View source for 3084/Hiding Is Never the Answer

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/02/09
|Location=Plot Room #1
|Synopsis=Nanami has been ignoring her problems. They don't get better that way. Sayaka and Daisuke help her out, though!
|Cast of Characters=194,116,7
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:194|Twinsoul Newfoundland| (194)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It's been months since Nanami has been seen doing anything beyond going to school, and going back home. In fact that's what the dark-haired Seishou student is doing now-- walking home from school, her big, black dog at her side. Nanami is looking around, wary, even as Alcyone seems resigned, even a little sad.<br /><br />Even if this is what Alcyone is ''trained'' for, she knows there's more they ''could'' be doing, other magical people they ''could'' be helping. Still, the more she brings it up, the more uncomfortable, chilly, and ''quiet'' Nanami gets. Alcyone has dropped the subject like a bad habit.<br /><br />The inseparable duo make their way up to their building, trailed my people who seem to have come out of a bad middle-ages recreation (or a disturbingly ''good'' one...), hollow-eyed and watching Alcyone with an almost obsessive air. They've been following dog and girl since they left Seishou.

:'''{{#var:116|Phantom Ace| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Daisuke Hansuke had been keeping his eyes out for Sailor Earth. Venus seemed a little spooked about her. She hadn't shown back up yet. He hadn't seen her. Today, this afternoon, he was actually making a conscious effort to seek her.<br /><br />He doesn't find her, he does see Nanami Hamakawa though. Oh! The girl with the service dog. He hasn't seen her around much. He doesn't know about the magical stuff though. He begins to jog over when he notices the uh. Strange. People. Yeah that's different. He blinks as he waves. "Hey, Hamakawa-san." he says.<br /><br />"Uh. What's with the acting troupe following you." he says. There's something strange about them. He isn't placing it on his nose just yet though.

:'''{{#var:7|Puella Magi Sayaka| (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sayaka Miki has also been busy with school lately, not really doing much else besides the occasional patrol. And a lot of thinking about stuff. But that's neither here nor there. With an impatient sigh she rushed out of class, heading in the same direction as the girl and her dog..Her eyes widen at the sight of the cute dog, momentarily distracted from her own worries. "Wow what a cute dog!" she exclaims, quickening her pace to come alongside doggy, peering at it curiously. Finally she spots Daisuke, smiling and nodding to him. "Hansuke-San. How have you been?"

:'''{{#var:194|Twinsoul Newfoundland| (194)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Alcyone stops when Daisuke flags them down, ears back in obvious doggy distress. "...Don't mind them much, Hansuke-san, they're just jealous that I have Alcyone." It's true ''enough''. It just doesn't cover the extreme, soul-tearing grief that causes some of them to groan and try to crowd closer.<br /><br />Sayaka's interjection about Alcyone gets a weary smile from Nanami, and a loose tail-wag from the dog herself. "Thanks. Most people don't think a dog her size is ''cute''... I should probably get home, though. My parents get worried any time I change any kind of pattern."<br /><br />''Like suddenly not wanting to go out?'' Alcyone wants to say it. She ''really'' wants to say it, but there are people who don't know she can ''talk'' here.<br /><br />"Anyway, I'm going to try and outpace the 'theater troupe'." Nanami waves a little with her free hand, trying to act casual, casual, ''casual'', because it won't help to panic, and ''she'' is really part of the target here, so if she just ''gets away'', it'll keep Daisuke and the girl he seems to know from getting involved.<br /><br />As soon as Nanami and Alcyone start moving, the 'theater troupe' follows them, like metal drawn to a powerful magnet. Not creepy at all, no, especially not from people who look like their grasp of 'self-care' ranges from 'neglectful' to 'nonexistent'.

:'''{{#var:116|Phantom Ace| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Daisuke Hansuke blinks. They're jealous because you have Alcyone, he thinks in his head. That doesn't... make sense. Maybe. One or two people? But that's basically a small crowd following her. "Uh...." he's about to say something when Nanami continues onwards. Nrrrrgggg. He wishes Ikiko was here because Ikiko could talk to Alcyone and maybe find out what could be going on. He wishes he was Dr. Dolittle. Then he could himself. Instead... Nanami is being evasive on the issue.<br /><br />"Are you... sure." he finally says. He tries to get a closer look at the group and... what the heck? Something is wrong here. That look in their eyes is all wrong and... some of them smell awful. He blinks at Sayaka confusedly. Are.. they should. Do something? Maybe?<br /><br />"Hey uh."<br /><br />"Maybe we shouldn't be. Stalking girls. For their dog?" he says to the group. He feels this is a perfectly reasonable request.

:'''{{#var:7|Puella Magi Sayaka| (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sayaka Miki arches a brow at Nanami's nervousness, smiling and shrugging, trying to get her to relax. "I think all dogs are cute, big and small. I wish I had a dog.." she sighs wistfully, but then the girl is hurrying off and she glances over her shoulder at the theatre troupe, smile quickly fading. "Woah, who are you guys? Are you..Stalking her?" eyes narrow suspiciously now, deliberately placing herself between Nanami and the troupe.

:'''{{#var:194|Twinsoul Newfoundland| (194)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>This is most emphatically ''not'' what Nanami wants out of this. "Leave them alone. They aren't hurting anyone." Alcyone snorts out a massive dog-sneeze of derision at this statement. "It's probably because I've ''been'' ignoring them that there's so ''many''."<br /><br />Two of them shove at Sayaka, trying ''very hard'' to clear this obstacle between them and the Twinsouled dog in front of them. After all, they have a bond, cut loose, and two cut-loose pieces of rope can be tied back together, right? Even if that means they have to sever part of the other rope.<br /><br />Alcyone stops and turns herself, leaving Nanami wobbling dangerously for a minute. "Alcyone!"<br /><br />The only way this can get worse for Nanami is if her parents show up. Which, of course, they do, followed by a regularly-scheduled closing of the ranks from the Halfsouled around them, turning into a half-circle that keeps them all relatively close together. "...Crap." It's said with a massive depth of feeling.

:'''{{#var:116|Phantom Ace| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Uh..." okay this is getting hairy and weird as he eyes Sayaka again and says. "I'm going to uh. Go get help." he says as he gently makes a jog down the street. Then a run into an alley. Where he vanishes in a purple flash of teleport. Because he doesn't wanna be in the same place Sayaka changes because Daisuke still has a secret he'd like to keep.<br /><br />This is a job for The Ace.<br /><br />Phantom Ace happens to appear on the nearby building that Nanami lives in, in that purple mask that looks more like a lavender version of a Sailor V mask.<br /><br />"I see there is a gathering." he says as he makes a leap downward hands thwiping out with...<br /><br />Half of a deck of cards in either hand!? "What's a gathering without games. Here's my favorite. It's called...."<br /><br />"52 Pickup."<br /><br />Then he blaps a bunch of magical cards into the group of weird theater troupe goers. Let's make them angry at him for a bit, he figures.

:'''{{#var:7|Puella Magi Sayaka| (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sayaka Miki blinks and stumbles back, eyes widened in surprise. "Hey! what's going on?" she frowns and clenches her fists, "Hey, leave the girl alone! She clearly feels threatened by your presence! This is your final warning. If you don't back off, I'll have to get physical!" she does notice Dai running off and makes a face. "Hey! where are you..." but there is no time to worry as the troupe getting too close for comfort. Her fingers brush the ring, ready to transform at any moment.

:'''{{#var:194|Twinsoul Newfoundland| (194)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The appearance of Phantom Ace appears to irritate the theater troupe. Some of them even swat at the cards. Most of them, though, remain focused on Nanami and Alcyone. The brown-haired teenager looks between her parents and the Halfsouled around them, and takes a deep breath. ''She'' can't duck down an alley. ''She'' has been avoiding this for... far too long.<br /><br />She can't see another option.<br /><br />While Sayaka might be ready to transform at any moment, Nanami is transforming ''now'', frigid, salty water sweeping over her and Alcyone both, leaving them with the odd drops here and there in their hair, droplets on Nanami's black-and-white coat. Isamu and Kaoru are, needless to say, ''shocked''. Here's their daughter, and their daughter's ''dog'', swept by magically-appearing frigid water.<br /><br />The transformation frenzies the theater troupe, but Nanami and Alcyone-- Twinsoul Newfoundland-- ''walk'', between Isamu, Kaoru, Sayaka, and the Halfsouled. Water parallels their path, springing up in a wall that the theater troupe ''do not'' want to touch. "You might want to run," Alcyone suggests to Sayaka. "I think we can take care of them."

:'''{{#var:116|Phantom Ace| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The thing about weird half-souled people is that you probably can't charm them with dazzling smoothness and special effects. That's okay. The patent Minako method means you move onto step two when that doesn't work. That step is 'punch them in the face and/or fling magical cards at them.'<br /><br />So he draws his hand back and prepares to bury sharp Ace of Spades into the center of gravity of these things when....<br /><br />Nanamai transforms!? Well. That. Explains the weird people following her, as he purses his lips a moment. Water. Okay. He takes a deep breath.<br /><br />"Okay." he says. "How do we deal with these people." he asks to Nanami, who may have an idea more than he does.<br /><br />"Am I card flinging or do you have a better way?" he asks.

:'''{{#var:7|Puella Magi Sayaka| (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sayaka Miki arches a brow at Nanami's transformation. "Well, I wasn't expecting that.." she smirks and shakes her head though, perhaps not as surprised as she should be. "Don't worry miss, if you need help, I am happy to oblige!" and with that she steps back and is momentarily surrounded in blue ribbons and light which burst away to reveal Puella Magi Sayaka. She grins and strikes a pose, "At your service!"

:'''{{#var:194|Twinsoul Newfoundland| (194)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kaoru is ''gibbering'' at her daughter, incoherent noises mixing English and Japanese. Her daughter, who has previously been ''so'' vulnerable, is... ''not''. Is making ''gouts of pressurized salty water'' spring up from nothing, in fact. Alcyone talking ''does not help this''.<br /><br />"Can you guys herd them toward us? We can purify them." Alcyone is taking over the talking, knowing Nanami is pale and unhappy at having to deal with this at ''all''. "...And help us home? We're both gonna be exhausted after all of this." Nanami nods agreement to that, hand white-knuckled on the handle of Alcyone's harness. The Halfsouled definitely do ''not'' want to touch the water-wall, but it's dropping, fast.

:'''{{#var:116|Phantom Ace| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Phantom Ace is listening and when he hears 'herd them', he fans the cards inwards and back out quickly like a pro card dealer, and the Ace of Spades have become various Diamond Suits. He nods. "I can do that." he says. He isn't phased by talking animals. He knows too many to care. Fricken... cats and dogs and birds and ugh.<br /><br />He makes a leap at the building and sort of 'double jumps at the wall to get to the other side of the group. Teleporting is /slower/ as the Ace, but movement is /faster/. He then throws the cards at the downjump. They explode into a dazzling array of harmless sparks and noises--- he's trying to drive them towards Twinsoul Newfoundland. When he heard purify, he's assuming she'd rather not stab them with sharp throwy cards or explosive cards, opting for a very annoying and scary light show.

:'''{{#var:7|Puella Magi Sayaka| (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Puella Magi Sayaka nods and grins, "Got it!" she moves like a flash of blue light, leaping over the crowd to land behind them. "Cmon kiddies, you heard what the lady said!" she swings her sword out in a low arc, generating a low level flash of light before her, not enough to cause harm, only to hopefully startle/scare them enough to move quickly towards Nanami. At that moment however, her phone rings and she frowns looking down at it. "Geez...Sorry, looks like I got something important to take care of." she grins and nods at Ace and Nanami, "Looks like you got this, catch you later!" and with a smile and wave, she rushes off, leaping towards a building and swiftly vanishing from sight.

:'''{{#var:194|Twinsoul Newfoundland| (194)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The Halfsouled are going towared Nanami. They would ''anyway'', but Sayaka and Ace's efforts mean they do it ''faster''. It helps that Nanami is walking with purpose toward the group. That water springs up toward the Halfsouled again, this time just a jet of water surrounding the Halfsouled... and the dog-and-girl duo. It's difficult, with all those hands on Aclyone's harness-handle, but it doesn't take long before the Halfsouled vanish ''entirely'', Nanami and Alcyone both sinking to the ground in obvious exhaustion. "...I'm glad you were here," Nanami says to Ace, expression unfocused with complete, mind-numbing exhaustion.<br /><br />Isamu is moving toward his daughter, Kaoru on her other side, helping her get to her feet again.<br /><br />"...Did you know about this?" Kaoru is asking Ace, looking ''deeply'' concerned.

:'''{{#var:116|Phantom Ace| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Phantom Ace watches the... halfsouls vanish? What happened? Did they poof into nothing? Or go somewhere else? He doesn't know, for now- he takes a small step towards her as the parents beat him to it. He shakes his head.<br /><br />"I saw someone running from that way and decided to check it out." he lies.<br /><br />"But no, I didn't." it isn't a lie. He didn't know Nanami was magical until right this moment. "She seems to have taken care of them though." he says to them both. "Do you know if that's been a common thing? Or have you not seen those people before?" he asks.

:'''{{#var:194|Twinsoul Newfoundland| (194)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Isamu shakes his head. "No, never... but Nanami hasn't been telling us a ''lot'' of things." There's going to be Discussions in the Hamakawa household, but... later. When Nanami isn't looking like she's ready to fall asleep in the middle of the sidewalk.<br /><br />"''She'' has known about them for a while, but was hoping they'd just ''go away''." Her voice definitely sounds groggy, and Alcyone doesn't sound much better when she does speak up.<br /><br />"I can get home on my own... I'm too big to move on my own. Thank you for helping Nanami." Her tail thumps on the ground, slow whacks against concrete.
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