The first part is a collab between
@TheWindel,
@Lucius Cypher and
@KoL.
"Come in."Yoshino waited for Retsu to enter into her office and take a seat before her. Once the other girl was settled, the Student President wordlessly transferred the message she would be reading aloud to the entire student body over to her. Hopefully Retsu would find it interesting to consider.
Apparently the Corpse Collector had struck again. This time however, she had sent a message specifically to Yoshino, no doubt in the hopes of having her words broadcast to all of the Colored Kings. The message in turn detailed how each of the King's treasury had dipped down once more due to the Corpse Collector's efforts. Furthermore, the proclamation was peppered with vulgarity and whatnot. At least they knew how mature this threat was.
"Well?" Yoshino asked after she was sure Retsu had read over the Corpse Collector's words throughly.
Looking over the information Retsu wasn't too preturbed with what was said, so much that she couldn't trace it. The sender was "Corpse Collector", which was common enough when sending messages as Avatars. But with the Cherry Hunter, Retsu should have been able to find who the Corpse Collector was. The fact she couldn't just made it obvious that Corpse Collector was some sort of hacker. No one would have this sort of protection unless they were getting themselves into trouble. Or at least that's how Retsu saw it.
"If the other Kings are doing their job, they should already be aware of what had happened." Taking a seat in one of the chairs Retsu looked at Yoshino accusingly.
"You are too hasty, Tsugumi-san. You shouldn't have made an announcement so soon without consulting me first. Now everyone is expecting you to say something." No doubts Corpse Collector was expecting Yoshino to make an announcement as well.
Curiously, the Black Guild hasn't been hit yet. Retsu could guess that the Corpse Collector intends to threaten robbing or otherwise harming the Black Guild. That wouldn't do at all. Retsu knew what she had to do. Question was, now what should Yoshino do?
"Tsugumi-san, does the Black King have any other messages to announce? Perhaps we could justify this announcement some other way."Yoshino couldn't help but set an icy glare upon the other girl. Contacted her first? It wasn't like the two held anything more than a professional relationship. However, she took a moment to calm down before biting out, resisting the urge to remind Retsu that she didn't need her approval for everything.
"It's only natural Retsu. As Student President, it's my duty to relay reports such as this. Besides, the Corpse Collector specifically wants to be recognized. Why not give them what they want? Obviously they're much too arrogant to consider this sort of thing backfiring on them."☆☆☆
Questioned with if the Black King had any more things to add to the announcements, Yoshino took pause. The Sweepers were doing well on their own in cleaning up the Black Guild and fortifications were going smoothly. What else was there?
"We could always raise a bounty on the Corpse Collector. Stealing from every Guild has made them enemies with a majority of the Players. Perhaps the Ebony Strykers can offer a negotiable reward for the extermination of this threat. After all, my client has enough rumors spreading about her Guild already. Cushioning relations with the other Kings will put us in good favors and views."Nodding her head Retsu figured that this could work. It was already well known that Yoshino spoke for the Black King. If she made the announcement that Moon Rider wanted to put a bounty on the Corpse Collector, that would serve the dual purpose of announcing the Corpse Collector's treachery and getting someone to deal with the hacker. [colro=black]"That would be best. We could use this opprotunity to make a joint effort with the other guilds to take down the Corpse Collector. It wouldn't be a bad way to begin the Black Guild's reintroduction into the game."[/color]
"I'm glad we agree," Yoshino said with the shadow of a smile.
"That takes care of all the logistics on my end. However, there is one more thing I'd like to ask of you Retsu."To this, Yoshino brought a hand up to unconsciously fiddle with her glasses, narrowing her eyes. Really, there was no easy way to ask this and she wondered if Retsu would seriously consider it. But it couldn't hurt to go ahead and do it, right?
"I feel as if I've piled you with enough issues already. However, I'm afraid I have one more task for you. Thankfully, it doesn't involve the White King. You see, recently a member of my external family has joined our ranks here in Purple Crown. And while I know I have authority as Student President, I am...concerned for her. She can be naive at times," Yoshino went on, describing Yuuno.
"If...you could, perhaps you can make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble? It's her first time here."Retsu quietly contemplated this new information. Frankly, Retsu didn't want to. She didn't particularlly like watching over family, considering her own. That being said, this Yuuno may be an element Retsu could use, or could be used against her. If the Corpse Collector, for example, knew of Yuuno, they may try to use her against Yoshino. And that wouldn't do at all. Adjusting her glasses Retsu nodded her head.
"...Alright. I'll keep tabs on her. Just remember though; out here I'm a nobody, and I'd appriciate if I could keep up that image. I won't get too close to her, or you, to ensure that our business is kept to ourselves. So if anything happens... My hands are clean." That is to say, if anything happens Retsu has plausible deniability.
"If you say so," Yoshino said with a sigh, seeing right through Retsu's words. Of course the other girl would try to ensure her own safety first. Still, at this point, Retsu's behavior was more of a nuisance than anything to be too concerned about. And her plans within plans were starting to make even the Student President have a headache or two.
"But thank you regardless," she added, a hint of something genuine in her voice.
Retsu would certainly make sure that Yuuno is well cared for. But Retsu herself would remain the mysterious benefactor for both their sake.
"Now than, if that is all we should be leaving. You have an announcement to make, no?""Indeed I do," Yoshino said as she got up from her seat, expecting Retsu to diverge to her own path once they left her office. Little did both girls know that, in some way, Retsu was already keeping her promise. Down in the auditorium, Maribel raised an eye as she heard someone call out to her before her usual cat smirk was displayed.
"Hiya...Yuuno was it? Great, you're just in time too! I need flyers and bulletins and vocal cheering and maybe the wave...do you think we need a wave for this? I suppose that really depends on the subject matter...oh, hiya Asahi," Maribel said brightly as she saw the boy come up.
Having a hunch to what was going on, Maribel smirked as she quickly darted behind Yuuno. With a flick of her arms, she gracefully gave the girl a push in Asahi's direction, wondering what the results would be.
"And this is Kurogami Yuuno, cousin to the ever cold and omnipresent Student President herself. Now play nice you two~"Maribel watched the two young teens in their blossoming affections for a moment longer before noticing her own knight in shining armor. Or something like that. Smirking at Alex, she waved him over before moving over to his side, shoving a bunch of poster into his awaiting arms.
"Hiya Jukey! Pass these out for me will you? Thanks~!" she said before bouncing away to do who knew what.
☆☆☆
"Ma- Maribel-sama, what are you doing?" Yuuno stuttered as Maribel pushed her towards the newcomer boy.
"You can't leave me alone he-" Yuuno continued to complain, until she noticed that she was just a few feet away from Asahi and a soft blush found its way to her face.
"I... I'm sorry, Maribel-sama is kinda pushy, some times," Yuuno said while nervously playing with her hair
"An- anyway, I'm Kurogami Yuuno and as she said, I'm a cousin of Yoshinon...erm, Tsugumi-senpai of the Student Council. Nice to meet you... huh?" Yuuno continued to twirl her hair with a finger as she tried to avoid making eye contact with Asahi. It seemed that the sudden change of subject had reverted her to her old sheltered self, at least momentarily.
Asahi shyly laughed and rubbed the back of his head. This was an unexpected developement. He may have had his eyes on Yuuno but this was, literally, pushing it.
"It's cool. Nice to meet you too, Kurogami-san. I'm Asahi, Goroshi Asahi." Because Maribel moved things along so quickly Asahi was a bit at a loss of what to do. He was hoping for a smooth transition of introduction to conversation. Then he remembered what he was "supposed" to be here to do, and decided to go with that.
"Oh right! You're going to help with the assembly too, right? I didn't quite hear what Maribel said, but I'm here for you. What do you need from me?" Asahi gave Yuuno a big friendly smile. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Train darting out of the building and off doing who-knows-what.
"Ah,so it's Goroshi-kun, right? Well, if you meant about helping me while I help Maribel-sama, then you're welcome." Yuuno said getting a little back into her usual self, again
"First, you could help me distributing the flyers, while I take care of the bulletin board, then, lets see... you like cheering others, right? I don't know why Maribel-sama needs that for an assembly, but I'm going to do it anyway."Then, Yuuno noticed the cat that was going around doing its feline things, but resisted the urge to chase after it, since she had work to do. Nevertheless, Yuuno made a mental note of finding some milk and a dish later to try and attract the creature. Once set with everything, Yuuno turned to Asahi and said
"Lets do our best, ho!" while raising her hand for a high five.
Smiling Asahi copied Yuuno's gesture.
"Alright! So, where are those flyers?" Asahi looked around, but didn't see any boxes or such. He didn't even see Maribel. As for the cheering, if he could get his guys together they could make some noise. They normally don't cheer, but he could convince them to give it a good shot.
☆☆☆
A few minutes later and all the work was done, thanks to the fact that it was divided between two people. Actually, Maribel never appeared again, Yuuno presumed that she went away to do God-knows-what after chucking her work on them, probably trying to play the shipper roler.
Nevertheless, Yuuno didn't had anything against doing Maribel's work, actually, it was quite the contrary, but she couldn't help but feel that their pushy nature was imposing too much on Asahi. After all, very little human beings had the kind of energy required to keep up with the two most active members of the Cobalt Bruisers, either online, or on the real world. Thus, Yuuno slipped away to the same machine that she had bought a drink earlier and got two cans this time, one of her favorite pineapple soda and another of coke ('cause you can't go wrong with coke, right?) for Asahi.
"Here, this might not be much, but please accept this, Goroshi-kun." Yuuno said once she came back and handed the drink to Asahi, nervously, hoping that she hadn't chosen the wrong drink.
"Whew. That was a bit harder than it should have been..." In truth Asahi actually made things much easier for himself. When Yuuno wasn't looking, he had called in his boys to pass out the flyers for him, as well as briefed them on their future cheering project. He made it clear to them why he was doing this: he wanted to impress Yuuno by helping, and he was helping by delegating his tasks. Not to say that Asahi didn't do some work himself. In fact he did what he thought was the hardest part: organizing their cheer.
He didn't have enough guys to do anything big like a wave, but they did have a sort of dance number they could do on cue. What they were cheering for he didn't know, but it was generic enough to fit anything worth celebrating. Hopefully Yoshino had good news for them, otherwise this was going to be awkward.
As Asahi was taking a breather Yuuno came by with a can of coke.
"Oh! Thanks. You didn't need to do that, it's not like I did a whole lot." Regardless Asahi accepted the soda and took a drink. The fizzy sweetness was refreshing. Looking back at Yuuno he smirked.
"You know, Yuuno, my friends just call me Asahi. You can too." Asahi nearly spat at his own pun.
"Ri- right, if you say so, Goro... erm, Asahi." Yuuno said while bashfully messing with her hair and avoiding eye contact with Asahi, once more being her shy self, after the boy suddenly called her by her given name.
"Anyway, we should get going as well, the assembly will start soon, right?"After saying this, Yuuno turned back to the auditorium, but just before she started to walk on its direction, she turned back to Asahi and said
"I don't have many friends around here yet, so... I hope you don't mind it, please." while sending him her contact info as well as a friend invite on DGO. All the while, Yuuno's face was beet red, and she was now grinding her feet on the ground, waiting nervously for Asahi's reply.
"Damn. Yuuno is so moe~"Standing up, Asahi was thinking that it was almost time for the assembly when he received information from Yuuno. It was contact permission and a friend invite for Deep Ground, from Yuuno.
"Aaaaaah yeeeeaaaah." Asahi returned the favor and exchanged his information back to her. He was going to say thanks, but he stopped himself. He needed to say something poetic and smooth. Something to really knock her out. Thinking quickly Asahi spoke clearly, confidently... Whatever ridiculousness was about to leave his mouth.
"If anything is going to be on my mind, it'll definitely be you."
Eris noticed the fact that Cassandra had bitten her 'bait', but, somehow, the supposedly cold German couldn't help but feel that Cassandra had a slight advantage in their current exchanges. How else would Eris explain the fact the fact that she got so... charmed by someone else for the first time since her older brother betrayed her trust?
"But, what's it? What do I want of her, or better, what do I want her to want of me?" Eris couldn't help but dwell on these questions, plunging her mind in an ever recurring spiral, for a moment forgetting the whole world as her thoughts focused on Cassandra and her... alone.
"I... I can't take this anymore!" Eris said out loud, before getting up from her seat and going in the direction of the restrooms, not running, but at least walking at a faster than usual pace and with a perturbed expression on her face. The assembly seemed like it wasn't going to begin so soon, anyway, and even if it did, Eris would be able to listen to it from the auditorium toilets, so her body simply moved on its own.
☆☆☆
Once she arrived there, the first thing that Eris did was turn on the cold water on one of the sinks and plunging her head under the faucet.
"Damn, what's up with me and those damned thoughts? What I want her to do with me? Why am I even having such deranged revelries?"As Eris questioned herself out loud, she raised her face to gaze at her own reflection on the mirror. Eris literally looked like a sob and soaked wild animal as a ferocious grin that carried at the same time hints of pleasure and contempt was stamped on her face.
"Cassandra O'Shera, are you anything like the mythological being? Have you come to my life only to deliver the portent of my ruin?" After allowing her thoughts to slip back to Cassandra again, Eris slammed the mirror, shattering it and getting a nasty cut on her right hand as a final gift of her psychotic surge.
And so, Eris stood there, alone, gazing at her own shattered reflection with a mad grin glued to her face and not-very-noticeable tears rolling down her cheeks, soaked to the bones and with a bleeding hand, looking like she had been out of a fist fight with whole gang.
"Pathetic..." was the only thing that Eris could say of herself.
@McFazzer@Caits
CamiCat
Ariamis
Lonewolf685
TheWendil
mickilennial
Scrawl Banditta
