<strong>Hero Points:</strong>2 (Rakutsu), 1 (Everyone Else);<strong>Luck Points:</strong>3/5 Conditions: None<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=331796.msg15961040#msg15961040">Quote from: Raku on 23-08-2021, 00:53:07</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">”I guess now isn’t a very good time to see him, huh?” Not with all of those nurses. ”Im sorry if this feels as if I’m prying into your business, but how’s the rest of the family? Any of them got hurt from the storm? I just came from visiting my mother to see how she was doing. Luckily, the storm didn’t get to her.” He asked Martin, trying to level with him to a degree.<br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"The rest of us are fine," Martin answered. "It's a miracle that we're all alive, so I should be happy for that."<br/><br/>“Of course,” Ryoko said. “We’ll do our part to let Adolfo know that we’re thinking about him.”<br/><br/>“I appreciate that,” he replied.<br/><br/>Soon his attention was back to the hospital door, and Rakutsu sensed that his mind was now elsewhere.<br/><br/>…<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ph8uhVg.jpg)</div>“Laugh. I know what you’re thinking.”<br/><br/>Although it was obvious he was in a bad mood, Rex’s new form made it impossible to accurately read his expression as anything besides anger. He still had on a white hospital gown, although it did little to conceal his much larger size. The bed and surrounding floor had shed gorilla hair surrounding it, and Rakutsu could spot places where his arms and legs were shaved. A nearby section of wall within reach behind him was cracked from a forceful impact.<br/><br/>“If I believed in God I’d think he was punishing me,” Rex said, audibly exhaling. “But that wasn’t why it happened; you had to suggest we all see the fucking monkeys in that big damn metal cage. And out of all of us there, I was hit directly.”<br/><br/>He let out a roar, nearly swinging his hand back into the wall, but caught himself before following through. Ryoko and Teruko peeked their heads around as they heard the roar before ducking back out of sight, but he didn’t seem to notice.<br/><br/>“Least I’m holding up better than Adolfo down the hall. I dunno what he looks like, but whatever happened it scared the hell out of his familia.”<br/><br/>Rex pronounced the last word with an emphasis on the<em>-ia.</em>He grabbed a smartphone from a nearby table, scrolling through it for a while before the familiar audio of Leslie’s voice played. It was one of her Instagram videos from when she just got big online. “You know, last year it seemed that Lez’s tweet hitting a million views was the biggest thing to happen. I wish it was still last year.”<br/><br/>He sighed. "I used to look forward to the future. I had everything set up. But now...it’s all been taken away from me, cuz of your stupid mistake."<br/><br/>...<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/XW6Kcn8.png)</div>But there was someone who was happier to see Rakutsu for a change. Far from being physically transfigured, Chris was sitting at the edge of his hospital bed playing games on his smartphone.<br/><br/>“Rakutsu!” he exclaimed with a rather exuberant tone.  “I’m happy to hear that you’re okay. I heard...I heard a lot of stuff. You didn’t come alone, did ya?”<br/><br/>He waved as Ryoko and Teruko came in. “I just have to take it easy and not walk around too much. Just in case the doctors say, but...”<br/><br/>Chris got onto his feet and jumped off. “I feel great!”<br/><br/>He seemed excited enough that he didn’t realize his gown came frighteningly close to giving the Hisakawa sisters a free show.<br/><br/>“I’ve been thinking a lot while I’ve been here, Rakutsu,” he said as he slapped his friend on the shoulder. “I haven’t been going through life using my full potential. That snap of lightning opened my eyes even when I couldn’t see anything. If you’re still on for the science fair idea I’ll be able to do it, even with Kate. But you gotta promise me one thing.”<br/><br/>Chris looked like he was about to say something, but stuttered. “Actually, I don’t know what yet, but...maybe spending more time or something, that’d be cool.”<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Rakutsu gains a Hero Point for his Relationship Complication.</div></div><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 24pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: impact;"><strong>Episode 2: Dawn After Darkness</strong></span></span><br/><br/>(https://i.imgur.com/5Ez1o5y.png)</div><br/>Tomorrow it came time to return to school. There was an unspoken assumption that a return to normalcy in some areas of life would be beneficial, but even so Rakutsu couldn’t help but notice the two empty seats as Ms. Hallowbrooks tried to carry on today’s lesson. But that wasn’t the only reminder.<br/><br/>From Kaitlyn: Rita wanted us to meet up after school, at Lez’s house. You in?<br/><br/>It was a suburban dwelling in Southern Shore, a nice bayside property looking out towards the nearby Stepstone Islands.<br/><br/>“Thanks for coming!” Amrita said as she opened the door for Rakutsu. “Couldn’t have it at my place; family hardly gives me any privacy, Amy’s is too small, and Kate wanted it to be here.”<br/><br/>Kaitlyn was talking to Amy in the family room on a sofa, with it and the adjoining kitchen a a comfortable Hamptons style interior (https://rocheledecorating.com.au/14-most-popular-interior-design-styles-explained/) benefitting its beachfront. Leslie was cooking in the kitchen, and a plate of hastily-eaten Totino’s pizza rolls save one or two remnants could be smelled from the front door. But one of the things Rakutsu immediately noticed was that all of the blinds were drawn, despite it being in the middle of the day.<br/><br/>“Uh oh, a boy is here!” Leslie joked. “Time to break out the secret stash!”<br/><br/>Kaitlyn shook her head as the redhead brought over pasta and beer. “Miller Lite? That crap’s got barely any taste!”<br/><br/>“We all need to talk about...what happened,” Amrita interrupted. “Besides just the Storm.”<br/><br/>Leslie and Kaitlyn fell silent.<br/><br/>“Yeah, I suppose so,” Amy murmured, sinking a bit deeper into the sofa.<br/><br/>“We were lucky the first time,” Amrita said. “You all saw that video Alison linked. And the one after that.”<br/><br/>“So...did any of your powers activate since?” Kaitlyn asked Leslie. “Mine...came back a few times, and I had to hide it from my parents by hogging the bathroom.”<br/><br/>“It’s gonna sound weird,” Leslie said, “but I can...see through plants now. I told my parents I was okay. Which isn’t really a lie.”<br/><br/>Amy sat forward. “Rakutsu, that mask you wore...I’ve seen reports on it before, on Ghost Sightings. So...we kinda need your help. You’ve been at this longer than any of us, and…and maybe you know something we can do, to make this easier.”<br/>