June 17th - The Woods, Before Sunrise

[independent_dollmaker]

[As Alice meets up with the others, she can't help but feel that the woods seem even darker than usual.

Maria's dead. What the hell is going on?]

Do you know anything else about what happened? Why are we out here?

Comments

[independent_dollmaker]

It was...

[Oh, right... Haruhi doesn't know about it. Nobody does.

You know what? It's past time to worry about that.]

...Last weekend, we all came out here together to investigate an urban legend. Maria, Yamane, Fey, Harime, Aino, Shimamoto, Osaka and I. It had something to do with a witch that Maria seemed to be fond of...

[kouyouensei]

[Haruhi doesn't do speechless a whole lot. Morose, maybe. She gasps for breath - just a little more than settling down from running here.]

You did the ritual without me?

[The shriek sounds childish; she's really trying to make sure she has the correct understanding here. She feels a little hurt, yeah, but.that's not what cracks her voice--]

Then... Then... Then what the hell happened to Seta-kun???

[Keep it down, Haruhi; you're all in mortal peril here]

[independent_dollmaker]

I'm sorry! The rules say you aren't allowed to involve any outsiders, it just has to be the eight people who were there! Nobody else could even know about it, or there was no point!

[--Actually, wait a minute.]

...But Seta was there when we came up with the idea... he couldn't come, but he said he wouldn't tell anyone, so we figured that was fine...

[kouyouensei]

Of course that's how it is! Nine is a bad number and ten is outright unwieldy.

Still. What's supposed to happen if someone else knows? Everyone dies? It's been days and everyone was fine for a... while...

Augh!!! What do we do?

[fortunatetoaster]

Y'could try waitin' for me to catch up before ya take off, maybe!

[ and that sure is prez struggling to catch up. she looks a little worn out -- her cheeks are just a little too red and her eyes are just a little too bright. she's not used to staying up all hours and she's still catching up with her sleep debt from the ritual, so this is kind of pushing it. ]

J--jeez, I thought I'd lost ya both!

[kouyouensei]

Shimamoto-san!

[A sight for Haruhi's own less sore eyes. Too bad she doesn't have any tea left to share.]

See the others on your way here?

[fortunatetoaster]

[ she gives another puff, trying to catch her breath and then shakes her head. ]

Nah, I didn't. An' I take it if you're askin' me, you ain't seen 'em either?

[independent_dollmaker]

So far, it's just us. Suzumiya, Fey and Yamane called you first, right? Is there anyone else we should get in touch with?

[kouyouensei]

Oh... man, I might have miscalculated...

After calling both of you I was thirsty and had to finish my drink and then I was here with Alice-san so... I figured it'd be inefficient for me to be the only one making calls, right? Like Alice-san could call Nui-chan, and Maya-chan could call Minako-chan, and Osaka could get a call from...

[a shiver runs down her spine. Shimamoto-san? Ushiromiya-baasan? It's not coming together, just like her wandering off when they infiltrated Seta's house.

She looks to Alice.]

But darn, I guess assuming that was stupid of me, huh?

[independent_dollmaker]

[Wait why is Alice supposed to call Nui, does EVERYONE know about this]

It's fine, I'll call her right now.

[Alice pulls out her phone, eyeing the shadows as she dials Nui's number.]

[flatview]

[ Nui answers, but she is...not very happy, as evidenced by her sleepy screeching. ]

Whooooooooooooo is interrupting my beauty sleep?! It's, like, four am! This better be good!

[independent_dollmaker]

[OH RIGHT PEOPLE SLEEP AT NIGHT SHE FORGOT]

Ah, H-Harime-san, I'm sorry for waking you up... it's just, Maria-chan is... we're in the woods, we're trying to find Maria, and...

[Quick, Alice, fumble more and take more time getting around to explaining yourself, I think it's working]

[ohmygah]

[Its around this point that someone loses her balance, trips out of the woods, and slams a giant rock into the back of Alice.

Darn. She thought she'd been doing so well, carrying that. True, the knife was an easier, but she had to get in shape. For Ayumu.]

[independent_dollmaker]

[


What's going on?

Alice tries to take stock of the situation. Why is she lying face-first on the ground? Where is all that horrible, horrible pain coming from? Who just stepped over her, towards the other two?

Why can't she feel her legs?

Dots are connecting. They came here because someone died. She was just attacked, and that's...]

O...saka.

[Where is her phone? There it is, looks like it landed nearby. Hopefully Nui can hear her, picking it back up sounds so hard right now.]

Nui, it's... please come... Osaka is...

[flatview]

[ Oh, was it Alice who called her? She hadn't looked at the caller ID before taking the call, too frustrated at being woken up. That's funny, she thought it would have been Minako, or Haruhi, with some ridiculous plan. Ridiculous plans were cool, but not at 4AM, damn you. Alice was a different story; Nui really couldn't see her calling in the middle of the night for no good reason.

And then--a thud? What just--

"O...saka." ]

Alice? What about Osaka, what's happening?

[ And that sure was Alice calling her by her first name. She sounded...injured.

You'd be surprised how fast someone like Nui can get dressed. It was true, she took all the time in the world in the morning, but now she just settles for tugging on a pair of jeans, not even bothering to tie up her hair or put on an eyepatch. Her gut was informing her quite persistently that something was wrong. ]

Are you injured? I'm coming!

[ Of course, if things were proceeding as badly as she thought they might, she'd need to call the police. But if Alice was injured, she'd need her stay on the line. ]

[kouyouensei]

Yeah! Totally mortally! Get a doctor!

[That voice is the more predictable Haruhi, shouting even louder, distorted through the nineties speaker]

Osaka did it to Alice-san--

[And that's as long as she can handle this informative role. She swivels on her feet: Shimamoto-san, tired; Haruhi could run but would be leaving her behind. Her rotation takes her back to Osaka soon enough; she's unfettered, heavy bag of books left behind at the train station. The hot drink was drained. Her free hands rise into a stupid pose, though one somewhat well-grounded in first day martial arts.]

Osaka, you are my opponent.

[ohmygah]

[Osaka tilts her head to consider Haruhi for a moment. Hmmm... Yeah, she needs to go. If she wasn't there, than Ayumu might've taken charge on her own for once. And she's so eager to fight too! This is all for the best.] Okay! [And she pulls out her Chef's knife and starts advancing on Haruhi.]

[independent_dollmaker]

[Come on, get those vocal cords working, I have to tell her...]

...Nui...

[...tell her what, exactly?

Actually, it doesn't really hurt that bad now, does it?]

...nnnn...

[What was I doing here again?
Hey, I just used her first name, didn't I? And without any honorifics...
Was that too forward of me?

Maybe I should apologize...

Hey, did Minako ever...


Wasn't Minako going to do something?



I'll have to ask her next time I

[kouyouensei]

Keh...

[Haruhi forces a smirk. It's too bad she isn't already bleeding. That way a drop could dramatically run down her forehead. Her heart is racing - Alice is in a bad spot for sure now, isn't she? But Nui is currently safe, and Shimamoto-san is out of Osaka's attention.

That knife makes things a little tougher though. She shouldn't swipe at her hands. Kicking her would push Osaka away, back to Shimamoto-san. Her eyes dart down only once, when she considers tripping her over a tree branch, but it's too dark, and Haruhi knows the woods inadequately well.]

Come on, tell me just a little 'bout why you did it? What you had against Maria-chan. I get Seta-kun. He wasn't even invited to your ritual either. And I guess most of us are on to you now. But Maria-chan? Did she find Seta-kun or something?

[She keeps gazes locked with Osaka, pacing backwards.]

[flatview]

[ Yes, that's the sound of Nui scrambling out of her house, screaming at the top of her lungs for her aunt to call an ambulance. Someone would have to anyway, so like hell she was just going to sit there while Alice and Haruhi were being attacked--by Osaka, apparently. ]

If this is some sort of awful joke, I'm going to kill you three myself!

[ As a foresight, she does nab her parasol and a pair of sewing scissors. It was the best she could manage, re: readily available weapons. Stopping in the kitchen to get a knife would take too long.

So off Nui goes, bolting down the street, past the train tracks, and into the woods as fast as humanly possible, screeching out Alice's and Haruhi's names all the way. ]

[ohmygah]

[Osaka considers Haruhi's question. Well, that's fair, isn't it? They should know what they did wrong. She continues her advancement forward, swinging the knife a bit as she did.] Ayumu needed my help. You're holding her back. How is she supposed to get it together when y'all keep babying her?

[kouyouensei]

Ayumu?

[She sounds it out just like Maria did earlier that night, for the same reason, and persists in a haughtier register working off glimpses of school shoe lockers.]

That's slightly harsh for a grade schooler, Katogawa-san.

[ohmygah]

[She pauses.]

Huh? Who are ya talking about?

[kouyouensei]

Oh.

[She was wrong. She doesn't like that. But this is an opening, and heroines take advantage of those.

Haruhi reaches for the knife with both hands, not caring if she grabs blade instead of handle. She has a backup plan.]

[ohmygah]

[WOW OKAY, SHIT. SHE DOESN'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN. YOU STAY AWAY FROM AYUMU'S BODY. She randomly swings the blade willy-nilly at this, not really caring what happens as long as Haruhi doesn't hurt her.]