[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/30c767b1-d77d-49e1-a955-71a97411b659.png[/img] [color=firebrick][b]"So many confessions lately, Rei. What am I, part of your local parish?"[/b][/color][/center] [hr] Once again, Rei had called a meeting with left and right hand girls respectively. Unlike the previous meeting, Rei, Roche, and Kiyo would be joined by the mysterious Nocnitsa. The four of them were seated around the center table, which still had some clippings Suki had used to construct Ash Bringer several months back. [color=2e8b57]"Seems they finally made their move."[/color] Rei was so aloof, she could have been mistaken for Kiyo if she had longer and different colored hair. She was reclining in her seat with her head propped up on her fist, and made absolutely no attempt to seem like she wanted to be there, despite being the one to call the meeting. [color=2e8b57]"Nocnitsa told me everything. What I want to hear are your opinions."[/color] Kiyo, by contrast, lacked her characteristic aloofness. What had stolen its place was a certain dreadful expectation, like that of an honor student who had failed bracing for their chastisement while trying to remain placid. Squatting at the foot of its ill-gotten throne was a blood-boiling rage that always threatened to emerge from beneath its shadow if not contained. Like a previously-dormant volcano set to erupt at a random time in the not-too-distant future, a certain kind of tension had risen the floor of her emotions, a trembling anxiety of the sort that typically only the intuition of animals or the precision of scientific instruments could detect. [color=firebrick][b]"One of them has a power that manipulates the heart, and she seemed to take an interest in Tsubomi. I don't think they targeted her because she was vulnerable. They came in such force that a precautionary measure like that wouldn't be necessary."[/b][/color] [color=orange]"We can’t be certain of that. They launched a four pronged attack on this city. Morganite and Pearl came directly to the club room and fully planned to take one of us out. That Archer was covering most of the city from so far away they had to have some way to stay in contact remotely. Diamond abducted Tsubomi and led the rest of the club on her own, while that lightning girl was wrecking Miseria on her own."[/color] [color=orange]"The only thing we can be clear on is that they cased us before attacking and planned it out with ruthless efficiency. At this point I’d assume they know our civilian identities and were we live as well."[/color] Roche bit the words out with a simmering anger. Where Kiyo was the volcano soon to erupt, Earthshaker wasn’t far behind, only curtailed by Rei’s presence serving as a threat to keep them composed. [color=orange]"We might have won if we’d fought them together, but it still would have been a fight on their terms. Every time we meet some other Magical Girl, they’re always choosing the time and place while we react. Eventually we’re going to stop being lucky and start paying for letting the other girl throw the first punch here. Not that we can even consider going to the City of Light…"[/color] Rei nodded along as they spoke. [color=2e8b57]"Interesting observations."[/color] She sat up a little straighter. [color=2e8b57]"But speculation does not solve the issue. I was more interested in what you thought of the new team arrangements."[/color] Rei tapped her finger on the counter. [color=2e8b57]"It did not seem like making the teams larger increased their effectiveness."[/color] Denied absolution by Roche's words, Kiyo's posture retreated slightly deeper into the back of her chair. Perhaps she was right, and the intensity of their coordinated attack on Tsubomi really was just a shallow attempt to 'teach the dark girls a lesson.' Perhaps she was projecting her own scientific curiosity onto a bunch of power-mad fools. It would certainly explain why their own token scientist figure seemed to be keeping her distance from them. [color=firebrick][b]"It's a bit early to dismiss the idea. I think the teams were effective insofar as they were able to stay together. Our priorities were, perhaps purposefully, divided. If we had been operating in pairs, the outcome might have been worse—and I still believe my own team is the weakest of the three by a wide margin. A slight re-arrangement might suffice."[/b][/color] Speaking of the team wasn't pleasant, especially when Roche had been so uninvolved with Tsubomi’s kidnapping, but it was one area that Roche could meet Rei’s gaze without wavering in the least. [color=orange]"Without the teams I could have died. Shatterscape threw me out of the way of Pearl’s laser when I was closing on Morganite. We definitely applied more pressure as a trio then as a pair in pursuing them afterwards."[/color] [color=orange]"The teams are a good idea, but we were naive in thinking we could coordinate as trios so quickly. Worse still, our teams thought we could divide and conquer because this is our city, but the Light Girls were coordinating between pairings. [b]That[/b] was the deciding factor. Even when apart, they had support who could fire outside of Kiyo’s detection, and they had Morganite’s speed to engage us while Boilite and Diamond drew attention."[/color] That was what rubbed at the Rule Keeper so harshly, because she knew better than most just how hard it was to train that degree of cooperation and trust into a group known for being so individualistic and stubborn. Rei’s eyes settled on Roche, perhaps a bit too long, before looking between both girls. [color=2e8b57]"Yes. It may just take time for the teams to acclimate. The GEMs have been doing this for a while. Their formations are solid."[/color] She looked to Kiyo. [color=2e8b57]"I had hoped Oros would be able to make use of your talents, but she doesn’t work well with others. The only reason we put her on a team with Acid Drop was to mitigate the harm she could do to the Club, as she is immune to her. Endless Ecstasy was never the most effective."[/color] She shrugged. [color=2e8b57]"But Acid Drop has become a full time liability. You are correct that your team needs to change."[/color] Rei adjusted her jacket with a tug before leaning in. [color=2e8b57]"We could put you on another team but that’s still too much liability for one person to handle. Oros’s training wheels need to come off."[/color] Rei looked between both girls again. [color=2e8b57]"How should we rearrange them?"[/color] Rei always had her own ideas, but it seemed she wanted to see if her ambassadors could figure out a solution. Kiyo went through the options. All of the teams needed both muscle and leadership. She, Rei, and Roche needed to be on different teams. Suki would object to losing Tsubomi, and even if there was a chance Suki had soured on her, she would probably still prefer her to be being under Rei or Roche's leadership. Nyxia wouldn't want to be under anyone else, either. Shatterscape would probably rather not be moved, but would go along with it if she had to. Nobody wanted Willow, and Shatterscape wasn't compatible with Hizuki. Moving Hizuki to her own team would resolve the muscle issue, but if they formed a quartet, Willow would whine that Evil Eye had conspired to isolate her—never mind the relentless teasing that would flood her DMs. As if in sync with her thoughts, her phone vibrated. When Kiyo's phone vibrated, it was almost always the group chat. Given that the other two's phones hadn't done the same, it was certainly a private message. For now, she tried to ignore it. [color=firebrick][b]"If the goal is to take the training wheels off, why not swap me and Hizuki and let Oros lead the team? And if my 'talent' is in keeping watch over everyone, me and Willow can do that from anywhere. Having me and her, both fliers together, and Hizuki and Oros, both speedsters together, Shatterscape with her multiple bodies around Hibusa and Nyxia's ability to launch herself and Earthshaker across the town, we maximize our ability to mobilize in unison and respond to these kinds of multiple-front attacks without drifting apart. It'll be more natural for the teams to stick together if they not only have personalities that mesh well, but also travel in similar fashion, and at similar speeds."[/b][/color] Rei raised an eyebrow. [color=2e8b57]"I still question the effectiveness of Endless Entropy. But it’s a good strategy, isn’t it?"[/color] She smiled and looked between both magical girls. [color=2e8b57]"Instead of balancing the teams, give them each a specialty they can lean into. What do you think, Roche?"[/color] [color=orange]"I can’t believe I’m saying this, but letting Oros lead might be our best option."[/color] Roche exhaled and settled forwards, hands clasped under her chin as she considered Kiyo’s proposal. [color=orange]"She won’t work on a team with me, and if we put her with Willow…."[/color] The less said the better. With Tsubomi becoming a vulnerability they couldn’t leave her with Suki either. [color=orange]"If she has her own team she may even grow into the role. It’ll let the rest of us focus on specializing. If we play to our strengths and get comfortable enough to integrate with other teams, this might just be the edge we need to close the gap in our response. Good thinking, Kiyo."[/color] [color=2e8b57]"It’s interesting enough to try."[/color] Rei smiled. [color=2e8b57]"Very well, Evil Eye will join Shinimori and Hisuki will be moved to Endless Ecstasy."[/color] She looked at a clock on the wall and then back at her ambassadors. [color=2e8b57]"Was there anything else that needed to be discussed?"[/color] Kiyo felt that replacing herself with Hizuki [i]would[/i] balance Oros's team better, but she decided to keep that to herself. A part of her had hoped Roche might counter with a better idea, but similarly to her, it was the only option she could really think of, and making an unappealing but workable option sound like the best course of action for everyone was a skill all leaders must develop to some degree. She chose to accept the cold comfort that she had come up with the best arrangement they could make, and swallow the pill that she would now be working directly with Willow, and all that entailed. [color=firebrick][b][i]You're doing it again,[/i][/b][/color] she counseled herself, a little too late. With that task filed away, she took the opportunity to check her message. Funnily enough, it was Hizuki. [color=firebrick][b][i]Perhaps I can start laying the groundwork for those two to work together.[/i][/b][/color] Kiyo typed a quick response, and then her eyes entered that unfocused state they did when she looked through the eyes of her Mogall. Still, she continued typing while blind to her screen. [color=firebrick][b]"Do we know what's happening to Tsubomi?"[/b][/color] She replied to Rei's question while asking Hizuki another. [color=2e8b57]"I had hoped that she would come out of it, but that clearly isn’t working. Looking her over is something on Nocnitsa’s to-do list."[/color] Rei pointed at the woman with her entire hand. [color=9966CC]"I had been hoping to get a gander at her mind back when we first met face-to-face, but she immediately left with Miss Oyama…"[/color] Nocnista sighed. [color=9966CC]"Not sure if my magic will be any effective in mending whatever’s wrong, I’m not exactly a healer either, but at the very least I should be able to see what’s wrong."[/color] [color=orange]"Either way she’s vulnerable and the GEMS know it. Even if they changed targets from Mascots to Magical Girls between attacks, we can’t hope they’ll ignore an easy target. Especially one we’ve already proven we’re willing to follow blind to recover."[/color] The Rule Keeper kept finding new reasons to sigh, wondering when the world was flipped on its head so completely. [color=orange]"Here we are, Dark Magical girls defending the defenseless from roving packs of marauding Light Girls. Yare yare daze…."[/color] [color=firebrick][b]"So that's it. They were going to use their 'happy daze' to interrogate her on where our mascot is hiding out,"[/b][/color] Kiyo decided. [color=firebrick][b]"I have seen it hanging around her from time to time,"[/b][/color] she mused. [color=2e8b57]"It usually hangs around the club, which they were able to find."[/color] Rei lifted an eyebrow. [color=2e8b57]"But if the Mascot is the target, then why did they hit everything but the cat? Acid Drop and Shatterscape had been attacked previously. Like you, I thought that was to uncover the location of the mascot. But now I’m not so sure."[/color] [color=orange]"Either they changed targets because Tsubomi was too tempting, or they didn’t have enough numbers to spread their attention on two dedicated objectives. If Pearl and Marganite had gone for the Mascot, that archer of theirs would have had a hard time covering them both against dedicated efforts."[/color] [color=firebrick][b]"Whatever their objective, they know where we are, and they came with enough numbers to effectively declare war. So if they put one toe back into the city limits, I have no reason not to give them an army to fight, do I?"[/b][/color] Kiyo inquired. [color=2e8b57]"It would be wise to avoid further escalation if we can. Things should have never gotten to this point."[/color] Rei groaned. [color=2e8b57]"Working with incomplete information is such a drag. Worrying about the GEMs is such a drag."[/color] She stretched her arms. [color=2e8b57]"Not having our domain secured by mogall is a drag. Think you have a handle on the ape problem?"[/color] Kiyo thought they were past the point of hoping for de-escalation, but she bit her tongue again. Her chair offered no more give for retreat. [color=firebrick][b]"We confirmed who is responsible. I hope to recruit them, but they will be dealt with one way or another."[/b][/color] Roche’s eye slid to Kiyo before she settled back in her chair with a nod to the other pillar of the club. [color=orange]"Want help with that? Nyxia may not care since they aren’t Miseria, but I can convince her to help."[/color] The question warranted Kiyo lowering her phone slightly. It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. [color=firebrick][b]"You must know that she despises me more than anyone."[/b][/color] She sent one more text before putting it away. [color=firebrick][b]"Unless she's had a sudden change of heart or spark of genius, she's just going to make convincing the girl we're a group worth joining more difficult."[/b][/color] [color=2e8b57]"Sounds like you have it covered."[/color] Rei turned to Roche. [color=2e8b57]"If that’s all, I’d like a moment with Kiyo."[/color] Kiyo seemed somehow both surprised and not. Already, she regretted putting away the only barrier between her and Rei's gaze. The Rulekeeper wasn’t going to disagree but she imagined if the needs must, then she could convince Kiyo of the merits of target practise against agile apes if this new girl forced the matter.Rei seemed intent on a moment of privacy so she made her excuses and pushed away from the table. [color=orange]"Text me if anything comes up. I’m gonna do my own digging around Miso and see if anything comes up. Till next time."[/color] Roche said, departing with a hand raised before slipping out the door. Rei watched her disappear through the door frame and waited for the door to close all the way. She sighed before leaning away from the table. [color=2e8b57]"Defending Hibusa town with an army of terrors would be interesting."[/color] She waved for Nocnista to check the door, but Roche always shut it all the way. [color=2e8b57]"The problem is Roche. Surely you’ve noticed that she’s been a bit agitated recently? I had Nocnista watching over the club when the GEMs attacked it, and she heard her say she ‘felt like breaking a few rules tonight.’ It was likely a figure of speech, but given that she said it to Nyxia, I'm inclined to believe she meant it more literally than not."[/color] She propped up her head with the back of her hand. [color=2e8b57]"Do you know why those rules exist?"[/color] Kiyo blinked in surprise, considering Rei's question as well as her accusation. From where she was sitting, everyone was a little more agitated than usual recently—with the exception of the new blood, Hizuki, who had no point of prior reference, the usual suspect, Willow, who never seemed to take anything seriously, and Tsubomi, who allegedly had no emotions—but even she had voiced a concern over the numbers not being in their favor. [color=firebrick][b]"No killing aside from the miseria, to keep the light girls out of our territory, and no exposing ourselves to the non-magic world, to keep any other interests, powers or organizations from involving themselves. There may be other reasons, but I think those should be self-evident,"[/b][/color] Kiyo replied. She did suspect, on some level, that Rei's Detention Club was allowed to exist in part because some light girls with a lot of influence in the nearby City of Light had agreed to allow it, so long as she was the one watching over it. The GEMs' recent display of power only gave her theory more weight, but she dared not suggest it openly. [color=2e8b57]"That’s what I tell most people when they ask."[/color] Rei picked her head back up. [color=2e8b57]"And it’s not too far off. There’s another good reason why we don’t kill people though. It changes you."[/color] Her hands came together in front of her face. [color=2e8b57]"Not immediately, but a gradual transformation takes place. Some people last a month, others turn in a week, but it happens. You turn into a special kind of miseria called a demon. I’ve only had to fight one and it was stronger than the giga miseria we battled the other night. I thought it was a rumor until I watched it happen to someone else."[/color] Her fingers locked together. [color=2e8b57]"It was a mundane human that was killed, granted. Maybe it won’t happen if you kill a light girl, maybe it will but the transformation is slower. I wouldn’t risk it though."[/color] Kiyo's mind raced in several directions. If she continued to cultivate negative emotion, was this what waited at the bottom of that well? If nothing useful could come from turning into a demon, why was Rei keeping it a secret instead of warning others? Why was she telling her this now? Was 'Demon of Hibusa' a figurative title or a literal one? [color=firebrick][b]"You're telling me Roche knows better,"[/b][/color] Kiyo decided. [color=firebrick][b]"I can watch her, but I'm curious why the others are being kept in the dark about this. Is there some reason why someone would [i]want[/i] to become a miseria? Is Ashbringer a demon? Her destruction was awfully reckless."[/b][/color] Now that she thought about it, this could be the real reason Rei was so angry about the beach incident, too. Rei lifted a hand in an attempt to get Kiyo to slow down with the questions. [color=2e8b57]"Explaining things is such a drag."[/color] She lowered her hand. [color=2e8b57]"Roche is my rule keeper. No one should be opposing the rules. Guess part of me figured everyone slept easier not knowing the consequences. Don’t think most would set out to be a demon. Maybe out of spite, or extreme despair, one might turn to becoming a demon as a final act of revenge."[/color] She let silence hang in the air for a moment before commenting on Ashbringer. [color=2e8b57]"She’s not a demon. I got a sense for her mana when I approached her and she’s too weak."[/color] Rei's silence was deafening. She said she had seen it happen before, after all. There was little use probing further on the matter. [color=firebrick][b]"Since you're telling me this now, are you reconsidering? I can watch Roche, and call you if she engages a light girl, but I can't hear what she says, or stop her—not remotely. If I were there with her, maybe. A hard maybe. If more than one of the others are feeling murderous too, not likely."[/b][/color] She seemed to be running calculations in her mind. [color=2e8b57]"I’m telling you this because my rule keeper is slipping, and she’s doing it on purpose."[/color] Rei folded her arms. [color=2e8b57]"You need to be aware of what’s at stake. She is bothered by something, and I believe you have the best chance of figuring it out. If we’re going to wage war with the GEMs, we need to be in our best condition. Roche is not her best right now."[/color] So, they [i]were[/i] on the same page regarding the GEMs. Kiyo resisted the urge to smile. [color=firebrick][b]"She's an emotional pack-rat. Always looking for more burdens to carry. Even that trip to the beach was an attempt at getting the club girls to get along—it might've even worked if things didn't go awry, but I'll bet she planned and organized and paid for the whole thing herself. On the surface, she's keeping it together, but up here, she's like a single mom with eight kids."[/b][/color] She prodded her temple to make the point. [color=firebrick][b]"I told her as much. I see a bit of that in Hizuki as well—that's why I volunteered to take her under my wing. Roche doesn't need a disciple, she needs an intervention, but she seems determined not to get it. I feel like we could organize a whole 'Roche appreciation party' and she'd just spend the whole day worried that she's not having enough fun for our sakes."[/b][/color] Kiyo pinched the bridge of her nose, seeming to momentarily forget that it was Rei she was ranting to. [color=firebrick][b]"Ah, anyway. It's on my list. I'll think of something."[/b][/color] [color=2e8b57]"Of course you will."[/color] Rei stood up and dusted herself off. [color=2e8b57]"The goal is to return things to normal as fast as possible. We can focus on better than normal later."[/color] Once she straightened her posture, she looked out one of the windows. [color=2e8b57]"It’s a nice day for a walk. We shouldn’t spend any more time here."[/color] [color=firebrick][b]"Nice day for a jog,"[/b][/color] Kiyo agreed.