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>>???: Chant.

“Because they hear no evil, they will see no evil. Because they see no evil, they will speak no evil. Because they speak no evil, they will hear no evil. Spirits above, I ask to let our actions drift in this field of gentle tranquility, privy to us alone…”

>>Resume being Airi Hirayama.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgPGch-YACU

It’s a quarter past nine. The city of Shibuya is pounding with a relentless energy. Neon lights blot out the stars. Bars and restaurants bulge with the chatter of salarymen and the exchange of money. Shop workers wipe their brows and prepare themselves another long haul. The streets are vivid with the scent of street food, the beeps of electronic devices and the thunder of thousands of footsteps.

High up in an upper-class apartment block, a certain blonde girl leans back in a beanbag sofa, smiling as she watches her latest song be uploaded for the Internet. Another girl yawns and retrieves a cooked meal from her microwave, contemplating if she should eat it in front of her computer. A blonde boy rests on his bed, asleep already. A different boy struggles to keep his wits through a mountain of finance documents and foul-tasting coffee.

And in a small park, where the lights are cut and the moonlight casts blurry shadows around the surroundings, you and your brother find yourselves in imminent danger.

There is a girl advancing towards you. She’s short and lean. Her clothes are rough and plain. A belt is wrapped around her waist, numerous pouches strapped to it. A gas mask, black and large, clutches her face like an oversized rubbery parasite. Her footsteps are steady, controlled and without hesitation.

She is armed. Needles are clenched in the grooves of her right fist. You saw the same needles fly towards you. They soared towards the back of a man’s neck, disabling him instantly. That man had been trying to pursue you. He’s gone now, dragged underground in the time it took for you to blink. There are two enemies here. One for you and the other for your brother. Aren’t you lucky?

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The distance between the girl and you closes by the second. Her magical presence flares up like a wild flame. You stare at her. Blank shafts glass glare back at you. You realize there is no mercy behind them, only the intent of violence. Her first attack had failed and she is now ready to ensure her second one is a success.

A prickly sensation jolts up your skin, running from head to toe. It feels like embrace of thousands of frigid, metal pins. You fight the urge to shudder. Keiichi does the same. You swear it wasn’t there a second ago. Why do the sounds of the city seem so distant and blurred hollow?

A tremor runs through the concrete pavement. Normally, concrete pavements don’t do that.

You swallow, nervously. Instinctively, the tingle of sparking mana flares up your limbs and hands. Your brother is twitching for his guns. He’s scowling, his expression dangerous. Despite everything, the park is quiet. It is a fragile peace that will soon be shattered by the sounds of violence and magic.

>>Airi: Review inventory.

Your brother is equipped with Avery, his shotgun, his rifle and his riot gun. He has ammunition stashed away in that invisible space of his.

You attempt to talk to Shesmur and receive a few mewling whines in return. He’s barely paying attention to what’s happening. Still out of it from the sedatives, no doubt. Can he even transform into your blade in this state? You’re not certain.

Your blood supply is full. There are blood restoration tablets inside your coat, along with four full blood bags. You can create as many throwing knives, exploding tags, shuriken and chains as your blood capacity allows.

>>Airi: Check your phone.

You’re in the middle of Tokyo’s biggest wards, yet you can’t get a signal. How is that even possible?

>>Airi: Act.

What will you do?

>Flee to the center of the city.
>Flee back to the apartment.
>Create a signal for aid.
>Fight back.
>Attempt to wake up Shesmur.
>Attempt to negotiate with the assailants.
>Custom option.

>>1325094
>Attempt to wake up Shesmur.
>Attempt to negotiate with the assailants.
>Get ready to fight back.

>>1325094
>Attempt to wake up Shesmur.
>Attempt to negotiate with the assailants.
>Prep a ludicrous showy and eye drawing blood bomb to get some distance for brother and yourself.

>>1325094
>Attempt to wake up Shesmur.
>Prepare for trouble.

>>1325094
>Attempt to wake up Shesmur.
>Create a signal for aid.

>>1325094
>Fight back.

I can't believe I got the number of tasks completed wrong. Sorry everyone, it's 4, not 5. You're not yet half done.

Writing now...

>>1325094
>Get ready to fight back.

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>>Airi: Attempt to wake up Shesmur.

You get the feeling that things are going to happen very, very soon. To ensure that you don’t wind up in the gutter when the things happen, you open communication with your partner and try to rouse him his slumber.

“Shesmur!” You call. There’s no response.

“Wake up, Shesmur!” You try again.

“We’re under attack! You have to wake up, now!” You yell at him. “This is an emergency!”

Finally, you get something. Shesmur barks, his speech slurred. He sounds exhausted. His response is not unlike what inebriated men say when their friends try to wrestle them from a street corner. It must be taking all of his effort to do this. You know that when Shesmur is like this, force is not the answer here. You gently rub your scarf, playing with the threads.

“I know you’re tired and I’m sorry for waking you up. But if we don’t get ourselves prepared we’ll be done for. Please, lend me your strength. I promise I’ll try and reduce the damage.”

There’s a pause. You sense his presence fluctuate, slipping in and out. At long last, he gives you a bark of confirmation. No promises, he says. He’s already running on fumes and might need more blood than usual. It’ll have to do.

Your brother is already preparing himself in a combat stance. His gaze is sharp, flitting around the darkened park for exits and advantageous positions.

The girl approaches. You open your mouth to speak.

“Um…may we talk this out for a moment?” You say, trying not to let your nervousness show.

“Are you Keiichi and Airi Hirayama?” The girl replies, not stopping.

“Wha—”

“Because if you are, then there’s nothing more to be said. Unless you’re saying we’ve got the wrong people?”

>“We’re cosplayers. Fans.”
>“No, my name is Mai Nakahara.”
>“Yes, I think you are very wrong.”
>“If you take a step closer we’ll open fire.”
>Attack them.
>Run away.
>Custom option.

>>1325305
>>“If you take a step closer we’ll open fire.”

>>1325305
>>“No, my name is Mai Nakahara.”
What could go wrong? Still safe to go into battle mode in case it doesn't work out though.

>>1325305
>“If you take a step closer we’ll open fire.”

>>1325305
>>“No, my name is Mai Nakahara.”

I don't think I ever mentioned stuff about posting times so I'll do it now. I generally start writing at 10 mins and have the vote cutoff at around 15 mins. This will go into the OP.

Writing now...

>>1325305
>>“If you take a step closer we’ll open fire.”

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“My name is Mai Nakahara.” You state. “I’m very sorry, but you’ve got the wrong person.”

“Hey lady, if you take a step closer we’ll open fire.” Your brother says. “It’s nothing personal. We just don’t want people getting too much into our personal space.”

“This is my brother, Takuma.” You add on, quickly. “I apologize for this attitude. He recently got a bad mark on one of his exams and he isn’t in the greatest of moods.”

‘Takuma’ does not reply. You, ‘Mai’, get the impression that he wasn’t all that fond of your fib. Mostly because it wasn’t one hundred percent a fib. It’s known around the school that your brother isn’t the best at his studies—a trait that you have tried to correct but to little avail—and gets chewed out for his poor marks on his tests on occasion. You feel his annoyance on the side of your cheek.

“Adolescent female with dark brown hair and crimson scarf.” The girl states. She has ceased moving forward, but the needles in her hands have yet to disappear. “Male with black hair and fondness for tracksuit. That’s the description we received. Knows the following: Akira Shimor, Abe Nakajima and or Florence Rutherford. I saw recognition. It does match you two.”

“Lots of people in Shibuya wear crimson scarves.” You reply.

“And are brunettes or black-haired. The Rutherford family is an international name, too.” Your brother adds. “What you said doesn’t prove anything.”

“Maybe, but it does make it very likely.” The girl says. She breathes, exhaling vapour into the night air. “Plus, we’ve got photos. They seem to match up with your faces.” With that last sentence, your blood turns cold.

“Seem to?” Your brother asks. There’s an edge to his voice. “You don’t sound certain.”

The girl does not respond. An agonizing second passes.

You take a deep breath and bow. Keiichi stares at you. You hear Shesmur bark in confusion. “Again, we’re both very sorry that we’re not the people you’re looking for! We’ve only heard of the Hirayama siblings through rumours. We’re just ordinary students who were chased by a strange man for our money. Thank you for taking care of him. Please, let us go and we won’t speak a word about this. We won’t have any evidence to, anyway!”

Darkened concrete and cracks in the pavement fill your vision. You hear the girl breath in and out.

“Fine…show me some ID.”

“Pardon?”

“If you can prove that you’re not either the Hirayama siblings, then I’ll let you go.” The girl states. “Hurry up, or I’ll assume you are by default…”

>Hand over your student cards.
>Set a trap for the girl.
>Throw a blood bag.
>Keiichi: Shoot the girl.
>Keiichi: Fire gas grenades.
>Say you don’t have any ID.
>Custom option.

>>1325632
>>Set a trap for the girl.

>>1325632
>>wait... is all this a scam? Are you working with that man to steal our IDS?
>>Set a trap for the girl.

>>1325632
>Set a trap for the girl.
>"I prepared explosive blood today"

>>1325664
This is really good, backing

>>1325632
Irrational suspicion is go: >>1325664

>>1325632
This >>1325664

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“Hold on, is this a scam? Are you working with that man to steal our IDs? Now that I think about it, I didn’t sense any blood coming out of his neck. Were those needles truly inserted at a vital spot? It would explain why your friend dragged him underground. He must’ve been taken to a safe place. Is this all a ruse?"

This is what your younger, naiive self would say like a total moron. However, a year of living in the big city and dealing with various incidents has taught you that some thoughts should be kept to yourself. It bears investigation, still. There’s also the fact that, if you hand over any form of ID, your facade will be immediately uncovered.

You share a look with your brother. It’s all that either of you need. He relaxes his stance. You reach into your coat and take out your school library card from your wallet. Keiichi withdraws his card from his jeans and places it in your hand. You hold them both in your palms for a second.

“What are you doing?” The girl questions.

“Sorry, just checking if they’re expired.” You say back. Slowly, you walk forward. The ground rumbles. The person below is watching you. It does nothing to steady the nerves jumping at your heart. With a steady, impassive mask, you give the cards to the girl. She doesn’t accept. She snatches them out and holds them up to the moonlight.

Something cold flows through the fabric of her gloves and touches her skin. Stiffening for a fraction, she recognizes it as moisture. There’s a wetness covering the bottom of the cards, thick, sticky and oh so familiar. She hurls her gaze back to ground level, only to find you and your brother some distance away, farther than before.

That’s when you focus your mana and whisper the incantation.

“Detonate.”

The blood coating the cards explodes, creating a burst of red smoke, burning the girl’s hands. She stumbles backward, caught off guard. In the same second, your brother draws Avery, aims and fires.

>Roll 1d30 for chance of incapacitate in the darkness.
>Best out of three.

Rolled 13 (1d30)

>>1325887
We got this, r-right?

Rolled 28 (1d30)

>>1325887

Rolled 23 (1d30)

>>1325887

Rolled 16 (1d30)

>>1325887

>>1325893
Fucking nice anon.

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The roar of the gunfire echoes throughout the park. A quartet of bullets exit from Avery’s barrel and slam into the gas mask girl—three in the torso and one in the head. She collapses instantly. The cards fly from her hands and land in a nearby bush. Her head cracks against the concrete. She lays still, her eyes rolling into the backs of her head.

You see none of this. You and Keiichi are already running in the opposite direction as fast as your legs can manage. You are in front, while Keiichi is struggling to keep up. As long as you can get out of this park and into the depths of city center, you’ll be safe. You can think about what to do later.

You hear a sharp crunching noise. The ground rumbles. You glance backward and see shards of concrete rising up from the ground, sharp as knives. There's a mound in the concrete too. It's moving towards you.

Wait, are those bubbles in the distance? Why is there a whole wall of them? What’s with the oily sheen covering them? And why are they flying towards you?

>Roll 2d30 to dodge everything.
>Best out of three.

Rolled 20, 30 = 50 (2d30)

>>1325998

Rolled 14, 2 = 16 (2d30)

>>1325998

Rolled 5, 26 = 31 (2d30)

>>1326005
Jesus.

>>1325893
NOICE

>>1326005
Nice roll

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“Look out!”

Cursing to himself, your brother spins on his heel. He lifts up Avery, aims and squeezes the trigger. The remaining two bullets in the cylinder blast forward. One bounces off a concrete shard, shattering it to pieces. The other hits the mound square in the front. Whatever is inside goes still. The shards, do not. They strike at your brother, tearing at his clothes and slicing at his skin. One carves a wound in his cheek. The other digs into his right leg. You smell the blood as it spurts out. Your brother swears and limps.

The bubbles descend upon you like a horde of angry wasps. Their surfaces shimmer in the pale moonlight. There’s no time to speak. You conjure the blood from your body and craft it into shurikens. They fall into your hands with a small squelch. Without pausing to aim, you hurl them at the mass. Then you detonate every last one of them.

Red smoke floods your vision. Your clothes flap and whip in a miniature gale. Dust is sent flying and you shield your eyes with your hand. When the energy and heat dies down, the way forward is clear of any bubbles. But the ground is not untouched. It’s covered in black scorch marks. They reek of a pungent, paint-like smell.

Acid. That’s what was in the bubbles, you realize. Triggered to activate whenever an enemy got close. You. The girl or whoever was working with her was fully intent on melting your skin, perhaps even blinding you for good. For what purpose? To capture you? To harm you? For sadistic pleasure? What?

“Airi, run!”

Your brother drags you out of your thoughts. Yes, he's right. This isn't the time to be thinking. The girl could regain consciousness any second. You pick up the pace and dash through the gates of the park. The sounds of the city burst back into full volume. The prickly sensation vanishes as if someone had scrubbed you clean. You see the bright lights of the streets, the familiar hubbub of noises and the presence of hundreds of bodies. You and brother run towards them.

A car screeches to a halt. It pulls on up the road, blocking your path.

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Your brother snarls. Too many things have happened today for him to conceal with aggravation. He reloads his revolver. You take the moment to catch your breath while remaining on guard. You hear the doors on the other side open and see someone step out. It’s a man, with a rugged build and blonde hair. Nothing about him seems aggressive.

Your brother scrunches up his face in surprise when the man steps further into the light. “Hey, you’re…”

“Takiji?” You ask, gasping. “Is that you?”

“Hey, Hirayamas. Been a while.” Takiji grunts. He’s dressed in a black uniform, consisting of a shirt and trousers. There’s a white sigil attached to the shirt on the pocket. He eyes you both up and down. “Shit, you guys don’t look so hot.”

“Are…are you a pizza delivery man now?” Keiichi blurts. Now that you’re taking a second look, Takiji’s car is painted in the blue-white colors of the famous Tetrominos pizza brand.

“Yeah, it’s my new job. Ain’t exactly the best, but I’ll take what I can get. Been trying to become a ‘proper’ member of society, see.” Takiji replies. “Enough about me. What the hell happened to you two? Did you get into fight?”

“Sort of.” You reply. “This one was a bit…different.”

“Not good, huh?” Takiji thinks, then jabs in the direction of his car with his thumb. “You guys want a ride?”

“Say what?” Your brother asks.

“You guys look beaten up. Might not be safe for you to be walking around this late. Besides, I still owe you for helping me out back then…”

>“Take us to the hospital.”
>“Take us to our apartment.”
>“Can you give us a pizza?”
>“No, well manage. Thanks.”
>Custom option.

>>1326292
>>“Take us to our apartment.”

>>1326292
>>“Take us to the hospital.”
>Reload all our gear.

>>1326292
>>“Take us to the hospital.”
Our apartment might not be safe.

>>1326292
>>“Take us to the hospital.”

>>1326292
>>“Take us to the hospital.”

>>1326292
>>“Take us to our apartment.”

>>1326306
Our apartment has wards though. They could ambush us at the hospital if they wanted.

>>1326323
The hospital has the benefit of public exposure. Unless they don't care about involving civilians.

Taking a break for lunch. Be back in 30 mins...

>>1326330
Plus we are probably not going to be the only mages there, so
>>"Take us to the hospital."

Back and writing...

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“Is this okay for you?” You ask. “We’re not interrupting your job or anything?”

“I’m near the end of my shift.” Takiji says. “The boss won’t complain if I help you guys out for five minutes.”

In that case then, what do you have to lose? It’s not as if Takiji is secretly a kidnapper. Even if he was, you’ve got blood bombs and your brother has a gun.

>>Airi: Accept.

“Please take us to the hospital.”

Takiji nods. “Good choice. Get in, both of you.”

You and Keiichi enter the pizza delivery car. It’s warm inside. It also smells of roast salami, melted cheese and fried crispy chicken wings. Takiji slides the key into the ignition and gives it a twist. The car rumbles to life. He puts his foot on the pedal and the car drifts down the streets of Shibuya. He swings a left and merges into traffic, where you are surrounded by vehicles and the people riding them, of all ages and abilities.

You breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that you are now safe. Next to you, your brother grunts as he pokes the shard in his leg.

“How’s Megumi?” You ask.

“Good. She’s doing good. Real excited when I got the job.” Takiji replies.

“That’s nice to hear. Is it fun doing your current job?”

“I ain’t ever gonna call it fun.”

“Sorry, I mean, is it alright?”

“It pays.” Takiji grunts. “It’s experience. That’s what she said I needed. Some of the guys I work with are cool, though. Think I’m getting sick of pizza, though.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Still, there are worse jobs out there. And it’s better than nothing.” Takiji says. “I’d like to do something with motorcycles in the future, though.”

“Yeah, I think you’d be suited for something like that.” Keiichi chimes in. “Maybe you can work as a mechanic in a service shop or something?”

“You think so?” Takiji grins. “Heh, sounds nice. I’ll even ask Kata to join in.”

“You do that.”

Five minutes later, you’ve arrived at the Shibuya Hospital.

“Here we are.”

“Thanks for the ride, Takiji.”

“No sweat. No need for pay either. See you two around.”

You and your brother run up to the emergency room. The healing magi there remove the shard from Keiichi’s legs and wipe it the wound with alcohol. They tend to your cuts and fuss over your clothes. Standard procedure. You chat with those who know you by name. After all is said and done, you and your brother are fully healed.

You sit in the waiting area. Your phone has a signal now.

What will you do now?

>Call your friends and warn them.
>Call your friends and ask them to meet up tomorrow.
>Don’t call your friends.
>Call Makoto.
>Don’t call Makoto.
>Call your parents.
>Don’t call your parents.
>Custom option.

>>1326654
>>Call your friends and warn them.
>Call Makoto.

>>1326654
>>Call your friends and warn them.
>>Call Makoto.

>>1326654
>>Call your friends and warn them.
>Specifically warn Florence they were using her name in this.
>Call Makoto.
>Call your parents.

>>1326672
>>>Call your friends and warn them.
>>Specifically warn Florence they were using her name in this.
>Call Makoto
Maybe he's got some info for us.

>>1326654
>Call your friends and warn them.
>Call Makoto.

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>>Keiichi and Airi: Call your friends.

“Keiichi, what is it? You interrupted me again…”

“Michiko, where are you?”

“Eh? I’m in my home, why?”

“You’re not on the street or anything? Listen, Michiko. Don’t go out after dark, alright?”

“Wha-why?”

“We were attacked by someone, that’s why!”

“Excuse me?”

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“…I see. So that’s what happened. Not one, but two parties who were after you.”

“I’m sorry, Nina. Please don’t go out at night. It might not be safe.”

“Mmm, it’s alright. I don’t like going out much, anyway.”

“You should go home straight after school, too.”

“I don’t really want to go to school, either…”

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“It sounds as if those two prepared their ambush in advance."

"Yeah, no shit."

"To have tracked both of you as you were tracked by another, only to fall victim to a simple trick at the end...what a disappointing conclusion. My my, what trouble you have invited, my dear Keiichi. It seems that we have another thing in common”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Why, I have been at the receiving end of many kidnapping and assassination attempts. I believe they speak for themselves, no?”

“How the hell are you remaining so casual about this?”

“You said that the girl mentioned my name. And now you are calling to tell me about this…oh my, could you, by any chance, be concerned for my well-being?”

“Fucking my god.”

“Stop it Keiichi, you are making me blush. If my father were to see me now…”

“I’m hanging up.”

>>1326808
how is she such a best

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“Geez, you guys really know how to get involved in all sorts of things. First you fight terrorists, then you interrupt a national tournament and now this…”

“I’m really sorry, Michiko.”

“I’m not blaming you! This isn’t your fault.”

“It still isn’t something that should’ve impacted you! Michiko, you need to be careful from now on.”

“That goes without saying. This is going to be a real pain in the ass for the next couple of days...I'll manage, though. Thanks for worrying about me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

>>1326812
She just is anon, she just is. So much best.

>>1326812
>>1326852
I disagree with both of you. Fight me.

>>1326869
The only way I know how to fight is with rolls. But it's okay to have shit taste anon. Not everyone can have best taste, the world a shit place.

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>>1326869
UR WAIFU A SHIT

hah gottem

>>1326812
>>1326852
>>1326869
I prefer Michiko in all honesty, Florence isn't bad she's tied for second.

We all know that best girl is sister

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“Alright, I got the message.”

“Please don’t ignore this.”

“Man, when a girl is pleading like that, how can a man say no?”

>>1326911
yeah but K1 is a no incest zone, so other girls have a chance

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“Hello, this is Makoto Kushikawa speaking.”

“Makoto, this is Airi. I need to tell you something. It’s very urgent!”

“Airi? Wow, it’s late. What’s up?”

“We were attacked on the street by two groups of people! One was after the goods we were asked to guard and the second was out to take us down!”

“Say what? Tell me everything!”

>>Airi: Tell Makoto everything.

This takes approximately ten minutes. It’s probably better that you’re the one doing this, because the relationship between Keiichi and Makoto is one-sided and tenuous, at best.

“I see…so that’s what happened. Yeah, this really isn’t good! Um, you guys shouldn’t go out at night unsupervised!”

“What if we don’t have a choice?”

“Well, try and be careful, I guess? Have you warned your friends and family about this?”

“We’re notified all our friends. Our family lives in the countryside and they’re protected by spirits, so they should be alright.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Is there something you can do? Can you ask the government to launch an investigation? Our lives were clearly in danger back then.”

“Yeah, I think they’ll respond to this. The well-being of people working for them, even if it’s community service participants like you and your brother, is something they take pretty seriously. I’ll ask them to look into the incident. They’ll have people survey the site and track down the culprits using what’s there.”

“Oh, thank you, Makoto. Will this impact our ability to complete the ten tasks in any way?”

“It’s hard to say. Depends if they find anything.”

>>1326911
She's totally crazy though anon.Killed all the people. Best girl is actually Akasha, but Florence is best for Keiichi.

>>1326931
>Florence is best for Keiichi
Reminds me, there needs to be more eligible guys for Airi

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“You got lucky, Keiichi. Real lucky. Those guys were mercs.”

“You mean men who work for hire?”

“Yeah. Our enemies would hire them and we’d end up shooting them. Sometimes we worked with them. There’s a lot of different types of mercs around, but all of them are focused on one thing: money. They are ruthless bastards.”

“Let me guess. They won’t stop until the job is done.”

“That’s right. Those guys you put down…I bet they’ll be after you once they get up and recover. And they’ll be pissed as hell that they lost to some kids. Really pissed, since your sis beat them with a lil' trick instead of an all-out fight.”

“This is really making my night, Avery.”

“Listen, damn it! Watch your back, Keiichi, or you’ll find yourself buried six feet under!”

>5 DAYS HAVE PASSED. 4 REMAIN.

>>1326947
Makoto right? Or she could stay forever alone as a cake. Gotta go full siscon and keep all guys away from her.

>>1326957
Shits super serious now.

>>1326979
Nah over protective big bro, not siscon. But yeah only two guys for Airi, Makoto and reporter dude.

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>>1326979
>siscon

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpA2OOIzvG4

[11th of May (WEDNESDAY)]

>>Be Keiichi Hirayama.

You are now Keiichi Hirayama and you are waking up in bed with a jolt. You swivel your head around the left and see the display on your alarm clock. Five-thirty. Half an hour before you’re meant to get up and jog. You close your eyes and find that sleep refuses to claim you no matter how much you wish foryou’re your muscles are restless. There’s tension in your chest. Screw it, you’ll get up now and drink some canned coffee later. You sit up in your bed, yawning and reach for the blankets.

“Where ya going, Keiichi?”

“Jogging. Exercise.” You grunt, climbing out of bed. You begin picking clothes out of a drawer in a singlet and underwear. “How come you’re up, Avery?”

“Thinkin’ about stuff. Couldn’t sleep. You the same?” The redhead is sitting on your bedroom floor, a manga book in her hands. She flips the page and stares contemplatively at a page

“Yeah. What were you thinking about?”

“Security. How to stop the bag guys. Stuff about what happened last night.” She answers. The mention of it makes you wince. You are no stranger to fights—your reputation speaks for itself. But the fights you and Airi engaged in were generally non-lethal—mere bouts for children to play around in, to be forgotten once the body and mind matures. Even if you lost, you’d be sent to the hospital or something. The knowledge that not one, but two groups were genuinely after your lives last night is sobering, to say the least.

Maybe you should talk to Akasha-Alea about this once she gets back…

“So, this place is protected by your mentor, yeah?”

“Right. Anyone who tries to enter without permission invokes a high spirit’s wrath.” You don’t speak Akasha-Alea’s name because she omitted hers on the security ward. The protection of a high spirit is enough to scare most off, she reasoned. You think she’s simply paranoid, though not without good reason.

“Good, that’s good. Hey, you have any stashes?”

“Stashes?” You parrot.

“Emergency supplies! Like, bags full of medkits, ammo, money and stuff. In case you’re on the run.”

“No, we’re high-school kids. There was never the need for anything like that.”

“Oh, yeah. Forgot, sorry.” Avery considers. “Do you at least have a safehouse?”

>“This is our parent’s safehouse.”
>“You’re surprisingly devoted to this.”
>“We’re not made of money.”
>“I think we’ll be fine.”
>"I'll talk to Airi about it."
>Custom option.

>>1327146
>“We’re not made of money.”

>>1327146
>“You’re surprisingly devoted to this.”
>“We’re not made of money.”

>>1327146
>>“We’re not made of money.”

>>1327146
>>“You’re surprisingly devoted to this.”
>>“We’re not made of money.”

>>1327146
>>“We’re not made of money.”

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“We’re not made of money.” You say.

“Could you at least consider it?” Avery asks.

“If you want my mom to yell at me, sure.” You shake your head, sighing. “You’re surprisingly devoted to this.”

“What?”

“The whole making sure we don’t get killed thing.”

“Why the heck wouldn’t I be?” Avery looks confused.

“You’ve only known us for like a couple of days.”

“Yeah, but I’m a revolver. My job is to serve whoever is firing me. That's what I'm doing now.”

“Revolvers don’t usually plan out stuff like this.”

“Well, I’m special. I can talk and walk! Hell, are you gonna complain about free advice?”

“No, I’m not doing that. Avery, I appreciate it, really. What you’re saying might not be feasible for us, though.”

“Yeah, I gotta consider your budget.” Avery mumbles. “Hmm, I better think about this some more.”

“You do that.” You say and head for the door.

“You remind me of the new recruits, y’know.” Avery suddenly states. It makes you pause.

“What new recruits?” You ask.

“The ones at the place my old master used to work in. I was remembering what they did last night and they reminded me of you a little.”

“How?”

“Young. Green. Unprepared for a lot of things. They didn’t really know what they were doing.”

>“Is that an insult?”
>“Again, you’ve only known me for two days.”
>“You might be right.”
>“Are you sure that doesn’t apply to you?”
>“I’m prepared for things, honest.”
>Custom option.

>>1327304
>>“Again, you’ve only known me for two days.”

>>1327304
>>“Again, you’ve only known me for two days.”
>still recovering from an accident that nearly costume my magic and my life. Not in top form yet.

>>1327304
>>“Again, you’ve only known me for two days.”

>>1327304
>>“Again, you’ve only known me for two days.”
but
>>“You might be right.”
Feeling a bit shaken after the whole, oh shit our lives or on the line now thing.

>>1327304
>“You might be right.”

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“Again, you’ve only known me for two days.” You remark.

“Sounds like an excuse.”

“Yeah, well…” You begin and abruptly trail off. You sigh. “Okay, you might have a point. This sort of stuff hasn’t really happened to me before.”

“What about that toxic mana truck incident your sister was talking about last night?”

Another unpleasant memory.“We don’t know the full details about that yet, but it’s believed the point of that was to cripple our magic. It wouldn’t have killed us.”

“A magus without magic is basically the living dead.” Avery says, “That’s what my old master used to say.”

“He was a victim of something similar?”

“Got close to it, yeah.” Avery replies, flipping another page. “Look Keiichi, I don’t want you to kick the bucket. If you do, I’m gonna be placed in storage again. You ever been through that before? It sucks.”

“So it’s self-preservation, then?” You grumble.

“Half. You dying would suck, too.” Avery says, “So you better listen when I tell you all of this important crap, got it?”

“Alright, alright. I'm not going to turn down free advice. I have to go and run now, though. See you at breakfast, Avery.”

"Yeah, see ya."

>>Keiichi: Leave the house.

Time is running out. I have to go now. See you all on the 8th of April, 10:30 pm UTC.

Archived Thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/1325071
Ask fm: http://ask.fm/TwilightThorn441
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwilightThorn

>>1327415
Thanks for running, Thorn

>>1327415
see ya dude

>>1327415
Thanks for running Thorn, was actually around for this session, whoo.

>>1327415
See you next time!

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>>1327415
cheers, boss

Doing a slightly more detailed reply to your recent twitter polls here because twitter sucks for discussions.

>Are you having fun with Academy Tournament Organization Quest?
Yes, but mostly because I like the characters and their interactions. I'm invested in the cast and don't really care that much about the world around them.

>Does Academy Tournament Organization Quest seem a bit aimless or directionless to you?
We've got our short term goals of not getting killed by mercenaries, attending the school play, and completing our current task; we've got our long term goals of getting back into shape, completing all our task, and winning the tournament.
I wouldn't go so far as to call the quest aimless, but personally I'm not very invested in any of our long term objectives.

>Which of these options seem the most feasible regarding ATOQ?
I would like to see you continue running the quest, but if you're burning out and don't find it enjoyable anymore I don't think you should.
I'm not very fond of the idea of a reboot/reset, but I'd keep an open mind if that's what you end up deciding on.

About the straw poll, the big issue you seem to be running into that many other QMs run into as well is the issue of pacing.

When you start out, everything is great: the objectives are set, you've got a method on how to do them, all the characters are in place, it's perfect. You go through 2-3 threads per ingame day and the goals are met one after the other.

Eventually things start to slow down, usually around the time too many objectives are introduced. You've got 5 or 6 different things on your plate, 2 of those might take longer than an ingame week, and your writing speed (which wasn't all that fast to begin with) slows to a crawl. It now takes about 10 threads to get through one day and the goals start to look more like distractions. You're not sure whether you want to give up or just chug along and hate yourself afterwards.

Sound familiar? What I suggest is just take it easy. Get through the events we have now, but break it up a bit. In between sessions of investigating who was hired to kill the twins, throw in some snippets about rehearsing for the play. Put them as in-between thread posts like you usually do; no player participation involved. Come day of the play, do it as a regular session.

Once the week is up for guarding the materials, take a break from writing and recharge. Take however long you want, just focus on not-burning out. The good thing about this quest, compared to P2129, is that there's a progress meter in the op. Both you and us can see how far it is to the end, and we're almost halfway. Burn out sucks, but we won't hold it against you if you feel like you need a break.

>I'm astonished people still remember Persona 2129, despite the last thread being almost an entire year ago.
Well it was a very popular quest. Popular if niche franchise that seldom gets any questing justice done about it. Eye catching OP with those blue cards everyone sees, strong character development and interaction, and a living world. The fact the shitposting was never aggressive and while the waifus were varied the wars on them were tame also helped. If you had gotten drawfag you'd have reached the holy grail of quests since you already had a writefag.

>The reason I'm doing this is because I'm starting to struggle to find motivation to run. Don't get me wrong, ATOQ is fun.
>But sometimes I have to force myself to prepare or write stuff. I believe this is due to some missteps I've made in the beginning
Happens to all QMs. It's called Burn out. Most qms suffer from it eventually. Some let it stop hem, some don't.
>Is ATOQ fun?
Yes. The story is just starting to get interesting and character interaction your strong suit. It's fun and engaging.
>Does ATOQ seem directionless to you?
Not as such. We have definitive goals to wrok towards, it's just one of those goals is "do nothing until time limit passes" which lets us do w/e. We can't chased leads until Akasha is back and we've prepped and the play we're going to avoid until Michiko and/or Airi either drags us to practice or gives us an incentive.
>Which Course of action seems best?
You can take a breather and do some idea prepping or keep on. I'd prefer keep on myself.

I think I got it into my head that people didn't like playing my quest, which in hindsight makes zero sense. I guess I'm not a very positive person by nature--something that I'm trying to correct.

It was very encouraging to see everyone's responses. Thank you to everyone who responded to the polls or messaged me on twitter. It's all very valuable feedback to me. It's also nice to see how my audience feels.

Big thanks to the three gentlemen (or ladies) above for the in-depth responses. Your advice won't go to waste, especially the parts about burn out, pacing and the overall goals. One thing I'll definitely do is relax a little. I may have been taking my quest too seriously, which may have sapped some of the fun out of it. And if I can't have fun running my quest, what's the point?

>>1335731
The analysis in regards to the similarities between this quest and P2129 is on point. Very much something I'll have to take into account.

Academy Tournament Organization will have a thread on the 8th of April. In regards to the schedule, nothing has changed.

>>1339024
You fucking cumslut

>>1339064
Is it such a crime to like something you enjoy?

>>1339098
Yes, you can only like things I enjoy. Am I doing it right?

>>1339098
You hedonistic animal, guzzling buckets of nut juice like how Thorn does is acceptable.

>>1339201
Unacceptable"
What a typo

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>>1339024
>will have a thread on the 8th of April

>>1357535
Sorry man. There should be a high chance for a double session this weekend though.

>>1357569
No problem man, things happen, can't avoid it sometimes