2022-12-11: Knife

• Log: 2022-12-11- Knife
• Cast: Akane Shinjo, Yuta Hibiki, Alouette Pommier, Qivi, Rikka Takarada, Renais Cardiff
• Where: Tsutsujidai - Junk Shop Aya
• OOC - IC Date: 0096-12-9~10
• Summary: After seeing that there's no length her friends won't go to for victory, Akane makes a last-ditch effort to change the game they're playing by cheating. With Yuta debilitated, Rikka finds new resolve.

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<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

A form enters the junk shop. Yellow-tinted glasses fully obscure any part of the eyes not covered by lilac-grey hair; the cracks in the right lens spider-web through it. A horned hoodie, kaiju (v)-like, hangs on despite being fully waterlogged and worn off the shoulders.

"So that explains it... I (i) thought Hibiki-kun just turn (3)ed into Gridman and showed up when monsters showed up. But that wouldn't explain how long it took you to get to France... or to the mountains, or Fumo-Fumo Land." Her steps take her closer and closer to Junk; is she looking at it...? It's honestly hard to tell. Light seems to catch her glasses no matter where she stands, as if light in this world bends to the will of God.

"You've been using the mobile suit to transport this thing. I (1) guess (ii) that should have been obvious." Her delivery remains matter-of-fact -- reading out the script set before her. "This is (vi) how Hibiki-kun transforms into Gridman. Rikka isn't really here to fight -- just deliver him around. To think you needed this junk PC and some scrapyard mobile suits."

It's Utsumi who interjects at this revelation. "Are you saying... even gods don't know everything?"

Akane turns to fix him with her gaze, staring back (4) at him with a small frown. It's here that a crack enters into that delivery -- just a little waver. Just the tiniest bit of strain.

"Of course. Tell me (vii), Utsumi-kun. Do you remember every last (iv) thing you've thrown out?"

She looks between light fixtures. Old speakers. Mini tool kits. Children abandoned by their parents, by their creators, by their tormentors. Children pushed away by God.

... for a moment, her attention rests on the (iii) notion that she, herself, has stepped into the shop. She can't (2) ignore that in the assessment, either.

"This shop is a collection of things people don't need anymore (5), right?"

She stands by Junk, waiting for an answer.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Despite his exhaustion, a wide smile decorates Yuta's face as they all return to Aya. Max settles Junk back in its place of honor, easily moving the massive computer.

"Thanks, everyone. That was really an intense battle." Yuta says, shaking the rain out of his hair. A bright-red scarf hangs loosely around his neck. He's grateful for it now more than ever, this is definitely the coldest Tsutsujidai has ever been. "I think some hot chocolate is in order!"

Gridman comes into view on the screen. "Yuta, you need to rest. That was a difficult fight for the both of us, and your body needs time to recover."

"Yeah, listen to the big guy!" Borr says, stretching their arms over their head. "Let us handle that stuff. We were relaxing for most of the fight anway."

Yuta shrugs with a smile, and Calibur... seems a bit on edge. His gaze is focused out on the rainy street. Vit stands next to him, poking at his phone. His expression turns from frustration to confusion, after a moment.

"Guys, I don't have service on anything. Not even the emergency lines. Something's--"

Akane's appearance sends the room into silence. Yuta gasps, blinking widely as she approaches. The Neon Genesis Junior High Students gather around Yuta and Rikka, forming a wall behind their children. Glances are exchanged, and Max shakes his head just a hair. Don't interfere.

Yuta wants to feel happy to see Akane, but something's... wrong. There's something eerie about the tone of her voice, the stillness of her motions. He feels paralyzed, watching her approach Junk. Akane... His creator, his friend. Gridman watches silently from Junk's screen.

"That's not true!" Yuta says, quick to defend a friend's honor, "Rikka's fought just as hard as any of us. She's put her heart and soul into Synchrotank! She's saved people, and fought bravely, no matter what we've faced! We never could've gotten this far without her!"

No, that's not the right thing to do. He's got to keep his temper. Akane clearly isn't well, and she's saying things she doesn't mean. Yuta takes a breath, then steps forward, working up what he hopes is a friendly smile. Behind him, the Neon Genesis Junior High Students shift, unnerved by Yuta approaching Akane. Gridman makes no move, and so they hold their position.

"Open your eyes, Akane. We're all here for you. Every single one of us has been fighting to save you all this time!" It's a declaration of love and faith. Both in his allies, and in Akane. Surely, this will reach her. Seeing the physical evidence of how much she's loved. This has to be their moment. "That alien -- that Devil, he's just using you!"

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Along with the rest of the Gridman Alliance, Alouette is currently residing by Junk Shop Aya. Guardienne Aviaire is presently up for some repairs - fearsome as she was in her first sortie, Nanashi B's mad onslaught of beams did quite the number.

With the situation as it is, Alouette herself is also using the shop as a place to rest - until she can figure out a way to link back up with the Wadatsumi. With the communications down, she and Renais have no idea where the rest of their 3G comrades are right now, and they agreed this was the safest location.

Another figure approaches the shop. Akane Shinjo... a lost, wandering god. Alouette hasn't seen her in a good while ever since she had moved out of Tsutsujidai.

"Miss Shinjo." Alouette states. Akane begins talking. About how she had no idea about something as obvious as the Gridman Alliance needing to work together to fight. "Rikka isn't just some delivery girl..." Alouette answers, defending Rikka along with Yuta. "She puts her life on the line out there too. She's just as much of a Brave as Gridman is..!" Just like Akane did in their very first meeting, Alouette highlights the word "yuusha".

"And I think it's because of you that she can be so brave, Miss Shinjo." Not because she's a god or a creator, either. This entire time they'd all been fighting for Akane's sake, but Alouette noticed it was always Rikka who fought the hardest, and with the most heart.

A Junk Shop as a place where things that are no longer needed are discarded to - that's one way of looking at it. As in the fight, Akane's premise isn't lost on Alouette, and she rejects it. "I think it's more like a place where they find a new purpose, a new reason for existing." She glances over at the junkyard outside where Guardienne Aviaire stands. She had also been build with spare parts from Aya, after all. "So if you're stepping in here, then I don't think it's too late for you, either." A ghost of a smile emerges on her face. With Akane as she is now, drenched in rainwater, her kindness might not reach her. But 3G have always been ones to extend it as early as possible.

<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.

Qivi followed the others to Aya.

On foot, because Sarangay was completely immobilized. She didn't really want to leave it stopped (crashed) in the middle of the street, but it's not like she had a choice. Or that there was any traffic right now to run into it.

With its power systems shot after the self-destructing Taurus blew off its entire head and part of its back, it wasn't going anywhere in a hurry... or possibly at all if she didn't get a replacement solar battery. She doesn't even know where she'd fill it around here. She has the cables, but do colonies use a different connector? It might be down until she gets it back to Earth, and the way things *felt* at the last...

"Gotta get it towed," Qivi says, mostly to herself, as she shoulders into Aya, slightly after Yuta and his crew but before Akane. She's wet from the rain; her pilot's suit is dripping, and her hair is plastered down her back. In some ways, it reminds her of the first time she ever went to Aya, where she ducked in to get out of the rain.

"Looks like I might actually need to use your junk shop again. I doubt I'm going to find parts for Sarangay though, unless I *really* luck out - it'd be easier to replace both arms than the engine up here, it was custom-tuned to handle all the equipment. I've got something else, but... I'll need a bit of time to work with it." Qivi hangs her wet helmet up like it was a coat alongside her flight suit (she has pants and a tank top on under it, which are thankfully much less wet), and starts trying to work out the worst of the water from her hair, running her fingers through it. She'll be a few minutes. It's a lot of thick hair.

Or it would be, if someone else didn't barge in.

"Akane? What the hell are you doing here?" Of all the people Qivi expected, she was close to the last. "I thought you were..." She doesn't know what she thought Akane was doing. Not anymore. The kaiju didn't seem to be hers. The Tauruses certainly weren't. "...n't going to get involved," she finishes, though it sounds kind of lame even to her.

She looks from Akane to Yuta and Junk and then Rikka. "Hey," she says, more sharply. "Don't be a dick. She's been good to people. She helped me out after you asked me here, too. You don't need to be in a robot to do things right." Something doesn't feel right with Akane. Qivi can't put words to it, because she's never been good at putting words to things like emotions - her own or other people's - but she can tell Akane is hurting even though she doesn't know why, and she can tell Akane is...

Something else, too. No Newtype powers involved. Sometimes you can just tell.

But words or not, it's making Qivi tense. Uncomfortable. And Qivi is not good at hiding or restraining her emotions, which means something between worry and discomfort shows on her face. "You wanna sit down and talk? For real, this time, not in a dream." So she remembers that much - and she knows that she wasn't the only person Akane spoke to in that way.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Everyone has returned to the junk shop after a long, exhausting fight. Rikka herself is fairly tired, physically and mentally. It was her first time using the funnels in live combat, and she hadn't anticipated how draining it would be to pour her thoughts into them and control them. So, she mostly sits back as Max sets Junk back up in its rightful place.

"Yeah... Seriously, thanks. I'm glad you guys showed up when you did." Rikka agrees with a nod as Yuta thanks everyone for their help. ...She could definitely go for some hot chocolate right now, though. That much is true. "That kaiju... that was 'Akane's heart'. Did she make it herself...? It didn't feel like one she crafted, but..."

Speaking of Akane, a form enters the junk shop. Waterlogged, with her eyes hidden and her tone matter-of-fact.

"Akane...?" Rikka gasps, whirling to face her. ...It's a bit jarring to see her. But more importantly, she realises she's seen everything now - everything they've kept hidden, intentionally or not. The Neon Genesis Junior High Students form a protective wall. ...And, everyone comes to her defense, as Akane says Rikka was just here to deliver Yuta.

"Everyone..." Rikka murmurs, with quiet gratitude. She looks up at Akane. "...It's true that I don't want to fight. But I have to, to keep everyone safe. ...You too, Akane. Even from yourself."

Utsumi points out that even gods don't know everything. Akane asks him if he remembers everything he's thrown out.

...A collection of things people don't need anymore... The meaning hidden behind this isn't lost on her, but Rikka is taken a bit aback by that. But she looks toward Alouette, as she asserts that it's a place where things find a new purpose, a new reason existing. Rikka nods.

"...I've always looked at as... It's okay if something is hurt or damaged. It can still be patched up. Maybe not 'good as new'... but there's still someone who cares." Rikka comments, then looks over Akane herself. She takes a step forward, offering her a small smile.

"...You look drenched, Akane. Do you... need a towel? Something warm to drink?" She offers. She, too, does her best to extend what kindness she can.

<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.

Renais Cardiff's M9 Gernsback, likewise, is due for repair; while the wound in its side was easily enough patched for the walk to the shop, it's lost a fair bit that can't so simply be replaced. Not only was Aya the safest place to go, in her estimation--she'd promised to link up with Rikka after the fight.

So, she slips inside alongside Alouette, clad in jean shorts, a white t-shirt, and an open violet hoodie over her bodysuit, hands in the pockets of her jacket as they tend to be--

And immediately tenses at the sight of Akane.

"No," she says at once, refuting the claim just the same as Alouette does. "She's more brave than you know. She's been fighting. Putting her life on the line, the same as the rest of us, to protect the victims of your actions."

Her wording is specific. Not people. Not innocents. Victims.

Her hands slip out of her pockets, tensed. "This kaiju... it was different from the others. I saw how it sliced through the giants."

She takes a step toward Akane. "What did you do?"

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

As Yuta approaches Akane, she feels tension enter her shoulder blades. Her hand slips quickly into the front pocket of her hoodie -- toward her first gift from (3) Alexis, and the only one she's saved (iv) from the room she abandoned. A tool to carve her heart into the shape she'd always wanted.

Being saved comes with obligations. can't (ii) have that.

It'd be (ii) easy to say that the things everyone says to her are so much pointless noise that slips away (2) from her. But Akane's always been an observant girl. It's safer if no one loves her. I (i)t's safer for this to end, and at this point, the finite thing that needs to end is --

Me (4)eting Yuta halfway, Akane steps forward. It's such a small, quiet movement, and so muffled by the wet thwock of hoodie against vest. Her head pivots just slightly to look at Qivi, as she asks to sit and talk. "I did -- want to try... talking, to Gridman," she breathes into Yuta's ear, an answer to both of them.

Alexis's first gift to Akane was a blade.

She shifts forward slightly, allowing Yuta to fall off of it. Blood drips onto bare feet. (It's not lost on her that it's so much like -- a year ago now, when she'd bumped into her homeroom teacher. Decided to kill him... and gotten over it when she saw Yuta get (1) the kindness she hadn't. Now, of course, things are different; she's the one thoughtlessly moving forward.)

"I... stabbed him." She seems as surprised as anyone else, in the moment, even as she notices how much blood there is -- staining her hoodie, her hands, even her face.

('Who bumps into someone and doesn't even say --')

"I'm sorry," she mumbles, and for a moment that's all she manages. "I know all that. I know how you feel about me. Most of that is stuff I set up. Just like Pommier said." A faint shift of her glance toward Rikka -- and then toward Alouette. "And even if it wasn't," here she at last drops her knife, letting the blood-stained craft knife clatter to the ground, "this is what had to happen."

A bloodstained hand moves to grip Junk by the monitor. Her grip turns white-knuckled as she answers Renais.

"I just want this to end," she mumbles. "I know I'm so rotten..."

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

At first, it just feels like he's been punched really, really hard. Yuta grunts from the impact.

But... It keeps hurting. It keeps hurting -- worse, worse, worse --

Blue eyes fly open. Sharp, draining pain, so much more than anything he's experienced with Gridman. It makes him feel sick. It takes the strength out of his legs.

Desperate little noises make it out of his mouth. Yuta begins to collapse. Forward, onto Akane, then slowly to the side, the Primal Acceptor last to hit the floor. One of Yuta's hands reaches up toward Akane as he falls, covered in blood.

It spatters against her face.

As Akane speaks, Junk's screen turns to static, half-illuminating her in harsh white-grey light. It's like a spell has been cast over the room. Everyone's still. Everyone's quiet. Until Rikka takes the first action.

Heedless of Akane, the Neon Genesis Junior High Students rush forward. Already unconcious, Yuta lays in a quickly-growing puddle of his own blood. His scarf has come undone from around his neck, one half getting soaked through, somehow becoming even redder.

Calibur and Vit rush to Junk, frantically trying to restore Gridman's image. They don't seem to notice Akane's hand.

Max and Borr crouch on the ground next to Yuta. Max's voice is more emotional than it's ever been, Borr's more quiet.

Red hair covers Yuta's eyes in shadow.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka doesn't realise what's happening until it does. Akane steps forward into Yuta... and then he falls away, in a splash of blood. Rikka's eyes open wide in horror, hands clasped over her mouth as she looks between Yuta and Akane. The latter seems... just as surprised as they are.

"Yuta...!" Rikka gasps. Her instincts taking over she quickly rushes over to him, kneeling by his side. She didn't bring her first aid kit with her. She didn't think she'd need it. She looks up at everyone around her.

"Qivi! I need the shop's medical supplies, right now!" Rikka shouts. They always keep some under the counter, just in casse. She'll do what she can to tend to the wound for now, but there's only so much she can do with what she has on hand - that is to say, not much. "Alouette, Renais - I need... I need clean, warm water! And someone needs to call the hospital! Use the shop's phone!"

She remembers, vaguely, Vit saying he couldn't get a connection with his phone... would a wired connection work any better...? She hopes so - there's only so much she can do about a stab wound before they have to get an actual doctor. She looks up to Akane, then.

"It didn't-" She starts, and corrects herself. "It doesn't have to end like this! Please, just... let us help you!"

<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.

Qivi gives Renais and Alouette - one of whom she's met and one she hasn't, in person anyway - a polite nod. "Glad it's not just us here," she says; she knows that they've got GGG links, and she's glad to have them on her side at a time like this. To Rikka, she says, "WAS that Akane's heart? I dunno, I didn't get a good look at it. I have a couple questions anyway, but they can wait until we dry off a bit."

But that's a problem for later.

Akane steps forward, and Qivi does too, mostly so she can keep pace instead of raising her voice to speak to Akane. She meets Akane's eyes as she speaks, too quietly for Qivi to hear. And when violence occurs, it takes Qivi a moment.

She's seen people stabbed before; she's probably encountered more physical, non-mechanized violence than half the people in Aya. But of all the things - *all* the things - Akane could do, raw physical violence against a person, *in* person, was so far down Qivi's list that it may as well not have been on it at all.

But only a moment, before Qivi lets out a sudden bellow. "What the FUCK is wrong with you?" she roars, seeing red for a moment until she gets it under control. Instinct kicks in where training fails; her stride takes her toward the dropped craft knife, which she attempts to kick out of reach in passing as she moves. Part of her just wants to punch Akane, as hard as she can -

Something stalls Qivi's fist. She can't do it. Akane is not in her right mind. Instead Qivi shoulders past, using her body to shove Akane away from Junk and (more importantly) Yuta as she passes by, heading toward the counter. She's worked in Aya before, she knows where they keep them. "On it!"

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette's eyes widen as she sees the gleam of a boxcutter knife, and a splash of blood, as Yuta collapses to the ground. "You stabbed him..." Alouette repeats. She was aware of the violence that hand, with that knife, was capable of. But seeing it used upon that final, thin layer, is a visceral sight.

Still, Akane is no villain. The apology is muffled and drowned out.. but she apologized. Said it had to happen. Why did it have to happen?

Akane clarifies that Rikka's feelings are because of how she set it up - like Pommier said? That's not what Alouette said at all, but she doesn't take the time to clarify herself.

It's an emergency - and as a mobile corps operator, Alouette has been fully trained to respond to these immediately and timely on the large scale. She brings over the warm water from the nearby sink as fast as she can. As for the phone, she tries to reach for it, but... "It's not working! We might need to get him there ourselves!" And then Alouette turns to Renais. "Is Porc-Auto still nearby? He might just be our fastest option for getting Yuta to the hospital.

Busy as she is, Alouette says nothing to Akane, only a sad sidewards glance. They can still heal Yuta.. it's still not too late.

<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.

Renais' body tenses further as Akane pulls out the knife... her hand slips into her hoodie, the gleam of gunmetal faintly visible in the shadow.


Akane steps toward him.

Renais sees her first glimpse of red--of blood--and acts on instinct. The weapon comes out in an instant, trained on Akane. Her black-gloved artificial hand steadies the pistol from below. Her heartbeat thumps in her ears over the rush of coolant and G-liquid.

Then the knife drops... and she lowers the gun, finger off the trigger, depositing it in her pocket. She just... stares. She's stunned. It doesn't feel real.

Then Rikka yells for warm water, and she's pulled back into reality. She leaps over the counter and supplies warm water as well, and as Alouette reports the line dead, she pulls out her cell phone. "Ugh. No service." The suggestion of Porc-Auto earns a nod, "Somebody restrain Shinjo, I'll be right back!"

She dashes out the door, traversing three blocks in a matter of seconds, to a small parking lot housing a very small car. She gets in.

"Agent Cardiff? Is there a problem?" asks a voice from the speakers, a waveform pulsing on the vehicle's console readout.

"Aya. Now!" barks Renais in reply, tersely. Tires squeal, and the Mini peels out of the parking lot, rounding the corner and speeding down the road. Renais, meanwhile, squeezes in between the front seats, hastily pushing a couple of heavy-duty suitcases and a grenade launcher onto the floor of the back seat.

"Hibiki's been stabbed," she explains as she rights herself in the driver's seat. "Phone lines are down. You're taking him to the hospital."

"Understood," comes Porc-Auto's reply, the Mini's cramped backseat folding forward as its tires squeal to a stop in front of the shop. The back hatch lifts, and Renais jumps out the driver's side door.

"Is he stable enough to move?" she asks as she bursts in through the shop's door.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Hearing people address her is very helpful. Rikka... so kind as always. Qivi tries her best, too -- even shouldering past Akane with some force. Her grip on Junk is intense, though -- in the end, being shoved achieves what she'd wanted anyway. Her claws dig into the corner of the monitor, and with a rip and a thud, she upends much of the makeshift PC onto the ground with a sickening crash.

"THERE ISN'T ANY OTHER WAY!" she screams at everyone, even as she seems to curl into herself; she hasn't stood up quite straight since stabbing Yuta.

There's no more malice left in her for Yuta here, though, no more movement toward him; she just needed to have the battle change.

And yet -- it still doesn't. Rikka still tells her it doesn't have to be this way. There's no words for that -- but she does have easier things to respond to. "EVERYTHING!" she shouts at Qivi, more miserable than furious. "I'm horrible and I don't know why it's taking you guys this long to get it!! So I had to cheat!" The heat has left her voice by the time she shoots Renais a look about that gun, though. "This again? Maybe you'll have better luck than I did. Now that Hibi -- Gridman is..."

She slumps toward the door. The dialogue she'd wanted has been foreclosed upon.

She needs... to leave. She's done enough damage to get at least some of them to think about changing the nature of the fight. They'll... do what they need to.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Junk clatters to the ground with a terrible sound, the ancient computer falling to pieces. It projects static, still, a quiet hiss of background noise to the brutal scene.

Yuta flinches, startled by Junk crashing next to him. Blue eyes flicker open. He stares ahead at nothing, still only half-awake, flinching with each breath.

"Grid... man..."

Junk goes dark. Yuta's eyes close.

Max, following Rikka's lead, looks to his comrades. "Calibur, get some clean sheets! Borr, help Rikka stop the bleeding! Vit, you're with me!"

Without hesitation, each suit-clad personage obeys. Calibur vanishes, and returns in a heartbeat, sheets in his arm pulled from Yuta's bed. Borr makes himself available to Rikka, ready to apply pressure on Yuta's wound or hand her supplies as needed. Once the bleeding has been staunched, Max and Vit lift Yuta with great care -- Max on his shoulders, Vit on his legs. They carefully bring him outside the shop toward Porc-Auto.

"Miss Cardiff. Please hurry." Max says to her, his voice strained. "We will follow you on foot."

As their companions occupy themselves, Calibur and Vit hover near the wreckage of Junk. Borr watches Renais' car speed away, then follows Max back into the Junk Shop.

"This is a disaster." Vit speaks through grit teeth. "Can we even fix it? Gridman... I can't feel him."

Calibur is silent. He bends, slowly picking up miniscule pieces of the broken computer.

"Are you kidding? How can you worry about that right now! Yuta could /die!" Borr snarls, tears in his eyes. "We can deal with this later!"

Max's footsteps are slow. Seeing his comrades arguing -- really arguing, not the playful squabbles between Borr and Vit -- makes his heart sink. As he approaches, something soft squishes beneath his foot. Hesitating, he looks down.

It's Yuta's scarf. The yarn has absorbed a good deal of the young man's blood, staining it an ugly color. Playful tassles are stuck together, the whole thing a sticky, gruesome sight. Max picks it up. Blood drips to the floor of Aya.

"First," Max starts. "First. We tend to Yuta. His life is still in the balance. Whatever has been done to Junk is done. No more harm will come from it waiting for our attention."

Vit looks back at Max, desperation in his eyes... but it softens, then fades, at the sight of the enormous man's tense expression. Still, he hesitates, even as Borr stands next to Max and Calibur deposits his collection of fragments onto the counter.

"...fine. But this is our top priority, as soon as the kid is stable."

<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.

Qivi was more worried about Yuta than Junk; she'd rather Akane tip the computer over and not go after Yuta any further than save the computer at his expense.

She yanks the medical kit out from under the counter, knocking over some other unrelated items with a series of (relatively minor) crashes and bangs, because Qivi is not in the mood or taking the time to be neat. Thus equipped, she rushes back over with it.

"Sure, but you know what? You can get better! If you don't go around stabbing people!" Qivi tends to speak without thinking, and right now she's incensed; kneeling down and unpacking the medical kit for Rikka and Borr, because she can find what they need even if she isn't entirely sure how to use it herself on anything this serious.

She wants to get back at Akane. All her instincts are telling her to do something... and yet Qivi ignores them. There's a bit of irony there: it's something Akane helped with even if she didn't realize or intend it, by forcing (or at least inciting) Qivi to re-examine her feelings about being Meltrandi. "Get the hell out of here," she growls. Maybe one day she'll be able to talk to Akane. Today is not it.

Qivi stays with Yuta instead, the whole way. One of her fists is clenched for much of it.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

In short order, what she needs is delivered. The medical supplies. The water - two fresh batches. Rikka nods her thanks, but her focus remains on Yuta as she gets to work. Her expression is serious and focused - but through it all, she tries very hard not to focus on the fact that her hands are wet with Yuta's blood right now as she tends to him.

Her only focus is on Yuta. She's vaguely aware of everyone, the activity, all around her - up until the sound of Junk crashing to the floor forces her to split her attention. She looks up to it, smashed onto the floor - and then at Akane as she screams, curling into herself.

"...You're not horrible. Alexis has just been using you, doing everything he can to make you feel that way. Akane, you-" Rikka starts... but she stops herself as Akane addresses Renais. ...Better luck than I did...

What this means clicks into her head, and a look of mixed horror and sympathy crosses her face.

"O-oh, Akane..." Rikka whispers. She wants to chase after her. ...But she can't, not with Yuta in this condition. He needs her right now. She turns her attention back to him as Akane starts to leave, an ill feeling in her stomach, but she forces herself to focus. She nods quietly as Borr approaches, gratefully accepting his help. Two sets of hands make the work go easier - and when Renais returns, Rikka reluctantly steps aside to let Max and Vit transport him to Porc-Auto.

All of this noise is bound to draw some attention, though, and soon enough the curtain leading into the house is thrown open as Orie hurries through.

"What was that sound- huh?" She starts - and is interrupted, at the sight of the scene that greets her.

No one has seen Orie Takarada surprised before. She's always seemed to just... take everything in stride, reacting as if she expected everything. Right now, though, she looks for all the world like an actor suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into an improv situation.

She stares at everyone, at the smashed Junk, at the pool of blood on the floor... and then carefully picks her way past the wreckage to kneel down by Rikka's side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and helping her stand up and get over to the sofa. She sits with her there for a moment and will help her clean her hands - and once Rikka is ready to move again, she will drive her and everyone else who needs a ride over to the hospital to check on Yuta.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Renais brings over Porc-Auto.. Alouette looks relieved. That means Yuta's prospects have just gotten a lot better. "It'll be okay.. you'll be okay," she murmurs, before the last of Yuta's consciousness fades. Max and Vit carry him over to Porc-Auto.

That's when Akane practically demands her attention, shattering Junk and shouting about how horrible she is. Alouette's not sure how to respond, what to think. How would Guy or Mikoto (...without Triple Zero) handle it? What would they say? Akane wants them all to hate her, but that still feels like giving up on a horrible situation.

"You regret it, don't you?" Alouette asks. "Yuta Hibiki will be okay.. I know he will." It's all she can think of, affirm the situation is under-control, and reject the permanence of it. But Akane vanishes without a response.

She'll gladly take up Mrs. Takarada up on that offer to check on Yuta in the hospital, once she's finished helping the NGJHS sorting out the problems with Junk.. she figured she's better equipped for a programming issue than most.

<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.

It's only in the car that Renais realizes what Akane had meant. It's a stab to the heart, and... all she can do when she sees Akane already gone is curse to herself. Everything is in disarray. Everyone is attending to something.

... it's understandable.

She holds the door open to let Max and Vit by. "Of course."

As they go out, Porc-Auto's passenger seat folds out of the way as well, making room for Yuta to lay out flat. He's not exactly a big car.

"I'll get him there safely. Don't worry," the vehicle robo reassures them.

"He'll be okay," Renais reassures similarly, though she's not at all sure that's the truth.

Renais steps out again, giving Max a nod as she steps into Porc-Auto. He drives off, rather more carefully than he arrived, but with all available speed.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

The Neon Genesis Junior High Students aren't the only ones crowding around Yuta. Utsumi -- body shaking, expression horrified -- steps up behind them. "Hey -- Yuta," he stammers out. "Hey! You're okay, right?!" The dire reality of the situation settles in.

Hustle begins. Akane is so far beyond it. Anything (iv) could happen and she'd probably keep going.

She keeps moving toward the door -- rounding the corner. She starts to leave; Qivi tells her she could get better, then tells her to get out. Rikka says something, but talking about (v) how she's being used rubs at Akane's rawest nerves in a way she can't (ii) manage.

She gets outside. Renais is there -- just barely spotted out of the corner of her eye. I (i)t leaves her wondering why she even bothers. Fortunately, just one more turn do (iii)wn the alleyway and she's gone -- somewhere else in the city. This (vi) does limit how far she could have gone, admittedly... but at the same time, she can move very freely within the confines of her heart.

She thinks about what Alouette said. Does she regret it?

... it doesn't matter.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta is delivered safely to the hospital, courtesy of a talking car -- something he'd surely be charmed by, if he was awake. Despite the overcrowded intake room, Yuta is rushed into surgery. A few hours pass, until it should be morning... despite how dark it still is.

Calibur, who has been using his presence concealment to stay at Yuta's side during the procedure, emerges. After locating his companions, he gives them a weary look. "H--his treatment is done."

Those who choose to follow Calibur will find Yuta asleep in a small hospital bed. He hasn't been given his own room, the hospital is far too busy for that. Instead, he's squeezed into a corner, curtains drawn around his bed to provide privacy. No equipment seems to be monitoring him. The remaining Neon Genesis Junior High Students stand vigil at his bedside, looking grim.

"Fortunately, his vitals were missed." Max says, quietly. "His life is not in any danger."

Vit has his phone out, though he's poking at it less enthusiastically than usual. "Every form of communication in the city is down. We can't get in touch with anyone."

"W--we've made a decision." Calibur slouches near a window. "The city is in turmoil. We have to split up. O--one of us will remain with Yuta. One of us will work on fixing Junk. One of us will attend to Sayla Mass, to honor our obligations to the Shuffle Alliance."

Calibur goes quiet. That's only three.

Borr sighs. "Aaand, one of us will be on-call for anything drastic that happens in the city. We can't predict what's going to be needed."

"If any of you feel confident in aiding us to repair Junk, we would be extremely grateful. It will take time just to collect its pieces, not to mention the actual work of putting it back together." Max stands closest to Yuta, looking down at the unconscious boy as he speaks.

"If you need us, one of us will be here, and at Aya, at all times." Vit slides his phone into his jacket's inner pocket.

"Thank you. For caring about Yuta, and your aid in saving him." Max inclines his head, eyes closed. "I cannot bear thinking about what would have happened had you all not been with us."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

It's a quiet drive up to Inoue Hospital. Rikka doesn't speak at all on the trip, and when Calibur meets with them all to tell them Yuta's treatment is done, she and Orie follow him to his room. There's not a whole lot of room to sit, so they stand around him.

"I see..." Rikka murmurs with a sigh of relief, as Max informs everyone that Yuta's life isn't in any danger. But... Vit confirms what they've all feared up to this point. Every form of communication in the city is down. Orie nods.

"I tried over and over to get a hold of Hibiki's parents, but..." She starts, trailing off. ...But there's no way that was going to work.

Calibur explains, then, that he and the others had made a decision. They're going to be splitting up - going different ways to handle different situations. Repairing Junk...

Rikka stays quiet. She nods, as Max thanks them all for caring about Yuta. She raises one of her wrists, staring at it a little. On this wrist, she's wearing a charm bracelet - the one Yuta was going to give her after his confession, but after she told the truth about herself, he gave it to her anyway. A symbol of their friendship, and everything they'd been through. Her fist clenches.

"...I think..." Rikka starts. "...A lot of people are probably in need of help right now. And it's only going to get worse without any way to contact anyway long distance. ...Someone needs to do something about that. There's a lot of invisible cries for help out there that shouldn't go unanswered... So... I think right now, I should start looking for anyone who needs help."

She pauses for a moment.

"...But, I can't do it alone. I'm going to need to get a team together." She frowns, realising a few issues with her plan. She looks up at Orie, then. "...Mama, do we still have any of those old printers back at the shop? I think I'm probably going to need to put up some recruitment fliers."

Orie smiles over toward Rikka. One might expect her to object to such an obviously dangerous plan, but... she seems proud. ...It's good, seeing her daughter displaying such agency - growing as a person.

"Sure do, kiddo. Once we get back home, we can get it hooked up. You can bounce your ideas off of me." She offers. Rikka nods, then looks over to everyone else.

"And if any of you want to help out too, I'd be glad to have you. ...But I know you probably have obligations of your own, so don't think you have to be on it 24/7..." She says. She was worried before... but that resolve is back in her eyes, now. And for a moment, she looks back out to the city outside.

Akane... Rikka feels like she has to do something about this. For her sake, too.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette remains just as quiet during the car ride. Although she didn't show it, she's pretty shaken by witnessing the stabbing of a friend. She assures herself, and everyone that he would make it - she hopes that it comes true.

And just as well, she receives the news from Max that he's no longer in any danger. They're lucky they were all together when it happened, she thinks.

As for the talk of repairing Junk, Alouette speaks up. "Before we left, I took a look at it. It.. won't be easy to fix. But we have a lot of tools at Aya. So I don't think it's a lost cause." The difficulty in communication will certainly make their job a lot harder, though.

And then, Rikka proposes putting a team together, to help the many people who are currently in need. Alouette smiles, Rikka really has grown into a leader in her own way, or perhaps it's more apt to consider her a core - sometimes it feels like everything would just fall apart without her.

"It's an excellent idea, Rikka.. and I know you'll do an amazing job. Although..." She stares out the hospital window, for a moment, at the perpetually pouring rain. "I need to find the rest of 3G first. I'm sure Guy is already working himself sick helping, out there." Then she extends a hand forward. "I'll act as the link between our teams. In a time like this, we need to work together more than anything."

She ponders for a moment, continuing to watch the rain that Akane vanishes herself to. "I don't believe our goal should be just to bring things 'back to normal' and go home. The key to victory is healing Tsutsujidai (healing Akane Shinjo's heart)."

<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.

Once again Qivi takes her time getting there, but that's because the car is full and she can walk it. Tsutsujidai isn't that big.

But she does eventually show up. She stole ('borrowed') an umbrella from the Junk Shop. It's fine; she'll bring it back later. It isn't as if she can do anything useful at the hospital anyway, and Qivi hates feeling useless. She spends most of the walk judging herself. Maybe if she was faster, or had had a better read on Akane...

In the hospital, there's little she can do but wait. Qivi is sore herself from being thrown around in her cockpit, and waiting is the first time she lets herself show it. Her injuries aren't bad enough that she needs a doctor's assistance, she's just bruised and sore, but she does sit down for a while until Calibur comes back.

She hates waiting.

Eventually, though, she no longer has to wait. They're called in, and Qivi looks at Yuta with concern. "Not in any danger? That's a relief! I was afraid - " Qivi cuts herself off. "I thought it looked pretty bad," she admits. After what Akane had done - she didn't know what to think. She still doesn't. Knowing feels important, and she doesn't; it's frustrating.

Calibur makes a decision. So does Rikka. Qivi only pauses a moment - she's always been quick to act rather than sit around thinking about it and today is no different.

"I don't know if what I'm good at is what you need," Qivi says, "but I'll help how I can. I don't know how to fix Junk, I'm only a bit of a scavenger, but the rest of it - if this place is as bad off as it seemed when I was walking here, it needs the help! I've got some obligations, but some of them are going to be close to the same ones you do," because they're both part of the Shuffles, "so I think we can work around it. There's some other people I wanna make contact with too. I saw a robot that might be theirs on the way. Maybe I can be a link with a different team." She nods toward Alouette - she has the same idea, just a different group.

There are a lot of people here, after all. And even if Qivi doesn't understand the depths of Akane's heart, she does understand people, and they need support, too.