Asura

CLOSED [DnD5e] Perils of Xepreath - Character-driven Adventures

Expressing my formal interest. Will be playing a Conquest Paladin/Undead Warlock.

Fate/Eigengrau

Berserker

Name: Jack the Ripper
Class: Berserker
Personality: Jack is, by all accounts, a very agreeable fellow. He is cordial, impeccably polite, and composed well beyond what one would attribute to a mad slasher contained within the Berserker container. That is, however, not to say that he is a total gentleman. As he is the very concept of the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, he is completely and utterly without scruples. To kill, maim, torture, devour, these things he approaches with the same dignified poise he embodies in all else. He will resort to whatever measures he deems necessary to achieve his goals, no matter how grotesque or underhanded those may be.

In regards to his Master, Jack is generally deferential, although he is certainly not above gently chiding them to see reason when they act in such a way as to jeopardize their shared goal. While it is not his desire, he will act against the wishes of his Master, but only when it becomes clear that doing so is the only way to ensure both the safety of his benefactor, and their assured victory. It should be noted that he is also particularly fond of female Masters, though whether that is a personal feeling, or simply an unfortunate quirk of his legend, is a mystery even to him.

While some Heroic Spirits may relish in the opportunity afforded by the Grail War, to once again do glorious battle, or to accomplish some long forgone dream they could not in life, Jack's goal is of a simpler sort. A mere amalgamation of the mythos surrounding Jack the Ripper, he simply desires truth—he wishes to know the true identity of the man behind the murders, and put to rest the speculation that led to his bizarre existence.

Stats:
Parameters are determined by current transformation
Strength: —
Endurance: —
Agility: —
Mana: —
Luck: —

Class Skills:
Madness Enhancement: —
Because Jack's fundamental attribute is madness, an inversion occurred during his summoning and this Skill is sealed. The seal, however, is extremely fragile.

Personal Skills:
Thousand Faces: A
As Jack the Ripper's true identity was never discovered, he is simultaneously nobody and everybody. This manifests as ability to transform oneself into any human occupation, animal or object that has been presented as the true identity of Jack the Ripper. The user is capable of making use of any Skills the target possesses, weakened to Rank E.
Wanderer of the Misty Night: A
Born from Jack's nature as a stalker of the night. Grants an equal rank of Presence Concealment as long as it is night. Ordinarily, this would only be applicable during night. However, as the conditions of current day Fuyuki match closely to the smog filled streets from which Jack's legend arose, the skill's applicability and potency have been increased.

Noble Phantasm(s):
Name: From Hell: Evil Fog Perishes With the London Dawn
Rank: A+ — E-
Type: Anti-Unit
Effects: Based on the theory that Jack the Ripper was a demon, this Noble Phantasm transforms Jack into a demon in the sense of a phantasmal species. Because it is rooted in the latent fear and unease of nearby people, its power changes in proportion to the population density within a radius of 5 km. In a desert wasteland, its strength is only equal to that of a large beast of prey. In an urban area, it displays a power equivalent to that of a Knight-class Servant.

Because it takes the form of a demon that humans envision as their own natural enemy, it inflicts particularly effective damage on humans.

Name: Natural Born Killers: That Is Not Worth the End of Tragedy
Rank: B
Type: Anti-Army
Effects: A Noble Phantasm based on the theory that Jack the Ripper was a group. Enables the creation of multiple bodies according to the Master's magical energy. The last remaining body automatically becomes the main body. It can also be said that every body is the main one. The maximum number depends on the quantity of the Master's magical energy. The number of bodies decreases in proportion to the strength of the entity transformed into.

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Fate/Eigengrau

Master of Matou

Name: Matou Shinako
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Objective for the Grail: Pest Control
Command Seal:

Personality: Shinako is many things, and startling few of them are positive. She is narcissistic and self-obsessed, believing herself superior to her contemporaries. It is not enough for her to defeat her foes, whether they be true enemies or merely individuals she sees as competition. No, she must conquer them, see them utterly dominated and humiliated before her very eyes. She is hungry for power of any kind, and relishes in the opportunity to hold that power over others, vying for dominion in almost every aspect of her life, desperate to cling onto whatever small semblances of authority she can dig up. She engages in the heinous and debased not out of any greater philosophical purpose, or even for the acts themselves, but because she can. It makes her feel strong, powerful, in control. She has, for many years, suffered under the cruelty of another, and to cope, she enacts the very same acts of cruelty onto others, relishing in their agony and the fact that she is capable of inflicting such onto them.

It would be unbecoming of her to simply allow this ravenous, unquenchable desire be shown, however, so she has carefully cultivated a persona to mask this—in her every day life she is sweet and caring, if a bit domineering, always at the forefront of whatever group she finds herself in, masking the darkness within her heart with all the manipulative skill of her sire. But it is just that: a mask. True compassion is something she has never experienced before, and has little interest in pursuing, seeing it as a frivolity that she can neither afford nor abide by. A truly rotten individual to her core.

Bio: The latest scion of the Matou family, a spark among the dying embers of a once promising clan condemned to the indignation of decline. The heirs of the Matou had, for generations before her, increasingly lost their potency. Exiled from their homeland and rejected by the lands of Japan, it was their lot in life to dwindle entirely, until not a single trace of magic could be found among their descendants. In an attempt to staunch this inevitable decline, the patriarch of the Matou, a cunning man with knowledge far beyond his years, bartered with what influence he still had, and obtained suitable breeding fodder for his dying bloodline. It was through careful augmentation and manipulation of this woman—of Shinako's mother—that she came into the world healthy, strong, and most importantly, worthy of continuing on the family legacy.

From her earliest years, Shinako was trained at the knee of her grandfather, learning the secrets of their lineage's magecraft. To say it was unpleasant was an understatement. It was agonizing, horrifying, vile work. It drove her to the brink of madness countless times, rendering her down to the thinnest scraps of humanity again and again, barely giving her time to recover before doing it all over again. But it never broke her. She was strong, after all. She endured. Time and time again, after days and weeks in that infernal basement, in that hellish realm, she endured. It didn't matter what it was that kept he going. Strength of will, hatred for her forebearer, an animalistic desperation to live; none of it mattered. Not to him. All that mattered was the power of the heir, carefully tending the ember that was Matou Shinako to be a worthy heir to the Matou. In that, she unfortunately provided.

As she grew from child to teen, from teen to woman, the grueling work became less and less grueling. She was allowed, as an act of backhanded mercy, to live a normal life among her peers, to go out and learn of the world around them to better prepare for the battles to come, where she would finally realize the ambitions of her family's five hundred year dream. It was no mercy. She could never be normal. Not after all she had been through. But every day life proved to be an adequate outlet for the violence she felt within, and she had long since learned to be discrete with her desires, so her grandfather never had cause to deny her what little pleasure she found in existence.

Until the volcano erupted, harbinger of her time of reckoning—the Fourth Heaven's Feel.

Magic Circuit Switch: The sound of gnashing teeth
Number of Magic Circuits: B
Quality of Magic Circuits: B

Elemental Affinities: Imaginary Numbers, Water
Attributes: Absorption, Reinforcement
Origin: Consumption
Magecraft:
General Magecraft: Although not formally schooled at the Clocktower, Shinako received a comprehensive education under her grandfather, Matou Zouken, and therefore possesses all the cursory skills of a true Magi.

Absorption: The basis from which all Matou magecraft is derived. It is "the binding of things to one's self", the ability to consume that which is another's and use it for one's own purposes. It goes without saying, therefore, that this aspect of Shinako's magecraft is especially useful when employed against the brute force tactics of other Magi, turning their strength into her own.

Familiars: While Absorption may be the basis for the magecraft of the Matou family, the vector with which it is employed is through their familiars. Specially bred worms are the method through which Shinako's magecraft is employed, and combined with her unique elemental affinity, provide her with a dizzying array of familiars capable of a wide variety of tasks.

Bounded Fields: A particular specialization of Shinako herself. She prides herself in the strength and complexity of the Bounded Fields she is capable or raising. Using her familiars as the necessary catalyst, she is capable of rapidly raising complex barriers and dividing lines without the lengthy set up time usually required. By devouring the energy used to assail them, she can further reinforce their strength. As someone who herself feels trapped by circumstance, Shinako takes particular joy in sealing off every possible escape for her prey.

Number Space: A curiosity for most, this rare element has been carefully incorporated into Shinako's capabilities. It grants the possessor the ability to access the Imaginary Number Space, a plane different from the Material, where aspects such as time have no meaning. Primarily used as a "storage" space for her numberless familiars, it also imbues her magecraft with a peculiar potency against spiritual beings, while limiting its effectiveness against those of physical form. In combination with the Matou's fundamental aspect, to bind and absorb, it is possible to subsume these entities under the proper circumstances.

Crest: The result of five hundred years of ambition, the Matou family crest is not a simple sigil etched onto the skin of its wielder, but a living organism—a worm that lives within the flesh of the Magi. It feeds off the bearer's magical energy, and in return provokes the body to produce ever greater heights to sustain itself, functioning as an artificial circuit of sorts. The very magecraft of the Matou is contained within the worm, and by its torturous fusion with the host, it carves the knowledge of generations into their very nerves.
Weapon:
Shinako possesses a truly incomprehensible number of Crest Worm familiars, bred over countless years and stored safely within her number space, and in caches throughout Fuyuki. While the most ordinary of these is not particularly powerful, their sheer number can overwhelm unprepared or otherwise incapacitated foes. There are a number of more powerful varieties, however, bred for specific purposes. Some even form the basis of Mystic Codes, treasured tools used to further augment her effectiveness as a Magi.

The most notable of which are listed here.

Second Skin: A gelatinous organism formed from numerous Crest Worms, Second Skin serves the exact purpose for which it is named—it coats the user's body entirely, forming a secondary layer of protection. Fed directly by the user's magical energy, the malleable flesh of the Code hardens rapidly in response to harm, and while unlikely to do much against the weaponry fielded by Heroic Spirits, it provides consummate protection against mundane means of damage. When employed against enemy magecraft, it siphons off the very mana used to form means of attack, reinforcing itself against the effect in question to provide even greater heights of defense. As it is rather grotesque to look upon, Shinako usually restricts its cover to the portions of her body hidden beneath clothing.

Blade Wings: Carnivorous, flying insects that have been bred from the Matou's Crest Worms. They are fast, ravenous, and impeccably coordinated. Typically deployed in large swarms, they overwhelm their prey by attack from every direction simultaneously, stripping flesh from bone like winged piranhas. Shinako's primary combat familiar.

Death Worms: Huge, multi-segmented worms with massive, razor sharp mandibles and armored plating, these centipede-like creatures are Shinako's heavy hitters. She only has a handful of such creatures at any given point, as they are quite arduous to make, and so she deploys them only sparingly, using their powerful bodies to burrow beneath the battlefield and take her opponents by surprise. True combat familiars, befitting the expertise of the Matou.

Communicators: A specially bred worm with dozens of chitin plates across its body. In response to magical energy from its master, the worm will vibrate these plates synchronously, creating sound. They are complex enough to mimic human speech, and are used by Shinako to communicate at distance with orthodox Magi incapable of buying a Nokia.

Fate/Eigengrau

Master of Matou

Name: Matou Shinako
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Objective for the Grail: Pest Control
Command Seal:

Personality: Shinako is many things, and startling few of them are positive. She is narcissistic and self-obsessed, believing herself superior to her contemporaries. It is not enough for her to defeat her foes, whether they be true enemies or merely individuals she sees as competition. No, she must conquer them, see them utterly dominated and humiliated before her very eyes. She is hungry for power of any kind, and relishes in the opportunity to hold that power over others, vying for dominion in almost every aspect of her life, desperate to cling onto whatever small semblances of authority she can dig up. She engages in the heinous and debased not out of any greater philosophical purpose, or even for the acts themselves, but because she can. It makes her feel strong, powerful, in control. She has, for many years, suffered under the cruelty of another, and to cope, she enacts the very same acts of cruelty onto others, relishing in their agony and the fact that she is capable of inflicting such onto them.

It would be unbecoming of her to simply allow this ravenous, unquenchable desire be shown, however, so she has carefully cultivated a persona to mask this—in her every day life she is sweet and caring, if a bit domineering, always at the forefront of whatever group she finds herself in, masking the darkness within her heart with all the manipulative skill of her sire. But it is just that: a mask. True compassion is something she has never experienced before, and has little interest in pursuing, seeing it as a frivolity that she can neither afford nor abide by. A truly rotten individual to her core.

Bio: The latest scion of the Matou family, a spark among the dying embers of a once promising clan condemned to the indignation of decline. The heirs of the Matou had, for generations before her, increasingly lost their potency. Exiled from their homeland and rejected by the lands of Japan, it was their lot in life to dwindle entirely, until not a single trace of magic could be found among their descendants. In an attempt to staunch this inevitable decline, the patriarch of the Matou, a cunning man with knowledge far beyond his years, bartered with what influence he still had, and obtained suitable breeding fodder for his dying bloodline. It was through careful augmentation and manipulation of this woman—of Shinako's mother—that she came into the world healthy, strong, and most importantly, worthy of continuing on the family legacy.

From her earliest years, Shinako was trained at the knee of her grandfather, learning the secrets of their lineage's magecraft. To say it was unpleasant was an understatement. It was agonizing, horrifying, vile work. It drove her to the brink of madness countless times, rendering her down to the thinnest scraps of humanity again and again, barely giving her time to recover before doing it all over again. But it never broke her. She was strong, after all. She endured. Time and time again, after days and weeks in that infernal basement, in that hellish realm, she endured. It didn't matter what it was that kept he going. Strength of will, hatred for her forebearer, an animalistic desperation to live; none of it mattered. Not to him. All that mattered was the power of the heir, carefully tending the ember that was Matou Shinako to be a worthy heir to the Matou. In that, she unfortunately provided.

As she grew from child to teen, from teen to woman, the grueling work became less and less grueling. She was allowed, as an act of backhanded mercy, to live a normal life among her peers, to go out and learn of the world around them to better prepare for the battles to come, where she would finally realize the ambitions of her family's five hundred year dream. It was no mercy. She could never be normal. Not after all she had been through. But every day life proved to be an adequate outlet for the violence she felt within, and she had long since learned to be discrete with her desires, so her grandfather never had cause to deny her what little pleasure she found in existence.

Until the volcano erupted, harbinger of her time of reckoning—the Fourth Heaven's Feel.

Magic Circuit Switch: The sound of gnashing teeth
Number of Magic Circuits: B++
Quality of Magic Circuits: B++

Elemental Affinities: Imaginary Numbers, Water
Attributes: Absorption, Reinforcement
Origin: Consumption
Magecraft:
General Magecraft: Although not formally schooled at the Clocktower, Shinako received a comprehensive education under her grandfather, Matou Zouken, and therefore possesses all the cursory skills of a true Magi.

Absorption: The basis from which all Matou magecraft is derived. It is "the binding of things to one's self", the ability to consume that which is another's and use it for one's own purposes. It goes without saying, therefore, that this aspect of Shinako's magecraft is especially useful when employed against the brute force tactics of other Magi, turning their strength into her own.

Familiars: While Absorption may be the basis for the magecraft of the Matou family, the vector with which it is employed is through their familiars. Specially bred worms are the method through which Shinako's magecraft is employed, and combined with her unique elemental affinity, provide her with a dizzying array of familiars capable of a wide variety of tasks.

Bounded Fields: A particular specialization of Shinako herself. She prides herself in the strength and complexity of the Bounded Fields she is capable or raising. Using her familiars as the necessary catalyst, she is capable of rapidly raising complex barriers and dividing lines without the lengthy set up time usually required. By devouring the energy used to assail them, she can further reinforce their strength. As someone who herself feels trapped by circumstance, Shinako takes particular joy in sealing off every possible escape for her prey.

Number Space: A curiosity for most, this rare element has been carefully incorporated into Shinako's capabilities. It grants the possessor the ability to access the Imaginary Number Space, a plane different from the Material, where aspects such as time have no meaning. Primarily used as a "storage" space for her numberless familiars, it also imbues her magecraft with a peculiar potency against spiritual beings, while limiting its effectiveness against those of physical form. In combination with the Matou's fundamental aspect, to bind and absorb, it is possible to subsume these entities under the proper circumstances.

Crest: The result of five hundred years of ambition, the Matou family crest is not a simple sigil etched onto the skin of its wielder, but a living organism—a worm that lives within the flesh of the Magi. It feeds off the bearer's magical energy, and in return provokes the body to produce ever greater heights to sustain itself, functioning as an artificial circuit of sorts. The very magecraft of the Matou is contained within the worm, and by its torturous fusion with the host, it carves the knowledge of generations into their very nerves.
Weapon:
Shinako possesses a truly incomprehensible number of Crest Worm familiars, bred over countless years and stored safely within her number space, and in caches throughout Fuyuki. While the most ordinary of these is not particularly powerful, their sheer number can overwhelm unprepared or otherwise incapacitated foes. There are a number of more powerful varieties, however, bred for specific purposes. Some even form the basis of Mystic Codes, treasured tools used to further augment her effectiveness as a Magi.

The most notable of which are listed here.

Second Skin: A gelatinous organism formed from numerous Crest Worms, Second Skin serves the exact purpose for which it is named—it coats the user's body entirely, forming a secondary layer of protection. Fed directly by the user's magical energy, the malleable flesh of the Code hardens rapidly in response to harm, and while unlikely to do much against the weaponry fielded by Heroic Spirits, it provides consummate protection against mundane means of damage. When employed against enemy magecraft, it siphons off the very mana used to form means of attack, reinforcing itself against the effect in question to provide even greater heights of defense. As it is rather grotesque to look upon, Shinako usually restricts its cover to the portions of her body hidden beneath clothing.

Blade Wings: Carnivorous, flying insects that have been bred from the Matou's Crest Worms. They are fast, ravenous, and impeccably coordinated. Typically deployed in large swarms, they overwhelm their prey by attack from every direction simultaneously, stripping flesh from bone like winged piranhas. Shinako's primary combat familiar.

Death Worms: Huge, multi-segmented worms with massive, razor sharp mandibles and armored plating, these centipede-like creatures are Shinako's heavy hitters. She only has a handful of such creatures at any given point, as they are quite arduous to make, and so she deploys them only sparingly, using their powerful bodies to burrow beneath the battlefield and take her opponents by surprise. True combat familiars, befitting the expertise of the Matou.

Communicators: A specially bred worm with dozens of chitin plates across its body. In response to magical energy from its master, the worm will vibrate these plates synchronously, creating sound. They are complex enough to mimic human speech, and are used by Shinako to communicate at distance with orthodox Magi incapable of buying a Nokia.

Berserker

Name: Jack the Ripper
Class: Berserker
Personality: Jack is, by all accounts, a very agreeable fellow. He is cordial, impeccably polite, and composed well beyond what one would attribute to a mad slasher contained within the Berserker container. That is, however, not to say that he is a total gentleman. As he is the very concept of the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, he is completely and utterly without scruples. To kill, maim, torture, devour, these things he approaches with the same dignified poise he embodies in all else. He will resort to whatever measures he deems necessary to achieve his goals, no matter how grotesque or underhanded those may be.

In regards to his Master, Jack is generally deferential, although he is certainly not above gently chiding them to see reason when they act in such a way as to jeopardize their shared goal. While it is not his desire, he will act against the wishes of his Master, but only when it becomes clear that doing so is the only way to ensure both the safety of his benefactor, and their assured victory. It should be noted that he is also particularly fond of female Masters, though whether that is a personal feeling, or simply an unfortunate quirk of his legend, is a mystery even to him.

While some Heroic Spirits may relish in the opportunity afforded by the Grail War, to once again do glorious battle, or to accomplish some long forgone dream they could not in life, Jack's goal is of a simpler sort. A mere amalgamation of the mythos surrounding Jack the Ripper, he simply desires truth—he wishes to know the true identity of the man behind the murders, and put to rest the speculation that led to his bizarre existence.

Stats:
Parameters are determined by current transformation
Strength: —
Endurance: —
Agility: —
Mana: —
Luck: —

Class Skills:
Madness Enhancement: —
Because Jack's fundamental attribute is madness, an inversion occurred during his summoning and this Skill is sealed. The seal, however, is extremely fragile.

Personal Skills:
Thousand Faces: A
As Jack the Ripper's true identity was never discovered, he is simultaneously nobody and everybody. This manifests as ability to transform oneself into any human occupation, animal or object that has been presented as the true identity of Jack the Ripper. The user is capable of making use of any Skills the target possesses, weakened to Rank E.
Wanderer of the Misty Night: A
Born from Jack's nature as a stalker of the night. Grants an equal rank of Presence Concealment as long as it is night. Ordinarily, this would only be applicable during night. However, as the conditions of current day Fuyuki match closely to the smog filled streets from which Jack's legend arose, the skill's applicability and potency have been increased.

Noble Phantasm(s):
Name: From Hell: Evil Fog Perishes With the London Dawn
Rank: A+ — E-
Type: Anti-Unit
Effects: Based on the theory that Jack the Ripper was a demon, this Noble Phantasm transforms Jack into a demon in the sense of a phantasmal species. Because it is rooted in the latent fear and unease of nearby people, its power changes in proportion to the population density within a radius of 5 km. In a desert wasteland, its strength is only equal to that of a large beast of prey. In an urban area, it displays a power equivalent to that of a Knight-class Servant.

Because it takes the form of a demon that humans envision as their own natural enemy, it inflicts particularly effective damage on humans.

Name: Natural Born Killers: That Is Not Worth the End of Tragedy
Rank: B
Type: Anti-Army
Effects: A Noble Phantasm based on the theory that Jack the Ripper was a group. Enables the creation of multiple bodies according to the Master's magical energy. The last remaining body automatically becomes the main body. It can also be said that every body is the main one. The maximum number depends on the quantity of the Master's magical energy. The number of bodies decreases in proportion to the strength of the entity transformed into.

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Fate/Eigengrau

I might try nabbing that Berserker spot if you don't mind.

Is an Einzbern on the menu in terms of master choice? Either one of them or a Matou appeal the most to me. As for Servant, I'll probably either app Magni or Jack the Ripper, depending on whether or not I wanna do canon shit.

Should also note I'm more than happy to pair up with someone else as opposed to playing both master and servant. Prefer it, even.

Where It Always Rains

TOTSUKA RYUSEI
戸塚 竜星

---

my father was a pickle. and his father before him.
not long from now i too will become a pickle.

---

It seemed his ploy had worked. If nothing else, flicking paper at the ornery delinquent had gotten her out of her head and back into the discussion, even if it was to chide him for his behavior. Of course, it became rather obvious that he didn't exactly know what to do thereafter. Himawari was definitely in a foul mood, and he wasn't adept at maneuvering around the feelings of others. Hell, he wasn't especially adept at maneuvering around his own feelings, as he had come to realize earlier in their little outing. It was probably best to keep things casual, engage in some inane banter to carry the day, finish their food, and part as amicably as possible.

But that sucked. When the hell had he ever been some witless normie, too scared of broaching the hard topics to say anything of worth? Sure, when he rebuffed the redhead, he had probably hurt whatever feelings the otherwise apathetic girl was capable of mustering, but he couldn't do anything about that. Instead, he could focus on the other thing that was probably gnawing at her, as much as she tried not to let it show.

The teen used his forefinger to slide the ball that had bounced off his chest so that it sat directly parallel to his companion. Then, winding up his fingers not unlike a footballer taking a shot, he flicked it hard enough to send it flying across the table to its source.

"You're the one who invited me out, y'know? It's your responsibility to keep me entertained," He chided playfully, "But I suppose Ariyoshi did go sticking her nose where it didn't belong, so she'll have to take some responsibility, won't she?"

He peeked over the back of the booth, utilizing one of the few advantages of being so ungodly tall, and gestured for the waitress to approach once he caught sight of her returning from the back.

"The third pair. What's it mean? I'm... curious." He lied, but if Himawari was too shy to ask, then he'd do it for her. Besides, what was Ariyoshi gonna do? Mock him for it? Most people thought twice about doing that—another advantage of height.

Where It Always Rains

TOTSUKA RYUSEI
戸塚 竜星

---

introduce a little pickle juice. upset the established order.
and everything becomes chaos.

---

It took a fair deal of effort on Ryusei's part not to let loose a groan as he spectated the brief interaction between their waitress and his companion. Great, she was in a mood now. Not that she wasn't always in some kind of mood, but the fact she was already openly declaring that she wanted to go home indicated that she was especially grumpy. Had she been hoping for some kind confession on his part? They hardly knew each other! She had even been adamant on her part that it wasn't a date, so the fact she would get angry with him for rebuffing her was baffling. True, he had baited her in with a compliment before suddenly pulling back, but that didn't mean he was interested in her like that. He could at least take solace in the fact it wasn't, in fact, a date—having the girl storm off in a huff wasn't exactly a great look for anybody involved, and with how the last few weeks had gone, he wasn't sure his ego could take another blow like that.

Growing tired of the spiral of his thoughts, the young delinquent dragged his mind to the present. Shiori sat across from him, sulking in whatever darkness occupied her own mind. He couldn't exactly just sit there in silence, eat his food, and then go home. She was the closest thing to an acquaintance he had at Utsubyo High, and if he left things off where they were, he'd undoubtedly get the cold shoulder on Monday and beyond. Not that she wasn't usually at least a little cold to him, but if Ariyoshi was confident enough in her assessment that they were a couple to tease them, the rumor mill surely saw them as such too. He didn't want some sleazy headline about their torrid love affair ending over a sandwich at a local cafe plastering every page of the rag they called a school paper. Which meant he needed to salvage things, without somehow giving her the idea he wanted to be tongue deep in her mouth by Wednesday.

Crinkle. Crinkle.

He found his answer in one of the napkins provided. A few corners torn free, a little bit of rolling, and he had a neat little ball before him on the table. Putting his hand on the table just behind it, he let the tension in his fingers build for a moment, and with a sudden flick, sent it sailing across the table and past Shiori's head. Then another. Then a third. By the fourth ball, he was confident he had zeroed in on his target, and flicked the last one high, fast, and most importantly, directly at her forehead.

Where It Always Rains

TOTSUKA RYUSEI
戸塚 竜星

---

introduce a little pickle juice. upset the established order.
and everything becomes chaos.

---

It didn't take a rocket scientist to see what Shiori had pointed out; of course Ariyoshi wanted them to ask her the final segment of the game. Her attempts at getting them to play her little matchmaking game hadn't been the least bit subtle, and while it had given him ample opportunity to tease the poor girl across from him, he wasn't looking forward to seeing the smug satisfaction on their classmate's face when she came meandering back with their food. The cards, however, turned out to be the least of his worries. He had become accustomed to the animosity and snark the redhead espoused whenever he provoked her with his words. So, when instead she devolved into surprisingly sincere murmuring, he didn't exactly know what to do.

Had he gone too far with his teasing? True, he had been toeing the line ever since they had met up earlier. It was easy enough to take his little comments as flirting, even before he had gone and called her pretty of all things. But, having gotten caught up in the moment and said that, it was no wonder she was flushing like a tomato and admitting she found him cute, and that he had put her on the back foot. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. It wasn't a date. He couldn't allow himself to get that comfortable, to become that attached to a girl after only one week—pretty when flustered or not. Utsubyo wasn't his home, and desperate for any kind of reprieve from his doldrums as he was, he had forgotten that. He needed to pivot things in a different direction, or he'd have a girlfriend by the end of the afternoon.

"React however you want," He muttered, directing his eyes elsewhere, "It's not like we're a couple or anything."

As he had been doing habitually over the course of their not-a-date, Ryusei sipped at his tea once again. Unfortunately, his tendency to find solace in tea whenever things got uncomfortable had bit him in the ass, and he found himself practically out of the sugary drink. Shaking his empty cup in the air, he called out for their waitress. Better to get her intrusion over with now, and besides, maybe Ariyoshi's presence would serve as a useful distraction from the awkwardness that had filled their conversational void.

"Oi. Another tea."

Where It Always Rains

TOTSUKA RYUSEI
戸塚 竜星

---

introduce a little pickle juice. upset the established order.
and everything becomes chaos.

---

The way Shiori went out of her way to conspiratorially look around before speaking clued Ryusei in on what she was going to say before she even said it. Granted, he hadn't expected her to be so forthcoming with her actual feelings on the matter. He'd lose all credibility if he let a little comment about him being cute managed to get him all flustered, so he swallowed down that embarrassment to deal with later. He had to maintain his cool, if only so he could continue to maintain control on the situation—he had decided he liked when he kept the redhead on the defensive, and thankfully, her comments had more than opened her up for a few good counters.

"It's like I'm going out of my way to rile you up because I am. You said it yourself, right? There's nothing fun to do around here, so I'm making my own," He explained matter-of-factually, "You shouldn't be so fun to tease if you don't want to be teased. If anybody is to blame for Ariyoshi getting ideas, it's you for blushing like a schoolgirl whenever I make a comment."

He could practically feel the outburst coming in response to that one. Frankly, he probably deserved it, considering his propensity to poke the proverbial hornet's nest. But, he had already so thoroughly prodded her over the course of the day. Maybe she had earned a reprieve. Before she could start barking in protest, he leaned forward, giving her the smallest hints of the smile he had wore earlier.

"But, that's fine with me. I like it when I make you blush. You're pretty when you're flustered," It was probably for the best that he had lowered his voice as the words left his lips, if only because he didn't exactly have confidence in his ability to keep his own cheeks pale if he had said that within earshot of the proprietor's daughter. As he withdrew back to his side of the table, he pushed the deck towards Shiori's, and then snagged his tea back from where he had placed it, swirling about the little he had left before taking a sip.

"Your turn." He had all but returned to his previous bored facade by that point, which, he hoped, would only worsen the effect his words would have on her.

Where It Always Rains

TOTSUKA RYUSEI
戸塚 竜星

---

introduce a little pickle juice. upset the established order.
and everything becomes chaos.

---

If the game didn't offer much in the way of amusement, the reactions it caused certainly did. As he absentmindedly sipped on his boba, Ryusei was given the opportunity to watch Shiori nearly kill herself with a tapioca ball, having taken a cue from himself and sucked down far too much of the sickly sweet treat in an attempt to cool her cheeks. It almost got to the point of wanting to help her, but thankfully enough she managed to swallow it down before he had to bust out the Heimlich maneuver on their first not-a-date. If the choking wasn't comical, watching her try to play it off as if nothing had happened definitely was, and he was thankful for the straw in his mouth if only because it made it easier not to laugh at her expense.

If she was hellbent on playing it cool, then he would follow suit. Putting his drink down, the teen shrugged. "You knew the risks going in. They're her cards."

Remembering that the game wasn't exactly finished until they had drawn for a third time, Ryusei drew another from the deck in front of them. She had said something to the effect of the symbols mattering most that time, so he hardly paid attention to the number as he placed it down. Instead, he focused on the four little hearts plastered across its face. Quite fitting, considering the subject matter of the conversation... and the comment he followed it up with.

"Might have some merit, though. You have been hitting on me all day."

Another nonchalant sip followed.