W2 🛸 PLAYER CYOA: BUP SQUAD (TEEJ) 🚀 BAIKEN, ICHIBAN, THRONÉ

[dropoffs]

Comments

[frotag]

[ the last time ichiban was on a bus, it was a lot brighter and way less ominous. he was also properly seated, not spread-eagle on the floor. as he comes to, his companions will also note he's gotten a fit change, just. with a longer "skirt" to make it look more like a hakama. let him live his samurai dreams? ]

Huh? Necchan, Baiken-san? Where are we?

[ unlike the two of them, he's not particularly concerned or apprehensive; legit, he's more confused and disoriented than anything else. ]

[naeddre]

[a long pause...]

I don't know. [she says, finally, which is an answer to both of them i suppose. she's still holding onto her knife, but she stashes the pocketwatch for now unless teej tells me it explodes or smth.] This isn't the ship.

[duh]

[kabari]

It's a bus.

[ said flatly, like. come on. surely you two know this??? but really, that's the only information any of them have, so she can't explain further. ]

Goin' somewhere, by the looks of it.

[ unless the bus is completely still and we have a driver for no apparent reason but even so, they are somewhere new, so it doesn't render her point moot. ]

[frotag]

Cool, love that for us...

[ bluh!! he stretches after he gets to his feet, then scans their immediate surroundings. sure is a bup... he's not afraid to ask for help, though, which is why he calls over to the two mystery figures at the front of the bus, who have yet to acknowledge any of them. ]

Excuse me! Can you tell us where we are or where we're going?

[verminous]

[The watch doesn't explode, luckily for Throné! Their bus is still rumbling along, though when Ichiban calls out, the male figure turns back to them.

"Where we are isn't important. As for your destination... we'll be approaching the Backstreets of District 4."

Through the windows, they can see the trees beginning to thin out.

"Verg," the driver says. "Blockage ahead. Permission to vroom-vroom?"

After a moment, the man nods. "Proceed."

"Okay. Here come bumpity-bumps."

Hopefully they're all holding on to something or otherwise good at balancing, because the bus jolts as it rumbles over something. Multiple somethings.

Red liquid and unidentifiable clumps coat the windshield; the driver squirts washer fluid over it, and it smears, then quickly clears away, dissolving the liquid and clumps both. Neither the driver or the man react to this.]

[naeddre]

[a

throné is pretty good at balance, but she's not expecting whatever this is because she has never been on a bus before, ever. so she doesn't have any idea what vroom-vroom means, and only gets the idea that here's going to be Turbulence when she hears the bumpity-bumps.

she only just barely catches herself on the seats.]

... Did they just hit something?

[kabari]

[ baiken, meanwhile, gets jostled enough to fall awkwardly into one of the seats. hm. not sure she likes this. the cutesy language, the... splatter... are all pretty suspect, but what are any of them going to do about it? ]

...More'n likely.

[frotag]

[ ichiban, inwardly: wow it's like i'm back in america

he's able to stay standing, throwing his arm out to grab a pole and stabilize himself. but uh, hewwo? ]

Excuse my language, but what the fuckity-fuck?

[verminous]

["Roadblocks," the driver says dismissively.

The man with her ('Verg', apparently) ignores the question. "You'll be told about the mission when we arrive. For now... you wait."]

[naeddre]

[but she doesn't LIKE waiting.

... she will, though. and she does laugh a little at fuckity-fuck, she can't help it.

she sits down, but she hasn't put her knife away yet. the second they come to a stop she's gonna bolt.]

[kabari]

[ fuckity-fuck indeed.

this is annoying, but threatening to beat information out of 'verg' is not going to get them to arrive any faster, though it is tempting nonetheless. she adjusts in her seat with a huff.

guess all they can do is wait. ]

[frotag]

...ooookay then.

[ he's. gonna go sit across from the girls... ]

Nothing creepy about this or anything.

[verminous]

[He ignores the commentary.

...however, I am of course not going to make you guys sit on a bus for however long. Eventually, it slows to a stop! When it does... the doors do not open, and Verg frowns, turning to the driver.

"No fuel," she says, with a little shake of her head. "Mephi is hungry."

He sighs, nods, and turns his attention back to them. "All right. I guess you get a warm-up on the way."

With a little signal to the driver, she flashes the bus's lights to attract attention-- and soon enough, they'll see figures emerging from their surroundings, on all sides. They hold makeshift, rough-looking weapons, evidently seeing a disabled vehicle as easy enough prey.

"Deal with them," he says, tiredly. "You'll want them alive, but just barely."]

[naeddre]

[she... sees. she raises her eyebrow, looking at verg. and then at the others...

she does not get up?]

Excuse me? [like she didn't sign up to be here what are you going to do, shoot her]

[kabari]

Do it yourself.

[ unfortunately baiken isn't entirely unfamiliar with a situation like this, but being ordered to take care of things on someone else's behalf pisses her off. this is their bus, surely they can do whatever stupid bullshit on their own? though make no mistake, she is keeping her eye on whatever is going on outside. ]

[frotag]

And what if we don't?

[ because while ichiban does actually have something resembling respect for authority, things get iffy when it involves hurting other people. granted, they do look a little sketchy, but it's not like they've attacked them or anything just yet, so... he's willing to give benefit of the doubt. for now. ]

[verminous]

["If you don't," he says flatly, "you won't be going anywhere else. You'll be disarmed, put off the bus and swarmed here in the Backstreets. Maybe you'll die right now, and maybe you won't... but if you're still alive by the time the Night comes, then you're as good as dead. Nobody in this City survives a night outside in the Backstreets-- and you'll find no one to let you in."

He levels a look at them, red eyes a little brighter.

"You're traveling under our Company. Dissolve that tie, and you have no support here-- and no way to find the Bough we're retrieving. The thing that will get you what you need, in case you've already forgotten... this is the only verbal reminder you're going to get."]

[naeddre]

[the company...

for as much as she wants to further resist - she doesn't. you won't go anywhere else, you'll die. and she can't, she won't. she doesn't want to hurt anybody, she doesn't want to fight, and she doesn't want to be here. but she made a promise.

so - she takes a deep breath, and stands up. if there's a sword at the back of the bus, she'll take that as backup. and then she just sweeps off the bus, careful and silent. she isn't a frontline fighter, but she figures she can figure it out as she goes, if the other two join her. she's good at improvising.]

[kabari]

Heard it all before.

[ that's a lie - it's never been quite like this. sure, there's been run down towns and fighting for survival and clawing her way through hell just to make it to another shitty destination. but not like this. not under the instruction of some mysterious individuals, whomst baiken is convinced have some sort of ulterior motive.

throné is already off the bus, and she begrudgingly follows. she does not sneak nor otherwise try to conceal her movements as she exits. she picked up the katana before, and that's all she needs. there's no uncertainty when she draws it, only practiced discipline from doing it so many times before. ]

[frotag]

...tch, fine.

[ ichiban isn't any happier about their handlers' instructions, but... yeah, what other option do they have? they need to survive. they need to live.

while the girls have their swords, ichiban also has one, but he specifically does not unsheathe it. for one, their directive is not to kill; for two... well, he's just more comfortable with blunt weapons than blades. he'll take the charge, purposely drawing attention to take eyes off his companions. tank time! ]

Over here, assholes!

[verminous]

[They exit the bus, and are faced with a small crowd of... what appear to be pretty standard thugs. Armed, but not highly organized-- opportunistic more than anything. There's a glint in their eyes as they look the bus over.

One of the group had been yelling while they exited-- "You've got 30 seconds to turn that thing over! 30! 9! 8!-"

"You skipped 20 seconds, dumbass!"

"Fine, then they've only got--"

His eyes land on Ichiban with his interruption, and he grins.

"Don't need a countdown after all!"

Targets acquired. They move on the three of them-- a group already in front of them, a group to their left (from in front of the bus) and a group to their right (from behind the bus).

The group in front of them has an [8] on Ichiban, however, so like. Good luck to those guys trying to attack. The left group moves in as a couple guys with studded bats try to sneak a hit on Ichiban from the side; meanwhile the right group [5] can be heard off to the edge of the crowd complaining that the others won't make room for them to join in. That group won't be a problem until either the fight spreads out a bit or you guys clear the space.]

[naeddre]

[okay, okay. ichiban comes forward to tank, grab all the attention - so throné moves to the left, to try and take out the guys attempting a sneak attack. she brings her knife up and in, and she's not going for fatal attacks, but she is using a knife at close range, so. stabbing is really the only option she's got here.

she will try to take out these guys by incapacitating them - slicing tendons, gut stabs, the works.]

[kabari]

Are you stupid?! [ directed at ichiban, although with a different tone of voice it could be directed at the thugs. throné is going for the stealth maneuver, so baiken stays focused on the primary group, even with their lousy 8. she'll leave some for ichiban since he so desperately wants to be the center of attention, but she's quick to sidestep and cut a thug along his side. it isn't deep enough to kill, because i also rolled a lousy 8, but blood loss should make him more manageable. ]

[frotag]

I'm getting the job done!

[ to be fair, it does seem like his tactic worked for throné to try and get the jump on her group. one of the guys with bats manages to nail ichiban in the shoulder, but he shrugs it off and swings his borrowed katana to try and sweep the offenders. if it hurt, he doesn't express it outwardly, focusing only on the task at hand. ]

[verminous]

["Yeah, are you st-- oof-"

That is the sound of Ichiban sweeping a guy mid-taunt, thanks Ichiban. He catches that hit in the shoulder, which encourages the group to begin pressing in... but his followup leaves them hesitant, which keeps them open to Throné and Baiken. Especially to Throné; Baiken and Ichiban's voices keep the thugs' attention largely focused there.

The thugs also aren't very strong, so getting a good enough hit on one is pretty much enough to take them out-- a heavy enough sweep can probably get two of them, so they're already beginning to collect a small pile of these guys at their feet. Some of the others begin to back off, a little warier of charging right in; one or two more desperate individuals encourage them forward, though. What have they got to lose? If they can get something, anything out of this...

It doesn't work on the right group, who haven't even made it into the fight and yet see that it isn't going the thugs' way. The [1] means they decide to live to fight another day, and make their escape while the other two groups are still engaged, leaving them behind to die. The left group that Throné has started stealth attacking has a [9] so they do not notice her, rip to them, while Ichiban and Baiken probably have an easy time fending off the shaken primary group [5].]