EVENT - AWAKENING

[harmonizemods]

Who: PCs, ???
Where: Classrooms, ???
When: Monday, April 17, immediately after normal classes.
What: It's time.

The call came abruptly at the end of the day, as the students were preparing to end their normal session and proceed to their specialty classes. It was a small thing, easily forgotten: a staff member at the entrance to a few particular homerooms, asking one or two students to meet in the main hall. It was a little peculiar, to be sure, but they were only two weeks into the school year, after all--most students just shrugged it off as one of Chitoku's oddities.

Taue Shinichiro. Hazama Miyume. Tanemoto Ryuta. Kasubata Shizuru. Imaizumi Mirai. Uehara Himeko. Shikata Haruka.

Those called couldn't have been more different. What common thread could possibly have them brought together, few could fathom.

OOC note: Please keep everything in the same thread. Also, I'd like to keep up a fairly brisk pace, but I'll do my best to accommodate everyone. And please feel free to come into the chat at http://webchat.freenode.net, channel #harmonizerpg, for discussion!

Comments

[allisnothing]

With the end of class, Haruka usually would have left immediately to avoid the rush or have hung back until people had mostly left to go after the rush. However, an older voice caught her and then Kasubata, telling them to head to the main hall. It hadn't sounded like anyone else in their class got grabbed either.

"Interesting," Haruka said, turning her head as she listened. No one else sounded like they were there yet. "Reminds me of several horror movies. The blind girl died in one of them too." Listening a bit longer, she said to Kasubata. "Thoughts about this?"

[harmonizefaculty]

And, all at once, the stairs they'd been following came to an end, and the wall slid open once more at a word from Yachiyo.

What was inside... It seemed impossible, but there it was, right in front of them.

The laboratory was sleek and new, all pure white and bright steel, with consoles and instruments and unidentifiable machines all neatly arrayed in their respective places.

Arrayed before them, too, was a peculiar row of people. Some were familiar: to their left was a trio of medical staff, comprising Aya, Nao, and a young woman with short hair and a deadpan expression, all in crisp white medical coats. Horaoku-sensei, the third-year math teacher, and Sawatari-sensei of the second year stood on the other side. Near the center was a pair in deep blue military dress uniforms, hearkening back to the days of the Meiji Restoration; the man stood at loose attention, while the woman had rested a hand on her hip and was regarding them skeptically. A few others in lab coats rounded out the loose arc.

And Yachiyo stood in the center, facing the group. "Welcome to your new lives, kids."

[harmonizefaculty]

At this, Yachiyo actually seemed slightly nonplussed. Whatever she'd been expecting, that clearly hadn't been it. But it was only for a moment, and she recovered swiftly.

"That," pronounced Yachiyo, "is what you have to protect you. The shinmen--" not a standard word, but the meaning of 'heart-face' was clear from the context "--a kind of guardian spirit derived from the mind, and brought forth with these Evokers. Only a few have the ability to use them."

She stooped to pick up the hilt that had fallen from the young man's hand. "I'd like each of you to test them yourselves."

Meanwhile, the deadpan woman from the medical team had walked off during the evocation that had drawn everyone else's attention, and had now returned to hand out similar weapons to the rest of the group. Each hilt had the owner's surname engraved on the kashira.

One she'd finished that task, she knelt by the fallen Taue, testing his pulse, breathing, and various vital signs.

[rulebook]

One after another, the others fell. Silently watching as each person stabbed themselves, Ryuta gathered his thoughts. He sees now that Yachiyo was telling the truth. He would be a fool to think otherwise, having seen these strange 'shinmen' appear from nothing. He looked toward Taue, Himeko, Miyume, Haruka, and Shizuru. Seeing them in agonizing pain only helped to bolster his resolve. He addressed Yachiyo and the other adults around her. "I see. Arguing with you further would be a waste of time for us all."

He then activated the blade, a pale blue light shimmering in the warped room. He felt the heat from the blade, the handle vibrating softly in his hand. It was different from a bamboo sword by a mile. It felt heavier, whether from the sword itself or from the weight of the burden that came with it. He wondered if there would be a time that he would get used to such a thing. After finishing his examination of the blade, he turned back to the group before him.

"I accept your terms. I shall carry the burden that you have forced upon us." Although spoken evenly and well mannered, his eyes revealed his displeasure with this. He held back his rage, knowing there was no place for it now. He knew what he needed to do. He would see for himself the reason behind all of this. And he will see if it was reason enough to go this far.

He pointed the blade at his chest and took a deep breath. A sudden jerk and the blade pierced through his body, the air knocked out of him. It was like a fire in his chest, spreading wildly to the rest of his body like an uncontrollable inferno. With the last bit of strength he had left, he forced the sword out of himself and fell to his knees. He clutched onto the hilt for a moment before it fell to the ground beside him.

Although the blade was next to him, he could not tell the difference. The fire inside him only grew stronger, threatening to consume him. Gritting his teeth in agony, he felt like his head was going to explode. A surge of pain washed over his mind, burning deep into his thoughts. A single name popped into his mind from the blaze, forcing it's way out of his mouth. "Raguel."

A large, bronze angel appeared above Ryuta, spreading it's metallic wings above him. It held an open book in it's right hand and a scale in it's left. A flowing robe wrapped around his body, an exposed abdomen revealing metal gears ticking away like clockwork. It glanced toward the people standing before it with a calm expression as the scales shifted from side to side. Ryuta looked up at the angelic figure above him in astonishment. He chuckled softly and thought it a fitting judge for their actions.

It disappeared in an instant along with the last of Ryuta's strength. The fire within him lessened to a degree, replaced quickly by exhaustion. Ryuta then fell to the floor, unconscious.