1130/The Long Walk Home
From MahouMUSH
The Long Walk Home | |
---|---|
Date of Scene: | 24 February 2016 |
Location: | Uminari City - Juuban Avenue - North |
Synopsis: | Venus escorts Kyra to the train station, with chitchat and pizza. (Immediately follows 'Naru Escape'.) |
Cast of Characters: | Minako Aino, Melanite |
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus's biggest contribution to late evening broken-down store shenanigans is trying to organize a cluster of disorganized people into some semblance of organization after the successful rescues.
It mostly consists of telling excited, happy people they can't hang around dirty, moldy stores and that everybody needs to move out. People need to push the civilians home instead of staying out in bad parts of the city. There are demands, then orders, then just PLEADING to please please talk to her about senshi business and the future and plans and 'be careful not to accidentally reveal identities to the civvies' and make sure all the people rescued are healthy and not really Dark Kingdom undercover mind controllers or sneaky spies.
It's not effective, everybody runs off with new/old friends, Venus is nearly 100% sure none of it will get done...
...and also, nobody shoo'd Kyra out yet.
"Hey, hey, you need to go too. Shoo. Shoo shoo. This isn't your home. Trespassing. You gotta mooooove on. Also, don't touch the walls, I think they have e. coli or something on them."
- Melanite has posed:
Kyra has been sort of hanging around, waiting to see what would happen, hoping to catch a bit of gossip or the like from one of the Senshi or their allies. Something she can use, something that might be of interest.
After what happened to Zoisite, she's grown somewhat unsure of her place. Making sure Beryl has no reason to be displeased with her is... important.
And then Venus is talking to her. And she gets a good, close look at Venus' face. Her eyes widen a touch - easy enough to take for a fangirl's surprise - and she almost falls off her seat.
"You think these walls are bad, you should've seen..." She shakes her head, getting to her feet. "I haven't even got a clue where we are."
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus brightens up considerably in the face of fangirlery and receiving all the attention. Straighter shoulders, bigger smiles.
Venus then immediately answers that yes, the the walls are bad. "I think water got on 'em. Holes in the roof. Definitely don't lick it," she warns, authoritatively and insistent. She won't accept any argument on this.
"And you don't have a clue? Uh... well, let's look outside," she says, moving through the door and pointing around into the sky at an angle.
"See, that way are more buildings and the other way are sorta' factories," she explains, as if trying to be as vague as possible.
"Just, you know, sorta' go the way your house is. Get on a train or something," she says, waiting for you to acknowledge and move along so she can do something dramatic and flee away.
- Melanite has posed:
"Licking the walls... c'mon now. I'm not in second grade, you know." And she isn't. You might have heard Usagi or Makoto mention her, since they're in the same class.
She reaches behind to brush any remains off the back of her slacks. Futile, really, given the stains they've picked up during her 'visit' to the Dark Kingdom. But symbolic, at least, of a desire to return to normality.
"I'm movin'. It'd help if I knew which way the train was..." She sighs and steps out the door, taking a look around... and pulls her blazer tight. February in Tokyo gets coooold.
"So... you got anything to do for the next hour or so?"
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus saw her friends do silly things like lick walls, so she only gingerly nods her head in reply about second grade comments and tries to give the benefit of the doubt.
"The train is.... uh... towards the tracks. Whichever way is closer."
She also admits she's not doing anything. "Just helping you captives get out of here. And to go home. 'cuz it's late. And a schoolnight!" she answers, obviously. "So, you know. Just, uh... if you walk on the street long enough, you'll find a train," she adds, gesturing onward and walking along to try and encourage you to also start moving in the general direction of not-broken stores.
- Melanite has posed:
"You've got to be heading back yourself..." Kyra mentions, as she surveys the streets, trying to identify a landmark to head towards. "D'you teleport or something, to get around?"
And then her tummy goes a-rumbling. Apparently she hasn't eaten in a while. Maybe she (intelligently) didn't trust Dark Kingdom food. "Tell you what. Why don't I buy you... dinner?... as a thank-you for saving us from those..."
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus makes a gesture up towards the sky. "I mean. Yeah. I teleport around sometimes," she says. "But, not to wherever you live. To... other places. Private places. The V-Headquarters," she says, voice trailing off.
"But, uh... I mean... I can get a dinner. It's easier than cooking, and all that being a hero sure did make me hungry," she confesses in as vainglorious of a way as possible.
"It sometimes causes an uproar when people recognize me while I'm out and about. Anybody can show up. So I might need to leave, but yeah! I'll take a meal!"
- Melanite has posed:
Kyra nods. "That way, I think," she says, picking a likely-looking direction. "First decent restaurant we spot. Unless you've a preference and can get us there quicker?"
She chuckles lightly, and takes a moment to look Venus over closely... then turns and heads on down the road.
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus also stomps along. "No preference," she claims. "Just bring me wherever is nice and safe and convenient!" she says, trying to sound convincing and humble.
"No preferences from me."
"And there's no way I can get you there faster. Teleporting is just a myth. I just walk around, and I don't bring passengers when I teleport around! I'm a superheroine, not a taxi cab!"
- Melanite has posed:
"Right-oh," Kyra replies. "Onwards!" She hikes along, hoping to get out of the rougher neighborhood before anyone stop shtm. It would be too much of a temptation, to watch Venus do battle once again.
"Given the streets here, it'll probably be fast food or..." And then she spots it, a little hold-in-the-wall tucked into a plaza between two shops. A sign in the window reading 'Pizza'.
- Minako Aino has posed:
"Fast food is fine, too," Sailor Venus says. With a sigh. A little slump. Contrived sorrow.
She actually wants to get pizza. And "Pizza" seems like a pretty good bet when you consider all the evidence.
"How fast? Like, super-fast or baked in an oven wait for it fast? 'cuz pizza is fine," she encourages. "And maaaybe not so busy as to make a lil' riot when people recognize me for who I am!"
She's in a hurry for a snack, but totally without a care in rougher neighborhoods. Almost as if daring people to mess with her (or ask for autographs).
- Melanite has posed:
And with a Senshi about to protect her, Kyra doesn't feel the danger she might in such a neighborhood. (Of course, she could deal with such problems herself. But that would give away that she wasn't exactly an innocent bystander.)
"Let's see what they've got, then," she says as she heads in, placing an order for a large pie - half sausage and pepperoni, half whatever Venus wants - and a pitcher of cola. "I haven't seen real food since..." She shakes her head.
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus has a little gasp. "You haven't seen real food? Why not?" she asks, suddenly a little suspicious.
"Is there a reason you're not trying to get home?" she asks, a hint of worry on her face. "I hope you're not.... oh, sausage and paparoonies and pineapple, please... I hope you're not homeless. Or your parents don't overwork you on a farm."
"If you're having problems, even dad problems. Or mom problems. Or baby momma problems. You can tell me!" she promises to Kyra (and the person taking their order).
- Melanite has posed:
"Where do you think I've spent the last week?" The same place Naru did, clearly. If Venus has been paying attention, it's clear, at least.
She shudders.
"Of course I want to get home. Ami-chan must be desperate. But I can at least repay one of my rescuers, can't I?"
Kyra tries to smile. It takes a moment, struggling against the feelings of the past week, but somehow, looking at Venus makes it easier.
- Minako Aino has posed:
"Oh. Ohhhh right, yeah, I guess they weren't gourmet chefs down there," Sailor Venus realizes, getting herself ready to be repaid because that's what courteous heroes do.
"It musta' been a while. How long were you there? What happened? I don't really know much about it," she says, a little grumpy about the whole situation even if it was a victory afterwards.
She sits down, drinks lots of soda, and starts playing with the weird crystal she found while waiting for food.
"Actually. Yeah. The more I know about down there, the better. Just in case I gotta sneak in there in the future. Tell me lots! Everything you know. You hostages seemed to be in pretty good shape, all things considered."
- Melanite has posed:
Kyra takes a seat and pours herself some soda, gulping it down as if she hasn't seen water in days. She might well not have. "I was at school," she starts, "We'd just gotten done with rehearsal... heard some noise from one of the classrooms."
She goes on to describe finding Melanite and Kunzite, just about to leave, youma-girl and Naru in hand. "Next thing I knew I just... couldn't move. I yelled to Osaka-san, but... I don't think she heard me. She was acting like some sort of zombie."
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus comments that all seems pretty typical. "What can you tell me about the individuals? Names? Details? Locations? Anything like that?"
She generally grills on the questions in between eating big bites and drinking.
She's also got atrocious table manners. She has a little mask that she lifts up a little bit every time she takes a bite. She has a heavy golden chain around her waist (she sometimes uses it to beat up people) that she lets drop off, making a loud and unpleasant sound when it drops onto the nice floor. She talks with food in her mouth (not full but definitely not yet swallowed).
"Did they do anything weird to you? I mean, uh... not to be rude or press for details, of course. You seem fine, I know that's not always the best indicator, but I just wanna figure out more. Were there other hostages?"
- Melanite has posed:
And in between equally large bites of pizza, Kyra tells her story. Most of it, at least. Edited suitably for the appropriate audience.
"The monsters were... well, monsters. But the witch-girl... Melanite, they called her... she was... nice. Like she didn't really want to hurt us. Kept the monsters away, put us in this big ... well, it was like an apartment. In the real world, not the... whatever the heck that place was."
She does her best to describe the tunnels and caverns seen on the way from their entry to Melanite's quarters, although it's left rather vague - the sort of impressions someone under light hypnosis might retain.
"She spent most of her time talking with Osaka-san. I didn't see any other real people there... 'till the bishie came and grabbed Osaka." From the description, she's talking about Zoisite, obviously.
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus suggests that Kyra draw her a map sometime.
"And if you know where the apartment might be, try to describe that too. Just write it down for me sometime. It might be hard to remember, so, you know, no hurries, get back to me whenevers," she requests.
"They musta' had some plan in place if she were protecting you two. She's not nice. None of them are. I wonder if they were planning on the hostage trick in the past or if it just came up? Or how many others they might have," she says, half talking to Kyra and half thinking out loud.
"Anyways, apart from a big meal, do you need anything from the heroicest sailor senshi the world's ever known? Apart from a rescuing. We already finished that up!"
- Melanite has posed:
With multiple slices of pizza and a good half-pitcher of cola downed, Kyra feels confident enough to tease. "A kiss for my heroine wouldn't go amiss," she says, only half-serious.
"That, and that you'll make sure Osaka-san is alright. Whatever they were up to, she got a lot more of it than I did."
She reaches into her trouser pocket and produces a slender wallet. "How you know they're not from around here... all that and they didn't even take my wallet." Or Naru's, for that matter. Neither girl seems to have been robbed of anything beyond their senses, and a week of their time. And maybe a bit of energy.
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus only gets more worried with all the talk about suspicious actions on behalf of the Dark Kingdom.
"Yeah. Something weird is up. If I kidnapped you, I'd take your wallet even if I didn't need it. They're good at manipulating people. And they seemed a little too easy and willing to give up hostages. They're up to something. I'll have to go watch Osaka-san, just in case," she decides, suspicions rising as she slumps back down. She's exhausted, from thinking and suspicions and worrying almost as much as fighting.
"And yeah! Kisses for me. I deserve those. And a whole lot more. Heroing is socially responsible work!" she concludes, full of energy and chippering up almost immediately. Or, at least, appearing to. Lots of positive smiles for now.
- Melanite has posed:
Kisses it is, then. Kyra gets up and circles the table, to take the seat next to Venus'. Reaches out with one arm towards the heroine. And leans in to kiss her. Properly. It's the only right way to reward a savior, after all.
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus leans herself to her side and presses her cheek into Kyra's face and kisses, then rubs it all around. It's pretty obnoxious.
"Haha, ah, you were serious! Yeah, my fans are the best," she declares, loudly enough to be borderline 'making a scene'.
She's quickly back to being depressed again, after. "Uh, think on anything that might help me fight those mean ol' kidnappers. I'll find you in the future after enough time for you to relax and get all better," she decides.
- Melanite has posed:
Kyra seems a little reluctant to step back, but she does, returning to her original seat. She looks down at her empty plate, then back up at Venus, and nods. "I'll try to write down everything I can remember, for you," she promises.
"You just take care, okay? If they're that dangerous..." She trails off, unwilling to say more on the subject.
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus just lets out a series of confident (loud) laughs. "Pssssht. Dangerous. I'm more dangerous. I'll be able to take them all on with one ham tied onto my back," she brags.
"Don't worry about me. I'm Sailor V. You mighta' heard of me. I'm sorta' a big thing!" she says, flicking a little piece of meatball from her plate at Kyra to emphasize her point.
"I'll visit you again after your school. Or maybe right at the end. All your friends'll see you around me. It'll be awesome," she promises. It's not just an opportunity to get the information she needs, but also to make a big deal about Sailor V in front of her friends while they're in their civilian identities and can't say no. A truly captive audience.
- Melanite has posed:
Kyra certainly can't disagree with that. She bats the piece of meatball away and reaches for the soda, draining the last of it. "Deal," she says.
"Now, there are three things I want, in no particular order. A bath, clean clothes, and a hug from Ami-chan." She adds, "I think I saw a metro station a couple of blocks down, on the way in."
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus seems a little off put by the requests. "I... I mean. You can get clean clothes and baths at home. I don't got any of those on me. Sorry, random-girl," she apologizes.
She isn't sure if she heard Kyra's name yet, but if she did, she clearly doesn't remember.
"But I can get you hugs. I'll make her hug you. Just gimme her details and I'll convince her, one way or another," she says, getting up to help travel towards stations.
She's cheeky enough to ask if you want to 'split' an order of fries or onion rings, to go.
- Melanite has posed:
Kyra did give her name, during the course of telling her story, at least. "Ahh, but those would be V-hugs, not Ami-hugs. Now, I'm sue V-hugs are all fine and sweet, but Ami-hugs are Ami."
She manages to grin, now, although there's still a bit of a macabre edge to it. She pays for the meal, at least, and leaves a generous tip on the credit card in addition.
"Please, tell your friends, thank you, for me...."
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus claims that her hugs are better than fine. "The best."
She also promises to tell her friends all about thankings. "I will. I coulda' handled it myself, of course, but they're really helpful sometimes. And a big source of worry most other times. Ahh!" While doing so, she peeks at the credit card to pick our the name and then commit it to memory.
"Who is this Ami girl you keep talking about? You mentioned her before, now you're talking about hugging her."
- Melanite has posed:
The name on the card matches the name she gave you - her own, of course. "Ami? Ami Matsuyama. My - friend. Her parents are hosting me, while I'm here in Japan." She didn't mention that she's on an exchange student program, but it isn't really something that came up.
"Maybe you could talk to my teachers when you come, help convince them that I wasn't off playing hooky and skipping classes for a week."
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus claps her hands and gets excited. "OOH! You were exchanged by your family?" she asks. That's probably not the right verb.
"Where are you from? I've sorta' gone all over the world. In my line of work, I travel a lot. England, the US, China, all over the world! That sounds really interesting!" she says, suddenly interested.
"And yah. I can do that. Teachers love me," she says, hoping she can have a talk about strong study ethics in the same class that the other senshi might be in.
- Melanite has posed:
Stepping out of the little pizzeria, Kyra is more than happy to chat on the way to the train station. "Denmark, actually. Please, no Viking jokes."
"And thanks for that. I just hope Ami-chan's been collecting my homework. If the school decides to drop me... I'll have to go back."
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus quirks up her face and looks confused. "Viking jokes? I thought they were from Scandalnavia, not Denmark, but, uh, my history might be off," she admits.
"And I'm sure you'll be fine. It's just a week. You're missing. Probably gonna get talked to by the POOOO-lice!"
"But don't worry. Just make up a story. Or, better yet, tell the truth. Mostly. I'll put in a good word for you. The police love me," she says. It's partially true.
"You'll be fine. I'll get another student to share their notes with you. I'm really convincing and dangerous, so I'm sure they'll lissen!"
- Melanite has posed:
Talking about things not relating to Dark Kingdoms and monsters and stuff is definitely the cure for what ails a recently-rescued hostage. "Denmark is in Scandanavia, you heathen," she snaps, half-teasingly, half-serious.
"And if the police do have questions, I'll be certain to send them your way."
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus bites back her lip. "S-sorry. I thought so, I just never learned about it. I'm not a heathen," she apologizes, raising up her hands.
"I sorta' grew up Buddhist, not Viking. But, but, it's a legitimate religion," she says, trying to sound reassuring.
"Also, yeah, I wouldn't... I wouldn't say to just chat with V. That might sound suspicious. I mean, do mention what happened, but... uh... I'll talk to my secret contacts! It'll all be handled, I promise!"
- Melanite has posed:
"Buddhist, Christian, Asatru... whatever. My last school, we had three different kinds of Christian, a Muslim, two Jews, a Jedi, and a Pastafarian. And that was just for homeroom teachers."
Kyra shrugs and pauses at the entrance to the station, checking over the map to see how long the ride home is going to be.
"Sure, sure, you bet'cha. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Secret contacts. I can trust you, right?"
- Minako Aino has posed:
"I'm pretty sure three of those are made up."
Sailor Venus crosses her heart. "Of course you can trust me. I'm a hero. My word is as good as a gold watch," she promises. "I save people all the time. I'm really reliable. I'll help you out for sure. No detentions for you when you get back!" she says, confidently.
"Anyways, are you training away? Good luck! Make sure you sit in a seat and not on another rider!"
- Melanite has posed:
"I'm putting a lot of faith in you, V-chan," she says, definitely getting into the mood to tease the Senshi.
"Looks like I'll have to change trains twice, and it'll be at least an hour, but yeah." She feeds her credit-card into the machine to purchase the tickets.
"Oh, and Rider was pretty darn hot. Much more so than Saber." She winks and blows you a kiss as she steps through the turnstile and into the station proper.
- Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus claims she knows both Rider and Saber and agrees with Kyra's claims entirely.
She doesn't really know.
"Enjoy your train ride. Didn't know you were so far away. Good luck getting home!" she bids, making finger-licking and kiss-blowing gestures before making a mental note to go to Seishou and talk to some teachers tomorrow.
She doesn't dramatically jump over things or teleport away until an appropriate time has passed. No passengers nearby to get upset or make a scene. No late trains.
- Melanite has posed:
And aboard the train, Kyra is whisked away towards Chez Matsuyama, and finally, the chance to relax. With someone she can just be a normal young girl with, instead of a conspirator in a magical kingdom's bid for omniversal power... and possibly worse.
And once again, she flashes back to the image of Zoisite, just before the Senshi and their friends tackled him. What had been going through his head... what was he really thinking? Planning? And what had Beryl done to him?
This will take some time to work out. Hopefully, she'll have that time. With a little luck....