486/Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World
Date of Scene:	22 September 2023
Location:	Dorms #2
Synopsis:	Niji teaches Adora how to play Volleyball, and friends are made! Poor Niji.
Cast of Characters:	Niji Dasshu, Adora Rainbowfist

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Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji doesn't fully... remember... her little encounter with Amy Faust, Adora Rainbowfist, and Chrono Harlaown was mostly a fluffy dream in her mind, like a weird dream an hour after waking up where you hardly remember anything except that you had a dream. The meeting with Erika and Hinata is more clear, since they didn't discuss magic and therefore run into the Veil. But as of right now, she's laying on the bed in her dorm room - the door is open - and she's tossing a baseball up to but not hitting the ceiling, catching it in her hand. She's felt... off, listless, for a few days. She's been at her sports club meetings and hasn't been particularly bad, but her teammates have noticed she seems a little bit more disconnected than usual.

In truth, Niji has always been looking for something she couldn't quite articulate - and while her eyes aren't yet open, for just a moment, she knew of a whole new world. This feeling might pass... or it might be the start of something which is by every meaning of the word, Magical. She wonders what it is that's keeping her inside, and rolls over off the bed to stand up and look through the window outside. It's a beautiful day, and yet, going outside just feels... meh. Whatever. Most things have felt meh or whatever the last few days. She figures it'll pass. But her staring out the window with her door open also means her fantastic mane of dyed hair is easily visible to anyone even just passing by, to see out of the corner of their eyes.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
It's after classes, and Adora is in her civvies. Jeans, a flannel shirt, and a red t-shirt with skate shoes. She doesn't know what skateboarding is, but these shoes looked cool and felt right to her. She adjusts her ponytail as she wanders down the hallway, looking for the dorm room. Niji had told her the dorm to find her in before all the Forgetting, so she was following up on her end of the deal. Her flannel is tied around her waist due to the weather, and the short sleeves show off her fit arms, and the very clear clawmark scars on her right forearm, like four blades that cut deep. She'd evaded questions about it so far decently enough.

She steps into the open doorway and leans on the door frame, knocking on the jam as she flashes a smile.

"Hey! Niji, right? Adora Rainbowfist. We met, but...um...things were kinda crazy at the time and I'm not sure if you really remember. I'm not interrupting, am I?"

Then her bright blue eyes lock on the bouncing baseball and she furrows her brow a bit, staring at it in a bit of awe as it is bounced.

"Whoa. What's that?"

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji turns around, the sphere snugly clutched in her hand. She stands out a bit too, though not to the same degree as Adora if you discount her hair. She's in shorts wheras most girls prefer skirts, and she always races to swap the moment she no longer needs to be in uniform. A white tanktop with just enough of a design to not look like an undershirt, and a body that is as athletic as Adoras, though in more of an agile way than a strong way.

"I... think... so?" she says, scratching the side of her head with her free hand. "Probably~!" she says after a moment. Niji is not usually one for deep introspection, and for bonus points, the arrival of someone to pull her out of her mental funk is HIGHLY welcomed at this time. Especially someone who stands out as much as Adora does, someone who's interesting by mere presence.

"It's a... baseball." she says, tilting her head for a moment before standing back up straight. "Do they not have baseball where you're from?" she asks. Obviously, Adora is not from Japan. Her accent and her build are equally off, though she's easier to understand than many foreigners. And she's used to foreigners in this school. She's from pretty far away too, even though it's still Japan.

"You look like you'd swing a heck of a bat." she notes. "Catch!" she says before throwing the ball towards Adora. Not as fast as she can but faster than she probably should. But then, nobody's ever accused Niji of calmness, thinking things through, patience, and things of that nature.

"Wait, did you say your last name is Rainbowfist?" she asks. She says it first in English, then in Japanese. "Like... Rainbow... fist?" she asks, in a way that's very familiar to Adora - because she did it before. "You have the coolest last name ever. Rainbowfist-san!" she notes. "My first name actually means Rainbow, if you read the characters right."

Then she pauses. "We already did introductions sometime before, didn't we? Feels... familiar?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"A baseball?," she asks. The girl reaches out and catches the ball with absolute ease, and she looks down to turn it over and inspect it closely. "No, we didn't have baseball back home," she says softly. "Is that one of those video games? I kept hearing about those so I went to the arcade near her and...wow, it was overwhelming." She laughs a bit and shakes her head, before tossing the ball back. She doesn't have the exact posture for the sport when she tosses it, but the natural skill plus her keen combat skills makes for a very, very nice toss.

"Rainbowfist, yeah. And no need for the san, please. I...I'm trying to get ahold of all the honorifics here, but it's so alien to me. So I use them with locals, but..." She shrugs a shoulder and offers an easy, lopsided grin. "...I just prefer Adora." She holds her fist up and clenches it, as an example. "Rainbowfist."

She doesn't reply about having done introductions before, instead glancing about the dorm. "Didn't have most of this stuff back home. I grew up in this really strict sort of military school. Very...old-fashioned," she explains. "So I have a lot to learn."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Most of 'this stuff' in Niji's room is sports related. Gloves, bats, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, a volleyball, a basketball, etc - it's a good thing she has a single room to herself because it looks like a sports shed exploded and then was cleaned up in a very haphazard way in here. The stuff on the walls is fifty percent sports posters, fifty percent medals and ribbons and awards for being good at sportsball things or winning with a team. There's some trophies on surfaces, too. Not much else. She's kind of a multiple tracks of the same kind only girl.

"Nah, it's not a video game. I do have a Switch in here..." she looks around the room "...somewhere." she says, as though unsure if that's really true now. "But like. Sports. Real games. Outside. With balls. And sticks. And things you can touch." she says. There are also some adventure novels and a romance novel or two buried under the stuff somewhere, but she doesn't mention those.

"Adora. That's easy enough. Still a pretty good name, too. You can call me Niji, as well." she notes. Giving the girl permission to do what somebody who was having trouble with honorifics was probably going to do anyways. "Oh you know, there's no reason we can't move our bodies and talk." She is suddenly less interested in sticking around in the room. "C'mon, I'll teach you..." she grabs a ball from the piles seemingly at random. "Oh, volleyball's good. Can be team sport or solo." she says.

"Also I have got to get you to try out for some of our teams. You're..." she knows on some level it's impolite to just say 'you're huge' so instead she goes "... strong and tough looking." Which is, more of a compliment, Probably. Unless she's one of those girls who really tries to be dainty when she's not, in which case um, oops.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"That sounds interesting!," she says with a wide grin. She steps in to look about better, and her gaze stops on the various sports items. It's a good thing that Niji is moving towards the door, though, because Adora is in the middle of bending down to pry a romance novel up that is just baaaaaaarely sticking out from under something or other. "What's this?" But then they're moving, and Adora snaps back up and moves to follow.

"So, is it like team fighting or something? With thrown weapons like that ball? And the bat you mentioned?" She has no frame of reference, really.

"Niji," she replies, trying the name out in her mouth just like she did the first time, before she nods. "Volleyball. Hm. Well, interest piqued!," she replies with that broad, easy smile of hers.

The compliment to her physique brings about the closest to preening Adora is going to get, and she can't help but flex a little bit.

"Thanks! You're in good shape! Really good! Also, I love those shorts. I need to get a pair."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji looks at Adora, pausing in the hallway with the ball in her hand. "You have... no idea what a sport is, do you." she asks, peering at the taller, blonde girl. She leans past her to close and lock the door, but it's in a sort of awkward silence while Niji tries to process what that would even be like. No sports. What would people do? How would you pass time? There's not enough stuff in the world to DO.

"Kinda... sometimes sports were like... dangerous, but that's mostly in the past." Here she's thinking about gladiators, but she's not full of the right kind of language to express that. Much less to someone who doesn't get it. "Generally the idea is to not hit the other person with the ball, that's usually bad. Unless it's dodgeball." she adds. "And yeah the schoolgirl skirts aren't really my thing, but if you're from a military school you're probably used to the whole 'uniforms and everybody must look the same to maintain discipline' thing." The way Niji says it, she doesn't really have a lot of interest in 'discipline' or similar things. She's clearly mocking it.

She walks with Adora out towards one of the parts of the sports pavillion, to a field beside the gym that has a volleyball net set up. "Here, you stand on that side of the net, and I'll stand on this side. You don't want the ball to hit the net, but you want it to go over. And you want to keep it moving, not catch it. So like, smacking it with your hands back to me?" she says, providing Adora with a light serve.

"Anyways... no sports sounds awful. Where are you from again?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She quietly notes Niji ignoring the question about the book, but she is quickly absorbed in the conversation about sports. She furrows her brow and nods as she listens, following along at the other girl's side. "Ooookay. So we're not trying to hurt the other team or person..."

She steps forward to run her fingers over the volleyball net, inspecting it closely before looking over at the volleyball curiously. She nods, then, and takes a few steps back.

"Bavaria!," the blonde calls out across the empty court. "But my School was super secluded. It was mostly orphans like me. It was a bad place. But I got out and ended up getting to this cool, welcoming place where I could explore being me a bit more. But yeah...still no sports or any of this technology we have here," she tries to explain.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
"Yeah the point is to like. Have fun. Be active. Exercise." Niji explains. "Sometimes sports are like less hurty versions of fighting - like kendo and fencing are from swordfighting, boxing is from punching, stuff like that. Volleyball's just kind of a for fun thing." she explains.

"But there's a point thing and the goal is to win. Like. Winning's not everything but... wanting to win can push you to play better." she says. "So the actual point of volleyball is for me to get the ball to land on your side of the field, in this box here - and hit the ground without you getting it back over the net. I get a point, that way. If you hit the ball into the net, I get a point. Person with the most points at the end of the game is the winner."

Niji pauses. "I uh. You understand like... the whole winning and losing thing, right?" she asks. She's genuinely not sure. Not understand Sports makes her basically question the other girl's entire mental foundation.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Well, I like to do all those things!," she exclaims, as if most kids don't. "Oh! I heard about kendo! I founded two of my own clubs but haven't had any sign-ups yet. Boxing and Equestrian. WAIT! Is boxing a sport, too! OH!"

She seems very excited at this conclusion. "Yeah! I know boxing, so that all makes sense! This is just less...hitty. Got it."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
She looks at Adora and considers. "Have you uh... gotten safety gear for boxing?" she asks. If the girl doesn't understand sports it is not entirely crazy to Niji to wonder if she's translate that to 'punch other girls with fists'. "And... Equestrian?" she pauses. "Like, riding horses? Do we... have any horses in Tokyo?" she asks.

Then she shrugs and gives Adora another gentle serve, the ball going over the net. She's not playing to win yet, but to teach. That... might change quickly if Adora gets it quickly and is enthusiastic.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I had to go through one of the staff to get the club approved. She sent out an order for all that stuff," she says. "Just like the horse club. She reached out to a ranch outside of Tokyo and we're gonna take field trips to ride them, each get to 'adtop' one. Stuff like that. I asked to keep mine in my room but she said no." She huffs a bit.

Adora steps to the side and hits the ball. No real stance or skill, but she's athletic as hell. She hits it right and it goes sailing right back over, and she beams at that.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
"Yeah, alright! Maybe I'll join, then. Boxing, at least. Horses always made me feel a little odd, honestly." she admits. "But... I'm glad you came to see me." she pauses. "Again? It's again. Right? It feels like I met you before today but I can't remember that?" she asks.

Niji actually plays casually for a little bit, and Adora's fast and strong enough that unless Niji really tries, she's not at risk of missing a return. Once Niji is pretty sure that Adora's got the idea down, though, suddenly on a slow return Niji leaps up and SPIKES the everlovin' heck out of the ball, to the point where the sphere deforms to be a bit more oblong as it rockets towards the ground.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I love horses! I had one back home. Swiftwind. I miss him," she admits. "Yeeeah, we met but it was chaos, like I said. Don't worry about remembering it..." She trails off.

She continues the casual play, clearly loving it. But then the spike comes. Adora doesn't know how to properly hit a volleyball yet, but she leaps forward and clenches her fist, straight-up PUNCHING the volleyball. It soars right back over, and the blonde lets out a loud WHOOP!

Niji Dasshu has posed:
"Oh? That's a good name for a horse, I think." she says, rushing after the ball. Alright. Punching the ball. That's not really illegal so whatever! (or it isn't in the rulebook Niji didn't really read). She's able to kick into a higher gear now, though. She's not casually playing with Adora, and although she's not going all out, she's gonna make the girl work for it now.

"You know, not many people can keep up with me." she admits as they play. "Or try to. I'm still the weird kid to a lot of people myself. I only got here like. Over break?" she offers. "When did you start?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Adora prefers working for it. She moves about her side of the court with skill and precision, hitting the ball back again and again. However, in the end it's practice versus raw talent, and the ball lands and bounces on Adora's soide. The blonde races over to catch it and wanders back, holding it.

"Well, fellow weird kid, we gotta stick together. Long live the abnormal, right?" She grins and looks down at the ball, squeezing it a bit and testing the weight in her hands.

"Eeeeeh, about two months ago? Mabye a little under? Spent most of that time sticking to myself. Hit a pretty bad bout of depression," she admits. "Went through a sort of...break-up?" Just admitting that makes her stomach turn. "...But I'm gonna get her back," she says. "So I've been kind of in my head, I guess."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji, though, is more out of breath than Adora. She's not, after all, been fighting a war daily. Exercise is different than fighting for your life - or your love. So she's panting and resting with her hands on her knees, crouched over for just a moment. "Damn, you put up a great fight though. If you had anywhere near as much practice as me we could have been at that until somebody passed out." Probably her, given the relative levels of exertion.

Niji walks off to get some water from a nearby vending machine, returning with a cold bottled water for both girls. She drinks half of it, and a decent bit of it goes towards being poured on her head, over her multicolored hair. "Oh that's better." she says, laughing.

Hearing about her break-up fires a different set of neurons than Niji is used to, and she changes almost... attitude, tone? She ducks under the net. "Well, I don't know much about romance like... personally." she admits. "But I've seen a lot of it." Read a lot of it. "And you know, if it's meant to be it's meant to be. Doesn't mean you don't have to work hard for it though." she sayys, putting a hand on Adora's shoulder. "If you fight for your love like, half as hard as you just played volleyball, well, you'll end up with who you're supposta' for sure." she says, grinning and giving Adora a thumbs up with her free hand.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
The blonde moves to follow her towards the water. She's not really panting, but she has a faint shimmer of sweat, for sure. She reaches up to fix her little hair poof/ponytail before taking her own cup of cool water and chugging it down. She laughs when Niji pours the rest over her head.

"Well, mabye you can teach me how to actually play. I'm more excited for whatever that baseball is, though. That ball looks like it can hurt!"

She pauses to listen to the inspiration, and she beams at the other girl, nodding. "That's how I feel. Stuff's...complicated, though." She subconciously glances down at the scars on her forearm. "But we've worked through hard times before. Her name's Catra. She's from where I'm from, too." Weird names there.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji is aware her last name is kinda weird too so she's less worried, though Catra is a heck of a name. She does mouth it, a little bit curiously. "She's from there, so does that mean she's around here somewhere?" Niji asks. She's a little more focused on the romance angle for just a moment, but then cycles back to the other discussion. "Oh yeah no those balls hurt like heck when they hit you. That's why you wear a lot of gear and they're not supposed to be thrown at anyone's body. Catching and hitting with a big club only." she explains.

"But like..." Niji watches Adora's eyes, and she's a little bit more observant than others might give her credit for. After all, following eye movements and body language can tell you a lot about the other player or team's intents! "... if she had anything to do with those marks on your arm, she might be better off being let go of. People you love shouldn't hurt you." And then she pauses and blinks. "I mean usually, anyways." There are exceptions.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Not at the school. She's...living in Tokyo, though." Oh, when Adora finds out she's going to be attending the Academy, stuff is going to get very complicated for her. She nods as the ball is explained a bit more.

She bites her lip at the talk of hurting, and her fingers graze the scars. "It's more complicated then that." She can't tell her about the Horde and all of that, so she has to pick her words carefully. That's hard territory for the girl, as she's not the brightest cookie in the closet.

"We both grew up in that school," she says. "I didn't understand what abuse was until later, but we had it bad...and she had it way, way worse. I couldn't really tell how much it had damaged her till later. She isn't good at dealing with her emotions and...trauma..." Understatement of the century. "But if I can get better after all that, I know she can, too. And I -love- her." She says the word with force.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji nods. "That's some heavy stuff." the girl admits. It's not said in a way where she's trying to prevent Adora from talking about it, she's just acknowledging that this isn't fun and games or romance novels alone anymore. "Stuff like that can really mess with somebody's head, yeah." she says, after a moment. "Though, we have a saying. Or... actually I think it's not a Japanese saying... uh..." she pauses. "I have a saying, you can't set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm." she says, firmly. "That doesn't mean you give up on them. I don't believe in giving up on anybody but especially not people I care about." Her hand subconsciously goes to the little stone she's wearing around her neck.

"But it does mean you take care of yourself, too. You know. Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others put on theirs..." she says, not knowing that probably makes far less sense to the other girl. "You gotta make sure you're healthy and safe enough to give them the best help you can. So like, if that means you don't visit her alone, that's a thing. Or you don't expect to do all the work, and you put her in the place where she can be better. She's gotta want it too or you're just wasting time till she comes around." she adds.

"But I'm not trying to be a downer. I can see how much you love her when you say those words." Niji admits. "And if you can keep that alive, I'm sure one day you two will come out on the right side of things. Love for another person... it's like, super powerful. It can give you strength you didn't know you had. Whether it's romantic, or friendship, or family love. All of them can be sources of strength."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Someone told me I have a marty syndrom," she says softly. "And yeah, I'm trying. I'm trying to live. But I'm also gonna make sure she does, too." She rolls a shoulder and then unties her flannel from her waist, using it to wipe the sweat from her face and arms.

"No no, you're not. I brought it up," she says with a chuckle. "Just talking about it with people helps mne. I seem like that girl who's obsessed, but...it's different then that." She leans back against the wall by the water. "We grew up together, like I said. We only had eachother as kids. Both orphans. We even gave eachother our surnames," she says with a small smile. "Nobody else was gonna. We were 'Recruit Adora' and 'Recruit Catra' for...15 years of our lives?"

Niji Dasshu has posed:
"Well, I can't say much about your girl 'cause I don't know her, but she's got a pretty great taste in pickin' names for you." Niji says. "You certainly fit the rainbowfist." she says, and means it as a compliment. "And well, if you're ever having trouble with anything - I mean, as long as it's not like, schoolwork - let me know and we can at least talk about it." She pauses, and plays with her ponytail. "Well, we can talk about schoolwork troubles too, just don't like. Expect any help. PE is the only subject I'm good at!" she admits, grinning.

"But... fifteen years at least. That's gotta be most of your li-..." and then Niji pauses and counts to herself on her fingers. "Wait, aren't you in my grade? How old are you?" she asks, tilting her head. Well, possibly better to get called on this by Niji than somebody else?

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She grins at that. "She's Catra Applesauce Meowmeow. We were five." She laughs then, and nods. "Schoolwork is tough for me. I'm doing a -lot- of catching up. Like a lifetime of it." She sighs at that.

"Age. Yeeeeah..." She trails off for a moment and glances aside. "I mean, I don't know? They never kept track of that at the ...school. I don't know when I was born. Neither of us do. I didn't even know what a -party- was until I got out," she says softly.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji sighs. "All of that's just awful. But if you two grew up together, at least... at least you have that connection, right?" She asks, looking up at her. "Well. Look at it this way. You're not alone now!" Niji says with a grin. "We played together, we've talked about your love life. That pretty much firmly makes us friends, right?" She asks. "So if you need help with anything - whether it's with your catgirl or not..." Niji thinks it's a funny joke on Catra Meowmeow - not that her girl is ACTUALLY a cat or anything "... all you gotta do is ask."

"We're friends and friends stick together and help each other, right?" She thinks about friendly-punching Adora's shoulder, but decides Adora might punch back and thinks better of it.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
That makes her smile, and the blonde nods. "Sounds great. Friends, it is. I need friends. I'm glad I came looking for you," she says happily. She steps away from the wall and stretches her arms above her head. "I figure you'd ask for my phone number now, but I don't have a phone," she says with a chuckle. "That's come up before."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji is confused by this very concept. Not so much as not understanding sports. But close. "Okay, THAT can't be allowed to stand." she says, firmly. "Adora, we are going to the mall to get you a phone. I'll pay for it. My parents will understand." Probably. Maybe. Likely? Eh, she'll ask forgiveness not permission. "Like. It's a little late today... but we're going." she says, emphatically. "You know where my dorm is, right? You're probably not too far. But like. Soon. We're gonna go to the mall and get you a phone. Maybe you weren't allowed to be a schoolgirl growing up but that ends." She says. And then she laughs a little bit.

"...I'm serious, though. I gotta go to practice soon, but... you better come by my room this weekend so we can fix this injustice. Or I'll find you." she warms with a thumbs-up and a wink. "No teenage girl should be without a phone! It's just wrong! You'll miss out on all the social stuff."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
The girl blinks at that, looking very surprise. "...Your parents will buy me a phone?" She looks like she's almost going to cry, but she grins instead. "...How can I turn you down on that? But you'll need to show me how it works. Does it have that internet thing on it people've mentioned?" Oh, you poor girl. "Wasn't just not allowed...didn't know it was a -thing- till I got here," she explains. No sports, no cell phones, nothing like that. Was she living in the middle ages or something?

"Okay! How about we head there this weekend? I've never been to a mall, so that'll be a first, too..."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
"Oh man. On the one hand, that's insane. But on the other hand..." she grins real big. "It means I get to show you all of this stuff, so that's super cool. Weekend." she says, teasingly pointing a finger at Adora. "Be there or I'll drag you out!" She looks at Adora. "... don't ask how I'll figure it out. I'll get teammates to help or something, if I need to." she says. "I gotta run, but I mean it. Cause like, if you had a phone now we could text each other so much easier!" she says, as she dumps the last of her water over her head and turns towards the Sports Pavilion again. Then she pauses.

"You're gonna be ok till then, right?" she asks as she turns back to Adora, showing very genuine concern. "It sounds like you've been through some real heavy stuff, you know? I want you to be able to reach me, in case it gets hard for you. Being in a different place with all the different stuff. That's why I want to make sure you get a phone. That way I can always be there for ya." she admits. "So like... if you need me, before then, and I'm not at my dorm room, I'm probably gonna be out on the field or practicing in the pavillion. Don't worry just ask em for me. I'm easy to find, ne?" she says, pointing to her hair.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Sounds fun! I'm interested, for sure." She smiles at her new friend, and eyes the water fountain after the water dumping, considering doing the samne thing. "I'm gonna stay and run some laps," she says. "So I'll see you this weekend. I'll swing by your dorm, don't worry." She grins.

"And yeah, I'll be okay. And...wow, thanks. That's really nice of you. I appreciate it..." She doesn't really know what to say, so she just smiles and then offers a wave!

Niji Dasshu has posed:
"Alright good! See you then, Adora. Don't worry. Love always wins in the end." OR at least that's how it goes in her books, right?