The Mystery of the Pin

The Mystery of the Pin
Date of Scene:	07 November 2012
Location:	WildKat Cafe
Synopsis:	Lenn and Shiki meet up with Rhyme, and discuss pins old and new.
Cast of Characters:	Lenn, Rhyme, Shiki Misaki

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Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki and Lenn: the (wo)man (women) with the plan.

We're doing pretty well with this whole 'raising funds to become a guild' thing, such that we can even afford expenses for THE GREAT WORKING. Or to put it in less fancy terms: making an awesome badge for the Shard Seekers.

That's what we're here to do today! Mr. H has some blank pins hanging around, and there are tiny tiny jewels to pick up and things, and Shiki also needs some whatnots for her increasingly-successful haberdashery, so here we are in Traverse Town again.

Maybe if we're really lucky, something won't leap out and try to eat our souls.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn is along for the ride with Shiki, for selecting the jewels, and maybe seeing about getting materials to commission Shiki, herself for some clothes. The elf is kinda envious at how good the fashionista always looks.

Rhyme has posed:
IT APPEARS AS IF SHIKI'S LUCK HAS RUN OUT ON THAT FRONT.

A silver skull flashes in the lamplight of traverse town as it rests atop a terrible black shape.

Of a beanie.

A TERRIBLY POWERFUL BEANIE!

Attached to the head of a young girl, who wanders out from the alleyway near WildKat and heads around the corner heading towards the store. Pushing open the door (possibly with an instinctual 'I'm home' call) before stopping.

"Oh hey, it's... you! Headphones-guy's partner." Rhyme beams at the two. "And... Your friend?"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki looks fashionable no matter what she wears, dahliRHYME.

Yeah, were probably doing something before this. Something, something, clothes, metal. Purchases.

IRRELEVANT NOW.

See, Shiki /did/ have an ulterior motive to coming here today, I'm sorry Lenn! That ulterior motive was a little cameraphone picture sent to her by Neku, of a certain person! A person who, last time we saw her, was pretty definitively sharkbait! And who is not, because she posed for a picture!

Shiki's jaw hits the floor. Good thing she didn't have a muffin in her mouth.

"Omigosh," she says, getting out of her coffee table chair and beetling over to Rhyme as fast as possible. "It's really you!"

Lenn has posed:
Lenn smiles to Shiki and Rhyme. "Friend of yours, Shiki?" The elven woman steps over. "Lenn Silv. A pleasure. I am a friend of Shiki's, yes.

Rhyme has posed:
Rhyme looks confused. Just a little bit. She points at herself, as continues with her unabashed beaming smile. "Yeah, um... It's really me?" She bows to Lenn quickly. "Raimu Bito. But everyone just calls me Rhyme. Did you play the Reaper's Game too?" She wonders, before looking at the pile of pins they were making. "Ooh, what do these do? Are you... making pins?"

She sort of looks at one of the finished designs before pulling out a pin from HER pocket, which looks very strange, quickly comparing the two before smiling. "Wow, yours look really good, too, Shiki."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
This is a shock for Shiki. It's very bizarre... first she meets two enemies, then she meets two friends. Well, one friend and one sorta-friend.

Well, one friend who currently has something wrong with his brain and one sorta-friend. :/

Just shocked for a moment at the sheer ... presence of Rhyme, Shiki sits back down and offers her a chair. "We are... sort of making pins, yes!"

She holds up a picture of a gold-covered pin with small designs on it that resemble the four elemental crystals, rendered in tiny gemstones. "Uhh, lemme explain..."

"When I first got here, I was all by myself. Then I met a guy named Reize who agreed to be partners with me for a while, because Neku was go-- because I couldn't find Neku. Then we helped a lady find her home, then we went on lots of adventures together, and we crossed a couple countries, and eventually me and him and Lenn and a bunch of other guys ended up as a group of heroes! We're called the 'Shard Seekers'. We're gonna try and help save the world! Worlds, even!"

Lenn has posed:
Lenn blushes. "I'm not really a hero... I'm just a jeweller, honestly. I just have magic I can use to patch the heroes up..."

Rhyme has posed:
Rhyme sort of blinks. "I didn't really know you could /make/ pins. I just thought you... Well, wow, that's a little dumb of me. Oh well, sometimes ignorance is bliss." She grins, taking a seat. "Do they do things? Create fire, or shoot lasers? They look fancy."

And then SHIKI relates the TALE OF HER ADVENTURES.

"So you met a weird guy and went on adventures and then became a heroine... And you Seek Shards?" She repeats, imperfectly.

"Wait, save the world?" Rhyme turns to Lenn. "Save the worlds? So... It's /not/ the Reaper's Game?" She asks, looking confused. "What... /Happened/?"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"Well, they're not... real pins," Shiki admits sheepishly. "They're... well, they're sort of real. They work sort of like the player pin... they'll let us communicate with one another. Hopefully."

"Yeah, that's basically it! And you're totally a hero. We're heroes! On a quest to do right." She puts her elbows on the table, hands on her chin, and looks smug.

Then she leans back in her chair. "It's hard to describe, Rhyme."

"There's more worlds out there, beyond Traverse Town. But I don't recommend exploring them alone, exactly. The Reapers are still out there... and they're just trying to cause trouble and hunt us Players down. It's dangerous to go around without a partner. Nobody's given us a Mission yet, but..."

Lenn has posed:
Lenn nods, "It's stuff based on the Player's Pin, combined with some of my own magic." She blinks. "What's this 'Reapers Game' I keep hearing about, anyway?" She looks to the two Players, confusedly.

Rhyme has posed:
"Huh... I thought the Player Pin was based on CAT's designs? He's really famous around Shibuya. Well, the more you know, right?" She nods, smiling. "It's a good idea. Then again, wouldn't it just be better to stick together? There's strength in numbers, you know!" She offers, before pulling out that strange pin again.

"Well, it's a game... for dead people. For a chance at being alive again. For you and a partner. It's a pretty good deal, if you think about it! But... It's very harsh. I don't actually remember much about it."

She smiles. "But that's okay. Shiki, have you seen a pin like this before? I woke up only with it, and my Player Pin was gone too."

Rhyme holds out the Rhyme Noise pin, looking a little confused.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki Misaki places her thumb and forefinger on the pin to tilt it, and get rid of the shine from the cafe lights.

"Nope. Never seen anything like that one before. Doesn't look like any brand, either..."

As she examines it, a voice in the back of her head tells her: 'this looks like a Noise pin'. And then a second voice tells her: 'and that would be a very bad thing to mention'.

"If you've only got that one, you should hold onto it. If I erase any chump Noise I see hanging around, do you want me to pick up some new ones for you? Figure that's the only way to get any for the time being."

She lets go and looks at Lenn. "I'm really relying on Lenn, honestly. I've got no idea how to reproduce any pin, I'm just hoping you can whip up magic."

Lenn has posed:
Lenn nods, and looks at the pin, "Hmm... It..." She blinks. "It seems to be linked with you... and important. I'd hold on to it, if I were you." She smiles.

Rhyme has posed:
"Huh... I guess that's just weird then." Rhyme shrugs. "Oh well! No use crying over spilled milk!" She grins, pocketing the pin once more.

"Well, considering I don't have a Player Pin and I don't have a partner... More pins would be pretty lame. Just keep them for yourself, Shiki. If anything bad happens, I'll just run away." She offers, smiling all the while. "You should find CAT! If you have the legendary... Shibuya..." She pauses.

"Oh. Right. Shibuya's gone..." She hangs her head a bit.

Akward silence. Then she looks up again, her smile UNDEFEATED. "Oh? I guess that's why I had it in my pocket then, Miss Lenn. Thanks!"

Then a HARROWINGLY INTENSE GAZE IS LEVELED AT SHIKI. "And have you been eating? At all? Anything?"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"Don't worry," Shiki says, putting her hand on Rhyme's shoulder. "We'll get Shibuya back. You just leave it to me. We can do it."

She pats her a bit. "You know what I think you should do? You should hang around with Neku a little more! I bet the two of you'd have fun exploring outside of Traverse Town, plus you can watch each others' backs. Even if it's just visiting some places near here, like... Bodhum or Montressor. Bodhum's nice, I keep meaning to take more of a look around there myself actually."

And then Rhyme asks THE QUESTION.

"W-what?!" Shiki says, flustered. "Of course I'm eating! That's something you have to do every day! I mean, I had breakfast today... we, we eat what we can afford... I even went to a party and had a meal there at the weekend!"

Lenn has posed:
Lenn looks to Shiki. "I have been worried, that you've been eating well, but I just assumed you just were one of those lucky people that burned everything you ate." She does look at the thinner Shibuya-ite.

Rhyme has posed:
"Nope. Nopenopenope. We're going." Rhyme hopes up, taking Shiki by the wrist. "It was very nice meeting you, Miss Lenn. Shiki and I will be going now! To find if there's a Ramen place around here. Curry Ramen, Steak Ramen, Pork Ramen..." She's practically drooling. "Oh I'm hungry just thinking about it."

And then they're gone, an intense Rhyme leading her friend off for FEASTING.