View source for 2022-10-14 - Conflagria Appears! It's A Battle Of Words For Mikoto!?

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! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Conflagria Appears! It's A Battle Of Words For Mikoto!?'''
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|'''Summary''':<br>
''Conflagria confronts Mikoto on her way to deliver some things to Yumi, and offers her some more ill portents to deliver. Mikoto never liked talking to Conflagria, but there's certainly history, here.''
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| '''Who:'''<br>
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Benio Asuna|Conflagria]]
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| '''Where:'''<br>
Yamanote High City
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| '''OOC - IC Date:'''<br>
2022-10-14 - 2016-01-19
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|}
[[Category:Logs]]

 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

	Just as she promised, Mikoto goes to Infinity, after school, to retrieve Yumi's things. She's able to get in, of course. She's Yumi's trusted friend, helping her out when she's sick; it's a very normal arrangement, even if it isn't always Mikoto fetching things.

	She visits Hanae, while she's here -- she brought some cardstock, with a hand-drawn cat on the front. (The cat is built out of the kanji for the word 'cat'.) She tells her -- in her usual manner of brevity -- how Yumi misses her, and asks if she'd like to write a message for Mikoto to bring to her, even if they won't let her into the hospital to visit. She expresses, as well, how unfair she thinks it is, that they won't let her see her; she's not ''happy'' that she's the only one, between the two of them, who can go to Yumi right now.

	That might be a happier story than the one where Mikoto enters the empty dormroom, and gathers everything up into her cheerful little pink backpack to bring out to hospital. Oh, most things are fine, but...

	Picking up that puzzle...

	Somehow, Mikoto feels like it isn't something she should just put in a bag, like everything else.

	Somehow, it isn't something she should...

	Miroku slung over one shoulder, her backpack over the other, the girl in the Ohtori high uniform holds that unsolved puzzle in one hand as she walks from the train station towards Mitakihara. Today, she's taking a longer path, through quiet alleyways and side-streets; it's not that she doesn't want to get to Yumi quickly, but she doesn't think she should be in a big crowd right now, either.


 <Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

Now, what could be so important about a puzzle? As Mikoto looks, she may notice that one layer is already undone; it's hard to tell, though, without knowing much more about it. There might be more. But Hanae... Well. Hanae is appreciative--she seems... frustrated, that they won't allow her to visit, though she does 'get it' she says. She signs the card gratefully. 

She says nothing of how Yumi is a burden, despite the thoughts Yumi and Mikoto shared the other day. 

Mikoto's instinct may be wrong, and may be right. Lugging around magical artifacts (lower-case a?) is something that demands care. On the other hand, there is a problem with going through side streets and quiet alleyways... 

"Hm hm hm," comes a voice from not far away, "What's the little kitty doing now...? Wandering in the alley?" 

It's not a new voice. A woman in red steps out from another alley. Her black hair is arranged in a lovely hime cut that flatters her face, with flame ornamentation. Her dress is red, with wide sleeves and a belt at the waist. Her boots are heeled. And the dagger at her side is a powerful implement. 

"Playing with magic?"


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
 <SoundTracker> Marianas Trench - Your Ghost https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4cB4WBy8Zs

	There might be more, but Mikoto would rather not look at the puzzle too long. It's...

	No, obviously it isn't familiar, but Mikoto's still having a bad time after the Wraiths; that's the plainest explanation. ''Everything'' feels a little too comfortable, after that. The puzzle is just a little strange because Yumi's a witch, that's all.

	That's all.

	But Mikoto doesn't want to bring it into a crowd, either way -- call it intuition, or worry, or care. It means she's not ''in'' a crowd, even though it's a typical Tokyo afternoon. That voice, a voice ''Mikoto'' would describe as grating, reaches her ears; she spins to meet her, chest and shoulders sinking, and it's a gesture to lower her centre of mass rather than her status. Her hands pull back --

	And that's when she remembers they're full, and she can't draw her blade like this.

	But Mikoto doesn't want to put the puzzle ''down,'' either. She clutches it at her belly, close to her, and glowers. "Conflagria!" Mikoto snaps, Mikoto snarls, with all the brute-force honesty she always wore. "What do you want?!"

	In terms of the social dangers of Dark Fall meetings, Mikoto wasn't even a fighter; the best outcome for her was to be safely ignored, in those cutthroat deals and layered conversations. Being fair, she often was, because in the world of adults, she's still a child. Even if she ''was'' the Obsidian Lord's right hand, it was difficult for Mikoto to command any real fear or respect, as a girl not yet grown.

	... well, it didn't help that she looked up to Labyrinth's Westar without ''hiding'' it. Looking up to anyone is a social poison, in that sort of crowd; looking up to ''that'' man is just added insult.

	As if to preempt the obvious question, she insists, angry: "Conflagria can't have it!" And judging from her grip on the puzzle, that's what she's talking about. She's aggressive; she's being uncharitable. It's a bad habit, but it's difficult to shake, reminded of that chapter of her life.


 <Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

"Tsk, tsk. Always so quick to violence! I suppose that would be your recourse. Words are so ''hard'', aren't they?" Conflagria asks sweetly. There is little sweet about her expression, though. She looks to Mikoto, gances over the puzzle, and narrows her eyes. 

"Hmph. As if I would want such a trinket. Glacien is the one obsessed with gathering pretty things." 

She sounds a little teeth-gritted about it, though. Just for a moment. Easy to miss. 

"Disappointed I'm not the oaf?" she wonders, and then leans dramatically on the wall. "Ah, I'm so unappreciated." 

"No, silly, I wanted to talk to ''you''! I'm terribly curious. Do they have you on errands now? I suppose things aren't so different after all..."


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

	Mikoto doesn't ''like'' Conflagria. She's ''rude.'' Mikoto once suggested Yumi come up with a curse to make her be quiet -- despite the fact that Mikoto was supposed to be working hard to be a ''better'' person.

	In a word: she's NOT happy to see her.

	(That's two words, or maybe six words; but words are, after all, hard. She's always said so. How unfortunate it comes back to bite her.)

	The response she gives ''her,'' though, is a growl, wordless and rumbling through her throat and her tongue, all pressed flat to her mouth.

	Conflagria leans, and Mikoto is still all written in tension, coiled up like a twisted spring. "No!" She snaps, finds her words, when Conflagria accuses things of being much the same. "It's not! I'm helping Yumi 'cause she's my ''friend!''" She is still so honest; Mikoto has always struggled to say anything less than what she thinks, even if at times she's been trying to convince herself as much as everyone else.


 <Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.
 <SoundTracker> Ego Likeness - Burn Witch Burn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWz67B1gO8A

Conflagria doesn't like Mikoto. She's artless, brute force, a blunt instrument, and yet she has the favor of the Obsidian Lord. It is anathema to her that someone so ''rough'' should be so favored. 

That growl prompts a sickle smile. "Hm hm hm," she continues. "Is that so...?" 

"So this little trinket is Yumi's? My, how good to know!" She dances close to the line, but doesn't cross it--should she threaten the girl, Mikoto would find a way to turn this into a fight, and that's not what she's after today. 

Even if she does kind of want to. 

"You're too honest, girl. You have been for a long time. It's going to get you into even more trouble one of these days. Oh, but don't worry--I'm not after your... friend." A smile. 

"Though her school should expect more trouble soon..."


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

	What a shame there was no ''left'' hand for Conflagria to prefer, given her role was the wrecking ball.

	... at least, not that Mikoto remembers.

	Her eyes widen, as Conflagria reacts to Yumi's name so cheerfully, alarm blanching her face. When she accuses her of being too honest, there ''is'' guilt on her face, shifting back a half-step on her heel as her lips scrunch with discomfort.

	Conflagria is tied up with Yumi's enemies, she chastises herself, silently. Mikoto can't just ''talk'' about her like that, even if it's the truth.

	Her chastisement lasts only as long as one of those veiled threats, though. "What's that mean?!" Mikoto demands, sharp as a knife again. "What's Conflagria doing?!"


 <Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

What a shame! 

Conflagria savors that moment of guilt. It's very nice. Conflagria's smile widens with it, and she pushes off of the wall, step stepping around, without actually coming any ''closer'' to Mikoto--just in a position where it's easier to see. 

Mikoto demands again, and it's perfect. Conflagria couldn't have asked for a better opening. And so, "Since you asked~!" 

"I've delivered a ''present'' to one of the students at Infinity Institute," Conflagria answers, all sweet and pleasant. "A powerful present indeed. Its magic will surely tempt this student... And then we'll just see what happens if they use it, shall we?" 

"You'll like it, I'm sure. It'll give you plenty of chances to use that sword of yours, if all goes well." Her smile turns into a grin. "And there's really nothing you can do about it until then."


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

	Mikoto turns, with those steps, listening to the way her heels clip against the path. She doesn't want to let Conflagria get behind her; even if she's confident she's physically ''stronger,'' she can't account for dirty tricks.

	Oh, she's sweet, and pleasant, and Mikoto would rather listen to one of those big trucks which spin concrete around and around, which is a ''singularly'' unpleasant sound for someone with her aural acucity.

	Mikoto hates hearing Conflagria talk! It's NEVER good!

	Now, no less than any prior time. Mikoto's teeth clench, and her nostrils flare; but there's a particular backwards pull of her grimace which shows the wrong teeth, a particular widening of her eyes and tension in her brow. She is not just angry. She is ''trapped,'' unable to stop the horrors set to unfold.

	She starts towards Conflagria, a heavy THUMP of a footstep, one shoulder swinging forward in a motion which ''would'' help her arm herself in an instant. "I'll--!" She threatens, she promises, as if there ''is'' something she can do, the violence she has always held --

	Until her fingers get caught in Yumi's puzzle, and she looks down at it. Ah. Her hands are... full. Mikoto sinks, heels coming back to the ground. (She's in sensible Ohtori flats, so there's no ''click.'')

	Mikoto looks away, and her thwarted frustration is as evident as anything else. "We won't let you," she grumbles, to the alleyway, volume leaving her.


 <Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

Conflagria has a lot of dirty tricks. And fire, obviously. One can't discount fire. 

Conflagria's eyes practically sparkle as she watches Mikoto clench her teeth, as she watches her ''trapped'' and notices her thumping that footstep forward. It could arm her. If she dropped the puzzle. Which would probably be fine... but that she won't do. Clearly. 

"Hm hm hm." 

"Won't you?" Conflagria asks. "Oh, perhaps you could find it now. Perhaps you could thwart my plans after all. But... you have other priorities at the moment, don't you?" 

"A certain... Yu~mi~?" 

Conflagria's laughter is musical, in its way. But in a minor key. "No, you're going to spend your time caring for a sick girl, not searching for an object you have no way of finding. Just like you're going to prioritize that bauble over trying to destroy ''me''." Expansively, she shrugs. "But that's all I had to say. By all means, continue your errand, servant girl." Conflagria starts to turn to the side, and begins to walk down the alley.


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

	"Leave her alone!" Mikoto yells, despite herself, when Conflagria brings up Yumi's name again.

	She scowls deeper, lifting the puzzle to her chest -- unconsciously, to a particular height -- when Conflagria points out her care for the object. "It's important," she protests, but her voice is thin. She tries, at least, to think better than to explain why. It would only be worse if Mikoto told ''Conflagria'' this was a special gift to Yumi, wouldn't it?

	A growl rips through her throat, and she yells, after Conflagria: "That's not what I am!" No wonder the princess would be so upset about being called a ''servant'' -- but didn't Mikoto leave her court behind?

	She doesn't stop her, though -- and neither does she turn away. She's not going to leave until she's sure Conflagria isn't going to stab her in the back.

	Not that she can ever be entirely sure of that.


 <Pose Tracker> Benio Asuna [None] has posed.

"Ahahahah. Such loyalty! Would she say the same for you, I wonder? Or are you just a convenience?" 

It's important, Mikoto says. And Conflagria knows exactly why. Her eyes linger on the puzzle again for a moment, fury threatening her composure as she thinks of that ''girl'' being given such a gift, ungrateful as she is. Oh, she notices the height of that puzzle--but it only makes her wonder if Mikoto realizes its significance after all.

But when she growls--"Hm hm. Aren't you? What else would you be? It does roll off the tongue better than some options..." 

Conflagria grins, and continues along. When she steps past the alley, there is a roar of flame, and she is gone.


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

	"That's not true! Stop it!" Mikoto can't even punctuate her demands with a blade, right now, so they're really just a little ''sad.''

	Oh, Mikoto knows a lot of things which she doesn't know at all.

	Bereft of comebacks, her only refuge in the face of Conflagria's insults is to echo herself: "Stop it!" She's ''bothered,'' clearly, but her mind is too frazzled to put together a coherent reply.

	She hears the fire consuming, though, and with a discomforted noise, Mikoto finally turns and keeps walking to the hospital.

	It takes her a little longer, because she keeps looking over her shoulder.