2023-03-04 - Victory Pancakes
| Title: Victory Pancakes | |
|---|---|
| Summary: The morning following their harrowing battle with Conflagria, Raiko and Yumi discuss the battle. Raiko makes chocolate chip pancakes, and Yumi makes a startling conclusion. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Chofu Suburban District (Tama Outer City) | |
| OOC - IC Date: 3/4/2023 - Sunday, February 21, 2016 | |
.****************************** Tama Outer City *******************************.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* Chofu Suburban District +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Chofu was built on a vast natural terrace that reinforces the town against
the slope down to the sea. It has its own town limits, and it is large
enough that you can get anything you need without leaving them. It has
lovely houses and apartments, well-appointed town centers, and beautiful
green fields around it. But the Tama River that flows through and past Chofu
feeds into the main city, and the great splay-legged power lines that follow
its course at a safe distance link town to metropolis. This is and is not
Tokyo.
Just fifteen minutes (and a scant 230 yen) by high-speed rail from Shinjuku
Station, Chofu is one of the largest "bed towns" for central Tokyo. Most of
the people who live here work in the Special Wards, the short commute buying
them vastly cheaper, less cramped lodgings, though some maintain local
businesses. While this makes Chofu a suburb of inner Tokyo, it is certainly
still Tokyo, and the expansive lawns and sprawling development one envisions
when thinking of a suburb are not to be found here. Still, there are no
skyscrapers here, and freestanding houses replace the massive apartment
buildings of Tokyo.
Chofu's river banks host old-fashioned festivals that draw many from
surrounding areas at the proper times of year. In contrast, Chofu is also
home to the headquarters of JAXA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Though Japan is not yet involved in manned space travel, those interested in
Japan's satellite or other space-related technology can find ample materiel
for research or wrongdoing.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
When Raiko learned of the impending 3 AM challenge, she immediately offered the use of her house as a sort of base of operations for the night. It would be far, far easier to make up an excuse not to be at Infinity that night rather than deal with making up reasons to sneak out past midnight and then to come back before dawn. This meant Raiko rushed home right after classes (skipping clubs, again, but at least this time she had a reason), did some light shopping so there would be food in the house (everything perishable had either been taken to her dorm or thrown out), and did some spot cleaning. Yumi was offered Raiko's bed, due to her health issues, and Raiko herself dragged out the sleeping bag and pillow she used to use for sleepovers, and set it up on the floor of her room.
Raiko's room, like much of the rest of the house, was... cozy. Almost cheerful. Anime posters on the wall, a bookshelf filled with both manga and technical manuals, and a small desk crowded with figurines, some tools, and a combination light and magnifying glass on a movable arm. With the sleeping bag occupying some floor space it went from 'cozy' to 'a little crowded', but there was still enough room to move around.
After the confrontation with Conflagria, when the two had reached the house, Raiko had stashed her staff safely in her grandfather's study... and then had promptly crawled into her sleeping bag. She hadn't even changed from her normal clothes or said much to Shiori (or Tama) than "We won. I think." and then passed out.
The next morning--or really, it's noon, so it's the next afternoon--finds Shiori gently nosing Raiko awake. "Dear, you really need to get up."
Raiko mumbled something into her pillow and tried to push Shiori away.
"Raiko, it's noon," says Shiori more firmly. "You need to get up. If nothing else, you need to eat."
A long, overly dramatic sigh, muffled by the pillow, issues forth, and Raiko finally sits up. She's in a wrinkled up t-shirt, skirt, and tights, not having done anything more than take off her shoes. "Fiiiiinnee... I guess Yumi-chan should eat, too..."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Cozy is nice. Yumi Ohzora, for her part, is glad not to have to make up an excuse to get back into the dorms; she couldn't really skip clubs, so her day was very, very full... and now that it's all over and done with, with those words of Conflagria's lingering for her, she feels--
She feels pumped. She won! She's not sure how to feel about those last words, but Takahiro is safe, and Raiko is all right, and...
"You look exhausted," Tama comments as she slinks into formation with the others on the way over. "You should sleep, as soon as possible."
Of course she came over.
But cozy? Cozy is nice. Yumi accepted the bed after Tama insisted, and so she's not dealing with back pain and general aces the next morning. They did win. But--noon...
"Hmmmm," Tama remarks, looking ov Raiko and Shiori. "Not bad."
Yumi suddenly sits up. "I'm awake!"
"...You could've slept a bit longer," Tama points out.
"...Eh," she says. Oh well.
She's in a dress and tihgts herself; she did at least take off her jacket.
"Food sounds good..."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Shiori looks just a little satisfied with herself. Of course, she's been dealing with Raiko for almost Raiko's entire life, so she does have a bit of an advantage, in that regard.
Raiko yawns again. "Mornin', Yumi-chan. Morning, Shiori. Morning, Tama."
Conflagria's last words were troubling Raiko, too. Conflagria in general was troubling her, but... well, multiple things could be worrisome. And they'd won, but Conflagria had still gotten away, and she could menace them later with some new plan.
But that... was for later. For now... Raiko's stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before, and a snack while waiting for the appointed time. She unzipped the sleeping bag and dragged herself up onto her feet. "Okay, I'll go get breakfast started. Yumi-chan, wanna help?" She'd ask Shiori for help, but... lack of opposable thumbs.
Raiko makes her way downstairs to the kitchen--also charitably described as 'cozy', with a small table and a few chairs and limited counter space. She opens the fridge and looks at the very bare contents. "Shiori, Tama, are you two hungry? I got some fish at the store last night..." She starts arranging some ingredients on the countertop: eggs, milk, a box of pancake mix, and... a bag of chocolate chips.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
It's true.
"Good morning," Yumi agrees. Tama closes her eyes and opens them again. She apparently likes Raiko well enough by now.
"Oh, breakfast sounds great," Yumi says, as if she doesn't remember saying food sounded good a moment ago, because she's still half-awake. "Yeah, I'd be happy to--"
"No," Tama says.
"...Eh?"
"No," Tama repeats. "You may not help cook. You may do the dishes when she finishes."
"...Aw," Yumi says, and her shoulders sink a little.
But they come on down, and this is cozy too. Cozy is nice!
Tama says, "Yes, I would accept breakfast."
Yumi peers over at the pancake components. "...Oooh. Chocolate."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko blinks and looks to Tama and then Yumi. It's clear she wants to ask, but... she's not sure if she should. Maybe Tama is just worried about Yumi's health after the night they just had? She lets herself be content with that answer.
But she does give Tama a soft scritch behind the ears as she heads down.
Shiori purrs softly, "That sounds lovely, dear."
"Okay." Raiko takes a detour from her breakfast prep to unwrap some salmon and put it out on two dishes. "Sorry I didn't have time to go to the fish market last night. But I hope it's still tasty."
Raiko soon gets the pancakes going. She watches it with the vigilance of someone not confident enough to leave them alone to work on other things, but they do come out allright in the end, at least. When they're almost all ready... "Yumi-chan, can you set the table, please?" Assuming Yumi accepts, Shiori does tell her where everything is, and soon Raiko brings over a heaping plateful of chocolate chip pancakes. There's also orange juice to go with it.
"I hope you like it, Yumi-chan!"
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
It's for the best to be content with that answer. For now.
Tama accepts her tribute.
"It will suffice," Tama decides of the fish, and moves to start eating. She is pretty hungry! She had a lot to do last night. What was it? Who knows? She hasn't told anyone. Presumably something important.
"Those smell great," Yumi declares, and then--"Sure!" She doesn't look at Tama as she goes to get plates. It's easy for her to reach them, too; height has its advantages. And soon, there are... pancakes.
"I'm sure I will!" she says, and digs in.
"Mm!"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Shiori was also doing something important--namely, worrying about her witch. She would have loved to go with the others for advice, but with it being a trap... it was best for them not to expose themselves to the danger. And so she eats.
Raiko also tucks into her pancakes, and polishes off quite a good number of them, along with a couple glasses of orange juice. Finally, when she's stuffed, she sits back in her chair, letting out a soft sigh of contentment. "... Okay, I think I'm ready to deal with the rest of the day, now."
She brightens up. "Oh yeah! Yumi chan, you were amazing last night! The way you powered up, and that new spell you did, you were awesome!"
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Tama agreed with Shiori on that point for certain. In combat, they could've been liabilities against such a terrible foe.
Yumi doesn't eat as many, despite her height. Maybe that's why she's so thin. She at least claims to be full, though, and acts like it. "...Haha. Me, too," she says. "That was really great, thank you."
She doesn't get up immediately; she doesn't want to overdo the noise and make Raiko have to raise her voice or anything, and besides--
"Oh!" Yumi smiles. "Thank you!" She brightens visibly, though only for a moment. "Reading the book," she says, "I didn't find much magic I could use; most of the spells in it are really dark and terrible. But I understood a little, why someone would make the choices the writer was making... and why I wouldn't. And why I don't."
"So I guess in a way... I got to know myself better, and to appreciate the magic of the Staff more. And it turns out... that made me a lot stronger."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko beams when Yumi says her pancakes were good. "Thanks! I'm glad you liked them!" She doesn't seem to notice or care how many Yumi actually ate, as long as she enjoyed them.
The younger witch could probably stand to lay off the sweets a little bit, though... but at least P.E. keeps her mostly in shape.
"Yeah, I guess there wouldn't be much magic we could use, if someone like that wrote it..." Raiko hasn't really looked at the book at all--she's been too busy with studying for her entrance exams and trying to make up for all that lost time--and trying to master her own powers better. "That's good though, that you didn't want to use the magic in the book."
She turns to Shiori and Tama. "It was amazing! Conflagria was taunting us, and Yumi was saying she wouldn't let her use her friend anymore, and then she called on her staff's power and blam! She got way stronger, and her outfit changed colors a bit, too!"
"My word," comments Shiori. "That certainly sounds... momentous." She exchanges a look with Tama, to see her reaction to the news.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi smiles. She did!
...Sweets are very important.
"Mm-hm. It's mostly stuff that we wouldn't want to cast anyway, or things that do things in a way that's horrible. It's much worse than normal curses." Which of course she's fine with, obviously. "...Yes. I know what I do and don't want to do. I learned a lot in my time with other magical girls."
A pause. "Maybe after you've finished finals and stuff you can go through it, too."
Yumi smiles. "Well," she says, "It was still a really hard fight. But those things did happen!"
Tama looks up, and exchanges a look with Shiori, before, "...Would you say, Yumi, that your magic 'bloomed'?"
"Huh?" Pause. "Yeah, I guess."
"So... your bond with the Staff has progressed that much. You must be even more careful, now. Not only in battle--they will be prepared next time--but that you do not lose yourself in its power."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko does think it's a little weird that Yumi uses curses, but... well, that's just a part of some witch family traditions, she supposes. Her staff still seems to accept her regardless, so... it's probably fine, right?
But Raiko smiles when Yumi affirms there are things she won't do, regardless. But the mentions of finals--and the thought of entrance exams-is enough to make her suddenly tired, for a moment. "Maybe... I'm still studying for entrance exams, too, and..." She lets out a weary sigh. "... between that and trying to practice with my staff's magic, I haven't had a chance to get my spell working, either..."
"But yeah, that fight was really hard, and... Conflagria is really strong. She..." Raiko shudders a bit at the memory of that arm. "She took two of our strongest blasts right in the arm and that barely even slowed her down. She seemed to be obsessed with Yumi-chan, too, for some reason... Like this fight was personal, or something..." She frowns at that thought, turning it over in her head.
She'd told Yumi last night 'She hates you', but that simple answer still didn't clear up the why of it at all.
But Tama's words give her pause. "Is that possible...?" she wonders out loud. "I can feel my staff guiding me sometimes, but... I can't really do anything complicated with it yet."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
It's fine! Super fine.
Yumi looks sympathetic. "You can make it," she says. "I'm sure of it. You'll get through, you'll get in, and you'll make your spell, too! A little thing like 'being tired' can't stop you!"
She nods though, about the fight. "...She did," Yumi says. "She's definitely not a normal human anymore--the level of dark power she showed, just in that... the things my spell did to her. That doesn't happen with regular people."
Obsessed with Yumi... Yumi is quiet for a moment. More on that in a moment. First--
"It's possible," Tama says, "The Staves have strong emotional resonance--none moreso than Lost Ivy. It requires great strength of heart to balance the Staff's perspective with your own, for any of you... but especially for Yumi. Let it guide you at times--but remember that it is a partnership. You are as important as your Staff; it is Staff and witch together that will defeat the Hungry Queen's minions, not one or the other."
"I see..."
Yumi pauses. "So, Conflagria knows who I am," she says. "I mean, my name. My regular name."
She just drops that there. Tama's tail flicks in what might be thought or irritation.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko's weariness at the thought of still studying for entrance and then finals is cut through by Yumi's confidence in her, and she can't help but smile. That overconfidence might worry her in battle, but outside of battle... she'll gladly accept it. "Thanks, Yumi-chan. I've been working really hard to make sure I get into Infinity High School..."
"You have dear, and you've been making great strides," comments Shiori.
Raiko shudders again as Yumi mentions the arm. That's not an image she'll get out of her head soon. "Yeah, and after your spell did that she used her arm as a shield against my spell... That's... not why I study magic, you know?"
"Hmmm... I mean, I do feel the staff guiding me sometimes, in battle... it kept me going last night when... well, right at the end, when I needed the help the most." She's not sure she wants to say out loud just how close she came to going down, how much on her last legs she was.
"What?!" Raiko sits up, clearly panicked. "Are you sure?! Maybe she was just playing mind games with you. I told you not to let her get in your head..." She really needs to take her own advice, as those last words are still bothering her, but she can deal with that in a moment.
Shiori also sits up from her dish, a bit stunned, but she looks to Tama to see what hse has to say.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"I've noticed!" she says. "That's why I'm so sure. As hard as you're working, I believe you can do it."
She nods to Shiori. "Just like that!"
The arm... Yumi nods. "Right. Me, either. But some people just care about power. ...I want to be the kind of witch who can help people. And sure, fight what needs fighting, too, but in service of helping people."
"That's fine," Tama says. "It's good, even. Attuning to your Staff can let you do more than you could do alone, above and beyond the power it affords you. ...You aren't at the point yet where you need to worry, I think. But Yumi's own talents were never quite the same..." She considers.
But then--Yumi shakes her head. "The way she spoke, the things she knew about me, the way it was so personal... I'm sure of it," Yumi continues. "I've been 'handed everything'? That's not true of the Witch of Lost Ivy. ...I've been givcen a lot, though, as 'me'. Some of it's also stuff I don't want, like how sick I am. But I know I have things other people don't."
Tama's tail keeps flickering. "THsi wouldn't surprise me," she says, neutrally. "We must always be careful, but the enemy has powerful knowledge and ways of gathering it."
She looks to Shiori. "It may or may not be true of Raiko. But either they won't or can't strike at Infinity... which is another reason it's wise to keep living there."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko nods, and actually feels a little bit better about her prospects. "Well, I have been studying a lot..." She considers. "... could always try to impress them with the spells I've created, but... Kinda wanna refine them more first, too... So I'll keep studying. I'm just glad this stuff with Conflagria is done, for the moment. I don't think I could handle another fight like that before Wednesday."
A beat. "It is over, right...?"
She nods firmly as Yumi declares she wants to help people. "Right! Me too."
"Shiori's been helping me train with the Staff of Wise Levin, so I can learn to use its power better... Maybe someday, once my control of it is better, I'll be able to do something like be able to locate Conflagria, when I couldn't last night..."
She snaps her fingers. "Oh! Shiori's really good at training! Maybe she could help you test out your new powers, make sure you have a good handle on them!"
"Well," demurs Shiori quietly, "If Yumi and Tama are receptive, I wouldn't mind..."
Raiko frowns at Yumi's analysis of the situation, testing her chin in her hand as she thinks it over. She hasn't known Yumi that long, so she'll have to trust her judgment on some of it. "She sounded jealous of you... She said you'd been given everything she always wanted, right...? But if that's so, then why..." Her eyes go wide as she suddenly looks up. Her voice is a stunned whisper. "The message..." There's a creeping horror as the implications reveal themselves. "That's how she got the message to you. I was trying to think of how she did that and it didn't make sense. It could've just been... some sort of sympathetic bond with the person who held the book, but if she knew who you were..."
She does not like what that might portend.
"Conflagria almost didn't seem to notice me... I mean, aside from attacking me, she only said anything to Yumi-chan last night... at least, right up until I... until her arm... She had some last words for us before she escaped..."
Shiori's own tail is flicking gently as she ponders the implications. If Kenji was captured, Raiko's secrets might not be safe.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"It's over," Tama reassures Raiko. "She'll need time to recover. Something else could happen, but this much is done." ...Well, it's kind of reassuring.
"C'mon, Tama. Give her a break."
"I'm just being realistic. ...But it's true that they don't usually move again so quickly."
"See? That's better."
To locate Conflagria... "That would be handy," Yumi says. "She seems to like illusions and stuff too. Well, I'll support you."
Training, hm? "That's a thought," Yumi says. Tama answers, "I'll consider it. It might be useful to set up some sort of exercise..."
But Yumi's analysis, she thinks, is pretty good. But Raiko's... "Yeah," she says. "That's what it sounded like. But I don't know what I have that she wants. I mean, I guess it could be our family's position, or fortune."
But the message? Yumi pauses. And then nods. "...Yes," she says thoughtfully, "That too. Which means... Maybe Takahiro being targeted wasn't a coincidence..."
She doesn't like that idea.
But Conflagria--"She said something to you?" Yumi asks. "What did she say? She did to me, too. That 'life is hunger' basically. ...THat mine had won me what I'd sought."
"Hunger, in and of itself, is not a bad thing," Tama muses. "It is when it becomes greed and gluttony that it is a blight."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko lets out a little sigh of relief as Tama assures her Conflagria will need time to heal. That much has to be true, at least. They haven't really described what happened to Conflagria's arm, but there's no way someone would bounce back from that quickly.
"We can discuss that later," offers Shiori, to Tama. There's certainly more pressing things, at the moment.
"Yeah, but there's lots of powerful and rich witch families... Surely she's not that jealous of all of them, right...?"
"If that wasn't a coincidence, then the painting..." Raiko didn't really mean to say that out loud, but now it's out there.
"She said..." Raiko closes her eyes to remember it. "'What is retribution, but a hunger for revenge?' She wanted us to show her our hunger, too... whatever that means."
She nods to Tama. "Right. But even so..." She looks down at the table. "It kinda feels like she thought she won, or something, somehow..."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Tama looks at shiori and inclines her head. "Yes."
"Yeah," Yumi says. "There's something about her we don't know, for sure." The painting... Yes. "Whether or not she told him to do it," Yumi says, "She was clearly fine with him having done it. So that means she wanted us to know who she was."
tRetribution. "...Mm." Yumi shakes her head. "Yeah. She wanted something out of us. I don't know what."
"...But, whether she got it or not," she says, "We still couldn't let her do as she pleased. We'll have to fight her again, I'm sure."
Tama is quiet.
"Anyway..." Yumi starts to stand up, "Don't let her get to you. That was your advice to me, right? I think you had the right idea."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"There's a lot about her that we don't know... We'll have to be on our guard if and when she shows up again... or any of the other... what did she call them? The Hollow Four? So there's more of them out there, too..."
Raiko nods firmly. "We showed her that we can stand up to her, at least, so... they'll be preparing, but that gives us more time to prepare too, right?"
Shiori seems to be lost in thought, as well, remaining silent.
"I said 'not to let her get in your head', but..." She sighs. "You're right. I keep trying to figure out what her angle is and I keep coming up with nothing. We simply don't know enough. If I could read my grandpa's notes... I haven't had any time to work on those, either..."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"The Hollow Four," Tama repeats. "...Yes. We will have to be very careful."
"Right!" Yumi answers. "It was hard, but we did it. And we beat her Ogres, too. So if we keep at it... Then we can be ready. You're right, we can prepare, too. And one of the best ways to prepare is to make sure we aren't..."
She pauses. "I mean. How to put it?"
"If we keep up with our studies, we'll make sure we aren't in a position where having something come up will wreck us. If we keep rested, then we can make sure we aren't caught with our pants down, you know? Things like that. That's what I think, anyway."
"One thing at a time," Yumi says, and Tama stays quiet except for her statement. In fact, she stands up, and begins to walk away. Perhaps she has something to do. Perhaps not.
"But I was going to get your dishes!" Yumi says. "So, just a sec..."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko nods. "Right! ... Guess that's even more of a reason to get caught up on all of my studies, so I don't have to worry about something coming up like this..." There's a bit of weariness still, but also a new determination underlying that weariness. It seems a little bit more possible, now, at least.
"Okay! Thanks for helping out with these, Yumi-chan!" Raiko gets up too, and puts away the ingredients and the extra pancakes--she'll likely have those for breakfast tomorrow, but for now, she just helps corral all of the dishes together. Shiori, for her part, jumps up on the counter to supervise, mostly out of habit.
