2902/The Size of a Personal Cloud

The Size of a Personal Cloud
Date of Scene:	10 January 2026
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	In which Ginga Kingu has no shame, though an entire crew of mahou show up to judge him for cratering the road without a barrier when he didn't need to. And also help him with the cleanup.
Cast of Characters:	Takuto Tsunashi, Wako Agemaki, Chiyo Sakai, Sugata Shindo, Roman Talleday, Ikiko Hisakata, Nanoha Takamachi, Lincoln Blackwell, Amanda Faust

---

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
It's only a couple blocks from the school, in Pikarigaoka, that a huge crater was made on the street the day before yesterday. There was the usual gas explosion sort of explanation on the news, but all the mahoujin know what the aftereffects of a King's Pillar look like.

And this time, there were signs put up in school about the volunteer cleanup project for the street in that bright and busy ward. It looks good on your high school record, the signs said. Try to convince your teachers to give you extra credit because it might work, they said.

At least the caustic dust has settled by now, and there's construction PPE available for everyone -- hard hats and gloves and safety vests, safety glasses.

Takuto jams his hard hat on top of his spiky red hair and poses with one foot up on a big piece of rubble and one hand on a hip, shading his eyes with the other hand, his hair sticking out the sides and back of his hard hat, and looks dramatically across the crater like it's the ocean.

"Welcome everyone! They won't let us do the actual construction and I don't blame them, but we have the go-ahead, with the city's thanks, to remove rubble and pieces of poor innocent people's cars and move caution signs and whatever. We have an hour and a half, and there's snacks at school after. Don't forget to hydrate~!"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako is in a candy pink coverall that was clearly bought for this specific occasion with Sugata's money. It has "Agemaki" monogrammed on one of the front pockets. The hard hat and vest and safety glasses, at least, were from the same lot of PPE that everyone else is getting theirs.

"There's a cooler with bottled water next to the gear station!" she contributes cheerfully, indicating the general direction with the handle of the shovel she is presently manning. "So seriously don't go thirsty. If there's anything especially heavy, leave it for Sugata-kun~"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
This wasn't the first time that Kings Pillar had been used in and on the city, nor was it the first time that Chiyo had leant a hand. For better or worse, Sugata was one of her friends and teammates... And *usually* it was for the better so she couldn't really be too upset at lending a hand when he really only had one attack he could properly use with his cybody.

While Takuto poses and calls out to the others gathering she's already tugging on a pair of elbow-length cleaning gloves. Not quite 'construction job' level PPE but it would help keep her a bit cleaner, as would the apron she wore over her clothes, and beneath the bright orange hi-vis vest the construction area demanded.

"Some of the snacks are courtesy of Nounamu Sweets!" She adds in while pausing to fiddle with the helmet. She was going to have to let her hair *down* to wear this!

"Let's work up a sweat and enjoy some sweets after!" Well she was trying to help encourage people at least! Though she can't help but grin when Wako puts a good bit on Sugata.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
The man of the hour is wearing a brightly colored safety vest and hard hat, wielding a shovel, and is clearly unrepentant. There is not a shred of remorse upon his countenance, even as he prepares to shovel bits of broken and crushed asphalt, to haul bits of metal in heavy-duty gloved hands, and to otherwise eat the crow his fiancé and boyfriend are trying to feed him.

He, too, has a monogrammed coverall, with "Shindo", on, and when Wako says to leave everything especially heavy for him, he shrugs.

"It will do as strength training." Sugata knows very well that this is not why Wako advised that. "You can thank me for the extra credit, snacks, and strengthening opportunity if you'd like."

Roman Talleday has posed:
Rome's already said something about village people and gotten punched in the arm for it by his teammate, but he is indeed successfully cosplaying a construction worker-- or so he thinks. A brick layer from Essex feels like a familiar global image, somehow.

Alas, they're not allowed to actually build things. It never once occurs to Roman that he is unlicenced to do such work. His assumption is because none of them can magically make the rubble repair itself, because half the physical matter is missing due to being vaporised.

He's mostly here as a friend. That, and the possibility of extra credit, which Ami urged him is 'very important'.

Right now, half distractedly, he's writing 'Rome' on the front of his shirt in marker-- because the others have their names on their clothes, and he thinks that's required. He's written it upside down before he realises his mistake at the end.

"Shit--" He frowns at it.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko is wearing the normal PPE, leaning on a large push-broom with an industrial-grade dustpan fastened to the handle, nodding in response to the announcements and making sure the helmet is the correct fit. She had debated inviting some of her canine friends to help with the hauling, but:
    1.) the available PPE wasn't built for dogs, and
    2.) Sugata really should be the one doing the hauling, anyway.

Still, she's ahead of schedule in making sure her canine friends are fed, so getting some extra credit by helping out with some of her friends sounds like a good way to pass some time today!

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi is here! She has brought some extra snacks. Okay by extra snacks, she means a whole cake. She brought a whole cake and no one stopped her. She places it near the cooler with the gear and smiles as she slices it. Plates it up and places the plates down on a table so they are reachable. "Oh right."

She places a little placard up, with a little hard hat Yuuno on it, drawn Chibi style, raising his paw in a stop motion. 'NONE FOR SUGATA' it says. 'HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID. >:('.

She then turns around and starts dusting out some smaller debris with a broom with her tiny frame. Yuuno is on her shoulder, looking over it.

Sweep sweep, this is good work to do for someone her age. She looks at Roman's mistake and can't help but giggle before Yuuno paws at her head. Rude, he mouths. She awwwws, but he's right.

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
Having not yet met many of these people, Lincoln looks a little bit out of place beside his fellow British import. Lincoln does not have coveralls or a hardhat or anything of the like. Instead, he's got a plain tee and soccer shorts and a very confused expression painted directly across his face.

"When you said to come meet my friends, Rome." Lincoln leaned closer to hiss. "I didn't think you meant manual labour."

Then he straightened and folded his arms. Well, he was here now anyway and his father was in construction. Maybe that'd help. Probably not.

"That's upside down." Lincoln stated obviously for the sheer sake of it.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy has conjured a copy of her outfit so that it doesn't matter if this one gets dirty or anything. Still, an off-white winter coat (and hi-vis vest) over black overalls and T-shirt looks like it would maybe be ok for it to get dirty anyway.

    Since PPE is offered, she equips all of it. You don't fuck around, safety rules exist for a reason!

    "Remember," she says, as she crouches by a piece of rubble maybe 19-20 inches across. "Lift with your knees, not with your back." And she demonstrates, hooking her hands under the rubble and-- "Hnh!"

    Amy hasn't, generally, been asked to move heavy things very often. Something about being a 4'11" girl might have to do with it. So it hasn't come up that much.

    She grunts and pulls at it but it does not move. At all. She looks shocked for about a second and then stands up. "Uh, well, I mean..."

    She starts trying progressively smaller pieces of rubble until she can barely start to lift it, and then the next one she hefts up awkwardly and carries over to a wheelbarrow, dropping it in loudly and shaking her hands a bit. "Phew!"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako makes a face of exasperated affection at Sugata and his complete lack of repentance. Not that she expected much different. She hasn't known him since they were both infants for nothing.

Spotting a face she doesn't recognize over by Roman, looking confused, she shoulders her shovel and starts in the direction of Rome and Lincoln. "Hi!" she calls out cheerfully as she nears them. "Thanks for coming to help, guys!"

She takes a second to resituate the shovel again once she stops, point against the ground, before looking to Lincoln. "I don't think we've met before? I'm Wako Agemaki, third year. We're mostly here to shame my fiance - that's him over there--" she points toward Sugata, "so if you weren't warned about what was going on, you can feel free to contribute by telling him things that need done."

Speaking of which - she glances about long enough to flash Nanoha an enthusiastic thumbs-up for the cake and the accompanying sign.

Roman Talleday has posed:
"You're upside down," Roman sniped at Lincoln almost immediately, and blushes slightly for the giggle he hears. A sheepish glance taken of Nanoha, Roman clears his throat to call Sugata's way, "Thanks for the shot at extra credit, Cap. If it's gonna cost a King's Pillar every time I need to pump my academics, though, Tokyo is gonna be absolutely flattened by the end of the year, yeah?"

He's already moving with the marker towards his fellow Brit, ominous in his intention and reaching for his face. If he wasn't quick enough, Lincoln would end up with 'LINC' on his cheek while distracted by Wako.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"I'm sure the efforts at shaming will only get progressively work if I keep this up," Sugata says dryly, coming over to Roman and Lincoln. "I'm already being gatekept from bakery goods. Sugata Shindo, third year. If you've a hand for fighting, you can consider joining kendo club."

Yes, he has noticed the cake, but he's also noticed the new faces that might not have been warned off his kendo club. Sure, there's the other kendo club - dedicated to competition and classical kendo - but there's also kendo club. The worthwhile one.

Taking note of Amy's struggles, he joins her for a moment, demonstrating proper form as well when he heaves up the larger piece she'd not been able to budge.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi blushes at Roman as she's caught giggling and sweeps harder and looks away. Shame on her. u.u. Yuuno shakes his head disapprovingly. Nanoha then smiles at Wako and thumbs up back! She sweeps and looks at Amy as she tries to lift increasingly smaller rubble and wonders how big of a rock she can lift!

She leans down and....hrrrrrrrrrrk.

Nope. Next size down? Hrrrrrrrrr! Nope. By the time she's done trying she's holding one the size of a cake. She looks down at it, and almost pouts. "Maybe I need to work out..."

Yuuno tries to imagine BUFF NANOHA. Oh that's scary! Nanoha bows.

"I'm Nanoha Takamachi!" she says, introducing herself to the group finally.

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
"I'm perfectly right-size-up!" Lincoln protested before Wako caught his attention. "Ah--no, we haven't!"

He lifted a hand to wave out a greeting before glancing over to Sugata as indicated. Then attention drifted back.

"I'm Lincoln, or Linc if you'd rather." A beat before the rest dawned on him. "Lincoln Blackwell, that is. Uh--first year. He knows--"

It took him a second or three, plenty long enough for Roman to have scribbled his name on his face with marker. Unfortunately, Lincoln couldn't read it since it was on his cheek, and instead he just turned to the other boy with a frown.

"If you've drawn somethin' rude on me, I'll be cross."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai has her back turned as she focuses breifly on undoing her dango. It was rare she did, her curls tended to be a bit wild wanting to get into her face if she let the sides down. But there was no way that she was going to get her head to fit inside a helmet without doing so. At least purple and orange were complimentary! The helmet is pulled on just as she hears Wako going over to green Lincoln and Roman, having not yet spotted the pair of British boys.

It's Amy who she watches with a bit of amusement as she struggles with some rubble. Helpfully she reaches down to grasp the handles of a wheelbarrow which she lefts up to begin walking over.

"Smarter, not harder," she offers with a little laugh as she pauses to heft a chunk to dump into the barrow herself. Without much issue as she always was strong even before getting a henshin.

With hands dusting off on her sides she glance over toward Wako and Sugata and mention of cake only to blink in momentary surprise. "Oh! Lincoln! Roman, too. Come to help out?"

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
Takuto, who is NOT wearing a monogrammed coverall (just jeans and a long-sleeved red t-shirt under his hig-vis orange safety vest, and steel-toed boots) like the other two members of the Trio are, coughlaughs when he sees the 'NO SUGATAS' type sign for the cake. He grins at Nanoha, eyes crinkling up at the corners; he takes a piece of cake before starting to work, yes, his big gloves going under one arm so he can eat it up first. "Thanks!"

Then he flashes Chiyo a thumbs-up, delighted about the Nounamu treats news, but he has to get his mouth full of cake right now. Which means that his mouth's full of cake when he waves at Roman and spots Lincoln, just as Wako's speaking to him.

The red-haired boy trails a little closer chewing, then puts his fork on his plate and holds a hand in front of his mouth to hide the see-food as he says, kind of muffled-ly, "Takuto Tsunashi, third year," he says, then swallows and glances at Nanoha, grinning at her introduction. "Thanks for coming and very thanks for the cake!"

Then-- "Yeah do kendo with us. Also, Sugata-kun is the one who broke the street," he explains to Lincoln, "which is why we're TRYING to make the guy feel ANY sense of shame or regret, and yes the efforts will escalate."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko tries her best to avoid giggling at the British Marker Wars, focusing instead on sweeping in the more open areas -- push-brooms aren't exactly ideal for narrow detail work, after all!

"Ikiko Hisakata, first year middle-schooler!" she announces to those she hasn't met before. Hey, if introductions are going around, might as well join in on those!

Sugata Shindo has posed:
The wheelbarrow Chiyo brought over is put to good use - Sugata drops the heavy piece of rubble into it, then, rather than using his hands, uses the shovel to scrape up a number of smaller pieces, lifting it steadily to drop the rubble in. "My only real reget is all this damage wasn't enough to accomplish the greater goal. That is what training will have to be for."

Roman Talleday has posed:
"Talleday, Roman. Tenth grade." A salute is given to Nanoha, and as if to smooth things over, he gestures to his poorly written nametag. "You can call me Rome. Hey, Amy-chan. Ikiko-chan."

He grins a little at Chiyo, next. "Something like that. I'm gonna help eat the cake Cap ain't getting, that's for sure."

With a nod at Takuto, Roman turns his attention back to Lincoln, nudging him. "It's mostly hitting each other with sticks, but like, proper stick-fighting. Not none of that old fashioned stuff. You should see this other big bloke in there, Saito-san. Just about cracked my forehead open like an egg."

This was praise, apparently.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's not going to tease Rome for writing the shirt upside down. Someone's already on it and also she's having a little moment here.

    And then little Nanoha tries the same thing she just did and says something about working out. "It'll probably help to grow a bit more, honestly, but--"

    And then Sugata comes over too, lifting the way-too-big-for-her-actually chunk of concrete which she estimates would've been manageable with difficulty even if he only worked out occasionally, and she observes and looks back to Nanoha, muttering, "It really is a bit of a cheat... but so is magic."

    She smiles and holds a hand out to the younger mahou. "Amanda Faust, from America. I think we've met a few times? On and off the battlefield."

    She nods and waves to the two from England she also hasn't seen much of, but has met. "Hey, how've you been?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako brings a hand up to cover her mouth, trying very hard to stifle her giggling as Roman writes on Lincoln's face. It's not helping.

"Ah, I finally get to meet Lincoln-san! Chiyo-chan's mentioned you - only cool things, I promise. She and I are roommates, with Rashmi-chan."

The topic of kendo club means she can let her hand drop and just grin at the guys. "Yes, please do give the boys more people to chase around with sticks at kendo practice. The more of you there are, the less I have to worry about them pestering me to start."

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
"You're mad." Lincoln said of Roman and his voluntary stick-beatings before turning attention directly to Takuto and--without a hint of irony--nodding. "I'll do a kendo with you. Why not?"

There were probably dozens of reasons why not. Several of them were probably even good reasons why not. But, Lincoln still harboured some specific feelings about the last time he'd been invited to a physical exercise with Roman and felt some need to prove himself.

He might have had several other things to say just then. A wave for Chiyo, of course. A hi for Amy. More introductions and greetings. Unfortunately, Wako had spoken in the interim and he'd wound up just being a little redder than he had been seconds ago.

"She mentioned me?" Lincoln's voice was a barely perceptible semi-tone or two higher pitched suddenly and only descended back to normal upon the heels of an unsubtle throat-clearing. "Oh yeah? What'd she say?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai pauses to glance at all the work that still needed doing versus... The not doing of it. The latter was so much more tempting. One other chunk of debris is hefted into the wheelbarrow so that it's at least mostly-full before she turns to walk toward the small gathering of those introducing themselves to the newer faces.

The little wave from Lincoln is met with her own hand rising to wave back. Unnecessarily perhaps.

"Oh, Kendo can be quite a workout, but I doubt Takuto would really--" She's about to say she doubted he would *actually* fight Lincoln. He was so hesitant to do so, usually. Or maybe that was just her. The remarks catch up to her though causing her to nearly stumble as she takes the last step closer, and while Lincoln is blushingly asking Wako about her, all she can do is let out a little embarassed squeak.

Did red clash with purple and orange? It didn't matter, her hands had come up to cover her face so no one could see her blushing too.

Roman Talleday has posed:
"I'm actually doing super great right now," Roman said to Amy, which was a very English way of saying 'I'm a complete mess, don't look into it'. "I still can't get corpse paint right, though. Don't think that's for me. Been workin' on a battle jacket, but it's hard to get the spike to patch ratio right."

A feral grin and a breath hinted he might interject upon Wako's revelations and Lincoln's reaction. He restrained himself, at the squeak of his team mate, given that Chiyo *was* present and could possibly overhear. War flashbacks of Mamoru's disapproval, Justice Speeches, and later Usagi's much less dramatic explanation of 'how Romance works in Japan'. Chiyo face-check? Blushing. Shit. That meant danger.

"She probably said totally normal things about you, like that you have nice hair, and don't smeel like socks." He blurted at Lincoln, instead.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko glances towards Lincoln and Chiyo, and while she doesn't say anything, those paying attention will notice an impish grin on the younger girl's face, and that her sweeping seems to be lurking in the vicinity of the potentially-romantic gossip.

(What can she say, some recent happenings have gotten her in a helpful mood when it comes to friends -- or friends of friends, in the other case -- possibly falling in love.)

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
Fortunately, Lincoln is mostly oblivious to the general state of things around him and instead just snaps attention to Roman. After all, there's very important information and opinions to be gathering up right now.

"You think she likes my hair?" He asked

Sugata Shindo has posed:
It seems fitting that the shaming opportunity has become a 'Sugata is half on his own for cleaning up his own mess' opportunity. For that reason - and the fact that lifting shovel full of heavy rocks and rubble pieces actually is a work out, Sugata carries on without complaint.

And because he does not want to frighten off Roman or Lincoln, he does not say anything like 'Takuto would definitely enjoy fighting you' or 'getting beaten with sticks isn't entirely off-base'.

Instead, he glances at Ikiko, and asks, not trying to be especially quiet, but separated from the louder crowd by distance and labor, "Hisakata-san, are you magical as well?"

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
Takuto eyes Sugata as he finishes his piece of cake, then throws out the plate and fork and puts his big leather work gloves back on. "Wako-chan, you're the only one who has the right to tell him to stop going after La Crima," he sighs. "Normally I would say whatever it's fine, but this time he took half a block with him and he's not even sorry."

Then his look at Wako goes from faintly frustrated but mostly long-suffering alllll the way to amused indulgence, and he finally starts picking big things up and moving them, himself. He focuses on the sharper-looking heavy things since his gloves are tough. "You should," he laughs, "but I'd want you to learn the basics first and Sugata-kun's had the better part of two decades to teach you and you haven't got them yet, so..." He's teasing, his red eyes sparkling.

Heave! Toss. CRANGGG goes the metal part against another metal part in the barrow.

"I'd want to see where you're at before fighting you," he tells Roman and Lincoln simply.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"She didn't have to specify not smelling like socks," Wako informs Roman without batting an eye. "It went without saying." Leaning on her shovel, she tips her head thoughtfully. "I think the key words used were" she starts ticking off on her fingers: "'nice,' 'relatable,' 'cute,' and 'cool.'"

Okay, that last one was a lie, but Wako is very much not above taking remarks slightly out of context in the name of nurturing her teammate's love life.

"We haven't talked about your hair, though, so you'll have to ask her about that yourself."

Before Chiyo can either murder her or spontaneously combust, she's pivoted towards Takuto and is sticking out her tongue. "It's like you want your RA-chan to come to Tokyo just to beat me up. The answer is still no!" She conspicuously is not addressing the matter of La Crima and Sugata's desire to murder La Crima, at least for the moment.

Roman Talleday has posed:
"Wako-san, stop, you're gonna summon Mamoru-san--" Roman whipped his head around, searchingly. No sign of roses or masked figures perched precariously to loom, so that was good.

He sighed, furrowing his brows to mutter. "Still. She ain't smelled him after Soccer practice..."

He finally moves to do pick up a heavy piece of concrete and twisted steel.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko raises an eyebrow at Sugata, then glances over at Wako and nods. "Wako knows me," she replies. So do several of the others, but she figures it's best to limit the reveal to someone he's definitely familiar with. "Not as, uh... prone to collateral damage as some, but I also can't isolate that kind of force, so... it usually works out for me."

Sure, that's pretty damn spot-on for Sugata (and Wako's bubbling), but it does also apply to Devicers, so... yay for a sliver of plausibly deniable pointedness?

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
"Those things are all way better than hair." Lincoln said while wearing the look of a man who wasn't entirely sure whether he was looking at something amazing or something about to explode in his face.

It could be both, of course, but fortunately Roman snapped him out of any kind of thought process in that direction.

"Why're you sniffing at me when I get back from practice, man? That's weird." But, he was returned to reality now and decided to do something more to help than stand about in awkwardness.

So, he made to help with the lifting of things.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
Takuto looks MORE long-suffering, increasingly so, as Wako fails to address his-- "Look, tell him to practice until he can make a lethal beam the size of a cartoon personal raincloud, and ONLY use it on her," he says to Wako right in front of Sugata. "It's too big!"

...

He shoots a wary look at Sugata, then an alarmed look at everyone else, then a much more alarmed look at Ikiko and Nanoha, and he goes almost as red as his hair and picks up a 'woah okay he's stronger than those sleeves make him out to be' sized piece of debris and chucks it in the bin with a much louder CRONKCH.

Then he looks over at Lincoln and Roman again, and to Chiyo, and he decides to throw them all under the bus at once. "Wait, I thought you two were a couple?" he says to the two English boys in a tone of perfect innocence.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai drops her hands away and spins to go toward the cake to snag a slice for herself. This also helpfully distances her from the conversation so that she doesn't have to overhear more about how awesome she thinks Lincoln is.

Maybe it's because she has something sweet that she feels a bit emboldened herself after a few bites. When Takuto speaks up she just jabs her fork into the cake with a remark of, "That didn't stop you with Wako-chan and Sugata-kun." NOMF.

Though she does pause after chewing carefully with gaze flitting between Roman and Lincoln. "... Wait. *Are* you?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks at Roman. "Corpse paint...?" At least battle jacket she assumes he means literally, if he has some control over his henshin outfit. But then the conversation turns to... this takes some parsing to figure out: what Chiyo said about Lincoln.

    Does she like his hair? "Why not just... ask her? She's right over there..." How is romance still so complicated to make sense of?! She can feel the feelings now, right?

    Wako spills. All things said were simple and clear praise. Seems straightforward enough...

    Except for one part. "Wait, how would that summon Mamoru...?"

    And then Takuto pours fuel on the fire and she blinks at him in innocent confusion, "Even if they are, that doesn't mean he can't like Chiyo too..." She nods, indicatively, at Takuto, Sugata, and Wako.

Roman Talleday has posed:
Tossing his load of rubble in the wheelbarrow, Roman clapped gloves. "You're the one leavin' your socks on the windowsill to 'air out'," He emphasised with his fingers, "Like some kinda anti-air-freshener! That's old-factory assault!"

He meant olfactory, but perhaps some old industrial English tradition of offending fellow countrymen existed alongside.

Perhaps amusingly, Roman merely frowned at Takuto, throwing up his hands. "Nobody's kissin' anybody with that going on. Mistletoe? Nah, Musty Toes--" He was still caught in his run of complaint, before he started to catch up to himself. "Wait, what?"

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"The size of a personal cloud," Sugata repeats, suddenly and deeply interested in Takuto's complaints. He has noted that Wako is not telling him anything about holding back against La Crima, which means that he's completely in the clear to keep trying to kill her.

But doing it with a focused, barrow beam... harnessed into a steady point...

Several shovels of rubble are tossed into the wheelbarow before Sugata rises back to awareness.

"It's not like we hoped instantly into dating, so it certainly stopped us for longer than you'd like to be stopped."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako has the grace to look a little chagrined. "At least," she says, raising her voice a little to carry over to Sugata, and once again hefting the shovel to head over and maybe do some actual work, "you've got to let someone get a barrier up before you drop King's Pillar. Takuto-kun is right, it's just too big. If you can't make it smaller, you need to be in Zero Time or something."

Amy's question has her pausing, wheels turning in her head for a moment before she just shrugs. "I don't know either," she admits.

Crossing the rest of the space toward where Sugata is working, she favors Ikiko with a warm smile. "Ikiko-chan was at the first fight I ever ended up in after I came to Tokyo," she tells Sugata. "Remember I told you about the two-headed bear? It was spooky."

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
"Well I'm not gonna go and wash just one set of socks, am I?" Lincol protested, evidently well offended by the metaphorical airing of dirty laundry regarding the actual airing of dirty laundry. "You gotta wait until you've got a whole load so you're not wasting water, mate."

He shook his head, still reddened in the face from several sources. It was difficult to find the resilience to respond to pretty much anything else and he glanced off toward Takuto for a solid spell. Some reasonably sized chunk of rubbish held at about waist height.

Lincoln frowned a little.

"Me and Rome?" Lincoln asked eventually before glancing at the other British lad and tossing his load into a wheelbarrow with a grunt. "Nah, he's alright and all but we aren't dating or anything. Just--you know--colleagues of a sort, yeah?"

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"Really, if you think about it, it's Rashmi's fault for not putting up the barrier," Sugata suggests, though the amused curl of his lips shows that he knows he's not getting away with that. "I'm actively thinking of smaller. I'm going to need to start borrowing Zero Time more often."

This is equal parts warning and apology - he's going to need her power, after all, but it's for a good cause? At the reminder though, he glances at Ikiko again and nods, sharply.

"I remember that. I still can't believe the closest I got were armored panthers."

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
"We're a triad though, not a couple, I thought they were a couple, like, monogamous, I mean they act--" Takuto starts at Chiyo and Amy, dusting his hands off as he straightens up, then-- ooh. The Precures are denying this or being confused. Takuto grins. "Oh did I discover you were married before you did?" HYPOCRITE.

"You can probably also use it in Entrapta's range, I heard she beefed it up after Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask did a combo in there and broke it," he suggests to Sugata, calming down mostly because he's pretty sure this is just enrichment for his boyfriend and girlfriend. His own fury is directed at Riventon these days.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai lingers a bit longer on that little bit of cake. It earns a few more doubtful stabs as she listens to the two bicker and talk about stinky laundry--- Were boys really like that? It wasn't as if she knew any normal ones. Normalish? Her first 'boyfriend' had been a fake, turned out gay, and the next few were idiots. The last one wasn't even human! Doubting herself some she watches and listens to both Roman, Lincoln, as well as her teammates curiously.

"Ah..." Recalling a remark earlier she picks up on it opting to change the topic. Just a bit. "I think he's nervous about Mamoru-kun because the last time we ran into each other they were teasing me in front of him and he gave them a good talking-to about behaving."

So much for the idea of changing the topic! Takuto's retort is met with a little chuckle as she takes it all in. "Well yes I know you three are, and I know it took awhile," she agrees nodding only to pause. Married? DOUBT once again fills her eyes.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
A second, even more considering pause.

"The likelihood of you two dragging me back if I take off to practice right now is... very high?"

This is not a real question, except that maybe it is juuuust a little. The romantic drama happening over there is officially no longer of interest to him, if it ever was.

Roman Talleday has posed:
Roman nodded absently along with Lincoln in confirmation, but also had a brief moment of self awareness here-- did he and Lincoln give off the strong impression of being romantically involved? Rome himself had utterly no sense for these things.

More than that, he was increasingly drawn into the gossip emerging about the trio, curiosity stirring.

"Actually, speakin' of Rashmi-chan... She's pretty keen on gettin' me sorted out with a proper date night. Said about how she'd make sure everythin' was perfect behind the scenes for a magical evening at the restaurant. Open offer." It was true. Roman had said a great deal to Rashmi, and Rashmi fully intended to support Roman in most of his endeavors, not the least of which was her enthusiasm to aid friends in matters of Love. "She's a good bird, Rashmi-chan. Ain't taken her up on it, yet, but..."

He had the decency to look mildly guilty, but mostly, his expression was pensive as he trailed off. Instead, he looks to Sugata. "Can I come?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"It definitely helped out with some other identification later on," Ikiko nods to Wako. "Two-headed bears are pretty rare, even by youma standards." Add in a semi-inadvertent reveal that gave just enough clues to piece things together, and you get mutual identification when sufficient beans get spilled.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako grins and nods in agreement with Ikiko. "It was a really memorable first youma, for sure."

But then Sugata's trying to feel out the prospect of escape, and Wako's attention swings abruptly and fully back to him. "Up-bup-bup!" she interjects sharply. "You haven't done enough community service yet. And don't try to blame-shift onto Rashmi-chan, either; she's not responsible for your mess. You could've warned her you'd need a barrier, you know."

She sighs and shakes her head. Despite the scolding, her eyes are warm. "Don't worry, we can train in Zero Time later." She's certainly all for the idea of trying to fine-tune a more targeted attack.

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
"Right!" Lincoln interjected, also happy to move away from strange questions to awkwardness for other people. "If I'm gonna be here picking up your mess, you better be here picking up your mess, too!"

He'd only just met Sugata, but that wasn't going to stop him from happily diverting attention in that direction. Lincoln probably also wouldn't even feel all that bad about it later... Unless Sugata hit him really hard with a stick doing the kendo things--

"But, I'll definitely be here. Helping you, man. Yep."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"Is there every a fight that doesn't need a barrier?" Sugata points out, perfectly reasonably in his opinion, "Besides, I was stealing a page from Takuto's book and showing up in the nick of time."

Still, he stops his slight advance from the community service and instead shovels more rubble, scraping together rock, asphalt, and metal scraps together to lift in a series of swift goes.

Roman is given a considering glance - date speech notwithstanding, being in Rashmi's good graces is a positive sign for a person's character, more-so than being lectured by Mamoru-san about teasing.

"Of course. Though we'll have to get past -"

Lincoln joins in, and Sugata blinks at him, before chuckling, brushing his hair back.

"Fine, fine. I'm already paying to repair the street, but since Wako and Takuto think spending money to stimulate the economy isn't a good enough display, I'll keep up the good work."

He squats to lift a large piece of rubble that was probably half of a fender at one point, and carries it over to one of the other wheelbarrows.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai breathes a small sigh of relief as the topic switches to training. That she could at least deal with. "I'm in the 'kendo club' too," she remarks with a wry grin. "I don't gte a free pass like Wako-chan."

"Rashmi and her family do enjoy playing host to dates. The food is excellent, too. I'll probably get to hear all about it too, Rashmi is also roommates with Wako and myself. We had a corner triple room."

Picking up a broom she starts tidying up the areas where larger debris has already been cleared off. Occasionally sneaking a glance at the others.

Roman Talleday has posed:
"Yeah? No pressure on me, then. I'm rubbish at this." Roman sighs a little, picking up chunks of bitumin, and carrying a good armful. "Alright, a little more clean up first, then a good training session..."

He seemed a little more contented by that thought, than the other subject-- fighting was something he could do well, and not have to think overly much about messing up.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko nods again to Wako, then gets back to sweeping (and helping the others with the dustpan, as needed). The gossip seems to have calmed down a bit, but there's definitely some potential threads that should be followed up on -- both for hearing about later, and potentially nudging things along as needed.

But for now, cleaning the area (and eating snacks!) definitely comes first.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Lincoln explains that no, the two boys aren't a couple, and then Wako says they need a barrier and Amy opens her mouth and Sugata says it's Rashmi's fault--

    "Uhh, no?! Riventon found a way to break the barriers when they're interfering with... whatever that was!"

    She gives Sugata a slightly annoyed look for accusing Rashmi.

    We're a triad, Takuto says. "...Yeah? There's plenty of polycules on campus... probably. There's you three, an' the senshicule, and... uh... didn't Hinoiri or Miki-san date multiple people...? And Hannah was dating me an' her other girlfriend, years ago."

    As people start to get back to work she continues lifting smaller rocks until she and the boys have filled the wheelbarrow, or she gets tired.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
Takuto checks his watch, then nods. "Fifty-three minutes to go," he says stoutly, looking to Wako, then squinting at Sugata and doing the whole pointing-at-eyes-pointing-at-you thing to the blue-haired boy. He laughs, then, and picks up another big piece -- this one in the way of Sugata's shoveling. "Maybe I also like watching you work."

There's a headtilt back toward Chiyo. "Free pass? We just don't make her learn actual kendo, since she doesn't have a Star Sword. We all have to train to fight-- but we need to fight as a team more, or doubles, or two versus one. But I don't really spar with anyone but Saitou-kun and Sugata-kun."

Then he glances back at Amy and heaves another chunk of debris into the next wheelbarrow. "Yeah, but the point is I thought they were monogamous," he laughs. "And they're not dating at all."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"I wouldn't call it a free pass," Wako sulks. "I am not kidding, there's a girl back on the island - she's a kendo champion. She scored on Takuto-kun the first time they sparred, and she would teleport here to make sure I'm not disgracing the ancient Shindo style if I ever so much as picked up a shinai. Not worth it!"

She nods firmly in solidarity to Takuto.

Then she sort of scoots over to where Chiyo is sweeping, so that she can speak in an apologetic undertone. "Um, sorry if I put you too much on the spot earlier. I wasn't trying to embarrass you."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Sugata doesn't quite roll his eyes, but instead informs Amy - directly and obviously in front of Wako - "I'm throwing Rashmi under the bus because Wako would never blame her over me. It's a dash of comedy to underline their decision to organize this event to shame me."

With explanation provided, he gives Takuto a long look, then glances at Wako again. Opens his mouth. Glances at Ikiko and Nanoha. Closes his mouth.

Silence.

"...she really would teleport here to try and stop Wako. It's not like she isn't pulling her weight... even if we will need training." He too, is in solidarity with Takuto on this one, even if on a different leg of argument. "The four of us need to be a better unit, but given that we're also likely to keep being thrown in with others, it's better to organize group training. Kendo Club is where we do some of that, but Entrapta's Range will be a perfect place to spar on a more advanced level when Wako can't provide Zero Time, or wants to focus on something else."

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
"The only mongoose here is Rome." Lincoln replied to Takuto absently, almost instinctively.

Lincoln had, for the time being, devoted himself entirely to moving rubble and wheelbarrows about. Fortunately, he was actually relatively good at those things. His training might not have been the same, there were no swords or specific sparring, but he did ensure a fairly consistently challenging physical regimen for himself. It just mostly consisted of kicking balls in specific directions and running really fast.

That was something, right?

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods to Takuto, gives Wako a look of surprise, "Teleported? That far?! All by herself?!"

    And Sugata explains his joke and she nods gratefully, both for the explanation and for understanding she needed it and not judging. "Oh, I see. Thanks."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai swings the broom around in the typical motion so that she begins to gather up a good little pile of dust, debris, and what might have been the glass to a car windshield at some point but was mostly glittering dust now. A softly bemused smile comes as she pauses to look toward Takuto and Sugata with a dip of her head. "I wasn't meaning that seriously. Wako-chan helps a great deal as it is when it comes to fights. Just not the kendo training."

Wako's approach to her is met with another quiet grin and shake of her head. "You're fine, Wako-chan, really," she assures in a hushed tone. "I just haven't thought about um. Things. In awhile."

'Things' is emphasized by glancing up over at Lincoln again as she watches him work. A soft hum comes and she murmers, "I can see the benefits of watching someone work though."

Roman Talleday has posed:
"Are you tellin' me to suck eggs?" Roman squinted at Lincoln, suspiciously, and snorted loudly and derisively as he upended more rubble into the barrow. "You're goin' the right way for a smack, you are--"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Oh," Wako kind of checks herself and makes a slightly sheepish face in Amy's direction. "Not like, actually actually teleport," she clarifies. "Her Cybody doesn't do that. Even if she's good enough at kendo to make it look like she's teleporting sometimes." A little shake of her head. She scoops up a decent bit of Chiyo's pile with her shovel and totes it to the wheelbarrow.

"She'd for sure come and get me, though. I don't wanna risk it."

On her way back to where Chiyo is working, she gives the taller girl a friendly conspiratorial little shoulder-bump - glances first toward Takuto and Sugata, then towards Lincoln - and grins at her. "I know, right?"

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
"Nah, Rome. I'm sayin' you know how to wrestle a snake." Lincoln replied, still a little absently, as he straightened and stretched a little.

Some of those chunks were rather heavy, actually, and it wasn't as though he had precure strength to help out just now. It was all regular Lincoln powered for the moment.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy ohhhs at Wako's explanation and nods.

    Good enough at kendo to flash-step? Sure, why not. Life is an anime, apparently!

    Chiyo mentions benefits and Amy gives her a questioning look and follows her gaze to Lincoln, then hears Wako and murmurs a quiet, "Ohhhh."

    She looks at Lincoln.

    She looks at Chiyo and Wako.

    She looks at Lincoln like she's scrutinizing something intently for a moment, then shakes her head and relaxes, muttering to the girls, "I just don't see it. I really am the ace one, huh..."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Shovels worth of rubble are still getting gathered and tossed, gathered and tossed. Sugata glances between Rome and Lincoln, gauging their strength as they work, but also their banter, and then glances at Takuto.

Yeah, he sees it too. He was valid for his assumption.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
"She won't spar with me either, she wants to save some stuff I've never seen before in case she has to fight me for real again, ever," Takuto says with a laugh, and flexes for Wako and Sugata for a second (oh he does kind of fill that shirt out when he does that, doesn't he--)

He climbs up on a piece of rubble and looks around, and no one's really paying attention except for a couple of the on-site safety guys who are essentially over there smoking and not really really paying attention to anything but their phones.

"APPRIVOISER!" he calls out and does a full-bore hip-cocking "Dazzling the stage!" sparkling lights naked-silhouette hair-tossing "Ginga Bishounen!" henshin sequence with arm motions and everything.

Then he starts picking up chunks of car and flying them over to the construction dumpster.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai tears her gaze away from Lincoln as she recalls to sweep however absently. Wako's elbow helped her out with that. Though her gaze follows over to Takuto and Sugata who *were* cute but it was odd to look at them that way. Back over to Lincoln then!

Right in time for that little stretch and flex which draws another blush from her. Then she pauses, tilting her head as she clears her throat. "They really ought to watch how they're talking while they're..." Her hand waves slightly in their direction.

Lightly clearing her throat she mutters, "They really do act like Sugata and Takuto with how they show off-- Ah, there he goes."

It's her turn to nudge Wako now with amusement. "Should we get our phones out?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Showoff!" Wako yelps. She's ducked halfway behind Chiyo as the car parts start flying, never mind that they're well out of the line of fire.

She's blushing when Chiyo nudges her. Mostly because she already has her phone out and is holding it up for a good vantage.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko looks up from her sweeping in time to see Bishounen start hauling chunks of car around. "...well, that's one way to handle the larger chunks," she remarks with a wry grin, which quickly turns into a stifled giggle at the reaction of Chiyo and Wako.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Takuto really does fill out that shirt nicely. Sugata gives him a once-over, a twice-over, and then - "I should have done that from the start!"

He has not made a catch phrase, but he does have a cocky little shift of his weight, a hand thrust up into the air as the other touches the mark of power glowing beneath his shirt and safety vest.

"APPRIVOISER!"

Sparkling lights naked-silhouette of color and light, military jacket and cravat and boots and all popping into existence, taking shape and form, and then?

Ginga Kingu is also rocketing through hefting and tossing chunks of rubble and debris.

Roman Talleday has posed:
Roman frowned now, pointing indignantly. "Oi! No fair, usin' magic powers--" And seems oblivious tot he crunch of car that goes flying past him. "That's cheatin', that is!"

But, that aside, Roman feels immensely comfortable. Despite his own good looks, despite his fitness, there's not really any eyes following the flexes of his muscle or sneaking glances at his pretty features-- and this is, actually, a strange relief. He smiles at himself a little, and once again thinks that deleting his social media was better, in the long run, as well.

He picks up a shovel and continues to work.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako absolutely should've known that was going to happen. Rolling her eyes affectionately, she lowers her phone.

"Apprivoiser!"

It's the same glittery, showy performance, silhouette outlined in glittering pink instead of blue. As soon as she's transformed into full white and gold military bling, she puts out a hand: "Zero Time."

The barrier rushes outward, like a breath of wind against skin and hair and clothes. The sky overhead transforms into a multi-colored starscape, and the workers nominally supervising them (but actually mostly on smoke break) vanish.

"We've got half an hour of Zero Time to cheat with," she announces cheerfully. "Let's finish up and then have some cake!"

Lincoln Blackwell has posed:
For once, Lincoln seems to be in complete agreement with Roman as he nods along. Only a moment later does his attention return to the wheelbarrow and the chunks of road and pavement and whatever else he's hauled up by hand.

"It just doesn't seem fair, does it?" Lincoln complained. "I bet I could pick up a car, too."

About the only thing stopping him from following suit was Roman's lack of doing so. Well, that and the fact that Oolong--his fairy--would definitely tell them off if they did. Something, something, responsibility and--

He pointed at Wako. "Now she's doing it, too!"

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"You're the only ones holding yourself back," Ginga Kingu points out, and lifts half a crushed car to zip to the collecting site before pausing and pressing a fist to his chest. A gleaming sword of pure energy emerges.

"Star Swordo! Diamante!"

Deft motions translate to sweeping blows with the Star Sword, reducing the crushed car to neatly sliced and stacked pieces of metal.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko giggles a bit at the Star Driver shenanigans, then goes over and pats Lincoln on the back. "Well, nobody in here but us mahoujin, so... if you can't beat them, join them?" she suggests brightly.

Before he can respond, Ikiko taps her necklace, says "Lycan Locket!", and then starts zooming around with the pushbroom as Cute Wolf Tsukiko. Sure, it might not be as thorough as a standard sweep job, but at least it's faster!

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The dazzling transformations of her teammates around her cause Chiyo to lean her broom away from herself as she steps to the side so that she's not hiding Wako behind her any longer. Because let's face it: The Trio are flirting with each other right now and she was *not* getting in the way of that.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Apprivoiser! "Oh are we doin' that? That really is cheating... [HENGE!]" She strikes a pose with her left arm forward, elbow bent with forearm crossing upward so her fist is in front of her chin, and the flame-colored light engulfs her silhouette, and then is flames which dissipate to leave her in henshin.

    And she also starts tossing the chunks of rubble and debris around.

    Wako brings out zero time? "Hell yeah, cake!"

Roman Talleday has posed:
Roman scoffs, and gives in when Zero Time gives the excuse. "Alright, alright-- Linc? Let's rock."

BEfore too much longer, in all the beauty and with the scent of high tea about them, two Pretty Cures would transform to work too.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Oh, to heck with it," Chiyo decides when everyone else henshins as well.

"APPRIVOISER!"

Ginga Hanma stands where she had been, bedecked in her psuedo-military jacket and mini skirt along with those stylish stockings. That doesn't stop her from throwing around a bunch of cars and rocks though! Wako did say it was just a half hour of clean up and darnit she could show off too!