Cross Effects 3.0 - October 21, 2015—June 23, 2016

[Kat]

Rikuyo

"Ok, but don't disappoint me with the buffet. I'll rope ya in another hunt for sure if it's lame" Rikuyo
proceeded to shift back, this time into her human form. Any animal features were gone from her. She did use a form that was considerably more straining than the form she mastered, and she didn't eat that pathetic prey. While her monkey form minimized the chi she used up, she still leaked it a bit faster than in her human form.

She could still keep up with Ron-kun, she figured out, even as a human. "I may have shifted back, but still not gonna lose track of you!" She declared, following the werewolf without any trouble.

[Break]

Coppelius

Through the streets of Nexus City, an unfamiliar sound could be heard tonight. A sound quite unlike the organic steps of humans or beasts, a much colder, clickering sound echoed through the alleys.
In the city had arrived, a single doll. His porcelain skin shining in the moonlight, enter Coppelius.
Aimlessly wandering through the unfamiliar concrete jungle, he cracked an all too human grin at the unexpected opportunity; he already knew, at the very least he would not be bored here.

[SINIB]

Rider

Rider smiled as Oka continued the explanation, obviously proud of her achievements. It seemed like she was something like a manager of a football team, in charge of the tactics, but not playing directly herself. And, from the sounds of it, she was pretty good at it, and quite possibly famous in her home universe.

"I see, so you're like the manager of a football team, in charge of the tactics rather than fighting yourself?" she asked, beginning to get the idea. "Were you famous in your world?"

Oka Kurosawa

Oka made a look of disgust at the mention of football. It was a beastly, boring sport that paled in comparison to the majesty of pokemon battling. Even more so than other sports. Just the thought of being compared to it left such a bad taste in her mouth she couldn't help but spit.

"Yeah, I guess I am pretty famous in my world, I do have a fanclub, and they'll send me stuff in the mail sometimes." She threw her hands up in the air. "Not anymore, though!" She exclaimed. "I'm stuck here now." She said as she began walking away.

[Thedoctor]

Hero of Ikaruga

Jin stared incredulously at the madman who straightened himself out after the throw and took his coat off. That bastard had the nerve to insult him, and worse, he never shut up. The blonde man was boiling with a cold fury, then he breathed out. His angry look was replaced with one of unnatural calm.

"Don't tell me this mad rambling will go on all day, if you're so eager to die I'll grant your wish." With that the hero grabbed his blade, the air grew colder somehow, this next strike, it would be unlike any before.

"Freeze eternally" With that the hero stabbed his blade into the ground as a massive wave of ice surged forward, going straight for his opponent.


Archer

Archer just nodded in response to his younger self, he then turned to Sakura to say his piece to her. "I informed Shirou what his magecraft was, it seems he's not quite ready to handle it, for now. I'm sorry for worrying you." With that the man continued eating.

Jeanne

Jeanne smiled at her master as she recieved her reply. You don't have to force yourself to look happy Sakura....wait, saved Shirou from what? Jeanne then turned to Shirou and started speaking with him. "This food is absolutely delicous, What did you put into this sallad?"

[SINIB]

Archer

Archer just nodded in response to his younger self, he then turned to Sakura to say his piece to her. "I informed Shirou what his magecraft was, it seems he's not quite ready to handle it, for now. I'm sorry for worrying you." With that the man continued eating.

Jeanne

Jeanne smiled at her master as she recieved her reply. You don't have to force yourself to look happy Sakura....wait, saved Shirou from what? Jeanne then turned to Shirou and started speaking with him. "This food is absolutely delicous, What did you put into this sallad?"

Sakura Matou

Sakura turned and nodded at Archer's explanation with a smile. "It's ok, I understand. It just startled me a bit."

Sakura's expression changed as she began to speak to Jeanne, smiling as if she was recalling something amazing and heroic, but her eyes told a different story, one of regret and guilt. She scooted closer to Jeanne, away from Shirou as she spoke. I don't deserve him after what I did. She thought sadly, knowing that this fact was true and as immutable as the tallest mountains.

During the-during the Holy Grail War, Shirou ended up-getting his arm destroyed, about halfway through it. Archer was also mortally wounded by the same attack, and he… and he gave Shirou his arm, to save him. He sacrificed himself for my Senpai. Even if this isn't the same Archer in a sense, he's still the same in the end, and I'm eternally grateful for his gift of life. I want him to enjoy his new life here as much as he can. He's been through alot, I can tell. I can see it in his eyes, even if he tries to hide it, I can tell. Sakura monologued for a while at Jeanne, slowly and haltingly explaining part of what had happened in the Grail War. Of course, she hadn't mentioned the part about it being her fault. She was afraid that when Jeanne found out, she'd abandon her for her wicked deeds. She wanted to keep that part hidden from her for as long as possible.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Garou XIII

Garou smiled wickedly but suddenly gasped in shock as the ice immediately surged from below and engulfed him. He did not dodge, or rather, he couldn't.

"Shit!"

It was too sudden, too fast, and just as he tried to jump out of the way he had already been frozen solid. Immediately, the frigid mountain peaked only to shatter, dropping Garou's lifeless body on the ground.


Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo's ears perked at Muramasa's question, smiling widely under his mask. "Oh, well, I guess I am what you call a swordsmith. I have created over a thousand blades, see!"

His hand moved over to his own sword and unsheated her, revealing a luscious crimson body remeniscing of dragons and a cherry tree of blood. To say she was magnificent was an understatement, surely there would not be in this world a greater sword in a thousand years. With his very hands, Kenzo had created something beautiful, something everlasting.

And yet those hands would never hold anything.

[SINIB]

Shirou Emiya

Shirou frowned as Sakura scooted away from him. That's not normal. She normally wanted to be as close as possible to him, even on the best of days. The only reason she ever tried to stay away from him was when she was feeling guilty about something or other that had happened in the Grail War.

I hate it when she does that He thought as he began to grind his teeth. He didn't blame her. Rin didn't blame her. Rider didn't blame her. Nobody blamed her but herself. None of them even held the slightest hint of animosity towards her about any of it.

Shirou got up and grabbed his plate and chair, placing them directly next to Sakura and sitting down extremely close to her, their arms touching. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him, feeling all her muscles tense up as he did so.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Sakura, stop being a worrywort." He said quietly to her in a soft and comforting voice. Whatever you're feeling bad about, it's ok. I've never blamed you even once for anything."

[Kat]

Petra

"I wouldn't like that somebody stayed extra hours just because we are drinking. We can do it outside. If somebody would want to bother us, they can come. I'm sure I don't have to be sober to deal with nuisances." Petra stood up, hiding her hands in her pockets. "Shall we go? The sun is still up, so we have plenty of time ahead anyway"

[Panda]

Michael

The immortal cocked an eyebrow at the dragon's contemplative growl before it dove back under the surface, part of him wondering if Oren was just playing around or if she was still mad at him. Either way, this was proving to be at least a little amusing. As she dived back into the earth, the immortal figured that he might as well try, at least a little. With that in mind, Michael stilled himself entirely, staff relaxing in his grip as he let his senses wander, the lazy breeze drifting through the woods, the musty scent that hit the air as Breeze acted under the influence of the drugged meat, the slight shifting of the ground beneath him, the vibrations marking the passage of something massive.

Hmm. She's pretty quiet for something that big. Judging by her speed, it sounds like she's learned her lesson about bum-rushing me too. Well, this could be an interesting fight.

Realizing that Oren was coming up from directly underneath him, Michael waited, remaining completely still until the last possible moment. When the moment was upon him, however, he moved with speed and grace that shouldn't have been possible under the circumstances. Putting aside the temptation to turn the step into one of those silly combat spins that always left your back wide open, Michael stepped aside just as Oren burst from the ground, slipping away before bringing the staff around once more, extending it out to its fullest length at the last second to send the hook slamming into one of her numerous eyes.

[Aiden]

Ron

"Deal!" the werewolf called back to Rikuyo before shifting back to his wolf form. Now he just had to follow the most blended, complicated foods scents in the neighborhood and they should find one of the good buffets. He could smell, now, if the food wasn't safe for most people to eat, so that wouldn't be a problem. Not that the two of them had to worry, he supposed, but he was used to worrying about that with Annabeth.

He decided to test if Rikuyo really could keep up with him in that form when he went as fast as he could across the rooftops. When she could, he lost interest in testing her. He focused on leading her to the buffet of culinary awesome.

Soon enough he had to drop back down to the streets, shift back to human, turn off his aura of power, and ... well, lead her on in.

They were immediately able to see the rows and rows of trays and dishes full of food. The smells hit their noses soon after, and a waitress came to ask how many were in their party. Ron grinned back at Rikuyo. "Disappointed?"

[Aiden]

Muramasa Katase

A swordsmith? Oh, my...

What fortune was this, that Katase was encountering a man who might actually know something of how to take care of a sword of her caliber? Truly, only someone with such an intricate understanding of the folding of metal, the application of oil and polish, and the proper honing of a killing edge could see through her the way Sakagami Kenzo implied he had. Whether he was willing to apply it to her, and for what reasons he might be willing, was still up for discovery.

Do not allow excitement to overcome your sense, Muramasa Ka- wait, what?

The giant had the audacity to show off his prowess by revealing to her in detail the shape and finish of the blade carried at his back. It was... admittedly glorious. The blade was an object of the finest quality imaginable. When she even dared to hesitantly reach down and lay her shell's hand on the flat of it, Katase could feel it share her need to cut and kill. She was torn between admiration for his skill, as he intended, and annoyance that a sword of this quality would dare to challenge her like by existing.

"A thousand blades like this?" she finally asked, looking away from her fellow sword and back to Sakagami Kenzo's face. She kept the shell's face pleasantly neutral. "It speaks well you, Sakagami-san, that you can accomplish this."

[Panda]

Dante

"Fair enough, let's go then," Dante said, standing up as well and heaving his guitar case over his shoulder, unable to help a cocky grin, "This shouldn't take too long anyway."

With that, the half-demon followed Petra back, part of wondering if something would actually try interrupting them. It would certainly be a nice little distraction, no doubt, though not one that would last very long.

[Kat]

Rikuyo

"Smell ain't everything about food, but it smells really good. I guess I won't know until I try!" Rikuyo maybe was a Japanese but she was nothing but a vagrant savage she obviously didn't use chopsticks and just proceeded to put slices of beef on her plate. No worries, Ron-kun would pay for everything. And they could just dine and dash if they couldn't pay. Stuffing the meat into her face just using her fingers, she mumbled with full mout. "Itsshh really taashty.*munch* munch*" It'd been a while since she ate some beef.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo stared at the crimson gleam of his sword, admiring the Benizakura's blood filled shine. He felt strange, flattered, warm, inadequate.

"Your praise is too good for the likes of me. Thank you, I am truly honored." He said, trying to remain cheerful. Yet there was a tinge of sadness to his words, which he tried to conceal by sheathing his blade and carrying on.

Indeed his sword was most magnificent, but there was something missing. No matter how hard he worked, even if he forged a thousand or ten thousand blades, not a single one would be able to match her in her beauty.

There was one single difference between his swords and Muramasa Katase, one simple detail that made her quality far more evident in his eyes.

He did not make her.


Darcy Hugh

"What about your parents. Aren't they worried about you?" He asked in calm seriousness.

[Aiden]

Ron

The werewolf shared a moment of silence with the waitress who had been planning to seat them. When the moment ended he turned his eyes to meet her's, and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about her. She's... not from around here. But don't worry, I'm paying for everything."

So it was that at least he got the two of them a booth and some glasses of water, and joined Rikuyo at the buffet. With a plate. And chopsticks, because he'd learned how to use them to impress cute girls who served ramen back in high school (nothing came of it, but he didn't forget how to use them).

"Was I right, or was I right?" he asked her when she got around to the duck. Ron was focusing on all the varieties of chicken, himself.