Charles Patricius

Kazu's statement was taken as weird, but he could only shrug it off for the moment, considering what life was like of late. "It gets weirder; trust me," he said. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to almost accidentally take photos when he shouldn't have. That was a relief, but only in a minor way. He had to start consciously seeking normalcy in these situations. More importantly though, that weird sensation was fading fast, never becoming more discernable from the initial moment. Well... at least they had a vague idea what its intentions were. Konomi still didn't grasp Soma's intentions, however. "It's not rude, and it is an icebreaker. You're closer to everyone here than you were just a minute ago. Leave it at that, and come on," he insisted, content to move on toward whatever bus Miko was talking about. The pair of silent, more timid males followed along as well. Kazuhiko, on the other hand, lagged behind a bit to keep an eye open for that strange feeling again. "One day, maybe something will explain itself when it just randomly appears like that. Explanations are awesome," he mumbled. Whilst on the way, he checked his own phone to complete an explanation to Angelica about the text Sakura sent them both. "Oh, Ang! See? This is what I meant; it's a chat with all three of us. You'll see this too," he said while texting a reply. It read: "That's an awesome look for you. Are you having fun?"

Hiruko found something else strange in Sakura's observation. She began talking about the size of required piercings as if there had ever been much variety in normal cases. "Well, yeah. It's a jewelry store. You won't find gauges here; it'll all be the standard size," he said. The alien nature of Sakura was really giving credence to those magical ideas from earlier. She was ignorant of so many common things, there were hardly any excuses. "Nothing to worry about, though. You could get basic piercings right here if you want." Just as Hiruko said, there was a sitting area near the back of the store ─ one set up to be a piercing station for those in need. Sakura was rather quick to decide what she liked ─ she'd even chosen a very small number of items. Naturally, Hiruko wouldn't leave things at just that. He was already waving over a clerk and pointing out each item she mentioned. "So that, that, those and those... hmm. We may as well pick up anklets and necklaces too, right? Why not everything that looks like it could go with each and every one of those pieces?" he wondered aloud. It seemed one thing Hiruko lacked was restraint when collecting nice things.

This brown haired supermodel boy apparently thought life got weirder. Konomi found herself able to understand that but that wouldn't stop her from pointing it out. "Yep, already the weirdest day of my life," she agreed. Ah, well the intentions of Soma were ones she tried to understand. She obviously trusted him a bit but his ideas were far from standard. He claimed what he'd done was an icebreaker in that it'd brought her closer to the group at large. "I mean sure I'll come along. Not like I have anything to do today after quitting my job," she said rubbing her hand over the back of her head. Still in her hand, was her own phone and a small bag which was slipped around her wrist with her important items in it. A bus pass, her cards, her college identification and the keys to her apartment. And just like that the group grew a little bit bigger. And now everyone was on the move, with Kazuhiko still keeping track of that ominous presence until it faded. The words of Kazuhiko were heard, even by the moving Miko and she could only shake her head. She hoped he'd eventually get the kind of explanations he wanted. At the same time, Angelica was getting more an explanation after the interruption of a magical nature. "I see. That's cool..." Angelica stated about the message as she also saw the one which Kazuhiko posed. She also took it upon herself to send a picture of herself in her new outfit to their wife with a good morning and a "What he said!" message in text. At the same time, Miko was getting the right amount of money for the group to board the bus. A total of 2300 yen for a group of this size to ride to the next set of shops.

Meanwhile, Sakura was showing her alien nature to Hiruko who was not distracted enough by how good she looked to realize exactly how odd she was in certain instances. Apparently the size of these piercing holes were standard and didn't include whatever gauges were, which she had to assume were some kind of bigger holes all together based on context clues. He also went on to say it was nothing for her to worry about, as she could get her ears pierced here. "Sou ka, that's fine then," she said without worrying about it too much. What was more, the pieces she'd wanted were pointed to and Hiruko made a suggestion for a few more due to matching pieces to other outfits. "Hai that sounds fine to me," she expressed looking at a few of the mentioned items while her phone finally vibrated in return of the message she'd sent earlier. Her eyes sparkled as she finally looked at her phone and saw the message from Kazuhiko complimenting her choice in attire and asking if she was having fun. She also saw a picture of Angelica as she settled into a more human form. "Sugoi!~" she mused while looking at the picture and setting it as Angelica's image for her phone. "I'm having a lot of fun! How are you both? You seem to be outside are you going on an adventure?" she questioned quickly only to quickly add another. "An-chan you look awesome too. I'm glad you're up and moving around again!~" she relayed such messages quickly quite relieved to see that her wife was alright enough to get out of the house. Things were looking up in Sakura's world right now.

"Give it a week and you'll mostly give up on expectations of normal stuff," Kazu added for their new member's sake. "Kimura Kazuhiko. Yoroshiku," he said afterwards, getting introductions out of the way before he forgot ─ as he had a very real chance of doing so now that he and Angelica were chatting with Sakura. He'd soon be saving another image, this one of the blonde herself. "Ang, when did you take that, and why don't I already have it? Party foul!" he called out while composing a new message. "Everything's cool. We're on a shopping trip now. Lot of kids born today btw." While Kazu sent that message, Soma was looking around at other members of the group. One that he hadn't interacted with just yet was quite noteworthy, so... he'd be beating Seiichi to a seat when boarding the bus, taking his place next to Emirie and forcing the other male into the row behind. Yuuya and Kazuhiko both gravitated toward the very back, one because he was used to being shunned to that extreme, and the other... because he tended to need space for organizing a load of trading cards on bus rides.

Hiruko noticed Sakura's demeanor change drastically the moment she received a reply text. He'd never seen such a glow on her before, but he'd seen that type of reaction quite a few times. He had only a single assumption about who she was messaging based on that reaction alone. Alas, it was none of his business. As such, Hiruko busied himself by pointing out several dozen pieces of jewelry to the clerk, having it all pulled out and readied for purchase. "Looks like a nice little collection so far. If you wanted to go for that piercing now, I can handle the pay in the meantime," he mentioned while fishing out his wallet.

A week. The brown haired lad claimed that Konomi would need a week to completely adjust to the ridiculousness of life. "That's a bit depressing really," she said as a twenty-two year old a single week making the kind of ridiculousness of today into standard was terrifying. Oh well, she supposed she was past arguing. She used her bus pass to board on her own while hearing the name of that brown haired boy. "Kohara Konomi, domo," she introduced herself for the second time today. She'd end up on the bus taking up a window seat, and having Anya take the one next to her while smiling at her almost deviously. At the same time, Kazuhiko was reacting to Angelica's uploaded picture. "Eh? I took it right after we got outside. And it's not a party foul, you have it now don't you? I took it for Saku anyway. I figure I look a bit different now, but you can see me with your own eyes," she said her nose turned up in the air. Soon after she'd be texting as well. "Thanks, think the new one is fun. He's right though, we are out shopping and with a huge group," she explained of the situation at large. Well, that was logical at least. Sena ended up near the back of the bus sitting near Yuuya and Kazuhiko. While the Ai and Kaguya ended up in a seat together and Kei and Chika ended up together. Miko would be the last to settle in but she was also doing a head count. "Chi-chan where is your baby?" she asked immediately, only to have Anya pause her demonizing of the new girl to stand in her chair and hold up her hands. "Anya is here!" she said of herself which made Miko smile. "Hai hai... then that's everyone!~" Miko mentioned and she'd be settling in near the start of the group if only to keep an eye on their potential destination. At the same time Emirie took note of the fact that it wasn't her twin brother sitting next to her and instead it was Kaguya's son. She figured he'd be busy with his new recruit why would he be sitting with her? She supposed she'd be finding out soon enough.

Sakura had no idea of what her face looked like. If nothing else she was pleased with the look of her wife out and having fun finally. She looked at all the pieces she'd collected so far, and found them to be interesting while she waited for the next set of messages. She wasn't a completely absent person so she did have something to say. "Arigatou, Hirrun. You have great taste too... I'm going to get my ears pierced..." she mentioned heading back to do that. She sat down in the chair and revealed her ears while a clerk looked at her perfectly symmterical face and was stunned at how easy it was to mark her ears evenly. All the while, Sakura was reading texts and becoming more excited than normal. Her husband and wife were out shopping and there were babies! "Really?! I am shopping too today. I'm getting my ears pierced right now. Who made babies? And how many?" she seemed genuinely curious about the children and who'd made them. It was comforting for them to be doing the things the world would want of them. She was happy for all of them and was curious about the new lives. The piercing process was quite easy going and a pair of gold studs were used for her healing process after the holes were made. Oddly enough and to the worker as well, Sakura had no real reaction to the pain of the situation, but it would take much more than the equivalent of a bug bite to cause a true reaction from her.

Kazu had been watching Angelica for the vast majority of their adventure thus far, but he didn't recall seeing her take a picture. He figured she must have taken it while he was organizing the males of their group. Regardless, he had it now, as Angelica was so keen to mention as if that made everything alright. "Of course I can see it with my own eyes, but a picture will still be there even after you change to something else! Besides, it captures the whole moment and preserves it forever. Party foul!" he reiterated. In the meantime, Soma was sitting with crossed legs, crossed arms and closed eyes. He was sitting next to Emirie as if it were his natural place of belonging. Even without looking her way, he could feel the curiosity, the light hint of confusion. Unmoving, he spoke softly. "Something the matter? Maybe you'd rather I sit somewhere else?" he said calmly as ever.

Sakura would be getting her piercings, so Hiruko would be adding the service to his purchase. He loosely kept an eye on the lass while paying for the bulk purchase. In fact, he even gestured toward a few additional pieces to have them thrown in. "Did you want any of this stuff to wear out right now?" Hiruko asked while a few clerks were assembling boxes to carry to the car. In the meantime, Sakura's phone would be vibrating once more. "A lot. Martha had a daughter. Annie had one each. Yume had a son. Astolfo's sister also had one. Another of Annie's friends might be having one too? Dunno," was a message sent by Kazu through the group.

Kazuhiko had been watching Angelica for the whole of this little adventure. He'd not seen her snap the picture she'd sent Sakura but he was somehow bothered he'd not gotten it first. He claimed it was a party foul for a host of reasons. Most of which seemed superficial to Angelica but they weren't exactly illogical either. "I think there is something in this I don't really get," Angelica concluded. She still wasn't accepting the moniker of party foul though. As far as she was concerned she'd done nothing wrong. "How about this, I'll send you pictures I take of myself..." she said in an offer of peace while awaiting the next message set from Sakura. Meanwhile, Emirie had a quiet lad sitting beside her, in a pose which had him set up to be overly relaxed, but not yet opening up whatever conversation he was aiming to have. This was fine, Emirie was rather unbothered in most cases. "Nothing is the matter, Asakura-kun. I just didn't assume you'd sit beside me... I do not mind I simply didn't expect this decision," she said honestly. She was rather quiet herself. Her natural state was introspective, but she wasn't the type of make assumptions. She'd say only what she needed to and go back to quietly awaiting what was next.

At the same time Sakura was getting her piercings. All the while, Hiruko was buying more than what he'd mentioned and what she'd asked for. Observationally she found his generosity interesting, 'Sou ka, he's interesting... I wonder why he did that?' she thought to herself. As for his question to her she thought about what she'd want to wear. "I think for this look, the hair pins and a set of the plainer bangles would be good..." she said thinking about what she looked like presently. Ah, but it wasn't just that, her phone vibrated again, and this time she received a message about the children. Miko's friends had been added to the group, which she extrapolated to mean that all of her fathers now had their apprentices. Astolfo's sister had a baby, Miko had two, Hayami Saori had one, and Kaguya had one as well. "Sou ka, that is a lot. I can't wait to meet everyone. I am quite curious about the children, but I am happy everyone had a reasonable time making them." she texted back. With her new little studs in place, she walked away from that experience wasn't at all note worthy aside from the pretty jewels now in her ear.

There was indeed something Angelica didn't get about Kazu's point, but it wasn't something he could explain. No, his sentiment had to be felt first-hand to truly be understood. "There aren't a lot of ways I can put it. Oh! Wait, no..." He paused there, thinking of something Angelica might understand. "Think about your palace. You like to look at it, right? Wouldn't you like the ability to just look at it right now, even though you can't? Sure, you could probably just make it again, but... it wouldn't feel the same as appreciating that first 'wow' moment, right?" he asked. At the same time, he was already sending another text. "Everyone's awesome! You'll like them. I'll take pics when I can. Mind sending that one of Kazuki?"

Several seats ahead, Soma was hearing the response of Emirie. She was quite the reserved girl, physically comparable to him in age and mentally comparable in the way she operated internally before externally. He wore a casual, nigh-permanent grin as their discussion began. "Why wouldn't I sit beside you? Someone who thinks more and speaks less is someone I'm more interested in having a conversation with. This whole time since we were born, you've been silently taking it all in and reaching conclusions about everyone here. Anybody would want someone like that on their side; don't you agree?" he asked. With that hanging in the air, Soma had one other curiosity for the lass. "I wonder if you have any hard aspirations yet."

All the while, Hiruko was pointing those box-carrying clerks in the right direction. Sakura made her choice for accessories to wear out of the shop. He picked up those pieces, taking it upon himself to carry them toward the girl as the remainder was boxed. He'd even take the liberty of putting the items on her person, starting with the hair pins before holding out both bangles as if expecting an offering of her wrists. "Good choices. I've even got something else for you," he stated.

If nothing else, Angelica was always honest about not understanding the feelings behind a thing. Perhaps it was simply her realizing how inhuman she was in some instances? Regardless, Kazuhiko did work to find the proper comparison to make it something she could understand. He spoke of her creation and mostly the change in palace back home and the feelings surrounding that the first time she finished it. And the idea of commemorating that as even its recreation wouldn't quite give the same sort of satisfaction. After a moment of consideration she smiled, "Alright, that I understand," she said. But maybe she wouldn't commemorate something as simple as her own look, that wasn't something she could appreciate, but she could see why Kazuhiko might so she wouldn't hold it against him. "Whatever the case, the offer still stands... I'll send you the pictures I take of me," she said consciously. At the same time she was replying to Sakura's message. "Everyone is definitely awesome. They were great at it!" she confirmed about the children from the creative aspect.

At the same time, a casual conversation was started between Emirie and Soma. Emirie glanced in his direction and noted his constant grin. Apparently Soma thought nothing of sitting beside her. He'd taken to analyzing her at least in passing and saw her introverted personality and thoughtfulness as a bonus. He wanted her on his side because he took note of her observational skills. "Sou ka, so that's what it is..." she mused. "I could see the usefulness particularly if I had large goals in mind and wanted to consult someone else for an outside opinion," she said thoughtfully. Of course, this wasn't all he wondered about her aspirations. "My aspirations are simple presently. I want to meet my mother's teacher and figure out what actually interests me. I'll have a hard time connecting with many people on an emotional level so I prefer to listen and observe..." she explained of herself. She realized in talking with Soma that he was likely looking to recruit someone to his cause, but she didn't know if she'd be directly useful to him, especially when she considered she didn't yet know what she wanted to do with her own life. "I don't mind helping you a bit if you'd like to know the things I have observed and figured out already, but I can't promise to remain part of a long term investment," she explained hinting at what she'd figured out of him, even without fully understanding what he was doing.

At the same time, Sakura and Hiruko were nearing the end of their time in this jewelry store. Even so, it would seem that Hiruko was content to help her with the pieces she'd chosen leaving her not to have to lift a finger to place the items on herself. His initiative in these matters was quite calming and she didn't mind allowing him in her space. Even while she texted her friends back and the like she didn't bother hiding what she was saying or doing. She thought him trustworthy enough and didn't figure he'd directly question the context. "Arigatou gouzaimasu~" she said of the help as items were placed on her person. Then she'd reply to the messages she'd been sent. "Oh? I look forward to the pictures then. And here is one of the one's of Kazuki, though he is admittedly very grumpy in them." she said in a lightly teasing way. But soon enough Hiruko was speaking in a way that required her undivided attention and thus he'd receive it. "What else did you get me?" she said looking at him directly. She'd not asked for anything else, she wondered about his choices as they related to her and it was always interesting to her.

Score! Kazuhiko always had such a difficult time explaining human concepts and values to goddesses, so he always took great satisfaction in making it work for a change. Better still, receiving any pictures Angelica decided to take of herself would only improve his quality of life from the first image onward."I'll never say no to that. Besides, what's a picture if not a judgment-free way of staring at you?" he joked... sort of.

Emirie seemed clever enough to understand what Soma's short-term goal was, if nothing else. That kind of intelligence was what he had use for. Soma intended to become a peerless strategist, but in the interim, a tactician as backup would be needed. Emirie's lack of personal long-term goals was equally beneficial. All she wanted at the moment was to meet with her mother's teacher to find her own interests. As for her difficulty connecting with others, he could easily manage something so simple if it got in the way. "Not an issue. I could use that kind of observational ability and... other assets I think you have," Soma commented. His eyes finally peeled open, those glowing red irises shifting slyly in Emirie's direction. He was otherwise unmoving, apart from his mouth which wasn't quite done yet. "I'd like much more than what you've observed thus far. It isn't a long-term investment I need from your type... at least presently. A chessboard isn't complete without all its pieces. To start my game, I need a Queen," he claimed. The way Soma saw things, he currently had a Pawn and a Bishop. The Queen piece was integral, and perhaps Emirie could fit the bill for now.

Hiruko was in very close proximity to Sakura's phone, especially while placing those bangles on her wrists. Even so, his eyes didn't travel to the screen at all. In fact, he was very closely watching Sakura herself to see how the accessories looked on her person. He was right about one thing. An extra piece had been selected while he browed, and Sakura now wanted to know what it was. Hiruko flashed his bare hand, palm toward Sakura. The next moment, he turned his palm away. When it turned back with a little flourish of the fingers, there was suddenly a small, golden chain with a sizeable golden star affixed. He reached forward to pin it around Sakura's neck without further ado. It didn't have much room to hang, but Hiruko thought it was a nice addition as he remained leaned inward. "Just an extra little bit of flair♥~"

It was always interesting to see Kazuhiko work something out. Though she had a very different stance on it, Angelica also enjoyed a bit of victory from the lad. What was more, she found his commentary interesting afterwards. According to him a picture was a judgement free way to stare at her. Weird. "I don't think staring at me is worth judgement, but whatever you say Chuck," she said while looking out of a window. There was a gentle murmur from this group on the bus, with Miko trying ridiculously hard not to focus on anyone's voice in particular. Maybe she should have brought headphones for these kinds of moments? At the same time, Anya who was sitting beside Konomi was giving her a comforting pat on the head for no reason which would be apparent to anyone.

At the same time, Soma could be counted among those who would pitch woo at others. Emirie found herself listening to the dark haired lad at her side while having no firm feelings about him one way or the other. Still, she could at least acknowledge the mental acuity of this young man and his general confidence compared to the others. "Sou ka," she said to his first statement of use. At the very least she could take that as a combination of things, including him thinking her attractive. According to him he was setting a chessboard for a game, and needed pieces for it. He claimed what he was looking for now was a Queen. If she was more emotional she might have found that amusing, but for Emirie she saw it as a compliment to her potential versatility. "Hm, that's an interesting way to phrase that. I can't say I fully understand your overarching goals, but I can at least respect your choices so far," Emirie said. "As for the role I could play in that... I can't claim surety without more information. It isn't in my nature to agree to things with too many unknowns," she concluded.

Sakura noticed many things, including the fact that Hiruko's eyes never truly wandered from her. Her phone was exposed and she now had a reasonable understanding of the amount of information that could be gleaned from such a thing and yet there was no breach of their established trust. It wasn't a test she was performing but it was an interesting one which she simply got the results of without thinking about too much. What was more she was about to see something rather strange, Hiruko flanting his bare hand only to move it in an odd way and have a golden chain with a little star appear in it. "Ara?" she seemed almost confused. "Are you magic?" she wondered directly... of course, she knew of his magical status as a being but not whether he knew about it. Producing an item like that out of nowhere was quite odd. Whatever the case, she couldn't say she disliked the piece of jewelry at all and in fact with it around her neck she found herself touching it gently. "I really like this, thank you... Hirrun~" she said and since he was still leaned inward, she pecked his lips cheekily.