Hashimoto Sora's page

I figured that Kazue and Sailor Motorcycle would be the two most vibrant souls. If I'm wrong, that just leaves her to pop to another space. Those are just the only two that have seen onscreen reinforcement. To my knowledge, anyway.

But it wasnt a guarantee to pop to her target, just a guarantee to pop to who she expected was her target. She doesn't really have any bonds to follow, after all. So pick the second brightest star and aim a little to the left. :)

That doesn't help those of us who have limited our knowledge to those things outside of spoilers and those things directed at us :p. Busy, will try to fill May in later.

"Seven choices, like... seven eggs. In the dream, I gave the lost girl back her seven objects... and when I came out I had the eggs with me. Does that mean she'll come back through those?" she asks, then shakes her head. "Also, what even are the choices? And... I don't remember a girl with a doll. Twins, Scary, Book, Closet, Water, Wings, May..." she says, ticking off her fingers.

Kinda figure Sora is getting played like a fiddle here... but I'm game.

"Yeah.." Sora agrees when Suzu points out doing things simply because it was breaking the rules to do so. "That's part of why I plan on keeping the pastels. The other part, because they're mine. Why would we need more than one?"

"Is our survival actually tied into these things?" Sora asks of the Maid, when May points out the probability.

「I haven't really thought magic didn't follow rules... in fact, I figured it was pretty zero-sum. If I do something now, I might not be able to do something more important later. And... I don't even know how things will turn out. Like with the Horcruxes. I just... knew she was incomplete.」 she adds, looking towards the mirror, 「And I couldn't imagine being stuck that way forever.」 she then shakes herself out of the melancholy, with far too much ease. If she were correct about Shirakawa, the woman would see right through it.

She makes a few notes to herself. Her magic would be more effective on dreamers and when shaping dreams. But how to use pastels... chalk circles like salt circles? It definitely wouldn't work on the fly...

「What about synergy? Combining magic to greater effect? The reason a girl group works better than a solo career... at least at first, before people begin to clash. And is it possible to outright share magic?」

'Fear at school, Twins and Book here, Closet's here, too. Then us two... but where's Sailor?'

「Sailor's the only girl I haven't seen today.」 Sora says, thoughtfully. 「There are eight... to my knowledge. Plus you. Why would the Raven be angry with me? How do I harm the two of us? Is there a way I can fix it?」 she shakes her head, moving back to the things more important to this woman - other things seemed to take a back seat anyway. 「Sailor went home with Book. That's the last I know.」 she says, looking to May.

Sora's face twists into a grimace as the woman not only points out the inherent fallacy of her own statement, but also insulted those very same students she was expecting Sora to gain legitimacy for. 「Dross? Aya-chan?」 Sora asks, just looking more confused and conflicted the more the woman talked. As the emotional energy and butterfly heartbeat receded, the constant fight-or-flight (more specifically, ambush) that she had been feeling was ebbing, leaving her with the third, less often mentioned option: Freeze.

「Wei-kun? The others?」 Tenshi continued asking the woman to explain every other word, as the group really had no idea what was going on at all, and this particular woman was talking as if she were at a gala she were running, casually namedropping all sorts of artists, actors, and fashion designers that she just so happened to know... and Sora fully expected to be ostracized for not knowing what and who everyone should know.

「Please slow down, Shirakawa-Sama. Surely, you must understand that all of this is terribly new to us. This... transformation and magic business just began for us last night, when we visited the Mall. The girl... youkai.. thing? Had six objects filled with dark emotions. I... returned them to the girl's sleeping form, and the beast...」 she pauses, 「The water warrior used sea-water to contain its blast after taking us to distant tropical waters. I believe the salt helped to contain it. But... did I do the right thing?」

As the noblewoman's laughter peals through the room, the tension Tenshi was feeling went to an all-time high. She snapped her head in the direction of the woman. She doesn't really have much time to respond, as the woman quickly takes control of the entire scene. She does have time for her own eyes to narrow, as everything suddenly changes.

She grew to fill out her hoodie in entirely different ways, her oversized bust and hips (false as they were, given that they were increased in size by the wings), shrank, while the rest of her grew to fill the clothing in. The Hoodie that had been held up comfortably, became more like a tent in some areas and tight in others.

The makeup she had spent an hour that morning putting on was likewise effected. Thick layers of makeup crack apart into small crevices, like a scab on one's knuckle, leaving gaps between the less delicate matters. Her lips became slightly less full, causing the lipstick to clump up slightly, and her hands wound up quite similar to her face. The only positive was the sudden reappearance of the familiar blue hair, rather than the black.

For a moment, she ignores the question, still feeling spiteful towards the woman who had just unmade all of the magic she had managed to make with a few waves of her hands. 「All that Shimmers is Shirakawa. Mirrors? Appearances, maybe?」 she asks, hoping to catch the woman off-guard... but moreso, hoping to guess correctly. She had caught onto the fact that her own powers were themed rather quickly. They simply felt right. Which also explained how the other's powers had worked as well. Something about the night before had changed Tenshi's outlook... while she would never have stood up to authority before... things were very clearly different now.

「It would seem that there were more students joining that particular course than there were openings for, and I found myself the least qualified... so I opted out. Who is this 'Perdita?'」

As Hiro interposed himself between her and the aquagirls, Sora nods, and then spots that the cloak seemed to have protected him. Rather than pushing through the wall, she pulls off her hoodie, which still has her pastels in it, and places it, along with the feather into the pot, before shaking it... And hoping.

Beneath her hoodie was a gray T-shirt with the word 'boop' mostly in white, but the second One being in pink and emblazoned with a hammer with a lightning bolt through it.

Sora frowns as the girl bumps into her, suddenly her unanswered question of Hiro didn't seem quite so important. She hadn't realized they'd gotten nearly that close. When she says something she doesn't quite understand, she responds in kind. "Ort."

"We should go." she offers to the others, now that she sees that they can indeed slip out. She doesn't have any idea what she'd even want to transmute together. She just knew they were getting steadily less safe. She takes the time to pull her camera out of her pocket and make sure the flash is on, as she steps out of 'Ort's' way.

"Hmmm..." Sora says as she looks to the glowing book, tilting her head to May, then back to the book. "So... strange." she says, and then spots the girls with all the weapons. "Okay... I think things are getting a little more out of hand." she whispers. [smaller]"I really don't think this is part of our new friend's fantasy.."

"Ano..." Sora 'uhhhhs', as the man takes the time to cut open a blanket, put the feathers into a pot, and then shake the entire mess. The icon appearing in relation to the pot, just makes her look at her surroundings with even more scrutiny. She misses the point where everything blends together, as she starts to look for needle pricks on her arms... this had to be some sort of drug-induced hallucination. Had to. Finding nothing, "Gas leak, maybe..?" she says, not quite certain of where she is or what to do.

"What do you mean 'your mother destroys you?'"

Barring that, she frowns a little. She holds up the food she'd brought with her. "I have a bento box... lots of sweets, a little sushi... I've got a camera, and pastels... will those do anything useful?" She didn't know what to think, but going along with it seemed a lot better than fighting her way out.

"I... don't really know. I think it might be a manga? Clan-something anyway... it makes sense with the school uniforms..." she responds, then shakes her head.

"What do we have to do to get out of here, Hiro-san" She says, looking to the person who seemed some combination of lost and crazed. 'Invest emotional ties. Make them feel special. Be friendly. If they don't get upset, you keep yourself safe for a little longer.' she thought back to the lessons she'd gotten. She'd never taken them seriously, really...

Sora watches as the... thing moves over to collect feathers, rather than answering her question. That was something she could deal with a little better than the world shifting around her. Her eyebrow twitches for a moment, before she takes a slow, deep breath, and exhales. "I'm... not so sure that we disprove the crazy bit." she says, twitching her lips back and forth for a moment, before adding in a sing-songy voice in english, "If I leave my grin behind, remind me... we're all mad here, and it's okay," then shakes her head. "We... came to see the train. I didn't think it would be like -this-. I'd like to say I don't believe in this. I'm scared, though, so... clearly I do." she adds, after a few moments.

"So... why is it that we're in your head, instead of you being in mine? Hashimoto Sora." She says, almost as an afterthought. She wasn't at all used to introducing herself... and if he'd kidnapped the pair, it was clear he knew exactly who she was. She forced herself to breathe slow and deep again, using only her nose. No sense in panicking...

"The last thing I remember was mirrors, and you in front of a game. That's why the Chesshire kitten came to mind. Through the looking glass."

Thanks for the map. It should help quite a lot. I honestly had no idea anyone had already entered the Arcade, so I'm surprised to find out that that was a player. :)

Arcade/Game Time

Sora didn't really understand the confusion in regards to what she'd said... as it had been mostly an automatic response, having simply said the equivalent of 'what?' in surprise.

Sora, on the other hand, was superstitious. Or at least enough to be afraid of the unknown. She started to move forward, quietly, trying to reach the light... and then realized that they were effectively inside of a fun house.

After a bit of effort, she finally discovered the young - or was he impossibly old? - man standing before the machine. She wasn't certain of what to do, and paused for a moment, before remembering May following behind her. She didn't want to act afraid in front of her, so she pressed onwards, slowly making her way through the the arcade. When her two paths diverged, she took the path that lead to the person... rather than up the stairs, at least for now.

And then the scene changes, once more, just as suddenly as the first.

Sora appears confused for a moment, the confusion not taking long to become no small amount of panic. A breeze on her legs makes her notice that she's no longer wearing pants which for her was the first indication that she was now in a schoolgirl uniform. Which was quite assuredly going to blow her cover. But... more importantly, how did her clothes simply change?

Then she notices the young man who's transformed as well into some sort of half-robot... thing, and takes an involuntary step back. Then she hears the flutter of wings and snaps her head in that direction, as the black bird flutters nearby. She didn't at all like what was going on.

She positions herself between May and the person Hiro, perhaps uselessly. "Ano... what's going on? Where have you taken us? Where'd you put our clothes?"

Leaving her question hanging for just a moment before reaching the front, Sora tilts her head slightly before saying "何? (Nani?)" The obvious source of her confusion being the rather large machine that was more than a little out of place. "I wasn't expecting things to be quite so... bad. I'd expected lots of arcade machines to just be sitting unused... not for there to be so much... vandalized." she says, searching for the right word, before peering past the shattered window, she notes the silver mirrors, and the moonlight playing on not only the water, but also the walls. She shivers slightly, even though she's dressed in more warm clothing than she would normally be.

"Do you see that light up ahead? I don't think it's coming from the moon." she notes, nodding her head towards the differently-colored light. "I guess maybe they do have power. Want to go check it out?" she continues, but doesn't make the move to actually press forward, showing a bit of hesitation, now that they were closer to their goal of reaching the haunted mall.

Sora bobs her head a bit too enthusiastically, and then looks around to see if there was anything going on in the immediate vicinity. "Yup. I never did ask you if you liked spooky things. I know you've been all over the place... so have you ever been to any haunted houses? Does America have huge empty malls, too?"

Her footfalls are rhythmic, and slightly accentuated, her motions exaggerated, and though she occasionally double-checks her surroundings, she mostly alternates her attention between May and the mall up ahead. "Heh... even the moon is creepy, tonight."