It had been a bit of a surprise yesterday, when Haruna and Aki told Suzuki that the people to contact for Virtue were... one of her underclassmen and her principal! She'd immediately made a plan to go and see the principal after school the next day. Even to the point of passing up kendo practice for the day! Or at least ... showing up a little late. Of course, she'd warned them so she wasn't just leaving them hanging of course. To do otherwise would just be bad!
They had honestly told her to just rest after seeing how tired she seemed to be honest. Either way, Suzuki was making her way through the halls of Seiyou Public, making her way towards the principal's office. Even though it was for a good reason, she couldn't help but be nervous. I mean... people go to the principal's office when they're in trouble!
Once she was at the principal's office, she stopped outside of it and lifted her hand to knock on the door, shifting a bit nervously in place afterwards, her hands resting in front of her. What should she say? Would it be a bit odd to just say 'Hi! I hear you're part of an organization of magical people! I don't want to be alone anymore!'? ... Times like these, she wishes that there were 'social interaction' classes as well.
People go to Tsukasa-sensei's office all the time for various things. They're not always bad, regardless, Tsukasa personally answers the door and smiles down. "Oh! I wasn't expecting you, Natsume-san. Is everything okay?" he asks curiously, as he motions her inside. It seems Haruna may had been too busy to text Tsukasa ahead of time. This is not a big deal.
Inside is a pretty well maintained office, a bookshelf filled with arcane books about old places- a globe. Also the smell of tea and the clinking of a teacup as Tsukasa returns to his desk, he motions to a seat.
"Is this about a Club event?" he asks curiously.
"Ah, uhm. It was ... kind of a spontaneous... uhm... thing." Suzuki says, stepping into the office and making sure the door is closed behind her. She glances through the room quietly for a few moments, before glancing towards the door thoughtfully. She briefly considered locking it, but first she decides to ask. "...May I lock the door? I ... would like the conversation to be private." Suzuki says softly.
The office was actually ... somewhat inviting! She had always imagined the office to be something scary or something. But that might have just been because it involved interacting with someone as unapproachable as a /principal/. Even if that was all in her head. "I... suppose it is somewhat like a club event, but also perhaps... personal?" Suzuki says quietly.
She waits for the yes or no on locking the door, not quite having sat down yet. "...It is about matters of virtue and teamwork." Yes. She is totally good at subtlety. Really.
Tsukasa sips from a tea cup. "Tea?" he offers to Suzuki. It's like his favorite drink. Tsukasa is mostly a friendly individual. He knows Suzuki as the person who helps out a lot. Maybe a little taciturn, but some people are just like that. He smiles. "You may, if you want this talk to be private, yes." he says. This is not odd for him. He locked the door when Tuxedo Kamen kamen'ed his way in here once.
The office has a nice, friendly athmosphere.
Tsukasa does hear the undertone in Suzuki's words though. He knows thier meaning. This is not his 'first rodeo' with someone trying to be sly.
"There's no reason to be coy, Suzuki, if you're asking what I think you are." he offers helpfully. "Did Chiba-san direct to me? Or was it Hotori-san?" he asks gently.
Suzu moves to carefully lock the door once given permission, before moving to carefully take a seat in the offered chair. When the tea is offered, Suzu gives a small smile. "Thank you; that sounds nice." She says softly. She looks up towards Tsukasa, not necessarily trying to be sly, so much as, well... trying to not reveal too much to /other/ people!
In case of random people opening the door before it was locked, that is. "Ah, uhm. I just ... didn't want to risk maybe ... causing secrets to stop being secret." She says quietly. "I do not really like hiding things or dancing around subjects much." Unless she's shy, of course. She takes a small breath as she looks up towards Tsukasa.
"I have heard the name from Chiba-san when I asked for him to see if he could find others to make sure something went the best it could; but I learned that you were someone to contact about Virtue from Kurosawa-chan." Suzuki murmurs softly. She shifts her hand slightly, turning her wrist face-up so that her 'good luck charm' was visible. "This is Verdrehen Sturm, my partner." Verdrehen Sturm gives a pinged, <GUTEN NACHTMITTAG.>
"...I have been working alone with only a few contacts and coincidental meetings ... it resulted in me being kidnapped recently and putting those I try to protect in more danger than necessary. ... I wish to help and protect people ... so that is not ideal and I am finding the best way to do that would to try to work with others, but at present I mainly contact others through Chiba-san which works... but I worry that I might end up overworking him if things get too busy. Or I might distract him when he's not in a safe place at the moment."
Tsukasa smiles. "I'm what you might call Virtue's 'leadership', but that is a pretty strong word. I much prefer guidance or helping hand, or really anything but that." he says softly. "Hotori-san is someone else you could had spoken to on the same 'authority level'- but really there is no such thing in Virtue. Authority I mean. We are a group of people helping each other. We give means to contact one another and access to a manner of shared information. We're a group of friends who wish to help other people." he says frankly.
"Do not misunderstand. Others still hurt people and they need to be stopped and if that means--- kicking them in the face until they cut it out. Do it. But if your words can get through- we prefer this. It's easy to make an enemy. It's harder to make that enemy a friend. Do you understand?" he asks. He lets this sink in.
"I see. You're an intelligent device user. That's Belkan, isn't it?"
Tsukasa begins speaking space german. <Hello, Verdrehen Strum. May I please ask how you ended up with Suzuki? Is she a survivor of the incident?>.
He glances at Suzuki. "You---do speak that. Right?" he asks curiously.
Virtue's leadership. Guidance... or a helping hand? Hmm. "Ah, so like uhm... one of the teachers that oversees a club; there to help and support... rather than necessarily actually lead." Suzuki says, giving a small nod as she /thinks/ she grasps the concept. Hatori-san was a leader too though? He was young. How surprising! "That... sounds very pleasant to me. A group of friends who want to help other people." Suzuki says softly, giving a small smile.
She falls silent again, listening to the explanation. Talk to people. Try to make them friends instead of beating them up. "...I have somewhat done that with a few of the people who have done bad. So, yes. I understand. I would rather talk than fight and hurt someone anyway. Even when I fight... I try to talk and get them to tell me why they're doing what they're doing. It has had... moderate success, though sadly has not actually stopped anyone from doing bad." Suzuki says, her face looking mildly disappointed.
"Yes, I am a Knight, as the Belkan users are called... from what I could tell and what I have heard of them, that is. The Knight of Rolling Storms; or Storm Knight." Suzuki says softly.
Verdrehen Sturm responds in space german; <IT WAS THE FORTUNE TELLER. AFTER INCIDENT, IT FELL TO EARTH. FORTUNE TELLER SOLD IT TO SUZUKI NATSUME. DOES THE TEACHER WISH COORDINATES?>
"...Uhm... ... some basics ... learning german from a textbook is difficult." Suzuki responds.
Tsukasa nods. "That was smart of you! But Belkan isn't /quite/ german. I mean. It's similar enough. It's like how you can talk Spanish to an Itallian and they'll understand most of what you're saying...." he says. "Would you like to understand him?" he asks. "I do not want to presume to help you unless you wish it- but there is a way to allow you two to understand each other. It's a crutch- but your partner can teach you how to speak his language better than I could- and it'd let you learn at your own pace." he says.
He smiles at the device. Space German. <Possibly, yes. If she's selling more devices like this, I'd want to find out if it's an accident, or on purpose. Verdrehen Sturm, How do you feel about what I just offered your partner. Do you want to be understood?> he asks him.
Tsukasa is polite to devices. They are Artificial Intelligences- they are people to him.
He smiles. "We work together. I do not claim it's paradise. People argue. But just because people fight doesn't mean they're not friends. They make up. We do our best." he says.
"... That would explain why it was difficult to properly match words." Suzuki murmurs thoughtfully. And why some of them had simply not existed in the dictionary. She figured it was just using some of the weird letters or something like that! "I would like to understand her ... better. I already somewhat do on... it's..." She frowns thoughtfully. "It's not quite ... understanding so much as ... on an ... instinctive level? Not through words, but ... meanings, perhaps?" Suzuki says softly. "What do you mean by a crutch, though?" Suzuki asks softly.
In her experience, crutches were not necessarily a good thing! But sometimes, they /were/ necessary to get over a weakness. Hmm. Meanwhile, Verdrehen Sturm responds. <SENSEORS WERE NONFUNCTIONAL WHILE IN THE SHOP. BUT SHE WAS PICKY WHEN SELLING ME. INTENTIONAL? ... THE UNDERSTANDING WOULD ALLOW BETTER TEAMWORK WITH THE MEISTER.>
Suzuki shifted slightly when called Meister, saying softly, "Partner, Verdrehen Sturm. Partner." <YES, MEISTER PARTNER.> It was possible that, maybe, Verdrehen Sturm was teasing Suzuki right there. And it was successful from the look on Suzuki's face. Her cheeks puffed out a bit as she even briefly sticks her tongue out at Verdrehen Sturm! ... When she remembers that Tsukasa was there she quickly regained her composure, returning to that neutral look as she covers her mouth with a fist to cough into it. There was totally a mild blush on her cheeks.
"... Arguments allow you to understand each other better, do they not? I read that in a book somewhere. ... Paradise is unnecessary, so long as everyone is still friends in the end and works together to help and protect who they can." Suzuki says, giving a small smile.
Rocky Road speaks. "Well it'll always be best to understand your partner inately." he smiles. "Instincts serve you well. Most of us have them. Your heart can't speak to you directly so it makes you feel things instead. You've felt it before, yes? That prickling, or tingle or bad thought or feel or --- wisp of cold you feel when something wrong is happening, yes?" he asks. "Not everyone has that, but most of us do." he says.
Tsukasa gets up and opens a cabinet with a little tap. He reaches ALL the way in- body leaning in further than should be physically possibly. He comes back out with a tiny, white ear piece with a gem at the end. He also drags out what appears to be a phone- Suzuki has most likely seen Haruna with a similar one.
"We don't have many of these earpieces, but you're not the only one who has trouble understanding one another. Sometimes, we get visitors from other dimensions where 'Japanese' or 'English' as we can understand them are not a thing." he says. "But it's important to understand one another too. You can borrow this until you feel you understand one another enough without it's use." he smiles. He hands over both devices.
"The Phone is our organizational contact device. It'll allow you access to a chat-network and the 'HEARTnet' which is just a silly name for 'A private bulletin board system'." he insists. "It will respond to your need to keep an identity. That is, you can talk into into it as 'Suzuki', but everyone else will see and hear 'Storm Knight'. Likewise, the opposite is true if you desired. Magic is sometimes intresting like that." he says.
The Phone looks like a small cellphone with a rectangular touchscreen. When Suzuki touches it, it'll take the color she wants and the emblem on the front will change to what she wants. Of course, it could just react to what's in her heart- too and do the same thing. Likewise- it could just remain it's normal purple with a heart emblem on the front. It seems to be all up to Suzuki on that end.
"Instincts and understanding innately will let us interact even if the crutch is lost; but direct speech can help with other things as well." Suzuki says softly, thinking on that a bit. She pauses, before giving a little nod. "Yes. People... sometimes don't have that? ... That is a little surprising." Suzuki says, frowning thoughtfully. Maybe that was why some people were bad? Possibly...
And then ... Tsukasa makes use of what seems to be rather obvious spatial magic! Gasp! ... Actually that's not /that/ much of a surprise. Though a slight surprise that it was in his office. "I see. ... That is interesting; I am glad to know that there's something to use." She says, looking towards the earbud thoughtfully. "...I will ensure to only use it as long as I absolutely need to, so that it can be returned for someone else. Do not hesitate to request it back if someone else needs it more. Once I learn the basics I can probably muddle my way through from there." Suzuki adds.
When the phone is given to her, Suzuki looks at it quietly and listens to the descrption of what it was and what it could do. "I see; so this will allow me to talk without worry of endangering other people by revealing my identity ... or in an emergency... without somewhere private." She says thoughtfully. She looks up towards Tsukasa. "Thank you, Sensei." She says softly. Meanwhile, in her hand the phone shifted very subtly; the purple getting a couple of teal stripes added here and there, with the heart emblem changing only very subtly to become very slightly more stylized and 'cuter'. In the center of the emblem, a small fluffy cloud also appears. Yep. Fluffy. "...It's cute..." She says softly, her tone shifting very slightly towards that adoring 'Oh my goodness kawaii' tone, though still in that reserved and awkward way of hers. "...I look forward to not being alone anymore. Thank you, Sensei. ... Are there any meeting places or such that I should be aware of?"
Tsukasa smiles. "The Guardian's Tea Garden is our primary gathering spot. Sometimes the Seiyou Auditorium. Sometimes the Planetarium." he says. "Sometimes we just meet in the park for a picnic. We are not very offical. If a meeting is mandatory, then something 'dangerous' is going down, anyways." he says. "No one should bother you or find you in the first few places. They're protected and warded and can be opened anytime of day." he says.
He grins. "That is the only earpiece, but they're magically expensive to create so we don't have a whole lot." he says. "It'll get easier when we're able to convience more device meisters to join us. We have very few." he says.
"Regardless, welcome, Suzuki. If you're---the Storm Knight--- Haruna has told me a little about that. I thank you for helping her with that dangerous night not long ago. I know you may not understand the weight of what happened yet, but what you all did was something very 'impossible'." he says with a smile.
"Now then... is that all there was you wanted to talk about Suzuki?" he asks. "I'm available to talk about most things you know. Not just magical."
"...The Guardian's Tea Garden? ... I thought that was only for the Guardians... I suppose though, that would make sense as to why it would only be for the guardians though, so that nobody innocent accidentally gets mixed up in something dangerous." Suzuki murmurs softly and thoughtfully, before quitely making note of each place. Okay. Those were places ... all that were pretty easy to get to. And most of them in her school. "...Is Seiyou in general the meeting place for Virtue? ... I wonder if that was intentional on my parent's side to enroll me here. They said it was because it was a traditional school, but..." She pauses. "Ah, uhm. I'm from a family that has always been heroes of some form or another... helping people. Samurai in the past... there are even some old family stories of some of my family members having magic; though they're all old stories."
She bows her head towards Tsukasa. "Thank you for the welcome. And yes. I am Storm Knight; I helped with that. The moment I heard of it I also texted Chiba-san to help make sure that they had as much help as possible. It was ... actually not my first time going into Phantom's dimension. I cannot honestly say that either time was pleasant. I am just glad that ... almost ... everyone got out alright, if tired and a bit sore." Suzuki says softly.
The question of other things to talk about. "Ah! I almost forgot. Here." She pulls out a small case with an SD card in it. "This is the data from Miss White's device on the battle. ...I figure someone can use it. I have two, one for myself and one for someone else. Can you use it, or direct me to someone to give it to?" Suzuki asks softly. "And, uhm. Actually. Let's see." Suzuki lifts her hand up, "Verdrehen Sturm, Device Mode." Verdrehen Sturm shifts forms, taking on its proper form, before she reaches to open a small panel on the side, pulling out a cord. "Do you have a card I can transfer Verdrehen Sturm's data from that into as well? She is a different type of Device from Miss White's, so may have a different viewpoint." Suzuki says softly.
Finally, she pauses and thinks on things. "Uhm. ... Can ... you uhm... take anything my parents say about me to you with a grain of salt? They are a bit set in their ways and we fight a lot because of it ..."
Tsukasa takes the card. "Thank you. Though. Data like this is hard to shift though. I know a lot, but not enough to interpurt this. Luckily, I know someone who can make better use of this than I can." he says putting the card safetly into his desk. He sits forward and frowns. "Not right now I don't, but you can come by later. I'll do it then. As long as you don't need to purge the data anytime soon." he says. He eyes Suzuki's device more proper form a moment as he taps his chin.
He smiles. "Suzuki-san." he says. "You would not be the first who's parents came to me being upset or questioning. I get this a lot. Don't worry." he reassures her.
The device's proper form was as it always was; an ornate and obviously magitech naginata. It was of a similar teal color as the rest of Storm Knight's general color scheme, and had many vents to vent steam after casting spells. It was of fairly standard Belkan device with gunmetal style and with an edge to it. Suzuki handled it well, carefully keeping the blade turned away from Tsukasa and the blade pointed towards the ground since she didn't intend to use it for a fight. "Okay. My current computer ... can't... handle Verdrehen Sturm's data. It is too slow and the first time I tried it crashed." Suzuki says with a bit of an awkward look.
"Ah... I see. I will not worry then, Tsukasa-sensei." Suzuki says, bowing her head towards him with a small smile. "Just so long as the SD card gets to someone who can make good use of it to hopefully aid in saving more people from that horrid realm ... I do not mind what happens to it. Ah! Uhm. Something important. Miss White, Riventon, Helix and a young woman who uses a scythe device and lightning all know who I am, from when I was kidnapped. They have not acted on this information as of yet; but this is likely important for you to know either way." Suzuki says, shifting slightly in place. Reminding herself of that was worrying to be honest.
"They had Verdrehen Sturm and were experimenting on her or examining her for ... something. I assume it was for the Cartridge System. I don't know if they're making use of it, but if you see any of them use what looks like, uhm." She rummages around in her pocket, pulling out one of the Cartridges she spent last night. "Like this, or ... I think they come in other sizes." Hers was like a shotgun shell, "Expect a large spell to be coming afterwards, because these Cartridges are made by compressing large amounts of energy into them for later use. But... uhm. After that, there's... nothing else I can think of immediately." Pause. "...Kendo Club is going well though, and I think that all of the new members are doing pretty good. Some of the newer members are struggling a little, but they're trying hard." Suzuki says softly. "...I, uhm. Figured you'd like something ... less business-ie to hear as well..."
Tsukasa smiles gently. "I have a seen a Belkan cartridge system before." he says as he motions for Suzuki to put the 'shell' away. "Though why they needed yours to learn about it, I'd not know. It's possible that---- thier leaders wanted them to learn for themselves." he says a little.
"I know of Miss White. The others, less familiar. Do you think they are going to come for you again?" he asks concernedly.
He chuckles. "Suzuki-san. School is always going to be important. You don't need to come here for one thing or the other." he says. "I'm glad the club is going well then. That's good!" he smiles.
He folds his hands. "My door is always open, Suzuki-san, even if I'm at home. Please. Don't worry. I do admit now, however, that I need to get some work done. Has this talked helped you any?" he asks politely.
Suzuki puts away the cartridge, shrugging helplessly. "I don't know. Maybe they didn't trust their leaders, or their leaders didn't trust them? I protected Miss White from another villain in the past, so there is perhaps not a complete comraderie between them." Suzuki says softly.
"I do not know if they will come for me again. They have not yet, and I don't think they will. However, that is part of why I do not wish to be working alone anymore. It is dangerous to be alone." Suzuki explains quietly. "That and it is easier to help people with more helpers." Suzu thinks quietly, looking towards Verdrehen Sturm. Soon enough, Verdrehen Sturm had returned to being her 'good luck charm'. "I am too; it is very nice to interact with other people with a similar passion." She says softly. She slowly stands.
"Thank you for having me, Tsukasa-sensei. I will keep that in mind and ensure to use it if I need it." Suzu says softly towards Tsukasa. "I hope that you have a good evening and your work goes as well as it can." Suzu smiles and waves towards Tsukasa, before making her way towards the doorway. If there were any psychics nearby, they might lose any and all view they had of Suzu as a 'cool girl', as she mentally squees over the thought of new friends and allies.