2273/Swords Start Young
From MahouMUSH
| Swords Start Young | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 02 January 2017 |
| Location: | Uminari City - Abandoned Convenience Store |
| Synopsis: | Tsubasa sounds Kunzite out about the Noise. |
| Cast of Characters: | Kunzite, Tsubasa Kazanari |
- Kunzite has posed:
Virtue communicators are a good method of arranging meetings. Places for meetings -- well. For some people, rooftops are useful, but others appear by helicopter in those cases, which can potentially draw attention. Back alleys and out-of-the-way spots depend on the weather, and that hasn't been so reliable in Tokyo this winter.
The boarded-up convenience store, though ... that's sheltered from the weather, and difficult enough to get into that it hasn't been taken over by a new set of squatters. Not yet.
(The Sailor V poster was clearly irrelevant as a selling point.)
Kunzite waits inside the place, his cape pulled around him against the chill; later in the day it will be almost warm, but this early the damp still soaks heat out of bodies and pulls it into stone and asphalt and the earth below.
- Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
The girl that comes in is wearing a big hoody, pulled down low enough to cover her face. She's not coming by chopper or in henshin this time, just walking with that hoody obscuring her face and her Verone uniform, which of course gives Kunzite one minor point of data about the girl's mundane identity. "Hey." She greets as she approaches, sitting down somewhere convenient. "Thanks."
- Kunzite has posed:
There is furniture, or at least what ninety percent counts as furniture, and some of it's even been cleaned off within the last couple of days. Kunzite inclines his head gravely toward the girl in the hood, and takes a place leaned against the end of a row of empty shelves. Far enough away that standing doesn't convey any particular psychological advantage. And it keeps more of the hood's material between her face and him. "Our pleasure," he replies. "What did you need?"
- Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"I wanted to talk a little. How well do you know Tuxedo-san?" She asks to begin with, keeping her voice steady and level, she clearly has practice controlling her voice to some degree, it shows. She looks around briefly, then adds, "And how familiar are you with the Noise?" That's an entirely different topic, isn't it?
- Kunzite has posed:
"I am in Tuxedo Kamen's service." That's not a common construction these days. Kunzite uses it anyway. "I work with him, take his orders, and see to his security on the occasions he makes that feasible; to an extent I manage his household." Defining everything in practical terms, rather than any kind of closeness or history. But -- all the same.
The Noise may or may not be an entirely different topic. The young man does not blink at the apparent shift, and treats the question with the same near-emotionless practicality. "I have not faced the Noise personally. My understanding is that they are a particularly lethal type of youma, occurring in groups of varying size but generally large, drawn to and affected by certain types of music with magical potential."
- Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"That is reasonably accurate." Tsubasa answers the second question, and then she pulls down her hood. "Tuxedo Kamen knows who I am, and I felt like he seemed to trust you. I am Tsubasa Kazanari." Whether that name rings a bell likely depends on how familiar Kunzite is with J-Pop. But, it is the name of an internationally renowned J-Pop star. "I have been fighting the Noise since I was five years old."
- Kunzite has posed:
Five years in the Dark Kingdom did remarkably little for Kunzite's awareness of celebrities. Usagi visiting regularly, on the other hand, has been a counterbalance. He regards her for a moment, then nods briefly, as if the name and her last words were part and parcel of one another. There's no reciprocal shift down; perhaps he thinks it unnecessary, since she's already seen him do so. Perhaps this identity is merely more natural to him than the one he took on after Mamoru told him to stop being spooky.
What he says out loud is, "Swords start young."
- Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"We do." Tsubasa agrees, and then she pulls her hood back down, returning the veil of secrecy. "Tuxedo-san knows who I am, but let's not spread it around. It would complicate things if too many people knew." Thus, this is her in essence extending a measure of trust. "To the point, there's another concert scheduled soon, but the last few times my concerts were targetted by the Noise. I'm unlikely to be able to respond myself unless things get too bad. I'd like to ask you if you can arrange backup, without explaining why." She pauses, "I can provide free tickets if necessary."
- Kunzite has posed:
"I can make an attempt to, yes," Kunzite agrees. "Explanations can be limited to observed results at other concerts and similar gatherings, I think, without the specific performers becoming an issue. It won't be out of character for me; a month or two ago I went as backup in case of trouble at a race, for instance."
There's a momentary frown. "The problem, of course, being that most of the rest of the local population is somewhat lacking in the sort of largescale response that would seem to be required. There are a couple, yes, but they may or may not be available; most of the others are specialized toward single combat."
- Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"That is a problem." Tsubasa agrees, with a slight look of worry on her face, "But this concert can't be cancelled, and my coworker is too busy training." And there's a hint of 'and I'm not even sure I can trust her anyway' in her voice. "So we have to do something, worst case I'll cancel the concert halfway through, if it gets that bad I'll have an excuse anyway."
- Kunzite has posed:
"When Noise manifest," Kunzite asks slowly, "is there any pattern? Do they arrive from elsewhere, or appear among the audience? Is there any typical positioning, or is it unpredictable?'
- Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"It varies, mostly unpredictable, though we've got some preliminary theories for patterns, they're so far inconclusive." Tsubasa answers Kunzite without much thought into it, "Beyond the general 'attracted to phonic gain' kind of thing you already know about." She shrugs, "Section 2 has people on it, I'm not good at that stuff."
- Kunzite has posed:
"Can't concentrate people in the vicinity, then. But if we can get a Device user in, I might be able to power up their barrier and separate the Noise from their prey, let the others fight them without worry for the bystanders... but I don't know what that would do to the concert itself. I'll try to find out."
