Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): In the Shadows of the City - Chapter 2: Strange Rumors

[Justin OOC]

A full week had passed since that first day, and quickly everyone picked up on the routine of classes, clubs and sporting events.

Of course there had been some odd things going on in town. Lights flickered, when they should never do so, and at the school, people would leave a room only to come back to find something of theirs missing, or placed somewhere other than where it had been left. Some students swore they heard strange noises, or half formed images of people that weren't there.

The rumors ran the gamut of possibilities though the school being haunted certainly topped the list. Still class continued, but something strange was going on.

(OOC what I'd like here is simple, I want you all to describe about a weeks worth of time for your PC's, with the advent of theses strange happenings in the background. Nobody knows the cause, or has even had a good look at anything, it's just random chance encounters. I want you all to add to the rumors, and I will give bonus CP for really standout additions. You may work together here, and by all means go ahead and describe where you live and all and the strange things happening there. Everyone lives in the Nerima district, so the strangeness is minor and seldom really inconvenient. I'm going to give everyone the month of April to flesh things out here and post, as we're all busy. I would like at least 2 posts per player here if possible.)

[Fiona Warner]

Anne was happy. Her papers were all in order as she presented in her uniform, backed by her fellow underclassmen and organizers a new petition to reform the Aviation club. The teacher in charge of the clubs, Ms. Hayami was the head of the AV department and the librarian at the School. She smiled and bowed.

"Miss Hayami."

"Ah, Anne! I heard what happened. I'm glad you got the students interested in the club again. I'm proud you finally put that boy in his place. He was deserving it."

"I still didn't win."

"Well, Aoi showed me the video. You survived. That's all that counts, right?"

Anne nodded. "Yeah, true."

"I will be proud to sign off on this. Who did the new members decide to run the club?"

"Me, Ma'am."

"It's a big responsibility."

"I'll do my best. That's all I can promise."

"That... is a good answer."

Ms. Hayami signed and stamped the application form and gave it back to Anne, who bowed respectfully as Ms. Hayami handed the keys to the club room to her.

"Good luck, Ace."

Anne stepped out where the underclassmen under her waited.

"We're approved! We even got our old room back!"

Various yeses and cheers erupted in the hall. as Anne walked to the club room on the top floor of the building housing the other club rooms. The Senior formerly known as Raptor stood next to the door.

"So, Nugget... Happy? You ruined me."

"No... you ruined yourself."

"How you wager?"

"Simple... you forgot your love of flying."

She turned to the underclassmen. "From here on we will shift our focus from Dog-fighting to standard Aviation! I won't stand against any dogfights that still want to happen, but they will no longer be the focus of our club! We will focus on simply having fun and flying with friends!"

She turned to the former Raptor. "Taro... you're still welcome in the club as a member... but we decide everything here as a Democracy. If you can accept that. You might get bored though."

Taro sighed. "Very well... do we still have to do that ditch training you proposed?"

"Well everyone here should know how to properly abandon a plane for a water landing, and the survival skills for land ditches can apply to other things too."

Taro grunted. He didn't like the idea... "Well.. I'll talk to the teachers to handle the permission slips and stuff. I know a few things."

"Actually, I want you to be my wing-man. I am still forming a squadron for official competitions. I can handle some of the legwork with Miho."

Taro smiled. "Can I still be Raptor?"

"Just call me Ace."

Taro nodded. "Okay... Ace."

notes

My second post (and any further) I am open for interaction with other players. I just wanted to resolve a fluff event for Anne.

[z004]

Ayami was annoyed.

She was sitting in the conference room that the Student Council used (among other student organizations); she'd been over the room four times now and couldn't figure out how whoever was pranking the school was managing to move things around the room. She'd already lost a note book and four nice pens to the prankster. Two of the pens had been returned - technically speaking the notebook had been returned as well, but every page was covered in doodles she supposed were supposed to look like some sort of eldtritch writing. It was like something out of an anime and she'd hoped she could figure out which one, to give her some clue about the person. The others had told her to let it be, that the staff was looking into it; as usual, she'd agreed quietly and then set about looking the room over in her (rare) free time.

She hadn't said anything, but it was more than just the little inconveniences. It was that it was happening at home, too. Hanashiro-san having to use the emergency set of keys for the car on Wednesday because his own keys had somehow gone missing from the time he'd taken them off the hook in the front hall to stepping out to the car. Takaido-san coming to her, trembling with the fear of being dismissed from the house because two of Ayami's figurines, a pair of colored glass Bengal tigers, were missing from their case. Only for Ayami to spot them on the coffee table while the woman who had looked after the house and her for as long as she could remember apologized profusely and promised to replace them from her own salary.

Little things that wouldn't mean anything if they weren't happening all at the same time. She knew she shouldn't let the rumors and whispers going around get to her, so she had decided that it was some rude trickster - probably some ring of students that thought they were being terribly clever - that were responsible for it all. She finally slumped into a chair, defeated in her search for hiding spots or trick wires like they used in movies or something.

Maybe I should go ask Sachiko-chan. She might have some ideas. Or have heard something about the people doing this. A small grin sneaked it's way onto the usually prim young woman's lips, Or she might be doing it herself just for a lark.

[SalmonMax]

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the campus, where the ivy grew thick over one of the walls, Sachiko was watching a book from the corner of her eye.

It was a trap of course.

In the past days, she had become aware that a foul presence was stalking the school and its students. An unholy, unclean spirit that sought only to destroy all that was good and decent in Nerima. Starting with Sachiko.

She'd been called in to talk to the principal five or six times before she finally saw what was REALLY going on. At first she thought people were just onto her...then she thought maybe Anne had snapped and was becoming an evil genius, which would have been AWESOME...but finally she saw it clearly. Evil had come, and it was out to wreck everything. Things had been moving, vanishing; inconvenient things taking place...and everyone thought it was HER. Like she would ever do something like that! More than once, at least. Per person. But THIS! And on this scale! And it wasn't like she was immune! Why, she'd had to stand there and tell her teachers that she'd had done her assignments, but they'd mysteriously vanished! The second time it had even been TRUE! Pencils...notebooks...little things that people routinely misplaced would go missing. Her parents suspected her. Her friends suspected her. But she'd had it happen too! But everyone was so busy suspecting her, that they'd never lift a finger to find out who was really doing it!

That's when Sachiko decided it was time to step up. In every hero's journey, there was a moment when they shuffled out of their larval cocoon, and spread their wings to find their true destinies! This was her time! SHE would save the day!

She started with a dictionary. With scissors and, eventually, a knife, she'd dug a hole into its pages and glued a metal bar into it, connected to the covers on the inside. Then she ran a length of wire, anchored to that bar, out. That wire was now wrapped and tied around one of the planks of the bench the book was lying on. It was under the book so it wasn't obvious to see. And underneath, also on the wire, was a little bell. It would ring when the wire was jerked...say, by someone trying to make off with the book.

Sachiko had been so beside herself with glee over her idea that she never stopped to think that it was actually taking some forethought and work to pull off.

Now she was sitting at a tree a little ways away, trying to keep from surreptitiously eying the book...which she had 'carelessly left' unattended on the bench. Just to be sure, she'd put papers in the book that poked out. And covered the 'Dictionary' on the spine and front cover with 'Vital For National Security' so the thief would think she'd get in trouble for losing it.

Now she sat, and waited for the bell, so she could apprehend the villain responsible...AND SAVE THE DAY!

[Fiona Warner]

Anne was walking with Taro, getting some particulars arranged.

"Now, once we get the permission from the staff here I would like you to start seeing if you can get the trainers from the JMSDF or Japan Coast Guard to help with the training to bring things like equipment and stuff."

"Right, Anne."

"I know a few things my Bodyguards trained me in as well... I shouldn't be too bad at this. I've sctually done 3 helicopter escape training sessions, and done one for real."

Taro blinked. "Will we have to..."

"Of course not, too dangerous. It would be something like flight attendants do more than that. That would be far more realistic with what the class would encounter in an emergency."

"Okay... hey... someone left a book on the bench..."

Anne sees Sachiko's book... it looked quite defaced and damaged. "I should toss it... probably some notes the role-playing group's players had."

Anne grabs the book absentmindedly, triggering the trap. "What the hell?"

[SalmonMax]

ring...ring ding...ding ring ring...

Sachiko, who'd slowly been starting to doze off, suddenly snapped awake. The bell! The bell!!!!! It had worked!

She leapt up from the ground and whirled, charging the bench with her favorite baseball bat held high.

"I HAVE YOU NOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!"

She stopped short on seeing Anne there with a book on a short leash with jingling bells attached, and pointed in an ecstasy of wrath. "It's YOU! I KNEW IT! You DID become an evil genius! I apprehend you in the name of JUSTICE!"

[Fiona Warner]

Anne's bands flared. They always did when she was in danger from a zealot... a witch hunter... some previous owners were accused of being witches themselves, but Anne didn't know this. All she knew was that her bands became warm right before she's had to use them. But she knew it would be far better not to put a hole in a misguided, airhead of a classmate. She leaps back, using her psychic ability to fly to look like she jumped out of the way, but with the book being tied to the bench with a metal wire it whips away, causing Anne to twist in her dodge. She tumbles unto her side, when coming to a rest she is holding her arm.

"Dammit!" She screeched. She sprained it, perhaps bad.

"What was that for? And explain yourself now! Talk!"

Then it dawns on her as she gets back to her feet. She even laughs. She looks at the Dictionary, seeing it was marked with the school library's stamp.

"You set up a trap for our thief? You know a school dictionary makes poor bait. What has been taken was student belongings. Like my rain poncho AND my street shoes!"

She glared at Sachiko. "And what would you do if you had actually hit with that baseball bat? You could have killed me if that struck my head! Imagine explaining that to the British government! This is attempted murder, and I want an explaination!"

Anne was playing Sachiko now... for Sachiko is a fool... she deserves it. But it was true... this was attempted murder.

[SalmonMax]

"Don't try to change the subject!" Sachi demanded, pointing imperiously. "You tried to steal my very important book of national secrets, just like you've been stealing everything else!"

She planted the large end of the bat down in the ground, letting Anne's accusations roll off her back like water off of a rubber duck.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll come with me to the principal and confess. I won't let you keep fooling people!"

Sachi paused, then nodded. "Hell of a jump, by the way. I guess that's how you stay hidden, right? You take something, then jump away! HAH! You're caught!"

[Fiona Warner]

Anne points back... her bands now really feeling warm... now she's being accused of something. She sounds more and more like she won't let this rest. Anne smiles, but the pain from her arm is telling.

"I'm not in the mood for this... I gotta go to the Nurse's office now. What is your damn problem, girl?"

Sachiko looks like a right sociopath now. "If anything I should be taking you to the principal's office, and I got a witness to boot!"

Taro starts stepping back. "Uh... you don't wanna get tied up with her, Anne! Just run!" Taro says, bailing off to another part of the school, perhaps to get faculty...

"Great..."

Anne turns around and starts waking away for the Nurse's office. If she attacks again, Anne is going to seriously consider a transfer. That is if the psycho doesn't beat her brains in.

[SalmonMax]

"Well..." Sachiko, honestly frustrated now, throws her bat down and scoops up the dictionary-trap. "If you aren't the thief, then why did you take the book?!"

Then an idea occurred to her, stunning in its simplicity. She went running after Anne.

"Hey! Wait!" All hostility was gone from her face, which was now lit with a beaming wide grin. "This'll work even BETTER if we BOTH work on it! There's no way this thief can defeat TWO of us!"

[Fiona Warner]

Anne shook the feeling back into her arm... the bands still felt warm... but now Anne realized perhaps...

"So do I... whoever took my Rain Poncho and shoes... well... I take that sorta personally. I had to grab my spare poncho from my scooter. And I hate bright orange. It's going to rain soon, checked the forecast on my IPad. I got a spare poncho in my backpack if you want to stake things out. It's one of those 99 yen ones I get for a friend or passenger for an emergency when they ride with me. So it's pretty cheap. Should cover you well enough. Seems Japanese thrift stores tend to sell better product at these prices."

Anne smiled, trying to drive home her point. Taking her backpack off. "Look... I know you mean well... but if we can catch this guy you'll be remembered. Think about it. I mean if he's taking student stuff... he might be a right pervert. We'd be doing the community a service!"

She sighed, her arm not feeling as bad. Perhaps it was just a simple twist. "Oh... as for the dictionary... I thought it was something that needed to go to the trash."

She pulls her goggles out of a side pocket and unlatches the strap on her helmet that was looped around the waist strap on the backpack.

"And... I had some self defense courses. It's how I evaded you."

[z-Galiana]

They had no scent. That thought filled Galiana with dread, yet she couldn’t allow her fear to rule her.

The were-cat had changed into her cat-form to investigate the thefts. Her own personal items had gone missing, including her bag of catnip. That had been the one that had sealed her determination to hunt for the culprits herself. Her pens and paper and even her homework mattered little to the shapeshifter, but her catnip was necessary! Just the thought of its loss made her growl in human or cat form.

The girl sat curled on the limb of the tree, watching the school. It wasn’t her favorite place, but it was Galiana’s school and that made it hers. So tonight she was guarding it, watching against intruders. And it was a really good excuse to be in the tree.

With a content sigh, Gali kicked up her feet and relaxed into her seat. This was the life.

[Fiona Warner]

Anne sighs. Her arm started to throb, everyone in the area is now wondering what was going on and her uniform was dirty. She tosses the cheap poncho to Sachiko. "Good luck... I'm heading home to get some Advil. If you're serious about this, I'll be back in a hour or so. I got nothing better to do..."

"In fact..." She sighs... "Forget that, let's get lunch. We should talk."

She starts walking over to where her Scooter is parked near where they are. "I can take two people and I got a spare helmet in the large bag on the left side of the bike."

She pulls out the basic, open-faced scooter helmet. "Here ya go... my rules on my ride. You wear a helmet."

She pulls out her helmet from her backpack and straps it on. "Ready?"

[AceWildcard]

Kohaku was having a rough start to the week. The afternoon on the first day. It was the worse situation then he feared. Hibiki Nori was at the meeting. He was that bastard Daichi Katsu assistant. He wonder if she was visiting me due to him. Kohaku guess that Kibiki was working with Daichi before he died. Kohaku knew that the bastard got what came to him. Even so that was a different story for a different time.

Kohaku saw a person he though was long gone. He had not heard from him since the incident at that forest. The forest of sorrow and death. The man he dreaded was very average in his looks and height. He had short, neatly trimmed black hair. He had hazel eyes. He wore the school unifrorm in a prideful and intimidating look to it. He was relatively handsome and talented teenager. He was in a few other clubs and took an passive interest in the club. It was his relationship with Daichi that many thought had kept him in the club. So when Daichi went missing, Hibiki also left.

Hibiki was there. He was taking control. Kohaku wanted to be in charge, but the bastard seem to had several people backing him. Most were about his age. All did not like him. Kohaku knew he was defeated.

He did not see any of the other older students that were that were Kibiki age. Hibiki was only a year older then him, and he knew that only a few other students should also be there. Yet they were not. When talking to Hibiki he did not know either, but he doubt that. It was odd to Kohkau. Kohaku did not know the men. Even so he knew the previous info on them. So he went to look them up for the most part.

It only took a small part of his week to look into what happen to them. The families of the people in question were still there. From what he was told the people whom he was looking for had vanish. They all reported to the cops. So far there were no signs of them for several months. He view that there was more to it.

When he was walking away from the last person, he saw in the edge of his eye an camera flash. Then the next thing he felt was pain in his body. He saw now who it was somewhat. It was a person dress in a hood. What he had shocked him. It was something that once belong to him, to his family.

Something within him snap. The next thing he saw was the teenager running. His hands were hurt and bleeding. The person ran, scared. Kohaku figure who it was, but had no proof. Even so, he wonder if.... no the situation was different. What he did was to defend his life, not to kill. This man, this person was a monster and needed to be put to justice. One way or another. Kohaku now wonder if he could do it....

He also had other things to worry about. Things were happening in the city. All were paranormal. He has been trying to use who technology he had to try and figure out what was going on. Here and there when he saw something odd happen and was lucky enough to have tech to record it he did. He was thinking on the info he got and try to figure what was going on if he could.

[AceWildcard]

Kohaku looked out from the school. He did not know what to do. His thoughts were still focus on trying to figure out what happen to the missing members. He also wonder who attacked him and why? Was it the same person who attacked the other members? Was Kibiki behind all this? Right now he could not trust anyone in that club. He did not know who to trust right now.

Kohaku laughed at the last though in his head. Trust, he did not trust anyone in that club to start with. He learned at an young age that people threw each other to the wolves. The only reason he has not been thorn to shred was him trusting his own instincts and reply to anything that threaten him. Yet in the end he also knew he could not take this on his own. He was just one man trying to take on ghost who he did not know exist or not.

He knew one thing for sure. There were ghost and they did exist. If the dead existed then there must be other things that existed on the other side. What else existed? Magic, demons, gods; who knows what does or does not exist, but he was willing to find out. Even so there was one things he desire, no needed to find more then anything else, the camera.

It was a pity as well that his mind was obsess with the camera. The rumors he had heard on the net and form various other members including a few in his club had made him curious. Mysterious shadows, lights flickering, people seeing things. The paranormal club had been heavily active looking this stuff up for all the group. Many people wonder why he was not doing so as well. His heart just was not into it. Ever since he discovered that the same camera that was in his family for four generations have suddenly reappeared in the hands of someone who most likely killed people with it, and the worse part is that it’s all his fault. Flashbacks of when Kohaku got the camera rushes into his head.

It was during one of his more recent visits to his grandfather shop a year ago before all the strange events happen to his life. His grandfather owns a photography shop where Kohaku sometimes worked for him to earn some money or supplies. It was not anything serious or law breaking he did, but small stuff like sweeping the floors, cleaning windows, ext. Plus he got to try out the various cameras that he had at times, especially the new ones. He learned a lot from him about how to shoot an photo from him.

His grandfather was once an reporter, but got out for some reason even to this day he did not tell Kohaku. Some of his articles are still on the companies site or sometimes review or quoted by other reported or writers. He was also known for some of his photography, but was not as popular as his journalism. His grandfather always fascinated him, and he was the reason he originally went out to work in the journalism club till he found out info that eventually landed him into some hot water. No, he could take the water. It was the sharks that got to him, but he fought back but in the end he lost to them.

When people looked into the few group or self photo’s of the man, he always carry it. It was an old mechanical camera that was simple and easy to use for a novice, yet had features that added an layer of mystery to it. It was nothing like the electronic stuff going on today. It had an style of it’s own that Kohaku found sexy. The camera was old, but seem recent as well. He could not get the precise date of it but knew the camera was old at the time.

His grandfather told him that it was given to his father by his grandfather. Each generation worked on certain parts of it to modernize it, but kept it mechanical at it’s heart. As such it looked nothing from the camera’s of that time and had an slight modern feel to it. Even so it was an work of art. His grandfather told him that the camera was a good luck charm of sorts. He did not know if that was true or not since it could be used as a weapon.

The camera was modified to be an single lens, but a bit large for it’s type. He needed two hands to use it. He was told that his great grandfather used various odd gears to create the whole thing and that those same gears were incorporated to all the different forms of the camera. When he looked at the insides when his grandfather open it up to him it was something from an much older camera style. It looked quite old and seem much outdated with some of the much newer gears in it. Also it seems useless for the most point for some of them to be there. He asked his grandfather why they were even there. He stated just for tradition sake. He did not question why since it was something that he view save his life a few times.

Kohaku had to admit, he was kind of right. That camera did save his life. He did have to kill another to do so. But he wonder if the camera had that power.... or was it that he had the power to do that. His mind races to the incident in the cave. Daichi was staring at him knife draw read to kill like he did.... no he did not know if he was directly behind that incident. Who was he kidding he heard him speak her name, spoke of what he did.... or was the wound of the head putting thoughts in his head and illusions to protect the truth.

Before he could think on those words his head started to errupt in a violent headache. It is focus on where that scar was. When that spirit touch him? Was it even human? Was what he was told true about the spirit, if so then what does that mean to him? He still recalled the ghost damn curse and what she told him. What was his fate going to be because of it.

Kohaku finally felt the pain go away. He was tired of thinking of his past, of the pain the wounds the dead left him. He was more concern for the shadows of the past. So Kohaku does the best thing he could do. He post an flyer for an private group to discuss about what is going on with the incident. Only those who were serious should come. He gave them where he would be sitting this lunch to talk about this in a public form. Maybe this will give him some time to find an worthy challenge. Something he had not had for awhile. He laughs to himself. “Two challenges, this will be great for my growth in skills.” he though to himself.

It was lunch time and Hohaku waits in a table near the back of the lunch room. He knew if anyone seriously wanted to help him would be coming him to figure this thing out. Either that the curious might come. He dreaded if any of his fellow club members came. He hopped the bastard Hibiki stay clear away from it all.

[Karren Gaunt]

The first week of school was very much as Amara had expected in some ways. New classes. New routines. New before and after school activities. A new rumor mill to quietly ignore. Tick tock, the old patterns of shifting from self-study and bi-weekly tutors to formal academic structure and Student Council meetings. There were some differences though. Her new friends were proving not entirely unpleasant and earned an honest smile from the serious girl a few times even. And then there were the... mysterious occurences.

Her family business had it's eyes and ears in a lot of affairs in the neighborhood, street level awareness and the quiet stream of made men and local business leaders who came to speak with her father muttered of strange happenings among themselves when she was out of sight but not out of earshot. At first, it sounded like someone making trouble, another turf war in the making, but... Strange things had been happening to her, too. Books going missing from her shelves. A meal rearranging itself on the plate in between her going to the bathroom and returning. A bokken mounted on her wall, itself a gift from the local Shinto shrine, smelling faintly of thunderstorms at odd moments of the night.

Something was going on. Something more than just another attempt to challenge her Father. She'd just have to keep an eye out to discover what.

[SalmonMax]

Anne sighs. Her arm started to throb, everyone in the area is now wondering what was going on and her uniform was dirty. She tosses the cheap poncho to Sachiko. "Good luck... I'm heading home to get some Advil. If you're serious about this, I'll be back in a hour or so. I got nothing better to do..."

"In fact..." She sighs... "Forget that, let's get lunch. We should talk."

She starts walking over to where her Scooter is parked near where they are. "I can take two people and I got a spare helmet in the large bag on the left side of the bike."

She pulls out the basic, open-faced scooter helmet. "Here ya go... my rules on my ride. You wear a helmet."

She pulls out her helmet from her backpack and straps it on. "Ready?"

Sachiko considers. On the one hand, she had yet to trick the culprit. On the other...lunch.

She takes the helmet and wiggles it over her head, making a face. "It's a little tight," she complains. "You really carry one of these around with you all day?"

With a shrug at how eccentric everyone except she was, Sachi straddles the scooter's seat behind Anne and holds onto her waist.

"So what are we talking about?"

[Fiona Warner]

"Well I keep the spare with the Scooter. I keep my usual one with me in my backpack that I store in my locker."

She sits down and checks everything, unplugging it from a outlet near the bike stands since it was an electric scooter. "I was thinking of discussing strategy. How we're gonna catch this pervert red-handed."

She starts the engine and heads off. It was a electric, so it was pretty quiet. "See, whoever this freak is is obsessed with the property of students at the School, like it's some sort of connection, right?"

"What's no bigger prize to a closet Pedo than a full school uniform?"

[SalmonMax]

Sachiko scratched her chin. "I dunno. I've heard about other folks losing things too. The principal was pretty mad about losing some of those stupid awards or commendations or whatever he keeps on his wall. And my dad lost his entire pachinko."

She paused and added, "I still think mom might be behind that though."

"And not too much of the stuff I've been a...I've heard of being stolen has been clothes or anything. Usually it's just little...things people leave around. Keys and books and...Daisuke lost a shoe, I think."

[Fiona Warner]

"Hmm... this changes things... if adults are having things stolen, then something is up... something big... we have to catch this perpetrator red handed... your idea was cute, but I have to be honest, anyone could have fell for it. We have to watch school grounds. Luckily our uniforms are black so we can linger at the school and observe."

"We will have to come up with a cover for our parents... I already have one, working with my club compatriots we were going to stay overnight to discuss matters at the school. Usually happens when a new club forms, I guess. You and I could have that as our cover and we can set up a patrol around the school. I can pick up some walkie-talkies, and we can use those to communicate. One thing... we don't engage whoever it is doing this. We find out, then we call the police."

She adjusts her uniform as they arrive at a average, but good italian restaurant.

"Thinking about this has my arm feeling better..."

Anne gets up and motions Sachiko to come with her after shutting off her engine. "Okay... like I said, my treat."

[SalmonMax]

"Break into the school at night?" Sachiko gasped...then brightened. "That's a WAY better idea than mine! Only the walkie-talkies should be like...those headsets..." She put the tip of her forefinger to the tip of her thumb to simulate a headset that she then lifted to the side of her head. "Those things. With the mic that comes around the front."

She looked up at the sign of the restaurant and gave Anne a skeptical look. "This is a kind of expensive place for just lunch," she said. "And you want to treat?"

Just when it seemed Sachiko might actually be putting thought into trying to puzzle out the reason for such a thing, she shrugged it off and beamed. "Sounds good to me!"

[Fiona Warner]

Anne scratched her head.

"Lunch? It's 4 in the afternoon..."

She looked confused.

"And I don't care... I saw the place... I wanna try them out. We can discuss the particulars over some all-you-can-eat spaghetti. And I am having a meeting tonight with the group... I got the permissions all set. Nothing covert about this... I just don't think our parents would approve our extra-extra curricular activities."

"But this is a matter of pride now... someone is terrorizing our school and our classmates! We can't let that slide, right?"

[AceWildcard]

Kohaku sighed. He did not like the fact he was doing this alone. It was late in the afternoon and no one choose to be in his group.. No one really wanted to go and help him out. He didn't understand why he posted the flyers. Either way he was going to have to talk to people and see what they could tell of their experiences with the strange occurances goign on in town. Maybe he could find a paticular spot or area where he could find more info on the things. It was a lot better then just doing this alone for now. So he goes to look around the campus and talk to people about it more to get a better idea, if that doesn't work he just go home and talk on the web about it.

[SalmonMax]

"School heck, the whole city," Sachiko countered, raising the ante. Then, unsatisfied with anything but the absurd, she continued with, "The whole WORLD! Anyway, I missed lunch. I was setting up that book thing. So this is my lunch."

She nodded, her logic completely irrefutable in her own mind.

"So okay, we'll eat. Make the plans. Then I'll have to go home and get my blacks on. Oh, hey, we should call some of the others! We can be a whole SWARM of ninjas, creeping silently through the night...alert for any who trespass!"

[Fiona Warner]

Anne sweats a little. "Sachiko, our uniforms are dark enough and there are club meetings there tonight... it's better to fit in than look like you may be trouble."

She adjusts her uniform before walking in. "After all, we're the good guys, we don't want the authorities to think we are the ones behind this."

[Justin OOC]

For the next week, all attempts to catch the culprits of these incidents were totally unsuccessful. Soon though, it was all forgotten, there were much bigger things happening.

For Amara, On Monday, one of her family's men, Jounichi, disappeared from his home. On thursday, a small package addressed to her arrived at home. Inside was among the most grotesque things she'd seen. The tattoo of her family crest, flesh distended due to decomposition, but still easy to make out was still attached. a small paper rest beside it, with a list of names of various other members of her father's organization was on it, and his name was crossed off.

Kohaku noticed something in one of the photos he had developed following his activities, there was an area of black that shouldn't be there, and as he examined it closer, he saw something that couldn't be, a face, or at least two eyes, of an even darker black looking back at him. Now that he'd seen them, the eyes seemed to follow him.

Galiana couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, at all times when she was on campus, and as the second week drew to a close, The school itself seemed colder, darker, even though the settings for everything were verifiably identical to before.

Ayamai's efforts had been fruitless, until one day She felt an aura that she'd been trained to believe in, yet had never really experienced. It was the feel of a demon, and led her to a pile of items, one that reeked of the coppery scent of blood. Some she could tell belonged to students here, but others couldn't have.

For Anne, Thursday brought a loss, the big simulator for the club had been sabotaged, virtually disassembled and strewn about the club room. It would take some real effort to rebuild it, assuming all the parts were still there and intact.

Sachiko noticed a general melancholy at the school despite it only being the beginning of the year. It was almost palpable, and quite stiflling, like something was actively trying to keep her down.

Shinji was the first to really notice another trend. some students had already missed 3 days, and there seemed to be no reason for this, one of them was Ryoto, one of those who enjoyed his artwork.

[AceWildcard]

Kohaku could not believe when he first saw it. But what was it. He tried to look to see what he knew of the supernatural and did studies to figure what it was. There could have been several things that could explain it. Yet one idea he fear more then most. He knew that Hibiki and his twisted mentor Daichi both studied more or less the black arts. He wonder if he was cursed. If so then that might been what the flash was for, to give the creature a target. Then again this might be what causing the problems in the city. Either case is not good.

He needed to know what it was that was watching him. He knew that whatever it was, is now watching him. He knew he could not be alone for now on, and if so he must be careful. Whatever, or whomever is after him if human, might want him dead. He knew he could not do anything reckless or he might end up dead or worse. He knew there were things far worse then death. He goes through all the sources he has to make sure he figures out his supernatural foe. He figure if he knows what is after him he may figure out ways to fight back against it.

Yet all his research seems to be for nothing. He can’t figure it out. It drives him nuts all most. Also it does not help his paranoia at all. He feels like he constantly has to watch his back or something might kill him. His dreams also go to the missing students and what might have happen to them. Also his dreams include them in some way or another. The nightmares cause him to lose sleep.

[Fiona Warner]

"Okay... now this is personal..."

A couple of the tech geeks were putting the simulator back together.

"This has to be a prank. From now on unless anyone has the proper clearances, you see anyone near this room you message me and take their picture with your cell phone. This is just too much." She says to the gathered Aviation club.

"Taro, do you know anything about this?"

Taro just shrugged his shoulders. "You tell me. I was planning to use the simulator today."

"Come with me."

Taro had a glimmer of paranoia in him. While Anne purposely brought him back into the fold into the club, this might have dredged up old wounds.

She leads Taro to a part of the roof that is blocked from view from the ground and from most of the rooms that look on the roof that have students in them.

"Taro... I know we don't see things eye to eye... but there is something I have to show you. To show you I trust you."

Taro gulped... what was she gonna do this time?

"Don't run..."

Anne started to hover, and taro backed into a wall. Anne made sure her back was to the only door leading off the roof, and she knew if he... overreacted she could fly down and catch him before he hit ground.

"Wha... wha..."

"You don't tell this to anyone. But I am going to get to the bottom of the crimes happening on this campus."

"You... you some sort of mutant?"

"No."

Her bands glow and she sees an empty paint can. She fires a bolt from her hand, knocking it over into the bushes below.

"The flight is my gift... it passed through my family's bloodline. Each of the first born daughters develop a psychic ability to fly."

She returns to her feet. "I... won't say how I did that bolt. It would put me in even more danger than I already am."

"Danger?"

"Think Taro... what would the Japanese and UK governments think... a girl with the ability to take on a fighter jet... I would never know peace."

Taro empathized. "Then... what you want me to do?"

"Simple. Organize the troops. Get the word out. Find out who is responsible for this. Get the school's security... as it is... to start doing patrols. I have a feeling there is more to this than simple vandalism."

Taro nodded. "I'll do what I can."

"Also... I have to see someone."

She steps out through the door. There was a certain spook in the school, a boy named Kohaku... She had a guess as to where he could be, and she wanted to get his angle on things. Sachiko was too wreckless, but she had her redeeming moments. But for now, she was going to get another angle before she spoke to anyone else.

She heads to the Photography club's room and knocks. She knows not to enter in case the room has been put into it's darkroom configuration.

"Kohaku... are you in there?"

[AceWildcard]

Kohaku was not there. It seems that other students were there. They inform her that he was there several days ago. It seems something got him in a fizzy and has not been there since. Another kid who was there also noticed that he was backing away from the paranormal club as well. He had been basically acting more or less antisocial then he normally is. The people there were regulars and had some going ons on how late he normally came in things. Also the one who inform her him distancing himself from the paranormal club also was visited by a few of their memebers who have been looking for him as they were looking for some of their books into spirits, and the occult. As to where he is no one knew.

[Fiona Warner]

"The Paranormal club? I should have guessed. Thanks anyways, let Kohaku know I was looking for him."

She nods and steps out. She quickly heads down the stairs and outside. She was worried. When classmates retreat from society, that sometimes means that there was a greater problem than expected.

She walks past the parking lot, checking on her scooter. She adjusts her backpack out of frustration. She's seriously considering tonight working on some way to hide her identity. This is going too far and if this meant her taking on the guise of some sort of vigilante, so be it. The people of the neighborhood are being terrorized. Someone has to do something. Yet no one is doing anything.

She gets up and turns from her thoughts and her checking on her scooter...

"Oh sorry..." She bumps into someone, and she catches them before they fall down. "I'm so sorry... are you alrigh... Kohaku?"

[AceWildcard]

The young man was hooded, and seems to been wearng clothing similar to what Kohaku wears at times, espcecially if he doesn't want to be noticed. Then agian it was pretty generic hoodie style kid so it seems like any person who was in several types of genre's could use it. An cell phone dropped. "No, but I wouldn't go near the kid." he said. "Heard he gone mad. An friend of mine says that he been seeing something and not telling the club of it. Kind of pisses several of the members off. They often like to know that stuff. Bunch of kids who gotten too much into ghost stories if you tell me. What do you want with him anyways?"

[Fiona Warner]

Anne blinked. "Actually... I wanted to talk to him about the bizarre stuff that was going on recently."

She straightens her uniform. "This started to actually become very personal. Whoever is stealing our stuff is now vandalizing our property as well as stealing it. It seems to be personal effects that have a connection to whoever those items stolen/destroyed are. And this has gone beyond school grounds now."

"I was going to as Kohaku, since he's the type of person who would know of things like shady cults or potentially know where the really scary crazy folk that need to be avoided are, and see if it fits any patterns."

[AceWildcard]

The person you bump into was an teenager from the school who was looking for where the art class had resettle. She was rather spooked about it saying that someone had sprayed a name in blood the day before. Rather scary. She also remember a person named Kohaku asking about it. Not sure about what it was all about as there was only one letter spray all over it. Sakura she recalled, but that was it. No one knows the importants at least not in the art class. She was rather late and had to go. As she did she bumps into an person. By his dress and voice it was the person who you had encounter before. The girl apologizes and runs off.

(I apologize for not stating that this was an cell phone conversation. Sorry for all the mess up. I also am sorry for not stating who was who as well. I can't seem to do even a simple character interaction right and feel like shit. I can't even do anything right dammit. I am sorry anne and feel like I let you and everyone down. I hate myself more then anything else in the world.)

[Fiona Warner]

Anne sighs, and decides to head back to her Scooter.

"Things are getting too crazy..."

She decides to forgo trying to find Kohaku and decides to take a spin around the city to cool her mind a bit.

[AceWildcard]

“Sakura.” Kohaku said to himself. The name was something even he could not forget. Three things were on his mind at that point in time. Her, the missing students, and now these red eye things were now floating in his head. He felt like he could not do anything to stop them. Whenever he show the picture to other members of his own club as well as other people they did not see it even if it was in plain sight. No one believed him. He had actual proof of the supernatural and no one believed him. It was like the Sakura incident all over again. This time no one got killed over it, at least not that he could prove.

“Heh, Kohaku.” said a member of the photography club. “What, is it another one of your rants on me joining that club. Forget it as long as that bitch of a club leader still in charge....” Kohaku said but was interrupted by the photo club member. “Heh, I know you and her had a history. The fact that we have to hide you from her when you do you photo is problematic as it is, but that’s not why I wanted to talk to you about.” The person said who interrupted Kohaku. “Then what?” Kohaku asked. “Basically a lady named Anne AceWorth said she was looking for you.” The teen said as he also gave an description. Kohaku reconized the description from someone he saw earlier who was watching him from a distance. “Odd, I saw her ealier today while on a case I was working on. I wonder why she did not speak to me then.” Kohaku said trying not to say what he been doing for the past few hours. “I am just stating what I was told.” the member of the photo club said.

Kohaku could not not understand. If she had wanted to talk to him why did she not talk to him when she was nearby? He knew she saw him. Why lie about it? Then again some things started to add up. He noticed that she was hanging out with certain people. People he thought were working with them. Also the fact she was there the day after they discovered the blood in the art class. She seems almost glad about it.

Then there was the encounter at the graveyard. The sick bastards who wrote her name on the wall also did place blood at her grave. Also an message was written in a language he didn't understand. He grab the note and was going to asked for help in translating it. If an member of the school did not know then at least they could point me in the right direction of someone who could. If not at least he could do some foot work of his own to find out.

Kohaku had it. He was going to find out what she knew. She had to knew something. He went to find her. He knew she knew something. She was playing with him like they were.

Unfortually to his disadvantage she was not to be found. So he decided to wait for a more oppurtune time to talk to her. He need to know how far this conspiracy spread. Now he knew he was being too paranoid. Was he losing it. No, he was of sound mind. He had to been. Was he? He has been in a lot of pressure the past few days. Also not being able to sleep at all for the last two have not helped his state either. He was wondering if it was a mircle at all if he was even standing now if not for the fact he knew what awaited in his dreams. Was what he saw of this girl was just his mind playing tricks on him. If so then why her?

Then again he had the feeling he being watch more and more. He even saw some of them. The things froms the picture. What where they, where did they come from, and why are they here? Plus what is this girl connection in all this? There were others. People he knew and did not know that seem out of place as if they were stalking him. He had the feeling that things were not what they were to him. He then went around and asked about her to make sure he did not accuse someone falsely.

[Fiona Warner]

After stopping by a few electronics stores to get some replacement wires for the simulator, she headed home and grabbed a large grey duffel-bag. Only the servants were in and after a few pleasantries, Anne got back on her scooter and headed back to campus. She was right annoyed as to how this day was turning out. Crazy perverts, Vandals, and now some student seeming more and more to ping on her radar as the culprit. Why as the weirdness escalates, he became more and more distant?

She pulls up, secures her keys, and bee-lines it for the building the clubs were housed. She heads up to the club room where all of the techies from the AV department were assisting the few tech experts in the Aviation club with the simulator and drops the parts off.

"Perfect, Anne, these are the slave cables and the power wires we needed to replace. And good pick on the ethernet cable. We needed to replace tat fast anyways... Anne?"

Anne sighs. "Right... keep it up and try to have her working fast. I've got some investigating of my own to handle."

Taro was about to quip about what was talked about and witnessed earlier but Anne holds up her hand. "No Taro... I plan on taking this up with faculty once I can prove things. Not any time sooner."

She steps out. "Also for everyone's safety, as soon as your work is done here, do not linger and head home. Simulation sessions are cancelled for the week."

Her club-mates grudgingly understand.

Taro steps up. "Right. Any standing orders for me?"

"Yes... if anything happens to me, look after the club. Don't dishonor me by following the same path as before."

Taro gulped as Anne walked out.

"What did she mean by that, Raptor?"

"She's... about to stick her neck out... for our families... for us... for the school..."

The rest of the club wonder what he meant by that.

"Hey, guys... don't you have a simulator to repair? If you wanna get that thing ready for next week I want it at full working capacity! You heard our president!"

The club snaps to.

Meanwhile, Anne heads to the same spot on the roof she was at when she revealed her true nature to Taro. She watched the still milling crowds below. Waiting... watching... observing. All the while her bands felt warm.

"Kohaku... what is your role in all this..."

[AceWildcard]

Kohaku started to become more obsess in trying to figure out the connection between the dark creatures that follow them and their connections to that women Anne in all this. He does not know. Yet he ability to gather intelligence on the women other then what he could find on public forms is not a whole lot. He figured something was going on. Why were these dark spirits or whatever they were after her? He normally would want to look into the source, but at the same time he did not know if this girl connection was either someone who summon them, accidently like several people he been looking into, or an victim. Then again from what he seen, these creatures have been for the most part harmless. Yet he had the feeling that would not be for so long, or that something already happen.

Kohaku started to try and follow her as best he can. Which is hard by most standards for him due to her schedule and trying not to be noticed. He also try to make sure that he kept up his role among the other students in the club he was in. A few other people try to get him into photography club. He would have loved to be in there, but due to a past situation between him and it’s president he would rather not have to have to constantly fight with someone who has issue that he can’t even talk publicly. Plus he nearly got arrested for it if it was not for some arrangements made, I did undercover a good scop on her after all.

Anyways speaking of pains in the neck, He had to also deal with the current thorn to his side, Hibiki, who wants him to do some rather dull work he does not like to do. Was he onto something or is he merely looking into something too deeply. The job is to go with several of the younger members of the club and help an former member teach them how to debunk various natural events so they don’t think it’s paranormal. This annoys him to hell since he wanted to look more into Anne, but also knows he has a duty for the younger students. The person was doing this with the help of a local college who wanted to motivate people into joining an tech college and was doing various other clubs with tech backgrounds. Even if it was something that would dull Kohaku, he could not push off the idea of learning new tech and maybe new ways to prove these things exist.

[Karren Gaunt]

For Amara, On Monday, one of her family's men, Jounichi, disappeared from his home. On thursday, a small package addressed to her arrived at home. Inside was among the most grotesque things she'd seen. The tattoo of her family crest, flesh distended due to decomposition, but still easy to make out was still attached. a small paper rest beside it, with a list of names of various other members of her father's organization was on it, and his name was crossed off.

Amara managed not to scream. That was the important thing. She would have been ashamed to call herself her Father's daughter if she had.

As it was, she jerked her chair backwards away from the desk, a hand over her nose and mouth as she blanched at the smell of rotting flesh that came out of the formerly sealed package, eyes going wide as she got over the grissly shock of what was inside the package enough to recognize the distorted image. The tattoo of one of her family's made men on a chunk of the flesh on which it would have been inked down after he had shared saki with her father. And the paper, morbid and sick to her stomach as leaning over the reeking package to look at it.

Jounichi. Oh, kami. Jounichi. He had been one of her bodyguards when she was 11, typically gruff and only robotically respectful, but if someone had done this to him as a message to her? No, that didn't make any sense. She wasn't that important yet, much as she hoped to be someday. This had to be an insult aimed at her family, using her as the messenger to make an aparent murder seem more galling. And the other names, including her Father's? A promise? A threat? A declaration of war? But from who or, and she hated to amend her thoughts this way but something very strange was going on, what?

Amara's thoughts raced, eyes narrowed to slits. This was… bad. Very bad.

She forced herself to calm some more, place the cover back on the package, much as that failed to rid her room of the stink. She’d show her Father the package, deal with the backlash, and then… Then she’d see what her new friends had experienced this week. If this was scaling up from theft to murder… No. Don’t think about it. She could manage this, protect everyone she valued if she kept her cool that is.

Oh, kami…

　

[SalmonMax]

Sachiko awoke from a dream where she'd been appointed President and Chief Inspector of the United Nations, to the adulation of all, feeling like a million bucks. She showered and dressed and ate and headed to school in record time. Along the way, people honked their horns and leaned out of their windows to shout hello. Kids walking their dogs paused to let her go by, waving...the dogs wagging their tails and barking greetings. She beamed happily at them, waving as she passed...even finding time to sign an autograph for a poor sick kid in a hospital bed that was being wheeled past.

At the entrance of the school, students lined up on either side to bow as she trotted up to the golden gates where they stood open, beckoning everyone to come and learn and be awesome...just like Sachiko.

...

Or, that was how she was accustomed to starting her days. More or less. Pretty much like that, yeah.

But this day was different, and she didn't know why. She awoke to her watch alarm...which was weird because she hadn't even known it had one, and certainly had never set it. Her body felt like it was made of wet clay...heavy and slow. She listlessly showered. Made a halfhearted stab at breakfast. Trudged to school accompanied by the plaintive howls of distant dogs, and glimpses of sobbing children out of the corners of her eyes. It was grey and cloudy, and chill in defiance of the season.

By the time she got to school, it felt like she'd been wrapped in a slightly moist gauze pad the exact temperature as her body so it was almost impossible to feel...but it still obstructed her movements and made her seem numb to other things. First period went by in the blink of an eye, but she couldn't remember a single thing the teacher had said...had she been asleep? Had no one noticed? Looking around, she saw others zoning out, or dozing off...and everyone, but EVERYONE had ashen faces and miserable expressions. Just like her.

And something kindled in her belly. A fire that burned in startling colors and warmed where it touched inside her. Sachiko could still feel the oppressive gloom pressing down on her...but suddenly she was moved to push back!

So it was that in the next class...the one she shared with Anne and the others...the first thing she did on entering the door was to sweep the room with her dark, angry eyes and bellow, "PARTY!" The volume and suddenness of the exclamation made most of the students sitting near the door jump. One boy nearly fell out of his seat. Michiko emitted a startled yelp. But for that instant, the cloying grey was banished in a spurt of adrenalin, and Sachiko seemed to know it as her expression turned a bit smug. She folded her arms over her chest and finished what she meant to say.

"After class this Friday, I am inviting anyone who wants to come over to my house for a start of the fall party! Music and food and friends, and absolutely nothing depressing or boring allowed! It'll be a hugely successful way to beat back all the problems that are weighing you down now that school's back!"

She produced a sheet of paper that had 'SIGGN UP' on it in hurried, scribbled kanji. "If you want to come, just put your name here so I can have someone plan what we'll need to have."

[AceWildcard]

Kohaku was finish with the typical assist teaching of the class members for the day. He was back at the academy waiting for his parents to come and get him. He was sitting on a bench outside of school. It was dark and he was exhausted by the work he did. The person who was teaching was a real pro. He did not know the person before, but the person seem real kind. Yet he did not know what it all meant. Why was he chosen for this? Then again maybe he was looking into all this wrong. Either way something is a foot.

Still there were several students who were at the center of all this. Yet he did not know how or what their connections were. He could asked them, but what if they were in on it. He needed to figure out what was going on. At the same time he did not know if they could trust their word as the truth. One of his target, Anne, he saw twice when reports said she was elsewhere. Either he was losing his mind, or someone playing tricks on him. Who or what he did not know. All he cared on was getting to the bottom of all this. Yet should he try to contact them, even if they would not believe him.