Realistic or Modern &nbsp; Cosmic Crusade

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Cosmic Crusaders

SCHOOL DAY

The American phrase 'it's 5 o'clock somewhere' probably didn't refer to 5AM. But even if it did, that was seven hours ago, and Tetsuya couldn't use that excuse again.

Tetsuya wasn't sure where the seven hours between the end of his night shift at the 7-Eleven and lunchtime had gone. He would be surprised if he had even paid attention to whatever happened in class. But he now found himself in a bathroom stall, his school lunch in one hand and a plastic bottle of 'apple juice' in the other. Of course, the bottle was filled with homemade beer. A loud slam, like someone kicking open a stall door, startled Tetsuya.

"Hello?" Tetsuya asked. He picked himself up from the floor, opening the stall door a smidgen to take a peek outside. A few students, clad in edgy clandestine outfits were conspiratorially scurrying around the place as if it were a crime scene. No doubt it was Mori-san's weird Occult Club or whatever. A little bleary eyed, Tetsuya asked, "What are you guys doing? Actually, nevermind. I'll get out of the way."

It was far too bothersome trying to digest what the Occult Club was doing. Tetsuya simply gathered up his lunch and beer and tried to unobtrusively leave the restroom. He blinked in confusion as he exited. Somehow, in his drunken state, he'd wandered into the second floor bathroom. Speaking of being drunk, Tetsuya realized that he somehow gotten through lunch duty today. Hm. Interesting. But Tetsuya had learned better than to question how his functional alcoholism worked.

Tetsuya found himself wandering up the steps towards the classrooms. Being on autopilot didn't result in the worst ideas; he could go upstairs to say hello to his fellow Crusaders. After all, now that he begrudgingly agreed to be a part of the “コズミック☆クルセイダーズ” it would be more of a pain in the rear to not get along with them.

Such a stupid name. But Tetsuya knew better than to question Ritsu. And it wasn't like he had a better name idea.

Classroom 3-A was the closest to the stairwell, so Tetsuya took the moment to peek into the classroom. He leaned against the sliding doorway to mumble to one of the students that were doodling on the blackboard, "Are ChiKen-kun or Yoshikawa-chan here?"

Despite the familiar way that Tetsuya referred to Nanami and Ken, his tone was dull and apathetic. He didn't choose the two of them for no reason. It would be easiest and least awkward to first make contact with the Crusaders that Tetsuya already had an established friendship with.

angel doe · Jun 26, 2024

Yoshikawa Nanami

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Cosmic Crusaders

School Day

Nanami was out of her seat immediately when the bell rang to signal it was time for lunch. She was quick to gather the bento boxes they brought from home, one for herself and one for her best friend, twirling around and strolling back to their seats. Shifting the lunches into one arm to free up a hand, Nanami grabbed Ken's arm and gave it a gentle tug.

"Come on, Kiki, let's find somewhere to eat." Her smile was bright as she met his gaze, releasing his arm to hold his hand instead, lacing her fingers with his. Nana hummed as she walked alongside Ken towards the door, "Do you think we'll be meeting up with anyone else? Or will it just be us today?" These questions were answered quickly, however, as she heard the familiar voice of Tetsuya the closer they got to the door.

"Oh, Okazaki-chan! It's good to see you. You were looking for us?" Nanami smiled as she looked up at her friend, tilting her head slightly to one side and knocking gently into Ken's arm as she made eye contact with Tetsuya.

AzaleaWonderland · Jun 29, 2024

Grace

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa Highschool, Class 3-B

PARTICIPANTS:

Who? (@gxxberkit)

School Day

A lovely melody bounced through the halls of her childhood home. The one she grew up in before her parents moved to the community. Grace moved from her room to the hallway. Most of the hallway was filled with hazy darkness except for the path towards the sound. The closer she got, the more comfortable she felt, like a cat basking in the warm sun. Upon reaching the final door, it glided open to reveal her two sisters playing the piano together. Grace smiled as she walked into the room only to hit her face into an invisible wall blocking her from them. Grace tried pushing into the room, and the darkness in the hall began to spread towards her. As the hall grew darker, the room grew lighter to the point of blinding before the darkness finally overtook Grace's vision. One final sound, a voice, "Do not be afraid."

The bell ring snapped Grace from her daydream. Upon exiting her daze, everyone had already ventured to their usual lunch spots. While Grace took out her lunchbox, she overheard the whispered gossip about Watanabe. 'Will Watanabe follow the trend?' is the most popular question in the mind of class 3B. Grace couldn't quite grasp what the point of talking about it was. Only god could know if she would stick around or not. But relief did pass over her as she wasn't the one the gossip was about. Grace immediately felt awful for thinking that way and quickly flicked her wrist to punish herself.

She stopped searching her bag as her heart sank with the realization. She forgot to bring her water bottle. With a defeated sigh, Grace got up and started the long walk to the vending machine. The hall to the vending machine was empty of any life, almost liminal if not for the windows that gave glimpses of students eating outside. Along the short walk, Grace lost herself in thought, considering which drink to pick. A loud thud from the window sent her body jolting back with fear and forced a scream from her lips. She quickly covered her mouth, looking around and hoping no one saw that. From behind, another sudden sound, a voice, "Do not be afraid." Her head snapped back to see no one, not even a mouse. She felt a chill go down her spine as she started walking at a quickened pace. From a mix of curiosity and fear, Grace glanced back at the window to see a bird returning to the sky. At least that sound wasn't some ghost. With a quick purchase, Grace wasted no time returning to the classroom.

Upon return, a box-fresh pencil rolled into Grace's foot. She crouched down and plucked it from the floor before looking around for the owner. She must've scanned the room five times before realizing that the pencil was from someone she swore she hadn't noticed in her four other sweeps of the room. What was her name again? If Grace remembers from the roster, she's pretty sure it starts with Ju. Walking over to her, avoiding cutting in the middle of the group around her, she held the pencil out to Ju? "Hey... I believe you might have dropped this, Ju~" Grace smiled, trying to pass her failed memory off as a nickname. Her eyes wandered to Ju's bento box where she was shocked by how plain it looked, though it still looked like it'd be good and was tidy, like a set of fresh towels laid out by a hotel. Trying not to fail at conversation she sputtered out the first compliment she could think of, "Neat bento."

BriiAngelic · Jul 12, 2024

Hasegawa Masao

SCENE MUSIC:

Yakusoku no Kizuna

LOCATION:

Amanogawa Highschool, Class 3-C

PARTICIPANTS:

Tateyuki, Yuuka, Kikuo

School Day

Her eyes sparkled as she overheard the sound of a story in the classroom. She didn’t know Miss Kikuo that well but she still found her stories to be quite the entertaining and pleasant experience. Learning more about the history under her feet had always been a big draw but she wasn’t sure if the class rep should be showing such clear interest in a club she wasn’t part of. She’d hate to hear any calls about favoritism. Instead, she merely angled her body to better hear the words the other spoke.

She stared at Yuuka with a silent plea in her eyes. It wouldn’t be too uncommon for Masao to fall behind in trying to get Yuki to open up some but today she felt as though if they were all to investigate they’d manage to have some fun. Hearing that some of the boys of the club were being sent off to the bathrooms to capture “energy” she wondered just what exactly Miss Kikuo had felt. She didn’t believe much for evil spirits but if they had tapped into an unknown well of magic?

Well, that sounded like something exactly up their alley!

Except… if it was in the men’s restroom.

“YUUUUUKI, YUUUKA!”

Even to those less familiar with Masao, it would be clear that her interest and energy had peaked. She squirmed in her seat before shooting up with enough force to knock her chair to the ground. In her eyes was the glimmer of mirth and curiosity.

“Let's hang out!”

If she had every intention of chasing a wild goose chase of a magical hunt… well they would know soon, wouldn’t they?

simj26

ATurei · Jul 13, 2024

YAMANOUCHI SUZUME

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Cosmic Crusaders

SCHOOL DAY

“Ah, the hero’s getting away! Get him, General Koebu!”

Suzume started awake with a loud shout.

“Oh?” She looked around and was seeing double through her half-lidded eyes, one hand unconsciously moving up to wipe the verging drool from her mouth.

After roughly five seconds to confirm her situation, Suzume was certain that General Koebu a.k.a Darkness of Jupiter, her loyal henchmen, was in fact not there, and that, sadly, all of her latest epic adventure had been a dream.

Instead before her was a scene of moving highschool students as they rushed to their usual spots for lunch, be it the packed cafeteria, the breezy rooftop, any given bathroom stall, or a vampire’s pocket dimension in someone’s shadow.

Reality is often disappointing indeed.

Except one of these couldn’t be true.

Who the heck would have lunch in a bathroom stall, anyway?

She was pretty sure that was just another nonsensical invention of the media. Not even someone with a rock-bottom self-esteem would suffer eating in a smelly place, at least according to her standards.

You would have to be drunk to even think of doing that.

Or doing something illegal while eating.

Though what exactly, her colorful imagination had yet to arrive at a coherent idea.

At any rate, characteristically of someone who had just been rudely pulled from her fantastical conquest of the solar system, Suzume stared blankly ahead, unsure of what she was supposed to do as a normal highschooler in a very normal highschool classroom during an exceedingly normal lunch break.

Normally she would be stalking the hero and his friends right now.

Ah, that’s right!

Thinking of stalking had reminded Suzume of her plan for the lunch break.

And so she pulled out two bento boxes from under her desk, one wrapped neatly in a silk cloth. When she placed it on top of the desk, there was the muffled sound of hardwood clattering on the surface. The other box, on the other hand, was a cheap plastic box with no wrapping, smeared on the side with traces of hastily wiped sauce.

Even looking at them side by side made her miserable.

In a stroke of genius, Suzume’s head was lighted up with a figurative light bulb. Right away she unwrapped the fancy box, then transferred the silk cloth to the other, rougher box. Now they didn’t look so different in quality anymore.

Though the question remained as to what that person would think of the difference in the quality between the boxes’ contents.

Not that Suzume was not confident in her ability, she had enough confidence for herself and some. But to her and in this instance, anything less than perfection would mean failure.

Towards herself, Suzume was both a mom liberal with her praises for her child, and a cruel task-mistress ever driving her slave to higher standards.

Curious how it worked.

Anyway.

She took a deep breath and stacked the bento boxes on each other, then rose from her seat.

But for all that she was eager to get out of the classroom, there was already a group blocking the way.

“Oi, outtamaway you stupid lovebirds! Why are you standing there with your heads together for? Discussing some crisis? Some supervillains in town? What do you think you are, a bunch of magical girls?!”

simj26 · Jul 15, 2024

Tateyuki Mitsurugi

CS Link

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa Highschool, Class 3-C

PARTICIPANTS:

Tateyuki, Yuuka, Kikuo

SCHOOL DAY

Every second spent here was another second wasted not training. In the end, this was all for nothing, especially if monsters continued to prey on the innocent. He had to get stronger, he had to get better, and learning how to speak English was not going to help any. Yet, he had been dragged over to school by Hasegawa. Apparently, there was something important today. Or that today was one of those days where he was forced to attend just for the sake of attendance. Either way, it soured his already dour mood. The fact that it had been Hasegawa who had pulled him to school did little to soothe his irritation.

Lunch break did not come soon enough. Still another half a day left. He pulled out his boxed lunch, and had only just started to unwrap it when Hasegawa’s new voice pierced his eardrums. Just when he thought he could enjoy some leftover karaage from last night in some solitude.

“Hasegawa,” he greeted her bluntly. “I’m trying to eat my lunch.” He appreciated her attempts at trying to pull him out of the darkness, truly, but he wanted to stew in it. Hatred and anger were what fueled him now. Stepping into the light would banish that hate for the monsters, banish his strength in that hatred.

But he supposed it would be rude to disown her in any way at all. She was making the effort.

“What’s the occasion?”

AriAriAbabwa · Jul 22, 2024

Class 3-A

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Ken, Nanami, Daichi, Suzume, Tetsuya

School Day

"Pssssst...!" It came as a barely audible whisper. Not a student seemed to have heard it, and if they did, they didn't bat an eye. "Pssssst...!" The second time, a few kids looked around. Which group did it come from? There was no way to tell. Besides, if it wasn't meant for them, why bother?

"Pssst! Psssst! Pshhhhhshhsh!"

"Who's doing that?"

"So loud..."

"Did you say something?"

It was a sheer miracle that none of them bothered to look out the window, where a frantic puffball of Ritsu flew circles in the air. "Emergency! Red alert! 110!" Her voice came from no exact location, but everyone in the classroom heard it.

"Seriously, who's saying that?"

"The window!"

A few looked outside, but there was nothing there.

"There was a white blur, I swear...!"

"Those video games aren't doing you a favor..."

Ritsu lifted a tile from the drop ceiling, peeking its rotund body over the edge and directly over the group. "Danger! Very big danger! Uber mega danger! Take cover!" She disappeared as quickly as she surfaced.

"Who is that?"

AriAriAbabwa · Jul 22, 2024

Class 3-B

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Junko, Kemari, Grace

School Day

After sending off the last student in line with a bright smile, Yamazaki-sensei buried her face in her elbow. Nobody in class thought or said much of it. But in contrast to the cheery demeanor moments ago, Yamazaki lifted her head drenched in sweat, and pale as sheets. She didn't say anything. The students were too engrossed in their own conversations and lunch to notice.

Yamazaki forced herself onto her feet, almost trembling off balance. It was when she slammed her hip into a desk that all the heads turned, and she groaned through gritted teeth.

"Sensei? Are you alright?" one kid asked.

She mustered a smile at her. "I'm fine... I... I just need to rest my head."

Yamazaki sped up, walking with an awkward hunch as her breathing hitched. But as she neared Grace and Junko, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell to the class' screams. Her arms slid across the desk, shoving Junko's bento onto the ground. She then woke up with a sharp gasp. "I-I'm so sorry, Yamanouchi-san; Watanabe-san," she uttered, breath shaking as she almost trembled from bowing to each of them. "I-I will buy you a new lunch... I just need to rest a little..."

She stumbled out of the classroom, going around the corner...

gxxberkit

Doctor Llamabean

AriAriAbabwa · Jul 22, 2024

Class 3-C / Mori Kikuo

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Masao, Tateyuki, Yuuka, Kikuo

School Day

"Mitsurugi-san." Kikuo appeared behind his shoulder, staring down at him wide-eyed and grim. Not even a crack of a smile. When she got up and moved? Nobody could be certain, but she came with a warning: "I sense a dark energy coming from your bento. Whatever you do, do not open it."

Then it rattled. Whatever was inside poked out, revealing... Ritsu. "Hiiiiiii~ There's no time to explain...! There's a disaster! An emergency! A catastrophe! We're under attack...!"

"Was that Yuuka?"

"That sounded more like Hasegawa."

"No way. That was way too quiet to be her."

Kikuo looked around first things first. Contrary to Ritsu's claim... It was pretty quiet. Not even her self-proclaimed spiritual powers could pick anything up other than Ritsu. Unable to rely on her senses, she turned to this group of friends. Though she didn't know them as well as she'd like to, they were all in the same boat. Their senses combined, she thought, nothing could hide from them...

Having not blinked a single time since popping up, she looked at each person and asked, "Mitsurugi-san, Hasegawa-san, Ishiokia-san, do you feel anything amiss?"

simj26

Roda the Red · Jul 26, 2024

HANDA DAICHI

CS Link

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa Highschool, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Ken, Daichi, Tetsuya, Nanami, Suzume

SCHOOL DAY

Matsumoto-Sensei's relentless torture felt like it lasted an eternity and a half, forcing his accursed knowledge into the innocent minds of the helpless lambs lines across the classroom. But not all was doom and gloom, as his malevolent chalk of doom hit the surface of his desk, signaling the end of his class. Daichi sighed, his body slumped against the backrest of his seat, his defeated gaze drifting into the brutalist grey shapes of the ceiling, pondering about the contents he'd just gone through.

...What was the class about, again?

He jolted back to reality, realizing that every bit of information delivered had escaped him, in from an ear, out from the other. Sweatdrops began to glisten on his forehead, the front legs of his chair clattering against the tiled floor as the seat leaned no longer. He reached out to the notebook sitting atop his desk, hoping that his notes had been plentiful this time around.

He groaned loudly, his forehead striking the hardwood desk with a dry thud. The boy's loud theatrics earned him the annoyed glares of a couple of his neighbors. He looked up, his squished chin holding the weight of his droopy, crestfallen body. "Well..." He looked to the side, catching a glimpse of his crusader comrades from the corner of his eye. "It's a great thing I have such good friends willing to give me a hand". He straightened his back, folding his arms and nodding with confidence.

His stomach evoked a powerful rumbling, a reminder for Daichi that the clock was ticking, and he only had so much time to fill his belly. Unfortunately his paren't had been on a sudden vacation for a few days now, and Daichi was too busy (playing videogames) to make his own bento last night, and if you expect for him to wake up early to cook, you might as well expect a house to grow legs. Reaching for his wallet, the metallic sound of coins rubbing against each other cast a smile on the boy's face, it was Yakisoba Pan day, baby!.

"OUTTA THE WAY, A MAN'S GOTTA EAT!" He shouted, breaking into a sprint and into his friend group, which at the moment inconveniently hogged the space from the exit. He planned to run past them, push them aside a bit if necessary. But if he was lucky, perhaps Ken might see this as an invitation for a challenge, leading to another episode of their usual wrestling escapades.

"HUH? RITSU?" Daichi's neck craned violently, looking over his shoulder towards the source of the alarmed voice. An unsupervised step became into a clumsy one, causing the young man to lose his footing and fall to the floor, rolling several times across the cold surface until he was at the feet of the group. "Kuh...What's going on..." Rubbing the dust on his nose, he slowly got back up with the grace of a lazy panda. "Hold on a second..." He paused, his eyes gleaming with sparkles. "ARE WE GONNA FACE YOKAI?!" Delivered with a pitch more than likely to attract unwanted attention, the boy stared with unbridled excitement at his friends, occasionally looking back to the spot where Ritsu was just a moment ago.

galvanismgal · Jul 30, 2024

Gerdy

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Grace

School Day

They say idiots don’t catch colds so maybe it was a silver lining Gerdy caught one even with her good constitution. Having missed a couple days of school Gerdy spent most of her day so far being a busy body asking to see other peoples notes in return for snacks and focusing on class. She didn’t even have the time to spare to work on her Ritsu fanfiction. Once the lunch bell rang Gerdy left the classroom to drop off some papers at the teacher’s offices and now was returning to her classroom with her heads in the clouds.

It was a good thing Yamazaki-sensei was still their teacher! Gerdy was pretty glad to see her still teaching their class when she returned today. It meant that the bet she had made with her brother after hearing the gossip and telling him about it was still in her favor. She didn’t really believe the rumor but Yamazaki-sensei seemed to be at the age where she might leave for multiple reasons like harassment behind the scenes. Florence always said the city was a dog-eat-dog world.

Speaking of eating she was looking forward to digging into her lunch. She heard on T.V that diet culture was in again so Gerdy only had two hamburgers in her lunch today. Cutting back a little bit might help her fit in more with her classmates and even though she would still be a bit peckish it just meant she had room if someone invited her out for snacks after school.

Ah, that reminded her that Mori offered her a spot in the occult club before but Gerdy didn’t really want to join it. While she enjoyed UMA’s and it was nice how bold with her interests Mori was joining it might tank the potential for Gerdy to be viewed as normal amongst her classmates so not being an official member was probably for the best. The going home club was the way to go! Gerdy did have a poster idea of the club she wanted to drop off but the small grumble her stomach made indicated that might be a task for tomorrow.

Hm? Gerdy heard some noise coming from her classroom and spotted Yamazaki-sensei leaving it before going around the corner. Maybe she should still catch her to ask for some clarification regarding the days she missed but…maybe it would be better to poke her head back into the classroom to see if she was going to miss any gossip that would happen since the teacher left the room after that noise.

Gerdy stuck her head into the classroom glancing to see if anyone motioned her over to chat with them and join the social wilderness that was high school.

NimbusWing · Aug 1, 2024

Yoko Ishida

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Cosmic Crusaders

School Day

It was clear that say that Class 3-C had an intriguing bunch of students placed inside. Wannabe occultists, a bad-tempered and foul mouthed ex-Kendo Club member, the epitome of positivity and school spirit, and Masao; a woman who wore her heart on her sleeve, placed with the burden to unite all of them as their class representative.

For one particular student, their breadth of differences didn't seem to matter. She felt like she was the one standing on top of the world, even though that was clearly far from the case. And if one heard the name 'Yoko Ishida', many a student will likely respond with a simple sentence.

'Oh. That spoilt brat?'

The well-dressed spoilt brat in question, Yoko, had sat down on her chair with a clear pout on her face, arms crossed and clearly was not showing signs that she was pleased with herself, an uncommon sight. Normally her lunch breaks were spent with the other members of the Textiles Club, but it was apparent that something was wrong. And no matter how much she tried to hide it, rumors surfaced in the form of devious background whispers.

'Is she ok? Normally she's so... loud.'

'I heard she's mad over the fact that she wasn't chosen as the new Representative of the Textile Club yesterday... serves her right.'

'Shhh! Be quiet! You don't want to hear her rant again...'

Yet Yoko didn't seem to react. Normally rumors like this she'd take to heart, but the fact that she had been rejected over another as the Club Representative was definitely an issue clouding her mind. She was the sole daughter of a well known name in Tokyo's world of fashion, and playing second fiddle was definitely not a good look for her reputation.

Thus for once, Yoko actually found herself moving away from her usual routine so that she could formulate a plan to get the club to change their minds... they had to have made a mistake, right? Just a little touch of her Ishida Elegance™ and some brand-spanking-new clothing designs would be more than enough to wow them back on her side and into being the new Club Representative!

She flicked out a notepad, tapping a ballpoint pen to the tip of her lips as she thought about what she could create next. She thought, and thought, and thought...

But inspiration didn't strike. Instead, that passionate spark that would flicker in her mind was bogged down by the loud voice of another. Somebody she knew of, but with complete honesty didn't really think much about. A decent enough woman from first impressions, but one who didn't hold a candle to Yoko in the fashion-sense department; that being of her class rep Masao, calling out to Yuuka.

Feeling rather deflated by her failed attempt to think up anything new, Yoko tucked her notepad back into the pocket of her jacket before heading over to the two ladies to investigate - at least Yuuka was always entertaining to be around, and perhaps that could provide some distraction until lunch ends...

However, just as Yoko reached the two, it was at that point that Ritsu made its debut appearance to the class, completely unbeknownst to the self-absorbed fashionista. What she did notice however, was two eyes beating down in her general direction, unblinking and unnerving. A shiver ran down her spine, before she slowed turned to face none other than Kikuo... a woman of which she had not respected... but feared. Needless to say, it seemed that Yoko had a previous run in with the Occult Club... and it left a bad impression on her.

"You again... What... w-what do you want?"

Mentions:

Lucem · Aug 6, 2024

KAWAGUCHI KEN

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Cosmic Crusaders

OPENING NIGHT

The floodgate holding back his accumulating exhaustion broke down immediately after the familiar school bell echoed throughout the building. His jaw stretched wide as he leaned back in his set, threatening to pop right off of his face as he let out a loud yawn that long overstayed its welcome. Somehow, he managed to keep awake during the lesson, despite the strong urge to take an uncomfortable nap on the cold, hard desk.

He was usually pretty good at keeping his energy flowing after an all-nighter, already used to depriving himself of sweet beauty sleep in order to balance work, school, and family duties. However, he was starting to learn that fighting monsters on behalf of a talking marshmallow-cloud thing on top of everything else really took its toll on the human body. If he still counted as human.

A lot of crazy stuff happened over the last month, and he hoped he wouldn't have to get used to it. While he didn't regret his decision, he still didn't want it to impact his life or anyone else's life more than it already had. It would be a dream if all those creatures decided to stop showing up, letting him get his life back on the normal track. This was a very sensitive, important time in his young life. After all, no monster could possibly compare to the looming terror of entrance exams.

He was a third year now, which meant he'd have to worry about college even more than before. All the costs, studying, and time investment really drove it home that his time as a kid was up. It made all the contract stuff extra inconvenient. Didn't yokai know how important the last year of high school was? He needed to be making memories while he still had the chance. It was really inconsiderate of them, but he knew it still beat the alternative. Like always, he'd just have to find a way to juggle it all.

As he prepared to force himself out of the chair he'd sunken into, he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. Taking a glance from the corner of his eye, he saw the unmissable sparkle of a wonderfully familiar smile. Instantly, the fatigue faded, replaced by unmatched vigor and a beaming grin as he practically launched out of his seat.

Once Nanami took hold of his hand, it had effectively been magnetized. It was locked in place now, unable to be wrenched free by the combined might of every last crusader in Ritsu's little army. Unless of course Nanami asked him too. Yeah, that'd probably do it. But she'd never do that! At least until lunch was over.

Dumb grin on his face and giddy as could be, he hummed a little tune to himself as he accomplished her, but it was quickly cut short when the path to nirvana was suddenly blocked. It took him a second to break out of his bliss-filled delusion of a perfect lunch, but he eventually recognized the gate guardian. Tetsuya made it over from his classroom pretty quickly.

"Oh, TeTe. What's up? You joining us for-" Before he could finish, Ken caught the whiff of a familiar odor emanating from his fellow night owl. It was a smell he'd become quite familiar with after uncountable hours of stocking shelves and heating up food.

Squinting his eyes and scrunching his nose a bit, Ken hooked a finger behind the boy's mask, pulling it down in one swift motion. Without skipping a beat, he then reached for the plastic container in his shirt pocket. After retrieving a white, pill-shaped morsel, he unceremoniously plopped it into his friend's mouth before snapping the mask over his face once again.

"Chew. It's minty fresh." He could pick up on that smell anywhere, and he was sure the teachers would have no problem doing so either. Luckily, he always happened to carry a supply of breath mints on hand or "emergencies". It was an important tool in his arsenal, but he was willing to sacrifice and part with some of his stash for a friend.

"I thought we talked about this, man." Before he could get too far along in his lecture, he was interrupted by a prickly aura quickly approaching the growing crowd at the door. He didn't even need to turn to guess who the voice belonged to, only knowing one person who talked like that.

"We're enjoying the springtime of our youth." Voice somewhat flat, he puffed his chest out a bit as he responded, slowly turning to look down at the twintail. "You should give it a try, MeMe. School life would be a lot more fun if you- oh? Oh, oh?"

Rather than continue with the retort he cooked up for his banter buddy, the sight of a second bento in the girl's hands caused him to switch gears. "Guess I had it all wrong. Looks like spring has come for you too." Palpable amusement and a dash of pride entered his tone as he nodded with a look of satisfaction "Congratulations." He would have clapped, but that would have required using two hands, and that was not a sacrifice he was willing to make at the moment.

There wasn't much time to give the momentous occasion the attention it deserved, as there was soon another interruption. He thought he was going crazy for a second, unable to find the source of the adorable little whispers. Honestly, he may have actually preferred that to what was actually going down, as he got an expected surprise when he decided to look up. The unmistakable pink fluff left as fast as she arrived, but it was still an unwelcome surprise.

Unlike the other monsters, Ritsu was visible to normal people, so little ninja antics could easily land everyone in a messed up situation. Did she seriously not have a better way to contact people? Could a superpower-granting spirit not get phone service?

Well, if Ritsu didn't end up giving herself away, Daichi would probably end up doing it for her. Almost immediately after trying to bulldoze through everyone at the entrance, the boy quickly recovered after taking notice of Ritsu, ready to take the spotlight. Ken loved the enthusiasm, but yelling about yokai and transforming in the middle of the classroom probably wasn't a good look for any of them.

Clasping his free hand over Daichi's mouth, Ken raised his voice a bit as he began to urge the herd outside. "Lunch on the roof? Sounds like a great idea, Chichi!" Hopefully Ritsu and the rest of the crew would pick up on the hint.

AriAriAbabwa · Sep 4, 2024

Mori Kikuo

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Masao, Tateyuki, Yuuka, Kikuo

School Day

Truth be told, Kikuo didn't notice the intimidated Yoko Ishida until she called out to her. Kikuo had been spaced out—her eyes not mirroring what she had seen. And as her unblinking gaze finally settled on Yoko, her lips curled into a smile.

"Hello to you, too, Ishida. Whatever do you mean?" she asked back, gliding across the classroom to her. "Our dear Ritsu just stopped by—warning us of danger. It's best that we respond, right?" Kikuo stopped before her, reaching out to pat the girl's head.

Whether or not Yoko allowed that, Kikuo turned back to the others. "That applies to you all as well. I am so very excited to brandish our 'forms' once again." Nobody else paid mind to Kikuo, too used by her eccentricities to think too deeply.

As if on cue, the earth shook. Students shot up, looking around frantically. It was only one tremor, similar to the minor earthquakes that struck Japan in the past. Some returned to their duties, while others sat under their desks just in case of aftershocks.

simj26

NimbusWing · Sep 4, 2024

Yoko Ishida

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Cosmic Crusaders

School Day

Still gripped with the panic caused by the mysterious words of one of her 'rivals', Yoko tried to piece together anything that would have made sense... but nothing really did. Fear is an emotion that stems from one's lack of knowledge of the unknown, and Yoko clearly had no clue what was happening. Between her accidental run-in with the Occult Club in the past, let alone what type of person Kikuo was, Yoko simply had no clue behind her intentions, her capabilities. To Yoko at that very moment, Mori Kikuo and everything she stood for seemed to speak for the unknown.

"Hold on just a minute... Ritsu? Danger? This is a high school, not a manga club! I'll have you know, as the daughter of the Ishida fashion legacy, that I don't wish for my patience to be tested, let alone for the fact that you speak in such a cryptic matter..."

Then she fell victim to a move that if likely performed by anybody else, would have likely resulted in a loud and pompous rant caused by the lonely young tailor. Kikuo did what was thought to be impossible. She headpatted Yoko.

She felt herself freeze to a standstill as Kikuo's long, slender fingers rested on top of her fluffy, well-kept hair. And yet again, it was not hatred or anger she felt, it was distress. It was one thing if somebody like Masao had done it. But Yoko's knowledge of the occult was nothing but paranoia, and that paranoia was enough to control her. In her mind, Yoko could have wondered what she had done to her with that single hand lay of a hand.

Was it a delayed attack? A spell? Or perhaps worst of all... a curse?

But Yoko didn't have the time to think about the physical contact, when the ground began to shake, violently snapping herself out of her fear-ridden trance - and causing her to stumble onto the floor, landing onto her bottom with a soft squeak.
"Eek! Umph!"

This was not her day.

Deflated by the sequence of events which countlessly barraged her that day, all Yoko felt like she could do was give in. She released a soft sigh. She removed herself from her seat, and proceeded to look towards Kikuo alongside Yuuka and Masao, still clearly fearful, but worn down. She just wanted whatever was going on over and done with.

"Alright then... fine. I'll play along with your silly games, but only because I have no other choice, it seems... now, if you may, please explain yourself, clearly this time. Because I haven't an idea the full extent of your dark magics... but if it prevents my demise, then I guess that I can't do much else but obey."

Mentions:

AzaleaWonderland · Sep 5, 2024

Grace

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa Highschool, Hallway Outside Class 3-B

PARTICIPANTS:

Gerdy (

galvanismgal ), Yamazaki (

AriAriAbabwa )

School Day

And with that fall, her one opening to begin the social conversation has been taken away by the cruel hand of fate. Grace's initial reaction was to help pick up the bento, but looking at the teacher, she wasn't sure. The teacher's staggered and sickly behavior was massively concerning especially since it was a complete switch from before. It almost reminded them of ... Hazumi shook her head, she didn't want to go down that train of thought in the middle of school. Either way, the best course of action seemed to make sure the teacher could get to the nurse's office.

Refocusing herself, Hazumi spun on her heel to dash after the teacher. But in her focused state, she didn't see the head that popped into the doorway before it was too late. Hazumi stopped her feet, slamming them into the ground attempting to stop herself. Instead, she toppled right over, crashing into the hallway.

That... hurt a lot. Hazumi pushed herself up, glancing around to see the face she previously missed. She brushed her hands against her uniform to brush any dust or dirt off them before apologizing to the girl. "I'm so so so so sorry! I was far too in my head and didn't even notice you at the door..." Hazumi bowed a comical amount of times. Grace's heart felt like it was being tugged between apologizing in-depth or making sure the teacher was safe. It took her a dozen seconds to decide that she could apologize more later. She decided it was best to make sure this teacher didn't leave the class because she collapsed while on the stairs. "Hi, teacher. Please let me escort you to the nurse's office.

galvanismgal · Sep 6, 2024

Gerdy

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Grace and Yamazaki

School Day

Lucky! It seemed like the gossip was hot the way her classmate Hazumi-san was approaching her. On a mission no less, real focus, was this the start of a shoujo manga moment? When she got her secret power Gerdy just knew something like this would happen and she didn’t even need to turn a corner with a piece of bread in her mouth. Of course, she did try that but she always absently mindedly ate it while in her fantasies about the moment to come. And it was here and gluten free!

Eh? It seemed Hazumi-san was really coming in hot?

Eh? Eh?

Slow to realize Hazumi-san wasn’t going to stop Gerdy was also slow at getting out of the way. She took a step back and then another when the ground trembled to steady herself. Out of the way but now too far away to help all Gerdy could do is watch as Hazumi-san took her tumble, just toppled right on over. That must have hurt but the most pressing thing on Gerdy’s mind was that people might judge her for not dramatically reaching out a hand in a futile effort to save Hazumi-san. If she knew her high school life would be over maybe she would have joined the occult club…by becoming a ghost. Her social death would surely be passed down to future generations as another cursed legend of the school.

“It’s alrighty ighty Hazumi-san,” Gerdy said awkwardly on auto pilot trying to cut the tension. She wanted to also apologize for not getting out of the way since it didn’t matter who was more at fault for the situation since they both were,” we can both just blame the tremor.”

She wanted to say more like if you have something on your mind I’m all ears! Just kidding I’m not just all ears but whatever was going on in Hazumi-san's head had her in it to win it. So…Gerdy just tagged along behind Hazumi-san. Gerdy had the power to help people now! Even if she was just some hick the magic that dwelled in her heart might be useful. She would smooth things over even smoother than her older sister said her brain was in her teasing.

Oh! The commotion must have been because their teacher was not feeling well. Maybe she was pregnant? Could that be the source of the rumor that she would be leaving for maternity leave?

“Do you need any more assistance or is three a crowd?,” Gerdy pipped up after Hazumi-san spoke while her brain T-posed to process the situation.

AriAriAbabwa · 2024-09-19T03:51:19-0400

Yamazaki-sensei...?

SCENE:

School Day

LOCATION:

Amanogawa High School, 3rd Floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Kemari, Grace, Gerdy

School Day

Yamazaki fell to her knees from the tremor. The students in the classroom let out a collective yelp, followed by blurred murmurings of "Was that an earthquake?" and "Do we need to evacuate?" But, with nothing following it, resumed their normal days. Completely oblivious to what went out just outside their door.

Yamazaki barely moved afterward, twitching every second. She coughed violently, sounding like a sickly person with phlegm caught in their throat. Her skin paled as one hand tried pulling herself up with the wall.

It was when Grace and Gerdy came up to help their dear teacher.

A dark, empty void replaced her eyes and mouth. Fog-like tendrils reached out from them, dissipating into the still air. A constant sound of exhalation began, though nobody could discern where it came from. When she spoke, all fell silent.

"T̸̡̛͚̹̠̖̺̯̙̫̥̙͇̺̪̈́̾̂̀͜͝͝h̷̨̳͈̳͑́̄̾͗̽͂͒̃̕̚͘͝a̴̧̬̻͚̬̯͓̣͇͎̹͚͍̬̲͆̓̈́̇̔̂̌̾̈́̀͆̚͘t̶̡͈́̉́̿̽͆̌'̴͎̪̦̯͚̔̎͜s̷̡̢̠̟̖̩͎̱͙͙̰̩̆͋͗̍̈́̉̎͂́̅̇͠ ̵̨̮̯͓͍̩̦̬͓̮̝̜̏̾͛̋̕͜v̷̺͙̯̳͉͒̆̽̓̎̉̅e̷̢͚̾r̵̢̨̡͔̹͇̹͈̩̣̪̔̄̉͒̌̐̽͒̾̏̓͝ͅy̴̛̰ ̸̧̛̼̲͖̞͇̓͋̒̿̇̾̒͌̽͊̍̆͘͠k̶̡̨̛̹̜͍̫̥͒̓̇̔͊̎́͜͜͜ͅį̶̛̟̯̞̬̞̼͎́̍͋́͗̉̽̀̆̂͘͘͠n̷̞͓͚̖͕̈́̓̀̄̉́̇́̄̓͒͘͝ḑ̶̡̨̻͕̞̼̦̪̠̲̫̖̙́͗͂̏̌̍͗̋͜ ̵̮̜̺͎̪̖͍̠̮̄ö̶͙͉̦͈͖͕f̷̢̨̰̲͕͍̬̯͙̜͇͛̍͌̆́̉̉̓̈́̋̂͠ ̷̯̞̮̰̩̥̜̱̤͗̇̂͊̉̈́̀͒y̵̨̥̫̾́̑́͋̓̀̉̈́͊͂̃͜͠ò̷̝̺̘͍̈́̏͜ų̵̡̳̮̥̯͙͈̇.̵̨̛̠̦̝̯̜̰̱̫͓̹̜̘͚́͊͊"

Yamazaki stood finally, leaning on the wall. As if nothing was amiss, she extended her hand to the students.

"Ị̴̢̧͖͓̯̠̹̟̭̟͚̬̺̺̟͎̩̗͕̰͇͊̓͗̾̋͐̎̽̽̈́̎̂̑̎͆̔̀̒̌̓̄̍͜͜͝͝ͅ ̶̧̛͍͈̯̙̹͚̰̠͓̯̩̾̈͒̓̈̈́̒̆̽͑̃̄̔̕͜͝ͅẘ̴̧̱͉͖̥̯̫̰̥͇͙̱̦̦͂͂͐̅͊͛̊̒̈́̀̅́͜͝ͅǫ̶̘̤̭̼͎̞̗͉͚̙̬̱̳̙͕͌̅̀͊͂̓̓̕ų̸̨̰͇͕͎̝̞̓͂́͊͐́̌̑̐͋̋̈́̊̓͆͌͐͑̓̎̚͝͝͝͝ļ̴̩̱͔̯̘̲̜̪̱͙̘͈͎̼̯̾̀͆̅̆̾̅̍́̍̓̈́̄̑̽̈́̓̍̃͂ḍ̸̱̺̇̀͐̇̔̒̒̓̋̄̔͐̿̀͛͠ ̵̧̨̢̛̯̜̪̳̲͖̯̮͎͚̜̻̥̺͈̜͎͉͒̅̾͌́̅̂͐͑̅͒̍̄̾̍̿̚̕͝͝n̴̢̦̗̣̖̻̱̺̰͕̥͔͕̖͕̹̣̞̭̘͕͖̱̩͎̱̑̍̔́͒͝ͅò̶̬̜̰̜̲̖͗̀͒͋́̓͛͒̋͊̊̀͋̍͆̇̚̕͜͝͝ṫ̷̛̛̘̣̘̗̪̖͕̣̹̘͂́̃͗̋̀̈̊͒͛̓̀̈́ ̵̛͈͕͖̱̗̺̼̻̽̌̃̅͌́̏͑̈́̒̀̿́̈́̒͊͌͊͌͋͒̉̑͘̕̚͝m̸̢̨̠̮̫̖̘̟̠̱̗͇̻̹͈͈̼͔̺̯̣̻͐̈̐̋̐͌̿̊̽̐̇̉͆͋̀̕̚̚̚͜͝ͅi̸̯̮̅͛͂̅͂͊̂̏̔̑̇ṇ̵̫̝̖͑͛͗́̿́̑̓͊́̆̂̌̇̊̑̒̔̐͂̕ď̴̡͖̹̲̥̘̤̫͇͔̦͚̪̥̱̲̫̬̓́͜͠ͅͅ ̷̡̡̳͉̫̤̙̫̬͉̫̪̞͕̻̫̼̱͓̅̏͐̃͂̓̕͜t̴̖͍̘̪̏͆́̾̉̇̅̈̽̾̌́̉͑͆́̄̈́͝ͅh̸̨̢̛̰̯̯͙̩̟̪̜̘͙̞̪̖͋̌̅̈̂́̽̄̈́̊͊̆̃̎͛̽͊̕͜e̵̡̧͕̤̙͓͇͐̉̉̈́̉͒̌̇͆̚͝͝ ̵̛͎̆̈́͂̈́́͛̉͐̌̋̋̾͗̈́̅̂̈͒͋̾̃͒͌͗̕͝͠ç̴̛͎͙̰̩̻͍̣̯̪̼͕͐̿̐̈̿̅̍̅̊̿̈́̚͜͝͝͝͝͝͠o̸̺͖̖̞̱̠̪̰̫̲̠̬͎͔̘͚͔̦̟̩̰̼̭͖̾m̴͉̀̂̀͂̒̊̀͆̏͗͊͂̾̌̚̕͠p̸̨̨̢̩̭̭͓̩̰̫̗̺̝͔̭̯̠̟͖̞̾͗̆ȃ̵͕̫͙͎̲̗̩̯̥̯̳̳̮̰̪̦͍͈͇̗̏̀̐̾́̅̔̐͐͜͝͝ṇ̶̡̛͍̠̰̣̟̝̲̭̬̥̱̔͊̎̂̋̈́͗̒̃͂̎̂́̈́̈́̿y̸̢̢̛̱̝̳͇̜͖͎̳̟̜͍͈̥͓̩͕͆̋̊͋̀͆͂̐̌̓̋͊͗͊̊̒̃͋̚̚͜͝ͅ.̵̡̧̛̗̲̭̦͉̩̳͚̗͎̮͙̲̼̃͌̌͛̓͂͛̍̍̿̄͆̓̚͠ͅͅ"