It has been a few weeks since the storm that seemed like it would never stop. In the face of that threat, Tokyo organized and united. On the ground, those mundane keepers of law and order did their best to protect lives and preserve property. Above them, in the sky and on the roofs of the city, those more magical citizens of Tokyo, and other worlds beyond it, stood firm to address the real threat. They perhaps prevented an even greater calamity, but that doesn't mean the city doesn't still bear scars. A lot of damage was inflicted, and there's still a lot of work to be done to fix it. Homes need to be rebuilt. Businesses need to be reopened. And as much as good will and organization are already helping, there's a second ingredient that's necessary.
Money. Some international aid has come in, but there's more needed still, demand that will have to be met by locals. And so there are meetings like this one. Around the city, in places like this, those citizens who control Tokyo's bigger private purses mingle: socializing, swapping gossip, politicking. It's all in the name of a common cause, one that people here tend to participate in either out of genuine generosity or social expectation and fashionability: charity.
The Augusta Hotel is one of the finest venues in the city. This particular gathering wasn't quite big enough for the Grand Ballroom, and so you find yourself in a large meeting room on the 19th story; it's the second-highest floor, only the roof lounge above. The hotel was spared the worst of the damage in the storm, but the western wall of this room is a large window that stretches from floor to ceiling. Looking down from it, you can see the damage in the city below. Broken windows en masse on older, less-reinforced buildings, now sealed only with sheet plastic and tape. Streets lined with the hulks of cars now inoperable, totalled by flood damage. Street-level businesses still boarded. Even a subway entrance still taped shut while they try to fix drainage pumps that failed.
It's 7pm. The party is just starting, and it will go late into the night. In this room, people swirl. It's just barely a crowd, perhaps a little over seventy guests, with a small army of wait staff attending on them. The guests are mostly adults above the age of thirty-five, all of them decked in their Sunday best: lots of elegant black dresses and well-cut tuxedos to match. Flashes of color are seen here and there in haute couture dresses: those are the socialites and trendsetters who set the tone for these meetings, elegant women who are a little more adventurous in their fashion.
The conversations here reek of money and privilege and power. A group of men in one corner quietly discuss where disaster relief funding should be allocated. Trying to help in their own way, though one couldn't be faulted for thinking they were picking economic winners and losers. Do they even have a say in that? In this room . . . maybe. Women in another corner speak quietly, gathered around a fierce-looking lady in an aggressively-cut power suit, a tense conversation centered around her. She's one of the vanguards of Japan's still-emerging female senior executive class, and they're her colleagues; strength in numbers. Swirling around elsewhere is the usual moneyed gossip, about as nasty as the schoolyard. Sharply contrasting with all of that those are those underfoot. Wandering around, perhaps seeming a little out of place, are the children of this set.
Chouko is just getting off the stage. It wasn't her usual style of music tonight. Something more formal, more somber, to fit both the seriousness of the fundraiser and the affectations of the crowd. Hoshi and Reiko are together; they didn't expect to meet Chouko here, but here they are together. Hoshi's parents were invited, of course, and she wanted a wing girl to prevent this from being the very most boring thing in the world.
And finally, in a corner, Hiroko. She doesn't quite look her best. She occasionally draws a black lace kerchi
And finally, in a corner, Hiroko. She doesn't quite look her best. She occasionally draws a black lace kerchief from her a small leather clutch to cough into. It's not a surprise; there's a lot of illness going around after the storm. Around her are three adults. She's regaling them with some story. They don't seem to notice it, but to a child's eyes, it's clear she's not into it. She's doing it because she has to, to keep up appearances. Hoshi and Chouko know that routine all too well.
And so the night begins.
Hoshi, for her part, both loves and hates these kinds of gatherings. She loves them because there's so many interesting people, who say such interesting things. She hates them because most of these people ignore her, and so she tends to end up getting bored with no-one to talk to a lot of the time.
That's why she invited Reiko along, and apologized for doing so while extending the invite. She doesn't expect this to be much fun for Reiko, but she hopes that it won't be too bad; and at least it ought to be a little better for Hoshi with a friend her own age here.
She's noticed Hiroko, but despite their similar ages and social circles, Hoshi doesn't know Hiroko all that well; and doesn't quite want to get Reiko anywhere near the notorious bully, she doesn't see it going very well. Instead, she tugs on Reiko's arm to approuch Chouko. "Chouko-chan, I didn't expect you to be the entertainment. It was lovely." She greets the other girl cheerfully, whether Reiko follows along or not. "How are you doing?"
Reiko Touyama had just the right clothes for the occasion. It wasn't /fancy/ persay, but it was classy enough to pass for clothes. Hiroko would remember this outfit as 'the one she helped Reiko pick out'. Didn't Reiko own anything classier? Probably not. Her parents never took her to any of the functions they went to. This worked for now.
Not having fun?
Well. Reiko is enjoying herself at this event- is it her element? No, not even a little and that's why she's THANKFUL Hoshi is here because lord she'd be hiding in a corner and staying away from everyone!
"Chouko-chan!" she beams. "That was amazing!" she beams widely.
She then calms down.. "I mean it was lovely!" she says softly. "You're really good..." she says.
She looks around a moment and huhs. "Lots of people here..." she mutters. Important, rich looking people.
Chouko doesn't really like these sorts of get-togethers either. Particularly not when there are people STARING AT HER! But her mother thought it was a good way to get her name out there, if she was associated with disaster relief, helping people, and all that philanthropic stuff. Sure, she was terrified being up there. But she'd rather deal with that than her mother's displeasure. That disappointed look is almost more than Chouko can bear.
But, that does mean she's gotten REALLY GOOD at ditching her mother. Which is just what she's done as she meets up with Hoshi and Reiko. She sighs, relieved, and looks to the pair of them. "I didn't expect to be the entertainment until just before it, either..." she notes to Hoshi quietly. She offers a smile to Reiko's praise. "Thank you..." As for there being a lot of people here? Chouko nods. "A lot of people with money. There's a lot of rebuilding that needs to happen, and they need a lot of money to make it happen."
The gray-eyed girl finally breaks away from her throng of pseudo-admirers. Most likely, their interest in her is questionable. She's a prodigy, yes, and a public one at that. Her raw talent is very likely matched by Reiko. Maybe the orange girl would exceed her with the formal training Hiroko gets. But Hiroko has rich parents who push her work, so instead of a reserved amateur mangaka working with her school friends, she's an "up and coming young artist coming into her own as a true force in the scene, a budding master in her medium." It's a pretty grandiose label; plenty of girls like her flame out before they reach adulthood. But maybe her talent really interests the people who talk to her. Just as likely, though, they talk to her because it's a social nicety required to suck up to her parents. Does she know that? Probably. Girls like her are a little too privy to the quiet cynicism of this world.
But she has niceties to attend to too. Free now from the attention of adults, she cuts a quiet path toward the gathering friends. Congratulations are in order for Chouko. She's elegant, in a childish way, walking with poise, wearing a black dress for tweens that's sophisticated without being too old in cut for her. It works well with her hair, her best trait. She's good at this, at the image of this scene. She's not as good at what comes next.
"Murasaki-san." Always with the formal names. A slight bow is extended too, deep enough to be respectful without being deferential. Her face doesn't betray any meanness, but it rarely does. "You did a good job entertaining the guests. I'm glad you were able to bring your parents along too. I usually don't see them in gatherings like this."
Mean. Girl. To the end.
No, it's not overt meanness. That's not her style. That's why she gets away with it. She's never violent or openly insulting. Instead, she's the girl who knows your history somehow via gossip or research, who picks at your weakness, who blindsides you with the ruthless gutpunch. The subtext of her backhanded "compliment" is clear. /Yeah, you can sing. But you're here to entertain us, and your low brow parents are only present because they're dragging behind on your coattails./ The sad part is, Hiroko doesn't even seem to be trying. That makes it even worse. She didn't walk over here to make Chouko feel worse. That's just her default. She's just a bitch who looks down on people, whether she's trying to be or not. And Chouko might recognize her meaning; she has seen it from Hiroko's family before.
There's no guilt on Hiroko's face, nor does it look like she particularly fears the blowback from the girls next to her. This isn't the time or place for raised voices, after all, and even if it were, she'd shrug it off or use whatever material she's dug up on them. She often seems to have that in reserve. Why is she like this?
"Koumoto-san," Chouko returns, since the other girl has set the flavor of the evening-- formal! She bows in return. "Thank you. I'm glad to have provided some sort of entertainment. Maybe it'll cheer people up a little." If Chouko notices the instinctual meanness from Hiroko, she doesn't mention it or many any indication of it. Unless that comment was her retaliation-- namely that at least Chouko's trying to make people happy instead of being a grumpy gus! But, again, it's impossible to tell, since that doesn't really seem to be entering her tone, or expression. She just has a small, subdued smile on her face.
"I see you've been showing your sketches to some interested people, Koumoto-san. Do you plan to make it your career?" Hoshi can play that game too, the implication here is pretty clear to those versed in these barbs, although she hopes it passes Reiko by entirely. 'Is your family getting so poor you need to worry about producing goods to get by?' Calling them sketches instead of art is itself a barb.
"Perhaps Murasaki-chan can help you figure out how to best market your skills." Here the barb is equally obvious 'people aren't impressed by you, they are by Chouko.' "Of course we could talk about something else if you wish." Translation 'if you drop the barbs, so will I.' She doesn't like this kind of talking to others, even though she's practiced at it.
"Murasaki-chan, you're right. There's a lot of money here, it's for a good cause." She doesn't mention the contributions of her own family, though they're no doubt sizeable, not to mention her father is good at smoozing more money out of other people. "Touyoma-chan, perhaps my father could set up an auction for some of your works?" Not sketches, works.
Infinity tries every year to grab Reiko. And everytime she tells her parents the same thing. 'I don't want to leave Mei behind.' and this has worked. She no longer has this excuse. What's going to happen when her parents envitably bring it up when the teacher comes by with her most likely exceedingly passed entrance exam? She'd be on her way to studying art as a carrer then. But... she can do that anyways right? And she's only ten... eleven this month later!
Oh dear. It's Hiroko. Her demeanor changes from happy and wanting to be all congratulatory to Chouko to sour and upset fairly quick.
She looks to see how Chouko reacts. She smiles a little, yay! Chouko isn't taking the Hiroko bait! Good on her!
Oh man is Hoshi laying the verbal beatdown!? She is. Oh lord she is. Part of her wants to laugh out loud but she contains herself. She smiles just a little, before she gives Hiroko a frown and a sigh and manages to summon up. Something.
"Hello, Hiroko-san. How are you?" she asks softly. "This is for a good cause. It's good to see you here." is all she can say. Yeah. Everyone else is so better well spoken. She's just good at listening.
Hiroko's eyes narrow at Hoshi. She has never particularly been one to back down. Not without getting a last word in. "I didn't realize you weren't aware, Murasaki-san. I've already shown my work." "Shown" might be a stretch, though it is true. She's not broadly famous by any stretch, merely well-known in circles that follow her medium, nor has she ever had a major art display centered around her. She has featured at exhibitions of young artists, though, and she has sold a fair number of pieces. A few of her standouts might even be sitting in a corner in small commercial galleries. Still, that's perhaps not bad, at the age of ten. "Perhaps you should ask Touyama-san about the realities of the art world before you speak out of turn. She is actually knowledgeable about such things." That retort is a little more on-the-nose, which speaks to the fact that Hoshi's words might have hit home, at least a little. There is an ugly reality there, after all. How much of her success is due to her talent, and how much is due to her connections? What could a girl like Reiko due with her resources, with her tutors and family friends? The same, easily. Perhaps more.
The black-haired girl just might be about to return fire, but she doesn't quite get the chance. The lighting suddenly shifts, most of the room darkening as a few heavy-duty recessed lights in the ceiling shine focused spots on the small platform that's functioning as fundraiser's stage. On the stage, a young man in his twenties starts to speak. A hired MC. Does a gathering of this size need one? Perhaps not. Certain egos certainly do. "Esteemed guests. I would like to welcome the two women that have made this possible." It's not going to be . . . No. Of course it is. Who else would it be, in this crowd? A long-winded introduction ensues as two women approach the stage, numerous accomplishments listed for causes both relevant and irrelevant. Smiling, as if they were the best of friends, Hiroko and Hoshi's mother hold hands cordially and wave to a hired photographer. Photo op. Then the speech begins, the two of them taking turns. You've heard this one before. Cooperation, time of need, helping those less fortunate, smart money, targeted aid, blah and blah and too much blah. They're going to be going on like this for a while.
Are those two women even friends? Who knows. The shared contempt between the Murasaki and Koumoto families is well-known, but the Koumotos and Koganes? That's harder to say. Both are old money. Both are families with social butterfly mothers, fathers of note, and accomplished daughters who make good fashion accessories. They might like each other because they're alike. Or they might hate each other because they're alike. Old money is good at hiding that kind of rivalry.
The two women give a particularly clever line. Everyone starts clapping. Hiroko does not. She just narrows her eyes, a hint of real emotion finally peeking through. Bitterness. It's not clear whether that's directed at her mother or Hoshi's. Whatever the feeling is, she's suddenly done verbally jousting with the girls around her. She gives a second polite bow to them. "Excuse me. I need some fresh air. Please enjoy the rest of the evening." Nobody really notices if children slip out in moments like this. They usually strategically position themselves near the door for this reason, anyway. And Hiroko takes full advantage of her chance to exit. Without saying anything else, she's gone, headed for the elevators. She's in luck. One arrives as soon as the button is pushed, the door closing a moment later. It's not clear where she's going. The up/down indicator is gone before anyone can follow.
The roof, maybe? That's a good place as any for the girls to escape. It's big enough that they can steer clear of Hiroko, if she's there too. It's either talk in peace up there, enjoying the night air, or stand in silence and watch a boring string of self-congratulations on stage.
Chouko emits a bit of a sigh, her shoulders slumping a little, as Hiroko disappears into the elevator. Maybe she did notice the meanness after all? But one of the things she was taught in 'blooming the idol', so to speak, is not to return that sort of emotion. It's rude, and rudeness can cost you fans, after all. And losing fans means losing money. Her effective years as an idol are already limited...
Instead she turns a look at Hoshi and Reiko. "S-so, um... I'm glad you got to come and hear me," she offers instead. "It... it's been a while, so I'm glad you can see what I was doing all that time..." It's offered only to fill the silence, even if the words and the sentiment behind them are true.
Hoshi reaches out for Chouko to offer a gentle squeeze around the waist, nothing quite as overt as a hug, but still a gesture meant to offer emotional support. "Don't mind Koumoto-san, I don't think she knows any other way to talk." In a sense, it's calling Hiroko a bully, but in a non-accusatory manner.
"I'm glad we got to hear it, Chouko." She smiles, encouragingly, and heads for the elevator herself, pressing the button indicating she wants to go up. "Let's get some fresh air, okay? I think we deserve it." She looks towards Reiko, "Right. Rei-chan?"
Reiko Touyama purses her lips and frowns as she crosses her arms. When Hiroko's gone she begins making mockery "'Maybe you should ask Touyama-san about the realties of the art world...'" she says as she rolls her eyes-- but only when she's gone. "Jerk..." she mutters. She looks over to Chouko and blinks. Ohh yeah Reiko is totally full of tactful insight---maybe in a bizarro dimension where Reiko has tactful insights.
"Oh! Chouko, it was awesome!" she says leaning forward with wide eyes. "I'm just glad you're back!" she says with a soft bounce to her feet, upwards.
She looks to Hoshi and nods matter of factly. "Right, let's get to the roof, it'll be nicer outside anyways!" she says. "And I bet there's a nice view up there too~" she teases a little sing song-like in her tone.
A single pair of large double doors allows for a quiet exit, the footsteps of hard-soled girl's dress shoes going silent as the heroines step out into the carpeted hallway. Behind them, the speech is still going strong. A mildly funny joke is told on stage, though it's hard to hear what it was. Laughter follows, half-polite and half-genuine.
It's only a brief walk to the elevator, but it's a rather long wait for the doors to open. None of the elevators were waiting on the roof, it seems. It's not clear where Hiroko went, but perhaps thankfully, it doesn't seem to be up there. Inside, one sees the same kind of finely-appointed interior that the hotel is known for--perhaps a bit too much filigree for just an elevator--but the trip lasts only a few seconds before the girls find themselves stepping out onto the roof.
It's nice out here. While Walpurgisnacht certainly wasn't kind to the city, a certain freshness persisted after the rains and winds cleared. Even tonight, the sky above is clear, and the air seems fresh; it's a tad on the cold side, but still warm for a winter night. And the roof itself is perhaps strangely vibrant for the top of a skyscraper. This is a place for relaxation and enjoyment, a little slice of nature without having to step outside the hotel's doors. Some of the elite guests who stay here likely prefer it that way.
It's green. There are a few trees planted here, as well as several finely-manicured bushes. Some of them are even flowering, likely brought in for the winter specifically for that reason. Scattered about, a few short plants set into high mounted planters might catch Chouko's attention, even though they're not blooming right now: it looks like Milkweed. At the edge of the roof, a railing capped with safety glass allows a view of nearly the entirety of this part of the city. And scattered about are numerous benches and chairs, if they merely wish to sit.
Chouko actually blushes a little at the hug from Hoshi. Though she's grateful for it. She nods to Hoshi's mention of Hiroko, though she deflates a little. "Maybe not. Still... all the more reason to ignore it, right?" Not let her 'win'? The blush persists at Reiko's compliment, and at her sentiment at Chouko's return. "Thank you. I'm glad, too." A smile. The mention of going up to the roof gets a nod, and Chouko follows up to the roof.
Once the doors to the elevator open onto the roof, Chouko draws a breath. Winter flowers and plants-- it's really pretty up here! She heads over to get a look over the city, walking slowly. She exhales a sigh. It's still a mess... but it'll eventually get repaired, so she's not too terribly down.
Up on the roof, Hoshi immediately claims a place to sit and looks at the clear sky, mildly annoyed by the inevitable light pollution of being in the middle of Tokyo, but she gets to orienting herself on the stars, finding the constellations she knows to find easiest to ground her night sky viewing.
There isn't much to see this night, she's just watching, enjoying the familiar sights. "I'm sorry for dragging you along to this, Rei-chan, though less now I know Chouko is here." She smiles, keeping her eyes at the sky, "Would have been sad to have missed out, I guess."
Reiko Touyama arrives up on top of the roof and gets a nice goof whiff of fresh air. Yeah, the air is always cleaner after a massive rainstorm, just something about the rain that scrubs the air sometimes. Not that it's expcially bad usually, just-- well fresh air!
This high up you can kinda see the mess that was caused by Waplurgisnacht and she frowns--- she knows what actually happened. So does Hoshi. But Chouko doesn't so she just huhs. "I think things will be fixed up quicker than we think!" she says with a soft smile at Chouko!
She sits down next to Hoshi and pats the spot between her and Hoshi for Chouko to sit!
"Come on sit down with us Chouko..." she says as she looks up to the sky and huhs.
"Yeah...we can't see many stars smack dab in the middle of the city can we..." she says softly, as she taps her nose in thought.
Bravery is sometimes a precious commodity in this world, especially for girls in this line of work. Nobody can sustain it forever, after all. Sometimes you have moments where even magical strength fails you. Sometimes your friends aren't quite close enough to help, or they lie defeated around you, leaving you to struggle alone. That's perhaps the most frightening thing: the idea of standing alone against a foe you're not quite prepared to face.
Be brave, Hoshi.
In one of the planters directly above her, a curious creature wriggles on the Milkweed plant that seems to be its home, trying to find a leaf sturdy enough to support its weight. Black, yellow, and white bands run vertically across its body, giving it the appearance of light stripes on black skin. And white dots mark it just above its many, many legs, a sign that it's mature and ready to pupate, at least to those who know such things. It's a caterpillar, and a distinct-looking species at that. And it might not be here by accident, with some of the plants that are found on this roof. Finally, after a bit of a deliberation, the small creature makes it choice, but it chooses wrong. The leaf in question doesn't quite seem up to the task.
And then Hoshi feels a faint impact, followed by something wriggling on her shoulder. Whatever you do, /don't look/. Who can save her now? And perhaps more than that, who can save the creature now stranded atop a young girl that seems like a giant to it?
Hoshi shrieks, before even looking. The big wriggly, thing on her shoulder comes as a big surprise, and she jumps up, her serene skywatching brutally interrupted. She eventually looks that way, to her shoulder and the creature on top of it, and she slowly calms down.
She's not afraid of bugs, but the surprise... "... hey there, little one." She mentions softly, her voice marked still by the rapid breathing of an unpleasant surprise, "I don't think you want to be on my shoulder." She doesn't dare reach for it and touch it, looking at the others, "I don't want to kill it, can you help put it back on its plant?"
Chouko smiles, and then sits down between Hoshi and Reiko. Chouko tilts her head up at the mention of the stars, to look up at the sky. "No, it doesn't look like it. I think there's too much light from the other buildings, the streetlights, and the cars... and everything else." Cities are visually noisy places, sometimes even moreso at night.
She doesn't even notice the caterpillar until Hoshi's shriek. She gasps slightly and stands as well. "Hoshi, what's wro--" She pauses. Looks to the other girl's shoulder. She has an entirely different reaction to the presence of a caterpillar. "Oooh! That's a monarch! You don't see those often." She seems excited to see it.
She also nods at Hoshi's words of putting the caterpillar on a plant. She raises her hands up; one hand she places out flat next to Hoshi's shoulder, the other she uses to try to gently scoot the caterpillar onto the other hand. If she can 'herd' the caterpillar into her hand, she'll cup her hand so it won't crawl out and hurt itself, and then reach up to the milkweed plant above Hoshi again and try to put it back there.
Reiko Touyama tenses up at the shriek! She peeks over and---ohh--- whew, it's just a tiny catepillar and say, not a horrible draining youma. She takes a deep breath as she begins to slip from the bench, but Chouko is already moving to move the catepillar carefully.
She doesn't like touching bugs, but she figures it's no different than needing to carefully scoop a fish up by your hands when nessacry.
She keeps seated. "Careful now..." she murmurs softly. It's all she can really say.
One life has been saved tonight. Chouko's steady demeanor seems enough to calm the previously panicked creature, and it gets brushed into her palm with little struggling. With gentle hands, it's raised back into its planter. The violet-eyed girl sets it down near the top of its Milkweed home. For the moment, it's still. It looks like it's a little disoriented and in shock, but it will probably continue on its way in a few moments, trying to find a place to pupate. Come summer, that little caterpillar will emerge as an orange-winged monarch butterfly. It might even stick around this garden for a while, before finding its way to the scents of the many botanical gardens in the city. But if it hatched here, it might come back come mating season to spawn. Maybe that's deliberate on the part of the Augusta Hotal: a gimmick to please customers during the summer rush. Luxury hotels are always looking for something to set their lodgings apart from those of their competition.
But competition isn't the biggest problem facing the hotel tonight. With the cool, clear air, sound travels far, and you can hear it easily. Interrupting the silence of the night is a shriek, loud and high-pitched and angry, far away at first, though rapidly approaching. Something is out there; two of the girls have heard cries like that before.
Walpurgisnacht wreaked havoc on the city. With the ambient dark energy saturating the area, youmas of all stripes came out in force, and some are clearly lingering out there still. And with the state of disrepair the city is in, some types of youma in particular might be able to take advantage of the debris present.
But there's no time to think. Time is not on your side. There's no build-up or suspense tonight. There's no warning sign or desperate call from Roy and Biv. Tonight, your enemy has dined somewhere else before itself emerging, and it's only drawn to this place because . . . because . . . wait, why is it here? It's not clear.
No time to think. Rising into view above the hotel's roof is something more than a little impossible, at least to Chouko's eyes. You hear the rapid beating of insect wings first, a faint fluttering that would be inaudible save for this thing's size. Then it comes into sight: a butterfly, though not small and adorable like the one saved only moments ago. This one rises into the air with multicolored wings of broken glass shards, with a wingspan of thirty feet, a body of structural rebar bent out of shape by the force of the earlier storm, and glowing orange compound eyes fashioned from shattered streetlights. These are the bits and pieces of a broken city, fashioned together by dark magic, a Shade that likely grew out of some abandoned pile of cordoned off rubble.
It calls out. "Fluuutter?" Its voice is warped and metallic, but despite sounding inhuman, it's heavy with regret and frustration and resentment. For a split-second, it stares at the girls gathered on the roof. It's hard to read what it's thinking, but it seems confused. But then its eyes shift to Chouko. Something about her seems to rub it the wrong way. It's probably a good time to transform and . . .
And there's no time. It screeches in rage, and with a single powerful flap of its wings, it swoops down, grabbing Chouko in metal claws. She's not harmed, yet, but a second later, it's already flying away. Where is it going? What is planning to do to the gentle purple-haired girl? Who knows. Hopefully the girls have been brushing up on their flying.
"There you go, little one," Chouko replies softly to the caterpillar. She offers a smile to Hoshi and Reiko. "Probably just misjudged a space or something. It's just looking for a place to curl up and make a cocoon, that's all." She seems to be fine with having touched a bug.
Unfortunately, something ELSE doesn't appear to be OK with it! Because there is suddenly a massive butterfly made of rebar and broken glass looming overhead. Chouko's eyes go wide, and she takes a few steps back. She doesn't seem to realize that's only making her a bigger target, because it's taking her farther away from Hoshi and Reiko, where she could hide. And then suddenly...
It's swooping towards her. Chouko shrieks and tries to duck, but the claws catch her around the shoulders. It has more limbs than she has ways to duck! So in short order she's picked up and quite literally being carried away.
She can't really struggle, either... because then she'll get dropped. Now what?! She could call out, but... who'd hear her up here? Besides, how would they get to her up here? And anyway the wind would carry away any call for help before anyone heard it...
Hoshi looks towards Reiko, and there's no doubt in her eyes that this warrants a response. She reaches for her crystal, diving behind the flowers, taking it out, speaking the magic phrase, and then a yellow light shines, she doesn't wait. When she comes into sight again, she is Prism Keeper Yellow.
"You can fly better than me, Orange." She says as soon as the other Prism Keeper has transformed, and looks in the rough direction of Reiko's home, wondering if that's where the other crystals are. She shakes her head, "I'm ging to try to jump on top of it." And with that, she jumps, using her wings to guide her flight, trying to land on top of the shade, near Chouko.
Reiko Touyama smiles. "There we go, mister catepillar~" she sings out as she grins! She's all set to turn back to Chouko and say something when her Chroma Crystal signaturly burns a little- the arrival of a Shade in the area. She flutters her own eyes as she looks around spastically. Is it nearby?...
The world isn't grey here... it's still colorful. Is it a false positive and something else is in the area instead? She flashes Hoshi a quick knowing glance as she tries to figure out how to approach it with Chouko here...
Then the issue makes itself known with a resounding 'Fluuuuuuter'.
Her eyes go wide. Oh god-- she isn't transformed! Her instincts try to grab Chouko and run off-- but before she can touch her the beast sort of desceneds and /grabs/ Chouko.
"Chouko!" she calls out!
She nrgs--- dammit... she doesn't carry the Prisms on her. Hopefully Roy or Biv is on thier way. No time for a text, she transforms!
"Chroma Prism Orange, Transform!" she calls out.
She nods. "Right---I'm going to--- try to grab Chouko out of this thing's arms..." she says softly. She pushes off into the air and chases after the creature. Ugh.
This is going to be awkward to explain when this is done, isn't it, she thinks.
Off she goes- chasing the giant Fluttering Shade!
Flutter moves quickly in the air. It doesn't seem to be aware it's being chased, at least not yet, but even flying at a leisurely, unguarded pace, the Prism Keepers have to strain to keep up with it. It's not clear where it's going. But at least it's flying east, which is perhaps a relief. The girls' parents in the ballroom below are on the opposite side of the building; the crowd at the party likely missed Flutter's approach entirely.
But the warmth of the party seems far away now. This high up, the cold bites a little harder, and absent the protection of the buildings below, a heavy wind blows. The sky is clear, but the moon is waning and nearly new, so there isn't much light to illuminate this struggle.
With some effort, Yellow manages to find her way to the top of the shade, braving the turbulence of its beating wings. But as it feels her presence on its back, it comes alive with the same panic Hoshi felt a few moments earlier. It spins rapidly, trying to dislodge her, twisting and flailing in the air. It screams in protest. "Fluuuuutter!" Below Yellow's feet, a few bent pieces of rebar might provide handholds for her; it would be difficult, but she might be able to hang on. But with Flutter's current state, Orange might have a hard time approaching safely.
Meanwhile, Flutter's butterfly legs squeeze the purple girl a little harder. It doesn't seem quite intended to harm Chouko--more a result of panic its surprise than anything else--but it's likely more than a little uncomfortable.
Chouko can't see the transformations, or that her friends are coming after her. All she can do is hold on and hope she doesn't fall to her death. Where is this thing taking her? What is this thing?! The wind's cold, and Chouko shivers. Her outfit's for show, it's all fancy and shiny. It offers little protection from the wind and cold up here. All she can do is turn her head so that the wind's not directly in her face. That hurts!
And then suddenly the thing carrying her is flailing around in the air! She yelps, afraid it's going to drop her, but it's cut off when the legs squeeze her tighter. It's not crushing-- not yet, at least-- but no, it doesn't feel good. She squirms, trying to get this thing to loosen it's grip just a little, so she can breathe without trouble.
Yellow tries to hold on for dear life, looking too see if Orange has managed to catch up. "Orange, you catch her!" She yells, and then she goes to make the shade's life a little more difficult. Unlike the caterpillar, she is no mere harmless passenger who didn't intend to get there to begin with
She points her wand at whatever limbs the shade is using to hold on to Chouko, waiting for Orange to get in a good position, and then she sends off a beam of Yellow, trying to make the shade drop her friend. They can't fight properly until their friend is out of trouble.
Prism Keeper Orange nrg-- she can't approach, not with this thing flailing like it is--- the best she can do is hover under and around--- hoping this thing may actually drop Chouko.
"Right!" she calls out as loud as she can, ohhh thank god, Hoshi has the same idea, she thinks.
"I'm ready!" she calls out as she keeps up as best as she can, tiny fairy wings moving in overdrive to keep up!
Flutter has six legs, and like those of more mundane butterflies, they don't seem to be particularly sturdy, each one long and delicate. It takes Yellow several blasts, many of her shots missing wide as Flutter's desperate thrashing throws off her aim, but she eventually manages to score solid hits on two of the legs on one side. The Shade struggles to awkwardly hold onto Chouko with its single unharmed left leg, and after a brief bit of uncomfortable shuffling, it actually seems like it might be able to manage. But there Flutter seems to make a conscious choice. The purple-haired girl, no matter how much she might have drawn its ire before, suddenly seems to be of less interest to Flutter. It has bigger problems to deal with. So rather unceremoniously, now nearly a thousand feet above Downtown Tokyo, it drops her.
But that might not be purely advantageous. No longer burdened by the purple girl, Flutter focuses itself more fully on the two magical girls around it. As Chouko begins to fall, Flutter begins to live up to its namesake. Turbulence rages around the Prism Keeper on its back as the Shade's wings beat progressively faster, yellow hair tossing wildly, her grip eventually faltering as she's thrown clear. And as the dark "butterfly" finally finishes charging its attack, magical winds now whirling about it, it unleashes that attack at the unguarded target below, at the other Prism Keeper who is occupied with trying to save her friend. The powerful gust slams into Orange; she has felt an attack like that before. And like that time, it sends her flying toward a nearby skyscraper, unfortunately away from her still plummeting friend.
Chouko can feel the grip weakening, sees the reason why-- blasts! And there's a flying girl in orange nearby, in her field of vision. Maybe they have an idea. 'They' because someone has to be blasting the thing's legs, right? So there has to be at least two of them. Hopefully that will be enough to avert a possible disaster. Suddenly the thing releases her...
And there is no one there to catch her.
Realizing this, Chouko tries to grab hold of the butterfly herself, but the turbulence flings her free and far away from the thing that had been carrying her. Her hand misses... and then gravity imposes its heatless rule. She's falling, far from anything to grab onto. She can't help but emit a shriek when she realizes this, but she closes her eyes tightly. She doesn't want to see the ground rushing up to meet her...
... that didn't go quite as planned. Yellow is thrown off the Shade's back, and Orange doesn't seem to be ready to catch Chouko. Yellow doesn't have control over her flight yet, there is no way for her to catch Chouko, and she gasps, yelling, "No! This is not what I meant to do!" Sadly, it's out of her control now, she can only watch in horror as her friend falls, and she can do little but slow her own descent. At least she can do that much.
Prism Keeper Orange is postioned and ready to catch Chouko---! Come on... come on.. come on....
Then there's a tremendous burst of wind right at Prism Keeper Orange's own postion---and---oh no--- not this again. The wind slams into Reiko and sends bher flying into a skyscraper.
Luckily, said skyscraper is being repaired already from Walpurgisnacht so she's not ruining someone's newely renovated office---
Not like last time.
Not that that's on her mind.
She quickly darts back out the window. "CHOUKO!" she screams out as she tries darting as fast as she can... if she moves fast enough--- maybe she can break her fall with her body--- or-- or summon a mass of koi.... just in time but she has to get CLOSER!----
Chouko plummets as her friends watch, a single streak of purple falling ever faster toward the cold concrete below. She shuts her eyes. She can only hear the wind whistling in her ears, at first. It's louder than one would expect, at this speed. The rushing of the air is interrupted by the cries of familiar voices, of girls her age; she can't quite place who, but the desperation and care in their tone is clear. They're calling out to her, but they can't quite reach her.
And then a single ray of hope. Yellow sees it first, from where she is. Then Orange, out of the corner of her eye, zipping toward them at a blinding speed. A red bird, a cardinal, diving fast to intercept the Prism Keepers' falling friend.
Chouko feels the crystal placed in her hand. It's warm, pulsing with an energy that seems familiar and natural to her. And then a voice beside her, calling out, "Awaken! Prism Keeper Purple!"
Chouko hears the voices, but she can't make them out through the wind. She's trying not to think about what she's sure is going to be her fate in a few seconds. Instead she thinks about the thing that always makes her feel better.
Butterflies.
And that's about the moment that she feels the crystal placed in her hand. Her fingers close around it, and she opens her eyes. The red bird is seen, and she hears those words. And then more words come to her. They form in her heart as much as her head. And she speaks them. "Chroma Prism Purple, Transform!"
Suddenly there are butterflies. Everywhere.
They swarm about the falling girl, resolving into a glow that wraps about her like a ribbon. The butterflies seem to pull that glow around her, changing her clothing into a sleeveless purple dress with long tails, one long glove and one bracer on her other wrist. They pull her hair up into twin-tails. Then down one arm as a Croma Wand appears in her hand.
The butterflies then migrate to her back, where they disappear. But a pair of purple butterfly wings appears on her back. The last of which is most fortuitous, because once she realizes they're there, she can stop her fall. Those wings flutter frantically, trying to negate the momentum she's built up by falling so far. And just a moment before she would have hit the ground, her trajectory changes, arcs up, and she comes back up into the air.
"Purple?!" Yellow asks, shocked, surprised and relieved at seeing the fellow prism keeper rise just as she hits the ground, her skill at flying not yet so that she can maintain flight for long, least of all in the middle of this kind of weather. "I'm glad you're okay." Pause. "Well, mostly okay."
She points her wand at the sky, towards the Shade, and sends a handful of yellow stars flying that way, simple unadorned stars that do little but serve as a form of magic to hopefully wear down the shade they're fighting.
Feet firmly on the ground.
Classically, this is the point where Orange becomes very frustrated at Roy with pulling another of her friends into this mess. Man... Mei leaves and like--- Reiko can't stop a single PK from awakening. How the heck did Mei keep this down. Did she hide the Prisms from Roy or something!?
HOWEVER, today she is breathing a sigh of relief-- because oh lord, thank god Roy. Since Chouko is now no longer in danger of hitting the ground like a rock, she pauses a moment to catch her breath and gather's her thoughts. Oh lord this one's going to be harder to explain. Okay.
"Right the Shade!" she suddenly refocuses her attention. "Explanations later!" she calls out.
She flutters back up towards the butterfly Shade wings fluttering as she hovers in the air a moment and levels her Chroma Wand at the giant Shadey Butterfly, she begins blasting a few beams of color energy--- fast shots--- followed up by some koi that frantically swim after it trying to home in on the Shade.
It's a struggle to stay aloft up here. With Flutter's wings still fluttering at that same blinding speed, the gusts are wild and unpredictable. Not only are they making it difficult to fly, but the magical winds seem to be turning away some of the summoned projectiles pursuing the Shade. Even the Keepers' basic color energy blasts aren't making it through easily, the color refracted away each time it strike the grey energy-imbued glass of Flutter's wings. It's not quite clear how to crack its defense. Are the Shades getting stronger?
Chouko finds a place to land. And just. Looks at herself. What the heck? What just happened? How did she know how to do this? What's going on? There are a LOT of questions going through her head right now. But then... there's a giant butterfly made of broken glass and iron rebar fluttering around in the air above them. This is really not the time for explanations.
She looks to Hoshi and nods. "So um. I guess this thing isn't supposed to be here?" she asks. Somehow she has a feeling she's supposed to help deal with it. Reiko's call gets a nod as well. 'Shade'? Yeah, she'd ask later.
Right now? She needs to figure out how this is supposed to work. Watching the other Prism Keepers fire off energy form their wands, Chouko points hers at the Shade and does the same. But instead of koi or stars, it's butterflies! They're about the width of someone's hand measured from wrist to fingertips, and they have sharp wings, too! Also they are purple.
Chouko's butterflies are twisted by the magical winds circulating around Flutter. Most are turned away, but a few slip through. It's hard to spot with how quickly they're moving, but a faint crack appears in some of the sections of glass which comprise the Shade's wings. It looks like a weak spot, though, if only someone could get close enough to exploit it.
Prism Keeper Orange watches as Purple launches--- an array of beautiful butterflies. Her eyes 'flutter' a bit. "Woah..." she says softly as she shakes her head and gets her head back in the game! She watches as the butterlifes hone in and leave cracks on the Shade.
She Bites her lip and moves to get in closer---- trying to dart in as she fires off a koi at the cracks---she can't get close enough for a physical hit-- so the smack of a few koi tails against it will have to do! Flipppp!
Orange zips in, her improved flight skills paying off, the Prism Keeper successfully struggling against the sudden currents that toss her in random directions. She pushes through and gets closer, launching a few koi, the fish swirling midair as they too swim against the "current" enveloping them. It's still not close enough, though. Only a handful actually make it through, the rest deflected by the slicing winds. The glass of Flutter's wings cracks a bit further, but the Shade still seems to mostly be at full power.
Wearing it down doesn't seem to be working. It's taking damage, but the heroines are using too much energy in the process. They'll be exhausted before it falls. Bolder action might be called for.
For now, though, Orange has other problems. Flutter isn't simply hovering there and taking the beating. "Fluuuuutteeeer!" Its voice twists with frustration and slowly building rage, as it again starts to charge an attack. It looks like a big one.
It's not clear if Orange can withstand that blast, even with her potent defensive power. But Purple has an opening, at least. Flutter's back is presented to her, and the Shade's attention is focused on Orange.
Seeing Orange get closer, Chouko gets an idea. ('Wonder if I can make a shield with this...?') she thinks, looking at her Chroma Wand. She waits until the thing's (hopefully) distracted with the koi flying at it, and then puts her plan into motion. She thinks about how these wings work-- just like a butterfly, right? They are butterfly wings. And she knows how they're supposed to move. So she concentrates on getting them moving!
Once she's flying again, she situates herself so she's slightly above the glass-and-rebar butterfly. Then she holds the wand in front of her like she's blocking something. A shield-- yes, shaped like a butterfly-- appears. And then she tries to make a rushing dive, precisely at those cracked wings!
...This is... probably a bad idea. But she's a little mad. It did drop her to her almost-death, so maybe she's a little justified at feeling a little put out with this thing.
She's probably going to have to push past that gray energy with her own. "How dare you use the image of a butterfly for this?!" she admonishes as she tries to push past with her own energy.
Purple cuts a diving path through the air, like a butterfly bullet, forcing herself through the raging air currents with raw speed, slamming shield-first into Flutter's wings. It's a daring, all-in strategy, but with Flutter distracted, Purple's gambit pays off. There's a brief moment of magical impact, a bright flash illuminating the night as grey energy collides with purple. A moment later, Flutter's left wing crumples around Purple, the Prism Keeper emerging from the other side. The shattering of glass and warping of metal is audible even from Yellow's position, shards starting to rain down on the ground below.
Purple's shield is cracked but holding. She used a lot of energy on that attack, but she's still in the fight.
Flutter, though, is having a hard time doing that anymore. The winds starts to die down as it desperately flaps its remaining functional wing. No dice. It plummets to the ground, luckily crashing in the midst of an already-destroyed building. It's not quite out, yet, its compound street-light eyes still glowing orange.
While the others were up there, Prism Keeper Yellow had been looking through her wand, trying to get a bead on the Shade and its trajectory, and then when Purple's shield connects, she acts. "Prism Aegis Power! Yellow Starfall" A slim beam of yellow energy finds its way through the weather, the wind, and towards Flutter.
High up in the heavens, a star beats its chest twice, and then jumps down towards that little yellow dot, speeding up rapidly, streaking down and towards their target. "Incoming!" Yellow yells, to warn Purple and Orange, before that star comes crashing down.
Prism Keeper Orange looks to Purple and woooooahs! again, and once again, she's shaking her head to get her head back in the game. She raises her wand high and calls out... "Prism Aegis Power! Orange Outburst!" she calls out as she she throws her wand down and throws a vaugely koi-like beam of energy down into the Shade--- to help along Hoshi's own Starfall and hopefully not leave purifying the Shade to chance!
This one almost hurt Chouko!
It's kinda personal. :<
Chouko tries to get out of range as soon as she's done her damage. She's smart enough to know staying in range is probably a bad idea. So she concentrates on moving her wings and keeping the shield in place until she's out of range, so that shattering glass won't hit her. She finds a place to land, and as the others attack the fallen Shade, Chouko does the same. The energy keeping their colors from affecting it should be decreasing now.
So she points her own Chroma Wand at the Shade. "Prism Aegis Power! Purple Flutter Swarm!" she declares. Purple butterflies with sharp wings spring from the end of the wand, swarming together in a twisting 'beam'. And so, along with Hoshi's star and Reiko's koibeam, a stream of purple butterflies whose sharp little wings make a somber whistling sound twists towards the fallen Shade.
Flutter's street light eyes begin to glow brighter and brighter. Is it charging another attack?
Reiko's attack flies first. The buildings around Flutter are bathed in an orange glow as her brilliant beam of color energy streaks toward the downed Shade. It's nearly upon Flutter when it releases its final, desperate counterattack. "Flutteerrr!" It matches orange energy with gray, it's compound eyes emitting dozens of tiny threads of energy that wind together into its own incredible beam. The two attacks collide, and for a few moments, Reiko's energy is pushed back. On the ground, though, Flutter begins to physically come apart. The destroyed building materials and glass shards that once made up its body fall off in chunks, color returning to them as they pile up around it. It's pouring every last bit of its gray energy into fighting off Orange's onslaught.
Then Yellow's Starfall finally reaches its target. The massive star joins Orange's energy beam, muscling through the gray energy, battering its way down toward its target with starry fists. After a few moments of intense struggle, the star reaches its target, the color energy blasts finally colliding with Flutter. With a final orange-tinged starry punch, the Shade's eyes shatter completely, and it's left entirely defenseless.
Purple's shredding butterflies finally land a moment later, her purple energy dispelling the last lingering traces of grey. There's a final plaintive cry from the team's foe as purple's color energy suffuses it. "Flutter?" It sounds calmer now, though, almost content. And a moment later, the last trace of the Shade is gone, the final animated pieces of its body clattering to the ground, leaving it little more than a strangely-shaped pile of debris.
It ends with a familiar, pleasant sight. Brilliant motes of color energy begin to swirl around what once was Flutter, waiting to be released back to where it came from.
Prism Keeper Orange motions to Yellow and Purple and as she hovers down toward's the ball of color... "Okay.. we gotta. Return the color..." she says more of Purple's benefit. "From wherever it came from-- so..." she raises her wand. "Chroma Palette... Cleanser!" she calls out, shooting the burst of white from her wand tip as she waits for the others to join in---sending the color ball dissapting and streamers of color dissapearing off into the distance back to... wheever it came from.
She takes a deep hard breath and you can almost see the sweat drop then she looks over to purple and blinks.. and blinks...
"Oh Purple I'm so sorry!" she says suddenly very worriedly. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough! Y--you didn't even get to choose! Roy had to just do it because...because..." she can't really finish it with 'because you were gonna die'... and Orange looks like she's on the verge of bursting into tears over it.
Return the color? Reiko-- Chouko can see now that it's her-- motions her down and says something about 'returning color'. Chouko doesn't quite understand what she's talking about. But maybe the Crystal she'd been given does. As Reiko begins the cleansing, Chouko does the same. She doesn't know if she's supposed to sound off too, but there's no sense not covering all bases. So she copies Reiko, raising her wand. "Chroma Palette Cleanser!" she announces, concentrating on... well, cleansing the color. On it going back where it belongs, safely.
Once it's done Chouko sighs, in relief. And then suddenly Reiko's wigging out! Chouko sweatdrops a little too. "Ah... n-no, it's okay, really," she tries. Then a look to Hoshi, a quite plain WHAT DO?! look. Though then she notices that... Reiko looks like she's about to cry! Well that won't do! So she goes to Reiko's side and tries to hug her! "It's okay, really. Everything's okay now."
Prism Keeper Orange sniffs and accepts the hug. She blinks. "We---we should get back before people start looking for us..." she says as she begins back towards the hotel through the air, she looks back to Hoshi with a blush as she rubs her eye a little.
"I bet.. you have a lot of questions..." she says. "But...I--I'll give you the basic rundown... okay...? It's-- it's really weird."
"Um.. look... remember the game? We used to play Purple...?" she asks. "Well. This is that.. but real. And I don't know why it's 'real' because Mei doesn't either she's-- well she's Red, of course! She's off chasing her mom.. who.. dissapeared when all this happened." she says softly.
"--and yes, there's a Grey Kingdom and that was a Shade. Like, in the game." she says softly.
"I really wish I had more specifics for you just... well. You're in this now you know..? Stuffs.... stuffs going to be really strange for you from now on Purple." she says worriedly.
"L--like the storm! That wasn't a storm It-- it was a monster! A big-- giant dangerous monster did all this damage to the city and-- all sorts of magical girls went to fight it! Everyone just /thinks/ it's a storm because people can't really percieve this stuff..." she says softly.
Chouko listens to the explanation, her eyes going wide. "W-what? Really?" She blinks. "How did...?" But she stops there. Reiko said she didn't know how. Then she starts talking about the storm... that it was a monster! Her eyes are wide still, for a long moment.
Though then Reiko starts talking about things being weird. And Chouko smiles a bit, nervously. "Well... at least I'm still around for things to get weird for?" she tries to suggest. "I'll do what I can. Just show me how."
Their battle finally having drawn to a close, the girls drift through the air together, heading back toward the roof where this night's adventure started. They return to a scene unchanged; still they're alone up there, and even though one life has changed irrevocably in these last few minutes, the mundane world doesn't seem to have taken notice. Even Chouko's purse, dropped when she was snatched from a life of safety by a Shade, lies waiting for her in the very same spot.
Do they need to check in? Probably not. They haven't been gone very long. But maybe the night feels a little less safe now, or maybe they just want to warm themselves after the biting cold of their midair battle. The Prism Keepers find themselves back in the elevator, in their formal party dresses, staring at the fine crimson carpet below their feet and the dozens of glowing buttons set into an ostentatious gold filigree panel. It's only a few moments of awkward silence before the doors again open. The double doors down the hall are still ajar. There's music and light and life drifting from the ballroom, but those traces of the "high life," already distant from their experiences as children, seem even farther away now.
There's a lot to talk about, though. And perhaps unfortunately for young heroines who would rather rest after a hard fought battle, the night is still young.