765/A Meeting of Mages

A Meeting of Mages
Date of Scene:	30 December 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Shopping Strip
Synopsis:	Nanoha and Mikoto go for Okonomiyaki after a fun morning's flight.
Cast of Characters:	Nanoha Takamachi, Mikoto Nakajima

---

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
The early afternoon of a late-December day finds the sun shining bright over Uminari City, Tokyo. It's pleasant enough out that people are enjoying the shopping, hunting for last-minute gifts and bargains. While the holiday season has not gone unmarred by monster attacks, it just seems to be too nice a day to worry about that sort of thing for many people.

Well above the crowds, avoiding the hustle and traffic by the simple expedient of flying over it, a figure in blue and white soars, a visible symbol - to those who can see her, at least - that this city has Defenders. That there are those who will stand against the monsters, and defend the common people, that they may go about their shopping and their romancing and their holiday without fear.

Of course, Mikoto has her own motivations for being out today. She's finally recovered enough from her recent exhaustive endeavors that she's able to get out and go flying, and she's been nursing a bad case of cabin fever right through the Christmas season. So she's soaring about, doing some aerobatics, and generally having some fun simply faffing about up in the sky, not a care in the world, it would seem.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi was busy helping the parents with the CHRISTMAS season, making cupcakes and cakes and pastries and selling said pastires and it was over and she was glad to get back out and around to practicing and drilling and she was flying through the air with Raising Heart, those pink winglets on her feet formed. She looked down- and everything was so pretty...

Christmas lights... some displays off in the distance in the Neon District... the tinkling lights of cars. She was so caught up that she barely noticed the more closer, blue mage! She stopped mid flight though as she tapped her chin. Wait. wasn't this someone she met in passing before?

She flew closer, and gave a wave. "Hello, there, again.... I think we met for a moment before?" she asks.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto, fortunately, has no such immediate family obligations, outside of having had to attend a (rather dull, to her) family meeting. Being the daughter of a big, wealthy family isn't nearly as fun as books and TV would make it out to be, even if having the money to do nice things for her friends almost makes up for it.

Still, she's free for now. And enjoying the heck out of the day. And suddenly redhead in white! Heeeeeyyy, she's seen that one around before!

"Well well well, hello there, neighbor. And how are you this fine and lovely day, hmm? Wonderful day for a flight, isn't it?"

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi smiles a little. "I'm alright!" she says. "You were the other night when Fate and her big sister were throwing boulders into the water, right?" she asks, head tilting. "I had some friend look at the readings and---it turns out it was just something called a--- 'dimensional transfer' and not really a spell. I felt really silly, but I'm not ready for that yet regardless." she says.

"I'm Nanoha Takamachi! --- but...I already told you that, you were... Miss Blue... right?" she asks curiously, head tilting a little.

"Was that the name?" she asks.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods, smiling lightly. "Yes, that matches my readings as well. I'm not too good with them yet - I can teleport myself, and take a passenger or two, but a remote-targeting like that is an interesting trick, isn't it?" Even if the end results were messy, and annoyed the heck out of a few ship captains.

"That's what I go by when I'm up and working, yes," 'Miss Blue' agrees. "I know some people don't bother much with secret identities, but, well... sometimes it's needful, hmm?" It all started because she didn't want her family to find out what she was up to... after that it was just force of habit, until she created the second identity to work with Hannah's team....

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi smiles. "I can't even teleport yet! I should learn but----" she kind of crosses her arms. "I need to learn some other stuff first." she says as she crosses her arms and taps her far shoulder a bit in adorable frustration. "But---I work hard! So it's only a matter of time!" she says as she smiles and unguards herself, unfurling her arms.

"I dunno... about... 'Secret Identities'." she admits. "It seems rather silly to me. If someone wants to know who you are--- isn't it really just a matter of 'when' as opposed to 'if'?" she asks. "-and if you trust someone- you should trust them implicity!" she says raising a finger.

"But--that's just my opionion." she smiles.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods. "Well, then, flying's a good alternative, isn't it? And loads of fun. I love it. I hated being stuck grounded this past week. So glad I'm back to full strength." She certainly looks better than she did that day. Better color to her skin, more luster to her hair...

"I guess it's an individual thing," she concedes on the secret identity issue. "Some people have good reason to keep it secret... some don't." She shrugs. "I'm not going to tell you that you need to have one. Now, you might find it useful, but that's an entirely different thing."

She was about to add something else, but it's interrupted by the rumble of her tummy. Looks like lunchtime is making itself known. "Er," she comments. "Want to go find out if any of the restaurants down there are up to quality? I'll buy." She flashes a little grin, then pats her stomach. "Been burning a lot of energy, rebuilding."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi head tilts. "I don't think I could ever find being someone I'm not useful..." she admits with a short smile. She looks down below. "Hrm.. sure, why not?" the girl says, also, she's offering free food. That's always nice, right?

"Not really familar with this part of town thou, honest." she admits a little sheepishly. She usually keeps more north, nearer her family's bakery and cafe.

"Rebuilding from what if I may ask?" she asks ponderingly.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto considers. She hasn't tried all the restaurants - or even half of them - in this area, but she knows a few. "There's a good sandwich place, if you like that sort of thing. Hannah got me into American-style barbeque and they do good things with it. Or I could go for okonomiyaki... you have a preference?"

"Had to handle something rather difficult, that involved an energy drain. Kind of a long story and involves people whose secrets I can't in good conscience reveal, to tell more."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi head tilts. "Hannah?" she asks. "Hannah who?" she wonders as she taps her bottom lip. Not a common Japanese name, and--- American-Style is brought up. Wait. Miss Blue can't be talking about.... Hannah Sharpe? Could she? Huh. Does Hannah know weird magical people too?

She doesn't know.

"I'm not sure about American Styled food but.. Okonomiyaki sounds good!" she smiles a bit.

"Oh, okay..." she says. "I hope everythings okay at least..." she softly says.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Hannah Sharpe, she's a student at Infinity. It wouldn't be giving anything away to say that I go there, too." She carefully doesn't mention Hannah's own magical side. But then, there are always more weird magical people about.

"Okonomiyaki is fine with me, too. It's about a block up, just follow me." She takes off slowly, heading north along the strip.

"And don't worry. I'm fine, the person I was helping is fine, and everyone else involved is ... well, doing fine, as far as I know."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi smiles wide. "Oh! I know Hannah! She comes into the shop almost every morning with her guide dog!" she beams. "She's nice to talk with. I know her usual by heart. A large cookie, milk, and a cupcake for Boris-kun!" she says insistently.

She follows along, and head tilts a little. "Alright..." she says softly, keeping quiet otherwise.

"Oh! I asked my friend about Belka.. stuff and the only thing he could tell me is that it's really old!" she says. "At least, what he felt comfortable telling me so far---hrm..."

"I still have a LOT to learn." she says.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
'Miss Blue' smiles lightly. "That's Hannah, alright. Now, I prefer cats, myself, but Boris is definitely a good doggie, isn't he?" She smiles a little wider as we approach the restaurant. It isn't far, and it's a nice-looking place, modern steel construction with overlays of old traditional woods.

"Hmmm, well," she muses, considering the fate of Belka. "My own information is ... quite out of date, I'll have to admit. But time was, Belka was one of the most powerful empires in the Dimensional Sea."

She drifts a little closer, and offers, "I'll be glad to teach you. I'm still learning a lot myself!"

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi seems to think some more. "I should really ask my friend before I learn from someone else- or-- he may want to be present. He's a space ferret!" she says nonchalantly, like this is a thing that makes sense in any world.

"But if he's okay with it, I am." she says with a softer series of nods. "Though---I was told I am more like a 'Mid-Childian' mage- so, I dunno how useful anything I learn will be of to me, really." she says softly.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
'Miss Blue' drifts down as she approaches the restaurant, landing in a nearby alley, so as not to alarm the pedestrian traffic. "A space ferret? Really? That's... kind of unusual." She's seen or heard of enough familiars, animal mascots, and other such things to not dismiss the idea out of hand, but still. It amuses.

"I've seen a few people using Midchildan style so far," so that's what it's called, "and the basic math behind the spells doesn't seem to be all that different to me. And tactics and strategy are a universal part of any combat style, don't you think?"

At the restaurant door, she holds it open for the smaller girl, still smiling that pleasant little smile.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi mmphhhs. "I dunno why that's unusual, I've seen all sorts of stuff like that." she says softly. She follows along into the resturant and looks around and of course---just jogs right to a window seat to sit down because of course she wants a window seat! Why come into a shop and be all cooped up, and besides--

You can draw things in the fog your breath leaves behind when it's this cold out~

Which she does. She draws a ferret with her finger.

She thinks a bit as she hrmmmms.

"Yeah... I guess it can't hurt to learn a little then...." she muses.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
And taking the seat across from it, Mikoto can look out the window to watch the passersby. Enjoy the sights. She watches the sketch in the fog with a slightly wistful expression, considering friends of her own that she's missing.

"He must be a very good friend, if you think so much of him." She peruses the menu, considering the selection of toppings available. "I suppose he's been the one teaching you so far?"

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi smiles. "Yup! He's the one who gave me my partner, Rasing Heart! He said---it was very old, but... that he was only able to use it as something called a 'Guest'- but it bonded with me when I recieved it!" she says. "He said I have some sort of natural ability or something for this stuff." she smiles.

"I guess it's okay..." she admits a little softly. "At least--it's better than just--- working at home with no direction or anything." she admits as she thinks and head tilts.

"But yes, I go and drill every day! Bright and Early! When it's super cold!" she beams.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods. "Mine was a sort of family heirloom, been in the line for... well, as long as there've been people in the family, I guess. Don't know where it came from before that. I figure somebody's ship got stranded here, maybe, or someone decided this was a good quiet place to retire."

"Ii wish I'd had a good friend like that, to help me learn, when I was just starting off. It took me a while to work some things out... even getting her to activate took quite a bit of effort. Managed to do it just in time to stop a monster from eating me."

Speaking of eating, the waitress chooses this moment to stop by and see what the two girls would like to order. Mikoto waits patiently, letting Nanoha order first.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi gets hers done with green onion, thin pork and shrimp! She says please and thank you and a soft bow.

She's polite at least!

She head tilts. "Mine came to me recently... my ferret friend called out and I came and took him to help. Was weird when he started talking... said that... he was looking to seal away these things called Jewel Seeds and---"

"Right-- those things! Jewel Seeds! If you see any... let me know, okay? They're dangerous and need to be sealed away and kept from people!" she says. "No one should use them! For anything!" she says a little more determinedly!

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
After some brief consideration, Mikoto decides to go ahead with the same thing, except with beef instead of pork. She thanks the waitress, and also orders some tea for the both of us.

"Yes, Jewel Seeds... Fate and Helix mentioned them the other night. Some sort of Lost Logia? El Hazard relics?" She frowns, softly, for a moment. "Which makes me wonder what those two were planning to do with them."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi tries to find the best way to describe this...

"They tend to do dreadful things to the person or thing who touches it..." she says. "Like it turned a cat into a big monster once..." she says. "Lost Logia? El Hazard?" she head tilts. "I don't really know those two words---- Raising Heart, can you remember those to ask Yunno about later?" she asks. The device chimes affirmatively, as she looks back up.

"I just know they're bad." she frowns. "And--- that's all I need to know. I've seen what they do. It's not very good." she mutters.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
'Miss Blue' has never seen the effects of a Jewel Seed before, but she's had a more firm grounding in other aspects of ancient history. So she can't argue with Nanoha about that. "Well, turning a cat into a monster sounds pretty bad... I've seen some pretty strange things the past few months, though."

She shrugs. "I don't see any reason not to keep them out of the hands of... well, anyone who might try to use them for ill, though." She looks down at the table, then back up to Nanoha. She starts to say something else... then the tea is delivered.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi nods. "Keep them away from bad people... but..." she looks down. "I dunno about Fate. She seems so sad all the time and stuff like that. I get the feeling she doesn't really wanna be where she is right now- but----"

She shakes her head. "I dun't think it's my bussiness to talk about that to people I hardly know yet." she smiles.

"But..." she shrugs. "She's my rival in the end, she's after them too- and that's all I know." she says slightly.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto hmmms softly, taking a sip of tea as she listens. "I'll admit I haven't spent a lot of time around her. So I can't really say much, myself." She shrugs. "I agree, though, I think she's basically a good person."

"I wish we knew what she plans to do with them. That much, at least, would help decide what we should do about it... if we should fight her or not."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi shakes her head and just sighs, she didn't order a drink. She probably didn't want one. She just sort of seems to look out the window and thinks for a bit introspectivly.

"She's gathering them for her mother..." is all she says. She said that much that night anyways, so this shouldn't be totally news.

"But that's all I feel comfortable discussing I guess. I dunno much beyond that anyways." she says as she blows her bangs up a little with a breath of air.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto - 'Miss Blue' - nods again, making note of the factoid, but she doesn't know anything about Fate's mother, so she can't infer anything from it. "Alright," she answers, and folds her hands under her chin, watching Nanoha.

The smell of the approaching food seems to indicate it's quite good, and the delivery is quick and graceful, at least. The waitress sets each plate down with a warm smile. "You two young ladies enjoy yourselves!"

Mikoto grins widely. "Ahhhh, at last. Here we are." She cuts part of the okonomiyaki with her chopsticks, scooping it up to eat.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi begins eating albiet slowly, something seems to have thrown off her mood. She softly head tilts a little as she nibbles and hrmmmms.

"It's okay. Thanks again!" she smiles a bit, albiet not as wide as she has been. Something's obviously ruined her mood a little, but she isn't talking about it.

"So.. is this your first time here?" she asks curiously.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Hunger keeps 'Miss Blue' eating heartily for a few bites, but soon enough she notices the changed mood and sighs, setting down her chopsticks to take a sip of tea.

"Yes, first time here," she agrees. "They seem to do a fairly good job of it, at least." She eats another bite, a smaller one this time, before saying anything else. "Something got you down?"

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi shakes her head. "Just thinking about some things... I don't know many people actually!..."

She pauses. "I mean, well. 'magical' people." she says with a smile. "So, I'm trying to meet more I guess and this is a start, but---" she says. "Most of the time, you're fighting others too--- and it seems you need to talk over all that fighting."

"I guess I understand it. I get it, you know?" she says.

"I just wish that didn't need to be the case." she admits.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
'Miss Blue' nods, softly. "Yeah... I haven't really gotten to know a lot of people either. I'm glad to get to know you, too." Another bite of okonomiyaki disappears while she listens, and then nods again.

"I get it, yeah... sometimes we only really meet each other when there's a fight. Which really is kind of sad." She looks up, meeting your gaze. "I'm with you on that."