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>>5227704
In the moment of admitting how cats are better than people, a growl of outrage issues forth from the eccentric girl. It's rude, yet you can't help but laugh. Laughter bubbles out without any restraint, a warm stream of mirth. The way the other girl's eyes flares in indignation, the bristling of her hair and exaggerated motions of her hands is comedic gold and extremely familiar.

Oh god... She's like Aya when she's over dramatic.

Yet it is also nothing like your sempai's ability to command attention. The sheer force of personality emanating from this blonde girl is far stronger and far stranger than what you sense from Aya. It demands the full weight of attention in a way that is unique. Is this the natural aura of a drama queen?

... Okay, this is new... you're nervous around her, your stomach is doing flip flops...

"I see that I have commanded your absolute attention, as is right and proper for the great Aino Minako!" This girl, Minako, throws in a twirl to emphasize her triumph.

Your brain is telling you, that the more animated Minako is, the sillier she looks. But your soul tells you something different as your heart begins to race the more you stare at her, a sense of deja vu that seems quite impossible. This is the first time you've exchanged words with this Aino Minako and yet there is an intense sensation that you've witnessed something like this before. The world around does not exist in that instant, that moment, that intense spark that the senses cannot grasp or put into words.

Then it all plunges to the depths of something nameless and frightening.

You don't like these feelings at all.

"Is something the matter?" The other girl asks with curiosity, you've suddenly frozen up and stopped laughing after all. Minako looks remarkably mature and composed; she has shed something false to truly face you. The suddenness of the metamorphosis leaves you tongue-tied; you can only make nonsense sounds of reassurance that are not very convincing.

"Hm, I feel like I've seen you before, but I can't remember where. Do you happen to remember?" Minako watches you carefully, frowning as though digging through her memories. The scrutiny is intense; this is not a friendly inquiry. Was the manic act earlier just a mask? Being observant is no real help, you don't know the other girl enough to determine the truth...

This has to be your first time meeting her right?

A recollection flashes through your memories.

No, that's wrong. You have seen her before and this cat too. Friday evening beef bowl with dad, she was the girl who tried to come into the restaurant with the white cat hanging off her shoulder but was barred at the door.

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>>5227705
Of course, that's why you have the uncanny sense of meeting her before. Clearly, that moment at the restaurant left a stronger impression than expected. It's silly to think otherwise. That fluttering in your stomach, the tightening of the heart, and unnameable sense of familiarity is just your imagination.

You know deep down you're lying to yourself.

"Do you regularly try to enter restaurants with your cat? I saw you on Friday, small beef bowl." For emphasis, you point at the white cat who meows in an oddly fake way.

"Oh that's right, of course, that has to be it! You're not some weirdo with a dangerous past out to ruin my life or villain plotting to harm the innocent residents of Tokyo. Good to know! I can go home and relax." Minako nods to herself with an air of satisfaction, completely off in her own little world.

"... Huh!?" This is the only intelligent response you can give in response. Just what sort of person does this girl think you are? This must be because you have the face of a villainess.

"Oh man, I just realized I have no idea what your name is. Can't leave someone without knowing their name, especially if they're such a stunning looking girl!" Short blonde girl asks with genuine pleasure at the opportunity of learning your name.

You try not to choke and turn red. She didn't have to word it that way...

"Houseki Ruka, 2nd year at Juuban Middle School, pleased to meet you." You attempt to play it cool but only succeed in making yourself sound standoffish. Actually, that might be a good thing. As much as you want to know more about Aino Minako, you also want to keep her at bay at the same time.

Was it your imagination? There is a flash of recognition the moment you mention your name.

"Oh, I know that school. Well, it was nice to meet you Ruka-chan! Hope to see you again. Buh bye!" With a friendly wave and wink, Minako departs with the white cat trailing after her.

You find yourself waving goodbye and watch the departing form of the energetic girl until she's out of sight. It only hits afterwards that you should have asked her what school she went to, you don't recognize her school uniform at all. It's too late now and you got to get going, Azul is already half way back to the apartment and getting further away. The chances of meeting Aino Minako again in a massive city like Tokyo is absurdly low yet...

Unbidden a thought comes to mind, the traditional saying where even the brushing of sleeves is the result of karma or "a meeting by chance can result in a bond set by fate".

Tashou no En: ????

The walk back to the apartment is quick. Azul is waiting impatiently by the door, it seems dad isn't home yet. A good thing, it gives you a chance to take a shower and make dinner. The hot shower does wonders to refresh the spirit and body.

>>5227706
Now it was time to cook, cook, and cook!

Your eyes blazes with the fires of culinary determination to burn away the memories of the day away, you decide to...

>Cook large portions of whatever! Leftovers can be eaten over the course of the week... roll 3d6+2, dc 11
>Cook family favorites! Curried potato with rice, sweet and sour pork balls, miso soup with all the vegetables... roll 3d6+2, dc 13
>Cook a masterpiece meal! Today's dinner shall be finest made in the Houseki household this month... Roll 3d6+2, DC 15
>Cook unhealthy comforting instant food! Extra large servings of ramen and instant curry... roll 3d6, dc 10 not to suffer the after-effects.
>Actually, never mind cooking. Go out and eat at Leblanc's...

I just realized people haven't seen Ruka's stats in awhile. Found here https://pastebin.com/9mZpdXx1
Ruka Houseki, 14 years old

Physical +1d6 (1 per scene)
Mental
Will +1d6 (1 per scene)

Ability: Distant Hands: A watery floating hand, can originate from your hand quickly or at a distance more slowly. Lasts for a duration or until dismissed. You can control the hand to manipulate an object, open a door or container, retrieve an item, etc. with some accuracy.
Burst of Speed: When you gotta go, you gotta go. Speed is doubled for one action but afterwards Ruka can't move or take actions for a few seconds due to exhaustion. This move cannot be used by Ruka repetitively.
Water Wall. As long as concentration lasts, the Water Wall can block a physical attack and an opponent's line of sight.
Water, water: Using Water Wall and Distant Hands is easier when there is a source of water nearby

Perks:
Observant: Just the little things.
Sneaky: Ya can't catch me... but everyone thinks it's me anyways.
Cooking skills: Better than the average teen!
Craftswoman: Basic skills with tools, +1 bonus on rolls
La petite cambrioleuse: Basic lock pick skill
Tashou no En: ????

Flaws:
Fearful: You're getting a bit braver...
A Small Nightmare: It saw you...
The Limit!: Too many images sent over your psychic link by Azul will cause a painful backlash.

Item:
Black bladed knife (no handle, 2.5 inch blade) with brocade/shinto charm sheath
Lapis Lazuli of Insight: Breaks through the Veil and grants Second Sight!
Bound and Tortured Magazine:
THE SILVER KINGDOM OF THE MOON! PART 5 OF THE DREAM! by Anonymous Reincarnation
Journal: On the Dream and Sailor Moon. Any new Dream, Nightmare or Memory you have in your sleep will be updated in the journal automatically and the entries can be moved to accommodate your writing and chronological order of events.
Kodansu: An exact copy of an ornate chest that once belonged to your mother. It's actually from the Nightmare but you managed to bring it into the Waking World. Hidden in the Penguin Domain.
- A bit of money: weekly allowance, it's not much

Level 2 Bond
A blue Penguin named Azul. You can feel his emotional responses back through your mental link and roughly sense his location within an unknown range.
Vanishing Act: Azul can make himself invisible from supernatural sight for 10 seconds. Can't move or take actions after using for a few seconds due to exhaustion

Contact:
Kakutani Maromi, reporter of the Daily Report
'Uncle', a mysterious old man and thief. You can visit Cafe Leblanc Friday and/or Saturday to improve your skills with him.

Mysterious Dream:
Delivering a tray with 4 crystal tumblers filled with yellowish liquor

Whoa, I guess my hiatus killed my Sailormoon quest deader than a dodo. That'll learn me.

I hope that if anyone had enjoyed the game had a good time at least.

>>5227709
>Cook family favorites! Curried potato with rice, sweet and sour pork balls, miso soup with all the vegetables... roll 3d6+2, dc 13

>>5227709
>>Cook family favorites! Curried potato with rice, sweet and sour pork balls, miso soup with all the vegetables... roll 3d6+2, dc 13
>>5229097
Don’t drop it just yet boss, still got 2 threads on the archives that I gotta catch up with but I’ll leave a vote to keep the quest alive

>>5229097
>>5229276
Also you dropped your name

yea don't drop it yet pls: it's one of the better quests

>>5229179
>>5229276
Whoa good thing I checked in. I'll wait for another 12 or hours before checking in again and writing a post.

As long as there's at least 3 players enjoying the ride, I'll keep on going then.

>>5229276
>>5229179
You're missing your rolls there.

trying to roll

Rolled 3, 6, 5 + 2 = 16 (3d6 + 2)

here we go

Rolled 4, 2, 4 + 2 = 12 (3d6 + 2)

>>5229276

Rolled 6, 5, 3 + 2 = 16 (3d6 + 2)

>>5227709
>Cook family favorites! Curried potato with rice, sweet and sour pork balls, miso soup with all the vegetables... roll 3d6+2, dc 13
>>5229424
yeah it just takes some time to people to pile in

>>5229518
>>5229540
>>5229672
We've succeeded in making our family favorites for comfort!

Now writing.

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The craving for family favorites overwhelms all options that crowd your mind. Masterpiece meals, cooking for cooking's sake and unhealthy food bingeing all have their place at their own special time but tonight isn't that night.

There's slicing and dicing, there's stir frying and boiling. This is a piece of cake. You are in the groove tonight!

The tried and tested meals of your household is cooked in generous quantities! It's an age old routine that is not only a super handy skill but results in super tasty food. Practically everyone in your family likes to cook, from grandparents down to the youngest generation. However, it would be nice if your grandmother in Asakusa would stop making so many types of pickles.

Hm, you haven't visited your grandparents over there in awhile. Maybe you should go there one day to show Azul the antique shop, Te no Hira. It would really pique the penguin's interest, and it'd be a fun day out. In fact, you'll have an opportunity soon! It is almost time for Golden Week, the long series of holidays that every person in Japan looks forward to.

Except this year's Golden Week is going to be ridiculously short because of how the holidays fall in the calendar. Greenery Day is April 29 which is on a Wednesday of all days! Then the remaining 3 holidays fall on the worst possible days, May 3 Constitution Day is on Sunday, which is already a day off for everyone. But May 4 Monday and May 5 Tuesday will be holidays! Nevertheless, this year is a short Golden Week... more like Golden Half-Week off.

The curry bubbles on the stovetop, waiting for more ingredients to be added in. It's probably good to ask Azul if he'd like to make a request.

"Hey partner, what do you want in tonight's curry?" You ask Azul who is busy setting the table. He had at some point in time turned the tv on and kept it on a strange music video show.

You receive a chirp and then an answer.

A mental image of an apple streams into your mind's eye. A common enough addition to curry but there is a problem.

"An apple? Sorry, don't have any in the kitchen tonight. I'll use honey for the sweetening but next time we'll make sure to buy some apples, okay?" You call out to your buddy who gives a rather disappointed chirp in response. Hm, it seems your partner likes apples, maybe you can go buy one or two as a treat.

Dinner is complete and it is magnificent. It's been a long time since such a variety of food has been cooked and set on the table. There's curry, there's miso soup, there's sweet and sour pork meatballs, black sesame paste mixed vegetables, and more. It looks like you'll be eating leftovers for the entire week. Azul has already started piling food onto his plate.

>>5230358
But before you can start thinking about eating, the door bell rings.

Odd, who could it be at this hour? You go to see who it is.

Standing outside is...

>A very well dressed Aya...
>Tomio with his trumpet case...
>A tall man in white, he has a stiff smile...
>A Yamato Delivery man with a box in hand...
>No one... ??? Roll 3d6+2, dc 14

Rolled 4 (1d5)

>>5230362
Gonna roll for my choice

>>5230362
>>5230381
>>A Yamato Delivery man with a box in hand...
Delivery man it is

>>5230383
Well, we got one vote, let's go!

It's probably because of the long weekend.

>>5230362
>A Yamato Delivery man with a box in hand...
A bit late, but I'll toss in a vote as well.

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Through the apartment's peephole, you see a young man standing outside. Lanky and tall, he had a fresh to the workforce sort of aura to him. All in all, a non threatening guy wearing the extremely recognizable Yamato Delivery green uniform jacket with the familiar black cat logo of etched on his baseball cap.

You undo the lock and open the door.

"Hello there, delivery for Ms. Houseki Ruka!" The guy happily presents you a package and a sheet to sign for acceptance of delivery.

That's a surprise. You were sure that the package was for your father, hearing that it is something for you is unexpected. With a quick press of your personal hanko stamp, you are the proud owner of a mysterious package with the most ridiculously fake looking name on the manifest.

"Hey, is this actually a real address from a real person? I mean, who the heck has a name like Ling Ling Ling?" You can't keep bafflement out of your voice as you review the return address on the package.

"Oh thank god, I wasn't the only person who thought the name looked a bit nutty. Yeah, I don't know what to say, the address is probably real. But the name... it could be Chinese." The delivery guy gives an apologetic smile as he takes back the documents. His job now done, he tips his hat and leaves.

You take the package back into the apartment and set it down on the kitchen counter. It was a small package, a light shake seemed to indicate there is a document or paper inside and something else. It's pointless to speculate on what's inside when the obvious solution to the mystery is to open it. Picking up a knife from the counter, you run the blade down the tape to open it up.

Inside is a simple black and white and fluffy stuffed penguin doll, and a letter envelope. The doll is incredibly cute and Azul stops eating his meal to chirp his approval at the replication of an avian relative of some sort. Yet why would an allegedly Chinese person send you a stuffed penguin doll of all things. Perhaps the letter will clear up the mystery.

The knife once again slices to open up the plain white envelope to reveal a single page letter. You unfold it and begin a quick scan of the contents.

It's from your mother, the familiar neat writing gives it away immediately. You barely read the very first word before putting down the letter on the kitchen counter beside the penguin doll.

[Red]Ruka has lost her Will bonus dice for the rest of the night[/red]

Wait a second!? Why a penguin doll!?

You can hear the familiar pulse of paranoia begin to roar in your nerves and brain. It has to be a coincidence, right? You look at Azul and then back at the stuffed doll with frozen horror and a million thoughts. Slowly but surely, you back away from the small kitchen while starring at your unexpected gift until you enter the dining room. You don't care when you bump into the table hard enough to shift the dishes of food on it.

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>>5231455
It has to be a coincidence. There's no way your mother saw Azul with you and decide it would be a great idea to reveal she's been spying on you. The penguin doll is clearly a different species from whatever blue penguin type Azul is supposed to be. It's just a gift, and the letter is just another attempt to reach out. The Japanese family court might have given your dad custody but they only granted it with reluctance and added something completely crazy to their decision. The paternalistic and frankly sexist judge also ruled that your mom can at any time try to contact you. It could be by letter, by phone call or even physical visitation. After all, what sort of Japanese court would disallow a mother from seeing her child?

You sit down on the hard kitchen chair with a thud, the impact shuddering up your body but you can't bring yourself to care. Azul has stopped eating, at some point in time he moved over to sit right by you. He chirps with sympathy.

"Yeah, give me a few seconds buddy. I'm going through the stages of crazy paranoia and will recover soon..."

Unfortunately, recovery isn't fast enough. The door to your apartment opens and your dad is giving a cheery "I'm home" as he comes in to the dining room.

"Wow, I smell something super delicious! I... I... Ruka, are you okay?! Are you sick again?! Do we need to go to the hospital!?" Daisuke rushes over to where you are sitting upon seeing your face. He kneels down and lightly puts his hand on your shoulder.

"Welcome back dad, uh, I got something from mom. I'm fine! I went to the hospital but came home since it was so busy..."

Even under distress, you remember to keep up with your cover story. Your dad frowns and immediately looks to see the stuffed penguin doll and unread letter on the kitchen counter. His scowl is an ugly thing as he goes in and snatches up the letter to read it over. Hard eyes go over each line with care before softening to return to you.

"What do you want to do with this?" He holds up the letter and stuffed penguin doll. It's quite clear that your dad would much prefer to burn the letter and throw away the doll.

"For now.... leave it alone, I'll figure out what to do with it latter."

Your dad isn't too happy with your answer but he has always allowed you to decide what to do with the rare attempts of your mother trying to reach out. She tended to disguise the address and sender to sneakily get you to open the packages and letters, next time you'll be more careful.

"Okay, but if you want me throw this out... Tell me, I'll do it right away." With a contemptuous toss, he throws the letter and doll back on the kitchen counter.

Azul moves out the way, he might be invisible to mundane view but people can still sense him through touch. It wouldn't do to accidentally bump into your dad. He waddles out of the dining room and towards your bedroom, while giving a sad chirp and wave to leave you with your dad for dinner.

>>5231457
It is hard to enjoy the rare sit down meal because of your mother's gift and letter. Conversation is not relaxing either; after all, you collapsed in school today and have to constantly lie to him about the true cause of it. You are relieved when dinner is over.

"You must be tired, I'll clean up and put the leftovers away. Go rest up." Your dad takes charge of the kitchen and puts your gift and letter into the box it came from.

You are exhausted, but you think you'll be able to do one thing before going to bed...

>Take the gift and letter into your bedroom to look over it carefully...
>Update your journal....
>Go to bed early and just rest...
>Go into the Penguin Domain to fiddle around with the tansu chest...
>Try to nap but wake up before midnight to listen in to Midnight Zero on FM10... (roll 3d6, dc 12 due to exhaustion)
>write in

>>5231458
>>Update your journal....

>>5231458
>Go into the Penguin Domain to fiddle around with the tansu chest...

>>5231458
>>Update your journal....
Well that wasn’t a good choice

>>5231600
>>5231680
>>5232088
Sometimes life comes at Ruka, that's all.

I'll be writing shortly! As it is the long weekend, I shall most likely post the update tomorrow.

>>5231457
Good to have you back, Crescent

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You're thankful that your dad is going to be taking care of the rest, the day has been pretty long and there's not much energy left in you to do much. You close the bedroom door gently and notice that it seems that Azul has gone off to the Penguin Domain as he is nowhere to be seen.

It occurs to you that maybe another visit to the Penguin Domain is in order. You don't know what else is in there and the tansu chest had been hidden away there too. Once this weird energy draining flower thing is resolved, you'll reprioritize things and get going over there to explore.

Right now, you want to update your journal.

When was the last time you updated it? It must have been this morning? Wow, you have a lot to write down because of your little escapade at the hospital.

You take care to write an extensive entry on Mizuno Ami.

How was she able to see Azul!? You met her mother at the hospital, so she can't be some sort of creepy monster in disguise... Besides, what sort of evil monster would spend so much time to achieve 1st place on the National mock exams? That Mamoru guy was able to see Azul as well....

"I guess I have to accept it, there are people in this world that are naturally able to see supernatural stuff. Wait, does that mean Usagi is just able to see supernatural things like Azul? It doesn't matter if Azul poked her at all?" The gears in your head creak to a rusty halt.

No, no, no! Usagi is cute, innocent and completely normal. She's only able to see Azul, that's all. NOTHING ELSE.

But you have to move her up on the spookiness scale of things.

Only Luna remains in the completely normal end of the scale.

This sucked.

Another page is dedicated to the entire hospital incident. From cutting off the flowers, the spooky thing in Ward A that causes the lights to flicker and the mysterious 'nurse' that stalked you at the very end. It was a narrow escape!

What was that nurse? Was she a monster too? Or something else? Things are getting complicated, the factions involved in this is too obscure. On one side, we have Sailor Moon and Sailor V... on the other? Who knows what or who they were. The enemy is so nebulous and mysterious, and it's possible there were multiple enemies and factions.

You try to parse out what you know so far about the situation. In one circle, you have the Sailors. In another weird people who can see Azul. The other circle is the creepy spooks. Another circle is dedicated to that Station Master guy, the pink haired dude got you out of a jam back in Shinjuku's Golden Gai but that doesn't mean he's a good guy.

Then there was Aino Minako... No, there's point in writing about her in your journal. Why? You just felt weird about her! It meant absolutely nothing. There's no reason to write anything about her in your journal. She was just... just... just interesting.

'Aino Minako...'

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>>5234098
You make a sketch of her but stop midway when you realize that you spent an inordinate amount of time carefully and gently coaxing out details about her like a craftswoman or an artist attempting to reach perfection. It's absurdly well drawn, though incomplete. You're tired, you need to finish up your journal entry.

There's also, of course, the penguins... You should probably give Azul's siblings names. Did they have names already? Azul didn't have a name until you gave him one, it's pretty safe to assume that the other two don't have names.

As you think of this the two other penguins appear and waddle to the middle of the page. Eager to receive something from you by the way they are reacting. They jump up and down with flippers waving directly at you.

Well then... Your pen hovers over the page about to write proper Japanese names for these penguins but you find yourself unexpectedly writing down something else entirely.

Nausicaa for the younger sister of Azul. Adamant for the younger brother.

???

You pause and stare at the page for a few seconds. You were going to give the sister 'Shizuka' and the brother 'Raikou' as names. They were from Japanese legends and history you've heard as a child. What were those names you just wrote; you don't recognize them at all. They aren't Japanese that's for sure. The penguins don't care at all, Nausicaa and Adamant jump up and down with thankful joy.

Oh yes, speaking of penguins. Your mother's weird gift and letter.

You mind as well as write a brief entry on that. The journal isn't exclusively detailing your weird dreams any more. It's become a record of all your actions and a place to write down your discoveries and thoughts.

You idly draw a caricature of the penguin doll you received. It's a quick sketch, nothing too complicated. Now everything was over and done with. But before you can close the journal something catches your eye.

It's the strange new penguin you've just drawn.

It moves!

You stare goggle eyed at the caricature of the penguin doll from your mother, it casually shake itself free and start to walk around the pages of your journal. It tilts it's head side to side as it stares at the most recent journal entry and then turns to wave a flipper at Azul's siblings in greeting.

The wave is cautiously returned by the two penguins in the journal.

HUH!? HUH!? HUH!?

Wait a second here!

You experiment by drawing penguins to see what else can happen. You use up an entire page to draw a plethora of penguins of various shapes, sizes and species but none them animate and start moving about on the page. You've drawn adult penguins, baby penguins, cartoony penguins and even repeated drawings of Azul and his siblings plus the weird black and white penguin. They all remain static.

Okay, so you confirmed that just drawing penguins wasn't going to cause them to start moving around.

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>>5234101
"Just what the hell are you!?" You mutter at the black and white penguin with the heart-shaped face. Naturally, it can't answer and seems content to amble about the pages of your journal. It wanders away from view by crossing the border of the page. You flip a page and see that it is hiking backwards through your entries like a tourist taking in the sights. It admires the many drawings and sketches littered throughout while Nausicaa and Adamant seem to be giving commentary and explanations to their new avian companions.

It seems harmless? It wasn't messing about with the journal entries or vandalizing anything.

You are so tired. Dimly you remember the third drawer of the tansu chest. A dark and endless pit of eternal blackness that contained teeth and your mother's voice... As eerie as the damn thing was, it could talk. If you went and opened that drawer, would you be able to communicate with whatever it is like a person?

Like it was your mom?

Your eyes go to the closet, the thin wooden door hides the strange swirling portal that leads into the Penguin Domain. And there in that strange realm, Azul has hidden the tansu chest away at your request.

You also have that letter you didn't read through in the delivery box with the doll. It lies in the living room of the apartment.

...

No, you had enough for tonight. After the events of today, your limit of supernatural strangeness and stress has been surpassed.

You are going to sleep! You throw yourself bodily into bed and hide under the covers. The covers are inviting and warm. When you close your eyes, it seems that night would pass peacefully and uneventfully.

It doesn't.

>You are in a familiar dark hallway...
>You are surrounded by darkness...
>You sit on a hard stone bench under a bright and blue sky...
>You are at school...
>write in....

So I won't be able to post until Tuesday as it is Easter Weekend! That means votes will be open for longer, about 48 hrs

>>5234102
>You sit on a hard stone bench under a bright and blue sky...

>>5234102
> You sit on a hard stone bench under a bright and blue sky...

>>5234102
>>You sit on a hard stone bench under a bright and blue sky...

>>5234273
>>5234285
>>5234761
We choose the seemingly safe option....

Rolled 1, 1, 3 + 1 = 6 (3d6 + 1)

>>5236065
Need to roll

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>>5236107
Oh cruel RNGesus, what have we done to incur your wrath? Take pity on us and our niche hobbies!

>>5236506
Don't worry, that was the enemies roll. RNGesus was very merciful

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You sit on a hard stone bench under a bright and blue sky, the warm wind gently breathes out the scent of cypress and fir. The sun is starting dip downwards, but it is not yet the hour when it crashes into the horizon to dip below into darkness.

What sort of Dream was this? Or was it just a dream? Could it be a Memory?

You let your eyes wander over the vista before you. The place you are sitting is entirely made of stone, with many seating tiers all arranged in a semicircle surrounding a flat area. An odeon, your school education comes to the rescue by providing the name of this peculiar structure you're sitting in. It is not a particularly large one, and was empty.

It reminds that time you first entered the Shadow Players' theatre, you were the only audience member too. A play of some sort is probably going to be acted on the stage but you can't see how the Shadow Players are going to project themselves so easily since the tiered stadium-like seating rises behind your front row seat.

Well, that will be up to P-ko and S-ko to solve on their own.

You wait patiently to see what comes next.

From the left wing, comes out a tall man with short white hair, wearing a truly exaggerated mask of some sort. An actual human actor is before you; his white tunic looks so fresh and clean that it is a wonder that the dust of the stage does not dirty it. The actor raises his arms into the air silently as though to signal the start of his performance.

"First, in this prayer of mine,
I give the place of highest honor
To your mother, Earth,
and to your sovereign King."

The actor's voice is clear and strong; the acoustic of the odeon delivers his oration so well it must be easily reaching the back. There is a murmur amongst the empty seats, as though audience members are muttering and commenting on the introduction.

Your eyes dart around the empty odeon but there's no one in the seats. You expected that, you were always alone when the Shadow Players performed. Yet your senses tingle, surrounded by invisible presences. They sigh, they breathe, they talk and yet nothing is seen of them.

The actor keeps going with his recitation. So this wasn't a play but a poem? You stare at this man, trying to memorize any distinctive features with your powers of observation. There's one fact that is obvious, he's an extremely handsome but this only leaves you feeling extremely contemptuous. Your reaction is strange given that his looks are the sort that makes women sigh and giggle; in fact, the invisible audience around you has women who are doing just that.

Distractedly, you note that a good chunk of the poetry is dedicated to an unreachable Goddess from a far distant planet. It ignites a sudden blaze of jealous anger within, a passionate feeling of hate. You are tempted to attack with water to silence the poet. Yet you cannot find a cause for this sudden outburst of mad invidious detestation.

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>>5236537
"The hours tread slowly,
the sun burns low,
and strangers tell me
where I must go

I walk under alien skies,
unknown stars glow above,
still is the..."

Your teeth grind and the muscles in your body tense like a coiled snake as the poem goes on. Just when you think you are about break out into loud protests, there is a rough clap on your right shoulder. You yelp, immediately look, and see that the odeon has other audience members visible now. It is a shock and your jaw drops at the sight of flesh and blood people. The one who punched you in the shoulder is an older man with skin colored like warm bronze and darkened further by days and years under the sun

"Yet another heart wrenching poem from our great foreign lover for his foreign goddess, eh?" At this the man waggles his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, his face full of derision and scorn. The aged face looks on with displeasure at the performance.

There was no one besides you a few moments ago. You take in the sight of dozens of men and women of all ages and walks of life. Here a soldier on leave, there a housewife with servant girl, another tucked in the back a poor student...

"If only he would pour his heart out for me," sighs another audience member, her eyes completely focused on the man on stage.

You know some of these people. The man beside you is old Geryon, he serves at the Palace. A cantankerous man who complained about the strange foreign soldiers that have arrived on Earth to help protect the Golden Kingdom from... from... from...

From what?!

Your ears are ringing. There is something wrong.

"Enough with the amateur love poems there, Adonis! Come now, perform some of the famous Venusian comedy routines! I didn't take the day off to hear more of your nonsense about your planet's princess!" A grumpy voice rings out, an exasperated fat clerk throws up his hands in disgust. Your attention is ripped from Geryon to the clerk.

????

There was something eerily off about the proportions of the clerk. The fat man's skin looked unusually waxy, as though it had been under the sun for too long and was about slough off. Not only the skin but the bone structure seems off too. For the right arm is clearly longer than the left arm, and the lengths grow and shorten in odd intervals as you stare.

"Oh don't be like that, his love poems are beautiful! I want to hear more," a lady in fine clothing with monstrous fangs smacks the melting fat man lightly with her fan.

You leap out of your seats and face the audience to see better.

They're all monsters!

Some looked more human than others but had oddities like glassy blue skin or horns jutting out from their heads or monstrous claws instead of hands.

"What's with you? Going to get up on stage to perform?" Geryon asks from all three heads of his, the additional two heads are growing slowly like tumors from his shoulders. They were more like giant pustules about to burst and spew ichor.

This was a Nightmare!

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>>5236540
On stage behind you, Adonis continues his poem.

"Lo, hopeless love
darkness and dread
lies ahead
all light fled

The watery shores
of poisoned jealousy
cold, bitter and dreary
pushes me to war"

You spin on your heel to look at Adonis and realize to your amazement he still looks human and is dressed in black. His mask is off and there is a bitter smile on his lips. He takes the first step towards you.

What do you do now?!

>Run... Use Burst of Speed to escape
>Attack... Use Water Hands to push him back
>Defend... Raise up Water Wall
>Call for a guide... Communicate with Azul
>Write in...

>>5236542
> Run... Use Burst of Speed to escape

>>5236542
>Run... Use Burst of Speed to escape

>>5236740
>>5236798
Seems we're running away, as for why there was no rolls... that's because the Nightmare enemy rolled so badly that statistically speaking you were going to succeed no matter what action you took.

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There's clearly something very wrong with Adonis, his first step is a stiff legged staggering stumble. As though bending the knees is an impossibility beyond his power, and he is impossibly slow. The flesh around his face is a rigid unchanging smile, unable to loosen or relax to a more natural mien.

A walking corpse.

This is a walking corpse, imperfectly imitating a living breathing human being. It is an eerie realization that hits your brain and leaves it in shock for about one second. Then revulsion explodes and a reaction to move away from him as fast as possible grips you before the paralyzing fear does.

The world blurs as you leap away and activate the ability, burst of speed, to widen the distance between the shambling corpse and yourself. The exit of the odeon is close by, you scramble to reach the stone arch gate leading out. All the while, the audience of monsters grows rowdy and begin to rise from their seats to give chase. Yet they are too late, you have a massive head start and sprint out of the strange rostrum. Once past those tall stone gates, you enter a dark field of red roses. From the light of a beautiful spring day to the strange comforting darkness, it is an abrupt transition.

The scent of crushed roses rises from under your feet as they tramp all over bright red flowers without care. The field seems endless, you could have continued running on forever but exhaustion finally forces you to stumble to a halt.

Gulping down deep breathes of rose scented air, you look back to see where you've run from. There is no evidence of the sunlight odeon with its monstrous audience and corpse actor whom you escaped from. Instead, a lonely fractured stone gate that leads off to darkness beyond the power of sight is visible.

"Oh man, that was close. Azul! Buddy, you hear me!?" You call out but dead silence oppresses instead. Concentrating, a mental message is sent out too but there is no answer. Are you too far away from your partner?

Suddenly, you feel something poke you on your leg, something trying to get your attention. It must be Azul, he found you.

"Thanks for coming partner, let's get out... of... huh?" Bafflement is only the appropriate response.

It is a penguin. Black and white with a heart shaped face and a bit taller than Azul, a living copy of the penguin doll that your mother sent you.

It's black beady eyes stare up at you, the face unexpressive. With your rather cartoony buddy Azul, he'd make faces or sounds or even poses. This bird unreadable, silent and very still.

Also, it is wearing Azul's satchel.

"Uh, no offense to you but I'm sort of used to having my designated penguin guide in these sorts of situation. Nothing personal."

The black and white penguin finally moves to make a nod but makes neither a squawk nor chirp.

Are you increasing your collection of strange penguins?

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>>5237719
"So, um, do you know the way out?" You rub the back of your neck nervously; you can't sense anything from this bird. It isn't like communicating with Azul at all, you don't receive any emotional feedback or strange mental images.

The new penguin nods once and then starts waddling towards the gate you passed through to escape the odeon.

You reluctantly follow after it, all the while asking questions and receiving no answer back. The bird doesn't even turn its head to pay attention to you at all.

"So, um... are you related to Azul and his family? Like, a distant cousin?"

The monochrome penguin waddles on.

You try a different question. It can't be coincidence that your mother sent you that weird penguin doll, there's a perfect copy of it guiding you towards the gates right this instant.

"Are you my mom's penguin? I mean, I have one... does that mean you're hers? Is she up to her neck in spooky bullshit too? I mean, she joined a fucking cult.... oh god, does that mean the cult is responsible for all these attacks on my school?"

You continue a stream of questions but the penguin remains silent and seemingly unaware of the babble directed at it. Eventually you give up, this avian stranger doesn't seem to be interested in conversation.

Soon enough, you stand before the gates you just exited from.

"You sure this is the exit? I just came from it..." You try one last time to question the silent bird.

It still doesn't answer, but instead taps on the stone gate three times and then walks right through it. The moment it passes the arches, it immediately disappears from view.

You really miss your buddy and his antics, this penguin is all business and won't give you the time of day. It seems that you are to walk through these gates to get out. You take one last look at the vast field of red roses that you are about leave.

The roses are all-abloom and perfect...

You could pick a rose as a souvenir... Why not? You took a cursed tansu chest out of a Nightmare once. This field of roses, despite being rather gloomy looking, is a pretty neat place visually.

Pick a Rose to take back home with you?

>>5237723
Sure, why not?

>>5237723
Voting to take a rose

>>5237723
I will also vote for taking a rose home.

>>5237757
>>5237836
>>5237868
We have a Rose to our name!

File: rose-sailor-moon.gif (1.19 MB, 498x371)

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There are two parts that war within you about picking a Rose or not picking it... Actually that's a complete lie, the moment you thought of grabbing one of these beautiful red roses, your hand started hovering over them trying to decide which one to take.

As you reach out, an odd thing happens that adds to the surreal beauty of the field of roses. Each rose seems to unfurl their petals more and turn to you as though desiring to show off their very best features, some even lean towards you physically as though straining to catch your eye and be selected as the chosen to leave this field. The blooms are particularly extravagant now, and the scent heady.

There is one perfect and beautiful rose that draws your eyes to it. The sort of flower, which poets sing praises of, that a lover seeks to gift to their beloved and causes you to reach out and gently grasp the stem. The thorns are sharp and draw a prick of blood from a finger, but there is no pain. Grasping firmly and pulling gently, the rose gives and departs from the ground without fuss.

So when you Dream and injure yourself, you don't feel pain. It was an interesting observation as a thin trickle of blood goes down your hand to the wrist. Then a drop of scarlet blood falls and lands on a rose, causing an amazing reaction. The field of roses snap shut into tight buds all at once, not one blooms in your sight. The sound of what must be thousands of roses closing sends shivers down your back and does something.

Something breaks its hold within your mind as you hold and stare at the Rose. A realization hits you when you remember in your most recent journal entry about factions and who's who on the spookiness scale, you left the weirdo Tuxedo Mask off it completely.

He slipped from your memory despite witnessing him twice and writing an entry of his actions almost immediately after that. The discovery stuns you, it must be some sort of magical bullshit to gradually have the guy fade from your active memory or something.

No Witnesses: This effect has been broken. Ability must reapply on target to take effect once more.

"Thank you very much weird Dream Rose thingy, I am very grateful." You give the Rose an appreciative murmur and it seems to brighten a little in reaction to the praise.

It was time to leave. You walk through the gates and...

Your eyes open and you are back in your warm comfy bed. The sun is already up but you cannot hear anyone in the kitchen. A quick look at the clock shows that it has only just turned 7 a.m., therefore plenty of time to do something before going to school.

You rise from bed to stretch and see that Azul is not in your bedroom. Instead, the strange black and white penguin from the Dream is sitting at your desk and reading your journal silently.

"Hey, stop! Who told you, you could read that!?" You jump out of bed and grab the journal away from the new penguin. It looks up at you, as though it doesn't understand why you're so upset.

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>>5238724
You quickly scan the journal and see the entries updated with details of the Nightmare already. But it lacks details, like the fact you knew one of the audience members. The animated drawings of Nausicaa and Adamant run about the page with what looks like paintbrushes to draw the field of roses you exited from. Black and white drawings are the norm in your journal but it seems the two siblings decided to give the field of roses a splash of red to liven it up.

>Free action: Any new Dream, Nightmare or Memory you have in your sleep will be updated in the journal automatically and the entries can be moved to accommodate your writing and chronological order of events.

In a page corner, the monochrome penguin drawing you made yesterday sits and watches the energetic siblings finish the coloring job they started.

You turn your gaze on the same penguin physically sitting in your bedroom with suspicious eyes.

"So... where's my buddy?" You ask the strange bird.

It simply looks at you with beady black eyes and says nothing.

You groan with frustration. It seems Azul isn't anywhere in the bedroom at all, and when you open the closet the swirling blue portal to the Penguin Domain remains as is.

You glare at the monochrome penguin who impassively looks on as you search your bedroom.

Wait, what's that on your bed?

Ah, it's the Rose! And it's already starting to die, the petals have a fringe of black starting to eat into the bright red. You aren't sure what it's able to do exactly but it helped jogg your memory about Tuxedo Mask that slipped from your mind.

A Rose to Remember: A Rose from the Dream... it is already starting to wilt! A temporary item

You place the Rose on your desk.

What do you do now? You have some time...

CHOOSE 2 actions

>Grab the gift and letter from your mom and start looking it...
>Time to go to the Penguin Domain, search out Azul and maybe mess with that tansu box...
>Prepare breakfast, it's leftovers from last night...
>Ask weird penguin if could be a little more communicative...
>Update Journal with details...
>write in

>>5238724
Wow, No Witnesses even works through the Fourth Wall, it's the only possible explanation as to why I've forgotten about Tuxedo Mask. THE.ONLY. POSSIBLE. EXPLANATION.

>>5238726
>Time to go to the Penguin Domain, search out Azul and maybe mess with that tansu box...
>Prepare breakfast, it's leftovers from last night...

>>5238726
> Time to go to the Penguin Domain, search out Azul and maybe mess with that tansu box...
>Prepare breakfast, it's leftovers from last night...

>>5238739
I'm just surprised no one commented in the previous posts, I thought it obvious but then the guy is super forgettable in the first episodes of sailor moon

>>5238739
>>5238977
Seems we're going to look for our partner and make sure to join our dad for breakfast.

>>5239638
Hello everyone, voting is still open for the next 24 hours. I shall post tomorrow.

>>5238726
>>Prepare breakfast, it's leftovers from last night...
>>Time to go to the Penguin Domain, search out Azul and maybe mess with that tansu box...
That’s a neat free action

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You're worried about your partner, why wasn't he here? Did this weirdo penguin do something to him? In the Dream, you note that it had Azul's satchel on.

You better go try to find him.

There is the sound of someone opening their bedroom door in the apartment. The familiar creak and soft thud signals your dad has gotten up and is about to start his morning in the bathroom. That means you have 30 minutes to search Azul out in the Penguin Domain before dad notices that you aren't coming out from your bedroom to set the kitchen table for breakfast.

You grab the strange map you had previously extracted from the tansu chest before heading immediately to the portal. The strange penguin gets up to follow you.

There's not much time, if this bird wants to follow then it can go ahead. So long as it stays out of your way.

You crawl through the swirling blue portal and enter the Penguin Domain. The dirt beneath your knees is hard packed and clean, the smell of summer is carried by the wind. You enter the strange stone cabin once more, empty of any living presence with light streaming in through the open doorway.

There's no time to admire the view, you sprint outside and start surveying your surroundings. The last time you arrived, Azul and his siblings were hanging out nearby. The place is empty, the fields and rivers nearby have no blue penguins playing around.

"Wow, is this a bad sign?" You ask yourself as you pick your way slowly through the field to look into a few abandoned looking huts to see if anyone was in them. The first abandoned hut rewards you with a discovery that it contains the tansu chest that Azul carried away. It sits on the ground where the light shines upon it so that it glints.

You're torn, you'd rather find Azul than deal with the tansu chest right now but you also want to see the result of your experiment. If you're quick about it, you can check the drawers and then retreat to search for Azul again.

The first drawer is opened, and it has yet another photograph in it. This time it is a picture of your father and mother holding a baby Ruka. Your parents look so young and proud, for a moment you marvel how tiny you are as a baby before picking up the picture and turning it to the back. There's no writing on it.

You immediately put back the photograph and slide shut the top drawer. Then immediately pull out the second drawer and see that it is empty. Nothing new appeared within.

"I guess I have put back this map back in." You murmur as you place the strange map back inside the drawer. Your experiment pretty much confirmed that the items in the drawer won't change unless it has an item in it already. Next time you come here, you'll experiment by placing other objects in the tansu chest and see if they transform into other items.

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>>5240923
The last drawer causes a bit of an internal struggle to open. The endless pit of darkness and those teeth... The voice of your mother sounding from the bleak depths. Do you really want to open this damn drawer?

Behind you, you hear something moving. A quick spin around to see what it is only shows you that the strange monochrome penguin has at last caught up with you.

"Oh, it's just you...." You grouse with impatience.

Was the voice in the third drawer of this chest really from your mother? Did you have time to be messing about with it and talking to it?

>Would you like to open the 3rd drawer?

>>5240925
Not now, gotta find our pal. Feeling a little suspicious of the new guy

>>5240925
Ignore drawer find friend

>>5240963
>>5241088
Time to search for friends over spooky Japanese treasure chest voice

No time for that. Whatever was lurking in the third drawer of the tansu chest isn't going to be able to tell you anything about Azul.

That being said...

You take a hard look at the strange silent penguin who followed you into the hut.

The voice might be able to tell you something about this weird penguin. However, that's something for another time, you are on the clock. No time to waste.

You dash out of the hut and continue your frantic search throughout the Penguin Domain. Time is trickling away, there's so much to search. 30 minutes isn't going to cut it in a place this large. You dash about calling out to Azul through your link in the fruitless hunt, even occasionally using burst of speed to help travel the distances faster. The end result is that you're exhausted, sweat drips from your skin causing the pajamas to stick to you.

Time is up, if your buddy isn't here in the Penguin Domain... Does that mean he's stuck somewhere else? A Dream? A Nightmare?

As you stand contemplating the disappearance of your partner, the strange silent penguin waddles into view again. It looks remarkably unruffled and untired, this thing has been following you all over the place without a break.

You grab the penguin and begin shaking it bodily.

"Silent Penguin, tell me your secrets!" The demands fall on deaf ears or rather the penguin makes no sound at all despite the violent shaking. And it was a damn heavy bird, you eventually drop it back on the ground unceremoniously realizing that you were wasting time and energy.

"I swear if I find out you had a hand in Azul and his family's disappearance, there'll be hell to pay."

The bird simply stares at you with beady black eyes in reaction to your glare.

Time is up, you have to get home. Coming back to the bedroom shows how you managed to barely avoid getting caught by your dad. When you exit your closet from the portal and stand up, your dad is already knocking on your bedroom door.

"Ruka? Are you still asleep?" Your dad asks after knocking on your bedroom door politely.

"No, I'm up! I'm getting changed right now! Could you go ahead and make the coffee?" You answer before he gets the idea to open your bedroom door.

"Okay, I'll make an extra strong brew. It seems you overslept again!" You dad cheerfully says as he walks off to start making the morning coffee.

You throw on your school uniform and dash into the kitchen to set the table and reheat yesterday's left over. It's basically going to be lunch too because you made so much. Breakfast proves to be a very quick affair, there's not much time until the two of you are out of the apartment but certain things are tradition in your household.

The first cup of coffee in the morning.

Your dad making a quick reading of the headlines in the newspaper.

>>5242173
But you can't enjoy it because of your missing partner. At one point in time, the weird penguin waddles out of your bedroom and observes your family breakfast in silence. All it does is watch, why doesn't it do anything else?

Creepy.

"You know Ruka, tomorrow's a holiday. Is there anything you want to do? I mean, it's only a Wednesday but we could go out and do something. Or just sleep in." Dad asks casually as he finishes drinking the last drop of extra strength coffee.

"Sleeping in sounds divine personally. Don't really know, let's just wing it. It's only a single day. This year's Golden Week sucks." You pack an extra box of sweet and sour pork meatballs to share with your classmates. Usagi would definitely enjoy eating some of these delectable meatballs.

"That's true, there's also the other holidays too." Your dad picks up his briefcase and lunch before going out the door. He needs to get to work in time, you wave him good-bye.

It's time for you to go to school... but first...

You grab the creepy silent penguin and shake it once more.

"Silent Penguin, tell me your secrets!" You don't ask it nicely this time, you threaten the damn bird. It's here and not Azul! You bring the full power of thuggish intimidation to bear on the bird. It was sort of thing that makes younger girls in your school cry and boys in the upper grades think twice about messing with you.

It makes no effect on the bird at all. It still stares at you with beady black eyes and makes not a sound.

"... This sucks..." You drop the bird and leave the apartment. You make sure to lock the silent bird inside.

How will you get to school today?

>Walk
>Run
>Bus
>Secret Short cut, roll 3d6+2, dc 13

>>5242176
> Walk
Perhaps we might come across some sign or a pulse/signal of Azul as we walk to school in a timely manner?

>>5242176
>Walk

>>5242176
>>Walk
Fucking Silent Penguin

>>5242218
>>5242356
>>5242368
A walk with some pulsing... kinda of like a hunt of the blue penguin.

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Walking is the order of the day. It's not as if you're in a hurry to get to school, so a leisurely walk it is.

The streets are crowded with your fellow schoolmates taking their commute. Every so often you send out, for lack a better term, a 'ping' advertising your presence to Azul through your link. The signal spreads like a ripple, at first small and powerful but then spreading outwards away from you in a circle and growing weaker with distance.

Nothing indicates the presence of Azul in these 'pings', there is no feedback or message. But you are astonished to discover you can feel the presence of the silent penguin every time you attempt to search out for your buddy. The distance from which you can sense it is far greater than the link you have with Azul. It was a very unexpected discovery but it only irritates you since this wasn't the penguin you're looking for.

Also... did it somehow get out of your apartment?! It's moving but you aren't sure what direction it's heading to. Whatever the hell that penguin is, you don't like it. Every signal you send, the response back is the knowledge that it was at your apartment but somehow got out and is going somewhere.

"RUKA!" A familiar high pitch voice makes it morning debut and you can't help but smile a little. It seems Usagi wasn't late getting up this morning, how very unusual.

"Good morning Usagi." You smile at the energetic girl. It would be best to leave off trying to send covert signals in your attempt to find Azul, previous attempts make you seem you are trying to think or concentrate on something given the observation from Tomio.

The moment you think of Tomio, he appears as he rounds a corner a little ahead.

"Tomio! Over here!" You call out to your childhood friend to join you.

"Oh hey Ruka, what did the doc say at the hospital. You went, right?" Tomio immediately asks the moment he's by your side.

"That's right! You collapsed yesterday like our teacher. That was a scary moment." Usagi chimes in as well.

"Oh, I went but it was pretty late. Ended up not really seeing anyone." It was best to not give too many details since you were actually doing something that could have gotten you arrested. Sneaking into the hospital last night was easily most stressful and dangerous thing you ever done. And you might have to top that tonight if you decide to go ahead and sneak into FM 10 radio station.

Damn it, Azul sneaking in to scout out the place and take out the security camera videotapes was your first plan. You're going to have to figure out another plan of action if your penguin partner cannot be found. Most likely, you'll have to tour FM 10 Radio after school on some sort of pretense and scout it out. Aya's parents often do radio announcements, you might be able to ask your sempai for assistance.

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>>5243523
You feel something. An oppressive and crushing interest from two beings on your lunch box or rather lunchboxes, since you did pack 2 very full ones this morning into a plastic bag this morning. The source for this inordinate amount of attention are two food fiends who happen to be your friends. At this moment, they're rather like cats hungrily anticipating food to be doled out and can't help but beg.

"So... that's a lot of food." Tomio tries to casually comment, but he must have smelled his favorite sweet and sour pork meatballs by the way he longingly looks at the bag. Usagi is no slouch at assessing the culinary feast within the bag either, she's drooling a little.

"Wow, that's a lot of food... You're going to be sharing, right!" It wasn't even a question, rather a statement from Usagi whose head is in the clouds imagining what you had brought in today.

You try not to laugh at how transparent these two food idiots are. The looks on their face is remarkably similar to each other.

Hm, Tomio and Usagi... They might make a cute couple.

You're wrong.

???

Actually, yeah, that's right. Tomio isn't into girls who cry so easily or whine. Usagi might be cute, understanding and nice but she is a crybaby. Heck, even you can find her a little annoying at times when she gets weepy.

Also, you sound like Aya. Pairing up friends simply to amuse yourself.

"Yes, I will be sharing it out at lunch. The two of you will have to be patient." You answer their question, at which they both pump their fist in the air in victory at the same time.

"Awesome!"
"Yeah!"

The two cheer and then go through a remarkably complex form of fist bumping that seemed beyond the capacity of coordination for Usagi but not only did she keep up with Tomio, she even threw in a high five.

The rest of commute is pretty uneventful until you reach the school gates.

You see that...

>Aya is talking to Mizuno Ami...
>Naru is waiting at the gates...
>Treasurer Miya and club member Arika is waiting at the gate...
>Luna is sleeping on the gate post pillar...

>>5243527
>Luna is sleeping on the gate post pillar...
KITTY!

>>5243527
>>Luna is sleeping on the gate post pillar...

>>5243527
> Aya is talking to Mizuno Ami...

>>5243527
>>Luna is sleeping on the gate post pillar...
KOT

>>5243602
>>5243615
>>5243811
>>5243817
I have learned my lesson... if cat is an option, you will always take it
Automatically...

writing

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The worries that had been plaguing you are blown away with the refreshing and soothing sight of Luna. She's curled up in a ball and napping in the warm morning sun high up on the gate post pillar.

"Oh Luna!" Usagi calls out to her pet. At that moment, Luna's ears twitch cutely before yawning and stretching from her perch to wake up.

If only you had a camera right now. Maybe you should buy a disposable camera, they're super cheap right now at the Lawson near your apartment. It would only cost 1000 yen to buy!

"Come on down Luna!" You call out to the elegant cat, you present your eager hand to let her see the wondrous petting she could have. All the petting.

Her response is a measured look of disdain directed straight at you. It sort of hurts to see that look from her, but then again you are sometimes overly enthusiastic about cuddling. That and you hurt her feline pride by catching her when she's trying to be sneaky. This cat has tried a number of times to spy on you for whatever reason.

You move closer to the pillar and try to reach her and maybe scratch her chin but she haughtily straightens into a sitting pose. Your fingers can only reach her feet, even as the tallest girl in your school the pillar is too high.

You whimper a little in sadness.

Luna looks incredibly smug, as though she has scored a win over you by keeping herself away from your eager reach. Even getting on the very tips of your toes isn't enough to reach her since all she has to do is get up and move away from your grasp.

"Come on Luna, she only wants to pet you," Usagi tries coaxing Luna to come within arm's reach but she only gives only a contemptuous snort at the suggestion.

As a small child, you remember desperately begging your parents to have a cat as a pet. You made grand promises to them as an irresponsible child about how you would feed her, play with her and take her on regular walks because you figured cats were very similar to dogs in your ignorance.

Maybe you should give up on trying to reach Luna. You can always pet her some other day when it's easier to catch her off guard.

An idea forms in your head and before you know it, you are putting down your school bag and lunchboxes to put it into action.

"Oh boy, you better back away Tsukino, Ruka is going to try something." Tomio warns the shorter girl and gently pulls her away from the imminent stupidity you want to attempt.

You first traverse a small bit of distance alongside the school's wall and note that if you build enough speed, you could in fact do a wallrun up it to get on top. If you do that, then you could just walk up to Luna on the gate pillar and be able to pet her with ease while standing on the wall.

File: lackofcommonsense.jpg (59 KB, 675x366)

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>>5244945
It requires both speed and technique, so you back away from the wall a little. Then sprint towards it at full speed, near the wall you jump a little and begin to plant your feet to push outwards while leaning back. The center of gravity increases and horizontal moment transfers into vertical. You're up!

You grab the top of the wall and easily get on top of it.

Every classmate who witnessed your feat is all agog. There's some oohs and aahs, even a smattering of cheers and clapping.

"Oh wow, just like in my wuxia movies."
"How is that even possible?"
"She really is the ninja of the school..."
"All that to pet a cat?"
"I guess she does have a cute side to her."

The once victorious look that had crowned Luna's face has disappeared; it is replaced with a look of inevitable doom by overly affectionate petting.

"Mwahahah, you can't escape me!" You let out an evil cackle and start to reach out towards your feline prize.

Luna claws your approaching hand violently and painfully. Startled by the pain and the sudden violence you beat a hasty retreat to cradle your scratched up hand. Tears form in your eyes.

"Owie..." You whimper.

It's a miracle you didn't fall off the wall when you were forced to walk backwards on the narrow length of it.

Flaw unlocked. KITTY CAAAAAAT: If there's cat, she will pet it! Sometimes Ruka's love of cats gets the better of her common sense... Must roll Will check to avoid selecting a Cat option in future.

Luna leaps off the gate pillar and runs away somewhere.

You missed a chance to pet the cat.

Now it was time to get into class to start the school day.

The most notable class this morning is...

>Home Economics Class, the boys actually have to join today...
>Math Class, you sort of like this class actually...
>Art Class, there's a vote what or who to draw...
>Japanese Literature Class, Mr. Yamada is teaching about Night on the Galactic Railroad...

>>5244957
>Home Economics Class, the boys actually have to join today...

>>5244957
>>Art Class, there's a vote what or who to draw...

>>5244957
> Art Class, there's a vote what or who to draw...

>>5245085
>>5245100
>>5245222
We've got some art to do...

File: teacup.jpg (5 KB, 222x193)

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Classes today are pretty easy. Relaxing even.

The only truly riveting high pressure event of the day so far is in Art Class of all things.

What is the class going to be sketching or drawing today?

It's a really simple question but the teacher stated that everyone must draw the same item or person voted for. Typically, your classmates are a pretty easygoing bunch. They tend to vote for what makes life simple and easy but in other times, the whole lot of them get keyed up and go whole hog.

There are suggestions ranging from a piece of fruit, landscapes, or animals. Your suggestion of spending the next hour drawing the classroom is voted down as too difficult. The room is chocking with a truly eclectic collection of art supplies, forgotten drawings, chairs strewn about haphazardly, rickety easels, splashes of oil paint everywhere. A chaos that no one could possibly draw or sketch within an hour.

You still think it was a good suggestion.

"Look guys, we need to keep the thing simple and quick. We're not making masterpieces here. I vote for this banana!" Tomio flourishes a plastic banana. He managed to dig it out from a mountainous pile of objects used by the Art Club as a drawing model.

"That's so boring though! We should at least do something like draw a classmate.... I vote that Tomio be the model." Naru cheekily suggests and giggles. Your childhood friend responds by tossing the plastic banana at Naru who squeaks with outrage when it hits her face.

"Time's a wastin here. If ya canna choose somethin', why I be choosin' for ya." Today Ms. Okunichi's northern accent is not very thick. As long as she's not flustered, her Tohoku accent is pretty understandable. Despite living in Tokyo for years, she made it a point not to overly correct the way she spoke. Or as she said once, 'ma talk is ma talk'.

"Can't we just... not draw anything? I would vote for that!" Some smart aleck in your class shouts out his suggestion. The class giggles but your art teacher rolls her eyes.

"Now see here, ya suggested two decent models dat has split tha class. Pin up a classmate as a model or pin up dis here teacup of mine." As though to re-emphasize the two choices, she grabs Usagi and then a teacup that has been clearly shattered at one point but put together again with a greyish metal.

"Oh, I get to be the model? Everyone vote for me!" Usagi cheers. She even does a little pose as though emphasize her attractiveness.

"Naw, I'm jus' usin' ya as an example Tsukino. Ma blessed eyes would rather choose Tomio der as the model if y'all fix on a classmate." Ms. Okunichi snickered.

Tomio's face transforms into a look of horror at the idea.

"Ask someone else to volunteer! I know, I volunteer Umino!" Tomio states as he tries to hide behind his easel.

It seems that the teacher has narrowed down the choice for you since no one could really decide what to draw. Hm, a fellow classmate or the teacup.

File: minimap.png (10 KB, 639x419)

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>>5246348
The teacup is a truly fine white bone china that had once been split into three parts. Through careful application of molten metal along the broken pieces, they were expertly joined once more with only fine lines of metal giving evidence that it had been broken. You remember looking beneath and seeing a Russian manufacturer's stamp in it. The fine black Cyrillic lettering Импepaтopcкий Фapфopoвый Зaвoд and the more helpful English legend, Imperial Porcelain 1744 St. Petersburg, announced it's manufacturer. The lip of the cup had a worn gold accent ringing round it.

It is indeed a very fine bone china and an interesting repair job. The metal doesn't seem to be lead or tin. Could it be silver? This is the result of your limited education in antiques, courtesy of your grandparents and their shop, it has granted you an eye for quality.

You are leaning to voting that the cup be made the subject model. All you have to do is raise your hand in favor when it's time to vote.

But then again, drawing a classmate would be entertaining too. Despite your teacher's joke that she'd want Tomio, you could probably suggest a different classmate to be 'volunteered' as a model. Then again, it'd be hilarious if Tomio gets 'volunteered'.

"Heh heh heh..." You chuckle.

"Whoa there Houseki, ya sound extra evil. Anything ya wanna share with the class?" The art teacher asks with mild suspicion.

"I think we should vote with a showing of hands. All in favor of drawing a classmate?" You raise your hand and take the lead in starting off. If you act confidently enough and if your fellow classmates don't care, then they'll vote with you.

First mover advantage!

Practically everyone's hand is up, while Tomio looks at you wide eyed. Realization has dawned upon him on what you are planning.

Now to convince your classmates to select Tomio as the sacrificial victim.

"I vote that Ruka be the model!" Tomio immediately volunteers you before you could make a suggestion.

"Ooooh, that's a great idea!" Usagi says as she raises her hand up.

There are murmurs amongst classmates who agree that you would be a great model. They raise their hands to vote drawing you.

.... Wait. What? That was not supposed to happen!

And so, you've been forced to sit and be drawn by your classmates. It's torture, who knew that sitting and watching your classmates sketch would be so boring?

After interminable minutes, the door to the art room opens but no one is paying attention. The rattle of the door doesn't register as all your classmates are either drawing you or talking with their neighbour. When you look though, you see that coming in through the door is a familiar penguin.

It is the silent creepy penguin. It had finally tracked you down at your school. You feel your face freeze as you watch it waddle in and start looking around the classroom. It's vitally important to act nonchalant, practically all your classmates are looking at you.

>>5246350
'Damn it, I can't move, I can't react.... this sucks.' You rage in your head.

The silent penguin takes an appreciative look at the bone china teacup. It fondles it with it's flippers, weighs it and then places it in Azul's satchel. Then it starts wandering about the classroom to explore.

.... That penguin just stole a valuable teacup that belongs to your art teacher.

What do you do?

>Ask your classmates for a break, and try to get back the teacup... roll 3d6, dc 14 due to many potential witnesses
>Use Water Hand to try and snatch the satchel... roll 3d6-2, dc 14 due to being under scrutiny of your classmates
>Keep sitting as a model, you can try to get the teacup back later...
>Send a message to the silent penguin to put the teacup back... roll 3d6, dc ???
>write in

>>5246352
>Send a message to the silent penguin to put the teacup back... roll 3d6, dc ???

Rolled 1, 1, 2 = 4 (3d6)

>>5246352
> Send a message to the silent penguin to put the teacup back... roll 3d6, dc ???
It seems that Azul and his family have tagged out for this new penguin. We might as well try to communicate with it.

Rolled 4, 2, 3 = 9 (3d6)

>>5246352
>>Send a message to the silent penguin to put the teacup back... roll 3d6, dc ???

>>5246378
You might want to roll a set of dice. The rolls usually go with the voting post, and aren’t done in a separate rolling post afterward.

Slight delay in posting today, will post on friday instead.
So things are open until then.

Rolled 5, 4, 2 = 11 (3d6)

>>5246352
> Send a message to the silent penguin to put the teacup back... roll 3d6, dc ???

Rolled 6, 3, 4 = 13 (3d6)

>>5246378
>>5246603

That stupid thieving bird!

The situation is unfavorable; you can't just stand up and march over there to force it to put back that teacup. Not with so many eyes on you as the model for this stupid art class. Trying not scowl is an epic struggle; you can feel the facial muscles twitching against the strain to shift away from your accustomed unsmiling mien to that of scowly frustration.

You consider the difficulties of using Water Hand to grab the satchel off the rogue penguin to take back the teacup but you swiftly write that off. Too much concentration is needed and though you've gotten a lot better at summoning the strange supernatural ability, it was still awkward to use at a distance.

You could just get up and physically force the penguin to put it back.

"WAAAAH!" Usagi shrieks as she accidentally tips over the cup of water she had been using to dip her paintbrush in. The dirtied water splashes onto the floor, your classmates buzz with noise as they assist the clumsy girl.

Oh yeah, you forgot. Usagi can see stuff like supernaturally invisible weird penguins. If you get up to deal with it, then the clumsy girl will probably turn to see what you're trying to do. At that point, the gig is up, she'll see the supernatural avian and start wailing again.

Could you try to communicate with it like you do with Azul? It was worth a try, if you keep your face fixed without giving away the amount of concentration required...

A perfect stealthy way to resolve the issue.

'Yo, bird! Yes, you poking around that table! Keep your thieving flippers off people's private property! Put that teacup you stole back where it belongs!' You issue forth your demand through the strange telepathic ability shared with Azul.

You aren't quite sure if communication with the strange penguin is anything like communicating with buddy though. The link you have with your partner has an indefinable quality and connection that you utterly lack with this other penguin. Now that you think about it, you lack anything like it with Azul's siblings tpp. But then again, you never made an attempt to communicate with Nausicaa or Adamant. It's a possible experiment for the future but for the present moment, you need to tell this crazy thief off.

Did the message get received? The strange monochrome penguin wanders over to another part of the room. It stares at a small statue of something strange and spiky, the Art Club must have created it. There's no earthly clue as to what it's supposed to represent but it does a great job of drawing the eye.

It seems your message didn't get through. You check the reaction of your classmates but they all seem rather preoccupied with their own drawings or just socializing with friends. Another attempt is possible; you just need to concentrate again to send a message.

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>>5248777
"Thinking about lunch. Two gluttons do battle over a pile of sweet and sour pork meatballs, who will?" You joke and witness a hilarious side eye glance between Usagi and Tomio. There's a flash of realization that they are arch rivals in claiming the delicacies today at lunch. If lightening could shoot from human eyes, you could easily imagine the two shooting them at each other and clashing epically.

That should distract them for a little while. You concentrate fruitlessly to send your message to the penguin who is now about exit the classroom. It's clear that your attempts to mentally communicate is not getting through. Is it possible you need to have a link like you have with Azul to do the strange telepathic messaging?

No wait. Was that penguin staring at you from the door. It looks... dismissive. The strange penguin waves good-bye and goes out the door while carefully shutting it.

... THAT DAMN BIRD IS MOCKING YOU!

Keeping your temper is harder than you thought. Through your penguin sonar sensor, the culprit is wandering away down the hallway. Given the unusual ease of tracking it from far away, you make a safe assumption that you can communicate with it at a greater distance than with Azul. You can try again, with more force this time!

Do you want to spend a Will point and try to contact again? If you do, you will have no Will point for the rest of the day...

>>5248779
Nah, we should save it. Also the fucking balls on this penguin

>>5248779
I think we should save it too. We can mess around with telepathy later on after school.

I will vote for creating a book of grudges and putting the penguin as the latest entry, however.

>>5248779
I vote we save it too.
Also glad to see this quest is back

>>5249079
>>5248960
>>5248801
Let the kleptocratic bird go for now.
I'm glad to see that people are enjoying the quest.

>>5249617
I had to return late from some work for the family. I shall be posting tomorrow.

You could try again but that doesn't mean the bird will listen to you any more than the previous attempt. And so, off it goes unopposed and unchastised for its thieving temerity.... for now.

The vengeance of Heaven is slow but sure, as you once heard from a bad play.

The future is bright and clear in your mind's eye. Once you catch that penguin, you'll be able to take back what it stole and return it to its rightful place. The audacity of this penguin is unbelievable! Azul might have stolen stuff but it was from strange supernatural weirdos and from Supernatural Research Club.

Wait... should you return those porn mags Azul stole from your Club? It appears that they were Club property for god knows what reason. Then again, no one made any commentary of them being missing. It's probably not that major of an issue.

You continue to sit as a model for the next 30 minutes until your Art Teacher calls time to allow you to get up and move. Through your penguin sensor, the thief is wandering about on the second floor somewhere. It has not left school property. At lunchtime, you might have an opportunity to track down the silly bird.

Speaking of opportunities, you should check out your classmates artistic endeavours and take a peek at the sketches your classmates made.

There's a clear variety in the levels of artistic ability amongst them. Naru shows a surprising aptitude in drawing the school uniform but is an utter disaster in drawing human figures. It's odd to see how realistic looking the clothing is but how odd the proportions of the body are. Hands were too big, shoulders were oddly slanted, and eyes were too small.

Others drew you manga style, others barely put any effort, and one classmate of yours seems to be have quite the artistic bent and made a realistic facial sketch bearing a truly eviscerating glare.

Did you accidentally make that face because of the weirdo penguin?

The most unique is Usagi's drawing. She had made no effort to try to render a realistic sketch at all. Perhaps because the girl realized she had no talent in that direction. Instead, she went all out on color pencils to make a colorful and childish picture of you standing in what you assume is a flower garden of sorts. A smorgasbord of colors that is eye-killing. There's also another thing that is unique in Usagi's drawing compared to all your classmates.

Usagi is the only classmate who has drawn you smiling. Yes, it was cartoonish and poorly drawn but there's a huge smile drawn on you in her picture. Tomio drew you being rather sombre looking and even unemotional. All your other classmates drew you with a scowl or glare.

... Oh wow, are you really that sour looking?

"You should draw something too! It's art class!" Usagi says as hands over a blank white sheet of paper and a pencil.

The clock shows there's still about 30 minutes in class. It's enough time to draw something before lunch. The white sheet of paper is waiting for something to be drawn on it.

Rolled 5, 6, 4 + 1 = 16 (3d6 + 1)

>>5251738
Choose one...

>Draw Luna!... This is you default choice
>Draw Sailor Moon... roll 3d6, dc 12 to resist KITTY CAAAAAAT flaw
>Draw Tuxedo mask... roll 3d6, dc 12 to resist KITTY CAAAAAAT flaw
>Draw Sailor Venus... roll 3d6, dc 12 to resist KITTY CAAAAAAT flaw
>Draw a classmate, choose who... roll 3d6, dc 12 to resist KITTY CAAAAAAT flaw

You'll be able to finish the drawing just in time for lunch! It's turning out to be a pretty decent picture due to being quite a craftswoman.

This moves on to the next problems of the day.

There's a thief on the loose with stolen property, it needs to be stopped and the goods returned. Lunchtime is an opportunity to search for it but Tomio and Usagi are hell bent on tasting your culinary creations. They sure as hell won't let you out of their sight easily when food is on the line. It will be difficult to find a way to get away. There's a possibility of later on in the afternoon though...

Then there's your missing partner Azul, he's not in the in the Waking World or in the Penguin Domain. He could be in the Dream, it's the only place left but you can't search for him there until you fall asleep tonight. Meaning that tonight's infiltration of FM 10 Radio Station is all on your lonesome unless you decide forget about it and just go to bed early to search for your partner.

Decisions, decisions...

What will you during the lunch hour?

>Track down that stupid thieving penguin! You need to figure out where it went and escape Tomio and Usagi...
>Go to lunch as usual with your ravenous classmates, you might have another opportunity later...
>Change your mind, eat by yourself and don't bother with the penguin! This lunch is YOURS!...
>Eat with Supernatural Club members, you missed out on Monday's meeting and the penguin can wait...
>Write in

also need to roll something...

Rolled 2, 1, 1 = 4 (3d6)

>>5251741
>Draw Sailor Venus... roll 3d6, dc 12 to resist KITTY CAAAAAAT flaw

>Track down that stupid thieving penguin! You need to figure out where it went. Get Tomio and Usagi to leave you alone by giving them some of the leftovers

Rolled 1, 3, 6 = 10 (3d6)

>>5251893
Seconding. Maybe we can work with this new penguin, as horrible as that may seem.

>>5251893
>>5252041
Woops, we're going for kitty cat.

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It is always interesting to see how lines on a paper coalesce into a picture. The pencil smoothly travels across unblemished white and with practiced ease graphite bites in to leave its mark. The general outline of the feline body, then the cutesy nose and eyes, whiskers and the strikingly distinctive crescent on the forehead. The little details that combine to one very distinctive cat.

Luna.

Usagi watches you draw with admiration as the picture forms before her shining eyes. Some of your classmates watch as you draw.

You had considered making a sketch of Sailor V instead but wait... it was Sailor V, right? There is something at the edge of your mind that that you cannot grasp, like smoke cannot be taken hold of and slips through your fingers.

V... V... It was V? Didn't you think of something else? It was not precisely V.

"Oh wow Ruka. Luna looks so cute!" Usagi praises you fulsomely, which interrupts your thoughts. The picture is done and it is indeed very cute. A crouching Luna looking expectantly upwards, as though carefully watching someone passing by. The cat is quite the nosy spy, how many times have you caught her spying on you now? You fantasize a bit as a slow smile forms on face as you admire your handiwork.

"Here Usagi, why don't you take it. My gift." You hand over the drawing to her.

"Really? I can't wait to show Luna," Usagi says as she takes the drawing and places it in her school bag.

You gave a drawing to Usagi.

The school bell rings, it is time for lunch. There's a cheer as your classmates abandon Art Class with joy at the prospect of food. But this bell is the signal to start of a stupid and unnecessary task for you.

The hunt for that weirdo penguin. Even now, through your penguin sensor, you've been tracking the movements of the bird throughout the school. It's gone and explored quite a bit, and luckily hasn't gone off school ground. As you walk towards homeroom to get your bento boxes, you think hard on what to do to distract Tomio and Usagi who are so excited at sampling some of the leftovers. They probably expect that you will be joining them for lunch and drag you outside to eat on the school benches.

You don't have that luxury. It would be very entertaining to see those two gluttons race each other to eat as many meatballs as possible but alas, getting back stolen property to return to their proper owners is a bigger priority.

"Let's head outside, I think we can take over the big tree by the field if we hurry," Tomio says as he pulls out his large bento box. Inside it is not culinary treasures made by his mother but rather indifferent nutritious and tasteless sustenance.

You need to extract yourself from the situation; the leftovers will serve as an excellent one. Hm, but handing over the leftovers to either Usagi or Tomio would be bad, given how greedy these two are...

>>5253085
One will most definitely scarf down all the leftovers without leaving any behind for the other. Also, Aya and others might join you outside for lunch.

You need an impartial divider of this manna from your kitchen. With that thought, your eyes rest upon Umino Gurio. The nerd is known for being a scrupulously fair and diligent guy; if you set him a task then it's done. Even if it is utterly thankless and difficult.

"Sorry Tomio, gotta grab something first. Go on ahead without me, I'll try to join you later for lunch." Before your childhood friend can react, you immediately head over to Gurio with your leftovers.

"Oh my, Ruka, what can I do for you?" The boy asks upon reaching your desk.

"Have a favor to ask. Could you be the leftover dictator for me and divide this between our friends equally? I have to go and do something first." You give a significant glance at Usagi and Tomio who anxiously watch as an opportunity steal the lion's share of your delicious meatballs is lost to them.

Gurio smiles.

"You can rely on me! I will be utterly faithful to your request, count on it!" He takes the box out of your hands.

"Wah, Ruka, you aren't joining us for lunch?" Usagi cries out, it's debatable she's sad you're going or if the leftovers she'll get won't be as much as her heart's content.

"Don't worry about it, I just need to do something first." You shake head for a laugh and head towards the exit.

"Well, if you're not joining us for lunch, I guess I'll have to wait until homeroom to show off then." Naru had taken out a box of some sort that wasn't her lunch. It is a tastefully wrapped, small box. No bigger than the size of two fists.

How odd, what did that contain that Naru wanted to show everyone?

It doesn't matter right now though. Time to nab that stupid penguin.

'I'm coming after you, ya thief!' You send out a message through your strange penguin connection.

'....' No response. Not a peep or a squawk.

Instead, the most unexpected thing happens. The penguin sensor, the very thing that you relied upon to find the monochrome penguin... it winks out. You can no longer sense where the penguin is... However, you know the last known location of the damn thing.

GAH! How did it do that!?

You rush out of the classroom and begin running. A teacher shouts out that to stop running the hallway but you ignore the warning.

>Roll 3d6+2, dc ??? to rush to the last known location of the thief....

Rolled 3, 6, 6 + 2 = 17 (3d6 + 2)

>>5253086

Rolled 2, 2, 1 + 2 = 7 (3d6 + 2)

>>5253086
Let's hope we don't miss our lunch fully

Rolled 6, 2, 6 + 2 = 16 (3d6 + 2)

>>5253086

>>5253104
>>5253119
>>5253341
We found'em...

That damn bird, how did it do that? The Penguin sensor has never failed like that before; obviously, that weirdo must have some sort of ability to render itself invisible from it. It is your fault too. You just assumed that threatening it with punishment through your mental link would be unheard and that it had no ability to make itself invisible from you.

Your make rapid progress towards the last location you sense the thief. It was the library on the first floor of all places. Gripping the door handle and you throw it wide open, it makes a loud rattling sound.

"This is the library! Please be quiet!" A student librarian scolds you for making such a ruckus. You ignore her to search around. A few students look up from their books or conversation to watch you as you stalk around the library and check around the shelf aisles to see if the penguin was hiding somewhere.

It's not here.

Damn it.

"Are you looking for something?" The student librarian wanders over to you out of curiosity.

"More like looking for someone," you mutter with a bit of frustration. You concentrate to sense the penguin but it still doesn't show up on your radar.

"Oh, is it Mizuno? I heard you talked to that arrogant brainiac yesterday. She left in a hurry earlier to go outside, looked kind of spooked," the librarian answers with a wrinkle of dislike on her face.

"Spooked?" You can't help but feel a bit offended by the casual insult thrown at Mizuno by the student librarian. Sure, she's a bit reserved and quiet but it's no different from how you tend to be rather serious looking.

"You'll have to ask her, she kept on staring into space and talking to nothing. It was weird," with that the librarian wanders off to help another student. Yet the revelation that Mizuno acting weird... she could see Azul, it's only natural she'd be able to see the freaky penguin. She must have tried to talk with it but ended up getting spooked because that bird doesn't make a sound and just stares.

It is time to head outside and look for Mizuno, if you find the girl genius then that stupid bird might be hanging around her. You pass through the crowded school hallways; students are milling about and relaxing during the hour-long lunch. But you're a girl on a mission to get outside.

It is a warm spring day, excellent weather to lunch outside as evidenced by the sheer number of students sitting outside. Virtually all the places where someone can sit are taken up. So where might the quiet genius be sitting? Wouldn't she be with friends having lunch?

A quick survey disproves your first guess. No matter where you look amongst groups of students, Mizuno Ami isn't there.

You should ask if anyone has seen her. You recognize a student from class 5, the same class she was and approach the boy.

"Oh hey, Takamichi right? Class 5? I'm looking for Mizuno, have you seen her around?" The reaction from the boy is off-putting, he is frowning at your question.

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>>5254658
"Mizuno? Yeah, I think I saw her by the school wall, ya know the place with the big tree." He points out the general direction before walking away.

Does no one in your school like Mizuno? It's baffling. You spoke with her yesterday, she seemed to be polite and shy.

You make your way over, it's a good thing that you're sneaky, you almost blundered into a bizarre scene. You barely manage to hide behind a tree to take in the scene.

Mizuno is sitting alone reading a book but there's an obvious strain in her posture. Nothing is relaxed about her, her hands are tight around open book she's reading because there is something staring at her. It is thievish penguin, standing and staring boldly at the shy girl without bothering to hide itself. Silent and still, the satchel is bulging with many items. It must have gone on a crime spree.

To crown the strangeness of the situation, you see that Luna is sneaking about again and spying on the two from a tree near them.

What was this? A chain of spies?

Luna spying on the penguin spying on Mizuno.

And you spy on everyone.

This is ridiculous.

How are you going to extract the penguin out of this ridiculous situation? No one is aware you're here...

>Grab Luna and take her to Mizuno to pet! It's a good distraction, you can then chivvy the penguin off to a more isolated place...
>Use Water Hands to dump cold water on the penguin, it might make it move away... roll 3d6, dc 12 to form water
>Boldly wander over and grab the penguin, who cares if Mizuno or Luna sees you! That penguin needs to be punished...
>Create a Water Wall and wash the penguin away from Mizuno... roll 3d6, dc 14 to form water
>Send a message to the penguin or rather send a threat, it might get it to move away...
>Call out to Mizuno and invite to her lunch with your friends, at least you can get her away from the penguin...
>Write in

This vote will be open for 48 hours. I will not be able to post until Thursday evening.

>>5254660
>>Boldly wander over and grab the penguin, who cares if Mizuno or Luna sees you! That penguin needs to be punished...
>satchel is bulging with many items
This kleptomaniac penguin will probably try and run off again if we aren’t direct

>>5254660
Eh, what the hell, I’ll back this vote:>>5254677

We need to assert dominance on this new penguin or it’ll continue to be a pain in the ass.

>>5254660
>Boldly wander over and grab the penguin, who cares if Mizuno or Luna sees you! That penguin needs to be punished...

>>5254677
>>5255528
>>5255820
Asserting dominance

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You are fond of sneakiness and doing things without anyone noticing you. It's an ingrained habit, and it isn't going to change any time soon but sometimes....

Sometimes, subtlety and sneakiness pales in effectiveness compared to bold action.

What's the worst that could happen? Mizuno telling people that you caught an invisible penguin only you and her could see like a crazy? Luna meowing at Usagi to tell her what you did?

Impossible.

You issue forth from your hiding spot boldly to capture the thieving bird before it can react. It doesn't suspect a thing until you're right beside it. The penguin is caught completely off guard and you lift the thief up. It's clawed feet beat empty air as it tries to run but can't find the ground to grip.

Even better, the silent penguin makes a shocked squawk. It finally made a sound! So it can squawk, it just doesn't want to.

The revelation makes you a little angry.

"Caught you, you little thief!" You roar and lift it up even higher. The bird is surprisingly heavy and hard to hold. Mizuno Ami is shocked by your sudden appearance; she stops pretending to read and looks at you with wide eyes. There's palpable relief and the stress that had been built up in her tense shoulders deflate.

"So I wasn't going insane," the timid girl bursts out with emotion. She slumps a bit before straightening her back to look at your captive bird.

"Yeah, you aren't going crazy. It exists... and it needs to give back a bunch of stuff." The satchel is packed to the gills with things that don't belong to the penguin. The crime spree must have been very extensive indeed. You don't know what's inside but it's best to get the contents to the 'Lost and Found' as soon as possible.

"What is it?" Curiosity colors the other girl's voice as she lifts a hesitant to hand up. It hovers over the squirming penguin, not daring to touch it at first. Gathering courage, Ami hesitantly pokes the soft blobby stomach of the bird and confirms by touch its existence.

She asks a good question and you would like to know the answer too. Damn it mom, is this all your fault?! Maybe you should have read that letter that came with the penguin doll, it could have explained about this bird.

"It's a dumb bird and a thief," you growl as you deftly liberate the satchel off it. Sensing that that the loot is being removed, the squirming avian becomes even more forceful in its attempt to get out of your grip.

"Well, it is that but what I mean is... How can no one else but the two of us see it? In the library, I saw it take a book but no matter how I tried to get anyone else to see..." Ami trails off; she must be remembering the reaction of her schoolmates back in the library.

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>>5256970
You don't have time to answer though. The bird gets the bright idea to fight back now rather than just struggle. It starts pecking away at your hand with its beak. This is more surprising than painful; you drop the silent penguin who flops to the ground unceremoniously. Dust rises from the impact of the fall and the bird rolls around trying to get back on its feet. It's a good thing you managed to take the satchel off it before the fall, it would have damaged the stolen items.

The ungainly bird is having a hell of a time trying to get back on to its webbed feet. It rolls this way and that to build up momentum to become upright once more. This pathetic rolling about is enough to get Mizuno to take pity and help the penguin back up.

It stares up at the other girl with what you think is thanks while it turns to you with indignation. Hm, it seems you're starting to understand this weirdo a little. Before it was a blank slate of incomprehension but now you might be getting a handle on communicating with it.

Showed the silent penguin whose boss: A bit of comprehension and a bit of resentment.

"I haven't got a clue why it's practically invisible to everyone, and I'd not go around announcing what I've seen to other people. Getting a reputation of seeing things no one else can is going to be taken badly by people."

"I suppose so." Mizuno sighs.

You open the satchel up and see inside the things that the penguin had stolen. Within is a book, a teacup, a partially eaten sandwich in a plastic bag, a small change purse, a letter of some sort, a pencil case and a Nintendo gameboy.

"Well, I'd better get this to the 'lost and found'." You look down at the thief who stares at you silently. Maybe it's plotting revenge but you can't bring yourself care.

"Ah, um, what should we do with her?" The quiet girl asks. The silent penguin is walking off into the bushes, fuming it seems. You can sense her through your Penguin sensor once more. There's a rustle on a tree branch, Luna is on the move to track absconding avian.

"Ignore it for now, without something to put its loot in, it can't steal more stuff... Wait a minute, her? Why do think it's a girl?" You turn to Mizuno with a questioning stare.

"It's just a feeling I have..." The genius quietly states.

The two of you go immediately to the school's lost and found to return the stolen loot. Later on, the radio club will make an announcement on the PA system about them later.

You are hungry, there's still time for lunch. Better go and join Usagi and Tomio outside at the tables.

The moment you think this, a weepy Usagi comes walking towards you.

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>>5256972
"Ruka, it's horrible! Just horrible! Umino dropped the delicious meatballs. No one got to eat any!" Usagi wails in her characteristic whinny manner. The tears from her eyes are copious; it is a wonder that so much water could drip from her eyes like that. It's extremely funny too. Keeping a straight face when Usagi is like this is impossible. You cough trying not to laugh.

A look of alarm spreads on Ami's face though. She seems torn between comforting Usagi or leaving.

"Oh who is this? A new friend of yours?" Usagi stops with the waterworks and grows curious at your fellow supernaturally sensitive acquaintance. The short girl comes right up to Ami and holds her hand to shake it.

"Nice to you meet you! I'm Tsukino Usagi!" And so begins the endless babble of talk from the friendly girl. The subject of the meatballs is forgotten and somehow through the conversation, Mizuno Ami is invited to join your circle of friends for lunch. Mostly because the shy girl is overwhelmed by the amazing ability of Usagi to just put people at ease.

It's a great lunch with everyone...

Choose one option!
>You learn a bit more about Mizuno Ami...
>You hear from Gurio about Sailor V...
>You hear from Tomio an interesting tournament at Heiwa no Mori...
>You hear from Aya about the last Club meeting...
>You hear from Naru about her prize...

It's mother's day weekend. We'll cap this thread with this last option! Hope you enjoyed

>>5256976
>>You learn a bit more about Mizuno Ami...

>>5256976
> You learn a bit more about Mizuno Ami

>>5256976
>You hear from Tomio an interesting tournament at Heiwa no Mori...

>>5257019
>>5257071
>>5257913
I hope to have a new post/thread on May 13! see you then.

>>5258962
Take care Crescent, see you then

>>5259216
Here is hoping the QM curse won't become extra strong on Friday the 13th

>>5258962
Thanks for running.