Gestalt [IC/Started/Accepting (See for more info)]

[Kyng's Old Account]

Hyde's reaction to Amai...well, flipping out on Katz was simply him falling to the floor and laughing like a madman, eyes watering at the hilarious irony of the situation, barely able to speak over his chuckles as if he'd completely forgotten Shiro downright calling him an idiot. Eventually he managed to piece himself together, fight away the little bits of giggles in his stomach, and turn to Shiro as he took a very deep breath, before opening his lips only to have another chuckle roll on out, a finger lifted in a "Just a moment" manner, pointing to the sky as he had to let the giggles out of his system, Shiro in this time stating that "It's normal for one to assume such: you've nothing to stress about, my protection is guaranteed. Ironically, it's the safety of the safety officer whom I'm concerned about." in regard to Amai's little outburst.

Now then, after Hyde defeated the dreaded giggles in his belly, and another deep breath, he had to ask what was on his mind. "So...that night, last night even, you used magic to kill those clowns?" to which Shiro, chuckling, shook his head in response. "Another natural assumption: the technique I used last night was solely performed to banish demonic presences with the vicinity I was occupying: in layman's terms, they're not clowns, they're demons." Clearing his throat, he turned his attention to Amai as he said "You're on a roll: Cirque de'Scuridad, take away the "Cirque de'" and you're left with -scuridad; is there a word one can draw from this suffix?"

Assuming Amai had hit it on the nail, Shiro went on to say "That's right: oscuridad, Spanish translation for darkness; a very simple guise for them. However, if you think for a second they're going to let up now, you'd best reconsider: their leader isn't going to go without retribution in response to the execution of two prominent members to his band." before sighing. He'd realized they were in a tricky situation, but how tricky? Very much so: the Clowns of the Circus weren't a force to idly stroll through, and what was worse was the fact they'd began to unleash their revenant: the crucifix wasn't going to hold back the being for too long. Attention upon both Yoshiko and Katz, he asked "Either of you, did you see strange red lighting at the pier?" to which Hyde, cocking a brow, asked "Red lighting? What do you mean by that Shiro?"

The brown haired individual then scratched his head as he stated "I don't remember any red lighting, but then again I was forced out the back entrance." to which Shiro nodded in understanding of Hyde's statement. In response to either Katz and/or Yoshiko's reply to his question, he went on to say "Demons are one thing, but often they'll have on their side a very powerful mesh of evil energy, brought about through any and all negative thoughts: they're Goliath-like monsters called Revenants, and they come about through a red seal called "La Puerta Roja"."

Hyde shook his head as he asked "Wait...what? Are you saying we're going to be hit by one of these Revenants? What're we supposed to do about it!?!" as his eyes, once raged, became jagged with concern, gazing straight at Shiro, to which he smirked calmly, as if everything had fallen into piece. "Huh!? Are you saying we're going to lose to this Revenant and Demon Clowns!?" Hyde berserked, balling a fist by his side, shaking with anger. Shiro, disregarding this entirely, simply stated "What we're going to do is fight it: what all of you are unaware of is you're a selective group of rare, and exalted individuals blessed with magic in your blood. However, right now isn't the time to explain, Lord Gringham will inform you all of your blood's history; for now, shall we try and continue our day at school?"

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

His focus was taken away from Shiro, whom appeared to be in great danger, by Amai whom was now screaming in his ear. A large sweat drop trolled down the side of his face. After she had finally finished he bowed and repeatedly said, "I'm sorry," over and over until finally saying, "What I did was wrong and I'm deeply apologetic. I hope to be able to pay you back ten fold so that maybe you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me which is quite frankly not something I deserve from you. I made ridiculous assumptions that were only incredibly offensive and acted upong them in a way that could have caused serious harm to your well being." He continued to say "please forgive me" until Hyde himself had finished his laughter which meant he was apologizing for quite a while.

It was then that Hyde had moved back to the original topic...which left Katz heavily confused. And that was just the first sentence. Shiro's reply didn't help. Katz returned to normal posture and thought to himself. "[i]Magic to kill...clowns...? Wait...clown...demons? What are they talking about?[/i]" Shiro then asked Amai something that she assumedly got right on the mark. He then whispered to Yoshiko, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be the smart one? Why is Amai getting all the answers? Oh, I got it. You know them yet you're just not saying them and letting Amai have her moment. That's nice of you."

Shiro had then turned to Yoshiko and him. He proceeded to question them about that light that appeared last nght at the carnival. "Yeah, I saw that li-HOLY CRAP! SHIRO, GRAB ONTO SOMETHING QUICK!" His obvious worry was ignored by the continuation of the odd conversation which the confusion from only caused him to forget about the fact that Shiro was floating in mid air...again. The continuation of the confusing topic only led him to forget about the David Copperfield-like spectacle...AGAIN.

After hearing the rest of everything Katz had come to one conclusion. "So...is this some kind of game you guys are talking about? And you guys are inviting me to join? I'd be happy to join you guys but I'm afraid I must return to my duties as the leader of the disciplinary committee." He was about to turn around ands walk away but stop. "HOLY CRAP! SHIRO IS FLOATING IN MIDAIR!"

[Lunar Origins]

The white haired woman stepped out of the shower, her hair still a little bit soapy from the shower. She shivered as the cold hair hit her skin and grabbed her towel off of the wrack. She dried herself off, threw the towel along with her dirty clothing into the hamper, and wrapped herself up in her favorite blue robe. She let out a long yawn. Even though it was only 4:15, her jet-lag made her drowsy. “Just have to tough it out,” she thought. “I'll get used to it.”

She made her way into the living room and flipped on the television to check if any good movies were on. While she let the commercials run their course, she went to the cupboard to find if her father had stocked the place with popcorn, which happened to be her favorite snack. None whatsoever. She sighed and made her way back to the television, flipping it off. She dressed herself in her usual attire; a pair of jeans, a dress shirt, and a tie.

~

Hikari made her way back from the convenience store holding more than just a package of popcorn; various toiletries jingled and jangled inside the bag as well. The air was crisp and cool, much more so than what is was like when she had arrived by plane a few days before. She passed by many familiar faces on her way home, saying greetings to old friends and idly chatting with the random passerby. She wasn't in a hurry.

What caught her eye, however, was a lone man dealing with two oddly dressed men. Both were wearing jester's attire, and the man they were harassing was quite the looker. They seemed to be arguing.

"None of my business," Thought Hikari.

[Hotaru987]

Yoshiko was just as confused at Katz. Nothing of what Shiro was saying to Hyde and Amai made any sense with talk of killing clowns with magic, Yoshiko thought she was just in some weird dream of hers. Even so the other two seemed to be well aware of what he was talking about which made all of this seem even more surreal. Katz then whispered to her that if she was the smart one how come Amai was the one answering the questions. Yoshiko was about to answer, but Katz didn't give her the chance believing she was letting Amai have this moment to shine. [i]'Um, not really. He didn't ask me the question so I didn't answer. Besides the question wasn't anything but common sense. Anyone could answer it.' [/i]She thought with a small sigh.

Shiro turned to them asking if they saw a red light that night. Katz answered, and Yoshiko just nodded her agreement. [i]'Nothing he is saying is making any sense.'[/i] She thought listening to Shiro, who ended the speech by saying that Lord Gringham would explain their blood's history and to continue with classes like normal. [i]'Oh, man! Is lunch over? I've never been late to class before!' [/i]Yoshiko thought alarmed quickly leaving the roof, though not before passing the others one last look, mainly Katz who shouted about Shiro leaning on air for about the third time.

[Elƒie]

As soon as Amai finished yelling at Katz and he began to apologize to her, her phone began to chime off. It was her brother. Flipping her phone open and bringing it to her ear, she instantly pulled it away as her brother started yelling loud enough to where everyone could hear if they were quiet enough. [color=#8b4513]"Dafuqjusthappen?! Whyyouyelling?! WhodoIhavetokill? DoIhavetogetupthererightnow?!-"[/color] [color=#008080]"-Brother-"[/color] [color=#8b4513]"Iswear, ifIgetupthereandyou'rehurt, I'makillthebastardwhodidit-"[/color] [color=#008080]"-Brother-"[/color] [color=#8b4513]"Seriously, thatboywon'tbetheonlyoneleaningoverthewroof'sedgeifsome-"[/color] [color=#008080]"-BROTHER!-"[/color] [color=#8b4513]"-What?"[/color] [color=#008080]"It's all good. Calm down. Breath. And put a space between your words. I barely understood what you said."[/color] Hearing him take deep breaths, she brought her phone back to her ear. [color=#008080]". . . Yes, I'm fine. . . No, don't come up here. . . But-. . . Fine, but keep quiet and save all questions until the end of whatever this is. K?"[/color] After a moment, she pulled her phone from her ear and put it on speaker just before Shiro ashed her question about the word -scuridad. [color=#008080]"Scuridad? Lemme think.. I could swear that I read a word like that in a book recently.."[/color] Pausing for a moment, she reviewed what books she read within the past week or so. [color=#008080]"Isn't that a Spanish word for something? Oh! I remember (kinda).. It's Spanish for either darkness or night.."[/color]

After giving her answer, Shiro went on explaining about the word and then some. ". . .[background=rgb(251, 253, 254)][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#5a5a5a"][size=3]retribution in response to the execution of two prominent members to his band." [/size][/color][/font][color=#8b4513][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][size=3]"SO IT WAS A MURD-"[/size][/font][/color][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#5a5a5a"][size=3] [/size][/color][/font][color=#008080][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][size=3]"BROTHER! Remember our agreement.."[/size][/font][/color][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#5a5a5a"][size=3] [/size][/color][/font][color=#8b4513][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][size=3]"...Fine! Hmph.."[/size][/font][/color][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#5a5a5a"][size=3] Shiro went on with the rest of his explanation, Amai saying ditto to Hyde's answer to Shiro's question about the red lighting. At the end, Amai and Karai were silent, thinking things over. After a few moments, Karai spoke up, [/size][/color][/font][color=#8b4513][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][size=3]"Listen, Shiro, is it? I don't understand exactly what's going on, but Amai will explain later. As for the whole meeting Lord Gringham, I WILL be there for that, whether you like it or not. Amai, try to enjoy the rest of your school day. I'll be back before the bell rings."[/size][/font][/color][font="tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#5a5a5a"][size=3] With that, Karai hung up and took off on his bike.[/size][/color][/font][/background]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Flipping her phone close, Amai looked to Katz as he screamed about Shiro leaning over the edge for the fourth time total. [/background][/size][/font][/color][color=#008080][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]"Katz. Chill. Last thing we need is for you to freak out again and somehow get me in the head again with that air-soft gun.."[/background][/size][/font][/color][color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)] Looking to Shiro, Hyde and Katz, she nodded to them before she left the roof with Yoshiko, but in a less hurried manor.[/background][/size][/font][/color]

[Kyng's Old Account]

Hyde really wasn't all that hot on the sudden appearance of Amai, but was much more concerned with the situation upon the part of Amai and Katz, them both being left out in the dark of all this: Shiro, Amai, and Hyde had pretty much disregarded them as if they understood what they were going on about, so Hyde swirled around on the ball of his heel turning to the two as he said "Alright, I'll catch you up to speed: last night me and my brother went backstage- and Katz I realize how wrong it was just to beat you to the punch- where we encountered a pair of clowns about to kill us, to which Shiro then showed up and killed them first: I think that's about a run-down of everything you need to know; pay attention! Come on, if I can pay...50% of my attention to the matter of hand, I'm sure you both're well capable of the same!" before returning his attention to Shiro.

The white haired youth chuckled as he simply said, in response to Amai's brother "For Amai's sake you'd best stay at bay: emotional blackmail is the last thing we need, and if any Demon has overheard your little outburst they'll come looking for you, and use you as a pawn in their game; Amai, I'm afraid you'll have to keep your brother from the Manor." before yawning softly, to which Hyde had time to think [i]'Wait... Daisuke... nah, they couldn't... he's fine.'[/i] with a brief concern over his brother; eventually returning to a smile, Hyde decided to wrap things up and say "Okay, so we're going to head back to class now, after all I don't see the need of continuing this meeting." with a sigh, turning back to the door as he waved to the other's. "I must concur: I want you all to be sure to head to Gringham Manor come the end of school: go alone, bring no-one but yourselves, and ensure that no-one has followed you. Heed this, as I predict a bad omen will come about from this all."

Shiro, himself, then quickly stated "Oh, and Katz? If you're so obsessed by the thought of me falling off the building, allow me to give you a demonstration~" as he allowed himself to fall freely off the edge, Hyde having made his way down the stairs by then in a dash seeing as class was beginning soon; Shiro soon found himself, like a feather, landing upon the floor on his crouched feet, hand for balance, before gazing up with a smirk and making his leave for the Manor itself; meanwhile, now that Hyde was back in class, he had a few moments to gnash away at his lunch, stomach grumbling rather ferociously at the once sandwich, now a pile of crumbs, a comically oversized stomach on Hyde as he burped it away, relaxing into his seat with a serene smile.

[Lunar Origins]

None of her business, she thought. She was about to move on when she noticed something a little more than odd happen. As his voice rose, one of the jesters put his palm up to the man's face and, with a little puff of visible air from within the jester's sleeve, the man was out cold. He fell into the other jester's arms, and the two loaded him up in their van. Hikari dropped everything she was carrying and ran towards the vehicle, but it was gone before she could possibly have hoped to catch up.

She pulled out her cellphone and hit 1; speed dial for her father at the police department.

“Hello, Hiroshi?” She said.

“Yes, Hikari? Is there something you need?”

“I think I've just witnessed a possible kidnapping.” Her eyes glanced up to the nearest street sign. “34[sup]th[/sup] street. Suspects were arguing with a man. The man raised his voice at them. At that point, they seemed to have gassed him.”

“Alright, I'm reporting this,” said her father. “What did he look like?”

“Yeah, hang on...” She tried to recall a defining feature about the man, but nothing came to mind. She was about to begin explaining to her father when her eyes came across a magazine cover; none other than the victim in question was there. It appeared that he was a model.

“Actually, I think I might have a name for the victim. Kokobunji Daisuke.”

“The famous model?”

“Yeah.”

She looked at the ground and took a deep breath.

“Something wrong, Hikari?”

“I should've intervened.”

“You've done all you can. Tell you what, I'd like you to contact Kokobunji's little brother. He should be in school right now; tell him that his brother has possibly been kidnapped. His name is Hyde. He should be at school right now...”

Hikari got the school's number from her phone and shut it, holding it to her chest before opening it up again. “I hope this boy is ready for the worst,” she thought before dialing the school's number.

A few tones, and then an answer from the office.

“Yes, this is Soyokaze Hikari. I'm with the Lazuli City Police Department. I need to speak with the principal of the establishment.”

She was reconnected.

“Yes?” The principal answered, his voice a little higher than what Hikari would have expected. It seems that her old high school had a new principal.

“I would like to inform you that a suspected Kokobunji Daisuke, the legal guardian of a student of yours, Kokobunji Hyde, has disappeared under the assumption of kidnapping. I request that Kokobunji Hyde is made aware of this. Also, if any of your students walk home from school, please, have them walk home in groups.”

The principal agreed to tell this to the student body, and Hikari closed her phone.

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

Everybody seemed to be taking things so casually and Katz had no idea why. "[i]If all this is all real wouldn't they be freaking out right now? Am I the only one who finds it all somewhat unbelievable? Sure, some things aren't making sense about what I've seen but everything must have an explanation to it that doesn't involve something ridiculous like magic. Thety must just be talking about some game. Maybe they're flarpers or something? That makes some sense even though I've never really seen them friendly enough to eachother to seem like they'd do this. And Shiro must be standing on glass or something. That's my only logical explanation.[/i]"

By now everybody had pretty much just left except for him and Shiro. It was then that Shiro had adressed Katz. "[color=#000033]Oh, and Katz? If you're so obsessed by the thought of me falling off the building, allow me to give you a demonstration~[/color]"

"Wait, what? No!" Katz ran towards the edge of the roof but it was far too late. Shiro had already let himself fall. Katz couldn't stand to look at the apparent suicide of his classmate but after a while with no splat noise and him working up his nerves he looked down at the ground to see Shiro was on his two feet completely fine. "[i]What's going on? There's no cable. How'd he...?[/i]" He then waved his hand around looking for glass. Again, there was nothing. "[i]Nothing is making sense...[/i]" It was then that he realized lunch was almost over and he'd have to hurry back to class which he did immediatly.

Katz couldn't stop thinking about all the odd recent incidents and how they're apparently linked in some strange...magical way. It was just too hard for him to believe but in some way it did make sense even if the reasoning really didn't. "[i]I should go to that Gringham manor place. The way I see it I'll either get some answers or get to play a game.[/i]"

[Hotaru987]

[i]'Am I really supposed to believe everything that I just heard? Why would Shiro be indulging in these fantasies like this? What what's up with this Lord Gringham stuff?' [/i]Yoshiko thought to herself having picked up a book to read while waiting for the class to resume. Though she wasn't really reading it, since she had passed over the same sentence at least three times now. Besides, did he really expect her to drop everything she was doing to come indulge this farce? Gently she closed her book, placing it on her table then folded her hands delicately over the cover. [i]'Besides, I was planning on studying. I can't fall behind....' [/i]Though she thought that she couldn't deny the amount of curiosity that was forming over the situation. Perhaps getting involved with others was a distraction. Yoshiko never had to deal with these feelings when she was on her own.

[Kyng's Old Account]

[right][size=2][b]Chapter 3 - The Magical Manor[/b][/size][/right]
[hr]A few hours ago:[hr]Gazing at the gates, Shiro looked across to see the enormous grand garden, so neatly kept and nicely done, it greatly contrasted to the bushy woods around him; the south end of Lazuli City lead to the woods, and because of that he had to take a bus to reach the estate, very discreetly hidden underneath the forest's guise: no-one would expect to find such a remote manor in such a place, yet it was possible to find such. Shiro did took the bus heading out of Lazuli, southwards, to a few small villages upon the outskirts, soon to find the more residential Oro Town. Shiro, upon reaching the gorgeous gates, sighed at the familiar sight, a sigh of relief, he was back home.

Those perfectly coordinated hedges and squares, or rectangles if you want to be nit-picky, of accurately trimmed grass stood out and boasted the class of the silent grounds, all of which just echoed into the tranquil forests majesty and glory, and they greatly attributed the wonderfully kept manor itself, it's well built structure standing tall and wide with its summery look, all which contributed together to grant this wonderful, beautiful home its serene and elegant nature. It did nothing but remain concealed in order to gain it's respect, much like a part of nature itself, having no real place in any other place except that specific location: the forest surrounding this beautiful home gave it much of its deserved esteem.

And so, the white haired youth, pushing a stray hair over his ear, made his way to the door, it opening immediately as green haired, sharp and pointed ears, darkened blue eyes and a profound piece of facial hair gazed upon Shiro, soon to bow himself by the waist as he muttered in an esteemed and respectful, perhaps typically snobby of a butler's voice "Good afternoon Master Shiro; you're day went rather uninterestingly dull, I assume, as to your early arrival?" before taking the boy's jacket upon the arm, Shiro walking in as the goblin soon closed the door silently behind the pair, Shiro responding "Father'll be very impressed, I hope: I've managed to persuade the Aces to come to our home; you'd best request Father to shut off the magical guise, Lucian." to which, the goblin nodded with a gentle smile, simply saying "Very good, sir."[hr]After School[hr]Hyde, in normal circumstances, would've been home by now, if Daisuke was home, and he'd even forgotten his key which made matters much more annoying, but eventually he made his way to the bus stop, heading down south of Lazuli, in specifically to reach Gringham Manor; best way to do such was stopping at the National Park, of course he had no intention in heading into said forest, he just needed to, quoting the note he found in his locker, assumable placement down to Shiro's "magic", 'south to the forest's entrance' but how much? Well, Hyde wouldn't know this unless he tried, and so after getting off the bus, and hearing it's hiss as it made it's way from the spot, he began to trek down to the manor itself; he'd sure hope the others would make their way soon, going to such a place on his own gave him the jitters.

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

Katz stood upon a great eagle as it quickly glided through the clouds. Its mighty wings allowed it to reach speeds that made any airplane its b*tch. Its talons could rip apart the tank that any evil doer managed to get his greedy paws on. It was then that out of the clowns came a gigantic ship of unknown origins. Screams could be heard from below as the ship revealed a giant cannon that was clearly charging for a powerful lazer attack. Katz seeing this quickly flew underneath the ship. The cannon didn't take long to charge and released a powerful particle beam down upon to Earth but more specifically Katz who put himself between the two.

Katz reached into his jacket and pulled out a silver BB gun with JUSTICE labeled on the side of it and pointed it up towards the cannon. As the cannon fired off its own shot Katz fired off his own. A single BB pellet but that single pellet was all he needed. As the BB collided with the beam it exploded into a glorious white light that slowly consumed the beamed and soon the entire ship. The light soon disappeared along with any trace that the ship had ever existed. The screams were replaced with the cheers of all folks alike. All disputes were settled that day and Earth lived on in peace for the rest of time.

Seeing that his job here was done Katz leaped off the mighty eagle. After freefalling a few hundred feet he pulled a cord that released a large parachute. With the parachute he was now able to safely float down safely towards the ground. It wasn't long until his feet touched ground in front of the Gringham mansion where a crowd of adoring fans held a parade in his honor. Or at least that's all what he wished had happened.

Katz let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes. He woke up in just in time since the bus was now making their final stop. I say their because as the hero type that he was Katz did not allow Yoshiko and Amai go by themselves especially with that recent announcement. Hyde only somehow managed to escape his sights and leave before them. After stepping off the bus they had walked the rest of the way to Gringham's mansion making sure to follow the directions they were given exactly. After a while they would finally be able to see the manor and Hyde as well.

[Hotaru987]

Yoshiko was still a bit unsure on whether to go to the Gringham manor, but when Katz found her and Amai making them travel together - since they shouldn't be traveling that long distance alone - Yoshiko found herself on the bus with the other two. Katz had fell asleep leaving her awake with Amai who was also doing her own thing. Sh closed her eyes in silent exasperation. How did she manage to get herself mixed up in all of this. All she wanted to do was go to the Circus for the first, and probably last time, to enjoy herself and instead she ended up being told about magic and other stuff. Yoshiko took out her phone calling her father, to let him know she would be studying at the library until late tonight. Here she was lying again, [i]'I really don't want to make this a habit.'[/i]

Their stop soon arrived, and the thee exited the bus, heading for the Gringham manor. It was large, spacious and very beautiful. She was surprised that he lived in such a place, but her face remained as neutral as always. Yoshiko strayed toward the rear of the trio. She was hoping that this didn't take too long, because she really just wanted to get back home as fast as possible.

[Elƒie]

Like he had promised, Karai was back the school, waiting outside before the bell rang. Walking straight to her brother, Amai opened her mouth, about to explain to him that he can't come. [color=#8b4513]"I don't wanna hear it, Amai. I said I'm going and I will."[/color] [color=#008080]"Brother, you can't. Besides, someone needs to run the shop."[/color] [color=#8b4513]"I don't care. The shop can wai-"[/color] Karai was cut off when Amai slammed her hand on the side cart, [color=#008080]"I said you're going to run the shop! There's a few important customers in and we can't miss it. Also, the shop is always opened around this time and we don't need people getting worried and having attention drawn to us."[/color] The siblings looked each other dead in the eye, looking as if they were having a wordless conversation. After a few moments, Karai let out a sigh, [color=#8b4513]"Fine... Just be safe, alright. I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you because I wasn't stubborn enough to not back down. K?"[/color] Smiling, Amai nodded before joining Katz and Yoshiko on their trip to the Gringham Mansion, the shear size of it putting Amai in awe.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Hyde, turning to the others as he acknowledged them with a wave and a smile, turned back to the manor's gates with his voice shot silent, unsure whether to open the gates or to simply stand there, wait for someone to come to them: with the gates opening on their sod he really didn't have much of a choice and, so, along with others, walked into the manor, Hyde taking into perspective the rather extravagant and tidy building which surrounded him, it overwhelmed Hyde slightly considering what to expect and what not. However he swallowed his fears down his throat with a sigh as he made his way, step by step, each one bringing him closer to the door in each and every second that passed by: he couldn't turn back now, the gates had locked behind them.

Eventually, Hyde turned to the others upon reaching the door handle, saying "Well, here goes nothing." his fingers wrapping around the cold steel, the sensation tingling in his fingers, a quick breath drawn by the boy. And he pulled it, the heavy handle difficult to budge, before thrice driving it into the dense wooden door, the deep smacking knocking of the handle making profound noise; Hyde brushed his shoulders to somewhat tidy himself, making himself look the best possible at the time as he waited for the door to open. In doing so, he decided to make idle conversation and so, turning to the rest, he asked "I hope the bus ride was comfortable, it's certainly much more comfortable than where I'm stand-"

And with that, the door opened to the goblin who interrupted Hyde's little conversational rant by clearing his throat, to which Hyde, turning and gazing up to the goblin, yelped a little in shock before trying to redeem himself through the means of planting his hands upon her lips, silencing his startled yelp, and speaking behind his head, voice obviously muffled, Hyde went on to say "It's a pleasure to meet you sir!" before extending a hand to the butler, other still awkwardly fixed on his lips as he smiled in his best attempt to sugar coat this already awkward start of things.[i] 'Great...screaming at a butler isn't the best way to go about things...' [/i]Hyde mentally noted, scolding himself slightly like a misbehaved dog for acting rather rashly in this situation; working on his nerves was the best thing he could do from this point onwards.

The goblin soon after bowed himself to the children, aware of their latent magic coursing through them evidently the level of an ace, save the Fleur of course. Clearing his throat, he shifted himself to the side of the door allowing them entry as he subtly said "Good afternoon young masters and ladies, and welcome to Gringham Manor." before extending his arm for their coats, Hyde declining the offer with his modesty as he wandered inside the enormous hall, so elegant as the afternoon light glazed the creamy walls with an honey coat, red carpet adorned all over the manor, comfortable indeed as Hyde couldn't not wonder as he wandered around the hall, a huge smile of awe upon his face; in response to this the goblin, Lucian Cobble for the record, pointed leftwards as he addressed Hyde to head down the hall, alongside the rest of the children.

As they made their way down the corridor, Hyde becoming briefly fascinated by a faceless woman's portrait, a rather strange individual popped up out of nowhere, an individual in a red attire, with skinny limbs and such, carrying a sign at hand, but what would catch people's attention would certainly be his cat head: the being stood right in front of Yoshiko, and raising a finger blurted out "WHAT THREE LETTERS CHANGE A GIRL INTO a woman?" with a huge grin, eyes wide and crazed as he leered into the girl's eyes; to this, Lucian continued to walk passed as he explained the scenario saying "Master Abra, I do believe Lord Gringham would be most displeased with you frightening our guests, Aces and Fleur together save one." as he cleared his throat, turning to the cat with eyes shut serenely to which Abra mewed rather innocently, before leaping like a frog down the corridor as he made his way into a door. Hyde, a brow cocked at the sight, turned to Lucian whom answered "He lacks common sense." to which Hyde's gaze turned into a sarcastic [i]'Oh really?'[/i]

Following these events, Lucian arrived with the children to a door before opening it for them into the dining room, at the right seat from the head of the table was one Shiro Gringham sipping from a cup of tea, and to the right a woman with a white top hat, Abra soon joining them quickly as he scampered and sat next to Shiro, Lucian then asking the children for their preferences to drink; following this, Shiro turned his head to them and said "Make yourselves comfortable, Lord Gringham'll soon make his entrance and clear this situation for us all." Hyde, about to take the seat opposite Abra, found the woman to hold the seat from him, to which Hyde decided to sit on the seat following it, as the seat the woman reserved soon was to be occupied by a succubus who'd made her way into the room taking her seat; shortly after this, she gazed over to Katz, kicking Hyde off his chair, and petting the seat for him, which Shiro rolled his eyes too; Hyde, however decided he'd had enough with that side. [i]'Urgh...I'd rather sit with the insane tabby...'[/i]

[Elƒie]

"Well, here goes nothing." Amai made a small gulp, noticing how thick the tension was in the air as Hyde reached for the door handle and knocked it thrice. As they waited for the someone to answer the door, Amai looks around, taking in the details of the manor and the near by shrubbery. The grounds were rather bland, in her opinion, with it mostly being a few bushes and plots of grass here and there. She wished she could have seen more flowers. Maybe then, the manor wouldn't feel so stiff. As she heard the door start to open, her attention was shot straight to it as she straightened her back, correcting her posture. She was thrown off at the sight of the who answered the door, but she managed to keep her gasp to herself.

Letting the others go first, she bowed slightly to the butler as she handed him her coat, "Thank you." From there, she walked to the middle of the large hall and looked around. The red and design of the carpet was carried through the hall as it went up the stairs and covered the cushions of the furniture. She took note of the few paintings, the old fashions candle chandelier, and a vase that looked slightly out of place due to its black and purple coloring. Hearing the group move on, she took one last glance at the hall before catching up with them.

As they went down the corridor, she noticed the painting of the faceless woman as well just moments before a cat creature called Abra popped out of no where. Shaking her head to the cat's riddle, she turned back to glance at the painting of the faceless woman once more, 'I wonder if the face was left out on purpose or if that's how she really looks..' With the everything she's experienced today, she wouldn't doubt it if the latter was correct.

Upon entering the dining room, she noticed the carpeting finally changed, but it was still the same red color as the walls were unchanged as well. Looking around, she noticed two paintings of nature that seemed to make an attempt to add some life within the manor, 'Actual plants would be better..' she thought to herself as she walked to the table. Doing a quick count, she estimated there to be about 32 chairs lined down the table, 'I wonder how many of these chairs actually get filled at dinner time..' Looking up, she noticed another old fashioned candle chandelier. Following the cord that held it up, she spotted the painted ceiling. After getting a good look at it and the others telling the goblin what they wanted to drink, Amai looked to him as she told him tea will be just fine for her.

Looking at who was sitting where, Amai thought about sitting next to Shiro, but it was quickly took by the crazed tabby who seemed to be all about quizzes. Mentally shrugging to herself, she decided to take the seat besides the crazed tabby. "Abra.. I have holes in my top and bottom, my left and right, and in the middle. But I still hold water. What am I," she asked the tabby, testing to see how smart he really was.

[Hotaru987]

Yoshiko stayed silent at the back of the group, not wanting to bring attention to herself, and simply observe everything that was about to happen. As much as she may want to deny it, she was just as curious about all of this as they were. Curiosity was something that was innate inside of her, for if she didn't have curiosity and asked questions she would have never gotten where she was today. Now in front of the door, Hyde - who was there before them - went to open it, making idle conversation. When the door was opened there was a - dare she say it - goblin looking creature standing there, startling Hyde into a scream. While Yoshio too was startled, she would never do something as animated as screaming. The goblin bowed and welcomed them to the manor, offering to take their coats, to which Yoshiko politely declined seeing as she didn't have a coat to begin with. It was a rather luxurious manor, and Yoshiko couldn't help but think about the acoustics of the building wondering how it would sound with her music. She pulled herself from her thoughts just as the strangest animal appeared.

It was - for all intense purposes - a walking and talking cat with a sign. Without warning he shot into Yoshiko's face yelling a riddle that he apparently wanted her to solve. "U-uh..." She mumbled taken off guard. With a cough into her hand, and a slight fix of her glasses she chose to answer his riddle. "Age." She didn't really want to be on the -uh- cat's bad side. Lucian managed to get the cat guy to leave who hopped like a frog down the hall. He was a strange one. Lucian lead them to a dining room, which Shiro was already sitting there waiting. He said that Lord Gringham would be with them shortly. Yoshiko just silently took a seat directly across from the cat guy, just as Amai shot a riddle back at him. She just closed her eyes and waiting paitently.

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

Katz was somewhat shocked at the appearance of the butler but he quickly regained his cool. "[i]Okay, incredibly pointy ears. Odd but not completely unbelievable. Perhaps some sort of deformity. Best not to think about it that much.[/i]" Along with the others, he followed the butler into the manor but had said he'd keep his jacket. He had to keep his airsoft pistol hidden somehow after all. Also like the others...or at least most of them...he couldn't help but admire the majesty of everything about the place. He had never been in such a nice building before.

After having walked a little bit what appeared to be a cat man popped up out of nowhere.He quickly reached into his jacket but stopped when the cat man did nothing but ask Yoshiko a riddle which she answered easily. Katz cooled it once again. "[i]That guy must really be into his larping. They're probably getting their costumes from Amai's family's cosplaying store. That actually makes pretty good sense.Why else would a guy have a cat head unless it was fake, right? Incredibly realistic too. His mouth was moving and everything. If I was more into that stuff I'd go there.[/i]"

They eventually arrived in a large dining room that Katz was once again amazed by. "[i]To think Shiro has dinner here every night. It must be pretty nice.[/i]" When he finally started paying attention again he noticed that a young girl had been holding a seat for him. Being a gentleman he couldn't help but refuse the offer of a cute young girl. He smiled at her before bowing, uttering a thank you, and taking the seat next to her not even noticing that Hyde had been pushed onto the ground.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Abra's gaze quickly darted to Amai as soon as she sat down, him seemingly shaking as his rather disturbing grin, to Hyde at least, shined brilliantly as the cat listened to her intently, her riddle in turn causing him to take in a deep breath, before singing the word sponge aloud, opera-style nonetheless: to this, the woman in white chuckled and clapped her hands lightly, snickering upon Abra's well-pitched reply, her gently eyes closed as she sported a tender smile, white gloved hands like swans tenderly batting upon each other. In contrast to this, the little succubus paid no eye to Abra, as she chuckled and patted Katz upon the back, unaware of her own strength as she said "Don't mention it!" evidently having taken a liking to the individual, her rather than seated towards the table was more so facing Katz head on, and she was not even sitting down for that matter, but rather repositioned upon her knees as she bounced slightly hither and fither, chuckling as she began to play with Katz's hair; to this, the white gloved hand fluttered upon the succubus' shoulder and sounded "Alaka, come now, don't pester the young boy too much." with a tender little chuckle, the succubus pouting as she sat down again.

Hyde, watching from the floor, suddenly stood up, sighed, brushed his shoulders off, and took a deep breath as he consistently promised himself it'd get better than this, seeming like his hope was beginning to weaken upon this whole shing-ding where they were about in; and so, pulling out his chair to be seated next to Amai, Hyde asked simply for tap water from Lucian as the butler took the boy's request, to which soon after he dusted off his shoulder, Hyde chuckling and mouthing his gratitude before returning his attention to the table to re-merge with the subject at hand...or more appropriately the lacking of said subject: the most lively behaviour was that of Amai and the cat named Abra, to which Hyde found batsh*t insane and rather interesting to watch, his nature very confusing to him.

Lucian shortly returned with drinks, a glass of water for Hyde, Katz and Yoshiko, a cup of tea for both Amai and Shiro, Abra with a bowl of milk, Kadabra (the lady in white) with no more than a shot of red wine in a glass, Alaka with a juice box; after serving drinks, Lucian silently stood to the right of the head chair, to which the door opened subtly upon both parts, apitch black, dark glove upon handle pertained the the rather elderly man, who though evident signs of age seemed stronger than most, not a single effect upon his stout walk to the seat, Shiro standing up extending a hand to which he sat back down upon seeing the shaken head of the gentleman, his iron grey hair and eyes leering at the chair, him clearing his throat as he made his way to the chair.

Hyde’s eyes were fixed intensely upon him, as if he was unable to look a way, feeling a somewhat crushing presence as his hand clenched upon his stomach, unsure what exactly was going on; the grey haired man, who had taken his seat, closed his eyes as the sensation fled, Hyde taking a deep breath.

“I’m sure you are all curious about recent events.” The man’s deep, intense voice sounded. “Furthermore, I’m sure you are all very well aware of my son, Shiro Gringham’s magical capabilities, or you hide behind the shackles of ignorance.” He exerted as his leer went upon Katz, as if he could read his very thought simply by his presence being there. “I can assure each and every one of you students at this table that this is no charade, and this is no joking matter…” he went on to say, before placing his hands upon the edge of the table and standing up and clearing his throat. “I am Lord Francesco Gringham, Master of the Gringham house, and safeguard of the coveted King of Clubs.” Francesco introduced himself, soon sitting down shortly afterwards as he flicked his palm, Abra soon standing up rather tame considering him, as well as Kadabra joining him, as they began to explain the situation, Kadabra starting things off…

“Hyde…” the woman spoke, eyes falling upon the student who’s gaze, once calm yet nervous entering the room, now completely adamant and stern upon the girl despite her raunchy attire. “…you, alongside brother Daisuke, were victims from the assault under the hand of Jesters, namely ones named Ribbon and Shade.” She spoke of this as if she knew this first hand, her eyes turning to Amai as she went on to say “You, Amai, witnessed this first hand. You both also witness Shiro’s usage of white swords and a small white orb?” To this Kadabra took a deep breath, before continuing her explanation.

“Shiro is a Magician, and not the kind you’re probably thinking off: he’s no performer, he uses no conjurer of cheap trickery. Shiro contains traces of magic within his very bloodline, which allows him to make use of magic.” Kadabra went on to explain, before Lord Gringham nodded his head, turning to Abra signalling it was his turn to give them a rundown of the tale, the story which started it all.[spoiler=You’ve probably seen this already]“In times of old, the 12[sup]th[/sup] century, the Knight of the Round table under the name of Lancelot was asked, by an oriental seer Chihensen, to come to a land untouched by nature, and forever symbolize his legend under a magical heraldic seal as the Knave of Clubs, activating this ancient seal and unleashing the magic bloodline who would save the world form inevitable destruction. Thus as the knight parted with a portion of his blood, he forged the final piece in the seal, setting in stone the Magical Seal of the Four Suits, awakening a new golden age. Each year, once, in the ancient temple, a seal would appear upon the ancient ground, to signal the child of the suit had been born, and thus Arcane magic had entered the world, graspable by mortal means, these children being granted the power more thoroughly than others. Lancelot, though voluntarily granting his words and activating the seal, was for some reason displeased with his position as the Knave of Clubs, his own greed taking hold of him, and thus he had his revenge by informing the Church of this, who had begun to persecute of the magic seal, which caused strife to such a degree eventually an order, Twilight, had made their march towards the site of the Temple, and took control of it with ease due to their technological prowess at this time. After seizing control of the temple, each time the symbol flashed a suit, Twilight would search and slaughter children who they believed who bore the heraldic seal. Despite this, the ageless seer Chihensen, who had managed to evade this mistreatment, and who had watched the horrific death of her order’s men and women, escaped with the 12 cards, as well as 5 more. She escaped with the 3 Royals of the 4 Suits, as well as the aces, and one different card, the Fleur de Lis. By removing the cards, she turned off the seal, and thus stripped humanity once again of magic, as Twilight had proved they could not be trusted. She hid these cards well, these relics, and gifted them away to families, who then gifted them to families, and so on until Twilight could not keep track of the cards, eventually giving up their cause and abandoning the temple. In doing so, Chihensen had returned a final time, to place in the aces, so that the children could be born with dormant magic inherited in their spirits."[/spoiler]Following this, as Lord Gringham signaled Abra to be seated, he spoke up himself in his grave voice and went to explain that “Originally there are twelve Magician Families who hold these royals, one to each family. And, slowly, families have conquered others and recruited members into their own House. We do this to protect mortals from the threat that has risen since the re-locking of the Magic Heraldic Seal: demons of the underworld are prominent, evident, and will begin to attack.”

Sighing, Francesco placed his hand upon a glass of water Lucian swiftly provided him as he stated simply “Katsutoshi Mutou, Ace of Spades; Yoshiko Watanabe, Ace of Clubs; Amai Megumi, Ace of Hearts; and Hyde Kokobunji, Fleur de Lys.”

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

Katz merely smiled as the young girl had patted him on the back. Further examination made it obvious that he was actually in quite some pain pain caused by the patting. The girl appeared to have superhuman strength of some sort. It was then that she had begun to play with his hair. Katz kept up his facade. As a humble guest in their home he didn't want to come off as being rude although once again it was fairly obvious he was somewhat uncomfortable. "[i]It's like having a little cousin around...[/i]" She was eventually stopped by a floating white hand. "[i]Where are the wires?![/i]"

It wasn't long until an older gentleman had walked and as soon as he did indirectly insulted Katz in a very direct way. It actually angered him a bit but he decided he'd stay quiet for now. After Gringhman had finished talking Katz felt it was his turn to speak uip. He even stood up as he did so. "Ace of Spades?! Ignorance?! It's called logic! I've grown up with magic being something only found in fairy tales just like the ones you just told us and now suddenly I'm expected to believe it? Everything has had a very logical explanation to it so of course I'm going to look towards it. You simply don't seem to understand the basic workings of the human mind. You're the one being ignorant! Not me. I refuse to stick around for this farce that was clearly only meant to insult me! You seem to be fairing fine with only three of the four aces right now so just get whoever the final one is to join your game instead of me unless you for once can actually bring up some undeniable proof. You know, it's that thing you've been lacking this whole time that could actually convince me somewhat that this isn't a silly game."

[Lunar Origins]

[url="http://i.imgur.com/AboHI.jpg"]Rosa[/url] strolled into the dining room without a hint of grace. "Hyde Kokobunji, eh?" Her eyes, all three, looked directly at the boy whose name she had mentioned. "Your brother is that one really hot model guy, right?" Her third eye blinked, and she nodded. "Yep! Of course he is, and what a looker. You don't have his looks, though. Shame." She started walking along the side of the room, tracing the wall with her hand and humming the tune of Fur Elise. She stopped halfway. "Wait a minute, I've seen you all before. At school, right? Yeah. At school." She continued her way along the wall until she reached the opposite end of the room, where Lord Gringham was. Rosa proudly strut her way to his side and whispered in his ear.

"Mr. Gringham, I've really managed to improve my summoning skills! I've managed to summon that one really big monster you told me about, and what a doozy! That thing took me almost a whole hour to get rid of, and there was a huge mess but I got one of the butlers to clean it all up and-"

She looked up, finally realizing that she had interrupted the flow of conversation in the room. Her voice wasn't exactly that of a whisper, too; it was easily audible over everyone else.

"Err, sorry." She turned back to Francesco. "As I was saying, there was just a really big mess and all, but I got some of the butlers to clean it up and stuff so I think that'll be all fine and dandy." She stopped and took a deep breath. "Alright, but I'm sure that's all cleaned up by now."

She stretched her arms above her head and yawned. "Geez Louise, that summoning stuff just tires me out! Franky, doesn't summoning just take it all out of you too? It sure does take it out of me, boy oh boy, I am parched." She picked up a glass of wine off of the table, not taking note of whose it was, and gulped it all down. She wiped her mouth off on her arm. "Oh, that hit the spo~t!" Her third eye glanced around the room at each individual, then at Francesco.

"So, these guys- my classmates, actually!- are the aces? Funny, I don't think they look like aces. They seem super duper weak. And that Hyde guy? Pssh. I could take him! Hehe." Her third eye closed for a moment. "I guess you want me to train them, is that right? I can do that, Mr. Gringham, but I'm not gonna go easy. Plus!" The eye focused in on Katz. "We can use this to prove that Magic and stuff exists to Mr. Skeptical..." Her eye glanced at Alaka. "Oh, Alaka! I see you have your eyes on Mr. Katz! You dirty succubus, you! I know you're planning something dirty, you can't hide that from me!" A smirk crossed Rosa's face "Best keep an eye on that one, Katz! I know I am~!"

[Hotaru987]

Yoshiko kept her eyes closed, not in an attempt to ignore the others, but more so to calm herself. She had never been a part of such an...uh...Eccentric dinner before. Dinners at her house was quite, save for the occasional talk of work and the clinking of china ware. Not only were the occupants non too shy with their vocal cords, the company of the dinner table left much to be desired. A goblin, a mummy, a cat who loved riddles, and two girls one of them paying close attention to Katz. The only normal one was Shiro, but that still wasn't saying much considering he used magic. [i]'I still don't see how that is even possible...But I have seen it first hand, and while it doesn't seem to be the most logical answer it is very factual. -sigh-' [/i]

Finally Yoshiko opened her eyes once Lucian placed a glass of water in front of her, she nodded her thanks, then right afterwards the door opened. The man took a seat. Her gaze was transfixed by this person, but she didn't know why. She just couldn't look away from him, it was like he demanded her attention. He introduced himself as Francesco Gringham, lord of the house and safe keeper of the King of Clubs. He told Kadabra to start things off, and she explained what Shiro pretty much told them on the roof earlier today. Lord Gringham motions for her to be seated, and for Abra to continue. He gave us a crash course on the history, before Gringham stopped him then called each of their names along with their secondary title.

[i]'A-ace of Clubs? Me?' [/i]She listened to Katz rant, and she was inclined to agree with his argument. Despite the validity of what what they were saying - and seeing it on the roof -, it was still quite a full plate to take all at once. Especially for people who heavily believed in proven facts like Yoshiko and apparently Katz. Yoshiko turned when the door opened again and a girl walked in, humming Fur Elis - which was quite rude did she not see the meeting going on? Yoshiko was so taken back by her rudeness that she hadn't even noticed her third eye, but she quickly remedied that and was left speechless...Well thoughtless would probably be more accurate. The girl went over to Gringham and whispered - quite loudly - about some summoning. In the middle she finally realized that she had interrupted but still finished her earlier thought. [i]'Is everyone in here like this? First that cat has no regards for personal space, and now she enters the room in such a fashion. Were basic manors not taught here?' [/i]Yoshiko ranted in her head all the while staring at the table blankly.

[Elƒie]

[color=#008080]"Impressive,"[/color] Amai said in response to Abra's quick, correct, answer to her riddle as Lucian gave them their drinks. Giving him a thanks, she picked up and saucer in her left hand while her right fingers delicately took the cup's handle. Lifting both up, Amai brought the cup to her lips and took a sip as a man entered the dining hall. Seeing Shiro stood up to great the man, she gathered it was Lord Gringham, the man they've been waiting for. As he started talking, her assumption became fact. Placing her tea down, she listened intently to the history lesson. After digestion all of the information, she opened her mouth to ask a question, but was quickly cut off by the ever-so-logical Katz. Once he made voice his.. concerns, Amai was about to ask her question when another person rudely entered the room and took the reigns of the conversation, so to speak.

With her left eye barely twitching, she picked up her tea once more and took a nice long sip, trying to hold back her habit of giving rude people a verbal 'whiplash.' Once it seemed the talkative individual was done talking, Amai took one more sip before placing her tea down once more. Clearing her throat and hoping to bring the conversation back on track, she asked, [color=#008080]"Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I understand right, the only ones who should have magic are us, the Aces. If that's so, then how is it that you, I'm assuming, and Shiro are able to use magic?" [/color]She looked Lord Gringham right in the eye, hoping that would somehow keep future distractions at bay until everything was cleared up and proved that magic was real to Katz and Yoshiko. Even though Yoshiko never voiced a disbelief like Katz, she was more intelligent and logic than just about everyone Amai has ever meet.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Lord Gringham's head turned to Katz with his unbroken stern gaze, hearing his, to him, excuses to what he'd already witness first hand, yet he didn't know so how could he comprehend fully what he was speaking of? Yet, if many acts as of recent, such as Shiro's death-defying acts Katz had seen himself, were not enough to convince the young, and reasonable boy to his argument, he'd need to do something grand, something that would have to assure him that his statement, without reasonable doubt, was true; Shiro, unlike the tame Amai, wouldn't stand for his father to be talked to in such a manner, and blurting from his seat, a white sword appearing in his hand as his eyes, fierce with his scowl, were fixed upon Katz, he barked "How dare you speak to Lord Gringham in such a manner, dispicabl-"

To this, Lord Gringham grunted and leered to Shiro, to which the boy, evident distaste in the course of events in his eyes, sighed with reluctance and sat down again, sword dispatched, to which followed by his newly acquired associate, Rosa, making her very informal entrance, and as usual severing the air of the meeting with her norm of behaviour. First of all, comparing Hyde to his brother, which soon followed by addressing Francesco as, firstly, Mr Gringham, which followed by Franky, this causing Shiro's anger to make him almost bolt from his seat again, if not for Abra placing his shaking hand upon his shoulder first to settle him. Hyde, himself, couldn't believe what was going on around him, this once formal meeting turning into a full scale argument, however he sat there, quiet as a mouse, still mulling over the thought. [i]'Fleur de Lys...well, I always knew I was awesome, but...what?'[/i]

Hyde's gaze turned back to Rosa, as Kadabra watched her guzzle down her wine with a small frown, not a fan of this sort of conduct despite her wear, however it was Francesco who stated "Rosa, be seated." with his eyes simply saying 'Do that again, and you will regret it.' however, he did sigh with gratitude as he turned to Amai, her little statement having allowed a brief distraction from the task at hand: firstly, addressing the Alaka issue of the succubus' infatuation with Katz, she blushed heavily and stuck to her seat silent, wanting to rip Rosa's head of, but aware that Lord Gringham wasn't in the mood, so instead she opted with the bitchy leer of bitchiness.

"You have misunderstood, Amai." Lord Gringham stated softly, turning to Amai as he went on to say "Abra's account dictated that, in fact, there were twelve cards taking from the Heraldic Seal, along with the 5, Aces and Fleur. The twelve cards each represent a Royal Card from each suit, a Jack, Queen, and King of suits Club, Diamond, Heart, and Spade; furthermore, each time a Royal Magician was to acquire a magician associate, that magician would earn the title of a numbered card, from 2 to 10; as such, rather than simply 5 magicians, there are in face 53 Heraldic Magicians." before softly exhaling, addressing Katz's disbelief by turning to Shiro, and then Rosa, instructing the pair to head to the bottom of the table, by the door. "I hope you will find this as suitable evidence, Katsutoshi."

As such, Shiro's calm mannerism returned as he gazed across the room to Rosa, Shiro's hand enveloped in white light as the sword took form again, shimmering as he held it behind his shoulder, ready to throw at the creature which Lord Gringham stated to be "Something ropes and digital effects would find difficult, nigh impossible to explain, Rosa: a slime."

[Elƒie]

After taking a second to digest Lord Gringham's answer, a small frown appeared on her face, [color=#008080]"I understand there were other cards taken from the temple, Lord Gringham, but it still doesn't explain how other people can have magic if they aren't the Aces or the Fleur. Abra's account states that only the four Aces and Fleur were returned while the other cards were gifted to family, after family, after family in order for the cards to be safely hidden from Twilight. In order for anyone to have magic besides the Aces and the Fleur, the cards would have to somehow give the owner magic outside the temple via direct means. Is that correct? That despite the cards being outside the temple, they can still give the wielder magic?"[/color] Seeing as how Lord Gringham was about to have Shiro do a demonstration to prove to Katz that magic was real, she decided to take another sip of her tea as she waited for the demonstration to be over and for her question to be answered. If her assumption was correct, she hoped that none of the other cards that are out in the world have fallen into the wrong hands.

[Lunar Origins]

In response to Alaka's 'stare of bitchy bitchiness', Rosa only stuck her tongue out. "Oh, hush up! I'm not the one thinking dirty thoughts about the... who was he, again? The Ace of Spades? My my, you do go for the big boys, don't you?" She giggles. "Power really is an attractive trait, I see!"

She turned to Lord Gringham, whom had requested that she summon something that would make magic more believable; well, Shiro was making swords appear out of bloody nowhere, wasn't he? That was magic in itself, and these cynical bastards couldn't see from just that? She nodded, but before she would continue with her little summoning she turned to the crowd.

"I'd best explain myself," She stated in a voice that oddly counteracted her old tone. This one was more emotionless than anything. She was being serious. "My name is Rosa Esphera; you may call me Rosa. I apologize for my... interruption, earlier." She turned to Francesco. "I also apologize for whatever disrespect I may have shown you, Lord Gringham." Her third eye, however, winked at the man, as if to counteract any statement the girl was now making. She turned back to the group.

"I am a master-class summoner, and a newer associate of Lord Gringham. If you think you have any secrets you can hide from me, you can't." Her eye scanned over each and every person in the room. "My eye tells me everything about any of you; where you live, what you're thinking, what you will attempt to do, as well as your identity." The eye looked up at Rosa and she placed a hand on it, rubbing the top of it. "His name is Ull, and he is an X-class demon. We've been together since birth, and we're inseparable. If I die, he dies. If he dies, I die. He's not such a bad thing, though... He can be a bit perverted, but that's what I like about him." She smiled at the small demon attached to her before taking on her serious face again.

"Now, as Lord Gringham has requested, I will call forth a slime." She stuck her hands far in front of her, with her third eye moving as a center point between them. The eye's pupil moved faced towards the ceiling, then rotated as to face the chandelier above the table. As if rehearsed a million times, Rosa began to chant her own summoning words, half of which were in a language unknown to mankind itself.

Finally, after several seconds of speaking in that odd language, she ended her chant with "Eins, Zwei, Drei!" A large hexagram, red and purple in color, appeared at the bottom tip of the chandelier, expanding as if to accommodate something large that would pass through it.

What passed through, though, was nothing of the large sort at all.

A small ball of slime, about the size of a dinner plate, dropped from the portal. The portal remained at the top of the room, swirling and fizzing.

Rosa's eyes widened at the sight of the little slime.

"Oh... my... god..." She said, gasping. "IT IS JUST TOO CUTE!" Her emotionless face broke into one of joy and laughter. The slime, a pale green in coloration, jumped from the center of the table straight into her hands, and she hugged it, squeezing. The slime's coloration changed from that of pale green to a deep pink.

"But you alone will simply not do.... What do I call you? Eh, I'll save that for later." She placed the slime on her head. "Anyways, there was a slight mishap with my chant. The demonic word for large and small are really similar, down to one guttarul "-c" sound, so give me a moment... the portal is still open, so this'll be much easier." She repeated a small verse of the demonic chant, and the portal rumbled once more before before a large, gushing sound came out of it.

A huge slime crashed down onto the table, snapping it in two at the center. It sat there, jiggling for a moment, seeming as if it was looking around as to find out what the hell it was doing. Noticing that it was the largest creature in the room, its hue turned dark red. A tentacle of slime formed from its mass and explored over each and every guest before stopping at -very shocked- Alaka. Rosa smiled.

"Oh, I'm sure nobody would mind," She said in an affirmative manner. "Just don't-"

The tentacle seemed to pick up a surprised Alaka, raising her high above the rest of the group. A second tentacle appeared, latching onto a laughing Rosa. It lifted her far more gently than it did Alaka.

"See?" She said to Shiro. The littler slime did a small hop on her head. "Shock value, hmm?" She winked.

Before she could enjoy more time with her new 'friend', a sword was thrown, dissolving the mass into nothing but small jelly particles, which dissolved further into dust. A second sword pierced the slime on her head, also slightly cutting her hat. She dropped to the floor, along with Alaka, whose fall was... less graceful, to say the least.

She felt the empty space above her head.

"H-Herbert!? HERBERT!? No! You were so young, and innocent..." She started crying, and fell to the ground. "Shiro, you're such a buzzkill..."