[Last Time, on Battle High: The group had a long morning to recuperate from the hell that was the Strike at Midnight. Hope hasn't been seen all morning, and Karasu is still missing, as he has been since before the midnight showdown on the roof of Fight Tower.] [It's nearly lunchtime now, maybe PO TAY TOE soup will be on the menu. Or maybe not. It's still annoying that Karasu has been gone for several days without a word, and that's what's important.] [Ready... FIGHT!] * Isaac is... Reading! OMFG BIG SURPRISE! * Ao-Lang has apparently decided she didn't actually get enough sleep the night before, as she's dozing on the couch. * Mariah looks to be making a game attempt to catch up on her math reading. It's going... slowly. * Kairi is poring through a number of school-related books, alternating between chewing on a pencil and yawning. * Ao-Lang mutters, then onto her side, opening her eyes. She blinks blearily before reaching to the side, frowning, reaching under the couch, frowning more, and then eventually asking, "What happened to the remote?" * A short burst of noise sounds from the hall as the cafeteria doors are opened. Never mind. * Ao-Lang tumbles off the couch, literally, ending on her feet and walking over to her boots, pulling them on. -- well, that's a relief. I don't know how much more geometry I could take. * Mariah shuts her math book and stands up. * Kairi mechanically rises to his feet and stomps towards lunch without delay. "It can wait. Food beckons!" * Ao-Lang watches him stomp. She picks up Kai's shoes and throws them at him, right one first. * Isaac blinks and stops reading. He closes the book and looks at the others. .. yeah? * Kairi ouches a little, but remains on course... while somehow putting his shoes on at the same time. This involves well-timed hopping. ~You understand what you're working on? And you might want to get going, food's not going to wait for you!~ ^^; I *think* I do, but... well, later, I guess. You coming with? * Isaac shrugs. ~Yeah, I guess so.~ * Ao-Lang heads out while redoing her ponytail. "I wonder if it's gonna be tasteless today." ~Isn't it tasteless every day?~ * Isaac follows after Ao. Only for you, Isaac. * Mariah follows along. "It's all right for school food, I guess..." It's not bad! And besides, it's good for you. ~I bet it could be better.~ It could be better, sure, but it's okay. It could be actual food. It is, just not as good as that one place you took me to... but beggers can't be choosers, hm? ^^ * The cafeteria is dead empty, as classes won't let out for another five minutes. Lunch consists of your choice of "salisbury steak", "chicken fried steak in gravy" and "unidentifiable red stuff". ~Go for the Red!~ * Kairi decides to tempt fate and goes for the Red Pill---er, food. * Ao-Lang stretches her arms behind her back. "For you, Isaac, and because I owe you cash for the last time we played poker, I'll try some of the red stuff. Well, and everything else, too." * Ao-Lang walks on over, getting a little of each. Why not, really? She glances around. "I wonder where the other team is." ~Idno~ * Mariah snags salisbury steak. "Braver than me. And... I dunno, maybe they're in the infirmary still?" * It's worth noting that the "salisbury steak" and "chicken fried steak in gravy" look EXACTLY THE SAME. Or maybe they're just taking their time. Bravery is all in the mind and heart. ^^ * Ao-Lang gets a piece of each, then examines. "I think these were separated at birth." ~So says the person with LAME finishing phrases.~ * Karasu staggers into the cafeteria, clutching his head. Bravery is all about giving the snappiest comeback while kicking the other guy's ass. You- huh. Hey, Karasu. Want some red stuff? ~It's good for you!~ ... look what the cat dragged in. Karasu! -- Karasu?! Where have you been? * Karasu turns his head towards Mariah. "I... don't know." * Ao-Lang blinks. Whoa, whoa. Wait. What do you mean you don't know? Uh... okay. What do you remember? I came up the mountain, and.... * Karasu shrugs. "That's it." Today? Well, at least you're alright! Man, we were worried... * Karasu nods. * Ao-Lang shoves her tray into Karasu's hands. "Sit and eat something." You don't look so well. Get some lunch, maybe? * Kairi ignores the red stuff (Kai? Ignoring food?) and walks over to Karasu. * Ao-Lang goes about re-getting her lunch. * Karasu gets a tray shoved into his hands. But he sits down and eats the red stuff ravenously. * Karasu says between bites, "How long have I been gone?" * Mariah takes a seat as well, scraping gravy off her steak gingerly. "So... huh. I'd say this is kind of weird, but that's obvious." ~A long while.~ Um... lemme think... * Kairi starts thinking, while sitting and picking at his food. * Isaac 'lies down' on the table and starts reading his book again. 'Bout three days. Four if you count today. You weren't around on Monday. * Karasu nods as he eats. Yeah, that sounds about right. You don't remember anything at all? * Ao-Lang grabs her food and goes to have a seat next to Karasu. She gets a scoop of the red stuff and gingerly tastes it. * Karasu shakes his head. ... yeah, what Ao said. Um... you hurt or anything, Karasu? * THe red stuff defies description. Literally. It's almost like a cross between taco sauce and marinara, only not like either of those. I don't think so... * It's got bits of vaguely meaty stuff in, too. * Mariah finally manages to get the steak de-sauced to her satisfaction and begins to eat. "So, you're okay, but you don't remember anything..." * Kairi seems to like the red stuff. Alot. Not good... we'd have something to look into otherwise. It always has to be difficult... * Ao-Lang gets a healthy spoonful of the red stuff and, seeing that Mariah has managed to de-gravy her "steak", cheerfully dumps it on hers. * Ao-Lang grins at Karasu. "We'll just have to tie you down from now on. Can't have you wandering off and forgetting who knows what. Anyway, I have the homework you missed, we have a killer bio midterm in two and a half weeks, and we won the fight last night, though Hope chopped some chick's arm off." * Karasu finishes eating. It didn't take long. * Ao-Lang goes back to eating. Red stuff! * Karasu glances at Ao. "She what?" -- hey. What was that for? It's good for you. Better than that steak, anyway. * Ao-Lang looks to Karasu. "Chopped some chick's arm off. It was, uh... Louisa, I think? Louisa Hendel. Uh... Oh, yeah. Hope went pretty all-out and did some real damage... * Mariah pokes at it hesitantly before daring to try it. ".. hey, this isn't that bad. -- Oh, yeah. The fight was kind of weird." * Kairi shivers a little. "I wanna say a win's a win, but..." .. but it went really strange places. I want to say she's a hypocrite. But where is she? The fight was fucking brutal. Nearly took out the whole tower. * Ao-Lang shrugs. "And I don't know. Maybe the same place you were." She keeps eating. .. I dunno. I haven't seen her in a while. * Karasu gets up and takes his tray with him. He returns with more food. Since this morning. She looked kinda sick last night. It's pretty easy to see why. * Ao-Lang glances over. "Didn't you eat anything in that time you don't remember?" She's... yeah. And it kinda sucks. I wish we'd just mend back together. We're still a team, problems and all. * Karasu eats. "I don't remember." Yeah. We need to stick together. I'll probably go look for her after lunch, make sure she's okay. It's only four days? Feels like a lot longer... * Ao-Lang nods at Mariah, then looks to Karasu curiously. "How long?" * Noise starts echoing down the halls as classes let out. Incoming. * Karasu looks up. "What time is it?" Stampede time. * Ao-Lang gets up and grabs another small bowl of the red stuff before the stampede arrives. Eek. Good thing we got here early, huh? * Kairi swipes more red stuff as well. Alot more. * Mariah goes back and gets some red stuff while the getting is good. * Karasu has a full tray still! Sorta And midterms? In two and a half weeks. * Karasu nods. Gonna try to be here? Not like I have a choice. God, don't remind me... * Ao-Lang snickers. "I don't know. You ducked out of the fight last night." Too soon. We're doomed Better that you stay here, anyway. If the fights keep going like last night, we're gonna need a lot of help. * Kairi shakes his head. "I hate testing sometimes..." * Karasu looks thoughtful as he eats. * Isaac thinks. ~You need to practice more.~ *nod* * Kairi rolls his eyes. "I do, I do..." Well, duh. But right now I need to concentrate on math and science. ~And that'll make you better fighters!~ * Ao-Lang eats red stuff. Quietly. omgwtfpenguin * Mariah nods and eats. "Doesn't mean I have to like it, though." * Robin is now known as RobinGone * The first few people down from the class towers make it into the cafeteria, obviously hurrying to get to the high quality food. * Isaac rolls over and sits up. ~You don't like learning?~ Oh, I like learning. Just not *math.* * A disproportionate number of them seem to be coming away with unidentifiable red stuff. Numbers are hard and painful. * Karasu eats more and offers no opinion. They're not *that* bad... usually. * Isaac blinks. ~What's so hard about it?~ It's just remembering that you own the numbers, not the other way around. * Ao-Lang looks to Isaac. "Well, if someone were to build a death ray, what would they use?" It just... doesn't work for me. But it's no big. I'm sure that if I study enough I'll be okay. * Isaac scratches his head. ~What kind of death ray? I bet you could use gamma rays! And then if you had a fusion reactor to power it, like the sun, youcould overload radiation to cause instantaneous radiation poisoning to whatever it hit! Not to mention if it's hot enough you could melt things too. Melting things is cool.~ Yeah. *And* you could put a door in it. A microwave door. Then literally nuke your pizza. ... Isaac, you're making my brain hurt. You too, Ao. ~Yes! Superfast style.~ But you need math to do it. Math is numbers. Numbers cause radiation poisoning. * Mariah looks at Kairi. "I'm glad I'm not the only one!" * Isaac blinks. ~Your logic is faulty. Math isn't numbers. Numbers are part of math.~ ... I like soccer. * Kairi pauses... then goes back to eating in silence. -_- Perhaps, Isaac. But the rest of my point still stands. ~Yes, but then you could argue that life causes radiation poisoning.~ It does. * Ao-Lang eats. * Mariah looks around the cafeteria idly. ".. anyone seen the other team?" * Isaac looks with both his mind and his eyes. Which? * The flow of traffic has increased steadily, and the food line is out the door now. Eh? The one we fought last night. And the answer is no. Oh, no. I haven't... * Ao-Lang raises her head, glancing around for Ryo and company. * Looks like your hallmates are about halfway through the line. Huh. Hope they're okay... * It feels kinda awkward, like you can feel everybody staring at you. * Kairi seems to not mind much, although he is looking towards said hallmates. * Karasu doesn't seem to notice at all. * Isaac blinks at them. * Mariah is watching the line a little nervously. * Slowly the cafeteria begins to fill up, though nobody really sits near you guys. * Ao-Lang doesn't seem to particularly care. ... word travels fast, huh? Duh. You get used to it. * Ao-Lang finishes off her meal and gets up to dump out her tray. This seems like trouble. * Isaac mentally sighs. * Ao-Lang glances around, again, for Ryo. * Ryo is just finishing his trip through the line and heading across the cafetera. * Mariah pokes at the remains of her food, averting her eyes. * Ao-Lang has dumped her tray and grins upon spotting him, walking over. Hey, what's up? You tell me. My team's panicking because everyone's acting like they caught some sort of rare disease or something. * Karasu blinks behind his shades. "We are?" * Ao-Lang looks down at Karasu. "Okay. Mariah and Kai are panicking because everyone's acting like they caught some sort of rare disease." ~They're being really silly about this.~ ... I am not! * Ryo shrugs a little and plops his tray down next to Ao's seat. The red stuff jumps a little. * Kairi flicks a meaty bit at Ao with his fork. * Mariah doesn't answer verbally. ~Hey, Isaac, be nice.~ I don't think it's you guys they're worried about. * Ao-Lang steps back, letting the meaty bit end up on the floor. * Ao-Lang sits down next to Ryo. She looks to him. "Yeah?" * Isaac looks interestedly at Ryo. Then who? Hope? * Ryo looks around. "Yeah... they're worried about Hope. Not many people have withdrawn, and... it's looking like we might have another." * Greg and Marcie set their trays down on that end of the table. .. oh, God. I was worried about her. Ohman. Not good, not good. * Ao-Lang shrugs. "It happens." I'll try to find her and talk to her. I hope she doesn't, but... I guess can understand why she would. It's mostly that they've just been confronted with evidence that they're not as immortal here as they felt they were. ~Nobody's as immortal as they think they are...~ * Ao-Lang looks at Greg. "If they wanted to play immortal, what are they even *doing* here? They should go fight people in their hometowns." Yeah, but even if they thought they knew, they didn't really feel it. Yeah... even I know it's risky being here. It is kind of scary. * Ao-Lang rolls her eyes. "Fine." She looks to Ryo. "You, me, town. Wanna go tonight?" Sure. Got anything in mind? Not really. But I need to get out of here. ... Ao's got a boyfriiiiiiiiiiend... ^_^ .. she kinda has a point. It'd be good to get away. ~I thought everyone knew that.~ Yeah, Kai, and I bet he's a heckuva better kisser than you are. ... probably, yeah. * Kairi shrugs. * Karasu finally finishes. He doesn't bother getting another meal. I know I am. Yeah? You kissed Kai? * Mariah manages a smile. It's tremulous, but it's a smile. ...sick! No, he didn't. * Isaac GRINS. * Someone taps gently on Mariah's shoulder. * Mariah turns around. "Hn?" * Clinton smiles down hesitantly at Mariah. "Uh... mind if I sit here?" - oh, sure! .... oh, hi! * Ao-Lang looks up. "Hey, Clinton." And then she turns to Ryo. "Actually, you doing anything this afternoon?" Um... you already asked that. * Clint sets his tray down gently and seats himself carefully next to Mariah. How are you doing? * Kairi just looks at Clint, and it's obvious that the gears are turning in his head. Oh, I'm fine. We're not fighting for a few days, so we've got more time to prepare. Oh, that's good! Who are you fighting? * Ao-Lang nods at Ryo. "I was talking about tonight earlier, but that works for me." She gets to her feet and grabs him by the arm, pulling him up, too. "C'mon." ... Clinton. You're a guy? * Ryo is pulled up from his half-eaten lunch and dragged away by a chinese amazon. * Clinton ignores Kairi for the moment. "We're fighting Wukong 103. I hear you had some experience with them." * Ao-Lang sure is! She waves to the others as she pulls Ryo out of the cafeteria. * Karasu rises. "I've had all I can eat. I think I'll go for a walk and try to figure out my next move." He wanders off. * Mariah waves back, very absent-mindedly. "Oh, wow, Wukong 103?" ~They fight mean.~ Yeah, they've apparently got a Shaman. Vicious little guy. I remember him -- ask Kai about him. Bye, Ao! Bye, Ryo! And... yeah, that guy. He's creepy as all get-out. Watch out for him. But if you're careful, you should be okay against them. Yeah, I just wish we had a Light instead of two Shadows. That kinda makes a Dark fighter harder to take. * Mariah nods. "Well, you have other people you can send against the Dark, right?" Well, best of luck to you... Yeah, but we'll be hard pressed. At least we should be able to send a shadow against their light. That's true, but you should be okay. Really, they're scary, but they're not that bad. No, probably not. They're fairly low ranked, and we're in the upper half. Where's your fifth, though? I dunno. I was actually going to go look for her.. our fight was kind of rough, so I think she's upset. * Isaac idly plays with his book. * Clinton looks down and plays idly with his lunch. "I, uh, heard. So did everybody else, I think. You guys better watch out." .. the stories are that bad, huh? Think people are going to try and take our their fears on us? Yeah. The only thing that people really agree on is that Louisa's probably going to withdraw. And her team might come looking for revenge. * Mariah sighs and half-heartedly pushes food around her plate, despite having not eaten for a while. "I... this is going to get bad, I just know it." ~It's been bad for a long time. Don't let it get to you. ^_^~ I don't think any of them are the revenge types, so you shouldn't have to worry too much. ... well, what happened happened. If they're going to try and hurt us for something we didn't control, then they'll have to work for it. * Kairi scowls a little. He doesn't do angry very well, it should be noted. * Mariah shrugs. "Guess we just have to be careful. Oh, well. No use brooding on it." [Fight... Finish for now!]