The Arrival

<Yes.>
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*Monu and Cameron head for the door*

"Clearly. That's okay, that's why we're here. Let's start with the basics. You need a good stance, so that you can't get knocked off of your feet. You also want your hands near your face to protect it. But don't block your vision, actually, position them so that you can see what's in front of your fist."
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*A quartet of paramedics come in with stretchers, while Jane heads towards them.*
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A"Thank you, Noct...I--I didn't know where else to turn!"

*They can hear footsteps outside of the dorm.*

A"Just...don't answer it without looking to see who it is!"
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*Lilith sighs.*

L"Guess we'd better go look for him, then...."

*She heads for the door.*

*Eve stands up*

<It could be dangerous. Very, very dangerous.>
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*They get out of the way, then head towards Jane*

Monu:<Thank you for coming.>

"Wait... Gabe was talking about monsters too," Noct loosened up on Sabroma, and leaned back a bit, "I want you three to be completely honest with me. No game, no joking... Is this for real?"

Sab nodded.

Taiyo: "Sorry..."

Taiyo does as she's told, putting her hands up to cover her face while still being able to see.

L"I'm sure it's fine. Are you guys coming, or not?"
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Jane<Of course. What happened here?>
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"Yes! I just said that! ...Sorry for yelling...."
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"Now, swing from your legs--pivot your waist to strike."

*Cameron shrugs*

<We don't know. We came here looking for Monu's cousin, and we found her parents on the floor.>
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<Yes. But you need to know what's really going on here.>

*She looks at Thiera*

"Shh!" Astarte suddenly lifted an outstretched index finger, listening to the footsteps.

"You should see the kitchen, someone left a pretty weird arrangement of knives in there," Hector added.

Noct reached into her back pocket and pulled out a knife, then walked over to the door quietly, and checked the peep hole to see what was outside.

Sab was incredibly nervous the entire time, but tried not to make a sound.

Astarte made rapid hand movements and mouthed the word 'no' repeatedly to tell Noct to get away from the door.

Taiyo spreads her legs a bit although not quite shoulder width apart before swinging. The punch is solid as opposed to her first one although still nothing to write home about.

Mimiru comes out of the changing room, wrapping her hands up.

Taiyo: "Hi, Mimi."

Mimiru: "Hello, Taiyo. Euryale."

E"Much better. Hey, Mimiru. I'm teaching Taiyo how to fight. Where's Azuma?"
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*All Noctis sees is blackness.*
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*Jane heads for that kitchen. The paramedics are hauling the 2 collapsed people out.*
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*Thiera shoots her a dirty glare.*

L"What do you mean?"

T"Um...it's just, we're pretty sure the stalkers are more organized than just some homophobic bullies. They often send us messages, & they're erased before we can tell anyone. Often, they show us that they have video of us."

*Eve glares right back*

<Indeed. Another one of our friends has also gone missing, her family apparently attacked by someone.>

Or more likely something.
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*Monu follows, not having known about the knives*

Mimiru: "Racquet ball courts. How's that going?"

Taiyo: "It'll be awhile before I'm actually good."

Mimiru: "This isn't the best facility for that, but you have a good instructor, so I'm sure it'll work out."

That is enough for Noctis to freak out. She quickly backs away from the door, and begins to search around the room for another way out.

"Is it--" Sab was going to ask, but Noct covered her mouth with her hand, then put a finger to her lips to shush everyone.

Noct made her way over to the window to see if they could make the jump. They were not that high up, so if there was a nearby tree they could climb down, or a bush that could cushion the fall.

Astarte stayed rooted to the spot, staring at the door.

L"There's still something you're not telling me."

T"Sorry, sis. It's something that doesn't really make sense, unless you discover it for itself."

*When they head out, she locks the door behind her.*

T"Azuma hasn't answered me...."

*And so she asks Mimiru if she knows if Azuma is alright.*
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*As luck would have it, there is both.*
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E"Wanna help us?"
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*Once she sees them, Jane "hmms," then busts out a kit & starts dusting for fingerprints.*

Mimiru: "Sure."

Mimiru's phone is in her bag in the locker room, so she doesn't know she's being contacted.

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Much like Mimiru, Azuma's phone is not on hand.

As opposed to actually playing racquet ball, he's really just hitting the ball so that it bounces off of multiple walls before trying to hit it back. Screwing around really.

Noct opens the window as wide as possible, as well as the screen. She waves the rest of them over. Sab is the first to arrive, and Noct points to the tree, and the bushes.

Sab shakes her head vehemently, but Noct has none of it and pushes her towards the sill. Sab takes a big gulp, and a deep breath, then cautiously tries to make her way over to a branch of the tree so she can start climbing down.

Astarte waited behind Aroma.

Eve:<Well, that's just excellent.>
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*Monu waits for her to finish*

OOC: Timeskip to this night in the next few posts.

*Sab hangs off of the edge of a branch that bends quickly & alarmingly towards the ground. Aroma shrieks her name.*
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T"They're not answering me!"
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Jane<Nothing. Sorry, but I don't think there was a break-in. Maybe they were cleaning the knives prior to passing out?>
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E"I was going to start with basic punching, but if you don't use your upper body very often, it might be best to get you started on some kicks. Here, try this."

*She balance herself by spreading her fists to her side, then swings the front of her foot into the punching bag, lashing out at its base & then up above in rapid succession.*
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*Azuma sees the shadow of someone walking behind him.*

Monu:<The door was open when we got there.>
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*Eve shakes her head*

<Now there's four missing...and we have no idea where they could be.>

Sab shimmies her way over to the center of the tree, where the branches can support more of her weight, and begins to clamber her way down the tree, all the while whispering, "I'm okay, I'm okay..." to herself.

Noct covers Aroma's mouth as soon as she makes a sound, and looks back towards the door to make sure nothing is happening. Regardless of what she sees she pushes Aroma towards the sill next so that she can start climbing down as well.

Astarte was internally screaming at them to hurry up, and nearly had a heart attack when Aroma screamed. She looked back to the door every couple of seconds.