View source for 2077/Scramble for eggs

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2016/10/29
|Location=Somewhere in Tokyo
|Synopsis=Amu and Mikoto meet up again and have a talk after a purification of an egg! Yay!
|Cast of Characters=85,102
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amulet Heart leaped off the roof, towards the next one. "Get back here!" she yelled at the black egg with a big X on it. The egg ignored her, zooming off as fast as it could go. Her heart rod appeared in her good arm. "Heart rod!" she yelled, before flinging it. <br /><br /> Her lack of energy and lack of sleep played against her, however, and she missed by a mile. The egg turned and seemed to taunt her slightly. She fell to one knee, almost on the verge of collapse. <br /><br /> She'd only been pursuing it a few minutes and she was already exhausted. She wished Tadase was here. She then shook her head. No, the others weren't here, that made it her responsibility. So long as it didn't--<br /><br /> There was a crack. "Hopeless!" the egg hatched, revealing the... spinster x character. "Impossible! Impossible!" <br /><br /> Ah crud apples. She shrieked and jumped, barely avoiding being tangled up in threads. "I-it doesn't matter that your designs didn't win! I've seen your work, you're very talented! You just have to not give up!"

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mikoto had been minding her own business, just walking along towards the shop she'd been getting some manga - mostly for inspiration for halloween costumes, she'll insist. Then comes the inevitable interruption. <br /><br />&lt;~"Energy discharge detected,"~&gt; the computerized voice of her Device, Carnwennan, reports. It follows up with the details, and Mikoto quickly recognizes the result. <br /><br />''An X-Egg? I haven't seen one of those in weeks. Ikuto-kun, is that you?'' <br /><br />There's a flash of light from the alley she ducks into, and she emerges in a familiar Barrier Jacket, soaring into the air with a rapier in hand and a slowly-growing cloud of light-shards, nearly invisibly orbiting her. <br /><br />She's just in time to see the egg hatch, as she comes into view from around the corner of a tall building. Amu will probably recognize her immediately - they clashed often enough, when Mikoto was helping Ikuto, and they'd fought together as well against other enemies. <br /><br />She slows to a stop, keeping the X-Chara in between her and Amu, hoping that it will focus its attention on the young Guardian and not notice her approach. <br /><br />Unless, of course, someone should point her out to it by yelling at her.

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amulet Heart readied her rod again, throwing it and, while she missed the chara, she did manage to deflect some more strings coming at her. Even though she was horribly exhausted with bags under her eyes, her luck was still with her. A shame the cast on her right arm meant she could only use one heart rod at a time. "Hopeless! No good, no good, no good!" <br /><br /> "Your works are good! I saw your kimono, it was amazing! Just because there's someone else who did better work, doesn't mean--" And then she froze. Her eyes landed on Hagane. Shoot. She was in no state to deal with an enemy here. She couldn't-- <br /><br /> The distraction cost her. The threads coiled around her foot. "Huh?" And then spun her around while she shrieked, before flinging her straight at Hagane.

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The X-Chara has, of course, no reason to consider Hagane an ally. It's not as if ''it'' would know her. Or that she has any real ties to Easter itself, beyond trying to help Ikuto. <br /><br />And she certainly doesn't want to let Amu get seriously hurt, even if she doesn't exactly like the girl. A trio of light-darts spin down from her little cloud to sever the strings holding Amu in place - and pass by just as the creature releases her anyways. With the pinkette flying towards her and already wounded, she has to act quick. <br /><br />There's no time to launch an attack directly at the X-chara. "Defensor," Hagane snaps, holding both hands up as a Belkan spell-glyph forms between them, then expands out in front of her. A half-dozen more mirror it, forming a stack with a few inches between each, superimposed directly in the flying Guardian's path. <br /><br />Hagane grunts as Amu impacts the first of the shield-plates, pushed back towards the building she'd just come around, as the sheilds compress under the impact to absorb it - hopefully without further injury. <br /><br />"Best to stay out of its reach," she tells the girl, "Unless you've got a way to fly on your own."

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amulet Heart was going to be in a lot of pain, she-- <br /><br /> Was caught. Her blow dampened and... not completely broken? Oh, nice. Today wasn't going to be such a bad day after all. She looked to Hagane in confusion, before turning towards the x-chara. She wanted to say something witty or ask what she was doing. Instead she focused for the simple. <br /><br /> "Thank you for your help. But I don't... I can really use it right now. Thank you." Her heart rod reformed in her hand and she dropped down.<br /><br /> "Hopeless hopeless!" The threads gathered into a pair of kimonos, which flew at the two girls. Amu leaped over the one aimed at her. "One mistake doesn't mean you've failed! Your works are stil lbeautiful! Just like your mothers!" And there it was, the pause. the kimonos and threats froze for a moment.

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>By this point, Hagane is intimately familiar with the Guardians' standard method of dealing with these X-people. She has no reason to want to see the child harmed. And so far she's seen no sign of Ikuto. So she also has no reason to help anyone escape with the Egg. <br /><br />So she hesitates. A shield-plate is diverted to push the one kimono away from Amu. A second attempts to push her own away, but isn't quick enough and it - and the other remaining shield - are crushed by it. <br /><br />Hagane herself backs off, but there's not much room to do so - she's stuck up against the wall of the building. Growling something under her breath, she stands firm on another spell-glyph and readies her sword. <br /><br />"Come on, kid!" she calls, "Listen to her! Pinky knows what she's talking about here - and I ought to know! I've seen worse than this on the catwalk in Paris!" <br /><br />Yeah, Mikoto ''is'' something of a fashionista. She certainly has an eye for it. And the idea of a designer's dreams being crushed so young? Not. Acceptable.

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amulet Heart The x-chara turned to Tessen. "No, it's..." There it was, another pause. "Cat... walk?" <br /><br /> IT was definitely stunned now. Amu made a heart with her fingers(not easy with a broken hand) and thrust it out. "Negative heart, lock on!" she called. Beams of pink light shot out, enveloping the egg. <br /><br /> The x-chara cried out but, after a few moments, a colorful swirling of rainbows and love later, the pink egg appeared around the chara, a young lady in a kimono with a spinning wheel. "Thank you," she said, before the egg sealed and she flew off. <br /><br /> Once she was gone, Amulet heart fell to her knees, panting. She wished Tadase or Kukai had been here. Slowly she looked up. "Thank you," she said with a nervous smile. "For uhhh... the assist. I needed it this time..."

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hagane nods. "Paris, New York, London... you can go places. You've got ''style'', and better than that, ''heart''." <br /><br />She stands by, ready to attack if things should turn ugly, but she is... far from competant, when it comes to purification magics. So she leaves that part to Amu's 'Negative Heart'. <br /><br />As the egg flies off to return to its host, she sinks slowly down from her platform, to land beside the pinkette with a soft click of bootheels. "Eh, it's no problem. You handled that pretty well, just needed a little extra." <br /><br />She hmms softly as she watches Amu catch her breath. "There's a pretty good noodle shop just around the corner, if you want to take a break, get some lunch - on me?"

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amulet Heart blinked a few times, then nodded slowly. "Oh, ummm... sure. Noodles sounds pretty good." She gave a little smile, before looking down from the roof. she sighed and then leaps down, landing in the alley, before un-henshining. Because climbing down would have been really hard. No, really. It would have been horrible and she doubted she could have done it. She'd wait for the other woman to come down before she started walking out. "I don't suppose Ikuto-kun is with you? I haven't seen him since I got back." She sounded just a tiny bit disappointed. And a lot of bit worried. She'd follow the woman to the shop.

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hagane drops down into the alley with ease, releasing her own henshin as she lands. "They have more than just noodles if you're not enthused," she offers. Maybe it's a sort of peace offering? <br /><br />She walks along, chatting casually. "I..." <br /><br />She sighs softly, then continues. "I haven't seen Ikuto-kun in over a month. Or even Utau." She looks down, her eyes half-closed. "I ... was kind of hoping you had."

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amu Hinamori shook her head. "No! Noodles are fine, they sound delicious," she said with a smile. <br /><br /> However, upon hearing that, the smile wavered and she looked down. "I... I haven't. Either of them. I was hoping that maybe they were just... avoiding me." Sounding a little hurt. "But, since I came back to town, I haven't heard anything about them." She shook her head. "I'm starting to worry they might have done something... stupid and be in real trouble, you know? I mean, you know how those two can be. They always dive head first into some trouble or another." She shook her head and sighed. "I hope I'm just being paranoid though. But if you haven't heard anything from them either..." And now she really sounded worried.

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mikoto nods quietly, pacing along beside the younger girl. "I worry, too. They... Utau, at least, had an idea what she was getting into... we were so close to pulling him out." She'd worked with Utau on that for some time, before everything just ... disappeared. <br /><br />"I haven't heard a peep out of Easter until today. In a way it's kind of a relief. It means they're still here, they haven't, say, decamped and set up shop in some other city."

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amu Hinamori blinked a few times. "You've... heard from easter? When? Where? You don't mean the... x-egg, do you? Because... well..." She glanced off to the side. "They uhhhh... they aren't always... caused by easter." Oh, dear. <br /><br /> She ordered a beef noodle. "I'm not really sure. I thought..." She sighed. "What if they're planning something big. That's what worries me." She glanced down to her arm. "At least this is coming off soon. Should be able to deal with whatever it is then." She gave a soft yawn, slumping slightly in her chair.

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>A slight shrug is Mikoto's first answer. "Today," she agrees. "I saw the X-Egg, I figured they had to have a hunter out... I've never seen one just 'pop' on its own like that." And she'd really, really hoped that it meant Ikuto was active. <br /><br />She settles to her chair in the noodle shop, looking over the menu, and decides she doesn't want soup. Some beef lo mein will do nicely. <br /><br />"Well... if they ''are'' planning something big..." She hmms softly. Takes a sip of tea. "You know my priority is getting Ikuto out safely."

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amu Hinamori nods. "Of course. And I appreciate that. I know Ikuto-kun isn't bad. He's just..." She frowned. "Misguided... in a bit too deep... just..." She sighed. "I'm sure we can save him if we work at it," she said with a big smile. "I mean, he's not... well..." <br /><br /> Her cheeks turned red. "Whatever Easter has planned, I'll stop it. One way or another. And then we can get Ikuto out of there. Right? He's just... misguided. That's all there is too it. And he can be saved. I know he can be."

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I ''know'' he can," Mikoto insists. And she's promised to do just that. This restaurant has a quick cook, the food is delivered while the two girls are chatting. <br /><br />She takes a sniff of her lo mein, and nods, apparently finding it satisfactory as she picks up a good bit on her chopsticks and starts to eat.

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amu Hinamori nodded and then smiled at the girl. "And to think, today I was worried you and I were going to have to be enemies or something. I'm happy we can see eye to eye on this." she said with a big grin. She then sniffed hers for a moment before taking a bite. In midway, she gave a little yawn, covering her mouth. "S-sorry. So, ummm... what else have you been up to?" <br /><br /> She gave a small, drowsy smile, but the first yawn set her off, soon giving a second and a third.

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mikoto nods and finishes another bite of noodles before answering. "Well, things might have been different if Ikuto had been there. But ... well." She shrugs. <br /><br />"I've been spending a lot of time working on that spaceship wreckage you and Nanoha helped me pick up. It's ... fascinating stuff. I still have a long way to go to understand some of it."

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amu Hinamori nodded. "Really? I couldn't mmake heads or tails of anything like that. You're so smart, Mikoto-chan!" She gave her that tired smile. Then blinked. Slowly her eyes lowered. "O-oh. I guess that's... I can understand that. But... I... I think..." <br /><br /> She gave another sigh. "I like it more when we can be allies than enemies, you know? I wish we could just be friends like... all the time..."

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mikoto nods, pausing for a sip of tea, leaning back in her seat to stretch out a bit. "There are plenty of people smarter than me, Amu-chan. They say Sailor Mercury's some sort of genius... and there's that Riventon baka..." She sighs, and takes another sip of tea. <br /><br />"I've only ever fought you to try to protect Ikuto-kun, chibi. You know that." So maybe she's been a bit of a sarcastic twit about it now and again. Doesn't mean her goal hasn't been pretty obvious.

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amu Hinamori nods. "Yeah.... I'd really rather Ikuto-kun always be an ally, too. I can't wait for him to be one," she muttered. She was sure Tadase wasn't looking forward to that, but she certainly was. Ikuto was amazing! And... cute. Definitely cute. Oh, so very, very cute.

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mikoto lets a slow lazy smile cross her face as she, too, muses on how cute Ikuto can be. "Well, at least we agree on that much," she muses. "You're looking pretty tired... had a long day?" <br /><br />She pauses to listen to the pinkette's reply, then has an offer. "Need a place to rest for a bit? I can get us a ride to the warehouse." Her little 'secret lair', which Amu has seen at least once before, a disused warehouse converted into a combination laboratory and living space for her and her familiar, Hikari. "Or to wherever else, if you'd rather not."

:'''{{#var:85|Amu Hinamori| (85)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Amu Hinamori nods. "No, I still need to go see Lacrima-chan and make sure she's staying out of trouble. If I don't keep fee--" And then covered her mouth, her eyes going wide. She really hadn't meant to let that slip. "T-thank you for the meal, I-I should go. Bye!" And quickly got to her feet, trying to make an escape.

:'''{{#var:102|Mikoto Nakajima| (102)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The name 'Lacrima' rings a bell or two for Mikoto, but it's been a long time since she's heard it. So she doesn't quite move fast enough to reply before Amu can run off. "Hey, wai - " <br /><br />She sighs. The girl's already out the door. She settles back in her seat and stares into her tea cup. "Damn fool," she mutters. "Going to get herself killed, at this rate." <br /><br />She takes another drink of tea, then toys with the half-eaten bowl of noodles as she thinks. "I'm being a sentimental fool, aren't I, Carnwennan?" <br /><br />&lt;~"Yes, Meister."~&gt; <br /><br />Mikoto shakes her head and just slumps further in her seat.
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