Class ends for the day and the students and teachers all make their way home and then back to the school for the meeting in the Council room. President Hayami is there waiting with a sleeping bag next to a locked cabinet in the corner. "Soon they'll be here and things can get started. One dry run-through, then at sundown, we see what happens."

((OOC here's where session two starts. The room is actually large about 30'x30' There are a good number of chairs around the room and in one section a tv and three couches. There is a refrigerator, a working stove and a microwave. It has plenty of open floor space. There is a a large corkboard set up in front of nine chairs with an extremely detailed map of the entire school. A projector is set up opposite of it. In one corner of the room there is a large fireproof cabinet locked with 4 different types of lock. One large oak desk dominates the front of the room and it is there that President Hayami sits, going over documents of undeterminable nature.

I know this is nowhere near as much info as session one but bear with me. Please post arrivals and what gear you bring with you here, once we have everyone I'll get things going.))

Lily shows up with a tightly rolled up sleeping bag and promptly drops it on one of the couches facing the TV, claiming it as 'Sofa Lily.' She then puts her backpack down at the foot of the couch and starts sorting through it. After a moment, she locates what she was looking for...a plastic shopping bag. From within she produces a rather elaborate looking PDA device with a small LCD display and a -lot- of keys. She turns it this way and that, inspecting it, then sets it down to retrieve the next item...the latest handheld videogame/dvd player to emerge from the brains at Sony, with top marks in all categories except its exorbitant price tag. She puts it next to the PDA. Other things inside seem to make more sense. A big, high power flashlight. A little headset walkietalkie. ...a pair of handcuffs?

Lily grins and jingles the last item. "Planning on making an arrest tonight, how about the rest of you?"

(Ahh...Wealth. She called her aunt and uncle up and had them pick a few things up for her and bring 'em over. :))

He already had all his items with him, save his sleeping system and a few other small personal items and field rations. For those, he had to make a return trip home.

His weaponry, however, had been picked up earlier in the day, and was within easy reach of him. Interestingly enough, was that if someone looked at Georgi, they would discern no weaponry. Yet he still had his sub-machinegun hidden underneath his windbreaker, a knife in his boot, and separated into three pieces (stock, barrel and main section), a Barrett M82A3 .50 caliber sniper rifle. The rifle was stored in an innocuous metal case placed inside a large gym bag at his feet.(Barret pictured below:)



While he waited for the others to arrive, Georgi was carefully studying the map of the school with his large muscular arms crossed. He was looking at pinch points and kill zones, as well as vulnerabilities, escape routes, and firing positions. If trouble was going to come, it would meet someone who knew the terrain.

Kongou comes in carrying a briefcase, and a large backpack with a sleeping bag attached to the bottom. As he looks around and spots the stove, "Good. I remembered correctly." He makes his way to the stove, and takes off the backpack. Kongou then begins taking supplies out of the backpack that include a couple of small pots, a selection of spices, a small plastic case and one iron skillet. He also takes out a small package of pasta, and a small plastic container which has some chicken that is marinating. He turns on the stove, and fills one of the pots with water. Kongou places the filled pot on the stove, on the burner that is hot, and waits for the water to come to a boil. He turns to the president, "Hope you don't mind, but I didn't have time to cook my dinner while I was grabbing my supplies."



[OOC- Cooking roll: 13]

At the smell that Mr Kongou creates, Lily moves so fast she seems to materialize at his side, beaming widely and holding a plastic plate and mug.

"Good evening to you, Mr Kongou!" she pipes brightly. "The food smells exquisite!"

Kongou takes the skillet and puts it on another lit burner with a small pat of butter in it. He takes the chicken from the plastic container and puts the slices in the skillet. "Good evening. It'll be ready soon enough. Please take a seat. Unless you wish to get a lesson in how to cook." He looks at Lily out of the corner of his eye, and smiles lightly. He pours a bit of the marinade from the container over the chicken as it cooks, generating more enchanting scents.

After a few minutes at high heat, he flips the chicken over, also covering this side with more of the marinade. When the water begins to boil, Kongou pours in the ziti, and covers the pot. He then takes the chicken off the heat, and puts the strips on a couple of plastic plates. The chicken looks moist and seems to be the color of pearwood, and has several herbs on top.

Kongou finally takes the pasta off the heat, and empties the water into the sink. He then takes a large spoon out of the backpack and places it into the pot of pasta. Kongou then turns and places the plates of chicken and the pot of ziti on a table. He takes another plastic plate and puts a couple of strips of the chicken on it, and covers them with a bit of pasta. Kongou then turns off the stove and sits with his dinner plate on the couch. He begins eating, savoring every bite, while waiting for the rest of the young men and women to arrive.

Ariel strolled through the doors of the large room smiling. This was nearly the most company she had ever shared for an evening, and no amount of work would spoil that for her. The aroma of the chicken, pasta, and ziti was to die for, and Ariel tried to fight to keep her senses from just smothering her face in it. “Hi everybody.” she said, announcing herself to Georgi, Lily, President Hayami, and Kongou. “This all there is so far?”

She was wearing a pair of pajama pants under what looked to be a tucked-in skintight grey and white leather shirt. On her feet she wore a pair of sandals over her colorful rainbow socks. She wore a messenger bag over a shoulder and across her chest, duffle bag in her right hand, and her signature soft-padded leather helmet and flight goggles.

Ariel glided to the table with the food before putting down her various bags. “Yours, I assume, Mr. Kongou?” She said with a sniff of the food, and a mischievous smile towards Kongou.

"We're it so far," Lily confirms happily, zinging to Kongou's side, plate in hand. "More for us then!"

Kai walks in a few minutes after Ariel and inhales a good whiff of Kongou's cooking. Contrary to normal, Kai is weaing a simple T-shirt and jeans, good work clothes if nothing else. He bows to President Hayami and then turns to Mr. Kongou. "Wow Mr. Kongou, that smells great, much better than what I brought. I tried my hand at some new dishes so they may not be as good as my normal cooking." He sets down his Knapsack and sleeping bag on one of the unclaimed couches and then carries a bag of box lunches over to the table. "I see I wasn't the only one who thought to bring food." He sets them out on the counter so that whomever wants one can have it. He nods to Coach Georgi and Lily and then goes to the counch and takes a seat to wait for everyone else.

Ryo walks into the room and takes a look around. He sees Kongou cooking his dinner, Lily claiming her couch, Ariel eyeballing the food, and Kai sitting on the couch. He only looks into the room for a moment before he walks out. After about five seconds he steps back in carrying an entire futon and he sets it down in an empty corner. He sits down on it, and pulls a UX series Sony out and begins toying with it. If anybody was to look over his shoulder they could see him making an entire 3d image of the schools layout. He copies the location of the actual incidents onto his map and sets the computer down as it analyzes the data for any patterns.

Amaya hurried from her apartment, lugging a bag of clothes and bedding, another bag of food. She knew she was running a little late, but she'd needed to grab some things and change clothing. Instead of her school uniform, she was now dressed in long jeans and a heavy shirt. It felt strange to be wearing such things, but she knew that she might need to run, or even fight.

She burst into the room with a smile, but her eyes were worried. "Sorry I'm late!" Amaya said, then glanced at her watch. "Oh... wait, I'm not." She blushed a little, and set her clothing and bedding bag down. Turning to Kai, she said, "I bought some groceries... do you want me to cook us something?" She glanced around the room and smiled. "There's probably enough for everyone."

Saito confidently walks into the student council room.

"Class Rep. Saito Murazaki reporting for duty"

He then salutes Hayami and the teachers before moving on to greeting his peers.

Saito then proceeds to remove his Pistol from the inside of his jacket and loads it with his trademark rubber rounds.

Kai pales slightly as he helps Amaya unpack. "No no, 'm sure Mr. Kongou can handle things. If anything I'll give him a hand, no need for too many chefs. Besides I already prepared a good number of box meals for those who want them."

He looks over to Kongou with that "Dude remember the brownies.." look and hopes the Home Economics teacher will back him up on this. Amaya's cooking was the sort of thing one fed to someone who wanted to lose weight. After eating it you didn't want to even look at food for days. Kai had become slightly immune to it, either through deadening of his tastebuds, what his family had reffered to as his "titanium stomach," and sheer force of will. Perhaps it was a combination of the three.

Mr. Kongou notices the look being shot at him by Kai, and acts to prevent another brownie incident. "Ms. Amaya, I don't think there's enough time for you cook another meal. The time for preperation is growing short. And we should decide on sleeping arangements. Maybe you can help me make breakfast in the morning. We definetly have enough food for the night." He points to the pile of box lunches, and the chicken and pasta on the table. "If you're hungry, try the chicken, or you can grab one of the boxes." He then finishes the chicken and pasta on his plate and reaches into his briefcase to pull out a bottle of water, which he sips.

Lily happily fills her little plastic camping plate with Kongou's cuisine and bolts back to 'her' couch to stretch out and eat as she plays something on her portable game unit.

"Anyone going to put a movie or something on? Or who's going to do the first patrol? I will if no one else has got it."

Naien walks quietly into the room and is surprised by the aroma of good food filling the room as she enters. With a slight smile, she takes a seat at a desk and looks over to see the source of the aroma is one of the teachers. As quiet as she normally is, she takes out a book and appears to read. Usually people don’t bother others when they’re reading and it makes it easier for her to observe. I wonder what I’ll do if there’s actually a danger...

Now that everyone was there, President Hayami set down his paperwork and rose from behind his desk. He allowed time for everyone to finish eating and finally walked over to the map. "Ok, here's the plan. We will walk off the entire School grounds actually visiting each of the sites where the victims were slain. After that we will split up into 4 teams and take shifts of six hours patrolling the school grounds. We will run two teams on patrol at a time. Each of you will be given a two-way radio for the patrol, all of which will be tuned in to the central unit here. While two groups are patrolling, the other two may do as they wish in the confines of this room and adjoining hallway. Sleep, eat, read, do as you wish, just make sure you're ready for your patrol. I have already determined the "teams" if you will and they are as follows."

He begins writing on the archaic chalkboard, clearly writing out the teams.

Team 1 is Kai Morisato, Amaya, and Ariel Zebbs

Team 2 is Valerie, Lily, and Coach Georgi

Team 3 is Saito Murazaki, Ryo Murazaki and Atsushi Hayami

Team 4 is Naien and Mr. Kongou

"These teams were chosen at random with regard to the student members, and it was my goal to ensure that each team has a member of the faculty or myself as a member. Now everyone, let's go walk off the grounds. I will remind each of you, that what I tell you on this walk is to be kept strictly within this group."

He leands them all out. "Now one of the murders occurred right here where we're standing in this hallway. That was Mai Shibamura." Even with all his control, sadness crept into his voice as he said the name. "She was found with wounds similar to an animal attack and the lower part of her body was horribly burned."

He lead them to the Science room. in building 3. "Professor Kisaragi Ninomai's remains were found here behind her desk. Little was left that was recognizable as human, but from DNA testing we confirmed her identity." The faculty had been told she transferred, not that she had actually been slain.

From there he took them over to the upstairs library in building two. "Hiroko Asahina was found here in the same library chair she sat in every day to read. She was the only one found without a mark on her. It was as though her energy and life force was drained. Of all the victims I believe she is the only one who didn't suffer." There was anger and sadness leeching into his voice.

From there he took them to the very center of the gymnasium. "Goh Saruwatari was killed right here. He managed to fight back against whatever attacked him, we found a length of pipe with severe dents, and clawmarks in it, but in the end it couldn't protect him against whatever assaulted him."

He lead them onto the track field from there. "Seiya Uribatake and Kazuki Makabe died out here training for this year's track competitions. Even in peak physical condition they couldn't escape their attackers. We found parts of them scattered across the field. That was why the field was completely closed off for a day two weeks ago, so we could get it cleaned up."

Finally he leads them to building 1. "Here in the Cafeteria we found Misaki Kureha. She was the first victim, before the school year started. She was one of the new women wo was set to work in the cafeteria and was here to learn the layout of the school. She was found with a hole the size of a man's fist where her heart had been. Otherwise she was completely unharmed."

He looks to each of them. "The police have no proof but they believe there are at least two assailants. Rumor from the Special Operations division is that it's a pack of demon hounds, but even that doesn't account for all the killings. If you see something strange call it in, don't try to fight, the other team will move towards you to confirm. once we have confirmed suspects we will contact the police. Now are there any questions.?" As he spoke he'd lead them back to building 4 and the Student council room.

Valerie ran from the train station, wearing short jeans that go down to her knees, flip-flops and a shoulder-less shirt. All of them in a pink color with pretty designs. The flip-flops made a "flop" sound with every step because of their design with a double sole.

Running towards school, carrying a gym bag with clothes and food, and games on it, she had barely managed to get the train because she was running late. Entering the school grounds she ran through the hall ways towards the council room, she had almost made it when she took a mis-step that sent her flying face-first into the door almost crashing through it, falling back on her butt Val touched her nose first "Ita....".

"Demon hounds," Lily says skeptically. "Are those common on, I mean, in Japan?" She seems a lot more serious than usual as she goes on, "Still, there are some similarities. Claws were used for at least two of the attacks, and maybe for those track kids too. Superhuman strength."

She thinks, then says, "It seems to me like the claw monster is fierce and random...it strikes like a wild animal with no finesse or control. Then we have the heartstealer and...energy drainer, maybe. Strong, but focused."

Lily looks curiously at the President. "How long between each attack? Was there a pattern to them? We should mark those locations on the map too."

She jumps, startled, when there's a big bang on the door, and a softer thump from the far side as of someone hitting it and falling back.

Amaya moved rapidly, stepping between Kai and the thumping at the door. For the most part, it appeared to be her turning to look at the door, but there was a tension in her body that suggested otherwise. Despite that, she made no move to open the door. "Wh-wh-what was that?!"

Lily launches herself at the door.

"Don't worry! If it's some insane masked psychopath with claws and a murderous disposition, I will gladly sacrifice myself to sate his unnatural hunger for blood while the rest of you escape!"

She flings the door open and looks around. Then looks down.

"Oh. Hey, Valerie. You okay?"

Valerie looks up at Lily "Ita....My nose hurts!" Her eyes well up with tears before she gets up and goes into the room, invading the Lily couch to use a mirror and put a bandaid over her nose. "Am...am I too late?"

"Not really," Lily says, closing the door again. "I can fill you in on the high points."

"You're in my team, and you missed the Litany of Death, which I guess we'll spare you since I think we have to get going. If you want something to eat, better grab it now...though you might want to wait, in case we come across something...horrible."

Ariel seemed to absent-mindedly follow the group on the tour, looking as if she wasn't taking in the stories and the like. She occasionally would catch eye contact with a few of the others, namely Amaya, Kai, and Kongou, but would act as if she was looking past them or force a look of recognition than look away. The entire way her right hand never left her pocket. She left her duffle bag in the room, along with her messenger bag.

When they got back into the room her expression changed to a happy and content demeanor. "That reminds me!" She said happily to no one in general. "When do we start first rounds?"

He listened quietly and intently to Principal Hayami, as they toured the murder sites. The only thing he noticed that they had in common were that they had nothing in common: Each murder site's victims were killed differently. Coach Illiyev looked around at the others in an attempt to gauge their expressions.

Lily and Valerie. He repeated to himself during the tour. He saw Lily there, but Valerie was nowhere to be found. She must be tardy. He would make a note of that to himself for future reference when he compared her attendance record for PE.

When they returned, from the tour, he thought of the different murders, and what sort of creature or thing could have been responsible for each. He remembered his own encounter, a few weeks past, in which he had to protect a student from similar harm. It was at that time he realized that they could be related. Just then, he hear what sounded like someone running down the hall outside the door. Rising from his chair, his hand quickly went into his windbreaker and flicked off the safety of his weapon. He waited.

Thud!

He could now smell who it was; it was Valerie. She must have hurried to the meeting and was rudely greeted by the door. He chuckled as the other students and teachers flinched and ran to the sound of the impact. When the others opened it, Valerie was lying prone on the floor, with a large bloody bump on her nose.

"It's good of you to finally grace us with your presence, Valerie. I hope you decide not to be late when we are on patrol together." He said it half serious, and half in jest. She was afterall a student, and still needed growing up.

Kai's face seems to grow sadder with each site. He knew all of these people They had all been friends of his over the years, and Ms. Ninomai was the teacher who'd always pushed him to excel. She'd always told him he had the potential for greatness, and among the faculty she was the only one he'd have called a friend.

Kazuki, Seiya, and Goh were all teammates of his on the track team, in fact the three of them were his partners in the 400 meter relay. The four of them had always taken first place since thier freshman year. They were the core of the Track and Field team, and without them the team was unlikely to win more than a quarter of the events they normally did.

Mai Shibamura was President Hayami's secret Girlfriend. Or at least that's how it had always seemed to Kai. They'd both denied it numerous times, that they were simply close friends. She waited on him practically hand and foot at times. She only had eyes for him and scorned all other men at the school. With the exception of himself that is. She always had a kind word or encouragement when President Hayami gave Kai a difficult task. She had always treated him as more like a little brother than anything else.

Miss Masaki he knew because he'd been the one to suggest her for the caffeteria position after going with Hiroko to her restaraunt before it burned down. She'd needed a job quick, and he'd asked President Hayami to put in a good word for her. After sampling her cooking, he happily agreed and got her the job at a decent pay. She'd always been nice to him and even extended credit to him a couple of times when he didn't have enough money.

Thinking about Hiroko actually made him more mad than sad. Hiroko was one of the sisters he'd never had. He'd known her since he was 5 and they'd always been good friends. He knew better than to approach when she was reading, but she'd put her bok down and smile at him and then listen to any problems he was having. It was reallly for Her that he'd always brought a second lunch in all honesty. The day she disappeared he'd called her family only to be told she was going to live with her brother in America. He'd asked if he could see her and was told she was already gone and then hung up on. Instead he was finding out now that she killed in the very place she'd loved. It hurt more than anything he'd ever felt.

His hands curled into white-knuckled fists at his sides as rage roiled within him then it hit him what Coach Iliyev had said. Is there a pattern? Yes, there is, there has to be. The realization plunged a shard of dead ice into his very soul. Me... I was close to all of them. Before everything, before I knew anyone here.. I was friends with them. Oh My God, What if...

He looked around the room with a haunted look on his face. Even Amaya was a suspect. Only President Hayami was didn't raise questions. I have to get out of here, I need to be alone, gotta sort all this out.

He made for the door with his pack and squeezed by Lily and Valerie. "I'll be back in a bit, I have to take care of something." With that he started towards the gym, specificly the locker rooms and the showers inside."

President Hayami spoke in "The attacks all occur within a three week period." President Hayami turns to Ariel. "Shifts will start a 7 pm when the sun sets. I will leave you to work out your routes but Teams 1 and 2 will take first shift. Everyone else will be free to do as they wish as stated earlier. We have an hour before that time, I'd reccomend that if you need to, you use this time to tak a shower in the gymnasium's facilities. The girls will have the showers in the eastern locker room, The men will use those in the western locker room."

Even though he speaks to Ariel he doesn't miss Kai's haunted look. You've figured it out now haven't you? I'm sorry, but this is just the beginning young one. Kai leaves abruptly with barely a word or even asking customary permission when in his presence. It's alright, do what you have to, get it out of your system Kai. I need you ready tonight, we all do.

He raps on the desk hard with his bare knuckles after Kai leaves drawing everyone's attention from Kai to himself. "Please do forgive Mr. Morisato. He was quite close to everyone who was slain. They were teammates, favorite teachers, and good friends to him. Hiroko's death is a blow to him I wish I could have softened, as they were a couple in all ways except formally. She loved him but never told him, and I believe it was the same with him regarding her."

He rises from the desk and goes to a picture on the wall from last year. It showed Him, Mai, Kai, Ms. Ninomai and the other sponsors and student council representatives. It was the only picture where anyone could remember him touching someone else. His right hand had been around Mai's waist and his left rested on Kai's right shoulder, while Ms. Ninomai's right hand was on Kai's left shoulder.

"We all lost people important to us with these killings. Some of them hurt more than others. It has been difficult and lying to Kai has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. Let the young man have some time, as a favor to me."

Kai meanwhile had sprinted to the gymnasium's western locker room. He had to clear his head from all the paranoia and grief, he couldn't think straight. He undressed and turned on the shower to full blast. He felt so ashamed for not realizing sooner. All the weight seemed to fall on his shoulders and it felt as though it would snap the spine of his soul. He felt dirty, covered in the shame that people died and he was the only connection between them all. He scrubbed hard, almost to the point of bleeding trying to wash away the shame. He screamed and raged as he took out his rage on himself and the stall walls. "Dammit, Dammit DAMMIT!! I should have seen it sooner, I should have protected them all, I should have protected her!" The words sapped his strength and left him standing drenched by a torrential stream of water in a cloud of steam. He turned the water off and dried himself off and got dressed in his spare set of clothes.

Once dressed he went out the back way and made his way to the Library in Building two. He searched the drama section and pulled out a pair of books, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King. These had been her favorites and he had been reading the second book in the triolgy because she loved it and had suggested he read it. He'd already read the first one and was into the second one when he was told she moved away. She'd told him about how amazing the ending of the trilogy was and how he had to finish them. How she'd be there with him every day he read, just to keep him company.

He set the third book in the trilogy down in her chair and and sat in his chair across from hers. He read two chapters and looked up and for a moment he could see her looking over the edge of her book right at him. She set her book down and smiled. The image vanished and the memory faded back and reality reasserted itself. All that was there was an empty chair.

The damn burst at that point and no amount of self control could restrain the flow of tears down his cheeks and onto the pages of the open book below. The happy young man had been marked by fate, and all around him followed misfortune and Death.

((OOC Anyone who can see or feel auras feels a massive negative aura centered on the library. Kai is at the center of it and it seems to be a direct manifestation of his state of mind. The entire place has a palpable feeling of despair and anyone within it is at a -1 penalty to all soul checks made within the Library until otherwise noted. At this point You may all post how you spend your last hour before the patrols once everyone posts I will resume.

I will not close off interacting with Kai, but PM me first since there is a method to my madness. Searching for him is fine, but I ask that you get with me if you wish to find him.))

"That may be what he needs, but tonight, from now on NO ONE goes off alone. Even if you don't like the people you were paired with, they are your best friends tonight. Where you go, they go. No splitting up. Use the facilities before we go on patrol, so you don't have to during patrol." He turns to the President, "I'm sorry if I'm out of line, but this is what I believe will help keep US safe while we conduct our patrols."

He looks at the rest of the students in the room, "Does anyone have any idea where Kai might have gone? We need to find him before the patrols start. It wouldn't do to have a team down a member before we begin."

There were nightmares. Then there were the ones that you couldn't wake up from, because they happened when you were awake. And Amaya knew that she was in one right now.

First, the grizzly murders, then Kai's breakdown and departure, and then Kongou, of all people, reacting before her. But Amaya knew her chance when she saw it; as he was still addressing the room, she made straight for the door, her sneakers not making as much as a whisper on the floor.

They didn't make a whisper either when she stepped in the plate of ziti and chicken. Her ass thudding into the floor, and her outraged shriek of surprise, made a lot of noise, however.

"I fell," she whispered, flat on her back, staring at the ceiling tiles. "I fell!"

And the nightmare was completed when Mr. Kongou, her home economics and cooking teacher, whom she had the largest crush of her life on, was the one who leaned over her first, his face set in lines of concern. "Ms Watanabe! Are you alright?"

He reached to help her up, his gloved hand reaching for her. He didn't grab her, but let her take his hand and pull herself up. Amaya could feel the flush darkening her face; the rush of blood to her head was hard enough to make her dizzy, and she found herself grabbing his arm for additional support. "I'm..." her voice cracked, with suppressed rage and embarrassment, and because some law of the universe demanded that beautiful high school girls have to be vulernable, somehow.

"I'm..." She glanced up at Kongou as his arms pulled her to her feet. She was shocked to see that his eyes were not on her face, but on other parts of her, and the resulting blush made the blood pound in her ears. His eyes, full of all kinds of hot emotions, met hers, finally, before he turned his head, looking away from her. "... fine," she whispered, as she rose to her feet.

Her foot slipped again, and she glanced down to see one sneaker coated in pasta and meat. "Yuck," she moaned. Her wits were returning to her, and she quickly said, "I need to go to the bathroom and clean this up." She made to move toward the door, stepping forward gingerly.

[OOC Note: That, my friends, is the result of a Snake Eyes on a Stealth roll.]

"Hey," Lily says. "I don't think it's such a good idea to let Kai go off by himself. Maybe that's what my team can do first...go bring back Kai. What do you think, coach? Valerie?

She looks eagerly from face to face, looking for support.