Charles Patricius

The brunettes and their looping conversation wasn't resulting in any forward progress. If there was one thing Soma could not abide, it was failure to progress. Addressing the matter of exposing others to magic was something that could affect his own growth and plans. If they continued to impede his plans by not getting to the important topic, he'd actually consider the pair detrimental to his goals. Slamming their heads into each other was just the quickest and easiest solution to get his point across. "Attatatataa─!" Kazuhiko chattered after recoiling from the impact. He rubbed his forehead and just barely avoided falling back. "What was that for? We were eventually gonna─" Soma was quick to interrupt. "Eventually isn't quick enough. I was going to let things continue, but then it all became stupid. Are you going to let her tell people about magic or not?" he asked, clearly not accepting any deflections. "That doesn't have anything to do with me! I'm not in charge of who gets magic stuff and who doesn't. If somebody wants to bring somebody else to the other world, who would I be to stop them?" Kazu countered to answer both of the others. In that moment, Soma raised a brow. This wasn't making much sense. "You would be... the leader? Making a decision for your followers?" he said as if questioning, looking to Miko thereafter. "You all have the strangest criteria for what determines leadership."

Speaking of determinations, Yugi was finally bringing himself to an answer. There were less options than he initially thought. Beyond that, it seemed he had little choice but to take a very powerful form ─ one that had pale skin, purple-shaded slit eyes, pointed ears, and waist length white hair with a single lock that has a blue underside. He also has what appears to be two bright, blue horn- or feeler-like accessories at shoulder length. There was little to be done about making this one's appearance more normal. The most he was able to manage was a dark blue pinstripe suit. Sure, he'd probably catch quite a few eyes while he waited. Sure, it may be a bit strange for such a specimen to appear in front of this group at all. Some sacrifices of reason had to be made at times.

The brunettes were spiraling, yes, into a conversation about missing memories and ways in which to retrieve them. Both of them as individuals had things they wanted to remember and both had allowed their guards to go down enough. Just enough for someone like Soma to slam their heads together. Oddly enough, he proved the futility of their earlier thoughts but also tried to steer the conversation back to something he deemed as more important. "Ahtatata~ I was wrong, I was horribly wrong. Damn, Kazuchii's head is hard," she mumbled to herself as she rubbed her temples with her fingers. A few seconds later she was holding Kazuhiko's temples and getting a feel for him to make sure he didn't actually have a concussion. The gentle warmth of her magic seeping into her finger tips which was more plentiful than before, likely because of the infusion she'd so recently received. "I just let my guard down, if you're going to to give me a headache it should come with dick, Soma-chan," she said before her own eyes widened. "Inside voices on the outside again," she mumbled. As for why Kazuhiko's confusion surrounding his decision making on magical extras, "Because what if I bring someone along and they become a super villain or you have already seen them or something? This is your adventure and extra help is one thing, but it has to be your terms that's only fair," Miko claimed.

She knew what it was to lead a group and she knew what kind of tasks individuals could be trusted with and what kind others couldn't be. "This team as it exists minus the kids, has been your combination. If we are adding pieces it should be you who okays them at base before we add the weirdness of extra magic. I trust my own ability to figure out if people are too sketchy for me, but I wouldn't make any problems for you if I could avoid it," Miko clarified her point. To answer Soma's actual question, she shrugged, "He's one of those people you come to understand by living with him. Current horny brain as an aside in a complex situation or a combat one, or a social one, I can trust in his experience and in his ability to choose what is best for as many people as possible," she expressed directly, for Soma. She understood his confusion and knew that he wouldn't really get why someone like Kazuhiko was in charge of the group. But he'd only seen him within the microcosm of him being a human teenager. He didn't know about Charlemagne. He didn't have a thirty year adventure with him, or 300 years of companionship. "Also, I probably should have realized the heads together thing wouldn't work. If we could unlock each others memories the sex would have done it," she remembered her earlier lessons. Whatever the case, they were taking a step closer to the end.

Of all the times to fire a random shot, Miko decided to do so after a third-party-induced headbutt between Kazuhiko and herself. "Oi, party foul!" he announced. Seeing the possibility of another relapse, Soma raised his hands again, as if to repeat the process and drive the point home further. Between Kazu focusing on the comment about his head's hardness and Miko commenting on being given a headache, he was fully prepared to strike again. "Woah, time out!" Kazu yelled to halt the lad. Still rubbing his forehead while Miko apparently applied a soothing magical touch to his temples, Kazuhiko considered the girl's stance. "Why did you go straight to supervillain? If I thought any of you guys would invite somebody like that, I wouldn't hang with you in the first place," he argued.

Miko went on to explain the existing team and his say on its overall structure. He never gave it so much importance, personally. If one of his comrades had a comrade, he had two comrades. That was the sort of math Kazuhiko applied to team structure. "Dude, just invite someone if you want. It's a few hundred years too late for the trust conversation," he said, knowing his faith in Miko had developed through Anais. Someone she decided to bring along wasn't something he would question. He and Soma were of a different breed, as Soma himself questioned that mentality... in addition to Kazuhiko's leadership ability. "So we're all delegating based on trust, huh? Whatever gets you two off, I guess. That's more than I need to hear. You two should get to the shop before I start hearing something about the power of friendship and have an aneurism," Soma said with a deep sigh. All the while, that white-haired version of Yugi was patiently waiting around the alley's entrance. Whenever Miko stepped out, he'd be 'conveniently' bumping into her as a random passerby.

"I can't get in trouble for telling the truth!" Miko shot back. Still, the looming threat of Soma was enough for her to skitter just a little. She was trying not to end up with a headache today. She didn't need to add physical stimuli to her already existing mental problems. Whatever the case, it would be easy enough for the pair to keep up their regular conversation so long as their heads weren't forced to collide again. Moving on, there was a very reasonable question about why she thought to jump straight to accidentally creating a supervillain. Miko gave it a bit of thought and shrugged soon after, "I'm extreme... that's the most extreme thing I figured could happen if I was too impulsive which I have been a lot lately," she managed after removing her hands from his temples, sure of his wellness. Beyond that point Kazuhiko claimed that they were too deep in their friendship for a conversation about trust. "I guess that is pretty true. I don't have a list or anything but there is at least one I don't want to live without again. And the other because I am about to ask him for a lot and he's already potentially in magical trouble," Miko uttered. "I'll introduce you when the time is right then," she confirmed.

As for Soma it seemed he was not one to enjoy the power of friendship as a trope and also didn't want to deal with it. He also surmised that they were delegating tasks based on trust. "I suppose that is the cut and dry of it... you had to have taken some weird things from Kaguya to say it like that~" Miko thought about his thoughts about friendship. Whatever the case, they did need to head to the shop, before she left she'd give a better timeline to Soma, "I'm planning to make that call within the next hour or two. I'll text when I have what I promised you~" she offered fully planning to do exactly that. Moving on... "Does your head feel okay? Ready to play card games, Kazuchii♪~" Miko asked seemingly excited to get on the move. She was fully prepared to head with him out of this alleyway and in the direction that Soma had come from...

"Extreme? That's way beyond extreme! Well... there's still Ganelon, so I'll concede to the possibility. That one's more my fault than anyone else's though," Kazu surmised. From the sound of things, Miko had a grand total of two others she intended to spill the beans to. He didn't have any assumptions as to who they might be, but that didn't matter at all. Some people had enough of his trust that they could bring along veteran criminals, and he'd believe said criminals had a full change of heart. "Looking forward to it. Hopefully we can also make the other world more awesome for when they get there," he added.

Finally, Soma had his answers. There would soon be other people to inspect and consider adding to his growing list, which currently had only three firm targets... Well, four if he counted two halves. With a timeline given, he could rest easy about the gun he'd been waiting for. Solid plans were good. What wasn't good, was the fact that these two continued diddling about when Soma 'kindly suggested' they progress to the shop. Instead of moving right along, Kazuhiko was patting himself down, and Miko was doing a wellness check. "Yeah, I think I'm good. I think it'll─" Suddenly, Soma cleared his throat. There was a smile on his face, but it held no warmth ─ only menace. "Oh, was that not clear? I'm banned from that little shop. The longer you take, the longer I have to wait around for the rest of you. 'You should go' doesn't mean 'make sure you're ready to go' last time I checked. Move," he demanded of the pair. What an antsy day-old lad this was, Kazu thought. "Yeesh. How much to buy three seconds, dude..." the brown-haired male muttered, taking those initial steps forward. "Fine, fine! Card games, ho!" he announced, marching forth with a fist in the air. The version of Yugi waiting outside heaved a sigh of relief. He, too, tired of the wait. Once Kazuhiko exited the alley, he was on the move ─ seemingly at the perfect pace to 'accidentally' have a run-in with the next person out.

Beyond extreme was apparently Miko's thoughts about accidentally creating a super villain. "Hm, yeah, I don't think that's really anyone's fault..." she said of Ganalon. If that man chose not to be reasonable while being a part of Charlemagne's group, he was just going against the grain. That was his own weirdness, and Miko was sure of this given the conversion of people like Fierbras. As for the introductions promised, it seemed Kazuhiko was looking forward to them, as well as making the world a better place for them. "Hai, I'm sure they'd help with that in some cases..." Miko said knowing what these two individuals were like and extrapolating their motivations. Meanwhile, the wellness check was apparently unappreciated by someone like Soma. In fact, that one was rather cranky already, there was nothing but pure menace in that face and voice and Miko looked at it, feeling a strange sense of dread, wrapped up with a nice bow of arousal. "Of all the things you got from Kaya, why that?♪~" she bemoaned as she moved on. "We're going, we're going. That's actually super hot on a guy though, box it..." she ended skittering past him and just behind Kazuhiko. She'd claimed she follow him anywhere and fully intended to do so.

Except, after he stepped out of the alleyway, she was oddly enough bumped into instead. The part of her that was always a Japanese school girl at heart, immediately apologized seemingly upset that she'd not noticed someone there at first. "Gomennasai!" she said immediately. It always felt weird bumping into people. And even beyond that she'd developed different life habits when things like this happened given her own experiences in the magical world. She didn't immediately look up, there was a lesser acknowledged fear there but still there was no need not to be polite. She wanted to avoid conflict more often than not, and Osaka wasn't the safest city on the planet according to her own father. It'd be a shame to accidentally run into an angry Yakuza boss or something and then ahve to do something way more extreme than the regular world was ready for. Yes, that was an extreme thing to think, but she'd not even looked up yet.

One stepped out of the alleyway, and another stepped right into a white-haired man's path. He was larger than Miko by more than a fair margin, and virtually unmoved by the impact. The speed by which she apologized for it, though, was strange... as he'd undoubtedly been the one who walked into her. Ah, Japan; he hadn't been back in quite some time. "Oh, don't worry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," the man spoke, his voice flowing between his lips like a calm river. He didn't waste any time before reaching out, calmly as he spoke, aiming to tilt the girl's head up by the chin. "Are you alright? You could have had quite the fall. That wouldn't be good," he said while Kazuhiko, still walking ahead, slowed and turned just slightly. "Oi, you good back there?" the lad asked. In the meantime, Soma was approaching slowly from the alley. He would be busying himself with other things, but this brief meeting was... strange.

Within the card shop they were encroaching upon, there was a silent uproar that had been building for quite some time. Eight impossible girls were seated in the shop presently, alongside two males who could just as easily pass as models or celebrities of some sort. The shop regulars were upset, confused, aroused and... in some cases afraid after witnessing what happened to one particular boy ─ the one Soma promptly beat to a pulp and dragged outside. "I can't believe that one was a guy! It had to be a tomboy who took fighting classes!" one boy whispered aggressively in a huddled group. "Fuck it; who cares? There's eight more over there. Who's got next? I wanted to try the one with the little sister, but that foreigner's got cannons I wouldn't mind being blasted by!" said another lad. "It'd probably be better to just talk normally? You know, like Kakihara-san did! Get their guards down, play a couple of rounds, do some teaching and... well, you know," suggested a third member of the huddle.

Ah, right. Miko wasn't a beast-kin hiding amongst humans, she was just a teenage girl. As long as she didn't encounter a criminal, it wasn't likely she'd get an aggressive response. And, that voice came out so smooth a little shiver moved up her spine. She'd been walking beside Kazuhiko, but was losing track of most things as that voice flowed into her ears and stirred her heart beat. So quickly did he reach for her chin, tilting her face up and her eyes open as they were seemed to show a dancing flame for just an instant as she took in this males visage. He was beautiful in a way she couldn't rationalize, but somehow still quite manly. She opened her mouth to speak, a bit of drool immediately pooling at the left corner as she studied that face. "I'm... fine," she managed. "I'm not hurt... are you okay?" she managed quickly. She didn't imply that she could hurt someone without trying, but she still didn't wish to have caused someone unnecessary pain. "Though if I had to choose something to walk into, you are definitely on the list," she concluded. her brains inner functions and speech mixing together. As for Kazuhiko's forward trek, she heard him as she always would. "I'm... thirsty, but good..." she muttered. Too honest, was one like Miko. Thirsty, hungry... these were words of arousal to her. Still, she wouldn't be turning her gaze away from this man. Could she talk to him? Maybe get his number... she was quite busy but there was no reason she couldn't add this to one of her days right?

Meanwhile, the card shop and an influx of young women and a couple of young men with them. At the table, they were organized in a clustered group. with the males sitting at the end, between them and the 'regulars'. Kaguya was seated next to Yuuya and managed to chuckle just a little, "If Mi-chan was here, she could tell us what they are whispering about. I'm getting bad vibes," Kaguya mentioned casually. "I suppose that is true, I can say they aren't actually physically threatening. Any of us could crush them, though I'd rather play the game," Ai mentioned, keeping her eyes on that group and taking a position which left no openings for approaching her at the table. "I'm on protect the baby duty! Mi-chama and Kazu-chama will come... I have a good feeling about it!~" Chika mentioned as if there was nothing to worry about. "Eh? they better, we're saving them seats. Not like any one is worried about them or anything~" Kei uttered huffily sitting at the center of the table. "This is somehow worse than those weird barracks places. If they come up I could just punch them. Maybe slap, they look a little weak..." Angelica mentioned firmly. Apparently most weren't a problem. Still, Anya sat in Chika's lap and looked at the whole of this place. Emirie remained quiet but her nose was twitching given the scents of the humans in this building. Sena kept her eyes peeled, no one would be allowed to approach.. She was willing to go the way of Soma if she had to... though she didn't say that.

Kazu stopped long enough to check Miko's wellness and... apparently discover the existence of someone who didn't look like they should exist in this world. Well, that could be said about many people ─ perhaps the sort Miko had been talking about inviting. As everything seemed fine, he kept moving forward, albeit at a slowed pace. While that happened, the male standing in front of Miko was seeming... oddly unfazed by her strange behavior. When asked the same question he'd presented her with, the man answered plainly. "Of course. It would take something with the strength of a meteor impact to bother me," he mentioned calmly while swiping at that bit of drool with his thumb. Miko's words about walking into him seemed to be ignored, but only for a moment, as he was content to comment on her thirst first. "You should be mindful of thirst. As luck would have it, I can quench that for you now," he offered. Just then, the man's other arm rose, holding in its hand a goblet filled with sparkling water. It looked silver, but... something more. Whether it was there and missed, or was never there originally... well, that didn't matter. "For starters, you can drink this."

Within the shop, the chatter of boys was not coming to an end anytime soon. Moment by moment, a decision was being made to approach any number of the girls new to the shop. There were a couple of males will them, but neither of them was intimidating enough to deter the group as a whole. "I think I could bag the blonde that looks like she belongs in a library. The short-haired one! You know, since I shower unlike Hanabira-kun," one commented, much to another's distaste. "Urusai! It's card games with the boys; I don't need to shower for this! Besides, what's that got to do with it?" the one called Hanabira wondered. "Dude, you didn't see those nose wrinkles? She obviously got a whiff of your ass crack from three days ago! Wash your balls before you start thinking about somebody lickin' 'em!"

Kazuhiko paused just long enough to make sure she was safe. She adored that part about him, willing to let her do what she wanted, but also still friend enough to look after her. It was quite an odd thing for her to notice at a time like this. A little smile appeared on the corners of her lips, but still her eyes hadn't moved. No, this white haired man was a bit too commanding for her to dare to look away. "Meteoric impact, I could manage that maybe..." Miko muttered. Maybe she could bounce her ass like a meteor, even just a little would be enough to keep her happy against a man like this. She should apparently be watching her thirst and he rubbed that drool away from her lip. The movement of that thumb below her lip, "Sorry, I'm really weird," Miko murmured. Of course, he claimed that he had something for her thirst. There was a cup suddenly in his hand. Not a cup, wrong word, goblet... "Offering a strange girl a drink?" she mused but... "Common sense says not to accept but I really want to... going with instinct then. I'll take it, thanks for offering," Miko consented. She'd mentally worked through it, and still the worst that could happen was being drugged. But she didn't get that feeling from this man... no, not at all.

While men plotted the large group were on the look out. "You can't punch anyone... they'd probably explode..." mentioned Kaguya. "This place is horrific on the senses... why anyone would leave their house in such a gross state is completely unreasonable," Emirie claimed softly, she was sorting through her own deck of plant based entities. While she wasn't necessarily violent, she could be considered brutal on the ego. Ai for her part in this sighed, "They will likely keep trying a single act of violence isn't enough to properly stop a group like that. If nothing else, they are going to try and use the games as an in at some point," Ai acknowledged in a straightforward way. Kei huffed, she was boiling under the surface. She had a plan to give up her seat when Kazuhiko and Miko returned and take the opportunity to make up with him properly. But... they were taking quite a while to get back. There was hardly any worry for their safety and more of a concern about how many of their group would end up banned from this establishment. "It'd be a shame to lose any of the other guys at this point," Kei mentioned. There was a certain buffer presented by having men in a group of gorgeous women. Whatever the case, Sena was assessing who the next most likely threat was, keeping her attention up.

An impact of meteoric power was necessary to affect this man, and Miko believed she had the capacity. From the look on his face, one could surmise he believed her... or at least thought or knew she had the potential. "On land... maybe," he said at random, appearing to contemplate something possibly unrelated. Whatever the case, he had a drink to offer this girl. Within that chalice was a power currently beyond the perception of mortals and gods alike in this world and timeline. Some, perhaps, would catch an inkling of something unusual. Either way, the foreseeable future from the moment Miko consumed that water would see an entity hiding within her shadow, just as there was now one within Hayami Saori's. 'You know the deal. You will only act when the threat level exceeds seven,' he thought, passing the message along to the shadow figure telepathically. Aloud, he spoke to Miko on a completely separate note. "In the modern era, it may not be wise to think in terms of common sense. It has become increasingly less common of late... and it won't stop soon. This water is from... France. I think you'll find it more refreshing than anything bottled and passed off as spring water."

"Blah! I don't need to shower just to get a girl interested. Don't you read?" Hanabira argued fervently. "Once she gets a load of my masculine musk, she'll be turning her nose up at first... but when she gets addicted to it, she's mine forever!" he insisted. The third male of that group was shaking his head at the others' antics. "You're both disgusting. Why don't we all just make a bet? Loser has to ask out whichever girl he thinks is the hottest over there," that one suggested. All the while, Yuuya was technically in the 'first line of defense' position, feeling uncomfortable as always. Still, he felt compelled to hold that position after the earlier kerfuffle with Soma. "I didn't think it could possibly feel any weirder here," he mumbled, apparently speaking to no one in particular.

Miko was standing in front of one of the best looking men she'd ever seen, a list growing by the moment. Experiencing horny thoughts and physical responses to an unknown entity. "On land is always a good start..." Miko mentioned, whether he meant to encourage her or not, she'd take his words as such. Still there may have been something hinky going on here, but Miko wasn't one to go against her own good feelings. And right now, the only feeling she got of any importance was the moistening of her loins. Her thirst however was real and she accepted that drink without hesitation. And when she was finished she had a couple of things to say. "Oiishii!♫~" she mused. "Haven't been to France yet, but that water will apparently be ruining, regular water for me forever~" she assessed that purity. It was so refreshing in the oddest way possible. This water didn't taste like minerals, springs or even filtered things. She was actually certain neromal water would never taste the same to her again. It was disturbing. "Could I get a picture... I'm going to need to explain to my friends why accepted a drink from an extremely attractive guy I bumped into," she asked. "Good on me, remembering manners... still feels way more intense than normal," she managed, not knowing that deep in the recesses of her mind, a certain dark one was still twitching uncontrollably on the floor, moaning unintelligible pleas. Ever excited Miko had her phone out and at the ready to get that image. "Also if you ever find yourself wanting to repeat that sort of exchange with a different kind of drinking apparatus I am more than willing to accept that too♪!~" she added in all seriousness.

Whatever was going on with those other boys, none of the girls at this table were willing to give them the time of day. The words of Yuuya were heard by Kaguya and she offered him a smile and some understanding. "Gomen, Yuu-kun. I realize this probably isn't fun for you, thanks for running buffer so we might actually get to enjoy at least a little~" Kaguya offered earnestly. "I really can't hit them? Humans are so difficult..." Angelica huffed, human society was annoying in this non-magical world. "Violence is generally frowned upon, even if someone else starts it, technically. It's one of the main negatives of girl life on this side. Also it isn't long now~" Ai mentioned. There were positives and negatives to both sides of life, one other member, a girl with long blue hair was sitting at the table as well, she'd decided it was a good idea to stay behind but she was functioning mostly as Soma's extra eyes and ears while she was here. Quiet she remained even while wondering why no one was worried about their missing friends, perhaps being magical gave people different priorities?

Just as expected, Miko took the male's earliest comment as motivation. He had neither speech nor outward reaction to offer in response to that. Mentally though, he took it as a positive. Regardless, the water he offered was consumed and enjoyed. Soma seemed to be impatiently waiting for Miko to get moving, but... for some reason, he didn't quite feel comfortable interrupting this meeting. "All different waters have their own positives and negatives. You'll learn more about that over time," the man commented. He reached out to take the chalice from Miko's hand now that she was done, but that apparently wasn't the end of their interaction. She wanted... a picture. Of course she did. The first time he'd seen her in this form was making more and more sense by the moment. "I'm not sure I'm suited to any type of picture you'd want to take," he said as if to call himself unphotogenic. In reality, he knew his state of dress went against the normal type of picture Miko took at this point in life. Oh well. "But that is fine. I'd rather avoid repeating the moment, though. If I had to choose a way of being bumped into, I'd make a different selection."

Kazuhiko could basically smell the card shop from where he stood, just in front of the building. Of course it wasn't the terrible body odor he smelled, but instead the amazing, refreshing scent of printed cardboard, plastic sleeves, tins, and so-on. Something about the air surrounding a trading card shop was always better. "Come oooon! Why are you still back there?!" he griped while, inside, other complaints were being formed. "It's fine. I'm just not a fan of large crowds, is all," Yuuya stated. The group that were discussing at a nearby table were finally getting a match together amongst themselves. In total, there were four boys setting up a quick free-for-all format to determine which of them would be making a move first. Little did they know, their game likely wouldn't see its end. . .

Miko after having her water, was told she'd be learning more about different waters in the future. "That's a very exciting prospect," she mentioned, there was a certain curiosity always present within her. Even when she was touching the line of degeneracy, she would maintain that. Whatever this man knew of Miko, it seemed he thought himself unready for whatever kind of image she'd like, she smiled, "Admittedly, there are other kinds of pictures I like, but... I believe you'd be suited for those too. Show me, later♪~" she affirmed snapping a quick picture and then another with her own little head popping up with a huge grin. Yes, that was enough for now. As for his final statement she looked at him offering a grin, "Box it♪~ You can bump into me in other ways... I'm so into that idea~" Miko confirmed.

Ah, but there was a short amount of time, her attention drew back to Kazuhiko, who after entering the atmosphere of the card shops radius grew in impatience. "Gomen, be right there!~" Miko chimed. "Still sorry about that bump. I'll do it better next time... see ya' around!~" Miko offered to that man as she finally drew her attention away and went to join Kazuhiko. Still she was staring at that image. That man was so interesting. Soon enough Miko had caught up, and was right beside Kazuhiko again, "Right, card shop! Ready?" she asked as she primed herself to walk inside. Meanwhile, Yuuya was apparently cool, but not in love with the crowds. "We're probably draining all of your social battery huh? No worries, we'll make it up to you~" Kaguya mentioned in that same teasing quality she always had. Of course, those four boys in their FFA were in for a rude awakening and it was right outside the door, or maybe entering by now.

Two total pictures were taken ─ one of the white-haired man by himself, and one including Miko. His expression remained unchanged throughout both, seeming neither distant nor involved. There were also some interesting mentions of images she'd rather take, and more importantly... how she'd do better about bumping into him next time. It seemed she didn't even realize they had an agreement about meetings. One day, this form of Yugi would also hold her responsible for a contract broken, even in ignorance. While she was leaving, he cryptically addressed that matter. "I see. It may not be by choice," he said. With that, they were separated at last. He'd be sharing a brief moment of eye contact with a skeptical-looking Soma before going about his way. The next person Yugi set his gaze upon would be none other than Tohsaka Sakura, whom he'd first have to locate. . .

In that time, a game was starting and Yuuya's rope was shortening. His 'social battery' as Kaguya called it wasn't really a problem, but his ability to accept and believe others being so openly friendly was quite the conundrum. As for someone making things up to him, Yuuya found the notion even more concerning. Kaguya and that flirty behavior of hers would be the death of him, surely. "I... might be even more worried about that," he mentioned. Just then, Kazuhiko took the go-ahead from Miko's arrival and confidently burst into the shop. "Ready! Get set to get decked!" he exclaimed, his excitement reaching peak state. Right away, many of the males within the shop were looking his way. Those who were around before recognized him immediately. Some scoffed, some snickered, and some whispered among themselves. The atmosphere was a little strange... but perhaps that was due to the sudden table full of girls in the shop?

"Ominous♫~" Miko sang in response to that given statement. Whatever those words meant, she had it in mind that she would definitely run into that man again. It was something she felt in the deepest parts of her soul. And with that she could easily walk into the card shop accompanying Kazuhiko. His entrance statement was one which was rather random, but Kaguya could only look up and chuckle, "Love the energy! Okaeri♥~" Kaguya greeted without hesitation. "Hmph, it took you two long enough," was all Kei that to say, but she was super excited. The weird atmosphere around those individuals, set Miko to an amount of alertness she'd previously abandoned. Weird, that was something to deal with later. Still, she'd not even noticed that she'd stopped to snap another picture this one of Kazuhiko right after he'd made his major entrance. "You two have a lot of explaining to do. Abandoning me, again..." Angelica complained, which only made Miko chuckle as she approached. "It wasn't like that, but we'll have to explain later," Miko claimed, this venue wasn't right for an explanation of where they'd been. Not really, too many unknowns within the vicinity.

"Kaya-sen, damage report~" Miko asked while holding out her hand for her card. "First, we comment that both of you are looking outrageous right now. You can't just spring that on us!~" she offered a compliment both to Miko and Kazuhiko. "We bought the rest of the stuff at Diviner's, gathered your bags... your phones weren't there," Kaguya mentioned casually. "Oh that's fine we have those," she said reaching into her own pocket. Kei, looked at Miko and poked her exposed midriff. "Does that explanation later come with the reason for this clothing change? Mi-sen's sus!" Kei claimed immediately. "Hai, later..." Miko confirmed. Moving on... Kaguya handed the girl back her credit card which she took. "Ichi-chan has your messenger bag and your duffle, Mi-chan. Yuu-kun brought yours," she said pointing to Kazuhiko. "And I only spent money after that on lunch. We figured if you were going to show up anytime, it'd be here so we haven't made any major moves just yet..." she finished delivering the message. "Also some guy said the wrong thing to Soma and well, he's probably not coming back... questions?" she asked of the pair.

Moments after entering the shop, Kazuhiko heard a couple of the voices he'd been waiting for. It wasn't hard to find over half a dozen girls in a trading card shop anyway, but the initial call-out of Kaguya drew his attention to the perfect place. "Tadaima!" he called back. As for Angelica and her abandonment issues, he could hardly defend himself. "That one... was an accident. Yeah, explaining later," he said just before passing the counter, where Akaba Reiji was busy checking stock online after making so many sales today... and just from the new and returning boys, at that. "Ah, Kimura-kun. It's good to see you again. And a new face. You must be another of Tohsaka-chan's friends. Your group is waiting over there," the owner said with a light bow. "Waiting to get wrecked! I've got some strats I still haven't pulled out yet. Who's the first victim?!" Kazuhiko asked excitedly as he moved toward the group table.

"Dude, that's the guy from before. He's here with them?" one of the scheming lads wondered, whispering. "The guy with Purple? Yeah it's him!" replied Hanabira. "Maybe he's the brother of hot stuff over there. No way he's that popular with the girls." In that moment, the fourth member of their game finally had something to say. "Well we know he had the one. I've been waiting for Kakihara-san to send me the new video he's supposed to have. Hot damn she had a body on her. Can't help but notice she's not with fuck-o today!" he mused. "He prolly got invited out by his sis and her friends because he lost his bitch! You know, coping and all that jazz!"

A return of the welcome was about all that Kaguya needed to assess the wellness of the pair. Miko was her usual self, blushing at the compliments. Kaguya would be assuming that this outfit change wasn't necessarily her choice, but definitely suited her physically. The same could be said of Kazuhiko who looked like an anime protagonist in his dark hero arc. "Yeah, I get it. But both of you are on notice. I'm watching you!" Angelica claimed which only made Miko smile and nod. The proprietor of this place, spoke and Miko's eyes flashed just a little, "Oh? Saku-chan has some explaining to do..." Miko murmured. "Iino Miko, yoroshiku onegaishimasu♪~" Miko feel back into polite mannerisms while looking up at the counter after being greeted. "Give me just a moment..." Miko claimed. She went over for the damage report and also to collect her card and while she did that Kazuhiko seemed hype to start his next matches. Miko stopped beside Seiichi and picked up her messenger bag and slipped it around her body as it contained all the other things she needed as well as her snacks. But all of this was simply so she could cross paths with Kazuhiko again and tell him about the odd things she was hearing.

Anya had been very quiet sitting in her mother's lap. She'd heard all the thoughts associated with those boys at the other tables and her eyes were wide with shock. 'Soma-sama would take care of these bad guys!' she thought, having some very peculiar ideas about those. As for the open challenge of Kazuhiko, it would be Ai who was sitting directly across from that empty chair. "Not everyone has complete decks yet. But... I'll take you on," she said, while pointing to the chair across from her. It would be Miko to give an encouraging tap. "Go ahead, I'll join after I'm done with the purchases..." she said aloud. Only to lower her voice just a bit, "And, not to rain on your parade but remember that issue we had at the Hollow Crown Tavern, something similar is happening here. Keep an eye open, I'll be listening..." Miko murmured only to walk off. She mentioned a weird place they had once stopped for dinner as an entire group and had ended in a bar fight because some random guy walked up and tried to put his hands on Bradamante among other things. With that warning in place, one which a younger Anais had struggled to give in her own situation, Miko would be looking to Akaba Reiji ready to make a purchase. "Thank you, for hosting my friends. Tohsaka-chan said you'd offer a bit of a discount for a set of purchases. Do you accept credit cards?" she asked first and foremost. After that there would be a bit of a longer conversation. All the while, Kei who was sitting next to that open seat, felt a bit odd. She couldn't just sit in his lap without giving up her own seat. So she'd have to wait for Miko's return. That was good, she could be calm for a few minutes.

"Then watch, Angie! Watch me pull out a mop and get to work!" Kazuhiko proclaimed. Here in the shop, having an opportunity at long last to have a proper series of games in a large group, Kazuhiko felt more comfortable than he ever could in most situations. He was ready to see if he could accumulate a few solid victories. Ai was the first to accept the open challenge, so he took the singular empty seat in front of her. Of course, a quick glance around the table was performed to check availability. They were a chair short; that would probably become an issue later. Well, perhaps he'd just rotate when necessary. Either way, he readied his deck and began shuffling while Miko whispered some words of warning for reasons unknown. The location she mentioned from their long adventure together was a memorable one, and so was the barfight attached to its memory. Even so, nothing about it registered as a major problem for Kazu. "Uh-huh. Not a problem. Card games!" he said nonchalantly. A small group of douchebags didn't compare to dealing with Saxony. With that in mind, Kazu slid his deck across the table.

In the meantime, Reiji was being revisited by the new brunette lass, who'd recently introduced herself as Iino Miko. "Akaba Reiji. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," had been his reply. When she spoke of making a discounted purchase and shared gratitude for taking care of her friends, Miko received the older male's full attention. "You don't need to thank me. Dysfunctional as it is at times, this quaint little shop is like a family. And, yes, I did inform Tohsaka-chan that her friends would have the benefit of purchasing at cost. I've already seen such a large spike in sales today that profit is assured," he mentioned. When asked if he accepted credit cards, Reiji reached under the counter to retrieve a credit card imprinter. "I do accept cards, but the transaction won't show to your account until some time after the end of day tonight. Your receipt will be a little old-fashioned as well," he warned.

"Hmphf, obviously!" she claimed. It was always interesting to see Kazuhiko being excited. Every girl at the table could agree with that notion. As for the game in progress, Ai also placed her deck in front of him and began the process of cutting it. While this happened, Kaguya took note of Miko's words and grinned. "Oya? You've been here for 45 seconds and you already understand what's going on..." she said of Miko which only made everything else seem normal. "I can hear them, that part is easy..." Miko claimed just loud enough to be heard by this table. "And you don't seem to care... well, I suppose they aren't physically threatening," Kaguya said seemingly amused. All the while Anya could help but look at the other group with a glare. 'Physical doesn't matter, they are bad guys at heart!' she thought frowning just a little. Just the same Chika placed a hand atop the little one's head, noticing only that she needed a bit of comfort but not why. Meanwhile, a game between Ancient Gears and whatever deck Kazuhiko had was getting underway.

At the same time, Miko was being formally introduced to Akaba Reiji and going through her usual politeness with random adults. According to Reiji, she didn't need to thank him, he thought of his shop as a small family, dysfunctional though it might be. Miko could see that, every family had a few outliers, this one had quite a few but she wouldn't be commenting on that part. No there was a way more pressing issue. "At cost?! Saku-chan must have made a serious impression, but are you sure? I am about to make a really large purchase and you should definitely make sure it benefits you," Miko encouraged the older gentleman. In truth, she only expected something like 10 to 20 percent. She was more used to such purchases going wrong and living with an exorbitant mark-up, which she'd mentally called 'furry tax'. Anyway, as long as he accepted cards, it wouldn't be an issue at all... even if she got an old fashioned receipt. "All the little details are fine. End of the day transactional finished are a bit old fashioned but I don't mind that part..." Miko said. She'd give Reiji a bit more of a chance to reconsider his discount. Though he'd claimed his profits were good, there was no reason for him to make less money than he could off the crazy purchase she was already thinking about.

The concern Kazu had for the other males around was virtually nonexistent. He was always at the ready to help comrades whenever necessary, but there were no real threats registering at present. Alas, the boys themselves didn't agree with that. Their game was moving along quickly, leading seemingly toward the loss of an orange-haired male who seemed most interest in Emirie. In truth, part of that lad wanted to take the loss. If he had the opportunity to fire the first proverbial shot, he wouldn't just be lumped-in with the others. The first to lose here had the highest chance of winning, he thought. While that fall was being taken, Kazu was cutting Ai's deck and sliding it back across the table. "Play or pass?" he asked, wondering if she wanted the first or second turn.

Reiji was prepared to collect whatever Miko desired for her purchase, offering all of it at the very same price he paid to order. She insisted that he should see profit from the large purchase she intended to make, but this was an investment Reiji had already settled on. "I don't see it as a loss. Though I won't gain profit, I can easily restock those same items at the same price. It's an investment I decided to make; do take advantage of it," he suggested. There was no way he'd be charging even a yen more than what he'd told Sakura. "So, what would you like? Sleeves? A box? Maybe I could interest you in a carry bag or some packs from the set just released today?"

Though Kazuhiko wasn't concerned about the other males, Anya could hear them, she was a bit worried about the way people thought things in this kind of place. After spending all day among people she'd consider her family those were evildoers in need of smiting. Oh well, someone would do something about it. At the same time, Ai was busy having her deck cut and getting the game with Kazuhiko underway. Play or pass? "Pass... waiting for a key piece~" she offered easily while continuing to seem unbothered herself. If the worst happened someone else would end up banned today. Still, Kaguya had pretty much a floating list of things necessary to complete people's starter collections anyways, so it was far from the worst potential outcome. Emirie and Kohara Konomi were looking at each other across the table with mild amusement. "Were you interested in this game before?" she asked of the young woman. "I gave it some consideration, but as is very obvious to you right now, coming in places like this is a special kind of annoying... though I was looking at one of the starter decks I think I could enjoy the playstyle of it..." she explained of her own decisions. Emirie kept up the conversation if only to distract from any oddities occurring behind the scenes with those males.

Meanwhile, Miko was busy talking to Reiji though she was keeping her ears open for incoming potential problems over at the table. According to the man who owned this place, he didn't see it as a loss of income. "Hai, if you say so... but if at any point you want to start charging me normally, I am okay with that too. I don't want to buy out everything and leave you with only the ability to replenish your stock," she claimed in an oddly direct way. "Wait, I said that earlier too..." she mused knowing she'd said something similar to Kazuhiko about pilfering his collection to build all those decks she'd made. Still she looked around at the things she would need and began talking, "I need five deck boxes, they can be plain, but different colors and the Shrine playmat with the big moon and the Seiman on the ground in it. I also need five sets of sleeves to match those deck boxes and I'll take the backpack style bag the girly one in gray," she named the items she was looking for, but those were strictly for herself. She also knew that Kaguya had likely organized the rest of the group to make their selections as well.. so she'd get to those in a moment. "You can just drop those in the bag, I'll do all my organizing later," she added knowing she was going to end up being quite devoted to the game itself. "Kaya-sen, what did you pick out?" she asked of the other girl who looked up and grinned, "The black version of the bag you got, the playmat with the demon shrine, the black sleeves and deck box," mentioned, and Miko nodded astutely. "Okay did you get that? Will you pack those up the same way?" Miko asked... all the while a pattern was developing and it wasn't going to stop any time soon.

Ai chose to pass the first turn to Kazuhiko. He had the opportunity to establish a defensive board, but he also knew she possessed right to the first offense, fair wit, and some level of clairvoyance ─ whether she deigned to use it or not. While he played the first turn with that knowledge in mind, the table nearby was getting just a tad louder. "Gahahaha! Take that, trash! Get fucked Hinokawa!" Hanabira boasted his victory. As he saw things, he would be the ultimate victor. He'd watch the others fail in their approaches before making the ultimate move, sacrificing the rest to his great cause. If he played his cards right, he could even have his pick of the lot. For now, the one called Hanabira was working on composing himself. He knew who he'd be targeting, and he realized... it was going to take the right approach. Slowly did he rise, and slowly did he shuffle past a few other players en route to that large table of mostly girls.

In the meantime, Reiji was given more reason to shake his head. He had a decent enough eye for business. Even if he charged these girls the lowest possible price forever, he'd actually see continuous profit as a result. For every visiting girl today, he had at least two more sales than normal from guys. Since she was so insistent though, he was willing to compromise just slightly. "How about this? If you and the others are in my shop to play, any purchase you make will be at cost. Otherwise, I'll come up with some kind of employee discount that won't majorly affect either of us. Deal?" he asked. Of course, Reiji intended to extent this offer to all of Sakura's comrades. Whether they worked out a deal or not, however, he was already en route to an epic win. Pacing like this would lead to Reiji being able to host more official tournaments. Moreover, the already exponential increase in sales today was being further enhanced by Miko's list. She sought five plain deck boxes in different colors. Reiji thought that was odd, but her mention of a Seiman featured on her playmat of choice resulted in some assumptions. "Five deck boxes and that specific playmat... Are you collecting the Abe decks? One moment please," he said before fishing through a storage closet behind the counter. There were some well-organized shelves within ─ particularly one higher up that he reached to. "Ah, here they are! I never found the space to display these properly. If you're collecting those decks, might I interest you in these instead?" he asked, emerging from the closet and showing one white deck box with a basic Seiman over the image of a fox's head. "This is a series of five, now six box and sleeve sets released with those decks in mind. There is also an album and a bag showing the full series. Those specifically are new, along with the sixth design. They actually just released today with the new set. Other designs are back here as well, but I'm afraid this small building isn't suitable to the kind of display I wish we could have."

Kazuhiko may have been overestimating Ai's desire to use her magical powers. Or maybe he wasn't... his play of choice was enough to bring a small upturn to her lips, as she went about drawing and getting ready for her next turn. His defensive board would be met with several small gear creatures which she began the process of evolving, though, the evolution into a giant dragon made it so she couldn't simply attack that first turn. All the while, a bit of rowdiness was coming from that other table. It wasn't a big deal, but Chika would be seen covering Anya's ears while the younger lass stared on. She knew the stakes of this game and also knew the one called Hinokawa was being sneaky. 'Uh-oh, does Emi-nee knows he is coming her? Can I help her?' Anya looked at her sister and tried to grab her attention, which oddly worked even as the elder girl was carrying on a conversation with Konomi.

Meanwhile, Miko was busy negotiating a more permanent deal with Reiji concerning making sure he was paid properly. His endgame proposal was one she could agree to, and one she found similar enough to other such services that were offered in different terms. "Sou ka, so if we hang around we get super discount and if we just come in for purchases more fairness in pay..." she mused gently. "I understand. I can agree to that. You have a deal... arigatou Akaba-san~" she said, knowing that Kazuhiko liked this place she could see them visiting quite a bit. Meanwhile, it seemed her listed choices were enough to get Reiji thinking about what she was collecting, "Absolutely, Seimei-sama is national treasure♫!~" Miko chimed without hesitation. She then watched as Reiji went into a storage closet and looked for something. He claimed he didn't have room to display them and then showed her one of the most interesting deck boxes she'd seen so far. It literally screamed Abe no Seimei and she couldn't have been more enthused.Her eyes sparkled those little flames in them dancing as she heard what Reiji had to say. "It's a shame you couldn't display them, they are the best thing ever. And I'll only have the best for Seimei-sama. I'll take the lot!~" she exclaimed. Miko's zealotry was leaking through and she couldn't be bothered to hide it. "What do you mean there is a six set? And how many cases of the new set do you have? I am not completely sure how it works but are all the cards I need in the new box? What kind of rates are we working on for rares? And what else do you have in there?" She asked in rapid fire succession losing herself in the well that was Abe no Seimei lore. Of course, her own movements would lead her to that open door, and if unhindered she'd be crossing that threshold to get a better look herself. After all, if she was getting the best for herself, she'd also get it for ehr friends as well.

Kazuhiko let himself be blissfully unaware of his surroundings... but only mostly. His intention was only to kick back and enjoy the game. Ai established her board for the second turn without taking an immediate offensive, but that was cause for concern during turn three. What he knew of the cards she used was that any offense she took was something he couldn't counter. Beyond that, she could have been using a version of the deck that rebuilt its forces in a more meaningful way when they were destroyed. He'd have to take an approach that was both careful and aggressive to avoid being driven into a corner within two turns. While he was setting up a board that would allow recovery after his own offensive maneuvers this turn, something metaphysical made him stop everything, one card in hand yet to be played. What was that strange feeling? Well, that orange-haired lad approached Emirie from behind. He reached out, placing a hand atop the back of her chair and leaning into it. "Ussu! Hinokawa Shingo! Having a good time? I see you're not playing right now. Wanna play me or chat for a minute?" he asked.

Reiji encountered no further difficulties dealing with Miko. By the deal she agreed to, everyone could be treated with kindness by the other side without feeling like they were taking advantage. If she and the others wanted to visit and play, he'd ensure they reaped the benefits of the extra attention they garnered. The only issue he took with Miko's acceptance was the way she addressed him. "Wonderful. You don't have to be so formal with me, though. I know it's a little indulgent and maybe shameful, but Reiji will be fine," he said. Though Rejii was one to address his patrons as any businessman would, he rather enjoyed feeling like those same patrons viewed him as more of a big brother figure. That strange indulgence aside, he found it interesting how Miko spoke about Abe no Seimei. "You won't hear an argument from me. I remember playing the first version of the deck when it released. I should still have a version of it somewhere," he mused. Whatever the case, it seemed Miko would take the set he suggested. She was also already moving, as if she intended to enter the storage room. Reiji had no issues with this; he didn't mean to keep anything hidden from his customers. He was content to usher her in while addressing her series of questions. "That's a very hefty list, Iino-chan. Let's see... the sixth set is supposed to represent the Sixth Path and Abe no Seimei's ultimate form. His Hero card is one of the rarest in the set... which leads me to that matter. There is one rare card in each pack, but various levels of holofoil rarities. Some cards only come in specific forms; the newest Abe only released this set in Ultimate Rare and Ghost Rare. As for the cards you need, all of the new ones are in the current set, but the Abe series has been part of the last six sets. This newest version is meant to work in conjunction with any of the old playstyles, though no one has figured out the optimal combination yet." While he was explaining things, Reiji stepped inside the storage room and closed the door, if only because some things on shelves were otherwise hidden behind it. Inside, Miko would find all manner of trading card paraphernalia with designs for various decks ─ whether boxes, sleeves, albums, even plushies and dice/counter sets. "I haven't seen anyone draw the actual card after selling a dozen box sets, so that's all I can say for rates currently. As for the number of cases I have, there is most of a full shipment ─ about 80 cases."

Maintaining a state of blissful unawareness was one thing. Ai watched as Kazuhiko prepared himself for both offense and defense, and began to see this match more like a chess match than a simple card game. "Ara? Kazu-tan, is that a full blown strategy coming out in two turns. Should I feel flattered~" she said almost teasingly. In the meantime, a young man was walking up behind Emirie garnering himself an eye role from one like Konomi who was a bit more used to this type of thing. Still, it wasn't truly her place to interfere in others affairs. Just the same, Anya was watching and staring almost blankly at that boy who'd walked up behind her older sister. Emirie for her part in this paused her speech to Konomi and pushed her little glasses up onto her face. She took a shallow breath to gather her thoughts before speaking, deciding to acknowledge all necessary points. "I was having a rather enjoyable conversation, already, Hinokawa-san. Also isn't it quite unusual to try to strike up a conversation from directly behind someone? It seems like an invasion of personal space," she expressed immediately. There was no tonal variation to her voice. She was quite even tempered, but she also didn't turn around to acknowledge the lad standing behind her. She'd also gone without introducing herself at all, figuring doing such a thing would only lead to a false sense of familiarity that she wasn't willing to invite. "I won't be able to play for a little while yet, but that is also fine with me as I have all these people to keep me company already..." she made the gentle gesture all the way around the table. Was it a warning, or simply clarification that she didn't intend to talk with strangers truly? Either could be assumed, 'Big Sis, is managing. Good! Anya is proud!~' the pink haired girl though her eyes still glued to that young man.

Meanwhile, Reiji was busy showing Miko the rest of his stock. After they came to an agreement there was a certain indulgence mentioned. A lack of formality was the request from Reiji and given the way his voice sounded when he made the request, Miko would happily oblige. "I don't see it as indulgent or shameful. How people sound when they talk to each other is important...so, If you're sure, you don't mind and since we'll likely be seeing a lot of each other," Miko started "I'll skip the formalities, Reiji-san♪!~" Miko chirped soon after. "Though, I usually request equality for that sort of thing, I get you're on the clock and all... maybe later♪~" she mused innocently. If there was one thing Miko was always willing to bond with someone over, it was her innate love of Abe no Seimei. "Really? That's awesome. I kind of just ended up looking through all the cards and putting the decks together based on extra lore stuff I know about Abe no Seimei. I spend a lot of summers at the Seimei Shrine so I know a bunch of lore and the variations on it are a certified way to get me into something new. Was his first one supposed to be the Divining one or the one that screams Aggressive spell use? I could see a case for either, considering what his first life was apparently like," Miko claimed willing to gush over Abe no Seimei. As for her previous questions apparently they were a hefty list, Miko had the grace to look a bit embarrassed as she and Reiji were shut into this storage room together so she could see around it. This sort of scenario reminded her of the pantry situation with her mentor, though this man seemed a bit upstanding for that sort of thing. She learned of rarities, of the lack of this stores pulls of that particular card presently. "I'm going to need a lot of luck! I think that sixth deck is going to be my personal project..." Miko exclaimed as if excited. "Even so, i don't care about optimal combinations... this is Seimei-sama. Put in one of everything and let him guide! This is the only way to play! If you believe in Seimei-sama he'll believe in you♪!~" she exclaimed. Looking around at the rest of his merchandise, she was able to make a few minor interpretive differences between the decks she knew were being played and other things. "Hm, this is so much stuff.... I might have to start over. I wouldn't let my friends get normal stuff when all this cool stuff is an option. Oh, and I can get a plushy for Anya-chan! I like the little kitty one. It has the same face that she makes all the time~" Miko uttered. Yes, if she stayed in this room too long, she'd definitely be clearing this man of an awful lot of stock but that would be fine.

Kazuhiko was indeed working his way through a strategy already. Even with his limited experience dealing with Ai, he'd seen enough to know neither she nor the deck she chose were to be underestimated. Well, there was also another factor. Kazuhiko put his all into every match he played. This would be no exception. "All part of the game! I'm not just gonna let myself walk right into an outright beatdown. If you win, you're gonna win against the best moves I've got!" he announced prior to a long silence he couldn't even explain. A few moments later though, he was gaining an understanding. Why? An exchange between Emirie and one of the local lads could be heard, with the latter not seeming very content to take a hint. "Gomen, gomen! I know it's weird to walk up behind like this, but I didn't want to get in anybody's way on the other side. This is a pretty big table you guys have here," the orange-haired boy claimed. Emirie obviously had all the company a person could want in an outing, and then some. Hinokawa wouldn't be discrediting that, but what he brought to the table was a different sort of offer entirely. He even leaned in a bit closer to speak more gently, all to separate his conversation with Emirie from whatever she thought of the others. "I get it, but a little one-on-one is good from time to time right? I'll keep it real; I'm not just trying to play games here. We could go get our own table and chat, or maybe go grab a bite to eat? Coffee?" he pestered. In one moment, his hand shifted from the chair to Emirie's shoulder. Kazuhiko witnessed this alongside Emirie's totally disinterested expression, but... 'I don't know what this feeling is. It's weird. I feel weird,' he thought. Little did he realize, he'd yet to pass his turn... and he was making more progress toward scooting his chair back to make room for a rise. Before he could, however, Seiichi was speaking to the lad. "I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be bugging off by now, dude," he interjected. By then, another interruption was well on its way. The smellier of four boys from that other table had seen a grand opportunity in the past few moments, deciding now was the time to strike. He'd also be heading toward Emirie.

Meanwhile, Reiji was given satisfaction via Miko's acceptance. "Arigatou gozaimasu," he said with a slight head-incline. She was seemingly just as willing to forego formalities the other way around, but an understanding was shared about his current position. "I'll keep it in mind if I ever find myself in our company outside of work," was all he said about that. Reiji didn't imagine that possibility without becoming the chaperone of some tournament-related trip or something of the sort, but... he also hadn't expected his earlier trip home with Sakura. Life had become very strange this last few days. Moving on, Miko had a lot of appreciation for Abe no Seimei ─ appreciation she was openly willing to share. Reiji could follow along as one who respected the historical figure and thoroughly enjoyed the card game renditions. He could at least keep the conversation going in relation to the cards. "The Diviner deck is the second to release. The first follows the 'fox child' story in which a young Abe-dono commands multiple different magics to destroy the opponent. After those, there is the summoner playstyle, the exorcist, and the enchanter/territory playstyle, in that order. Your plan for the new Outer Path actually sounds very fun. It's always good to see someone who isn't just playing the meta for meta's sake. I wouldn't assume that playstyle will make a deep run in big tournaments, but... it is possible, and it would definitely be fun and within the spirit of the deck," he rambled slightly. "Anyway, you're free to select anything from in this room as well. It's all for sale even if I can't find space for it outside. If you need help bringing something down, let me know." As he spoke, Reiji reached out to bring down the plushy Miko spoke of. It was an interesting choice, he thought. "This one? I think it's actually one of the new additions to Abe's third deck ─ one of the shikigami maybe."

There was a certain energy which Kazuhiko seemed to bring to all things. He was doing his best, even in a game against a relatively new player. "Oh? That's a positive stance, if I win, I know the victory is mine without the feeling of being shorted, and if I lose, I put up a good fight. Interesting choices, Kazu-tan~" Ai commented almost absently. Still the lad had yet to pass turn, but Ai knew this was likely. The folly of mankind was often reaching too high... and everyone was able to see such folly at work. Konomi would only be seen shaking her head, as any normal person would have moved away from a girl whose demeanor was so standoffish, but it seemed sense was not on this one's side. The lad known as Hinokawa wouldn't take the hints offered and seemed content to keep talking to Emirie, even after she'd done all that was necessary to make her stance known. She looked up with those purple eyes of hers, seeming to narrow in annoyance as the lad offered apologies with no real move to correct his errors. No... he moved forward with them instead. "It is almost like we intended to keep to ourselves. Funny how such arrangements don't seem the proper deterrent," Emirie said but again there was nothing playful in those words. She only became more disinterested as this lad leaned in further to share quieter words and apparently try his hand at persuasion. "Hinokawa-san is there something you're not understanding? I'm sure I mentioned you were invading my personal space and you did not correct it and only moved closer, I am not making you an invitation nor accepting one. Remove your hand from me," she said a clear and concise sentence. Her face had shown something akin to annoyance. She was too young to be annoyed by a random person. Anya stared continuously, her eyes not moving from the boy behind even so she heard that string of thoughts from Kazuhiko and looked towards him. Her own eyes sparkling, encouraging even, 'Papa should protect!' that was the thought that Anya had. Ah, but he didn't have to immediately, Seiichi had decided to help out, pointing out what was missed and being more direct about it. Emirie had spent part of the morning bonding with her twin, she appreciated his help in this moment, and sent him a look tainted with relief. Her observations of humans so far said that men who ignored women usually would back off if another man said so... this was made excessively clear after the issue with Soma earlier. Before she spoke again though... she paused, her breathing becoming nigh nonexistent, why, something was coming and it was assaulting her sense of smell enough that she didn't want to speak and take in the air which was being polluted by that gross boy making his approach.

Meanwhile, Miko was in that storage room, apparently getting her way with a few caveats. The knowledge that this man was proper during business hours would mean she wouldn't be pressing the issue of his address for her while he worked. That didn't mean however that she'd let it go, it seemed he was nice enough to make the coniseration himself. "You don't have to thank me," Miko uttered quickly her face blushing intensely as it always would. Moving on, her questions about the Seimei deck order were answered specifically. Reiji was quite knowledgeable about it which only served to increase Miko's happiness. "Sou ka, creation cycle then... makes sense," she mused as she looked around. "Meta is for the faithless... I am not. I believe in Seimei-sama♪!~" Miko stated fully. "Besides if I can't play the way I want to and feel satisfied by the process and outcome, I am doing myself and everyone else a disservice," she expressed her thoughts on searching up metas and using the same tactics of everyone else. Still, knowing the kinds of things she was looking for would make her major collection easier to manage. Beyond this, she was handed that plushie she'd asked about and could only fawn over it just a bit. "Squee♪~" she nodded as she received it. "If all of this stuff is for sale, I see a lot of things that could help personalize the experience for myself and my friends. And don't worry, one of us is really into analog gaming and between Saku-chan and Kazuchii, I don't see us skipping it in rotation at all~" she said about their group activities. 'Hm, if I want the best value and for everyone to get a box, I would have to get one for everyone present and then for those who can or would show interest and one for luck,' she thought while doing quick math in her head. "In addition to all the other things I am going to end up asking for today... I also need twenty of this sets boxes. They were planning to do a box opening when Saku-chan gets back from her trip and I don't want anyone missing out," Miko asserted. As for the rest of the things, she would easily begin searching through specific mats, boxes and album variations for the group.

Hinokawa wasn't making much progress ─ especially with the interruption of Seiichi from a bit down the table. He was already having a tough enough time breaking the ice, much to his own annoyance. What he didn't need was the addition of some goody-two-shoes. "Ehh?" Hinokawa uttered, his existing impatience showing as annoyance toward Seiichi. "What's that? You her boyfriend or something? I'm doing a thing here," he stated. Seiichi glared, his brow furrowing briefly. At the same time, Kazuhiko was trying to figure out what that strange feeling was. He watched the oddest interaction happen across and down the table, but his mentality only settled when his eyes wandered to settle on Anya. He looked into that expectant, encouraging face and had a few thoughts about his current emotions. 'Is that it? I feel like they're just... unworthy. Is this dad mode? It feels so weird. I think I should...' Kazu paused there, finally realizing he was halfway out of his chair already. 'When did I get here?' he wondered. Looking toward Emirie again, he saw a struggle most disturbing to witness. That face ─ that terrible face he'd seen too many times had an additional meaning he'd never expected. That couldn't be allowed at all. "Gomen," he said to Ai. Their game would be interrupted before he even passed his turn. First though, Hinokawa was interrupted by a shoving... from none other than Hanabira. "Oi, didn't you hear the girl talk? Hands off buddy!" he announced, aiming to weasel himself into the spot previously occupied. "Don't worry, Oujo-san. You don't have to worry about lames and inactive boyfriends when you're in the same building as me. C'mon, let's get you to a safer place and I'll let you know the dangers of a card shop♥~"

Hanabira had one arm extending. He intended to touch Emirie's shoulder and usher her to another location. Sadly for him, that hand was stopped as Kazuhiko grabbed his wrist. No normal human had seen his trip around the table. In truth, he'd only leapt over it to snatch Hanabira's wrist before contact could be made. "Dude, that's dumb. Who do you think is gonna let you get away with that move?" he asked of the other male. "Huh? Ohh, I get it! You guys are all in this together to keep all the girls! So they're all actually single huh?" Hanabira questioned. For whatever reason, he seemed wholly incapable of freeing his arm. Kazuhiko's hold wasn't budging even by a millimeter. Knowing Seiichi was feeling a bit antsy with the 'no assaulting humans' rule in place, Kazu decided an allowance was to be made. "I didn't see anybody get their ass handed to them at all," was all he said. Only a blink later, while Hanabira was trying to understand that statement, Seiichi was out of his chair with a fist sinking into the smelly lad's cheek. The impact alone sent him closer to Kazuhiko. Of course, Kazu had frustration to vent as well. He pulled the boy past his own body, and a knee to the gut sent Hanabira crashing into a wall ─ after which his larger frame would land atop Hinokawa. Kazuhiko and Seiichi bumped fists thereafter as the former looked to the table of remaining lads. "Anybody else feel like stepping out of their league today?" That question came with a glare ─ one featuring eyes that seemed to glow scarlet. For a moment, there was naught but silent shock from that other table. . .

Speaking of shock, Reiji was surprised to hear the opinion of another player who shunned the meta. He always believed there were still some gems out there who understood the point of retaining fun, even in competitive scenes. Even without seeing this one's deck or playstyle, he had respect for yet another player today. "You're already moving onto my favorites list, Miko-chan," he said since there was no one else to hear his informal address. Reiji would receive another surprise in this little meeting, though. He had around 80 cases of the new set available, and Miko wanted... twenty of them. Reiji paused with a few items in one hand and the Abe bag in the other, wondering if he even heard her correctly. "You want... twenty cases? For a single group opening? I've seen vendors who don't order that much. I remember when that was the total number I ordered for stocking purposes. Aren't you all mostly new players?"

"No..." Emirie started to speak but had to stop. That gross smell was encroaching upon her, and it was stifling. An assault to her nose which made her retch physically as the smelly lad tried to stop one, but introduced his own grossness in a manner way too direct for Emirie. Ai for her part in this simply waved it off, "No worries..." she offered. There was a certain amount of violence she expected from the males of this group, and if Soma wasn't enough of a deterrent, perhaps this next bit would be. "Ha! The only danger in this card shop is you. But I suppose all of you want to learn this lesson individually~" Kaguya said as if amused. Being turned down nicely wasn't enough. The wrong idea was gathered, by one lad who thought Seiichi came to Emirie's defense as her boyfriend, instead of their actual sibling relationship. She also knew he could only do so much given they weren't supposed to be hurting humans. "He's smelly!" was Anya's understanding, said aloud with clapped hands enough to make Kaguya snicker and Ai, stifle a laugh. Meanwhile, Chika as a parent was likely about to seem odd. "Great note, High Five!~" she said offering the girl a hand slap which she took as if she'd done something great. There was panic in Emirie, pure and unadulterated at the thought of being touched by that gross male.

But luck was on her side, as Kazuhiko stood grabbing that hand and her twin brother being given the go ahead to act. The pure force given to that lad with a fist to the face was poetry in motion. And the follow up attack was also grounding. Anya watched with stars in her eyes. 'Onii-san, Papa... COOL!♥~' she thought nearly standing in Chika's lap with sheer childish excitement and admiration as she gave them both the thumbs up. This was peak drama to a child her age. And the bad guys didn't win. With the smelly one a safe distance away, Emirie could finally breathe a sigh of relief, though it was still tainted enough by stagnant air that she fanned her hands around herself. "Left bottom pocket on Mi-chan's bag should have something for you~" Kaguya mentioned. "I'll step out of my league if you look at me like that♥~" Kaguya flirted earning her a glare from Kei, who glared at her in return and received only a blown kiss for her trouble. Knowing that Miko kept a few handkerchiefs there. One was taken and held over her nose for a second or two. "Thank you for that. You would think it would be obvious that Seiichi is my twin... I thought I was very straight forward about my lack of interest. But that assault to my olfactory senses was far too great for me to overcome in a single moment..." Emirie mentioned. Looking at her father and brother with great appreciation. "Hai hai, I guess we're super lucky nothing happened~" Konomi said chuckling. These were a group of standup guys even without all the extra magical weirdness.

At the same time, Miko's desire to be addressed more informally was being acknowledged within that closed off closet space. The more she thought about it, the more something a bit less proper in a place like this would be an amazing turn of events. Still, she could allow this to progress at its own pace. "I do like being on a favorites list. I have one of those myself and you're working your way up too, Reiji-san!~" Miko said as the sound of her name hit her ears melodiously. Apparently, she'd be distracting him just a bit. She remained looking at things, gathering some in her own hands and pointing at a few others which fell out of her line of reach. She'd just grabbed up a starter deck featuring the 'God of Nature: Enlil' which she knew Emirie to be working on when the pause came from Reiji about her choice in number of boxes of the new set. "Yes, nothing is too extreme when showing devotion for Seimei-sama!~" she said initially only to have more valid points as well. "I want to buy twenty. Most of us are pretty new, but we're doing a lot of traveling and have a lot of downtime that doesn't allow conventional electronics. Besides, once any of us are into something, we're all in... I'm committed to my own deck and I know Kazuchii is committed to his. I know my friends will enjoy and I don't want anyone left out of the opening if they want to participate. I also have one for luck, in case I can't get what I'm looking for~" she expressed. "You don't have to get those together right now. We can grab them up before we leave, but I'm trying to get everyone working on protecting their collections and finishing their deck building before we leave today. Also, do you have anything featuring Astraea? I remember Kazuchii mentioning she's his favorite," Miko concluded almost innocently. This group took their activities very seriously and she was one hundred percent committed to all things Abe no Seimei.

Before he got any form of response from the other males in the shop, Kazu heard a response from Kaguya. She could always be trusted to throw in a casual flirt whenever the mood struck. If nothing else, it served as a solid tension-breaker... for a moment in this case. "Later," he stated while Hinokawa squeezed himself out from beneath the larger, now unconscious male. "Oh, I see what's going on here! Captain Save-a-hoe's here boys! Thinks he can sweet his way in with all the ladies, show a couple of moves on guys who can't fight..." As he spoke and stumbled to his feet, Hinokawa received Kazu's glare; however he also reached into his pocket. A phone was revealed, and on it... was an image of one Tohsaka Sakura as she seemingly played around with the spunk of Kakihara Shota on her tongue. "But isn't this your girl from the other day? That's crazy dude! You're not getting anywhere long-term if this is what's happening behind your back, softie! How many of these girls are cucking you too?" the lad goaded, even scrolling to another picture of... what seemed to be a very expressive moment of orgasm from the impassive girl they'd seen in the shop previously. Little did Hinokawa realize, there was a magical weight bearing down on the immediate area. There was a darkness within Kimura Kazuhiko ─ one that was quickly rising to the surface as Hinokawa continued scrolling. When he spoke, Kazu did so with an eerie calmness and an underlying... hatred? "Sou... Hey, how many of you have seen that here?" he asked.

Though none of the boys at tables could sense the insanity, even Reiji had a strange feeling of foreboding from within that storage room. He couldn't quantify it, so he let it slip his mind within moments. First and foremost, apparently Miko had a list of favorites he was moving up as well. "That's refreshing to hear. Arigatou," he said. Regardless, twenty cases of cards was a tall order for anyone. It was quite heartwarming to see such dedication to the game. It was undoubtedly an order he'd be fulfilling, but first he'd be reaching some higher shelves for the items Miko couldn't reach herself. Reiji's left arm was full in no time at all. His right hand was also filling up quickly. "Kimura-kun is very obsessive over Astraea. I may have a collector's edition figure deeper in storage from her featured subset's release, but... Astraea isn't the most popular card or deck. These things usually have to be ordered ahead of time. If you're looking to make that kind of purchase, I could frontload it for another day."

Kaguya had tried to diffuse a situation. As always she was trying to keep things from escalating but it would seem that Hinokawa wasn't willing to save his own life and bow out gracefully. No, he'd decided lashing out was the point to take, even going so far as to provide evidence of Sakura's sexual activity and calling Kazuhiko a cuck. "You could have just been quiet. You didn't have to start this..." Konomi mentioned. While Soma counted as a delinquent, Kazuhiko and Seiichi had only acted in pure defense of an individual. "Oh? They have no sense of survival~ Anything that happens to you've earned~" Kaguya mentioned to no one in particular. But all the girls in this room could feel the magic oppressing the space. Even with Kazuhiko being so calm the danger was clear and present. "This isn't good at all. Would it be wrong to thank him for proving exactly why he was being ignored..." Ai mentioned whether she'd seen this coming or not wasn't obvious. Meanwhile, it'd be Angelica who moved to look at these supposed images. They were of Sakura maybe... "These look weird to me. What's going on did something happen to Saku?" she said of the images, but she also understood, that Kazuhiko was near a breaking point. "I know somethings about to happen here, Saku-chan is safe and having fun. I know who she is with right now and its no one who I think would be problematic enough to fake or leak nudes," Kaguya claimed, she implanted the suggestion that the images might be fake if only to keep them from further spreading. A quick text was shot to Miko, for two reasons, 'I know you probably heard it but, it's dangerous out here. Your King is going to execute a whole crew. Keep the shop owner busy for as along as you can~" she messaged Miko.

Within that storage room, Miko was getting a lot of things together. But she also felt something odd. She could hear the words, she heard the scuffle and all was well. Ah, but Kazuhiko sounded quite dangerous out there. Apparently, Miko was being thanked again. "Here to be refreshing♫~" she chimed. Still, she kept pointing at things she thought she or her group would want and got a text which had her slipping her phone into her hand. A quick reply would occur and she'd keep up what she was doing. 'Hai. Try and talk him down. :p If all else fails contact Saku and/or Hiru-nii, I was planning a reveal already :3 Sorry humans are so sucky today O_O' Miko added quickly and hit send. Soon enough she was holding more things and so was Reiji, she could only hope that most of this blew over before they had to exit and everyone got kicked out of this place. "Well, if you have any deeper in, I can hold some more of that stuff for right now. I'm stronger than I look, but I owe him a lot and I want him to have something nice today♪!~" Miko claimed in utter devotion and cuteness. Still if it worked as a distraction she'd definitely put herself between the door out and the search. It was the best she could manage for now. 'Gambareyo!~' she chimed.

Just as Angelica believed, there was something quite 'off' about those images Hinokawa showed. Those were undoubtedly Sakura; Kazuhiko knew as much. The how and why were mysteries, but somehow... none of that mattered to him. She could have been whoring her way around Osaka, Japan, or even the entire world; that wasn't something he felt entitled enough to concern himself with. The real issue here was a decision he'd recently made about people like Hinokawa. He wasn't worthy. "No point worrying about that now, bub! Half of Japan's probably seen that bitch. Wait around a couple more days and she'll probably be able to tell you what the whole shop's baby juices taste like. Or maybe she'll be asking you to take care of her baby while she gets pumped full of the next one!" Hinokawa continued goading, as his next movement rolled over to a short video clip. The voice of Kakihara Shota played to announced an impending ejaculation that would find its way inside Sakura. Visually, there was a shot of her receiving quite the pummeling while she gave the affirmative for that exact outcome. Kazuhiko's eyes never left the phone, but his thought process didn't show. 'That's real. That's Saku. It does suck a little to see like that, but... that's not the issue. Why isn't that the issue?' he wondered. Whatever the case, Kazu's hand was slowly reaching up for the phone. "Ehh?! Going full cuck already? You should have just said you were that kind of guy," Hinokawa said. "Hell yeah; pass your next girl my way and I'll turn her out right in front of you!" another of the boys added. When Kazu's hand reached that phone, he grabbed it... and it crumbled. His eyes transitioned from scarlet to deep crimson as he mulled over Hinokawa's first words. "Half of Japan? That's about sixty million. I could kill sixty million by morning," Kazu announced in all seriousness. He thought nothing of it. Sixty million humans dead wouldn't even be a training montage worthy of the things that lay ahead for him. Hinokawa and the others were stunned to silence for a moment, but only due to the seriousness presented. Moments later... "Kaahahahaha! Oh, that's good! You want the whole anime protagonist thing, don't y─"

No further words would come from Hinokawa. Mid-word, the boy who ignored the warning of an easily-shattered phone found himself pressed into the wall as Kazu gripped his throat with a single hand. His feet weren't touching the ground, instead flailing about as he grasped at Kazu's arms ─ all to no avail. "Emirie ─ come here," Kazu stated. All the while, Reiji was having a very casual time in Miko's company, none the wiser to everything happening out in the shop. "Successfully, I might add," he said. Reiji scanned the storage room for something he would need momentarily. Miko did have an interest in the figure he mentioned, offering to carry some of the items he had. Ah, but he saw precisely what he was looking for: a trolley that everything in his arms currently could be placed atop and moved through the room. "I wouldn't dare put that burden on you whether you can handle it or not. You're already one of my precious customers, so you'll be taken care of," he assured. "Kimura-kun has some very dear friends, it seems. If you want to order something else in, the computer I use for ordering legacy items is near where I think that figure is. This way," he added, opening an arm to gesture down a corridor of shelves.

This man known as Hinokawa couldn't close his mouth and the more vitriol he spewed the more obvious it became that his punishment was about to be something ridiculous. Ai continued to watch, knowing the truth... every good hero had a dark arc and they were in the middle of Kazuhiko's even if they had long periods of happiness between the dark moments. One like Kaguya had stopped caring, even as the phone he'd reached for shattered. "These are definitely my least favorite kinds of people. All talk, no substance, no sense, no morals..." Kaguya didn't even have the heart to flirt currently. This whole situation sounded too familiar for her to be pleased right now. Kei on the other hand had something to say to that last man to speak, "Ewww, no one wants any of you stupid lightless cave dwellers..." Kei couldn't help the comment. Konomi was now whispering if only because there was much going on she thought the issue with Soma was something but what Kazuhiko was doing felt different, "Can we let him kill 60 million people, because that seems extreme..." she said carefully. "The number of us who could actually physically stop him is limited," mentioned Ai as if this was nothing to worry about. Chika was covering the ears of Anya but that wasn't helping since she could still hear Kazuhiko's thoughts. 'Papa, feels weird but it was still cool...' Anya thought as she looked around.

At the same time, Emirie soon heard her name. Having finally removed the cloth from her nose and mouth she pushed her glasses up on her nose, and stood. She had no reason not to answer her father when he called her so she'd approach, carefully. "Hai? What do you need?" she asked pleasantly as always for him specifically. At the same time, Miko was busy having a casual conversation with Reiji and keeping him as busy as she could manage without anyone being naked. Apparently, she was successfully being refreshing a wide smile spread across Miko's face. "Hai!~ Arigatou♪!~" Miko chimed happily. If she could keep this man successfully in this storage room until the front died down, she'd do her best. Whatever the case, Reiji wouldn't think of burdening Miko, he placed many of those items on a rolling cart, making Miko do much the same since all of it was things she'd be purchasing. He called her a precious customer, who'd be taken care of, and she looked up at him with large imploring eyes. "Sugoi! That sounds awesome, Reiji-san♪!~" Miko couldn't help herself. Her mind definitely took that as a flirt, but she'd hold off on that for now. And there was the mention that Kazuhiko had dear friends, "He really does. He takes care of all of us though so... we take care of him too~" Miko claimed without question. Beyond that point she could do a bit of ordering apparently. Moroever he offered to front some costs for ordering some specific things if she wanted. They were headed further into this space, which meant that there was less for ehr to field. "You'd really do that for me? Arigatou..." she said truly pleased about buying some nice things for her friends. She moved to slip past Reiji but wouldn't be able to completely clear him giving the cramped space, "Shitsureishimasu♪~" Miko uttered innocently.

Kazuhiko may have been in the first phase of a rampage, or something of the sort. Oh well; the boys in this shop signed up for it with their audacious overreaching. For now, he was content to strangulate Hinokawa while waiting for Emirie's approach. She answered easily enough and stepped forward, but... other boys were trying to scurry away. "Seiichi," was all Kazu said. "Hai!" Seiichi replied while darting out to cut the other group off. While that was being handled, Kazu pulled Hinokawa down, forcing him to the floor with a foot in his back. "Apologize," he said plainly. Hinokawa, who'd been placed at Emirie's feet, was gasping for air and reeling from the pain of impact. No way was he going to let himself be beaten down by a cuck! "Guah! No way I'm gonna let y─" Interrupted again was Hinokawa, who received a prompt stomp to the back ─ one nearly costing him his ability to walk. "Once more. You'll never walk again. Apologize," Kazu demanded as the boy underfoot cried out. "AHH! Gomennasai gomennasai!" he answered eventually. "It's a start. Somebody wake up the other one."

In the meantime, a couple of the other boys were still lagging behind, seeing no reason to escape. They viewed Hinokawa as another individual who couldn't really put up a fight, so one of them was still laughing and goading when Kei spoke up. "You're one to talk! Nobody was looking to eat beansprouts today anyway, right boys?" he heckled. All the while, Reiji and his newly-freed arms thought he was taking the polite approach and letting Miko go ahead deeper into the storage room. Instead, he was unknowingly opening himself up to being one wall in a tight squeeze through the space. While Miko started shuffling by, he aimed for composure and avoidance of another massive misunderstanding in his life by addressing the ongoing discussion. "... Yes, it would be no problem. A bond of friendship as strong as what I see in you all is contagious. Seeing it only makes me want to insert myself in a similar way, so I'll do whatever I can as well," the owner assured. A nice, wholesome topic such as that would keep things moving forward normally, he thought. . .

Kazuhiko was busy showing everyone what kind of general he was on the battlefield against Saxons. His own children were currently acting as soldiers freely taking orders, Seiichi rose to cut off an escape route and Emirie got there to receive an apology. Kazuhiko was willing to force the issue with pure pressure against the spine of the boy he'd allowed to fall to the floor. The initial shot to his back wasn't enough, he'd tried to be at least verbally combative, but alas, he was soon uttering an apology. "The lack of intelligence in these beings is way too high," Emirie mentioned. "Thank you... for saving me," she added to her father in a manner which made her look a bit more like her mother. At the same time, the other of Kazuhiko's children born today moved, as Sena finally moved from her spot at the front of the table and walked around her brother, "Sliding through, Aniki~" she mentioned only to walk over and deliver a not so gentle kick to the fat lad's body, intending to make him hit his head once more and wake him from his peaceful unconscious. At the same time, a certain point had been struck... "And now he's going to get beaten up by a girl, way to lose the rest of your dignity..." Kaguya said about the one male who tried to heckle Kei.

The white haired girl who was a bit emotionally unstable to start with, who spent her time as a monster was no less one in human form. She stood swiftly moving forward she decided her best course of action was a soft tissue blow, so the lad who'd called her a beanspout, could still be laughing as her fist aimed to collide directly with the center of his form. She aimed to hit him hard enough to send him toppling to the ground after which she'd casually move to the side to begin stepping on and breaking his ribs, one by one. All the while, Kaguya was making an emergency phone call to one Daikichi Hiruko, who was about the only person she knew who could help them with their current number of potential bodies. Whatever the case, within that closed in space, Miko was... being her naturally distracting self and in turn being naturally distracted. Even while knowing exactly what was going on outside of this space, she was enjoying her alone time with one Akaba Reiji. First there was something in the wording of Reiji's statement which gave her pause, 'We got somewhere for you to insert yourself!~' said a once quiet voice in her head. 'Welcome back Sina...' she muttered in her mind, still she didn't disagree. No, Miko had tried to slide by Reiji and went on to speak, while shuffling her hips past him and rubbing against him about about thigh length with the roundness of her ass. "We wouldn't mind something like that, the old and young need each other for balancing purposes. So feel free to insert yourself as you like, Reiji-san♪~" she said those words and they might have been wholesome but the movement of her hips as she tried to shimmy past him, were anything but, though innocent she seemed, those shorts and that half top of hers weren't hiding any of the softness of her frame.

Kazuhiko agreed to the lack of intelligence in these human scum. The longer he interacted with them in this situation, the more Kazu saw them as Saxons in need of culling. Luckily for them, this wasn't a war or a campaign; they had a chance to earn their survival. Besides... he had some individuals around to keep him relatively calm, like Emirie as she uttered words of thanks. "It's fine. I brought you here," he replied, taking blame for the situation even starting. It seemed all of his children were playing a part in this scene today. When Kazu needed someone to wake the fat bastard, Sena came to the call to pummel the lad into... what one might only be able to call a waking concussion. Hanabira woke with swirling eyes after nearly denting the wall with his head. Seiichi, who'd been passed on Sena's journey, winced at the treatment. "Waking CTE. That's one way to do it─" he observed. "Haah?! Ugh... what the fuck happened? Where am I?" Hanabira asked. Before he could even take another breath or reach for his aching head and stomach, Hinokawa's body was slammed into his and used as a buffer for crushing. Kazu knew Emirie had an issue with that one's smell, so he thought to limit contact where possible. "You're in Hell. Apologize for being trash before I send you somewhere worse," Kazu demanded, grinding one boy into the body of another in such a way as to keep both from... well, from mustering enough air to scream. Before that apology came, Kazu did have another question for Emirie. "His breath isn't going to bother you, is it?"

Ah, but some things may have been even worse. The boy so content to loudly heckle what he thought was the least mature girl of the bunch (bar the toddler) was discovering what immaturity really meant. A swift movement from Kei made him transition from laughing, to vomiting as a punch to the abdomen made his body coil even as it flew and rolled back. He couldn't even manage anything beyond that before a series of kicks seemed to crack something in his torso. For each rib, there was a full trickle from his eye and a gurgled screech from his mouth. Seiichi was still observing in the moment, feeling quite strangely about the method he was watching. Was that attractive? Where did he get that thought from? Either way, there was something else about it. "Two punctures," he observed, yet te kicking continued. "Sorry... five." All the while, the phone of Daikichi Hiruko was ringing as he enjoyed an impromptu tryst with Sakura on a private cruise. "Oya? Sumanai... I've got to take this. Keep going though♥~" he said while picking up the phone. "Moshi moshi, Kayacchi. Miss me already?♥~" he flirted without hesitation, even as some likely recognizable sounds were leaking through the phone.

In the storage room, Reiji was failing at keeping things moving toward propriety. Miko's response to his previous words were innocent enough by interpretation, but there was nothing innocent about what he felt. In having her ass rub along his thigh, she'd inadvertently be rubbing directly over his manhood. It took so little to get a physical response in such situations, yet she brought so much soft flesh that a more immediate result showed itself. Pinned against his leg by that cloud of flesh was a cock that stirred without hesitation, twitching as if fighting against an obstructive force ─ or as if literally rising to a challenge presented. "Ahem!" he cleared his throat hoping for a viable distraction. "Yes, balance is always nice. Sumimasen; I should have led the way. I didn't intend to cause any discomfort."

Apparently Kazuhiko wouldn't be accepting the thanks offered by one of his older daughters. No, he'd claim it was his fault for bringing her to this place. He strangely accepted blame without fault or hesitation, even though she didn't see it that way. "Iia, you aren't in control of how others behave. The owner of this shop is quite the stand up guy, there is nothing to be done about those who hide their disgusting selves in plain sight," Emirie summarized. It was obviously an issue of boys like these, who didn't know when to stop themselves. Keeping Kauzhiko calm was what his children were managing to do, but beyond that point there was the wake up of the fat one, which Sena did without any extra fuss. "Was that a compliment? I figured it was the best option. I'm not touching that..." Sena mentioned as if it was perfectly reasonable. As for the question posed to Emirie after the second person to try and assault her was woken up in a very rough manner, she found herself gently tucked behind her father. "It's mostly fine from here, right behind you... all I can smell is roasted almonds. That's kind of comforting actually," she mused seeming to take some sense of calm and comfort from behind behind her father in a moment like this.

Meanwhile, Kei was venting her frustrations on a target who'd earned it by her own, "Trash! How dare you waste food like that... the nerve of you!" Kei hissed quietly. Her words were for a lad who couldn't even properly respond. Ai would be the one teasing gently, "Eh? Kei-tan... you knocked his soul out of his body, of course he doesn't have the stomach to keep his food down~" Ai said lightly. "Well, he should have thought of that before he had the stomach to utter such shitty words to me! Die trash! My dumbass brother takes more punishment than this!" she would continue uttering, curses and annoyances at a boy in the floor. All the while, Kaguya was now on the phone with a certain individual. While he stopped to answer the phone, Sakura kept moving her hips, she was in front of him, backing into him rhythmically so that her skin was gently slapping against his thighs. "Hai hai, whatever you need to do, Hirrun♥~" she chimed. Meanwhile, the man on thep hone made a small smile come to Kaguya's face, "Oya? Sounding like that, I might actually miss you♥~" Kaguya also flirted. "Too bad that's not completely the only reason I am calling. We might have run into a few issues, and need a clean-up type situation. Are you able to help us out with something like that?" she asked in a casual way, but there was a certain underlying theme going on, one which would undoubtedly need care.

At the same time, Miko was learning how much of a distraction she could truly be. She was just innocnetly speaking, even so it seemed her words were enough to keep Reiji busy. Ah, but his body was honest if nothing else, and as she aimed to slide by him, she felt it. Something quite surprising hidden down the length of his pants gently rubbing against her bottom. "Boing!" she mused only to chuckle. "Hm, I didn't know he could rub off on me like that, still box is open♪~" Miko mused gently. She wouldn't immediately be moving away from this, no, the dimensions were a bit to startling for that. Even as Reiji cleared his throat she found herself wanting to be a bit devious. Ah, and the return of Japanese culture happened where he apologized for potentially making her uncomfortable. "Iia, I like this quite a bit better than the alternative, and I'm not uncomfortable," she managed looking up at him with those wide brown eyes. "At the risk of being a bit too forward, I promised myself to shoot every shot I wanted to take... and this is definitely a prime opportunity I don't want to waste," Miko mentioned while shifting her hips just a little up and down and knowing that the length was exactly the sort of thing she was interested in. "if you're interested, I am fully willing to take responsibility for the hardship I caused, Reiji-san♪!~" Miko mentioned. A tiny bit of drool was accumulating at the left corner of her mouth again.

Emirie wasn't allowing Kazu to have blame for current events, but he had no further comment about that. The way he saw things wouldn't change. It should have been his responsibility to act before matters escalated, whether as a father or simply as the one who invited others along. In the end, that was his decision... just as it was his decision to gag Hanabira and stifle his breath if it proved too much of an annoyance to Emirie. Luckily for Hanabira, that wasn't the case. Since she wasn't bothered from her current position, Kazu would neither move nor let her be any closer to the bothersome rubbish. "Good. Stay there," he said, further crushing one lad using another. "You stepped out of your league. Twice. Apologize," he demanded of Hanabira. "Ack! Who the hell do you think you are? It ain't your league, you shrimp-dick cuck-o!" Hanabira replied. Swiftly did Kazuhiko's foot leave Hinokawa's gut, colliding with Hanabira's face and returning to its original position before bodies were even shifted. As a result, Hanabira's head slammed the wall once again, and his eyes came to a slow close. "Who? Oh... is he conscious?"

Two assaulters were currently making no progress on drawing out apologies. On Kei's end, it was arguable whether her victim could even speak past the blood and vomit flooding his throat. Seiichi kept watch with only one eye open. He wasn't sure how he felt about that form of abuse. Either he didn't want to get on Shirogane Kei's bad side under any circumstance... or he did under a specific one. Either way, she was making a beeline toward murder with no additional results presently. Even the other boys who had so much to say and laugh about were merely looking on, cowering by now. "Uh... he's actually going to die before you get a reaction out of him. Is that going to make you feel better?" he asked calmly. In the meantime, Kaguya's emergency phone call was off to an interesting start. "Mmm, good girl♥~ Makes me want to see if we can make this boat rock~" he flirted. The phone would pick up another slapping sound by the time his chat with Kaguya started ─ that particular one caused by a bit of hand-to-ass contact. Nevertheless, his conversation would carry on as normal. "Don't actually admit to missing me. If you did, you'd be on this cruise with us. Boooo♥~" he joked initially. Following that, however, things took an interesting and semi-serious turn. "Kayacchi, be careful how you talk about things like that. You make a house-cleaning favor request sound like something untoward. Where you are is probably in some company's established territory too, so that'd be an issue. Lucky I like you, huh? What's the situation?"

Boing. What a strange thing that was for Miko to mutter. Of course, given her position relative to Reiji's, there was only one viable reason for the outburst. She also wasn't making any haste to finish moving past him, which wasn't putting a stop to things any quicker. The tone of their conversation changed completely. Miko expressed her preference for this setup over any alternatives, and... it didn't seem she was talking about moving ahead. No, she immediately started claiming forward behavior instead. She'd promised herself to attack chances in moments of desire. How else was he to interpret those words? What was going on with these modern teens? Why was she making it a matter of taking responsibility? How were her up and down movements in any way conducive to moving deeper into the closet? Well, the last question in Reiji's mind had an obvious answer: they weren't. Overall though, there was one thing happening without fail. Reiji was growing a firmer bulge in his breeches, utterly trapped against Miko's grinding rear as he managed to string one clause together. "Have... have modern teens undergone some drastic changes I wasn't aware of?" he wondered, looking down at the girl in confusion. Reiji wasn't outright turning her down ─ something slightly unusual for him. It wasn't helping at all that she looked very familiar, like someone he knew and had a great deal of interest in long ago. If her hair were just a little longer, she'd almost be the spitting image of that woman ─ almost.

Emirie was content to stay behind her father's back as he advised. Whatever his thoughts were, she didn't believe he could take personal responsibility for this day turning out this way. Meanwhile, a demanded apology would end up only with more vulgarities being uttered. Anya remained with her mother's hands clamped over her ears, but that didn't stop her from seeing the punishments being meted out. 'Papa's so cool! Onii-chama too!~' she thought. While not as immediately active as Soma had been, it was still something she could appreciate. Oddly enough it wasn't just the youngest girl who thought their father was cool, both Sena and Emirie also thought so given this show of paternal affection and protection. A demand of apology was made, but instead of it being made more insults were launched, "For a bunch of people who've never put their meat in anything but their hands, you lot are awful concerned about someone else's!" were Kei's words after hearing that one shrimp related comment. Meanwhile, Sena looked at the fat one and nodded. "Definitely out, should I wake him up again?" she wondered ready to bounce his head off the wall once more with a quick kick, if it were needed. Of course, every woman not his own daughter would agree that such was a vast underestimation of what was going on, and with the odd obsession with comparison. "Oh? Calming down..." Ai mentioned noting the more sensible response. Only five of that lad's ribs were cracked as Kei's eyes shifted, to the last man standing, one being held from escape by Seiichi. "Hmph, I'm hardly upset to start with. But shouldn't all trash be on the ground confessing and apologizing?" she questioned, her light blue eyes narrowing as she stared at the last man with pure menace visible in her visage.

As for what Seiichi had to say, a gentle toss of white locks occurred as the pressure applied to that lad's side had already stopped but she remained stepping on him. "If he dies he deserves it. His observational skills are faulty considering how easily his bones snapped after he called me a beansprout~" Kei mentioned with her nose up in the air. Ah well, that was emotional immaturity, but contrary to all aspects of her, she'd spent far too much of her time in the otherworld as a monster, her logic around the death of humans was... less than human at best. Meanwhile, a little moan was escaping Sakura as she continued the work of her hips after that slap to her rear. Of course, the conversation between Hiruko and Kaguya was cheeky and flirty and she was sure there was a lot going on in the background of her own conversation. "Eh? We would have loved something like that. I even made Mi-chan get a little sailor suit... but you know how it is. We have to do some normal stuff every now and again~" she said almost teasingly. Of course, their current situation was far from normal in this particular case, but they could do quite a lot. The tone shift in Hiruko was noted, and something Kaguya had noted before and she found it easy to fall into. "Oh? I wasn't making it sound like anything like that. I'm just asking an innocent question, we don't have our own place here yet so it was a bit more open to interpretation, Hi-niisama♥!~" she chimed while listening to Kei threaten another and giving a thumbs up. "We're so lucky you like us♥~ As for the situation..." she paused giving thought to how to express it. "A big group of us are shopping today, you know us and our stunning friends, that group is steady growing for some... reasons. Well, apparently this group of guys in this card shop happens to have gotten their hands on some trade secrets concerning a certain purple haired card game enthusiast. They decided to try and use that for leverage to gain entry to our group of stunning friends. Tables were flipped, three to five drinks were spilled and we don't want to leave a mess in the card shop is all. The owner of his place is currently locked in the stock room so we can't exactly clean it up ourselves you see. One of them even fell outside, it's been crazy♥~" Kaguya mentioned as if this made perfect sense.

Speaking of crazy things, Miko was distracting herself, maybe even more than she was managing to distract Reiji. By her own current hearing, Kaguya was on the phone with Hiruko, a good choice, and the boys native to this card shop would be... suffering the consequences of their actions. It was the best she could do, to simply make sure Reiji didn't walk out of this space in the middle of what would likely be the clean up of a very specific kind of accident. "Some of us have..." she answered his question. "While I can't speak for everyone at least my friends and I seem to have all come to the same conclusion. Life is too short and unpredictable to not explore every avenue and have all the fun you can~ As long as everyone understand and no one is hurt, we seem to be pretty free with ourselves... I am at least~" she claimed a small smile coming to her face. "So, Reiji-san, interested in not wasting a prime opportunity? I can take care of this for you..." she mentioned while moving her hips just a little bit more with that overly innocent face of hers looking up at him. "And you can help me too~" she claimed earnestly. "See I'm very easily distracted and I couldn't leave this thought alone if I know I it's here and I didn't take care of it myself, I'm trying to be responsible and take care of my new favorite shopkeep♪~" Miko mentioned playfully. The truth of the matter was, she'd very much enjoy finding out what kind of man this one was truly. She already felt quite comfortable in his presence and the size of his manhood against his thigh said, she'd be having one hell of an afternoon.