191/Just a small favor

Just a small favor
Date of Scene:	01 August 2023
Location:	Penguin Park
Synopsis:	Firefly wants to ask the Ginga Otome, an enemy, for a favor for her senpai's birthday! It goes... astonishingly better than expected. Also Tiny Wawna and Tiny Tauburn are excellent.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Takuto Tsunashi, Wako Agemaki

---

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly had the ultimate plan! The BEST plan! The plan with a VERY good chance of success! The... only problem... was she had no idea how to IMPLEMENT said plan.

Namely, because she didn't know ANY of the magical girls. So she spent *hours* coming up with a proper note, writing it out, getting a 'burner phone' for a bit (On Kaolinite's expense account).

And now... now she was... attacking the city! Kind of. Okay, not so much attack the city as she had gathered a few of the jobber youmas... and they were handing out... cards to fill out. For an upcoming 'movie'. But the CARDS drained energy! From those who filled them out.

Totally nefarious. Sure, it wasn't the best plan, and most the cards ended up in the trash... but it was mildly distressing for some people that these creatures in very weird... outfits... were handing out cards. And they looked a lot like... garbage. And kept saying 'Ki'. And... did one of them get cut and have sand pouring out?

Meanwhile, Firefly was trying to figure out if it was safe to use the... youma thingy... that she'd stol-- borrowed from the Witches 5 lab. On the one hand... they'd likely get in trouble if she didn't put it basck. On the other hand, she wasn't entirely sure what it would do if used it and it might actually hurt someone.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
"--no idea what that thing was, I think he's going to implode gracefully into blue sparkling confetti at the very next one either of us sends," a tall redheaded boy's saying to the short-haired blonde girl walking with him. He's in shorts and a lightweight hooded shirt, and he's working on an ice pop, and when he sees the "people" handing out survey cards he stops in his tracks.

"You know more about this stuff than I do, because you keep having all the fun," Takuto says aside to Wako, red eyes fixed on the small crowd. "But those look like they're either really good cosplayers or, you know, monsters."

He hands Wako his ice pop. "I'm gonna ask 'em."

And that's literally what he does. He walks up to the line of jobber youmas and asks politely, "Are you monsters? The kind that drain energy and..." he glances back to Wako and stage whispers, "What else do they do?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"We should probably go a little easier on him," Wako is saying to Takuto - but she stops when he does, following the direction of where he's looking, and her eyebrows go up, because... yeah. Yeah.

"They could be cosplayers," she ventures, but dubiously. Is one of them actually leaking sand? "Okay yeah pr--"

Takuto has handed her his ice pop and is already on his way to address the probable youmas. With a shrug of affectionate resignation, she eats the rest of the ice pop in two quick bites - then finishes her own with similar haste, dropping both sticks into a convenient trash can before she comes up alongside him. "I don't actually know what they do other than that," she admits. "Aside from run amok."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly was distracted by the strange device. Should she use it on someone? How did it even work? It was i nthe trial phase, supposedly, so that meant it was... probably somewhat useful. Right?

The snackey looks at Takuto and... "Ki! Ki ki!" it says, holding out one of the cards.

Firefly, at least, was somewhat recognizable in her henshin. If people could remember the small glaive girl with the terrifying Riventon around.

"Aren't you a little young to be in acting?" an older lady asked her.

Firefly squeaked and shook her head. "N-no! I'm... I'm a l-lot older than I look. I'm just short. I'm... I'm actually twe... thirty-two!" Well, if you're going to lie, lie big! Or something. Nervous sweat. "Here, ummmm, t-take a card, thank you!" she said, before sighing. Maybe... she should target that lady. But it felt wrong to just... use something on someone without knowing how it worked. But... oh, what would Takashi do? Wait, no, that was likely not the best answer in this situation.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
She's so cute when she eats his food. Takuto, who had looked back to stage whisper, is now just grinning as Wako comes up beside him. "Okay, well, how do we activate them so we can fight them? Just-- oh, thanks," he says absently to the Ki! snackey, taking the proffered card. He looks at it, but is talking to Wako again. "Do we wait until they attack or just apprivoise to save time?"

He glances up again and spots the girl in the cute costume. "Do you know her?"

A beat. "This card is really gross," he says in dismay all of a sudden, looking down at it again and flicking it into the trash. "Wako-chan..." he complains.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
The line of almost definitely youmas handing out cards get a bemused look from Wako. Ki?

She's about to accept one of the cards they're handing out when Firefly's flustering draws her attention. "Oh?" Recognition sparks in her eyes. "You were with the vacuum cleaner monster, weren't you? And - what was his name, Riventon?"

The girl really doesn't seem to be very threatening at the moment... but Takuto complains about the card, and she takes another look. "Yeah... we should probably..."

She draws in a deep breath. "Apprivoiser."

Scintillating pink light surrounds her immediately, turning the shape of her into a dark silhouette. A sweep of an arm, and the gold-lined white capelet unfurls from braid-trimmed epaulettes; a cock of her hip, and the pleated white skirt swishes into being.

The moment she's fully transformed, she brings the Zero Time barrier into being, and the civilian bystanders vanish as the sky goes starry. "Okay," says the Galactic Maiden, "so how are we going to do this?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly blinked a moment when... suddenly... Wait. "Err... wait... are you... sure..." She then paused. and her eyes lit up.

And she TACKLE HUGGED Ginga. Of all the reactions she likely expected, that was probably not one of them. "Oh my gosh, it's you! I can't believe it's YOU!" she said, before paushing and then hmphing, glaring up at her. "And you know, it's VERY dangerous to transform like that in front of someone. The whole magic identity thing doesn't work if I know who you are. What if one of the really bad people saw you? Or like, Riventon-senpai? I mean, he's good, mostly, but he gets... excited. And I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

All the time... just... hugging her.

And the Snackeys look ready to fight! Or... did... until Firefly hugged the girl. Now? Now they just looked confused. "Ki? Ki ki? Ki?" they asked.

"Oh, right, ummm, you guys. Go over there, I need to talk with the robot lady." she said before letting her go and... hopping back and just kind of... floating there. "OH! Right! I was actually looking for you! Today really IS my lucky day! I thought I was going to have to lure out one of the other magical girls and then give them this note and have you call me and everything! But, eeee! You're here! This is soooo much easier! I have a favor to ask of you and your robot friend!" she said happily. "Eeee! This is such a lucky day!" she said as she scrunched up into a little happy ball... spinning... slightly through the air... like gravity was just ignoring her.

Okay then.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
Takuto's so pleased he gets to see Wako do her entrance. That doesn't mean he's not going to do his, though, especially since Wako's been getting into so many fights without him! "Well," he says, and then pauses, a little put out. You snooze you lose, and then the villain hugs Sugata's fiancee.

He waits a second, squinting, not especially wanting to interrupt but really wanting to interrupt, and dances from one foot to the other and fidgets and kind of wishes he hadn't given Wako his ice pop, and--

"APPRIVOISER!"

Shimmering red light surrounds him, and there's an overabundance of sparkles and starry shapes flickering in and out around his own silhouette. "Dashing Entrance!" he calls out, and with a cock of his hip, the white military-esque trousers and thigh-high red boots appear. He flings his arms out to his sides and then dabs, yelling out "Ginga Bishounen!!" as a seriously fancy white and gold military-esque red-lined coat flashes itself into being around him. He ducks his head and then throws it back, and that's when the cravat becomes visible and he gets a bleached-golden star shape in his hair.

And then he crosses his arms and tilts his head slowly. "Are you... really a... your-- these are your monsters, though, right? Why are you hugging Wako?" His face is legitimately comically puzzled, one eyebrow way up, mouth pulled down in confusion. He looks at the youmas. "Do you want me to fight you?" he asks them, because he's really not sure what's going on.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Of the various things Wako might have expected, Firefly outright tacklehugging her was not even in the same room as the list. She staggers a little at the impact, catching the smaller girl reflexively even as her facial expression betrays a total failure to process what's happening right this moment. "Um?"

Her confusion only increases as Firely gently admonishes her for transforming so openly. She looks helplessly aside to Takuto.

Finally, though, she seizes on what seems like the most immediately relevant thing out of everything Firefly has said. "You were... looking for me? To ask a favor? What kind of favor? Because honestly, even if I wanted to, there's no way I could give Wawna to anyone else..."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly gasped when suddenly... there was ANOTHER guy with a robot! Her eyes almost SPARKLED! Then, well, Otome drew attention to what she needed and she eeped. "Oh! Right! Ahem, right. Sorry, I got very excited and forgot myself. Gomen, gomen," she said, standing up straight and bowing respectfully. She then paused and glanced towards the snackeys. "Hey! You lot, make sure you can't hear or I'll have to make sure you can't report any of this! This is very private, very evil negotiations!" she yelled at them before lifting her glaive warningly. They eeped and decided to stand FURTHER away!

"And no, no," she said, glancing to Otome. "Taking your robot would be dumb. I mean, first of all Riventon-senpai just gets carried away. Please forgive him for that, he really DOES mean well, I swear. But, right."

Slow, deep breath, before bowing again. "I... I'd like to make a scan of your little robot friend, so we can make a toy version of it for Riventon-senpai's birthday. Ummm... p-please? He's... I don't know if he's ever had one before and... and I know he really, really likes sciency things but I'm not really... that smart..." she said, nervously reaching up to grab her arm and give it a nervous squeeze. "A-and he's really, really nice and... and has looked out for me since I've had to start doing this and... and I know it probably sounds bad, but I swear it's not. I just... I don't... know how to make robotic thingies like he can, but... but if I could get a scan of your robot doo-hickey I could... probably get one of our smarter people to make a like... copy of it? And... and he'd be really happy and ummm... umm... I... I won't take n-no for an answer... i-if that's okay?" she asked.Her face burning red, no longer floating... or looking them in the eye... and kind of shrinking down as she spoke, squirming nervously. "S-sorry for being pushy..."

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
"You're really cute, but I'd probably ditch the 'won't take no for an answer' part even if you're polite about it," Takuto says uncertainly, one fancy-gloved hand coming up to reach past his fancy collar and rub at the back of his neck. His other arm just sort of... drops to the hilt of the saber at his side.

It's pretty clear he doesn't know what to make of this either, and he glances to Wawna and makes a really exaggerated hands-spread shrug at the little robot.

That's when a little iridescent bubble of sparkles pops into existence above and beside Takuto's shoulder; it contains another smol robot, this one looking quite cavalier with a fancy plumed hat and high-heeled boots and everything. "What, Tauburn? No, oh my god, wait your turn," Takuto laughs.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
A little of the confusion clears from Wako's face as she listens carefully to Firefly's explanation, and her request. She's still rather wide-eyed, though. Pretty much none of all this is anything like she could have expected... but she's gaining a keener appreciation for how Mou Fubuki felt the need to encourage her while they were fighting.

"I see," she says at last, and glances toward Takuto. "...I think. It'd be a toy, you said. Not something he could use to hurt anyone?"

Then tiny Tauburn pops into existence. The little robot's mannerisms, and Takuto's exasperation, has her smothering a giggle. "Tauburn wants to, doesn't he."

< He seems very eager, miko-sama, > Wawna chimes in her small prim voice.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly sighed and gave a nod. "I... I know. It's not very polite, but I need to try and be a good 'villain', you know? Otherwise I won't be able to do the right things when it matters. That and it's kind of fun! Not that anybody but Riventon-senpai even listens to me there anyway," she muttered softly. Obviously annoyed by this.

Then her eyes lit up when the second robot came out. "Oh my gosh! You have two robots! YES! That's perfect, could I scan both? And no, we don't want it to be able to fight. If it fights, Riventon-senpai will use it to try and, well, fight everyone. He's silly like that and gets carried away. His... kind of brother is going to help me try and make a like, little robot that can teleport him away when he's being really dense. Oh, please don't tell him I said that! I really do respect him! He's just... sometimes... he's a little much. You ever have a senpai like that? Who just... you know they mean well and that they're trying so hard... but also they're kind of a brat and you want to bop them on the nose and remind them to stop causing trouble? He's like... that. And I know he's older than me and a lot smarter than me but just because he's smart doesn't mean he can't make mistakes, if smart people couldn't make mistakes I wouldn't be missing an arm and mom would..." And then she trailed off. Ow... that... that was not where she expected the talk to go.

"So... uhhh. I can scan them then?" she asked. "Oh, ummm. I'd need to use my device. It's the glaive. I... uhhh. Won't... hit you with it. Obviously."

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
"He really does," Takuto says, grinning. "Now, if you do a scan of Tauburn, can I also get a friend of ours to send you a sketch of a different one? And maybe you can make yours look a little more like the other one than my Tauburn?"

Tauburn takes major exception to this, pulling a tiny Star Sword out of his chest and flipping it around before pointing it at Takuto, who gasps exaggeratedly and puts a hand over his chest. "I just wanted you to be legally distinct!" Pause. "Well, yes, but only because Reshbal would--" Pause, and now Tauburn is en garde with two bright Star Swords, green and blue, and Takuto's looking exasperated. "Do you really want a villain to be going around dressed like you? ...no?"

The swords have been Put Away, and Tauburn's looking away, one hand on a hip.

"That's what I thought. Okay, so, can you make the copy look like the sketch I'll send you if you give us some kind of contact number?" Takuto asks Firefly cheerfully. "Also, have you tried just doing the right things when it matters without being a villain? Because I'm pretty good at it."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Somewhere in that whole little speech from Firefly, Wako's eyes have started to glisten, like she might be on the verge of tearing up. Not that she's actually going to cry or anything, just - a little wibbly. "Yeah," she agrees softly. "I do know somebody kind of like that."

This time, despite her best efforts, there's no way she can keep from laughing at Tauburn's antics. "Okay," she says, in the firm tone of someone who's made up their mind. "Although, they're not just robots, so it's really their permission you need rather than ours... but Tauburn's definitely ready to volunteer, in any case. How about you, Wawna?"

She looks to the tiny white-and-gold robot hovering over her shoulder in her own bubble of pink energy. Rather more sedately than Tauburn, Wawna folds her arms and tips her twintail-crowned head, seeming hesitant.

"It is for her senpai's birthday," Wako encourages.

< ...since Tauburn is so willing, > Wawna chimes at last. < I will consent. >

Wako claps her hands together, please. "Thanks, Wawna!" Smiling brightly, she looks back toward Firefly. "There you go, then. You can scan them. We'll just need to stay still while you do it, I guess?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly let out a little squeal and nodded. "And sure! I figure we'll need to adjust it somewhat, anyway. Because I don't want people to confuse it with yours. That'd be terrible! What if people thought you'd like... joined us or something?" she asked, actually looking a bit upset at the accusations that could bne hurled. "Besides, I'll probably need to do it in Riventon-senpai's colors, anyway. And make it have bleeping dots. Very scientific looking. Oh! I could get clitter, too! It'll be like a whole arts and crafts project!" she said, a huge grin on her face.

Then eeped. "O-oh. Right. Uhhhhh... right. Y-yes. Ummm..." She then looked at her glaive. "Uhhhh... Luminous Titan?" she asked. "Can you ummm... do the scan?"

<Confirmed, scan, initialize!> Yeah, that? That was a voice. Something akin to the love child of hannibal lecter and Jigsaw. And a purple aura would surround the devices. Also, the idea of this tiny girl having *anything* called 'titan'.

"Oh, right. Obviously, Luminous Titan, delete uhhh... any... records of my conversation with them so Riventon-senpai doesn't hear, okay? We can't ruin the surprise! Ohhhh, he's going to be so excited."

She then... waited. Slowly rocking back and forth on her feet, hands folded neatly in front of herself, the glaive just... standing on its own.

"Really, this is mega, super duper sweet of you two. I promise I'll make it up to you two. Uhhh, if anyone asks, we like... totally had an evil threat and I like... threatened you and stuff, okay? And... yeah. We... I... tried doing the right thing... before..." she said softly. "Just... the right thing. And... I couldn't..." Her hands tightened into little fists. "... I... won't say I'm proud of this. I can't say that. I know... I know sometimes we hurt people..."

"... But I know... if not for us... other people would get hurt. Other people... have gotten hurt. Sometimes... sometimes a lot worse than hurt. And... and if I have to be a bad guy to try and... and stop some of that? I... I will be. I can't explain why, but... I don't... get to... I just... can't be... helpless... like that... again... Riventon-senpai... may not always be the best. But there are so, so, so, so many worse things there. Things... Things people like he and I are the only ones who can stop." She then paused. "Actually, um, about that. There... might be something like that I'll need to... huh. OH! Wait, if you're going to send me the pictures later, that burner phone is going to be put to use after all! Yay! I mean, don't tell anyone I gave it, though. I mean, if people found out I was talking with you all like this, I could get in a lot of trouble. Grounded for like... ever. You know? I'd be in college before I'd be allowed to come out of my room. But uhhh... I may... have to... send you a message when there are things that we can't do and... oh! We could make code names! Can we do code names? Special code names so like, I could like be 'This is...' uhhhhh... What's... a good code name for me? Ummmm... High flyer, maybe? Is that too close to Firefly?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"I understand." Wako's voice is very soft, now. "About not wanting to be helpless any more. It's obvious that you have your reasons... and you really don't seem like a bad person. I'm gonna give you my phone number, so if you ever need to get hold of us, you can."

Acting immediately on the thought, she reaches into her gold-trimmed white tailcoat and pulls out an entirely ordinary cell phone. "I won't tell anyone you gave me a way to reach you, either," she adds. "I don't want you to get in trouble for talking to us, or for asking us for a favor."

She begins creating the contact in her address book, then pauses. "As for a code name... how do you feel about 'Hanabi'? Like fireworks. They fly high in the sky, and they twinkle like fireflies."

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
Tauburn, in the air, is staying quite still in literally The Most Pose while he's being scanned. Head held high, plume amazingly static for all that it's technically steam, one leg crossed in front of the other, hand on the hilt of Star Sword Emeraude which is point down, level with Tauburn't feet. His other hand's on his hip, and he's definitely giving off a vibe of Cool Guys Don't Look Back At Explosions.

Takuto, on the other hand, lets his hair fall into his face a little as he listens to Firefly, then to Wako. He's strangely quiet for that, too-- it's not until the codenames come up that he laughs. "Codenames? Oof. Wako-chan, you think of them, I'm no good at that. I like Hanabi for her, though, that's cute."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly gasped and nodded. "Ohhhh! Hanabi! I like that. So when you get a message from Hanabi, you'll know it's me. Otherwise, it's not me probably. I mean, it might be? But it... probably isn't? I'll make sure to not forget it. I could be like a fire work, explosion," she did, in fact, say explosion in english. She then gives the burner phone number she'd contact them with later, and could be contacted through...

"And of course I'm not a bad person. I mean, I have to play it up sometimes but... okay, maybe I don't have to, but I like to. It's kind of fun to be all 'mwa ha ha ha, oh ho ho ho ho!' I'm really working on my laugh and I think I'm getting better at it. But... well... I... have reasons. And... I'm sorry if we have to fight and... I have to hurt you sometimes. Just... just know it's for the right reasons. I don't... want to hurt anybody if I don't have to."



<Scan, finalized!> her device said. Firefly picked it up and then gave a squeal.

"Ohhhhh, Sh-- Hematite-senpai is going to be so proud! This is going to be the best birthday EVER! Possibly his first ever, which... honestly, is kind of sad if I think about it... I should try and have one for Hematite-senpai too. Once we finish with Riventon's. Can you believe he just wanted to give him like... energy? I mean, it's like giving someone money. Like... it just doesn't show the care, you know?" she said, expecting them to obviously get why that was a bad idea.

"But thank you so much. You two were absolutely the coolest robots ever! And I promise, they won't be used for combat..." Then she sighed. "And if Riventon-senpai alters it so it CAN be used for combat and then you guys blow it up, I entirely understand. I don't think he would... but you never know." And then she'd jump forward and give them both a great big hug.

Then paused. "So, ummmm... how... do I get out of here? Cause like... I... I don't want to do the whole dusk porting thing. Going through the dusk zone always makes me feel... icky. And makes my chest hurt. Do... do I need to make a youma and have you beat it up first? Cause like... I have this... dark... egg thing... but... I don't really know what it does and I think I need to put it in something to make it... do... things... and the only thing in here is like... me. Ish. And... I'd... realllllly rather not."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako duly programs the burner number into her contacts, under the name Hanabi. Takuto has passed the buck on codenames for them to her, as well, so she contemplates for another moment while the scan is finishing. "Let's see... you can make my codename 'Kleis,'" she tells Firefly. "And Takuto-kun will be 'Mark'." As she's talking, she taps out a text message to the burner number with both of these codenames, as well as Takuto's cell number. "There! Now you have our numbers, and nobody has to know it's us."

She offers a warm, genuine smile in response to the thanks. "I'm glad that we were able to help. A birthday gift should always be something meaningful!" For just a moment, her gaze slants sidelong toward Takuto, like sharing a private joke. "Just giving money or something like that is no good at all. Your Hematite-senpai has a lot to learn..." A pause. Hematite-senpai... Riventon's sort of brother. There's dots being connected, here, but she sets it aside for the moment.

This time, the hug is returned willingly. After Firefly has stepped back, Wako shakes her head a little, still smiling. "Oh - I can take it down for you, don't worry. I thought you might be looking for a fight, but... well, it let us speak privately, anyway." Bringing up her hands, palms up, she calls down the barrier. The sky returns to normal, and they are once again in the middle of the park with pedestrians moving around them as though no time had passed at all.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
"I mean we could beat up the youmas you already brought," offers Takuto, "but they kind of look like they'd burst into terrified sand if I drew a sword in front of them."

They're all obviously very fancy cosplayers. Really good jobs. They must be doing a photoshoot nearby.

He doesn't at all object to being hugged! In fact, he-- a little awkwardly, he's tall enough that it's awkward-- sort of half-hugs half-pats Firefly back. That's definitely at wry look at 'meaningful birthday presents', yes.

He doesn't have anything to say to 'doing bad things for good reasons'. Nothing at all. He's not going to ruin this.

"But yeah, you should be able to just uhhh. Take your stuff and go home? Or wherever you got it from? How would you normally leave? Because you can probably just do that."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly nodded, quickly taking all that information in and making sure she had it down. Kleis and Mark. Perfect. She had it. And it was going to be great! "It will. Oh, and uhhh. I really am sorry about Riventon-senpai getting so mad last time. He said it was just to scare you so you like... wouldn't keep fighting him." She didn't know how true that was... but she kept her mouth shut about that.

Grinned happily when Otome got it... then shared that sideeye with her towards Takuto. Sigh. One day, hopefully he'd learn too.

"I guess I was, technically, looking for a fight. But this was way better. I didn't need to cause any chaos, nobody had to get hurt and... oh, right. This is just for show. Okay? And normally I just take the doors. Ahem," she took a moment to clear her voice, then leaped back into the air. "Just you wait until next time, you foolish Sparkle Skirts! We'll defeat you for sure! Oh ho ho ho ho! Snackeys! Retreat!" she called before flying off... the snackeys trailing behind her in a disorderly, confused mob.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Sparkle skirts?!" Wako's yelp of protest is only kind of feigned. Oh, she knows exactly who Firefly got that one from, all right.

Even so, she waves as the girl flies off with her minions trailing behind her, which may or may not reinforce the impression for various onlookers that the whole thing has been staged to promote some movie or stage show or whatever. She and Takuto are probably going to get stopped for a couple of photo ops before they make it out of the park.

For now, Wako looks toward Takuto with a slightly helpless smile. "...So," she says ruefully, "that was new!"