Later on during the fourth day of Performance Art week

[highsteaks]

So I dunno if everyone's heard about it so far, but this is Chie and I twisted my ankle during my dance because my shoe flew off and it made me mess up a landing. I'm in the infirmary now. If you want to come by and bring me get-well meat, I'll be there at least overnight, maybe for a second night too.

But here's the thing: somebody messed with my shoe.

I don't know who did it and I only can sort of guess as to when, but sometime this morning, someone put this bit of metal into my shoe that was sawing away at the lace as my dance went on until it broke. I might have kind of left them unattended backstage while I was on the other side of it doing barefoot exercises--but seriously, why would someone do that? And how did they manage to sneak their way into doing it? I thought they might be invisible, but Coach Riverson says that's impossible--but then again, he's got Kinji in him, so that might make him be stupider. I'm pretty sure being Kinji is a good reason for anyone overlooking stuff.

But my point is that someone's cheating. And I bet I'm not going to be the only one that gets messed with. Not by a long shot.

Comments

Before someone tries to light her act on fire

[senpaidol]

Oh, wow that's serious. You probably know this but that's a really easy way to break something badly. I'll see if they do steak croquettes in England and come by later, okay?

Why would someone sabotage a random contestant, though? Isn't all the competition supposed to be focused on the Champions?

Re: Before someone tries to light her act on fire

[highsteaks]

Thanks.

Yeah, I don't get that either. You'd think if it was about the competition, they'd have tried to get Naoki or Little Kanji or something. I know there's lesser prizes for the rest of us and the Champions won't even necessarily win the best in whatever category their stuff is in... but I really get the impression that the big event is the one in the end where it's just thenm.

[finalizes]

They might be waiting until the big event to sabotage the Champions then. [Malicious rather than intelligent. Which would be even more worrying than if someone with an actual plan was behind it.]

[highsteaks]

Maybe we were practice.

[grimjeaper]

Yeah, yeah actually-- that happened with my performance too! Not, not the shoe thing, my performance was a piano rendition, of, uh. Stuff.

...but. Like. One of my key keys started slipping out of tune because this one pin in this grand piano got loosened, that's-- that's not something that happens on its own, it'd break before it loosens. Which means- yeah, someone must have tampered with it.

[highsteaks]

Did yours happen too today? I know one of the guys who was supposed to go after me was a piano guy.

Maybe when the jerk messed with my shoe they got your piano too.



I guess that means anyone performing today should be on guard.

[grimjeaper]

Yeah, Alcuin's overlay told me about you getting hurt after my act, so. Timeline lines up right there.

But I don't think anyone was using it before me, so... so maybe it happened at the same time as your shoes got done. But that feels like a pretty narrow window of time...

[highsteaks]

I mean, I was backstage on the far side, my shoes were backstage on the side the piano was before they must have wheeled it out for you... since they were by each other, I could see the jerk messing with with both at once. They'd have had twenty minutes to do it too.

I still think they were either invisible or really good at hiding, though. I was pretty focused on my exercises so I didn't pay too much attention to the other side where I'd left my shoes, but I mean I didn't notice people going over there at all.

[carbonatedscientist]

Someone switched out my equipment for similar yet inferior equipment--I couldn't do what I'd planned and I had to improvise.

[And then there was an unmitigated disaster of a performance, but he's not going to go into any details, thanks.]

Someone is absolutely trying to interfere with this competition.

[highsteaks]

Did you go today too? Because if you did, then I bet they did it when they messed with my shoes and [shoot, what's his name? oh right, that corpse freezer guy said it] Barold's piano.

[carbonatedscientist]

Yeah, I did.

[He's quiet for a moment, thinking.]

Did anyone who competed today for Majesty's get hit with sabotage? Because so far, it's only the Japanese and American students who have had problems.

[highsteaks]

... um. I missed everything after mine because I was here in the infirmary, but I haven't heard anything.

[likescats]

[What...someone got one of his students hurt? Yes he knows he's not really a tutor but he gets attached to roles sometimes. He was there to watch but this just confirms his suspicions.]

THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE.

ARE YOU FEELING ANY BETTER?

[highsteaks]

I'm gonna be, but the nurse says I have to stay at least overnight in the infirmary.

Oh! And, um, I dunno if Hayami-sensei--he's the guy in charge of the school I'm with--has gone to talk to you yet, but he might want to ask you about Dark Lords and stuff. Because I thought maybe the one you think is here might have tried to mess with me and Barold.

[likescats]

THANK YOU FOR THE WARNING.

AND YES IT IS SOMETHING I WAS CONCERNED MIGHT HAPPEN. ON THE POSITIVE, THERE HAVE BEEN NO DEATHS FROM THESE ACCIDENTS YET. IT MIGHT JUST TO GET PEOPLE DISTRACTED HOWEVER.

WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO BRING YOU ANYTHING TO THE INFIRMARY?

[highsteaks]

Meat?

[It's her favorite thing to eat.]

... so we're a distraction from their real evil plot? Ugh. That's so insulting.

[blinktomissit]

So we're gonna get them back, right? I mean, anyone who's gonna sabotage in Round One isn't gonna be inclined to stop there.

[highsteaks]

That's probably a good idea. The question is how.

[blinktomissit]

Why, I'm glad you asked. [There's what sounds like the overly-sweet beginnings of a salesman's smile slipping into his telepathic voice. Honestly, Taako is just as surprised as anyone else that he's apparently got some sort of use here.] It just so happens that I know a thing or two about invisibility and sabotage, and the practical applications thereof. It seems to me that what we need, here, is to turn the tables around... so to speak. We can create something so tantalisingly, exquisitely beautiful that no saboteur worth their salt would pass up an opportunity to get their hands on it -- and when they do, poof! The saboteur becomes the sabotaged.

...It occurs to me that you can't see what I'm doing right now, so for the sake of the dramatics, just imagine a bunch of chalk dust just blew up in your face.

[levelthreehooligan]

I've noticed this with a couple of performances already. I'm sorry to hear you got hurt - I wonder if I can use my healing magic here? I can come by if you'd like.

You hear vague muttering about scouts, leaving an alarm, how she's missed espionage these last couple of months

Thanks for letting us know, I'll keep my ear out for anything strange.

[highsteaks]

You can, sure. Bring meat?

[She's going to get as much get-well meat out of this as she possibly can.]

[levelthreehooligan]

[There's a burst of amusement]

Yeah, sure, I'll find something!

15 minutes late with a bag of beef jerky

[photonicfighter]

I don't know why someone would do that, but I'm angry! I worked really hard on my performance and they messed up my backing track! I just... I... I'll go talk to Coach Riverson! He's not the kind of guy to overlook things! But he might know some stuff that we don't!

...oh, er. If you need more 'get well meat', I can see what I can throw together!

Re: 15 minutes late with a bag of beef jerky

[highsteaks]

... oh crap, what did they do?

And yes, more meat is good. More meat is always good.

[photonicfighter]

They stuck a bunch of scare chords in it, to mess it up! And mess me up!

...which isn't really that big a deal, compared to you getting hurt. I'm sorry. Um. Any... meat requests?