choose your own adventure [open]

[actsmagnificent]

Who: Haruka Tenoh & you!
What: A few days in the life of a chauffeur for hire. Who may get roped into some other activities.
When: Feb 27 - March 3
Where: All over the city
Warnings: Nineties anime.


[ option 1 - evening, musicians only ]

[ Hey, awesome! Your band ordered a limo. Or maybe they didn't and someone at this limousine company just thinks they did. Either way, they've dispatched one to come pick you up, and the chauffeur is both 1) very charming and 2) very handsome. ] Good evening. Where can I take you tonight?

[ No matter what facial expression the clients are wearing, this chauffeur keeps smiling. ]

[ option b - midday, outside of brad's diner ]

Step right up! Come one, come all!

[ Sigh. It would be just Haruka's luck that she'd check up on Minako - not even planning on entering the workplace, just peering in the window - when the place was short on staff. So now Haruka's out on the streets with a bunch of flyers, cheerful as can be...on the surface, anyway. Why is she so good at this. Why. ] Brad's Diner is trying a new dessert menu. A snack on your lunch break, sir? Madam?

[ She smiles at a group of high-school girls, who huddle together to support their sudden collective case of weak knees. ] Surely there's a better place to skip school, kittens.

[ She winks. One of the girls faints. Haruka laughs and turns to the next person she sees - you. ] Excuse me!

[ option c - morning, outside the virgo entertainment resort ]

[ If you're up at the crack of dawn, you may see someone heading for the building. But she's not looking at the door - instead, she seems to be taking stock of the windows and general layout.

She's also keeping to the shadows and looking...up. ]

Comments

[actsmagnificent]

It's my pleasure to be serving you tonight, sir.

[ Haruka bows. She keeps her eyes deliberately averted from Rei's, but the hint of a smile there is for the other girl's benefit. This is one of the people they're not leaving without, huh? ]

[sponsorigami]

Oh... okay...

[ Ivan gives an awkward bow back. He looks at their driver and then back to Rei. Going to a garden in a limo is a bit much. He had been hoping to avoid drawing too much attention. A limo draws attention. He hopes the paparazzi don't crash their peace. ]

So, did you have a restaurant in mind already?

[faithfulflame]

I did. I'd like to go to the Italian place on Silver Avenue. However, I'd also like it if our driver would be so kind as to park a few blocks away, and the three of us walk from there. Less likely to draw attention, and we can still have a nice ride.

Is that amenable, Alex?

[actsmagnificent]

As requested. [ She tips her little chauffeur hat. Honestly. Why is the brainwashed person the person she can work best with for this rescue effort.

She'll just head for the driver's seat now, but she'll keep the window between it and the passenger area cracked open to eavesdrop in case they need anything. ]

[sponsorigami]

That sounds good.

[ To both the restaurant and parking further away. Ivan will sit down in the limo and choose a seat as far back as he can. Even if he's just with his sister, the addition of a limo driver has made him socially awkward. ]

[faithfulflame]

[Since they've started out and are now safely in the limo away from guards...]

Ivan. Our driver is one of the people I mentioned. One of those...uh...Space Ladies, as Doctor calls them. Part of why I called for the limo was so you'd have an idea of who we've been discussing.

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka has a feeling she should stay out of most of this conversation, but she nods her head, checking up on them in her rearview mirror. ] Nice to meet you.

[sponsorigami]

[ And like that, Ivan's posture changes. He's at the edge of his seat, leaning forward and looks at the limo window separating them from the driver. ]

You're...

[ He swallows thickly, feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach that warns him of thinking along these lines. Ivan ignores it, rephrases to make it easier. ]

You're one of them.

[faithfulflame]

She is.

[That's all Rei says for the moment, focusing more on Haruka...]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Well, this is...tense. Haruka has to flick her eyes back to traffic, but that's quickly handled; even without psychic intuition, she can drive a car on instinct. ] We have a Mission. Being here is part of that.

[ She doesn't know whether anyone is here for Ivan specifically, so she won't mention that there's plenty of rescuers. The less the musicians know, in some ways, the better. They can focus on regaining their former memories, and Haruka can focus on grabbing back their futures. And the future of her Solar System. ]

[sponsorigami]

Are you in contact with others? I mean, no... Wait, I... shouldn't ask that...

[ Even if he hasn't be caught and punish, his brainwashing keeps reminding him that he could be punished and punished hard. And the label could get that information out of him if he is. Oddly enough, the brainwashing trying to deter him from talking is reminding him to take more care. ]

... if I forget a piece of paper with writing on it in the limo, you should keep it.

[ Then he glances at Rei. How much has she told them? Have been able to tell them? ]

Unless you already know? And I don't need to be forgetful?

[faithfulflame]

[Rei takes a breath, squeezing her eyes shut to push away the tension mounting in her stomach. She needs to be careful. But she couldn't just...leave Ivan completely out of the loop.]

She knows who I am. She knows...that you're my adopted brother, and that we play together. But any observer can see that.

[Rei frowns a little.]

And she knows about my powers. And more importantly, she's here to rescue us.

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka chooses not to interrupt this conversation, so she keeps driving. But her chin dips at that mention of a piece of paper. Clever guy. ]

[sponsorigami]

Right, so I should...

[ He reaches into his pocket for some origami paper and a pen. He starts writing down about the ghosts who have been helping them remember, the strange machines in the basement of Virgo. If she knows Rei, then the whole brainwashing and kidnapping from another world is given more strength. Ivan even mentions that the CEOs have murdered people before, and they have teleportation powers or technology to.

And then Ivan crumples the origami paper in his hands and throws is across the seat. He wanted to fold something, but his nerves over defying the label again gets the better of him. ]

... Sorry. Um, I... couldn't find a trash can back here.... um... the... uh... song lyrics were no good.

[ Despite being a shapeshifter, Ivan can't act very well. ]

[faithfulflame]

It's alright Ivan. Not everything can be a work of art.

[May as well play along. Rei does make it a point to give him a gentle hug, focusing and careful not to touch him on his exposed skin.]

Sorry, Alex. It's out of reach.

[Brother you are a terrible actor.]

[actsmagnificent]

Don't worry about it. [ Their chauffeur takes this in stride. The customer is always right, and she'll just clean up afterwards. Leave it to her to dispose of that paper!

...the sudden nervousness is interesting, though. The brainwashing, or just what this guy's naturally like? Can't tell, but it's good to know that happens.

She clears her throat. ] Traffic is pretty thick tonight.

[sponsorigami]

[ There is a lot of things that the Hero Academy doesn't teach. (Not that he remembers that.) ]

So thick we might be held up for a while?

[ He catches her meaning and is relieved that both of them are playing along with his attempts at double meaning conversation. ]

Um... so, uh... do you believe in ghosts?

[ He wrote about them on the piece of paper, but he also wants to know if maybe the ghosts are connected to Rei's space ladies in any way. ]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei presses her nose against the glass curiously...interested to see if that was a cover or not. And it isn't. Wow, that's...]

Undoubtedly. This is bad even for Vista City.

[Ghosts though. She looks back at Ivan with a quirked eyebrow. That was an odd question to ask first.]

[actsmagnificent]

....Define "ghosts".

[ She doesn't disbelieve. But she needs more information before she can say whether that's something she's experienced. ]

[sponsorigami]

Um, spirits with powers and the ability to possess people or interfere with the physical world to some extent.

[ And then, he adds what he thinks is an important detail that will answer his question. ]

Oh, and they have blue skin too.

[ Does that sound familiar? ]

[faithfulflame]

[Gonna just stay quiet here, see how this gets answered...]

[actsmagnificent]

[ ...."Blue skin" is pretty familiar to Haruka, presently, yes. And the fact that Ivan's talking about it, with those powers, is....troublesome. ]

I know someone with blue skin.

[ We'll take this slow. Not overinvest. ]

[sponsorigami]

I've... met three of them if the first one I "met" also had blue skin. I didn't actually see him, but he's related to the other two I met later.

Two of them possessed me. One forcefully. The other asked first. I know there's a fourth one somewhere too. They want to help and have.

[ He doesn't ask any further questions on it, but he's hoping that maybe it'll give incentive to seek them out. ]

[faithfulflame]

He's telling the truth. About being possessed.

[Rei offers helpfully, hopefully driving home the point that Ivan's not crazy.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka definitely looks like she believes. She nods once, face setting. As if she needed any more proof those people couldn't be trusted -

No. No jumping to conclusions. Investigation first. She owes Ivan correct information. ] I'll get back to you.

[ A pause. ] D'you remember much about your....hometown?