699/Eggtheftus Interruptus

Eggtheftus Interruptus
Date of Scene:	11 December 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown Neon District
Synopsis:	Ikuto tries to take a heart's egg and is interrupted by a friend. Oh no, could Ikuto be about to hurt the only one he can really trust?!
Cast of Characters:	Ikuto Tsukiyomi, Mikoto Nakajima

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Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Another night, another three or so eggs.

Ikuto stands on the roof of a building, violin in hand. He's always dressed in black, so that should come as no surprise. And he has a small bag slung over one shoulder, one that emits a dark aura. Occasionally a word can be heard from something inside the bag, muffled and sad.

'Muri.'

'Muri...'

Ikuto's ears and tail are out, and as such, there are visual cues to his mood for those who care to look. His tail twitches, and one of his ears is swiveled back. Both signs of annoyance. His expression, though, is completely deadpan.

Hovering over his right shoulder is Yoru, the tiny feline Chara. And he looks just as annoyed as Ikuto's ears are telling that he is. "Man... I wanna go play-nya..." Yoru complains lightly. "But stupid Director-san will get mad if you don't bring him three eggs."

"....Let's get this over with," Ikuto says flatly. "Do you see anyone with doubts?"

"I'll go down and look-nya," Yoru replies, and zips off, down the building.

About ten minutes later, a target has been located-- a girl who wants to be a voice actor, but is afraid to try because her voice is so soft. As soon as a target is located, Ikuto concentrates on the target and begins to play his violin. it's sad and mournful, and pulls at the heartstrings. Or in this case, the heart's egg. Since the girl in question freezes in place, her eyes going unfocused as a black egg with a white X on it begins to phase out through her chest, rippling the air in front of the girl's chest...

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Another night, another three or so eggs.

But this time, Ikuto isn't alone. Tessen is - well, not tagging along, although it's almost certain he knows she's there. But she's staying at a distance, to give him plausible deniability if anyone should question her presence. She wants to see what's really going on, and just what harm is really being done.

I'd rather be getting on the outside of a pizza with him, she monologues internally, But we need to be sure Easter can't have any reasons to hurt him. Or his sister. She shakes her head, hovering in the shadow of a building's sign, keeping a close eye on things.

((Scanning, Meister.)) Carnwennan, as she's been doing more frequently lately, anticipates Mikoto's request, focusing a sensor spell on the girl and the egg that's being removed from her. The idea of removing anything from a person like that tends to make her very wary....

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
If Ikuto is even aware of her presence, he makes no indication. One would think, if either of them were aware of it, that Yoru would at least speak up. He's got kind of a big mouth anyway.

But regarding the egg. Sure enough, once the egg exits the girl's chest, it begins to float up to Ikuto. As it does, the girl simply collapses on the ground in a faint. Her friend attends to her, and Yoru zip out to intercept the egg and bring it to Ikuto as the cat-eared boy begins to put his violin away.

Carnwennan will find that the removal of the egg won't kill the girl. But it seems to have a similar effect as draining energy or stealing one's Linker Core. Except of course the girl doesn't actually have a Linker core. It's similar though. The girl will be all right physically. But emotionally is another matter. Then again, can Carnwennan detect that?

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Carnwennan can't scan the girl's mind or dreams, of course. Such things are well beyond the Device's scope. But Mikoto can be quite certain that this isn't good for the girl. Amu and Tadase insisted on it, and she's fairly certain the two have no reason to lie. "Can't be having that, Iku-chan," she mutters to herself, inaudible in her hiding place.

But it's time to abandon that concealment, and she flares brilliant light to draw attention to herself as she flickers out from the sign's shadow. "So. Ikuto-chan. This is what the pink chibi was talking about, hmm?" She tsks and waggles a finger at him. "Whatever that is, it isn't yours." She's playing to whoever might be watching and reporting back to Easter, now, most than anything else. If it wans't Ikuto she'd have opened with a blaster barrage, after all.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto pauses at the sound of Mikoto's voice. Yoru has just relinquished the egg to Ikuto when he hears it. Both of them turn to look at Mikoto. But it's Yoru who speaks up first. "...Are you gonna fight Ikuto-nya?" he inquires. He sounds as though he isn't quite sure how he feels about that idea, but he doesn't relaly much care for it.

"...It's an X-Egg," Ikuto replies. He looks down, at the fainted girl who's being carried off by an adult, probably a parent or older sibling. "...She had doubts. I magnified them, and then filled her heart full of darkness, and then took this from her." A pause, and he looks at the egg he's holding. "She probably won't use it anyway. Her doubts are too strong. And the odds of her being able to follow this dream are pretty small."

It's justification to himself, all of it.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Doesn't matter." Mikoto swoops down from her perch to hover in the air, opposite Ikuto, putting the girl between them. "It's hers."

She looks down at the unconscious girl. "Dreams are what separate us from the sheep. From the daily trudge of life. Every great advance came because of someone's dream. Because they believed strongly enough in something that they were willing to burn their life out for it." A gesture, and a half-dozen Flicker Shots form, hovering in the air behind her.

"If she has doubts, she has doubts. That's her business. Leave her to it."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto looks up as the Flicker Shots form. He knows that's a threat. And now he's going to have to go through the rigamarole of fighting her over it isn't he? Yoru can sense this too, a decision in the process of being made. He draws his hand-paws up, to his mouth, and looks between Mikoto and Ikuto. Is this about to become a fight? Is Ikuto about to alienate the only real ally he has?

"...You know," Ikuto begins, looking at the egg he still holds. "...Ordinarily I'd Chara Transform with this. Try to overwhelm you." Is it a warning? A threat? Yoru whines a soft 'nnnyaaaaa....' under his breath. No, he really doesn't want to fight Mikoto.

But this time...

He looks at the egg in his hands. And then he closes his eyes. The dark energy seems to burn off of the egg, the blackness flaking off like pieces of shell. When he opens his eyes, there's a pure white egg with a yellow outline of wings, with a yellow heart shape between them. He releases the egg, and it floats back to the girl and phases back into her chest, with a ripple as it did before. And the girl soon wakes up.

"...I'll tell the Director you beat it out of me," he decides. Yoru exhales an audible, relieved sigh.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
In a real fight... well, she wouldn't have stepped out to banter. She'd have opened with a massive barrage. Overkill isn't her middle name, but some people act as though it were.

She's very glad she doesn't have to.

"Probably a good idea," she agrees, watching the egg return to the girl. "I'm sure this Director will be disappointed... but does that really upset you all that much?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"Not really," Ikuto replies. "He knows I'm only one person, even if he wants me to think he expects me to do the work of fifty." Pause. "...It's not like anything I do is enough for him anyway."

"GRRR!" This is from Yoru, who flails about angrily in the air. "He's such a pain in the butt-nya! He makes Ikuto work all the time, and gets mad when he doesn't, and locks him in closets sometimes--"

"Yoru." This from Ikuto. Yoru calms, covering his mouth with his paws. Ikuto sighs. Looks up at the sky. "...Director-san doesn't like my father, that's all."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods, eyeing Yoru for a moment. "Director-san should learn to live with disappointment."

She swoops down to make sure the girl is alright, checking her over quickly. "Hey, little neighbor," Tessen murmurs to her. "You're going to be fine. Don't let anything get you down, okay?" She pats the girl on the head, ready to send her on her way.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"Director-san needs a lot of things," Ikuto murmurs.

"Like a KICK INNA BUTT-nya!" Yoru supplies. Ikuto smirks.

Ikuto actually remains on the roof as Mikoto goes down to check on the girl. She seems fine. "I'm okay!" she further notes. "Don't worry! I won't!" she replies, and heads away with a friend.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto smiles, watching the girl go, then takes to the air again to 'confront' Ikuto once more.

"Have to say, the little guy's got spunk. And he's right."

She casts a glance at the departing ex-victim, and then looks back to Ikuto and Yoru. "So. How many times shall we do this tonight, then? How much will it take, until you are ready to give up on this path?" She knows he won't back down. She doesn't really expect him to. She's just asking for the sake of appearances, again. Keeping up the image of the 'breakup game' they agreed to.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto smiles a little at the question. It's a mirthless smile, though. Tired and disappointed. How can a smile express disappointment? It just does. Well, this one does, anyway. Though it does look like he's trying to muster up the effort to smirk evilly and just plain can't be arsed to. "Sorry, I can't do that," he says. Which she knows. However, he sticks his hands in his pockets, the smile becoming mischievous. "But just for old times' sake..."

'Old times' sake'? They haven't really known each other for that long, have they? What could he be planning, with that mischievous expression on his face?

He takes a few steps closer to Mikoto, and leans forward a little. Raising one hand from his pocket, he dips his head and points to the top of his head. "Want to pet my ears?" Is he flirting? Maybe, maybe not. "That's not a euphemism, no. I meant that literally." Smirk. All right, THAT was flirting.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Pet his ears? Touch those silky-soft furred points? Run her fingers through his hair, hold him close... Mikoto can feel herself reddening.

"I... you... ears..." She starts to reach out towards him, but yanks her hand forcefully back.

She pauses for a moment, picking a good place to target, and lets a burst of Flicker Shots zoom past him to impact a building across the street, spreading out and leaving tiny craters in the cement.

"You... you stupid, stubborn CAT!" And with that, she spins and retreats, soaring off into the distance...

Of course, to turn around once she's out of sight, but that's nobody's business but her own.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto's almost surprised! She really looks like she's going to do it. Does she have the nerve?

But no, the inevitable happens. The shots miss Ikuto; he doesn't flinch as they fly past him. He trusts her not to actually hit him. Or if she did, to hit him with something that wouldn't hurt him too much.

But the shouted statement gets a smirk. It's hard to tell how much is Mikoto acting upset for any watchers and how much is her genuinely being embarrassed. Now isn't the time to ask. Yoru, however, seems to have taken it at face value, and starts to laugh and kick his feet in the air.

After a moment Ikuto looks to the laughing feline Chara. "Let's go. Director-san will just have to make due with two tonight." That said he leaps to a nearby building, and Yoru follows.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
In the shadows, Mikoto follows him, tracking his every move for the night... and passing it on to Amu and Tadase and the other Guardians, so they can be in position to stop his other would-be thefts. They won't know it's her, just that an anonymous benefactor is pointing them to trouble spots... but it will keep the children safe. And on a night like this, that's everything to her.