472/Pablum Music

Pablum Music
Date of Scene:	19 September 2023
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	Hematite, Naru, philosophy, and a youma with a guitar. Go.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Naru Osaka

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's a sunny late afternoon, the birds are singing, people are walking along, and there's a busker promoting his latest mixtape by playing a guitar. Since he's not getting the cops called on him, he's probably already talked to the nearest konban to get permission to play and hand out his burned CDs with sticky labels on them.

The problem is, the people who stop to listen are noticeably dragging their feet when they leave, and he's just not that good.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Late afternoon, and it's been a busy couple of weeks. It's starting to become a little more usual to find Naru out and about alone again and today is one of those days. She's popped into the konbini just on the corner to get herself a snack and the all important afternoon iced coffee.

Naru loiters outside the shop, nibbling on her bag of salty deliciousness and drinking her coffee, listening to the music.

The not awesome music. That is making people draggy and not delighted to listen to him. She frowns as she watches.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's no obvious problem, really. People can leave, and do. People who aren't even vaguely interested just walk past. Some people take a CD from the little TV tray that's set up next to him, most don't.

But there's that tiredness. And Naru's watching. She's familiar enough with the sensation of being drained that she can tell there's some of that going on, but it's so light, it's barely happening. A gentle trickle of somewhat sleepy ennui.

The guitar-player's gaze lands on her, but after a sort of blank smile, that gaze slides off and away and he starts the next verse of his pablum music.

There's a voice next to her then, wry. "You really are a magnet to this stuff. Dammit, Osaka-san."

Darien. Mamoru. Not dressed as Hematite, but Hematite nonetheless.

At his voice speaking up, the draining sensation immediately stops.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'd say it's my super power, but it's like I got super powers from wish.com or something." Naru comments as she glances away from the musician and to the voice next to her.

Naru offers Darien some of her roasted chickpeas. "Y'know, if he set it up next to someone selling meat on a stick and sports drinks, you'd make a killing."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"... I'm more interested in seeing how long it takes to get noticed if it's subtle," he says contemplatively. "I should do it closer to the school, though. More people likely to actually notice instead of just noticing they feel kind of tired."

He takes some of the chickpeas with a brief nod of thanks, then looks down at them for a moment. He holds up his other hand and there's a small ball of shimmering light above it, maybe the size of a shooter marble or a superball. It dissipates, and the last few people to have stopped -- and Naru herself -- get their miniscule bits of energy back. Like a deeper breath, or the sun coming out.

"I'm not interested in making a killing."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"If it's a light enough touch, they won't notice its gone." Naru confirms. "I mean, they might complain at supper tonight that they don't know why they are so damn tired today, but that'll be the end of it." She sips from her coffee and is willing to share that too. "I noticed right away, cause I'm super hyper-aware of that sensation right now."

"You could have kept my bit of that." Naru nods towards the little ball, or at least where it was. "I assume you need it for something, probably to fuel your powers."

There's an impish smile at the mention of making a killing. "Monetary killing, setting up snacks right along the way. Betcha most of them have a second helping at supper tonight. The konbini thanks you." Naru lifts her salty snack in salute.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru looks frustrated, but pops the chickpeas in his mouth and chews on them while Naru explains. He listens, he really does, which is rare enough, especially in villains. But then, he's also Mamoru, isn't he? Naru's roommate's boyfriend, and a friend himself, and there's a reason for that.

"I don't use it directly," he says with a sigh, shaking his head against shared coffee with his girlfriend's roommate; no secondhand kisses here. "If I get any. I'm supposed to hand it in, and then my boss gives me dark energy in return, or the energy I have just... generates more, if I let my mood tank or I get really angry about whatever. I can't turn regular energy into dark energy myself."

He looks across the street at the probable youma. "I don't want to keep it at all. Youmas get some of it as payment, if they're real instead of the kind I make out of found objects."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hmm." Naru listens in turn, thoughtfully drinking her coffee. "It replicating itself makes sense, I expect that's entirely how it works for the light side folks. They don't exactly run around having to grab happy from people to be able to fuel their powers."

There's no judgement at all in Naru's voice or stance, as if this conversation is just as valid and valued and normal as any other conversation about magic that she might have. No matter her recent experiences.

"I assume you're supposed to turn some in periodically or you get in trouble?" Naru speculates and then also turns her attention across the street. "How real is real? I'm going to assume that youmas I chucked were not real by that qualifer." She turns back to Mamoru and offers him an apologetic smile. "If you would rather not answer a million of my probably wildly insensitive questions, just say."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Nah it's fine. There are some youma that are high-level intelligent, and they don't go out collecting energy. There are some youma who are sort of... well, they're cutthroat, generally, vying for a spot at the table, and made of dark energy, sort of like dark energy spirits generated naturally, I guess. This guy over here is one of those, but he's one of the slightly smarter ones, so he knows how to behave himself and be careful about collecting energy. Those are real youma. So was the monster that escaped into the mall -- that one was more like an animal, running on instinct. I don't know if that kind can be controlled, but it's the kind I go fight when I'm feeling really angry and need to bleed off some energy."

Mamoru is good at answering questions. Now that he's not actually pretending, he's even better at it, though there are some things he still can't say.

"I'm getting energy to turn in a different way. One I'm not proud of, but one that doesn't actively harm people. It just doesn't make things better. But... it's a very dangerous thing to think you can make things better for people with things and methods like these."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Mmmm." Naru listens thoughtfully. "Yeah, pure fight or flight utterly fits with what we faced at the mall." She doesn't include the fact that its where she was at too.

"No, you don't have to be proud of it." Naru starts thoughtfully. "But it's still a needful thing, and you've found a way that harms neither you nor them. That bit, you can be proud of." She gestures with the bag of snacks. "We're not yet at the 'make things better' stage, we're still at the 'reduce harm all around' stage. You're being impatient, understandably so, but impatient nonetheless."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"You're very wise, and you know, dark energy doesn't much help patience there was little enough of in the first place," laughs Mamoru, now with both hands in his pockets. He steps a little further from the door to lean against the wall of the store, and continues to watch the youma, who finally looks back at him and then looks-- nervous.

Mamoru waves a hand dismissively, and the nervousness melts into gratitude, and the youma starts packing up his stuff. "He gets to keep his share," Mamoru tells Naru, "even though I dispersed mine. He's grateful because I'm not cheating him or fucking him up, but he'll be happier when he's away from here. Maybe he'll work for me again."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Not so much wise, I just think too much." Naru gives a little self effacing shrug. She too watches the youma, as Mamoru sends him off about the rest of his day, energy stash safe for the moment.

"It's odd to place the label of youma on him as well as the completely bizarre non-intellegant mashups of crazy that we sometimes fight. The two seem too different to share the same name." Naru muses as she watches. "I expect he will, if you want him to. You were generous, and I expect that's rare."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Very rare," Mamoru says, sounding a little disapproving. "He's definitely a youma. He's in a human disguise. You can't really have much of a conversation with him. They're really all right if they know when to quit and don't get caught up in the loop of greed and rage and pride being more important than survival. Those ones-- even if they survive the magical girls, if they come back without energy then the others eat them alive. Or their boss kills them."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Which I can assume, is being fed by the dark energy to make that loop of greed and rage and pride even more appealing." Naru mmms thoughtfully and nods. "Vicious cycle is an understatement, really. Just vicious all around." She pours the last few chickpeas from the bag into her hand, and offers some of them to Mamoru before finishing the rest. "If we're using 'not much of a conversationalist' as a marker for humanity, then I have bad news for some of our classmates, but I do see your point."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"They're made of dark energy, not just fed it." There's silence for a moment, uncomfortable on Mamoru's part. Then he shakes his head at the offer of more chickpeas. "Thanks, though."

With a sigh, he pushes himself off the wall. "I have to go get changed and go to work. My boss wants me in the office more often, so I'll be around less in the afternoons again."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"But the emotional cycle gets fed by the dark energy." Naru clarifies as she thinks on it a bit more. Comfortable on her side, or if it is not, she gives no sign.

"Good luck at work. May it be less awful than you fear." Naru smiles a little after providing that benediction. "There will be so much to celebrate when you get to quit, it's just a little while off yet. Strength and fortitude for the interm."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
A crooked little smile that belongs a little more to Darien Shields than Mamoru Chiba, and the absurdly tall boy gives Naru an oddly formal little bow. "Indeed. Thank you. See you soon."

With that, he heads down the street to take an 'alley shortcut'.