2018-11-19 - TIMELINE 1: Hey, Listen! Cool Down In The Calm Tent!

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Title: TIMELINE 1: Hey, Listen! Cool Down In The Calm Tent!
Summary:

Yumi Ohzora helps Mikoto Minagi after a disastrous run-in with a 300x spicy curry bun. She teaches her important lessons about capitalism, too!

Who:

Mikoto Minagi, Yumi Ohzora

Where:

Juuban Public School - Gymnasium and Fields

OOC - IC Date:

2018-19-11 - 2013-21-09

.***************** Shitamachi Low City - Juuban Public School *****************.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* Gymnasium and Fields +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
 Accessed through a covered, open-air walkway linked to the school, the
 Juuban gymnasium is a warehouse-like structure with an impressively high
 ceiling (a fact impressed on many a child during their first rope-climb).
 Its golden-brown laminated hardwood floor is decades old by now, with arcane
 scrawls of shoe-rubber burnt into it beyond the influence of any mop, but
 it's held up well, though a few boards near the walls creak a complaint if
 stepped on. A spacious equipment room contains the volleyball nets, balls of
 various sizes, and other miscellanea the gym teachers use to keep Juuban in
 shape.

 When weather permits, the students are often taken to the athletic fields
 instead. A ruddy brown, rubber-coated track rings the main field with
 concentric spray-painted rings, and is used for track and field activities,
 as well as forming the center ring of a three ring circus of athletics
 during the sports festival. The other two rings are the soccer field and the
 baseball field, the former of which is often put to use for other sports as
 well. While not as expansive as a country school might enjoy, the fields are
 a considerable privilege in high-rent Tokyo, one much-appreciated by
 Juuban's numerous afterschool sports clubs.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* Players +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Homestuck - Chorale for Jaspers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Nyf8NEWio

NOT SO LONG AGO

A shadowed streak barrels past the finishing line of the BREAD RACE, up through the bleachers, and away. It's the fire-mouthed cat demon, come from Ohtori to haunt the grounds of Juuban!

EVEN SOONER STILL

The Athletics Festival has brought all sorts of challenges, including aquatic ones! Juuban is lucky enough to have a pool, even though it's a public school - and even though it's getting a little nippy, the swimming teams are putting in an excellent show in the water.

Two athletes are neck-and-neck in the butterfly stroke, each girl striving their hardest, even as...

... a shadow...

... descends from the fence...

... FLOP, goes Mikoto, right into the water, before anyone can figure out what's happening at all. She gulps in the water, only to cough and gag. It doesn't taste like good water at all! But everything is on fire!

"What the - get out of there!" Cries a teacher, as Mikoto gives in to her terrible, terrible fate and sags into the pool. She is defeated.

A FEW MOMENTS AGO

"... yeah, she dived right in and inhaled a bunch of chlorine water. She was totally bonkers."

A tall girl holds a much tinier one in her arms, in the first aid tent, as she speaks to the nurse.

"Well, put her down there, we'll sort her out." Nurse Sagisawa gestures to one of the empty beds. The tall girl exits, and the nurse kneels down to examine this new arrival. She doesn't seem to be suffering from any ill-effects, but her face is scrunched up regardless. Well, perhaps the taste of chlorine didn't agree with her.

"Maiii," the girl whines.

"Mai-san, Mai-san..." Nurse Sagisawa muses, to herself, and straightens up. "... you'll be fine. I'll go see if I can find someone to get Mai-san for you, okay?"

"Mmrn," grumbles the girl.

"I'll be right outside," the nurse reassures the rest of the tent, for some mysterious reason, as she steps out.

AND NOW

Mikoto's eyes blink open, as if she's just realised she's in a new location, now. She is still, distantly, aware of the burning in her mouth, but it's more of a thudding pulse than a stabbing pain now. She grimaces, turning her face against the pillow. It's damp. Why is it damp?

She must have gotten wet after the food hurt her.

At first she just makes another wordless grumbling noise of complaint, but she remembers hearing someone talking to her not so long ago.

"... water," Mikoto whines plaintively, eyes searching the tent for whomever it could have been.


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It is a new location! ...Well, new to Mikoto, anyway. And she is not alone here. In fact, there's someone who was just speaking, but...

When Mikoto looks around, she'll see a rail-thin girl with glasses and gray hair. She's in Infinity colors, and a little dirty; there are bruises spread around her arm and leg on the right side, and she's seated on one of the cots, looking at Mikoto. "...Hey," she says, tilting her head to look Mikoto over. "Water...?" she asks, surprised at first. Her voice is a little distant.

She's much taller than Mikoto, of course. But she pushes herself up a second later, "Oh, okay." She moves to the side of her cot and goes through her bag, pulling out a bottle of water and opening it up to offer it to Mikoto. "What happened?" she asks after giving Mikoto a chance to drink it. Her pink eyes stay on her, concerned. ...But she looks a little jumpy.


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

This girl doesn't sound quite the same, but she's actually here, so Mikoto supposes it doesn't matter so much. Big golden eyes blink as she focuses on her, though. She's so thin. And tall. Like a sapling!

More importantly, she is handing Mikoto some water, and she pushes herself up sitting - leaving a bag lying on the cot she was brought in with - to grasp it and drag down the water in big gulps. This water doesn't taste bad. And thank god, it's calming the lingering burn of the 300x spicy curry bun.

Mikoto doesn't know that this food was designed to be especially hurtful, of course. She couldn't conceive of a human being so cruel. All she knows is that it hurt, and she didn't like it.

Gulp, gulp, gulp...

... gulp, gulp, gulp...

... the bottle's half-empty by the time Mikoto comes up for breath. "I'm saved..." she mumbles, in relief, before she goes back for the other half. Gulp, gulp.

And then, you know, she's out of water, but she's not in so much pain any more, either. And it's only then that it occurs to her that the girl who came to her rescue with actually-edible water is asking a question. She hopes she wasn't asking anything before this, because Mikoto definitely wasn't listening.

There's gratitude writ plain on her face as she looks up. "Bread race," she explains. "But bread hurt." As far as she's concerned, this is a perfectly logical explanation which needs no clarification whatsoever.


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Big eyes--Yumi spots those easy. ...She's adorable, the young witch concludes immediately. She keeps standing for the moment though, waiting through Mikoto drinking water. ...And drinking, and drinking...

"They said you drank chlorine," Yumi says thoughtfully, and then looks down again. That may have been missed. But her actual question? That's--

"Bread... OH! Oh, bread. You..." She winces. "You got the really spicy one, didn't you?" she asks. "That's rough. I've only heard stories about how bad it is. I'm not actually allowed to do that competition..."

Or most of them, for that matter.

"Hm. Water'll only do so much for you--you need something starchy. Here--" She moves back to her bag and pulls out a little packet of crackers with cheese, offers them Mikoto's way. "Eat these, and you'll feel better."

She happens to be holding them out with the bruised-up arm, of course, but that doesn't slow her down much.


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Ch...lor...ine," Mikoto sounds the word out, as if she's never heard it before. "Bad water?" She pushes forward to enquire, uncertainly, because she's never heard of inedible water being called chlorine before. Maybe it's a city term.

And then the girl correctly surmises her fate, and gives it context: the bread she got was extra spicy. (This is a word which means that food hurts a lot.) Mikoto nods, a sad look on her face. This must have been her fate. Wait, why isn't this girl allowed to..?

That question is neatly interrupted by Yumi's next point, and she cants her head as she is informed she needs starch. This is, apparently, also a food, and Mikoto takes the crackers and cheese without hesitation. Yes, food just hurt her, but this girl gave her water, so she wouldn't wound her with hurtful spicy food.

Huh. She's not the only one who's been wounded, either.

Her trust is soon rewarded by a delicious snack, which only serves to further ameliorate the burning sensation. The food soon disappears down the black hole which is Mikoto's mouth, and she smiles in relief. "... better!"


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Umm, that's the chemical they put in pool water to keep it clean. Not good for drinking." Yumi explains a little without stopping to ask why. She just does what she can! ...Though her gaze lingers a little on the sad, sad look on Mikoto's face. It definitely tugs at her a little.

...But when Mikoto smiles, Yumi smiles back at her. "Thought so. It's..." She trails off, "Um, some kind of sciency explanation I guess, but the point is it works!"

At that she shifts back and, with a slight wince, lowers herself back onto the other cot nearby.

"Sorry you got stuck in here; you seem like the type who'd do pretty well competing..."


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The chemical, Yumi says. Mikoto is vaguely familiar with the word - they mention it in one of the classes she doesn't pay much attention to. They're like poisons, except they're not all poisons. It's pretty complicated, so she doesn't worry too much about it. She's had more important lessons to focus on, like Grandpa Whisker's education on the best places to escape attention and nap.

For this reason, Mikoto is completely willing to accept Yumi's explanation of 'sciency stuff' out of hand, with a firm nod. This girl looks pretty smart, so she'd probably know. Mikoto could certainly figure it out if she cared about it, but she's more worried about whether or not it works. And it does!

She considers Yumi as she lowers herself back down - slowly, slowly, like she's hurting. With an affirmative noise, she nods again. "Think I won some. Wasn't paying attention." What a stark contrast - between effortless acrobatics and bone-weariness. Certainly it sounds like a boast, but Mikoto says it so casually, as if she were relating the day's weather to someone who had been stuck inside all day.

But sympathy for being stuck here brings Mikoto to another point. Her head tilts in feline fashion as she hums through closed lips. "Got hurt?" She asks, looking to the bruises.


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Yumi could give some good nap spots too. ...Not for the same reason, though. Very different.

Yumi smiles again when Mikoto just accepts it, but that doesn't last all that long. At least the wincing stops after she finishes sitting down. "Hmm, yeah? Must be nice." Not paying attention, but still winning? It's definitely not something Yumi can relate all that much to at the moment. It could sound bitter, but instead, "I hope it was fun! Before the... bread problem."

Mikoto's tilted-head expression isn't that familiar to Yumi, who hasn't spent a lot of time around cats, for some reason. But, "...Yeah," Yumi answers, glancing to the side. With a little unfunny laugh, the taller girl glances down. "Ah, yeah, I..." She lifts a hand and lets it fall. "I just fell again, it's no big deal or anything. I bruise easy is all."


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Yup!" Mikoto chirps, in reply, and perhaps it's a good sign that she's got her chipperness back now she's had something to eat and drink. Then again, she bounces back from difficulties with remarkable ease. And it was fun! She got to make friends with a lot of boys, and girls too.

Yumi explains that she fell, and Mikoto blinks. "Bad fall," she supposes, because there's no way those injuries make sense just by tripping. Bruising means someone is hurt on the inside, after all. Mikoto knows a lot more about injuries than she has the technical language to describe.

There's a beat of a pause, another... and then the thing which didn't quite make sense falls into place. "Again?" She says it as if it were a repetitive thing.


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It is totally a good sign! Yumi is at least happy to see someone bouncing back quickly. She may be kind of subdued, but that's a good thing. But--Well, Mikoto's direct manner of speaking definitely gets to things quickly. Yumi's hair falls over her eyes as she glances down, shaking her head. "Ah..."

'Again.' Of course, she doesn't know her, doesn't go to Infinity, so...

"Um, yeah." Yumi lifts her eyes, looks to the ceiling such as it is of the tent. "I um, I have a..." She bites her lip. "It just happens a lot, is all. I black out or whatever, and when I wake up I'm on the ground unless somebody moved me. Sometimes I land on something hard. It's... normal, you know? Nothing to worry about."


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's normal, Yumi says, and Mikoto shakes her head. People black out when they've been hit too hard, or...

Well, it's not normal for it to happen out of the blue, anyway.

But she says not to worry about it, and Mikoto is willing to take that on faith, and so her head-shake turns into a nod, in a gradual sort of process as she realises this girl is telling her not to worry instead of insisting it's not worrying. It's kind of comical, really.

"Sounds annoying," she says, instead.


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Maybe it isn't normal. Okay, it totally isn't normal for most people, and Yumi knows that, but she doesn't want to dwell anyway. Somehow, Mikoto seems to get that message, though Yumi wasn't sure she would for a moment. She waits--it would be a little funny in other circumstances. As it stands...

"Yeah," Yumi allows, slouching terribly like a shiftless teenager. "It's pretty annoying. But you get used to it, right? It's just like that."

A beat, "Anyway, I bet there's more fun stuff going on than me, right? You mentioned... Something about Mai?" she asks. "...Ah, not that I.. know who that is, so... nevermind. Uh, I'm... Yumi Ohzora. Middle school year 3."


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

There probably is more fun things to do than be exiled to the first aid tent, but Mikoto wasn't worried about that until Yumi brought it up. The name she mentions makes her perk up, though, as if she's remembered something. "Mai!" She chirps, in recognition.

Then Yumi introduces herself, and Mikoto bobs her head in a nod. "Mikoto," she says, and perhaps that's her name, because it's certainly not one she's mentioned before. She doesn't give her last. She hasn't yet been told that rule.

There's something else to Yumi's introduction, though, and Mikoto frowns in thought as she hums. Middle school's where she is, and... what year... oh, right. "Me too!" She replies, and perhaps she's talking about what year she's in. It's a strange thing to have to think about. Perhaps she transferred from a different system..?

"Yumi's good person," Mikoto nods, decisively. It's that easy.


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It must be someone Mikoto likes, Yumi concludes quickly. Nobody gets that happy just from somebody's name if they aren't special. ...Though Mikoto might be different... Yumi's still pretty sure of it. She smiles, as Mikoto answers. "Mikoto-san, then," Yumi offers. She's not... sure if it's first or last, because it's not quite the normal way of giving the answer, but... That's not a problem, right?

"Oh, yeah?" Yumi asks. "Cool. I go to Infinity," she says, maybe obvious, maybe not if Mikoto's new. "I've been there for a while." A beat--and then a little laugh of surprise, as she's called a good person. "You think so?" she asks.

"I could totally be some spooky person, super weird, not nice at all. We just met, y'know?" It's almost a note of teasing... But she doesn't seem to have any venom in her about it.


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It's still strange to hear Mikoto's name with other honorifics, but she supposes that's how things work now.

"Ohtori... I'm new," she explains, as if it wasn't obvious. She has 'transfer student' written all over her. She seems perfectly Japanese, so she's probably not a foreigner, but... maybe she's country? Or maybe she's just very, very strange.

Yumi poses the possibility that she's a spooky, weird, not-nice person, and Mikoto tilts her head. There's a noise of casual negation, as she shakes it back and forth. "Yumi gave me water and food. Made burning stop. Didn't gotta." And for this reason, Yumi is a good person. That part feels obvious, though, since she already said it.


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

If Yumi knew, they could be -sama buddies! ...But she doesn't. She does, however, hear something very interesting that starts to explain a lot. ...See, Yumi has met a number of strange 'country' types, being the daughter of an important witch. So hearing that?

"Ohhhh. New to the area, I bet, too," Yumi pronounces, as if making an assessment. "Well, Ohtori's a really pretty school, I can give it that--too much walking around for me, but the gardens are really top notch. And I know it's got good academics. But..."

A smile at Mikoto, and Yumi lifts her hands as if to shrug. "I guess you got me. I'm not being very spooky if I helped you for no reason, huh? ...I'll take it." She smiles still, nodding firmly. "Well, I guess that's that, huh? In that case..."

She gestures to herself, "I've lived in Tokyo all my life. If you have trouble getting around or getting used to living in the city, you can ask me whatever, okay?"


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Yumi guesses that she's new to the city, and Mikoto grunts, an affirmative noise. "Fuuka's nice," she comments, briefly. She hasn't yet figured out quite how old fashioned that name is. "Lots cats."

Also the gardens, and the academia, and the architecture, but mostly the cats.

Mikoto laughs, a clear-noted happy sound, and nods again as Yumi admits defeat. That's right! Mikoto is good at telling this sort of thing. She listens with interest as Yumi goes on to lay out her qualifications, and nods again, little bobs of her head which make her braids bounce. "'Kay!"

She tilts her head as she hums in consideration, chin tilting up.

Trouble getting used to the city... there's only one thing she can think of, right now. Perhaps it makes sense for it to be on her mind, after the horror of the 300x spicy curry bun.

"So... why's people get mad, taking stuff?" She delivers it with such curious innocence that it is plain that wherever she comes from, capitalism isn't a huge factor.


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Fuuka?" Yumi asks. "I don't think I know her." A beat, and then Yumi looks a little... sad, for an instant, though it doesn't last that long. "Ah, yeah. I'm not so good with cats," she admits, a little glum and a little sheepish both.

But a happy laugh is better. Mikoto even agrees, but--ah, there is something already? Yumi blinks for an instant, obviously waiting for whatever it is Mikoto is about to say.

...Apparently she already speaks 'Mikoto' well enough to understand that she has something to say before she opens her mouth. She may be good at this.

"Taking..." She thinks about it. It takes her a moment to understand the meaning, because there's a lot of stuff out there that could be taken, but it lights up in her eyes when she does. "Oh!"

"Oh, okay, so. It's because... Living in Tokyo can be pretty expensive. You've got to be able to pay rent, utility bills, buy clothes and food, maybe spend on a lot of other things, like trains and stuff... And stuff costs money generally. If you take it, they'll have to replace it, and they might not have that much money--it might be hard to replace the thing you took and get the other stuff they need or want. And if it's like, a store... Then if you take their stuff without paying, then they might not have the money they need to keep their store open."

"So if you take something from someone, it can hurt somebody. ...I guess people must be really honest where you come from, not to know about stealing, huh?"


<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Yumi is giving storytime! ...Apparently. It's at least something to think about that isn't the dull throb over a lot of the right side of her body. Besides, Mikoto's into it, so Yumi keeps answering, and when she hears the return--Hmmm. "Okay," she says. "That makes sense."

No, Yumi doesn't find the idea of living somewhere where everything belongs to you and your family to be strange at all, for some reason.

"Mm-hm," she answers about her, and then pauses, opens her mouth, and closes it again. "Oh, um..." Yumi really hopes, all of a sudden, that Mikoto didn't move here alone without someone to look after her if she doesn't know these things. She thinks about it, though.

It does make sense that she's an Ohtori student.

"Okay, so, most people don't have the money to own places outright--especially here in the city, where land and buildings are really expensive. So, they pay to use one for a while--like, to live there, to use it as a store... whatever. That's 'rent'. Then bills are any other things you have to pay for regularly, like... the money you pay so the electric utility will keep sending electricity to your house. Like that. It's--"

She pauses abrubtly and shivers a little, frowning, shaking her head. "S-sorry. Just a little cold in here, isn't it? Um, anyway, that's... What those are. You don't have to worry about that kind of thing yet though."


<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It just makes sense for everything in your domain to belong to your family, doesn't it?

(Mikoto doesn't know just how badly Mai would take that train of thought.)

Of course, Mikoto isn't alone. She has Mai! ... never mind that she came here alone, she has Mai now. She'd say as much, but Yumi doesn't ask. Instead, Yumi continues tutorialising, and Mikoto listens intently.

"Uh-huh... uh-huh... uh-huh," she nod-nods along to the explanation. (This is the first time she's heard any of this, so naturally she doesn't press B to skip the text.) So it's taking things, but with permission. And she doesn't actually have permission. Which is strange, because she always had it before. And she needs money to get permission.

The city is so weird.

But there's something outside of the tutorial which catches her attention, and that's Yumi's chilliness. Truthfully, damp as she is, Mikoto is a little cold too. But she knows just how to fix it, and she springs up from the cot, grasping her black case and shrugging it back over her shoulder. "Let's sit outside, Yumi! Sunny!"

Except she doesn't just ask. She goes over to Yumi's cot and takes her by the wrist - the one which isn't so bruised, thankfully - and tugs gently until Yumi accedes to her sterling logic. The nurse will, hopefully, not give them too much trouble once she sees that Mikoto does, in fact, just intend to sit Yumi down on the grass.

She's friends with a lot of cats, so she knows the healing power of a good sunbeam.