2024-10-25: STAGE(transient mob) - Something Wicked/Musing for the All-Imperfect/No-Flaws Love/Hate Song in the Court of the Crimson/Yellow/Purple/Pink King/Queen/Cycle

• Log: 2024-10-25: STAGE(transient mob) - Something Wicked/Musing for the All-Imperfect/No-Flaws Love/Hate Song in the Court of the Crimson/Yellow/Purple/Pink King/Queen/Cycle
• Cast: Leila Misakiyama, Asciel Colette, Gauma, Rikka Takarada, Akane Shinjo, Yuta Hibiki, Violet Miyazaki
• Where: Black King's Location, Nouvelle Tokyo
• OOC - IC Date: 25 Oct UC0099
• Summary: The restrictions around Black King have slowly abated over the preceding weeks, and people congregate around it to try and discer n the reason for its existence.

---

<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.

Kaiju were, as everything else, a fact of life in the streets of Tokyo. No matter which prefuncture, no matter which "Tokyo", there was a near ironclad fact running in the undercurrents of informational advice: Know where your shelter is. Know where to evacuate. Know that no matter what, it'll move on.

The giant, immobile Kaiju of Nouvelle Tokyo had contradicted that last piece of advice. Remaining there in the remains of a destroyed Anaheim Factory down at the industrial district, unmoving, unrelenting. Black King stands guard, the only hints of life in that kaiju being how it expels steam every so often from its mouth. Initially barred and guarded off, the sheer apathy of that kaiju had quickly deescalated the situation: From sudden shock, to disinterest, to apathy, to the barest of safeguards around yet another kaiju in their place. No one was using the factory. No one was interested in buying the land. What use did it have? Just leave it there.

The initial subject of intense debate on the internet for a day before moving on. And another day. And another. And a week. New things tend to wear their welcome out quickly, the initial crowd dispersing bit by bit. Pictures slowly dwindling as the throng dispersed, pushed away by both the authorities and the continual non-news of the kaiju. Week after week...

Until finally, even the authorities decided that there was no reason to try and manage keeping people away from it. With information flowing from the usual public channels, Nouvelle Tokyo had quietly announced that restrictions were to be lifted on keeping watch over Black King. There were more important things to keep an eye on, after all.

---

Leila, for all intents and purposes, had been making her way daily to Black King. Taking the train out to the Industrial District, walking a few blocks towards the destroyed factory (or at least, what was left behind after the initial cleanup efforts), and staring up at the kaiju from ground level on the sidewalk. Every week had shortened the distance between person and kaiju; By now, with full restrictions lifted, it was the first time to be in front of the plot of land that had been home to this kaiju.

A cold wind blew in the urban landscape. Hands in jacket pockets, gazing up at Black King from below. The smell of creation, the haze of dust in the air. A foot silently kicking at the concrete before crossing the invisible line onto the once-private property.

The Kaiju exhales. White steam from its mouth, and nothing else.

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        Once upon a time, Asciel Colette would have been thinking about Black King day in and day out. Humans can adapt to malady, can see something troubling in the world and overlook it. But that had long been something Asciel couldn't do. Long-term problems were always now-term problems, something Asciel would push herself to the brink finding a way to resolve.

        She remembers being that way so vividly.

        And yet now, this towering monster, one that could go on a rampage into any of the three Tokyos, has faded into apathy for Asciel, just like anyone else.

        An apathy, of course, that she cares very deeply about. Maybe she hasn't changed as much as she hopes, no matter how profoundly that's the only explanation. What even -is- the difference between fuming about how much you care, and fuming about how little you care?

        "Think faaaast~" chimes Asciel merrily once Leila crosses a sidewalk - and the idol tosses a warm metal bottle of coffee Leila's way from aside. She's perched atop a vending machine, which, she presumably got the coffee from, and which speaks to how well-this-isn't-an-issue Black King is that they're actually refilling this one. (You will never stop the indomitable will to keep them supplied.)

        "I must admit, I never imagined your grand plan would be to turn a kaiju into a long-term tourist trap, Leila~ Maybe you're more business-minded than I gave you credit for! Hehe.~" Dressed in weather-irreverent torn jeans and a black crop top, Asciel tips forward, giggling behind one hand, the other resting on her knee. "Or were you just lonely up til now? It's hard for me to figure out what's in your eyes at any given time."

        "...Not like you needed to look all that far to meet a kaiju, y'know..."

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

Chise Asukagawa was there the night it happened, of course. She doesn't totally know what she's thinking about it, even now. Is it possible for a kaiju to be harmless? No. Never. Yes. Of course. She's...

Scratches in her notebook, thoughts she can't get out any other way. It's been a while since she dug it out. But she's back home, watching through her window with Goldburn by her side.

RIGHT HERE, though, is a man who is only and entirely himself. Gauma is a man swathed in bandages so yellowed they look like some kind of weird street fashion, augmented by his actual street fashion of dark pants and jacket. He has shock-pink hair and eyes so deep set and shadowed it looks like he hasn't slept in 12,000 years. His yellow sneakers scuff the pavement as he stops his walk to stare up at Black King from as close as he can get, eyes narrowed with incredible intensity.

"Kaiju," he breathes.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

An immobile kaiju looming over the city she calls home... It's a familiar situation for Rikka. The Grand Glorious Guard have been keeping an eye on it, of course - though past the initial appearance, that hasn't so much been the job of the Chief of 3G Red. She doesn't need to be on site to check in with the team responsible for that.

Still, though, the Nouvelle Tokyo authorities have apparently decided to lift the restrictions over the area where Black King lies dormant. That, at least, warrants Rikka Takarada's presence. The first day is bound to be the most hectic, and they might need her on hand for direction.

And so, Rikka stands before it, in the gold and black uniform that marks her as Chief. She stares up at the kaiju, and in particular, at the steam that emits from its mouth every so often.

"...Is it breathing? Or..." Rikka considers with a frown. Her mind goes back to the gas emitted by Tsutsujidai's maintenance kaiju, the Venora, and their memory-erasing gas...

She taps a finger against the side of her cheek - and then turns. It looks like other people are here, too...

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Kaiju happenings are among Akane's focuses within 3G Intelligence, whether or not they overtly seem to intersect with the slices of meta-reality that are 3G Red's responsibility. ... This particular one, though, would get her attention even if she'd gone back to civilian life. The classic kaiju silhouette, standing tall against the urban background...

... that's familiar in a way that leaves Akane uneasy.

She's in the outfit she favors on lower-traffic duty days, which leaves her looking distinctly like an office lady, complete with oval glasses. Rubbing her hands together in an effort to keep them warm in that cold wind, she takes a long look.

"... This kinda thing creeps me out more than it used to," Akane murmurs. ... Part of her is still bizarrely drawn to the whole exercise, though. It's hard to give up on one's dreams.

Her gaze tracks toward some of the others approaching the kaiju as well -- but she answers Rikka nevertheless. "... It looks like it. We really ought to get instruments over here..." Another quick look around. The arrival of some of these individuals doesn't much surprise her -- least of all Leila.

Still, she does her best to maintain discretion and avoid looking like much of anything but an unassuming aide to the Chief.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

        Apathy? Putting things to the back of one's mind until they were long forgotten? Not for Yuta. Since they woke up from their 'coma' two years ago, there was not a single drop of water hitting pavement that hasn't been seared onto their memories like an iron brand to their brain. Their surveillance on the area alerted the red-haired youngster of.... interesting personnel reuniting at this moment, at this time, and Yuta wouldn't let the opportunity pass.

        Making their way to the fabled (and increasingly socially faded) Black King, they were still wearing the outfit of their last job - an appropriately formal office lady wear that at least Leila would recognize as a similar style to their outfit when the two first met in 'ruins' like these. Yuta had been pre-emptively making sure insurances didn't start 'changing terms of contract' on their customers in one hand, while also trading construction companies stock on the other. Perfectly normal office work.

        "No changes, huh." They wondered what was the end goal in this web.

        As they actually arrived, however, Yuta noticed even more 'high-profile' personnel had arrived at the area. Akane and Rikka, for example.

        Time to put their tongue to work. If the situation was to finally change, the more information the rednette acquired, the better.

<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.

         Of course, kaiju are already in Dr. Miyazaki's area of interest in general. This incident is especially interesting, though, despite - no, because of the lack of activity. It's not often a kaiju shows up and... stands around doing nothing.

        Now that the area is formally open to the public, Violet is taking the opportunity to see the giant beastie in person, on foot. Erica is tagging along behind her. It's not often she sees kaiju in the wild from this perspective. Perhaps it's a risk to stand this close... but Violet and Erica have always been good at sudden exits.

        "Is it... breathing? It's not in suspended animation, at least. Definitely... active. 'Active'." Violet casually takes a sip from the thermos of hot cocoa she brought with her, lab coat swishing lazily as she surveys Black King. "Nobody really seems to care. I suppose when there isn't an immediate threat, kaiju are normal here." She shrugs as Erica inspects a nearby stream of ants on the pavement. "I wonder if it's going to do anything anytime soon..."

<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.

Asciel's own warning snapped Leila out of her mental train of thought, those eyes widening before turning and trying to catch it...and spectacularly failing, the metal can hitting the forearm with a dull thud, that can unceremoniously falling to the floor. "Ow, tcheeeeee..." It's not injured or anything, just particularly unwanted. Still: Free coffee, something obtained after brushing off the dirt and popping the tab open.

"Phaa..." One moment to appreciate the coffee. The next... "Tourist trap? You being up there is more of a trap for anyone wanting a drink than a kaiju. Look at this place." A wide sweep of the arm, gesturing at the kaiju looming in front. "Who'd wanna make this place somehting bustling? The nearest restaraunt's a fifteen minute walk." Said restaraunt was also closed on weekends. "Che, I was just busy. What'd you think I was going to do?"

Another swig of coffee. Good sleep, good coffee, this was primetime for her mind to kickstart. To shove forward and...covertly gaze at the man muttering to himself. No restrictions meant no restrictions: With Nouvelle Tokyo vacating anything implying a boundary, even someone as shabby as Gauma could walk up to the kaiju's legs. There's nothing untoward about it: Merely a kaiju, standing still in that spot, unmoving and melding into the skyline.

"Yeah, it's a kaiju. You've never seen one up-close?" The figurative spearhead of conversation lanced towards the bandaged stranger. Gauma? No, his name was Stranger now (Change Pending).

Rikka's question is answered with another exhalation of steam. For all intents and purposes: It was steam. Regular steam.

Leila's eyes scan the area, completely nonchalant about how this kaiju had turned out. Gazing upwards, muttering to herself. "Well, this was what he thought of, in the end..." The sight of a golden medallion did bring some notice, properly accounting for them and her office lady counterpart. '...Huh.' Nothing was being done to the kaiju, so everything's fine.

"...You expected something to change?" There's only a twinge of a smile at this point, buoyed by coffee and emotions. It's a strange sense of pride. "Yuta, what were you expecting? Another idol show?" She didn't even hire them for this.

Another exhalation of steam. Violet's own musings were left to their own devices.

"But still, isn't it interesting? Even the change of things around it brought people here. Does it really need to have something happen for it~?"

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        Even indirect, sardonic praise not even meant as such is enough to make Asciel patently glow with radiance. With a tousle of her ponytail, Asciel just asks Leila, "Ohhhh, so you're positing all of these lovely people are ~converging to see me, hmm?~ What a captivating thought."

        A deep breath, as those who would ordinarily hunt kaiju begin to gather, before Asciel stands up, still on top of the vending machine (it's maybe bowing a little under her weight). "If my friend here says so, then - welcome, everyone!~ Your eyes don't deceive you - it really is Earth's most beloved, Earth's most spurned songstress, none other than the Virtual Sage, Asciel Colette, in the fl-" well, she pauses there.

        Her eyes first fall on Yuta, the only familiar face, fanning her fingers in front of her lips. "So, what do you think? Did this lovely little pet of Leila's charm you with its arrival? Does it make it more real to see it breathing just like you - or maybe just like me?"

        The others, far less familiar faces. Akane and Rikka -feel- like they have a tinge of connection - and yet, even trying to recall when that happened makes Asciel feel a touch fuzzy. Gauma, Violet, and Erica are all utterly foreign agents, and so she calls, "Though the voices of the many oft drown my ears, today you're so fortunate as to have a goddess of song present! If you have any requests - any lullabies you think would charm this dear Black King, then all you must do is call to me. Give me your name, and a pure expression of your will - and I'll sing on your behalf, as you've gotten me in a generous mood today~"

        ...It needs to get out of Asciel's system one way or another.

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

"I have," Gauma says. He's not interested in the toes of the beast. He's interested in...

...

...

He extends a hand toward its chest, far above, fingers parted in a curious way, creating a V window to glare through between middle and ring. It's a strange, meaningless action, unless of course someone knows what the sign for Instance Domination looks like.

...but he scoffs and lowers his hand after, shaking it out like he wishes it stung. "No such thing as a safe kaiju, kid. Even if the suits are clearing out, this thing's gonna have to go down, and soon."

Gauma's posture turns to look directly at Leila, finally. He has a ferocious intensity to his look, like a thug just hoping someone starts a fight. But he doesn't push for one, either. He seems to take her in for a moment before grunting, "Awful casual. But this isn't *that* normal around here, is it?"

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

        "I've been keeping track of it diligently, I hope you don't mind. Besides, you're not wrong." Yuta scanned the area around them, taking a mental note of the diverse cast around them. Allies or enemies? Heroes or villains? All of it was a matter of perspective. "Though no one was really here when there were throngs of people trying to get close, we now have people around that are important enough to make me come see it again with my own eyes."

        "Curiosity may kill the cat, but that's only if the cat isn't prepared to handle what it learns." A hand on their hips, walking up with a certain stride to their gait, trusty tablet on their other hand. "Good evening to you, Leila, Asciel. I'd say fancy meeting you here, but it's certainly not a coincidence, this time."

        "To answer your question, Asciel, I'd need a whiteboard and three, thirty, or three hundred fifty seven of your very expensive hours... so I'll just sum it up and say not really, who needs to breathe to be alive anyway." All one needs is to exist, etch their existence, carve their existence, force their existence, and feed their existence. That's all there was to it. "Still, it's definitely a big player on the field, height notwithstanding." ....some cold tea would be good now, the thought pervaded Yuta's train of thought for a second....

        ...but even that was quickly turned around by Gauma, as the rednette traced the other rednette's interesting motions and rhetoric "Isn't it normal? I don't see anyone particularly in a panic around here."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka can tell that Akane is a little uneasy about this. ...She can guess way - for probably about the same reasons that she is. But for her, it's probably a little more personal. Rikka offers her an apologetic smile.

"...Yeah, it creeps me out, too." She admits, then nods. "We should put a call in when we're done here - see if we can't get anything brought over." She replies.

...And then, there's another familiar face.

"Yuta?" Rikka gasps. It's a surprise to see them here. ...She hadn't expected to see them so soon after her talk with the Neon Genesis Junior High Students. Should she bring them up...?

...No, not here - not yet, at least, while they all still have a big unknown in the form of this kaiju to deal with.

She looks between them, and Leila, and then to the others present.

...Asciel, too. That's another spanner in the works - she'll have to report that she was present at the scene, too.

"Unfortunately, I didn't come with a song list prepared..." Rikka comments.

She glances toward Gauma, then.

"Kaiju aren't a stranger to Nouvelle Tokyo... but it's not normal for them to just stand there, inert like this." Rikka says. "...It's concerning."

The last time a kaiju appeared inactive, it was Galactron on Huffman Island - and that nearly sparked an international incident, if only for where it landed.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane's brow furrows a little as she looks between Yuta and Leila, as the two of them exchange a few words. Her head tilts gently to one side as she realizes who she's looking at, and she takes a quarter-step closer to Rikka.

"... I think they're kinda wearing it better than I am," she murmurs, rubbing at the back of her head.

Akane recalls Asciel, of course -- though the connection between Asciel, Leila, and Yuta is... new to her, she thinks. Thinking about it is enough to get her worried, though -- what's happenig between the lot of them...?

She'll probably get better information if she doesn't intervene -- though she does discreetly ask Rikka, "... Any idea about why Hibiki's here?"

Besides -- she has a somewhat more pressing intervention to make -- or perhaps a more pressing instance.

"Me neither," Akane says, with a nod to Rikka, about the song list. Her attention rests a little more on Gauma, though. "... Interesting way of pointing at it," she remarks to him, approaching a little more directly than Rikka does. "Where'd you learn that one?"

She's just a normal office lady. It's fine. Right?

<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.

         Asciel's declaration draws Violet's attention, and her eyes slide over from the Kaiju over to the standing idol. Ah, this would be... a very, very interesting person. Violet strides over to meet her.

        "Violet Miyazaki. Doctor Miyazaki, if you're feeling formal. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She introduces herself breezily, with a relaxed posture and a glimmer in her eye, and extends her hand in greeting. "I'm not sure what would qualify as a 'pure expression of my will' here, and I don't happen to know this particular kaiju's tastes... but I've always been partial to Fire Bomber, so how about Planet Dance? A nice, lively song." The kind that'd rouse anyone to dancing, she thinks... even if they're currently standing stock still.

        Erica, meanwhile, walks up to the posing man and the office lady currently chatting him up, and makes no secret of starting at them, head tilted. "Learn what? The pose?" She has no clue what it is, but it looks cool as heck.

<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.

The sight of Asciel taking a sardonic crossfire and interpeting it into something so...purehearted, for a lack of a better term, was something to admire. Admire, and to profusely sigh at as she glanced over at Yuta with the most derisive smile. "She's puffing herself up again. Oi, Asci! You got anything new to say up there, or can you work and give me another coffee can!?"

"And what do you mean by charming!? What are you, a snake priestess or something!?" Charming her kaiju? Like hell.

Gauma's Instance Domination...does practically nothing to it. For all intents and purposes, the kaiju is undeniably alive, thrumming inside with the multiple, non-ecludian gordian knots of feelings hammered down, processed, refined, spat out, chewed, mangled, tossed back in, repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly, and refusing the softest of nudges from Gauma's outreach.

"Completely normal by now." A shrug, gesturing outwards. Look! Look at the lack of people, at the disinterest, at the movements of the world that had already moved past a singular abberation. "Everytime I came by here, people started moving away after like, Day Three. You know how it goes, right? The shock, the theories, the wonderment, and slowly bubbling down." Ah, more talkative than usual. Maybe it's the coffee. Maybe it's because of Alexis. Maybe something else entirely.

Another sip of coffee. "'Sides, it's already changing, isn't it~?" The beast exhales as if to prove a point.

"...It's kinda pissing me off, but I get it." Change. Things can't stay the same, but even pushing for things is a change that takes time. "Player on the field..."

...Or a large stage for small people. "Heh. What's that they call it? A smoking gun? Something like that. Scared it'll do something soon, guy?" The mention of 'taking it down' did pique her interest.

There's no reason for the kaiju to move. It merely exhales with no movement, grass beginning to peek through the earth around its feet. A natural sculpture, if not for the destruction of the factory that once occupied this place.

"Concerning? What for?" Rikka's got that feeling of a big-shot. (She blames her uniform. It's too...too regal for her tastes, which leads the conclusion of either someone's happy about military victories, or it means something more.) "I'm not a big fan of it, but...I quite like how it looks."

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

A few different people, a few different opinions. Gauma grunts and turns his head back up, glaring at the kaiju like he could challenge it right here and now. "Maybe not," he answers Yuta. "But they'll change their tune when this goes south." He nods to Rikka's wisdom. "This...isn't right." Tsk. What is this tension...

It's been a long time since Gauma felt something like garden variety anxiety, after all.

Leila doesn't have to worry about Instance Domination. Nothing happens. That is not a power that this man, in this place and this time, possesses. Whatever he is now, it's not a Kaiju User.

Scared? "No," he says to Leila. "I just know how dangerous it is. Guess if nobody else does it, Dynazenon will have to."

He glances to Akane, then, and those deeply shadowed eyes stare at her hard for some seconds before he turns his eyes down to his hand, flexing and rolling the fingers. "Long time ago," he answers, vaguely. "In a country that doesn't exist anymore. From people who want my head." Less vague. But that's always been Gauma. Direct, to the point. And lately, not tied to this world in the way that makes a man conceal his truths.

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        "-Work-!?" Asciel pouts indignantly at Leila, scuffing the heel of her shoes across the top of the vending machine. "You don't ask a goddess to WORK for you, you ask her for a FAVOR or a GIFT or a BLESSING, you incorrigible-"

        She keeps muttering like this, and yet- Asciel DOES hop down from her perch, DOES insert the requisite coins into the machine (because she does carry around coins, even though this one would take a card...), and gets another heated can of coffee.

        ...for a few seconds there's the flicker of a satisfied smile that Asciel forces herself to rub away. This time, she doesn't just -toss- it Leila's way - she marches her way to where the pink-haired idol's settled, and places the can...on the top of her head.

        "Well met, Violet~" Asciel beams over at the doctor, smirking from ear to ear. Now that she's not posturing on top of the coffee machines, the idol...doesn't need to given how she towers over everyone present anyway. But is it ever enough?

        ...or maybe 'looming over people' is her way of showing restraint...?

        "I'm glad you understand intuitively how this works. I am, after all, the voice that sings to secure Earth's tomorrow. So, whatever YOU'RE doing over there-" Asciel crosses her arms and haughtily proclaims to Gauma- "I'll show you what you're missing."

        Raising her hand towards Black King, Asciel spreads her fingers - in a v-sign, not at all over her opened left eye.

        She does not proclaim any sort of Instance Anything. No, instead, her voice booms out -

        <<Liars sing a sad song of giving up>>
        <<NO THANKS! We don't want them around>>
        <<The transient constellations, the unseen sweat and tears>>
        <<Into my heart, they give me courage.>>

        It's Fire Bomber's Planet Dance alright - but Asciel hasn't brought backing music, and her voice is shockingly gentle for someone so bombastic. It's -loud-, of course: she is singing and performing a little dance for a kaiju, after all, but its tones are more resonant and harmonic than the rock and roll cadence of Basara Nekki.

        <<No more wastin' love! Don't make love pointless!>>
        <<There must be someone looking only at you!>>

        Asciel's hand turns over, as though to cup the kaiju's face from this distance. She really is TRYING to 'charm' this thing. She really does wonder - who, or what, might Black King be seeing? Staring off into the horizon like that...

                <<HEY EVERYBODY! Wake up the light!>>
                <<And let's dance... DANCIN' ON THE PLANET DANCE!!>>

        It's not a full performance, of course. The moment Asciel Says The Line, she stops, twirls, and gives a bow to all those gathered.

        "That's what it means to 'breathe', Yuta. That's what I seized my voice to do. One day, I will protect this planet just as Lynn Minmay did. Maybe today, I will even do so, if I am so fortunate. I think we do need that to live on this planet."

        "Wouldn't you agree, you two?" Asciel smiles, directly staring at Akane and Rikka. "Isn't that exactly the kind of force of will this world has relied on over, and over, and over and over in recent years?~ ...mhm, I never did get either of your names." ...does she even know? (not directly.)

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka looks toward Akane as she takes a quarter-step closer - then, looks toward Leila and Yuta. ...And Asciel, too.

"I'm worried." Rikka admits. And whether or not she has any idea about them... "...I don't, no. But it seems like they know each other."

She looks toward the Doctor as Violet introduces herself to Asciel... and then to Leila, as she addresses her directly.

Gauma agrees with her, at least, that it isn't right. She nods his way. And Leila... asks why it's concerning.

"If this kaiju begins to move suddenly, a lot of people could get hurt. If we don't know what it wants or why it's here, we might not be able to react in time. We'll do what we can to keep everyone safe, but..." She frowns. ...With people reacting to it, treating it as if this is normal - they might not even realise the danger. She'd almost wonder if they couldn't see it, if it weren't for all the posts online that proved otherwise.

"That's the part that worries me." Rikka says, as Yuta wonders if it isn't normal.

She looks toward Asciel, then, as she asks her question.

"Rikka Takarada." She introduces herself. "I'm with the Grand Glorious Guard."

She shakes her head, then.

"...I don't disagree with your words - but I have to wonder what you mean when you say you'll protect it." She replies.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

        "Rikka, Akane. Fancy meeting you here. Did you just happen to pass by, or did you come to see the big one there now that the commotion died down?" Yuta brought the conversation to them, if they didn't bring it themselves. Much like Akane, Yuta had been here for information, and they can't exactly get any if they don't talk.

        Gauma's mention of 'taking the Kaiju down', however, instantly makes them add a mental note to investigate this particular thug-looking lad later. Work never ends, it seems. 'Dynazenon' was also another term that.... No, perhaps there was some information on that one. "As they should, but right at this moment this big fella has done nothing to them. No one is at fault for just existing, right?" Yuta said with a polite business smile. Though, of course, between their existence and this Kaiju's, Yuta would not hesitate in bringing it down.... directly or not. If that was hypocrisy or sincerity, the red-haired repli-compoid didn't care.

        On the other hand, Doctor Miyazaki also needed to be checked for entirely different reasons, but researchers tended to have this kind of vibe to them. Did Hyper World time passed a hundred times faster than this material plane? Yuta felt like they needed that kind of time to keep track of all they needed to. The Age of Information was a bless and a curse.

        And they were about to turn to Leila.... when Asciel began her unwarranted, unprompted, and unrequested little show. Half of their attention was on the idol, the other half on the scene. Yuta knew that, however unfortunately, Asciel had pinned them as an enemy. Even though they thought they could be allies, before their meeting back in Tsutsujidai. "Is that so? Well, I won't deny that existing and living are different things. But exactly because they are fundamentally different states that one doesn't require the other." For what's worth, Yuta was clapping after Asciel's performance. Even if their smile was still polite.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Leila and Rikka seem to be more earnestly interacting now -- so Akane more fully commits her own attention elsewhere. They'll do better if they split things up.

Akane glances over to Erica as she approaches herself and Gauma; her eyes widen just slightly. "... Probably better not to worry about it? It's okay if there's a little magic in your life," she says, tone... characteristically enigmatic. Maybe she's sliding between meanings with that one. "What do you think of the kaiju, anyway?"

The mention of how Gauma came by the knowledge gets her attention in a big way. She raises an eyebrow, trying to figure out how to approach. ... For the moment she's just an aide. Best to play it safe. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that group of cosplayers we saw during that kaiju attack a few months ago, would you?" A beat. "I'm not suggesting you're an accomplice. Just curious~"

She's distracted, though, as Asciel launches into Planet Dance -- loud but bafflingly gentle, an unusual take on a classic. Akane glances to Rikka, letting her render judgment first -- both on the song and Asciel's words. Only after Rikka answers does Akane add, "I'm Ms. Shinjo, her aide. And... I think that's true, but I'm with her. I'm not really sure what that means for you." Then, to Yuta, Akane offers the succinct answer: "This is work for us."

<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.

         Violet greets Asciel's beaming with her own pleasant smile... and then Erica leans in and whispers something excitedly, and Violet becomes more animated herself, interest twinkling in her eyes. "Well met to you too, Asciel," she says in a knowing tone.

        Whatever subtext there is between Asciel and Gauma, neither of the good doctors grasp it. What they do grasp is music. Violet taps her feet to the sound of Fire Bomber as interpreted by Asciel Colette, and Erica turns around from her perch near Gauma to witness it, clapping along to the rythym herself. When the song concludes, the two of them clap - Violet elegantly, Erica excitedly while cheering.

        "Great show, great show!" Violet's remark is quieter than Erica's whooping, but it's still in good cheer. "I don't think I've heard a rendition of Planet Dance quite like that before... but I like it." She smiles. It does seem to have genuinely moved her. Moved Erica, too... mostly kinetically in the latter case. Look at her go!

        Rikka says her piece, and Violet turns to Asciel, too. "I'm interested, too. When you speak about protecting this world... you're walking a well-worn path rhetorically, but there are many different ways of 'protecting', in this context. I'd like to hear your... specific path towards that goal."

        Erica, meanwhile, has other concerns. "Kaiju attack? Cosplayers? I missed that. Cosplaying kaiju accomplices?" Her mouth is running a mile a minute, and she's turning her head to face each conversational partner animatedly. Must be a slow day for her.

        "Work, huh?" Violet peers at the medallion Rikka wears. "Ah, I see," she says, with that irritating knowing tone researchers sometimes have. "Also," she turns to Erica, "Introduce yourself before rattling off questions like that, Dr. Viviani."

        Erica sheepishly... looks around to see who she should introduce herself to first, then settles on a group introduction. "I'm Erica. Erica Viviani!" she says, excitedly, extending her hand out to be shaken, palm tilted upwards, elbow slightly bent.

<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.

How dangerous it is...The thought of such a declaration forced the pinkette to display the slightest of pouts, gazing over at that towering Kaiju. It, of course, does not respond, the monument to bottled-up feelings and catalyzation to action remaining stationery, as if to defy the notions of "danger".

"...Dynazenon?" Sounding out the word. It's probably nothing.

But, she's still noting it.

Asciel's mutterings barely faze the gal, watching her with an eye marked with an increasing smugness. Even if she was complaining the entire way, she did, eventually, grab a second can of coffee. "That's great, but you're not getting paid for that act. Isn't it nice to be so selfless, goddess?" A giggle as she finishes her first can of coffee. She'll recycle it later.

Still, she listens to that song...Half-heartedly. Such a setup. Such a sudden boastfulness. A solo interlude from a 'goddess', Leila facing away with a look of disgust. Usurping the stage proper. "Yes, yes, protection and all that. What are you going to do if they want to sing like you do, huh?" THe singular barb towards Asciel's direction.

"Isn't it the same for anything happening around here? There was that other one, and the one before. What makes this one so..." A wishy-washy wave of the hand towards Rikka. Thinking. "...No, forget it. The difference is obvious." A hint of pride in that. If nothing else, being off-kilter from the previous expectations was a victory in of itself.

"Che, what it wants, huh?" An absentminded muttering. "If it's where you think it's going then..." ...She trailed off, her eyes scanning upwards past Asciel to the head of Black King. For all intents and purposes, the Kaiju was facing north-eastward towards land. "...Ah, but that's for people to figure out. I wouldn't say it's anything special."

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

Gauma is extremely intensely focused on Akane and Rikka and Leila, and to be honest he's kind of an asshole so Asciel loudly announcing she had an opinion about his thoughts and deeds makes him look up, baffled. "Huh?" he says, face just sort of naturally curling into a challenging glower.

Then she's singing.

He looks to Rikka and Akane afterward. "Is that like a teens today thing?" he asks, like he's ninety years old and hasn't seen the sun in half of that.

Grant Glorious Guard, huh...his eyes scan on Rika again, but he doesn't get to do much with it before he's prompted again. Hn. Yuta puts an interesting question to him, and Gauma glares up at the Black King again. "...nah," he says. "Long as he stays where he is, suppose everyone's got better to do."

"It's the local guardian," Gauma says to Leila asking about Dynazenon, with the pride of a person who's related, because he sucks at secrets. "Well, one of 'em, I guess. But his highness here ain't a train, so not like Mightgaine's stepping in."

Akane though, asks him a very serious question, and he seems to all but rear up, using all that impressive height to tower, staring with aggression down. "You saw 'em, then. The Kaiju Eugenecists. Yeah...I know 'em. They're dangerous."

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        "My desires were simple," Asciel espouses to Violet and Rikka alike. "Cast every last one of humanity's weapons into the seas of history. Construct a world where the uncertainties and calamities that spurred on this hideous arms race were monitored and mitigated by me. Intervene and refine a simpler world, closer to how humans lived in millennia past, and, in the process, save this planet from being destroyed by humans themselves. Defend this garden unconditionally against external threats. I wanted to do it with song. That's what it means to protect people."

        The idol clasps her hands behind her back, and flashes that blindingly bright grin of hers. "Since then, I've lost a lot of means to see this ~dream through."

        "Since then, I've learned that the thing I feel for everyone on this planet is, unfortunately, a form of 'hate' rather than ~'love'."

        "Since then, it's become clearer that I'm closer to that," Asciel gestures upwards at Black King looming stoically above - "...than I am to those whose voices and faces I worked so hard to be on the same terms with."

        "And since then, everyone - quite literally everyone - has discouraged me from trying to see this dream through, and they've tried to reassure me with hollow words that it'll aaaaaaall just work out, even as the Earth crumbles before my very eyes."

        But to Erica specifically - who seems so humble and gentle at a glance - Asciel widens her stance, one hand on her hip, the other reaching upwards as though to clench the sun in her fist. "And yet, I will always move forward, because the idea of innocent hearts like yours carrying the endless sins of your forebears sickens me! The alternative is betrayal of my entire planet. This is the shape of my ~bravery! I will tame the monsters known as 'kaiju' and those known as 'humans' alike! I will destroy all semblance of the ~artifice that gave this planet only bloodshed and agony!"

        Something manic enters Asciel's gaze. Her left pupil narrows, and glows at the same time.

        "...Well, Leila? Would you call it profound selfishness? Foolish selflessness? Some hideous confluence of them both? I've been called both in equal measure. ...hm. I like hearing you call me selfless. Even if it's in jest. Don't stop doing that." Buzzing and full of her own hot air, Asciel steps forward, casting an imposing shadow over Leila, blotting out the sun. And with that menacing presence...

        ...she picks up that empty can. 'Later' too easily becomes 'never'. (Does she have to be so close?)

        This whole time, Asciel's considering something that bothers her. Akane Shinjo, she knows of by repute. The girl at the heart of that mess in Tsutsujidai (which she immediately used as a hideout, like, as soon as it returned to reality). ...Something else is bothering her. What is she-

>i did intend to follow through.

        Facing a recycling bin to deposit Leila's can, Asciel's limbs fall limply to her sides, and her head lifts. Not turning to face Akane, simply asking - in a colder, dual-layered, more monotone voice,

        "A request, Akane Shinjo, since our last encounter. It has taken longer than expected - but a status update on your control over the 'Galactron' kaiju would further all greater interests. Extensive detail is not required - you may provide this information in simple terms. It would be helpful, however, to know how it relates to what that man just attempted to do."

        A hand gestures over to Gauma in the process of asking.

        ...yes, that's very distinctly a rather abrupt intrusion from that "Hustler One" voice from before. It can only look particularly odd to Gauma, Violet, and Erica.

<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.

         Violet pays close attention to Asciel's impromptu speech/motive rant. To be honest, it doesn't appeal to her. She can't understand that dream at all. Why cast humanity's tools into the ocean and preserve them in a static garden forever? A world like that... sounds /boring/, and in Violet's world, that might as well be the ultimate sin. Taking a world as interesting as the one she lives in, the world that drew her back from her journey in space like a moth to the flame, and turning it into an unchanging paradise... well, it's not like such a world would last long. Surely, that boring garden would burst into entertaining flames sooner or later. And so, Violet composes her response.

        "I can't say I share that dream," she says, looking upwards slightly. "In the first place, I don't think that world would last very long... Bloodshed and agony have been with us since the beginning. But if that's how you want to live... why should it matter if everyone discourages you? They're not the ones deciding how you live. Maybe you feel closer to monster than human... but I've met plenty of humans who felt inhuman like that."

        Erica turns to face Asciel, finger pointing at her face comically. "Huh? Like me?" Actually, yeah! Erica's heart DOES feel light and innocent. Surely, the scales of Anubis would agree that it is weighed down by almost nothing. Least of all guilt. Erica has only ever felt slightly bad about thing she's done. (Is that a lie? Who knows?)

        Now, the aside from Hustler One definitely grabs the pair's attention. "What that man tried to do?" Violet asks. "I didn't notice him attempting anything kaiju-related, but yes, please do tell everyone what he was up to. I'm very curious." Really, she is!

        Erica, meanwhile, taps the side of her head. "Was it the pose? Something about... Dynazenon?" She's slightly closer to getting it, but she might not actually know what Instance Whatever is. Who could blame her? Even with her information gathering skills, she's been out of the Earth Sphere for at least 6 years. "I wasn't here for the Kaiju Eugenicists, I think. Busy."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"It's good to see you." Rikka offers Yuta with a smile - and then, she nods, as Akane gives her answer to them. "What she said - we're both on duty right now."

Violet's 'I see' gets a look from Rikka. She takes a glance her way, and eyebrow raised - but she has some of the same concerns that she does. She doesn't know what to make of her, yet - but she nods, as Erica introduces herself.

"It's nice to meet you-" She pauses, taking Violet's words in. "Dr. Viviani."

So, for now, she looks toward Leila.

"The number of unknowns. We can't-" Rikka starts... but Leila excuses it with a 'no, forget it'. ...She seems proud of it, in fact. She frowns.

...It doesn't do anything to make her less concerned about it.

"...Kind of." Rikka asides to Gauma, and it makes her feel kind of old for saying that.

But, Asciel is espousing her desires, now, and Rikka listens as she explains.

...It's hard to respond to that.

"...It's a shame. I like your music, but I don't think we'll be able to get along. I'm not interested in being tamed." She replies.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

        What Black King itself wanted....? Yuta would have waved it off as nonsense, but given Leila's reaction, was it actually an important clue or one more red herring. Yuta had approached this so far trying to figure out what the pinkette idol wanted with this situation, but perhaps it was time to flip the chessboard around, if it hadn't worked so far.

        Kaiju Eugenecists.... Gauma's stocks as an important persona were continuously rising, it seemed. Just that much would have made coming in person a success on their book, and yet there's still more to be gained on this visit. Again, more work to do. It was always more work to do.

        "Isn't that just what being a person is, Asciel? You seem to already be doing better than me in that department." The question might not have been meant to them, but the contents somehow made them unable to hold their tongue, for some reason. Perhaps from a semblance of empathy, or envy, or.... no, none of those were the right feeling that the chemical impulses in their brain were producing. Well, it didn't really matter.

        There was just something to this that they couldn't exactly put into words. Slightly frustrating even, as Yuta felt it was at the tip of their tongue and they were nearly recognizing it.... but even that would be made into fodder, inside their heart.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane stares at Gauma for several seconds at the question. "I'm sorry," Akane says, with a shake of her head, "but I've become a sentimental old lady at 19. I can't actually be sure of my answer."

She's about to press him for more about the Kaiju Eugenicists -- but Asciel, or at least something Asciel-ish, addresses her by full name. It's a curious effect -- she startles, shoulders moving back just a bit. "... It's improving," she says. "As for the other thing... can't really say! Good luck figuring it out, though!" She gives Violet and Erica an apologetic smile, saying, "... I think I'll let him tell that story~."

Scooting closer to Rikka (and appreciating her answer to the question of being tamed), Akane says, "... I think we might wanna get out of here before things get weirder. I dunno how much more we can learn about this thing without instruments... especially when things are, you know, like this." A vague gesture.

Her gaze lingers on Yuta for a moment. ... Just what are you up to, she wonders, still unable to find a fully satisfying answer in her head about how things have changed for the redhead who once hosted Gridman.

<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.

         "Nice to meet you too, uh..." Erica tilts her head. "Didn't catch your name. You're all here for the giant monster, right? Us too. I didn't expect it one to show up and just not do anything. You think it'll start moving any time soon?"

        Violet nods when Rikka gives Asciel her response. "I have to agree. I don't particularly feel like being tamed either. You've certainly picked a difficult goal..." Erica nods sagely as well. "Nope. Don't feel like being tamed either! At least, not by a stranger..." There's an odd... faraway look in her eyes, and Violet rolls hers.

        When Akane talks about letting "him" explain, Erica turns to Gauma expectantly. "Alright! Kaiju Eugenicists. What do you know? I only know what I know." Her pink eyes fix his like pins on a butterfly. It's a topic of interest for her.

        And concerning instruments - entirely correct, Violet reckons. "I concur. We've discovered all we can by inspecting it with the naked eye. Still, coming here and meeting you all was an interesting experience. Maybe we should meet again sometime later."

<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.

"The local guardian?" WHen it comes to Local Guardians, her mind comes up with a few things. The police. Mightgaine. The various people of 3G, NERV, and other places. Certainly not...Dinozeon? Dyinazeno?

It still puts her on edge, glancing over towards the others. The slightest bit of a frown. Kaiju Eugenecists. "More Kaiju people? Figures." Where there's a smoke, there's fire. Where there's one kaiju, more will follow.

...Roaches?

BGM - Cold Winds - Heaven Pierce Her

Yet, Asciel's monologue only brings forth laughter. The sort of laughter filled with deirison at such absurdity, the hypocrisy of knowing that sort of insane dream yet still pushing for it. "Selfless...ahaha, really? Really? It doesn't matter what the context is? That's the most selfish thing you can do, you know. Aha, ahaha...!" The world's funniest joke to undercut that bold monologue. Insanity. Even if she's trying to appear so, so, so imposing to Leila at this moment.

There is only the gaze of someone so utterly amused by it.

"Aha...Haa..." A few moments to catch her breath, keeping that smile all the while. Ah, that did a bunch to lift her spirits up. Even the change in Asciel's demeanor was accepted in stride, a giggle unconsciously slipping out at that. "Aaaah, you're back again? I was wonderi-"

...Ah, right. Galactron. "Ah, so lucky to have everything work out for you, Akane." A self-satisfied nod at that, taking in another deep breath. Of course. Of course.

"I don't think we can be tamed at all, Hustler One. Whatever you're looking for, I think, mmh, weeeeell. You're a better personality than Asciel, at least." Harness burns notwithstanding.

Still, still, still! It's a font of inspiration to think like that, to be so buoyed by the thoughts bubbling within her. Still! The talks, the intricacies, the matter of the fact was that this kaiju, Black King...was noticed. By people close and far, by people who had their own thoughts and desires and wants and curiosities and she, she, she left a mark on them, however small and faint and barely noticeable.

"...We'll just have to show Asciel how selfish we can all be, don't we~!?" A long, long, looooong chug of that second can of coffee. "Mmmh, I should get going. Black King is there, and he has an idea of where I want him to go." A self-assured nod once more, beaming brightly like any girl who's attained the will of something primordial inside to push onwards, damn the cosmos, damn the hells, damn everything if it meant taking another step forward. "Yuta, I'll see you around. Rikka, Akane! If we don't see each other, I'll make sure to remember you both! Same for you, Violet, Erica, Strange Bandage Person! Say hi to those Kaiju Eugenecists for me, wherever they are!"

Ah, this was what she needed. A happy push on her step, taking out her camera and taking a picture of Black King looming from underneath.

Black King continued staring motionlessly towards the north-northeast, towards the border separating OCU and NUNE. Thought in Leila's head as she made her exit bit by bit. She could imagine it now.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka glances toward Akane at her comment to Gauma.

...And a small, fond smile crosses her face. She nods, though, as Akane scoots closer toward her.

"I think you're right. It doesn't seem like anyone's going to start anything, so we don't need to be here any longer, either..." She agrees. "I don't know about you, but I think I could use a bite to eat."

She nods toward Leila, then, as she moves to leave.

"...I have a feeling we will." Rikka replies, with a nod. ...It's only a matter of time, and that worries her. She hesitates for a moment before adding, "...Take care, alright?"

<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.

         "Well, we've done enough, I think. Let's go, Dr. Viviani." Violet strolls out, Erica following, waving to all of her new friends. "Hey, punk looking guy! I'll chase you up later about the Kaiju thing!" Erica belts out.

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

Gauma's focus is in its entire on Akane, until she demures first. That woman said her name, and she reacted, huh? Actually. What - WAS that that woman??

Gauma grimaces. Too much heat. Too much attention. Especially when this Erica woman turns straight at him.

But if she expects him to cringe under that stare, all she gets is a glower, and his hands going to his pockets. "They're dangerous. Dangerous enough to think Kaiju should run free. Stay away if you wanna stay alive."

And that's all he says before he turns on his heel. "I got work," is his excuse as he just...leaves without any further comment.

...wait hold on this guy has a JOB?

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        "Improving, you say," cites the slightly quieter voice of 'Hustler One', dropping the can into the recycling at last. "Implying that there are imperfections still. That it did not completely fall to your control...but it will with time. Affirmed. ...It answers the current conflict...mostly."

        Bearing witness to Leila's high-energy outburst with a flatter expression than Asciel's face merits, H-1 crosses its arms, somewhere between 'imperious' and 'protective'. "...It's odd that she favors you as she does, Leila Misakiyama. Had she heard what you just said - your preferences between us - she might well make an attempt on your life. Current emergence was only intended to ask something of Akane Shinjo, but instead, it appears an explanation is owed to...Asciel."

        ...It has to pause, considering that. The visage of an idol OWL had pursued so fervently - had been so enthused to die and be reborn as - was something Hustler One now felt a distant person from, despite slumbering in what was rightfully Asciel's body.

        As an instructive machine, it cannot help but look between everyone gathered and desire to explain its current predicament. But it couldn't even explain this to itself as cleanly, right up until Yuta says one simple thing.

        "...That girl's intent to be a 'person' is a condition she believes to be hampered by my presence. Your patience is required. ...To you as well, Dr. Viviani, Dr. Miyazaki. She will likely be difficult for my interrupting her generally positive acquaintance with you. I will reconcile this shortly."

        ...This sudden impasse faced by what Asciel had thought she left behind leads Hustler One to amble off somewhat gracelessly from everyone gathered, but for saying simply, "Neither of us abide by a world ruled through violence under any circumstance. It should not be more complicated than that. Whether through your acts, or through a kaiju's."

        "...If someone such as yourself obtained employment," H-1 asides, passing by Gauma, "it's strongly advised not to be late. Such events can only be as rare as planetary aligment, and you may find yourself without subsequent chances."

        It will find ways to be a little more witty about saying "yeah this guy has a job?"

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

        "Sure thing, take care, Leila. I'll see you around." Yuta turned around, potentially the only one who came because people were meeting here, rather than for the Kaiju itself. Given everything so far, could they get why the idol was suddenly in a good mood? Perhaps. Perhaps.

        "You two, Rikka, Akane. I hope the offer to hang out still stands, but I guess work will bring us together more often than not." Yuta being particularly perceptive to... intentions towards them, returned a knowing smile to the pair.

        "And you too, Hustler One, Asciel. Don't go forgetting what made you people in the first place, believe you or not." Yuta adds at last, before making their merry way to the subway.... which was probably where at least a couple of these people were headed anyway, which would made for an awkward train trip, now that they thought about it. But, alas, that would be a story untold.