[ closed ] July Catch All Log!

[queenofminiskirts]

WHO: Kaoru and various people
WHAT: Quests (when they go up) and Feelings Talk with people
WHEN: Throughout July
WARNINGS: Kaoru's surprising inability to handle one particular feeling.

((Quest and catch all log to keep things neat and in one place.))

Comments

[queenofminiskirts]

Of course! She's one of the most amazing people I know! [And, okay, she can see that Dex isn't comfortable so she reaches out to pat him on the arm. Still, she doesn't miss a beat, answering Shiho's grin with one of her own.]

Don't think of it as the boring route, Shiho! Think of it as the shortcut!

[Though she's sure Shiho will mess with them anyway. She'll follow Shiho gladly. Still...]

Is there a reason we can't just break the lock? [Even though she's sure Shiho won't take long to open the lock.]

[passio]

[ dextera is not… not comfortable, but he certainly has been thrown for a loop. phew! teens! ]

Breaking it is noisy. [ dextera offers that, though he doesn’t know if it’s true. ] And obvious.

[ he’s never tried to break in anywhere before—well, that’s not exactly correct. he broke into the research laboratory with all his clones, but that involved getting the guard to bury himself alive and that’s just not going to fly here. ]

And… thieves don’t break things.

[inheritance]

Are we going the gentleman thief route after all?

[Izuku can't help but ask with a grin, even as he stays close, letting Shiho take the lead with this one, since she has all the information. And the lock-picking skills.]

Okay, which way should we go?

[good_ideas]

If we broke stuff, we’d be burglars. [Which is to say yes, they’re going the gentleman thief route but now Kaoru probably wants them all in capes, top hats, and masks.

The lock clicks open quietly and Shiho puts the bits of wire and metal back into her pocket, dusting off her hands.]

We’ll go left down the first hallway. There’s a room we have to solve a puzzle for.

[queenofminiskirts]

I guess, you're right.

[Well, Kaoru has even less experience breaking into places. Usually infiltration was left to Shiho and Aoi. She's still pouting a little bit though.

ALSO SHE CAN BE REASONABLE ABOUT THE outfits (but masks would have been nice, their uniform already came equipped with capes).]

But gentleman thief isn't quite right either. Shiho and I are girls. [She's not shouting though. After all they don't want to be caught. Though considering she was demanding they all be magical girls she really doesn't have a leg to stand on for this argument.]

What sort of puzzle?

[passio]

[ dextera nods when shiho guides them onward—in this particular wing, there are no guards. although dextera can hear them dotting the castle, it would probably be poor level design to have a million guards in front of the place you’re trying to confuse the thieves away from. ]

I like puzzles.

[ thanks. he’s so useful. ]

[inheritance]

[Left turn it is! And they come face to face with the room and the puzzle, just like Shiho had warned them they would.]

Okay, what do you have here?

[He likes puzzles, too, but he's also never had to solve one for a maze before.]

[good_ideas]

[There’s a pattern they have to match on the tiles picked out in shades of black and grey on the floor. Thank goodness whatever colour they were supposed to be, they were different enough to be discernible even like this.

What she says though with a grin as she opens the door is:]

See the gray tiles on the left side of the room? [Conveniently separated with a line of white.] We have to follow that same pattern over here on the all-black side. While barking like dogs.

[queenofminiskirts]

[I like puzzles is so...useless and yet she can't even tease him for it because it's kind of adorable...]

...bark like dogs. [You hear that, Shiho? That's the sound of Kaoru not believing you for a second. But then she shrugs because. Eh. Why not? Besides, she's sure if she ruins Shiho's fun there will be Consequences.] ...fine.

[And she'll do as Shiho says though she only barks once at the beginning. At least if everyone else does it too she won't feel so embarrassed.]

[passio]

[ okay, well, there’s a problem here because dextera can’t bark! it doesn’t occur to him to question shiho’s certain declaration that these are absolutely the requirements for the puzzle, and dextera holds his hand to his throat. ]

…wuff.

[ it’s more like a breath than a bark, but listen to him try. ]

[inheritance]

[This is... admittedly kind of suspect, but since Kaoru and Dex are both doing it already, Izuku joins in.]

Woof, woof.

[He'll add in another for good measure while following the pattern that Shiho had pointed out earlier.]

[good_ideas]

[The thought that immediately occurs to Shiho as she watches everyone bark like she told them to is: Where is her phone when she needs it?!

This would have been amazing. With a theatrical cough, Shiho puts both hands to her mouth.]

Woof, woof, woof~

[She follows the pattern and hears a click from the door in front of them. So maybe they didn’t have to bark like dogs but now she’s in a good mood and much more likely to get them there without taking detours. Raising a finger to her lips though she sets a hand on the door, waiting for a guard to walk by and round a corner before she waves them over and opens the door.]

Third door to the left. We’ll take one more room, there’s a staircase after that should let us get to the next floor. [And if need be they could always bust through the ceiling. Quietly.]

[queenofminiskirts]

[It's because she knows Shiho doesn't have her phone and that playing along now will yield better results later that she's doing this whole bark like a dog thing. But just to be sure...]

I knew we could rely on you, Shiho! You're the best!

[Because compliments, she knew, especially genuine ones will get you absolutely everywhere with Shiho. She quiets down when Shiho indicates they should be quiet. And then she's following along, and following after Shiho to the door indicated.]

[passio]

[ dextera is inclined to believe that shiho is the best, because he still doesn’t doubt her a bit, and the door did clearly get unlocked. thanks, shiho!

for now, dextera follows quietly, through the door and to the staircase, and a thought does belatedly occur to him. please don’t make fun of him for his complete and utter trust. ]

A puzzle with sound—is a good idea. [ don’t compliment them, dex ] They can listen for intruders.

[inheritance]

[Izuku opens his mouth, as if he's about to say something, but he pauses when he looks at Dextera's face and then just decides to drop it. Never mind! If Dex and the others are having fun with Shiho's additions to the puzzles, then what's the harm?]

That's a good point, Dextera-san.

[Izuku follows the group at the back, making sure there aren't any guards following them.] I'm guessing there's another puzzle before we can continue on?

[good_ideas]

[Appealing to Shiho's vanity definitely works though?? At least it stops her from fixating too much on the fact that she didn't catch any of that on camera. Instead she's giving Kaoru a smile that is definitely "I see what you're doing, best friend".]

They can listen but not if they're too far away to hear.

[Though she won't deny that having someone follow up in the back is a good thing. You can never be too careful after all.]

Not so much a puzzle and more like a hidden exit. [The other one opens straight to the outside of the castle which she thinks definitely won't be fun for any of them. Putting her hand onto the wall to check again she motions for one of them (but mostly for Kaoru) to shift the bookcase on the left.]

[queenofminiskirts]

[Kaoru reaches out to pat Dex's shoulder for that. One of these days, she will have to explain to him not to take Shiho seriously all the time. But she returns Shiho's smile because, yeah, she knows you know what she's doing but it works anyway, right?

...this was a stealth mission, right? So that means she's not allowed to just call out a random attack name when she moves that bookcase, doesn't it?

She pouts then holds out a hand and picks up the bookcase (hey, it's quieter than letting it drag on the floor!) before setting it aside to reveal an opening! how mysterious!]

...this feels like we're in some kind of video game.

[passio]

Ah.

[ dextera watches her move the bookcase as if it’s light as a feather—and he has to remind himself that yes, kaoru has powers too. she’s just so casual about them that it slips his mind.

he can’t comment much on whether or not it’s like a video game, but he bobs his head in a nod as he looks through the secret entrance.

of course, there are no guards keeping watch on something that’s secret. ]

It reminds me—of home.

[inheritance]

[True to form, Izuku's watching Kaoru use her powers with interest, though he does shift his attention to the new opening that's been revealed to them.]

It does? [His eyes flickers over to Dextera, surprised. Has he ever heard Dex really talk about where he comes from before this? Probably not.] You mean the part where we found a hidden passageway?

[Izuku joins Dex in examining it, looking over at Shiho and waiting to catch her eye. Anything we need to watch out for? his eyes ask.]

[good_ideas]

[Does that mean Dex lives in a video game??]

A hidden passageway in your own home, huh? That could be cool. [But Minamoto would probably never let them waste their BABEL paycheck on anything cool.

She points though to the stairs leading up to the next floor.]

There’s a trigger for an alarm half of the way up the stairs. We need to skip that step. Then we’re going to go left at the top, turn right, turn left and two doors down is where they’re storing it. [Though once they’ve got it she still thinks they should make a dramatic exit out the window like true gentleman thieves.]

Ready?

[Because once they are, she’s moving up the stairs, keeping one hand on the wall at all times. No one trip because then they’ll have to go with plan B: bust through the ceiling.]

[queenofminiskirts]

[All Kaoru knows about Dex's home is that it's apparently better here than there. So she's also kind of curious how hidden passage ways play into it.]

...I don't think my mom would appreciate us adding a hidden passageway to the house. [ Even if they end up making one like, a hundred chapters after this canon point.

She nods and, well. She's just going to float above the steps because she knows she'll probably forget which step is the trap.]

I'll just follow you, Shiho. [Because she's not sure she can remember all those instructions (she probably could but she's lazy).]

[passio]

[ it’s more like a hidden passageway that leads to a ghost, and if the wrong person tries they’ll get stuck in the wall forever until they die… but details. dextera smiles politely, listening and trying his best to internalize shiho’s instructions.

up the stairs, halfway… he hops right over the trap step, surprisingly light-footed for someone who looks as if he’s about to collapse at any moment. then at the top of the stairs… left, right, left again.

he could just follow shiho, yes, and he is, but it’s good to try to remember the instructions anyway. ]

…?

[ he keeps against the wall, quiet, nervous. ]

[inheritance]

If you found a secret passage in your house, where would you want it to lead? [Izuku sounds a bit distracted as he memorizes the new set of instructions.] There's no chance of one being in the dorms--the teachers wouldn't like the potential hole in security.

[Okay... skip over the alarm step, then a left turn, a right, and a left! Izuku stops by the door, shooting Dextera a smile as he joins him.] So...this is it. I wonder what the Moondrop Heart looks like?

[good_ideas]

Having one that connects right to Minamoto-san’s house might be pretty fun. [Because Shiho is down for post-dinner snack runs to Minamoto’s fridge.]

And as long as your teachers don’t find out~ [Shiho no

She does linger a little bit to wait in case anyone takes a moment but welp, here they are.]

With a name like that you’d almost think it would be some kind of fruit. [But it is in fact, a small gem set on a pedestal. Shiho doesn’t look too surprised once the door is open though she does reach out first to disarm a trap beside the door, unhooking a crossbow set at about head height.]

.......At least it’s travel-sized?

[queenofminiskirts]

Definitely Minamoto's house. So we can get to his fridge!

[She's hovering over the gem with a frown and then reaches out to pick it up.]

...I thought it'd be cuter. Isn't this false advertising?

[THIS IS SO DISAPPOINTING.] Well, guess we can leave now.