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Paranormal Sector - Karakura Town

    Truth be told, this town looks as one might expect of a modern Japanese suburb. The streets are clean here, and the homes usually look neat and tidy. It has a sort of small town charm, with its small, locally-owned businesses - some of which operate out of houses. The local landmarks include a large open market on the end of town close to Tokyo, a large high school, and the family-owned Kurosaki Clinic.
    Indeed, if one cannot see ghosts, Karakura Town seems normal. However, those with supernatural senses may realize this place is out of the ordinary. Hollows, ghosts infused with evil energy, are sometimes on the prowl here, and they are combated by the Death Gods - invisible warriors fighting against these accursed ghosts.
    For those who know better, this place may idyllic, but it is still a battleground.

There's a knock at the door of the shop. It seems the resident friendly giant has stopped by for a visit. But, knowing Chad, he didn't just come by to say hi. He's been out of the loop, lately, he hasn't even seen Ichigo in awhile. Perhaps all of once since these Gates appeared. They all did their traveling at different times to different places, it seems.

It has little to do with Chad's visit today, though. He's there for a purpose, and something he's put off since they returned from Soul Society.

Urahara turns to the vistor, grinning behind his fan. "Oh It is you, Chad. Looking for a gift for someone today or something else?" He said as he rolled the dice without looking. "Perhaps I can interest you in my newest product!" He always had something new.

Opening the door and stepping in, Chad shakes his head. "I hope I'm not interupting anything." Board games are serious business, afterall! "And.. sorry, I'm not interested in a product." Or.. will he be? It depends, really! The towering japanese-mexican steps over to where Urahara is sitting, and crouches down in a squatting position. "Mr. Urahara, I've been meaning to talk to you about my power. I'm sorry if this seems abrupt..." He pauses briefly, clearly uncomfortable just up and asking in this manner.

"Everything that has happened lately tell me that I cannot just.. let my strength idle at this impass. Not if I don't want to be left behind."

*** Flashback to about three, four hours ago ***

"Geeeerogerogerogerogero... thanks to your valuable information, our contingency plan is decided!!" Keroro says triumphantly, arms crossed. "If we can't take over OUR Pekopon, we'll explore the Gates and see if we can find one that we CAN conquer with ease!"

"Hmph... finally showing some initiative, Keroro? It's about time," Giroro grumbles, marvelling at his (theoretical) superior's sudden energy. "So? How're we going to kick off this grand plan?"

"No no no no, Giroro old pal. It's not 'we'..." The green Sergeant whips around to point a finger at Giroro. "It's all up to YOU, who has the greatest amount of experience out in these Gates! Yes, the first part of this plan relies wholly on you!! Toriya!" Eyes gleaming with excitement, Keroro tosses a paper airplane at Giroro, who catches it easily. "I've taken one of the maps that you've brought back from your travels, Giroro- and I've marked down the places that just might make for the best frontline bases for the Keron Squad! But not just ANY frontline bases... frontline bases located IN OTHER PLANES! It is your job to go out and confirm the suitability of these preliminary sites that I have marked out!"

Giroro's eyes widen. Scratch that- this is the FIRST time the corporal's seen his superior this fired up about the Earth invasion plan. Finally, after all this time...! "Yes sir!" He snaps off a quick salute before unfolding the paper airplane and looking over the map.

After a moment, Giroro lifts his head up and glares at Keroro. "... Keroro, this map... all you've marked out are /model kit shops/."

"Ah. You noticed? ... think you could still go out and pick up a 1/100 scale Master Grade Zaku II for me?"

"... KERORO!!"

*** End Flashback ***

After putting Keroro in this hospital, Giroro is out and about on his flying platform, Anti-Barrier activated (and thus, invisible to the standard naked eye). Hey, parts of Keroro's plan actually had merit, so he's out exploring in Karakura Town, looking for any... you know, abandoned warehouses or anything like that. This is a normal, defenseless-enough place to establish a frontline base, right?

No sale, Urahara. The merchant snaps his fan closed and listens to the rest of Chad's words before he decides to comment. "Ah I see. You are worried about being left behind by Ichigo and the rest." He thought of Chad's ability for a moment. It wasn't like Ichigo's really. More of a new type. Neither Shinigami, Hollow, or anything in between. He was more like Ururu in this regard at least. "The best thing you can do is train yourself to the degree you want to improve. "

Look Alien Frog man! That shop there looks kinda run down. It looks old and rustic. Like a country store with overpriced tourist junk inside.

He was sort of afraid to get an answer like that. "I don't know where to begin..." He admits, standing up again. "Since I've known Ichigo we've always helped each other out. I don't want to make him think he has to protect me." If Chad doesn't have Ichigo's back, who does? "I know my power is nothing you're familiar with, but you're the only one I can turn to, Mr. Urahara."

Giroro, of course, is completely unnoticed by Chad. Not even a twinge of spiritual power on the radar. Perhaps looking at Karakura ISN'T such a bad idea for the froggie invaders.

And lo and behold... yes, the run-down little shop DOES catch Giroro's eye. "Hmmm." It's small, it's sketchy-looking, it looks like a place that no one would really think to look, and it's an absolutely perfect place for the Keron Squad to set up an outpost! Now, if only it weren't-

... occupied. The corporal makes a small "Ch'" of disappointment. He should've guessed that it was; only Pekoponians were capable of turning their living quarters into some sort of mess /and then continue to live there/. Giroro descends closer to the ground (to a reasonable six feet) a number of yards away, mostly secure in his Anti-Barrier. Well, might as well see what kind of shop this IS before continuing his search. Maybe if he's lucky, the proprietor is about to move out or something.

    "B'dooby b'doo, b'doo... heh heh."

    At the moment, a pale gradeschooler happens to be stopping by the shop, still in his school uniform, from the looks of it - white Oxford shirt, navy pants, and a backpack. Junior pushes his green-tinted glasses up a bit, flips through a thick bill of dollars, and then stops outside a local shop. Eh. Kinda junky. But he might as well stop by to see what they got.

    As he steps into the shop, looking around casually, the Bleachers' spidey sense may be going off - fire and brimstone burn around this kid spiritually something awful. He's not exactly a Death God in the Bleach sense. But he is the son of a death god in the religious sense, and that's got to count for something.

"Hmm. Well then I suppose I must train you then. However you must perform one test in order to earn my lessons. This task shall not be easy." Urahara proclaimed as the shadows under his hat became more vivid. This test sounded more and more sinister with each syllable that came out of Urahara's mouth, making everyone in the room abit more nervious. "You must...defeat me at Monopoly! You too Frogie!" He pointed his fan at Giroro. He had noticed the frog since the moment he approached the store as he was technically a potential customer. "Now choose your destiny." He meant your piece. Destiny sounded cooler.

Chad nods as Urahara agrees to train him. He's apparently ready to do anything it takes. Except... Monopoly. "Ahh..?" He blinks. Urahara's demand is strange enough, but him pointing to a 'froggie' Chad suddenly gets the sense of being there is stranger. He turns around to look at the nothingness of the Anti-matter shield. Huh, frog, whattdya know... Chad does another double-take as he spots Junior. He feels somewhat peturbed by his presence... but this is Urahara's shop, and Urahara's not making any move against him, so he leaves him alone for now.

Relenting, it seems, Chad sits at the Monopoly board. He picks the Top Hat out of the set of pieces.

Giroro parks his flying platform off to the side, trots over, and peers around the side of the building and into the store. Nope. Despite the run-down look of the shop, it doesn't seem like the hat-and-sandals Pekoponian's going to ship out any time soon; in fact, the place seems to be doing pretty well for itself. The Keronian's eye twitches. What the bloody hell DOES this place specialize in, anyway? For all the corporal can tell, it's odds, ends, and nicknacks- which, in Giroro's eyes, serves no useful purpose in the battlefield, and thus doesn't have a lot of purpose at a-

.... and then Urahara challenges him to Monopoly. "What th-" Giroro's surprised voice rings out, seemingly from nowhere. "Ch'..." the Keronian resignedly turns the sigil on his helmet, deactivating the invisibility-granting device. "... I guess you found me out," he mutters gruffly. No big loss on his part, because for whatever reason, people around the Gates aren't too shocked at the existence of alien frogs. Giroro strides further into the shop, eyeing the Monopoly board. "... and why SHOULD I join in this... game?"

"Good. The first player has arrived to the board..And the second has to play otherwise I'll sell him to the French resturant up the street or worse...I'll use him as a test subject for my newest products." There was an area of the store that had a burn mark on the floor. The sign above it read: testing area. More disturbing was the fact this spot smelled strangely of lilies despite the sense that there was a terrible burning.

"And the third..." Urahara eyes turn to the boy who just entered. Yes he does have a particular aura doesn't he. Weird that he wasn't a Hollow or something. He gives the boy a slight nod before snapping his fan open. "50 off purchases of 10,000 yen or more. What do you say?"

    "What?" Junior asks, a little confrontationally, at the look Chad gives him - kid's a bit touchy. He looks over the side, only mildly surprised by the sudden materialization of the space frog. "Oh. Hey, frog guy." He was at the mall opening the other day or something, wasn't he?

    Junior looks up at what must be the store owner, then down at his billfold. "10,000 yen is, uh... blah-de-blah, carry the one... yeah. Yeah, that'll - oh, you mean at /Monopoly/. Uh... sure."

    Junior walks up and hops up onto any chair that might be around the table. Not like he had anything to do anyway.

    "So... this isn't some kind of bet, is it? If I lose, I don't have to do the dishes around here or something?"

Tatsuki Arisawa has been wandering the city, hands in her overshirt pockets, and grumbling. She has, for days now, been seeking the "Urahara Shop." The weirdo at the monster fight told her she could go there for her next lesson. It is not on any map; information hasn't heard of it. So she is reduced to wandering, attempting to locate the place and hoping that whole night wasn't just a dream.

Giroro simply /stares/ at the hat-and-sandals Pekoponian out of the corner of his eyes. "... are you threatening me?" the soldier simply replies.

Instead of testing his luck and possibly getting slaughtered, though, the corporal just shrugs, walks over to the board, and sits down at one end. "Very well, I'll play your game." It's not worth the trouble of resisting. Giroro's feeling pretty mellow today, mostly because he took out a good chunk of frustration and rage by justly beating the snot out of Keroro. He glances at Junior, likewise vaguely recognizing him as being that not-quite-human kid from the mall. "It's Giroro." At least Junior didn't call him Mr. Frog, like every other person ever has.

That settled, the red Keronian picks out the car and puts it down at 'Go'; alien that he is, he apparently needs no instructions. Living in a house with two Pekoponian teenagers DOES have its advantages.

In the meantime, Chad waits. He mumbles a "Sorry." To Junior at his indignation. He didn't mean any offense, really. But the spiritual pressure coming off that guy was certainly strange for this area.

Chad places his Top Hat down on the 'Go' mark, waiting for Urahara to start up. He can't help but glance at Giroro a few times, though. Given he shared fries with the Powerpuff girls not too long ago, things like this shouldn't surprise him still. They really shouldn't. But they do. "...Giroro?" He wonders. "..are there more of you?" He's kind of cute, in a gruff way. Orihime and Rukia would probably fawn over him.

Urahara perked up at his suggestion. "Ooo! An offer I can't refuse. So if you lose you will do my dishes! Chad will work here for a couple of months. And what of you, Mr. Frog? What penalty will you pay for losing?" Urahara eyes met him for a moment, waiting for his answer. "You want to clean out my gutters? Or will you go for the other task I would love to have you do?" Urahara waits for the players to assemble before passing out the money quickly. It was clear that this man played this game quite abit. He had the look of a champion...a champion of a household family board game. "The house rules are simple. Limited money and mafia options have been added to the deck. There are a few trap cards as well. Any questions?"

"Aw, crap." Ah, well. There's got to be some way he can weasel out of this if he loses. Or he could just do it really fast with the multiple tentacles. Junior picks out the battleship and places it on Go, then raises a hand. "Yeah, uh, question: what the heck are those house rules?"

Junior seems to regard Giroro as completely ordinary. His correction of the name elicits the reply, "Goro, whatever."

Shifting into a crosslegged position, Giroro puts his hands his knees, hunches over a bit, and glares at Chad. This isn't out of malice or hate or even just looking down his nose at the Pekoponian; it's just his neutral expression (which seems just a little exasperated at the moment). "Of course there are. Why wouldn't there be? Unless you're talking about how many there are on Pekopon right now, but that's classified information."

Junior's name-botching just gets a shrug. Giroro'll worry about that later. It's STILL better than Mr. Frog. And in any case, he has bigger things to worry about. "High-stakes Monopoly? Hmm." Living in a house with two Pekoponian teenagers also has its disadvantages, especially when the Keronians are expected to do chores AND when the completion of said chores become the bargaining chips in their various rainy-day board games. Here, at least, it's prepared Giroro for the worst, so he's jaded. "What are these mafia options and trap cards? ... also, what's this 'other' task?" the red frog asks warily.

Urahara laughed at Junior's question. "Good. Good. The rules are on the card and any other rule is less fun if I explain it. Especially the mafia cards." The game on closer inspection didn't really look like Monopoly. The board looked like it was made of cold steel and the logo featured some squid faced being grining like a maniac. "As for the other task, Giroro. You will drink a certain item I'm perfecting. It will be fun!"
GAME: Save complete.

"I see." Chad responds to Giroro, as Urahara explains the rules, and what the frog will have to do if he loses. Chad actually gives Giroro a bit of a sympathetic look. He'll only have to clean up if he loses, at least, but the frog? Poor frog. Has no idea what he's getting into. Why did Chad agree to this again?

Oh right, training.

Well, he can put up with it. There's still the off chance he can WIN at this. It's only Monopoly... that's... not quite Monopoly. "..." God dammit, Urahara.

    "So we're playing with rules that only /you/ know to start with," Junior deadpans. Well. Doing the dishes versus a $50+ discount, it's still a pretty good deal. And he could always find somewhere to stash the old guy's body later if he just gets fed up with it. "Alright, whatever. I'll do it."

    Giroro's predicament elicits a snicker at his expense.

"Hmph... fair enough," Giroro mutters, crossing his arms. One of his eyebrows twitches. Something about Urahara is starting to remind him of Kururu. Maybe it's the way he seems to delight in this set-up, which just promises sheer and utter chaos, or maybe it's the 'here, be my test subject' vibe that just came off that previous remark. In any case...

Giroro snorts, looking up at Urahara fearlessly. "Fine, I'll test out your drink, Pekoponian. It can't be that bad." Giroro, being brave(ly stupid), is used to Kururu's odd concoctions and bizarre inventions. And besides, these primitive Pekoponian odds and ends can't be scarier than Keronian innovations. Right?

... okay, so Giroro DOES have absolutely no idea what he's getting into, as is evidenced by his missing Chad's sympathetic glance AND Junior's snicker. HE'S DOOMED. "So? Are we going to get started on this, or not?"

"Game start!" The door slammed shut and locked from the outside. The room became ghastly and dark, seemingly closing in around the players. "Now who wants to go first?" Urahara eyed the table, smiling as everything was going according to his plan. The game board however was strangely lit, like it wanted to be seen by the players.

Lost! LOST AND ALONE! Tatsuki grumbles, it's so IRRITATING to feel like she's being yanked around by the chain, and that's pretty much how she's felt for weeks. Maybe now she can beat some answers out of this guy and feel like she's in charge again! As soon as she FINDS HIM. Walking down an alley, she looks over as she passes an old abandoned lot.

                                 URAHARA SHOP

"...you're KIDDING."

Chad... sits perfectly still. He's not volunteering to go first. Nope. He'll let someone else do it, and observe what happens. There's also the fact that he thought this was monopoly, but now that it seems NOT to be, he's not even sure what to do. Where are the dice, anyway?

As the door slams shut and locks, Giroro spins around and gapes at the lack of an escape route, every soldierly instinct in his mind screaming 'wat zomfg NO'. Out of nowhere, a beam rifle snaps into his waiting hand, and-

... as the frog calms himself down, Giroro stows the rifle and sits back down, glowering at Urahara. It couldn't be a trap. This Pekoponian's just a shopkeeper, right? He'd have no reason to want to kill all three of the players gathered here, right? Even despite the fact that this is some sort of odd alien version of Monopoly, right? Right.

After glancing around at the other players, Giroro snorts. It's up to him to get this started. "Fine. I'll go first." Assuming that the red Keronian can find the dice, he'll roll 'em unceremoniously.

Ururu is suddenly behind Tatsuki, staring at her back. There isn't anymore more creepy than a quiet little girl. "Umm Excuse me?" She had a big bag of meat marked BODIES in big bold letters. On closer inspection the words under it read "Butcher shop".

The dice are rolled and the piece moves on its own to a chance spot. "Draw a card." Urahara says in a low voice, waiting for the card to be drawn. The "You will die in seven turns" card is drawn. The place it claims is on a battlefield and the penalty is 10,000 yen.

Somewhere a tv turns on.

"Gaaah!" Tatsuki squawks, adopting Surprise Position 001 - arms and one leg drawn back in shock, GIGANTIC EYES. "Whaaa! What the--where'd you come from!"

Ururu looks at Tatsuki with the same blank look. "I work at the Urahara Shop but I think he locked the front door." She didn't seem harmful anymore. "So I think that means we're close for the day."

Giroro watches the piece move on its own without any sort of expression at all. And when prompted, the Keronian draws a card with a "hmph", and then proceeds to read it.

A few moments pass. Giroro is totally silent, the upper half of his face shadowed. He has a good poker face, even despite the fact that a thin stream of blood suddenly trickles down his mouth. Poor frog's going to get himself an ulcer someday.

Then, he simply lays down the card in the discard pile without showing anyone, and starts shuffling through his faux money. As the Keronian pays the 10,000 yen penalty (chump change, at least for Monopoly starter standards), he throws Urahara a completely flat glare. "... o-oy. What the hell is /up/ with these cards?!" Giroro growls, surreptitiously starts pulling out weaponry and laying them at his side, within easy reach. A bazooka, a beam rifle, an assault rifle, a few grenades... it can't hurt to be prepared. "Someone's idea of a morbid joke?"

"Bu! Wh! Where did you...!?" Stupid creepy scary people! Tatsuki will destroy you all! Later. Coming down from her surprise but still a little spooked, Tatsuki huffs a sigh and scratches at the back of her head. "Jeeze! Scared me. So...wait, you're closed? Is there any way inside? I was told to drop by..."

Chad sighs at Giroro's reaction, and decides he may as well take his turn now. He grabs the dice and rolls a bit less aggressively than Giroro does.

Part of him is still wondering why he's going along with this. He asks Urahara for help, and he has him play Monopoly? Then again, that DOES seem like something he would do. From what little he knows of him, anyway. Chad tries to push those thoughts out of his mind as they won't really help him much at this point. Maybe he can at least have some fun out of this.

Say is that Arisawa he's sensing outside? Nah, can't be.

Urahara smiled at the frog. "Just a game. Why did you see something?" His smile said he knew what was on that card. "Your weapons won't work on ghosts you know." That smile grew again.

Chad's dice came up snake eyes as if mocking him. "Ooo You landed on the first property. You going to buy it?" The price clearly read 50,000 yen but there was something strange about it. On closer inspection, it looked like someone scratched out or covered the real price of "5 human babies." and the real name of "El Chupacabra is watching you." This game was twisted. Nergal's turn came and he got a card with a dot on it. It was a normal card with no penalty.

Ururu stared at her for a moment. "The boss told you to come here? I guess I can let you in the backway with me."

Tatsuki nods. "Yeah. I...he said he'd help me with some things." Yeah. That's close enough to the truth! "He told me to come by, but I've been having a hard time finding the place. -- oh, the back door? That'd be very helpful, thank you."

"Umm..." Chad pauses. Was.. there something written there? He can't quite see, it's too dark. Oh well, it's probably nothing! Shrugging, Chad grabs 50,000 yen and hands it to Urahara. "I'll buy it." He says. At least this part of the game is vaguely Monopoly-like.

He also throws another glance at Giroro's weapons. "Seems to be a lot for one frog to carry around." Neverminding HOW he carries them around. "Get into a lot of fights?" Hell, he's talking to a space frog, it's not as if this conversation can get much weirder.

"N-no. No, I didn't." Giroro grits his teeth at... well, everything about Urahara- his innate knowledge of who got what card, his massive greasy smile, and the ghosts comment. What IS going on around here, and why does Giroro suddenly get the feeling that this plane would probably make a HORRIBLE frontline base?

As the Keronian picks up the dice and starts shaking them in his hand, he grunts wordlessly at Chad's first statement. The vast mysteries of Keronian space compression technology is not for others to hear! ... but at the following question? "I'm a soldier. It's what I do, so I've got to be prepared for anything." Given the look of slight unease on Giroro's face, this situation clearly doesn't fall into his definition of 'anything'.

And then he rolls them bones.

"Oh, you guys are ghosts, huh?" Junior says, something moving in the darkness behind him quietly. "You have anything to do with those 'death god' guys around here?" He picks up his card with the dot, and peers at it for awhile - after awhile, he squints, adjusts his glasses, and looks a little nervous before setting it down. "Creepy."

That shape shifting in the shadows behind him, meanwhile? That's a black tentacle, and it's quietly moving to see if it can swipe some of that frog's sweet weaponry and stash it somewhere without anybody noticing, while the conversation distracts.

Ururu nodded slowly and opened a storm cellar door. She walked down the steps. "Oh would you mind screaming for me? The Boss said for you to do that if I saw you today." The scream would be heard by everyone in the other room of course.

Urahara stares at the dice. "Ooo The next property. Froggie." The property was normal looking until suddenly a flash of light from the window made it clear that someone was staring at Giroro through the board. "Want to buy it?" Kisuke was way too cheerful for this game. He took his turn and kept his card a secret, placing it with his money. Nergal gets another card on his turn. It instructs him to go to the closest property and buy it. The dot looks bigger on this card also.

Tatsuki...blinks. "Wh...scream? Wh-why would I do that? Jeeze." She stuffs her hands back into her pockets, feeling frustrated again. "Fine! Whatever!"

She attempts a scream, but it doesn't have any heart in it so it comes out as more of a pathetic warble.

Chad hmms at Giroro's statement. "A soldier?" Wow, so he's probably seen a lot of combat? Interesting. He might have to try and talk with him later.

He blinks, and catches himself actually pondering about asking the frog for some combat advice. He must be losing it. The scream ALSO gives him a bit of a startle. Is someone auditioning for a bad soap opera nearby?

Whatever. Seeing as it's his turn, Chad takes the dice again. He seems to have gotten off easy, so far. But knowing Urahara, anything can happen.

Giroro eyes the property cautiously. "... hmph. I'll take it." It'll take more than a little person in a toy house to freak him out.

... like a sad, half-dead sounding strengthless warble, which causes Giroro's head to snap up, pupils shrunken to pinpricks. "What the hell was that?! -- you!!" The Keronian soldier's gaze whips over to Urahara. "You'd better not be killing Pekoponians in this shop's back room, or else...!" ... an ironic statement that, but nonetheless.

Almost as a side-note, Giroro's arm suddenly whips back to unleash a living, oddly eel-like rope that slaps near the shadow tentacles. The eel's little yellow eye stares down the tentacle, daring it to make another move.

The eel is also connected to some point behind the frog, almost as if it's poking out from somewhere within Giroro's hammerspace.

Junior reaches down and peers at the card, raising an eyebrow silently, but expressing nothing else. Mostly, though, he just seems to be smirking at the other players' reactions. "You sell this game here? Kinda likin' it so far." The warble just causes him to fold his arms. "Kinda lame sound effect there."

As for the black tentacle? Well, it doesn't have an eye, but Junior does turn around quickly at the sound of the slap. "Alright, fine." The black tentacle slithers through the air and back under Junior's shirt, where it seems to have been coming from.

Ururu looks disappointed, turning off her tape recorder. "That won't go well in my collection." You broke her creepy little girl heart, Tatsuki. Nice going. She will go find screams for her collections elsewhere.

Chad's next turn yields another card that reads: "Blood." The ink is wet and red. Urahara chuckles at the frog's allegations. "I don't know what that is...Say don't you have only 5 turns left?" It was clear he did know about the card now. Urahara takes the dice and rolls, buying his property immediately. When Nergal takes his turn, he gets another card with a bigger dot that seemed to look at him menacingly. Giroro gets another property on his turn. Buy or Pass?

Tatsuki Arisawa /stare/. A collection. Of screams. What the hell has she gotten herself into? "Wh...why would a cute little girl like you be collecting SCREAMS?"

Anyway, she asked the wrong person. Tatsuki doesn't do screaming! Even when she's dying, she prefers to go down with dignity.
This card? Well.. this... Chad doesn't really know what to do with this card. He stares at it, befuddled, for a moment. It doesn't give him any other directions, nor a penalty fee, so he just puts the card face down on the other pile. *splut* Oops.

When his turn comes up he rolls again. So far so.. good?
"The boss says screams are a perfect hobby for a girl my age." Ururu looks confused as if Tatsuki was the odd one from not collecting screams. "He says it also helps for when we decorate for Fall season."

Chad gets another property, causing the board to start to glow red. The Property reads: "El Chipacabra has Ichigo. Price 2 Million Yen." Urahara snaps open his fan. "Who is next?"

Giroro growls in frustration, showing his fangs. But at least he calms down, right? Even at the five-turn remark! ... though the frog DOES pale a little bit at that. IS it true, or is it just a mind-screwing trick? Normally, Giroro would dismiss it as the latter, but given this place's atmosphere...

Giroro sighs, straightening up into ramrod-straight posture. He looks resigned. He's a soldier, after all! "I'll buy it."

Junior looks down at his card, moving his head back a bit from it but otherwise reacting little. He does look over at the blood red glow of the board, smiling in amusement, and exposing sharp green fangs in that smile of his. "Think I'm next. And hello? I keep /asking you questions/, man, and you keep ignoring me. I don't take being ignored well."

Junior reaches forward and rolls.

Tatsuki Arisawa grunts. "Your boss is...very odd, kid," she says. "Collecting screams? That's weird for /anyone/, especially a little kid!" She can kind of see how it would help for the fall season, Halloween and all, but STILL.

Blink. Blink blink. This time Chad CAN read the 'property' clearly. What is this game getting at? Is it trying to goad him into buying the property? Then again, perhaps Urahara really IS up to something here. Chad decides to go for it, and hands over a whopping 2 million yen to Urahara. "I'll buy it." He says.

This leaves him with less than half his starting amount, though. But he'll just have to trust his instincts... and trust the gamble that this ISN'T just a bunch of random stuff made up for Urahara's amusement.

"It's part of the effect." He smiles at Junior. "Don't worry, you can buy the game when we're finished." The piece moves and lands on another chance pile. It's a picture of Mandy...a really life like picture of mandy. Lose 200,000 yen. Urahara smiles at the Frog's purchase. "Good Good." Urahara takes his turn, chuckling at the card he receives as blood drips from the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly a chain seizes the players by the arms almost automaticly. A timer appears on the board. It looks like a time bomb, just like in the movies! "Hey It's Sudden Death Time." Urahara squeeked in amusement. The pieces pop out of the board. "Put the pieces back before the timer runs out!"

Ururu just stares at Tatsuki, leading her into the backroom of the shop. Noone else seems to be about though.
Ling Yao takes the highway out of Tokyo.

    Junior peers at the card, looking a little nervous, before putting it back and grumbling about paying the fine.

    The sudden lockdown of his arms jolts him a bit, but he seems more irritated than anything else. "/Fine/." At least he can do it first.

    A canopy of several black tentacles flies out from under the back of his uniform, and Junior's eyes dart around to locate the pieces as the tentacles wrap around them and place them back. It seems the locked down arms here aren't really impeding him.

Tatsuki grumbles. Maybe she should just take her chances with the weirdo from the fortune teller tent. He was creepy but at least he wasn't THIS creepy. She follows Ururu inside just the same, though. "Where is everyone?" she asks.

H-hey! Chad never said he was into this! Bad Urahara! No kinky!

Well, in this situation, Chad does the only thing he can think to do. Let's see how these chains stand up to being broken apart by the power of his right arm!

If it breaks, he'll put his piece back pronto. If it doesn't.. well.. he's got nothin'.

The game's chains, ticking time-bomb-ish device, the words 'sudden death', his OWN impending death, and pretty much everything going to hell triggers each and every of Giroro's self-preservation/panic instincts. Which causes him to... slump forward for a moment, as if all the fight's been kicked out of him?

If one squints really hard, one might be able to see Giroro's eyes haze over, and maybe the hazy image of a seed bouncing down near Giroro's forehead and then bursting into light. SeeX (censored for copyright) mode activated.

"UUOOOAAAGH!!" Giroro bellows, eyes glowing as he lunges forward, jerked back somewhat painfully by the chains. With all the raw power and determination of a berserker who'll never see Natsumi again if he fails, the Keronian falls over onto his stomach somehow and proceeds to try and move pieces back into the board WITH HIS BARE TEETH.

It involves lots of flopping, roaring, and thrashing around. And a bit of saliva. And lots of teeth.

" He's performing an experiment. The boss will be out shortly" Ururu stands beside her, waiting for the door to the next room to open.

The pulling on the chains is futile and suddenly they start to feel as if they are being heated. The pieces almost need to be smashed back into place and the timer reaches "0:01", causing Confetti pop out and little bells to play a jingle. "I guess I didn't rig the bomb right." Urahara presses a button on the floor causing the chains to loosen and the door to open again. "Well wasn't that fun?"

"Meh," Junior replies, tentacles retracting back into his body once again. He does take a moment to snicker again at Giroro's expense as the latter froths and thrashes. "So whose turn?"

At the moment, Giroro's facedown on the ground, inert as can be. Give him a moment, folks, he's trying to regain his equilibrium and/or find his happy spot.

"Hm." Is Chad's reply, as everything seems to come to an end. "I guess that means we lose?" Or.. does it... he honestly can't tell.

Dammit Urahara.

Removing his hands from the chains, he rubs his forehead a moment. Does this mean he'll have to help the shop for the next few months?
"Games over! Noone wins! " Urahara seemed pleased with this turn of events, staring at the table of people. He looked over to Nergal. "SO you still want this game or can I interest you in something else?" Eager to make a sale as always.

The door to the room is open for Tatsuki, revealing the main room of the Urahara Shop.

"What?!" Giroro levers himself back up to his feet, staring at Urahara. "If no one wins, does that mean everyone loses?!" the frog demands, clenching a fist. He gets angry when he's confused, see.

"Yep! Everyone loses....except Nergal who found the secret message of the game. He bought something. " Urahara fanned himself trying his best to look like this whole ordeal had a moral. "So Chad get a apron and drink this Giroro." He presented the frog with a vile of red liquid.

Tatsuki Arisawa arches an eyebrow at the sight as the door opens. The Not-So-Jolly Mexican Giant, some kid with tentacles, and is that a FROG!?

Her eyes drift down to Ururu. "What the hell?"

    Nergal Junior pauses at this, just taking a moment to process everything.

    So, it was all rigged.

    As an excuse to get somebody to buy something.

    And he gets the discount.

    And the stupid frog guy has to drink some red stuff.

    Junior bursts into laughter. "/Bah/ heheheh! Yeah. Yeah, I kinda liked that game. How much for it? It comes with all the special effects and stuff, right? That wasn't just you doing it?"

    Junior pauses and looks back, regarding Tatsuki casually as she enters the shop, then just shrugs.

Sweatdrop. "..." An apron? Well he'll have to borrow one of Tessai's. That should fit him.

It's going to be a long couple of months. Oh well. He still got off better than Giroro.

And just when things couldn't get any more surreal, Tatsuki enters from the back with Ururu. "....Arisawa?" Chad blinks. "What are you doing here?"

Giroro stares at the vial, glaring eyes going completely white. Ignoring the girl's outburst, ignoring the annoying laughing kid, and ignoring everything else, the Keronian takes the liquid... thing... in his nerveless hands. He can hear his heartbeat. And Giroro's getting the vague feeling that his remaining lifespan can be counted out in seconds. What kind of scary drink could a person twisted enough to make this kind of twisted game /make/?

Looks like Giroro's about to find out. Without a word or a sound (though with a mental scream of 'NATSUMIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!'), the soldier bravely downs the red liquid in one gulp. Hopefully, the 'die in seven turns prophecy won't rear its ugly head here.

Urahara chuckles and nods. "Some of it is homemade but all the necessary tools are in the box. That will be 2,000 Yen." He seemed please with this whole turn of events. It only got better when Tatsuki entered the room. "AH! My other Student. Well isn't this nice, you two can practice together after Chad finishes his duties in the back room."

The liquid tasted like Strawberries and Cream...Nothing else. Urahara however pulls out a tablet and makes a note. "Didn't die." He says outload to himself.

Giroro's eyes are still squeezed tightly shut. And he's frozen in that pose.

...

The Keronian's eyes snap back open. "... that's it?" Giroro nearly melts into a puddle of liquid /sheer relief/, as he hands the empty vial back to Urahara and wipes his mouth on his other arm. "Hmph. What were you trying to make?" he asks gruffly. Tatsuki gets a quick glance, but that's about it. He's seen expressions of 'zomg what is that thing?!' surprise before, so that's nothing new or shocking.

Kisuke Urahara needs to make a Haunted House when Hallow...Wait...I'll do it for Easter.

Tatsuki...stares. "Other...stu..oh, me." She blinks owlishly at Chad, waving more out of reflex than anything else. "Yo. Sandal-hat over there got you too, huh?"

Chad stands up, grabbing one of Tessai's uniforms. Then glances from Urahara to Tatsuki, and back again. "Other student? Mr. Urahara, what's going on?" He really must have missed a lot, just how much has Tatsuki been told by now? As she asks her own question, Chad just... nods. "Y-yeah.. something like that."

With a sigh, he throws the apron on. At the very least this type of work shouldn't be too difficult for him.

Urahara laughs at the situation. "Then I'll go start Tatsuki off and you can start loading in the back room." He turned to Nergal and the Frog. "Thank you for your business and please come again." A thought crossed Urahara's mind about the frog and the tenticle kid but he disregarded disection idea. He wasn't that guy he was replaced with...In some ways he was worse. He had not told the frog what the vile was for a reason. I mean how would it feel if Urahara told him he mislabeled a vile of poison and needed to narrow the search down.

Giroro simply shrugs when his question isn't answered. The alien frog simply stomps out of the shop, grumbling something about "crazy Pekoponians" all the way to his parked flying platform before flying off, presumably to continue with his mission.

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