1908/Investments

Investments
Date of Scene:	05 September 2016
Location:	Earth Court Frat House
Synopsis:	Makoto, Naru, and Kyouko discuss the virtues of being prepared, where 'being prepared' may or may not mean beating the crap out of each other on a once-weekly basis.
Cast of Characters:	Makoto Kino, Naru Osaka, Kyouko Sakura

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Makoto Kino has posed:
All good things must come to an end, they say. It may or may not be true, but it's certainly true of summer break. On the last day before school resumes for the fall term, Makoto could be getting a jump-start on studying, or at least be making sure all the classwork she was assigned for the break has been done. Or she could be in the kitchen, making lunch bentos for tomorrow.

What she's actually doing is sitting on the sofa in the current living room of residence, with her phone in her hands, complaining out loud to nobody specific. "Geez, you guys, I know it's a matter of life or death to hold onto the gym downstairs but how am I supposed to train on such a stupidly OP vaporeon? Jerks."

Naru Osaka has posed:
By the fact that Naru's bag is here, and her shoes, it seems likely that there is a Naru /somewhere/ not so very far away.

The door opens to permit the aforementioned Naru in from the hallway, although the bare feet says that she probably was just over in another of the apartments. She's thoughtful, distracted even and startles as she hears Makoto's voice.

"Hmmm? Hi Makoto." Naru greets as she heads for the kitchen, probably to see if there's coffee on.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko is also apparently in the apartment this morning, although she doesn't have to worry about school starting the next day- despite the continued efforts of some, she shows no interest in resuming the schooling that was interrupted almost five years earlier.

    Instead, she seems to be raiding the fridge for lunch to take to work later. Although the conbenie sells all sorts of bentos and other lunch type things, it's not good to eat that kinda stuff every day... and she does have to pay for it, after all, even if she does get a bit of a discount.

    She nearly runs into Naru on her way back out of the kitchen, an apple in hand. "Oh! Hey.. sorry Naru-chan." She says, sidestepping, and casting a curious look at Makoto over on the couch. She does not understand the pokemans.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Naru's voice has Mako looking up from her phone, momentarily abashed at having been caught talking to a video game. "Ah, hi Naru-chan." And then Kyouko, and Makoto perks up a little further and puts her phone down. "Kyouko too, hey. Good timing. I've been wanting to catch both of you."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hey Kyouko. No problem." Naru blinks a bit, dragging her attention out of her own head as she now has to focus on people. And coffee. She pours herself a cup from the pot, giving it a little sniff and then getting cream to try and offset the length of time it's been stewing.

"Oh?" Naru asks curiously as she steps out from the kitchen, holding a steaming cup. She sets it down on a coffee table before going to retrieve her bag to bring back to her chair with her.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko too blinks at Makoto as the girl greets her. Her head tilts to the side slightly as she takes a bite of apple, wiping juices from her chin with the edge of her sleeve as she walks over towards the sitting area.

    She drops into a chair, casually tossing one leg over the arm and slumping into it sideways as she regards the Senshi. "Sure, what's up?" She inquires, before taking another chunk out of the apple.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I heard from Kunzite," Makoto says, drawing her legs up to sit cross-legged on the sofa with both hands planted on her calves, "that you were working on getting in better shape to deal with the stuff that keeps on trying to eat you." This, of course, to Naru; a moment later, Mako's looking toward Kyouko. "He also mentioned you might be interested in sparring?"

For a moment, Makoto's smile turns a little self-deprecating, and she looks down. "I've kind of gotten in the habit of doing it alone, because let's be real, could you see Usagi-chan getting up early to work out? And Ami-chan would rather study, and Rei-chan's super busy with the shrine. But if you guys are interested, I wouldn't mind training in company."

Naru Osaka has posed:
There is just a flash of something that crosses Naru's face when Makoto says 'I heard from Kunzite', but it's gone just as quickly as it came and she relaxes into her chair a bit as the girl continues.

"I don't even /try/ to get Usagi up early." Naru agrees with an affectionate smile. "But Hannah and I run early, when she's not busy, and Zoi somehow got guilted into running with me early. I expect he would /love/ to have a break from babysitting me." She grins at the prospect. "If you go running that is. If it's other training, I'm still interested."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko's brows raise slightly as she listens to Makoto speak on the topic of training and sparring. She continues to gnaw at the apple, several more chunks of it missing by the time she opens her mouth to speak again. "I did say ta nii-chan that I'd be interested in sparrin' you, Mako-chan." She grins a little bit. "I think, if you take magic out of the picture anyway, you're probably one of the few people around who could give me a decent fight on the mats." She glances at Naru, "No offense, Naru-chan, you'll get there eventually."

    She shrugs. "I was just a little bit leery of askin' because, while I know yer tough as they come, you always seemed to have.. other priorities and I didn't wanna bug you, that's all. But if you'd be up for it, I think it'd be fun."

    "As for running, that's not usually somethin' I do, but I do other sorts of training at the gym where I have a membership. Mostly martial arts kinda stuff, y'know. I started up a regimen when I lost my magic last year and have managed to keep it up, if to a lesser extent, since."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Running is good," Makoto agrees, straightening back up a little where she sits. "It builds endurance. I usually go a couple times a week. Although..." Here, her expression turns a little more reluctant. "Hannah and I don't really get along. So if you usually run with her, it'd be better if I didn't butt in. Any time she's not available, though, I'd be glad to keep you company, Naru-chan. Not to mention, if you're wanting to learn some self-defense, I think it'd be a good idea."

The hesitance of a moment ago forgotten, Mako leans forward earnestly. "Even if all you're concerned about is getting away from something that's coming after you, being able to run only helps as long as nothing's got a hold on you. Drilling in a few basic techniques could make a lot of difference."

She stops there for a moment, takes a breath as she sits back again. When she looks toward Kyouko, Mako's eyebrows lift a little, giving her a vaguely surprised look. "It's true that you and I probably have different approaches," she allows. "It's not exactly something I do for fun. But that doesn't mean it's not important. Nobody stays in fighting shape without working at it, and there's always room to improve. I'm pretty sure you and I could both learn some things from each other."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"No offense at all, Kyouko." Naru flashes a quick grin at Kyouko. "I'm not even close to the same league, I'm a beginner."

"I didn't think I'd like running, and I certainly don't when the alarm goes off, but it gets fairly zen after a while, and I'm enjoying /that/. If I ever get the bait side of my life under control, then I wouldnt necessarily need a babysitter on my runs." Naru nods to Makoto and there's a smile. "One babysitter at a time is how it usually goes for morning runs, so there's no overlapping." She isn't delusional about how well everyone gets along. "Zoi would probably be /delighted/ if you took over from him."

There's a nod of agreement from Naru. "I learned that the hard way, that running is only half the picture. I would absolutely like to improve on self defense. Even just learning how to fall better would make life much less achey the next time I get used as a projectile weapon against someone. Kyouko was nice enough to spar with me some. It was fun, but highlighted how much of a beginner I am."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Believe it or not, I'm rather fond of you Naru-chan." Kyouko says with a lopsided grin. "I don't consider it charity to try an' help you improve. It saves me worryin' about you later, so it's more like an investment. That said, I had fun too, so I'm more than willin' to do it again."

    She glances to Makoto then, processing what the girl said, and she nods with a little shrug of her shoulders. "That's true.. an' I think you're right. I guess I just didn't want to impose." She smiles a bit sheepishly herself. "But I'm always up for gettin' my ass kicked if I can learn something from it.. well, and it's all in fun, anyway." She laughs. "It might make Naru-chan feel better if she sees that I can fall on my backside just as easily as she can."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto laughs quietly, shaking her head a little. "You sure are making a lot of my skills," she observes, eyes bright with humor. "We'll see who ends up on their backside. Either way, it's no imposition. I don't think either of us will be disappointed."

With this, Mako sits back and straightens her legs out from the indian-style position to put her feet back on the floor. Her arms stretch upwards, folding behind her head. "So," she says brightly, "that's settled. I'll look forward to working with both of you." The incongruously formal phrasing has her laughing at herself a bit, shaking her head again.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I am rather fond of you too, Kyouko, but I have no illusions that tossing me about helps your skills improve any, save perhaps in working on eternal patience." Naru grins at Kyouko and leans over to retrieve her coffee. "I would love to watch the pair of you spar, however. Especially without magic."

Naru tucks her feet up under her, ensuring her bag is closed and close. "The gym is going to just put your name on the door of that back room, Kyouko. It'll be awesome."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Well, like I said, Naru-chan, it saves me stress later." Kyouko says with a little grin. Then she quirks a brow. "Sparring without magic and sparring with magic are two totally different things. I'm talkin' about the former here, just to be clear. Sparring with magic requires a whole different setup and is honestly a lot more dangerous. It's harder to pull your punches. At least for me it is."

    "Not," She adds, "That that doesn't have value too, it's just a lot harder to.. set up and pull off. On a daily basis, sparrin' without magic is fine, and it's just as valuable cuz those fundamentals really help. I guess some people are content to let their magic do all the work but I'd rather use my magic to augment what I can already do than rely on it completely."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto nods her agreement with what Kyouko says, expression growing a little more serious. "Same here," she says. "Although that's easy for me to say. I was lucky enough to have some training before I ever knew about magic, and I've always been strong... inherited from Jupiter, I guess." As she says it, she cracks a brief, lopsided smile.

"But yeah, training with magic is way different. I should really do more of it, but if there's a way to pull your punches when you're tossing lightning around, I haven't figured out how yet." She makes a wry face as she makes this admission, sighing a little.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I.. dont really have to worry about that?" Naru comments on the notion of training with magic. "I can see how it would be a mess of trying not to actually hurt anyone or destroy the location. Both of which make for a rather brief sparring match."

Naru takes a sip of her coffee and then comments thoughtfully. "Besides, if you let magic do all the work, then if things all go horribly wrong, and magic goes wonky, or vanishes, or whatever, you're really screwed."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"You're not wrong," Makoto agrees. "There are lots of ways for things to get messed up. There's probably no way to be ready for everything, but we can at least try the best we can."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"To my perspective.. everything is very much a moving target." Naru comments with a touch of a rueful smile. "I dont even really have much of an idea on how much everything there is, let alone how to be ready for it. Like.. I was seriously unprepared to have the colour orange vanish from my life. It makes for really interesting painting."

Which is, all in all, a rather dramatic understatement.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Well, like I mentioned, Naru-chan," Kyouko says, wryly, "That's when I set up the training regimen I still try to follow.. when I lost my magic. I was without it for.. I dunno, at least a month or two? I didn't like feeling helpless. I mean, it's not like I was back to square one, I still knew how to fight, but it became much more important to keep that up since I didn't have the safety net of magic anymore. It put things in perspective, in a way. At least somethin' good came out of the experience."

    She laughs. "If it's any consolation, I wasn't expecting the whole 'orange' thing either. Luckily, it wasn't a color that was particularly central to my life in any event."

    "I find," She says to Makoto, "That rather than try to ready for everything, the best strategy is to work on plans that work in almost every situation. Maybe not as well, but better'n bein' totally caught with your pants down."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Same thing, I think," is Mako's answer to Kyouko. "Just put a little differently?" She waves a hand, dismissing the semantic argument. "Either way, things will always surprise you. The best any of us can do is roll with it as much as we can."

A beat, then she laughs. "And yeah, orange disappearing is a new level of weird. Makes cooking an adventure, too. There are some foods I've just had to kind of stay away from, grey carrots don't look appetizing at all."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I didn't think I painted a lot of orange things, until I didn't have it in the palette, and it drove me nuts." Naru declines to add 'until I forced the issue' onto the end of that.

Naru wrinkles her nose and nods to Makoto. "Orange juice is just /not/ the same. Carrots. Squash. Apricots. Yams." She sighs and shakes her head. "I truly had not realized how many foods would look weird, but grey is so not appetizing."

Naru nods to Kyouko at the mention of a training regimen. "That's what I'm trying.. the regimen thing, and making it just a habit. It gets a little hectic during school, so we'll see how this term goes."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Yeah, I agree with that." Kyouko says, nodding her head to Makoto at her talk of rolling with the punches life decides to throw at you. Skill at improvisation is one of the things she values very highly indeed.

    She quirks her lips to the side. "It all tastes the same, though." She points out, at the list of orange foods which to some, it seems, are less appetizing without their color. Kyouko, on the other hand, doesn't seem to particularly care what food looks like, but anyone who knows her could probably have predicted that.

    Kyouko nods again to Naru as she mentions a schedule. "Yeah. My work schedule can be a bit variable too so.. we'll have to see if we can find a time that works for everybody. I think we should be able to. Maybe not every day but.. once a week or somethin'? That should be doable.."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto can't help but grin, green eyes bright with enthusiasm for a pet subject. "Y'know, that's not entirely true?" she says, to Kyouko's assertion that it all tastes the same whatever the color. "That is, I'm sure for someone who's not very choosy about food it doesn't make enough of a difference to notice. But for a lot of people, how food looks really does affect hwo they think it tastes. It shouldn't, but their mind plays tricks on them. It's weird, but it happens."

It should maybe not come as much of a surprise that Makoto is a believer in making food taste and look as good as one can manage.

"Anyway," she adds with a laugh, "I could definitely manage at least once a week, at least until we get another world-ending crisis or something. And even then there's usually some time to kill between rounds of dealing with whatever it is."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Once a week or so, unless y'know, I'm mind controlled or possesed, or kidnapped. Not that I've been kidnapped in /ages/." Naru grins brightly. "And I maintain that anything that requires an exorcism is a reasonable excuse to skip the gym."

"I'm a bit of a mix of the two.. there's some things that just look gross, but taste so /good/. It's worth ignoring the fact that they look sort of like a lump of goop when they are delicious." Naru considers as she sets her coffee down, and then digs open her bag to retrieve out her sketchbook, setting it in her lap with a pencil. Closed.

"I suppose it's too much to consider that perhaps the world is done trying to end?" Naru speculates.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Well," Kyouko says, with the air of unconcern cultivated from years of periodically having to eat out of trash cans, "I ain't sayin' I don't appreciate good-lookin' food. S'just that if it's ugly but it still tastes fine, you just close your eyes and then you don' have to worry about it." She flashes a brief grin.

    Then she scowls at Naru, though the scowl is good-natured. "You ain't gettin' kidnapped or posessed or anything if we have anything to say about it. So sorry, no excuses for missing training."

    As to the last, she just shrugs. "If it was that easy, wouldn't really need so many of us magic folks around, would ya?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Mako flashes Kyouko a grin, tipping her head in a nod of acknowledgement.

And then she sighs, leaning back against the cushions as the topic shifts.

"I wouldn't count on it," she confirms wryly. "The Dark Kingdom and the Xenian are gone, but there are still a lot of nasty things out in the dark. And people like Agera having terrible ideas in fancy labs. It'd be nice if nothing else that big happened, but I kind of think our best case is we get really good at stopping them early."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm even youma free today!" Naru grins at the good natured scowl, holding up her hands. "Besides, all of my closest friends are magic folks. So I'm rather fond of keeping all of you guys around, over and above the whole keeping me alive thing."

"At the very least, there's a current lack of orange, which isn't quite the same level of dire consequences as the flowers were, but there's a certain degree of keeping things held together, before a few smaller weridnesses all layer up to become big together." Naru mmms softly and nods thoughtfully.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "There's never any shortage of minor crises." Kyouko says, with a careless shrug of her shoulders. Unlike some others, she doesn't seem to find these things particularly troublesome- or rather, that they exist doesn't trouble her. This is just the way the world is. The events themselves may be troublesome but.. "That's why we're around, right? The police take care of mundane crime.. people like us take care of the more.. exotic variety of mishap."

    She grins toothily, then shrugs again. "Anyway, call me jaded but I'd rather a missing color here or there than 'the world is literally going to explode' any day of the week."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I really can't argue with that," Makoto says. "Although I do hope we get that fixed soon. Aside from the food thing, I hadn't really noticed how much safety equipment is colored orange. The world might not be on the verge of exploding, but there's gonna be a lot of car wrecks if this keeps up, I'm pretty sure."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I suppose I'm more thinking 'okay.. one colour isn't /so/ bad.. but what happens when it becomes two. Or four. Or all of them." Naru nods in agreement with Makoto and Kyouko both. "Exactly. Keep on top of the minor stuff, so it doesnt have a chance to become major stuff."

Naru flickers a smile at Kyouko. "Even if that isn't nearly as exciting."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko isn't an artist. If you ask her, all the colors could go away and leave us seeing black and white, and sure it'd be kind of lame but it's hardly in the same league as world-destroying meteors. However, she is diplomatic enough not to say so, and instead simply shrugs and offers a quirked smile to Naru. "Hey, takes all kinds fo keep the world runnin' smooth. I'll be here when the exciting stuff comes around again."

    "Not," She's quick to add, "That I am in any rush for another apocalypse. That kinda stuff really messes with my work schedule, and I got bills to pay."