USER: #A5211F - Defense Force

[swordfucker]

(COLOR)

Any of you who were able to go to the town meeting organized by Mitsuru will know that we discussed a designated defense force for the town. For those of you who weren't, or for anyone who wants a recap, I'll go over this as briefly as I can.

We know the forest is full of creatures not everyone understands, and that those dangers— or something similar— can leak into the town and cause trouble here, too. Those shadows were a perfect example, just like the speaking furniture. We're not always safe, and while there isn't always a threat that we can deal with physically to overcome it, having a defense force would make a lot of people more comfortable. Having people that are physically capable with someone at the top to organize them would be helpful to everyone, I think, especially those who aren't so combat ready.

So, I'm stepping up as leader. I didn't hear any opposition to that at the meeting itself, but if you want to know more about me, you can ask me whatever you want. Here's what I'm going to ask of all of you.

If you're interested in helping and capable in combat, no matter what methods you may use, then I'm asking you to sign up here. I'll keep a list of everyone, including their abilities and strengths/weaknesses, and organize this in a way that's most efficient. In order to do that, I also need suggestions.

Izuku mentioned patrols near the forest. That's one idea, and I want to hear any others that are out there, but here's the basic rundown:

I'll organize people by their strengths and put them in charge of certain activities or areas. How I do this depends on the number of people that sign up. If enough people sign up, I might assign ranks just enough for people to be able to report to someone even if I'm unable to be contacted or out of reach somehow. Once everyone who has wanted to has signed up, we'll schedule meetings and discuss what to do in case of an emergency, or other situations. Basic things like that are what I'm looking into, and most of it will come after I've heard from all of you, but let me know if you have any questions on any of it.

Before I end this, I have another quick question. What do you think our biggest weakness has been in all of this? What has caused the most harm, and if there was a drug that could aid you in this place, what would it be? A first aid or pain reducer? Strength enhancers? Magic resistance?

That's all. I'll answer any questions at any time as soon as I can.

- Guren Ichinose

(ooc: Gosh this got so long, but okay!! Like discussed at the town hall meeting, here's defense force sign ups and discussion!! This is just another great opportunity for CR and branching out thanks to IC discussion from characters (and thanks, Mitsuru, for bringing it up!), so feel free to suggest any and all things! Also, if your character wants to sign up but you don't want to tag this, just let me know oocly! You can hit me up oocly, too, if you have any questions or concerns with anything. PM me, or my plurk is zeloser!

edit: just a minor edit, but sorry I'm slow! I meant to boomerang after work but I'll have to wake for my weekend mid/late saturday and on. I'll also throw up an ooc post/discussion thing for this at some point!)

Comments

[queenofminiskirts]

[If it really was absorption then that was...amazing. Psychic powers could only be nullified back home, not absorbed. Psychic waves could be stored in raremetal, but that wasn't the same thing as what was happening here.

(Unless the sword was actually made of something like raremetal?)

She wasn't Minamoto who would be excited at the possibility of something new and different, but she was definitely impressed.

She grinned.]

Well, you asked for it.

[And since he had been willing to not question her when she talked about her powers she would trust that he knew what he was asking for in return. So she does push harder, bringing her power past what would be normally safe for a regular person, throwing it towards him.]

[swordfucker]

Heh.

[It makes him grin. He can feel the difference in power, but he doesn't need to change his stance. He does grip his sword firmer, though, keeping his weight in the right place as he swings out with more force this time. Depending on how strong her "above normal" hit is, maybe there's a force like wind on either side of him as Mahiru-no-yo takes the impact, or maybe the ground cracks a little, but Guren seems completely fine.

He's sure the point where he can't just keep staying in one spot is close. A point where Mahiru can't swallow all of it, only most of it.]

Is that all you've got?!

[queenofminiskirts]

Not by a long shot!

[But she drops her hand.] Is what I want to say but I'd need to release my Limiter...and I don't have the remote for that.

[She puts her hands on her waist for a moment, thinking.] I had an exam done earlier [Nothing about where or who conducted said exam.] and my brain activity is normal so it should be safe to take off my Limiter as long as it's not for too long...

[As in, less than 20 minutes. After last time she wasn't exactly jumping to do it, but it would be pointless not to check what happened if she was using her full power when that was the emergency they were testing for.

Besides, her Limiter would just be off not lost this time so it should be...fine.]

[swordfucker]

I don't want you to mess with it if you don't have to.

[He's quick to say that, lowering his sword a bit.] Give me an approximation of how many times more strong your attacks would be at full force compared to that last one.

[queenofminiskirts]

...yeah. That's probably the better idea.

[Since releasing it meant all the failsafes were still there and ready to kick in should anything go wrong. Damn it. She wishes she had Minamoto's phone...or even his glasses or one of his buttons since he hid emergency release remotes all over his person.]

A lot.

[Which wasn't...even her being cheeky. Measuring her powers had always been tricky as in her power had surpassed any equipment's ability to measure it since she was five.]

Enough to hold back two major mudslides at once but not a third one...?

[Which is the closest she can come to defining it. Except when they have to use to the Boost and the Force of Absolution she doesn't often have to tap into her full power even before this. It's not like pure raw power's ever been the thing to help them win in an esper fight or been very useful in most of the situations they found themselves in.

It was always the right amount of power applied to the correct places so her only reference was that one time they had to deal with a literal natural disaster.]

[swordfucker]

[Hmm. Well, his sword can't erase that much, of course. At the very least, with her limiter on, he can handle it completely. Without?]

I might be able to approach you in a situation like that, but I guess it depends. [He just wanted to know how much he'd be able to help in a worse case scenario.] Either way, let me know if anything seems off, and in the meantime, I'll do my best to look into a fix.

What were you saying about an exam, before?

[queenofminiskirts]

[Honestly? She'd rather no one approached her in that situation. But as she already knew one other person who she couldn't stop from trying (which was what worried her).]

Guren-san. [She says this with the eternal patience of a sixteen year old.] I don't want anyone to approach me if something goes wrong. I don't want anyone to be hurt because of me.

[She'd rather die completely alone if that was what it ended up being.]

We used to do regular exams at BABEL in case of any irregularities or injuries. We don't have the equipment here but we have something just as good...I'm not going to tell you more than that. [She was smiling apologetically.] It's not my secret to tell.

[swordfucker]

If you don't want anyone else getting hurt, then you'll understand that sometimes one or a few people have to in order to save the rest.

[He moves closer, resting his blade in his free hand as he does.] That's fine. You don't have to tell me more than that. Just look here.

[He slices a good cut across his palm as he pulls his sword away from it. It bleeds, and it's crazy, but saying "I can heal" isn't as good as showing her just how quickly it happens. A few seconds pass while he reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief, and when he lifts it back up to wipe the blood away, she can see the wound close up.]

[queenofminiskirts]

[She was already reaching out for his hand, ready to shout questions at him like what are you doing? but then...well.

So she comes from a world where the preserved brain of a psychic dolphin can predict and unavoidable apocalypse. Even then: that's some crazy shit, Guren.

She blinks.]

Oh.

[And really, that's all she has to say. She'll get back to the rest of it in a moment.]

[swordfucker]

[Yeah! He's reattached arms, been stabbed through the heart... He could list these off, but the truth is that it's all very unreliable and depends on his demon's strength. He doesn't want to go into the detail. He just wants it to look like he can handle it.

He sheathes his sword and wipes the rest of the blood away. It's like there was never a cut at all.]

I'll be fine, alright?

[queenofminiskirts]

...if you say so. [She doesn't look entirely convinced. (And she'll be even less convinced when Shiho tells her he's testing the drugs on himself what the heck Guren, love yourself more).]

I'm just not sure there's much you can do by coming close. [Wait. She feels like there's something she's forgotten...

The memories from when she was running that fever were pretty sketchy but...]

I think...when I had the fever last time, my powers had calmed down when I sensed Minamoto nearby. [And she may have decided that was just a dream except Minamoto really had been there when she opened her eyes.] I was pretty out of it at the time, but I'm sure that 's what happened.

[swordfucker]

Who's Minamoto?

[That's the most important question, before he asks anything else.]

[queenofminiskirts]

[There were a lot of things she tended to tell people about Minamoto. He's their supervisor, their live-in nanny, their house-husband, the man who carried a $10 billion debt because of the jet he destroyed while trying to save them that one time.

But now didn't feel like the time for those sorts of jokes.]

I met Minamoto when I was ten and hated the world. He's a kind person who took our hands and told us that even if we weren't always good kids, even if we had the power of monsters that we would never be sent away, that we could stay. He's the one who told us that our powers can be something that brings people happiness.

[Minamoto was the single, greatest force of good in her life and she wouldn't be here now, as she was without him. She looked down at her Limiter and, without meaning too, she smiled.] Even now...I am being protected by his kindness and his efforts.

[swordfucker]

So he's family.

[Guren seems to understand all at once, offering that word.] That's what all of us here are aiming to be, too. It sounds like your connection with him is what calmed you down, so keep making friends and relying on them.

[queenofminiskirts]

...yeah. I guess that's one way to put it.

[It both was and wasn't how she wanted to think about it. Because Minamoto, Shiho and Aoi? They were the greatest constants in her life. They were the people she had lived with for the past six years and they did love each other like a family. But it was also weird to define their relationship in that way because she was in love with Minamoto and it felt like he'd never see her as someone he could see as a romanceable option if he saw her as a little sister or something like that...

Well, whatever. She wasn't going to talk about all that with Guren...or anyone, actually.]

I've made a lot of friends here but apart from Shiho I'm not sure there's anyone else I feel that...strongly...about... [She's trailing off and looking away because. You know, she's suddenly remembering back to that whole shadow debacle and uh. Did that mean--]

...that was just a coincidence, right...? [Was muttered mostly to herself. Because it probably was just that. After all, Kirishima was her friend but...it wasn't the same.]

[swordfucker]

Hey. [Guren squints a little, hands on his hips as he leans in, trying to inspect her face.]

What's with that dreamy look? I'm right here, so stop fantasizing. Bonds form fast in a situation like this, so don't be so surprised, either.

[queenofminiskirts]

[Well that shakes her out of her thoughts.

She reaches out and shoves her hand against his face.]

I wasn't fantasizing! [She honestly wasn't. If she were she would have gone kyaa by now because her fantasies tended feature the sort of dialogue found in porn.]

I know they form fast. Especially because we're all homesick and lost, right?

[And in the end, if it wasn't a coincidence then it was because she was worried about her friend, right? That was all.]

[swordfucker]

Then quit spacing out.

[He's pushed back and stands because of it, rolling his eyes a little.] Yeah. So you've got someone important to you. Don't try to tell me otherwise. Focus on that, and focus on anyone close, too.

If you've got a crush, go act on it. It'll only help.

[queenofminiskirts]

I was thinking.

[Isn't that the same thing, Kaoru...?]

And it's not a crush! [She would have ordinarily laughed something like that off, she knows. So she isn't entirely sure why she's blushing instead.] Ei-chan is a very important friend. But our relationship isn't like that.

[swordfucker]

I didn't even say anyone, but you came up with someone already?

[Sounds like a crush]

[queenofminiskirts]

[Guren, you suck.]

I-I was just thinking about him before that and then you said-- [Okay. That sounds even more suspicious.] Anyway...I don't have a crush on anyone here and I don't have to explain myself to you!

Stop concerning yourself with the love life of highschool girls, Guren-san or people will start thinking you're some kind of pervert!

[swordfucker]

That's the last thing I wanna hear about, but you were the one drooling and thinking about it.

[GUREN] Anyway, I think that all covers it. Or did you have anything else to say?

[queenofminiskirts]

I was not drooling! [Apologize to her maiden heart!

But yeah, she has nothing really to add except:] You're the worst!