1447/Same Old Mess

Same Old Mess
Date of Scene:	24 April 2024
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Kyouka apologizes to Bow for the events of scene 1422
Cast of Characters:	Bow, Kyouka Inai

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Bow has posed:
There's a routine to Bow's mornings. Before classes, he's at the archery fields practicing. He spends at least an hour alternating between the traditional long bow and the bow he's more classically trained with. After that is morning exercise and a run. When it comes to mahou, he's one of the more outdoorsy, physically active ones. But that comes from being from a world where things like video games and reality shows didn't exist.

Having just finished a run around the track, he's dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a midriff bearing top with weighted gloves on his hands to help with stregth and circulation. He's on his way towards the bench where he left his gym bag and water bottle, preparing to grab the items to head inside for a shower and to get a bite to eat before classes begin.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    The area around the Sports Complex is one that Kyouka frequents fairly often. In addition to being a guidance counselor, she's also the official teacher of the school's Self-Defense Class, which technically also makes her a PE teacher as it is a legit class which counts for credits (the mundane version, anyway). Though she is most often found in her office in the Administrative Building when she is on campus, it's not rare to find her in the sports area either, going about some business related to the class.

    Perhaps that is what she is doing this morning, although it's not obvious to look at her as she is in her usual button-down white shirt and black slacks that mark her as office-bound, sunglasses perched as-ever upon her nose. She is making her way down the path near the track when she happens to spot Bow.

    She doesn't hesitate overmuch before making her way over to him, giving little warning before she just sits down on the bench next to his bag , one leg crossing over the other casually. "Hey, kid. Look, I just wanted to apologize for the other night. That whole situation was kind of a clustereff, and I realize it wasn't of your making."

Bow has posed:
Just as he gets to the benches, Bow glances up, recognizing the young woman sitting there. "Good morning, Miss Inai." She had helped behind the scenes with Prom, so he does remember her from that. Which is where he may be getting the confused look from as he takes a drink from his bottle of water before setting it back down. The veil is still strong with her, even if Bow's is pretty weak, after all.

"Did something happen after prom?" he asks in confusion as he takes off his gloves and flexes his fingers to work them out. "I told Sayaka I should have stayed until after cleanup. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was straightened out pretty quickly?"

Nope, not corrolating what happened the other night with the coach in the least. Sometimes it takes a moment for it all to click.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "No, I mean the other night with Fuyuko- Lacuna." Kyouka clarifies, apparently thinking nothing of equating the other woman's civilian and magical IDs. "That whole thing on the street with Tuxedo Mask, etc." She shifts a bit, appearing more or less at ease in her posture but with a faint air of discomfiture about her that speaks of how awkward she finds the whole situation with Fuyuko in general, at least when it comes to trying to explain it to other people.

    "I just wanted to clarify that I do not, in general, condone murder or murderers getting to walk free after committing such acts but the situation with Lacuna is.. complicated. I felt kinda bad after the fact because I know you were coming from a good place and standing in your way was a somewhat selfish act on my part. Though, really, you couldn't have taken her anyway. No offense."

Bow has posed:
It takes a second, but Kyouka can see the gears turning in Bow's brain as the proper connections are made and he ohs, softly at first and then suddenly a step back of recoil. "Oh!" he manages in a high-pitched squeak.

Yeah, it all just connected.

"There's more questions than answers to be honest." he manages, when he finally regains control of his bearings and realizes if Kyouka was really mad at him, she'd just kicked him and been done with it. Though now he finds himself in a position to ask questions and figure out things, his lips pulled into a thin line of thought. "What did Aurora do that was so terrible? Is Corona going to try to do the same thing? Should we not be trying to put a stop to Corona if that's the case?" And here come the questions.

"I get the whole complex feelings things. Catra and Adora were in the Horde together before Adora decided to join the Rebellion after some things happened." He's not sure if she knows Adora is She-Ra, so is kind of keeping it vague in his explanation. "But even though they were against each other alot, apparently, in the future, they make up and even get married!"

He's totally not suggesting that Fuyuko and Kyouka.... naw. Probably not?

But then there's a pause, and a muttered, "Maybe, I could have figured it out. Eventually." All under his breath.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka shakes her head a little. "I can't blame you for not knowing this stuff- even if you had been from Tokyo you wouldn't know it. The Fade robs memories, and there's precious few left who remember what happened with Fuyuko and I eight years ago. Thats a lifetime, in Mahou-years. But long story short, Aurora didn't do anything. Killing him was a means to an end for Fuyuko, who was crazy with grief at the time over the recent death of her long-time boyfriend. By killing him, she was able to gain increased power which she wanted for... reasons. Reasons that are no longer relevant."

    She makes something of a sour face. "Look, Lacuna's heel-turn was legendary, in our day. One of the strongest mahou of the generation going supervillain was a big deal. But you have to understand it was driven by grief and frustration, and that's not who she is anymore. Mostly." Some things you can never put back in the bottle. "She's not a danger to the public, any more than any employee of a big nasty corporation is, anyway."

    "As for Corona.. I don't think she's going to do anything. Or rather, anything thats a danger to anyone except for Fuyuko and I. She claims to be here to continue the work of her people- work which was cut short with Aurora's murder and Lacuna going rogue. I don't have any reason to doubt that, although I find her sus as hell and I wouldn't be surprised if she had some hidden motive.. but as far as I know, the reality of the situation is she's pissed at us. Lacuna for killing Aurora, me for failing to stop it and for essentially abandoning the mission he gave us. I think she saw you, and likely other people she's talking to, as a way to mess with us. I'm not sure she even actually believed you could defeat Fuyuko, but sending you after her was just a petty way for her to ruin our collective day."

    "This is all speculation, granted. She doesn't talk to me, outside of lobbing insults. But that's my guess."

Bow has posed:
As Kyouka lays out the story, Bow takes a seat on the bench and downs some more water as he listens. "I'm not sure how or if the fade will work differently for Etherians." he admits. "After all, we're generational - especially the Princesses. Glimmer's mother had the magic before her, and it was passed down from her mother... so on and so forth." Another drink of water. "Point of the story. We don't tend to forget things once we learn them. Thought eight years ago, I was a child learning to use a bow and arrow on a whole other planet to protect my best friend, a Princess with the power to teleport."

"She said that the pair of you were dangerous to her plans. But that it would be best to avoid you both." He frowns a little. "I suppose that if the two of you are still using your powers, it's not like what happens to those that are with Kyubey. Which was my first concern when Sayaka told me about that. But that still doesn't answer the question of ... what the endgame or plan is. But like you said, it's probably not my place to go finding out." A breath blown out in a sigh.

But, at the same time, he glances down. "I can understand grief and loss, yes. And what it can do to someone. Does it mean that Lacuna was right? That's up for debate still, but I won't go after her anymore, if that's what you're looking for. It's the same thing that Tuxedo Mask asked for..." when he wasn't talking about the disc on the back of his neck and how dangerous that was.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "The Fade effects everyone on Earth. I don't think where you came from matters." Kyouka says, before amending, "Almost everyone. But the hoops you have to jump through to avoid it's effects are both many and complicated and the number of people who have managed it that I'm aware of I can count on one hand." Herself and Fuyuko being among them, or so it would appear.

    "Regardless... I don't give a shit about Corona's plans, whatever they are, as long as they don't include screwing with me and Fuyuko. But apparently they do, so the only reason I want to ruin them is because I want her to leave us the hell alone. The reason she thinks that is probably because she thinks we have some kind of vendetta against her and her people's stupid Great Work because we abandoned it, which just isn't true. But I guess I can see why she might think so."

    She blows out a breath, shifting on the bench. "Fuyuko is like a sister to me. We've been partners since we were 12 years old. We've had our.. rough patches." That's a cute way to say 'tried to kill each other for several years in a row'. "But most of that is behind us.. or it should be, if alien bitches didn't keep dragging it back to the surface. Look, Fuyuko wasn't right to kill Aurora. He was kind of a dick but he didn't deserve to die. As far as I'm concerned there's no debate. She committed a crime. But she knows she was wrong, and has admitted it. She claims not to regret it, but I don't know if I believe that. Either way, I'm not trying to justify her actions and neither is she. All I want is for the past to stay the past. We're doing important work now, both of us. And if Corona is pissy because its not the work she thinks we should be doing, well boo hoo. That doesn't justify sending people after us... especially kids who don't know what they're getting into."

    She gives Bow a look over the top of her sunglasses. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I was trying to protect you as much a Fuyuko. She's strong. I don't think she would have actually killed you if you kept attacking, but you could have been hurt. Badly."

    She shakes her head again. "I'm not looking for anything from you, kid. I'm apologizing for you getting involved in a fucked up situation that's over your head through no fault of your own. I would absolutely prefer it if you did not go after her anymore, so thanks. But that's not why I'm talking to you. Our decade-long mess shouldn't be anyone's responsibility but our own, and it certainly shouldn't be putting other people in danger."

Bow has posed:
"That's the funny thing about conflicts." Bow says quietly, as he finishes draining his water and sets the bottle in the bag to dispose of later. "...back home? There was this kingdom that didn't want to get involved in the Rebellion. Or the war. They assumed that if they ignored the Horde, they would just be allowed to go on with their peaceful existence, noone would bother them and all would be fine."

"And for a while, that was true. Right until the Horde realized they had something that they wanted. And then they came. And whether they liked it or not? They were embroiled in the war that had taken over the rest of the planet. So, I admire your restraint and wishes to keep what happened with you, Lacuna, Aurora, and Corona to yourselves. I also appreciate you sharing in your history to give me some clarity and perspective."

"But it's no longer just your decade-long mess, Miss Inai. Like it or not, what Corona is doing - what you're trying so desperatedly hard to ignore and not care about? It's already involved me. And yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe Lacuna could have taken me easily out. I'm not all that powerful here, compared to what I've seen people like Tuxedo Mask do. But what happens when Corona convinces someone more powerful than her that she is the threat she could possibly be?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka gives Bow a look as he delivers his little parable about the kingdom back home. "Look, it's not quite the same situation, is it? This stuff doesn't need to involve anyone. Until Corona showed up, it was buried. Ignoring it was not only doable, it was advisable. But if she's going to keep pulling this kind of shit then yeah, something needs to be done about it. I fought long and hard for something resembling stability in my life and I'm not going to let some fuzzball from space upset that for reasons I don't quite understand. I mean, I get the vengeance part, the grudge. It just doesn't seem like.."

    "The Statera, that's the species Aurora and Corona both belonged to, the space wolfs, they're always going on and on about harmony and equilibrium and maintaining.. balance." She frowns slightly, obviously some idea tickling her mind that she doesn't vocalize. "...regardless, revenge doesn't fit into that philosophy. And no matter what she says she can't honestly think that Lacuna and I are a danger to her work, unless she just thinks us still being around somehow causes her to lose credibility. But that seems like a stretch. I just wish I knew what she really wanted out of all this. Because I don't believe we have the whole picture."

    She glances back up at Bow, then. And smirks a little. "I also can't blame you for not knowing it, because it's also something most have forgotten but back in our day? There wasn't anyone in this city who could tussle with Lacuna and myself and come out on top. These days... mmm, maybe there's a few." She doesn't name names. "But I'm not too worried about that. What I'm worried about is a bigger picture that I'm not seeing. I've never been good at that part of things. The figuring out." She makes a bit of a face. "I'm grown up enough to admit that, at least."

Bow has posed:
"Who knows. Maybe Corona and Aurora were mates or something. But even if Corona doesn't involve you directly, don't you think there should be a warning for anyone that Corona might find interesting enough to meet her criteria... a chance you didn't get? A chance to just walk away." Bow points out as he puts his training gear away and takes out a towel to wipe through his hair and over the back of his neck to cover it.

"You said it yourself, you're not a big picture person. And despite my short-comings, I am. And if you were to ask me, I would tell you that you have a golden chance to find out. If you were to ask me, I would suggest that you could say that Lacuna was taken down and have some proof of that to present to Corona from someone she clearly suggested it would be helpful, but not neccessary. I would say that it could possibly open Corona for a moment to share her true thoughts and for you to get that information if you need were to prepare that person for the questions you wanted answered."

He pulls on his jacket and he shrugs. "But if you asked that person to stay out of it? There's not much they could do about it, hmm? They aren't so stubborn as to go off... like say, a certain well-dressed mahou - to find out for himself because you try to keep him out."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    An eyebrow quirks above those rectangular-lensed sunglasses as Kyouka regards the boy. "I don't want to stop her giving power to someone else.. assuming her motive is what she says it is. Don't get me wrong, I don't trust her. But I don't regret receiving this power from Aurora. It's literally the best thing that ever happened to me. It has defined who I am and I am, by and large, happy with that. I honestly think it would be great if she created more Lux Tenebrae- that's the name of our origin- and gave some other homeless orphan kid like I used to be the chance to be something greater."

    "The thing I don't want her doing is causing trouble for us and our friends. That isn't part of her mission and it's a big pain in everybody's ass. But I don't know how to warn people about that. I can't exactly make a school-wide announcement saying "Hey, if you see a white-and-black doggy with a crown on her forehead, don't trust what she says about me and my friend but everything else she might say is okay, probably." That's why it's complicated."

    "Well, that and the fact that I'm not actually sure her motives are genuine to begin with. If I knew for a fact they weren't, that she didn't actually intend to create more Lux Tenebrae and was up to something else, then I'd feel much better about just saying 'she's bad, avoid her'. But until I'm sure about it, I'm not going to rob some kids of the chance we were given to make something more of themselves."

    "I know I said a lot of stuff the other night about how this job, being a mahou, fighting monsters, ruins lives and forces hard decisions. And that's true. But it's also a job worth doing for the right people. People like me and Fuyuko were born to do this. I would probably already be dead if I hadn't accepted that power. I won't rob that chance from someone because I think Corona might not be genuine."

    She considers what Bow suggests without suggesting. "The problem is I think she'd know you were lying. Not because you aren't strong enough, but because I'm pretty sure she keeps tabs on us. She'll already know that Lacuna is alive and walking free. But... that doesn't mean we couldn't set something up where we were in on it ahead of time... mmmm.. I'll have to think about that. It has potential."

Bow has posed:
"It all seems really confusing. And I suppose you make good points with the whole not denying someone their chance to do better. That's actually admirable." Bow admits as he frowns. "No, she's clearly looking for someone to make into a Lux Tenebrae - she's just saying that she's being far more picky because of her predecesor's issues." Meaning Fuyuko and Kyouka. "I don't know if I'm going to come across Corona again. Like you said, if she saw the way I failed in this whole thing and now talking to you?" he shrugs his shoulders. "But I'll let you know if she does?"

"I didn't really get the choice you all did - I was born into a world that was occupied already and thrust into a war my dads didn't want me in, but I wanted to be involved in because I want to see Etheria free of the Horde someday. But I wouldn't take it away for anything. The friends I've made - the things I've done. I'd never had a chance to them if I had let my dads dictate to me that my life was to become the curator of the Library and never really get a chance to see the world. So I get it. But I also get that at times, my life is going to become tangled with others. Whether they want it or not." And with that, his head tilts with a smile. "And I'd rather do that with a friend than to be on shaky ground with someone that may not be willing to trust."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know what that creature is up to at any given moment. But if she does approach you again, maybe play along a little. See if you can get anything out of her. If you succeed, I'll owe you one for sure."

    She stands up from the bench, nodding her head along with Bow's statements about his own life. "I think you're a good kid, Bow. And I think your heart is in the right place. Which is all the more reason to apologize to you for dragging you into the mess that is my personal life. Whether or not you would have chosen to do so had you been given an option, the fact is you weren't given one- you were lied to and put in danger because of it. And for that I'm sorry."

    "I'd like to trust you, but understand that even what I've told you here is only a portion of the situation. And no offense, but I don't know you well enough to go into further detail. Yet. But that can change. And I think your idea might have some merit if it turns out to be possible."

    She offers a smile. "So again, sorry. And here." She digs in a pocket and produces a business card- it has her name and position on the front, along with her phone number, scripted over the RHA logo. She hands it over. "If you need anything, call me. It's my job, after all." She turns to go, heading back towards the administration building. "See ya around, kid."

Bow has posed:
Accepting the card, Bow takes out his phone and scans it immediately. Yes, he may be from a wilderness planet, but some things he's caught onto quickly and first and foremost is how important this little box is in the grand scheme of things. "Apology accepted, and I know that trust is earned, not given. I'll see what I can do." he offers to her. "I hope, though, no matter how it goes - that you and Lacuna find some semblance of peace. The pair of you sound like you deserve it."

And with that, the bag is slung over his shoulder so he can head off. He'll have just enough time for a quick shower and a protein bar before class - because noone wants to be funky for class.