1878/Career Guidance

Career Guidance
Date of Scene:	22 August 2024
Location:	The Shed
Synopsis:	Kyouka has a job to do, which means she has a job for her students.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouka Inai, Kyouko Sakura, Usagi Tsukino, Jadeite

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Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Randomly, people who are in Kyouka's circle of 'reliable Mahous' will get a text from her. Something along the lines of 'meet me at the Shed after classes end today, got something to discuss.' No further details in the text itself.

    That afternoon, she will be found waiting in the Shed, still in her 'school clothes' and standing with her arms crossed, contemplating the now extremely-out-of-season Christmas Tree still standing in the corner as she waits for anyone to arrive.

    Her expression does not seem particularly grave, indicating perhaps that this is not any sort of world-endangering emergency, so at least there's that.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
It's a little unexpected, at least on Kyouko's part to be called on. And she has done her part and kept her phone charged and turned on. She stares at the message a few moments. Chews on some pocky. Finally texts backs.

Txt to Kyouka: What's the Shed.

Kyouko can make some general guesses, and she at least heads for the school after sending the text message, and towards the maintenance shed she's watched all sorts of mahou traipse in and out of on various occaisions. Subtle, they are not.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi has, at this point, basically gotten used to getting random texts instructing her to meet people in places without explanation. This is just a part of life now! A thing that happens! People call, they ask her to show up, she shows up.

She's not expecting to see the other red-haired Puella, the one they'd helped out of that Witch situation a while back, but she waves cheerfully as she walks up to the Shed.

"Hey there! Is this your first time coming in? We've got some security, but it's kind of easy, just here, hold - oof - this!"

She picks up the heavy-ish stone sculpture they had made the key and offers it to Kyouko. Once she's accepted it, it won't be long before they're in the Shed.

Jadeite has posed:
"I always feel a little silly when we come here. I suppose most of Obsidian's lackeys wouldn't bother to carry anything to get in, though, so it's a decent lock," Tamaki says as the 'key' to the shed is hefted by Usagi.

Mamoru would usually be Usagi's second, but he's on an epic quest for a new place that's a little more water tolerant, so Tamaki's come as the note taker and snack carrier for the evening. And also the Carrying Watcher. They could stream this on pay-per-view.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka turns around when she hears people entering, offering a lazy wave to the three that enter. She doesn't say anything to Kyouko about being sorry for forgetting she wasn't already keyed in- because she's probably already forgotten that again, despite the questions the redhead texted back to her in response to her initial query.

    "Hey guys, thanks for coming." She says casually, very much not in 'teacher mode'. "We've got a job."

    She walks over to one of the desks standing around the room and hops up to sit on it, planting her feet on the chair and resting her elbows on her knees, chin on linked fingers. "Or rather, I've been given a job and told to find what help I need to get it done, and so here you are." She grins at them. "My help."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Oh. Yeah." Kyouko tries to pretend that she totally wasn't loitering about outside, unable to sort out how to enter. "Thanks." She does watch what Usagi does, picking up the heavy stone and takes it from her.

And that's it? Well that's easy enough. Kyouko follows into the Shed and she looks to Kyouka and there's a bit of an upnod to the teacher. "Yo."

"What sort of job?" Kyouko asks, curious in spite of herself. "We're doing your work for ya?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You only have to do it the first time," Usagi protests laughingly, "The statue is kinda full of mermaid sealing magic? Yellow Pearl Voice explained it before, but like, I don't really remember how it all works. But it makes it so you can't get in unless you've been keyed in before. Bet Obsidian doesn't have tricks that useful."

Once they're inside, she takes a seat, even if there's every chance she's gonna end up bouncing up again.

"Yeah, what kind of job? Are we being your muscle?"

Jadeite has posed:
"I, for one, love being given mysterious jobs by strange women," Tamaki says with a grin - a joke for himself and everyone else who knows about his prior Berylficiation.

He takes a seat next to Usagi, bookbag resting in his lap. "Do we need to annihilate someone?"

Personally he thinks that would be a nice dopamine hit. Do a little destruction as a treat.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka shoots Tamaki a glance. "Watch who you're calling strange, kid. Are you here to be Mamoru's proxy? He's really getting used to this whole 'prince' gig, huh?" She doesn't say it with any rancor though, more poking fun at Mamoru when he isn't here to give her any snark back. She doesn't seem to mind Tamaki's presence rather than Mamoru's.

    "You are aiding the school in improving the quality of life for all students under my supervision." Kyouka says rather primly to both Kyouko and Usagi, before adding, "By blowing things up. Potentially. Potentially blowing things up."

    She leans a hand back on the desk. "I've been given a task by the Headmistress and told to choose students capable of helping me carry it out since I am.. offensively challenged."

    "The short version is that an item is being delivered to the port which needs to be transported from there to the school grounds. I don't know exactly what it is, but supposedly it will help increase magical security for the school grounds as a whole. Unfortunately, things like that tend to attract unwanted attention."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"How." Kyouko starts and arches a brow. "How are we improving security by blowing sh.. crap up?" She doens't look like she MINDS exactly, but the point is made.

"I mean, if they want to screw with stuff that's ours, we can remind them not to touch." Kyouyko nods firmly. That part she understands.

She looks over Tamaki as he settles with his bookbag. "Do I know you?" She asks plainly enough, frowning a little as she tries to remember.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"There's a lot of ways that we could be improving life at the school," Usagi says, "But I don't think you got approval for us to blow up the math textbooks, so what's the deal?"

She's curious now, even if she's throwing Tamaki a look about his eagerness to annihilate people. It's not a bad look! But it's a 'save it for video games kid' type of look.

And then Kyouka explains and...

"Oh, yeah, Riventon is totally going to try and steal that if he finds out about this," Usagi says with a sigh. The Rainbow Crystals had proved that, and the... sorta-but-not-really-a-fight over the Artha's pieces proved that still true. "Not to mention probably like, anyone else in Obsidian."

A pause.

"Wait, have they always been able to do something like this?! Give us something that would make things safer? What the hell!"

Jadeite has posed:
"If you do, I forgot," Tamaki tells Kyouko. "I got a bad concussion this winter so my memory's a little," and he draws little circles with his finger next to his temple. "I'm Tamaki. I'm one of Mamoru's bodyguards."

Presumably someone talking so casually wiht Usagi is familiar with the moon kingdom deal, so he'll proceed accordingly.

"I'm his proxy, yeah. It's important for royalty to delegate," and he sticks his tongue out at her - but it's likewise playful, bantering a little with her before his expression sobers.

"That's exactly the kind of thing Be- that Obsidian would love to get it's hands on. Though I would like to know why it took them multiple attacks on school grounds for them to order such a thing."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "That's the idea," Kyouka says to Kyouko. "It's less 'blowing something up' specifically, and more blowing people up if they try to steal our shit. The hope is they won't know about it at all, and if that's true it should be a nice quiet night and I'll buy ya'll ramen on the school's dime as a thank you. But I'm not one to assume the best, especially where powerful magical artifacts are concerned."

    She gives a faint sigh at the questions of 'why now'. "I don't really know the answer to that other than 'bureaucracy'. Believe me, it annoyed me too. But they're still not giving me all the details, and I'm not dumb enough to complain about getting worthwhile help even if it is way later than it should be. We can ask pointed questions after we get the magic protection thingy onto school grounds."

    She then points at Kyouko, looking at Tamaki. "That's Kyouko. She's a wild dog I tamed with snacks. She bites, but generally only if you annoy her enough." She then points to Tamaki. "That's Tamaki. He's a royal underling, but he's alright. Don't bite him."

    Then, just for good measure, she points at Usagi. "That's Usagi. She's a space princess."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Hunh." Kyouko considers Tamaki and then Kyouka specifically declares that she may not bite him and she looks disappointed. "But what if he deserves it?" Clearly she isn't about to protest being defined as a 'wild dog', nor having been tamed with snacks. In fact, she digs out a pocky to pop it into her mouth and crunch on the end of it.

"Oh, they'll turn up." Kyouko has no illusions. "And be a whiney pain in the arse about how they deserve it becuase blah blah whatever. Screw'em."

Kyouko looks over to Usagi as she's declared a space princess. "Seriously?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Wild dog, underling, space princess, that's us," Usagi says with a little giggle. "Well, Kyouko-chan, it's going to be good to work with you again, protecting our stuff and then maybe yelling at school officials later. And yes, I'm seriously a space princess, but the kingdom is mostly um, gone, so it's not like I want you to be all proper or anything!"

She waves her hands a little, as if shaking off that whole idea.

"So we're protecting something from the port to the school, and blowing up anyone who gets in our way! Escort machine, that's no big deal."

Jadeite has posed:
"Is the whatever it is ice-proof? I could freeze it for safekeeping as we haul it along - it's a lot harder to steal something if it's wrapped in 2000 pounds of ice," Tamaki offers. He can get silly with ice, he thinks - and it may be worth it if they're doing a reverse heist.

"Would making a fuss as a student help?" he asks Kyouka. "I don't want to endanger your job, but my mother is, as it were, a Karen; I learned from the best."

Upon seeing Kyouko's disappointment about no biting and the pocky, Tamaki pulls out a bag of Bugles and offers it to her. "Would bribery help?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "I honestly don't know if it's ice proof and so I'd rather not risk it." Kyouka tells Tamaki with a bit of an eye-roll. "I mean, I can ask but I doubt I'll get a clear answer and I'll probably get in a lot of trouble if it breaks so let's just settle on 'beat them up' if they have the temerity to actually show their faces.

    On the subject of making a fuss, she just pulls a wry face. "I doubt it. This is some ancient secret society bullcrap we're dealing with here.. they're not going to be moved by a complaining mother, no matter how unreasonable she is.

    She then adds to the group at large, "I don't know exactly when this is going to happen yet, but soon. Be ready for a call. I don't care if you bring more backup too.. whoever you want. Just keep it under your hat until the time. When the time comes, bring everybody who wants to come. I figure the more bodies we have protecting the thing, the less chance the bad guys will feel brave enough to try to steal it."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"How are WE going to move a couple thousand kilos worth of ice?" Kyouko asks with a squint for Tamaki. "I mean.. beat them up is nice and efficient. AND super satisfying too."

"Oooh." Kyouko reaches over for abugles. "Bribry always helps." She confirms.

"How do you lose a kingdom? Aren't they like.. pretty big?" Kyouko asks of Usagi at the mention of her kingdom being gone.

Kyouko shrugs to Kyouka. "My social calendar is pretty open." The understatement of the century.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mostly with a big enough enemy army," Usagi says, with remarkably casualness. "It was a long time ago, it's kind of a reincarnation thing. Tamakun over here might call me Princess sometimes though, so I guess it's good to know in advance, so you don't think he's being weird. He's Mamochan's bodyguard and also boyfriend, Mamochan has the roses and the healing hands."

Kyouko has definitely met him.

She nods along to the rest, "Okay, I'll try to keep free. Keep my streaming schedule open and definitely not let Hanzo help me out again."

Jadeite has posed:
"I can control ice as part of my prince bodyguard gig," he explains to Kyouko. "I can move a thousand kilos of ice easily with magic, which would free you and Usagi up to make more people explode."

It's all about the effeciency! He CAN rain terror and ice on people, but if they're going to be in a more populated area, he should prioritize people with more, uh, easily targetted attacks.

"I'll let Mamoru-san and the others know as well," he says, nodding to Kyouka. "I'll try and stay free as well."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka nods her head to Tamaki. "That's why you're here, after all. I texted Mamoru, but any or all of you would be welcome for this sort of thing. Like I said, the more the merrier."

    She gives Usagi a look. "If I had to guess this is going to be a nighttime gig. Moving a secret cargo through the streets during broad daylight seems like it just isn't the sort of thing you do, so I expect it to be after dark. Just FYI."

    She gets to her feet. "Anyway that's all I've got for right now." She gives a lopsided smile and pats Usagi on the shoulder as she passes. "You kids stay out of trouble. I'll be in touch when the time comes."

    And with that, she is out the door.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Oh I know who Mamoru is." Kyouko doens't have any trouble remembering him. "I just didn't know about the space princess part. And Tamaki can call you wahtever he wants, really."

The fact that he can control ice isjust taken as part of the package and Kyouko hunhs softly and nods. "Cool."

Kyouko pushes up from the desk she was leaning on. "Alright. I guess I'll talk to you later?" She uhs softly and emerges with what might be the world's oldest phone, only a breath away from flip phone. "You. Uh. Can text me if you need to, I guess?" She gestures after Kyouka. "In case she doesn't?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'll make sure to spread the word," Usagi says cheerfully, "But like, subtle-like. You'll see. I can do subtle. I'm great at subtle."

This is not... not true?

"After dark, top secret mission, don't lose the payload. Don't worry! For once, this is something that will be exactly like a video game. You'll see."

At least she's confident for once..

"See you late Kyouka-sensei!" As soon as their teacher is gone, she turns to Kyouko with a smile - "Of course! My number is XXX-XXXX," she rattles off, "Call me like, any time. You must be super cool and tough if Kyouka-sensei called you in, but if you want to hang out I'm down! And if you ever want back up on a Witch hunt, we're down for that too. 's not like we need grief seeds or anything."

Jadeite has posed:
"My princess, you're as subtle as a katamari in a room full of rosesbushes." He belives in her! Just not her subtlety. But they'll get the word spread.

"Thanks for letting us know. My number is YYY-YYYY," he tells Kyouka, "and if I can't come, I'll try and get word to as many people as I can." Finger guns!!

"I don't know what a grief seed is," he tells Kyouko, "but I could use a good fight. Count me in."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
There's a look of 'uuuhhhh' from Kyouko as Usagi declares herself 'great at subtle'. Subtle like a freight train, really. "Sure. Yeah. Something like that."

The worst, the absolute worst missions of any video game are the damn escort mission. What did they get roped into? An escort mission.

Kyouko carefully types Usagi's number into her phone, slow as if she's not actually part of this generation and sends a text to make sure she got it right. And then she does the same to Tamaki's number. Fortunately this means that her head is down when full on 'friendship acquisition mode' Usagi starts and she doesn't have to face it full on. Yet.

"Uhhh." Kyouko starts and then manages a step back. "Thanks. That sounds good. I .. will. Like. Let you know. Gotta go."

It's a start. She got phone numbers. Baby steps are still steps forward. Even if she did totally flee.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Sure! See you later!"

A beat of silence, as Kyouko flees.

"I think that went well," Usagi says brightly, "I bet we'll be friends by December. And hey, I am great at subtlety. It's all in the comparison! Compared to Venus and Makoto-chan, I'm a totally subtle."

Jadeite has posed:
"That's like saying compared to Vesuvious and Krakatoa, Mt St Helens wasn't that bad of a volcano," Tamaki teases.