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Post by Jimmydalad on Aug 27, 2015 18:06:27 GMT -5
Kasumi made an effort to look nice today as she entered the meeting room. Having it be the first time she had been there, she took a moment to marvel at the view. It was big, almost unnecessarily so. The table was long and ornate, with healthy wood that almost glistened due to how clean it was. The chairs looked comfortable too and she held back the urge to throw herself into one of them.
After taking some time to be excited, she calmed herself down and moved behind one of the chairs. She was glad that she was the first one into the room. It gave her some time to gain her composure and mentally prepare herself for the meeting ahead. After quelling the threat of DCD, a meeting had been arranged to discuss those events as well as any other pertinent issues that felt mentioning. Kasumi also reckoned that the meeting was called to gauge her abilities as a guildmaster, though that probably was just her being paranoid.
In her mind, this was going to be a battle of wits. She knew that Fairy Tail was not in the strongest of positions, considering the attacks that Phantom Cloak have done on their members and the guild itself. AS for the other two guilds, it seemed that both were gaining strength and quickly. In particular, Griffin Wing had once again come out of nowhere with a castle and with an insurgence of members, it seemed to be going from strength to strength. As for Lions Heart, they seemed to be doing as they usually did. No reason for Phantom Cloak to target them for the moment.
Setting a hand upon the table, she rendered her face impassive as she looked towards the door in anticipation. She couldn't let her guard down or let her emotions take over in this situation. She had to be strong and not let the others walk over her. Even though her friend and former guildmaster Riley was going to come as well, she still couldn't back down. There was time for personal talk afterwards.
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Post by Tsundere Shinzu on Aug 28, 2015 9:11:19 GMT -5
Shinzu wrapped his fingers around the handle and cautiously pushed open the door in a rather controlled manner that would serve to not break the silence. He would then peek his head out from the entrance wearily, the act of which revealing the unnatural blue hue of his hair. “Heh. It would appear I choose my attire well.” With a smirk beginning to form on his face, Shinzu would take a step towards the side and close the door behind him as he entered the room in a rather confident manner that would starkly contrast his previous demeanour.
“I was worried I may have dressed too formal.” With a wave of his hand, Shinzu would dismiss the thought as his eyes met with the only other person in the room. Although there was irony in the fact that Shinzu hated suits despite leading Lion Heart, the one guild in Fiore that bore the requirements of a formal dress code, today there was little choice in the matter. It was the young guild master’s first formal get-together in Clover and he wanted little else other than for it to go smoothly.
“Well then, who might you be?” Shinzu would part with his question as he pulled out a chair for himself on the opposite end of the table to his fellow guild master. “I already met Marika… So I assume this girl runs Griffin Wing?” Shinzu could only shrug at the thought. Lion Heart had always been considered one of the more fancy guilds in Fiore, at least until Griffin Wing showed up. “Apparently their leader possesses a bottomless pit of wealth… More than Lion Heart even.” As much as he hated the thought, he knew the importance of making allies today. Especially with this girl who he assumed to be no other than the leader of Griffin Wing. “Apologies, I fear I have failed to introduce myself. I am Shinzu Hayashi of Lion Heart.”
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Merc
Saint Wizard
(Legendary)
Strength: 65
Speed: 150
Magic: 121
Willpower: 100
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Post by Merc on Aug 29, 2015 8:49:05 GMT -5
A lot had happened in Fiore since Riley had returned, the most notable being the outbreak of the magical disease, but in the time after the sudden end of the outbreak Griffin Wing had been rebuilt and Fairy Tail seemed to be going through a hard time because of Phantom Cloak - the guild that boasted its love of freedom when the only thing they actually seemed to stand for was chaos as they threw tantrums across Fiore equivalent to that of magic wielding children.
Stroking thoughtfully at her bottom lip, Riley made her way through Clover for the first time in what felt like a century. The small town hadn't changed too much, so she had an easy enough time navigating towards the building that had been indicated to her, a place for the masters of the light guilds to meet. Even in the previous incarnation of Griffin Wing she had never attended an offical meeting of the masters, but she had to say that she was more excited than nervous over the prospect - while she knew Kasumi, who she had heard was assuming leadership of Fairy Tail, she hadn't met the other leader, though she heard it was a man.
Mauling over the thought that, even among dark guilds, most of the current masters were female, she smirked a little to herself as she slipped into the building that was to house the meeting, rather easily finding the specific place that had been dictated to her and discovering a grand total of two people in the grandiose room. Two very well dressed people, in fact, especially when compared to herself, who wore her usual cloak and looked more like she was ready to walk into a battle than a meeting.
"Good day." She greeted, nodding her head towards the two. Without missing a beat she wandered further into the room and chose a seat for herself somewhere near the center of the table. Was she late? Had she missed anything important? Glancing between the two, she fell into a relaxed silence as she reclined in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.
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Post by Jimmydalad on Aug 29, 2015 17:53:31 GMT -5
Her fist clenched as she heard the door open. Breathing slowly, she watched as a man that she was not familiar with enter the room. She assumed that he was the guild master of Lion Heart. His demeanour exuded confidence and it was hard for Kasumi not to feel at least slightly intimidated by the man. Still, she showed no signs of such fear, keeping her face neutral as she gauged the Lion Heart guild master.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that a formal choice of attire was necessary." She responded curtly, making small talk. She kept her cards close to her chest, waiting to gain more information on the man before making a judgement. Her eyes watched him move across the room. With little to go off, Kasumi didn't want to make too many assumptions just yet.
Immediately, the man's next question opened up more information for Kasumi. For one thing, he seemed unaware of the recent events in Magnolia and Fairy Tail in general. Though it was nice to know, it made her more aware of the fact that she didn't really have much idea what Lion Heart was doing either. Having people posted in East Fiore could be an avenue to pursue, especially since that was where Marika was seen last. While hesitant to answer at first until Riley arrived, she felt obliged to do so when he introduced himself.
"Kasumi Ito of Fairy Tail. It's nice to meet you, Shinzu." She gave a small smile, but didn't allow herself to betray the rest of her emotions. Once the introductions were finished, the doors opened again to reveal the other guild master, Riley. Nodding her head towards her, Kasumi turned back towards Shinzu.
"I believe that is everyone." Kasumi announced. She decided to stay standing for now, straightening herself while addressing the other two. "Welcome to this guild master general meeting. I might as well start with why I am here instead of the former guild master, Marika Vermillion. While she was out in East Fiore, she suddenly stopped all contact with Fairy Tail and disappeared. Because of this, I was asked to take over as guild master of Fairy Tail."
Kasumi stopped for a moment, silently judging their reactions to see what their opinions of the situation was. She could feel her heart beating fast as it felt like their eyes were focused squarely on her. The imposing hall did not help matters as it only emphasized the important nature of this meeting in her mind. Not wanting to linger too long on the issues surrounding her position, she brought up one of the main topics of discussion.
"In any case, the DCD outbreak seems to have stopped for now and with the antidote our guild had found in Mt. Hakobe, we should be able to deal with any other strains of DCD. The question of who created the disease in the first place is still a mystery to us and we have no idea what plans they have in the future. While we managed to find some information in North Fiore, it is not enough to provide us with a concrete answer."
Truth be told, the DCD pandemic was not a pertinent concern to her. In the grand scheme of things, Kasumi's priorities lied with the rebuilding of the guild and an attempt to bring it back to its former glory. She recognized that she could use the information her guild gained on DCD as a starting point towards stronger relations between the other legal guilds. Hopefully, it would lead onto a proper alliance between at least one of them. Kasumi didn't want to jump too far ahead however. She knew she needed to take this one step at a time.
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Post by Tsundere Shinzu on Aug 30, 2015 14:47:48 GMT -5
Shinzu would tilt his head at Kasumi’s words. “She is with Fairy Fail?” After having gone through the effort of drinking with Marika, the guild master couldn’t help but wonder about the fate of the original blonde-haired master. Before the topic could be pressed, however, the door would swing open to reveal a newcomer. “Then that must be the master of Chicken Wing?” Shinzu didn’t quite know what to make of the cloaked figure. Her attire didn’t seem to suggest that she was wealthy, then again, looks can often be deceiving. Not many would suspect that a competent mage existed beyond Shinzu’s comical personality.
“E-East Fiore!?” Shinzu would grow nervous as Kasumi explained the last known whereabouts of Marika. “East Fiore… Home of Lion Heart…” Of course, it would be a bit of a stretch for anyone to assume that Lion Heart played a hand in the disappearance of the former master of Fairy Tail. Then again, Shinzu couldn’t deny the fact that it was starting to seem as if he was the last person who may have spoken to her. “Apologies for cutting you off there. I had no knowledge that Marika is missing. I do not know if this information will aid you at all, but Marika did visit Lion Heart quite a while ago. However, if something did happen to her within the confines of Shirotsume Town, then I would more than be aware of it. I can only assume after our meeting she left for business in another region.” Shinzu had little reason to hide the fact from the others. In fact, now that Kasumi had brought up the topic, it could only damage Lion Heart’s reputation if that nugget of information was kept to himself and never shared. “Although, no sense in telling them about the fact that I passed out drunk that night in the middle of a drinking competition with Marika…”
The conversation would then shift to more pressing concerns as Kasumi brought up the Deadly Crow Virus. “Heh. So the fairies were responsible for the cure after all. I have to give them credit for that.” Despite the thought, Shinzu would make no real attempt at showing gratitude other than a slight nod to suggest that he understood Kasumi’s words. Everyone in the room was being quite rigid and stiff after all. No sense in going against the flow quite yet. “A man in a mask created the virus.” Shinzu smiled as he revealed information about the mastermind behind the virus. “He appeared to be… quite old.” As proud as the guild master was of tracking down the villain that had caused so much chaos, he couldn’t help but chuckle at himself upon realising the vagueness of what he had just said.
“Apologies. The man in question vanished as quickly as I found him. Other than that, I have no real information to bring to this discussion other than the fact that he is still out there… somewhere.” Shinzu would scratch his head at the end of his sentence, the act of which showing off his unnatural cobalt blue hair. He clearly appeared to be the most animated out of the trio. “I wish I could say more, but that man seemed to have a talent for being slippery.”
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Merc
Saint Wizard
(Legendary)
Strength: 65
Speed: 150
Magic: 121
Willpower: 100
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Post by Merc on Aug 30, 2015 17:58:40 GMT -5
Kasumi was quick to take the reigns, earning a soft smirk from Riley as she brought one of her previously crossed arms up, allowing the hand to cup her chin and caress the side of her face while she listened to what the other two guild masters had to say, carefully absorbing all of the information that she was presented with.
Marika was last seen in Shirotsume, one of the towns that was neared the border to the main land, so the Lion's suggestion that she had gone to another region was reasonable enough. Still, another guild master disappearing hit a little too close to home. Given the circumstances of her own disappearance, and even the sudden disappearance of Eve before her, she could only imagine what had happened to Marika, and it likely didn't bode well for the female.
Closing her eyes, she listened as the Lion went on to reveal that he had met the person that created the virus, a mask wearing old man, and that he had somehow managed to escape. Her hand tightened on her face at the thought. Onibas would be suffering a long time because of that man, and knowing that he was still out there, still alive, irked her about as much as the fact that Phantom Cloak still existed.
Letting her hand fall away from her face, she finally spoke. "I'm afraid I don't really have anything to add to that matter. I was in Onibas for the duration of the plague and while the disease was rampant in the city, the chaos probably destroyed any clues that might have been there, even with the city restored." She paused, crossing her legs under the table. "Onibas is a long way from the mountains and Shirotsume, that's a big distance for a diseased person to travel - the train tracks don't run into the mountains, after all - , so I assume it was spread artificially."
Tapping a foot on the floor, she slowly reopened her eyes, staring forwards before glancing to each master in turn. "I suppose that puts us in a stalemate on the matter for the time being." She mused, wondering what else the others might wish to discuss.
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Post by Jimmydalad on Aug 31, 2015 20:08:09 GMT -5
While she did get more of an idea about what happened to Marika, it was nowhere near enough for her to come to a conclusion of a location. In fact, it only opened up the possibilities. Frustration shot through Kasumi, feeling like with every step forward she was being dragged back two steps. She kept her body language blank, though her fist clenched tighter as the conversation moved onto the DCD epidemic.
Kasumi looked thoughtful as she tried to piece together the puzzle. The man who originated the virus was spotted in the East while the epidemic happened in the South. Additionally, the lab where it originated was in the North. The sheer distance between all the locations was something that had to taken into thought. At the same time though, DCD had been floating around for some time. The perpetrator probably would've had time to move the disease around the country.
"The fact that the man was spotted in East Fiore while the outbreak was in the South should indicate something. It could be possible that he wasn't working alone or that he released something in South Fiore that caused the outbreak and then bolted as soon as he could. His lab seemed abandoned though or something along the lines of that. Papers were strewed everywhere and it didn't look as if he had been there for some time. The papers are being investigated by Magnolian officials, but if you want to take a look at them, you are free to come to Magnolia."
Kasumi almost instantly regretted mentioning coming to Magnolia. After all, they'd be able to see the state of Fairy Tail. While she was confident Shinzu didn't know about the situation, she had no idea how deeply Riley's connections went. She didn't seem surprised to see Kasumi, so she reckoned she at least had some basic knowledge. Outside of that though, Kasumi was in the dark. She gritted her teeth as she took in the looks of her fellow guild masters.
"Until we are able to gain more information, it seems that Riley is right." Kasumi hesitated, trying to gauge the situation before continuing her line of thinking. "While we have a cure, we still need to keep on the lookout for the creator of DCD. We need to know his motives and to prevent him from developing more diseases like this one."
Kasumi wondered if she went on too much about DCD since the topic seemed to be a dead end. A part of her realised that she may have been trying to avoid the topic of the struggles Fairy Tail was facing. The topic would have to come up sooner or later because if she didn't, she'd risk losing face or be seen as distrustful, let alone the negative connotations associated with the guild. Crossing her arms, she started to scratch her arm.
"With DCD having been dealt with though, we probably need to focus on other issues. For one thing, Phantom Cloak activity has been on the rise. Have your guilds had any interaction with them?" She made an attempt to be somewhat vague and try and find out if they have been attacking other guilds. She wouldn't be surprised if they didn't though. After all, they weren't in as such a compromising position as Fairy Tail.
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Post by Tsundere Shinzu on Sept 1, 2015 12:35:51 GMT -5
“Artificially.” The word would echo within the confines of Shinzu’s mind. While the good in him did not wish to believe that anyone would want a country-wide pandemic, logically speaking, there were a lot of motives that could justify such an act. “I believe I know what happened.” Shinzu would turn his head towards the guild master of Griffin Wing in particular as he continued his sentence. “I believe bandits from Tear Desert were responsible for the outbreak in Onibas. They infected some sort of shipment with their blood… Or at least, that is what the story suggests. They are just rumours at this point and rather vague ones at best.” Despite making the entire situation seem like a freak accident, Shinzu’s tone seemed to suggest that the person behind the virus expected the infected to lose their mental stability and willingly go around infecting others. This was all clearly a well thought out ploy.
“A lab?” Shinzu would raise an eyebrow at Kasumi’s explanation. “Actually, now that you remind me, I did find… Some sort of facility in Shirotsume town not long ago.” Shinzu clearly appeared to be unsure of what he was referring to. “I would not go as far as to call it a lab, but more like… An experimentation chamber. Upon discovery, Lion Heart closed down the building and began investigating. One room in particular contained several people locked away in large tubes. Although I have no reason to believe that the virus originated there, I do believe that an early version of the virus was tested there. I would even go as far as to say the facility was used to mutate the virus into the form that was unleashed on Fiore not long ago. In fact, some of the documents inside suggested that there are possibly facilities just like that one all over Fiore.” Shinzu couldn’t help but grimace at the thought. So much had happened under the noses of the council that he could only wonder if they were partly responsible in this mess.
“Phantom Cloak…” Shinzu chuckled at the mention of the guild as he attempted to liven up the room. “They attacked a relatively small guild not long ago. Mercifully, I was around to protect Rabbit’s Foot during the act.” The terms ‘mercy’ and ‘protect’ were being thrown around quite loosely in this context. Shinzu was, after all, the one responsible for destroying the entire guild after getting a little bit too excited during the conflict. “In fact, you two must have passed by a giant crater on your way to this meeting. That is where the guild… used to be.” The guild master couldn’t help but burst out laughing as he reflected over the entire ordeal. “On a more positive note, Lion Heart is funding the repairs and the two Phantom Cloak operatives failed their mission. I even managed to catch one of their names… Reika, I believe.”
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Merc
Saint Wizard
(Legendary)
Strength: 65
Speed: 150
Magic: 121
Willpower: 100
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Post by Merc on Sept 1, 2015 19:37:35 GMT -5
Listening to the two master's intently, Riley raked her fingers through her hair, pushing a few stray strands from her face as she absorbed everything they had to offer, her head nodding slowly as though this helped to process all of the information that had been thrown her way. While she hadn't accomplished much during the outbreak, these two seemed to have been quite busy tracking masked men and exploring laboratories. Perhaps a similar location was located somewhere around Onibas, but short of a miracle she wasn't likely to find it in or around the city with nothing but a whim to go on.
The subject turned to Phantom Cloak and she had to resist the urge to frown, choosing instead to close her eye and relax into her chair. She had heard of Kasumi's trouble with the dark guild, but it seemed as though Shinzu had an encounter with them as well, even if it wasn't regarding his own guild.
Still, the fact that they appeared to be attempting to wipe out light guilds was disconcerting at best. They hadn't always been so active, it must have meant that they had gained considerable power in the time that she was absent - or got considerably more brazen. Since she hadn't encountered them at all, she had a hard time guessing which was the proper answer.
"I'm afraid I haven't run into Phantom Cloak, either." Her voice sounded almost disappointed as she rest her hands in her lap, her eyes remaining closed for a few moments longer as she huffed out a sigh."This is my first time out of Onibas since this whole mess began, so I've not really been anywhere to run into them - and it would be terribly foolish to approach me at the guild." A pity that they weren't so foolish, though. She wanted nothing more than to crush them beneath her foot. Her train of thought darker at the mere thought of the guild, and it was pure coincidence that it managed to derail itself out of the blue.
"Ah... Before I forget again." She suddenly murmured, looking to the Lion, whose name she now recalled on her own. This was the guy Aether had told her about, the brother that he hadn't seen since they were kids? Tilting her head as she sized him up, she was surprised to see that he didn't resemble Aether too much - though perhaps she just wasn't seeing the relation because her own sibling was basically a male version of herself. "Which I am likely to do as it did not seem terribly important..."
"I was asked to pass a message on to you, Shinzu, from Aether." Trying to remember what he said exactly, she soon shrugged, paraphrasing. "He wanted me to tell you that he still has your earrings... He was adamant about it, in fact..."
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Post by Jimmydalad on Sept 12, 2015 19:21:32 GMT -5
Tear Desert? It made sense that Shinzu would be the one to have that information. After all, East Fiore was his domain for all intents and purposes. Still, it did give her chills at just how widespread this disease had become. What didn't soothe her worries was the fact that a possible testing facility was found in East Fiore. Just how deep did this spiderweb of connections go and just how influential was the man who created the disease? From how elaborate the lab was, Kasumi had reason to believe that he had wealth to spare.
From the sounds of it, Kasumi was the only major guild that had any real issue with Phantom Cloak. She couldn't help but put on a disappointed look as Kasumi absorbed the facts that the others provided her. Kasumi already knew how strong Riley was and if what Shinzu had said was true, he was not someone to be messed with either. Crossing her arms, she tried to shift her way of thinking. Phantom Cloak were taking action and she wasn't sure if it was the recent resurgence, the dwindling of Fairy Tail or the prevention of DCD that made them more willing to take action. In any case, it didn't sit well with the young guild master.
"It is nice to know that your guilds have not been affected." Kasumi began, forcing a small smile. "I would be lying if I said Marika's disappearance didn't have an effect on the guild. While not significant, the guild has suffered and members are not as plentiful as they were before. Probably sensing the opportunity, Phantom Cloak have become more confident and extravagant with their attacks on Fairy Tail. While so far it is nothing we are unable to deal with, it has lead to some of my guild members to be badly hurt."
Kasumi cringed to herself as she remembered Syana's battered body after she had found her with Maddox. Shinzu's mentioning of the name Reika didn't escape her either. A lot of her guild members were still relatively new mages. She'd rather not think about the horrible conclusions that could occur if Phantom Cloak were able to reach some of them. Syana's was injured however and Kasumi at times wondered if her strength was enough to hold them back.
"This isn't the first time Phantom Cloak have attacked a guild while they were not at their most powerful. However, I intend to not have history not repeat itself." Kasumi stated, a stiff determination present in her voice as her fists were tightly clenched. "I realise that while I can only do so much on my own, we can do so much more together. We still haven't captured the man responsible for DCD and I believe that there is more to him than just a mere mad scientist. If we work together however, we can more quickly gather information and bring a stop to him and any possible plans he may have. Additionally, it'd allow us to quickly deal with Phantom Cloak should they grow to be a greater threat."
Kasumi curled her lip, looking slightly anxious. Was she being too brazen with her talking? She didn't want to come on too strong, but she felt the words just slide out of her in a natural way. Quickly regaining her composure, she turned to Shinzu, then Riley.
"Would you be ok with this?" - - - - ((Sorry for the super late post. Work + not having a laptop has made it hard to post recently T-T))
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