72/Hats and Tea in Mitakihara

Hats and Tea in Mitakihara
Date of Scene:	16 June 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown
Synopsis:	Hannah runs into Tuxedo Kamen! Questions are asked about the masked man's motivations and actions.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Mamoru Chiba

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Hannah Sharpe has posed:
If there's one thing 'Miss White' hates, it's loose ends. And the failed capture of the King Witch has left plenty. With her arm and other wounds finally healed, she's taken to hunting down the remaining nightmare riders that served as its Familiars. Fittingly for mounted units, it's been one heck of a day as she's been forced to search almost the entire city, only her association with Tomoe Labs keeping her out of trouble with her school. THankfully she keeps herself ahead in her classes, just for situations like this.

Currently, barrier jacket floating around her, the magical girl sits atop the roof of a small jewelry store, lines of magic scanning the nearby alleyways. Nothing.

Hannah curses. "...Prolific little wretch! Hmph. Should I try to find Akemi-chan?" Puella are far better than her at finding the things.

Not two alleyways down, a frightened Infinity student clutches her bag in front of her desperately, the Familiar oh-so-close by rearing up to bring down a massive lance upon the helpless girl!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
And Mamoru Chiba is out of kendo practice, sport bag slung over his shoulder and hair still damp, glasses irritatingly fogging up in the humidity. He's in the process of taking them off and sticking his book in his back pocket as he veers toward the alley to take his customary shortcut to the garage--

--looks like his subspace pocket is going to have to hold a bunch of equipment it normally doesn't, today.

As soon as he's out of view of the street, he henshins as he's running.

(Audible from above and over: tap-tap Tap-Tap TAP-TAP /TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP/ dress shoes on pavement, then silence, and then the creak of a fire escape unaccustomed to abuse being used as a gymnastics bar, and then a shriek and frantic angry whinnying.)

In that alley away from Miss White, just at the end of it, Tuxedo Kamen is setting the girl down hurriedly. "AV club project gone wrong," he tells her quick, "I'll take care of this jerk and you go find the camera crew, okay? That way!" He points and gives the slightest of pushes before turning to face down, um. An evil firey hussar on a death horse? With a lance.

(Much angrier whinnying.)

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Just after she's cancelled her search, Hannah leans back upon the roof, sighing. A frustrated little frown, and she's just about to call out to Boris before sounds hit her ears. Standing up, the woman clenches her weapons and leaps to the next building, and then finally to the one nearest the sounds she heard. Neiiiiigh!

Mamoru might see a flash of motion above, if he can spare a look up from the massive evil lancer that's urging its mount into a charge against the brave man! The poor student seems to have more sense than most, because with a scream, she runs off in utter terror and doesn't stop until she physically collapses at the school's gate.

Up above, Hannah smiles as she realizes the familiar outline in her magical sight. If she's any judge, it feels like the one from last night!

Miss White leaps into the air as the creature charges, a picture-perfect flying kick right into the rider's head! The being slams into the wall, an Evil Hussar sized crater left. Nor does she stop there: a flurry of punches soon reduce the creature to so much dust.

The horse, however, is now baring down on Mamoru with wild fury!

Perhaps even more infuriating by the horse's survival, there's something very familiar atop Miss White's head. Hannah turns, smiles, and crosses her arms after adjusting Tuxedo Kamen's henshin hat atop her head.

"...Do you need some help, or can you take out the garbage?" Teases the woman, though there's no malice in her voice.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He has basically a split second to look, but most of his attention's taken up by the horse: everything else is his peripheral vision, his hearing, his awareness. Tuxedo Kamen takes that split second anyway, and there's a crooked grin on his face for the remainder of the 'cleanup work'.

Eyes on the mad creature, the young gentleman leaps high in the air, doing something unlikely and rather acrobatic which lands him square on the horse's saddle. "I wish," he calls to Hannah as the thing tries to buck him off, "it weren't crazy, evil, and magic." No matter what else is going on there, his placement, his body language, the way he's moving with it: the guy does know how to ride a seriously angry horse.

A real one, though. This one won't be tamed, won't be calmed. He closes his eyes and digs his heels in, then jerks the reins to one side and jumps up and away as the the contrary reaction of the monster causes it to break its own shadowy head open on the wall of the alley.

Tuxedo Kamen lands next to Hannah, cape settling around him as ash and dust fall to the ground and blow away. "Getting on was a mistake," he says, momentarily motionless. "Nice hat."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"A shame, huh? Horses are pretty neat. A lot better than most people, anyway. If /they/ plant feet in your face, at least you can be reasonably sure it is your fault." Said of course as she watches the creature buck away, wisely stepping back. A brow rises. Is he intending to ride the thing to dea...

Oh. The creature falls, and Hannah winces at the crunch. Soon enough, it fades away. One quick area search? No more feelings of familiars. The woman, exhausted, leans back against the wall and sighs.

"Finally, I think that is the last one." She pulls out a water bottle, downing half of it, before putting all of her attention on Mamoru.

She laughs. Soon, taking off the hat, she flips it about in her hands, treating it alternatively like a coin or a ring to spin about on her fingers.

"Mmm, I prefer bowlers myself. Wearing something like this too much will make me look pretentious. " Ouch.

Suddenly, a henshin hat is returned to its rightful perching spot. There's a hand offered.

"Are you okay?"

For a woman who gets up to so much shenanigans, she sure does seem to care a lot about other people.

The fight with the Witch flashes through her mind.

"Oh, uh...did that young girl make it out okay? My partner can be..." Pause. How to put this nicely?

"Rough."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The hat does, indeed, settle on the masked boy's head. He laughs a little at the 'pretentious' comment, then takes the offered hand. (Mei would be horrified.) It's a pretty non-pretentious handshake, but then, there's only so much you can do to one of those. "I do tend to throw it at something and hope it goes away pretty often," he admits, "but it makes a useful weapon. I'm all right. Thanks. Glad you are, too."

He takes an awkward half-step back, then, shrugging his shoulders. "She'll live. She has a few broken ribs and some funny ideas about culpability -- you and your partner aren't out to take all the color from the world, are you? Actually--" Tuxedo Kamen cocks a thumb up roofwards. "Let's continue up there. I don't know about you, but I'm not invisible."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"You know, I /would/ say that sounds like a ridiculous attack method, but I seem to recall someone using a princess crown to destroy a youma. So there is that."

A firm handshake from Hannah! A nod, and then he backs off.

"I guess telling you to stay out of my way is useless? Oh well. You did well on keeping the girl calm." A deep breath.

"Sorry, I am rambling. I just crossed a line back there. I keep forgetting how badly Witch barriers effect those without...power. So I am glad she is okay."

An awkward cough. "Right, confessions aside..." Oh, right, out in the open. She leaps upwards, and lands gently. Finding a convenient railing, she sits down. One thermos of tea later, and there's two cups set out.

Never let it be said that the evil punchy woman can't be a good host.

She goes silent, staring at Tuxedo. When she realizes he's not joking, she snorts.

"Steal the color from the world? What kind of ridiculous dream is /that/? She really is a kid. Why would she think...?" Wait. Black White.

"Heh. That could make for a good manga. The Colorless Empire stealing all the pretty lights in the world!" Both hands go up 'menacingly'.

Then she just laughs. "Heh, she sounds like a good girl. I assure you, colors are the last thing I care about." A little shrug.

She goes silent, and finally, she asks the question she never got a chance to last time.

"Say. Why did you save me back there? I do not mean to be rude, but you do not strike me as the type to employ psychological warfare."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tea for two, on the roof. Mamoru doesn't comment much; he lets Hannah ramble on, calm and non-judgemental. Then he follows her up to the roof, and is perfectly willing to share tea with her. None of it seems to strike him as especially out of the ordinary--

--he does smile wryly at the summation of Prism Keeper Red. "Well. If you happen to run across another couple of people going by your names, or with that general color scheme, who are *actually* trying to destroy color-- do pass the word along, would you? She thought she was meant to fight you."

Tea in both hands, Tuxedo Kamen sips contemplatively. It takes him a moment to answer. "You don't strike me as the type, either, and you tried to make sure non-combatants and people without magic weren't injured both times I've observed you in battle. I knew it was going to go up. And I didn't think Akemi-san was going to hold back, and I didn't think your partner would bother extracting you. If you'll recall, you were gravely injured at the time."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
A huff, and a sip of tea. "...I suppose just tossing the whole idea aside as ridiculous is dangerous. 'Common sense' and 'sanity' I think jumped the shark around the time I fought a six-armed Hip Hop Witch. So, deal. Besides, I like my nickname. If someone goes around with it hurting people for something foolish like that.." She flexes an arm, laughing in a bloodlust-filled manner.

"Oh, and please tell her to learn how to aim. That attack might have been dangerous if she had chosen a proper angle instead of rushing head on. Perfect punting angle, like a soccer ball. Now that she has magic, she needs to learn how to use it or she is going to /really/ get hurt."

A shake of the head. "Guh. Reminds me when I first picked up these." She waves Raging Tempest around.

"Like the time when you crashed through Infinity's third story window?" Comes Raging Tempest in a robotic, slightly british feminine voice.

Hannah scowls. "...Listen, it was one time, and I left money to pay for the damages!"

A rub of the back of her head. Her sightless eyes are peered up at the sky that's growing darker by the moment.

"Nope. I like fair fights. If you are strong enough, you do not need something like taking hostages, or getting civilians involved to win your dreams. ...Admittedly, he can be a jerk. Terrible at teamwork, too." Grrrr!

As for Homura? There's a grin.

"What a girl, huh? Seems ruthless, and that /ability/ of hers! Hah hah hah, it makes my blood rush whenever I see it! OH, I cannot /WAIT/ to unravel how she does it!" When she calms from her laugh, she rubs her chin.

"Thank you. You could have left me to die, and then you would not have to deal with me anymore. Not to sound ungrateful, but is that really in your best interest? I mean, what are you after? No one takes up magic without a really, really important reason, be it good or ill."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's a lot of quiet from the masked youth as Hannah talks, as she laughs, as she rambles. It's something like a rushing brook having a conversation with a rock on the bank: he's not quiet because he's judging her, there's none of that in its quality. He's just quiet.

Finally, "We're not after the same thing," Tuxedo Kamen says firmly. "And no, I'm not telling you what I'm after, lest you decide to start going after my goal, as well." He finishes off his tea, eyeing the talking Device sidelong for a moment, then lets his hands rest on his knees, still holding the empty cup. "Someday you may hurt someone I've come to care for, but I know, at least, that they'll have signed up for it. If I had let you die, I'd always have to deal with that."

Glancing toward Hannah, he lifts his eyebrows over the mask. "I have enough frustrations without adding indelible regrets I can avoid."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Oddly, talking to the man is almost relaxing. Most people she knows tends to be fairly outgoing. The fact that Tuxedo Kamen is quiet, and seems to actually listen to what she says is perhaps a bad thing, at least for her.

"...Is that so? Hmm hmm. So you have a goal, and are ambitious enough to hunt after it?" A pause, and she thinks.

"You might be right, on both counts. If Akemi-san and the other girls are any indication, you probably have very troublesome friends for someone like me, I take it? So, yes, definitely. Ambitious people are usual destined to fall into conflict. If you have nosey friends...well, I get it, so I will not pry too much." Adds the woman with a nod.

She, at least, knows that feeling. "Feels good actually being able to sleep at night, right? Teach my partner that lesson some time." A scowl here. Seems team Monochrome has their disagreements.

As tea time finishes, she packs it all up.

"Still. Happiness is a rare thing in a world that just /loves/ to kick the weak down and devour them like a rabid animal. If you have the strength, I hope you find whatever it is. Well, if it does not get in my way of course!" A clenched fist, and a big grin here.

Then she's standing, one foot on the railing.

"Who knows. Maybe if we both gain them we can have show and tell, just like back in elementary school!" Weirdo, this woman.

"You listen pretty well. So take some advice in return: try to stay out of the way and me and my partner. I mean, I know you are not going to do that, but...eh, there, I said it. Those Witches are everyone's enemy. Little more than rabid animals, really. What I am trying to do with them might give me a way to actually destroy them properly, at least in theory. Honest." She'll leave out the part about obtaining obscene amounts of power in the process. Win-win, as far as she's concerned.

"And try to keep your hat on around me, or I am going to have to staple them to your head! Be safe out there, alright? Far worse than me around these days." A little wave, and then, the woman's leaping off home.

There's a little card left behind, with the number to a burner phone. Who knows, maybe he'll come in handy one day.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Standing up as Hannah does, Tuxedo Kamen continues to listen, his cape tugged by the wind and the slightest smile tugging at one side of his mouth. It's, he just found, oddly relaxing talking to someone who expects to fill all the empty air herself: he's lucky. He doesn't have many words he'd like to get in edgewise.

As she leaps off, leaving that card, her last couple of sentences ring in the air. She probably won't hear his answer:

"Be safe. There's far worse than you around you, I think."r
He takes the card and vanishes it, then just stands at the edge of the roof, watching, until the moon comes up to brighten the darkening sky.