43/Bad Wisdom

Bad Wisdom
Date of Scene:	07 July 2023
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	Kyouko's tracking a familiar that she's hoping will become a witch soon. Unfortunately for her, other magical girls don't have a habit of just letting monsters wander free.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Cho Konishi, Kyouko Sakura

---

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
It's a beautiful day in the suburbs. The sun is shining, but a brief spattering of rain a few hours ago has kept it relatively cool for summer, the birds are chirping, and--only if you can perceive magic--there's an eldritch being of twisted magic slowly floating through a small park. It looks like a gigantic single butterfly wing, the designs and colors on it eternally shifting like paper cut-outs that an invisible crafter keeps compulsively changing. It's not Dark Energy and it's not a youma, but it doesn't look or feel good--despair trails after it like a wake.

It is, in fact, a witch's familiar, and in the tree-tops above, Kyouko follows it. At the moment she's magically transformed--not to attack the familiar, but so that she can move fast enough through the trees to keep track of it. She's making no effort at all to attack it, actually. She's just watching.

Sayaka Miki (32) has posed:
It really is a lovely day, isn't it? And Sayaka is out and about enjoying a lovely Friday afternoon, even as she ponders still of what wish to make. She's made it a habit to carry her baseball bat around and being the sporty type, one might think she just came from a game recently. She may be slightly sensitive to magic given her magical girl potential, but she's too busy enjoying the sights and sounds of the park below to notice a familiar darting in the trees above her.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is walking down the streets, doing some reconnaissance of her own as she looks around, appreciating the unusual cool summer air. Nothing in particular is going so far, all good for such a peaceful atmosphere. She almost feels like joining the birds' own choir when she feels something caressing her leg. Next to her left foot is one of the sea otters she contacted. 'Hello', she communicates telepathically to the animal, before kneeling down to give it a few caresses. 'Did you find something?' The otter immediately relays the message. 'Yes, a weird creature was flying above the vegetation of a nearby park.' Getting up, Coco smiles at the otter before asking it to lead the way.

Just like the otter said, a gigantic butterfly is moving through the park, following the same path as a blue-haired girl. 'Time for my concert!' she thinks, before thanking the sea otter and adding she will do fine on her own now. Bringing her hands on each side of her shell, she declares "Yellow Pearl Voice!", invoking the power of her pearl, now brilliantly shining. In a few moments characterised by shining light, her own clothes have been replaced by her Idol getup.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi was, admittedly, enjoying a bit of a leasurely stroll as well. It was a bright, sunny day. The kind of day where you just, well... went out and saw people. At least, some people did. She was trying, desperately, to be that person.

She had her stuffed monkey in her hands, hugging it as she walked... and muttering to it as she walked. "Listen here you little shit," she muttered softly. "I swear, if you leave all those bowls out for me again I'm going to force feed you a tray of my reject eggs next time I mess them up. I had to spend an hour cleaning all that burnt stuff off."

"Fine, fiiiiine, you worry too much," Wuwu said, not taking her threats too seriously. Please, as if she-- the monkey went still, looking up. "Something... is happening."

"Deadbeats?" she asked.

"No, something... else."

"Good, bad, wanna give me something to work with?"

"Bad. I... think?" Wuwu said.

"As clear as always, Wuwu," Cho said before rolling her eyes. She looked around... before dashing into a nearby alleyway. One transformation scene later... and she was running off, her monkey hanging off her shoulder, while she ran. It didn't take her too long to arrive at the park... And even less time for her to notice the weird butterfly wing. "What... the absolute... what? Okay, are our enemies just getting lazy? That's like. Not even wings. That's just wing. A single wing. Why?" she asked, struggling to process THIS one...

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
It is, in fact, just a single wing. Arguably that makes it creepier. What happened to the entire giant evil butterfly to leave just one wing floating ominously about? Unfortunately, the fact that it's just a single wing doesn't seem to stop it from being dangerous. As the magical girls approach, it shifts its path and starts towards them--and as it moves, weird little vortices of air and despair fly off of it, distorting the world around it to make it hard to keep track of and sucking magical energy and hope out of anyone they hit.

And that's just the familiar itself. There's another threat here. Sure enough, as soon as she sees other magical girls converging on the familiar, Kyouko swears to herself in the tree-tops above and jumps lightly down to earth. "Hey! You idiots!" she calls, waving her spear angrily. "This isn't how you do it at all, stupid!" She's yelling at Coco and Cure Wukong and...ignoring Sayaka. She hasn't recognized the other girl who's wandering around with a baseball bat yet--she's not in henshin so she's not important, she's just a nuisance right now.

Sayaka Miki (32) has posed:
Sayaka Miki glances around, seeing some other people out and about, a couple of girls whose names she does not know but she's sure she has seen them around school before. She smiles and nods to them as she continues to enjoy the sunshine. Her bat is over her shoulder, not bothering to hide it in the park as she did actually play a little baseball earlier. Dressed in denim blue shorts and a white tshirt and sturdy runners, she looks ready for some more action..

Then suddenly there are magical girls and some winged..Thing..And something just seems odd up in the trees. She pauses to glance upwards..In time to see *that girl* leap down and she groans. "Ugh you again, causing more trouble, are you?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Now that she is all set up, Coco takes a better look at the monster, noticing that it's actually a single butterfly wing rather than a whole insect like she initially presumed. 'Uh, weird', she thinks, keeping her E-pitch microphone at the ready on her arm. A nearby pinkheaded magical girl is just as astonished as she is, she notices. 'Ok, so either she is new too, or this is isn't normal around here.'

Before she can ponder it any further, she is distracted by a sudden yell. In the direction of the sound, a redhead executes a jump from one of the park's trees. The bluenette has noticed her too, and more interestingly she seems to know the sudden addition to this improvised group. She yells back at the spear user: "What do you mean, this isn't how it's done!? What are we supposed to do, appreciate its colours!?" At her mental prodding, the Live Stage starts forming around Coco, fully intent on starting to sing now.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong blinked when her eyes fell on Kyouko and... Lit up. She leaped off the building to land a bit ahead of the other girl. "Ky-- Cherryspear!" yes, yes she was going to keep using that name until she was given Kyouko's 'magical girl' name. She couldn't reveal her real name! That would be SO uncool! Cure Wukong was, once again, really not paying enough attention to her surroundings. Or the approaching wing. "Ohhhhh, I get it!" she said, finally responding to Kyouko's comment. "Let me guess, is this another one of your things? Are you trying to trick it to go back to its big monster, so you can slay it at the source again? You're so hard working, Ky-- Cherryspear. And smart! I'd have probably just ended up beating up the minions and spent weeks struggling to find the big monster," she said, her voice just absolutely FILLED with unearned praise.

She was trying to be encouraging, darn it!

Wuwu, the monkey, was watching from a little overhead... And looking at Kyouko thoughtfully. He, at least, had a feeling there was more to this than Cho realized.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
For a long moment, Kyouko just *looks* at Cure Wukong with the most dead-eyed expression. Cherryspear? Is she *serious*? "Ugh," she finally says. "Don't praise me, stupid! You've got it all wrong." She glances around, her gaze settling briefly on Yellow Pearl Voice with a frown, and then on Sayaka with an outright scowl. "Everyone here's got it all wrong. You guys all think being a magical girl is about being some kind of hero, don't you?"

She ducks a couple of depression vortices flying at her from the butterfly wing familiar and swats away some more with her spear. "And you. Bat girl. You're especially stupid because you're not even a magical girl. You're just a wannabe. Make a wish already if you're gonna go around hunting witches and familiars! Or you'll get killed. Not that *I* care."

The eerie single butterfly wing slowly, ominously begins to rotate.

Sayaka Miki (32) has posed:
Sayaka Miki frowns, stepping back as she watches the various magical girls moving to take action. Well, looks like she doesn't have to defend herself Afterall. Still, the red head's attitude is really getting to her, "Hey! You're a Puella Magi too, right? Then you know how important it is to take time to make the right wish..I may not be a magical girl yet, but I do wanna do it the right way..And..I was gonna thank you for saving my life the other day, but do t let it go to your head, already!"

Still, she nods and smirks, taking a step back, "No worries, I won't get in the way.lThats a familiar right? Can they create Labirynths too?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
'Just great, I had to get someone like Yuri on my first mission here in Tokyo.' She gives a fierce look at the arrogant magical girl, wondering what she is going on about. The pinkhead from earlier seems enthusiastic about her though, even being on a first name basis with her, however "Ky" is supposed to end. Partially adopting the pinkhead's nickname, she says "Listen, spoiled cherry, I don't know what you have against what you call "being a hero", but I am not going to let something obviously dangerous wander through the city. From the blue girl's comment, you two seems to know what kind of creature it is, so it is all the more despicable you would let it form whatever this Labirynth is." She thinks back to the wish comment the girl with the bat said and the levity with which she asked about what the magical creature could do before addressing her. "But this is all just a game to you. You get a reward and magical powers and then you feel like you can go wild. If you have a calling, you should dedicate yourself fully to it. That thing", she adds, pointing to the monster, "can obviously hurt your friends too. Don't you feel anything about what might happen to them?" Flashbacks of all the mermaids that died during the destruction of her kingdom pass through her mind, each of them a stab that seems to only reinforce her angry reaction at the odd group she is with.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong blinked a few times before snickering and then... posing. With little V signs and all. "Uhhhh, obviously. Perhaps we haven't met? Cure Wukong? Using the powers of the ancient hero, Sun Wukong, I protect the world from the Deadbeats, who wish to destroy the world's Hero's in order to remove the motivation of our world? Like, if I didn't think I was some kind of Hero, it'd be reallllllly weird," she said with a giggle.

She then glanced to Sayaka, FINALLY seeming to pay enough attention to realize... something was wrong. She... had no powers? She wasn't... Wait, a wish? Ohhhh, was that like what Wuwu did? "Ohhhhh. I see. I get it," she said. "And I know you may not like to hear it, miss. But if you don't have magical powers, you should leave this to us. Normal people can't fight these monsters and putting yourself in danger trying to fight them will only make our duties harder. Still, it is very brave of you, willing to fight these things like this. I look forward to seeing you join our ranks, I'm sure you'll make a fine hero as well."

She really had no clue what it was. Fortunately... she nodded with Sayaka's comment on her wish. "You are, however, smart in your decision. Whatever wish you make, you must be absolutely certain that it is something you'll always be willing to fight for. Something that, no matter what, you know that even if a mountain fell on your head, you'd dig your way out to the other side to make sure it still happens! You--"

"WUKONG!" Wuwu yelled, making her freeze. She hadn't... had him yell at her like that before. And almost instantly the excited energy seemed to wash away.

She turned to look up at him. "Y-yes?"

"Stop," Wuwu said. "Focus on the battle, instead."

"R-right, sorry... I... I'll focus," she said.

Wuwu, meanwhile, was looking between them. He didn't... know much, or anything about these 'witches' or 'familiars'. And that made him uneasy.

However, THEN she finally focused on Yellow Pearl and she... Well... She raised her voice a little bit. "I... I'm sure that's not what she intended," Wukong said quickly. "I've seen Cherryspear put herself in danger a few times already to help people. She knows what this thing is, so I'm sure she has a perfectly reasonable plan on how to deal with it. She--" Aaaaaand finally her lack of attention bit her in the ass. Literally. One of the vertixes hit her in the back, making her let out a pained YELP, her entire body going rigid and her tail going straight. "Ow! R-right, monster first, talking after. So, Cherryspear, is it the same as last time? Drive it off towards where it came from? Then eliminate the big bad monster?" She really, really didn't understand the situation at all.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Saving your life?" Kyouko fixes a glare on Sayaka. "Don't get it twisted. That familiar had already eaten enough people and I was pretty sure it would be a witch soon anyway. If I'd let it eat you, it would have been harder to fight." That's definitely the only reason she saved Sayaka last week. Nothing else. She's convinced of that.

But the other magical girls distract her from someone obviously useless like Sayaka soon enough. "Now you're *really* wrong," she says to Yellow Pearl Voice. "Friends? Are you kidding? Magical girls don't get to *have* friends. We're too busy dealing with witches and familiars. This! Is a familiar!" She points dramatically with her spear at the weird butterfly wing thing. Vortices of dizzying despair are flying off it more rapidly now as it turns faster and faster. She waves several away with her spear, heedless of where they're going. "It doesn't drop a grief seed. We need grief seeds to restore our energy. Get it? Only witches drop grief seeds. And familiars don't become witches till they eat a few regular humans. So, what does a smart magical girl do? She keeps an eye on the local familiars and waits till they've eaten some people and become witches. Then she beats them up and gets the grief seed. Get it?!"

She takes just a moment to give an *extra* glare to Cure Wukong. "I don't know how *your* magic works, but it's probably pretty weak if you need to be a hero to use it."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco stops at the new information she just received from the redhead. "Grief Seeds? What are those and why would you want something that sounds so painful? And you are even willing to get people in harm's way for it? I don't know why you started doing this, but you need to take a backseat if you are letting these patrols take up your whole time."

She takes a moment to reflect about the sadness hidden behind the spear user's speech, worry starting to replace Coco's anger. "Why don't you rest for a few days? I could even accompany you if you want." Taking the initiative to relieve at least some of the redhead's spirit, she brings her microphone to her mouth and starts singing, directing the song at Kyouko.

"Where the paradise of the seven seas lies
After the stormy night, to tell you my love I will be born again
Even if there comes a day where everyone...
Is to journey away from here, as long as we sing the melody of the seven countries
I'll never forget." The familiar starts twisting in pain as the song spreads through the park.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong was once again distracted. She glanced towards Kyouko and... wow. WHAT? She lifted a hand up, pulling a tiny red toothpick from behind her ear... which promtly expanded, growing into a long staff in her hands. "I get it, Cherryspear. But you know what? You're wrong. Your power is fueled by batteries, you can only get your batteries by fighting and destroying witches. Witches come from familiars that eat people. But that? That's wrong. You're wrong on four counts, in fact," she said, batting away with her staff at the vertexes.

"You're wrong if you think my powers work like that. You're wrong if you think it's okay to let people die just because it's the only way to get more of your batteries." She took a step forward, glancing to Pearl and smiling to her. Oh. YES. They had battle music.

"But most of all? You're wrong if you think you *have* to keep fighting. If you have a limited amount of energy, if you can only go so far? Then stop it. Put down your weapon and leave it to us. Fight only when you have to, and call us when you can't. But, most of all? The biggest reason you're wrong, Cherryspear-chan?" she said, before leaning forward... "Is if you think that means we can't be your friend, that we can't, won't, help you? Then you have no idea what I am. What we are. And I guess we'll just have to show you!"

She dashed off like a rocket, surging forward and leaping OVER the butterly, spinning through the air... then *kicking* down with all her might. If the familiar didn't dampen the blow, it would be enough to make the ground shake and likely leave a crater in the ground if the familiar took the full blow without stopping it... Though, how effective that would be on such a creature remained to be seen.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
This is not going according to plan. Not that Kyouko exactly *had* a plan. She's not the planning type. But having multiple other magical girls jump her target while lecturing her about heroism was definitely not the desired outcome for her, plan or not. So she just gawks at Coco and Wukong for a long moment. When she registers that this Yellow Pearl Voice is radiating magic at her via song, though--

Her hangs both go to her spear, and she's wielding it fiercely at the other magical girl. "Stop it! You don't know what you're messing with! You--ugh!"

She was *trying* to ignore Wukong's heartfelt speech. She was really trying. And it works at first--she can wave away rambling about batteries. But being told she can *let other people fight for her*? That's too much. "All right, that's it! I'm done putting up with you, monkey nerd! I--" And she stops as she registers what Cho's doing to the familiar.

Now the familiar probably could have fluttered away from that attack, or defended itself, if not for the weakening effect of Coco's song. As it is, it manages to summon up only a few half-hearted little cyclones of despair to try to fend off Wukong, and that's not enough to do more than slow her a little. In short order, the butterfly wing is smashed into dissipating fragments in the grass.

"You! You cost me a grief seed!" Kyouko concludes, glowering at Cho. Yeah, that's why she's mad at the other girl--the grief seed. Definitely not because of that lecture and the offer to fight *for* her. Mentally armed with that excuse and physically armed with a huge spear, she hurtles forward at the other magical girl. With every step she takes she flings her lance, summons a new one, and flings that one again, till a torrent of sharp stabby spears is flying at Cure Wukong.

Kyouko comes at her with intent to do real damage, heedless of consequences, knowing only that she was *patronized* by some *stupid hero* who *wants to be her friend*.

Sayaka Miki (32) has posed:
Sayaka Miki blinks, keeping out of harm's way as she listens to the heated exchange between the three. Cure Wukong is given a small nod and smile, glad that at least someone understands her, although she blinks at the song, "Wait, are you attacking her..?" she listens to Kyouko's explanation of grief seeds, nodding in understanding, storing the info for later..

But suddenly Kyouko is attacking Cho and this is just so wrong. "Wait! Cherry spear! You can't attack her, aren't you all magical girls? You should all be on the same side!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
At Kyouko's unexpected attack, Coco stops singing, powerless to do anything as she witness the rain of spears summoned by the redhead in reaction to the destruction of the monster by Wukong. She lowers her arm with the E-pitch to the side, shocked at the sudden development.

She turns towards Sayaka, remembering she also acted like she knew the rampaging redhead. "Why is she doing that? She can't be seriously willing to take a life over the grief thing."

Cho Konishi has posed:
(Trigger warning for violence/blood)

Wukong grinned. Huh. That was easy. She landed on her feet. Kyouko was yelling. She sighed and turned. "Yeah, I get it, you want your batt--"

And then spear. She had only a moment to realize something was wrong before the first spear hit her. Pierced her. A moment later, a second, third... Impaled her through the head, torso, legs... she hadn't even moved, the spears striking her... Piercing her all the way through.

She died. Kyouko would have just a moment to realize that...

Then there was a light flash of pink light and the spears clattered to the ground, Cure Wukong stood there, completely fine... and clutching her face. "Mother frakiing braggin... dag..." She barely suppressed the urge to curse, just BARELY, before leaping back away from kyouko, dropping her staff on the ground. "What is WRONG with you?! What did I JUST say?!" she yelled at Kyouko.

"If you NEED battery power, DON'T WASTE IT OVER THIS! Save it for fighting something that needs your power!" She stopped, staring at the spear before... leaping *at* Kyouko. She'd literally throw herself *on* the spear if she had to, but tried to reach out to grab the other girl's wrists. "If you care so much about your stupid batteries, then let people like ME help you so you don't need as many of them!"

Still, despite her... less than... steller survival instincts, she'd already lost one immortality, possibly two... maybe even three, those spears HAD been pretty brutal... And she really, really hoped it wouldn't come to that. Because she knew her powers could only endure so many hits like that before one of those deaths *stuck*.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
To be honest...Kyouko wasn't really expecting the spears to hit so completely. Wukong's a magical girl, right? She can dodge, she can deflect, she can--what? Apparently what she can do is soak the damage.

Kyouko's eyes go wide as the lances stab home and Wukong's eyes go blank. Did she just kill this girl? That wasn't the plan. (There wasn't a plan.) Some cries of pain and cowering were the plan. "Hey! Don't--" 'Die,' she's going to say--she's going to yell at the girl she just repeatedly stabbed to *not die*. But that's when Cure Wukong returns, looking just fine.

Kyouko has stopped her furious assault by this point in favor of clutching a spear and glaring once more, this time as much in distress as in anger. So the next thing she knows, Wukong's in her face once again offering to *help* her.

She sneers, the anger in the expression laced just a little with terror. "Why would I let a weakling like you help me? You couldn't even survive a simple attack like that! I bet it took a lot of your power to come back, too. You're gonna need...I don't know! Whatever *you* use to recharge! You're gonna need just as much of that! So don't act like I'm the stupid one when you're out there spending your life trying to persuade me to be *nice*."

She tilts her head back towards Coco and Sayaka, the sneer becoming more of a smirk. "See, annoying girl?" She doesn't know Sayaka's name either, but this'll do. Especially in light of "Cherryspear." "This kind of thing is what happens when you become a magical girl. You have to make decisions about what lives you're gonna sacrifice in order to save your own. I promise you, you ain't gonna be no good at *that*. So don't contract!" She sounds just a little too sincere there for a moment. "You'll regret it!"

Sayaka Miki (32) has posed:
Sayaka Miki's eyes widen in disbelief as Cure Wukong is surrounded in a flurry of spears, "No! Stop!" is this what being a magical girl is all about? It's all wrong! But then as the dust clears, she is relieved to see the other girl is okay. "Cherry girl stop! I thought you were supposed to protect innocents from that familiar.." where did it go anyway? "And the name is Sayaka! Notannoying girl!" grr what a brat she is!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Shaken out of her shock by Sayaka's reaction, Coco starts backing up Sayaka. "Listen to your friend, you don't have to do this! How about I help you find some more of those grief seeds? You don't have to kill another magical girl over this!" She is relieved Cure Wukong has survived, but she fears an escalation by the hand of Kyouko.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong stares up at that angry look. That angry face. And for just a moment, a few small moments, she'd want to pull back. She'd want to hide. She'd want to apologize. She'd, desperately, want to go back to how she had been. Quiet. Reserved. Hiding. Obeying. Blending into the world of gray.

She leaned up, her nose so close to Kyouko's they were almost touching.

"I *was* weak. I was scared. I was quiet. I was a *coward*. And I thought that was all I could ever be. I had given up on ever living long before my life even began."

"Someone reached out to me and helped me. He rewrote my story so it didn't have to be *that*. And fine. I don't know what you're going through. I don't know about your greed seeds or whatever they're called. But I don't care."

"My power? It comes from my desire to make my wish a reality." Not... actually true, but honestly she wasn't sure what it came from. "And I will *never* stop fighting for it. No matter how many times I have to die. You're not the first to kill me, and you won't be the last. You know what else?"

She'd leap back. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I'm not going to just be your punching bag, either. But I'm *never* going to stop reaching a hand out to help someone when they need it. And you aren't *strong* enough to stop me, if the only thing you're able to do stab your problems until they go away. I'll see you around, Cherryspear. And I'll keep an eye out for any of your witches or batteries, to let you know. Because like it or not? I meant what I said the first time we met."

"I will forever be the biggest pain in your ass if I have to be."

And then she'd try to run. the monster was gone and she was likely going to get impaled a BUNCH MORE for that. And she did NOT want to put her 'immortality' to the test.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
For a long moment, Kyouko remains frozen in place in front of Wukong, reluctantly transfixed by her sincerity. By her "desire to make her wish a reality." That strikes a little too close to home, and finally, she steps back.

"Fine," she says, suddenly aloof again, although there's still bitterness blazing in her eyes. "Keep reaching out that hand. It'll get bitten off some day or another, and you'll see!" She turns away, refusing to dignify that last threat with a response.

Her gaze falls on Sayaka and Coco again. "I wasn't trying to *kill* her. She was just so weak she let it happen, or...whatever that was." She gives an exaggerated shrug. "I don't care! And you shouldn't care either. Being a magical girl is about survival, not protecting the innocent. You'll see soon enough--*Sayaka*." And she turns to go.

Sayaka Miki (32) has posed:
Sayaka Miki blinks at Cure Wukong as she makes that speech, "Wait are you Puella Magi too? What was your wish..?" Yellow Pearl's question and calling her cheery spear's 'friend' has her laughing, shaking her head, "Friend? U barely know her, and..It doesn't look like she wants anyones help..Fine then, I guess maybe I should make a wish and fight for what I believe too. See you around, Cherry Spear, I hope we don't have to fight next time we meet.." and then she too, is gone.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco doesn't know what to make of the dynamics between Cherry Spear and the girl she called Sayaka. After making sure Cure Wukong was going to be fine, she leaves the park, finding a hidden place to undo her transformation. Having not been seen, she quickly goes back to the dorms, laying down on her bed as she looks at the ceiling. "The magical girls in this city are something else", she mutters, thinking back to the extreme use of by Cherry Spear. "I need to find someone I can fight alongside, at least as a support. By her final speech, that Sayaka seems like she could actually have her heart in the right place, despite my initial assumptions. I need to keep an eye out for her in case we meet again."