1707/Who 'Trains' Anyway

Who 'Trains' Anyway
Date of Scene:	28 June 2024
Location:	Tokyo
Synopsis:	Taro approaches Young Lacuna and Young Stellar with a bribe in the hopes of getting advice - and training - since the Lacuna of his time is so busy. The two terrors are not particularly interested in helping. Still, some advice is shared.
Cast of Characters:	Taro Yamada, Kyouka Inai, Fuyuko Yuuhi

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Taro Yamada has posed:
Taro's cool boss Fuyuko hasn't had as much time on her hands recently to train him. Which, ok, has been true since the training began, between Beryl being bugnuts nasty, that Sunbreaker chick continuing to cause mayhem despite having gotten pounded like moon mochi, and the boss and her ex-buddy's younger selves getting unleashed upon the world. So much has been happening, and he's got time on his hands.

The two of them seem to hang around where trouble is. It just takes keeping an eye on where the trouble is going and then weighing his time,hedging his bets, and then cooking up a storm.

Fortunately, they're still lounging around the park where some unfortunate witch had been living in the sandbox by the time he arrives, cooler carried carefully on his hip. They look as they did years ago, when he'd seen them absolutely crushing some creature and about three blocks of road around it - confident as cats and twice as sly, practically glowing with power.

"I come in peace," he says, raising his free hand in the universal sign of 'do not hit me with lasers.' "I wanna talk and I brought an offering. Free food?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    There were monsters- there are no longer monsters. This is the way of the Lux Tenebrae. Of course there also used to be a sandbox here- a rather nice one, with a jungle gym and some of those little horsies on big springs that waggle back and forth- and now there is a crater and a bunch of smoking, shattered concrete. Well, look, the kids might need a new playground but at least they aren't dead. Clearly this is the superior outcome.

    Stellar is standing nearby with Lacuna, her naginata still resting back over her shoulder, when Taro approaches. She seems like she's in a pretty good mood, from the way she is grinning and gesturing animatedly as she talks, though this is pretty standard for her after a successful hunt. When Taro speaks though, she shifts around quickly, brows drawing together and eyes suspicious.

    "All my food is free." She says, stoically. Because she mooches off of her rich-ass partner.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Some people say money doesn't grow on trees. Those people are idiots, Lacuna well knows, because money is printed on paper and isn't even backed by gold anymore, so it really does grow on trees. And this time, they didn't bring down any trees - so if anyone wants to complain about the wreck that had been a small playground and is now a crater, they can cut down those trees and turn them into money.

The fight hadn't been a good one, per se - good fights were the ones where they pushed to their limits - but it had been fun, which is all that really matters, in the end.

Still, she's listening to Stellar recount the fight they were just in, watching her gesticulations with bright eyes, when a stranger steps up, one hand empty, the other loaded down, and she's, as the kids would say, sus.

"Yeah? What about? No one gives out things for nothing." So clearly the food is meant as the payment for the talk. But what talk is worth a free lunch?

Taro Yamada has posed:
Honestly? It's kind of refreshing, seeing his boss was just as sharp back in the day.

"I work for you," and he points to Lacuna, "in the present, so it benefits me to make sure you don't starve to death before you get back to whenever you came from. I know you think she's weak shit, but she's still a head and a half over all the clowns I worked for before."

Would she even recognize him as one of the kids who were there when she got summoned? who knows.

"Second. I got a request for when you get back to the past, and here's your bribe to hear me out."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Stellar eyes Taro as he says that he works for Lacuna- the old hag version of Lacuna- and then looks over at her partner. "Wow, you really know how to pick 'em in the future." She says, in a way that cannot possibly be construed as anything but an insult and yet is said in a tone that might make one pause and think about it regardless.

    "Anway," This back to Taro, "We're not going to starve to death as long as her debit card still works. So far no problem." She doesn't seem at all surprised to hear that even old-hag Lacuna is better than any other boss this dude has had. That just makes sense, of course she would be. Unless he worked for her, of course.

    She looks suspiciously at the kid, not moving to take the food just yet. Perhaps feeling its wise to hear the request before taking the bribe. Plus, it seems directed at Lacuna more than she, so maybe she feels like it's not her call anyway.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Lacuna stares at him in bafflement, wondering what on Earth her older self is thinking -

On the other hand, he is offering up food, so...

"What did o you do for me? Make lunches?" She's not surprised to hear she's a better boss than the other options either, because of course she is. Probably the only one who could come close is Stellar, if only because her bull-headed partner is good at inspiring people, she guesses.

"You're like the second person to ask for something back then. What do you want? And yeah, we're good on our own, so if you want something, you better be a better cook than 7-11 and the grannies."

Taro Yamada has posed:
He watched the play by play between them. When he'd seen them in combat, years ago, they'd danced around each other like the moon and the stars, each movement flawless. They communicate like it too, effortlessly dancing into each other's thoughts. He's not terribly social, but eve he can see it, the way they seem to read each other's minds.

(He twitches at Stellar's comment, but pins down the instinct to react. Ugh, he's gotta get through the pitch before he picks a fight!)

"I cook for free since you eat like an old man who lives on fried food and nicotine and I'm trying to have you not keel over on me," Taro says. "But I do office bullshit for her. More importantly, I tried mugging her and she kicked the shit out of me and then recruited me since I have untapped magic whatever, and I've been trying to get her to train me since then. What's the point of working for one of the two strongest people in the city if I can't FIGHT like you?"

It's too slow, too slow! He's lived too long not knowing the heights of power he could climb!

He sets the cooler on the the remains of a nearby picnic table - the seats are melted into near unrecognizability but the table part is still functional, at least - and begins unpacking. "You both already have power and money. I figured this was the best offering to show my sincerity."

He unstacks tupperware full of food - freshly fried karage and tempura vegetables, onigiri in neat triangles, rolled omelets, and the piece de resistance:

Two diamond shaped mochi cakes. The one he sets in front of Lacuna is purple,white, and black, and flavored with black tea and coconut; the one he sets in front of Stellar is gold, white and red, and is flavored with lemon and cinnamon.

"Can 7-11 do this?"

EAT IT AND WEEP, LADIES.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Stellar smirks. She leans over and starts elbowing Lacuna in the ribs. "Heh, office bullshit. Old-you is such a loser, she has to have a henchman to do office bullshit. Heh heh, what an old lady." She's so smug, and the way she says it makes it clear she's... well, not exactly insulting Lacuna, but teasing her, like 'hey your old hag self is a bigger loser than my old hag self.'

    This is, for the record, very untrue.

    The rest of the kid's story checks out, at least. Tried to mug, failed, kicked shit out of, recruited. Sounds like Lacuna alright. She doesn't correct him when he says they both have power and money. The latter is only true so long as Lacuna is willing to buy her stuff. But he doesn't need to hear that.

    She has to admit, at least this kid is obviously very skilled at recognizing who the best mahous in the city are! That shouldn't really take that much skill, but for some reason a lot of people seem to have trouble with it.

    She eyes the unpacked food. It does look pretty good. Even color-coded. But.

    "You still haven't say what you actually want." She points out, before touching anything.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Her old self hired some weakling who couldn't even mug her? (Never mind that no one should ever be able to mug her.)

Obviously she goes soft in the future, which is absolutely baffling to imagine. Still, with Stellar elbowing her in the gut and smirking about it, there's nothing to do but stand up her weakshit older self.

"Maybe my old self is a genius loser, getting some dipshit to do all her work while she takes the money," she grumbles back, though it's weak.

The food on the other hand? Not weak. Pretty cool, in fact.

"So what, you want me to find you in our time and train your weak ass up early? I'm not exactly trying to collect a bunch of babies, you know."

She's figured out through talking to the other people of this time that they're probably a good ten years back. This guy is her age, so he's probably some dorky little kid back home.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"Isn't it the right of the powerful to get henchmen to do their work?" he asks Stellar, a little defensive. Listen, his boss can do what she wants! If she wants out of office outfit, she gets out of office bullshit. That's the rules!

"You've got it in one," he tells Lacuna. "Mostly. The thing is, I'm magic. Not a mahou, some other freak thing. I only age one year for every ten a human does - I'd probably be fifteenish back in your time. I can show you if you want - I'm holding off for now so I don't get a laser to the face."

He pushes his bangs out of his eyes; they shine from brown to red under the setting sun. "I always avoided Tokyo because it was too crowded. I could've been so much stronger if I learned about magical girls earlier... How much time did I waste mugging people when I could've actually done something cool! And now I can barely get any training because 'i'm weak' - then train me so I get stronger!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "The truly powerful don't need henchman to do their work." Stellar retorts, quirking her lips to the side in somewhat of a sour expression as she glances back at Lacuna. "I mean.. we're not really in the business of teaching other people to be as good as us. If we did that, we wouldn't be the best anymore. That seems counterproductive."

    She eyes Taro as he shows off his creepy eyes, frowning. "So you're some kind of magic freak.. well, that doesn't really make you any different from any of the rest of us. Slow aging is kind of a neat trick, but.."

    Her eyes go back to Lacuna. "I mean it's your choice Lac-chan, but.." She trails off, not finishing the sentence but trusting the other girl to know what it was she was going to say.

    Training up some loser sure doesn't sounds like much fun.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"I don't have time to train someone up where I'm from," Lacuna says, flat, and grabs an onigiri, biting into it decisively, "But your problem isn't being weak, it's being a cowed little shit. If my weak shit older self is supposed to be training you, stay on her back about it! And, fuck training anyway - you want to get better, you get in the fight."

The onigiri is tasty, well seasoned filled and fluffy rice, seasoned just right, brought together in seaweed, and she chews, carefully, "Alright, at least your cooking checks out. Show us what kind of freak you are, already, chop chop."

She claps her hands together, indicating he needs to hurry up.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"You too good for henchmen? You want to spend your life spending her money on cheap bento boxes and vending machine coffee?" Taro sneers at Stellar. "Your heart's gonna explode from eating all that sodium before the Fade gets you."

Look, he may have been a homeless vigilante vampire guy, but at least he attempted to not eat like complete shit!

As for Lacuna - "I'm strong physically but I don't have the techniques. It's a pain to competely rearrange how I fight after fifty years." Ugh, he hates that she's blowing him off but at least he's got SOME attention.

He puts his hands over his face. "I ate it all. Catch me if you can," and he shoves the heels of his hands into his eyes and uses that to tug himself taller, taller, taller; his shoulders widen as his skin turns deathly pale. His ragged cloak falls around him as he drags red horns out of his forehead, then looms over the two girls.

"Better?" asks the Back Street Slasher.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Stellar looks at Taro incredulously as he asks if she wants to spend her life using Lacuna's money to buy bentos and coffee. "Uh, is this a trick question?" She looks to Lacuna for help. Her ambitions have never gone much loftier than 'free food and drink, kill shit'. Does not compute.

    "Look, I have to agree with my partner here," She continues. "You can 'train' all you want, but it don't mean shit till you get out there and gain experience. You think anyone trained us to do this shit? Hell no. You know who our mentor was? A fuckin' space doggie. He doesn't even have opposable thumbs, what the hell was he supposed to teach us? We figured it out. Real experience is worth any amount of like, working out at home and sparring. Trust us."

    She watches the Back Street Slasher transform. It's not quite the same as the henshins she is used to, that's for sure, but she also doesn't look terribly impressed. He's a creepy-looking dude, that's for sure, but monsters are usually the ones scared of her, not the other way around. "Gross." Is what she says.

    "Hey Lac-chan can we blow this guy off and go find something else to kill? I'm getting bored."

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"Hey, they're not cheap bentos, first of all," Lacuna snaps, because she most certain does not spend her parent's money wisely! "But also, who doesn't want to spend their life blowing someone else's money, eating good, and kicking ass? Maybe that's your problem - you dream too big, instead of enjoying what's here and now."

Fighting, winning, saving the day, the exhilaration of not just the win but the battle itself, the moment of being in the thick of it, when its you and your power against the enemy and that's all it comes down to - you and them, them and you, and what you'll do to come out on top.

They're the best. Lacuna and Stellar, Stellar and Lacuna, they're the cream of the crop, the top of the mountain, the pinnacle that keeps reaching higher.
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And they didn't get that way relying on anyone else.

She watches him transform in silence, seeing the bigger, taller, deathly pale creep of a man. He's a monster all right, but she kills monsters for fun.

"Yeah, we can blow this guy off," she tells Stellar with a crooked grin, "Lemme just give him some advice, since he's kind of sad and whatever."

Walking closer, unafraid, she grabs both mochi treats and the onigiri - they're good, alright?

"I'm not training you. I don't know how to do that shit, I just tell people to get good and they do or they drop out. But my lame older self said she'd train you - so go get into trouble until she does. Pick a fight. Win it. Lose it. Get fucked up. She hasn't been training you because you're a lapdog pretending to be a wolf. You won't do anything without her say so, so why worry, yeah? No skin off her bones to put you off. Put some pressure on."

And then she stuffs the snacks in the pockets of her dress and throws an arm around Stellar's shouldes.

"Come on, I bet if we circle back around to that museum park we'll find something else worth killing."