255/Pulling the Strings

Pulling the Strings
Date of Scene:	06 August 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Seishou Public School
Synopsis:	Reiko and Ikiko meet a pair of new faces at Seishou, one friendly and one dangerous: Misa and Maeko
Cast of Characters:	Hiroko Koumoto, Reiko Touyama, Ikiko Hisakata, Misa Sakagami

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Hiroko Koumoto has posed:
    Sometimes it's the little things that decide your future. Even in Seishou Elementary, a place usually shaped by the typical dreams and concerns of young children, you can sometimes find big themes. Epic tales of heroes and villains. Generations-long family traditions. Real battles to be fought with real consequences. For some of these children, these are the things that drive them. For other kids, though, the story starts small, with loneliness and jealousy and desperation. Though even for them, it's hard to say how things will end.

    Most of the kids here don't see it. It's 12:30pm on a Tuesday. School is out, actually, but the building isn't empty. It's not as busy as it usually is, no, but between remedial classes and club activities, students are finding a reason to be here. For their own reasons, Reiko and Ikiko find themselves on the second floor of the main building. But now it's time to leave. They might have plans, and why not? Outside, it looks like a beautiful summer day. The sun is bright, the sky is clear, and at this point, they might have a better appreciation for good weather than most.

    But little things can happen. You wouldn't think it, but even magical girls can be clumsy. Maybe. Halfway down the stairs, on their way down to the first floor again, Reiko seems to slip, finding herself flying forward in a decidedly less graceful fashion than usual. It's not a far enough distance to be seriously dangerous, but it just might hurt. A lot.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama is getting ready to go, sliding things into her backpack. The backpack, sadly, is not koi shaped. It is, however, orange. And then she's off. She looks out a second story window along her way out. A blue sky. That's good. Of course. She's slowly noticed that Griselda only comes around when it rains, it seems. Or rather, Griselda just draws storm clouds. Regardless, she's walking down the stairs. She hasn't noticed Ikiko turning the corner down the hall probably as she climbs the stairs down.

She mis-steps!

She begins to fall forward. She begins to fall towards the floor on the landing. "A..ahhh!" she falls down about four steps from the bottom and rolls heads over heal.

"Ekkkkkkkkkkkkk!" she lets out.

She ahhhhhhs! a bit to herself as she holds her leg. "Ah---ow!" she whines.

She's not really injured in any meaningful way, but she is dealing with the sudden onset of the first bit of pain.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata had been talking with some of the other members of the Animal Care club, checking in on various plans people had been up to so far this summer, and talking a bit about what to do during the upcoming term. Not a lot had been decided on, but it's still good to see everyone else.

As she steps out of the classroom that the club had been using, she spots Reiko starting to head down the stairs. Walking over to the stairs, she hears the younger girl yelp, followed by the *thump* of someone falling down. Running the last of the distance, Ikiko looks down the stairs, wincing at the sight of her friend sprawled on the ground.

"Reiko! Are you okay?" she asks, hurrying down the stairs to the younger girl. "Where does it hurt?"

Hiroko Koumoto has posed:
    You can find a mundane explanation for just about anything if you search long enough and rationalize hard enough. In this case, though, you don't need to do either. The floor beneath your feet is clean, shiny, and a little slick. Maybe they waxed them last night a little too liberally, and with the lack of foot traffic, the sealant didn't get properly worn down. That would make sense. That's AN answer. Is it THE answer? Maybe.

    Or maybe not. Most people don't see it, after all: the little things. But it's /probably/ just the floors. Because Reiko's not the only one having problems with her footing today.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Maeko was going to do something dangerous at school today! She had been being particularly vicious in her whisperings to Misa during her class, and she just /knew/ something was going to happen. Especially when Maeko had been running off instead of just lingering in Misa's vision! As such, Misa had been following where Maeko was going, the cursed doll having been moving in its' teleport-like way just at the edge of Maeko's vision. When she got to the stairwell... there was a sinking feeling in Misa's stomach.

     Oh no. Was Maeko going to do something to someone at the stairs?! That might kill someone! And Misa didn't doubt that Maeko would, in fact, do just that if she had the chance! As such, Misa was running as quickly as she could u...Ow...</span>" She mumbles under her breath, before looking towards Ikiko and Reiko. She was just in sight of them as well. "...Are you two okay..?" She asks, her voice coming out quiet as she begins to push herself up to sit, rubbing at (and subtly adjusting) her jaw, which had a tiny little fracture in it, like a porcelain doll... her hand was over it though, hiding that crack as it regenerated closed again.

     At the top of the stairs, peeking around the corner of the stairwell... Maeko was standing. Her broken lifting over her lips as a quiet little snicker is possibly briefly heard. However, when people looked... there would be nobody there to have done that snicker. Misa, however, did see her.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama is doing that rock back and forth motion. But eventually the pain subsides. "Yeah...I'm okay. I didn't fall all the way down. Just a little bit. She stands back up with a wince. "Nothing's broken.". She looks over at Misa as she falls down. She blinks blinks. "Maybe sprained. Ow." she says a little bit as she tests putting stress on her right foot. She doesn't notice anything particuarly wrong about Misa.

Yeah. That hurts. But it isn't unbearable.

She hears a snicker and looks up the stairs.

Nothing is there when she looks up.

If this Stairway is haunted she's going to henshin and nope out that window. Then again. It could just be the acoustics of the stairwell or something catching a student's giggle a little bit down the hall too.

She taps her chin. Did anyone else hear that?

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata smiles slightly towards the new arrival. "I'm okay; I was just checking on my friend," she says to Misa. "Are /you/ okay? Falling up the stairs isn't as bad as falling down them, but it still hurts."

She glances from the corner of her eyes towards the source of the giggle, but spots nothing. Could be a simple trick of the acoustics, or maybe she's just listening better than normal. Either way, there doesn't seem to be anyone there that's actually giggling.

"Need a hand, Reiko?" she says, crouching slightly in case the younger girl would prefer to lean on her instead of the unjured ankle.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Oh good! Reiko wasn't majorly hurt. Misa gave a softly relieved exhale. Why she was so relieved might be a bit strange and questionable! Maybe she was just that kind of kind I came to try to help and ended up tripping myself. I must have really bad luck, eheheh.</span>" She mumbles awkwardly, slowly standing and making her way over towards Reiko.

     She looked like she wanted to offer Reiko a hand uA-ah, I'm fine... just hit my jaw a little, but I recover pretty easily because I trip and such a lot anyway.</span>" She says, watching as Ikiko offers help to Reiko. That got another little relieved look from Misa.

     Maeko was nowhere to be seen when they glanced, though when they looked away again, Maeko was there again, looking from another part of the rails, watching Ikiko and Reiko interact with Misa in utter silence. That feeling like they were being watched was there ... but Maeko always seemed to not be there when anyone looked. Sometimes, it made Misa question if she was just crazy.

     Misa's gaze carefully stays on those two, instead of on Maeko. "Do... you need me to go get the nurse? That looks like it hurts..." Focus on them, don't focus on Maeko. Don't let them know Maeko is there by looking, that will keep them safe. That quiet little mantra going through the back of her head, it made her look a bit distracted and awkward.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama ahs. "No...Ikiko. I'm okay." she says as she rubs her leg. "I'm not hurt that bad." she says as she rubs her arm a bit. She looks at Misa. And blinks. "I don't think. We've met." she says to Misa. "My name's Reiko Touyama!" she says. She bounces up a bit when she says her name. Then her glasses unhinge suddenly at one of the arms. She blinks and gasps!

"Oh no.... t..they must had broken in the fall!...."

She takes her glasses off her face and frowns down at them. "Nrg... dad's going to yell at me now when I get home over this." she says with a sudden tone of utter resenetmet for some reason.

She looks over to Ikiko. "Thanks for checking on me Ikiko." she beams at her.

Wait. Is something watching them. She looks down and up the stairs. Nope.....

NOthing. Reiko seems paranoid about something visibly, but isn't otherwise expressing her concern.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata glances around. Something feels... /off/. Not quite at the level of wrongness, but enough to make her feel wary. And Reiko also appears to be on edge from something? But the other girl doesn't seem to be uneasy. Distracted, perhaps, but not uneasy.

Maybe it's just a magical girl thing.

"I'm Ikiko Hisakata," she says to Misa with a nod. "Say, aren't you in the other fifth grade class?"

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa gives a very small smile and nod towards Reiko when she says she's alright. "Ah... I only joined this school about a year ago, so we must just be in different classes. I'm Misa Sakagami." Misa says towards Reiko, dipping into a polite little curtsey. She had ... a slightly odd accent.

     And... broken glasses! She frowns a bit as she looks at those broken glasses. She thought a bit, wondering if she could fix it with her magic! But she couldn't do that without revealing that she could /do/ magic. And Reiko glances back towards the stairs! ... Actually there probably was someone there, another student or some such looking worriedly, but since they seemed to be fine and just chatting... they're gone soon enough.

     "Here. I think I might have some tape to hold it together." Misa says, rummaging around in her bag for a few moments. Don't ask why she had taI... think we're actually in the same class. I just don't end up talking or speaking up much, so you might not have noticed me.</span>" Misa says softly, rubbing the back of her head. "But I'm not sure." Actually, Misa /was/ in the other class, she just had such a hard time focusing in class... she probably had some of the worst grades in the school, really.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama accepts the tape and smiles. "Thanks, Misa-san!" she says as she she uses the tape to begin to take the arm back to the glasses. A little wrap around. The glasses arm can't bend- but they'll fit back on her head. She can't see very well far away without them. She offers the tape back after she fixes.

"I'm in... the 4th grade. So. I wouldn't meet you in class." she blushes a bit. "But thanks again!" she says.

Her demeanor calms down a lot.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata shrugs slightly. "Either way, pleased to meet you, Misa!" she smiles. The accent might be odd, but it doesn't bring up a question. On the other hand... "Where did you move here from, if you don't mind my asking?"

The feeling of being watched seemed to have faded slightly, at least for now. Still, Ikiko makes a note to herself to keep an eye on these stair for a few days, just in case the feeling comes back.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa gives a small smile towards Reiko. Good, the taYou're welcome! Not being able to see would probably be unpleasant...</span>" Misa says towards Reiko. The mention of being in the fourth grade got a small nod. Reiko looked older than her though, in her oI'm glad you two are alright. Try to be careful... there seems to be a lot of bad luck in this school for some reason.</span>" Misa says. It was a lie. She knew exactly why there was bad luck in the school. It was her fault...

     "Ah... uhm. I've been all over. I was in sapporo last... but I haven't been moving for a couple of years. I just was being kept out of normal school until my parents adopted me." Misa says matter-of-factly. She waves towards Ikiko. "I'll see you around at school, I'm sure. I need to get to my next remedial class." Misa says, quickly continuing on her way up the stairs. So that she could take her 'bad luck' away from Reiko and Ikiko.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama adoption....? Reiko's eyes soften. She might not like her parents.... in fact. She comes very close to resentment with them. But at least... she has them. She shakes it off. It'd be rude to ask about it, or apologize for it, or anything else about it. "It's nice to meet you...!" she manages to say as she leaves up the stairs. She looks at Ikiko. She smiles!

"She was super nice! I don't need someone to lead me home now!" she giggles.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Take care!" Ikiko calls to Misa as the older girl heads off. She smiles back at Reiko. "Yeah, I'm glad we met her," she nods.

She glances around; good, nobody else is nearby. "I'll still walk you home, just in case your ankle gives you any trouble," she remarks conversationally, glancing around once more for good measure. Satisfied that there's no-one else within earshot, she murmurs "Besides, these stairs are giving me the creeps, and I'm feeling wary about it."