Cross Effects 3.0 - June 23, 2016—April 02, 2018

[Kat]

Petra

If she was sober she wouldn't lose balance from that flick. What a cheater. He was prattling something to the other woman and she didn't hear clearly what they were talking about, but she was sure. She would stab him with Silver Key so that he wouldn't teleport or whatever shit he just pulled off. She firmly grasped the blade's handle, and charged at Dante, intent to pierce him with that. She wouldn't let some tryhard act all high and mighty in front of her, damn.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

Rider smiled at Oka's cheerful goodbye as she walked down the stairs and out of the apartment.

She's really nice! Rider thought, overjoyed to have met and befriended such a wonderful person.

Obtaining her bike from the bike rack, Rider got on and rode for home, whistling due to her good mood. On the way, she noticed a library and, still in a good mood, decided to take a look.

Maybe I'll find something interesting to read tonight, she thought. Perhaps I could even get a job there, if Sakura is OK with it.

Locking up her bike in the library's bike rack, Rider entered the building, quickly heading for a bookshelf. As she did so, she noticed something odd about the guy on the ladder above her, something supernatural which she could not quite place. Figuring that it was probably not all that unusual in a place like this, she ignored it, continuing to look through the books for something interesting. As she did so, though, she heard the odd man call down to her.

"Pshhhh! You there", he whispered, Rider's keen ears easily picking up on it.

"Yes?" she responded, curiously, her mood good enough that she was willing to at least indulge him and listen to what he had to say. 

[Kat]

Mordred

"Thorn knights? What are you two talking about?" Mordred returned, carrying lots of bags as if she was some pack animal. She honestly didn't know the context of their conversation, so she felt like she should ask them.

[Panda]

Annabeth

Were the Hunter not feeling uncharacteristically eager to get another taste of...whatever the hell that solidified aura was, her embarrassment might have deepened a bit. As it was, she found herself understanding Ron's eagerness when a proper hunt was involved. Annabeth's eager grin was promptly covered up, however, as Rikuyo opted to throw the Hunter her shirt, leaving her covered only with bandages...

...Well, it's hardly news that she's strange, and it's not the most unusual thing.

Draping the jacket over a shoulder, the Hunter shrugged.

"No guarantees there," Anne said, "Considering what usually happens when Ron ends up turning into a fluffy berserker, but I'll try. Finding a replacement should be easy enough if worst comes to worst."

In spite of herself, however, the Hunter still couldn't shake that feeling of being watched, now even stronger than ever. Annoyance built up anew, but Anne tried to stave it off by wondering about what kind of prey Rikuyo was going to show them.

"Anyway, it ought to be interesting to see what we can find further in, so I'm game," the cowgirl noted.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Mobb Boss

Yes! Success, he managed to get his very important message through. This would be as easy as stealing candy from a baby, he he he...

"I have a very important secret message, but you can't tell anyone about it. Even if they come for you with a knife, you must not share what I am to say. This is a very secret operation, so please hear me out."

Mobb gulped and took a deep breath. He could feel beads of sweat running down everywhere like marbles. But even so, he had to do this.

"I'm stuck." He whispered secretly, as lowly and frightfully as a tiny mouse.

[Aiden]

Auspicious Breeze

"Thorn knight...?" Breeze asked Oren, very clearly confused. Then Mordred showed up again and she gave her just the brightest smile. "Oh, welcome back! I don't really know what it is either, but if Oren says thorn knights are bad there's probably a reason."

She noticed all the bags her fellow knight was carrying, and frowned. "Here, let me take some of those."

Breeze could carry a lot of bags too, apparently!


Muramasa Katase

The demon blade Muramasa waited for its next victim, the instrument of its vengeance. Or at least, someone who could bring the sword to a temporary wielder better suited for the task. As expected, the young swordswoman who had broken the shields of Muramasa's puppets soon wrapped her hand around hilt and sheath. Subtle tendrils of demonic energy began to slither their way into the young woman's body, and sought to go even deeper still.

Immediately upon touching it Mitsuba could feel certain about a few things regarding the sword in her hand:

1) It was just right. If she drew it from the sheath at all she would recognize it was perfectly balanced for killing, exactly the right weight for someone of Mitsuba's body type. It was also gorgeous as weapons went, immaculately cared for with only the slightest blemishes along the sides to suggest a long history of use.

2) It felt like an optimal channel for whatever power it was Mitsuba used to do the things she did. It would be able to withstand as much as the swordswoman could attempt to do with it. It was likely quite sharp, but she would have to test precisely how much so if she wanted to know that.

3) The sword felt comfortably familiar in her hands. It did not feel haunted at all, more suited to being by her side.

What did Muramasa Katase feel about Mitsuba from within as she reinforced these impressions?

there is no soul here, we cannot affect this one|but it appears to have a soul

The owner of the bar, this Mitsuba, was a paradox. She had a soul to tempt and torment, but all efforts to do so did not appear to work. That meant Mitsuba did not have a soul - but she somehow, certainly, did. This was new to Muramasa Katase

Who are you?

Its meaning was not as clear to the creature holding it as the Muramasa sword could normally be. Something was preventing clear dialogue, but still allowed for basic meaning to pass between them without unnecessarily alarming Katase's strange potential pawn.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

Rider looked up at him with a confused look on her face, wondering what he was talking about. Still, despite the obvious strangeness of the man and his supernatural nature, Rider was in a good enough mood to at least hear him out.

"What do you mean, you're stuck?" she asked, a little suspiciously.

[Aiden]

Ron

"Oh, I'll show you 'whelp,' little girl..." Ron growled out, before chuckling deep in his chest and stalking up to stand next to her. "You don't even need to as. If you're so great, take the lead this time."

He could still taste that spirit in the back of his mouth. This werewolf wouldn't begrudge his new friend the chance to get some of that for herself too, since he'd taken the alpha's share of things this time.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Mobb Boss

Mobb flushed like a backalley diner toilet, with red all over everywhere. How could she be like this, how could she be so stupid? What he meant was clear, so why didn't she get it? Was he being made fun of? Damn, he was so unlucky.

"Please don't make me repeat things, I hate it. If someone speaks once he shouldn't have to say it again, otherwise it shows a lack of attention and respect. Saying things over and over again is useless, useless, useless..."

Mobb trembled and fought back his tears. No matter how you looked at it, he looked truly miserable. The dark circles under his eyes made it clear that he had slept poorly lately, if he did so at all. His poor frail undernourished body shook frightfully, hanging for dear life to the ladder. It was a truly pitiful sight, thus he whimpered pitifully.

"I can't look down, it's too scary."

[Umbra of Chaos]

Oren

The Fae's expression grows a bit dark and she traces a finger right over her heart as she said, "Well, you know about the Fae, don't you? Or maybe they call them the Fair Folk? Or the noble Gentry? Or the most esteemed Gardeners? They don't always abduct people or kill them. They're very fond of deals. Sometimes the older ones will ask for your heart in exchange for something you desire."

Her hand dropped and something melancholy slipped into her voice. Regret? Definitely sorrow. As if she had seen something like this before. "They pluck out your heart and put something else in. A bit of thistle, a flower, the stem of a rose that's lost all of its petals. Then that changes you. Makes you something your not, and you're not even aware of it until it's too late to stop and suddenly you don't want to stop it either. Not even... not even if someone told you what was happening to you."

Oren began playing with her hair. Lithe fingers running through dark locks as she started to wrap things up rather quickly. "But, uhh, I just wanted to tell you. In case you didn't know. They just have to hear you say yes, or to take their hand when they ask. It's an implied contract. It's cheating, but they can do it."

The Fae became unexpectedly silent and stared down at her feet. Her previous exuberance bleeding out of her as she finished speaking.

[Kat]

Mitsuba

Wow. This sword was really fancy, Mitsuba honestly felt like it would be a waste to let it rust without use. It fit her hand perfectly and was probably a masterwork of some really good blacksmith. Yeah, the sword would really suit her. But she told Misaka that she'd hang it above this man's grave. She wanted to sheathe it and carry it by her side, telling a white lie about making sure nobody would steal it before funeral ceremony could work out...

Strange, but why she felt as if this sword wanted to know about her?

Mitsuba spaced out a bit, then came to her senses.

"Seems like I have no choice. I barely paid off my debts and I will have to borrow money again..." Mitsuba complained, reminded of her financial situation.

[Kat]

Julius

"Ah, yes, kindness. Kindness and compassion should rule the world, and not power, yet even well intentioned people cannot avert all tragedies. I know I cannot save everyone, but it still weighs on my heart. I shall take my leave. Seems like my companion has retreated to safety, though I'm not aware where she is now." Hopefully somewhere safe.

"Please send my regards to your lady, I wish you best fortune."

So the nobleman bowed, and wandered off into the streets of Nexus. What else possibly could await him this day?

[SINIB]

Rin

Rin blinked at Sakura's question and then shrugged.  "He's not that much older so I really didn't notice honestly.  However, this place is pretty insane."

Sakura Matou

Sakura laid down on the ground and began kicking her legs. "Hehe, well, two years always has felt like a big deal to me, Nee-san." She turned her head to face her. "So, now that we're the same age, does that make us twins?" Sakura asked her and got up, walking over to her sister, and taking hold of her hands. "It's a funny thought, isn't it?"

[Panda]

Dante

As curious as the tall woman's words were, primarily by virtue of the burning that had been afflicting everything that was exposed having stopped, of greater interest was Petra charging at him with a sword in hand with all the grace of a drunken sailor.

Having been skewered before, albeit by someone much more lucid, the half-demon simply stepped out of the way, maneuvering around the honey-haired girl and letting her continue on her way.

"To be honest, I'm more accustomed to being the one don't the sticking," Dante noted, hopping up to a rooftop.

"In any case," the half-demon continued, "I think I'll be off now. Adios, ladies."

With that, the half-demon made his way away from the area, amused that it seemed his luck with women hadn't changed.

[Kat]

Mordred

Mordred listened to the Oren's story with frown on her face and visible discomfort on her face. She didn't even protest as Breeze took bags from her hands.

"I know such story too well. Even if details are different. They didn't take my heart from me, but I still lost something precious. Memories of who I was. Had to reconnect with the world on my own after I escaped them. And so I have forged my own life, my own identity. I have experienced unforgettable things, have met unforgettable people. And all of it by the tip of my spear." Mordred said in solemn tone. 

The atmosphere was pretty dense and sad now.