284/Any Landing You Walk Away From...

Any Landing You Walk Away From...
Date of Scene:	11 August 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Kikoku Street - North
Synopsis:	After a fierce battle, and successful escape with a Lost Logia, Lena crashes hard. Shiori happens to be nearby.
Cast of Characters:	Shiori Sato, Lena Reiniger

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Lena Reiniger has posed:
So... maybe it wasn't the best idea for an escape, but what else was she going to do with three people on here, and potentially two others, though those other two seemed more interested in other things than with her, so maybe just three people. Regardless, Lena's definitely seen better days. As the speed she'd gained from riding the shockwave of an explosion dies down and her own magic starts to wane, the knight begins to fall from the sky. She's at least got enough in her to slow herself down so it isn't a horrible crash, but still, it's not exactly quiet either. A particularly unlucky trashcan is the target that breaks her already slowed fall as she comes sailing down into an alley with a loud thud that probably shakes a few walls. Her knight armor, cracked and leaking mana as it might be, manages to hold up nice enough, protecting her from the garbage she crashed through getting here.

<Evakuierung abgeschlossen> chimes her device as she sits there staring up at the sky. Her left hand clutches the fruit of her labor, a strange metallic object shaped something like a key. It's radiating faint magic, but it would be quite hard to detect right now without being next to it given the potent sealing that's been slapped onto it. Her right arm... has seen better days. It's definitely in a position it shouldn't be in, but she's at least pretty sure it isn't broken... again.

"Thank you for that amazing status update, Ascalon," she says in what is very much a voice lacking in humor. The helm of her armor fades away and finally she can get some fresh air directly. Well, of course after her dive in the harbor, she's soaking wet and dismissing that piece of her armor just means the water that was on it falls onto her face, matting hair and resulting in a very unamused expression. "I hate Mondays..."

<Vereinbart.>

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori has the weirdest luck. He's walking home from the bus stop, minding his own business. And thinking about all the weird happenings. Mainly that whole 'turned into a ninja' thing. And the dreams he's been having since then. They're weird. They used to be as if through his eyes. But now he sees them in third person. And now he knows whose eyes he was looking through. A ninja. A girl. It's all just so... weird!

But the loud crash and a thud shakes him out of his thoughts, and he jumps, startled by the sudden loud noise. What was that? He takes a step to go investigate... and then pauses. What if it's something dangerous? He looks at his right hand. Could he do that again? Well, no time like the present to try, right? Ducking into the alley, just enough not to be seen, he calls out, "Seize the cord of fate!"

And once more, the red cord starts to snake through the air past his right side, as if trying to get away. Of its own volition his right hand reaches out, grasping the cord firmly, and it changes into a wide red ribbon. The ribbon winds around his arm, then across his chest to the other arm, then down his body and then up, even covering the bottom half of his face.

And then with a flash of light, the ribbon disappears and he's in dark-blue ninja garb. In the same flash of light his hair becomes spikey, and changes to a light blue color. This ninja is who runs into the alley to check on the situation. He seems to almost disappear in the dim lighting, so he may not be noticed immediately.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Getting up is proving to be somewhat difficult with an arm that hurts like hell to move, though she eventually manages to get onto her side and push up with her left arm into a sitting position. She looks down at the Lost Logia in her hand and then to her arm. One of these is clearly in need of more attention than the other so... "Ascalon, internalize."

<Verstanden!> Her device calls out, perhaps loud enough for approaching ninjas to hear. The gem on her right gauntlet glows as she moves the object closer to it and, in a brief burst of mana, appears to absorb the artifact. Now with her hand free, she can get to work on basic field treatment. The whole right arm of her armor fades away, exposing part of the shirt she had been sleeping in when she transformed. First order of business is a quick inspection of the site where it originally broke and, while still a little tender, does not feel like it's any worse than when she went to bed. But feeling around higher gets the pain shooting through her arm and she groans. Okay, there's the issue. "Dislocation... anterior probably," she sighs before taking a deep breath. It's not the first time she's ever had to put her arm back where it belongs, but it's not really something you ever get use to either.

Of course, she doesn't really have the time to get on with that because someone's there. She's not sure where, but she knows there are eyes on her. There's magic in the air. Looking around, she scoots herself back until she has a wall against her backside and, staring down the alley, brings her good arm up. A very small point of violet light forming in her palm. It's pretty much all she has left at this point, so... hopefully the threat is good enough, because fighting is kind of out of the question right now.

Shiori Sato has posed:
Holy crap... Lena?

Shiori doesn't say it out loud though. While he's like this, he seems to have a bit of an aversion to speaking. Even his breathing is quiet. The ninja does indeed hear the word from the device, and he blinks. He waits, long enough to see the thing basically 'eat' the key-thing. That... was weird too. But he also hears something else... a dislocated shoulder?

It's when she brings out that violet point of light that he realizes she knows he's there, just not where. "It's okay," he assures her, stepping out from a conveniently-placed shadow. He has his hands up at about shoulder-level, palms facing her, to show they're empty. Then again... he's obviously a ninja. They hid weapons literally everywhere, right?

Though he hesitates after this... should he drop the disguise or not? wasn't it always bad to let people see who you are in those manga? Then again Lena's quite obviously not normal herself. But he doesn't want to leave the silence going on for too long; Shiori doesn't want her to get paranoid. "Dislocated shoulder? I can help. If you want." He's always kind of terse like this. Moreso than when he's in his civilian guise...

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She might not be from around these parts, but she's been in Japan long enough to know what a ninja is. And... that's definitely a bit out of place in modern Tokyo, wouldn't you say? That should really be reason enough not to let her guard down, but even more than that, the last time -she- approached someone with her hands up in a show of non-aggression, she got threatened and then shot at. And well... here we are presently. She doesn't look... pleased. Not pleased is definitely a mild way of putting that scowl she's got him pinned with. But then what's she going to do? She's running on fumes here. Well... she does have four more cartridges in her left gauntlet. She could always load one of them for a boost. But then what? She'd get off one good spell and be helpless, and possibly further injured.

After a short while the light fades from her palm and her arm just drops. She just drops, looking absolutely exhausted. She's wet and she's tired and she's in pain and she just wants the night to be over with. "I don't even care anymore..." she finally manages as she leans back completely against the wall. "Ascalon, dismiss knight armor..."

There's some hesitation before the a mechanical but somewhat hesitant <jawohl> sounds out. In a flash of light, what remains of her armor is gone, leaving her in the white t-shirt and dark blue shorts she had been sleeping in earlier, now wet themselves as the water previously on her armor falls from where it was onto her. The only hint of her armor left is the bracer occupying her left arm presently, the gem at its center glowing a moment before going dark.

She stares at her company, the exhausted thousand-mile stare of a soldier that's seen too much in one engagement. Finally she speaks up. "I could... use some help."

Shiori Sato has posed:
It's a standoff. Though Shiori does keep his hands where they can be seen. Not pleased. Hurt. Angry. Exhausted. He can see these things in her face, especially when she decides to drop the armor. He pauses, considering. She transformed like he does. Like Akashimaru does. Like Mamoru did. Well, kind of, anyway. It's a different method, but it's a de-... something. Un-transform. And from the looks of things, Lena was not ready to be called out to whatever put her in this state.

He nods as she says she needs help. And then he slowly walks over to where Lena's sitting, and crouches down next to her. He pauses. What is he doing? He's never put a dislocated shoulder back into place before. But memories... he has memories of having to do it. His OWN shoulder, having to fix it alone.

It's these memories that guide him as he makes to place one hand on her shoulder blade in the back and one on the shoulder in the front. Though there's still enough of Shiori still there to warn, "It's going to hurt. Ready?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
In fact, she had been so unready for what got her out and transformed, that she was sleeping when it happened! If it had just been the Lost Logia, she probably would have just let it be and gone back to sleep, but Ascalon just had to mention there was a distress signal coming from the crash site, and... no one there in distress. Just the Lost Logia. Maybe when she's not irritated and tired she'll think it's a good thing that Riventon didn't get his hands on it, but right now, there is just an ball of Belkan anger that is Lena.

As he draws closer, reflex has her bring her good arm right back up, very obviously meaning to defend herself if necessary, but it's also very obviously just a trained reflex. She probably didn't even think about it, her body moving on its own. When she finally realizes what's happened, she's slow to put her arm back down and relax as best she can. It's okay, really. He's... probably not going to hurt you. She has to keep repeating it to herself to make sure she doesn't lose control and do something stupid. At least until him touching her snaps her back to reality. Right... Riventon's people would have probably just killed her in this state instead of trying to play a role. This is... well, maybe not a friend? A non-hostile at least?

The warning is welcome, though she can only rather dryly respond with, "yeah... not the first time I've set a joint." Still, she braces herself and when she's ready, she gives a slow nod to him and draws in a sharp breath of anticipation of the pain.

Shiori Sato has posed:
An amused sound comes from the ninja at her dry statement. "...Sucks, don't it?" That is most definitely a modern phrase. But he doesn't wait for an answer. Once she's braced, looks again to those memories. It's barely a movement of his hands, more like a frission of tension that goes through his arms. But it should, hopefully, have the intended effect.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Oh... she got the funny ninja doctor tonight, she sees. Well, the bedside manner is welcome, since it does get her to crack a smile. Even so, the pain's going to make that smile go away nice and fast. And... it does just that! As the joint slides right back into socket, there's a fire that burns down her side and she... well, she doesn't scream, but she definitely does show it on her face; a screwed up mess of clenched eyes and gritted teeth, all topped with a low growl. A few tears even manage to slide down her face, not that you'd tell from the water that was already there, at least not until her eyes open to show that they are very clearly watering up.

Short, sharp breaths come for a few moments, but they begin to slowly calm down as the pain in her arm dulls down to a low burn. "That never doesn't hurt..." she complains while Ascalon pings to life on her arm. a flash of violet and a Belkan casting circle appears beside her arm. She moves it as if it were set in a sling and then the magic... locks it there, a series of small, thin barriers acting as both sling and splint.

Her good hand comes up, grabs ahold of the ninaj's shoulder and... she leans into him. "T-thank you..." comes the very faint whisper.

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori frowns at the visible pain. He knew it was going to hurt, yes. But he considers Lena a friend, and no one likes to see friends in pain. He'll continue to support her if she'll allow it, while the pain fades. And the suddenly magic! The ninja tenses, as the memories screaming for him to move away from magic being cast in his vicinity war with the knowledge that this is his friend and she wouldn't hurt him after he's helped her. Once he sees what it is, though, he relaxes.

And then suddenly she's leaning against him! Shiori is so glad he's got his face covered at this point. Because the blush would be visible otherwise. Distraction, quick! "What happened?" he asks quietly.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She's just going to stay like this for a while. This is nice... actually... really nice. She's starting to really relax now, perhaps because exhaustion is finally getting the better of her, or perhaps because she's no longer worried that agents of some evil man are going to come after her. Whatever the case, she seems a lot more ready to not tear into someone like some scared animal.

She giggles weakly, shrugging her good shoulder. "You know..." she starts, looking up at her unlikely savior with something of a stupid grin, equal parts tired and jovial. "Occupational hazard... bad guys, I think? Well..." she trails off a moment, staring up and squinting a bit. Something... something's familiar there. "They attacked me and I didn't want to fight... so yeah, bad guys," and then more staring she... she thinks she knows those eyes. "Have we... met before?"

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori doesn't move. It's partially because he doesn't want to hurt Lena by letting her fall over, and partially because he's a little frozen actually. She's hurt, though. "Someone attacked you?" he asks. A pause. "For that key?" Yup, he saw it. But he doesn't appear to be trying to get it from her, so there's that.

He blinks as she asks if they've met. And pauses. Should he tell her? The hesitation is enough of a clue-- yes, she has, even if he hasn't told her. But he considered. He knows her secret now. And he does trust her.

So... he nods. "We have." He pauses... and then lets go of his henshin. And there he is-- bland, ordinary guy from Seiyou Public School. Shiori Sato. He raises a hand to rub at the back of his neck. I wasn't sure what was happening in here, so I thought it was a better idea if I went in being able to fight, just in case..."

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She actually gives him a look that just screams 'are you kidding me' when he asks that question. Someone attacked her? Well how else does he think she got into this sorry state? Oh my dear, dear ninja... you have much to learn about the world you've found yourself in. But finally she just shrugs and nods. "Yeah... a few people did," she admits. "You'd be surprised what people do to get their hands on old magic..." Should she really be saying this? Then again, she's got no real reason not to give out some information, right?

She's apparently also got no reason not to just tell him everywhen when she finds out exactly who he is. She blinks, at first very clearly confused, but then she can't help but laugh and shake her head, going right back to leaning against him. Well... as it turns out, more like just clinging to him. A familiar face that's easy to talk with, that also doesn't require her to lie about what happened... this is a welcome sight after the horrible night she's had. "Smart guy..." she admits, as she takes in a deep breath, slowly releasing it as she relaxes against him. "You look... good as a ninja..." she chuckles briefly before wincing, clearly favoring her arm still. "I feel like I kind of owe you a really lengthy explanation now..."

Shiori Sato has posed:
"So... that key is..." Shiori pauses here. They're out in public, and the people who attacked her could still be around! "...Probably not something we should be talking about in the middle of an alley," he finishes with a smirk. though at the compliment of how he looks as a ninja? Shiori blushes. And this time he doesn't have his face covered!

Though he distracts himself with the comment about a lengthy explanation? "That might be better saved for a safer place. Speaking of that, do you have anywhere to go? I can go with you."

Lena Reiniger has posed:
He can ask her all he wants about the key! In response to that, she can only shrug because right now she's not entirely sure what it is either. Something that came from the Asura, she'd assume. But until she can actually have time to properly examine it, Lena's just as much in the dark about what it is as Shiori is. But his assessment of the situation is pretty spot on to her and she nods. "Mmm... probably not a good opsec practice to talk about it here, no." Oh, and she catches that blush. Yes she does. She'd poke fun at him if she didn't hurt all over.

Oh, right... a place to go. Uh... that's probably also not a good opsec practice now that she thinks about it. "Mmm... some of the people that work with the guy I ran into tonight know who I am... so..." She's not sure if Miss White or that familiar told him about her, but better not to chance it, right? "It's probably not a good idea to go home..." She frowns, unsure of just where she can stay that would be safe. She could go home, she supposes, but sleeping with one eye open isn't really what she wants to do tonight. But wait... there's someone here she knows, and she's pretty sure Riventon doesn't know him... and suddenly her face is turning a nice shade of red. "Um... c-could I..."

Ascalon pings somewhat loudly before speaking up <Moechten Sie Unterkunft fuer uns zur Verfuegung stellen?>

"A-Ascalon!" She seems to protest that question, face turning an even brighter shade of red, but... she eventually looks up at Shiori, and then right back to the wall of the building to her left. "But... um...yeah... could we stay at your place, maybe?" She asks, and then quickly adds, "just for tonight!"

Shiori Sato has posed:
"That's why the superheroes in American comics hide their faces-- the bad guys could go after their families if they knew who they were," Shiori notes. This may also have been part of why he came into the alley in henshin rather than just as he was. He's glad he did though; those memories of that ninja aren't as accessible and close like this.

The question begins, and Shiori looks to Lena. Though then that ping and the question in... what was that, German? When Lena chastizes her Device, Shiori assures her, "That's okay, I uh, can't understand it anyway." And then Lena finishes the question. And he blushes again, so his face is about the same shade of red as hers!

Shiori pauses a moment, to think. Not about whether he'll allow it. But how he's going to get her in there. "I still live with my parents, so I'll have to sneak you in," he replies. "I have a futon, so I can sleep on that. You're hurt, so you probably shouldn't be sleeping on the floor."

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Haha... yeah, comics from a country she only knows the name of... and going after the family she doesn't... have... well, she can't really be mad at Shiori for not knowing any of that. After all, to him, she's probably still just a foreigner that was born on Earth, and she's never really told anyone she knows her that she doesn't have any family to speak of. So instead she just kind of nods at that.

"I... if it's too much trouble, I can always just..." she trails off, still a good deal flustered, but soon enough continues on. "I can just get a hotel room or something, it wouldn't be too much trouble." But Shiori seems to have it in his mind that this is okay and he's going to do it. And really, that doesn't do much to make her stop blushing! Stupid Shiori... or something. "No... you can... I'll sleep on the floor. Really, it's not a big deal." She looks at the ground. The wind picks up some and she shivers. Suddenly being wet is a lot more noticeable when it makes you cold like that. Moving a little closer to him, she sighs. "The floor's fine, really... I've... slept in worse places with a lot worse injuries..."

Shiori Sato has posed:
It's true, he doesn't really know much about Lena. He views her as a friend, but apart from that she's a nice person-- and that she's not that great at karaoke-- he doesn't know much else. "If you tried to go to a hotel the way you are now they'd want to call an ambulance for you," Shiori replies. "I'm actually not completely sure I /shouldn't/ take you to a hospital. Your arm was already messed up, and I bet dislocating your shoulder probably didn't do it a whole lot of good."

And then he notes she's cold. Then again, she /is/ completely soaked for some reason, and wearing what looks like nightclothes. Can't be good for staying warm. "It's okay, really. If nothing else, to let you dry off and warm up. It's just less work to sneak you in than try to explain to my parents why one of my friends is in her nightclothes, soaking wet. Though you might have been sleepwalking and fell into a pool or something." Pause. Nervous chuckle. "...That's probably a lame excuse, isn't it?"

He has an idea though. "But I can always get into my room from the window," he reasons. "They wouldn't expect that." He can jump pretty high, and climb pretty good, while he's in that ninja outfit.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She... she just stares at him. It's the sort of stare that asks if he's really serious about that suggestion. Really? That's the cover story you'd go for? There's absolutely no way she'd believe something like that, and she definitely can't believe his parents would be dumb enough to fall for it either. "I think... you probably need to get better at lying before you try it, yeah..." she admits, but all the same, she doesn't really lay into him too much for it beyond those few words and the very doubtful look. She's also quick to shake off the idea of going back to a hospital, at least right now. "And no hospitals... at least not right now. That's another place they'd be expecting me..." well, honestly, she's pretty sure Riventon -isn't- looking for her, but she's just covering her bases. Military training and all of that good stuff. It's just screaming at her not to go to obvious places right now. "I'll go in the morning... right now this is good enough," she says while motioning to her arm, obviously indicating the magic that's there.

And then the master plan is revealed, and once more that doubtful look is right on her face. But it's not like there's a better plan, right? "That's a little... cliche?" she asks, though she ain't stopped blushing! So clearly someone's still thinking about it in the completely not practical but definitely romantic crushing sort of way. "Fine... window it is," she finally agrees while trying to pull herself up to her feet, which... is definitely a chore with her body beat up and exhausted like it is.

Shiori Sato has posed:
Shiori looks sheepish. "Eheh... yeah, that was pretty lame," he agrees. So many things wrong with that lie, like why didn't he take her to her OWN home if it was just a case of sleepwalking? How did he not get clobbered-- sleepwalkers can be violent when awoken. Lots of other things too. But, sneaking in is probably easier.

No hospitals? Shiori nods. "Yeah, I kind of figured. If someone attacked you, they might be looking for you there. My house'd be the last place they'd look for you." Oh hey... he does have some strategic abilites. But the doubtful look about th ewindow gets a sheepish one in return. "It's either that or I try to figure out a way to explain to my parents that doesn't spill the beans. I'm uh, sort of new to this magical stuff, so I don't know the usual alibis, you know?"

He moves to stand as Lena does. He'll make to support her until she can stand. Or possibly lean against the wall. Then he steps back. "Hold on a second. We'll get there a lot faster if I do it this way." Should he be able to get enough room, he'll take the ninja form again-- the declaration "Seize the cord of fate!", the cord becoming a ribbon and wrapping all around him, and the flash of light that has him looking so different. Once that's done he offers a hand to her. "You shouldn't strain yourself. I can carry you." It's not just his looks that have changed, no. he's not unfriendly to her in the slightest, no. But his responses are shorter, clipped and precise.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Oh, she understands not having all the usual alibis for it. He's not alone there, at all. She's even not the slightest bit bothered by commenting on it in an off-handed manner. "Yeah, neither do I," she says with a shrug. "Where I'm from, you don't have to hide magic..." It's actually a lot less annoying like that. But no, Earth just has to be full of silly ignorant people that don't know anything about magic. Why did she even agree to come on this mission? Thinks Lena nearly two years too late.

She's got enough in her to lean against a wall while Shiori does his magic stuff, which she will admit seems a bit strange, but it's probably no different than her talking to a bracelet on her arm. She's back to looking at ninja!Shiori and, well... it's a good look. Good enough that she's doing her best to hide the fact that she thinks it's a good look. And she's sure she could probably manage on her own, but he's gone to all the trouble and... well... when's the last time she's ever had the chance to be carried anywhere by anyone? So, perhaps a bit reluctantly, she reaches out and takes the offered hand. But man... that blush just refuses to go away, especially now. "Thanks..." she whispers and then nods to indicate she's ready for the trip.

Shiori Sato has posed:
"It's more than that here," Shiori replies. "People ignore magic. Or they can't see it. It's better that way." He probably doesn't have to tell her what kind of problems THAT would cause. Humans, right? Really.

Anyway, he offers an affirmative grunt to the thanks. And unless she has any objections, he will pick her up under the knees and behind the back-- carefully, and from her right side, so her injured right arm won't be expected to just flop about during the trip. Presuming she has no objections, she might want to hang on. Because he can jump REALLY HIGH. Like... rooftops high!

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Well, no objections other than the somewhat surprised sound that escapes her when she's picked up because, frankly, she's not use to being carried, or being carried in such a fashion. It's not bad! It's just... well... more than she deserves? Well, she can't help but not look at him and instead looks somewhere around her knees, yes. Those are knees, they help support her, and they are in no way related to the amazingly embarrassing idea of being carried around by someone like this... especially not someone she might be kind of interested in, maybe.

She's not too concerned with the whole heights thing, being use to flying and all, though she does reach over to take hold of him the best she can with her left arm when they take off. This is... very much not how she expected to end her night, but... it's not the worst it could be, right?