1093/Caring for A Hurt Friend

Caring for A Hurt Friend
Date of Scene:	23 February 2016
Location:	Plot Room #2
Synopsis:	After Mikoto got injured during Pretty Cure's debut, Minoke comes to take care of her and meet her 'Uncle John'.
Cast of Characters:	Minoke Sato, Mikoto Nakajima

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Minoke Sato has posed:
After hearing of your injuries, she goes to straighten up the warehouse, and prepare it for your arrival. She didn't use Traveling this time - just came here normamlly. She made up your bed and tucked the sheets back - and has some rosemary incense lit, and a glass of iced tea. She is simply waiting patiently, wanting to make the warehouse as good as it can get.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
It isn't long before you hear a car pulling up to park just outside the front door. It has, in fact, parked across three of the painted spaces, so that the passenger side door faces the warehouse entrance and is as close as possible.

The familiar 'ding-dang' from the security system names the new arrival a friendly, and a couple of minutes after the car parks the front door is opened. A familiar young woman walks in, leaning heavily on the driver's arm. He's a tall, dark-haired gaijin, likely an American in his early 40's, dressed in a tailored suit (though the tie is missing), and he keeps his arm around her shoulders.

"I c'n walk by myself, uncle John," she insists, her head resting against his shoulder.

"I know you can," he answers her, but doesn't let go. Instead he stays with her on the way to the bedroom. "But you'll heal beter if you just rest. You really should have taken the wheelchair."

She shakes her head, wincing slightly at the motion. "Gonna get Mino-chan out of her chair, keepin' me out o' mine," she insists.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato smiles faintly. "Hello, John-san," she murmurs, bowing shallowly at the waist. "I made her bed up for her. Your niece has been very helpful to me of late - a great inspiration." She's _so_ glad she wasn't floating around the warehouse.

She rolls herself towards Mikoto's room, wondering what this Uncle John would think of all of this. She sends a quiet message from Vortex to Carnwennan. <<Ummmmm... is this Uncle John 'in the know'?>> she asks in a form of text message. <<I could've been floating around - I _was_ two minutes ago.>> She smiles faintly as she watches curiously.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
John isn't really her uncle, of course. He's a driver and 'security consultant' for the Nakajima family. She calls him that because he's been with them since she was ten years old, and he's been a lot more of a father to her than the man who sired her.

"He knows, Mino-chan," she says, out loud. "He was there when I first got started in this business... saved m' damn-fool life, holding off a youma with a tire-iron 'till I could get Carnwennan activated." She doesn't mention the gun, such things being highly illegal in Japan.

"She saved me just as much, that day. I wasn't doing much more than keeping it distracted... it was playing with me, waiting to see if she was really going to manage it."

Together, the pair limp on into the bedroom, and Reece carefully lowers her onto the bed. "Now, the doctor wants you to get at least another twenty-four hours of bed rest to let those ribs knit, alright?"

She nods, dejectedly. "Ought t' ask Hannah to get my homework from school... I got hers, one time..."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato smiles faintly. "Oh, ok," she states. "Ummmmm.... you have a wonderful niece." She is going with it for now since that's how he was introduced." She fiddles iwth her choker. "I'll keep an eye on her - if necessary keeping her in that bed," she muses, giggling as she offers Mikoto and Uncle John glasses of iced tea. She wonders if she should mention that she, too, is a mage and sends that question over to Mikoto, silently.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
John doesn't laugh. But his amusement shows in his eyes, and - a little bit - in his tone. "Thank you, Sato-san," he offers. "And I'll warn you now, she's a restless one. Hates this kind of thing."

"You can say that again," Mikoto adds. "Can't I at least sit up to read?"

John shakes his head. "Lie there and rest for an hour or two, then you can sit up."

She scowls at him and reaches for the iced tea. Hoping there's a straw, since trying to drink from the glass while lying down would be messy.

As for telling him about Minoke's status, Mikoto doesn't feel it's her place to decide that, and so she'll inform Minoke, equally discretely.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Of course there's a straw. Minoke had everything planned. "Yeah - but if necessary I'll restrain her," she states. She smiles faintly as makes sure Mikoto has the iced tea and straw and checks on the incense. "So - you're not from around here..." she muses softly to John. "But Mikoto should be glad she has such a carnig uncle."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"I am," she answers, then focuses on the drink. Iced tea isn't her favorite, but right now it's fluid, and it's slightly sweet, and that's what she needs.

John, on the other hand, smiles a warm, pleasant smile. "It's been my pleasure to know her," he says. "And her family." Liar.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods slowly. "I'll keep an eye on her, Uncle John," she muses as she sitst here by Mikoto's bedside. "And I'm glad that you saved her all that time ago - if you haven't, I would've never gotten to meet her - she's really helped me out."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Yeah, she's always liked helping people." John smiles that little smile again, and then nods. "Seems to me you're good for her. She had a really bad day yesterday... don't press her too hard about it, okay?"

Mikoto turns her head to one side, grumbling under her breath about a 'gods-damned stupid stubborn bakaneko'.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods. "I'll take good care of her, Uncle John. You can count on it." She smiles as she goes quiet, not sure what to say to him. So she is just watching over Mikoto and is waiting for the stranger to leave.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
John nods. "You do that, then. I've got to get going. If you need anything, call, I'll get over here as soon as I can." He leaves a business card on the side table, before heading out.

Mikoto whimpers softly. "haaaaaate this. c'mon, I want to get into one of those data-cores. Bet you we can break the file format before dinner-time."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato sighs softly as she rolls ove and grabs one. "If you can do it without getting out of bed," she states as she hands you the core. "So - what happened to you? Some bad guy beat you up? I don't know what happened to you - but if you want to talk about it - I'll listen. And - would decrypthing Midchildan cores help you learn about YOUR device?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Some new guy," Mikoto answers. "Ranted about a 'Dusk Zone', seemed to be specifically after a couple of new PreCures. I didn't catch a name." She sighs softly. "Tagged me good with a couple of blasts, and, well."

When the data core is brought in, she eyes it and sighs. "I meant go to it, Mino-chan. Not have you plop the thing in my lap like a watermelon." She sighs and looks down at the thing. "All my diagnostic gear is out there."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato hmmmmmms. "Well - I got shot a few times, but I've been lucky so far that I haven't gotten seriously hurt." She hmmmmmmms softly. "How injured are you?" she asks. "Maybe you can go in a wheelcahir or the like..."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Ribs are wha's keeping me down... doc wan to give 'em time to knit. Hurts to move too much..." And this is why she really should follow the docor's advice.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods. "Then you should stay in bed. Please. Don't make me beg. Or null-bubble you." She smiles. "I'm sorry, Mikoto. But I'm rather fussy about damage like this." She smiles faintly. "You know - would you like some zero-G therapy?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto sighs and turns her head away. Stubborn girl. "I could just go flying myself." She sighs, though, knowing that you'll just tell her not to.

"Where'd I leave the fast-forward button?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods. "Yes - but if I float yo in zero-g, you'd put NO pressure on your ribs and would heal faster, wouldn't you?" she asks. "Or maybe lunar gravity instead so you wouldn't be helpless..." She smiles. "I'm sorry, Mikoto, but do you want to be permanently injured? Believe me... it sucks."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Rot this," Mikoto mutters, and sighs again, her hand falling to one side, hanging off the edge of the narrow bed. "I've got too dam' much to do, Mino-chan."

She closes her eyes, trying to concentrate, but it's hard. "And... and Ikuto-kun..." She swallows heavily. Then points to a white box set on the desk, across the room.

If she looks in it, Minoke will find a purple flower, and a cellphone.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato flinches at the word 'Ikuto'. She knows that name. She rolls over and grabs teh box and hands it to you. "A pretty flower..." she murmurs as she hands it to you. "Here... see if this helps." A spell circle forms under her. "Lunar Aura," she whispers as she points at you. And your weight would be cut to 1/6 of normal like you were on the moon. "Does that help any?" she asks.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto doesn't open her eyes. Just sighs again, even as the weight is, quite literally, taken off of her. "Purple hyacinth," she mutters. "'Please forgive me'." Her hand balls into a fist, nails digging into her palm.

"Damnfool's gone off to do something stupid... gonna get himself killed... or worse... an' I'm stuck here..."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato sighs softly. "I'm sorry, Mikoto. But if you go out in your condition, you could get seriously injured and maybe... maybe permanently. I wouldn't wish a wheelchair on anyone..."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"d'you think I don't know that? That I don't understand what everyone's told me over and over again?" Mikoto shakes her head. "Quit wasting mana on me and go practice or something."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods. "I'm sorry..." she murmurs as she stops the spell gently. "I... I'm just trying to help... tell me what I can do to help you, Mikoto." She just watches you curiously, clicking her tongue.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto winces as she tries to sit up, levering herself up with her elbows. "Help me sit up. I hate lying down when I'm not sleeping." She glares across the room at you. "And if you have any clue where that damn cat would be..."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods as she positions the pillows behind you so you could sit up. "Sure, Mikoto. I've been practicing Traveling. But I'm still not ready to do it indoors yet - I laid down waypoints on opposite sides of the harbor, and only practice when no ships are around so if somet hing goes wrong, nobody would get hurt."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto relaxes against the pillow, wincing again at the motion, and sighs once again. "Tempted to just flood the whole city with Searchers... but it'd take forever, and it'd be so damn obvious..." She shakes her head. "Never work."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato just sits by you. "Well... you'll feel better in a day or two." She is conflicted on this subject. She just takes your ahnd.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto squeezes that hand tight, but looks away. "I'm sorry, Mino-chan..." For some people, this would be a prelude to hitting you over the head and leaving to go on with her plans anyway. Fortunately, Mikoto isn't that kind of people. Not today, at least.

"I know you're just trying to help. But some things... no one can help."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods. "I know. I can't help you with your issues of the heart. All I can do right now is keep you comfortable so you can heal better," she states softly, smiling faintly. "But being in pain makes anyone crankly." She smiles softly. "So - you said two new Precures showed up last night?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
A nod, and Mikoto tries to smile a little. "Yes... White and Black, apparently. They did some sort of combo attack... Marble something. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention, I was trying to keep the General distracted while they fought the monster he'd conjured up." And got herself unpleasantly injured in the process.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods. "Well. So we have two new good guys and one new bad guy..." she muses softly. "Still a net positive, I think?" she asks, smiling softly. "So Cure White and Cure Black, huh? The only Precure I really know is Gull."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Mmm, yeah. She was there, too." Mikoto closes her eyes for a moment, replaying the battle in her head. "I think she's sort of taking them under her wing, as it were." Which makes four PreCure that Mikoto knows about, now.

And thought of Aki leads her back to the PreCure Graveyard, and the ice-cold despair that flooded that realm. A shudder passes through her, and she bites her lip. "They seemed like good kids," she finally says.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato nods. "That's good..." she muses softly. "So they're a duo or something? I don't know much about Cures, but are combo attacks common with them? Oh, have you ever met the Prism Keepers? Those are cute kids."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Haven't a clue," Mikoto answers. "I don't know much about them either. You could ask Gull, I suppose."

She shrugs, but that sets off another wince. "Prism Keepers... oh, the color girls? Yes... I've met Orange, at least. Really sweet kid."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato smiles. "I met Orange and Yellow. There was an evil Orange cloen too and... oh yeah, I met Riventon." She sighs. "What a piece of WORK that was."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto's face twists into a grimace. If there is one person in the world she actively hates, it's him. "What a total jerk, you mean." She expounds on his parentage, romantic preferences, and personal hygiene, but it's in highly idiomatic Old Belkan, fortunately for young ears.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato raises an eyebrow. "Should I be glad I can't understand any of that?" she asks, eyebrow raised. "But yes. I get the gist." She smiles faintly as she looks at you. "Would you like to have pizza for dinner?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Yes, you definitely should. Which reminds me, language lessons. Starting tomorrow."

(("I will transmit a basic module to Swirling Vortex."))

"Thanks, partner. And yes, pizza sounds fine, please." She wriggles a little to try to get comfortable.