Lonewolf685

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

---

Another day, another lunch break. Given the Detention Club really only congealed together after school hours, Roche didn't typically have expectations of a group get together.

But as bonds formed, she could at least hope to catch one or two people.

Coming to the cafeteria with a convenience store bagged meal in hand, Roche's eyes scanned the press of people. She'd been late in her arrival and it reflected in the throng arrayed before her, a steady clamor of conversations all colliding in garish dissonance as each pocket of congregating teens tried to be heard over those surrounding them.

Normally, she'd turn right around and eat her meal on the track field or a classroom if it wasn't too hectic, but she was making an effort to be more available for the Club. If she'd caught sight of Kiyo it would have been a perfect time to coordinate how to best organize the Club's hunts and make good on her promise to lean on Evil Eye more.

But Roche's eyes landed not on Kiyo, and though they were present, she didn't see Evil Eye and Tsubomi first either.

Shuuko proved easier to spot, especially when beside another friend of Roche's.

"Hey there!" Roche called, hand raised as she approached Misoka and Shuuko. Her expression brightened, a sympathetic crinkling of the eye as she saw Misoka was having a hard time projecting the air of a perfect honor's student when she was also serving as unpaid labor in a manually demanding reconstruction effort.

"You two know each other? You really are popular, Misoka. Though I see the shop isn't giving you much rest." Being well aware of just why Misoka was so ragged left Roche largely unconcerned as she fully grasped just what was driving her. "If you got a minute stop by the track field. I can show you some stretches for before and after your work so you can relieve some of that muscle ache."

"You wanna come too, Shuuko? I know you're already super flexible but a warm up never hurts....well, as long as you do it right."

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

---

If there was a lesson Roche should have taken from the beach trip sooner, it was that when she let her guard down, the club wasn't going to do her in like the Ides of March.

At least not now. Before the vacation, it was anyone's guess.

Nyxia's rancor was clearly for Roche's benefit and the Rule Keeper smiled softly, discerning it was a wrath born of compassion that moved Nyxia in her rant. It was touching display and her lips warbled with a giggle she didn't want to voice.

Kiyo's acerbic sarcasm was like a hand upon her shoulder, a familiar presence there when she needed it. Evil Eye was never one for grand gestures, but she was still a steady foundation to the club.

About the only thing she couldn't quite capture in its entirety was Shuuko's reaction; Mostly because Roche was too busy blushing from ear to ear as she was suddenly embraced. It had the feeling of a reversal on their last hug, even if Roche was the one who'd just been spiraling in on herself yet again. With how tightly Shuuko was clinging to her she couldn't help but feel the trembling like a frost bitten leaf that wracked the poor girl.

"O-Okay, thanks for that everyone. I think we can leave Rei be for now and just get ready for our next hunt. And, umm, let's try and stay in pairs at least. Light Girls are getting real brazen...." Roche said that, though her words were petering out as Suki seemed to react poorly to the outpouring of support and stormed out in a huff, a puff of cigarette smoke coming through the door as Suki stormed away.

She might have chased after her, but there was already one girl clinging to her like a limpet. Her arms worked to wrap around Shuuko, scooting the chairs closer before running a palm along the girl's hair. "It's okay. It's going to be okay. We're all in this together, and no Light or Dark Girls are going to change that."

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

---

Roche carried a lot on her shoulders, and just like any middle manager, that weight had only increased after conversing with Rei.

Conversing was a stretch, in truth. That required an exchange of views and opinions. What Roche's mouth had earned her was a dictation of facts according to Rei, and she was loath to correct the woman whose touch promised death to Miseria and Magical Girl alike. Being told that everything falling apart was her fault and her fault alone didn't sit well with her, struggling to grasp just where it all went wrong and how she'd have had any hope of fixing it.

Don't go to the flower shop and encounter Ashbringer? Highly unlikely she wouldn't have just crashed down on any other building and goaded them into a fight.

Don't go to the beach? They'd have splintered apart over the summer and not even bothered coming to school. Suki would have been buried under frogs, Nyxia would have rebelled from the lack of progress, and Shuuko and Kiyo would have returned to find a club in flames.

As Sylvia had once seen, her mind spiraled inwards, drawn by the pressure of Rei's condemnation, till it wasn't.

The metaphorical foot came off the gas pedal, and her eyes blinked as she felt her emotions dim. It was a funny feeling, and familiar as well. Her gaze drifted to Tsubomi, feeling her magic at work without her having asked for it. Was this compassion on her part?

Slowly her lips quirked upwards, as in the absence of dread there was only a faint relief to be felt, and she knew it was a brief reprieve she'd be better served savoring.

"Nyxia. Acid Drop. Thank you both." The Track Captain inhaled grandly and exhaled gustily, letting the motion bring her head and shoulders up as she settled with ephemeral composure in her seat.

"Rei will be joining us on out next outing. She's....unhappy with my leadership in her absence, and made it known her faith was misplaced. I'm just a bit rattled, is all, but I appreciate your concerns. For all that we got by on dumb luck and stubborn grit, I'm proud to be in a club with you all. Even Suki."

The heartfelt words were capped with a playful barb thrown Suki's way, as the Rule Keeper was also lacking in her concern for the prickly blood fiend courtesy of Tsubomi's appetite.

"I know I'm not perfect, or even all that good at leading you all, so thanks for putting up with me, and if there's anything I can do better, let me know."

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

I did Harpy / Tri Brigade back when Wind Barrier Statue was allowed. So my stuns were brutal and my board could be started with 1 card from either archetype. It was good times.

Salamangreat was probably my only fair deck, even with Promethean Princess, but the opponent at least had a chance.

So I know my Karma has me do for cosmic punishment. Still, keep that widow anchor off Roche and her gal pals!

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Granted I was the evil monster who played a Laby deck Before AND after they added Big Welcome and it's boss monster to Master Duel. So I've already earned my place in hell.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

The real question is whether we'll end up with more Nikke or Azur Lane face claims.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Considering Roche's Magical Girl form is a ship girl already, I think it's fair game :3

Though if you start throwing Widow Anchors around and snatching up Magical Girls, there's gonna be some fighting words thrown about!

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

---

Roche had overstepped her bounds and Rei wasn't reluctant in the least to let her know. That cold feeling that one intrinsically knew was death itself draped itself around her neck, carried close by the vice of Rei's hand. It was easy to forget the position she held was one borne purely from Rei's desire to not bother meeting out the punishment's herself till Roche was staring down what constituted as a subtle reminder from the Club Leader herself.

Her rage was doused by the ice of Cocytus, and she'd found herself only breathing once more when Rei's hand was well away from her skin. She looked upon Rei with naked fear, the anger doused for the moment. But such feelings couldn't vanish forever, and as she took in a fraction of Rei's terrible presence she felt bile in her throat and the first flickers of sincere hatred for the girl fester.

"It won't happen again, Rei. And if those Gems want to come into our city, I'll make sure they won't be leaving of their own power." Roche said with a stiff, steely composure and funneled that vile antipathy towards the Light Girls. It wasn't a hard shift, even if it served as another reminder that the only threat Rei seemed the least bit bothered by was more Light Girl's trampling on her territory.

Her fists clenched at her sides, trembling from skin pulled taut over bone before she exhaled gustily and shook them loose. Rei had one last parting barb for her that Roche needed to acknowledge lest the strongest Magical Girl take further offense. "The others will be happy to have you there. Till then."

Turning on her heel she walked briskly to the club room, the pressure of yet another enemy weighing heavy upon her. Feeling herself backslide she hurried to the club room, hurling it open and finding many already waiting for her.

"Good afternoon." For all the tension winding around her she found presence of the girl's she'd thought she been growing closer to become disconcerting. She resented Rei's iron fist threatening her after months of neglect, but could she then deny she'd created this mess? If she hadn't pushed for the beach they'd have encountered a Giga Miseria, the Light Girls now attacking them, or Sink Queen.

The tanned girl's expression sank and as she closed the door behind her she settled boneless at the nearest desk, mind working over Rei's cutting words without the capacity for much else.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

---

As Rei laid into Roche about their summer vacation, the girl's bright expression dimmed back to the stoic, guarded scowl she was more known for. She took the words head on, not flinching from the accusations, especially not when Rei had waited till the entire summer vacation had passed to even bring it up to them.

"You're acting like we went out there just to hunt. It was meant to be a vacation, and things developed from there. Something that we may have had a handle on if you'd taken the least bit of interest in the goings-on around here." The Rule Keeper may have respected Rei's power and authority but she didn't have any for the absence of their leader, nor for her dismissal of the increasingly dangerous Ashbringer.

"When it went down, we did everything we could to protect the civilians, and if those idiots hadn't intervened they'd have never even come close to danger." Roche said, though a part of her questioned if that would have truly been so, as it was the arrival of Shuuko that really cemented an eventual victory over the Giga Miseria. But without Morganite harassing them and bludgeoning Suki like a drum, they'd have been far better off in the first place. "From what Suki and Tsubomi said, that pink shield girl was harassing them before we even got into the Giga Miseria matter, so we were marked just for leaving town."

Though for all she wanted to seethe over Rei's absence as a leader, the revelation that those Light Girls had invaded their turf and tried to abduct Detention Club members did make her blood run cold. It was hard to rouse the same outrage when she had to defend herself from further accusations, Rei as imperious and distant as an alcoholic father berating their child.

"If they are coming into our town, I'll beat them into the dirt myself and send them hurtling out of town lashed to the front car of the bullet train. Stop hurling blame when I've been the only one trying to keep the girls together instead of blowing apart under all this pressure. Did I make a mistake? Yes, but now that I know, I'll fix it like I always do."

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

---

The absence of enemy action didn’t preclude the stress of it. Roche hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Ashbringer since that aborted jog, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t tensed in anticipation of it. The summer months bled slowly, lingering like the flies hovering around a bloated carcass left in the sun. She was uncertain of what she could trust, and she found herself reluctant to reply to texts for fear some tech savvy adversary was spying upon them all.

If she had to endure this as she did before their disastrous trip to the Beach, Earthshaker would have cracked under the pressure. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind it would have taken everything from her and she’d have erupted with directionless rage before burning out long before their mysterious foes even revealed themselves.

But things had changed, and they’d changed for the better. The Track Team was shocked to see a smiling Captain lead them about the track, and it was to a visible wave of relief when she started barking orders at them. Yet even beyond their ranks some took note of her head being held high, an easy smile on her lips as she walked without the tension that was so typical of her everyday interactions.

Rumors were beginning to percolate when she was seen leaving school with the rest of them, side by side with the likes of Kiyo and Sylvia. As opposed to long hours on the track or disappearing entirely on Detention Club business.

That was all to say when Roche turned a corner and saw Rei, she wasn’t the most dour person in the hall for once. Stranger still to even the see the girl outside of club activities, as Roche didn't share a class with the girl. As far as she knew, none of them did.

”Oh, hey there, Rei!” Roche said brightly, and she came alongside Rei, pressing her back to the lockers as she glanced sidelong at their absent leader. ”You’ve been busy. What’s got you dropping by?”

It was likely this mess with the Light Girls, but a girl could hope that Rei may have started taking the threat of Ashbringer seriously, or maybe organized a more formal hunting trip for the Giga Miseria.