WEEK 5 CYOA: ICHIRO, ICHINOSE, MABEL, MANDRICARDO

[dormheads]

Comments

[duranduel]

Yeah, yeah, tell me somethin' I don't know...

[Grumbles Mandricardo, assuming they're talking about him and not poor, sweet baby Hector. Honestly, this is fine. Better less people to deal with.]

Pretty nice place, though... [He's glancing at the windows as they walk by.] I bet our so-called apartment isn't in a place like this.

[txt]

[... Hm. More invisible people? At least show your faces if you're going to be rude, damn.]

It was two more stops, right? It might be somewhere downtown.

[She follows after him, glancing at the storefronts as they walk. Unless Crystal says otherwise, I guess they're (throws dart) going right.]

Though, I'm surprised this place is nice by your standards. You're a legendary king, after all.

[dormheads]

[ They walk by a section of jewelry stores. Hector just watches as they go by, her eyes following along.

It's a quiet walk, until someone taps on Mandi's shoulder. When they look, it's a woman dressed in a fur coat. Weirdly enough, they can't seem to see her face-- whenever they try to look, they'll find their gaze glancing elsewhere instead. ]

Excuse me. You don't belong here.

[duranduel]

Well, this is the modern era. And bein' a king had its perks in terms of wealth, but that wasn't what mattered to me. Even when I left the kingdom to become an adventurer, I didn't leave with much besides the clothes on my back.

[And...oh. Huh. He's trying to peer up at the lady, but can't, and it's disorienting.]

Um, sorry? We're lost. We'll be out of your way, soon...

[txt]

Huh... I see. So even in the past, you—

[Oh. Wait. Guess they're getting interrupted by this bougie ass lady? Ichinose furrows her brow, touching her forehead as if dizzy when she tries and fails to take a good look at her.

Though... Shaking her head, she adds:]

Don't mind us. We were just leaving.

[And then she's tugging Mandricardo along, trying to walk away from the woman.]

[dormheads]

Good. Disgraces...

[ They manage to walk a few feet before a rock is thrown at Hector's cage.

Rude. ]

[duranduel]

...

[Oh, that is bad. Mandricardo's anger flares....but he just hugs Hector more tightly to himself, protectively.]

Let's get out of this place. You deserve somewhere better.

[txt]

[Ah. Bad.

Thank god this is not alpha week. Ichinose just tightens her grip on Mandricardo, keeping an eye out for any other projectiles.]

... Let's just run. There's nothing interesting here anyway.

[Cowards live?? Maybe. Time to speed up, bye.]

[dormheads]

[ And they run.

As they move forward, they hear more and more noise. It seems like the streets over here are busier, and while everything still looks fancy it's not as high end as the spot they originally arrived at. If they listen closely, they talk about some celebrity who'll be here.

Hector makes an agitated noise. Her cage is slightly bent now.

Eventually, they'll hit an invisible wall-- of people. There's a giant crowd blocking the way. ]

[duranduel]

[Aw, Hector. When they meet the obstacle, Mandricardo lets out an exhausted sigh, moving to take the bag of dried mango slices they got from the pet store earlier. He rips it open with his teeth, before pulling out one to slip to Hector through the holes of the cage.]

Why do they have to be invisible? This isn't fair...

[He's just trying to see if there's any spots he can feel through the crowd, testing with his elbow.]

Maybe we can go around?

[txt]

Oops! Sorry, sorry.

[To... this invisible crowd of people.]

Is there another way we can go...? It's too bad we don't have infrared vision.

[She will try to look for another route, but if there isn't one... Guess they'll try to go around? She will try to gently unbend whatever part of Hector's cage got damaged, too. Save their baby.]

[dormheads]

[ It's either return the way they can or try to go around the crowd. As they walk round, though, they'll feel someone just yank on the cage with great strength, trying to pull it out of their grasp.

Hector shrieks, flapping her wings, startled at the sudden movement. ]

[duranduel]

H-Hey!

[NOT LADY HECTOR! Mandricardo lets out a squawk of his own, instantly yanking the cage back and trying to put himself in front of her.]

L-Let go!!

[txt]

Whoa—!

[HELLO?? THEIR BAT BABY???? Ichinose immediately slots herself on the cage's other side, trying to block access.]

It's okay, Hector-chan... [But, uh, bad? She tugs the two of them away from the crowd.] I bet Tanaka-san is feeling preeeetty smug right now. Just how do we get out of here?

[dormheads]

[ The crowd gets more agitated. Someone leans forward to yank Ichinose's hair, holding onto it as tightly as they can. Someone else tries to grab the cage again. ]

Wow... rich people, am I right?

[ Tanaka is back. ]

There's a car nearby. You can run them over to protect Hector.

[duranduel]

Hey, let go of her!!

[Seriously getting the urge to just throw Tanaka out a window, thanks! He's trying his best to pull the cage out of the other's grip and then working on trying to help Ichinose, backing up and away from the crowd.]

I thought we were goin' home! What's all this about a car, now, huh?!

[txt]

[Ah. This might as well happen.

Ichinose yelps when someone grabs her hair, her right hand immediately darting up to try and grab that person's wrist — digging her nails into the vein with as much force as possible if she happens to find purchase.

Sorry, Mandricardo. She's a useless noodle right now.]

Can't we just drive home...?!

[Wow... Can't believe she officially hates this NPC more than heterosexuality.]

[dormheads]

You should take care of the problem first, shouldn't you?

[ Hector is just making a lot of distresses noises. Ichinose manages to grab onto the person, and she hears them let out a yell of pain as their arm becomes momentarily visible.

The crowd presses forward again, trying to grab at Mandi as he attempt to move them away. Meanwhile, them mentioning the car made some of the crowd notice that it's now convenient there. Hm. ]

[duranduel]

I don't think we should, bastard?

[Mandricardo might be good in battle, but he knows he is not going to stand up to a crowd. Grabbing one of the blankets from under his arm, he's flicking it open and yeeting the whole thing at the crowd. If he has a chance, he'll turn and grab Ichinose by her collar to try to run the opposite way.]

Retreat! Retreat, Ichinose-!!

[txt]

You don't have to tell me twice!

[If she manages to shake off the mystery person, she booking it. The collapsible cage is still very much there, so please assume she bashes it into anyone who tries to attack Hector or either of them.]

But where are we going?!

[dormheads]

[ Where are you going!

Good question, because some of the people in the crowd have managed to get into the car. Oh no! They floor it, aiming to run the two of them over, but according to the d20s instead of running them over, the car just

swerves and runs over the crowd instead. I guess. ]

[duranduel]

...

[Just. Blinking?]

[Here lies clown crowd 2021-2021 run over by your clown car shenanigans. Mandricardo will not miss you.]

A-Alright. Um. Let's just...run?

[He is NOT going to go back to the high rise district, and hey if the crowd is dispersed, he is going to try to see if there's a way around it, now.]

[txt]

... Welp!

[FAREWELL, CLOWN CAR... She follows after Mandricardo, looking for alternate routes. But also— how's Hector doing?]

[dormheads]

[ Hector is extremely stressed out, folks!

They can either go back the way they came, try to get around what's left of the crowd, or duck into an alley. ]

[duranduel]

Hey, hey, Hector, it's okay...lots of bad people here...

[He's going to turn into that alley! Anything off at first glance?]