Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: ReijiTabibito on 12-02-2011, 02:07:52</h2>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 02:07:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Walking down the halls of the high school, Yushiro Asajima followed the teacher towards his new classroom.&nbsp; Yushiro was the scion of the Asajima Group – a conglomerate of corporations that was one of the richest in Japan.&nbsp; One might have questioned why someone that rich and powerful was going to a regular high school instead of being tutored at home, or going to a school where the kids were also rich and powerful.&nbsp; And the answer to that was simple.<br><br>Yushiro wasn’t just the scion of the Asajimas.&nbsp; He was also a sorcerer.&nbsp; No, you read that right.&nbsp; See, something you don’t know about the world is that there are indeed things that go bump in the night; things that humans don’t want to know about.&nbsp; But they are there, and they are a very real threat to people the world over.&nbsp; That was where families like the Asajimas came in – ever since ancient Japan, they had been one of the families tasked with protecting greater society from those things.&nbsp; And Yushiro was one of their number.<br><br>Yushiro had been trained from a young age to do the secret family business.&nbsp; When he graduated high school, he’d go into it full-time.&nbsp; But for now, he had been sent to this area on a special mission on behalf of the family.&nbsp; That mission?&nbsp; Well, it was secret, for the time being, but he’d get more details in the days ahead.<br><br>Soon enough, Yushiro heard the teacher call his name, and he opened the door, stepping inside.&nbsp; “Hello, I’m Yushiro Asajima,” he greeted, after writing his name on the board.&nbsp; Girls were already looking in his direction – the rumors had been flying about the school days before he had even come here.<br><br>“Asajima-san, please take your seat over there.”&nbsp; The teacher directed him, and he picked up his bad to head over to the shown seat.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 05:16:24</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko Okada sat in her seat and stared out of the window. She had arrived early for school for no real reason other than to be able to skip meeting people on the corridor, or being greeted in class. Granted, not many of them did this nowadays, as she had kept herself aloof from the rest of the students for most of the time. Some said it was because she was rich, others because she was arrogant. They were half right; she was rich, and it showed in her dressing and her accessories. But arrogant...well, not really. She was aloof because of her isolation as a rich person in her small family, with little contact with the outside world until she went to school. <br><br>But mostly it was because of her power. She didn't quite understand it, but it was something that had come to her quite suddenly when she was ten. In those younger years, bullying and teasing were far more common and more tolerated, but not to Kumiko. When one of the boys kept on poking her during class, his pencil suddenly flew up and stabbed him in the cheek. Everyone thought it was a freak accident, but not Kumiko. Somehow she knew that it was her, it was something she did that made fly up and embedd itself so satisfactorily into that boy. Since then, she did it a few times, and each time it got progressively more violent. No one got seriously injured, but now she kept to herself, somewhat frightened that something big would happen and all hell would break loose.<br><br>Kumiko didn't know how she got her magic, and neither did her parents. She didn't really want to know, and she wasn't going to find out if she could help it. Coping with it was bad enough.<br><br>She kept up the image that she didn't care one whit about the rest of the world; it suited her. And of course she had heard about the supposedly handsome and rich boy who was joining the school. So what if he was handsome? Handsome was a dime a dozen. And now that he's joined, she had to admit that he was indeed more handsome than most. In fact, very much more handsome than most. But handsomeness she could do without. She wasn't one of those screaming fangirls who fainted at the sight of longhaired boybands. That was, was beneath her.<br><br>When the teacher had him sit one seat behind her, she was surprised. Surely it wasn't very nice to let the new boy sit next to the most taciturn person in class? Not that she minded that much, he didn't seem to be the talkative type, and he seemed polite enough. Perhaps the teacher wanted to keep him away from the other, more mindless girls. That must be it. She looked out of the window with intense disinterest as he walked past, ignoring him completely.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 05:45:23</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro could either see or feel the eyes on him as he walked back to his seat.&nbsp; But, strangely, as he walked, he saw the girl whose desk he was seated behind was just staring with disinterest out the window, not even looking in his general direction...well, he didn't know that she was thinking it, too, but maybe that was the rationale behind putting him there.&nbsp; Keeping him away from the girls that might try and grab his attention, whether during class or inbetween.&nbsp; If that was the case, then he was thankful for it.&nbsp; Something that Yushiro had always had to deal with were girls seeking his attention.&nbsp; Even at the private school for the rich he'd attended as a kid.<br><br>He did have to admit, though...she looked a bit different.&nbsp; She had nice makeup, expensive accessories, impeccable dress.&nbsp; How did he know that?&nbsp; Because he had a score of female cousins who bought the exact same brands that she had on.&nbsp; So, she certainly wasn't the average girl who came to this school.&nbsp; She was pretty beautiful, he confessed to himself, but it seemed to be a cold, aloof beauty - something distant.&nbsp; Sitting down in his seat, he took out his things to get ready for class.<br><br>Before the teacher started class, she called out to Yushiro's only seat neighbor.&nbsp; "Okada-san?&nbsp; During lunch, please be sure to give Asajima-san a tour of the school.&nbsp; We want to make him feel welcome here."&nbsp; She would have asked the class representative to do it, but since the person normally responsible for tours was one of the classroom giving overly friendly looks to the new arrival...she decided otherwise.&nbsp; Yushiro vaguely recognized the name, it sounded familiar, but he really couldn't place it much further than beyond the fact that he'd heard it before, somewhere.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 06:09:04</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko turned from the window slowly to look at the teacher, before nodding once. She then turned to face the front as lesson began, and simply stared at the teacher as the subjects flew right past her. Once, she turned around and looked at Yushiro with one upraised eyebrow, as if to remember his face, before turning back to the front. She scribbled down notes as the lesson dragged on, and not again till lunch did she acknowledge Yushiro.<br><br>As the lunch bell rang, and the students began to file out of the class, Kumiko stood up and turned around. She regarded him with mild annoyance, before gesturing vaguely at the door. "Well then, shall we?" Without waiting for him to answer, she turned around and walked out of the classroom in a clipped step.<br><br>The corridor was scattered with people, and Kumiko gesticulated in general directions. "That way lies the canteen", "the track's over there", "clubhouses are in that building", "indoor sports hall is in that direction", and the such. She stopped after naming the different places. "I hope you got the locations. Any questions?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 06:22:56</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro looked up into Kumiko's face, seeing a couple brief glimpses of her nice profile as she turned around to regard him once, and then face away from him for the rest of the morning classes.&nbsp; He knew that she was just paying attention, but he did feel a little bit snubbed by the fact that she didn't even look during the breaks, just stared out the window.&nbsp; Probably with the same disinterested look that she had when he'd first come back this way.<br><br>Once lunch started, he looked up.&nbsp; He was going to answer her, but she just turned around and cut him off.&nbsp; He got out of his seat in a hurry, feeling a little bit annoyed at how...distant she was being.&nbsp; She hadn't even offered a welcome to the school, or even waited for him to respond.&nbsp; Nevertheless, he followed her out of the classroom and into the hall.<br><br>He paid attention while she pointed out the different directions that various places around the campus were located in, listening to her.&nbsp; Once she was gone, he looked to her.&nbsp; "Um...no?"&nbsp; He couldn't really think of anything here at the moment.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 06:35:53</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"Excellent." Here she smiled, but not the kind of welcoming smile, but the kind of 'thank goodness the fool gets it, and now I'm free of all responsibility' kind of smile. "I'm heading for the canteen. If you brought your lunch you can eat it in class. But I didn't, therefore I go to the canteen, where you can buy lunch. You following me?" Here she stopped. She was really being a bit too condescending to him, when he obviously wasn't an idiot that she seemed to be making him out to be. Her face softened, as she continued, "they serve acceptable food there, not anything you'd expect from a private school, but completely digestable."<br><br>She spun on her heel and walked off, not looking behind to see if he followed.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 06:49:43</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"Alright," he replied, not really sure why she was telling him where she was going.&nbsp; In his mind, it contrasted with the aloof personality that she was projecting.&nbsp; "Yes, I follow."&nbsp; When she left, he started following her to the cafeteria.&nbsp; He hadn't brought food, either, and he usually didn't, given that his family had plenty of money to drop on things like a school lunch.&nbsp; Granted, they ate high quality food at home, but that was then and this was now.&nbsp; And since he didn't want to go hungry, his options were to pretty much go to the cafeteria, or find some other food source.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 12:10:56</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				The cafeteria was sparsely occupied; most people in the school brought their own food, and those that didn't brought their food out in disposable container to eat elsewhere in the school with their friends. Kumiko liked it that way, as it was quiet, and she wouldn't be disturbed. She paid for her meal, which consisted of a bowl of curry udon, before sitting at the far end of the canteen where she usually spent lunch alone. Out of the corner of her eye she looked to see if he would follow.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 12:29:00</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro knew that Okada-san - because at this point, he didn't even have her first name, since she hadn't introduced herself - had seen him following her.&nbsp; He was surprised that she really hadn't reacted to it - either to invite him to eat lunch with her, or to accuse him of something.&nbsp; But, maybe she was one of the few who just figured he didn't have his own food, either.&nbsp; Going through the line, he took his food choice and walked back into the seating area.&nbsp; Did he sit with her?&nbsp; Not yet - first he took a look around to see just how empty the place was...look for empty tables.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 12:37:52</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				The canteen was full of empty tables, with most people opting to take their food outside or had brought their own food along. There were maybe ten other people there, and Kumiko looked at Yushiro slantily, trying to appear as if she was was simply staring in the general direction. She was curious how he might respond, after all, he was supposed to be her charge for the lunch period. Her teacher had ordained it so, and she was if anything, respectful of authority. To a certain point.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 12:45:32</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Well, he did want to have the company of someone else to eat with...but there was only one person in the room that he knew.&nbsp; Mulling the thoughts over, he approached the table she was sitting at.&nbsp; "Hi.&nbsp; You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"&nbsp; The ball was in her court, now.&nbsp; His choice of words were suggestive, but respectful.&nbsp; If she wanted to say no, she could say no.&nbsp; If she wanted to say yes...well, she could do that, too.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 13:03:23</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"And if I said no?" She said, her eyebrow twitching upwards, before she forced a neutral expression. "Very well, sit here, if you must." She made sure the seat in front of her was void of her possesions, before returning to her food. It would have been polite to make conversation, but she didn't. She was curious to see how he would react, and at the same time, she couldn't think of very much to say in any case.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 13:16:59</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				If she had said no, he would have gone to sit somewhere else.&nbsp; And that's what he would have answered to her, if she hadn't cut off his answer.&nbsp; Again.&nbsp; Sitting down, setting his things to one side, he started to eat.&nbsp; He didn't make any conversation, either.&nbsp; He'd already felt like he'd imposed on her by asking to sit at her table...wow.&nbsp; She was impressive.&nbsp; The unapproachable air surrounding her was pretty tense.&nbsp; But he had ways of getting in.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-02-2011, 13:26:50</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				He was being quiet. It was a good sign for her, but generally, people who hadn't met her before tried to get her to talk, or at least attempt to say something, and in response she would stare at them with undisguised irritation. But this boy didn't seem to try and push her, and she looked at him a moment warily, as if daring him to say something. He was different, she decided, but not different enough to give her a reason to make an effort to be friendly. Yet at the same time, she wanted to him to say something, out of curiousity if anything.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 04:34:11</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				And yet, Yushiro said nothing.&nbsp; This girl had proven herself cold, distant, unapproachable so far at the moment.&nbsp; The young man wanted to see if she would break that impression inside of a heartbeat, and now he had his chance.&nbsp; Inwardly, he sighed.&nbsp; Well, it certainly wasn't the easiest thing that he could be occupying his time with.&nbsp; But the other girls looked...strange, and not her one bit.&nbsp; He wanted to know what made her different from those girls.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 05:05:55</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				She ate quickly, as usual, and her bowl was clean when his was only half done. She leaned back against her chair and looked in the direction of the canteen entrance, where a bunch of girls had gathered outside and were looking in their - rather, Yushiro's - direction, and pointing and giggling. They seemed to be daring each other to go and approach him. Sighing heavily, she turned away to look at a blank space on the wall. "What idiots," she muttered, as she waited for him to be done.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 13:47:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro had known something was up, so he looked backwards to see that indeed, there was a gathering crowd of girls near the entrance, and that they were staring in this general direction.&nbsp; And since he felt certain they weren't here for Okada-san...it was him.&nbsp; "Why, because they're trying to find the courage to speak to someone?&nbsp; You don't need to be rich or well-known or well-liked to be the recipient of attention like this."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 16:09:04</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				She stared at him. "Yes you do." She pointed at him, before ticking her fingers off. "Rich. Well-known. Well-liked - because you look like what most girls find attractive. You're all three. And that's why they're looking at you and giggling in hushed whispers. No other reasons." She folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Are you daft or really slow? Do you see them doing that to anyone else?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 17:49:03</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				A slow smiled graced Yushiro's face.&nbsp; "Let me show you something."&nbsp; He reached into his bag, and took out a pair of photographs.&nbsp; "This is my cousin Aiko," he told her, passing her the first one.&nbsp; An adorable girl was shown, smiling brightly for the camera.&nbsp; "She goes to a school like this one, where she could have all the guys at her feet if she wanted."&nbsp; He then passed her the second photograph.&nbsp; "This is something she had me take, of a guy named Minato."&nbsp; The guy in question was rather average - not ugly looking, but not handsome like Yushiro, either.<br><br>"He's no one important - just the son of a cop and his wife.&nbsp; He gets good marks, but not outstanding.&nbsp; And yet Aiko has the biggest crush on him, and she tries to work up the courage every day to speak to him."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 17:58:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yesser," she replied, pulling out her handphone absently and twirling it in her hand, "but that doesn't mean anything if your cousin starts liking average boys. She isn't the norm, she's the exception. And trust me, they're only there because they have a crush on your money and your looks. Maybe also because you're new, but there's nothing else to it. If you were ugly you'd be shunned."<br><br>She put one leg over the other as she took a passing glance at both pictures. He was right, his cousin was pretty, and the guy wasn't anything special. She guessed that he might considered handsome, in a rugged, homely, country sort of way, but then again, that's what they call most of the average looking people anyway. She pushed the two pictures back to him. "
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>13-02-2011, 18:06:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro took the pictures back when she passed them back to him, putting them back in his bag.&nbsp; The statements he heard coming out of her mouth - while true - were rather harsh for someone her age.&nbsp; Clearly, issues going on here.&nbsp; Between that and her expensive tastes...maybe there was something to this, after all.<br><br>"So, is that how you feel whenever you have a guy or three looking in your direction?&nbsp; That they only like you for your money and your looks?"&nbsp; Yushiro had decided to take a little bit of a deductive leap when he asked the question.&nbsp; He just wondered how she would take the question, since he was either right, and she hadn't told him about herself, or wrong, and then overstepping.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>14-02-2011, 00:03:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Perhaps," she conceded, shifting her seating position slightly, "and I'm usually right. Though that hasn't happened for a while since I stabbed one of them in the face. When he wasn't looking, more's the hilarity." She smiled a sweet, sweet smile at this. Sure, she was exaggerating somewhat, but it never hurt to dress up the truth a little. <br><br>Kumiko looked away with distaste as a few girls began to approach the table, and two of them pushed one of the others, a small, cute and remarkably angelic girl forward. The girl looked behind at her friends with nervousness, and they smiled and prodded her along. She blushed and looked at Yushiro, before bowing and saying in a quick, unsure voice, "Hello! My name's Yuki, and welcome to our school!" It was followed by a requisite squeal as the girl ran behind her giggling friends.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>14-02-2011, 03:06:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oh.&nbsp; So now she was trying to play herself off as the man-hater type?&nbsp; That admittance of violence coupled with the smile might have unnerved an average boy...but she was dealing with a kid who'd memorized pictures of tentacled beings from the age of ten.&nbsp; You'd have to hit out of the ballpark, so to speak, to get him scared.<br><br>Yushiro half-turned in his chair as he heard the approach of a few girls.&nbsp; Okada-san looked away, clearly disinterested, but he brushed it off for the time being.&nbsp; The sorcerer watched the little 'welcoming committee' do their thing, a smile on his face the whole time.&nbsp; "Hi, Yuki-san.&nbsp; It's nice to meet you.&nbsp; Thank you for the welcome."&nbsp; He decided to throw in a compliment, see how the girl across from him reacted.&nbsp; "I can see why they chose you.&nbsp; You've got such a cute face, and lovely eyes."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>14-02-2011, 10:05:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She saw that her mention of violence got little reaction out of him, which intrigued her even more. But the appearance of the three other girls sent her into a huff, and she began to drum a soft staccato against the table.<br><br>The girl peeked out from behind her friend. "Me-me?" she asked, blushing furiously, "I'm-I'm not worthy!" Her friend leaned forward to nudge her from behind her. "Yuki-san here's just shy, but she's been going on about you since lunch began about how handsome and kind you look. So...on her behalf, we'd like to invite you, say, on some days, to join our little group for lunch and such." From the way she was talking and standing, the other girls were making it pretty evident that they weren't only doing it for Yuki.<br><br>Somehow, their words were making Kumiko's blood boil, and she sharply turned away, her foot tapping the floor quietly, as she tried to keep her temper in check.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>14-02-2011, 15:00:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro might have turned halfways towards Yuki and her two friends.&nbsp; But that still meant that half his face was pointed in Okada-san's direction.&nbsp; He could see that the presence of the other girls annoyed her a bit.<br><br>Especially after their reply to his reply.&nbsp; "Of course.&nbsp; And thank you.&nbsp; I'll remember to take you all up on your offer sometime in the near future."&nbsp; The fact that Yushiro had grown up surrounded by cousins of the feminine persuasion meant that he was usually pretty good at telling girls what they wanted to hear.&nbsp; "But, for now, I think the lunch period is ending...although this is only my first day here, so I might be wrong about that."&nbsp; The sorcerer then pulled a surprise move on the girl sitting across from him.<br><br>Turning his face back to her, he questioned:&nbsp; "Isn't that right, Okada-san?&nbsp; Or is there still time left?&nbsp; You've proven to be quite knowledgeable."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>14-02-2011, 15:34:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yes," she bit out, a tad harshly, "it's going to end soon." She knew full well that there was still fifteen minutes left, but she didn't want to stay here any longer than she had to. "Mr Wataya, who teaches national history, is especially strict about timing. Let's go." The fact that Mr Wataya was a sweet old man who wouldn't harm a fly didn't seem to matter one whit to her at that point of time.<br><br>She stood up sharply, grabbing onto her tray and marching over to drop her tray at the return point, glancing over her shoulder to see if Yushiro was following her lead.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>14-02-2011, 22:12:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro was, indeed, following her lead.&nbsp; "Don't worry, girls, I'll take you up on your offer."&nbsp; He smiled as he headed over to return his tray.&nbsp; He walked out of the canteen with Okada-san.&nbsp; "You know," he started, "if you really wanted an excuse to walk out of there, you could have just said you still had some places to show me."&nbsp; The sorcerer had a little effect on to know when someone was lying.<br><br>"But, that aside, I don't think we've had a proper introduction."&nbsp; He stood up straight, to his full height.&nbsp; "I'm Yushiro Asajima."&nbsp; Not that she didn't know that already.&nbsp; "And you are?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 01:26:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She dropped the tray at the return station with a loud clang, before she turned back to him. "My name's Kumiko," she bit out, turning back to him, "I don't care if I lied. Does it look like I give a damn? Go join them for lunch if you will, I couldn't care less." She realised she was raising her voice, so she quietened down, her eyes flicking to the trio of girls, who were staring at them curiously. "Now, we're heading back to class. And I don't want to hear a peep out of you."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 04:25:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Fascinating.&nbsp; He'd called her out on a lie, and not only had she not denied it and gotten mad at him, but she'd admitted that she had, and didn't care.&nbsp; "I promised them I would take them up on their offer in the future.&nbsp; It'd be rude of me to not give someone the full lunch period."&nbsp; He smiled.&nbsp; "Of course.&nbsp; Let's go back to class."&nbsp; He walked back in the direction of their classroom.&nbsp; So, Kumiko...that was her name, eh?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 05:21:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She stomped back to class with him in tow, her brow furrowed with anger. Reaching her seat, she dropped into it and folded her arms, her face in a furious pout. Why she was so angry with the other girls now, she didn't really understand herself. After all, this wasn't the first time when they did this sort of thing. She had seen them do this before, after all. So why now? It was probably just because she felt the responsibility that the teacher had given her to look after the new boy for today. That was all.<br><br>Some of the other classmates were giving her funny looks, but she ignored them, and stared at the board in front, waiting for the lesson to begin.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 10:02:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro, on the other hand, smiled the whole way back to the classroom.&nbsp; Partly because the other girls had invited him to eat lunch with them sometime in the near future...and partly because Kumiko was such an interesting person.&nbsp; He didn't quite know what to make of her, yet, beyond that - but he was certain that that would come with more time spent with her.&nbsp; Sliding into his seat behind her, he decided to look out the window for a few minutes while there was still time between the end of lunch and the beginning of the next lesson.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 12:10:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Mr Wataya still had ten minutes to make his appearance, and Kumiko sat there with her arms folded, but she could feel her anger slowly melt away as time passed. That boy, Yushiro, was probably one of the more interesting things that had happened in the school, and she wasn't going to let it just slip out of the grasp. But no, she wasn't going to start the conversation, that would go against the image she had tried to build for so long. She leaned back with folded arms, and with one finger, began to tap the edge of his table, as if absentmindedly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 12:18:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Except, Yushiro knew nothing about the image that Kumiko had worked for so long to build.&nbsp; But he knew an attempt to draw him out when he saw one - she tapped on his desk, he asked what it was about, and that was how the conversation started.&nbsp; Well...maybe just this once, he'd play along with her.&nbsp; But he was going to have a lot of fun doing it.&nbsp; He carefully leaned forward, and decided to screw with her by whispering into her ear rather than just ask.&nbsp; "Is there something you want to talk about?"&nbsp; The question was hushed, soft-spoken, almost like he was speaking to a girlfriend.&nbsp; That, plus the fact that he was <em>right there</em>, should prove to be interesting.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 12:24:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She nearly jumped out of her seat when she heard his voice at her ear. She turned back, blushing a little, but that quickly turned to a flush of anger. "What did you do that for?" she asked, fiercely but hushed, "what made you think you could do something like that? Why, why you..." she calmed herself down. After all, she did want to talk to him, and now she had her opening. Her voice quieter now, she asked him, "Is that how you normally start talking to girls?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 12:29:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro was, indeed, quite pleased with her reaction.&nbsp; So, under all that ice and self-control, she was a girl, after all.&nbsp; He waited while she got the initial shock out of her system, just smiling, his head resting in one of his hands.&nbsp; When she asked her final question, he shook his head.&nbsp; "No, but you were going out of your way to get my attention, so I thought it only reasonable that I go out of my way to get yours."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 13:38:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I was not going out of my way to get your attention," she replied, lying through her teeth. "What would make you think that?" She wasn't going to let him know the truth, at the very least, she was never going to admit it. "I suggest that you stop these disingenious assertions. You may be nice to look at, but I'm not the kind of girl who you can smile at and she'll fall at your feet."<br><br>Harsh, yes, but she was trying to prove to herself he was one of those boys who existed to hit on girls.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 13:43:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh, nothing, except the way that you were drumming your hand against the edge of my desk," he replied casually.&nbsp; "It's subtle, but it's certainly a way to provoke attention."&nbsp; He shrugged.&nbsp; "But, maybe you were just bored.&nbsp; We still have about ten minutes before class starts, after all.&nbsp; Boredom is hardly unreasonable in a circumstance like that."<br><br>Yushiro just smiled at her last statement.&nbsp; "Of course not.&nbsp; Because if you <em>were</em>, then you wouldn't be you, right?"&nbsp; Kumiko was going to be sorely disappointed if she wanted to prove that he was just some Casanova.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 13:55:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It is a sad day when a woman cannot drum her fingers on a desk without someone commenting on her being attention-deficit," she replied, frowning at his response. He certainly wasn't shaping up the way that she wanted him to be. She wanted to be proved right, that he wasn't worth his attention, but he was proving agreeable at every turn. Well, almost every turn, she told herself, almost halfheartedly.<br><br>"If I weren't me, but them," she gesticulated at a bunch of giggling girls at the other end of the class, who were alternating betwen giggling and hushed peeks at Yushiro, "I might be there, but as you said, I'm not, and so I'm not. But that doesn't mean anything. I'm not them, and they're not me, and they would do that, and you probably wouldn't mind that one whit. Am I right?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 14:03:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro shook his head.&nbsp; "Hey, I never said that about you.&nbsp; I just said you were bored."&nbsp; He lifted his shoulders in a shrug.&nbsp; "I was bored too, so I decided to take a page out of your book, and look out the window like you were doing this morning.&nbsp; That doesn't mean that you or I don't pay attention in class, far from it.&nbsp; I don't think the teacher would have asked you to show me around if she didn't trust in your competency."<br><br>It was a backhanded compliment, but a compliment nonetheless.&nbsp; "And if you're asking me if I'm going to discourage those girls from their behavior...the answer is no.&nbsp; Not necessarily because I like it, but because I don't consider myself in a position to tell people what they should and should not be doing."&nbsp; He raised his hands in a gesture.&nbsp; "I am just a student here, after all."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 14:28:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I'm glad to hear that," she replied, turning her body so she was sitting across her chair rather than in it. Turning to face him, she continued, "Don't you find it irritating to have those idiots hanging on your shoes? A person with your charms must find himself followed a few times."<br><br>She twirled a strand of hair absently, before she stopped and stared at gaggle of girls with undisguised disgust, as they began to look over with interest and slight envy.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 14:38:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh, yes, it happens almost everywhere I go," Yushiro admitted.&nbsp; "Even at my old school, where <em>everyone</em> came from a family like mine.&nbsp; And it was a bit of a bother, at first."&nbsp; He nodded his head as he said this.&nbsp; "But I realized, with the help of a cousin of mine, that what most of them felt for me was admiration, or maybe a little bit of a crush."<br><br>"But a crush doesn't hold a candle to real love," raising his index finger next to his face as if in lecture.&nbsp; "Half the girls in middle school either got over me, or realized there was someone they had deeper feelings for."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 14:41:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She guessed that cousin was the one in the picture, but she didn't continue that train of talk. Seem uninterested in his personal life, Kumiko, she told herself. That's the way to go.<br><br>"You mentioned half of them got over you. And the other half? What did you end up doing to them instead?" She was trying to draw him out by being accusatory, her face set hard.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 14:48:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The cousin in question actually was <em>not</em> Aiko, the one in the picture, but his older cousin Asa, wise in the way of boy/girl relationships.&nbsp; But since Kumiko hadn't asked, she didn't know.<br><br>Yushiro shook his head.&nbsp; "I didn't do anything.&nbsp; And I don't know what happened to them after we all graduated."&nbsp; In between the lines, Yushiro was making an admittance that he'd never dated before.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 14:52:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I thought you were an okay person," she replied, her voice turning cold suddenly, "but I know that you're lying now. I can't believe that you've never taken advantage of that attention. You know, you've been smart thus far. An assertion like that is so obviously false. I bet the story with your cousin and the average boy isn't true too."<br><br>She folded her arms and stared daggers at him. "How stupid do you think I am?" 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 14:59:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				That was usually the response that he got from girls when he said that he'd never taken advantage of his position.&nbsp; Well, that, or a whole bunch of squealing and saying how nice he really was.&nbsp; "I don't."&nbsp; Yushiro shook his head.&nbsp; "You're obviously a very intelligent girl, so trying to sneak something like a lie past you would be difficult, if not nightmarish."<br><br>The sorcerer shrugged.&nbsp; "But I'm not lying.&nbsp; I would never use my family background to get whatever girl I wanted.&nbsp; The girl I want is someone who's interested in me, and not my family.&nbsp; And if that screws up your little attempt to stuff me into a box labeled 'skirt chaser,' or 'womanizer,' or 'Casanova,' then I'm sorry.&nbsp; But you can't categorize people so easily like that."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 15:23:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She had expected him to defend himself, but his reaction was completely different from what she had expected. His words seemed to drag resignation, at least, her ears heard that, as if he had given up trying to stop this state of affairs from taking place. She brought her hands together on one of her knees pensively.<br><br>"So let's assume, just for one moment, that you're not some...Casanova," she bit out slowly, "but boys say that they're looking for someone who accepts them for what they are and so on and so forth, etcetra, etcetra, before turning around to kiss some girl who's unfortunate enough to have a crush on him. What makes you different from all of them?"<br><br>Her natural paranoia was getting the better of her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 15:32:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You mean, besides the huge family that's essentially one big bag of crazy?"&nbsp; Maybe now wasn't the time to be cracking jokes, but he said it anyway.&nbsp; "Three things.&nbsp; First, my cousin who I mentioned earlier...she certainly wouldn't be happy if I led a girl on like that.&nbsp; She'd probably kick my butt.&nbsp; Second, as you've been so quick to point out, I could have <em>anyone</em> I wanted.&nbsp; Contrast that with most guys, who consider themselves lucky if they've got two or three girls interested in them.&nbsp; They're desperate, because they want the same things I want, so they do things like that.&nbsp; But when <em>everyone</em> is offering it up...it loses something."&nbsp; That was the hard one to understand, usually.<br><br>"And third?&nbsp; I can't explain it, but it's just not who I am."&nbsp; Yushiro shrugged.&nbsp; "Sorry."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 15:55:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko nodded, as if she accepted his explanation. She paused for a moment, before letting herself smile. Just a little. "I'm guessing that this cousin isn't the cute little thing in the picture," she ventured, "it would be...interesting to see her, as you put it, kick your butt."<br><br>"So what are you?" she asked, hanging onto his last statement. She knew it was a little rude to keep on demanding answer while offering none herself, but then again, she never really bothered about that sort of things usually.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 16:03:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro shook his head.&nbsp; "Nope.&nbsp; Aiko's just a year or two younger than I am.&nbsp; The one I'm talking about is a good seven, eight years older than I am.&nbsp; And she's attractive, too, just more the tomboy than the girly girl."&nbsp; If Kumiko spent any amount of time around him...she'd meet Asa.<br><br>"I'm...me.&nbsp; I guess to put words to it - I'm respectful of the female half and their own feelings."&nbsp; He scratched his head.&nbsp; "It's kind of difficult to explain unless you know me pretty well."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-02-2011, 16:24:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko was indeed curious to know this strange but decent-sounding boy more, but she didn't want to say that. "I'm sure you are," she said instead, her voice laid with a bit of sarcasm, "and I'm sure your view on the female half is special to yourself." She regretted her words, but then Mr Wataya came in before any more could be said, and she turned swiftly around for the lesson.<br><br>The lesson was the last one for the day. As the teacher left, Kumiko stood up and began to pack. She was in the literary club, which she had joined simply because it was small and the group didn't meet that often, and so after school she was generally allowed to leave. As she kept her stuff, she glanced over to Yushiro.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 04:49:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Despite the bit of sarcasm in her tone, Yushiro just ignored it.&nbsp; She meant well, he knew.&nbsp; She was just having some of herself get in the way of it.&nbsp; But, she was right - his view on girls was unique to himself.&nbsp; As the teacher came in for the lesson, he took out his things, smiling to himself while he got set up.&nbsp; After school was certainly going to be very interesting.<br><br>Yushiro was packing to go home after school ended for the day.&nbsp; He saw Kumiko turn around, looking in his direction.&nbsp; Standing up, he returned her look.&nbsp; "Do you do anything after school?&nbsp; Clubs?&nbsp; A job?"&nbsp; Probably not the latter, but you never knew.&nbsp; He knew she wouldn't make the opening move, so he did.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 09:50:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No, I don't. I'm in the literature club, but they hardly meet, and they'll tell me if they're meeting." She paused for a moment, looking at him pointedly. "Which they haven't. I'll be heading home now, maybe stopping at Books Kinokuniya on the way back, but that's all."<br><br>She finished packing and slung her bag over her shoulder. "So what are you going to do now?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 09:56:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He shrugged.&nbsp; "Not sure.&nbsp; Might go check out the clubs, might see if I can do some studying in the library...and I might just go straight home."&nbsp; Yushiro exhaled.&nbsp; "I do need to get settled into my new apartment, so I'll figure something out."<br><br>Yushiro was leaving open the possibility for her to invite him along to this bookstore that she was going to.&nbsp; Now to wait and see.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 10:11:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, if you need me to help out with your apartment, just ask," she began. "Look, I'm sorry for calling you a liar; I didn't mean it. Well, I didn't mean it that much."<br><br>She exhaled once, looking away for a moment at the rest of her classmates filing out of the room. "You'd best not go to the school library and study. The librarians some old half-deaf old hag, and the students take advantage of that. You won't get any studying out of it. If you're after books...well, you could follow me. At a distance. You've got money to buy them, anyway, right?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 10:18:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro smiled.&nbsp; "Thanks.&nbsp; I will."&nbsp; He didn't think that he would need help - there were people doing that - but you never knew.&nbsp; "Don't worry about it," he replied to her comment about lying.&nbsp; "You're not the first person in my life to do that."&nbsp; Maybe they hadn't been as aggressive, but people had done it before.<br><br>"Oh, thanks...I wouldn't have known that until I had gotten there."&nbsp; He stood up with his bag.&nbsp; "Sure.&nbsp; I'd like to know where this bookstore is.&nbsp; And yes, I've got money for them."&nbsp; That would be something he would always have some of.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 10:39:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Sure." She was dropping back into her reticence again. "Can't have you looking like an idiot in the library, after all. The teacher would have my head if I neglected her command."<br><br>Books Kinokuniya was fifteen minutes walk away. She didn't venture any conversation as she set off, and tried to keep at least five paces ahead of Yushiro, holding onto her bag as she walked.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 10:42:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro didn't really remember warning him about the pitfalls of the school to be part of her instruction to show him around...but he decided to go with it, anyways.&nbsp; Despite her exterior, she did seem nice.<br><br>Although, the fact that she was obviously trying so hard to <em>not</em> look like she was walking with him did make him laugh to himself a little.&nbsp; He followed her to the bookstore, and stepped inside.&nbsp; What to find here?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 11:15:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Books Kinokuniya, being one of the biggest chains of bookshops in the country, had a outlet seven storeys tall near the school. "Is there any kind of book that you're looking for?" she asked, as she tapped her foot impatiently. She wasn't quite sure why she decided to invite him here today. She had just bought some the other day. But since she was here already, she might as well play along.<br><br>Her brow furrowed. This boy...he was different, and it disconcerted her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 11:29:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro knew the chain quite well, it being one of the big businesses in the country.&nbsp; "Hm..."&nbsp; He tapped his chin with a finger.&nbsp; "Yeah, there were a couple of history books that I did want to pick up, now that I think about it.&nbsp; And maybe a foreign literature book, or something.&nbsp; I'd have to see if this particular branch has the ones that I'm looking for."<br><br>Yushiro looked over to Kumiko.&nbsp; "After you, you know the place better than I do."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 12:03:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her brow furrowed as she stabbed one finger at the floor guide on the wall next to the lifts. "Check it yourself, pretty boy. History on the fourth floor, foreign books on the 7th. Go whichever one you want, I'll just tag along."<br><br>She folded her arms and glanced towards the him, waiting for his reply.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 12:07:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He looked over to the floor guide.&nbsp; "Oh, so they do have one here..."&nbsp; He looked it over for a few seconds.&nbsp; "Alright."&nbsp; He pressed the call button, and waited for the elevator to arrive.&nbsp; Once it had, he stepped inside and pressed the button for the fourth floor.&nbsp; "Coming?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 12:31:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She stepped in at his words, and leaned against the back of the elevator, avoiding his eyes. The door chimed open on the fourth floor, and she stepped out and led the way to the history section. "What kinds of history did you say you were looking for?" she asked, as she bent over to pick up a fallen book and shove it back in the correct place on the shelf.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 12:35:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Following Kumiko to the history section, Yushiro only took a brief glance at Kumiko as she picked up the book.&nbsp; "I didn't.&nbsp; But, now that you ask...there's a book on Ryoma Sakamoto that came out recently, and also one on the life of students during the Taisho Era that I'm interested in," he told her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 12:42:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You'll find them on that shelf," she said, gesturing vaguely in its general direction, "that's where they keep 18th and 19th century history, in any case, and so your books should be around there." Walking over to that area, she began scanning the shelves for anything interesting. "I'm more interested in prewar Showa, so I can't really help you in what you're looking for."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 12:47:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro's mouth quirked upwards in a brief smile.&nbsp; "Ah, yes, pre-war Showa.&nbsp; Very busy time, lots of things happening, lots of changes..."&nbsp; The sorcerer, of course, wasn't just talking the normal world.&nbsp; He headed over to the shelf to have a look around, see if they did indeed have the books he was seeking when he came here.&nbsp; Ah, to wish for the old days, when things like this were not kept in secret.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 12:51:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko nodded absently as she pulled out a book from the shelf that had drawn her attention, only to find it was some sort of historical fiction, and slotted it back into the shelf with undisguised disgust. "Seriously, how do they organise their books these days?" she bit out, before turning to him. "What makes you so interested in this history anyway?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 12:55:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I would imagine in a way done with the bottom line in mind," Yushiro replied to that.&nbsp; "Well, Ryoma was Meiji era, and Taisho is...Taisho.&nbsp; They're both a period of transition, a fusion of traditional Japan with the West as it emerged into the wider world.&nbsp; There's a lot of rich history to be found there."&nbsp; And not all of it was for human ears.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 13:07:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It was a period in which Japan sucked off as much as possible from the west to cover up its own deficiencies. Say it as it is." she replied, as her eyes scanned the other books. "Pre-war Showa marked a period where Japan could finally whip the west at its own game."<br><br>She turned away here, slightly embarrassed, and she didn't want to let him see it on her face. She was arguing over bits of history like how other girls of her age would be fighting over which boy band was prettier, and it must sound incredibly silly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 13:18:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, two and a half centuries of near-total isolation from the rest of the outside world is bound to have detrimental effects upon any country," Yushiro argued back.&nbsp; "It was eat or be eaten, and we just wanted to make sure that we weren't the little fish."<br><br>The sorcerer almost laughed at her statement about Showa.&nbsp; "Right, and what game is that?&nbsp; Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the man who knew the West better than any general at that time, knew that if Japan were to fight against a nation like the United States, Japan would almost certainly lose."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 13:27:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				His words galvanised her back into actions. "Just because we managed to catch up on the West after two and a half centuries of our own stupidity doesn't mean we should be proud of our actions. While we did prove that we weren't the little fish at the Tsushima straits, it was only in prewar and wartime Showa that Japan really came into its own as a strategic power of its own right."<br><br>"Tadamichi Kuribayashi was right that Japan couldn't win a protracted conflict with the United States, but at the same time, few other nations could anyway. Look how we whipped the British and the French in Southeast Asia. Look at how afraid Stalin was about the Kwangtung army in Manchuria." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "I know I might sound militarist, but I really don't think Japan was in the right to start the war. I only feel that Showa is a period that Japan was successful and is often overlooked because of the less savoury things that happened then."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 13:35:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"And of course, China becoming a Communist nation so soon after the war ended didn't hurt, either.&nbsp; The Americans wanted a land to be able to protect the Far East from the spread of Communism.&nbsp; They had originally hoped it to be China, but after Zedong, they realized that rebuilding in Japan was an excellent way to work themselves into our own nation."<br><br>Yushiro nodded.&nbsp; "And indeed, few nations could fight the United States head-on.&nbsp; Many historians of the period said that Germany was easily the most advanced nation on the planet at that point, with the best wartime technology - and even they couldn't stop the Americans."&nbsp; He heard her last comment, and he lowered his voice.&nbsp; "Ah, that is quite true...my grandfather said that men become drunk on their own success far faster than any sake.&nbsp; And I think we can both agree here that that is what happened."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 13:51:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko felt slightly appalled at the way that they were slowly coming to a consensus. While she wasn't going to deny her beliefs to disagree with him, she wasn't going to let it go so easily. "Japan was no longer a military nation after the war. It had no way to project its power like how it did during the war, especially after an emasculated pacifist constitution prevented it from doing so, making it a perfect base for the Americans to use. Japan wasn't a power after the war; it was an aircraft carrier for the American air force."<br><br>"But I'm sure you didn't come here to argue history with me. Did you find the books you wanted?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 14:06:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No, it wasn't," Yushiro agreed.&nbsp; "But there is more than one way to wield power.&nbsp; Japan might not ever have military power like that again, but we've rebuilt into an economic power, for certain."&nbsp; The sorcerer shrugged.&nbsp; "But, you are right, we didn't come here to argue history."&nbsp; He held up the books in question.&nbsp; "And they were here.&nbsp; How about you? Were there any books that you wanted for yourself?"&nbsp; She had been the one to suggest coming here in the first place, after all.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 14:28:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I don't have anything I'm looking for. But don't you have another book that you're looking for? Or are you done already?" she asked back. In truth, she had found it more interesting than she had expected talking to him. He wasn't all that bad, perhaps. And he wasn't dumb at all, as what most of the pretty boys she had known were. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 14:31:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There was one other, a foreign biography..."&nbsp; Yushiro looked lost in thought for a moment.&nbsp; "But I have these for the moment, and they'll certainly be enough.&nbsp; I can always come back here and find it again, once I am finished with these."&nbsp; Yushiro knew that between school and his special mission, he would have little time for much else.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 14:35:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Very well, then," she replied, making for the cashier, "Pay. And then we can get out." She felt a little pang of sadness that he had finished his job here, and there was little reason for her to remain. And it was just as the discussions were getting interesting. She sighed and looked away, her arms akimbo but radiating far less hostility that she had when they were at the canteen earlier in the day.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 14:39:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro followed her towards the cashier.&nbsp; As he stood waiting to pay, he turned to Kumiko.&nbsp; "You know, I think I saw a restaurant a couple of blocks over.&nbsp; If you want to, we could go there and continue our discussions...though it doesn't have to be about history."&nbsp; She'd made the invitations so far, now it was his turn, and he hoped that she would take him up on it.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 16:02:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She turned the idea over in her head. Much as she didn't like to seem as if she was friendly, she thought that maybe he was worth talking to for a bit. "Alright," she said, finally, with obviously forced reluctance, wringing her hands, "Lead the way." At the very least, she told herself, it was better than her going to eat alone, and getting all sorts of strange looks from other diners at the restaurants.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 17:09:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Nodding, he led the way out of the store and the blocks down the street till they reached the restaurant.&nbsp; Once there, they were seated by a hostess at a nicely-sized booth, and a waitress came by to take their drink orders.&nbsp; After she was gone, Yushiro turned back to Kumiko.&nbsp; "Okay, so...anything you want to talk about?&nbsp; We could go back to history."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 17:18:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She leaned forward on her elbows and rested her head on her hands. "History is fine, but I'd just like to get to know you a little better. You're rich, that I know, but tell me about your cousins. The cute one and the ass-kicking one." Their drinks came, and Kumiko took a small sip from hers, feeling the cold feel of the lemonade trickle down her throat.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 17:31:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, you already met the cute one, sort of.&nbsp; That's my cousin Aiko.&nbsp; The photo I showed you of her was a couple years ago, when she was in middle school.&nbsp; She's actually in her first year of high school now, at an all-girls' school."&nbsp; Yushiro took a drink.&nbsp; "The other one, the older one, is my cousin Asa.&nbsp; She graduated from college and is working in the family business right now.&nbsp; Growing up, she was kind of like my big sister, the person I could turn to."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 17:39:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"So...how did the thing work out between Aiko and her average boyfriend?" Kumiko asked with interest, putting her drink down. "And what's your family business? Must be pretty big."<br><br>"I always wondered how if must feel to have cousins or siblings," she mused, "but then I looked at my classmates, and I realised that I couldn't stand most of them as they were in school, what more at home as well."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 17:45:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"He's not her boyfriend.&nbsp; Well, if you believe what she says.&nbsp; She did manage to get up the courage to talk to him, and after they both graduated from middle school, they e-mail and such."&nbsp; Yushiro shrugged.&nbsp; "Honestly, the guy's alright, and I think the family has enough arranged marriages for our generation that Aiko can have him."<br><br>He changed subjects.&nbsp; "Family business is a bit diverse, though we're a lot into atmospheric and marine research.&nbsp; And yeah, it's big."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 17:54:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Atmospheric and marine research. Sounds interesting, and actually sounds like your family's doing something different. My parents own a large part of a company that produces high quality rivets. You know, the kind that they use in aircraft and ships and satellites. A rivet company. I think they make screws too. Fascinating business." her voice was slipping into sarcasm again. "Are you in an arranged marriage anytime soon?" she asked, purely out of curiousity. The workings of old families always interested her. It seemed somewhat romantic, like the feudal ages of bushido and geisha and the such.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>16-02-2011, 18:01:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yeah, well, it's actually a pretty big field right now, especially with people wanting to explore our own planet more than outer space.&nbsp; Plus, the government's given us funding to see if we can work on a good weather prediction system."&nbsp; He shrugged.&nbsp; "As for marriages...no, I'm not.&nbsp; There's a couple dozen Asajimas in my generation, and I'm one of five guys.&nbsp; We do get a handful of arranged marriages every generation, but that's after careful evaluation and a selection process and such."&nbsp; Half of those marriages, he neglected to tell her, were for the sorcery end of the family than the mundane.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 13:26:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Don't you people dislike arranged marriages? I mean, we live a progressive society and all that...even if it's evaluated, isn't that a bit mean on the children?" her voice trailed off. "I'm just thinking about how I'll respond to my parents telling me they arranged my marriage. I can't decide if I'll kill them or burst into tears, and then kill them."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 14:47:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"My family is...complicated.&nbsp; And a bit weird."&nbsp; Yushiro couldn't really explain to her that half the reason they did arranged marriages anymore was to make sure new magical blood came into the family.&nbsp; "Plus, they find out that one of our family has a mutual liking towards a member of another family, and they do some legalistic magic, and call that an arranged marriage."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 15:05:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I know my family's old, but I've never heard of them being in arranged marriages. Probably because mine's just too small and insignificant now." She remarked this offhandedly, as the food arrived. She dug in with gusto, not really sure why, but she was famished now. "So why'd they send you to this plebian school to study?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 15:10:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				This <em>sucked</em>.&nbsp; Yushiro always hated talking about the subject of his family with outsiders, because he couldn't tell them the truth about everything.&nbsp; "To understand the common person, or something like that.&nbsp; Personally, I think they did it to keep the possibility of romantic entanglements on the high society level to a minimum, but that's me."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 15:16:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko snorted derisively into her drink. "So they let you get into romantic entanglements with low society, is that so?" she asked, quizzically, her eyes dancing with mirth. "That seems kind of self-defeating to me. Maybe they ought to have had you home-schooled instead."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 15:19:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro shook his head.&nbsp; "They're not gonna do that.&nbsp; My family is not stupid.&nbsp; They may be rich, but if they're going to pay for an education, they want the whole thing - socializing, making friends.&nbsp; As important as it is in these circles...it's so much more important in the circles my family runs in."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 15:40:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She ruminated over this for a while. "I guess you're right. I asked my parents to give me home schooling when I was younger because I couldn't stand my classmates, but they insisted that I learn to socialize with them and figure out how to form relationships. Of course, that was when they were still looking after my education and not jet-setting around the world in their work and their racuous living."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 15:45:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yeah, plus, if one of my family got home schooling...then <em>everyone</em> would be asking for that, and that would cost the family quite a bit of money.&nbsp; We might as well open our own school, and such."&nbsp; Yushiro shrugged.&nbsp; "And that sucks about your parents...you live alone, then, in your house?"&nbsp; It certainly sounded like she did, and being alone in a big house was a bit...well, it shouldn't be done.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 16:22:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Alone? Well, no, not really. There's a trio of old maids, the half-asleep guard at the gate, and my cat. The cat, Lise, has probably the most personality out of all of them." She flashed him a quick smile, before continuing, "Well, it's not that bad, really. The quiet's something quite inviting, and all the servants wait on me hand-and-foot. It's quite entertaining at times."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 16:31:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I see...well, you've got that over me, then.&nbsp; I couldn't stand that.&nbsp; I think."&nbsp; Yushiro scratched his head.&nbsp; "I'd have to figure that out for myself, if I wanted to know."&nbsp; He exhaled.&nbsp; "So, ah, what else did you want to ask me?&nbsp; I'm sure you don't want to hear me go on and on about the peculiarities of my own family - they could fill a book."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 16:36:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I don't mind," she said, without batting an eyelid, "you never know, I might be able to use them against you someday. That should prove interesting. Perhaps you should write a book - you might make a name for yourself and get even more girls throwing themselves at your feet."<br><br>"What I'm curious to know, is, what makes you what you are? There's something about you I can't quite put my finger on, almost as if it's an aura, something that makes you seem remote or something." She stared at him like he was some rare kind of insect. "It may sound silly, but it's quite intriguing to me."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 16:43:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro shook his head, laughing just a little.&nbsp; "I don't need that any more than I've already got."&nbsp; He exhaled.&nbsp; "What makes me...me?&nbsp; Certainly an interesting question.&nbsp; Something that each of us really strive to understand.&nbsp; What are the outside forces that constitute our very being?"<br><br>The sorcerer smiled a little.&nbsp; "But, to try and answer your question about seeming remote...consider this from my perspective.&nbsp; All my life, I've lived in a different world, gone to a different school.&nbsp; Now, I'm here.&nbsp; But I know full well when this year is over, I'm going back to where I came from."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 16:47:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko still looked at him quizzically. "Well, perhaps," she considered, "jumping from school to school can be disconcerting, but there's something, I don't know, untouchable about you. As if even if reached out and tried to grab you or something, you'd just be out of reach, out of mind." The last word clicked with her, and what she feared she might do, and here she grew quiet, and continued her meal in silence.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 16:51:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro held up his hands and shrugged.&nbsp; "Sorry.&nbsp; I can't control the way that people perceive me.&nbsp; So I couldn't tell you what it is you're feeling besides what I've already said."&nbsp; Deep down, though, he was starting to worry.&nbsp; Was she a sensitive?&nbsp; Someone who could feel the aura of magic that permeated him?&nbsp; They usually couldn't quantify it, though, and that was his advantage.&nbsp; He resumed eating, as well.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 16:56:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The meal carried on in awkward silence. Kumiko glanced up a few times at Yushiro, but that was about it, and she continued to eat without saying a word. As the waitress cleared away the plates, Kumiko pulled out her purse, intent on paying for her part of the meal, at the very least.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 16:57:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro jumped in.&nbsp; "You know, you don't have to do that.&nbsp; Coming here was my idea, I should pay for it."&nbsp; He was trying to be the gentleman, and at least take responsibility for her being here in the first place.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 17:21:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Don't be silly. This isn't a date, I'll pay for my portion and you pay for yours. That way we're both assauged of guilt. Now sit down and hand over the cost of your meal." She flipped out a thousand yen note from her purse, and waited for him to place his own onto the waitress' money holder too.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 18:38:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I'm going to feel guilt if you <em>do</em> pay for this," he replied to her.&nbsp; He put down the cost of the whole meal, plus the tip, but trapped the money holder under his hand, not giving Kumiko an opportunity to pay for it.&nbsp; "Keep your money.&nbsp; Consider it payment for showing me around school and for giving me some of the most intellectual conversation I've had in a while."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>18-02-2011, 13:30:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She tried to pry the money holder from him, but she gave up when the waitress offered a quiet giggle. Frowning, she settled back into her seat, her arms folded. "Just to tell you, this doesn't mean that I'm going out with you. And you don't owe me anything for the school tour, that was ordered by the teacher."<br><br>"As for the conversation...I enjoyed it myself, a little. So thank you for that too."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>18-02-2011, 14:58:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Of course not.&nbsp; If it were, then the world would be a much stickier place, romantically."&nbsp; Besides, if he did want to go out with her...he wanted it to be on his own merits.&nbsp; Once the waitress had taken the money holder, he rested his head on a hand.&nbsp; "And you didn't have to do the school tour, or even do a good job of it.&nbsp; But you did, and I'm grateful.&nbsp; Perhaps we can have more conversations in the future?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>18-02-2011, 15:02:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I barely gave you a tour. There's no need to be polite to excuse my rudeness." She favoured him with a slight smile. "I won't deny it, talking to you wasn't altogether an unpleasant experience. If you want to have conversations in the future, that's fine by me. After all, we're in the same class. It's not easy to go without speaking to one another." Saying this allowed her to tell herself that if she ended up speaking to him at a later date, she could tell herself that it was simply proximity that forced them to talk to each other.<br><br>"Thank you for the meal. I guess...I'll see you tomorrow?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>18-02-2011, 15:06:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yes, yes there was.&nbsp; But Yushiro wasn't about to insist on it, it was a subject that they could argue about and still reach no agreement.&nbsp; "Alright.&nbsp; I'd like that," he replied to her suggestion about further conversation.&nbsp; "You are most welcome for it," he replied to her gratitude for the food.&nbsp; "And yes, I'll certainly see you tomorrow."&nbsp; It was going to be impossible, given that they were A: at the same school, B: in the same class, and C: sat right next to each others' desks.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>18-02-2011, 15:57:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Alright then," Kumiko said, as she rose from her table and made to leave. "See you tomorrow."<br><br>Kumiko walked home in silent contemplation. She had to admit, the boy was far more different from the idiot she had expected him to be. He was smart, and he wasn't more showy than he had to. And he knew how to conduct a meaningful and intellectual conversation.<br><br>Against herself, she finally decided, <em>I like this boy.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>18-02-2011, 16:00:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Once everything was cleared, Yushiro left the restaurant and headed back to his apartment. It was, as he expected, almost completely set up, with only a couple of minor things here and there to put into place.&nbsp; But, that wasn't the priority at the moment.<br><br>Yushiro headed into his bedroom to sit down at his computer, to check in and see if there was anything new about this secret special mission he was supposed to be on.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>18-02-2011, 16:43:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The next day found Kumiko in the classrom early as usual. She took her place near the window as usual, and stared outside. But every few minutes her eyes flickered to the door, checking if Yushiro came in. Her fingers began to drum on the desk again, as she waited. Waited for the class to start, of course.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>18-02-2011, 22:17:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro arrived at school fashionably early.&nbsp; That was to say, with enough time to get to class and go where he needed to go, but not so much that the other students would be able to harass him.&nbsp; Kumiko would see him walk in a handful of minutes before class began...of course, a lot of girls were greeting him.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 01:31:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko spotted Yushiro enter the class amidst the greetings of several other girls, and characteristically, she continued staring out of the windows. She felt great irritation at what the other girls were doing, but she held her peace. Somehow the fact that they were doing so to Yushiro made her even more incensed, but she brushed this aside, saying a simple hello without looking at him as he neared his desk.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 01:38:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro managed to deal with the gaggle of girls, slipping into the classroom after greeting them.&nbsp; He acknowledged Kumiko, saying hell in return to her.&nbsp; Sitting at his desk, he took out his things.&nbsp; Of course, he noted that the desks of girls near the front were grouped a little bit closer than normal, and that, just like yesterday, glances were being thrown in his direction by the occupants of those desks.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 05:53:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko was ignoring those girls, and instead continued to look out of the window, while saying, "the more those girls continue to gossip, the more irritating and insipid they look." She glanced at him to see how he would respond.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 14:42:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				A brief flash of a smile. "Now, now.&nbsp; They may be gossiping, but they're still people, and they deserve at least a little bit of respect."&nbsp; Yushiro was quite used to having people talk about him, so it wasn't so bad.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 15:26:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There's a lot of difference between being a person and being a human," Kumiko replied, turning to them for a moment with disgust, before moving to face him. "It's silly the way that they hitch onto something new." She sighed and turned away. "But leave my musings alone. Let's get on with life. How are you today?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 15:29:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I'm good, thanks for asking," he replied, sitting down in the chair.&nbsp; "Got all moved into my new apartment and everything.&nbsp; I'll have to show you where it is sometime."&nbsp; He wasn't particularly sure why she would need to know that, but he felt that since he mentioned it, he should tell her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 15:32:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She cocked her head to one side, looking at him bemusedly. "Do you make the offer to many girls to take them to your house, or is it just me?" she asked him. "I'd have thought that it's not really one of the things that you'd suggest to most girls."<br><br>As she finished, the trio of girls from yesterday walked up to Yushiro, giggling and looking at him with curiousity and hushed whispers.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 15:41:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro was about to respond, but he was cut off by the appearance of the other three girls from lunch the day before.&nbsp; "Ladies," he looked over to them.&nbsp; "Is there something that I can help you with?"&nbsp; He knew it was a loaded question, and they were going to say something...but it was the polite thing to do, after all.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 15:46:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				At his words, Yuki blushed profusely, and her two friends began to giggle again. "We just hoped whether you remembered the three of us from yesterday, and were wondering if you would care to join us for lunch today. Yuki here, whose turn it is to make lunches for us, made four 'by accident' instead of three, or so she claims, so we're offering it to you. So what do you think?"<br><br>"And, and can I borrow a pen from you, Yu-Yushiro?" asked Yuki, stuttering. "I, I forgot to bring my, my pencil case..."<br><br>Kumiko turned away, and pulled her away, her expression turning very sour.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 15:49:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Of course I remember," he replied.&nbsp; "And yes, I would be happy to join you for lunch...meet me in the cafeteria when lunch rolls around, okay?"&nbsp; He smiled at them.&nbsp; Yushiro knew full well what people were going to think when he said this, but he had a plan.&nbsp; "Oh, you need a pen?&nbsp; Just hang on a second."&nbsp; He went through his bag.&nbsp; "Here we are."&nbsp; He passed her a pen, and then nodded.&nbsp; "Alright.&nbsp; See you at lunch, then."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 16:34:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko didn't respond for most of the conversation, but as Yuki took the pen, squealing with delight, something within her snapped. She wasn't going to stand for this, she wasn't going to stand by while this ridiculous scene played itself out right next to her. She couldn't stand it, this Yushiro was hers to guide in school, as the teacher said, of course, and she just wasn't going to just stand by while these witless girls tried to usurp her responsibility. Their giggles as they thanked Yushiro in those banal and depressingly empty but cheery voices sent her over the edge. With a sudden spike of rage, she lashed out with her mind, yanking the pen out of Yuki's surprised grasp, brushing past her cheek so roughly that it drew a sharp cut across the girl's face, before it went right through the window at the far end of the classroom, shattering it.<br><br>As the classrom descended into chaos, Kumiko sat there, stunned, before she finally got up from her seat, and ran out of the classroom.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>20-02-2011, 14:40:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro hadn't expected to happen what had happened when he handed over the pen.&nbsp; It seemingly jumped out of Yuki's hand, flew past her face, to the window, and broke it, heading outside.&nbsp; To an untrained eye, it might have been classified as 'freaky' or 'weird.'&nbsp; But he knew better.&nbsp; That was magic, without a doubt about it.&nbsp; He saw Kumiko running out of the classroom.&nbsp; The sorcerer had a hunch...he handed off Yuki to her friends, telling them to get her to the infirmary and have that taken care of soonest.&nbsp; He then got up and chased after the girl who'd fled from the classroom.&nbsp; If he was right, then there was another sorcerer in town, and that might make his mission (whatever it was, he still didn't know) a bit easier. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>20-02-2011, 15:29:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko ran out of the room, running down the corridor, heedless of the stares she got. She ran and ran, until she found herself up on the roof, where she collapsed against the wall and began to sob softly to herself. All that time, all that resistance and attempts to calm herself down for those years, and it suddenly just had to break when this boy entered her life. It's not like she really cared about him, she told herself, then why did she have to lose her temper this way? She was scared, scared that this would develop into something she couldn't control and would in the end result in her really doing real harm to other people.<br><br>She tried to dry her tears, sniffling in a most pathetic way. But she was coming under control, though her eyes were red from crying and her face covered with tears, which she tried to wipe away.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 05:22:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It wasn't very difficult for Yushiro to follow Kumiko's path, even without using magic.&nbsp; All he had to do was follow the line of stares to get from point A to point B.&nbsp; And where point B turned out to be was...the roof.&nbsp; Of course, he should've known.&nbsp; Walking up the steps to the roof, he took a few moments to compose himself before he opened the door and stepped out onto the roof to try and find her.&nbsp; And so he did, with a minimum of effort.&nbsp; She looked very, very upset, a contrast to how she had appeared every moment that he had seen her up to now.&nbsp; "Kumiko-san?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 15:26:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She whipped around, her eyes red and scared. Staring at him, she looked at him fearfully. "It wasn't me, Yushiro," she cried, as she tried to stop the involuntary flow of tears, "I, I wouldn't have done that it real life, it wasn't me, please, I didin't do it...I couldn't stop it from happening..." Her voice trailed off as she brought up her hand to wipe her tears. "Why, why does it have to happen like this? I tried so hard...so hard to not let it happen again...why?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 16:10:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko was obviously emotional right now, and an emotional sorcerer without control could sometimes end up destroying things.&nbsp; For her, because she was crying, it was rare, as composed to anger, but he knew he needed to calm her down.&nbsp; And his theory had been confirmed - she was a sorcerer.&nbsp; He gently hugged her.&nbsp; "There, there, it's not your fault, you just don't know how," he replied quietly, stroking her back.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 16:51:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I didn't want to harm her, I just was frustrated with her, and you know, she was being like..." her voice trailed off, as she began to cry into his shoulder, "I'm not like that, petty and stupid, I just, I just don't know why this happens to me." Upset as she was, she didn't notice his indication that he knew she had lost control. She was too upset, and Yushiro was just there for her to cry against. "I, I couldn't help it, it just sort of came out, it wasn't my fault, I tried..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 16:57:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Hey, it'll be okay, I promise.&nbsp; I know that you're not like that," he told her.&nbsp; "You just need to learn how to control it, that's all, and I can help you with that."&nbsp; It was amazing, that she had sorcery and somehow she had never gotten proper instruction.&nbsp; Usually, the people sent out by the magical families - there were others besides his own - were good at catching the appearance of new sorcerers, and giving them training in their newfound abilities.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 17:09:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You, you know what it is?" she asked, her eyes still tearful, but confusion reigning on her face. "What, what do you mean, you can help me. You're like this too?" She looked around fearfully, as if someone was listening in to their conversation. "What, what do I have to do? Please, tell me, Yushiro!"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 17:11:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Of course I do.&nbsp; It's magic.&nbsp; You're a sorceress."&nbsp; He smiled at her.&nbsp; "And I can help you.&nbsp; I've been a sorcerer all my life.&nbsp; And all you have do to is train.&nbsp; Normally, that would be kind of difficult without a mentor, but I'm here, and I can teach you!"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 17:48:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Magic?" queried Kumiko. "You mean, you mean that was magic?" She shook her head wildly. "No, magic doesn't exist, it must be something else, how could it be..." She looked at him, a scared look in her eyes. "But, you say you can help me control it?" There was a hard glint that appeared now. "Then teach me, damnit! I won't have, have this happen again!"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 17:51:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"That is what I said..."&nbsp; He laughed.&nbsp; "Of course it does.&nbsp; People just don't see it."&nbsp; A smile.&nbsp; "I can.&nbsp; And I am.&nbsp; But it'll be a long process, and take a bit of effort.&nbsp; Plus, I'm going to need space to do it.&nbsp; My apartment just isn't big enough for this, and I don't want to worry about accidentally destroying things with others around."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 17:56:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Space?" Now that she understood, besides all this magic thing. "My, my house is big, and the servants don't question what I do, so, so, if you need space, there's that..." She looked at him hard. "I don't care if it's long and it's hard, I'll get through it, see if I don't." Almost on impulse, she grabbed onto his shirt fiercely and said, "you'd better not be lying to me, pretty boy, or I'll, I'll..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>21-02-2011, 17:59:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I'm <em>not</em> lying," he promised her.&nbsp; "Matter of fact, when we have our first lesson, I'll <em>show</em> you that I'm not."&nbsp; Okay, so they had space to do their work in her house.&nbsp; That was mostly what he had been hoping for, and now he had it.&nbsp; "Now just...just calm down, and when classes are over for the day, we'll figure out where to go from here."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>24-02-2011, 10:36:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She nodded at him, wiping her tears defiantly one more time, before she left the roof without a word to freshen up in the washroom. She came back to the classroom, to see that they were being moved to a different room just in case the glass had been weakened. She spent the rest of the day in a daze, not really following any of the lessons, but once they were released from school, she stood up and looked over at him pointedly. "Shall we?" she asked.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>24-02-2011, 15:02:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro watched her go.&nbsp; This was going to be good.&nbsp; He'd actually made friends with the one person who might be able to help him.&nbsp; Soon after she left, he did, but went straight back to the classroom, seeing that they were being moved.&nbsp; Once the day was over, he nodded.&nbsp; "Yeah.&nbsp; Let's go."&nbsp; He didn't want to drop the words 'house' or 'go home' or anything that might have made people think things...yet.&nbsp; Standing up, he gathered his things.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>26-02-2011, 07:40:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She led the way back to her home in silence, which was about twenty minutes walk away and tucked down a side street. The house itself was a large structure of a gothic-western style, with a large hall and carpeted grounds and velvet walls and the such. It was probably newly constructed, given the style, but detail had gone into giving the building a sense of age. As the two entered, a small tortoiseshell cat came scampering up to Kumiko's feet, and she smiled wanely at it before scooping it up in her arms. Out of the corner of the eye, she espied the butler bowing to her, before she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. <br><br>"Is this big enough?" she asked him offhandedly, "there's an open-air courtyard further in which is bigger."<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>27-02-2011, 04:18:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro followed Kumiko back to her home, being quiet the whole time.&nbsp; He was amazed when he saw the size of her home.&nbsp; Granted, he'd seen big houses like this before, and certainly a few Western-style ones, but they were usually in a rich community.&nbsp; This one stood alone.&nbsp; Entering, he saw a cat rub against her feet before the girl picked it up.&nbsp; "Ah, yes, this is certainly big enough," he commented with a nod.&nbsp; "But, we're going to want a couple of other things.&nbsp; A place where we don't have to worry about breaking things, and a place where there's at least a little privacy."&nbsp; Wouldn't have to do if someone walked in on him teaching.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>27-02-2011, 17:00:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Don't worry about breaking the things in here. Stuff in this place is all fake; we keep the valuable stuff further in, under lock and key. And as for privacy, I'll tell the servants to leave us alone inside of here. Ushikawa!" she shouted, and the butler reappeared. "When this boy and I are here, we'll be using the hall for extracirricular activity planning, and I don't want us disturbed. At all. Is that clear?" The butler nodded once and she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.<br><br>"There. Now what?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>27-02-2011, 18:22:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro nodded.&nbsp; Okay, so breaking things in the hall was okay.&nbsp; He watched as she had the butler ensure that they were not disturbed whenever they did sorcery training here in the hall.&nbsp; "Now we get started."&nbsp; He put his bag on a table and started rooting around in it.&nbsp; "You're going to want to be in different clothes for this.&nbsp; Something light and flexible."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>27-02-2011, 23:44:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She nodded once, before walking up the stair quickly to her room, where she tossed off her clothes and threw on a t-shirt and short sport pants. Spending a moment to stare out of the window aimlessly, she turned back to the task at hand. She walked back down to Yushiro quickly. "There, something more flexible. Is it alright? Or should I turn around slowly for you to check?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>27-02-2011, 23:47:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				By the time she had come back, he was waiting in a pair of thin pants and a T-shirt, as well.&nbsp; "No, that's good enough for me.&nbsp; If you were asking my uncle or my grandfather, they might, but I trust you."&nbsp; Yushiro exhaled.&nbsp; "Okay.&nbsp; Magic.&nbsp; First thing you know.&nbsp; It exists.&nbsp; Second thing.&nbsp; It is not all powerful.&nbsp; You cannot simply wave your hand and mutter a few words and make gold.&nbsp; It it limited, by practitioner.&nbsp; You seem to be a kinetomancer - a force magic user."&nbsp; A pause.&nbsp; "Okay.&nbsp; First thing I need to teach you to do is to focus yourself."&nbsp; He sat down in a meditative position.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>28-02-2011, 08:17:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kinetomancer? Not a term she was familiar with. But she kept quiet - evidently he knew what he was doing. She got into a position similar to his, crossing her legs, before staring at him curiously. "Alright, I'm ready to focus. Is there something I need to do specially? Like point or gesticulate?"<br><br>She then asked curiously, "so what kind of magic user are you?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>28-02-2011, 14:22:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I use storm magic - wind, water, lightning, things like that.&nbsp; That's my concept.&nbsp; I'll teach you about that in a couple of moments."&nbsp; Then he addressed her other question.&nbsp; "Close your eyes, rest your hands in your lap...and just breathe.&nbsp; Let any thoughts you might have leave your mind for a moment."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>28-02-2011, 16:45:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko nodded, closing her eyes and tried to clear her mind. For a moment she achieved clarity, before thoughts started rushing into her mind again. Squinting hard, her eyes shut, she pushed them out of her mind once again, but a moment later, she couldn't help but have thoughts return to her mind. "It's not working," she replied, her eyes snapping open, "I can't seem to concentrate for any given period of time."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>28-02-2011, 17:16:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				This was a common problem, and one that Yushiro knew how to work with.&nbsp; "Not a problem."&nbsp; He moved over to sitting across from her.&nbsp; "Alright.&nbsp; Close your eyes."&nbsp; She would then feel warm breath against her neck.&nbsp; "Concentrate on feeling my breath brushing against your neck."&nbsp; If a focus was usually given for the person trying to meditate, then often the ability to concentrate was boosted.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>11-03-2011, 02:22:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She squinted, her eyes firmly shut, as she felt Yushiro's warm breath against her neck.&nbsp; The first few times it was slightly unsettling, and she shivered, but after a while she calmed down, her heart rate going down a little. It felt strange sitting so close to another person, but at the same time, it didn't feel so bad. And interestingly enough, it did help. She imagined his breath against her, and the thought of its warmth and movement against her neck stayed in her mind.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>11-03-2011, 02:26:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro helped her for a while, and then stopped.&nbsp; A few moments after that, he spoke to her.&nbsp; "Do you feel ready?&nbsp; Are you relaxed?&nbsp; Focused?"&nbsp; Being both of those things was key to sorcery training.&nbsp; You needed to let the power flow out of you - hence being relaxed - but you also needed to be able to direct it yourself - hence being focused.&nbsp; "If you're prepared, stand up and get ready to have your very first lesson in sorcery."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>11-03-2011, 15:01:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I'm good," Kumiko replied, exhaling slowly, "Don't worry about me, I'm good." She got to her feet slowly, trying to take it as easy as possible. "I'm ready, good to go, what-have-you. Tell me what I have to do."<br><br>She opened her eyes slightly, so that they were more slit-like, but still kept calm.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>11-03-2011, 15:17:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Okay."&nbsp; Yushiro went over to the table, and took something out of his bag.&nbsp; A pen.&nbsp; "What you have to do is...pick up the pen.&nbsp; Just that.&nbsp; Nothing else."&nbsp; He had seen the display of power in the classroom, but that was uncontrolled, lashing out.&nbsp; Here, he needed her to focus, to will herself upon the universe.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>11-03-2011, 16:46:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She knew what Yushiro wanted, but just to be difficult, she walked up to him and snatched the pen out of his hand. "Behold! And yet it moves!" she cried out, lifting it high.<br><br>But she became serious about it after that, and she began to concentrate hard on lifting the pen from her hand. It twitched a little, before rising just a little. Sweat began to drip from her forehead as it rose just a little more, before it shot up high into the ceiling. Stumbling back in surprise, Kumiko fell onto the floor as the pen fell back to the ground with a loud crack.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>11-03-2011, 19:19:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro cracked a bit of a smile when she did that, but he shook his head anyways.&nbsp; He watched, though, as she worked to try and lift the pen up from her hand.&nbsp; When it shot up into the ceiling, and then came back down, it didn't surprise him.&nbsp; Beginning sorcerers always had issues with controlling their own abilities.<br><br>But, that was why he was here.&nbsp; He would teach her the control she needed in order to work her magic.&nbsp; "Alright, that was good.&nbsp; For your first time.&nbsp; Sort of."&nbsp; The sorcerer exhaled.&nbsp; "Now, I had you do that to show you something very important.&nbsp; For simple things like this, putting all of your effort into the task is too much.&nbsp; You want to whale away on some creature, then you can just start blasting.&nbsp; For this, though, don't concentrate on the pen.&nbsp; Concentrate on the space around the pen."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-03-2011, 01:43:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko nodded, taking it all in carefully. "I...see. No sense in using a nuke to kill mice, I guess." She turned her attention back to the pen, reaching out with her mind to hold it gently, imagining her hand around the pen, grasping it in a very loose grip. To her surprise, the pen lifted up slightly, hovering a little. "Is...is this it?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>12-03-2011, 02:18:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro watched as she tried again.&nbsp; He could see the change in her perception, how she was just trying to lift the pen anymore.&nbsp; "Yep, that's it," he affirmed for her.&nbsp; "Just tighten up your hold on the pen.&nbsp; For your next challenge, go put it back on the table where I originally had it."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>12-03-2011, 05:36:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Nodding, Kumiko grasped the pen with her mind just a little harder, and she felt a shot of alarm as the pen wobbled precariously in the air. She wasn't aware of the slight beads of sweat that had begun to dribble down her forehead. Grasping the pen tightly, she slowly directed it to the table, trying her best not to let her power get out of control. It settled onto the table, but from where she was sitting, Kumiko could see that she had gripped the pen hard enough that its body was cracked.<br><br>"I tried to control it," she said, panting a little, "but something, something inside of me just wanted to let it all out. It was...tiring."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>13-03-2011, 05:33:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro carefully observed as Kumiko moved the pen towards the table, watching it wobble in the middle of the air as it finally came to rest.&nbsp; "Yeah, that happens," he commented.&nbsp; "Sorcerers like us aren't about control.&nbsp; We're about power.&nbsp; We're about blowing the crap out of whatever gets in our way.&nbsp; Control has to be earned for us.&nbsp; It's a trade-off.&nbsp; Some people have really good control, but they're usually weak, or a focused user."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>14-03-2011, 01:42:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"So, I guess I just need to control this power then. And that means more practice, I guess." Kumiko walked up to the table and picked up the pen, looking at it dubiously. "Well, I guess there's nothing to it but to try over and over again, is there?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>14-03-2011, 01:56:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yeah.&nbsp; You'll need to have good control if you don't want to end up smashing half a building to pieces while trying to fight something.&nbsp; We'll keep practicing on this for a little while, and then we'll go outside to work on other stuff.&nbsp; It can't just be all about this, after all."&nbsp; Yushiro affirmed her thought.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>15-03-2011, 16:03:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Very true," she replied, before concentrating on the pen again. She began to practice the simple manouever, and after some practice, managed to master moving the pen with a little more smoothness, even if it did wobble once in midflight to the table. <br><br>Panting, she sat back on the floor and took a short break. "Alright, Yushiro," she said, wiping her brow, "to the courtyard? This pen-moving thing is a little dull."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>15-03-2011, 16:19:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro just sat back and observed while Kumiko worked on the pen, moving it around.&nbsp; He was impressed at how well she was picking this up.&nbsp; She might be a natural at it.&nbsp; Or maybe she was just really, really determined to do well.&nbsp; He'd seen that before, too.<br><br>"Yep.&nbsp; Let's go outside.&nbsp; If you're going to practice hitting things, we're going to need to do it in a space where you can really work yourself."&nbsp; There were a couple of other things he wanted to have her consider doing, too.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>17-03-2011, 08:33:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She led him out, her legs a little unsteady from the exertion, into the inner courtyard. It was a shady garden with well-tended bushes and flowerbeds, enclosed from the outside by a tall glass ceiling. In the middle was an open, tiled area, with a smallish gazebo in the centre. Turning to him, she asked, "Well, so what's to be done?"<br><br>She shifted her balance from one foot to another, looking at him curiously.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>17-03-2011, 15:46:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro followed Kumiko outside, to the inner courtyard that she had said they could use.&nbsp; And once he got a good look at the place...he knew they were going to have to move.&nbsp; "Well, first, we're going to need to change venues.&nbsp; This place is too...nice.&nbsp; What we're going to be doing here is too destructive, it's going to leave signs, and I couldn't destroy this."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>18-03-2011, 07:21:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We have a storeroom inside," she said, a little petulantly, before grabbing his hand and dragging him off. "It's pretty big, we knocked through three stories to get one with an extra high ceiling. It was supposed to be a storage area for trade goods, but never got used. Might be a little dusty, but it's big."<br><br>True to her word, the room was big, the ceiling reaching far above them, and the length ran across most of this end of the house. It was also extremely dark and dusty, with the floor covered in a fine film of dust. After a bout of sneezing, Kumiko found the light switch, and the room was bathed in sharp, white light. Rubbing her nose, she said, "I guess it's not really in the condition to be used right now. I could sic the servants at it, unless you could spirit away all the dust..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>18-03-2011, 08:17:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro was surprised at how quickly Kumiko had responded to his hesitancy...and her tone had not slipped past him, either.&nbsp; She probably - key word probably - thought he was making some sort of comment about her home.&nbsp; He wasn't.&nbsp; The sorcerer was just pointing out that this was not the ideal place to do something like this.<br><br>He looked around the room, taking it in.&nbsp; "Actually...this is perfect.&nbsp; It's big, it's not very...nice-looking, and since no one ever uses it, it means that any accidental damage is likely to go mostly unnoticed."&nbsp; Yushiro nodded.&nbsp; "Here will work.&nbsp; I just hope that you never have to explain anything to anyone about what it is we're doing in here."&nbsp; The war was supposed to be secret, after all.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>18-03-2011, 08:34:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Don't worry about that," she replied, her nose lifted perhaps a little higher, "I doubt this room's ever going to be used at all, anyway, so you might as well have as much fun with it as you want now." She gestured towards the expanse. "Your orders, then. What would you have me do?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>18-03-2011, 08:59:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Alright.&nbsp; First thing we need are a bunch of things for target practice.&nbsp; Expendable things, because working with your talents is going to break more than a few."&nbsp; Yushiro stated.&nbsp; "Once we get those, then we can get started on the less subtle applications of your ability."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>18-03-2011, 14:06:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There are a few empty boxes here, and if those won't do, I can scare up some disused flower pots and glass bottles," she replied, before running off to get them. Before long, a pile of wooden boxes, old empty wine bottles and cracked clay pots was assembled. "I'm assuming we're going to make quite the mess, so can I let the cleaners in after that? Or would that be breaking the secret?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>20-03-2011, 19:37:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Once the stuff was assembled, Yushiro nodded.&nbsp; "Good.&nbsp; This should do for us for a while."&nbsp; Hopefully.&nbsp; It was going to be difficult at some points to get new resources.&nbsp; Maybe.&nbsp; "Yes, we'll be making a mess.&nbsp; As for the cleaners..."&nbsp; He exhaled.&nbsp; "If you can think of a way to not have to talk about what we're doing in here, then by all means.&nbsp; If you can't, though, then don't."&nbsp; It was so much easier in his family, where basically everyone knew.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>21-03-2011, 17:23:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Don't worry, I'm sure I can keep finding trash." Kumiko looked at the pile before turning back to Yushiro. "Okay, so I assume I start throwing them around? Or should I arrange them in some way first or something?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>21-03-2011, 19:20:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No, before we start throwing things around, we're going to start with seeing if you can hit a stationary target."&nbsp; He took one of the empty boxes and set it on the floor.&nbsp; "Okay.&nbsp; All that power you feel like you've been holding back?&nbsp; Time to let it out.&nbsp; Punch the air, and imagine the force of your punch hitting the box."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>22-03-2011, 09:50:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She nodded and took aim carefully, before letting her power fly in the bottle's direction. Her strike missed completely, and the next few did the same as well, floundering as they struck various bits of the floor, sometimes turning up some wooden splinters. Frustrated, she suddenly had a brainwave and struck out with a large punch, reduced in power but covering a large area, and it clipped the bottle, sending it spinning across the floor.<br><br>Turning to him, grinning, "well, that wasn't too hard."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>23-03-2011, 01:38:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro watched Kumiko's first fumbled attempts at trying to hit the bottle.&nbsp; He had wondered how naturally proficient she was going to be at this part of her ability.&nbsp; And as it turned out...not very much.&nbsp; Well, she was only a beginner.&nbsp; The sorcerer saw her expand the area of her attack, and have it clip the bottle, moving it but not breaking it.&nbsp; He nodded.&nbsp; "Alright, not bad.&nbsp; You'll need a bit of work on precision hits, but that's something that every sorcerer has to deal with."<br><br>He changed topics.&nbsp; "Now, we'll need to put a little more push into it.&nbsp; Use your willpower.&nbsp; You <em>want</em> that thing to move."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>24-03-2011, 14:11:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Nodding, she turned back to the bottle, and envisioned herself pushing the bottle directly, before she changed her perspective and imagined herself as manipulating the very bottle itself, rather than a force exerted on the bottle, and directed it to move. It spun haphazardly and forcefully, shattering against the far wall.<br><br>She took a step back in surprise.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>25-03-2011, 02:30:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro smiled at the result.&nbsp; "Good.&nbsp; Very good."&nbsp; The sorcerer was glad to see that something in her had changed.&nbsp; She'd altered her thinking about how to go about this, and it had shown immediate results.&nbsp; He set up two bottles, side to side.&nbsp; "Do it again."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>27-03-2011, 08:02:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She repeated the action again, her tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth in concentration, and the bottles went spinning off in the same way, shattering against the wall. This time, she tried to control how the bottles crashed, and they broke apart at a point much closer to each other at the end of the wall, making a smaller mess.<br><br>"So, um, I should be practicising this over and over again, is it?" she asked him, wiping her brow.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>27-03-2011, 08:07:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro watched as she repeated the task, pleased with how quickly she was picking this up.&nbsp; "Yes, you should.&nbsp; A lot of sorcery is repetition until you can do it on command.&nbsp; Although..."&nbsp; He took a bottle and placed it in front of her.&nbsp; "Break the bottle.&nbsp; Not like you've been doing, hitting it against the wall.&nbsp; Smash it where it stands."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>27-03-2011, 14:04:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko looked at the bottle with a bit of confusion, wondering how she could grab the bottle itself uniformly so it wouldn't skid across the room. After a few moments, she decided to try something a little diferent. Focusing on the air molecules around the bottle, she pushed them against the bottle itself, causing cracks to appear on the bottle before it finally shattered.<br><br>"There," she said, as she let her hand relax, as it had gone into a fist on reflex, "I think I'm getting the hang of how this works."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>28-03-2011, 20:32:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro patiently observed as she worked her way through the challenge.&nbsp; He smiled when he saw the bottle break, as he had asked, right where it was standing.&nbsp; "You most certainly are," he remarked.&nbsp; "And this is very promising, you picking up things this quickly.&nbsp; Now, we just need to practice to build up how much you can affect, as well as your endurance.&nbsp; Looks like we're going to make a sorceress out of you."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 15:23:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Personally, I don't really want to be a sorceress. I just want to control it so I don't end up killing someone, and I can go back to my normal life," she said with a tinge of bitterness, and she by reflex shattered one of the bottles in the pile. She stared at the shards for a moment, and sighed.<br><br>"I want to stop that sort of thing from happening. That's all."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 15:48:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro slowly exhaled when Kumiko confessed that she just wanted enough training to be able to keep from letting her emotions go crazy with her power and end up killing someone in the process.&nbsp; Oh, that was not a good sign.&nbsp; And she wasn't going to like hearing what he had to say next.<br><br>"You might not have a choice anymore..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 16:41:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko looked at him, completely confused. "Not, not have a choice?" she asked, almost dumbly, "Why, why's that? I mean, why must I, I become a sorceress?"<br><br>She felt her heart sink at his tone. There was something important that was happening, and she didn't want to have anything to do with it if she could. But at the same time, she had to know just what it was. "What is it, Yushiro? What's this with the choices thing?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 17:25:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro slowly exhaled as he prepared himself to give her an answer.&nbsp; "Sorcerers like you are rare.&nbsp; You aren't really connected into any of the well-known magical bloodlines, just going by your last name.&nbsp; So someone like you represents new blood in the magical community, something the clans are always looking for...and I've been instructed to keep a lookout."<br><br>He summed it up.&nbsp; "If my family, or any of the other clans find out that you exist...you're going to be brought into our world, whether you want it or not."&nbsp; He swallowed hard as he told her what the result of that would be.&nbsp; "And turned into a baby factory."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 17:47:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"A, a, baby making factory?" she spluttered, as the junk on the floor shifted in accordance to her mood. "What...what madness is this?"<br><br>Kumiko's mind was all full of confusion and doubt. She had finally thought that she would be able to be free of the confines this, this magic had placed on her, only to find out that she would be stuck in this strange new world, where her only job was to make more of her own kind. <em>And no doubt they'd be in the same position as her now,</em> she thought to herself.<br><br>"I won't stand for this," she spat out vehemently, "And this was just as I was starting to think you were an okay kind of person."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>29-03-2011, 18:03:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I'm sorry!"&nbsp; He replied.&nbsp; "I know it's not what you want to hear, but it is the truth!"&nbsp; Not telling her what was going to happen to her if she was found by anyone else wasn't going to be doing her any favors.&nbsp; Magic was a great power, yes, but it was also a great burden.&nbsp; For anyone who had it, great sacrifices were expected, usually of the personal nature.<br><br>"Hey," he replied, holding up his hands, "it's not my decision.&nbsp; If I had my way, I would let people choose.&nbsp; But I'm not in charge, I'm just a guy.&nbsp; But..."&nbsp; He mused for a couple of moments.&nbsp; "...no one knows about you yet.&nbsp; No one but me.&nbsp; So I'm going to take a risk, and not tell anyone that you exist.&nbsp; As far as we're concerned, you'll never be recognized by anyone."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 16:09:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"And I'd appreciate it if you kept it that way," Kumiko spat out bitterly, as she turned away with distaste. The temperature of the room dropped just a little, but the bottles and other trash remained still as she took a few breaths to calm herself. <em>No need to get so worked up over this</em>, she told herself. <em>It wasn't his fault. Don't go around shooting messengers, or their equivalents. Or whatever. Calm down.</em><br><br>She turned back to him and smiled very slightly, to show that she wasn't going to be angry over this any more. "Alright," she said softly, "could we take a break from this for today? I've got quite a bit to think about. But thank you for your help."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>30-03-2011, 18:47:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Yushiro almost visibly deflated when she responded like that.&nbsp; All that work he'd done to try and build a rapport with her...gone because he'd told her the truth about this.&nbsp; He would've thought she'd have been glad someone was willing to shield her from all that.&nbsp; Most other sorcerers might have just hauled her off back to their homes to be what he had described.<br><br>He was given a spot of hope when she smiled at him.&nbsp; "Yes, of course.&nbsp; There's a lot to consider now."&nbsp; He paused.&nbsp; "I guess I should be going home, then, shouldn't I?"&nbsp; He started to gather his own things to head out to his apartment.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 00:46:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kumiko wavered as he gathered his own things and prepared to leave. "I...I could arrange a room for you here, if you want," she said, slowly, hesistantly. "Your apartment can't be all that big, and this place is empty enough...so you're welcome to stay here if you want."<br><br>She turned away, embarrassed.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 02:28:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well..."&nbsp; She was right in that his apartment wasn't that large.&nbsp; It was basically enough room for him and his stuff, and what he needed for living.&nbsp; "I suppose, if you don't mind, that I will take you up on your gracious offer."&nbsp; He wasn't going to refuse, but he wasn't so egotistical to think that he would automatically get it.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>CountessJess</strong> on <strong>31-03-2011, 16:46:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Alright then," she said, with a little more determination. "If you need help, you can get Ushikawa - my butler, that is - to help move you in." <br><br>Not waiting for him, she strode out, calling out for the butler, and told him to prepare a few rooms for Yushiro to stay and keep his stuff in. A lot of the rooms were empty, and the butler quickly directed a few maids to start dusting them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sorcery and the City (CountessJess and ReijiTabibito)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>ReijiTabibito</strong> on <strong>01-04-2011, 00:37:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I..."&nbsp; He had no idea that this was what she had been talking about.&nbsp; He had just assumed that she was asking him to spend the night, nothing more.&nbsp; "I understand."&nbsp; He'd tell her in the morning if he couldn't figure out a reasonable explanation to give his parents about why he wasn't living in the apartment they'd set up.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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