Jaydor

Hisako

Perhaps not expecting you to have suddenly grabbed him, you take hold of one of Aleister's tails without issue. If foxes could make human faces, he'd probably be looking at you with an uneasy expression as he hangs upside-down.

"Umm.. I guess I can track down youma, but you know, it'd probably be a helpful learning experience if you did it on your own this time.. is something that probably wouldn't convince you, huh? I-I'll do it, so please let me down!"

Sen

To your surprise, the one in the kitchen is not your mother, but actually your older sister: Sato Ayako. It's not really clear why she'd be here, but it looks like she's making lunch? Either way, she doesn't seem to have noticed you.

Joan

Your father makes a bitter smile.

"..Well, I was just here to collect a few things, and then I'll be on my way. If you get hungry, dinner is in the refrigerator.. or if you don't want that, there's money to order takeout."

He gets up and heads for the stairs.

Aika

"Mmm.. Onee-chan is home now, so Mai will forgive you."

Mai's beaming smile is blinding.

[No, I'm not saying it was already decided

I wouldn't ask you guys if there was already an agreement

This is the easiest way to actually talk about the matter, instead of just polling everyone over Steam, in the case that someone had any issues

Which there seem to be]

[Anyways, there was never any real establishment or formal consensus on the matter, which is why I'm bringing it up. You know, for people to voice concerns and issues with, and that we can all hopefully work out in some manner.

Really, now that there's already a private forum with a built-in dice roller that we're using for Country and Dissension, I just figured it'd be a good move to.. well, move. The GM doing all the rolls is incredibly inefficient, since it forces me to either make assumptions on what you guys may or may not want to do prior to or after a given roll, or stop the game to ask about what you want to do before whatever arbitrary action takes place. It also means I have to do lots of things in one go.

Also, rather importantly, I'd suspect that it's.. you know, less fun for players since lack of self-rolling removes player agency and also hinders being able to describe certain actions for their PCs. Plus there's stuff like being able to have multiple threads and a better text editor and whatnot.

The only big issue I can see is that (and I assume this is the case for Country too, since I don't really remember) Corv made everyone put their character sheets and current stats in their sigs.]

[No YOU'RE dumb]

[Well Corv was already accounted for when I asked that, so when I said everyone, I really meant everyone besides Corv.]

[Maybe you guys should just ram my door down and force me to update faster one of these days.

Also, just to make sure, everyone's okay with switching over to Mythweavers after this episode, right?]

Joan

"You're welcome."

Your father clasps his hands.

"I know you're always carrying a lot of weight on your shoulders, Joan. I'm not around as much I'd like to be, but if you ever need someone to lean on, I'll be there."

Tami, Hisako

Alphard and Aleister pop up again once the three of you have left the restaurant.

"Hmm.. I think I'm kind of jealous. Tami-chan, Hisako-chan, and Eiko-chan get to have nice food all the time, but it's hard when you're a tsukaima like me. I mean.. even a cool sorceror like me gets hungry sometimes, you know?" Aleister pouts.

"You say that like you have to eat either way," Alphard remarks. "Are you all going hunting now?"

Eiko gives an energetic thumbs up.

"Yep! Oh, but.. hey, Fujiwaka-san, Princess K. How about you guys try looking for our target this time? It'll be good practice for magical girls in training.. and one of you looks eager anyways," she adds with a grin.

Aika

"What can I say? You all must be rubbing off on me," Nekomoto banters back.

The two of you head home, Nekomoto becoming noticeably silent once you approach the door. Stepping inside, you're greeted by-

"Welcome back, onee-chan! Oh, but you're late! Mai was all alone by herself when she got home from school."

Mai has changed out of her uniform and seated herself on the couch while you were out.

Aika

"Any time," the man replies.

You pay him for the session and make your leave from the salon. As you're off on your way, you hear Nekomoto's familiar voice again.

"Finished already? I didn't think you were the type of young lady to get her hair done."

Joan

You're not very good at hiding your face, unfortunately.

"Here."

Your father takes out a packet of pocket tissues and offers you one.

Tami, Hisako

Eiko grins at Hisako's enthusiasm.

"That's just what I wanted to hear. Then, how about we get searching already?"

Eiko heads towards the exit, motioning for the two of you to come along.

Yukari

Sure enough, you can find the specific crime mentioned here and there. There's only vague descriptions of the injuries inflicted on the victims though, so the news might not actually have that much information.

[Hisapon has the initiative so I'm not doing anything with her and Tami for this one]

Joan

"You've been trying to deal with things in your own way. I know you preferred how we lived in America before."

Aika

It's about an hour before the bleach is washed out. Your tips have been left as a dark shade of blonde.

"That's about the limit, it looks like. For best results, you should wait another two weeks before coming back for the next session," the stylist says.

Tami, Hisapon

"Alright, let's get goi- Huh? Wait, Princess K, w-where are you going!?"

Eiko returns to the table just in time to see Hisako getting up to leave.

Joan

The silence continues for a bit longer. Maybe rather than not knowing what to say, what can either of you say about the topic?

Your father sighs.

"You know, you've been working really hard, haven't you?" he says, deciding to change the subject.

Aika

The stylist gets you seated and begins preparing a mixture. After a moment, you can feel your ends being massaged in oil, with the mixture being applied some time afterwards.

[Wow hey, it's been weeks since the last update

How hilarious, r-right guys

Halcyon kept slipping my mind while I was dealing with other things, really sorry

I mean people aren't even posting smug images anymore so that's definitely not a good sign]

Tami, Hisako

"I guess it can't be helped, then."

With a resigned smile on her face, Eiko stands up from her seat and heads over to the counter, leaving the two of you alone for the moment.

Joan

Your father doesn't seem to have an answer for that response.

The two of you sit in awkward silence.

Sen

[I know you wrote that it's getting dark, but unfortunately I'm countermanding that description in the hopes of keeping a somewhat consistent timeframe with the other PCs]

It's a bit past the time when people should be getting out of school once you arrive. Try as you might, the lock makes a tangible click as you turn the key. You quietly creep into the house nonetheless.

As you stand in the doorway, you pick up noise of activity coming from.. the kitchen?

Aika

The stylist sighs.

"I suppose we'll just have to use a strong bleach," he relents, motioning you into the chair.

[Wow you actually are alive]

Aika

He shrugs.

"Well, that's just how it is. Getting your hair up to white means going through all the colors up to blonde, and then taking out the blonde until you're left with white. For light hair, it's pretty simple as long as your strands are healthy, but going from black to white is a process."

Aika

"You're sure? It'd be pretty bad if I used a strong bleach and your ends just melted."

He laughs about it, but you get the feeling he's being serious. The stylist then gently takes a lock of your hair between his index and thumb.

"Hmm, I think it'll work out, but dark hair like yours.. it could take more than one session to really get your tips up to white. You could be left with red or orange for a while as it lightens, is that okay with you?"

Joan

With an awkward expression, your father slowly walks over and takes a seat on the couch by you.

"Well.. How are you?" he asks softly.

Tami, Hisako

"Well.. Princess K-chan's lunch is on me, but now that you mention it, I'd seem like a real sempai if I paid for Fujiwaka-san's too, wouldn't I?"

Eiko chuckles.

Yukari

"I mean, you know. It's just that they found a bunch of guys by the river. The news didn't really give any details, but it's probably not like there's a killer going around."

As Takeshi explains, you remember that this is the same case that the detective from earlier was asking you and Joan about. Come to think of it, he even gave you his card.

Aika

"Platinum, huh?"

The man makes a difficult expression.

"Is your hair chemically treated at all?" he quickly asks.

Joan

Just as you finish that thought, you hear the sound of the front door opening. You can clearly hear the solid sound of footsteps on the wooden flooring.

"..Ah, Joan."

Your father appears in the opening between the living room and the hallway. Just as the note your mother left this morning suggested, he isn't dressed for work, just in a simple dress shirt and trousers.

Aika

"Most of what you'd probably name, I bet. Actually, give me a second."

He opens a drawer and hands you a binder. The pages inside contain pictures of various colors from dyes and bleaches.

"This is probably faster than listing them off," the man says.

Joan

A blindingly radiant arrow punches a hole straight through the enemy's mecha, tracing a glowing line through the air before it finally impacts with the floating ship in the distance.

The ensuing explosion that almost resembles a flower blooming marks the immediate collapse of the shield enclosing the Earth, and within moments, the familiar blue color begins to return to the sky.

Yukari

"Eh? That wasn't what you were talking about? Never mind then, forget I said anything."

Takeshi begins to put away his tools as he says that, apparently having finished his job on the scooter.

Tami, Hisako

"Yeah, should be. Oh, excuse me! Check please!"

Egusa-san takes out her wallet while calling a waitress over.

Tami, Hisako

Egusa-san laughs with a troubled expression.

"What's this, did you want permission from me first? Well, I won't stop you if you want to come up with a cool name. That sort of thing might help for some people. Kind of like war paint, probably?"

Aika

You step inside and are told to wait a moment after making your request. There's a brief exchange when the clerk calls out deeper into the salon.

"Chief, we have another one."

"Mm, it looks like all my subordinates are already occupied at the moment, so I guess I'll take care of this one myself."

"Chief, please don't refer to the other workers as your 'subordinates'. We'll all force you down and shave off your goatee if you persist."

"P-please don't! I meant that in an endearing way!!"

In any case, you're motioned over to a chair by a bespectacled man with blond swept-back hair and a goatee.

Yukari

"Huh? Are you talking about those boys by the river? I don't think there's anything weird about that one, probably just a bunch of reckless delinquents."

[Oh, and crap

I forgot to update for Yukari

I'll do that tomorrow, sorry]

Aika

"Right, right. If you're so worried about that, start putting some half-empty plastic water bottles outside your apartment."

You arrive at a salon in the shopping district. Glancing inside from the window, it seems to be decently busy, but not packed.

Joan

"There's no helping this planet without the barrier! You'd throw away humanity's salvation for a reckless dream like that!?"

The enemy mecha opens fire with an overwhelming salvo of energy beams. Even with ace piloting skills, the barrage is too much for the protagonist's Atalanta to entirely evade, and several direct hits burn away at her armor. Even so, she pushes forward at max speed!

"Of course I would! There's no hope in being saved your way. Everyone is working so hard to press on into a new frontier.. it's dark, it's strange, and even a little scary, but I can see that it's still beautiful! For the sake of everyone's dreams, I'll never stop protecting our sky!!"

"Daaaaaaaaamn iiiiiiiit!"

"Golden Apple.. Breaker!!"

Tami, Hisako

"Heeeh? I see. So you like those kinds of dresses, then?"

It's subtle, but a bit of genuine curiosity creeps into Eiko's tone. It might be that she's happy to connect with one of her juniors for once.

Aika

"Don't back talk like that. As an upstanding neighborhood cat, I'm way above the games you middle schoolers play."

He quickly fades back into invisibility as the two of you go off on your stroll, so while you can still catch his remarks, he's basically out of sight for you.

Joan

Unfortunately, the quickly moving state of the anime industry has long displaced the kind of mecha show that you're looking for. The spirit of super robots is as omnipresent as always, however, and a quick check reveals that the next best series currently airing is a title called Constellation Express Calydon. It's a passionate work where the mecha-piloting heroines are caught in a struggle over the enigmatic and titular space elevator Calydon.

"What's going on? Her Argo-Index is still rising!?"

"Not yet.. I won't let this end just yet. I can still see the future that's waiting for us, a place along the stars that everyone is working towards! If you really want to block out our sky, then I'll smash that barrier of yours no matter what!!"

You can really feel the indomitable spirit in the main heroine's performance.

Hisako

You vaguely recall what it was telling you.

Basically, this is a time of hesitance, ambiguity, and mystery. You will face hardship as you try to find your path, and both aid and trickery from others may come your way, but it's also an opportunity to rebuild yourself and start anew. In the very end, victory is assured as long as you remain vigilant.

Tami, Hisako

Egusa-san holds up her palms as if to reassure Tami.

"Well, you know. I'm sure things'll be alright. Right, if we're done here, how about we go looking for a youma to fight then? You two need experience, right?"

She turns her gaze over to Hisako, who she isn't certain is really listening.

"..Kazuaki-san, hello, hello? ..Umm, Princess K? Oh right, I was actually wondering, what does the 'K' mean anyways?"

Egusa-san is probably asking simply to get Hisako's attention at this point.

Aika

"Going out? I thought you were going to wait for your precious sister to return home."

Nekomoto's voice follows you out the door as you begin to make your way to the shopping district.

Hisako

You find the last fortune near the middle of the book. This one was given a few weeks ago, so it's likely that you simply forgot to write down any others given afterwards.

It reads "Hermit, Judgement, Hierophant, Death, Moon, Chariot. Time of introspection, new beginnings, deep change, self-doubt and uncertainty. Seek out advisor, but beware of deceit. Success will come with hard work."

Tami

She continues looking at her textbook, so it doesn't seem like Kazuaki-san is any interested in answering your question.

[Joan can stay cause she's just a fake delinquent]

[No she doesn't

This is a no delinquent zone]

[Crunchyroll provides next to no services in grorious nippon

I actually doubt one could use any real english streaming sites for chinese cartoons over there]