Spring!
A nameless hill
in the haze.

[There is a pause.]

I thought I would try my paw at a bit of poetry, but I'm not sure I'm quite suited for it.

That said, 'tis the season when life begins anew, especially for our verdant friends. The Guardian Sapling a few of you helped me plant a few months ago has reached full maturity already, and so Sakuya may watch over us from afar. Perhaps the distortion of time and space aided with that...

That out of the way, I have a question for you... what are your more long-term plans for the season, friends?

((ooc: poem source because i couldn't think of one myself...))

[That took care of that. Things were already good to go. She had spoken to a few about what was happening and gotten some loose ends tied up. Now it was just a matter of speaking to the rest.]

Good evening. There have been some new and familiar faces arriving on campus recently, and I bid you a warm welcome to the school. My name is Erika.

Unfortunately, I will not have the chance to meet as many of you as I would like right at this time. My attention is needed more direly at my gym in Celadon, so I must see to my duties there more than I have been for the time being. It's with a heavy heart that I say this, as I've grown very fond of many of you. Should this be where we part ways, I'd like to thank you for teaching me just as much as I hope I might have taught you.

Should anyone need any assistance in the gardens or in the green house, please refer to either Vinnie or Bulba. I am leaving them in their very capable hands.

If you ever find yourself in Celadon of the Kanto region, please feel free to stop by the gym. We're always open to visitors.


[Private to Mac.]
That especially holds true to you, about the visiting. Should you ever need a ride, you know where to contact me. Rocky is, of course, very welcome.
--

[Private to Vinnie.]
I feel that things should go relatively smoothly in regards to Caim's duties. I will leave it to you to decide what he should do.

… If you ever want to speak about anything at all, you have my number. You are more than welcome to call me whenever you would like, and the gym's doors are always welcome to you.
--

[Private to Brock.]
...That's that, I suppose. Are you sure you'll be all right?
--

[Private to Raiden.]
Please take care of Brock. Thank you.

[Herp. You can guess what this is.]

[Video feed: oh look, it's Majima. The man who was responsible for kidnapping that nice little Pikmin girl. He was just kicking back at his office desk, forgetting to wear shirts, as usual.

And he has an announcement for everyone!]

In case any of ya lovebirrrds were worried 'bout getting shanked in the dark by a silent killer, ya don't have to worry no more! We caught the guy. So now you all can go plow each other in the forest with peace of mind again~

He's in the security detention cell for holdin', so if anyone's got a beef with the boy, you can go give him a piece of yer mind. Don't expect him to talk back much though~! Caim ain't exactly a converrrsationalist.

Oh, and if any of ya got a beef with me...?

I don't give a shit.

The killer that had the city wettin' its pants was captured without a fight, an' without any casualties. Ya got a problem with that, feel free to register yer complaints to my face.

[He gave the camera a dark, irreverent smile and waved as the video feed ended.]

[No, she didn't forget. She didn't consider herself to be late, either-- the day of the New Year was traditionally the day for festivities.]

( Gifts for: Erika, Pit, Waka, Chibiterasu, Sable, Mac, Bob, Secret Santa Ron DeLite. (Tell me if I forgot someone. )

Everyone receives an omikuji for the new year. Its fortune is random for each person. aka stick it in the RNG, nerds.
---

((watch this space))

( This might get long.. Also, it could be contrived as gory. Read at your own discretion. )


[OoC Notes!

Long story short: Caim killed the Kraken and pretty much displayed his killing by leaving pieces of it everywhere for people to find. So the dormitory halls, the classroom halls, the unlocked classrooms, the cafeteria, the bathrooms? Yeah. They all have at least something, even if it's really small. If you skimmed the narrative (which I wouldn't blame you for), then just note that the head of the Kraken can be found put on display in front of the main office for the Hands.

For those who did read the narrative, Caim's reference to the Seed of Destruction can be seen here. It might be a bit spoileriffic for anyone who doesn't want to know, so don't click it if you're trying to avoid everything. (Also, it's a bit graphic and not for the faint of heart, I suppose.) This is one of the last things Caim actually saw before he came to the academy. /useful tidbits of information

Also, for those who don't know who the Kraken is, you can take a look at this here, which I used to reference a lot of stuff in this narrative.

For those who may wish to confront Caim (as he didn't go in disguise for this) once they've discovered it's him (or if they've known all along), you can either contact me about it, or form up a mob (as I'm sure more than one person would like to give Caim his just desserts). I'd be happy to work with anything as long as I know beforehand.

Additional Notes:
I understand this may come as a shock to a lot of characters (and possibly players). If you have any issues with it or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. You can leave a note on my HMD, or send me a PM, or contact me over AIM (afkmkdirarf).]

[STOP MEETING AND LIKING PEOPLE OH MY GOD I AM TOO LAZY TO KEEP UP WITH YOUR SOCIAL LIFE KNUCKLES]

Ameratsu for secret santa: Knuckles doesn't know you very well except you and Bob fought pretty hard on that one Rescue Mission. And that you are a big puppy. You, therefore, get a box of tennis balls.

Cream: You get a big plush My Little Ponyta: Friendship is Awesome toy. It's a Rainbow Splash Seahorse Pony. Because everyone knows she's the cool one. (Right? That's what the kids these days are into, right?)

Ganondorf: A bottle of nice scotch in a set with two glasses. In other words 'We should totally sit down and drink this one of these days bra'.

Blaze: A fancy hair clip with a jewel on it that sort of looks like a Chaos Emerald. Knuckles has never seen the Sol Emeralds, but assumes they sort of look the same. He is wrong but the thought is there any way.

Silver: Some hair spray. You must be using some SERIOUS product to keep that 'do airborne, after all.

Eggman: A Xerox of Knuckles' butt.

Raikov: A Xerox of Knuckles' butt.

Cyrus: A Xerox of Knuckles' butt.

Librarians: A hand written apology for using the Library Xerox machine to make Xeroxes of his butt.

Goombella: A pretty sweater, some replacement bulbs for her Plinth helmet's light, a copy of reservations for two at a fancy shmancy upscale restaurant in town and a card. In the card is a note apologizing for not being around as much as he'd like, an apology for probably making her worry, and a promise to make up for it.

Voile: He's never quite sure what to get you, Voile. This year it is a set of mittens. They are green and fuzzy and will hopefully keep those little hands of yours nice and warm should you be outside.

Everyone else Knuckles knows and likes: You get fruit this year. Knuckles is not feeling exactly CHRISTMASSY right now so he got some good, fresh fruit from the wholefoods market, some nice bags and baskets and a whole big pile of cards. Each card has some variation of 'happy holidays' or 'merry christmas' on it.

[Seeing as how Sable was going to return home not only for the holidays (and to celebrate her 27th birthday my god Sable you're getting old), but also to help Mabel out with the holiday rush at their tailor shop, she sends out her gifts earlier than usual, just before she leaves.]

( Everybody gets a present! )

[Here comes everyone's favourite one-eyed security guard/mob boss!]

( For his lucky Secret Santa, the ever-lovely Madame Flurrie )

( For the fiesty Cammy White )

( For the innocent Agitha )

( For the pretty Milimili )

( For the sassy Eli )

( For the elegant Erika )

( For every other lady at the school )

( And lastly, the Security Team )

[Gee, where was Mac? Probably no one had seen him since yesterday, right? It was sometime in the morning. Maybe you clicked on the news, sat with your coffee. Everything was kind of normal. Right? Well there was a Special Report on that News Station.]

We're here to bring you new information on the recent murders that recently hit this town of Final Destination City.

Two new bodies have been located. Both were of younger men.

One body was of a waiter by the name of [name here] who worked at the Hanging Gardens diner. The other one was, upon the inspection of his ID, was a student at the Smash Academy by the name of Mac.

[That waiter's name is here] did not survive but the student however is still living, maintaining critical injuries and is being treated at the local hospital. He was found by a passerby who wanted to remain anonymous. The doctors expect him to recover in due time, but the police wish the question him if he could recall any details on how to catch the murderer.

More on this in a minute. We will be sure to update you once we have more information on this news.


[Oh look it's a commercial now...How nice.]

[Oh, a video of everyone's favorite hyperactive, idiot trainer boy. But something clearly isn't right. His cheeks are tear-stained, there's a bright streak of blood across his forehead, and most disturbingly, his hat is missing. Something clearly is not right.]

There's something everyone needs to know! I'll tell you what happened, alright?

This afternoon, I took my Jumpluff out to go train in the forest near the school. While we were out there, I found something really, really disturbing. If you're sensitive to stuff usually, you might wanna not listen...

[Gold leans in towards the camera with wide eyes.]

I FOUND A DEAD BODY.

That's right! I really did. Deep in the heart of the forest, just leaning up against a tree. He had a big... gash in his stomach and he had bled so much. I didn't know he was dead or if he was just unconscious and I don't know how to check. My Pokemon and I, we carried him into the city and to the hospital.

[He starts tearing up a little bit.]

It's sad... I started thinking about if he had a family or who was gonna miss him now. They told me that someone probably killed him and he was probably... that he had probably been dead for a couple of days. [Deep breath.] I'm really freaked out. I just want everyone to know SOMEONE DANGEROUS IS OUT THERE!

[Poll #1788731]

[The video turns back on]

Answer truthfully. I will leave this poll up for a few days to accumulate enough votes.

[Raikov leans forward and narrows his eyes]

Don't disappoint me.

[Oh look who's back. And she's got a new look to boot!]

Well! That was quite an interesting dig, wasn't it?

My apologize for not posting sooner. I've been quite busy preparing for the Octoberfest at the cafe! I seem to have a new roommate, a Paula I believe? I'm sure we'll get along just fine! For those who don't know me, my name is Bob Heather Arceus! Most people just call me Bob, and I highly encourage it. The rest makes it seem to formal.

[She peers closer into the camera]

So many new faces, not just from around here, but from Capcom and Squarenix too! I hope the exchange program has been good for you.

[private to Marie]
We need to talk
[/private]

----

[Red's door is open.

The door on Red's lock seems to be broken. Oh dear.

Plus it seems like his roommate went off somewhere. It's not as if Red is touchy about privacy, he just has an open door policy. Because it's not like he's doing anything to be embarrassed about.

So anybody may pop in. It's not like his team didn't help themselves to staying in his room anyway. ]

[Hey, who's this guy on the network? He's got the look and feel of some kind of big-shot celebrity. Maybe he is, somewhere, in some time period. He's known well enough to the Capcom kids, anyway.

Probably.

Behold! He speaks!]

Hey, Smash Academy. Name's Frank West. I'm the new photography teacher. You might recognize me as one of the reporters who hung around after that alien invasion back in '09. Just because I transfered over from Capcom doesn't mean I want any trouble, got it?

[Caim is officially in the area. He's been given a room and an occupation. He doesn't even have to share with anyone. Isn't he a lucky guy? His room is barren. Of course it is. He came with nothing, except his sword, armour, and the clothes he wore. He's not wearing the armour, but he is wearing the same clothes, bloodstained and wonderful. Wearing stuff like that, he looks like a man of the land.

He's really unsure of how the video feed works. His right hand lifts, waves in front of the lens a few times. At no immediate response, he looks briefly annoyed. Come to think of it, he doesn't know what of the stuff is in his room. There's a computer complete with a keyboard, too. Too bad he doesn't know how to use it. But he does appear to have a notepad and a pen (or it could be a pencil; it's not possible to tell from the camera perspective).

And thank goodness there is no penance for the network community.]

"......"

[Because of course, Caim says nothing.]


[OoC Note: All "italicised text with quotes" indicate writing. Anything else in video (i.e., ". . . . . .") represents his silence.]

Hello, once again, Smash Academy. For those of you who haven't met me yet, I am Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov and I will be teaching Figure Drawing. You will refer to me as "Mr. Raikov." For my returning students, I hope you have been practicing while I've been away. You all know how I dislike slackers...

However, if you have kept up on your drawings, please feel free to submit any sketches to me during class. I will count them as extra credit.

Thank you.