2481/Field Trip (Literally)
From MahouMUSH
Field Trip (Literally) | |
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Date of Scene: | 17 February 2017 |
Location: | Plot Room #1 |
Synopsis: | Kyouko and Naru head outside the city to experiment with Naru's magic and find out what it might be able to do where nobody is likely to see or get hurt (other than themselves). |
Cast of Characters: | Kyouko Sakura, Naru Osaka |
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
On a sunny Sunday, Kyouko sits on a train. It's bright, the sky is blue, and it's above-average warm for the season- all reasons why this particular Sunday was judged to be the correct one. Sitting on the empty seat across from her is a picnic basket, or at least the modern equivalent, stuffed with lunchtime foods, though it's still pretty early in the morning. Her eyes watch the scenery going by outside- at this point, mostly buildings still, but starting slowly to thin out and be replaced with the green of fields and trees.
She turns to smile at Naru, sitting in the plush cushioned train-seat beside her. "Exciting to finally be doing this." Though in a way this is a 'date', her dress is more functional than 'cute', jeans and a t-shirt and her blue hoodie, since, warm as it is, it's still February which means 'warm' is relative. This 'date' has a purpose, and that purpose is training. They've been on the train for a good hour already, and are only now starting to leave Tokyo- their destination is yet another half-hour away, at least. The city is big.
- Naru Osaka has posed:
It is a beautiful day. It's a glorious day to be getting out of the city, and there is no denying that Naru rather loves watching the scenery go by outside the window of the train. It doesn't matter that this isn't terribly odd or unusual, that train journeys have come up in her life for most travel she's tagged along wiht her mother on.. she still loves it.
Naru might have her sketchbook out, but she's not actually drawing in it. She'd protest that leggings and skirt and her own hoodie are cute /and/ functional, except that she's poking Kyouko /again/ to point out some delightful tableau out of the window, some perfect colour. "Eee! Cows!" Or content bovines as they start to get out of the city.
"I'm glad too. Nervous, a little." Naru has to admit. "And excited. We finally managed to get good weather /and/ both of us with nothing on."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko does not travel much. In truth, she's only been on this sort of train ride a handful of times in her life- trains themselves, not so much a stranger, as Tokyo's extensive subway system is familiar to her, but being able to look out the window and see the scenery whizzing by is not something she's experienced often. She's enjoying it too- though she may be enjoying Naru's enthusiasm as much as the actual scenery.
She laughs, but after about the tenth time she gets poked in the arm, she instead slides her arm through Naru's and clasps the girl's hand on the armrest. It's comfortable and romantic, and also it will prevent her arm from getting bruised. "I see them, love." She says, wry amusement in her tone as she watches the cows, who vanish from sight within moments as the train zips along amidst scenery becoming more green by the moment.
"Don't be nervous. It's just training. Important training but.. s'not like there's going to be any danger."
- Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru smiles as her hand is taken and she gives Kyouko's fingers a squeeze, lacing her own amongst them. "Cows always look so utterly content, no pun intended." She notes, watching the scenery go by again. "Just relaxed, no care in the world, noshing down on some grass. Housecats almost have it, but then they ruin the effect by startling easily. Cows? They just zen."
Somehow, this doesn't stop her from enjoying beef.
"It is just training, and I'm not worried about getting hurt." Naru shakes her head a little. "A little about hurting you, but even that seems unlikely. More.. just uncertain and unfamiliar, and new things nervous, which sorts of dances on the same line as excited."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko grins her admittely somewhat feline grin. "Cows are content, Naru.. but they're content because they're too dumb not to be. Cats have it mastered, y'see, cause cats manage to both look relaxed most of the time, an' be smart enough to know the world is out to get them and keep a wary eye out for traps. I would definitely rather be a cat than a cow."
Then she shakes her head slightly, with a soft chuckle. "Don't worry about hurting me too much. I know you wouldn't want to, but, y'know.. I'm not exactly fragile. And if you can manage it, then we'll have found a technique that'll probably totally be worth it next time you end up in a fight." Which, as Naru herself notes, tends to happen more often than anyone involved would like.
The train announcement pings, and she glances up at the sign. "Two more stops, I think." They had picked out a small town by the river outside Tokyo, where the chances of finding an empty field, out of sight of passersby, would be relatively high.
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"I didn't say I really /wanted/ to be a cow. Just that they look so terribly content. Even if its because they're too stupid to realize anything else." Naru laughs and leans over to drop a quick kiss on her girlfriend's cheek.
"I know you're not fragile, but even in sparring, it's hard to get past that instinct. There are reasons, and that's largely amongst them, as to why I call myself a terrible combatant." Naru points out and looks back out the window. "The flamethrower is great and all, but it feels vaguely like the uninspired choice. I've so many options, and I just default to that one for lack of having time to think of others on the fly."
"I've never actually been here before." Naru comments as she looks up at the sign at the ping. "But based on what I could find on the web, the town itself seems really sweet too. Quaint."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko grins as her cheek is kissed, lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "Well, I guess I can't argue with you there. An' I can't say the notion of 'infinite food and no worries' doesn't have some appeal to me."
She nods her head, her expression serious for a moment, as Naru talks about the drawbacks of her current system. "Well, please let's keep the flamethrower away for today. I may not be fragile, but I am also not fireproof, to the best of my knowledge, and I've not desire to prove that one correct unless I really need to." She laughs, squeezing Naru's hand again, then adds, "Being a terrible combatant is one thing, but you can't always count on the world to respect your opinion.. which is why we're here."
A few more moments pass, as the train draws near to their destination, and Kyouko eyes the sign which displays the stop name. "I don't think most people have any reason to come here. S'just a little town of no particular note. Which is why it suits our purposes."
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"No flamethrower today." Naru agrees quickly and wholely. "Not only do I have no desire to light you on fire, but the point is to work out alternatives to the flamethrower." She laughs softly and nods. "Seriously, the world is terrible about respecting my decision to be a non-combatant. Although I suppose by yelling back and rushing bad guys, I'm not exactly walking the walk that matches the talk."
As the train comes nearer, Naru gives Kyouko's hand a squeeze and then moves to collect her bag and tuck her sketchbook away properly, such that it can't get lost on the train. The slowing of the train prompts her to stand, and head for the exit from the car. "Even little towns of no particular note have /something/ interesting to them. It just isn't quite as immediately obvious, but I bet when we go poking about later, we'll find something neat. It's like people, even boring ones have /something/ interesting if you ask the right questions."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"No," Kyouko agrees to Naru's assessment of her own combativeness, and there's definite pride in her eyes as she says, "But that's one of the very many things I like about you, y'know. The fact that, despite you not being the strongest fighter, you don't take shit. I respect you more than I think you realize, 'cause of that."
As the train slows, Kyouko stands as well, and she picks up the bento-box they had brought, wrapped in a kerchief all neatly, carrying that as Naru deals with her own bag. Kyouko isn't the bag-carrying sort, normally, so she hasn't one to worry about- thought it is just like her to prioritize looking after the food.
"I guess we'll find out." She says, as she follows Naru to the door and out of the train. The platform here is the sort you find in small towns, really just a concrete slab with an overhand and some benches, and the track running down the middle. She glances around- trees, fields, and a few houses, but the sun shining down, and the air warm. She smiles. "It's nice here. Let's go for a walk and see if we can find a good place."
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"Here and now, on a sunny Sunday morning, it's terribly easy to say that I'm not a combatant." Naru points out as they step off the train into the beautiful day and pastoral setting. She offers Kyouko her hand as they head off to explore. Her bag is ever present, but loops across her easily enough to be largely forgotten. "But when things start going sideways, nine times out of ten, there's someone there who is /more/ of a non-combatant than I am, who looks at me all worried and in need of protection and I can't just ignore it and go 'sorry, we're both screwed, kid.'"
There's no real rush in the strolling out of the town towards the fields and ignored woodlands not so far from town. There's more cows, and they make Naru smile, although she manages to refrain from pointing them out and saying 'Mooo.'. At least out loud. "Over that way looks promising." Naru points towards a chunk of land a ways off that looks largely ignored, between two smaller fields.
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko takes Naru's hand without comment, lacing her fingers with the other girl's as they walk along the quiet road. They are near enough to Tokyo, still, that the roads are paved and in good condition (no dirt tracks here, you need to go much farther afield for that) but still, for a city girl like her, the setting seems positively pastoral- in a very literal sense, as they pass those cows. Kyouko might be mooing in her head, too, truth be told.
She smiles, then. "Well, that's what I mean. Can't stand by and see somebody get hurt.. I like that about you, Naru, even if I selfishly would prefer you keep yourself from getting hurt, first." She laughs. "Which is why we're here, I guess."
She glances towards the spot Naru points out, and nods, shifting their direction that way. It does indeed look good, and as they find when they arrive, suits their needs- a small field which doesn't seem to be in use, with a couple scattered trees and, most importantly, blocked from sight of the nearest buildings by a combination of low hills and trees.
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"Unless its wraiths, or involves climbing a building and then all bets are off." Naru quips with a self aware and somewhat self depricating note to her voice. "Then I will scream like a stereotypical little girl and hide behind little girls." At least many of the 'little girls' that they know are perfectly capable combatants. She laughs warmly, easily. Joking about it is much easier on a sunny Sunday morning, rather than when surrounded by a sea of wraiths and one's only choice is 'up'.
Naru pushes aside some of the scrub around the trees to let them into the small field, halfwy to a clearing really, that makes for an excellent practice ground. She reaches to loop her satchel up over her head and set it down at the edge of it. "Right.. this is the bit where nervous comes back. I don't even know where to /start/ on trying to work out where the edges of my powers are."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"The Wraiths thing I can understand.. the heights thing, we're gonna have to work on." Kyouko cautions Naru, with a small smile. "But.. that's for another day. Today, we have a specific goal, and that's testing your limits.. hopefully without getting hurt, or getting seen." She glances around the small, sunlit area. "This place is perfect." She puts down the cloth-wrapped bundle which is lunch beside where Naru left her satchel.
Then she cricks her neck to either side, stepping out into the center of the grass and spinning in a circle, arms outstretched, the sun beaming down onto her upturned face, her red hair shining like ruby under the bright light. She takes a deep breath.. then lowers her face and opens her eyes. "So, have you thought about guns?"
- Naru Osaka has posed:
It's a very good thing that the clearing is sheltered from prying eyes, as the morning wears on. There's magic /everywhere/. Items yanked out of sketchbooks, and sparkling energy of all sorts of colours thrown around. There's booms and bangs, and oopses that prompt brief halts to ensure that Naru hasn't /actually/ managed to blow herself up. (Much.) There's attempts to push the envelope in bending reality, and reality informing them that no, it's really quite happy as it is, thankyouverymuch. Barriers held, and shifted and agumented, and barriers that crumble almost as soon as they're looked at sideways.
It's after a /thing/ that got yanked out of a sketchbook and required stabbings before it rampaged over the countryside that it seems a good time for a break. Blanket spread on a bit of the clearing that doesn't have any blood (not theirs) or scorchmarks (whoops) and the bento retrieved, Naru flops across the blanket on her back.
"I am confident that I have never done that much magic in such a short time span /ever/." She comments, not in a rush for lunch just yet, taking a moment just to breathe.
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko is happy to participate in the process of Naru testing her limits. From simply watching, to calling out suggestions, to acting as a 'target' (or at the very least, a guinea pig), she assists her girlfriend in attempting to figure out exactly what she can and can't do- because as they have discussed several times in the past, it's better to do it while not actually under attack, so that later, when Naru is working with limited time, she knows her options.
But yes, there is something to be said for a break after being required to stab an art-monster to death when an idea turns into a 'bad idea' in relatively short order. Sweating just a bit despite the only moderately-warm air, and now once again out of henshin, Kyouko flops next to Naru.. then scoots around and lays perpendicular to the other girl, resting her head upon Naru's belly as she looks up at the sky, waiting for her breathing to calm back down.
"It's tiring, ain't it?" Kyouko asks, turning her head to peer up at Naru with a little grin. "Still.. pretty cool stuff."
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"We'll be asleep on the train ride home." Naru comments and then twists a little to be able to look at Kyouko. "Or at least I will be. Wow." She takes a slow breath, relaxing under the warm sun. "That was.. really cool." So much for any nerves she had going into it, the grin might be tired, but she's clearly proud of actually finding some more options than flamethrowers.
"Thank you, love." Naru's smile is more gentle. "For coming out here and letting me abuse you. I appreciate it a lot."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"One of us has to stay awake or we'll end up an hour on the other side of Tokyo." Kyouko says wryly, shaking her head. "I mean, you gave me a good workout, babte, but you were the one usin' most of the energy. I'll be alright. You can even drool on my shoulder." She grins.
Then she reaches for Naru's hand, clasping it in hers and bringing it around where she can see it, to inspect it. "How're your hand? It's cool to know you can make things that go 'boom' but I think in the future you should try to not still be holding them when they do." She eyes the artist's fingers criticall for a few moments, then glances up at Naru's face again.
"Of course. First of all, it's an excuse to spend time with you, alone and not at home. Second of all, I'm legit interested in what you can do. Third of all, I have a vested interest in keeping you alive." SHe laughs softly, letting Naru's hand drop, satisfied, it seems, that the damage is not serious. "Really not much to thank me for. Though I appreciate it, anyways."
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"It's fine." Naru flexes her hand as Kyouko examines it closely. The skin's only a little pink yet, and even that is likely to be gone by the time they go home. "Still holding it was not part of the plan, no." She laughs softly, shaking her head. "I think we can call that experiment a somewhat mixed success. I don't think any two had the same countdown, so it's not the most stable of choices."
A kiss blown in Kyouko's direction, sitting up and offering a proper kiss is too much energy at the moment. "Well I'm glad you're here. And we /do/ kinda have the best sort of dates, when they involve stabbings and explosions." She grins and then stretches and starts to sit up, as the bento isn't going to open itself. "I should see about making a more solid time to practice wiht Kunzite, if and when he's up for it, rather than our eternal 'yeah, we really should'."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Well.. maybe not the most optimal choice in combat, but still, if we ever need to blow open a bank vault or something, we know who to call." Kyouko grins mischeviously, pursing her lips to return the blown kiss.. then getting shunted aside as Naru starts to sit up, which removes her pillow. She adjusts easily enough, as food is the reward and that's one she's always good for, rolling over to lay on her belly, supporting herself on her elbows as she watches Naru unwrap the bento.
"He can be kinda hard to pin down for that kinda thing." She says, of Kunzite, making a face. "We've been sayin' we, me an nii-chan, I mean, should do some joint training for months and it's not happened yet. Always seems to be somethin' more important to occupy his time. Which," She says, with a wry chuckle, "Is fair enough, really. I can't really blame 'em. But that'd probably be a good move, yeah."
Then she adds, "And yeah, totally. All the best dates involve stabbings and explosions." A wide, fangy grin.
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"Bring the burn salve for when I can't actually put it down fast enough." Naru laughs as she unwraps the food and sets out each layer for them to nibble from. There's plenty, because its not like they didn't know that Kyouko was coming. She settles, tucking her legs up cross-legged under her and reaching over to give Kyouko's nose a gentle boop.
"I'll see if I can prod him. If not, that's fine too. You and he are the two I'm most likely to be with when fights break out, but we've largely managed to this point, with me being a very one trick pony, we can probably manage a while longer." Naru grins brightly and then laughs and reaches for her chopsticks. "Stabbings, explosions and a /picnic/."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Can't you just draw some burn salve, too?" Kyouko asks, winking, as she watches the food appear as the bento-box is unwrapped and disassembled.. licking her lips. 'Nibble' is not a word often associated with Kyouko, and it seems unlikely to be relevant here either, but as she claims her own chopsticks and begins to dig in, she does seem to be mindful of making sure Naru has enough to eat before she hoovers up the rest.
"Well, I agree it's a good idea," She continues. "I mean.. that stuff you did with coloring my barriers to make 'em stronger, and stuff? That definitely is worth checkin' out with him, too. I'm just sayin', I wish you luck in the scheduling part." SHe laughs, mouth empty only long enough to speak.
"Any date is better if it ends with eating."
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"Y'know, I've never actually tried drawing just boring useful things." Naru points out as she makes an effort not to let Kyouko just inhale lunch. She's got practice. There's some things Usagi trained her well for. "If I could draw pain pills, that'd be /super/ handy."
"It might be easier to catch him, because we can practice defensive stuff without /actually/ needing to come out to the middle of nowhere, or have a healer on standby." Naru points out. "We could probably experiment in the kitchen, for that matter. Explosives aside, I'm /still/ not particularly a damage dealer, and I probably never will be. Which is /fine/."
Naru laughs and then leans over a moment, to catch Kyouko for a kiss in one of those brief moments where her mouth is empty. "Date isn't over yet."
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Boring stuff can be useful." Kyouko admits, after swallowing another mouthful of the rather delicious food. She adds, "Though.. pills'd be a little tricky. I mean.. could you really be sure you got the .. y'know, drug ingredients right? Wouldn't wanna poison somebody by mistake." She shrugs her shoulders slightly. "Just a thought."
She nods to the mention of Kunzite, or rather the things that Naru would want to practice with him, being a bit easier to schedule than Kyouko might have thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right. And it is fine.. cuz honestly, babe, us damage dealers need people who can do other stuff too." She grins. "Like help us not take as much damage as we deal."
A soft 'mmf' as she is caught by that kiss.. and a faint flush of cheeks, as she grins, and adds, "Alright. Contains eating, then."
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"I think drawing pills seems like a stunningly spectacularly terrible idea, for exactly that reason." Naru shakes her head at the idea. "Terrible idea. Yeah no. Food, much the same really. I'm also pretty sure I would expend more calories on the magic than I'd get on the food and that's if I didn't give myself food poisoning in the process."
"Even in video games, it's a dumb idea to have five dps in your party." Naru flashes a grin. "Although I am also a terrible tank, and can't heal. So it's probably a good thing we're not playing WoW. I'd be an NPC." She points out with a little laugh. "Send you on a quest to gather pigments and only every fourth wolf will have a heart, or something equally stupid."
Naru finishes her lunch first, leaving the rest for Kyouko to deal with in short order and stretches out on the blanket again, this time with her head in Kyouko's lap. "What do you want to do with our afternoon?"
- Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I dunno, I'd try it if you drew some food." Kyouko says bravely, with a grin, which is much the same as a drug addict offering to try a new batch to see if it's safe. But she's just poking fun, in any regard.. she's fine with getting food the non-magical way. Especially if it's as good as this bento.
She looks blank at all the video game and MMO references, though. "Mmm.. if you say so," Says the girl who has never owned a computer or had access to the internet except via her smartphone, and only in the past six months or so.
Kyouko is more than happy to let Naru use her lap as a pillow as she finishes off the food- not a scrap goes to waste, but Naru likely knew that was going to be the case. As she works on emptying the final tray, Kyouko's free hand moves to idly stroke across Naru's hair as she smiles down at her. "Mmm. We could practice some more. Or we could just enjoy a warm day out in the country with nobody else around for.." She pauses, then says, "Well.. a half-mile or so, I guess. We're still only just outside Tokyo." She laughs. "But it seems like we're alone for.. gosh, maybe the first time ever. I mean, alone-alone, not just 'the only ones in a room'." She looks around at the rather idyllic clearing. "We can pretend, at least."
- Naru Osaka has posed:
"You'll eat anything that approximates food." Naru points out with a soft little snort and a smirk up at her best beloved, relaxing there and barely stifling a yawn.
"I think I'm done with practicing for the day, if I dont want to be completely faceplanted out of energy for walking back ot the train and exploring a bit of the town before we leave." She mmms softly, closing her eyes at the feel of Kyouko playing with her hair. "It does feel like the middle of nowhere, and there's no one for miles. Even if its only an illusion. Although no one came running when we were practicing, so we sort of are, effectively, if not literally. It's nice." She decides after a moment, utterly relaxed.