My LEGO Nexus Organization

A hissing sound was the only warning.
At the sound, like that of television static, she turned, and saw it running at her. Fast. Impossibly fast.

She turned to run, but the sound of the static continued to grow. The faster she ran, the faster it caught up with her.
The blade made a popping noise as it met its mark. As the latest victim of the mystery killer fell to the ground, she saw it clearly. And where the face should have been, she saw only her own distorted reflection, floating in a sea of grey snow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In this RPG, the protagonists are all granted a special ability by a mysterious entity known as the Voice, and tasked with defeating a mysterious enemy (this will happen to each player character within their first few posts). Should they succeed, the Voice will grant all their wishes. If they fail, all life on earth will be consumed by the Faceless.
Though all NPCs will get important items so that the plot can be advanced, it will certainly be easier if there are multiple players.


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                           NPCS:
Name: William Hearth
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Appearance: William is a fairly generic looking guy. Not particularly strong, weak, fat, thin, tall, or short, just average, with average brown hair and a laid-back attitude.
Bio: William was the first person to survive an attack by the Faceless, and only because the Voice decided to favour him. The gift granted to him by the voice was an extremely selfish one...


Name: Nola (Last name unknown)
Age: Unknown. Estimated late teens, 21 at the oldest.
Appearance: Nola looks more like an anime character than a human being - aside from her rather unrealistic proportions, her waist-length purple twintails, purple eyes, and eccentric style of dress tend to cause an Uncanny Valley effect in people who have just met her.
Bio: Nola certainly seems perfect - athletic, pretty, smart, and friendly. But anyone that perfect is hiding something, right?

Name: Andrew Mann
Age: 19
Gender: male
Appearance: Andrew intentionally dresses sloppily, carefully choosing which rumpled green shirt will best compliment his shoulder-length black hair.
Bio: Andrew acts like a typical jock - muscular, not all that bright, and a bit too obsessed with being manly. The Voice granted him something that might make you look at him in a different light...

Name: Samantha Little
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Appearance: Short curly blonde hair, glasses.
Bio: Samantha's not really sure how she ended up in this mess...all she wanted was to make friends with Nola, and now the Faceless wants her dead. Still...being friends with Nola? Totally worth it.

Name: Kendra Sloan
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Appearance: Waist length pink hair and large grey eyes. Wears a pale blue dress and a pink bonnet at most times.
Bio: Kendra is, to put it mildly, a ditz. Much like Samantha, she got involved as a result of her (probably more than healthy) interest in meeting Nola. Unlike Samantha, however, Kendra is not being targeted by the Faceless. She just hangs around because she can.


Name: "The Voice"
Bio: This mysterious entity grants gifts to those it favours. It may well be God.


Name: "Mr. White"
Gender: Male
Bio: This mysterious scientist appears to control the Faceless. But there's more than meets the eye here....


Name: "Noir"
Gender: Female
Bio: "Mr. White"'s bodyguard.

Name: "The Faceless"
Appearance: A normal male body in a torn suit, often holding itself at an odd angle. And perched atop the neck-a blur, like an analog television with no signal. It carries a large hooked knife.
Bio: A mysterious serial killer.




=====player characters=====

Name: Yuusuke Taiyou
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Appearance: Yuusuke has an odd look; because he was a fan of different TV shows when he was younger, he decided to dye his hair permanently darker blue. His eyes are a normal brown, but his hair is the first thing many people notice about him. He also wears a pair of wireless headphones most of the time, and the one thing you see him fish out of his backpack usually are batteries. He wears a black sweatshirt typically, unless it's the summer obviously, and blue jeans or shorts. His shoes are silver and green, since they didn't have the colour he wanted.
Bio: Yuusuke moved from his home country about 5 years back, and while it was tough adjusting at first, he has gotten better in recent times, and fits in as well as he possibly could, considering his look. However, his past is shrouded in mystery in some cases, such as the reason he moved in the first place.

Name: Cassie Smith
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Appearance: Shoulder length black hair, emerald green eyes, glasses, dark grey shirt, blue jeans, black socks, silver shoes.
Bio: Cassie apparently moved to Japan two years ago, however, there are no real records of her around; especially under that name. It is unknown who she is, however, as no-one has actually met her before.

"Remember, students, bring in the answers to questions 2 through 7 on page 319 next Wednesday." The teacher concluded, dismissing the class.

Samantha stretched, zipped up her backpack, and decided to introduce herself to the new student.
She walked up beside Yuusuke and flashed him a quick smile.

OOC: I'm assuming he's a transfer student.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke noticed the girl walking up to him, and smiled to himself, still looking like he was focused on the book he was reading at that moment.
"Hey there, Sammy." Yuusuke said, as he looked up with a smile, having recognized her back when he had first sat down at his desk and such.
"Long time, no see." Yuusuke continued, as he held out his hand for a handshake.

"Um....how do you know me?" A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.

OOC: Is Yuusuke good at remembering people, or is Sam just a ditz? :P

OOC: Yuusuke's good at remembering people. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"It's me, Yuusuke; we used to be neighbours years ago." Yuusuke said with a smile, chuckling slightly.
"I was wondering if you'd remember or not, since it was a long time ago, but I was trying to make up for not really being able to keep in touch for so long." Yuusuke said, shrugging.

"...I'll take your word for it. How are you liking the school so far?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke slightly frowned at the reaction, but nodded to her question.
"Seems cool so far. Not really much to comment on, since it's only the first day, of course..." Yuusuke said, troubled by the fact that she didn't seem to even recall the fact that they knew each other.
"I guess, though, if you really don't remember me, introductions are probably best." Yuusuke said with a shrug.
"My name's Yuusuke Taiyou, formerly from here before my family moved for a while so I could study at some fancy foreign school. Never really liked that, though, which is why I moved back for this school." Yuusuke explained with a slight chuckle.

"Ah. Listen, I'm heading to lunch with some friends, if you want to come."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, I don't really want to feel as if I'm intruding..." Yuusuke said with a slight frown, as if she had friends she was already hanging out with, it'd probably be awkward for one of them, since it was his first day, and he didn't know any of them.
"If you really want me to, though, I'd be in, I just don't want to cause any awkwardness with your friends." Yuusuke said with a shrug.

"It wouldn't be awkward at all! I got to know them because I started following them around, anyway. N-not in a creepy way though, really!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke smiled slightly at her reaction, but nodded.
"If you say so. Hopefully you're right, then." Yuusuke said, as he stood up, and gathered his stuff into his bag, to bring to lunch.

William took a sip of the green liquid, gagged, and spat it into a napkin.
"So, ordering a Green Watermelon Milkshake was a bad idea?" Nola laughed.

Samantha opened the door, after finally realising it was a push.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Will never understand why there are handles on the push-only sides of doors, to be honest." Yuusuke said with a frown, as he shrugged, and followed Samantha into the room.

(Nola): *waves* "Hey Sam! That your brother?"

(Samantha): "Nah, he's the new transfer student. Say, Yuusuke, Nola's a transfer student from America too!"
(Nola): *quietly* "Even though I have the least-American name in the group..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh yeah?" Yuusuke said, looking over at the girl to see if he recognized her from his stay in the other country.
"Not that names really matter, though; after all, you hear of foreign names to countries all the time, right?" Yuusuke said with a smile, as he looked around the table, not even realizing just how right he was there.

(William): "Hey, I'm William, though I prefer to be called Will." *extends hand to shake*
(Nola): "I'm Nola."
(Andrew): *Jumps onto the table and poses* "And I'm the real reason anyone hangs out with these losers - Andrew Mann, the epitome of MANLY COOLNESS!"
(Nola): "...says the guy with a Pokedoll in his back pocket."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"The name's Yuusuke." the transfer student said with a smile, as he nodded to the others, and shook Will's hand.

Will smiled. "So, how are you liking it here so far?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"The school seems pretty cool, so far." Yuusuke said, looking around at the cafeteria as he nodded.

OOC: I thought they were at a restaurant, but I guess at a good college that's the same thing. :P
As a note though, the characters do not live on-campus.
IC: Will nodded. "People are pretty easy going. And we don't usually have anything bad happen."
Samantha groaned. "Emphasis on usually."

OOC: I dunno. xP And I didn't say they did. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Bad things do happen, though?" Yuusuke asked with a curious look on his face.

Will stared at him. "You seriously haven't heard about the murders? It's all over the news."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Murders?" Yuusuke asked, as it was really news to him.

"Yeah. people have been found lying in the street with huge stab wounds."

(Nola): "But that's not the scary part. The really creepy part is that all their internal organs are, like, dissolved! Nothing left but flesh and red goo."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That doesn't sound good..." Yuusuke said, frowning slightly at the news.
"And they haven't found out who's behind it yet?" Yuusuke asked, as it seemed odd.

"Well, when there's no survivors and no witnesses...and no DNA...evidence is hard to get."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hmm... That would make sense." Yuusuke said, but then wondered how the stuff could stop, if that were the case.

*Bell rings*
(Will): "Guess school's out for the day."
(P.A.): "All students, for your safety, please travel in a group when off-campus."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke frowned, as he heard the notice.
"That bad, huh...?" Yuusuke asked, inwardly wondering why this had to happen like this.

(Nola): "You can walk with us if you like."

OOC: Whoa, did they increase the drop rate of the Light Ball or something? Because I just found one on the Pikachu I just caught. O_O

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That sounds like it'd be a wise idea." Yuusuke said with a nod.

OOC: Nice!
IC: *after about two minutes of walking*
*hissing noise*
(Andrew): "Uh, did you dudes hear something?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke frowned, as he tensed up and nodded to Andrew.
"Yeah... Be careful." Yuusuke said, recalling what they had been talking about before.

*Hissing gets louder*

(Nola): *Whispering to William* "Show him the book."
(William): "Why does this happen to everyone I meet?"
(Nola): "Just show him the book!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Book?" Yuusuke asked, confused as to what was going on now.

William reached into his backpack and pulled out an old leather book. "Open it and look for a chapter with your name on it."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke was still confused, but did so anyway.

An instant later, Yuusuke was standing on a small circular platform, floating in a black void. He had the impression of something huge moving in the darkness.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke frowned, as he looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Yuusuke...so you are to be my next champion. Very well. I shall reach into your mind, and determine what boon I shall grant you."

Yuusuke's greatest desires and fondest wishes drifted to the forefront of his mind, one more strongly than all the others....


OOC: You decide what that is.

OOC: Yeah, I have no clue what for this.

OOC: Nothing? Superpowers or something? Psychic abilities? The worlds biggest sandwich?

OOC: I have no clue about what the standard is for this, so...

OOC: It's literally whatever the character most desires. The Voice will try to make it happen. (Just try to aim for a thing, rather than a concept. The Voice understands "I want to be able to fly", it doesn't understand "I want world peace".)

OOC: Don't overthink it. Something that would help you stand up to The Faceless.

OOC: ... Pokemon?

OOC: ...If he genuinely wants a Pokemon the Voice would try to oblige.

OOC: Just researching limits. =P Wish for Arceus, the faceless wouldn't stand a chance. ::) Though, Mega Lucario would be cool to have in an RPG... Should save it for a normal one, though. =P

How about like supernatural powers like energy throwing? Since that's always my 'favourite'. =P

OOC: You can ask for that.

"It is done." The voice thundered.
"I grant you...the Hikari Beam. With but the slightest mental exertion, the very beams of light shall solidify and make themselves into your weapon. With this, you are my newest Champion. You shall fight for me, and in return I shall shower you with glory beyond all description. Win this contest, and all your desires will come true! Now go, Yuusuke. Fight, win, and bring glory!"

The world faded, and Yuusuke found himself lying on the ground behind Nola. The Faceless was standing where it had been before, waiting for Yuusuke to get ready.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke slowly opened his eyes, and wordlessly stood up, and glared at the Faceless, and then nodded to the others.
"Let me handle this." Yuusuke said, as he held his hand out, and concentrated, beams of light forming themselves into a sword, as Yuusuke dashed forward, and swung the sabre of light at his opponent quickly.

The Faceless split into three.

(Nola): "Yeah, it does that. We should ha eve warned you, I guess."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke simply nodded, and concentrated, as three beams appeared from the light in front of the Faceless, attempting to pierce through them.

OOC: Bring out two more, just for fun... =P

each of the Faceless' split into two.

(Nola): "It's trying to make sure you can't fight it yourself."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke shook his head.
"No... It's a horde of faceless men!" Yuusuke said, waiting for reactions, before he just shook his head.
"You guys really need to play the latest games more." Yuusuke said, as he attempted to shoot each from the side, to prevent them realizing his plan.

The Faceless split again.
(William): "Dude, just take the left side. Andrew, take the middle, Nola, you take the right."
Nola nodded and struck a karate pose.

(Andrew): "Now you'll witness the power of PURE MANLINESS! HENSHIN...MAX!"
Andrew disappeared in a flash of light. He was now encased in a suit of armor, which would have looked amazing if not for the fact that it was pink.


OOC: Like a pink version of Nyaruko's Space CQC Enhancer.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well done." Yuusuke said, maybe sarcastically, maybe not. However, he nodded to William, and attemtped to use light beams on the left side after that.

All but one of the Faceless on the left were obliterated. The last one jumped over the blast and kicked at Yuusuke, drawing a long, curved knife as it did.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke stumbled back slightly, but dashed forward once more, attempting to slice off the arm with what was most certainly not a light saber.

The arm disappeared the instant his blade connected. The Faceless switched the blade to its other hand.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke instead simply sliced at the other arm, and then the leg for good measure.

The Faceless vanished.

Nola drop-kicked her final opponent into nothingness as Andrew punched his enemy into the stratosphere.

(Nola): "Nice job, Yuusuke. You too, Captain Pinky."

(Andrew): *returns to normal* "It's not pink! It's salmon!"

(Nola): "And that makes it less girly?"

(Andrew): "SALMONS ARE THE MANLIEST OF ALL FISH! They swim upstream each year, braving death and...uh...death, all to find a mate, no matter the cost! THAT IS TRUE MANLINESS!"

(Nola): "Congratulations. A fish is manlier than you."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke smirked, but kept his comments to himself.
"... So... This sorta stuff happen often?" Yuusuke asked, raising an intrigued eyebrow at the group.

(Samantha): "Nah, not much. Two, three times a day, tops."
(Kendra): *tackle-hugs Nola*
(Nola): "...Ow."
(Will): "...Kendra, could you get off my girlfriend?"
(Samantha): "Um...should we maybe explain to Yuusuke what this is all about?"


OOC: Kendra was not originally going to have any interest in Yuusuke, but she does have pink hair, and his name does sound a bit like Yuuki...

OOC: Yuuki is his middle name, then. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Probably a good idea, yeah." Yuusuke agreed, as he nodded.

Will sighed.
"Alright, here goes. It was about a month and a half ago, right when the killings first started. I was walking down the street by myself, like I always did, when I heard that static. Turned around, and there it was. Faceless thing, all hunched over and lopsided, with a huge knife. I...I ran. But the faster I ran, the faster it caught up with me. I finally ended up in a dead end alley. I turned around...felt like, if I was gonna die, I would at least be brave. And all of a sudden...this lady jumps down from a rooftop. I never got a good look at her...it all happened so fast. It stabbed at me with that knife, she pulled out this antique pistol, blew its head right off...she handed me the book and vanished before I could even speak. I opened the book, and...you saw what happened. Dark void, mystery voice offers my deepest wish. All of a sudden, I feel something going through my brain, picking through all my fantasies." He blushed. "For some reason, the wish it choose...well, it was my fantasy girl."

He shook his head. "Anyway, that's how I met Nola. Samantha was the next. Latched onto Nola for some reason and started following us around. The Faceless, it didn't like that. Tried to kill her."

Nola continued the story. "I was about to fight it, to try to protect them, when all of a sudden, one of the jocks from class saw us and decided to play hero. Andrew tackled it into a wall and it vanished. Then the book flew out of Will's pocket and started glowing, so we handed it to Andrew...and now he's the Pink Ranger."
Andrew glared at her.

"Anyway..." Will sighed. "Apparently we're pawns in a game. That mystery voice picked us for his team. Apparently, to win, we need to destroy the source of the Faceless. On the other hand, it wins if we all die."
"And..." Samantha finished, "if we win, the Voice promised to grant all our wishes."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nodded.
"Makes sense. Sounds crazy and like a game's plot, but makes sense. At least it isn't something like someone crazy decided to blow up the world randomly." Yuusuke said, but nodded.
"I guess this just means we have to win."

(Kendra): *sniffs Yuusuke's shoulder*

OOC: Note that, since I'm assuming they're speaking Japanese, I'll change fonts to denote English. Good English will be Vivaldi. Bad English will be Comic Sans. :P

BIC: "You smell nice..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"'Smell I nice'? What does that even mean?"

OOC: =P

(Nola): "Ladies and gentlemen, public school English courses."
(Kendra): *sniffs Yuusuki's face*

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Ah, that makes sense." Yuusuke said with a nod, as Kendra suddenly appeared in his face, causing him to stumble back in surprise, not having expected that at all, as he looked to the others, the expression on his face making it very obvious that he wanted to know if she had a few screws loose or not.

OOC: =P

(Nola): "No, she does not usually do that."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Lucky me..." Yuusuke muttered with a sigh, as he shrugged.

(William): "Um....anyway, I think we can head home safely now. It usually waits a few hours before trying again, and it never attacks after 8."
(Kendra): *licks Yuusuke's ear*

OOC: I honestly didn't plan on her being creepy, but since you gave me the idea, it's too much fun for me to do. :P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Yeah. Home. Best idea. Let's do that." Yuusuke said, as he tried to get away from Kendra for at least a little bit.

OOC: Mind if I timeskip to midnight?

OOC: Sure?

Around midnight...


Yuusuke had just started to drift off to sleep when he noticed the faint smell of smoke.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke said up abruptly, as smoke was most definitely not a smell that meant good things, and then hopped out of bed quickly, as he fumbled around for some idea of a defensive weapon and a way to actually understand what was going on. As it is, he actually tripped over multiple things in the process.

Noir walked slowly around Yuusuke's living room, watching the fire spread. If it looked like the fire wouldn't reach the next room, a bit of gasoline gave it a hand.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I'll give you two seconds to explain yourself." Yuusuke said, as he approached the room, readying himself as he did so.

Noir vanished behind the billowing flames.

OOC: And with the smoke, he didn't get a good look at her either. >:D

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke growled slightly, as he mentally wished he had've gotten something that could've put these flames out, but instead grabbed the non-charred items he needed, and fled from the place, not liking to be set on fire.

The house exploded mere moments after he left.

OOC: No, not lucky timing. Noir waited until he left, then threw a grenade.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke stumbled, and growled as he turned around.
"You have to be kidding me."

(Samantha): *Running over* "Holy- Yuusuke, are you alright? I was about to go to sleep when I saw the smoke, and-"

*a very ugly pink car drives up*
*Andrew, Nola, Kendra, and Will get out*
(Andrew): "No comments about my car, or I'm ditching you here."
(Will): "Geez, Yuusuke, what happened? Sam texted us that your house was on fire!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke coughed slowly, as he turned back around, suddenly self conscious that he was in his green snowman printed pajama pants and black top.
"Somehow, I'm alright. Gonna need another place to stay now, but I'm not hurt or anything... I managed to get out of there just in time, it seems. Though, this wasn't an accident, through the flames I saw someone helping the blaze along; couldn't make out who, though..." Yuusuke said, panting as the adrenaline finally left him.
"This seems like odd timing, though. Has this ever happened to any of you guys?" Yuusuke asked with a frown, not sure why he was targeted if it wasn't to do with what happened earlier.

Will and Nola exchanged glances. "You can stay with us." Will said. "Andrew already moved in, and Samantha and Kendra stay over a lot."
Nola nodded. "Yeah. Andrew was too scared to stay alone in his house with the big bad Faceless after him."

Samantha glared at them. "Be serious for a minute. Our friend's house just blew up. And he has worse fashion sense than Andrew."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"They were the closest thing, and were a gift..." Yuusuke muttered, but had the funniest feeling no-one heard him.
"That might work, though. What if anyone else gets targeted, though?" Yuusuke asked with a frown.

(Noir): "That won't happen."
Noir was standing off to the side, behind the car. She was mostly in shadow, but was apparently in her late 20s/early 30s, wore her curly black hair in a short bun, and seemed to have a habit of constantly adjusting her small glasses.

OOC: Am I supposed to notice her THIS time? =P

OOC: She did just talk to you. :P
And you noticed her last time, you just didn't get a good look.

OOC: Well that's what I meant. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Who are you? Wait. Malva, is that you?" Yuusuke asked, eyes narrowed as he purposely made the reference, but something seemed odd about this person's sudden appearance, and the claim that was made...

OOC: I am not going to just stop referencing things. =P

"You may call me Noir."

(Will): "You...you're the one that gave me the book."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"She gave you the book?" Yuusuke asked, still unsure of the person, but if this person helped Will...

Will nodded, still a bit confused.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"You look confused?" Yuusuke asked, confused as to why Will seemed confused.

"Just...not sure who she is. Or why she's here."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"We all are thinking the same." Yuusuke agreed, as he turned to Noir.
"Any answers?"

"None."
She adjusted her glasses for the tenth time in the past minute.
"Enjoy the games, Yuusuke."

She held out her hand, revealing a smoke grenade. She pulled the pin and slowly walked away.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke narrowed his eyes, as he had a bad feeling about what was going on, and dashed toward the woman quickly, a beam of streetlight solidifying in his hand as his beam saber returned, Yuusuke intent on fighting back if this woman was an enemy.

Noir turned suddenly, her eyes glowing bright purple.
"Stand down, boy."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke stopped suddenly, eyes narrowed even further.
"I guess I should rephrase the question... What are you?" Yuusuke asked, a scowl of his face, as he was tempted just to have a beam of light shoot at Noir at that moment.

"A messenger."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Of what?" Yuusuke asked, still not entirely trusting this person.

Noir said nothing, just stared at him, her eyes narrowed.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"You know something. Am I right?" Yuusuke asked, eyes narrowed just as much, as he took another daring step forward.
"You stated that no-one else will be targeted. Which means either there's a grudge against me specifically, or you're so certain, because it was you." Yuusuke stated, still having half a mind to just end this here, since she was obviously not a friend to the group.

"It was indeed me. I would advise living with the other Chosen from now on. William's house can certainly hold you."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke narrowed his eyes further, and nodded, as he began to walk away, however, he snapped his fingers, and a beam of light attempted to quickly pierce at least her arm.

Noir jumped over the beam, landing on a nearby rooftop. "Don't."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Or what?" Yuusuke challenged, getting tired of this day already.

"You die."
From her tone, it was clear- it was not a threat.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"And if we refuse that fate?" Yuusuke challenged further, his own tone making it clear that he was not interested in dying at that moment.

"I kill you. Just play the game, Yuusuke...you might even live to see your next birthday."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke narrowed his eyes.
"So, what, this is all just a game to you? Fine then. I'll 'play' your silly little game... But I'm also going to win. I'm not going to allow you to harm anyone." Yuusuke stated, a scowl on his face, as he meant what he said.

OOC: I feel like this is kinda like the unwritten introduction to SHIRA, to be honest. We have the 'leader', the old friend, the crazy one, whoever Andrew is, and the 'main character'(Since Nola's obviously important. =P), so to speak. And then we have Yuusuke, who is quickly turning into the next Lloyd. =P

OOC: Totally unintentional, I assure you. :P

IC: "It's not my game." Noir adjusted her glasses and jumped to another rooftop, then slowly walked away.

OOC: I know, it's just funny. =P They're also the two that have technically caught my attention the most, since my attention's been spread thin the last few weeks so it's a miracle it's already to 6 pages. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke narrowed his eyes, and turned away once more, walking back to his friends.
"So, did you guys catch that?"

(Will): "I couldn't really hear..."

(Samantha): "Kendra was sniffing my neck, so I was a little distracted."

(Andrew): "When the smoke bomb went off, I kinda fell in a ditch."

(Nola): "I heard all of it."

(Will): "That's because you have an unfair advantage."

OOC: Yep, Kendra's Shiza. Andrew actually might be Adrian. xP

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, let's put it this way, we should probably get started on making these plans." Yuusuke said with a frown on his face.
"Let's get to Will's place sooner, rather than later."

~~~~~~~~~~~At Will's house~~~~~~~~~~
(Kendra): "I'm gonna get a bath started."
(Nola): "OK, we have...One queen bed, one double bed, and a couch. We girls have the queen, Will has the double, Andrew has the couch...Yuusuke can take...hm..."
(Will): "I can find an air mattress for myself, Yuusuke can sleep on the bed..."
(Samantha): *vanishes in a flash of light*
(Andrew): "I'm hungry."

OOC: Wait, who's Sandra? =P

OOC: A typo. Samantha and Kendra keep switching in my head.

OOC: Okay, then what happened to Sam? =P

OOC: I edited it out. Sam poofed away.

OOC: Well that's what I- Oh, you know what, I'll jsut do this.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I don't mind taking the ma-" Yuusuke started to say, but paused.
"Wait, where'd Samantha go?" Yuusuke asked with a blink, as he looked around.

(Will): "Hm? Oh, the Voice probably grabbed her. That's what happened when you opened the book, too. She'll be back. Anyway, what should we do about dinner?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Whoa, whoa, wait, what?" Yuusuke asked, still not sure about what was happening with Samantha.
"What do you mean 'The Voice grabbed her'? How would it do such a thing?"

(Nola): "We're pretty sure he's God. He does what he wants. How do you feel about curry?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I've heard about things that seem like God before. That never really ended well. Oddly, this seems similar... I'll have to try and find that book again, was a good read, really liked the ending, too..." Yuusuke said, muttering to himself toward the end, before he shook his head, and turned to Nola again.
"Curry sounds good; one sec, just gonna make sure Sammy's not just elsewhere in the house somehow." Yuusuke said, as he walked away for the moment.

Sam reappeared - exactly where Yuusuke was standing.

OOC: Accidental kiss - hope Kendra doesn't see...

OOC: Okay, that works too. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke blinked for a few seconds, his mind not exactly being able to comprehend exactly what had happened in the few seconds prior, and the look on his face after he realized who was standing in front of him, and what had just happened, was priceless. That said, he was still rooted to the ground, and didn't move, despite realizing what happened, probably because he was still shocked at what happened.

OOC: Probably a good idea. Better to keep up the act for a little while. =P

Samantha's face turned beet red, but she too was too shocked to move.

(Nola): "Anyone have a camera?"

(Andrew): *pulls out cellphone* "Already on it."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke's face was a similar colour, however, before Andrew managed to actually get any pictures, Yuusuke returned to his senses, and backed away; not quickly, but not slowly either.
"I-you-I... That was... not..." Yuusuke blinked, not even getting out the words to apologize for it, because he didn't entirely wish to apologize, but he also wanted to obviously show respect, but it just wasn't going well for him at all. Instead, he just muttered an inaudible string of words that sounded like some hasty apology, and ran off, hoping that things didn't just get weird between the two of them.

OOC: Kudos, that was awesome. =P

OOC: *bows* Thank you, thank you.

IC: (Samantha): *Frozen in place* "I..my...gl...bl....wha....?"

(Nola): "He knows he just ran into a closet, right?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Stupid house!" Yuusuke called out, as he ran out, and down the correct hallway this time, though even though he was still shocked as well that what he had hoped for actually happened, he was not liking the sound of the fact that Samantha was still equally shocked, and mentally cursed himself for not doing things differently, or finding some way to not accidentally kiss a friend.

(Nola): "WATCH OUT FOR THE STAIRCASE!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"What sta-" Yuusuke started to ask, before a crash sounded out.
"I'm okay! Caught my fall..." Yuusuke's muffled response appeared, ut it was true, he had only fallen two stairs before stopping the fall.

(All):  ^^;

(Nola): "Anyway...I'm gonna start cooking. Yuusuke, mind helping?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke returned, still slightly red in the face, but seemingly back to normal and not quite so flustered.
"I might be able to help, yeah." Yuusuke nodded, though he still wasn't exactly sure about what was going to happen to the friendship now.

(Nola): "Great. Follow me to the kitchen, please."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nodded, trying not to look at Sam's face, just in case it hinted at her reaction, and followed Nola into the kitchen carefully.

Sam's face was still bright red.

~~~~
(Nola): "Ever cooked before?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Yeah, but not this, to be honest..." Yuusuke said, his mind still pretty focused on what had happened, and his face reflected that, as he frowned; given that he was still thinking he had messed up badly, even though it in reality wasn't actually his fault, and was mroe a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Relax, Yu. Sam's not going to be angry. Heck, she's kissed me before, that didn't hurt us. Besides, if anyone's to blame, it's the Voice. Pass me the cocoa powder."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"You sure?" Yuusuke asked, still not exactly sure of that right at the moment, as he passed what Nola had requested, recalling that he had caught a slight glimpse of Sam before he had headed out of the room, and she had still seemed embarrassed.

"Yeah. She might be a little dazed, though, but that's a good thing. It means you're a good kisser. ...Yuu, I said cocoa powder, not baking soda."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke blinked, and looked at the item, and shook his head, before handing the correct item.
"Hmm... I guess you have a point." Yuusuke said, as he sighed.
"I just never actually expected this to happen, so yeah..." Yuusuke said, as he shrugged, wishing things had've gone better, or that he had've actually handled it better himself, or something.

"Aww, was that your first kiss?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke's face turned red once more, and he muttered something that probably was to try and deny that, but that utterly failed to convince anyone likely.

Nola giggled. "Anyway, on a more serious note...how are you doing? You know, since your house..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke frowned, as he shrugged.
"It's annoying that it's destroyed, but it's nothing I can't handle. Saved all the good stuff, like my game systems and headphones, anyway. Hope you guys have room, my backpack has like a near-bottomless pit and I brought a lot of stuff, and yeah." Yuusuke said with a mischievous smile. It's entirely possible he was not joking.

Nola laughed. "Glad to hear it. Listen, I know a lot has happened today, but we're all here for you. And if you have any questions, just ask. Pass me that spice bottle."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke passed the spice bottle, but thought.
"What kind of questions, though?" Yuusuke asked, like, trying to figure out whether she meant about this situation, or other stuff.

"About anything."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Is Kendra crazy?" Yuusuke whisper-asked, after making sure that Kendra wasn't anywhere nearby.

"...Probably. I know she always demands that I bathe with her, and she seems way too interested in you..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I see." Yuusuke said, as he blinked slightly, but frowned.
"But wait, has that changed? Because she took off for a bath, and seemed fine to have that on her own, so...?" Yuusuke asked, but shook his head.
"Probably better I don't ask. Anyway, next question is kinda an odd one." Yuusuke said, as he frowned.
"What would you do if people seemed to not recall things about you?" Yuusuke asked, for a couple reasons.

"She said she was STARTING the bath. She'll probably grab me once the tub is full." Nola stretched, then resumed cooking.
"Not remember you? Hm..I'm not sure. I've...well...I've really only been alive for a month."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hmm, true, about both things." Yuusuke said, as he nodded.
"Just wasn't certain, because, well, I dunno, Sammy didn't seem to recognize me; which is partly why I'm taking this badly, because I fear it might've hurt things because of that." Yuusuke said, but also stopped himself from mentioning the other thing he wanted to point out for the recalling thing.

"How long ago did you last see her?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"A long time ago..." Yuusuke admitted, but he frowned.
"I just guess I figured that she would've remembered me, since I remembered her since I left..." Yuusuke said, as he sighed, with another shrug.

"That's love, Yuu."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke's face turned beet red once more, and took a sudden interest in the food he was helping chop.
"... Maybe we should talk about something else." Yuusuke said, trying to change the subject, though if Nola paid attention, he never denied it.

"Hehe, sure. How are you liking your gift from the Voice? Beams of energy seems pretty awesome."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nodded.
"It does seem pretty cool, yeah. Not every day that happens, though I haven't really gotten a chance to test it out yet..." Yuusuke explained.

"He said, if we win, that he'll grant all our wishes. What would you wish for?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke wasn't entirely certain, but had an idea of one wish; however, he never said it.
"I'm not sure. I'll probably have to think about it a bit more, but there's a lot of things that could be good... And all I really want is what's good for the world." Yuusuke said, not adding that one wish could be selfish.

"Any selfish wishes? I mean, you get as many as you want."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"M-maybe." Yuusuke said, blinking slightly, as he looked at Nola with a 'how the heck did you read my mind' kinda look, but then slightly nodded, his face still kinda red from earlier, and slowly returning that colour once more.
"But I'm also not sure if wishes can cancel each other out or not..."

"Cancel each other out? What do you mean?" Nola held out a spoonful of curry for Yuusuke to taste.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke tasted the curry, and nodded, as it seemed okay, though he winced for an also invisible second, as it was a little spicy, though he didn't really mind.
"Like; if someone wished one thing, but another person wished the opposite..."

Nola tasted it as well. "It's missing something...Yuusuke, you have some on your face." She wiped a bit of curry off his cheek.
"I'm not really sure...you'd have to ask the Voice. Why?"


OOC: Nola's not being intentionally flirtatious...it's just how she acts.

OOC: It is funny, though. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hmm, then what?" Yuusuke wondered, referring to the curry, but frowned to Nola's question.
"No real reason, I just feel like the potential is there if it grants every single wish... Like, if someone was jealous, then if you wished you were rich, the other person could wish you were poor..." Yuusuke said; but kept the other example; of one person wishing to be with someone, and another person wishing that the the relationship wouldn't work out, so they could have that someone to themselves; to himself for the moment.

"I don't really know..what would your wish be? I might be able to help figure it out."
She took another taste of the curry. "Maybe more cocoa?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nodded in agreement to the cocoa idea.
"I... Well, uh..." Yuusuke couldn't find the words, however, to actually explain his wish.
"Think earlier." Yuusuke said, trying to not have things be outright said, in case anyone else overheard it somehow, even as his face once more took on a red tinge.

Nola laughed again. "How cute, Yuu~ Well, I don't think you'd need a wish for that."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh?" Yuusuke asked, as he looked at Nola, slightly confused, though he did have to admit she probably had a point about that.

"If she wasn't interested in you, why would she have been blushing so much?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke paused for a little bit, as he actually considered that possibility, and then nodded slowly, as it made sense.
"You might have a point there..." Yuusuke said, as he had been thinking she was just embarrassed, and didn't like it, but between that and the fact that she never actually did anything to the contrary, and also didn't take offense; he had to reconsider his thoughts, and then sighed.
"You do have a point there. I really can be dense sometimes, can't I?" Yuusuke asked, his good mood slowly returning, but then had a sudden thought.
"How does that book work, anyway?" Yuusuke wondered out loud, recalling how everything had worked, how he had to search for his name...

"I don't really know. I think it's some sort of teleporter. Each name in the book has the data needed to transport you."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke frowned, but nodded.
"Does it have only the chosen's names in it, though?" Yuusuke asked, as it seemed like it might be possible to use to help.

OOC: Continue later, I have to go for now. >_>'

OOC: Aww.

IC: "New names seem to be added whenever the Voice chooses a new champion."

OOC: Kinda back, but eh.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh, well there goes my plan." Yuusuke said with a chuckle.

"Thought you could just look up all the names, huh? Here, taste."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Would help in protecting them, or finding out who would be a possible target." Yuusuke said with a shrug.
"Besides, finding connections might help tracking down the source of the faceless." Yuusuke said, and tasted the curry again, as he nodded, finding this better than before.
"Though, I have another question, but I'm also not sure about it?" Yuusuke asked, an unsure look on his face.

"By all means, ask away."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, uh, like, how did you, you know, appear? Usually you don't need to actually, well, ask that question, but well, yeah..." Yuusuke said, getting the potential feeling he didn't really want to know, perhaps.

"Hm? Well, I just woke up one day lying on the floor of Will's living room.:

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That's anticlimatic." Yuusuke noted, but nodded.
"I take it you don't remember anything before then?"

"Umm...I have some basic memories. My name, school subjects, and some basic info from the Voice."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh?" Yuusuke asked, confused.

"Yeah. That way I can fit in, you know?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I more meant the 'basic info', unless that's what you meant too." Yuusuke said with a chuckle.

"Oh. Is there anything you wanted to know?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, I just wasn't sure what the basic info meant." Yuusuke said with a shrug.

OOC: /sighs.

OOC: ?

IC: "Stuff like the rules of the game, the wishes, that kinda thing."

OOC: Nothing...

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Ahh; so the rules, like, we have to win or things go very badly, and such?" Yuusuke asked, and then frowned.
"Because that woman seemed to imply there seemed to be more rules than we thought, if we can't even touch her..."

"I think Noir just meant she'd kill you if you-wait...why do I know her name?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Could it have been from when she was there last night? Though, this stuff does seem to be odd..." Yuusuke said with a frown.

Nola frowned. "I don't remember her introducing herself...why would the Voice give me a memory of her name?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke frowned slightly, as he recalled the woman saying to call her Noir, but never questioned it.
"I'm not sure. Could be a few reasons, but all of them seem rather implausible..." Yuusuke said, shrugging ever so slightly, as he wasn't certain.

"A-anyway, thanks for your help." *kiss*
"Go call the others."


OOC: She still has no intention of flirting with him. :P

OOC: xD

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke blinked, confused at what had just happened, but nodded.
"Alright. Should I even try calling Kendra, though?" Yuusuke asked, before he left the room.

"Might as well."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Alright." Yuusuke said with a nod, as he walked out of the room, and back into the main room.
"Okay, it's ready." Yuusuke said, wondering what the reaction would be to what had happened.

(Kendra): "Aw...fine, the bath will still be warm after."
(Sam): *blush* "Ah...er...thanks."
(Will): "Coming."
(Andrew): "CURRY IS THE MANLIEST OF FOODS!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh, Kendra's here too, that saves me a trip." Yuusuke said, as he just noticed the girl, and then noticed Sam, and nodded slightly, as he still seemed awkward in not knowing what to do at all, and just instead decided to head back to the kitchen and find a seat before he said anything or something that might show that awkwardness.

Kendra pulled a chair right next to Yuusuke's, sat down, and took a sip from his glass.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Do you mind?" Yuusuke asked, an incredulous look on his face.

(Kendra): *happily* "Food made by my Yuusuke~"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I... Have no words." Yuusuke said, as he blinked, edging away ever so subtly from Kendra.

"Words are not needed. let us speak the language of love...my sweet darling."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"'Darling sweet my' is not how that language works." Yuusuke said, not seeming impressed by the english at all, obviously.

OOC: What will happen after the meal? =P

OOC: Let's find out!

IC: (Kendra): "Bath time." *grin* "Come on, Yuu~suke...it's nice and warm."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Say what?" Yuusuke said, blinking as he didn't understand what Kendra was meaning exactly.

"The bath is nice and warm...and it can fit a few people..." Kendra smirked.

(Nola): "This does not look good..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"How exactly do you know how many people, you know what, maybe that's not a question I should ask." Yuusuke said, his face currently uncertain of exactly what was going on, but he had a feeling this wouldn't end well.

(Nola): *blushes*
*Kendra rubs her face against Yuusuke's chest*

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"What are you doing?" Yuusuke asked, kinda creeped out by that point. At least he obeyed personal space; even if he did kiss Sam. Albeit that was by accident, but still.

"Come...let the water wash away your cares, and join yourself to me in eternal love!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke looked over at Nola to see if she had any ideas on what to do at that point, as he didn't exactly like the sounds of what Kendra was talking about. But, he also rememebred what Nola had said earlier, and didn't think she would have any ideas either.

Kendra followed Yuusuke's gaze. "Oh, you want Nola to join too? OK!"
(Nola):  ^^;
(Will): "...I miss my boring life."

EDIT: 10000th post!

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sent an apologetic look to Nola, and then looked over at where he hoped Sam was, and mouthed 'help me' to her as best as possible as he could without letting Kendra see; but he figured this would backfire instead.

Sam shook her head and mouthed back "you're on your own".

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed, not quite sure what else to do, as he looked at Nola for any other ideas other than being volunteered, as this wasn't at all what he wanted to do that evening.

Nola shrugged.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed again, as he shook his head, not sure what else to do, as it seemed there was nothing he could do.

OOC: Poor Yuusuke. =P

Kendra grabbed his hand and tried to drag him upstairs.

OOC: How close are they to the stairs already? =P

OOC: Bottom step.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke grimaced, and attempted to pull his arm backward, knowing full well that his resistance would probably be taken by Kendra to just mean the opposite of what it really meant.

OOC: If you've ever seen the Pepi le Pew(Spelling?) cartoons, it's a lot like how that would be, in Yuusuke's mind. =P

OOC: Sorry, Kendra can't fake a French accent.

IC: (Nola): "Want me to get a bat?"

(Sam): "...Yuusuke..."

OOC: xD Well, the general idea, not necessarily the outcome. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nodded to Nola's suggestion even as he was pulled up the stairs slowly, resisting every single step of the way.

Nola grabbed Yuusuke's  hand and pulled.
"Jeesh, Kendra, are you a weightlifter?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Certainly seems like it to me..." Yuusuke muttered, as he tried and failed to pull his hand free, though there were a few more stairs to go still...

Samantha grabbed Nola's hand and helped her pull.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Okay, I kinda feel almost like this is turning into a game for you all..." Yuusuke said, blinking, as he sighed, and braced himself against one of the steps, and put all his strength into pushing out backwards.

(Nola): "Your hand is getting slippery..."

(Sam): "If you fall on me, I will not be happy."

OOC: Not desperate enough to blast Kendra? :P

OOC: Nah, he doesn't realize she's powerless, and feels she's useful still. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Trying not to fall on either of you." Yuusuke said, as he tried one last time to wrench his hand free, hoping to fall in between them so that only Yuusuke would actually fall...

Yuusuke tumbled backward into Nola, who stumbled back and fell over the banister, landing on her back with her feet in the air.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Why am I falling? Wait, no, why is Nola falling. Yuusuke's first thoughts were, as he fell down the staircase, and twisted in midair, as he realized that suddenly Sam was falling too.
Why is every falling... Okay, gotta save Sam at least... Yuusuke thought, as he tried to quickly grab her to protect her from the inevitable crash, placing one hand behind her head, and the other he didn't actually know where, but tried for her shoulder.

Sam blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened. Her face then turned redder than ever, and she began to stammer incoherently.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke was confused as to exactly what exactly was the problem this time, but then the feeling in his hands returned, and he realized exactly what had happened, and jumped to his feet.
"Oh. I'm- I'm sorry!" Yuusuke said, his face trying to outdo Sam's face at that particular moment, as he wasn't quite sure what to do other than just stand there with a horrified look on his face, but calmed down ever so slightly enough, to hold out his hand toward Samantha, attempting to at least help her up; though everything seemed to be going wrong today, in that regard.

Sadly, when he jumped to his feet, Samantha's shirt went with him.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke didn't really have much of a reaction when he realized exactly what had happened for a good second or two, before turning beet red again, and blinking, not even sure what to do, other than making sure to remove his arm this time, without having anything else go wrong, hoping the shirt went back down on it's own, to spare Sam more humiliation, since he was sharing in it at that very moment. Meanwhile, all he could do is keep stammering apologies, and hope that this didn't ruin things either.

Sam clutched the shirt closer. "B.b...m...t....y....y.....y.. ....g......"

(Nola): "Ow....did I miss something?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke subtly rapidly nodded, his face still very bright red, but was also rooted to the spot, as he simply closed his eyes tightly, as he feared that he had messed things up horribly this time.

Kendra walked down the staircase, grabbed Nola's arm, and led her upstairs. "Bath."
(Nola): "Wait, what?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke would have objected out of respect, but he was currently stuck in his own little world, as this was twice in a single day that he had caused utter embarrassment for Sam, and this one was even partly his own fault...

Nola walked back downstairs, guided the still very red Sam to the bathroom, kicked Kendra out of the bathroom, and locked the door.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

(A while later)

Yuusuke glanced out of the bathroom door, blushing slightly.
"Coast is clear..." Yuusuke mumbled, still wondering why Nola had taken his clothes, forcing him to take the luckily green towel from the bathroom, since he was still rather wet anyway.

Sam slowly exited behind him.

(Will): "Smile for the camera."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke paled, and whirled to where Will's voice had come from, trying to figure out what was going on, but knowing that things had gone wrong that time.
... Yep. Embarrassment as a death. Why'd I go and anger the Voice.

Sam yelped and jumped behind Yuusuke, accidentally yanking away his towel.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke narrowed his eyes at Will, not even caring about his green and black boxers being revealed.
"Yes...?" Yuusuke asked, as he was aware of the fact that Sam was behind him, and figured that was the best place with Will around, and held a hand up to Will, as he turned around, and attempted to help give Sam the towel he had been using.

Will laughed. "Actually, I was trying to warn you. Andrew and Kendra rigged up a camera system. And it's uh...Sam, you might want to move...I'm gonna go kill those two, no worries."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke narrowed his eyes slightly, as he sighed.
"No, you won't. I'll get them first." Yuusuke stated, as he helped Sammy move out of the way.
"Now then." Yuusuke said, as he scanned the surroundings, looking for the camera, as he was not impressed at that moment.

(Andrew): *runs into the room* "Have any of you dudes seen my camer-WHOA!" *covers his eyes quickly* "I don't wanna know."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Okay, nevermind, make that Kendra. Chalk that up to another one on the list of psycho things." Yuusuke stated, as he kept up his search for the camera, making sure things were okay with Sam as he did so.

(Sam): "...I'm gonna go change."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Best idea." Yuusuke agreed with a nod.
"Meanwhile, I'll find this camera and find where our insane friend is, and teach her some manners. Andrew, you want your camera back, right?" Yuusuke asked, looking over at the manly man.
"If so, you should be the one to find it."

Andrew nodded, still with his eyes closed. "BY THE POWER OF MANLINESS! HEN---SHIN!"

(Will): "And Captain Pinkie returns."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Bonus points if you can track miss crazy herself down." Yuusuke called out over the transformation phrase.

"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU, IT'S TOO PINK!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"What are you, Pyrrhon?" Yuusuke asked, giving Andrew a 'seriously?' look.

"WHAT?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Just find the camera..." Yuusuke said with a sigh.

(Will): "Found it."
*unplugs it*

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Alright; now where did it lead to?" Yuusuke asked, looking at Will with a 'now what?' expression.

"...the bedroom."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke narrowed his eyes, and nodded.
"Alright. I'll handle this." Yuusuke stated, as he dashed off toward the bedroom.

He was, however, a bit late. Sam already had Kendra in headlock.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Go Sam!" Yuusuke cheered, and smiled awkwardly, though he was wondering what caused Sam to realize what happened.

Sam smiled at him.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Plausible deniability?" Yuusuke asked with a crooked smile on his face.

Sam giggled.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Though, I am slightly curious whether you just realized what happened or... Wait, yeah, plausible deniability sounds good to me." Yuusuke said with a chuckle.

"Hm? I just felt like clobbering her."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Ah, alright, just wondered since you mentioned getting changed, and now you're apparently more interested in turning Kendra blue. But don't mind me." Yuusuke said, as he looked around for the computer.

"...Do you not see the pajamas?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I see the pajamas. I meant how you got from there to here." Yuusuke said with a chuckle.

"Good question." She laughed.

OOC: I just remembered...in her mind, she's only known him a day. :P

OOC: Maybe everything that's happened has like unlocked her memories of him or something. She DID seem to recognize him more when his house was set on fire, after all. =P Or new memories are being created or so. Though... I have an idea for when you're actually on Steam. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Don't let me interrupt, though, just need to help... settle things." Yuusuke said, still looking for the computer that Kendra was using; while trying not to actually worry Sam.

OOC: That won't be  until late today.

IC: Sam yawned and released Kendra. "I'm ready for bed...this has been a long day."

OOC: Oh, well PMs could work for discussing it in the meantime. =P It involved memories, though. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Though, is it really safe here?" Yuusuke asked, giving Kendra an odd look as he said that, as he found the computer finally, and attempted to look up about what had happened with the cameras.

There were many, many images of Yuusuke there.

(Sam): "We've always shared this room before...girls on one bed, boys (and Andrew) on the other."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke raised an eyebrow, and looked to make sure that nothing of Sam was present.
"No, I meant like, safe, in terms of the one you just had in a headlock." Yuusuke said, still not entirely trusting Kendra to not do something crazy.

Sam was in the pictures, but the focus was clear Yuusuke.
Sam sighed. "She probably won't try anything. She's outnumbered."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke shook his head at the pictures again, but just deleted them anyway, especially the ones that even partially had Sam.
"Well, she was outnumbered earlier, and look what happened." Yuusuke pointed out with a chuckle.
"But, if you think it's fine, then go ahead." Yuusuke said, shrugging.
"Just was saying that if you wanted the other bed, that was fine, and I could've taken the floor."

"Thanks, but you deserve a bed."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bedtime~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke laid in bed, expecting something bad to happen, based off the rest of the day.

OOC: Sleep...sleep...

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke shrugged, and attempted to close his eyes to sleep, still wary of Kendra, having a feeling something would happen.

~~~~~Shortly after Yuusuke falls asleep~~~~~
(Kendra): "Yuusuke? Are you awake?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke groaned, and kept his eyes closed.
"What do you think...?" Yuusuke mumbled sleepily, trying to actually stay asleep, instead of waking up five minutes later.

"Can...can we talk?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed, as he sat up; Kendra's tone seeming like something was up with her... And even though he was rather annoyed at how she acted, he wasn't just going to ignore a problem.
"Sure."

"It's...the way I acted today. I didn't mean...it's just...as soon as I saw you...it's like a switch flipped in my head. Like I suddenly couldn't live without you."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Ahh, I see." Yuusuke said with a nod, though it didn't mean he didn't think she was crazy still.

"So...can we still be friends?"

OOC: No, she's not suddenly sane.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I have no problems with being friends; but there are limits, you know?"

"YUU-SUKE!~~" Kendra laughed happily, jumped out of bed, and climbed in next to Yuusuke.

OOC: LIMITS.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... What did I just say about limits." Yuusuke said, his eye twitching slightly, as he looked at Kendra slightly blankly, with a slight hint of annoyance.

OOC: She actually kinda seems in these cases like the annoying little sister who just follows people around. That's the better Kendra, IMO. =P

OOC: The little sister with the crush on her brother...

IC: Kendra cuddled against him. "Yuu~suke..."

OOC: Well, if she was less creepy, I mean. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Personal space. Do you even know the concept of this!?" Yuusuke harshly whispered, the silent equivalent of how he'd normally say that.

"Mmm...but there's no boundaries between love, sweetie."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Okay, rephrase that, do you even know the concepts of friendship?" Yuusuke asked, looking at the girl skeptically.

"We're friends with bmnerff"
most of her reply was muffled as she rubbed her face into Yuusuke.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... It doesn't mean that you curl up into my bed and act weird. Personal space, limits, all that fun stuff."

Kendra happily sniffed Yuusuke's hair.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hey, idea, why not head back to your own place, and we can talk later." Yuusuke said, really wanting sleep, and really not wanting Kendra there.

"Mmm...my Yuusuke is comfy~"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed with a hint of irritation, and attempted to push Kendra off the bed somehow.

Kendra fell, taking his blanket with her.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke shook his head, but simply shrugged, thinking that a good trade off for getting free of Kendra.

Kendra snored softly, having fallen asleep the instant she hit the floor.

(Sam): *in her sleep* "Yuusuke..."

OOC: She does remember him...in her dreams. :P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke looked over in the direction of the sleeping Samantha, as he smiled slightly, and closed his eyes once more as well.

Yuusuke rolled over, and found himself lying in the void of the Voice's lair.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke blinked, as he looked around, obviously confused.
"Okay, this time I was just laying in bed, not even near the book." Yuusuke said, holding his hands up apologetically, no clue what happened.

OOC: =P

(Noir): "Do tell."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke tensed up, suddenly on guard, as he looked in the direction of Noir's voice, warning bells ringing in his head, as he wondered what was going on with this now.

(??): "Ah, so this is the boy that pursued you, Noir-kun?"
Noir nodded. "Yes Master."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"What is going on?" Yuusuke asked with a frown, in the dark about what was happening.

"Allow me to introduce Mr. White." Noir said, gesturing to nothing in particular.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Who?" Yuusuke asked, not seeing anyone.

"Beyond your reach."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Okay, who are you lot, anyway? What is going on here?" Yuusuke asked, still unsure of what was happening.

(Mr. White): "You could call us the opposing team."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"What do you want, then? And why does this place look like the Voice's realm?" Yuusuke asked, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Because it is. I merely borrowed it-with his permission, of course."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That's possible?" Yuusuke asked, not actually expecting that before then.

"For me it is."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I take it you arne't taking questions on who you two even are, more than the opposing side, then." Yuusuke said, and then frowned.
"You also never answered the whole 'what you want' question, just to mention..."

"I simply wanted to see the courageous lad who thought he could fight my bodyguard."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, I'm here, then." Yuusuke said, shrugging.

"Indeed...and nothing special. I'll return you."
Yuusuke appeared in Sam's bed. His pajamas remained with Noir.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke blinked, not totally understanding why he was suddenly staring at the ceiling, until he looked to the right, and noticed Sam next to him.
... Oh, this can't end well.

Sam blinked her eyes open. "Hmm..? ..BWHA!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Wait, no!" Yuusuke said, waving his arms to try and calm her down, back in boxers again.

OOC: Persistent boxers. =P

Sam thought a minute, then pulled him down and kissed him.

OOC: Someone had a good dream. :P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke was slightly surprised by the gesture, but didn't fight it, and instead simply kissed Sam back.

*Sam pulls the blanket over them*
"Your..everything... is like ice."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hmm, odd." Yuusuke said, confused as he had only been without a blanket for a few seconds before the trip to the other realm happened, and that wasn't long either. That said, he never complained about the blanket either.

Sam cuddled closer to him.

~~~~~~~~
Lauren ran down the alley. "Help! Please! Somebody, he-" Her voice cut off as the Faceless plunged its knife deep into her skull.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke smiled, and hugged her as well, as he attempted to drift off to sleep again in peace this time, since he was next to Sam and that was all that mattered to him right then. Not even crazy Kendra could- No; thinking about that would make it happen somehow. Best to just concentrate on the present.

~~~The Next Morning~~~
(Andrew): "Mm..something smells like..."
he jumped to his feet.

"PANCAKES!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke woke with a start, and attempted to jump up, but was comically pulled back by gravity and force, as the sheer shock of his hand not being free right away caused him to fall right back down, though luckily not on Sam.

Sam did not wake up, but hugged him in her sleep.

(Andrew): "PAAAAANNNNNAAAAKKKKEEEEESSSS!"
He bolted down the stairs, tripped, and fell down the staircase.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, we might not be seeing him for a while, then." Yuusuke said, hearing the crashes, though he smiled at Sam as she slept, and kissed her forehead.

(Andrew): *Muffled* "Pan...cake....s..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Huh, he's still awake? That's a surprise." Yuusuke said, shrugging as best as he could.

(Sam): "Should we get up?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Maybe. Sounds like breakfast is ready, after all."

(Sam): "But it's nice and warm here...And..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Yeha, that side really is winning out here." Yuusuke said, as he didn't really want to move.

(Nola): "Should I bring you two loverbirds breakfast in bed?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I'll let Sammy decide here." Yuusuke said with a smile, as he looked at Sam.

Sam cuddled against him, saying nothing.


OOC: Is this the part where the Faceless smashes through the wall? :P

OOC: Depends on if you wanna make Yuusuke seem more awesome than he is. =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"She says yes." Yuusuke said with a smile, interpreting the cuddle as yes.

Nola left, and returned with two plates of amazing-looking pancakes.

OOC: ...Now I'm craving iHOP.

OOC: =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Wow, looks good." Yuusuke said, impressed at the look of the pancakes, as he attempted to sit up as best as he could with one arm.

(Sam): *Opens mouth* "Aah"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hmm?" Yuusuke asked, smiling at the possibility for what Sam meant, but still had to make sure.

(Sam): *louder* "Aaah."

-=+IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke chuckled, and then helped Sam with the pancake, making sure to place the plates in a way that things would not go badly, as he pretty much fed her for a little bit.

OOC: ::) We all know things will go badly somehow. =P

(Sam): *Smiles brightly*

OOC: Yes, but how to ruin their day....

OOC: Good question. =P Dual voice summon that tosses them in the cold bath somehow? =P

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke chuckled again, and continued feeding Sam.

Sam licked her lips, then kissed Yuusuke.

OOC: Hm...Nah. Maybe some sort of Kendra.

OOC: Mine sounded more fun. =P

-==iC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke smiled, and kissed Sammy back, happy about that particular moment.

OOC: Don't want to be predictable. :P

IC: Sam hugged him tightly.
(Andrew): "This is so sweet I'm going to hurl."

OOC: xD

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Don't be a downer." Yuusuke said, as he hugged Sam back.

(Andrew): "I can feel my manliness dying just from being near you."
(Sam): *laughs and hugs Yuusuke tighter*
(Nola): *grabs Andrew by the neck* "Leave them alone, Mr. Tact."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I'm just gonna ignore mr. 'Manly' there." Yuusuke said with a shrug, as he continued to hug Sam, though a mischievous smile appeared on his face, a plan obviously forming.

Sam hugged him closer.

~~~~~~~~
(Mr. White): "I believe this Yuusuke to be a destabilizing influence on my plans."
(Noir): "..."
(Mr. White): "I feel we should test him more."
(Noir): "..."
(Mr. White): "The Faceless has finished processing the data from the prior fight?"
(Noir): "..."
(Mr. White): "Then activate the Faceless. We attack!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke hugged Sam back, but then felt cautious all of a sudden, as if something bad was about to happen.
"Anyone else have a sudden bad feeling, or just me?"

"It's just you."
Sam rested her head on his chest. "Last night..I remembered."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke smiled, as he figured she meant remembered about him.

"I dreamed about when we were both kids."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Very cool." Yuusuke said, as he rubbed her back.

OOC: It's hard to put into words sometimes the actual things that happen in stuff; like, say fight scenes in things; if you imagine stuff, that's fine, but have fun trying to translate every relevant detail to text. =P I should know; I've tried. =P

"We were at the playground near the school. Do you remember that?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nodded with a smile.

"We were playing by the swings when you fell and scraped your knee."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Heh, I remember that, yeah." Yuusuke said with a nod, chuckling to himself.
"I remember that I tried to keep a brave face despite it, to not worry you and such." Yuusuke said, smiling at Sam as he talked.

"I seem to remember you crying a bit, and pretending you weren't."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I was yawning." Yuusuke said with a mock hurt look on his face, but chuckled and nodded.
"Only a bit, though. I figured if I admitted it, it would've made you start crying, and that wouldn't've done." Yuusuke said with a shrug.

"Hehe~ I-"
*crash from downstairs*
(Andrew): "Oh ****!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"THat doesn't sound good at all." Yuusuke said, blinking, as he looked in the direction of the stairs.
"I'd say it's probably best for me to go help, judging by Andrew's reaction."

~~After Yuusuke ran downstairs, remembered he was wearing only boxers, ran back up, got dressed, and ran back down~~
The Faceless pursued Andrew in circles around the table.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Doesn't look too manly to let that little thing chase you." Yuusuke said, as he sent a light beam at the Faceless to at the very LEAST distract it.

The Faceless split into thirty. Each one had a different weapon - knives, swords...and one banana.
Most remained humanoid, but one of them had four arms.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Ah. I see the problem." Yuusuke said, as he stepped back, assuming a fighting position.

OOC: Do I need thirty people? =P

The other Faceless' grew additional arms (and weapons) as well.

(Nola): "Um...is my memory bad, or did they learn new tricks?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Nope, they've definitely learned new tricks. Everyone, you might wanna duck." Yuusuke said, as he attempted to pierce each with a single light beam that bounced around the room, gathering more light as it went.

One of the Faceless held up a mirror, reflecting the light back at Yuusuke.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke, however, simply pulled out a mirror of his own, and reflected it toward another of the Faceless.

The bodies of the Faceless' morphed into a reflective substance.

(Nola): "That is so cheating!"

OOC: Can I re-absorb light? And I agree with Nola.

OOC: Sure.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

As it reflected back, Yuusuke frowned, and tried to re-absorb the light again, since obviously that wasn't going to work.

OOC: So, then, how do deal with godmoders? =P

OOC: Teamwork. Tell the others what to do, THEN take down the Faceless.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Nola, attack the ones on the left; Andrew, you take the ones on the right. Kendra, Will, you two act as distractions." Yuusuke said, giving directions to each, as Yuusuke looked over to Sam, and held his right hand out to her.
"We'll attack together."

OOC: SURPRISE.

OOC: IT'S ALIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EE


IC: Kendra and Will began making as much noise as they could as Nola and Andrew attacked.

(Sam): "Sure, but...what can I do?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Take my hand." Yuusuke said with a smile, as he had a plan for the first time in a long while.

Sam took his hand. One of the Faceless broke from the group and ran at them.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke took a stance beside Sam, and then waited, as he held their arms back, fingers interlocked and waiting. As the Faceless approached, Yuusuke very quickly pushed out, hoping Sam would catch onto what he was doing, and unleashed a blast that might just combine with Sam's latant powers.

Sam held out her hand as well. Nothing happened. The Faceless dodged Yuusuke's blast and stabbed at his head.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke, however, quickly attempted to parry the blow and disarm the creature before attempting to destroy it finally.

The Faceless dodged back, but Sam tripped it. It fell into the kitchen table and shattered.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"See?" Yuusuke said with a smile, as he triedto figureout who was left.

"MUSTACHE......POWER!!!"

A bright pink light obliterated many of the Faceless. Nola drop-kicked another through a window.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Not many left now." Yuusuke said, as he tried to figure out how to handle the rest.

Kendra smashed the last Faceless over the head with a rolling pin. The pin bounced back and hit her in the face.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Nice effort, gotta work on your throwing though." Yuusuke said, shaking his head.

"Wha too in meep yoo?" Kendra muttered, dazed.

-==IC: yuusuke==-

"Can't hear you." Yuusuke said, as he turned to the others.

(Nola): "GO TEAM!"
(Andrew): "How do I turn off this stupid mustache?!"
(Sam): "I wish I'd filmed that."
(Kendra): "Was hoo feep moo."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, I'm sure there'll be other chances."

(Kendra): "Fumba."

(Sam): *Cell phone rings*

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke looked over for a moment, wondering what that was all about.

(Sam): "Hello?"
She handed the phone to Yuusuke. "It's for you."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke pointed to himself in confusion, but nodded slowly, and picked up thephone.
"Hello?"

A hissing noise could be heard on the other end, as though the phone had been dropped in a pile of snakes.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke paled, and quickly dug out an odd instrument, and played a certain tune.

"Ehe. No need for that, Yuusuke. I just dropped my phone. Can't quite grasp your technology-give me a smoke signal and a war dance any day."

-==IC:Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed in relief, and nodded.
"That's good. So, what's up?" Yuusuke asked, confused about the call now.

"It's simple, really. We're all placing bets on your success, and I decided to stack the deck a bit. You'll find a present from me at the native American exhibit at your local museum."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke raised an eyebrow, but nodded.
"Alright, thank you." Yuusuke said, appreciating the gesture.

"Just remember to keep playing that flute-No, no, don't eat mommy's phone-" *click*

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke's mouth curled into a slight smile at the end of that, and handed the phone back to Sam.
"Alright, road trip time!"

"Who was that?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"It involves things that most people would think I'm crazy for." Yuusuke said, not wanting to totally explain that it involved a dream where she was present for a long while.

(Will): "Yes, because a pink superhero with mustache powers, a girlfriend created from nothing, and assassins with television static for faces is totally logical."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Yeah, well, I dunno how much people would believe that dreams can be partially real and that I angered a snake goddess accidentally after meeting a few elder gods." Yuusuke said, kinda actually wanting to explain now.

(Sam): "Sounds reasonable enough to me."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke paused with a slight nod, and then began to explain the whole story.

~~~~Elsewhere, in a location beyond time and space~~~~~~~~~~~
"Is it really acceptable to allow these lesser gods to interfere in our game?"
"Calm yourself, Mister White. They are my creations as much as you, and have their own roles to play in our grand contest."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke eventually finished.

(Will): "...So, who wants to drive?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke raised his hand.

"Great. You can drive the bunnymobile."
(Nola): "The WHAT?"
(Will): "Andrew's hot pink volvo with bunnies painted on it."

(Andrew): "It's my grandma's! I wanted a monster truck!"

-==IC: yuusuke==-

"Suuure you did." Yuusuke said, as he rolled his eyes.

"It's true!"

Andrew dug through his pockets and handed Yuusuke a key. it was attached to a fluffy toy kitten..and of course, was bright pink.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"You know, I so wanna believe you, but, well, your theme is... hot pink." Yuusuke said, though in reality he did believe him. It just so happened it was probably a cosmic prank that Andrew didn't totally mind.

"No! I'm MANLY! I AM!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Never said you weren't." Yuusuke said with an amused smile.

"Never said you were, either." Nola added. "Seatbelts buckled?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Yep." Yuusuke said, as he turned the key.

(Kendra): "Not to alarm you, but there's a live snake in the glovebox."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke looked over, as it seemed to be bopping its head to the music on the radio.
"Looks like it's friendly."

Sam looked at the radio. "Why on earth is there a 24-hour wooden flute station?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Not totally sure, though I have my suspicions. Snake seems to like it." Yuusuke said with a shrug.

Another snake emerged from inside a stuffed rabbit and slithered onto Andrew's lap. His scream with so high, dogs in the next city over heard it, and to this day, that date is known as the day of exploding windows.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Hm. I guess Nola wins this round after all. Too bad, I believed."

(Andrew): "Mummy..."

(Nola): "There's a snake in the air vent too. that can't be good for the car."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"At least it wasn't on an airplane." Yuusuke said, amused at his own joke.

"Less comedy, more dodging that large truck coming at us. Stay in your lane."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I am in my own la-" Yuusuke said, and then paused.
"Oh." Yuusuke said, as he quickly changed lanes to avoid the wrong-lane truck, and frowned.
"Stupid idiots on the road need to learn how to drive..."

(Kendra): *whispering* "Should we tell him about the spider on his head?"
(Nola): *Whispering* "The snakes will take care of it."

(Andrew): *Whimpers*

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke swatted at said spider, accidentally knocking it onto kendra's lap.

Kendra flicked it over to Andrew, who burst into VERY MANLY tears.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Poor Andrew." Yuusuke muttered with a sigh.

One of the snakes fell out the window, landing on the windshield of the car behind them.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke watched at the car behind them swerved around.
"Idiots. Why would they carry a snake on a windshield? That's just cruel." Yuusuke said, not realizing it was one of their snakes.

"Probably same reason this car has a giant Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tubeman™ on the roof." Nola said.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hey now, don't criticize Andrew's grandma's tastes now."

(Andrew): "Actually, I bought that."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh, well don't criticize Andrew's tastes either, then."

The tubeman bent over, obscuring the windshield with its demonic grinning clown face.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke just kept driving, having already memorized the path ahead.

(Nola): "TRUCKTRUCKTRUCK!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke, once again, quickly lanechanged.

"WRONGLANEWRONGLANE!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke kept hopping lanes until he got back in the correct one.

"CHICKENCROSSING!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke managed tosomehow avoid the chickens.

"ARMADA OF CLOWNS!"

(Sam): "What is with this town?!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"A good question for later." Yuusuke said, swerving around as they finally approached the museum.

(Woman): "THIS STATUE IS COVERED IN SNAKES!"

(Guard): "yes ma'am. That's why we're evacuating everyone."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke, on the other hand,simply strode in as if it were an ordinary day.

A security guard walked over to him. "Sorry son, nobody can get in. Some prankster dropped a box of poisonous snakes through a skylight and we haven't found them all."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I have an affinity to snakes, they won't bother me." Yuusuke said with a confident smile.

OOC: He's gonna be like a snake tamer in two posts, isn't he. =P

(Young Woman): "Oh, you do? Then...can you help me?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"What do you need?" Yuusuke asked, turning to face the woman.

"I dropped something very important in the Native American exhibit, but now it's crawling with snakes!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Sure, I was..." Yuusuke paused, and looked at the woman again curiously, wondering if it was a certain snake lover or not.

"C-can you help me please? They're so...crawly!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nodded slowly, not liking what this seemed like, though.

"Thank you so much, you're so sweet!"
(Sam): "Back off, dye-job. He's mine."
(Girl): "My hair is NATURALLY green, thank you very much!"
(Sam): "There's also a snake in your pocket."
(Girl): *unintelligible screams of terror*
(Kendra): "I think that's just lint."
(Sam): " 'Oops'."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke seemed amused by what happened, but frowned.
WHy does this person want something that just so happens to be in the same place as what I need to get...?

"Here, let's get it back. I can't go home without my purse, and when the snakes appeared...well, I may have thrown my purse at one of them!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Oh. Yuusuke thought, as he began to head into the museum again.

(Kendra): "This girl seems pretty stupid."
(Sam): "You're one to talk."

A snake fell from the ceiling.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke simply held his arm out for it to curl around.

The snake slithered up his shirt.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke ignored it and headed on, hoping that it was comfy.

In the center of the Native American exhibit was a statue of a giant snake, with a medicine man playing a wooden flute for it.
The plaque read Many tribes conducted elaborate rituals to placate the Snake-King Yig. In such cultures, any who harmed a snake was forced to perform special rituals for the rest of their life, and their tribe would take part in the rituals as well.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Shrugging, Yuusuke pulled out the flute this time, and began to play it.

No sound came from the flute.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke frowned, confused.
"What the...? It's never done that before..." Yuusuke mumbled, an odd feeling suddenly appearing.

"Did it always say "made in China" on it?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke narrowed his eyes, not impressed.
"That woman." Yuusuke mumbled.

(Kendra): "Hey, where did she go, anyway?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke muttered a few choice things.
"She probably took the thing and left, too." Yuusuke growled.
"No wonder there's so many snakes around..."

(Sam): "What should we do?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"We find her." Yuusuke said, as he ran out of the museum.

Sam sighed. "Why do you think she left the museum?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Because she's probabyl running away with the flute and whatever was left here."

OOC: Well, if you're sure...

IC: Sam and the others followed him outside. The parking lot was filled with snakes.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... WEll, that's not good."

OOC: I never said I was sure, but you never mentioned the woman following them in. =P

(Nola): "Do we have a plan?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Not really, unless anyone can sense where she went."

(Sam): "Are we sure she left the museum?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Where would she have gone? And do we know if she even followed us in?"

(Nola): "She definitely followed us in, but I lost track of her after that."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Then let's go find her." yuusuke said with a frown.

"Are you sure she went outside, though?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"No, that's why we're heading back in." Yuusuke admitted, as he turned around, and started walking back inside.

(Nola): "OK, so of the exhibits she could have hidden in...we have Terror of the Jungle, a Journey Through the Amazon,  Caverns of Treasure, Geology Made Exciting, Aquatic Monsters, Beasts of the Deep, and Dinosaurs: What More Do We Need to Say?."

(Sam): "The Amazon seems interesting."
(Andrew): "Dinosaurs are more MANLY."
(Sam): "Dinosaurs evolved into CHICKENS."
(Kendra): "I like the ocean..."
(Will): "Aren't you scared of fish?"
(Nola): "Geology is interesting..."
(Sam): "Someone just decide, please."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Let's go with the Amazon." Yuusuke said, as he went with Sam's idea, and headed in that direction.

(Voice): "THE AMAZON. A REALM OF MYSTERY. DANGER. WATER. GIANT BUGS. GIANT WOMEN WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE ACTUALLY EXISTED. AND SOME OTHER STUFF TOO. PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR MINDS BLOWN BY THE WONDERS OF...THE AMAZON!"


(Nola): "...Wow."

(Kendra): "Looks like a fairly straight path through this...super cheesy fake rainforest."


OOC: I'm sorta channeling Octodad: Dadliest Catch's "Wonderful World of Kelp" and "Deep Sea" areas. Also, if you haven't seen that game, watch a playthrough on Youtube-the story, animation, and voice acting make you feel like you're watching a Pixar film.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Let's go, then." Yuusuke said, as he hurried forward.

The room they entered first was filled with fake trees, fake animals, and some very much not fake snakes.

(Voice): "WANT TO MOVE ON? FIRST, FIND THE FIVE MAGIC BUTTONS HIDDEN THROUGHOUT THE EXHIBIT! PROVE YOU ARE WORTHY TO BE AN AMAZON WARRIOR!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Buttons? What is this, Sonic Boom?" Yuusuke muttered, as he shook his head.

(Kendra): "Found one. They're the big gold things."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"This really is SOnic Boom..." Yuusuke muttered, as he walked around to find more.

They were all in very obvious places.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed, as he tried to go and press all the buttons, wondering just why he was doing this.

The door opened.
"WOW. AMAZING. YOU ARE TRULY GREAT, JUST LIKE THE HEROES OF OLD! NOW, STEP ONWARD INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE JUNGLE!"
(Sam): "...It's a plastic hut with some kinda racist cardboard natives."
"THIS IS THE AMAZON. HERE IN THIS LUSH-" The voice - and the lights - cut out.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed. "And here comes the typical Sonic Boom fight scenes."

*a full minute of nothing happening*

(Sam): "I found the light switch."

The lights turned back on, revealing...Absolutely nothing.

(Sam): "...so the Amazon exhibit wasn't it, then."

(Kendra): "Which exhibit do we try next?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I have absolutely no idea."

(Everyone speaking in unison): "Dinosaurs!" "Underwater!" "I'm hungry!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Let's just go to the space part."

"SPACE. THE FINAL FRONTIER. WHAT WONDERS LIE BEYOND THE STARS?"
A cardboard astronaut stood on a poorly made diorama of the moon. The sign read "Moon Landing: Fake?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke rolled his eyes, and kept walking around to check.

A snake was sitting on top of a model of the Apollo 11 (Mislabeled, for some reason, the USS George)

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke then had the bright idea to try and pick up the snake.

The USS George fell down. There was a door behind it.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Huh." Yuusuke proceeded through the door.

(Janitor): "Eh? Wazzat? Cosarn these snakes!"

(Nola): "What."

(Janitor): "Some lass pro'vid me wit this here flute, but when I gave it a toot these bloomin' snakes came a-swarming outta these here vents!"

(Sam): "What on earth is your accent?"

(Nola): "He's slipping from Old West to Cockney..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... That's odd, but I'm going to roll with it. I kinda need that flute, it was stolen from me by the person you're talking about."

"You won't be takin' me tooty!"
He swung his mop at Yuusuke, smacking himself in the head with it and knocking himself unconscious.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." Yuusuke promptly walked up, and took the 'tooty' away from the guy. "I say we go home now."

(All): "AGREED."


(Nola): "Wait, wasn't there something for us in the native american exhibit?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Fine, we can check that out first."

*back at the place you were supposed to play the flute*

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke looked around, shrugged, and played the flute.

Thousands of snakes poured into the room, merging into the body of Yig.
"Applause, please!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke applauded, thinking that might help.

"Thank you." Yig handed Yuusuke a box. "Now remember, play that every day or you die from snakes. I wish you all the best of luck!" 

She vanished, then reappeared a minute later. "Forgot one of my snakes."

She vanished again.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke blinked, and sighed, as he opened the box.

A fake snake was hurled out.

OOC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_nut_can


BIC: There was also a ring inside the box.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." Yuusuke got curious at the ring, though, and picked it up.

The ring was in the shape of a snake eating its own tail.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." Yuusuke examined the snake a little more, totally confused as to what it was about.

It was a fake snake.

The ring had writing on it: "To those that wish to command my serpe"


(Nola): "....guess there wasn't enough room to finish that sentence."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Should've written it in the middle earth language thingy." Yuusuke shrugged slightly, but put on the ring, figuring that's what was meant.

Nothing happened, since all the snakes had left with Yig, aside from the fake one.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." I'm about to look like a nerd. "ARISE, FAKE SNAKE!"

Absolutely nothing happened, because the snake was fake.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Figures."

(Nola): "....You tried your best."


(Sam): "At least you didn't turn pink."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"No, that'd be Andrew."

Andrew shot him a death glare.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hey, it's a manly colour, isn't it? Never said it was a bad thing; just saying it'd be you." Yuusuke shrugged, and then sighed. "Right, so, we going now?"

(Everyone in unison): "Home." "Lunch." "Six Flags." "There isn't a six flags for miles, doofus." "The aquarium."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I kinda agree with home. Though lunch is a good idea, but we could make that when back home."

"But home is a long drive."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"We've also been on our feet for what feels like half a year."

*Kendra falls asleep*

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed. "See, even Kendra agrees. Let's just go home and get some rest."

(Nola): "OK, but I'm driving this time."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That was one time." He sighed, thought. "Sounds better than Will driving."

(All nod)

(Nola): "Alright. Um...which one is the gas?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Maybe I should drive, after all."

"...Sure."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke gave Nola an apologetic look, but then got into the driver's seat to drive them home.

~~~Back Home~~~


(Noir): "I see you've been on a trip."

(Sam): "You're the one who blew up Yuusuke's house!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke seemed a bit confused, but rolled with it. "Yeah, you monster." Yuusuke said, as he began to get an idea.

(Noir): "Hand over the ring."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke instead blew the flute.

Noir's pistol was instantly by his head.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke had a disgruntled look on his face. "Why do people always abuse speed or teleportation."

Noir's eyes narrowed.

(Andrew): "TRANS-"

(Noir): "Finish that sentence and he loses his skull."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke didn't make a move to do anything right then. He was thinking of something, anything.

"The ring. Now."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Alright, alright, fine..." Yuusuke placed two fingers on the ring, making sure to keep in mind where Noir was; as he began to pull the ring off, he had a light blast attempt to shoot into Noir's head.

As the light hit Noir, she fired the gun.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

As Yuusuke did that, he moved to duck, trying to at least avoid a good portion of the damage, but not liking his odds.

~approximately sixteen hours later~

*Yuusuke wakes up in the hospital*


OOC: Yuusuke will be have hearing problems for a while from the gunshot.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." Yuusuke blinked, not even wanting to risk turning his head, as he had a bad feeling that hadn't ended totally well.

(Nola): "Hey, you're awake."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke, in response, gave a thumbs up, still being cautious about anything involving his head.

"And you're looking pretty g-...er...alive!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... How bad?"

"...Well, hair grows back..and the skin grafts were a success...and you still have most of that ear..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... well, I can always get a wig. And ears are mostly unimportant, what about the lobe?"

"...We all thought you were going to die..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... To be honest, I thought I was too. What happened to tall dark and obnoxious?"

"I'm...not actually sure. Your light attack, plus the flash of the barrel...when we looked, she was gone. There was a lot of blood on the ground, some of it might have been hers?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"What about the ring? And flute?"

"I've got them."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed in relief. "... Where's everyone else?"

"Will watched over you last night. he's sleeping. Sam is keeping Kendra from causing trouble. Andrew keeps fainting every time he sees blood."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That's good. Any word on when I'll be getting out?"

"Another day or two, probably..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed. "... Haven't even been awake two minutes and I'm starting to feel bored and wanting to move."

"...I brought Sudoku books..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Goodie."

"...Sorry."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Not your fault." He offered a slight smile. "I'm the one who tried to play hero." He seemed a bit awkward. "... How did everyone, um, react when it happened?"

"Andrew fainted, Sam screamed, Kendra tried to tackle that lady with the gun, and Will jumped in front of me."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Guess I probably worried Sam a bunch, didn't I..."

"She's gonna slap you when you're feeling better."

Nola stretched. "Meanwhile, I learned that when I'm panicking over a friend being dead I lose control over my body."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke looked at Nola in confusion. "Huh?"

"ah- well, I'm the "dream girlfriend", right? Turns out I can adjust my appearance slightly. Speaking of which, I need to tell Andrew I borrowed his scissors to cut off about seven feet of hair."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Okay, that sounds interesting." He raised an eyebrow slightly. "At least it wasn't that bad, and was easily fixable..."

"Yeah. Didn't need to replace any clothes this t-Wait, we were talking about you, don't change the subject."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"This time?" Yuusuke raised an eyebrow.

"...."
Nola's face was slowly getting redder.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke, however, seemed more worried than anything. "Have people gotten into danger before, that caused that, or?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It just happens sometimes. Strong emotions."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke raised an eyebrow at that, trying to keep a straight face.

"S-shut up!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I didn't say a thing." He said, trying his hardest to not smirk.

"I-you-you-I-I'm getting a drink of water."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed. "Sorry."

"it's fine. I'll be right back."

She returned a minute later with two bottles of water and gave one to Yuusuke.

"honestly it doesn't bother me all that much. Guess it's part of the way my brain was designed."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh? Really now? So if I mentioned my thoughts on what might have triggered it...?" Yuusuke let a smirk in here.

Nola poured her drink over his head.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke yelped, being lucky enough to have tilted his head to avoid it, and then gave Nola a look. "Okay, miss 'I'm totally fine with it'." He proceeded to toss some of his water her way.

Nola laughed.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke blinked. "What's so funny?" He asked, honestly confused.

"it's good to see you feeling better already."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"True that..." He sighed.

"On the other hand, it was not nice of you to get my new shirt wet."

She sipped the remainder of her water.
"You ever wonder what life would have been like for your if you'd never met us?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke looked up at the ceiling. "Kinda. Then again, I kinda feel like it probably would be a bit... exciting anyway, so at least I have friends alongside me." He gave Nola a smile.

She returned the smile. "I get the feeling everyone but me wonders about that."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh...?" Yuusuke had a feeling where this was going.

"Well, obviously I don't wonder. I wouldn't exist."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"True... But have you ever wondered about, like, if only a couple people had met?"

"Which people do you mean?".

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke shrugged. "I dunno. No real limit; only real definer for you, is you and Will." He chuckled a bit, however. "I honestly don't think I'd trade this, though."

"Heh. Technically it wouldn't even have had to be Will, just someone wishing for their "perfect girlfriend" with some specific ideas."

She laughed.
"Funny thing is, lately it seems like he thinks of my more like his sister."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh?" Yuusuke seemed a bit confused about that one.

"yeah, I guess he realized he wasn't really looking for love. Just cause you have a fantasy doesn't mean you want it to be real, ya'know?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nodded, but sighed. "I'm sorry, it's too bad..." He rubbed his arm, not sure what else to say.

"Eh, it's fine with me. Perfect girlfriends don't get upset by breakups."
She said the last part with noticeable bitterness.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... I dunno if that's true." Yuusuke frowned slightly.

"Maybe not for real girls. But I can't get angry with anything my  'boyfriend' does."
She stopped. "N-not that I'm upset with Will! He'd never do anything to hurt me. I'm just...I wonder what it would be like to have truly free will."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"You don't?"

"No. I basically have to share the interests and opinions of my boyfriend, and I can't be angry at them."

She sighed.
"Will really is a wonderful human being, but I can't say the same about the Voice."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"The voice?"

"The guy who gave everyone their powers, remember?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, yeah, but what about him?"

"I'm an object to him. A gift he created out of nothingness to give to Will. So he's  the reason i an what I am."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hmm..." Yuusuke nodded.

"So because of the way he made me, I have to share the exact opinions of whoever is identified as my boyfriend."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"COuldn't it be possible to have that changed?"

"If you wished for that when the Voice gives you a boon, sure. I don't count as a person so I don't get to wish."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That's not very fair..."

"Of course it isn't. Neither is you getting shot."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Touche. Though, it kinda was my fault in a way, but hey, at least that worked out."

"Indeed. If you're capable of teasing me, your brains can't be any more scrambled than those of our friends."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke chuckled, and nodded. "True that." He said with a smile. "Intense emotions, though, huh?" He failed the smirk check this time.

"B-back to that, huh."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I thought the teasing was a good thing?" Yuusuke asked with an amused smile.

"I guess it is."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I wonder, though..." The man glanced up at the ceiling again, as he thought over what Nola had said. "Perhaps you're not giving yourself enough credit..."

"Beg pardon?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke turned his eyes to Nola with a small smile. "I just wonder if maybe you actually have more free will than you thought. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I get the feeling..." He trailed off, and hesitated before he chuckled. "I don't know. It just feels like you might have already shown it in a way."

Nola raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

The young man sighed, a puzzled look on his face. "I'm not totally sure myself. But like, it just feels like you've shown free will just in what you've done just now. I don't know really. I guess it depends on what you consider free will to begin with..."

"Yeah, I guess so. It's not like philosophers haven't spent thousands of years debating whether real humans have free will too."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke chuckled as he nodded. "What would you even consider to be having free will, anyway?"

"I guess...being able to form my own opinions, instead of having someone else tailor them?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hmm, that would make sense." Yuusuke nodded, as he thought for a moment. "What do you think about Sam?"

"Huh? That's a sudden shift." Nola turned to look at him more closely. "How do I think of her...in what way?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"In any way." Yuusuke chuckled, as he smiled enigmatically. "Consider it a test of sorts."

"She's...nice?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Alright, what about Andrew? Aka, Mr. Manly?"

"He's...well, he tries."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke chuckled as he wished he could nod. "Fair. What about the others? Each of them, really, individually."

"Will is nice. He's a genuinely good-hearted person, but he's too innocent, and I worry that will hurt him. Kendra...she acts like a ditz, but I think she's really a lot smarter than she lets on. And you...well, I'll leave you to wonder." She giggled.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke raised an eyebrow with an amused smile. "Fair enough. But, what would you think differently than Will on? I'm sure there's something."

"I doubt it. I might think things in addition to things he thinks - I know more than he does - but I can't outright disagree with him."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hmm..." The man resisted the urge to scratch his head, but thought for a moment. "Have you ever tried to?"

"What, just thinking 'I disagree'? It's not like I can just force myself to change my opinion. You could pretend to believe that gorillas evolved from cheese, but that doesn't mean you believe it."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Well, I mean..." He tried to have a joking look, but then sighed. "That's not what I meant, though. I mean like..." He had a perplexed look on his face again as he tried to figure out how to explain what he meant. "What if you just didn't agree with something before he didn't agree or so...?"

Nola cocked her head. "I have literally no idea what you're talking about."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"To be honest, right now I don't either." He sighed, but frowned slightly. "It just, it doesn't feel like that disagreeing might be more possible than you think."

"Maybe you're right. how would I know?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I don't know..." He admitted as he sighed. "We'd need to find something that you two might disagree on, but... that isn't really easy, is it...?"

"And what would be the purpose? I think we have more important matters to be concerned with."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed. "I don't know. Maybe we'll find something while working on the rest." He stayed quiet for a little longer. "Think anyone else might be back yet?"

"I imagine Mr. Manly is still passed out, but the others are probably up and about by now."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Hm. What do you think the chances are of anyone visiting?"

"About one in one."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Does that include you?"

"No, dummy."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Ahh..." He glanced around to see if someone had shown up while he was talking.

Sam waved. "Hello. I snuck in the back door."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke nervously laughed with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that; how long have you been waiting there?" He asked, though his smile got a little warmer after a moment.

"About six posts."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Po-" Yuusuke paused for a moment, as something occurred to him. "Nevermind, sorry for not noticing you." He sighed, as he felt a little bad that Nola had distracted him that much.

Sam laughed and sat on the hospital bed next to him.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke smiled for a moment, and laughed as well a little, as he watched Sam sit down. "Sorry to have caused such a mess..."

"I'd blame the lady with the gun, personally."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Touche." Yuusuke seemed amused at that, and thought for a moment. "Did I worry you, or anyone else? Other than Andrew, I'm pretty sure I've heard his reaction."

"We were all worried, you idiot!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke winced for a moment at the sudden yell, and laughed nervously. "Fair point there..." He bit his lip for a moment, as he felt bad for asking that rather obvious question.

"I'm just glad you're alright."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Yeah, I think that makes two of us..." The man sighed slightly. "I'm also sorta glad I was the only one hurt... Unless you count fainting as hurt."

"he fainted after getting a papercut once. He's fine."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That's good, then." Yuusuke chuckled, as he looked at Sam a bit, trying to figure out what she might be thinking about.

"I trust you and Nola behaved yourselves?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"More or less. Doesn't mean I didn't tease her, though." Yuusuke chuckled, as he winked at Sam.

"I see..."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"What? I'm being serious here."

Sam smiled and lay next to him. "I'm glad you're alright."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Thanks." The man looked over as he watched her lie down beside him.

Nola smiled. "Should I leave you in peace?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke awkwardly smiled at Nola. "That might be a good idea for now... thanks."

Nola winked and walked out.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"So, hi..." Yuusuke smiled at Sam for a moment. "How's it going?"

"...it's alright."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"That's good..." He sighed slightly. "WHat do you think that woman even wanted, anyway?"

"I suppose she works with our enemy. Eliminate the opposition."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Fair point." Yuusuke chuckled, but he seemed uncertain. "Still, this proves they're more organized than we thought..."

"True. It's not just automated killers we're up against."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Yeah..." He sighed, as he wondered just what all this was even for.

"You ask me, the Voice has a lot to answer for, putting us in this situation."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Yeah, that's-" He paused for a moment, as he looked over curiously. "Wait, I didn't say anything after 'yeah', did I?"

"Maybe I can read your mind."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke raised an eyebrow at that. Well, I love you, then.

She made a face like she was concentrating very hard. "You are currently thinking...of Andrew in a bikini."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... While an intriguing thought, no, that was like the opposite of what I was thinking of." A small blush crossed his face, however, as that suggestion made him think of other similar possible situations.

"And what's that mischievous look for?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"M-mischievous?" Yuusuke blinked, a confused look on his face as his blush grew stronger.

She poked him in the chest. "Yes, mischevious."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I wouldn't really say it was mischievous..." Yuusuke seemed uncertain, as he wondered if he had actually had a weird look on his face at that.

"Sure it isn't. What is it then?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Um... embarrassed one?" Yuusuke actually wasn't quite sure at the moment.

"Oh? I wonder what thoughts could prompt that?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke's face flushed further. "u-um... read my mind if you really want to know..."

"I think your face spells it out juuuuust fine."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke's face turned a deeper shade of red. "I get the feeling this is karma for me teasing Nola earlier..."

"Karma's got noothing to do with it."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed, but laughed after that. "Well, doesn't matter." That said, he did give her a questioning look.

She raised an eyebrow.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"N-nevermind." Yuusuke awkwardly laughed, and then sighed. "I can't wait 'til I'm able to actually do stuff again."

"Poor baby. Want me to kiss it better?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke blushed slightly. "While I'd love that, I get a feeling that might make things worse if..." He trailed off, and smiled in amusement. "Kiss me, or the wound?"

"Which do you prefer?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Kiss me." Yuusuke said with a smile to Sam, as he didn't seem to be joking this time, but truly sincere.

His sentence ended up coming out more as a "Kiss mph", as Sam took the initiate mid sentence.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

The man was surprised by the suddenness, but smiled, and put his arms around Sam as he reciprocated the kiss with a smile.

A nurse walked in. "NO KISSING THE PATIENT! HE'S IN NO CONDITION FOR IT!"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke tried to give a protest that sounded roughly like "I most definitely am in the condition for it!", but it was sadly muffled too much to be heard.

The nurse grabbed Sam by the back of her shirt and dragged her out.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed, as he gave an apologetic look to Sam, more than a little disappointed that she was pulled away like that.

The door slammed open. "NEVER FEAR,ANDREW IS HERE WITH CHICKEN SOUP!" He presented the soup energetically, spilling it all over Yuusuke. "Oops."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke's eyes widened, and only a convoluted manner of dodging managed to have it not scald him. "... Could... you maybe be a bit more careful?" Yuusuke asked awkwardly, though a little thankful that Sam hadn't been there at the time, or he probably wouldn't have been able to stop her from beating the poor guy up.

"hehe...sorry."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"At least Sam wasn't here."

"Yeah, that would have been bad. Anyway, some of the soup is still in the bowl."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Setting it down carefully would probably be a good idea, then."

"Right." He set it down, spilling the remainder on the bed.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... I don't think there's any soup left now."

"...I'm not good at this, am I."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Practice will help." Yuusuke wasn't quite sure if he believed that. "You just gotta believe in the you that believes in us." Cheesy, but it'd do the point; plus Kamina was the symbol of manliness.

He nodded. "You're right! I need to have faith in my inner MANLINESS!" He pumped his fist in the air, accidentally punching the ceiling and causing an IV stand to fall on Yuusuke.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke quickly used his powers to defend himself from the attacking enemy IV Stando, as he had a deadpan look on his face.

"Perhaps it might be safer to work on it a little later, though, admittedly."

"..maybe I should go."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"We'll practice this stuff when I'm better, alright?"

"Y-yeah, that's good." he turned and walked out, almost crashing into Kendra as she walked in.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke wondered if there was actually hope for him, sadly.

Kendra flopped down on the bed. "Yo."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Heya." Yuusuke gave Kendra a thumbs up.

"So are we gonna kiss now?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." Yuusuke blinked. "What?"

"You know. Make out."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Um." Yuusuke blinked, as he wondered if Kendra seriously didn't know.

"Yeah, yeah, you and Sam are a couple. I can share."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." Yuusuke wondered about that. "Well, either way, nurse already made that forbidden."

"So what?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Nurse dragged Sam out by the back of her shirt. I wouldn't really advise you to test the nurse's patience..."

"She tries to keep us apart, she'll pay."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." Yuusuke had to wonder how he got in this position. "Um, I think it might be best to leave the nurse alone."

"As long as she doesn't interfere with our love, she'll live."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"..." Yuusuke decided to stay quiet for the moment, wondering just how he got himself into these messes.

"So...should I start taking things off?"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I think I might need some rest..."

"I'll keep you company~"

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Um, oh! I think Nola mentioned something about needing your help."

"Sure, sure. After we have some fun."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"I think she said it was very urgent, actually." Yuusuke managed to say this in as straight a face as he could manage.

Kendra sighed, stood up, and left.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

Yuusuke sighed slightly, though hoped that Kendra wasn't too upset. He tried to close his eyes, though could almost bet that Will would be coming through the door any moment now.

It wasn't Will that entered next. Instead, the woman from the previous night stepped in.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

It was lucky that Yuusuke had an eye open still.

"... What do you even want?" The man asked with an annoyed tone, as he glared right at the woman.

"I bring a message."

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Is that message connected to metal and hurt a lot?"

"I have no orders to kill you yet." She adjusted her glasses.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Oh, so was that bullet earlier something with a mind of its own?" The man raised an eyebrow. An eyebrow, you say?

"That was then. No need to kill a bedridden foe."
She adjusted her glasses again.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"... Well, at least you have some honour. What's the message?"

"We wish to test you. Come to the old schoolyard when you are recovered."
She turned to leave, but was hit in the place by a flying bedpan.
"Leave Yuusuke alone, *****!" Kendra prepared to hurl a second bedpan.

-==IC: Yuusuke==-

"Kendra, sit." Yuusuke said with half an urge to just have the nurse kick everyone out and lock the door. "For once, she's not a problem. I doubt that'll last long." He turned his attention to the other woman however. "What kind of 'test' do you even want?"