Chiyako

Two rounds had been expended. Unfortunately the portal Demon turned out to be just as tricky as she'd figured. She had recognized what was happening before the fiery dog had made impact and had instead used it to avoid her gunfire. If she could tell where Emi was stitching together spaces then that made her probably the most credible threat to the bunny. Eliminate her first then. Or flee. Ryan appears to be safe now. The mysterious muscular man appeared to be intent upon facing off against the portal Demon. Was that not a bad matchup? She appeared to be physically powerful. Perhaps it would take both the man and Alexandrine to handle her. That of course meant that it would be up to Emi alone to handle the fire dog. A rabbit versus a wolf. I don't exactly enjoy that matchup. It was the portal lady who made the first move. A charge directly towards the muscular man. However the flaming hound wasn't about to stand idly by either, as was evident by the sudden eruption of flames aimed towards her feet. She wondered for a moment if she could avoid it with a plane shift, however then she realized the danger that might be created by ignoring it. Did it explode? Would it also affect her allies? The ground beneath her briefly shimmered, spreading out wide in an effort to capture the entire fireball. She allowed herself to fall through the stitched space, appearing instead above the fire dog! Emi seemed to pop out and drop towards her foe, both pistols aiming downwards towards her shoulders. The fireball, should it be captured, would rocket off into the sky above. She could only hope that it had some predetermined range before it would detonate, or that it would simply fizzle out given enough time or distance, or that it wouldn't explode at all and was in fact just flames! BANG BANG! BANG BANG! Four gunshots. How well would the creature resist? Did she require magic to injure her? Emi was still in the experimental phase here!

The bunny nodded in agreement with Rin. She didn't really know how it worked either. "We will leave it up to you." It would be difficult for both of them to decide upon something that they knew nothing about, after all! Or did they really have to choose? Emi wasn't quite certain.

Emi's head tilted slightly. "Is there a difference between a reading in either form? If not then whichever is easier for you would be fine." Would these cards change her mind? Probably not. Not unless they could somehow remove that terror that she felt up on stage. That seemed impossible unless some piece of her mind, or her brain, were removed. Or a curse. Perhaps some other thing? Being able to control people's minds would be a terrible ability to face. It would also be totally unfair! Not that fairness tended to have much to do with their fights. It was win or lose. Kill or be killed. Or, at the very least, win or be screwed. Then again that depended upon the foe as well, but most seemed to be fine with that result.

Again Emi nodded. It was unfortunate for Rin. Of course she wanted to help her friend out, and knew that she might enjoy singing, but it was simply too much for her. Then again there was also the guilt behind that to consider. She could bear with it for her friend's sake, right? I don't know. Having friends does come with its difficulties, huh? And now she was going to do a tarot card reading! She didn't really know what that all entailed but hey it was definitely something new to try! Would it work? Probably not for this, but she couldn't discount the possibility either.

Nope! Emi's power is the manipulation of space. It's less that she opened a portal and more that she stitched together the space around her with the space above Exzel. Although if you think that would still count then you are free to mess with them!

As her hand was taken Emi lifted her gaze to meet Elie's. She couldn't imagine doing that when she was only nine. That sounded terrifying! Horrific! Oh no. She didn't even want to risk something like that. Honesty was good, she was thankful for that, but Elie still couldn't live it down. Emi didn't want that. Still, there was good advice too! Maybe it would help her in the future regardless of whether or not she used it for singing. Focus on one person. Zone everyone else out. That was how one beat stage fright, apparently. Maybe. Hopefully. "Tarot card reading?" She shrugged, paused for a moment in thought, and then nodded. Why not? It couldn't hurt, right?

Emi fidgeted nervously in her seat. Doing it once was bad enough. More times? In front of larger crowds? That was asking for too much, at least from her. Besides Rin didn't need her for singing! She could do that herself, couldn't she? "I don't think I could do it. Sorry." It would be a good way to make money. To become more popular. But the idea of her doing that again? She could not fathom it.

Emi's face grew a hint flustered. It wasn't just the compliment about her singing. No, it was also the comment about her being a baby. That was even more embarrassing somehow. "I did, yes" she replied quietly. Alas, she did not really know much about people who sang. She did however know Elie from when they had met prior! That certainly wasn't something that she was going to forget. Nor, she assumed, would Elie. Or any of them really. "Thank you." She had to disagree. It didn't seem as though she had done all that well. But she wasn't going to object to the woman's praise either.

The bunny's eyes flickered open, body sitting up with a slight jolt. She had fallen asleep? Emi hadn't even noticed it, Her gaze lowered. Empty plate. She had at least enjoyed her snacks. Perhaps she had been more out of it than she'd thought. Or she wasn't resting as well as she should? Or maybe Rin is just really comfortable. Or the bed. A fist raised to rub the sleepiness from her eyes. A discussion about singing? She frowned, however Emi also nodded and scooted from her seat, arms stretching out overhead. At the very least she was feeling much better! Upon entering the other room Emi gave a timid wave towards Elie and Mitsuko, making her way over to take a seat nearby.

I'm fine with people making or playing as anyone from Emi's mother's team. That said breaking Emi isn't impossible. Depends on how one might go about it.

I'll probably wait on any alternate stuff for now since I'd rather see where the true story goes first.

Alternate story?

Turns out I might not be busy Sunday. Or the rest of today. We'll see though. I don't mind Emi napping for a while.

Time to rest. She didn't mind that idea. A break would help her to regather her courage. Also she could finally get herself some food and something to drink! Perhaps that would help with the dizziness she was feeling. That and some time away from so many prying eyes. She accepted Alexandrine's hand, lifting to her feet with the woman's assistance. Emi wondered what the private rooms might be like. They were the places that fans were brought, after all, and so their design would be very telling. Were those rumors true after all? The winged girl seemed to be worried that she was intruding. A fan, perhaps? Maybe someone who was in a similar position to Rin. That was probably it, although she probably wasn't a boy. It was, as far as she knew, quite rare for that to happen. I've had stranger luck though. Emi nodded once in agreement to Elie's words. They were all friends. Or, at the very least, friendly. Of course she had become friends with Alexandrine and Ryan very quickly. That had been helped somewhat by the whole showering thing. Maybe showering with people is a really good way to become friends. It leaves everyone vulnerable. And naked. Then stuff happens. Okay maybe it isn't the shower that brings people that close together. A faint pink settled across her cheeks as she remembered the other night. As she followed Rin out and back through the crowd it only got worse. She felt hands brushing across her exposed arms and shoulders and ears. Head pats. Mostly just excited fans hoping to congratulate the two, or to interact with any of the magical girls. A few bolder patrons touched her tail and her rump, one was even daring enough to briefly cup her chest! Not that they found much there, of course, but as far as she knew some people preferred smaller breasts. By the time they had reached the knights and staff guarding the entry point to the private rooms she was quite flustered. Emi avoided their gazes, keeping her own to the floor. Legs squeezed together. She did her best to avoid her now wildly running imagination and all the lewd scenarios it was trying to present to her. A cold shower might be good. I wonder if they have showers here? When they finally arrived at their room Emi's suspicions were confirmed. It was set up like a hotel suite! The presence of a bed in these sorts of places meant that people definitely had sex. Or maybe people just had sex because the bed was here in the first place? Even so it really wasn't helping her to calm down, but at least it was a different sort of distraction. She would rather be horny than overwhelmed by stage fright. With a snack she was led into the room with the bed, hopping up to settle in against the large fancy pillows. When the plate of snacks was set down she lifted it up, plucking some fruit to nibble upon. Once Rin was sat next to her Emi leaned against the girl's shoulder and closed her eyes. She finally had a moment to rest, to calm herself down, to snack, and perhaps to get rid of the urges that had built up. This is nice. Maybe I can nap.

There it is. The little smirk upon the beast's face had confirmed to Emi the sort of foe she was up against. Someone confident in their abilities. Perhaps arrogant. Also the sort to fall into a challenge. Headstrong often went hand in hand with those gifted physically. Demons too. It was an easy enough guess. BANG! A pistol, the one aimed towards the hound, went off. She didn't expect it to hit. In fact she planned for it not to hit, firing at the spot she had been instead of where she expected her to be. No, a miss would hopefully make the creature more secure in her own victory. Draw her in with confidence. Perhaps make her think that handguns were Emi's primary weapon, or that she was simply a slow shooter. However the gunshot was also to act as the same sort of thing that sprinters at a competition used. Something to urge her allies into action, whether that be fleeing or fighting. Not a direct assault? That had caught Emi off guard. She had fully expected the woman to straight up charge her. Unknowns were dangerous. This, however, was not the worst outcome. A zigzag pattern slowed one down. Perhaps not by too much for someone as physically gifted as some of those present, but enough for Emi to activate her defenses. One ear focused towards the Demon lady. The other twitched this way and that, keeping its focus upon the leaping beast. Emi's gaze settled towards the other Demon, as did both handguns. When Hellhound finally did initiate her leap towards the rabbit a faint shimmer in the air very briefly emerged around the short magical girl, spreading outwards to form a dome. It was not, however, a shield. Upon closer inspection one might notice the distorted overhead view of the Demon lady shattered across the face of the shimmered light. Impact with the dome would instead place the attacker on a direct collision course with the Demon lady from above. Emi had stitched together the space around herself with the space above the other Demon. Her method of jumping through portals utilized as a defensive measure. Was it draining? Yes. But with allies around her Emi didn't expect any sort of prolonged fight. Now she just had to convince the Demon lady to leave as well. BANG BANG! A couple of rounds erupted from both pistols aimed towards the area around the Demon lady and, should she have fallen through, the bestial Demon, causing the rabbit to wince a slight bit in pain. It hurt her ears but being outdoors at least meant that the sounds were not concentrated. Besides ending the fight quickly was probably a fair tradeoff. A full barrage may have been more warranted but she didn't really know how quickly or precisely the woman could create her own portals, nor did she wish to reveal the full extent of her own capabilities so soon. Just flee!

I'll give people an hour or so before I reply to that.

A stalemate. Two on two. Emi had both of their foes at gunpoint. A battleplan was already beginning to form within her mind when Alexandrine emerged with Rin right behind her. Now it was four on two. The odds were in their favor. Rin is new to this though. Does she even know what her capabilities are? Might become a liability until we train her. Or maybe she wouldn't be. Fighting was the fastest way to unlock one's true potential. That she had learned the hard way. However they didn't know the full capabilities of their foes either, and the more classical Demon woman had already proven herself to be capable of utilizing portals. That in turn made protecting people far trickier. Claws. Bestial. Probably based around physical combat. So, much like myself. And probably the big man. Us two against her. I don't know Miss Alexandrine's capabilities either. Could she handle the Demon lady? The Demon lady started to chat with the beast. Something about having fun. It implied a few different things. Maybe these two ate Humans. Or they meant fighting. However it could have easily meant the other thing, the sort of thing Demons in general were well known for. And then the bestial one pointed in her direction. A choice had been made. Her plan was to split them up. Emi was actually fine with this. I don't need to beat her. Distract her. Isolate her. The others should be more than enough against just the Demon lady. Wait until they catch up. We win. Of course she couldn't switch her target just yet, couldn't focus both upon the beast. The Demon lady was capable of utilizing portals. This way she could react if she attempted something. Or, at the very least, give that impression. Not that she would hesitate. An ear perked up a little straighter, shifted to face the clearly strong man as he spoke quietly. Truth be told she was far better with open areas like this, but then it wouldn't just be her fighting either. He was trying to leave. They had been given the opportunity to leave. If it were her alone then perhaps she would have already opened fire, however she wasn't about to risk somebody else's life. Not to mention the other note he made: there very well could be other Demons lurking about. For all she knew they might be the ones who were outnumbered. Improbable, but not impossible. "We leave. I'll exit last. They can't catch me." Confident? Yes. But she had reason for it. Running was what she knew best. It was almost certainly the truth. But it was also a jab at the beast. Insurance should hostilities actually break out.

In that one I was trying to give Toshiro a chance to post again before Emi does anything crazy.

Her eyes closed as she felt Rin's hand atop her head, ears flopping to the sides. It felt nice. Relaxing. Helped to calm her down. Physical affection was quite potent when utilized upon her, especially in specific sensitive areas. Or her head. Nostalgia helped there too. See me again? Quieter things sounded nice. Autographs she could probably do. There was no singing there. Maybe the occasional question. Sure, a line of people, but they would be seated at a table. Emi was short. One would need to be within the first two, maybe three rows to properly see her, at least depending upon how people crowded around. She could handle that much. Sign autographs. Make people happy. That sounds nice. It was far easier than being on stage. The biggest issue would be appearing kind to others. She knew that she had a sort of resting expression devoid of emotion. Apathetic. Maybe even upset if one looked closely enough? Or bored? Not that she was actually any of those things, it was just what she was used to. At least Rin is good at looking happy. She can look happy for the both of us. When Alexandrine and Elie approached her ears stuck up once more, eyes opening to look towards the two. A meek wave was offered towards them. As instructed she pulled in a few deeper breaths. How deep was she supposed to go with this? Emi didn't really know, but it did start to make her feel a little more relaxed. Also maybe a little light-headed. That might have been the lack of nourishment though. A favorite singer? She pondered the question for a moment. It wouldn't really hurt to give away such details. "I didn't really have much music growing up" the bunny replied softly. "Or television. I do like music though." Listening to it, anyway. Singing is too scary. How do people even do that?

Yeah I've been giving time between posts too. Although tomorrow I may be gone for most of the day. And maybe Sunday too I dunno.

For Emi it felt as though an hour had passed. The singing! The dancing! The being in everyone's view! It was only slightly physically taxing, but the mental anguish was beyond belief. In reality it only lasted a few minutes, and by the time it had finished Emi at least appeared to be more confident, although given her state at the start that really wasn't saying very much. It's over? Oh gosh it's over! It's finally over! The clapping and cheering didn't help. It only meant that they were still watching, still focusing upon the two of them. Nor did the many loud noises help. Her senses were hyper focused in that moment, an unconscious attempt to be aware of any potential approaching danger. This was, after all, quite the vulnerable position to be in! Sure, there were magical girls and knights around, but would that not be the last place one might expect an attack to come from and, therefore, a prime place and time for it?! Or maybe she was just overthinking things. Thankfully Rin had an arm around her shoulder. She might have just passed out then and there! Emi at least offered a timid bow of her head. Then she turned and stepped off into the back of the stage. Once she was out of sight the bunny collapsed to her knees, clinging the plushy tightly to her chest. We made it! Oh gosh we made it. That was terrifying! I don't feel so good.

Alexandrine was smiling. Rin was smiling. Emi tried her best to smile. It was maybe a little forced, but deep down part of her was enjoying this. She just had to ignore the fact that so many other people were watching, and listening, and focusing upon herself. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Emi's internal screaming was thankfully just that: internal. With any luck nobody would notice how truly terrified she was in the moment. Thankfully she had exceptional balance and incredible strength, especially when it came to her legs. The bumping of hips didn't manage to throw her off. In her untransformed state it might have. No, here she recovered with a sway of her hip opposite the side that was bumped. It all looked intentional. During the song she found herself turned to face Rin. A hand settled around her back. She nearly stuttered at that moment, nearly messed up but, thankfully, had managed to recover, to continue singing more or less smoothly and uninterrupted. Perhaps if they'd practiced more it all would not have been so terrifying. Please end! Just end! When does this song end?!?

It seems Emi's fated meeting with her papa will have to wait for another day! Also I wonder what song Toshiro would sing on the stage.

Seeing Alexandrine in the crowd prompted Emi to squeeze the plushy a little tighter to her chest. It did help her to relax a little, but looking out to see her also meant looking out to see so many others who had gathered. She felt their eyes all over her body. Legs shifted, instinctively closing together slightly. When Rin introduced them her ears perked straight up, as did the rest of her body. Her only response was to offer a quick bow towards the crowd. Already Rin felt more professional, at least in terms of the idol aspect of everything. She seemed to be pretty good at speaking with the crowd! The promise was a bit worrying in the moment, even though it was something they had discussed and she had considered, but that was simply due to the stage fright that she was feeling. Well, probably. Going pro?!? Isn't that too straight forward? Oh gosh! But I'm not that good. It should be okay. That won't happen. Not to me. I'll be fine. Maybe Rin will make it though. She seems like she might like that. I'll just try not to hold her back. When the music started to play the sounds of her heartbeat almost drowned it out within her mind. She had a poor start, forgetting for a couple of lines what the lyrics were. Upon joining in her voice was a bit too quiet, more or less drowned out by Rin's and the music. However when she finally decided to close her eyes, to shut out the rest of the world, her soft voice did at least become loud enough to offer something pleasant, a contrast to Rin's more confident singing. Of course focusing on the singing was her primary concern in the moment, but Emi did dance a little bit. It mostly consisted of hugging the plushy to her chest and swaying in place, even occasionally bumping her hips out from one side to the other. Really that was the majority of any moves she tried to pull. Not like they were expecting too much, she hoped! As the song continued she did at least begin to grow more confident. Her eyes opened, although she tried to focus more upon Rin and the microphone. She started to move her upper body slightly, although mostly in a sort of dance with the plushy that she held, which was quite embarrassing and had her cheeks instantly pink. It was pretty much the most effort she could afford to put forth for the remainder of the song. I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this!

A round of applause snapped Emi's attention out of her thoughts and towards the stage. She hadn't even noticed that Rin had taken one of her hands. Emi gave it a nervous squeeze as the girl wandered into the back of the stage. Their names were called up. Her heart raced within her chest. Sing. Right, we're going to sing. Then maybe I can get something to eat. Or drink. And then maybe, well, I don't know. Something? Just get through this. With a nod towards Rin she made her way out and onto the stage. The crowd was thankfully not as large as the one they had been in front of before. Unfortunately it was just the two of them on the stage now, as opposed to Alexandrine being there too. She had drawn more attention as well. Already Emi could feel her legs trembling. Gosh, why did I agree to this? Releasing her grip upon Rin's hand Emi reached up to fiddle with the microphone, to scoot it down to a height which both of them could properly use. At least she couldn't get as close to it. It would mean her voice wouldn't be heard as well, she hoped. Once she had finished both arms returned to the Diamond Sorceress plushy that she held against her torso. Now all that was left was for Rin to do the introductions, and to get them started!