Kawaii Cataclysm (Inactive)

Game Master BastianQuinn

Yuki pulls away as you move to leave, and looks from you to the burly biker, who is still chuckling heartily. For a second, she tries to level her gun at Iskandar again. Then, she slaps herself on the forehead. 「Baka! Baka! Baka!」 Her gun moves toward you, but falls to her side before it gets anywhere near you. When her eyes meet yours again they’re welling up with tears.「Kuso! How are you involved in this? Are you a Shadow? A Shadowcaster? Holy crap, Ki-chan, the demon empress stuff was supposed to be a joke!」 She looks down at her gun, and spots the ring on her left hand. 「What did you put on my hand? We just- You just-」 Her right hand goes back to her lips. She’s hyperventilating and her legs are shaking.

Iskandar crosses his arms and frowns. 「I’ll leave you to your domestics, Hera. I have a few other insurgents to introduce myself to.」 He bows and turns, walking toward the stage. Somehow, you wish he’d have stayed. At least with him here you weren’t the worst person in the room.

The caterer does not seem alarmed in the slightest. You're not sure if she saw the gun in the dark club atmosphere. She continues to set out petit fours for the coffin-tables.

Beyond the office, there is a hallway to the left that leads to the back rooms of the rest of the shops on this side of the mall. In the back is a large freight elevator.

When you arrive, the cabin of the elevator is in the basement, but a snap and hum of motors tells you it’s on it’s way up, possibly with a passenger. At the same time, you hear footsteps coming up the hall behind you. You might fit under the desk... if you were looking for a place to hide. What do you do?

「Well, wishfull thinking I guess. They've been talking on the headsets about someone slinking around in the back of the mall. Shirakawa Kiyomi is here. I know that much. Oh, if I could get you all in one room together...」 The bookstore has been cleared out. You’d hate to see where all that trash went on such a short notice. The room is built up as a quiet lounge with benches, couches, and a few booths. They look like they were swiped from the food court and draped with cheap black fabric.「I’ve been working on a journalism degree--something to round out my business admin and geology degrees--and something like this would look good in my portfolio.」

The woman continues out of the bookstore, focused mostly on her phone, and leads the two of you toward the stairs to the second floor. 「They’ve got the whole west wing locked off, so we’ll have to take the stairs.」

The young man in the tuxedo is trying to push up a big shelf to open up a path through the rubble. None of you are small enough to climb through the rubble, and climbing over it looks very dangerous. What do you do?

She sees the state she’s put you in, and her expression softens furhter. 「Hey, hey, no.」She takes a step forward and offers you her right hand, the gun still in her left. 「We’ll figure this out together. I was wrong. I do know you, Ki-chan. I know you better than anybody. Maybe I always knew this was a thing.」 She waves at you vaguely. 「Maybe I’ve just been in denial because I like hanging out with you so much. Point is, we’re on the same side, right? Helping people. So, let’s focus on that.」

Gain 1 Hope.

What do you tell her?

The elevator stops on this floor, and you can hear the gate open. The light in the room shifts as the door to the arcade is opened. You feel the pressure of the stalker’s magic supression field weigh down on your shoulders like a stifling cloak.

A Magical Girl comes into view. She has red hair with thick, curled ram’s horns. She whips out a pair of blades. “You!”

A deep and hearty voice replies. 「Hail! I am a man possessed with the spirit of King Al-Iskandar the third of Macedon. It is my intention to conquer you and your comrades, and harvest the spirit energy of this town’s youth. I wish you luck in your efforts against me. You will need it.」

“You’re worse than the others! Are you the leader of the waerloga? I should strike you down now and save this city from you.” The girl in red spins forward with her blades of fire and shadow, but someone steps forward from the elevator. Seven someones, each of them a hulk of muscle in leather.

You glance down at your MP3 player, and you see a playlist populating. Lapis Philosophorum and The Warrioress (with your amplifier) are at the top, but songs are loading up rapid-fire, like each of the seven dudes is casting spells as fast as he can. The songs being loaded are all speed metal. If it weren’t for this girl’s suppression field, you think this room might be a pillar of fire by now.

What do you do?

As you walk, you see movement on one of the railings. Someone is climbing up from below, but the plant is ripping under their weight. They could fall. When she lurches up to grab the rail, you recognize Kazue in mundane form. It doesn’t look like the night-life-office-lady has seen her.

What do you do?

While you girls watch, the young man hefts the shelf up on his shoulder and lifts it up. Some trash bags and mannequin parts tumble down the pile, and you hear some glass break, but there is now a clear path to the rest of the mall. With a shove, he braces the cane against the shelf near the center and rolls his shoulder out from under it.

「After you, ladies.」 The young man’s gaze sweeps over the twins to rest on Naiad as he bows. When he straightens, he flashes Naiad a wink. What do you do?

When you enter the hallway, however, you find Mr. Miku sprawled out on the floor in rolling convulsions. He looks like he’s choking on something. That confirms it, it’s not just the stolen drinks that are tainted, it’s the whole Shakti line. From what you gathered through the memories of your allies, the drinks absorb a person’s energy, much the same way that energy is encapsulated by trinkets. The snake is a physical manifestation of that energy, and so, must be an extension of the person they come from, even if they act with single-minded intent. He can be healed. They can all be healed.

It may be hard to put the genie back in the bottle, at least with your domain, but you should be able to impart or unblock knowledge without much trouble. On the other hand... Mr. Miku’s kind of a bigoted ass, and from Sakura’s memories, you know that these snakes can be used to restore lost magic. It won’t be the whole snake, just a few inches off the tail…

Mr. Miku is still struggling with a knot in his throat. What do you do?

A few members of staff come out from behind the curtain to do a final mic check.

You form the constraints of the spell in your mind, and you can’t help but hear the pokemon battle theme swell behind you. However, you can feel the resistance almost immediately. You have a strange, out-of-body experience where you can picture the room from outside the cabinet. Iskandar didn’t send forward seven thugish cronies, he split, like light through a prism, into seven fully competent casters.

What’s more, as you try to push your will around them, you notice you’re not the first to enter this conceptual space. The man is layered like an onion. First, the man he has possessed- it’s not what you pictured at all, not the way he described it at least. The man summoned him, willfully, and iskandar is merely at the helm. Second, Iskandar’s spirit is already bound, but not to the trinkets his seven aspects are wielding. His trinkets must be somewhere else. Finally, a sinister will has him bound, though it’s no effect of magic, or you would have seen it in the cards. Iskandar is such a slave to these three layers, he’s not even aware of them. He carries them like Atlas carries the world.

You can feel your sorcery still weaving its intricate pattern. No time has passed, and you still have influence over what the spell will attempt.

Here are your options. There are many:
1: Use 1 Fate to reroll, and reframe the constraints and description of your spell to try and change the bonuses you gain.
2: Use 2 Fate to upgrade to a successful Hit with a +1 Forward to Brigid. This will capture one of the seven aspects of Iskandar(your choice) in a simple prison. He won’t be able to get out or run away, but he may have some tricks.
3: Use 4 Fate to upgrade to a critical, and deal 2 Hits. This will seal one aspect of Iskandar (your choice) in a perfect prison. You’ll have control of what he can and cannot do from inside.
4: Take 1 Magic as you force the spell to your will and deal 1 Hit. You will capture one aspect of Iskandar (my choice) and one of the features of the prison we discussed will fail eventually.
5: Take 2 Magic, and add the amplifier to your spell, dealing 2 Hits. You will capture all of Iskandar in a highly unstable prison. He will still be able to cast spells, speak, and be a general nuisance, but he’ll be physically restrained, and the mortal whose body he possessed will be free.
6: Take 1 Hope, and modify your spell to contain yourself and Iskandar inside Brigid’s Hearth dealing 1 Hit with an advantage to Brigid, and optionally activate your amplifier, making the Hearth a Sanctuary. The three of you will have to fight it out with mundane weapons and prestidigitation until Iskandar is subdued, but that’s the cost of trust.

The woman who was leading the two of you to Emi squeaks, and Kazue turns her way in time to take a camera flash to the face. 「Oh Em Gee. This is perfect」

There’s a distant sound to the east, like someone sifting through a heap of junk. Kazue spares a suspicious glance that way, but quickly looks back at the woman with the camera, all smiles.

When the three of you exit the clothing store, you see May, Sora, and Kazue getting their picture taken by one of the staff members. The guy in the tuxedo ducks behind a tall sign with a map of the mall on it.「Looks like we can sneak down the stairs to get to the basement.」

With your coaxing, the serpent of woven leather surfaces rather quickly. Rikuto tenses one last time before the thing rolls from his gullet and unfurls on the linoleum. You have time to scoop the thing up before a nurse rounds the corner and spots the two of you in the hall. He stammers out a surprised noise, then runs back the way he came. He’ll probably come back with doctors. What do you do?

The surge of power from your new trinket and the crushing weight of the sanctuary almost give you whiplash, but most importantly, you’re suddenly aware that you’re charging a six-foot wall of man-meat with nothing more than a girl with a couple of knives to back you up. Your mask no longer affords its magical protection. At least he doesn’t see the horror dawning on your face as you wing him full force in the back of the head.

He staggers forward and... laughs. “Έχετε ένα ισχυρό βραχίονα , το μικρό .” The hair on the back of his head darkens with blood that’s welling out of his scalp.

The other girl closes with a practiced pirouette and attempts to plunge her right dagger into Iskandar’s lung, but the blade catches fast between his ribs. The wound is no less serious, but the girl is immediately thrown out of the series of strikes she was planning, and the knife slips from her grip.

The girl and man both stop and look down at the knife and the rapidly spreading stain around it.

“Αυτό ήταν απροσδόκητο.” Iskandar sounds mostly confused. He turns toward you. “Τι ήταν αυτό που λέγατε για χορδές ;” His wound is still bleeding, and as he bends to look you more fully in the eyes, he winces and looks back down at it, still mostly just confused.

“What is with you and meddling with other people’s magic?” The girl looks down at the knife still in her hand.

The nightlife office lady nods emphatically at Sona’s suggestion. 「Okay, you two clearly have a lot to talk about before you go see Emi, I can see that. Let’s just go through here.」She indicates the nearest storefront: a rundown jewelry store.

Kazue smiles warmly and reaches to take Sora’s hand, following the woman. 「Oh, well, you see...」 she scratches through her hair with her free hand, roughing up the volume of her thick black hair. 「I lost something earlier today. I’m just looking for it. I’ve just been in such a fog recently, I’ve gotta check everywhere.」

As she enters, the office lady takes a handful of glow sticks from her clutch, snaps them, and scatters them on the floor inside the jewelry store.

Inside, there are a number of broken glass cases, and a door to a back office.

Before Yuki can ask where you’d like to go next, an older girl tumbles into the mall, having finally pushed past the bouncer. 「Hotness Everdeen! Thank god you’re still here. Would you kindly tell this forehead-with-legs to back off?」

You feel your skin prick as soon as you see the older girl tumble in. It’s as if the sight of her has disarmed you of your magic.

The tallest is clearly Kiyomi in her grandiose crystal armor. With her is a girl in a militaristic school uniform. Coming in from the front door is a very loud young woman. 「That’s Tsuchi. I can’t believe she made it past the bouncer.」

There’s a sudden chill in the air as the oppressive Sanctuary slides over your wing of the mall. Your magic grows distant once more.

You pause to watch the brutish conqueror, who is looking to you for an answer. He's still carrying himself with ironclad confidence, but that seems to be his "resting brick-face". His free hand is twitching over the knife in his side like he's resisting the urge to yank it out. In his other hand, he's holding some kind of primitive clipboard with an ink-pot, quill, and an unlit candle. Mostly, you get the feeling that he doesn't understand how vulnerable he is right now.

While the two of you gawk, the redhead dives for her dagger, holding her other blade out away from the two of you like it's poison. Without flinching, Iskandar punches her so hard in the side of the head her legs fly out from under her and she's driven to the ground in a heap. She's still concious, but the knife she was after is still sticking out from the man's gut, untouched.

He never broke eye contact with you.

...Ok, what's the protocol for other languages? "This is English," 「this is Japanese,」 but how do I handle other languages outside of that? And how implausible is my mastery of linguistics permitted to be?...without magic. I can see Junpei learning a load of languages, because being able to talk with people is great, but I don't want to create an "Ugh, again?" situation every time I claim to know another language.

Though admittedly, I'd love being able to speak and understand every language under the sun that isn't ridiculously obscure. I think I have established myself by now as the guy that would walk up to the BBEG and ask "Hi, what's your name?"

The young woman looks from you, to Yuki, and back again. The bouncer behind her spots Kiyomi and rolls his eyes, returning his attention to the people outside. The young woman pops the collar of her sailor costume and polishes her nails on the fabric as she calls back to the bouncer. 「That's right, I'm with Princess Bone-nonoke. Nothing to see here.」 She chuckles at her own joke as she approaches. When she's a few feet away, she ducks a small bow. 「So, I'm Azumamaro. Where's the nyotaimori?」 She's asking after sushi served on naked models (almost exclusively female models). Has Kiyomi ever encountered nyotaimori? It's fairly popular at the sort of high-end galas her mother would throw.

Yuki looks disgusted, but interested.

One of the nurses, a slight and stern woman with short blond hair turns to you with a clipboard. She barely glances at you before assuming you speak English. "Are you a relative?" Without waiting for the response she adds. "Visiting hours have been up for awhile, are you with one of the other ER patients?" Her eyes clock the room behind you, making connections. Her tone suggests it would be easier for her if you were.

He laughs, and starts speaking...Greek? Huh. He wasn't automagically comprehensible anymore, but still understandable. She had to thank Lysander later...not like this, but she'd do it. Right...he seemed have stopped attacking for now. He was listening attentively, even. Isky wasn't such a bad guy, was he? She comes out with her best Greek. Maybe she'd impress him again. G!"Before I continue, I hope you won't mind if I tell our companion here a few words. Hopefully she'll stop interrupting a moment. I don't think she can understand you anymore anyway."

Oh god, these nerves. The show must go on, though. She was speaking English, right? E!"Hey, Scarlet? I'd use your name, but I don't know it. Sorry for messing with whatever this is. I just wanted to deal with whatever happened with the drinks that made them turn people's souls into snakes. I only just found out about all this, and I didn't want anyone else to die today. Anyway, oddly enough, this guy here is the first one who didn't exclusively attend the school of murderous solutions, so I'd at least like to bloody try and deal with all this peacefully. I don't care if it's stupid, it's worth trying. So if you wouldn't attack us while I'm trying to explain he's being mind-controlled, I'd appreciate it."

Iris returns full attention to Iskandar. Hold together. Clear. Confident. Friendly. G!"Thanks for waiting. Don't know if she'll stop for sure, so it's worth being aware. Please don't hurt her too badly. Now, here's the important bit. There are plenty of things in the world you don't know, but here's the important one - I'm pretty sure you aren't entirely yourself. You're a king. A conqueror. But you've made it clear you aren't pure evil, otherwise you wouldn't be going around giving friendly greetings - that isn't pragmatic."

G!"You've got some great and evil intelligence stringing you along, through some means outside of magic. I don't know why that's hidden from you. But whatever they want is bad for everyone here. Even if you had your own plans, it isn't far-fetched to assume that big evil is going to hijack them. That, or they further some goal of theirs. If it didn't go against your desires or code or something, they wouldn't be having to control you, would they?"

G!"I'd like to think it's not necessary to fight it out here. And I'd like to think that you aren't so terrible either. I mean, you're listening to me, right? You're a king. And I'll bet you have some sense of honour, warning us all and wishing us luck. Using hexed drinks to steal the souls of innocent bystanders is petty and underhanded. Unless you thought that energy is coming from elsewhere? I don't know what you do know, but it's happening, and if that's you you're essentially ripping the souls out of people and leaving them dead - or worse."

G!"I don't want anyone dead. I don't want people fighting. I don't want bad things happening in general if it can be avoided. So...Iskandar. People have already died unnescessarily today. If things go on like this, many more will. Something terrible is driving you, leading you to do awful things. Things I don't think you'd do normally. Whatever kind of existence you have, it doesn't stop you from being someone good."

G!"I can't speak for everyone, but I am going to say something. If Yokai and the like are able to coexist with us without having to be utterly awful, I don't see why you can't. It might be a rough ride, but it's a damn sight better than what's going on now. I'd be more than happy to find a way to make this work out for everyone involved. So push back against the evil gripping you. Be a better person. Be a king, genuinely beloved by all. Can't be too hard for YOU, right?"

2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11
These dice. Ahhh. I hope he notices that sinister will. And I hope this was all worth something.
Then again, I'm trying to talk down the "bad guy"...fingers crossed. We can have something more irredeemable later, right?

Sora moves swiftly through the abandoned jewelry store looking around for what she needed, but didn't spot anything immediately... just a lot of broken display fronts - all of which, ultimately useless in more ways than one. She thought that maybe she'd figured out how to use her trinket... and was about to find out! She steps into the back office, pushing the door open as she does, and spots a worn down desk, not in the best condition, but it would do.

She pulls out her pastels, and slowly begins to etch a freehand circle with one piece, quickly slotting it back in once that's done... then she swaps to another piece and begins etching interweaving lines... something between a spider web, a celtic cross, and an actual dreamcatcher - all of which really worked for her purposes. Each new line was made with a different pastel before it was returned to its case, as if the black-on-black pastels were any different from one another. Perhaps they weren't anymore, but they had been all in order before, the order that any artist would grow accustomed to.

Slowly, she gave life to the little token, giving each line volume and shade, smudging here and there, and taking full advantage of her medium.

"I finally figured it out, I think. she says as she stops and examines it, before nodding. "Art is the bridge between imagination and reality." she adds to herself, almost as much as everyone around her. As she closes the case on her pastels and places them back into her hoodie pocket, closing her eyes as she does so.

When she opens them, it's almost as though a fog has been lifted from those around her, as they realize that the almost-dream-catcher that Sora had drew was in fact real the entire time. Or rather, they couldn't remember when it transitioned at all. The outer ring was made from the same wood as the desk had been - mahogany, while the interior was still a mix between celtic cross, dreamcatcher, and spider web, with jet black lines in the place of woven string. On the end facing Sora was a handle, tranforming the whole object into what almost looked like a wind-and-fire wheel, sans the blades.

"Alright... Sorry about this. Not the best time to drop this on anyone, but yes, I'm a magical girl... and there are a lot of people in danger right now, if one of the other magical girls is right. So..." she slides her finger across one of the inner threads, cutting it open and wincing.

"A part apart; a fate undone;
By sweat and rote, I seal this heart;
Bind this spirit; turn the lock, and rise again to keep the watch."

Her hand reaches into her pocket to touch the familiar warmth of the pastels, before calling out. "Cloud Watcher Tenshi." With that done, in much the same way as the dreamcatcher had transitioned from drawing to reality, so too did Sora's form transition into Tenshi's. Little miss Angel of Darkness had returned, and she was infinitely aware that someone was encroaching on her territory. Her eyes darted about for a moment, before looking to the office lady.

"Please, for the love of all that is holy... no pictures." she says, as her wings flutter slightly to highlight the agitation at the thought. She holds her hand out to May, "You can... come with if you want." she offers as her other hand grabs the Wind-and-Fire Dreamcatcher, whose purpose even in a weaponized form was still to protect.

If there are no objections...

Tenshi then steps sideways, pulling everything -and everyone - she was touching with her, into the dream. In the dream, the trinket she had just woven from her own mind was still wood and black, but each thread gave way to a different, pale light at the intersections, like lines drawing together constellations. The wood seemed more real and solid, though it was still without blade, it now had small hooks to catch things in - clothing, weapons, what have you.

But the important part, to Tenshi, was what the Dreamcatcher meant, both literally, and figuratively to her domain. She had been here before. This is where her Dreamer had Awakened. This was as much her nest as her true home was... and once more, bad things were happening. But this place was hers and she was going to stake her claim on it.

"Dream Demesne." she intones.

All of her wings fluttered open at once as she concentrated. A visible shift, a slowly-expanding dome spread from her, and with it came peace and safety. The dream - or at least the dream near her - was being placed under her protection... and with any luck, all of the people in the mall were at least a little bit inside of it... and those who came with her were almost assuredly so.

“I think it is “still”, Azu-chan” A young man in a tuxedo and tophat, about the same age as the girl in a sailor saturn costume, drops down from the stairs nearby and approaches from the easter hall. 「That’s just Tsuchi-sama. She’s got it in her head somehow that this place is going to serve sushi on naked women. She has an unhealthy obsession with women, especially naked ones. Although, she definitely would have told me if she had ever gone through with any of her impulses. I’m Kusaka Ai. You’re the councilwoman’s daughter? Shirakawa-dono?」

Azu glares daggers at Ai like she might actually attempt to kill him. Through grit teeth she says 「Are we going to take advantage of our all-access pass or what? It’s nearly midnight.」

Gathering herself off the floor, the redhead dabs the developing bruise that’s overtaking the right side of her face. She looks shaken, and, eyeing the brute, nods assent to your plan.

The world’s most prolific conqueror opens his mouth to respond, but pauses as you continue, in Greek, through your extensive and rapid rhetoric. When you’ve finished, he only says thoughtfully: >Is that so...< Iskandar shifts from one foot to the other, cracking his neck as the cogs turn upstairs. >If you’ll excuse me, I have something to check on.< He begins to walk away, but only gets as far as the elevator. He looks down at his gut, and seems to put something together.

“What’s that? What’s he doin’? Donnae let him go. It’s almost midnight.” Desperate, the redhead gets to her feet. “I can’t attack him with this.” She indicates her other blade. “If I do, we’re in big trouble, no thanks to you. If there’s any good to you, you’ll run ‘im through with that and be done with him.” She points at the claymore now resting in your hand.

Iskandar clears his throat. >I understand if you are reluctant to banish your ward, but I need to confirm these allegations against my mother, and to do that, we must go downstairs. Together.<

Somehow you’re reminded of a puzzle you heard about a long time ago. Something with a river, a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage? You don’t think the solution is immediately applicable, but you do think it will take some coaxing to get the redhead to walk into an elevator with Iskandar.

In the meantime, the conqueror writes something on his clipboard, then looks down at his hand expectantly. >Of course not...< The wound in his gut is starting to stain his pants and drip blood on the floor.

The office lady’s phone flies from her hands and smashes against the wall in a spasmodic response to your proclamation.「No phones, sure, whatever. Holy s*#+ this is insane. What was that stamp laced with? Is this for real? Are you for real? F!~%!」

The wall between worlds is thin here. Soon dream will break the levies of reality and spill out into the mall. The world of dreams unfolds around you, first in swirling smoke and colors, then sinking into a painterly rendition full of light and smiles.

「Brava, Sora!」 Giggling with delight, Kazue leans in and loops an arm around the woman’s waist. 「I’m one too, but I haven’t been doing so hot lately. I’m sure Sora’s been able to handle it better than I did. She and Emi have so much talent.」 She’s leaning in close, and though you could swear Kazue was never... that way before, you think she might be trying to seduce the polymath. Both of them follow Sora into the dream world.

The conceptual space you occupy now represents the abandoned jewelry store. It’s a simple space, like an ancient ruin filled with bejeweled statues. Most of the jewels are gone, and the statues are worn smooth. There’s a single attendant, sitting, appraising, polishing at a low-sat desk nearby. From here, paths lead in, literally, every conceivable direction. With your dreamcatcher, and May’s presence, you should have no trouble moving to where you want to go from within the dreamscape.

There are dark clouds overhead. Through a hole in the ruin’s roof and wall, you can see a staggering landscape of emotion that heaves and churns like an incoming tide. Outside of your ward, the dreamscape is almost hellish. Off on the horizon, there is a place like an ivory tower, and you can feel a massive number of people lost there. You’re reminded of the man’s nightmare from the bus You would be worried, terrified even, if it weren’t for a beam of teal light coming from the tower and cutting through the clouds above.

There is a conflict nearby, allies everywhere, innocents about to be trapped inside, and that horrible storm on the horizon. All of it is at your fingertips. What do you do?

As you relay this information to the nurse in your most charmingly distraught and accented English, she nods. “Right.” She flips a few pages on her clipboard and scans a document. “Since she’s not a part of whatever this is,” she indicates Mr. Miku, “she was moved into 304, one of the examination rooms in pediatrics. Nothing’s broken. She just needs a little time and hydration- don’t worry, we’ve got her on a saline drip, nothing from a can.”

She pauses, flips to another page on her clipboard and writes something down. “We don’t have the staff available for an escort. Can you read Kanji? If not, you’ll want to follow the blue band back to the lobby, and then follow the green band to pediatrics.” Seemingly satisfied, the nurse turns to follow the coordinated unit, shaking her head as she pops something from her pocket into her mouth.

If Chell could feel the limitation of the protection she would look to Sora for guidance on her magic. "I might be able to move the others into the dream weaver but if we move it moves and I don't know if I could bring everyone with us."

Yuki blinks, shaking her head. 「Get your perverted hands off her, you b+&$$!」

Ai, shocked, crosses the floor to reach Azumamaro's side, but the young woman shakes off his lent hand and pulls herself to her feet. Her outfit is now torn across the side, exposing her midriff. The short, blond wig is barely hanging on, and the kaleidoscope of colors underneath is spilling out onto her shoulders. 「What'd you call me-」 Azu has to pause and look Yuki up and down before deciding on: 「Fool!」

It looks like they're about to fight. Yuki will probably injure Azu eventually.

Anyway, you're pretty sure the older girl is in love with Kiyomi too. -or you're just not as good as you thought at reading threads. From the look of her, though, she gives out threads like candy on Halloween.

The guy still doesn't have any threads. You think he might be dumb.

She looks at you for a moment before bolting upright. 「Oh, it's you. Did everything turn out alright?」 She adjusts her glasses and brushes the powder from her nose. She glances at her hand with a look of concern before it disappears under the counter.

Iskandar chuckles. >I wouldn't ask my mother to admit duplicity. I need to check on the thing she is having me guard. I may be able to confirm this myself with a little prodding.< Jovially, he begins tearing his clothes into bandages.