It was such a simple word, just three letters arranged in a way that represented a couple of phonemes, and said phonemes were meant to evoque one’s perception of self, through other’s perception of themselves. In other words, it was a word that was used, whenever one wanted other to know that they acknowledged their existence.

Anyway, for Eris, at that moment, said word was enough to drive her mind to a halt and yank the witty comeback she had to Cassandra’s reply, crush them in a ball and kick it to infinity… and beyond. In the place of her logical reasoning that was able to remain functional until a second ago, Eris was left with a family-size load of self-consciousness and a fit of panicky stutters that actually made her look cute as hell, even if for a moment.

“Wa- wait a moment Cassey, you sa- said quite a dangerous thing right now. What people would thi- think if they took it as true?” Eris waved her hands between Cassandra and her, as if to create a ‘barrier’ between them. However, Cassandra’s steely gaze and resolve to not take back her words cause Eris to feel like se was on fire, and with the fiery blush that she had on her face it was too far-fetched of a comparison.

In the heat of the moment, Eris let something scape her thin lips that she would prefer to die before admitting so easily, even if Eris herself had been convinced of it after this morning’s ‘incident’. “I… I like you as well, Cas… Cass… Cassey, but we can’t, that’s… we are both girls, and… there’s school too. Yes, what will they think if they find out that you are da… dat… dating someone like me?”

Well, the first issue really wasn’t that much of a problem at least as far as the law goes, same sex relationships (and even marriages) had been legally recognized a lot of time ago worldwide, even if the right wing parties still complain about how it twists the traditional familiar values. Usually, the kind of thing Eris doesn’t gives a damn about, since her personal philosophy has always been to do of her life whatever she wishes to. However, the second one was, and for a really good reason.

“You have a future, Cassey, while I’m someone forever trapped in search of a Ceryneain Hind that I’ll never be able to catch.” At least it looked like Eris was in her normal state of mind this time since she continued to make complex allegories to explain even to most basic things, flustered almost to the point of fainting, was a whole other story.

Eventually, Eris took a deep breath regaining some control over her movements, even though her face was twice as red as before, now. “Who am I kidding? There is no way someone as stubborn as a mule like you, Cassandra O’Shera, would change her opinion just because I asked you (even if what I said is true).”

“Actually, I… I do not want you to change it, the reason being that…” Eris halted her declaration and leaned on the bench’s back getting face to face with Cassandra, kind of trapping the redhead between a rock and a hard, or better, soft place. And said softness closed in on Cassandra’s lips, giving her a kind of awkward and inexperienced kiss, actually little more than pressing one’s lips against someone else’s, that tasted of raspberry lip gloss.

“I believe I fell for you as well, Cassandra O’Shera.” Eris broke the quasi-kiss and sat back besides Cassandra, occasionally looking around to try and take the attention out of her beet red visage. The bold German waited a few moments for Cassandra’s reaction before getting back to her feet and beckoning the redhead to follow her toward to theater.

It was so interesting to watch Eris's reaction to her own admission. It seemed the simple honesty slammed into Eris and threw her off her feet more effective then a storm. Whatever she had been about to say seemed to be whipped away, as if Eris's mind stopped working. And it was almost like it rebooted as she stumbled along in her speech. She just seemed so vulnerable, and you added in the blush, and it was just too cute. Cassandra didn't think Eris would appreciate that comment, and so she kept it to herself, as Eris spoke.

How interesting it was that she seemed to, even for a moment, lose that refined manner. Cassandra thought she was perhaps one of the few to ever see Eris like this, and that was...touching. Yet it seemed as the minutes ticked by, that Eris regained her composure. And Cassandra watched her. Could this be true? Was Eris scared?

Her fumbled arguments were to Cassandra an annoyance. All could be disputed. Same sex relationships, while not the norm, were no longer frowned on. And Cassandra no more cared what people thought of her relationships then Eris did. They were weak arguments that were, in her own way, an attempt to protect Cassandra from public opinion. It was sweet. But it didn't make it any less annoying. To think, that Cassandras feelings could be swayed by public opinion?

Eris's speech seemed to regain its normal characteristics, but she stilled seemed flustered. It was just adorable. Cassandra sat through the whole thing, probably looking Mauritius as Eris tried to find her feet once more, and simply let her wind herself out to the simply fact that Cassandra wasn't going to change her mind. Which she seemed to be doing. Cassandra knew what Eris was about to do, knew that the other girl would feel like she had to prove to herself that she was in control, but it didn't make the nerves fluttering around in Cassandras stomach any less intense, as Eris kissed her. Soft, as inexperienced as herself, yet perhaps more sweet for all of that. And over much too soon for Cassandra.

Cassandra was perfectly content to sit in silence, as the moment seemed to demand it, but as Eris rose, she did to. "we all have a future, Eris. And we are all trying to catch a Ceryneain Hind. Sometimes we don't know when we have, and think we are merely chasing a goose" she said, her voice steady, clear "why should I care what people think, about dating you? There will be gossip, I'm sure, as people always feel the need to gossip, but...I'm not going to hide my feelings simply because some kid who has nothing better to do the spin yarns judges me, or you, when they probably don't have anything close to a relationship." she said, as they walked towards the theatre. Eris's words kept on spinning in Cassandras head, and she wanted to make a few things clear. "Once I figure out what I want, I don't let go. If you had continued to try to push me away, it would have been me kissing you" Cassandra bat absolutely no idea where she got this confidence from, but there it was.

"it's cute when you blush" of course some words still just tumbled out her mouth without any thought, but she couldn't help that.

Meanwhile a visor to the DGO dropped to the floor, clanking rather violently and if it wasn't for how well made it was it would have likely cracked but that didn't matter to Junko, she was ticked off and damn hungry! "Changing the time last minute? What do they think hiring a assassin means? Well they can bloody wait for me this time," She had to get her frustration out verbally before she stood up from her bed, wondering what to have to eat that would both fill her and yet require the least amount of effort. Peering down towards her side table a leaflet for a near by pizza place called to her. The food that satisfied both kings and peasants alike, and besides she really liked it and it was easy so she may as well. It wasn't long before the girl was dressed in her street clothes with the armband of the crest of the school was wrapped around her arm, student discount and all, and was going right into the pizza joint, her cold sharp eyes peering around for a moment before she entered the line to wait to pay for her coming meal.

Sora was the first to enter the pizzeria, bursting in good naturally with a ridiculously innocent and boisterous smile. He span on his heel with his hands on the back of his head in a relaxed position, facing the rest of the group following behind, "What's everyone's favorite pizza?"

"Pepperoni," Yoshino answered simply, sticking beside Retsu. "The good kind. Not the one you find at just every pizza place. The one where the pepperoni is spicy enough to accommodate the cheese and the sauce."

"Oh? So decisive and precise, how fitting of the class president." Sora laughed happily, although he seemed careless on almost all levels, his eyes never left the faces of those around him. Suggesting he was socially aware, to some extent.

"Oh? You were expecting something more festive? Just because I'm the Student President that doesn't mean I have alien tastes," Yoshino said back with a smile, putting on hand on her hips. "Pepperoni is a universal flavor, neutrally agreed upon by all on some level."

Sora gave a sly smile with a slight shrug, laughing her response off with a well-nature chuckle, "How very practical, but if it's just because it's accommodating... How should I put it?" His eyes give off a slight glint of disappointment, then with a sly smirk, "How boorish." His statement floats through the atmosphere for a moment before he suddenly grins, his expression mismatching his words as his eyes return to their absentminded appearance, "I happen to absolutely love pepperoni pizza! So I suppose in my case, it can be agreed upon to the utmost supreme level!"

Yoshino watched Sora display some...interesting expressions. Well he was the latest transfer into Purple Crown so she couldn't judge too much. But his words didn't seem to match his tone of voice; in the end, the President figured it was just his hunger speaking for him.

"I'm glad to hear that," Yoshino said with a smile, glancing at the others and wondering what they wanted to order. It wasn't like they could only get one topping after all.

The movie had been enjoyable, and as Cassandra followed the others to the pizza place, she struggled to find her balance in suddenly being thrown into a large group. It was almost like being thrown into the deep end, and being expected to swim. She supposed all she had to worry about was keeping her head above the water. And not make a fool of herself. "What about...mushrooms?" Cassandra couldn't really remember the last time she had had pizza, and merely suggested what she liked.

Eris watched as everyone behaved about this pizza that she, shamefully, had to admit that she never tried before. Back at home her parents were way too strict about what she could or not do, and when it wasn't that, it was the faculty of her boarding school who denied, under order from her parents, of anything that wasn't "proper food". Anyway, the smell was kind of enticing and if even Cassandra like such meal, there was no way it could not be good.

"Hmph!" Eris flipped her hair "E... Excuse me, I need to visit the restroom."

Secretly, Eris called one of the attendants and asked him what's the most classic pizza, suitable for a Fraulein such as she. A few minutes later she would be back "Well, there was a long line, I guess that I'll have to ask Cassandra to change my bandages later. Anyway, I'll have a Margherita."

Sora whipped around in a showy fashion, pointing to Cassandra with a face full of smiles, "Brilliant! Mushrooms as well! Ms..."

Cassandra blinked at the rather dramatic approach, "It's Cassandra" She said, "You don't have to call me Ms" She shifted slightly, hoping she didn't appear to be offending. She watched Eris run off, appearing to be going to the bathroom, but it seemd like there was something else going on.

Sora nods in the affirmative, "Cassandra it is! I'm Naruse Sora, the new transfer student. I'm sure that since you like mushrooms, we'll get along just fine!" What indescribably profound logic.

"Mushrooms are awesome!" Asahi said as he walked up behind Cassandra. He didn't remember when she joined the group, but the more the merrier. "Get some nice portebella mushrooms, fried garlic, and the good pepperoni on a pizza, and you got a five-star pizza right there." The big boy walked into the pizza parlor and looked around for seats. While there were plenty of tables, they had a lot of people. They'd likely have to sit at separate tables just to accommodate everyone.

Yuuno on her end, had gonna and secured a few close tables to them all, asking the manager if they could get them all together, which he replied as yes. "Great news, everyone! I arranged a joined table for us, isn't that cool? By the way, I'll have anchovies, with pickles, shitake, bacon, eggs and lots of garlic. Oh yeah, onion as well, can't forget the onion, can I?" The atrocious combination left Yuuno's lips as if it was nothing and she continued to smile while waiting for the pizza to arrive.

"Also, I'll have pineapple soda for drink, please." Yuuno complimented.

Retsu was quiet as everyone chatted around her, though on some occasions there was a certain... Annoyed glance at Sora. Like a puppy that didn't leave you alone, Sora was cute at first, but quickly worn out his welcome with Retsu. She did his best to ignore him as Yuuno went and got them seats and started ordering for her own pizza. She guessed that everyone was going to have their own personal pizza, so Retsu looked over their toppings and picked out her favorites.

"Let's see... I'll have pineapple, tofu, sriracha sauce, basil, red and green peppers, black olives, and fried eggplant. With wasabi on the side."

An obsentially vegan pizza, it's not that Retsu cared about diets or anything. She just liked the taste. "And a Cola pop."

"Are...you sure you can eat something like that?" Yoshino questioned to Retsu with a raised eye, thinking she'd choose an all-meat lover's pizza or something. She stared at her for a moment more before shrugging. Well it didn't sound too bad and honestly Yoshino wondered if Retsu would be willing to share a slice or two.

"Hmm... sorry, may I ask for something else?" Yuuno raised her hand shyly, though she was determined to not lose the self imposed challenge for the most unique pizza. "Hmm... can I have fugu as well?"

"I might not look it, but I've made something like this before. Not on a pizza, but it's not bad..." Retsu staid towards Yoshino. She looked over to Yuuno when she mentioned wanting to add fugu to her pizza, and looking over the menu Retsu was mildly surprised that they actually had the thing. Among other things.

"I'd like to add some nightshade, if I can have it as a spice?" Retsu said, making sure she was reading the words right. Said nightshade right in the herbs and spices section.

Asahi chuckled at Retsu's choice of food. He wasn't sure if his sister was strange or trying to outdo Yuuno's frankly outlandish pizza. Sound good though, at least until she wanted to add fugu. Asahi had fugu before... Not the most pleasant experience he's ever had. Perhaps he should order his own pizza. Looking over the menu toppings, he was tempted to try to make something almost as equally insane as the other two, but taking into consideration that he's going to have a full size pizza to share with others, he opted for a simple but high quality pepperoni and sausage pizza, with a variety of cheese and stuffed crusts. Also dipping sauces. Perhaps if he had the stomach for it he'd try the other two pizzas. At least Yuuno's had mushrooms.

"Wait!" Yuuno exclaimed, "I'll have one of these," she pointed at the special section of the menu, where a topping named oddly rested. It was an odd combination of shark and 'selected' misty mushrooms, that was said to come from another world. "I'll have one of these Kirisames, please. Along with the rest."

Yoshino sighed, sharing Asahi's thoughts. She didn't know who was more stubborn, her cousin or her assistant. Not really caring much for their petty rivalry, she told Retsu, "When you're done with your game I'll be in the back holding our table," before doing just that.

Retsu blushed, hiding her face behind the menu. "You think this is a game? ... I'm just ordering my food..." Retsu did feel a bit embarrassed ordering all this stuff she liked, and trying out some of the odder bits, but there was only one more she wanted to put on her pizza. Finding the same menu page that Yuuno chose, Retsu looked around and spotted one that caught her interest. Made of cleaned and washed rat tails, powder tiger bone, sea salt, cotton candy, black lotus seeds, raccoon haunch, and some sort of mysterious substance only known as "Alien meat", Retsu put the final topping on her order. "I'll have the Undefined Fantasic Everything. With the Tatara Surprise."

Yoshino had to do a double take, more surprised to see her assistant blushing than what she was actually ordering. Huh. The red-head actually looked kind of cute when she blushed. Before leaving though, the spun on her heels and delivered a swift chop to Yuuno's head. She shook her head before saying, "And you should know better. Honestly, trying to outdo a pizza. You just better be sure you're able to finish that." Yoshino finished her scolding of the younger girl before moving to get a table.

"Ow!" Yuuno cried, "Sorry, Yoshinon! I'll behave next time."

Meanwhile, Bel wasn't really sure what to get in all honestly. She never knew the President's cousin was such an exotic eater but then again she was related to Yoshino. There had to be some quirks somewhere.

"Hmm. Guess I'll have the ice-cream cookie pizza supreme! What are you getting Green Bean :3" she asked to Alex.

Alex had been blankly staring at Yuuno as she continued to list off more and more exotic ingredients. Fugu? There was seriously fugu in a pizza restaurant? Shark? Well a seafood pizza wasn't all that strange, there was an assortment of other toppings, but those were the ones that stood out.

Blinking out of the dream like state he fell into he turned to Bel "Hm? What? Pizza? Umm... I'm not sure. I'll just have bacon and egg I suppose" seeing what Bel ordered Alex couldn't help but feel his sweet tooth calling out, but suppressed it. He wasn't like Yuuno and even then he didn't think she'd add ice-cream to her pizza. At most, Alex would add bacon to maple syrup pancakes and even then he felt it was extravagent. Still he had to ask

"Uhhh, Bel? May I try a piece of yours when it come over?"

"Course you can Green Bean! Sharing is caring after all!" Bel said with enthusiasm, rubbing her cheek against Alex's arm. She knew full well of the looks she was getting from the other customers; if her attire didn't attract attention then her manners certainly would. She gave Alex a cat-like smirk before pulling him away in pursuit of Yoshino.

"Hold the line Retsu! We're counting on you to bring out the pizzas," she called out, once more half-dragging, half-leading Alex away from the scene.

Cassandra was ordering, something less exotic then what the others seemed to be doing. What was the point of ordering something loaded with toppings if it didn't taste right? She went with pepperoni, mushrooms, capsicum and of course, cheese.

She looked over when Eris returned, stating that she'd ask Cassandra to change her bandages, and smiled, before stepping back so someone else could order. It was interesting to see how everyone interacted. There seemed to be different dynamics here, but it seemed to work.

The pizza war of toppings seemed to be going on, and Cassandra wondered if they'd be here all night, trying to outdo each other. Or would those that ordered such outlandish pizza's be out of school sick tomorrow? It would be interesting to see. She slipped out of the pizza war area, but it seemed to die down.

Eris stepped back, observing the building strife and wondering how someone could be so childish. "I would like orange juice as a drink. These soft drinks everyone is having are bad to my digestive system." As she said so, Eris flipped her hair iddly, before throwing a glance around, scanning the place.

Wondering how one person was expected to carry out all the pizza's, Cassandra stayed back as well to help "I can help, I think if you could carry out that many Pizza's, you'd deserve a medal" She said to Retsu.

Eventually, Eris' eyes rested on Cassandra as she offered to help Retsu carry the pizzas back to their table. "Seriously? If these pizzas are such an encumbrance, why no one has said the obvious yet?" Eris had an indignant expression on her face, exasperated with the fact that she seemed to be the only woman with half a brain around here. Well... Cassandra was devilish as well, but it seems that her naivete still flourished once in a while.

"Hold it there, Cassandra O'shera and Miss... Retsu, right?" Eris said, throwing a dramatic flip of her hair and crossing her legs on the chair, assuming an imperious posture.

"You there, plump fowl," Eris threw a steely gaze towards Asahi, "as well as you, cowering mouse," as well as Alex, before continuing with an accusatory look evident in her eyes.

"You two are men, right? So how can you let the women do all the work around here? At least show some dignity and switch places with them."

Sora sat at the same table as Yoshino without much of an announcement or explanation, although he added nothing to the activities of ordering pizzas, he seemed to be in high spirits as he watches the others mess about, his amused gaze completely enamored in the atmosphere. The girl with blonde hair begins to reprimand Alex and Asahi for not aiding in carrying the pizza dishes, coupled with creative names. Sora wondered at whether the red head would actually need any help, but he decided to remain silent, casting a glance Yoshino's way, as if to read her take on the hearty fun.

"Ignore it. This type of stuff tends to happen a lot," Yoshino said to Sora with a sigh before trying to manage a smile. "In any case, I hope this experience doesn't dissuade you from Purple Crown Academy. It's really like any other school to be honest, including the shenanigans."

"Alright Ophelia, keep your shirt on."

Asahi said to Eris, then looked at Retsu. He smirked at her and stood up. "Sure. She should have a real man to help her." Asahi walked over to Retsu, taking one of the pizza boxes. "Why don't you take a seat and let me take care of you?" This earned a glare at Asahi. He just smiled, learning closer so only the two siblings could hear each other. "Don't you think you should go back to your girl? Sora has been eying her this entire time. I think he's going to take her away from you."

Retsu looked to Asahi. Her face didn't show any emotions, but her pure hate was quite clear. She dropped the pizzas into Asahi's hands and turned around. "Don't eat all of it now." She walked back, leaving Asahi smirking at her while holding onto the pizzas. "Yo Mouse Bean! Help me get the other pizzas. For some reason these two are just loaded with... Stuff..." Asahi noted what appeared to be shark fins on one pizza, and what smelled like grounded tiger bones on another. "Dah fuck..."

Sora shook his head as if trying to clear misunderstanding, "No, no, I enjoy this sort of thing, it is quite lively. I didn't get to do much of this growing up, so it's definitely enjoyable." He smiles coolly, "I'm quite excited to be part of the academy, there are many things to experience and things to do, even the enigmatic figurehead of the renowned Moon Rider is present. It's quite the blessing, being gifted with such great company." He breaks eye-contact as he talks, setting his chin on his crossed forearms, instead watching Retsu return to the table with a mirthful expression.

"Yes, Moon Rider can be quite a handful to deal with," Yoshino chuckled, nodding her head at Retsu. "Still, she likes to not get involved with the majority of things around here. That's why she usually relies on me to keep things managed. Don't tell me you joined just for a chance to meet my client Naruse-san?" she joked lightly.

Following Yoshino's joking question, Sora waved one of his hands to vie for innocence, shaking his head simultaneously, "You give me no faith Ms. Yoshino, I joined in because everyone looked like they were having such fun." He tilts his head with a slight pause, "A client, though. You're being paid?" He mimics playfully, matching Yoshino's octave in a monotone voice, "'meet my client Naruse-me?' Just like a lawyer! Yoshino-sama must really be going places!" He grins amiably, obviously delighting in his own jokes.

"Yes, I suppose that's as good a reason as any other," Yoshino commented, glancing at the others for a moment. Her gaze cut back to Sora and she smiled, raising an eye at his joke. He was certainly entertaining, with a strange sense of humor. Still, it was much appreciated for the stresses the Student President went through on a daily basis.

"Going places? Perhaps. I don't know if you're aware, but I don't particularly fancy video games so my career in Deep Ground isn't exactly the best. But yes, I suppose a lawyer is the best way to compare to my job," she said with a chuckle.

"Deep Ground?" His features make a mock sneer, "Who needs Deep Ground when you've got the brains and looks, Yoshino-sama? The system'll be destroyed before it matter anyway." He takes on his usual and gentle countenance although he continues to say odd things.

Cassandra blinked as Eris ordered the guys to take the pizza. She hadn't thought it was a big deal, but it seemed that it was. As Asahi sauntered over, at once saying something about a real man. "Well, when a real man comes along, he can help. We can just settle for you for now" the words were out of her mouth before she even processed them. Heat flushed over her cheeks, but she made no attempt to take the words back, instead she stepped back from the counter where she had been going to grab the pizza boxes there, moving back to the table where they were sitting, feeling like she had just made a fool of herself.

"Ow! That hurts Cassandra. Truly, your words bite more then a dragon's maw." Asahi said jokingly as he brought back the first round of pizzas, Yuuno's strange pizza with... Everything. He gulped. Did he really want to try this? At least he brought his regular pizza with him, so he had an option not to roll a fortitude save. Placing the pizza down and passing around the plates Asahi took his seat, waiting for Alex to bring the other pizzas.

Retsu mean while quietly sipped her soda, listening to Sora and Yoshino's conversation. "He's going to take her away from you." Retsu tighten her grip on her soda before Asahi arrived with the pizza. Retsu took a few slices of her own, but before she ate she looked around to the others. "Anyone want some pizza? How about you, Naruse-san?" As Retsu said that, she gave Sora a plate of her own... Questionably healthy... Pizza.

Yoshino turned to Retsu, about to ask for a slice. But then she remembered what Retsu had put on it and immediately she felt her stomach do a flip or two. The vegetarian overload she was fine with, but the thought of tiger bones and the other unmentionables almost made the Student President gag. Trying to control herself, she adjusted her glasses before reaching for her own pepperoni.

"I'm quite fine Retsu, but thank you. If Naruse-san wants some, that's fine," Yoshino said, chewing on her pepperoni and trying not to get too close to Retsu's pizza. At least Yuuno's pizza contained stuff they sold at the supermarkets.

Sora's features lit up when he was offered pizza, "How generous! Thank-you...um..." He rubs the back of his neck slightly embarrassedly, "It seems you have me at a disadvantage, Red hair-san."

When he heard that he was being called out by Eris, Alex resembled a startled owl, unsure how to react. Asahi didn't have the problem Alex and leap up to perform his apparent duty.

"I suppose I probably should do some-" then Alex was called out again, this time Asahi. Feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place, Alex disentangled himself from Bel and gave an apologetic smile "Sorry about that... yeah I heard what they were ordering. One's for the scary one with red hair and the other is for Miss Yuuno, I think..." not wanting to commit to the answer, Alex added the vagueness to his answer.

Picking up a few of the remaining pizza's Alex cautiously made his way back to the tables in a couple of trips, not wanting to risk dropping an entire stack. "Um, I don't know which pizza belongs to who so... come get it?" giving Bel hers and taking his own pizza, Alex sat down and tried to begin.

"It's Retsu. Eat up, there's more than enough for everyone." Despite the brewing jelousy in her, Retsu did not intend to give Sora her pizza as an attempt on his life (Intentionally anyways). While admittedly quite overloaded with toppings, Retsu did not hesitate to chow down on her pizza, genuinely enjoying it. "I think they forget the sriracha sauce..."

"Ah, then thank you, Retsu-san!" Without hesitation, Sora accepted a slice and began eating the heavily loaded pizza with vigor. Although his complexion began to look somewhat unhealthy, his features did not change from his usual happy-go-lucky neutral expression. "I think sriracha would've added greatly to the flavor, a shame if they really did forget." Sora commented sagely.

It wasn't long before the myriad of school students were busily eating away at their pizzas. The makers behind the kitchen were more than a little amazed by the wide variety of pies they had been tasked to create. It had been at least two years since someone had last requested tiger bones on their pizza; likewise, they had gotten more than their share of ice cream pizza orders.

Yoshino watched the scene in silence, a tiny bit squeamish as both Retsu and Sora ate their pizzas beside. Still, she just directed her gaze somewhere else, missing most of Retsu's veiled threats to the boy. Now the real question remained of who was going to pay for all this.

Some time passed as the group ate their pizza in relative peace. Those who dared test their mettle against Yuuno and Retsu's pizzas would taste death and see the gates of purgatory, but aside from some upset stomachs and many trips to the bathroom, no one was suffering from adverse food poisoning. Asahi himself took one slice from Yuuno's pizza, finding it to be fairly enjoyable once he got past it's eccentricities. Though he dared not try another, knowing his luck could run out.

And when the doors to the pizza parlor opened, his luck indeed did run out.

Asahi only glanced at the door when it opened, but in that glace his happy-go-lucky demeanor immediately changed to a more ruthless and angry one. "Dammit, not now..." Asahi whispered to himself as he stood up. A group of boys, eight in total, walked in and headed towards Asahi's table. They dressed in sporty tracksuits, but worn torn up and aged boots; an obvious sign that they've been used a lot. They wore an assortment of hats and hair styles, obviously none of them natural. Facial piercings, ridiculousness make up, and words tattooed on their skin (Where it was exposed anyways). Delinquents, but worse of all, delinquents that knew Asahi.

Just as the big boy stood up a large one, who was at least twice Asahi's sized, raised his hand in order to get Asahi's attention. "You're not going anywhere, you fat sonavabitch. And what's this? A gathering of your bitches and whores? "Asahi only sneered at them, shooting back his own retort. "Chinpira. This is getting pretty old. But I guess you just miss me, eh?" The big man spread his arms, motioning to the boys next to him before walking closer to the table. "This time I got friends of my own. Not so tough without your boys backing you up, aren't you? Now why don't we take this outside and finish this?"

Asahi responded the only way he knew how; but picking up one of the hot, metal pizza platters and hurling it at the big man's face, cutting his face as it flew past him. Grabbing one of the glass cups with a handle, Asahi wasted no time with words as he quickly leap from his position and decked the bigger man with the glass cap, shattering it against his face. "Alright fuckers, looks like I'm going to have to serve your asses on a platter." Asahi then brandished his broken glass cup menacingly, the crude shank causing the other boys to back up, but also reach for things in their back pockets.

Jun did not waste any time in enjoying her pizza once she had made it to a seat to relax in, hanging it over her mouth and like a bear trap she devoured a good half of the slice in one go! Bringing her knee up so she could rest her arm onto it she gave the area a good look over, and to her surprise she saw more than a few students from her school all sitting together... Wait there were boys at her school?! Maybe it was because she had not been paying attention when she walked in there this morning but she could swear she didn't see a single guy, was the ratio of guys to girls really so high that they could be lost like that?

Giving off a small chuckle she couldn't help but think how lucky the guys must think themselves, heck she would have been grateful for a chance like that if she was a guy. Taking another bite of her pizza she noticed the girl from before was sitting there, the blonde doll like girl that seemed a little out of place within the common pizza joint. Finishing off one slice she took out her phone to start checking her messages for the client that she was meant to meet today, however as she was about to send a confirmation her attention was suddenly drawn up from the phone by the sound of shattering glass much like everyone else in the joint. Blinking a few times she was pretty damn shocked to see that one of the 'prim and proper' guys had taken a dislike to someones face and so had introduced it to a pitcher...

"Boys..."

Reaching back she picked up her jacket and stood up before slipping it over her shoulders, her eyes still locked on the scene as she made her way around towards the exit. She knew that they would pay her no mind, no guy that was stupid enough to try anything in a public place was perceptive enough to notice when someone had other plans other than simply leaving. Like all delinquent boys the youngest was in the back, a good plan to protect their new members or little brothers but if someone got behind them... "Ora, ora... You boys really need to behave." She said as she reached out, grabbing onto the boys hand that had reached back for something, easliy twisting and even lifting him with a surprising amount of strength. While his feet dangled off the floor Jun's eyes stared down towards the boys like a beast about to rip into its pray, and in all respects she was. She knew these kinds of people from those that it would be clever to take on a female gang, they always happened to be in hospital the next day.

"Amateurs. Attacking in a public place like this. The cops are likely coming you know, not to mention that girl there"

She gestured towards the only one that she knew which was Eris, a evil smirk crossing her face as she came up with this on the fly, though it had been so long since she had done something like this in the real world... It made her want to fight for real! However she had to hold herself back... For now at least...

"She's a princess, and a well protected one at that. See that bandage on her hand? That is what the last guy that accidentally attacked her. He is no longer around~ So if you are smart; I suggest you leave..."

She ignored any cry of pain that the boy she was holding would give off, after all he was her insurance that they wouldn't attack right away... Though she was not just some brute that was doing this for a fight as she knew full well that the boy from her school had attacked first, but through intimidation she hoped to get these guys to leave and avoid them from growing a brain cell and simply calling the cops on the school boy...

Sora was content to a dangerous extent. Such a casual gathering was something he'd never experienced prior; however, he couldn't be more comfortable in the current atmosphere. That was, until a cutesy little group of thugs walked in to the pizza parlor. Sora's eyes narrowed, dilating to a tight ring of light red around is shrunken pupils, but it was only for half a moment. His features never changed from his absent minded countenance and he continued to smile, talking with Retsu and Yoshino idly, as if he was oblivious to the quickly changing atmosphere.
"I wonder, Retsu-san, why tiger bones? Isn't that a medication for joint pain? I can give you a massage if you like!" Shamelessly, Sora reached over and grabbed a slice of Yoshino's pepperoni pizza, his complexion returning to its initial color. As he took his first bite, the sound of a platter hitting a wall then the floor as well as the shattering of a glass cup rang out behind Sora. He leaned back in his chair leisurely, tilting his head to observe the confrontation rotated at a 225 degree angle.

Helplessly, Sora furrowed his brows as he saw the knives being drawn and the destroyed cup in Asahi's hand, with a sigh, he slowly leaned his chair back onto all four legs with a sigh, "Why couldn't this just be settled with fists or something?" With a deft swipe of his hand, he drew his phone from his pocket, being surprisingly expensive for Sora's current financial situation, it seemed as if he had the police on speed dial.
"Hello? Yes, I'd like to report a knife fight in Pizza Shack."
There's a long pause as the action takes over the parlor.
"Yes. No, subduing this sort of thing isn't my job anymore, remember?" He asks frivolously, "It's yours now, right?"
An audible sigh can be heard through the phone from the handler by Yoshino and Retsu, although what the handler is saying is impossible to decipher from such a distance.
"Because I don't wanna. Thanks!" Sora answers another pause in rapid fire, it's almost as if he was setting the pace of the emergency call and dragging the handler along. He hung up carelessly and pocketed his phone, looking towards the other two with his bright features.
"It's probably safest if both of you stay here, but I'm sure both Retsu-san and Yoshino-sama could proficiently beat them up with how talented the two of you are." Frivolous. Beyond frivolous.

---

Things were certainly getting out of hand with this bunch and Yoshino tried to keep herself from sighing in the middle of all this. She should have known that Asahi would have some goons after him and in hindsight, a public place to hang out was perhaps not the smartest idea. But what was done was done and soon enough a full on brawl was underway.

Others soon got involved, Yoshino recognizing Junko from their school actively entering the fray and pinning a boy down. Then Sora got up, announcing that he too was to join the battle at hand and this time Yoshino really did sigh. Why didn’t anyone ever call the police in these types of situations? She would have too but something compelled her not to.

It was probably for the fact that one of the boys ganging up on Asahi had stopped fighting, instead sending a stare right at her. Blinking in surprise, Yoshino kept her calm as the boy lumbered his way over to her, his motions a little jerky. Bel tensed nearby, not liking where this going but before she could move the boy was already leaning towards Yoshino’s face.

“Can I help you?” she asked with a raised eye. Something was wrong with this boy, though she couldn’t place what it was. What other reason would he have to abandon his group and head straight towards her? The boy seemed to stare right through her, as if in a haze, before lunging out and grabbing her by the collar of her dress.

It all happened in a blur, the boy twisting around and slamming Yoshino against the nearest wall. The Student President’s mind reeled for a moment or so before she glared icily up at the boy. From this proximity she could see his eyes were glassy and faded…what was going on?

---

Between Asahi's furious attack and Junko's threatening introduction, some of the boys were scared. But as it turns out, the biggun that Asahi floored wasn't out yet and shouted to his gang. "It's just Asahi and some girls! beat the shit out of him and then you can leave!" This of course told Asahi to stomp on the big guy's face, which put him out cold this time. However it also rallied the boys to attack, three going after Asahi while another three went after Jun. Sure enough they were reaching for weapons, though fortunately only two actually had knives, the other taking out telescoping batons. Armed or not, Asahi wasn't afraid of these guys, but he needed to lead them away from the others. So he moved away from his table, leading three boys away so he can fight them on his own. "Let's go! Plenty of my fat ass to go around! Come get some!"

Of the three who attacked Junko, two had clubs and one of the bigger guys had a butterfly knife, spinning it around threateningly. "Let him go or we'll fuck you up! I don't give a shit if you're some sort of monster girl!" Of course regardless if she did let the boy go or not, the two with clubs attacked. One entered with a sliding kick, hoping to knock Junko off her feet, while the other simply grabbed his baton with both hands and tried to swing around his fellow gangster and hit Jun across the face. The other crept closer, trying to wait for an opening so he could get a stab at Jun.

All the while back at the table Retsu was eating her pizza in relative peace. She didn't particularly care about Asahi's enemies, since they weren't Retsu's enemies, though she made it a note to berate him for even having enemies. Retsu wouldn't be so foolish as to let people have grudges: Those people either learn to get along with Retsu, or are no longer around to be her problem. Sora mentioned something about how she and Yoshino could handle themselves in a fight, but Retsu didn't comment. She was four slices into her pizza when one of the thugs that Asahi was fighting came over to their table. He grabbed Yoshino by her collar, and that's when Retsu had to act.

Before she stood up, Retsu put on a pair of gloves from her purse, the only "Weapons" she brought with her. A sleek pair of long black gloves, gauntlets really, with ridges going up the fingers and over the knuckles. Anyone who got punched by one of these were going to suffer a nasty cut. And it didn't help that as Retsu stood up, she smeared the knuckles with spices, salt, and hot sauce. "Yoshino, close your eyes." With one hand Retsu reached out and grabbed the boy's hand, using her death grip to break his wrist. Then she slugged the boy right into the ear, dragging her knuckles across his face towards his eyes with her spicy fist. Blood and sauce mingled together in the wounds, and some of it splashed onto Yoshino's face.

Cassandra wasn't too sure what had happened. One minute, things were chummy, pizza was being shared, and things just seemed...cheerful. She had just been thinking to herself that she was glad she wouldn't dare eat the more exotic pizza's, as they didn't look particularly appetizing, and wondering how she had gotten here, to eating pizza after a movie with a group of people. The next moment chaos seemed to reign, and she was left watching as the fight broke out, a piece of cheese forgotten hanging off the slice of pizza she had been eating, falling over her hand.

She had nothing on her that could be used for defense or offense.

She had no doubt that Eris could handle herself, lie Junko said, but she thought pointing out the injury was just asking for trouble. Not wanting Eris to further injure the hand, her first reaction was to help in someway, but she didn't know how. No one else seemed to be helping, that is, retsu only seemed to help when her pizza eating was interrupted. note to self, don't get on Retsu's bad side she thought as the girl broke the guy's wrist. Casandra made a move, checking to make sure Yoshino was alright. She seemed to be, if a bit dazed, and Cassandra realised she had put herself in a position of getting into harms way.

Hesitating, she rose, quickly studying the scene, she danced back, out the way slightly, glancing about for anything she could use to perhaps put a stop to this. The closest she could come to was using empty pizza plates like Frisbee's, flinging one of them at the thugs still fighting against her friends. the resounding sound had her wincing. And then, quite foolishly, she had to wonder if she would be charged with assault but that thought didn't last in her head, "leave my friends alone!" She shouted fury in her voice.

At least that's what Eris first thought when the previous enjoyably (despite the antics of certain persons) night out with Cassandra turned into a bloody hell, all because that fat bastard seemed to have few 'acquaintances' who wanted a piece of his hide.

If just that wasn't distasteful enough, Eris was nearly forced to roll her eyes and sigh groan, when some the other students joined the fray against the thugs. "Really, they know no restraint? Getting in fight inside a family oriented establishment? That's just-" Eris thought as she got back to her feet and was about to leave them to their fate, utterly displeased at how her mood had been ruined, however...



Cassandra's voice shouted, just as Eris was about to take her, now girlfriend's, hand and pull Cassandra away from the commotion... hoping that something just like that wouldn't happen.

"By God, Cassandra O'Shera, what do you think you're doing?" Eris turned on her heel, her mouth agape with surprise, "What will you do if you hit someone that has nothing to do with this, a child even?" Eris used her wounded hand to point at the crowded place, where many people didn't had much to do than try to take shelter from the fight.

That was when Eris heard Yoshino be slammed against the wall, and almost thought of helping the bespectacled fool, but that Retsu woman (who Eris distrusted and disliked from their first meeting) did that in her stead. Granted that it was a considerably more brutal retaliation than the aggressor deserved, that was evident form all the blood that was drawn.

"Drop that and come with me, Cassandra, I'm not in a position where I can take a fight... not with this hand, and the last thing I want to see is you hurt. If that were to happen, I..." Eris trailed off, unable to even form the thoughts required to let out her speech. Hell, when was it that she became so weak? Eris thought, before shaking her head, to clear her thoughts and saying in a low voice "Just don't force my hand, ok? I... don't want to lose the only good thing that ever happened to me because my own stupidity."



Yuuno was about half way done with her pizza... OF DOOM!, when the fight broke out, perhaps what laid inside this girl's stomach was a mystery even greater than what lurked behind DGO, after all. Anyway, as soon as the squabble began, the poor small city girl was left dumbfounded.

"Go- Goroshi-kun, wha- why?" It was clear that the only thing rivaling the surprise in her gaze was the shock Yuuno felt when she saw Asahi brandishing the improvised shiv he made from a broken cup. Yuuno covered her mouth and stumbled backwards, trying get away from them, her inherent fears surfacing all of sudden when her eyes caught the shine of the blade of a real knife and the blood being shed by those involved in the brawl.

That was when Yoshno was flung against the wall by one of the attackers, which caused Yuuno (even amidst her panic attack) to flip and run to side of her cousin, taking Yoshino by shoulders before crying "Yoshinon, Yo- Yoshinon, please say something, are you ok? Wait just a little, I'l- I'll call the ambulance they will be here in no time."

Yuuno's widened, but her pupils shrunk to the size of peas, when some droplets of blood fell on her blouse and face, no doubt a consequence of the brutal beating that Retsu gave to the guy who'd hit Yoshino. Even so, with shaky hands, Yuuno scuttled her phone out of her purse and went straight to the speed dial, trying to call the ambulance, at least if no one stopped her.

---

Nao dropped her game controller and decied to kick back in her gaming chair, she reclined and activated her Deepground accounted, once she was logged into her character she smiled to herself and felt happy." God I love this game, but I hate it when I get kicked out of it." Being greeted back into the game filled Nao with joy, and determination, she could feel her hands gripping the arms of her gaming chair and let out a deep breath.


Owari looked at her hands for a moment, she was in a small city, Owari checked her weapons in her inventory, most of it was under leveled stuff that she didn't have time to sell off and other gear not for her class, Owari quickly gotten rid of the useless gear keeping her usual heavy machine gun, it was what she favored most.

Then the futuristic warrior elf journeyed off from the city, she had a plan that seemed, more like it was too simple, find The Corpse Collector, kill them and then get the reward for doing it, or capture them alive, but she figured, dead would be simpler, she knew her level was kinda low, but she had more tenacity than exp at the moment and wasn't gonna let herself go down easy.

The Elf began heading off to the faded city, with nothing really standing in her way, she wasn't planning on stopping for anything, no side quest that any Npcs would want her to do, no weak enemies that would try to stand in her way, well she'd still kill them just for the xp so she could probably catch or cheese another level up, so she could be a little stronger for that Corpse collector chick really.

"Stupid fucking eight-armed freak with his stupid fucking weapons and his stupid fucking face...goddamnit it all!"

Having failed to assasinate Arms Slave and that other Player with him, the Corpse Collector was scaveging the streets of Faded City looking for something to pass the time. She was quite aware of the fact that the Black King was still in power and that pissed her off to no end. So she figured maybe starting a fight or two in the streets would calm her down.

Of course, she had her name concealed abover her Player icon, hiding her real name from other's. Because she may have been a temprental Hacker with mood swings, but she wasn't stupid or anything. Grumbling to herself, she looked up from her walking to see some elf person in front of her, wondering if she had any good items to steal.

While she was going about her search for the Corpse Collecter, Owari started to notice, she didn't know much about Corpse Collecter, and didn't know what they looked like, she could only go by the names over people's avatars.

Right while Owari was thinking that this would be a really long search, she noticed some blonde short avatar with a casual weird name was staring at her. " What you looking at Short stack ?" Owari asked, she sounding a bit irritated but also curious to why the blonde person was staring her way, part of her had a creeping feeing that something was wrong here.

"Just wondering what kind of loot you're carrying Fuck Face," Corpse Collector said back with a snarl, crossing her arms and huffing. In reality she was eyeing up the other girl, checking for weapons and bringing up status menus, hacking to see what her skills were. A Level 4? This girl probably didn't have anything worthwhile on her...but at least it was a face to punch on.

"Hey, how's about you calmly give me all your shit or I kick your teeth in? Or, maybe you want me to beat your ass first then rob you blind?" Corpse Collector asked, hand going for one of her revolvers.

In Owari's mind she yelled," Fuck !" She glared down to the small player showing no fear, and no emotion, with her giant machine gun in hand she told the player." A couple words. From my cold dead hands bitch." She noticed that the player was reaching for their weapons, both revolvers, Owari smiled glad that she would be able to just tank her attacks and deal a bunch of damage to this chick.

Owari aimed her machine gun at the blonde chick, she was aiming from the hip, but before she fired the gun, she threw up one of her support drones to give her back up, she than began unloading everything into the player's avatar.

"Man, you really are stupid. Guess I should give you a reward or something," Corpse Collector replied calmly as the bullets simply went right through. Oh the joys of being a Hacker. Sighing, she twirled her gun and pulled the trigger, one shot being enough to down Owari near-permanantly. She couldn't use the nifty abilities of her Death Penalty lest she reveal her identity.

So instead she stuck to the normal functions, twirling her gun and walking toward Owari. Just for extra measure, she shot down the drones too with little effort, looking down at the other girl. She aimed her revolver right at her...but she didn't shoot.

"Goddamnit, I need to stop doing that. It's no fun if they can't fight back," she muttered, more to herself than Owari, before putting her gun away. "Forget about it Fuck Face. I'm bored of you anyway."

" Crap." Owari muttered as she laid on the ground, she couldn't exactly do anything as she watched the avatar blow away her drone." Usless ass fucking drone." Owari cursed while she looked up to the short avatar with a clear sign she was more than pissed." No fair, you..You don't have any hit box, you...You fucking hacker !" Owari yelled at the short avatar.

"Yeah? So what if I am?"

Corpse Collector kneeled down and grabbed Owari by the collar of her shirt. She stared down at her with steely eyes, glaring at her angrily, before shoving her down. Another sigh escaped and she got up, crossing her arms and glaring at Owari.

"You're definitely no Moon Rider. She would at least put up a better challenge," she said, almost sulking.

She grunted as she was thrown down to the floor, she felt angry that this girl was toying with her." Moon Rider ? " Owari repeated.

" So what if I didn't put up a challange, even if you kill me this time, I'll just be back to attack again, after that time again, you can keep killing me, but I'll always be back to try and ambush you and soon I'll wear you down and defeat you, maybe not tomorrow or the day after it, but one day you'll slip up and I'll take you down."

Owari tried her best to say a cool line from a movie she watched before hoping it was cool enough to go out on. Part of her got the idea that the chick that was about to end her was probably the Corpse Collector if not some random player hacker without a hitbox, Owari stared the short girl in the eye.

"Wow you're stupid. You ever practice those lines in your head and actually hear yourself saying them outloud? Still, I haven't killed you yet so either I'm really fucking exhausted or you have something worthwhile for me that I don't know about yet."

The Corpse Collector sighed for perhaps the hundredth time in this conversation alone. Something finally clicked in that head of hers and she glanced down once more at Owari. An idea formed and she reached out a hand to pull Owari up.

"Hey Fuck Face, you wanna help me kill the Black King?"
Out of nowhere Owari was suddenly gripped up from the ground, she first dusted herself off, but then quickly pulled her weaopon out, but before she tried to attack the player she hesitated and stopped herself.

Even more out of left field the player then just asked if Owari wanted to help her take down the black King, Owari just then gave the girl a look like." Really." Owari crossed her arms.

" I'm only level four. I can't really take out any real other players or people, unless they are like level two or three." Owari explained to them." But if it means getting a bunch of xp and getting cooler gear, then I'm down for it."

Knowing that the girl was a hacker that was invincible, it was probably the smarter option to join her in her efforts instead of going against her and trying to take her down like most others might've tried before losing badly and losing all their gear.

"Heh, I can do more than that. What if I told you I could make you Level 9?"

Knowing that that would catch Owari's interest further, the Hacker mentally chuckled. Alright, so maybe this day wasn't so pointless after all. She would finally meet her quota. All she really needed was a helping hand.

Cassandra had not thought she would hurt someone else, even by accident. That made her feel slightly sick as she thought on that, but thankfully that hadn't happened. But...there was the slight amusement at seeing zeros completely surprised. She glanced around at the commotion, and then back at Eris, as she trailed off. It was even more strange to see Eris quite so vulnerable, and just a little bit annoyed with herself.

Cassandra put what she held down, and said "Okay. Let's go then" she said it easily, and held out her hand to Eris. It was easy to do, and a simple matter to put Eris's mind at ease. She didn't want to be responsible for hurting Eris.

It seemed the scene would be mostly handled anyway, and Cassandra would probably just be a hinderance, still she wanted to make sure Eris didn't get hurt, and getting away seemed like a good way of ensuring that anyway, as even Eris herself said she couldn't fight.

"I'll go with you anywhere, Eris. Lead the way" she smiled brightly, "they seem to have everything handled here, anyway" and really, did she want to get in trouble like this?

Junko's only acknowledgement of the scene before her had a hint of annoyance to it since it seemed her suspicions of the boys being amateurs was correct, and yet she was even more annoyed by the others getting caught up in it all as well. Her gaze turned to one of disinterest as they tried to gang up and attack her, and yet with her new and improved 'shield' she was going to finish this up as fast as possible. Shifting to her side the women showed off how brutally efficient she was as she avoided the slid kick with each, her leg coming up and smashing into the boys face as he laid on the ground. Years of fighting gangs with much more experience than these boys made this a simple matter...

Using the boy as a sort of riot shield she blocked the incoming club, the blow slamming into the shields head and knocking him outcold "Tch. No loyalty." She commented before reaching back and taking the baton from the one she was holding, using it to deflect a second blow before retaliating the attack and smashing it across the guys head. Though she did not know if the guy was out for good, her attention was more focused on the man with a knife.

"I don't have time for this."

She knew that the police had been called, heck even if someone hadn't by this point from what she could see two of the girls were leaving and another was bloody and using her mobile. Having a record like she did she was not willing to try and talk down the cops, even if there were witnesses. Using her boot on the guy below her she charged towards the man with the knife, using his shield mercilessly to protect her from the weapon as she tried to claim it. Letting go of her protection she tried to disarm the guy and deliver a swift back hand to his jaw to render him useless, but that is when she felt it... Cold? Ah, the knife had gotten her, he could tell by the splatter of blood that went across the ground that it had cut her arm but it didn't slow her down as she finished up her combo.

The adrenaline that pumped through Junko's body prevented her from feeling the gash up the side of her arm, and knowing it would be even worse now if she stayed she started to make her way to the exit. Everyone seemed to be able to handle such inexperienced guys, and with her current high she really wished she could have gotten a nice stake and a lay from a cute girl and the manly crescendo would be complete. Bringing up a hand she grasped the cut on her arm to stop herself from bleeding too much as she started to head back home. If any good thing came out of her leaving she hoped that she would draw some of them away but as she saw they could handle themselves...

"Ora... Dammit that was stupid. No one would have thanked me, no point..."

---

Yoshino did what she was told, a splash of something warm spraying along her cheek. She breathed calmly and evenly, having a good guess as to what she had just been drenched in. Only when she was confident in her own heartbeat did she open her eyes, seeing her assailant bloodied and knocked out, slumped in Retsu’s grip.

Chaos seemed to surround her, a full out brawl in the pizza parlor. If the students didn’t call the police then the staff would, of that Yoshino was sure of. She blinked wearily, catching a quick sight of Maribel dragging Alex out of the restaurant; she couldn’t blame the Vice President. Nobody wanted to be caught here when the cops showed up.

“Yuuno….Yuuno, stop. I’m fine,” Yoshino said when she realized her paranoid cousin was beside her. She wiped the streak of blood away from her cheek and frowned, giving Yuuno a direct look before saying, “Please, I’m alright. The cops are on their way and there’s no need to be worried about me. Just go. I’ll follow you shortly.”

Standing on wobbly legs, she gave Retsu a nod before weaving her way through the fighting. After bearing witness to Retsu’s strength, nobody dared to lay a finger on the Student President. That was fine by Yoshino because she headed straight to the woman’s bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind her as well.

The others were either fleeing the scene or finishing up. Whatever the case, nobody wanted to be present when the police showed up for questioning. That meant she had to do this fast…if only she could stop the pounding that wracked her chest. Clenching the sink, Yoshino stared at the mirror, noting how wild her eyes really were.

She was amazed how she had concealed the shaking of her own body; she supposed that came with public speaking skills given her occupation in Purple Crown. But now she could restrain herself no more, a hand clenched on her chest as she shuddered uncontrollably, her blood pressure rising as panic soon set into her mind.

No, it wasn’t the splash of blood that had so thoroughly spooked her; rather, it was the look in the boy’s eyes. Blank and emotionless. Kill her. That boy was really going to kill her had Retsu done nothing. He stared right at her…and she couldn’t look away, as much as she tried…oh god he kept looking….

On the edge of breathing in sharp, ragged gasps, Yoshino jabbed her hand into her dress pocket and fumbled for her glasses. They were on in no time, the Student President staring at her own unleveled expression and slowly, slowly, she began to calm down. She began to breathe again. She turned the water on, splashing it on her face, not caring if the glasses got wet. The glasses…she needed them…she needed them….

Outside the pizza shop, Maribel held Alex close and pinned both of their bodies on the wall. A hand was covering his mouth to conceal his initial shock. She had already briefly explained her concern for Yoshino and so wouldn’t leave without checking up on her. But she couldn’t well do that with him flailing around now could she? In any case, she waited in patience, careful to avoid the illumination of siren lights.

---

Eventually, Asahi lead the other boys out of the pizzeria. Any survivors shortly followed after, either to give chase or just scram before the cops came. Retsu sighed at the disaster of a outing, but it at least fulfilled one objective: making Yuuno disinterested in Asahi. She only wished it could have been done in more... Controlled environments. Taking off her gloves and putting them into a nearby trash can, Retsu was going to simply leave and wait for the others when she noticed Yoshino running off into the bathrooms. She supposed the girl needed some time to wash up, but was this really the time for it? Still... Perhaps Yoshino didn't quite have the same stomach as Retsu when it came to violence. She was no stranger at seeing young people get brutally beaten to the point of death. It was something her father wanted her to get used to, in their line of business. Perhaps it was a way to keep Retsu in line.

Either way Retsu chose to head into the bathrooms as well, just to check up on Yoshino. When she entered she saw Yoshino splash her face with water. For some reason she did so even with her glasses on, which Retsu found as odd. Perhaps Yoshino was a bit shaken up from the bout of violence? "Tsugumi-san? Are you alright?" Retsu was aware that she had referred to Yoshino by her first name a while ago. A slip of the tongue, done during the heat of the moment. Retsu walked over and offered Yoshino a handkerchief to wipe her face with, as the bathroom here only had air dryers.

"Tsugumi-san... I'm sorry for what Asahi had done. I should have known he would have attracted trouble. I should have been prepared for that, but instead I..." Retsu spoke quickly, uncertain of what she was actually trying to say. Honestly she didn't really care nor feel guilt over Asahi's actions, only annoyance. Perhaps she was worried that Asahi's actions would reflect badly on her (All the more reason why she wants to keep their relation to one another a secret). Sighing and shaking her head, Retsu figured she had nothing more to say. Yoshino was obviously shaken up and could use some help. Retsu of course was here to help, despite how aloof and manipulative she can come across as.

Meanwhile Asahi had managed to put quite a bit of distance between the pizzeria, taking what was left of the thugs with him. Without their numbers and without having to hold back, Asahi brutalized the remaining few fighters, though not without a few scars to show for it. He got stabbed in the gut and his glasses were smashed, his face now adorned with a bloody nose and black eye. But he was the last one standing. Compressing the fairly shallow stab wound on his belly, Asahi called up a few friends to come pick him up. At the same time, he sent a message to Yuuno hoping to somehow salvage the situation.

To: Yuuno Kurogami
From: Asahi Goroshi
Subject: I'm sorry about that

I know I have a lot of explaining to do Yuuno-san, so please let me explain the best I can. Those guys were troublemakers who I've been trying to keep away from some friends of mines, so they have a grudge against me. I had hoped that they wouldn't be so stupid as to fight me while I was with you guys, but I guess that's my fault for being naive. I know you might have seen a more... Darker side to me, but I swear to you that I don't always go around fighting like that. I was only trying to protect the people I care about.

It was a good thing that Asahi didn't have to tell Yuuno all of this in person, because he wasn't a good liar up front. Truth be told while the thugs were bothering one of Asahi's friends, he was the one who elevated hostilities by having himself and his own gang make more personal attacks on their friends and family, culminating to this brawl. He was hoping to do a straight up gang fight instead of this impromptu skirmish, but hopefully he did enough of a number to them that they're be too weaken to keep up the tough act. Asahi had no regrets for what he's done, and he should finish what he started. As soon as he got the other guys with him. Asahi also had to make a note to thank that girl who showed up: things would have gotten much uglier if Asahi was expected to fight all of them himself. Without that girl Asahi wasn't even sure if he'd make it out alive. Speaking of alive, Asahi's friend arrived to get him patched up. Not one to go to a hospital, Asahi was driven back home where he could get his wounds looked at by the family nurse.

@TheWindel@KoL

Was actually enjoying himself eating out for a change. Sure it was just pizza, but it seemed like good company and Alex was happy to keep talking to Bel. Yuuno and Retsu’s pizzas were beyond intimidating at this point that Alex could only stare with morbid fascination. Shaking his head, Alex got back to his pizza, the egg was a bit heavy and had obviously been put on before the bacon, annoying him slightly since that meant that it had all basically fallen off Oh well, first world problem, no sense complaining about it

Hearing a crashing noise Alex looked up curiously before freezing in place, his slice of pizza halfway between the table and his mouth, as he saw a fight unfold. What the hell? like watching a train crash in slow motion, Alex couldn’t turn his head away, watching the mess of violence unfolding. Leaning over he asked

“Hey, Bel? Is it fine to just not do anything? Miss President seems to be protected and... umm... uhhh... the... big guy seems to be... enjoying himself” takes another bite of his pizza, Alex wasn’t calm at all, he was in complete and utter shock and his body was running on autopilot “Um, your friend Miss Yuuno seems to be distraught. Should we kinda get out of the way and wai-” jarringly pulled out of the pizza restaurant by Bel and pressed to a wall by her, hand over his mouth.

As the flashing lights of emergency vehicles neared a shaky hand touched Bel’s and gently pulled it away from his mouth “I’m fine Bel. Well, that’s a lie, I’m not fine, but now isn’t a time to fall to pieces. You should be checking on your friend. Don’t worry, I won’t disappear, I’ll just sit here and wait okay?” a gentle smile and Alex let his shaking legs give out from under him, slumping to the ground and rests his head against the wall. “Go, look after your friend, I’m just a kid in shock while she might have been hurt” closing his eyes Alex took out his headphones and listened, trying to block out what he saw for the time being

Sora stood almost instantaneously when a boy charged from his own group and directly targeted Yoshino. He had noted the bleary actions of the boy coupled with his direct targeting of Yoshino specifically, but he didn’t take any action as he saw Retsu likewise moving to defend the student president. Watching her take out gloves and slash the kid, Sora’s brow furrowed slightly. Perhaps he shouldn’t have called the police, since both sides were armed and vicious. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed as if he were dealing with an unruly child, glancing about before eating the remainder of his pizza somewhat leisurely.

Grabbing another spare piece off the pizza platter with a couple napkins, Sora watched Retsu pursue Yoshino into the bathroom before he circled the table and sat on his heels before the boy who was sprawled out with cuts across his face. He nonchalantly rolled the comparatively smaller body of the knocked out assailant onto its back, examining the wound on his head. Sora poked the unconscious face a few times with a low, ”Hey.” No response, he was out cold. With a few practiced movements, he dabbed the blood and spice out of the kid’s eyes and cuts with one of the napkins. Sora glanced towards the bathroom to which Yoshino and Retsu had entered and shrugged helplessly. He could tell he was encroaching on Retsu’s patience since the start and Yoshino obviously wasn’t going to be in the mood for his frivolous chatting. Thus Sora’s attention returned to the boy with a somewhat conflicted countenance. He sighed and lifted one of the boy’s arms around his neck, over his shoulders. With his own body’s condition, the limp body was relatively light and amidst the confusion, Sora calmly walked out of the parlor with the boy slumped at his side, feet dragging. Without looking back, Sora figured he would just have to make his condolences when he met everyone again. He didn’t really get any numbers or anything but he was an optimist who believed in a next time.

Due to a lack of irregular movements while dragging extra weight, Sora did not garner an excessive amount of attention although he did get a good amount of odd glances, people automatically rationalized it as him helping a friend out as the slashed side of the boy’s face was against Sora’s neck. By the time he made it back to his apartment, he was finally beginning to get tired of carrying the sack of drugged meat around and threw the boy onto the bed in the middle of the room. Grabbing the only chair in his apartment from the corner of the main room, Sora flipped it about and sat with his legs spread around the back support of the old wooden chair. With a slight lean forward, the chair groaned under his weight but Sora simply set his arms along the chair’s back and rested his chin on his arms, watching the unconscious boy, waiting for him to wake up. His eyes were half lidded, but if Sora had one thing in abundance, it was patience.

Yoshino visibly jumped in place when Retsu walked into the restroom, casting wild eyes on the other girl. She had locked the door, right? Right? Or had she been so desperate to hide her lack of control that she had forgot even that detail? Without a word, Yoshino snatched the handkerchief and used it to dry her glasses. Slowly her panic began to lower anew and she could finally manage out real words.

"Yes...Yes I'm fine. It's nothing to worry about Retsu," she said, though her eyes did not meet the other girl's directly. "It's fine; what's done is done. Has everyone else left the area? That's all that matters at this point...really Retsu, I'm fine. It wasn't the blood it was just....I said I'm fine...."

Retsu shook her head, a meaningless gesture since Yoshino wasn't looking at her. "Everyone is leaving now, but... You're not alright. I know it was quite shocking... It wasn't easy my first time either." Retsu was of course assuming that Yoshino had never been close to a brawl before. Retsu didn't fight as much as her brother did either, but that didn't mean she didn't know about it. Unlike him, Retsu does her best to keep her hands cleaned, but that doesn't mean she's never made fights happen.

"First, let's get out of here. We can talk about what happened somewhere more... Comfortable." The bathroom was not the most appropriate place to have a serious talk.

"I said I was fine!" Yoshino said sharply in an angry outburst. No sooner did the words come out of her mouth did she stop herself, shaky hands rising to adjust her glasses. Retsu had a point, as always. Whatever the case may be, they couldn't talk here; so the Student President allowed the other girl to lead her away.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," she murmured, just as the cops began to show up finally. By then the two girls were already some miles away from the pizza joint. At some point Yoshino began to unconsciously lead the way, her feet carrying her to her dorm room on campus. Only when she reached for the door knob did she stop and look at Retsu, wondering why she was still here.

"You don't have to look after me Retsu. I can handle myself," Yoshino said wearily. It was more for the fact that it wasn't in their contract for Retsu to get involved in Yoshino's personal matters and the Student President didn't want to think about paying Retsu for her services at the moment.

Crossing her arms, Retsu looked to the side, deep in thought. Professionally, Retsu should respect Yoshino's desire to handle these things herself. If she didn't want her help, then Retsu could leave. But on a more personal level... Retsu couldn't leave this girl alone. "... So you say, Tsugumi-san. Forgive me however, because I'm still concerned about you. Off the books, I feel responsible for what happened. Not with Asahi being an idiot, but for you nearly getting hurt."

Retsu didn't look at Yoshino when she said this. She wasn't sure why she felt this way. The reason she felt so annoyed at Asahi wasn't for getting into fights, but for endangering Yoshino. Perhaps it was because Retsu needed Yoshino for Deep Ground was why she was so protective. At least that's how Retsu justified it. Her words... Didn't exactly match up. "I want to make sure you have someone to talk to, about what happened. And perhaps explain to Yuuno what happened. You may not be hurt physically, but I'm more concerned about... About how you're feeling." This was kinda awkward.

Yoshino looked at Retsu incredulously. Why did Retsu, no, Dark Wraith care about her? More importantly, why was she letting her into her dorm, as if this somehow felt right? Closing the door behind her, Yoshino turned on some lights and sat on her couch, releasing a sigh. She played with her glasses again, still not meeting Retsu's gaze; at this point, both girls were acting quite strange.

"Yes, I suppose it makes sense for you to be concerned. I am your employer...yes, it makes sense. How I'm feeling? I'm feeling scared, cornered...but it'll pass. It always does. I'll make sure to send Yuuno a message tomorrow morning...why do you even care about what I'm telling you right now? You don't seem the sentimental type."

Retsu took a seat in Yoshino's dorm, making sure to take off her shoes so she didn't leave marks on her floor. Once seated Retsu could only look at her hands, thinking about what she was doing. Yoshino raised a few good points: Why did Retsu care? If anything letting Yoshino mentally break down would allow a smoother transition of power from herself to Dark Wraith. But perhaps that was because what Dark Wraith wants isn't exactly what Retsu wants.

"... Perhaps. But I'm not completely heartless. Pragmatically speaking, I need to make sure you're in the proper state of mind if I want to be able to rely on you and Moon Rider. But on a more personal note? I... Feel... Concerned." Those words were hard for Retsu to push out, as if she wasn't saying what she wanted to say. Giving a brief pause to let her words sink in and for Retsu to figure out what she was trying to say, she continued.

"If there is a problem, I want to be able to solve it. I dislike the idea that someone who is... Important... Is in distress, and I can't do anything about it. It's not something I will just ignore. And I know too well how sentimentality can affect one's ability. We're not machines, Tsugumi-san. We have feelings and emotions too, and to make sure we're at our best, we have to take care of them." Despite her talk of emotions, Retsu's voice seemed rather monotonous. It was as if she wasn't familiar with what she was talking about either. Or rather, she doesn't talk about it enough.

"You...You're concerned about me?" Yoshino said, for once looking up at the other girl. Of course Retsu's tone of voice said otherwise but the Student President could imagine how it must have felt for the other girl to admit such a thing. So she didn't push it forward, once more looking down.

"Even so, I can tell that you're trying and that your heart is in the right place. I never did thank you for saving me, did I?" Yoshino continued, trying to manage a smile. "I probably would have ended up with more wounds if it wasn't for you Retsu..."

Retsu smiled at Yoshino's compliment. Not to ruffle her own feathers, but she was glad that Yoshino recognized her efforts. Looking out the window, it was getting dark. There was still a bit of sun left on the horizon, but if Retsu had to guess in about ten to twenty minutes, it'd be night time. "I wouldn't think of it like that. I'm sure someone would have stepped in to help you. I was just the first one to do so."

But Retsu didn't come here to talk about herself. Glancing at Yoshino, Retsu tried to get a read on her person. Try to understand how Yoshino was doing. "But what about you? You seemed rather shaken up at the fight. He... Didn't do anything to you, did he?" Retsu was pretty sure she got him before he could have done anything, but she can't be entirely sure. It all happened rather fast.

When Retsu glanced at her, Yoshino instinctively turned away, a tell-tale sign of her failure and weakness. Gripping her hands on her lap, she frowned as Retsu got right to the core of the issue. She couldn't very well keep this secret for long and if Retsu really wanted to help her...

"I have...scopophobia," she said bluntly, letting the implications of that word sink in. "It means I...have an unnatural fear of being stared at. More specifically, when people look me in the eye. When that boy attacked me, I didn't much care for how strong he was. But then he looked at me and...and then I just froze up and...I d-didn't know what to do," Yoshino said, her voice slightly cracking. Her heart began to beat faster at that recent memory, the edges of another panic attack threatening to overcome her.

Almost immediately Retsu turned her eyes away, though she couldn't help but sneak glances at Yoshino. It must be quite awkward for Yoshino to suffer from such a phobia, more so since she's the student council president. Either her phobia isn't that bad, or she's much stronger then she first appears. Retsu assumes the latter. But it would explain why she was so shaken up when that boy attacked her. This wasn't really something Retsu knew how to handle; she was more used to physical injuries, with subsequent psychosocial issues from being hit. Stuff like Yoshino's phobia was beyond her ability, and it made Retsu a bit angry knowing how useless she was at the subject.

"Oh. I'm.... That's bad to hear. It must be hard for you, what with being the student president and all. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Does it look like you can do anything?" Yoshino responded with more bitterness than she had intended. "S...Sorry. I shouldn't keep snapping at you. My phobia is the whole reason why I even wear these stupid glasses," she hissed, half-tempted to rip them off and chuck them across the room. "And it's all her fault. She...She did this to me and I...I can't...it's just too much Retsu."

The strong front Yoshino had been putting up for all this time was finally cracking more and more, her own insecurities slipping out. She wrapped her arms around herself, her heartbeat increasing more and more. It was her fault. She was the one who broke off, who decided they were little more than acquaintances. And for what? For something that was beyond Yoshino's control?

Keeping her cool, Retsu didn't feel angry at Yoshino snapping at her. She understood she was frustrated and that Retsu was going to need to weather through the storm. There wasn't much she could do until she learned more however. So at the risk of causing a lot of pain and suffering, Retsu moved seats to be next to Yoshino. "Tell me about it, Yoshino-san. I... I'm here to help you. Even if all I can do is shoulder your burden with you."

Yoshino found herself nodding without much struggle, barely catching the fact that Retsu had used her first name. She took a few long moments to catch her breath, building up her defensive wall once more and keeping calm. Retsu probably wouldn't appreciate her whining.

"Kuroke Chiyo. My...half-sister. We used to be quite fond of each other. We used to...do things with one another. And we used to care about each other quite alot. This was before we had even realized we were blood related. By as it turned out, my father used to be married to her mother and...while I saw it as an opportunity to get closer, Ch-...Kuroke-san blamed me for stealing her father."

Now this was something that Retsu knew well. Granted she never had such feelings her half-brother, but... In a way, she did feel that Asahi's birth stole any importance Retsu could have had with her own father. If Asahi wasn't born, if her father wasn't such a womanizer, maybe Retsu would have grown up to be like this. So in a way Retsu could understand Chiyo's anger, but at the same time, it was unreasonable. They were just kids. What could they really do?

"I... I understand. Sort of like be and Asahi... It'd certainly explain the way she treated me, when I fought her in Deep Ground. But what exactly did she do?"

"What do you think she did?"

The answer didn't need to be said, read clearly through Yoshino's expression. She stared right at Retsu before looking away in fear and shame. The implications of such still made her uncomfortable but even someone like Retsu could put the pieces together.

"She didn't do it herself. She hates to get her hands dirty you know. She...got some random guys together. They followed me to my dorm, made me go a different way and...in the alleyway, I just saw her. Staring right back at me and...she didn't even care...god I'm so weak," Yoshino whispered, trembling all over as the memories began to resurface.

"I couldn't say anything. As Student President how could I? I had to keep going for Moon Rider and myself. And Chiyo knew that..."

Retsu stayed solemnly quiet. She could imagine what might have happened, and it hurt her to think there was nothing she could do about it... Right now. For a long while, Retsu couldn't say anything. She didn't know what she could say to Yoshino to help. All Retsu knew was that she would have sought vengeance in some way. Make Chiyo disappear. But Yoshino wasn't like Retsu, and her solution... May not help. Maybe.

"I'm sorry. That's horrible. And... It's not your fault. You aren't weak Yoshino. You were just alone. Chiyo... She knew that no one would have come to your aid. And you've been taking on this burden all by yourself for so long. That's why... People like you and me, I want to help. So that way we aren't alone, and have to face these challenges ourselves anymore." Retsu couldn't believe what she was saying. She sounded like some sort of shonen protagonist going on about the power of friendship. It was stupid, but Retsu wasn't going to admit it was also something she wanted. She has minions of her own, but none who she could call her friends or equals.

Yoshino was silent, listening to Retsu's words intently. For someone that had kept this a secret for so long with no one else to rely on, it felt good to finally admit it. She may have disagreed about her being strong-if she was truly strong, she would have conquered her phobia by now-but at least it felt refreshing to rely on someone else for once.

"Thank you Retsu. I'm not even sure why I'm telling you all this," Yoshino said, blinking and realizing how she must look with red and wet eyes. "If...If you want...I mean, if you would like...you can stay here for the night. I don't usually do much on school nights seeing as I live here by myself..."

Suddenly, Retsu hand out her handkerchief to Yoshino (A different one since Yoshino gave back her first one). As for Yoshino's offer, Retsu hesitated. She was still in her fancy dress, and as comfortable as it was, if she was going to sleep over she'd need to get her pajamas, a change of clothes, at her uniform as well. But Retsu wanted to stay. "Sure. Yeah, that'll be fine. Though... I need to get a change of clothes and stuff, and I do have a few things I need to do for Moon Rider, you now." Retsu felt a bit nervous getting this close to Yoshino. She was willing to listen to her problems, but she wasn't sure what was going to happen if she actually stayed in her dorm. Surely it'd be nothing. They were both girls after all.

Yoshino accepted the new handkerchief gratefully, removing her glasses and drying her eyes with them. She nodded to Retsu's requests, saying, "I have some spare uniforms and pajamas if you don't feel like going back out. It's supposed to be cold tonight."

Whatever underlying subtext there was supposed to be in them staying together for the night, Yoshino was unaware of it. Bit by bit the weak shell that had confided in Retsu just moments before was being rebuilt into the image of the stoic Student President. As far as she saw it, Retsu was simply here to conduct business between her and Moon Rider.

"Wearing Yoshino's clothes... What have you done, Retsu?"

Sighing, Retsu supposed that she would accept. It's not as if they were sharing underwear or anything like that. And Retsu's outfit wasn't very well insulated against the cold. Putting those dirty thoughts aside, Retsu figured that now was a good time to wash up. She felt her stomach finish its business with her pizza, so Retsu requested to use the bathroom first.

Smiling, Yoshino directed Retsu over to the bathroom while heading to her own bedroom and fetching some spare pajamas the other girl could fit in. However, upon walking into her room, she soon realized that....well, she only had one bed to share. The shadow of a blush on her cheeks, she adjusted her glasses before finding some black pants and a purple t-shirt.

Granted it was near-identical to her own pajamas since Yoshino really didn't spend much. Since Chiyo had left her life, she had thrown the other girl's things away or rid herself of them through other means. Frowning in anger at the reminder of her own sob story, Yoshino walked back to the living room.

"I'll leave your clothes outside," she called out to Retsu, stopping by and placing the pajamas outside the bathroom.

"Thank you!" Retsu shouted from the toilet. Once she was comfortably relieved Retsu turned and looked at the bath. She was tempted to get the bath ready and take the first dip, but that seemed... Rude. But surely they both needed to path. So after washing her hands and changing into Yoshino's pajamas, she started the bath. She wasn't sure how Yoshino liked it, so she used hot water and waited until the water filled about 60% of the tub. Once she was finished Retsu went out of the bathroom looking for Yoshino. "The bath is ready. Would you like to go in first?"

"Er huh? But Retsu, I don't need...." Yoshino said, voice trailing off. Then again Retsu had gone through the trouble of preparing her bath and she couldn't well just deny that act of kindness. Still, she did think Retsu was trying too much to prove something here and she opened her mouth to assure the other girl that she didn't need to. But no words came out and she merely nodded, removing her party dress. In no time she was bare, slipping into the bath as a gentle sigh escaped from how warm it felt.

After Yoshino left to take a bath, Retsu helped herself to a cup of water. Getting a tall glass, she filled it to nearly the brim and drained it just as fast, cleaned the cup, and put it away. Then Retsu went and saw at Yoshino's couch feeling a bit tired. She had eaten quite a full meal, punched out a random thug, and ran all the way to the dorms. So of course she was feeling a bit pooped. However she still needed to attend to development in Deep Ground. Last she checked, many Ebon Strykers have gone out to hunt the Corpse Collector, but so far they've had no luck.

As Retsu was checking her messages, she looked down at the pajamas that Yoshino gave her. These were... Yoshino's clothing. Clean... Right? Lifting the shirt up to her nose, Retsu took a sniff before looking around, making sure that Yoshino didn't see her. "...What am I doing?"

"Retsu I'm back-....what were you doing?"

Time must have flew by because soon enough Yoshino was back from her bath. Simple pants and a black t-shirt served as her pajamas, a towel still drying her long hair. She blinked as her gaze moved from first Retsu, to her pajamas, and then to Retsu again. The Student President had only caught a glimpse of what she thought was Retsu sniffing her clothes but....surely that couldn't be the case.

"They're fine, I just had a runny nose is all. Tends to happen when I'm cold."

Retsu said flawlessly, using her quick thinking and deadpan delivery in order to conceal her lie. Fortunately Retsu had smelled Yoshino's shirt instead of say, the pants, so it may seem somewhat believable. Avoiding the subject further Retsu stood up and headed to the bathroom. "If you're done, mind if I take a bath next? I know I already changed and all, but I'd like to freshen up a bit before I log into Deep Ground, you know?"

"Uh, sure? I mean that's up to you...anyway, the bath is free. While you're doing that, I'll set up the bedding arrangements. Sorry about this, but I only have one so...maybe you could sleep in with me to keep me warm, you know~?"

Yoshino grinned at the other girl mischievously before chuckling with, "Relax, I'm just kidding. Anyway, I'll get the futon out so you can sleep in something more comfortable tonight. The couch can only be soft for so long. Unless you want to sleep in my bed and I sleep on the futon?"

Caught off guard, Retsu's face was as red as her hair. Did Yoshino really just suggest... That they sleep together? Surely she only met platonically, perhaps, but they would still be in the same bed, under the same sheets, sharing each other’s body heat. Retsu had plenty of boys make crude remarks for sex and she always ignored them like the pest they are, but for Yoshino do to the same... Was she really just joking or was it a true proposal?

Even after Yoshino admitted to the joke, she was going to bring a futon out for her instead. It made more sense, but Retsu's mind was a bit scrambled from Yoshino's inital statement. "I... Will... GotakemybathrightnowI'llbeoutsoonyoucanhavethebedthankyou!" And like that Retsu went from standing in front of Yoshino and inside her bathroom, leaning against the door. Why was she feeling so... Silly? "It's just Yoshino. She's my boss... No, my partn- No! Ally! She's my ally. Nothing more. Nothing less..." Retsu said quietly to herself.

Trying to move on from the awkwardness Retsu began to strip out of the pajamas given to her, folding them neatly on the bathroom counter. She was tempted to take another sniff, but now that she thought of it there was already an aroma here. She turned and looked at the tub and noticed that it was still full. "Yoshino's... Bath water..." Gulping, Retsu walked over to the tub. The water was still warm, and Yoshino's scent wafted from the steam. It was a pleasant yet bitter smell. Like fond memories of better days gone past. Retsu put her toe into the water, shaking at the warmth, but soon submerged her whole body, trying to resist the intial pain of her fairly chilly body going into the warm bath.Several minutes passed before a soft knock was on the door. A moment or two passed and Yoshino slowly walked into the bathroom, a fresh set of towels in her arm.

"Oh you're still bathing! Sorry Retsu," Yoshino said with surprise, wondering what Retsu was doing for the last hour or so....an hour? Had it really been that long? So much for a few mintues. Even so, it was still early in the night and tomorrow was a Saturday so getting up for school wouldn't be an issue.

"I just remembered that you needed some fresh towels so I brought you some," Yoshino said, completely ignoring the fact that Retsu was stark naked and in her bath using her water. However she soon caught herself staring at the other girl, a look of amazement on her face before saying, "Retsu you...you really are strong aren't you? I wasn't aware that you had so many muscles...I suppose it makes sense with the line of work you do."

Retsu nearly jumped. "I thought I locked the door!?" Retsu also didn't realized that she dozed off in the bath. She started to get up and reached for a towel which she didn't have. She thought she could take one out from the closet, but eventually Yoshino just came in with the only towels available. Not only that but when Retsu moved to grad the nonexistent towel, she exposed her body to Yoshino, who commented on her musculature.

"I, uh.... It's nothing.... Can I have a towel please?" Retsu said quietly as she lowered her body into the bath, trying to hide her features from Yoshino. While Retsu did have a fairly toned set of muscles on her arms and hands, she didn't like exposing them. They felt... Too obvious to her. As unrealistic as it was, she actually wanted to keep a fairly waifish figure, but also keeping her strength as well. Not to mention that when Retsu did expose herself to Yoshino for a short duration, she also showed the student president her... Mature chest. While not quite as ridiculous as some anime depictions, Retsu still had a set of breast that would attract many boys if she ever bothered showing off those assets instead of keeping them fairly well hidden.

Yoshino blinked in confusion before smiling gently at the other girl. The Student President wasn't as cold as people made her out to be and like Retsu had said earlier, she was much more complex than that. Nodding, she handed a warm towel over to the red-headed girl before moving away and out of the bathroom.

"You know there's nothing to be ashamed of Retsu. We're both girls here so it's fine. I...sort of like your body. I mean, you can take that as you will, but I mean it sort of reminds of of my client and how strong she is. I could never be as strong physically," Yoshino admitted with a nervous laugh, speaking her own weaknesses. "Anyway, the futon is almost ready so feel free to come out when you want to."

Retsu could only grunt in agreement as she waited for Yoshino to leave the bathroom. Once she was out and the door was closed she whispered to herself. "... Stupid sexy Yoshino..."

Eventually Retsu was out of the bath and dressed. Her hair still needed drying but everything else about her was washed up. Retsu headed to the living room to find the Futon, but noticed that there was nothing there. Yoshino wasn't there either. So Retsu went to Yoshino's room, wondering if maybe she needed help.

Retsu would find Yoshino lying on her floor, as if she had been lying there for quite some time. The futon looked like it was half-made, having somehow ended up on top of the Student President who was currently half-dazed at the moment.

"Tsugumi-san?" Retsu had guessed from the student president's current position that she must have bumped her head while preparing the futon. Which seemed... Oddly stupid of Yoshino. Retsu stifled a giggle and instead of poking fun at the girl, she simply helped set up the futon for herself, leaving Yoshino on the floor. Now it was Retsu's turn to act cooler then Yoshino. Sitting on Yoshino's bed Retsu waited for Yoshino to wake up so she could snidely poke fun at how she was knocked out by falling futons.

"Hmm...wha..?"

Blinking, Yoshino got up on shaky legs and looked around...only to see Retsu sitting on her bed with a smug smirk. She then looked over to the now set up futon and frowned, adjusting her glasses firmly onto her face.

"And what's that look for Retsu?" Yoshino asked with more than a little suspicion.

"You got knocked out by the futon." Retsu chuckled at Yoshino as she laid back on her bed. It was quite comfortable, for some reason more so than Retsu's own. Then again she's just using the standard issue mattress given to all the students. Most likely Yoshino has a special one or something. "Anyways... I need to head to Deep Ground. If possible, do you think you could ask Moon Rider to come on? There are matters I must discuss with her about the current state of affairs."

"I was? I don't remember...." Yoshino said with a faded voice, rubbing the back of her head. Honestly she didn't remember but she couldn't really remember what did happen otherwise. Regardless, maybe it was just a random brain fart. Weird. Her attention drawn away from that briefly, she frowned to the mention of her client.

"Must you do it right now? I mean...I suppose I can bother her if she's not too busy. Even Moon Rider has to have a life outside of DGO," Yoshino pointed out, shuffling out of the room and towards the small hallway.

"As soon as possible really. And you're the only person whom I can contact Moon Rider directly. She doesn't exactly pick up my E-mails." That wasn't entirely true: She never sent Moon Rider an E-mail before. But regardless she seemed more elusive then Retsu was. Of course... There was also the sneaking suspicion that Yoshino herself was Moon Rider. That possibility was never out of the question since day one. Retsu was half hoping that perhaps she could verify the truth here and now. But that was a secondary objective: Retsu really did have some important business to handle in Deep Ground, with or without Moon Rider. Hopefully Yoshino didn't want to spend all night talking, because Retsu had work to do.

Thankfully, Cassandra heard the voice of reason, and decided to pull away from the needless strife as she called for Eris to lead their way out of this, Eris noticed Yoshino hurrying to the restrooms with a frantic expression. "That doesn't spell anything good." Eris thought as she let go off Cassadra's hand, explaining that the Student Council President didn't seemed well and maybe they should take a look on that.

However, just as Eris was about to lead Cassandra to the restrooms in pursuit of Yoshino, Retsu stepped in and seemed to have went after the same mark. This prompted Eris to come to a halt before turning on her heels, not wanting to cross paths with the person she could stand the less in the whole of the Purple Crown Academy.

"Let's leave this place, Cassandra O'Shera", Eris said in her typical calm voice, "though, the night is a child, I believe it's about time for us to go back to our dormitories and rest. Tomorrow is Saturday, right? What about a rendezvous early in the morning, unless you have any other appointment, that is? If the answer is yes, then we can meet in front of the train station at eight o'clock. Also, bring a swinsuit, if you have any."

With all said and done, Eris leaned against a random building and stared at Cassandra, looking like she wanted something out of the redhead. "I don't know if what I feel for you is love or not, Cassandra O'Shera, though I do kow you move me in a certain way. How about we end this night with a more peasant memory than that rabble's folly?" As she said that, Eris closed her eyes, waiting for Cassandra to do... something.

*: I'll add Yuuno's part later, since doesn't have much to react to now.

---

@Caits

It seemed things might be cooling down, which was for the best. As yoshino darted off to the bathroom, it looked like Eris was going to head in that direction, before Retsu chased after her. Cassandra hoped that Yoshino was alright. She did not argue when Eris once more said they should leave, content to go with her. At the mention of another day with Eris, Cassandra was all to happy to agree, even as she wondered if her bathing suit would be good enough. "my day is free, and I'm more then happy to spend it with you. Right O'Clock is fine by me"

It seemed that Eris wanted something of her, wanted her to do something. Talk of love seemed out of character for Eris, but it seemed to be addressed in a logical way, which was like Eris. Cassandra hadn't had time to think on her own feelings, but there was no doubt in her mind that she did feel strongly for Eris. How did you know if you were in love, if you never had before?

Cassandra lay a hand on Eris's cheek gently, a ghost of a smile trailing on her face, before trailing her hand down, to the back of Eris's neck. Cassandra had never been so...forward with anyone. She drew closer, swallowing around a mouth suddenly dry, and then she kissed Eris, hoping it wasn't a display of how inexperienced she was. She pulled back after a time, and said softly "the thing about feelings, Eris, is that you don't have to know, but simply feel"

For Cassandra, that seemed to answer her own questions, and she smiled brightly, "I'll walk you to your dorm, if you like." she said softly, figuring it was time to continue to spend with Eris. The day had been eventful, almost wild from start to finish. For Cassandra, it was, really, perhaps one of the best days of her life.

And not once, other then to inform Jukebox, thought of deep ground online. Real life held more appeal right then.

Sora's room appeared anything but hospitable, without a doubt, it could be assumed that rather than a bedroom, it was more similar to an interrogation room. Exposed piping and rotting walls added to the atmosphere, likewise, the lack of furniture managed to vacate any sense of homeliness. Sora sat stock still, possibly sleeping in his chair as he waited for the unconscious attacker to wake up.

"...the hell? What the hell am I doing here?" the boy said groggily, blinking awake as he took in his surroundings. The more his eyes scanned around, the more agitated he became before he finally set his sights on Sora. It took him a moment to recognize his face but when he did he got up from the bed and stormed to Sora.

"Hey buddy, you have one second to tell me why the hell I'm in this torture porn fanatic's basement," he snarled darkly.

As the boy woke up with his own muttering, Sora sleepily awoke as well, lifting his head from his forearms with a tired expression, a red mark from the pressing of his skin on his forehead. He watched the boy look about before standing up at quickly movong to him. His expression twisted into pained features as the boy called his apartment a torture porn basement and he shrugged helplessly,

"Aw, don't be like that, this is my apartment room, I lack the apparatus for torture porn anyway. Even if you're into that, I wouldn't be able to help you."

Although he was almost weirdly amiable, Sora carefully watched the boy, ready to subdue him at any point,

"What's your name by the way? Mine's Naruse Sora, you got laid out by a lady with a simple punch to the face, so quit with the threats, let's just talk."

"Huh? I don't have to tell my name or anything like that. And what the hell are you even talking about? I didn't get hit by no girl either! Must have been some big brute that dick Asahi had on hand that I didn't get to see. Doesn't explain why the fuck you're so interested," the boy sneered.

Sora laughed genuinely, as if he heard a clever joke, "Nah, it was some chick with red hair. She took out gloves and slashed your face too. You dropped like a sack of rocks, it was comical." Sora talked while laughing before finally calming down with a chuckle and whiping the edge of his eye. "So Asahi is the big guy's name. Although I patched up your scratches, I'm sure you understand I didn't bring you here to nurse you back to health. I'm a bit curious as to why you made a mad dash for the poor girl with black hair. She was both out of your way and completely lacking in threat, so what gives?" His features remain friendly with a calm countenance, as if Sora were talking to a friend.

"Look kid, you're driving on my nerve," the boy said, cracking his knuckles. "I don't remember going for some black-haired chick. If you're trying to pull one over me then the only thing you can look forward to is lying dead in a ditch somewhere," he finished, rearing back and launching a fist right at Sora's face.

As soon as the boy began to throw his punch, Sora pushed off his chair forcefully, slamming it towards the boys legs before launching an arcing kick towards the boys ribs with vicious speed.

The boy blinked, too little too late to dodge the move. The chair knocked him off his balance and led him right into Sora's kick. With a grunt he was flung backwards, sprawling on the ground near the bed's end. But if Sora thought that would stop him, then he was sadly mistaken. Getting up on his feet, the boy reared back for another punch, anger fueling his fists.

"Why you motherfucking-ghn!"

At once the boy's muscles tensed, his eyes widening. Anger soon turned to fear as he collapsed on his knees then to his side. He was panting erratically now, clasping his chest while glaring up at Sora with hatred.

"The fuck dude! What'd you do, poison me? Drug me? Fuck it burns! Make it fucking stop you goddamn psycho!" the boy cried out as pain wracked his entire body.

Despite delivering the kick to the boy's ribs, Sora still smiled amiably as if they were still conversing on friendly terms. It was only when the boy fell to his side that Sora's expression changed to one of surprise, then his features formed a stern countenance as he glanced about for a moment. Of course the boy had shown signs of being drugged at the parlor, but it was impossoble to tell whether it was a timed whiplash or a just a side-effect. Sora moved to the far window amidst the cursing, looking for anyone outside and checking his doorstep before returning to the boy who was still yelling at Sora.

"Who do you associate with? Your buddies were going for Asahi, but you went for someone else entirely, who do you hang around with? Tell me and I'll make the pain stop."

"W-What? I already told you I don't know what you're talking about," the boy said with inklings of real fear in his voice. "Just please...make it stop already! I just work for the guys against Asahi, that's all, alright? That's all-"

A choked gasp was wretched out of the boy's throat, his body spiking up. It was held there for one long moment before shifting back down, the boy's eyes glazed and empty. A quick check would confirm that his heart had stopped beating. The boy was dead.

Sora watched the boy go into cardiac arrest helplessly. He didn't have to check to know the boy was dead, he ran a hand through his hair at his wit's end. No real leads and a corpse in his room. Bummer. For a moment of inspiration, Sora checked the inside of the boy's mouth for a tab, hoping the boy was a mule and that he'd dispersed the drugs in the boy's stomach. No luck. With a sigh, he took out his phone and once again called the police. This was going to be truly tedious, if it weren't for his past dealings with enforcement, he'd truly be in quite the pinch.

It wasn't until a few hours later that Sora was finally left alone in his room again. He had asked that the police investigate the drugged corpse, but it was unlikely he'd recieve and information or jurisdiction back after that botched dealing. Finally with an exhausted huff, Sora fell onto his bed and entered DGO.