405/Hunting for Snacks

Hunting for Snacks
Date of Scene:	24 September 2015
Location:	MThe AM/PM Mini Market
Synopsis:	Nagisa stops by Kyouko's conbenie and discovers her situation.
Cast of Characters:	Nagisa Momoe, Kyouko Sakura

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Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    The P.M. Minimart stands on a corner in Downtown Mitakihara. However, it's not on the corner of one of the busy main streets, but rather is tucked onto a side-street- within a block of the main thoroughfare, but not actually on it. The result is that the little shop, while well-trafficked, is not as crazy or hectic as a lot of the big chain stores which do occupy the corners there.

    Kyouko is working, because as noted in other scenes, she's always working. Being a full-time magical girl for three years, she didn't have much life outside of that, and when you take that away, well.. what's left? She needed to find something to do, and work it is. She also kind of enjoys it- she finds working at the store strangely relaxing. Anything would be after fighting Witches for a living, one supposes.

    This afternoon she is behind the counter, refilling some shelves with some of the items which go back there- mostly more expensive electronics stuff, like headphones and batteries, disposable cameras, that sort of thing. The small store otherwise seems empty, its aisles of snacks, toiletries and sundries well-stocked but currently untrafficked.

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    With school back in full time for three weeks now Nagisa has gotten back into the swing of things. Well, mostly, anyway. The truth is the number of Witches in Tokyo had fallen off dramatically over what it had been and when they were around they were quickly dispatched before she could get there. Since she hadn't been very active in other magical matters it had meant a bit of a reprieve from her magical life. She still had some grief seeds left and not using magic meant she was good to go for a long while, but having been nearly two months since she had fought a Witch had her a bit on edge. She almost expected Kyubey to jump out of the shadows and start demanding she actually do her job and hunt.

    That's what she's doing right now, having skipped clubs for once in order to head out and see if she couldn't find a Witch. The side streets juts off the main roads were almost perfect for this. It meant she could hold her Soul Gem in her hands as she walked without worrying about smacking into someone every other step, with quick access to the main streets if needed and plenty of opportunities to duck into some place hidden to transform if it was necessary.

    So far this patrol had met with a big old nothing, though this wasn't exactly unexpected. She's been at it for a few hours to no avail, though, deciding to take a break. She transforms her Soul Gem back into it's ring form before looking around for a good place. Just her luck- a convenience store is right nearby! She crosses the street at a crosswalk and then heads into the store, the top of her white haired head not coming even close to reaching the top of the shelves as she goes to the aisle with snacks in it.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko glances up at the chime that goes off whenever the door opens. "Welcome to the P.M.~" She chimes out in a sing-song voice, the rote greetings she's required to utter anytime anyone enters the store. She catches just the back if Nagisa's head as the short younger girl vanishes down one of the aisles, but then shrugs her shoulders, going back to what she was doing restocking the shelf behind the counter.

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Hm. That voice sounded familiar! But the friendly cadence of it is so far off from how Nagisa usually hears it that she doesn't recognize it as Kyouko's, instead making the girl wonder if she's been to this store before- that's far from impossible. "Thank you~" she responds regardless. Her time in the snack aisle has her eventually staring at a bag of goldfish cheesy crackers, which are not only delicious but also remind her of Reiko. She picks up a pack of them with a giggle, and goes and grabs a smallish bottle of refrigerated water before heading up to the counter.

    She's humming as she goes, eyes focused mainly on the smiling little goldfish on the packet. She reaches up to the counter and sets the bottle of water and snack onto it, "Just these, please~!" she says happily, only to see the face of the person standing there.

    "Ahhh!!" She lets out a short shriek, stumbling back away from the counter and bumping into a display of phone cases. She fumbles around a little then, her Soul Gem bobbled a bit as she transforms it back into egg form, staring at Kyouko with wide, multicolored eyes. "Is this an ambush?!"

    It probably says something that even wearing the uniform Nagisa finds it more likely that Kyouko set up a ridiculously elaborate trap for her than it is that she's holding down a steady job.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    As Nagisa approaches the counter, Kyouko glances up again.. lips twisting to the side in a wry expression as she confirms what she had thought, that this is indeed the Puella kid she had encountered several times before. She sighs though.. it's her job to be polite, so she puts a smile on her face regardless.

    She blinks a bit when Nagisa has such a startled reaction to seeing her.. her eyes widening slightly; not at the fact that Nagisa summons her Soul Gem, but because the girl backs into the rack of phone cases she just spent /all morning/ setting up and if that gets knocked over there's going to be an ass-kicking, magic or no.

    Luckily, the display survives, and Kyouko relaxes as she glances back down at Nagisa. "Don't worry kid," She says, her tone amused and a bit wry. "I'm retired." She proceeds to ring up the crackers and water. "220 yen, please."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    This is one of the benefits of being tiny- she practically bounces right off the display for weighing so little and it merely rattles a bit. Unless Nagisa resorted to magic to defend herself even an unhenshined Kyouko would be able to pummel her pretty good. Heck, she could probably even pick her up and physically boot her from the store if she tried!

    For all the sudden terror it evaporates almost as quickly as it came when Kyouko really does end up being a worker at the convenience store and not just pretending. Nagisa puts her hand over her heart for a moment and takes a deep breath as the adrenaline rush fades, and she steps up closer once more as the cracked ring is shown to her.

    "Retired? You can reti-- wait, how did that happen?" She may not know what the Soul Gem actually is(the name of the thing probably has some henshin like disguise magic of it's own considering Puella don't figure it out just by that!), but she does know it contains their magic and they die when that magic runs out.

    Her wide eyed stare is interrupted. "O-oh, right." She fishes into her pocket and sets the exact amount of coins up on the counter.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko shrugs her shoulders a little bit, looking over the counter at Nagisa, and pushing her purchases back across towards her. "Well, let's just say I didn't plan on it. I made some dumb choices and as a result I can't henshin anymore. I don't really feel like telling the whole story." She doesn't really feel the need for everyone to hear about how she screwed up, "Suffice it to say, I'm out of the game."

    She takes the money Nagisa puts on the counter, and puts it into the drawer of the cash register. It doesn't seem like she's feeling particularly patient, but she also isn't trying to kick Nagisa out of the store, and her expression looks more tolerant than anything else. "So congrats kid, you got one less thing to worry about."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa takes her snacks off the counter after once more returning her Soul Gem into a ring, peeking down at the gem inside of it for a moment and shivering when imagining a crack across it. "At least you're alive," she responds, taking a moment to tilt her head as she looks up at Kyouko appraisingly. "You look good, actually. I think this kind of suits you."

    A moment later she realizes how that might sound and quickly shakes her head and waves her hands in front of her face, "Not the not being able to use your magic part. I mean this-" she waves her hand to indicate the store, "I think it's good that you have something to do that isn't fighting. You seem calmer."

    Then an contemplative look crosses her face, "Yes. I suppose if you're retired I don't have to worry about you attacking me. You were always my greatest concern- did you know that? You've always scared me much more than Witches have. You're powerful, but cunning too." She is quiet for a few minutes, but even with the transaction complete she doesn't walk away.

    "But... there's also one more thing for me to worry about, now." She lets out a small sigh as if she expects her next words to fall on deaf ears, "If you ever need anything, just let me know and I'll try to help. We've been at odds, but we've also been on the same side against something bigger, even if we never really fought alongside each other. But more importantly, we're both Puella Magi. That still means something to me, even if you can't use your powers."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko just smirks a little bit at the compliment about the job 'suiting her'. She actually has been feeling that way herself recently- not that being a convinience store clerk particularly suits her, but rather just that it's.. a nice change to be able to lead a 'normal' life, regardless of the unfortunate circumstances that led to it.

    She'd never admit that, at least not to Nagisa. That's the kind of thing she might only say to Sayaka or Mamoru. Even so, she shrugs slightly. "Yeah well.. it's not exactly the most exciting gig, but I guess not having to fight for your life every night is somewhat of a perk."

    She scowls slightly at Nagisa telling her that she was the girl's 'greatest concern'- maybe because it makes her feel just a little bad. "That's dumb, I was never gonna really do anything to you." Well, that may or may not be true, but she can safely claim it now because who can say? "Listen, I appreciate the sentiment kid, but the last thing I want is pity. I've had enough of that. You're welcome to come in and give me your business anytime you want.. if you feel the need to do something for me, just do that."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    "Maybe not but you did a good job convincing me you were," Nagisa replies with a little shake of her head; her heart still hasn't quite finished slowing down from the earlier startle. She stares flatly at Kyouko for a moment then before stating simply, "It isn't pity."

    She shifts her weight a bit and holds her hands in front of herself as best she can with her snacks in them, "Maybe you don't feel the same way, but I think that whenever we're not forced to fight and compete with each other for survival that we should do whatever we can help each other. We're Puella Magi; we all have to deal with the same consequences for trading our lives in for a miracle. Even if you terrified me I still care about you, if only because I know that in that way you're the same as I am."

    She then makes a little shrug, "If the only thing you want from me is to shop here I'm happy to do it; I'm sure the snacks you sell are just as tasty as ones I'd get anywhere else."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko sighs again slightly- it's not that she's as offended by Nagisa's attitude as she would have been a while ago, but she still thinks its hopelessly naive. She leans an elbow on the counter, pointing a finger at the younger girl. "You're gonna get killed if you think like that, kid. Take it from me, especially since I'm not a danger to you anymore."

    "Yeah sure, there are Puella out there you can work with, and who will happily stick with you even when times get tough. But there are just as many who will knife you in the back first chance they get. You want friends, fine. But don't trust someone just because they're also a Puella. Your career is gonna be short and sad if you do. I may have been a shark, and I may not be in the pool anymore, but it's a big pool and there are plenty of other sharks, even if you haven't seen 'em yet."

    She does offer a smile, though. "Even so.. thanks for your business. I'll hope to keep seeing you." And she means it too- she meant her advice, but she doesn't wish any ill on the younger girl. It all seems somewhat removed from her now, even if it's only been a few weeks.

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa sighs also, "I'm sure you're right. If I have to learn to be nice to people while making sure I'm not getting drawn into a trap that's what I'll do. I don't blame anyone for being ruthless, I can understand exactly why it's probably the safest way to live. But at the same time? I don't want to end up that way myself. If I ever up sticking a knife in someone's back then I feel very sorry for the girl I'd have become."

    She blinks a couple of times and looks up towards the ceiling, "What was it you said to me? To go deal with my problems somewhere else? If I was ruthless I'd probably say the same thing to you right now. Or make sure you really would never be a threat to me again."

    She shakes her head, "But I'm not like that at all. I even think that I hope to keep coming here and seeing you, too." With a little smile she lifts her hand and waves before walking to the door, "I would chat with you some more but, you know, I need to get back to hunting. See you later, Kyouko-san!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko snorts a little bit at Nagisa's hypothetical 'threat's to her. "You could try, munchkin. You could try." She doesn't seem to take it seriously though maybe she should- even if Nagisa isn't the type to say that to her, there are plenty of others who would, some of whom Kyouko had pissed off in the past. Then again, she /thinks/ she's made peace with most of them..

    "For whatever it's worth kid, good luck. If you can survive out there and hang onto your ideals, more power to ya." She lifts her hand in a lazy wave. "See you around." And then she goes back to stocking her shelves, humming to herself softly.