[center]Retsu Goroshi / Dark Wraith & Hibiki Toho / Smitten Kitten[/center]

Shortly after Hibiki arrived, Yoshino left her dormitory. Retsu wanted to give chase, but Hibiki stopped her. [b]"Look, now is not a good time to talk to Yoshino, and I-"[/b]

"Actually, I'm here to talk to you. You're Dark Wraith, correct?"

Retsu paused and looked at Hibiki. How this little girl figured that out wasn't something that Retsu wanted to waste time with. [b]"So what if I am? That doesn't matter right now, I need to catch up with Tsugumi-san."[/b] Retsu stepped around Hibiki and tried to follow after the school president, but she had failed to catch up to Yoshino due to Hibiki.

Hibiki followed Retsu and talked to her as they were walking. "I know you're Dark Wraith and I know that you're part of the Sweepers. I'm actually pretty sure that you're the one who controls them, right? But look, that doesn't matter to me. I honestly don't care about this Guild Wars thing going on, but I'm more worried about this Silver Jester person and how he killed the other four kings. And from the screaming a little while ago, I'm guessing that he tried to kill you too? I know a way to stop that."

Stopping, Retsu turned towards Hibiki. She had a glare in her eye, like a mix of burning fury and cold determination. [b]"You have five minutes to explain yourself. After that I'm going to go find Tsugumi-San and make sure she doesn't do something we'll all regret."[/b] Crossing her arms Retsu stood and recorded Hibiki.

"Well, my parents makes computer stuff for Deep Ground, you know? So they're pretty well connected. And it just so happens that they had a look at the autopsy report on the four other players who were killed last month. They still don't know the cause of death, but one thing that stood out was that their chips were completely fried. But there was no external signs of their chips being tempered, so I'm guessing that the chips were the cause of their deaths. I don't know much else about how it could have killed them aside from overloading their senses, but even so my parents have made a new prototype chip to ensure that this sort of thing doesn't happen again. It's a prototype right now because it can only link into Deep Ground, and that's because I get to test it out. I... I think that the Silver Jester killed the other kings by overloading their chips, which killed the other kings through the shock feedback. My parent's new chips are designed to make sure that won't happen; only the chip get's fried, but leaves the user like you and me perfectly fine. I only have a few, but replacing the old chips with these new ones is simple. I've already done it myself. Now I want to know everything you know about the Silver Jester, why he killed the kings, and what you and Yoshino just did."

Hibiki was smart, perhaps too smart for her own good. It was bad enough that she was able to somehow deduce her identity as Dark Wraith despite Retsu's own efforts, but also seemed to have made a countermeasure against the Silver Jester's attacks. This was almost too good to be true. Retsu debated if she should silence Hibiki right now, take her chips, and put the blame of her "Disappearance" on the Silver Jester. But instead Retsu would work with Hibiki. She's proven to be a rather cunning investigator, and Retsu could use her talents. Besides that, Hibiki wasn't allied with any guilds, least of all the Ebony Strykers. She would make for a good spy. Still, Retsu loathed to tell Hibiki the truth, and wasn't even sure why a little girl like her wanted anything to do with this conspiracy. But letting out a deep sigh, Retsu spoke.

[b]"Tsugumi-san and I entered Deep Ground to find the Silver Jester. We knew that he would be on and I had hoped to find his location and put an end to his madness. However he... Has proven to be a much more skilled opponent than I had anticipated. He was able to counter the programs I used to find out more information on him, and in the end Tsugumi-san had to resort to battling the Silver Jester in hopes to at least get him off Deep Ground. Silver Jester modded his character to become overpowered, but I made sure that Tsugumi-san fought against him on equal ground. Ultimately, we defeated him, however... As I've said, he was a much more skilled opponent than either me or Tsugumi-san. Not only did he managed to survive Tsugumi-san attacks, but his ability to manipulate Deep Ground proved to be much, much more advance than mines, including his... Attack, on both me and Tsugumi-san. That screaming you heard, that was because of him. And if you're right, it was because he had somehow managed to affect the chips in our heads. The pain was unimaginable... And if he has that sort of power, there's very little that even I can do..."[/b]

Though more than five minutes had passed, Retsu was starting to falter. She did not know what had overcome Yoshino, but Retsu knew that the Silver Jester must have told her something while Retsu was out. What other reason would he allow the either of them to live, if the Silver Jester didn't want Yoshino to do something for him while she was still alive? Clenching her hand into a fist, Retsu turned back around and started walking. [b]"Your five minutes are up. If you still want to help, you'll follow me to Yoshino. Let me do all the talking, do everything I tell you, and you might just have some use to me."[/b]

Narrowing her eyes at Retsu, Hibiki wasn't sure if she could believe everything Retsu was saying. She was certain that Retsu was lying to her, or at least holding back the truth. Still, it at least confirmed some things; the chips were the cause for the deaths of the kings, and Silver Jester was responsible. She wanted to know more about the Silver Jester, but Hibiki figured that if Retsu couldn't figure him out there wasn't much of a point in asking. Hibiki didn't like the idea of following Retsu however. Not only did Hibiki have classes that she wanted to go to, but the less time she gets seen with "Dark Wraith", the easier it'll be for Hibiki to search for clues. She imagined that the Silver Jester was keeping watch on Yoshino and her Black Guild now, so if Hibiki wanted to get anything done she'll need to work in the shadows while the spotlight was on the Ebony Strykers.

"Sorry, but this is where we go our separate ways. I don't know what you and Tsugumi-san are planning, but whatever it is, I don't want any more people hurt or killed. If I have to work with you to make sure that doesn't happen, than I'll find you again. But if I have to stop you... Than I will. Good bye Goroshi-san. Oh! And here." Digging through her pockets Hibiki handed Retsu two chips. They looked newer than the recent models, slimmer and smooth. "This is for you and Tsugumi-san. I want to defeat the Black King, fair and square, and without all this... Insanity." Than Hibiki ran off to class.