(no subject)

[naturalcure]

Enzo's been buggin' me to get new pictures since I'm gonna be sticking around here.

So I got new pictures. Couple'a things.

1) Can I get a headcount on all the Signers here? Also, sorry if I set your arm on fire a couple weeks ago.
2) Haita. Juudai. Need to talk to you.
3) No, you cannot ask about my ears in the pictures. Not even if you're really, really curious.
4) They make any good games in the last three years or is it all just goat simulator and shooter shit.

Comments

[becomeanwarrior]

2-3, Barians. Yuya and another academy student who's been accompanying the others - Gogenzaka, currently hold the two on our side. Labrys and Failnaught both have one, as well as the rogue Caduceus.

...As for how many, I personally don't know. The best person to ask that would be Yuma - he has control of an airshap that has been our main means of transport and locating the Legendary Numbers.

[naturalcure]

Alright.

Still salvageable, then.

[becomeanwarrior]

We're not totally up shit creek, yet, no. Small blessings.

I suppose, since Grant being involved is likely obvious, that she's currently operating as something of an independent element - she's working with Yuma and the others, but I don't trust her. She's been cagey and hostile - and we've come to blows about it a couple times. I wouldn't go as far as to say she has her own agenda, but...

[naturalcure]

...

I think this is the part where we should meet up to talk about the rest.

[becomeanwarrior]

...Yeah, seems that way.

You want me to come over there, or you want to meet at the office, or do you want to hit a cafe nearby and grab some coffee? It's practically all I run on, these days.

[naturalcure]

Somewhere private. Besides that, doesn't matter to me.

[becomeanwarrior]

Office it is, then, Niyo's out right now - so we can talk in private.

I'll be here.

[naturalcure]

Alright. On my way.

Event

[naturalcure]

[A short while later, somebody knocks on the door to Enzo's office...

...right before Isabel opens and enters through the window behind him.]

Re: Event

[becomeanwarrior]

[Well, the first thing you notice is it's cluttered. Very cluttered. With equal parts "miscellaneous paperwork" "scrap that looks like junk but might actually be functional", "still-warm coffee pot" and "massive spear".

...Wait, wha- oh, yeah, there's a massive spear propped in the corner of the room right now.

Onni is about halfway up to the door when you enter, stopping.]

...Isabel, please tell me that's you and not, say, some sort of assassin.

Re: Event

[naturalcure]

I haven't learned any assassination techniques yet. My captain keeps that stuff locked up until you hit the 10 year mark.

Go ahead and answer the door.

Re: Event

[becomeanwarrior]

Small mercies. Note to self, develop better anti-assassination protocols...

[He does so, opening the door up.]

Re: Event

[naturalcure]

Hiiii!

[Enzo waves. He was at the door.]

Heehee, I love doin' that!

[becomeanwarrior]

Hahaha... hey.

[He does relax a bit, closing the door after Enzo flies in.]

You two are pretty inseparable now, huh.

[naturalcure]

Yeah.

The Worm were a giant pain in the ass, but. This little doof has been pretty nice to have around.

[Enzo freakin' glows when she says that.]

[becomeanwarrior]

...I'm glad. You seem like you've been doing a lot better than you have in... a long time, really.

[He leans on the desk slightly, still standing.]

...So you had something you wanted to mention in private, I think.

[naturalcure]

...mmn.

How much do you know about that incident you asked me to look into?

[becomeanwarrior]

...Only the basics. I know Artifact Scythe possessed the psychic, and that they evacuated the shopping district before Grant fought him down.

...Why.

[naturalcure]

Well. I dunno much more than that. I used an empathic technique that lets me read mental imprints left by certain emotional markers in people or places. It's pretty unexact, but sometimes, you can use it to reconstruct a scene and find out what happened, at least.

A lot of it was too fuzzy to pick out, especially because so much energy was getting flung around. It chopped up a lot of the mental imprints. So I was only able to pick out a couple.

...I dueled Grant once in the WRGP, so. I was able to sort of pick out a couple of hers and read them. That's about it.

[becomeanwarrior]

[He sighs, heavily. His body language doesn't even seem irritated, just resigned.]

Grant, what are we going to do with you...?

...Thanks for at least looking into it, Isabel. I'm sorry I figured it out on my own and ended up wasting your time on it. It's... really kind of a frustrating situation, if I'm being honest.

[naturalcure]

...you guys are friends, right?

It seemed like you were pretty cold on her earlier, but before I left, I thought you two were close.

[becomeanwarrior]

...

[He tilts his head back, letting out a small muffled 'ugggh'.]

I... I don't know. We were friends, I figured we were pretty close, but she's been so angry at... everything, lately. Especially Juudai and I. Juudai's staying out of it, but I keep poking the damn hornet's nest.

I dunno exactly what she's this upset about, but every time I've tried to reach out to her she's gotten angry, and I've been getting angry in response, we just feed into each other.

It's a fucking mess.

[naturalcure]

...I see.

...it's been pretty rough on you two, huh. Having to deal with this in addition to the Numbers and Heartland.

[becomeanwarrior]

We just don't have the manpower, Isabel. Don't have the manpower, don't have the tech, don't have the reach. I'm stretching SpecInv's budget as thin as it'll go trying to cover for all the stuff we have in SpecInv just to protect people and make actual arrests. It's half the reason I'm considering going private security firm and negotiating an official contract with the police - we just can't work under them with what we've got.

And yeah, Alex... I dunno. I guess she's upset that we're not playing the hero, but I never thought of myself as one - you remember how I was in high school, I was always the runt tryin' to play catch up.

/2

[naturalcure]

I definitely remember you in high school.