""

"I hear you're part of the newspaper club. Tommy or something, right? Got a little info for you. Why don't we go somewhere less crowded?"

Before any of the irregulars sitting at Aaron's table could answer her, Emma's ears detected a situation that made her danger sense tingle. Sure, were they on any other occasion, this would be something that she could do nothing about (not that she wouldn't try to, just that it would likely not work) but here was different. These goons out of God-knows-where had better be more trained, after all, they kind of forgot that power of witness was huge. But Emma didn't.

"Hey, Nixon, can you hold this for me? Don't let it run cold, ok." Emma said as she handed her cup of coffee and the pack of mints to Aaron, while getting closer, to whisper on his ear, "I got an emergency extraction to do. By the way, if you ever wanted a freebie kiss from me..." The redheaded girl said, taking a gulp of her coffee, "There it's."

"See ya, Nixon and Nixon's friends! I hat to be hasty, but it seems that my company has arrived." Emma said out, loud enough to be heard by almost anyone on the food court, but without outright yelling, as she took a short dash toward Thomas' table, very much tackling him while hugging him arm close to her chest. "Hey, there, boys Thanks for helping me find my little rabbit here, "he's way too good at holing himself, y'know?"" Emma whispered the last bit of her line in a sultry tone as she narrowed her eyes looking at the Black Star wannabe that seemed t be their leader, while dragging Thomas to the cinema.

"I'm sorry that we gotta leave now, boys, but they are rescreening the movie of my favorite anime ever for a limited time and I don't want to miss it." That part was actually true, as the limited edition posters and some other random goods about a certain Red-Eyed Burning-Haired sword-wielder, being displayed at the front of the mall's cinema could testify. "Please, excuse us! By the way, you can have these, it's much more healthy than the thing you have there." Emma handed a pack of mints to the leader of the goons and strolled away happily with Thomas on tow.

Flustered or not, he actually owned her big time now, Emma would make sure that he paid it back in every minute of embarrassment she would case him until the movie was over, beginning by the Cheshire grim she had stamped on her face as she pressed Thomas' arm a bit more against her breasts, just enough for him to get a fell of the shape of what was hidden bellow her uniform. "Gotta keep the facade, right?" Emma whispered, perhaps enjoying this way too much than she should.

---

Thomas heard Emma's intentions before he felt them. It was fairly difficult to miss an exclamation as loud as that, after all, but it was harder to miss someone tackling you while grabbing your arm to their chest.
"Emma?" Thomas said, confused.
He had a second to grab his drink and notepad before being whisked out of his seat by the headstrong girl.
"Wait a sec-" He said as she made excuses to the gentlemen who addressed him.
He quickly stuffed the bottle in his pocket, but he held on to the notepad. He would've put it into his book but it was currently buried in Emma's chest.

Pushing down the heat rising to his face through sheer force of will, he began walking with Emma to try and re-exert some control over the situation. Lightly, he tried to pull his arm out of the red haired girl's vice grip but he wouldn't be able pull it free while holding his book. So instead, he pulled her in a little closer, out of earshot of the 5 boys as they walked towards the cinema.
"Emma, what was that for?" Thomas whispered. "The guy had a dog! And maybe a gun! And he had business with me!"

@KoL@Lucius Cypher

Neron wandered through the Ivory Mask city helplessly as he asked around for directions to the throne room. Most everybody looked at him as if he were an idiot, but somehow, he had managed to become utterly lost in the city, likely due to having been distracted by a series of objects and sources of entertainment. The city was mired in refined marble that towered in an overbearing fashion, rising in a mixture of Romanesque, and Greek architecture, giving the place a church feel to it. As if the place was a cathedral, or some other location of worship. Eventually, Neron found his way to the throne room. It was as expected, like the pictured throne rooms in forums and chats, the only difference being its "holy" theme with stained glass windows that stretched upwards and reached towards the ceiling and the marble floors to which the entirety of the hall created a sense of refined grandeur that was exclusive to the Ivory Mask's throne room. Neron, having realized there was no king to receive him, merely waited at the doors to the throne idly. His nature easing his boredom by speaking to anyone that came within hearing distance.

The sound of someone logging in would catch his attention back to the throne seat. Sitting at the top was someone who was of little surprise to those of the Ivory Masks. Their leader had manifested, White Sun crossing her legs in a bored manner. Moments later, someone else logged in beside her, the figure of Stark Zealot standing by his King's side as a guard.

"And what do you want? Wait, don't tell me. You're that creep from earlier who wanted to join, right? Don't tell me you were actually serious about that," White Sun said, glancing at her nails.

Neron lifted his head from his idle stance and looked towards the sounds of logging in. His mask lit up with a yellow ":)" at the center of his gray mask. Turning his fairly large body to face the White King, but as she talked, the emote at the center of his mask changed to a ":(" before he animatedly shrugged,"Oh, I think you took me for the wrong person, I was the extremely handsome and attractive man that stumbled in moments before the legendary glaring contest between student council members, not the creep. But, yes, I too, would like to join." The smile on his lips as he spoke in his slightly derezzed voice was evident as he concluded with a bow, the sounds of his armor hitting itself made obvious the reason to his 45 degree angle half-bow as well as punctuating his words.

"Right. Because there were any attractive people present when that happened," the White King said, ignoring the turn of Stark's head. "Sure, you can join. It's not like I really care for your reasons. Though looking at your current Guild status...says here you're with the Ebony Strykers. Mind telling me why you want to betray my rival?"

"Of course there were attractive people, you and your dashing bodyguard were present." The mask lit with a ":D". After the King's question, he merely repeated his past shrug as if he had no clue, his tone taking on a passive note,"Funny you should ask, I actually prefer the color white." He remarked innocently. He leaned forward slightly and as the mask changed to an ":o", he put his hand to the side of the mask as if he were telling a secret,"And to be honest, I've been getting nothing but grunt work... I think it's because I sat in her throne."

White Sun raised her eye and a smirk coiled onto her expression. Either Neron was a complete idiot or was holding out on something...either way, all would be revealed to her in due time. There was no need to press this any further.

"I see. Should I be concerned that our positions might be replaced then? As you can probably attest to, this is a very comfortable throne."

"I agree! But, I have learned my lesson, so there is no risk of such bold usurpation." He waved his hands innocently, continuing his streak of naive countenance. The expression on his mask returned to a ":)" as he looked around the throne room for half a moment,"Also, I'm a little bit low on level right now, you know anyone that could help run me through a few dungeons? Nobody is willing to let a noob dungeon with them, it's depressing me...", ":c" formed on the mask.

"That's not my problem. If you wanted to level up, you should have crawled to that worm, Verdant Grin," White Sun remarked, already accepting Neron into her Guild. "But if you wait a little while longer, I may have someone just perfect to do some raids with you. Some chick named Abyssal Runner or something. Some edgelord name like that."

---

Aaron Fletcher

Having sat down and dug into his natural diet for the first time in weeks, Aaron listened to Eris as she spoke. His burger was gone long before she was done, and the over-greased french fries were well on their way, along with the cup of an off-brand soda cocktail. As she finished, he raised a finger and swallowed a few times, apparently forcing down a bite that mostly consisted of slightly moist bread. The familiar sensation of almost choking soon came, and was washed away by a long gulp of his carbonated beverage. "My one concern, is where will you go? I'm sure the other guilds will gladly take in a level 6 Berserker with your rep, but you're still an Outlaw." He suppressed a burp with his fist, and waited for a response...

Then Emma Fujioka showed up, and Aaron's heart skipped a beat for a moment. This brash and straightforward girl was basically the girl he had a massive crush on, and this was the one time the meek side of his personality decided to show itself. And why'd she always call him Nixon? "Oh, uh, hey Emma. Yeah, this is Eris, Cassandra, and Shiro." He indicated each of the group and took a few mints, figuring his breath smelled like stereotypical America right now. He tossed one in his mouth and chewed briefly, savoring the cold shock that overtook his mouth. "Thanks."

As she leaned over and whispered into his ear, the Springfield native could feel the heat rise through his body and he make out how red his face was just based on what he could see of his nose. If this didn't give away his feelings for her, nothing would. With a sidelong glance at Emma before she turned, he threw her a quick wink. Her items were likely going to be safe in his hands. He had no intentions on leaving until she was back, really. That sultry whisper of hers was hypnotizing, and he was more than happy to be a victim of it for the moment.

As Hellflame flew, he heard a cry for help from below. Flipping himself around to look back, he was greeted with the sight of quite a number of people ganging up on one person. A valid tactic, overwhelming a target with sheer numbers, to be sure. Hellflame took a few seconds to consider whether or not to help the poor girl, and ultimately decided that she was worth saving. It wasn't out of the kindness of his heart, mind you, but rather, the allure of gaining a ton of EXP from four Outlaws was too enticing to pass up. Of course the Outlaws had noticed him and tried to shoo him away from their prey, but Hellflame ignored their efforts and pointed his staff at one of the gun users, activating his <Binding Hellfire> ability. Almost immediately, the rings of fire appeared and began to inflict continuous damage on the person, who then screamed and tried to bat out the flames. Naturally, this caused the other Outlaws to turn their attention away from the Rogue and towards Hellflame.

"Looks like I'll be having grilled Outlaw for lunch today!" Hellflame said delightedly as he activated his <Hellfire> ability, summoning his six fireballs, then he fired off three of them towards the still-burning Outlaw. By now, the other Outlaws with ranged abilities and/or weapons were already retaliating, forcing Hellflame to avoid the attacks as best he could.

---

---

The outlaws had the better part of one action to shoot at Demonic Hellflame before there was a cat sailing through the air as if it had been thrown as hard as someone without much stat investment in strength possibly could. It came from what appeared to be a small child behind them, wearing tacky wizard clothing who was also now running up to the outlaws.

"Banzai!" He shouted.

There was an explosion of searing light that knocked down three outlaws(if they were close enough. At least 2 or something?), and then the boy launched into a drop kick, knocking down the final contender. He quickly scrabbled onto his feet and scooped up his cat before the outlaws could regain their senses.

"You shouldn't all be ganging up on one person like that!" He shouted, running to hide behind the one person in question. "It's unfair!"

---

@Lucius Cypher Mind if I put him here?
and @Scarifar even though I only mentioned "one" person

Cassandra sent an almost wicked grin to Eris, and said "I'll take that as a compliment, as Pandora found the box irresistible" she looked back to Shiro, waiting for his answer. What she wanted to say, but figured it had a little bit too much bite in it for the moment, and so she left it for the moment.

She glanced up as another girl joined them, even briefly, before going off again. She looked to Aaron when he spoke, "the way the guilds are right now, perhaps being an outlaw is better then being apart of them. Giving the strikers a target will hopefully unite them, and remind them what they are. And Eris has a higher chance at surviving then anyone else.

They will surely need to unite to have a hope of bringing her down, and perhaps that will remind them of what they are meant to be."

She fell silent, watching the girl went off to someone else, apparently interrupting them. Looking back to the group, she waited to see if there would be any responses, trying to weigh each word and the whole situation in a clear way.

For the most part, Lina stayed quiet, simply listening to the conversation going on, her eyes wandering around to take in the surroundings, all but appearing as a normal, slightly airheaded person, happily drinking from her beverage. Although a small smile did form as she heard Shiro's words. Well aren't you steadfast? Silently amused yet also charmed by his words, Lina took another sip. Although to think there was another person who was also the self-sacrificing type, to overly protect their close one to such an extent, that was different, almost to a refreshing level. While Shiro was also the type to do so, Lina more often than not, being the loose cannon that she is, ends up causing more mayhem for the former to witness.

However, to hear Cassandra speak with suspicion, and believing that they wanted something else asides from having Eris join the Strikers, Lina tried not to smile. Count it on someone to be distrusting, albeit with a legitimate reason, considering Eris' rampage against the Sweepers previously. Stealing one of the fries from Aaron's dwindling pile, before lightly tossing it into her mouth, Lina finally spoke as Eris elaborated on the future, before closing off her words, and Aaron and Cassandra adding in their parts.

"Rather than uniting them against a single target, I think it would be easier to deal with the corruption if we take them head on." Taking a quick sip of her drink to wet her throat, she continued. "Considering that it is a fellow sweeper that is inviting you, I think that the little ones would be somewhat hesitant on speaking out, especially because of who else is at this table. The ones who want to sow chaos, and cause trouble, will have to act first. Then, we can take care of things internally."

Lina had an amused smile, as she leaned back in her chair, contemplating the work that she would probably have to do cleaning up, if they tried this method. "And this wouldn't really be too big of a problem, it'll only look like the loose cannon is stirring up trouble yet again, and using her authority to drag around her subordinate against his will to assist." Her gaze shifted to look at Shiro, before looking back at Eris and Cassandra, her attitude completely one of calm, despite just revealing herself as a Sweeper.

@KoL,@Jedly,@Caits,@Mega Birb

Yoshino Tsugumi

Yoshino blinked at the compliment, eyes cast down to take in her own outfit. Really? Retsu thought she was cute? Well maybe she had overdone it just a little given the other girl’s bare casual attire. Suddenly she felt more self-conscious about her looks and fidgeted with her glasses. But it was too late to change now.

“Thanks. You look nice too,” Yoshino said before following her assistant out of the building. One short drive to the Network later and she began to wonder if maybe she should have reconsidered the offer. The place looked like some kind of illegal strip club and she found herself walking closely next to Retsu. At least there were no troubles getting in.

“Huh? Oh, sure,” Yoshino said, trying to get into the rhythm of things. Who danced to these kind of songs anyway? It seemed to jump all over the place, but at least it had a steady beat. Somewhat. Moving her hips to and fray, Yoshino narrowed her eyes as she tried to concentrate on a good motion for her that went well with the song.

---

Maribel Harper

To: Alex Coleman:
From: Maribel Harper:
Subject: Re: How do you use the copier?

Jukey, I’m shocked! You can stand in the face of the Corpse Collector but you can’t figure out one copier? We need to start working on your endurance again >;3 Tell you what. If you can get it working by the time I pop up, I’ll take you somewhere nice! How about the Network? Totes not gonna go there to spy on peoples~ Be there soon :3

Back in the Guild run by such an eccentric character, Blue Joker nodded his head nonchalantly to his tour guide’s instructions. Then some other blue chick called Broker of Fortune popped up as well. What’s with all these ladies and wearing blue? It was like they were in some kind of Guild revolving around that one specific color…or something.

“Eheh, no worries kid. I got time to kill and skills to burn so it’s no skin off my teeth,” he said to Absinthe as the blue fairy zipped away. A full second of silence passed before the Avatar turned to Broker, grin sported as always. Well wasn’t this a bit awkward.

“So heard any good sports news lately? I heard Green Guild’s trying to build a football stadium in-game, eheh. Course, I’m just jossing with you. I hear Green King’s a total nutjob anyway,” he said, making small talk before following the taller Avatar. Seems his tour would be continuing for a bit. Taking in the sights, he noted that this was the Guild focused more on crafting and economic work. Interesting, to say the least from a practical standpoint.

“Yeah I got a question. There’s not gonna be a pop quiz on this, is there? Eheh, not that I wasn’t paying attention or anything. Just as long as I got my cheat sheet, eheh.”

At the front of the Blue Guild’s gates, the second guest of honor was waiting impatiently with crossed arms and a tap of her boots. Azure Panther didn’t expect a full-blown red carpet treatment, but she had expected this Absinthe Blue person to be on time. Huffing, she wondered if joining her sister’s guild was going to be worth all the hype she had made it out to be.

Ironically enough, the current caretaker of said Panther was in the real world even now, biding time and generally enjoying herself. Browsing through Purple Crown’s Shopping Arcade, a peculiar looking girl passed by Eris’ table, humming to herself and wondering what kind of smoothie she’d enjoy. Perhaps maybe she’d get a treat for a certain tiger as well.

Further away from that establishment, the driver of Hildr’s car twitched once in annoyance before flicking their gaze on the woman. Transferring schools? Hildr had better have a damn good reason to explain this shift in priorities. It had better be good enough to convince the driver not to just murder the hypotenuse.

---

”So, if Cassandra’s Pandora’s Box, then does that make you the “Hope” inside of her, Eris?” Shiro asked after he had followed the flow of conversation in utter silence, all the while he kept tabs on crucial points that trickled from every member’s mouth. His hand had remained raised throughout the dialogue and had only been unfrozen now to grab his cup with it, since Eris had pledged sovereignty. He had definitely foreseen this outcome, but he didn’t expect her response to be thrown like such a powerful curveball. Before taking a sip, he glanced over to Cassandra, ”Oh, right, sorry about referring you to O’Shera. Didn’t know you felt so strong about the disparity in value between your first and last name. I end up calling people by what clicks with me. Kinda like how I’m tempted to call Aaron over here Doki-Doki Badass after that friend of his stopped by. It’s a quirk of mine, my deepest apologies. You’re now listed as Cassandra in my mental contact list henceforth.”

He gave an affirming nod to appease the redhead then leaned over to his American acquaintance and spoke in a hushed tone, ”I’m rooting for you. Welcome to the battlefront.” Shiro gave him a thumbs up accompanied by an almost expression of encouragement. Tying back the conversation he alone had undone, the boy fixated his sight on Eris and stared deeply into her vermillion irises. Silence drowned out the ambience as it floated through the air that enveloped the table, in wait of a revivifying spark to strike. ”Erm… well… I-I think around thirty-five…?” Shiroo openly queried while he pressed a finger against his chin and looked up to the ceiling, as if a finite number of total casualties was going to descend from the heavens. ”Wait, wait… thirty-four. You incapacitated one player with the force given off after you swung your sword alone, if I read the report correctly… Maybe Drauni exaggerated some of the details. Still pretty impressive though!” He took another refreshing sip of the bitter beverage before he proceeded and locked eyes yet again, ”As plausible and extremely effective Lina's approach is, it’s hard to dissuade the heart once it has come to an ultimate decision. That’s not to say that your way is better, Eris. Personally, I think your departure would be more remotely close to a thorn being taken out of the Strykers’ side rather than a receptacle to coalesce their hatred and toss it all into in one big bang. Now that the thorn that could have been a vital reinforcement has become anything but that, the guild will now merely focus on bolstering its defense rather than chase down a powerhouse that has struck out on her own."

Shiro reclined in his chair and threw back his arms, ”Hester Prynne was abhorred by her townspeople for committing the sin of adultery. But after time and a crap ton of perseverance, she was soon revered for her good deeds in spite of the concentrated animosity she had to stave off all of those years. Yet I'm not in a position to chastise your decision. You do you, girl. So instead…” The boy grinned as suddenly shot up like an overly caffeinated liger and stood tall on his seat, playing off the fact that he almost fell forward onto the table in the process. He clenched his hand into a fist, giving off the image that he was charging up his chakra. The ball of condensed energy sliced through the air and turned into a pointed finger, ”ERIS REINHARDT! I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS AND I HOPE YOUR DINNER TASTES SUPEEEEEEEEERB!!!” Shiro hoped that was succinct enough.

Well. That was something. The student definitely didn’t fail in drawing the attention of every single sentient being in the general vicinity. Even the cashier had yet to sidekick him into the next century, frozen behind the counter. Still upright, the boy then looked over to Cassandra, ”Oh, right, Cassandra. I presume you’re having dinner with Eris, so same goes for you too. Don’t sink my ship.” With that, Shiro primly lept down from his provisional pedestal and flashed the two a parting smile. The bunny sewn into his eye patch seemed to be especially happy, ”If either of you two ever need to chat in a cordial manner IRL or IG, just hit me up. Gonna get some more joe. Lina, Aaron, I’ll BRB.” He began to make his way over to the cashier, who had remained awestruck by his display.

Finally no longer deeply engrossed in his conversation, Shiro took note of the sudden increase in idiosyncrasies in the area. Sure, no doubt the mall was a hotspot. Purple Crown Academy uniforms were easily discernible among the crowd of buyers, yet there were also more than just a few outliers present. Perhaps the jamokes with the medical masks were the ignition to a flash mob, and that dog of theirs was going to be a beast on the dance floor. A light chuckle escaped his lips at the thought, though he honestly wanted to fly in at light speed and submerge himself in that canine’s coat. He also spotted Emma and one of the individuals he had noted earlier in the midst of a hastened escape. Was his magical eye deceiving him? Was this the legendary love triangle of angst coming into fruition! Soon, the prophecy would be fulfilled! A girl who especially stood out strode by the table and was probably set on procuring one of the many delicacies offered here.

And there was also a cat.

”...I should come here more often.” He commented aloud before a hand chopped his head with the wrath of a thousand young suns.

”DON’T STAND ON THE CHAIRS!”
@KoL@Caits@Mega Birb@Kimiyosis@Lord of Evil@Lucius Cypher@TheWindel

Hibiki listened to Itsuko as she spoke to Hibiki. Apparently their parents knew each other before Itsuko's parents had a tragic accident. Hibiki covered her mouth and wordlessly whispered a sympathetic apology. Hibiki couldn't say she actually knew her parents, but she did know her parents did attend their funeral. She knew this when Itsuko mentioned that they died in a plane crash, and in Hibiki's home there was a portrait of two couples who Hibiki didn't know. Her father said they were close friends who died in a plane crash. What a small world.

She continued to listen quietly as Itsuko explained her life situation to her. Since her parents were dead, Itsuko was effectively orphaned. Her uncle wants to take her away from here, but Hibiki had a feeling that Itsuko didn't want that. And Hibiki didn't want that either. But despite all of it, Itsuko didn't want Hibiki's opinion to change. While she couldn't really say that it's the same, Hibiki did think things are a bit better. "Yeah. To think that your parents and my parents knew each other.... It think... If would have been great to have you as a friend, growing up. You're really cool."

Itsuko and Hibiki left the apartment and headed down to the ground floor. Itsuko was willing to take Hibiki home, but she kinda wanted to head back to school and try to find her bag. But Hibiki didn't want to tell Itsuko this, and then have Itsuko stress out thinking that Hibiki lost her bag because she was trying to save her. "Actually I was thinking of stopping by-" Suddenly, Train arrived and pounced on Hibiki. Despite how small Train was, his surprise attack was enough to catch Hibiki off balance as he clung to her back, crawling up her shoulders and into her arms. "Train?! Oh my gosh, I forgot about you! How did you find me all the way over here?"

@KoL@Lucius Cypher

It was readily apparent her driver was not pleased with this request, something Hildr had been expecting but was hoping for bit less hostility on the girl's part. "Look, I know we didn't come here to get hung up on family, but my daughter is hurting and I can't leave her alone out here any longer. Your the only one I can trust with this and will cover your every expense for the duration of the job and a year after too. Beyond that, if there is anything you need, just ask and I'll get it to you. And Boss? I'll cover your workload so you can act without being concerned about the paperwork." Hildr reached across and rested a hand along the back of her driver's neck, fingers rubbing soothing circles over the tensed girls muscles. "All you have to do are two simple things. Keep my baby alive, and make everyone who harms her wish they weren't. Cleaning up the mess is optional."

---

To: Dark Wraith
From: Broker of Fortune
Subject: Re: Business

I'll keep my eyes on the chats then, though you can't blame a girl for wanting some intimacy. Face-to-face interaction is the backbone of every lasting business relationship~

Broker sent the message and did just as she said, opening and expanding several message tabs in the corner of her HUD, keeping tabs on her area chat in reality as well as any other method she could conceive the mysterious Dark Wraith using to contact her. It was irksome for Broker of Fortune that Dark Wraith was so very insistent in doing everything through messages and some such. It made endearing herself and her services rather difficult when she couldn't have the emotional appeal of existing beyond a name on a message header, the kind of impact that was best fostered through holding a face in mind.

But alas, Dark Wraith will continue to hoard the power if she hides behind the mask of anonymity. Sigh...

"Ah." Broker pulled herself from her rumination and private messaging to direct her attention to the latest member of the Blue Guild. Going off initial impressions he seemed an alright sort who was good for levity at the very least, a nice thing to have when you get caught in a ten hour material grind to prepare for a large project. Nope, we don't have any tests though if we ever wind up like the Black City you are going to want to know your way around here if we get caught in a prolonged siege. Not that I see that happening anytime soon, only a fool targets the economic heart of the world, and we are on pretty good terms with the Green Guild so they'd be supporting us as well.

Since the tour was more or less done and there weren't any glaring issues raised by Blue Joker, Broker of Fortune hopped of the tank and clapped him on the shoulder good naturedly. "This completes your basic tour of the Blue Guild. Welcome to the Cobalt Bruisers! Get ready to work your ass off or Absinthe may take you out back and excommunicate you with a line of tanks. Now follow me, cause I am not the kind of person to dance alone in a club, we are going out and putting holes in Dissolutions. The guilt coffers never stop needing more mats, and you are only taking out of it if you put goods in."

The familiar weight of Fortune's Favor settled in her hand, loaded and ready for action.

"Oh, and you're driving the car."

"Train!" Asahi came running after his cat. One moment Asahi was just seconds away from picking up his cat, and the next the little bugger ran off like a bullet. Asahi also ran, though more at the speed of a sticky ball of gum on an incline. This was more cardio in one day than he spends fighting at The Arcade. By the time he finally caught up with Train he was out of breath, panting, and rather sweaty. Three awkward combinations when he also ended up in front of two girls. Asahi tried to regain his breath but was still wheezy, trying to explain himself before anything awkward happened.

"Sorry... Chasing my cat... Right there... In your arms." Train merely curled up against the girl, smiling at Asahi as if to mock him. Asahi just gave the cat a wry grin and bowed his head. "Apologies! Whew, huff huff... I'm Asahi. That's my cat, Train. For some reason he ran all the way over here after I found him at school. He must really like you, he normally never lets anyone get this close to him."

@Ryonara@KoL

---

Unlike Yoshino, Retsu quickly found herself in the swing of things. Retsu was on the dance floor, hands weaving intricate patterns in the air, her hips swaying to the beat like waves in an ocean. Even in the tightly packed confines of the dance floor, Retsu was able to leave streaks of red with her movements, adding her movements in the flashing scene. Soon the song changed, bringing a new rhythm to follow. Retsu soon returned to Yoshino, her head bobbing to the beat with a smile on her face. "Come on Tsugumi-san, you need more of a flow. Do you have a request? I could make it the next song for you."

At the same time, Retsu was messaging Broker of Fortune. Retsu had entered the local area chat under the pseudonym "Problem Child". One of her many alias, and somewhat frequent here in this chat. As Problem Child, Retsu never participated in the the main chat and only did private chats. She ignored anyone who tried to invite her; she would only accept invites from known individuals. Now that she was in the chat, Retsu waited for Broker of Fortune to find and send her an invite. At the same time, Retsu found herself near a group of other red-haired girls, attempting to blend in with the crowd. One could never be too careful.

@TheWindel@Lonewolf685

---

Weiss Reisen was not hard to miss. As his name implied, he was absolutely colossus; he was larger than most of the mechs. He simply sat right underneath one of the sky hangar doors, likely so that way he could stand up without breaking the entire building. When Abyss Walker came within sight Weiss Reisen sent her a trade request, offering the Outlaw Declaration as well as a immediate sum of EXP. It was a hefty amount, but not enough to level up. Surprisingly enough, when he spoke to her it was soft, as if he was whispering. "Create discord. Kill their weaker ones first, the stronger ones will not break as easily. Here is the bounty." Weiss Reisen also gave Abyss Walker a list of names, Avatars from the Ebony Strykers that he wanted her to eliminate. But there was one caveat:

The names were Paper Moon, Rocket Lancer, Arms Slave, and Leviathan. They were Sweepers. "They are amassing machines to hunt our treasures. Destroy them." Another hefty sum of EXP was given to Abyss Walker. If she was level one the amount he just gave her would have elevated her to level 2, but alas, still not enough. "You main objective is to destroy those machines. You will receive full payment when you complete this task. Everything else is secondary." However, unbeknownst to Abyss Walker and anyone else around, Weiss Reisen had done something to her character. It only affected a selected few, namely those of the Ebony Strykers. Whenever anyone would look upon her and find her affiliations, her guild would display the Ebony Strykers instead of the Ivory Masks.

"Now go. Strike while the iron is hot."

@VarionusNW

The boys were quite surprised to see Thomas being taken away by some girl they didn't know, but the boy didn't seem too bothered. He called out to Thomas before he was gone. "Good luck, mate! We'll chat later!" His final statement had a sinister tone to it, but soon he and his boys stood up to leave. Of course, not before gawking at Shiro and his bombastic display. A couple of the guys chuckled to each other and got the attention of the leader, who decided to walk up to Shiro. "Oi mate, you autistic or something? Why ya so loud?" The leader then pout a hand on Shiro's shoulder, pulling him close to whisper in his ear. "I'm pretty sure that sweet slice of ass over there just called you a Sweeper. We have some business to discuss. Follow me, or we'll find you. Whatever floats." With that, the boy, the dog, and his friends left the food court, heading in the direction of the local game center. Should Shiro actually choose to follow them, he would find them playing a rhythm dance game, and doing really good. Even the dog had some smooth moves.

@Lord of Evil@Jedly

Meanwhile in Deep Ground, the Outlaws quickly found themselves in the middle of a counter attack. The one that Hellflame had lit o fire had stopped trying to put out the flames, instead choosing to try and kill Hellflames by filling the air around him with explosions. He had a grenade launcher, but instead of firing directly at Hellflames he fired around them, where the grenades exploded when the flying sorcerer was within the effective blast radius. Accuracy wasn't so much the aim as saturation was.

As for the sudden arrival of Star Child, the other outlaws were momentumarly stunned, but the one that Star Child attempted to kick failed to get knocked down. Knocked back perhaps, but considering that he was actually a Duelist, it'd take more than a small child to get him on the ground. Of the three, one who was a warlock summoned a demon to assist the duelist in attacking Star Child and the lone rogue. The duelist quickly dashed to Star Child, holding his sword out to impale the avatar through the heart. The Demon roared, and large white arms exploded from the ground randomly, flailing and grabbing anything within reach. Meanwhile the bombardier and another mage attempted to kill Hellflame. The mage summoned forth a portal, with perverted tentacles coming out to do unspeakable things to Hellflame once he was within their grasp. The tentacles seemed unaffected by the explosions or Hellflame's flaming wings, they they did make the effort to avoid his attacks as they came after him.

All the while, the lone rogue was trying to put some distance between herself and the outlaws, but was grabbed by one of the hands and thrown into the air. Another hand burst from the ground, ready to grab her and slam her into the ground.

@Scarifar@RoflsMazoy

Alex

To: Maribel Harper
From: Alex Coleman
Subject: Re:Re: How do you use the copier?

Corpse Collector only shot at me. I could run from that; I didn’t even help out all that much honestly. I crashed a car and got shot at. Then I fell through a floor. I achieved a grand total of zero things in that fight, besides maybe a nice backing track. This copier on the other hand? I’d rather face Corpse Collector naked, wielding a butter knife, surrounded by thousands of Dissolutions.

Hurry and save me from this hell made of paper and ink toner~! :P

Sending the message Alex was at his wits end, with this damn copier he clenched his teeth and punched the air above it

“Pieceofgoddamngarbagecantevenworkproperlyisweartogodimgoingtobreakthispieceofjunkandburnitifitdoesntstartworkingsoon!” then accidentally lashing out, Alex’s fist came down on top of it and as if it was the Fonz with an actual jukebox the copier whirred to life, lights glowing and started spitting out papers.

“Are you kidding me? What is this, a cartoon? Since when does hitting the thing make it work?!” perplexed Alex decided to not worry about it, the point was, it was working and he could finish the job Bel pawned off on to him. Wondering when the guild leader would actually arrive, the smell of ink made him heady and really wanted an escape.

@TheWindel

"Are every single one of you stupid?" Eris asked with the same subtlety of a sledgehammer, after listening to all the arguing about Eclipse Princess being an Outlaw and things like that. "Why does everyone make so much drama over being an Outlaw? If nothing else, it is the most cost efficient, albeit risky, way of acquiring experience points on Deep Ground. Actually, the fact that the Ebony Strikers were intended to be a guild built around the usage of such tactics but are now housing the whiny children who can step forward and fend for themselves is a grievous offense to the guild's way of being. For crying out loud, that is the guild known for such things as in game prostitution and assassination, if any of you do not remember."

"But, like I said, I don't care anymore. You can do as you wish, reform the Strikers and turn them on the Saccharine Riders of the Bubblegum King, I just can't be less bothered about it." The look of boredom rose on Eris' face as she spewed forth her usual load of venom. Whether she was being sincere and back to her normal senses, or she was trying to cover up her real thoughts by being vitriolic, only Eris would know, though in all likelyhood, it was a mix of both. "Furthermore," Eris said, getting up from her seat, "you're mistaken about one thing, Shiro Kawabata. For the whole of my life, I have been nothing but the Bad Apple that breeds conflict."

"The the only problem was aligning the self in my mind and the I that is perceived by others. Either way, this is where we part for the evening." Eris said while taking her leave, making just one quick pass besides Aaron and scooping one of his fries, "It seems I have to make good use of the rest of my twenty four hours of a head start, right?" Eris threw the fry on her mouth and walked back home without even looking behind her to check if Cassandra was following.

"I... shouldn't have done that." Eris thought resting a hand over her stomach while she rode the elevator back to her apartment.

"Oh? And you say that you would willingly follow a group of people you don't know, one of them having a gun, because they said they had business with you?" Emma said with an expression of disbelief on her face as she and Thomas got inside the cinema, "Prez, sometimes I think you're too naive for your own good. If you go back there and get beaten by those guys, remember that I told you."

"But, if you are going to throw the ticket I bought away." The readhead was about to hand the ticket to Thomas, but if he was going to go and meet those goons, she could as well use it in a better way, "I guess I'll see if Nixon wants to keep company to a lonely girl? You really don't care, right, Prez?" Emma said with a teasing tone behind her voice. Looking over the food court and noticing that the people around Aaron's table were starting to disperse, Emma sent a short voice message to Aaron, "Behind you you, Nixon!" as she waved for him to come closer while waiting for Thomas' reply.

"I would like it too, Hibiki. Actually, we still can do that, we are just kids, after al- Wha!?" Itsuko was glad with Hibiki's reply, having another friends would be good, or at east that's what the that person said to Itsuko. However, before she could finish saying that they could still grow together (both of them were still children, after all), a cat came running out of the blue and barrelled Hibiki.

Itsuko actually side-stepped out of the way of the homing cat on the nick of time and tried to help Hibiki keep her balance, reaching forth to grab the the other girl's arm but, the sudden movement got her unprepared. Itsuko fell, potentially dragging Hibiki with her (if Hibiki didn't let go of Itsuko's hand). The blonde hit the floor hit her right shoulder, wincing as the fall knocked some air out of her. Anyone that knew a bit about common injuries would notice that Itsuko probably fell over a cracked rib.

Though, the only one who would know for sure was a certain purple-haired girl passing through the food court nearby, probably from a distance which she could listen to Itsuko's cry and subsequent attempt to not worry Hibiki and that boy that just ran into them while seeking the cat. "Gah! H-heh, I guess... you can call that a cat-astrophe, right, Hibiki? Hehe-Ghh!" Itsuko said, as she tried to get back to her feet.

Meanwhile, on the gates of the Blue City, Absinthe had just now located a certain Azure Panther and was staring down the shape of the smaller avatar with a grin on her lips. "Well if it's not a thematic day? Titania-sama is proud of welcoming any who wishes to join us. That's, if you are willing to work for the Cobalt Bruisers' glory. So, how do you wish to begin? With a basic tour around the place, or maybe already going out to work?" Absinthe said, before smiling at Azure Panther. "By the way, do I know you from somewhere? You strike me as conspicuously familiar."

---

"That's not really the point." Thomas said quietly. "Did you see that dog?"
He glanced back at the great shaggy thing which was practically drooling all over the floor.
"Look at it! There's no way he could've snuck that in." He said as he turned back, his eyes blazing with interest. "I need to know what it's for, and I'm pretty sure I would've been fine."

But then he heard the sleeveless boy's reply and he sighed as the light faded from his eyes. He covered his face with his hands as he massaged his eyes while Emma gave him another option. It was tempting, honestly, to just let her go and do something else, but this was something he had to face. As a man.

"Pass me that." He said grabbing the outstretched ticket. "I needed to talk to you anyway."
He held it up in front of him in his free hand and started reading it.
"Could you... Let go of my arm already?" He asked Emma.

@KoL

Aaron watched Eris go before looking down at the last surviving members of his french fries. "Y'know, I shouldn't've offered." He sighed, debating whether he was really gonna end up hunting Eclipse Princess down or not, and soon decided on making an attempt if he was running the majority of the buffs that existed in Deep Ground. All in all, the chances were quite slim.

He did jumped slightly as his phone buzzed in his pocket, quickly withdrawing it to find what the commotion was. He opened a message from Emma and smirked slightly, leaning his head back far enough to see behind him. And there she was, right behind him... and standing within sight of a large, fluffy dog, a few men that looked ready for a fight, and reporter that appeared to have a death wish. Standing quickly and shoving the few remaining fries into his mouth, Aaron gave a farewell nod to Shiro and Cassandra before grabbing the caffeinated beverage that belonged to his crush and crossing the food court to her. "Your drink, m'lady." He held the cup of coffee out to her and bowed his head in a mock salute, awaiting her to take the beverage.

As he held Emma's drink, he took a quick look around from his position. For the moment, things seemed peaceful enough. No punches were being thrown, people were talking to each other, and everyone was alive and happy. For some reason, he expected at least one of those to change in the next few moments.

Yoshino Tsugumi

Ok, so maybe her dance skills weren’t exactly on par with her partner’s. Actually, that was quite an understatement because Retsu was quite literally a moving ball of flashing red flame on the dance floor. The Student President felt a little outclassed and a little miffed with the fact that she was being so thoroughly upstaged like this. Well at least the song had changed.

“No, I think I’m fine with this song,” Yoshino said with renewed confidence, adjusting her glasses. This song had a much slower beat to her and she soon got her step in place with the rhythm. Soon enough she was swaying her hips to and fro, bopping her head with the flow and displaying something partway manageable. Much better than her last attempt.

---

Maribel Harper

“Whoah, nice moves Jukey. Remind me not to get you mad,” Bel said, as if appearing out of nowhere. How long she had been standing there watching was honestly hard to say, but evidently by the look of perplexion on her face it must have been a while. Long enough to have witnessed Alex’s deep-seated rage manifesting. She walked over to poke at the copier before grinning coyly at the boy.

“See, I knew you had it in you Jukey! You just needed some healthy inspiration like deadlines. Maybe when you get enough skill points, I’ll let you test out that aggression on something a little more…soft >:3”

Bel gave him a wink before looking through the files he had just completed. She nodded and hummed, confirmation that he had done a good day’s work. Before he could protest, she snatched up his hand and led him out of the small room and down the hallways of Purple Crown.

“Well, I guess you did get these done like I asked you to. Even if you failed the time trial, you still got a B-Rank for effort. We’ll just drop these at the Student Council Office before the escort mission begins. How about a round of DDR at the Shopping Arcade? It’s totes not an excuse to flaunt away my Best Girl status or anything like that :3”

Before he could question it, she was already leading him first towards the Council room and then to the Shopping Arcade. As she dragged him inside, she caught the eye of the strange purple-haired girl from before. Both of them seemed to nod to each other and while Bel went inside and straight to the DDR, the newcomer went out.

The newcomer had heard Itsuko’s cry and had immediately dashed off in that general direction. In short notice, she arrived with two smoothies in hand, one grape and one melon. She looked at Hibiki with a piercing stare but her body language held no malice.

“Itsuko, are you alright?”

Back in the Blue Guild, two individuals were experiencing two very different things. Blue Joker had nodded his head in compliance, bobbing along for the journey until the tour came to the stop. Seems he was an easy enough fellow to get along with and with nothing else planned, he answered Broker with a, “Sure, whatever you say lady, eheh.”

Meanwhile, Azure Panther huffed as Absinthe finally showed herself. About damn time too because wasting her life here was not going to reflect well on the Blue Guild’s maintenance. She listened to the fairy’s excuses before gasping in near outrage at Absinthe forgetting who she was.

“Excuse me? I would think you’d remember me since my sister runs this Guild,” she said hotly, already annoyed with Absinthe’s feckless nature.

In the real world, another being was greatly annoyed and she was very tempted to just hiss in Hildr’s face and floor it off back to the large building looming in the distance. Back instead of doing that and taking the easy way out, the girl listened and waited, Hildr’s touch invoking something inside of her. Well…it could be fun to mess with some unsuspecting fools. All she had to do was protect the edgy brat for however long Hildr deemed necessary. So with a heavy sigh, the driver turned to give Hildr a large, manic grin.

“Oh ho! I guess you totes got yourself a deal, yo!”

---

As the outlaw's blade raced to pierce his heart, Christopher suddenly jumped into its path as Arkadian fell back. Christopher closed his eyes and his fur began to glow with an otherworldly light as he was impaled by the sword.

"Christopher! Noooo!" Arkadian said, reaching out to him.

Christopher's health plummeted but he didn't die. As he gathered cosmic power, it began to heal him even with the sword inside of him. His health dropped continually due to bleed damage but it restored itself faster than it could damage him. The outlaw would find it difficult to kill Christopher, and next round he would face the full brunt of Cosmosis if the outlaw still had him on his sword.

Arkadian meanwhile was reflecting on how way out of his depth he really was. He could feel the difference in level between him and the outlaws and also just how incompatible his abilities were with this kind of combat. He'd tried taking a Duelist head on and all he could do was let Christopher take the hit. He didn't want to die and he knew Christopher knew what he was doing, but it hurt him all the same. With Christopher on the Outlaw's sword he didn't have much power, but with what little power he had, maybe he could do something else…

White hands burst from the ground all around them and the rogue was thrown into the air.

"It's not like I'm using it anyway!" He shouted, raising his staff.

Another hand burst out of the ground to throw the rogue into the ground. Arkadian threw his staff, at the space between the rogue and the hand. If it went right, it would hit the palm of the hand and the hand might then reflexively grab the staff and throw it instead of the rogue. It was obviously the demon that summoned the hands but he didn't know the extent that it controlled them. They seemed to be coming out at random so he was hoping that he was right…

---

@Lucius Cypher @Scarifar

Cassandra sighed wearily, and rubbed her temples, finding herself tired of trying to find the right way, of trying to keep her footing in this constantly shifting world of verbal politics. Silent, she rose, took a few steps after Eris, then stopped and looked back. "She is my hope. Hurt her, in tne game or real life, and...well, you might get to see that I am not just a timid healer." would Cassandra be there, after all, if it wasn't for Eris?

She followed after Eris, whether she was welcome or not. She didn't particularly want to go back to her dorm. And sne was tired of having the times they hung out interrupted, in one form or another. And Casandra found that she didn't entirely trust the security in the dorms. Being with Eris might not be safe, givin all that had happened, but Cassandra felt safer with her. "With so many older siblings, sometimes it can seems like you are just one of a whole. Sometimes it feels like I was jist another O'Shera. That all people saw was my last name, my family. I don't feel like that anymore, but I didn't let what they thought of me change who I was. Don't let anyone change who you are, Eris. Otherwise you're just who they want you to be"

She noticed Eris rest a hand on ner stomach, "You're still feelong unsettled? I brought some soup, but it can always be put away for later if you don't think it will settle right"