skirt that went down to her knees, and thigh-high stockings. Retsu didn't often admit it, but she liked thigh-high stockings. It was the only thing she and her brother had in common, aside from the fact she could make it work. Brushing up her hair and doing makeup work Retsu was still exhausted and needed her coffee.

Last night was tiresome; after she left Yoshino's dormitory Retsu was bombarded with messages from the Sweepers, asking for organization and zoning rights. Many of the Sweepers have already begun reconstruction of the Black City, not only repairing damage but also prepping fortifications. With Moon Rider's permission they used the guild's funds, as well as paying a little out of pocket, to upgrade the structural strength of buildings and hire NPC guards. They also had a check-list of other upgrades and NPC's they'd need to hire to make the Black City thriving again. It was going to take some time even with the Sweepers all working together, not to mention there was still the matter of getting the rest of the Sweepers back to the Black City. 300 was a lot, practically a guild of it's own, but there were more out there either caught up in business or scheming something. At least all the Erasers had reported in.

Retsu had a little bit of time before she'd normally leave for Purple Crown, so she made herself a mug of instant coffee and microwaved a hot pocket. As she was waiting for her makeshift meal to heat up she received a message from Yoshino asking her to show up to her office immediately. "Honestly... She's moving things very fast." Sighing Retsu grabbed her hot pocket when it was finished, slug her school bag over her shoulder, took her coffee, and headed out the door.

Retsu finished her hot pocket by the time she reached her bike and had a cup holder specifically build for her coffee. Making sure her morning energy was secure Retsu mounted her bike and headed to school.

---

Asahi woke up with a start on his gaming chair. One of the servants must have came in, as the room was clean and he had a blanket wrapped around him. Checking his clock it was somewhere around 6 AM, a bit early than he usually woke up. He laid back down and got twenty more minutes of sleep before the call of nature forced him to get up and get ready for the day. Asahi walked down the empty halls to his personal restroom, where he defecated, washed, and clothed himself (Not all at once of course). By the time he stepped out of the shower Asahi was awake and ready for breakfast. His breakfast was piping hot rice, topped with a raw egg and salmon roe, garnished with green onions. Mixing his meal up Asahi ate it quickly followed by a glass of milk before thanking the maid and heading out.

Because Asahi was a bit early than he normally was no one was there to walk with him. But that was fine, Asahi liked to take it slow, and he doesn't really get that chance keeping up with everyone else. As he walked he heard a meow and saw Train come running out from the trees, wrapping itself around Asahi's leg. "Hey there lil guy, I was wondering where you went. Didn't go and get yourself into trouble did ya?" Asahi picked up his cat and played with him, carrying him to school. He knew Purple Crown didn't really like having pets on campus (What school did honestly?) but Asahi knew he could leave Train at school. The cat was more than capable of taking care of itself.

As Asahi walked he got a message from the student president. Curious he checked it out, but it was just a generic message about a school assembly. "A lot's been happening these past few days. Heh, no surprise I guess, what with the Ebony Strykers opening up. Well let's see what sort of trouble we can get ourselves into, eh Train?" The black cat just purred and groomed itself as Asahi continued towards school.

Cassandra has just reached the hall, when Unrelenting Juhebox's email came through. She climbed the stairs until she came to the back row, sliding in, and heading to a seat in the corner, today choosing to watch her fellows rather then try and interact with them. When she was settled, she opened the email, reading it. Jukebox seemed to be explaining why he had just left her, but the thing was to her, he should have told her before, what he was up to. And it made her just feel sad, was she that forgettable? That was until she remembered her new mission, so perhaps she should be pleased about that. And in the end, Jukebox was apologizing and explaining, and she supposed that was all that mattered right then.

So she began a response.

To: Unrelenting Jukebox
from: Neis Hellum
subject: re;sorry about yesterday
----
Hi, Jukebox.

That's okay, I understand. You did what you thought was right. I didn't really find anything else, but I didn't die so I suppose that's a win. Hope your night was better,

Kind Regards, Nies Hellum

----
@McFazzer

She read through the message, and satisfied with it, hit send. The message seemed okay to her, and she had accepted the apology. She sighed to herself and leaned back into her seat, looking over at the students already there or just arriving, her mind going to the night before, and Eris. The parting message still befuddled her. What had it meant? Perhaps it was just a saying, but for the life of her, Cassandra couldn't figure it out. So for now she put it out of her mind.

Taking out a note book, and a pen, Cassandra pulled her knees up on the chair and used them as a table, starting to write. It seemed she was writing quick, precise notes, taking down what she considered the important points of her meeting with Eris, as well as what had happened since she had moved into the dorm, not two days past.

Which reminded her to send a message to her parents and siblings. She quickly sent a message to them, telling her family she would try and get around tonight for a visit and catch up, and that she'd make sure that there was some cooked meals for them, before she went back to her note taking, detailing now the battle with the desolation, and how that had gone. She winced as she remembered the car, and wondered if she'd be able to get another one from the garage. She thought not.

To: Alex Coleman
From: Maribel Harper
Subject: Re: Duct Tape?
-------
Hey there Jukey~!

Ah, so it looks like you woke up to my morning surprise! Wasn’t that really hard to find your dorm. Just had to sneak into the Student Council Office and find the spare keys. You know, it’s kind of creepy how we have all that power. Huh. Anyway, Yoshino’s got us on a tight schedule today due to the random assembly. Could you be a dear and help a girl out for her paperwork? Thanks Jukey!

Your True Blue,
Maribel Harber
:3

---

As the message was sent from her position at Purple Crown Academy, Maribel hummed to herself as she skipped on over to the auditorium. Already students were beginning to file in for the mass assembly they were to have before classes. Several other Student Council members were already on duty with school staff directing the flow of traffic. Looking at it all, Maribel sighed wistfully, paperwork the least of her concerns right now.

With her smile still intact, she prepared to do her part. Meanwhile, the one in charge of it all, Yoshino Tsugumi herself, rushed into her office to make final preparations for her speech. Only when she sat down did she notice a lingering message in her system. Opening it up, her eyes widened at the sender of the PM, none other than her own cousin. Of course, Yuno was in town. How had she forgotten that so easily?

---

To: Yuno Kurogami
From: Yoshino Tsugumi
Subject: Re: Good Morning!
-------
Greetings Kurogami-san,

Everything is fine. The assembly will just include some logistics related to Deep Ground that the other Colored Kings might find interesting. Other than that, it’s nothing for you to be worried about. We’ll talk later after class or during lunch. Also, no, I haven’t found a Guild to my liking yet. You know I despise video games.

Your Cousin,
Yoshino Tsugumi

---

As formal as ever. But with that message sent and done, Yoshino leaned back in her chair and awaited the arrival of Retsu. Certainly it was best to inform her unofficial deputy before proceeding onward. Of course, the more she waited, the more filled the school auditorium became. All of the other Colored Kings-with the exception of Maribel on Student Council duty-were lounging around in their chairs in some way or the other.

“The least she can do is send someone up to take her place,” Micheal Davis, the Red King muttered to himself, referring to Yoshino's absence in directing this chaos. He was in a particularly intolerable mood as of late and it was probably for the fact that the girl he had become interested in was…well, no longer at present. Whether it was a quick breakup or if the girl had moved schools or something, nobody could tell and only the bravest would dare to ask.

But as far as he was concerned, she was no longer a part of this story. Which didn’t exactly spell out any sort of good news for those present.

---

The moment the alarm went off, a hand reached out from underneath the bundled blanket grabbed it, and threw it across the room with a seemingly smooth and well-practiced movement. The clock slammed into the wall button first, immediately silencing it as fell towards the floor. Unsurprisingly enough, there were spare pieces and parts scatter around the landing zone. Not only that, but the wall where the clock had hit seemed to have multiple small dents within inches from each other. Clearly, this was a daily event.

Groaning, Lina crawled out from under the blanket, before opening the mini-fridge where a night-table should be. Enjoying the cool wind that rolled out from the fridge, she reached inside and pulled out an ice cappuccino. After about three sips, her eyes snapped opened. "I HAVE AWOKEN!" With that loud yell, she rolled off her bed, before standing up, her body clad in only a T-shirt and nothing else. Immediately checking her email as she dressed herself, the girl's eyes widened as she beheld the sight of two new messages. The first one was in regards to the the student assembly that they would be having. the second was that her friend and colleague most likely slept in, and was now going to be late.

"Let's see....his room was there, and to get to the assembly, the most efficient route would be....probably through that next hallway. Yosh! I'll meet up with him!"

Dressing herself properly, she looked over her shoulder, before grabbing the ice cappuccino, and exited her room. Locking the door behind her, she quickly made her way to where she could guess that Shiro would run this way. "I wonder what he was doing last night to oversleep this much?", while absentmindedly sipping at the ice cap.

Eris got to the auditorium, casting her cold stare at any who dared cross her path. She didn't knew what this assembly was about, but she knew that it annoyed her to have to go out of her routine, for what probably was nothing but non-sense from the lap dogs of the World Interface, otherwise known as the Student Council.

It was then that Eris noticed Cassandra for the first time that morning, their gazes crossing one another just as Cassandra drew a notepad and began making some annotations on it. Eris wondered if Cassandra had noticed her as well, but didn't moved to greet the other girl, merely flipping her hair and casting an indifferent gaze toward Cassandra, before finding a place to eat that was within Cassandra's field of vision.

The reason why Eris decided to play it cold now, was simply to not give the wrong impression to Cassandra and have the other girl get an inaccurate picture of Eris' character. Just like when fishing, when one trying leave the right image of themselves, it's needed to know when to be firm and when to let the pressure go.

"Either way, this teasing game is rather entertaining..." Eris thought just as her eyes deviated from the crowd to Cassadra and back again.







Meanwhile, Yuuno had almost finished giving out the pamphlets, but it looked like the assembly wouldn't begin anytime soon, so she decided to take a short break and go refresh herself with a drink from one fo the machines that laid scattered around the school.

Yuuno received Yoshino's message as she was popping open a can of pineapple soda, but didn't replied, because she thought that she shouldn't bother her cousin with any more unwanted mail.

However, having nothing to do was quite boring and Yuuno couldn't help but sigh at the prospect of spending untold minutes idly. Yuuno's salvation came in the form of a blue dash of light, when she noticed no one other than her beloved Maribel-sama streaking into the auditorium to, very much probably, do something about the assembly.

"Good morning, Maribel-sama. How are you?" Yuuno said after setting the remainder of the pamphlets over a nearby table and finishing her drink in one gulp. "I know that I'm not a part of the council yet, but... don't you have anything that you'd like me to help you with?" Yuuno asked, hoping that, at least, her beloved king could relieve her of her boredom.

Restu arrived to Yoshino's office quietly and alone. She was careful to make sure no one was around, and to ensure she wasn't being followed she activated a little program in her chip: A scanner that picked up other chips using the wifi signal. If they could pick up the internet, she could pick up them. Technically illegal in the sense that it is a type of spyware, but it's hard to actually put a law against since ownership isn't illegal, just the use. And Retsu made sure not to make it obvious she was using it. Once she had an idea of who was around Retsu tapped on Yoshino's door. She could have just opened it with one of her skeleton keys, but opted against it. This was school: there were standards.

"It's me. Goroshi Retsu."

---

"Alright buddy, see ya soon." Asahi let Train go near the school gates, who bolted inside and proceeded with his adventure. The lone teen than headed towards the assembly hall for today's meeting. He saw none of his own friends while he walked, assuming that they were on the way. He had to make the conscience decision to find a space to accommodate his... Girth. Once an appropriate location was found Asahi looked around and waited. He patience was shortly cut however, when he saw Mirabel of the student cousin talking to a cute new girl. Asahi's never seen her before, so eating a mint and combing back his hair the big boy walked over.

"Hello Harper-san, and to you too, miss...?" Asahi looked towards Yuuno with anticipation.

Yawning, Hibiki crawled out of bed and got herself ready for another day at school. She wasn't able to get close to Moon Rider last night to defeat her, not after all that chaos was going on. "I guess I'll just try again later. She can't always have her guard up." As Hibiki made herself a bowl of cereal there was an announcement for a school assembly. Hibiki sighed, knowing that she couldn't finish her cereal and walk to school without getting late. So instead she packed her cereal into a plastic bag without milk, eating it as she headed to Purple Crown Academy.

Quite a few students were already here by the time she showed up. No one she knew was here yet, so Hibiki ate her baggy of cereal alone. She wished that she had at least taken a bottle of juice, because now her mouth was dry. As she waited, Hibiki thought she heard a cat's meow. "Hmm? What was that?" The girl perked up and looked around. It didn't seem like the assembly was starting right now, so perhaps Hibiki could sneak off and have a little fun before it began. She went to look for the cat, following it by noise, and tried calling for it. "Here kitty kitty! Nya nya~"

Alex was actually surprised that he got a response to each message he sent out relatively quickly. First was Nies. Reading it over he could almost hear the disappointment and that made his gut feel as if it was being squeezed. He bit his lip as read, but didn’t want to pester. Should I reply? No that just seems like I'm making more excuses. I'll find her in DGO, face to face... kinda...

As he debated responding again, Maribel’s message came through. Wait… she can just go into my room whenever she feels like?! Wha… why does any student body have such power?!.. easy… easy… f-finish reading before overreacting. Oh? I can actually help? Huh, I thought Bel had made me her secretary just to mess with me. Well I better try help then… it can’t be too hard to find her, not many students can have blue hair after all, plus if I help enough maybe I won’t wake up with duct-tape on my face

Picking up his pace Alex weaved through his crowd of students making their way to the auditorium. Unconsciously moving with his music Alex searched for that mass of blue hair called Maribel.



Sure it wasn't the most current music, but you like what you like. And there she was, the Blue Bolt who duct-taped his hands to his face, talking to another girl Should I wait? however Alex’s hesitation caused the crowd to bump him forwards, while trying to not bump into Bel’s friend he stumbled into Bel herself. Embarrassed he took a few steps back and took off the headphones Bel got him the day before.

“H-hi Miss Maribel, you messaged me about some paperwork to do? Well I’m here to help… am I doing the secretary thing right?”

@TheWindel@KoL

Cassandra actually found the indifference of Eris to her amusing. After spending her life with her family, she knew what indifference was, it wasn't anything new to her. but she did wonder if it was some sort of game. She didn't expect anything from Eris, after one conversation. It merely made her curious. Did Eris wish to simply reassure herself that she wasn't vulnerable to friends?

Cassandra just smiled at Eris, and went back to her note taking. Whatever game this was that Eris was playing, Cassandra could play it too. She did, ,however, glance up every once and a while, noting that Eris seemed to look to her at times as well. Interesting.

Changing her page, she began to write a few more notes, wondering when the assembly would begin. After a few more moments she put the notebook away, and looked about the room, looking for familiar faces.

@KoL

The first part is a collab between @TheWindel, @Lucius Cypher and @KoL.

---

"Come in."

Yoshino waited for Retsu to enter into her office and take a seat before her. Once the other girl was settled, the Student President wordlessly transferred the message she would be reading aloud to the entire student body over to her. Hopefully Retsu would find it interesting to consider.

Apparently the Corpse Collector had struck again. This time however, she had sent a message specifically to Yoshino, no doubt in the hopes of having her words broadcast to all of the Colored Kings. The message in turn detailed how each of the King's treasury had dipped down once more due to the Corpse Collector's efforts. Furthermore, the proclamation was peppered with vulgarity and whatnot. At least they knew how mature this threat was.

"Well?" Yoshino asked after she was sure Retsu had read over the Corpse Collector's words throughly.

Looking over the information Retsu wasn't too preturbed with what was said, so much that she couldn't trace it. The sender was "Corpse Collector", which was common enough when sending messages as Avatars. But with the Cherry Hunter, Retsu should have been able to find who the Corpse Collector was. The fact she couldn't just made it obvious that Corpse Collector was some sort of hacker. No one would have this sort of protection unless they were getting themselves into trouble. Or at least that's how Retsu saw it.

"If the other Kings are doing their job, they should already be aware of what had happened." Taking a seat in one of the chairs Retsu looked at Yoshino accusingly. "You are too hasty, Tsugumi-san. You shouldn't have made an announcement so soon without consulting me first. Now everyone is expecting you to say something." No doubts Corpse Collector was expecting Yoshino to make an announcement as well.

Curiously, the Black Guild hasn't been hit yet. Retsu could guess that the Corpse Collector intends to threaten robbing or otherwise harming the Black Guild. That wouldn't do at all. Retsu knew what she had to do. Question was, now what should Yoshino do? "Tsugumi-san, does the Black King have any other messages to announce? Perhaps we could justify this announcement some other way."

Yoshino couldn't help but set an icy glare upon the other girl. Contacted her first? It wasn't like the two held anything more than a professional relationship. However, she took a moment to calm down before biting out, resisting the urge to remind Retsu that she didn't need her approval for everything.

"It's only natural Retsu. As Student President, it's my duty to relay reports such as this. Besides, the Corpse Collector specifically wants to be recognized. Why not give them what they want? Obviously they're much too arrogant to consider this sort of thing backfiring on them."



Questioned with if the Black King had any more things to add to the announcements, Yoshino took pause. The Sweepers were doing well on their own in cleaning up the Black Guild and fortifications were going smoothly. What else was there?

"We could always raise a bounty on the Corpse Collector. Stealing from every Guild has made them enemies with a majority of the Players. Perhaps the Ebony Strykers can offer a negotiable reward for the extermination of this threat. After all, my client has enough rumors spreading about her Guild already. Cushioning relations with the other Kings will put us in good favors and views."

Nodding her head Retsu figured that this could work. It was already well known that Yoshino spoke for the Black King. If she made the announcement that Moon Rider wanted to put a bounty on the Corpse Collector, that would serve the dual purpose of announcing the Corpse Collector's treachery and getting someone to deal with the hacker. [colro=black]"That would be best. We could use this opprotunity to make a joint effort with the other guilds to take down the Corpse Collector. It wouldn't be a bad way to begin the Black Guild's reintroduction into the game."[/color]

"I'm glad we agree," Yoshino said with the shadow of a smile. "That takes care of all the logistics on my end. However, there is one more thing I'd like to ask of you Retsu."

To this, Yoshino brought a hand up to unconsciously fiddle with her glasses, narrowing her eyes. Really, there was no easy way to ask this and she wondered if Retsu would seriously consider it. But it couldn't hurt to go ahead and do it, right?

"I feel as if I've piled you with enough issues already. However, I'm afraid I have one more task for you. Thankfully, it doesn't involve the White King. You see, recently a member of my external family has joined our ranks here in Purple Crown. And while I know I have authority as Student President, I am...concerned for her. She can be naive at times," Yoshino went on, describing Yuuno. "If...you could, perhaps you can make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble? It's her first time here."

Retsu quietly contemplated this new information. Frankly, Retsu didn't want to. She didn't particularlly like watching over family, considering her own. That being said, this Yuuno may be an element Retsu could use, or could be used against her. If the Corpse Collector, for example, knew of Yuuno, they may try to use her against Yoshino. And that wouldn't do at all. Adjusting her glasses Retsu nodded her head. "...Alright. I'll keep tabs on her. Just remember though; out here I'm a nobody, and I'd appriciate if I could keep up that image. I won't get too close to her, or you, to ensure that our business is kept to ourselves. So if anything happens... My hands are clean." That is to say, if anything happens Retsu has plausible deniability.

"If you say so," Yoshino said with a sigh, seeing right through Retsu's words. Of course the other girl would try to ensure her own safety first. Still, at this point, Retsu's behavior was more of a nuisance than anything to be too concerned about. And her plans within plans were starting to make even the Student President have a headache or two. "But thank you regardless," she added, a hint of something genuine in her voice.

Retsu would certainly make sure that Yuuno is well cared for. But Retsu herself would remain the mysterious benefactor for both their sake. "Now than, if that is all we should be leaving. You have an announcement to make, no?"

"Indeed I do," Yoshino said as she got up from her seat, expecting Retsu to diverge to her own path once they left her office. Little did both girls know that, in some way, Retsu was already keeping her promise. Down in the auditorium, Maribel raised an eye as she heard someone call out to her before her usual cat smirk was displayed.





"Hiya...Yuuno was it? Great, you're just in time too! I need flyers and bulletins and vocal cheering and maybe the wave...do you think we need a wave for this? I suppose that really depends on the subject matter...oh, hiya Asahi," Maribel said brightly as she saw the boy come up.

Having a hunch to what was going on, Maribel smirked as she quickly darted behind Yuuno. With a flick of her arms, she gracefully gave the girl a push in Asahi's direction, wondering what the results would be.

"And this is Kurogami Yuuno, cousin to the ever cold and omnipresent Student President herself. Now play nice you two~"

Maribel watched the two young teens in their blossoming affections for a moment longer before noticing her own knight in shining armor. Or something like that. Smirking at Alex, she waved him over before moving over to his side, shoving a bunch of poster into his awaiting arms.

"Hiya Jukey! Pass these out for me will you? Thanks~!" she said before bouncing away to do who knew what.



"Ma- Maribel-sama, what are you doing?" Yuuno stuttered as Maribel pushed her towards the newcomer boy. "You can't leave me alone he-" Yuuno continued to complain, until she noticed that she was just a few feet away from Asahi and a soft blush found its way to her face.

"I... I'm sorry, Maribel-sama is kinda pushy, some times," Yuuno said while nervously playing with her hair "An- anyway, I'm Kurogami Yuuno and as she said, I'm a cousin of Yoshinon...erm, Tsugumi-senpai of the Student Council. Nice to meet you... huh?" Yuuno continued to twirl her hair with a finger as she tried to avoid making eye contact with Asahi. It seemed that the sudden change of subject had reverted her to her old sheltered self, at least momentarily.

Asahi shyly laughed and rubbed the back of his head. This was an unexpected developement. He may have had his eyes on Yuuno but this was, literally, pushing it. "It's cool. Nice to meet you too, Kurogami-san. I'm Asahi, Goroshi Asahi." Because Maribel moved things along so quickly Asahi was a bit at a loss of what to do. He was hoping for a smooth transition of introduction to conversation. Then he remembered what he was "supposed" to be here to do, and decided to go with that.

"Oh right! You're going to help with the assembly too, right? I didn't quite hear what Maribel said, but I'm here for you. What do you need from me?" Asahi gave Yuuno a big friendly smile. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Train darting out of the building and off doing who-knows-what.

"Ah,so it's Goroshi-kun, right? Well, if you meant about helping me while I help Maribel-sama, then you're welcome." Yuuno said getting a little back into her usual self, again "First, you could help me distributing the flyers, while I take care of the bulletin board, then, lets see... you like cheering others, right? I don't know why Maribel-sama needs that for an assembly, but I'm going to do it anyway."

Then, Yuuno noticed the cat that was going around doing its feline things, but resisted the urge to chase after it, since she had work to do. Nevertheless, Yuuno made a mental note of finding some milk and a dish later to try and attract the creature. Once set with everything, Yuuno turned to Asahi and said "Lets do our best, ho!" while raising her hand for a high five.

Smiling Asahi copied Yuuno's gesture. "Alright! So, where are those flyers?" Asahi looked around, but didn't see any boxes or such. He didn't even see Maribel. As for the cheering, if he could get his guys together they could make some noise. They normally don't cheer, but he could convince them to give it a good shot.



A few minutes later and all the work was done, thanks to the fact that it was divided between two people. Actually, Maribel never appeared again, Yuuno presumed that she went away to do God-knows-what after chucking her work on them, probably trying to play the shipper roler.

Nevertheless, Yuuno didn't had anything against doing Maribel's work, actually, it was quite the contrary, but she couldn't help but feel that their pushy nature was imposing too much on Asahi. After all, very little human beings had the kind of energy required to keep up with the two most active members of the Cobalt Bruisers, either online, or on the real world. Thus, Yuuno slipped away to the same machine that she had bought a drink earlier and got two cans this time, one of her favorite pineapple soda and another of coke ('cause you can't go wrong with coke, right?) for Asahi.

"Here, this might not be much, but please accept this, Goroshi-kun." Yuuno said once she came back and handed the drink to Asahi, nervously, hoping that she hadn't chosen the wrong drink.

"Whew. That was a bit harder than it should have been..." In truth Asahi actually made things much easier for himself. When Yuuno wasn't looking, he had called in his boys to pass out the flyers for him, as well as briefed them on their future cheering project. He made it clear to them why he was doing this: he wanted to impress Yuuno by helping, and he was helping by delegating his tasks. Not to say that Asahi didn't do some work himself. In fact he did what he thought was the hardest part: organizing their cheer.

He didn't have enough guys to do anything big like a wave, but they did have a sort of dance number they could do on cue. What they were cheering for he didn't know, but it was generic enough to fit anything worth celebrating. Hopefully Yoshino had good news for them, otherwise this was going to be awkward.

As Asahi was taking a breather Yuuno came by with a can of coke. "Oh! Thanks. You didn't need to do that, it's not like I did a whole lot." Regardless Asahi accepted the soda and took a drink. The fizzy sweetness was refreshing. Looking back at Yuuno he smirked. "You know, Yuuno, my friends just call me Asahi. You can too." Asahi nearly spat at his own pun.

"Ri- right, if you say so, Goro... erm, Asahi." Yuuno said while bashfully messing with her hair and avoiding eye contact with Asahi, once more being her shy self, after the boy suddenly called her by her given name. "Anyway, we should get going as well, the assembly will start soon, right?"

After saying this, Yuuno turned back to the auditorium, but just before she started to walk on its direction, she turned back to Asahi and said "I don't have many friends around here yet, so... I hope you don't mind it, please." while sending him her contact info as well as a friend invite on DGO. All the while, Yuuno's face was beet red, and she was now grinding her feet on the ground, waiting nervously for Asahi's reply.

"Damn. Yuuno is so moe~"

Standing up, Asahi was thinking that it was almost time for the assembly when he received information from Yuuno. It was contact permission and a friend invite for Deep Ground, from Yuuno. "Aaaaaah yeeeeaaaah." Asahi returned the favor and exchanged his information back to her. He was going to say thanks, but he stopped himself. He needed to say something poetic and smooth. Something to really knock her out. Thinking quickly Asahi spoke clearly, confidently... Whatever ridiculousness was about to leave his mouth.

"If anything is going to be on my mind, it'll definitely be you."

---

Eris noticed the fact that Cassandra had bitten her 'bait', but, somehow, the supposedly cold German couldn't help but feel that Cassandra had a slight advantage in their current exchanges. How else would Eris explain the fact the fact that she got so... charmed by someone else for the first time since her older brother betrayed her trust?

"But, what's it? What do I want of her, or better, what do I want her to want of me?" Eris couldn't help but dwell on these questions, plunging her mind in an ever recurring spiral, for a moment forgetting the whole world as her thoughts focused on Cassandra and her... alone.

"I... I can't take this anymore!" Eris said out loud, before getting up from her seat and going in the direction of the restrooms, not running, but at least walking at a faster than usual pace and with a perturbed expression on her face. The assembly seemed like it wasn't going to begin so soon, anyway, and even if it did, Eris would be able to listen to it from the auditorium toilets, so her body simply moved on its own.



Once she arrived there, the first thing that Eris did was turn on the cold water on one of the sinks and plunging her head under the faucet.

"Damn, what's up with me and those damned thoughts? What I want her to do with me? Why am I even having such deranged revelries?"

As Eris questioned herself out loud, she raised her face to gaze at her own reflection on the mirror. Eris literally looked like a sob and soaked wild animal as a ferocious grin that carried at the same time hints of pleasure and contempt was stamped on her face.

"Cassandra O'Shera, are you anything like the mythological being? Have you come to my life only to deliver the portent of my ruin?" After allowing her thoughts to slip back to Cassandra again, Eris slammed the mirror, shattering it and getting a nasty cut on her right hand as a final gift of her psychotic surge.

And so, Eris stood there, alone, gazing at her own shattered reflection with a mad grin glued to her face and not-very-noticeable tears rolling down her cheeks, soaked to the bones and with a bleeding hand, looking like she had been out of a fist fight with whole gang.

"Pathetic..." was the only thing that Eris could say of herself.

---

@McFazzer@Caits

Nao made it to school on time hopping the train to school, and luckily getting out of the crowed train car without a hitch or leaving her bag on the train, she rushed into the gates and swapped her shoes in the shoe locker, as she was switching her shoes out, she gotten a message and skim read it just knowing that an assembly was happening.

Nao read the message as she gotten both her school shoes on and moved into the auditorium, she threw down her bag into a good spot where she knew it and as soon as she found a seat to sit down at, she instantly felt bored with sitting in the auditorium by herself, she tried once again to get access to the game once more, but she was sadly locked out still and felt angry about it still.

" Shit, fucking game that allows me to be any goddamn where to play it, but it doesn't fucking let me play it whenever I fucking want god fucking damn it." She began cursing quietly feeling a bit intimidated by the size of the auditorium and didn't want her F-bombs to echo." Fucking fuck, I left my handheld back at home and didn't even bring any games shit, shit, shit, I'm gonna be bored as fuck all god damn day." Nao looked calm on the outside and kept quietly swearing to herself.

She leaned back in her seat and stared off at the ceiling and to the walls, if the assembly was about not having games in the school then she really didn't care about what the assembly was about, it could be about not staring off at the walls or something and Nao was only gonna half listen to all of it really.

Nao tried her best to get really comfy while she was in the the auditorium alone, the size of the room it self while she was alone was freaking crazy in Nao's eyes." Can we hurry this up ? I want to get through this day so I can go home and play video games I don't feel like sitting around doing nothing, I could be getting revenge on those squeakers that killed my avatar this morning, or even be playing some new games that came out, fuck this school stuff, I just wanna play my video games in peace really." Nao noticed she was just speaking aloud to herself and sighed.

The hetocromatic girl looked around and began to count the rows of seats feeling more bored than she has ever before, she started to regret coming so early to the assembly, hell the people that wanted to started didn't even seem like they were here, Nao started to feel like she could be catching some Zs while she was just sitting here, or during the assembly, she really just didn't care about what the school's class reps had to say.

Shit would still happen even if they announced it, it would be like saying that pain hurts when everyone else would know about it, this time around she felt it wouldn't be any different, just people talking bout shit that she didn't really care too much about or just stuff about the school that needed to be addressed.

Cassandra eyed Eris, who seemed a little bit unstable, as if something wasn't quite right, or she was overwhelmed. A bit worried, Cassandra watched her, and so heard Eris cry out that she couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't take what? Had something happened? Was Eris hurt? Concerned for what could potentially be her only friend, Cassandra rose, shoving her notebook into her pack and swinging it over her shoulder, starting down the stairs.

She lost sight of Eris as she hurried out, and Cassandra stood in the halfway, listening for any sign of Eris, as she thought where she might go. Where would she go? Cassandra knew if she was feeling flustered, she'd escape to the bathroom, to try and compose herself. Perhaps Eris would do that too.

So Cassandra went to the nearest bathroom, hearing glass shatter. Alarmed, concerned, Cassandrs hurried forward, pushing the door open, studying the scene, quickly. Both Eris and the bathroom were soaked, Eris looked slightly crazed, the mirror was shattered and Eris was bleeding. Bleeding and not doing anything about it!

"Eris!" Cassandra said, her voice almost painfully loud in the small room, echoing back at her, but it cracked like a whip, as she sought to snap Eris out of whatever was happening. Stepping around the water, Cassandra grabbed some toilet paper from the toilet, wrapping it around her hand several times before approaching Eris, kicking shards of class away as she grabbed Eris's bleeding hand. Quickly checking to make sure there was no glass in the wound, Cassandra pressed the toilet paper wad to it, putting pressure that was probably painful to Eris, but at that point Cassandra didn't care. "what the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded, once more taking in Eris's haggard appearance. Eris would be lucky not to get sick, dripping wet like she was. Cassandra doubt the girl had a change of clothes at school.'

While Cassandra's voice was steady, and her manor calm, her heart was beating fast, galloping in her chest. Taking control of wounds, of things like this was easy for Cassandra. She hadn't told anyone this, but she wanted to be a doctor. Perhaps that was why she choose to be a healer in the game, but Cassandra was worried. Was Eris sick? Not familiar with Eris's normal behaviour, Cassandra was worried. Were those tears? Tears from Eris? It didn't seem like Eris would be one to cry, and that terrified Cassandra. "are you okay?" she asked, a slight waiver in her voice now, as she lifted Eris's hand to kept it elevated. This was of course if Eris allowed this.@KoL

Posters? Umm, okay. This is a little different from the paper work I expected, but whatever. I’ll help how I can looking around Alex walked about trying to find some good places for them to be. However no matter where he went there was either someone putting up a poster or one was already there! It caused Alex no small amount of headache and he did wonder if Bel gave him a fools errand, it would certainly fit her personality. Although he did rationalise that no matter who put them there at least the job was getting done.

W-where else can they go? Thank you, Bel. Thank you for these posters that are somehow already everywhere! Using his free hand Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose and decided to quickly do a run around the higher floors, finding a few spare places to hang the posters.
Finally down to his last poster Alex struggled to find a place where it could fit. He was tempted to just stick it in his pocket and walk away, but Bel would probably find out if he shirked duty or something, so Alex persevered. Pausing, Alex bit his lip as her looked up and saw a space just below the window of the auditorium control room. This is in the top three worst ideas I've ever had...

Balancing precariously on a chair Alex had to lunge a bit to fasten the last corner before gravity decided it had had enough of Alex’s antics and brought him crashing to the ground, wisely covering his head with his arms as he fell. Roughly hitting his head on the floor and a nasty looking cut was the prize he won for climbing on stuff like a fool.
Sitting up Alex looked around groggily before a drop of blood hit his eye. Wincing he grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it hard on his head. Taking it away gently he was relieved to find a lot less blood than he suspected, just a shallow cut. Smiling in relief he reapplied the handkerchief and went to find a seat, making a mental plan to find Bel and then find a band-aid or something a bit more permanent to deal with his injury.

---

The concerns of the other students were nothing new to Yoshino. She predicted that some of them would no doubt be visiting during her office hours soon for the sole sake of complaining about the rigid school system. Said hours were often spent with the Student President calmly explaining what was and wasn’t feasible in changing the curriculum.

It was just another day at Purple Crown Academy in all honesty and Yoshino was preparing her mindset for the meetings to come, even as she approached the auditorium’s stage now. There would be files to fill out for students visiting the infirmary and medical orders to distribute but it was all work she had done before and would continue to do so now.

Now, it was no surprise to see her relatively calm as she stepped up to the main podium, ushering the hushes of those all around her. Even if there were some students currently absent, her voice would be broadcast all over via the chips in the back of everyone’s heads. Thus, her words would reach the likes of all the students.

“Greetings my fellow peers. We are gathered here today for a public safety announcement concerning recent development in Deep Ground Online,” she began, knowing that would catch quite a few people’s attentions. It certainly caught Maribel’s along with the rest of the Colored Kings. And yes, even Chiyo raised an eye, already predicting that this had to do with the Corpse Collector of some kind.

And indeed that was very much the case as Yoshino continued with, “The renegade and solitary player only known as the Corpse Collector has once again stolen funds and treasures from each Colored Guild. Most, if not all of you, have already been informed of this news by your Guild leaders. However, that is not why we are gathered here today. We have come together once more because my client has decided to offer up a reward to the Guild who has successfully captured or defeated Corpse Collector.”

A reward? That sparked the start of excited murmurs among the students as each of them glanced between one another. Michael leaned back in his seat, wondering what sort of game the Black King was playing at. Good old Kenji, or as others knew him, Verdant Grin, chuckled at how people were actually falling for what he considered more spouted bullshit. And still, Maribel and Chiyo held their expressions to themselves, waiting for Yoshino to finish her speech.

“To the Guild that accomplishes this mission, the Ebony Strykers will consider as an ally and share all profits. Furthermore, the Black King herself has stated that she will personally make the Avatar who brings down Corpse Collector a Level 9 Player.”

There was the kicker. There were the happy gasps of surprise and bewilderment that Yoshino knew would ensure Corpse Collector’s downfall. Whether it was actually possible for Moon Rider to make someone into a Level 9 was a little skeptical, but then again the Ebony Stryker’s leader was always shrouded in mystery. Besides, it couldn’t be too difficult with Retsu at her side, right?

“That is all for now. Please, continue on with your daily schedules and proceed with your classes as usual. Thank you,” Yoshino finished, walking off the stage and forward towards her office. Yes, things were progressing quite smoothly.

---

At the auditorium’s toilet, right after Eris hurt herself...





Sometime later, at the nearest hospital's waiting room...





Minutes later, as they were making their way back to the Academy, using a back alley as short cut...









Once Eris was back at Purple Crown it was already lunch time. She headed straight to a place that she was all too familiar with, the Student Council room. Since the students here are responsible for managing pretty much everything by themselves, this was the place that Eris came very often, instead of the Principal's office, like on the puny all-girls school that she went to on Germany.

"I'm coming in." Eris said after knocking on the door, out of courtesy. Sincerely, Eris still had that faint hope that one day she would find the all-mighty Council President doing something improper of her standing, if Eris came in without knocking. After all no one can be as perfect as Yoshino Tsugumi tried to be. She must have her own skeletons to hide as well and Eris would kill to be the one to find them.

However, despite the common perception that Eris was just a gruff delinquent, she had principles of politeness drilled into her after years of living in a Church school and so, she couldn't come inside a room without making herself known beforehand.

Eris didn't waited for Yoshino's reply, though and, if the door was unlocked, she would simply come into the room, if not, she would wait for a few minutes, since the dutiful President was bound to come to her office even during the lunch break. In the meanwhile, Eris just ate a hot dog that she bought on the way here, unfazed by the looks that the passing students were giving her.







Once Yoshino finished her announcement, Yuuno gasped. "Really, a level nine in an instant? I wonder if the me from the other side can do that," she thought aloud, before sighing, knowing that Absinthe would never be able to do it.

"Anyway, I'm sorry but I have to go to my homeroom, Goro... Asahi, please, excuse me." Yuuno said, while bowing deeply to Asahi, before turning to leave the auditorium. However, just as she had walked a few steps away, Yuuno turned back and asked "Also, if you're free tonight we could, maybe... watch a movie, or go eat somewhere? I'll ask Yoshinon to come along as well, so you can bring someone if you want to." Even though she was being quite bold, Yuuno made sure to stay on the safe side by asking if Yoshino would come, after all she just met Asahiso there's no way to know if he really is what he looks to be. Though, of course, Yoshino would know of any troubles regarding him (if there were any), which is yet another good reason to invite her.

"I'll send you a message later, if Yoshinon accepts my invitation. For now, bye!"

Minutes later, as Yuuno was almost reaching her classroom, she got her message interface up again and sent an email to Yoshino.

---

To: Yoshinon (Yoshino Tsugumi)

From: Yuuno Kurogami

Subject: Are you free tonight?


Hi again, Yoshinon.

I'm writing to ask if you're free tonight? If you are, would you like to go out with me and a friend that I met? I don't know many good places to hang about, since I just moved here, and I also know that it's not safe to go out alone like that. That's why I'm asking you, who's my only friend around here.

If you do that, I'll repay you however you wish,

Bye!

---

And so, Yuuno went into her class room, fully knowing that she would only get an answer around lunch and that, until then, she would have to put up with the boredom of the classroom for the rest of the morning.

"...," sighing, Yuuno resigned herself to her fate.

"Ora... This is pretty damn intimidating"

Junko raised her hand to her head, brushing her messy silk like hair out of her eyes, the ebony strands flowing over her shoulders as she stared up towards the school that she was going to be attending. A small impressed whistle followed as she did not expect for the place to be this impressive, well in comparison to her own school back in the streets anyway, and she was going to be studying here from now on? With a chuckle to shrug off the shiver of uneasiness from her back she started to head inside.

She was VERY late from what she could see as everyone was heading towards lunch, though it was not all her own fault she couldn't help but feel like her excuses were not going to fly as she was heading towards the student council presidents office. Through she would have just headed to the headmasters place she was directed to here before she even came here... She could only hope that she was relaxed and not all that up tight.

Reaching the door she gave it a curt knock before entering, not even waiting to see if they were going to call her in, though from what she saw when she entered the president was just eating lunch anyway. Walking up to Eris she offered her the transfer papers "Yo president? I got my papers were for coming into the school." She had mistaken the girls presence for the president, though to be fair she did give off the air of one, authority and all that, Junko could almost smell it... smelled sweet and slightly of hotdog.

@KoL
"Anytime, Eris. Take care. Don't forget about that hand-don't get it wet! Seeya at the resturant"Cassandra said and smiled, that simply smile that could mean any number of things, watching Eris go, returning the wave. she imagined that Eris had never had someone who simply wouldn't take no for an answer. Well, she would simply have to get use to someone actually thinking of her well being. Please with how the morning went, despite the injury involved to Eris, Cassandra went her own way. Being as late as it was, Cassandra hurried to find her teachers for the classes that she missed, as well as to try and find out what the announcement was they had missed.

Getting make up work, as well as the homework provided for the classes she had missed, she settled in the cafeteria, simply for the convince of having a table to do some work on as she ate. She worked through some of the work, before hurriedly sending messages off to her family, she hesitated over Jukebox's message, biting her lip as she thought on the brief catch up of the announcement she had received.

corpse collector, huh? And the Black King. Interesting, really. And coincidental. Was this merely just a trick, a prank? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way, this Corpse guy should be dealt with.

So Cassandra opened up a Message to unrelenting Jukebox, and took her time over the message.

---

@McFazzer
To: Unrelenting Jukebox
From: Nies Hellum
Subject: CC

Hi, Jukebox!

So that announcement today was something, right? Don't you think it's a coincident that this Corpse Collector appears, especially with that Desolution yesterday, and with the black king letting the black city gates open?

Just a thought, really.

Anyway, seems like a good opportunity to do something...and I really have nothing planned in game, if you want to find Static and try to catch this guy!

But, I might not actually be on today, might be having a thing with a friend! OH I've been meaning to ask-was that you putting the music over the sound system the other day? Seems like something you'd do!

Bye,
Nies Hellum

---

She sent the message, and finished off her lunch, packing up her work, she darted off the her next class, deciding to be extra early, as if that could make up for missing the mornings classes. So, Cassandra continued to work, waiting for the class to begin, but her thoughts were now distracted, and she ended up staring almost dreamily at the wall.

Nao was surprised that the assembly was about the game that she was locked out of, she sighed feeling pissed about being locked out of the game, she wanted to be back in and playing in a snap, she focused on the words that Yoshino was telling them and remembered the name corpse collector, it sounded like the name to someone that worked in a cemetery or a morgue, the corpse collector someone who carries the bodies to the boxes in the morgue and grabs them from outside.

She did think that the guy seemed dangerous, but also thought that he or she could have had a better name than corpse collector, like Immortal badass or skull crushing boss or something cooler or interesting than corpse collector, when the reward was told for the person and Nao thought about the rank up, she dismissed the idea of it, she didn't feel like having her avatar be murdered a bunch of times by someone named corpse collector, the name of them it's self was kind of a turn off of wanting to go after them as well.

When the assembly was over Nao began going through her bag, she was wondering if brought any games with her too school she didn't want to be coming up lunch, each time when lunch would even come around she'd never really be hungry for it and if she was she'd just snack and play a game at the same time. After going through a couple classes, like always lunch came around.

Nao took out her phone and began playing a lame phone game to kill time, she just wanted to get through the school day so she could get back home and play video games, the moment she checked her phone for time she turned it off to save power and began heading to the next class sighing feeling angry about school not just ending right now.