2004/Punk Ass Selves

Punk Ass Selves
Date of Scene:	17 October 2024
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Kyouka needs her arm healed, Mamoru's always down to be MSF, and Baby Lacuna is here to kill Stellar for the sake of Baby Stellar. Actual Lacuna isn't letting that fly - not that Stellar needs too much help to handle a copy in decline.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouka Inai, Fuyuko Yuuhi, Mamoru Chiba

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Kyouka Inai has posed:
    One of the nice things about having a close friend with healing magic is that most injuries more serious than a household cut can be taken care of with relative expediency. That said, you still have to find the time to meet up and get the healing done, and for anything less than a life-threatening injury it needs to wait on life's convenience.

    So it is that although its been a short while since Kyouka's forearm was fractured by an Akumatized Chiyo'a hammer, she hasn't yet managed to get it healed. That's changing this evening though, as she has arranged to meet Mamoru for some noodles and also a healing. The noodles being her payment, so to speak. Not that he needs her payment, but she'd feel bad just taking advantage without giving something in return and food is an easy enough answer to that moral conundrum.

    She's just been keeping the arm in a sling- it's not a true break, just a small fracture. But it's still something that would be nice to have healed more quickly than the 'several weeks' such a thing would normally take.

    So it is that Kyouka, in her normal black-and-red leather-jacket-and-shades getup plus a black cloth sling supporting the injured arm, is waiting on the sidewalk beside her favorite noodle joint. She's only just arrived, and is idly glancing back and forth along the street waiting for her younger friend.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
It's been a few days, maybe a couple of weeks, alright, of stalking Kyouka's wimpy future self, waiting for the perfect moment to kill her. Seeing the way she lives, Lacuna can almost convince herself that this is going to be a favor.

Tiny, shitty apartment alone, eating conbini food every day, no one to hang out with but actual heroes, doing actual work -

Maybe she's alive. But is she really living? And even if she is, is that worth more than Stellchan?

No.

Which is why, as Kyouka is waiting, she dives from the roof high above, darkness swirling around her fingers, refining itself into a scythe-like blade extending from her hand, ready to feed her to the void headfirst -

Unfortunately for her, the actual Lacuna had tried this over and over.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka would rather protest this description of her life- although factually most of it is true. Also her apartment isn't that bad! Or so she would claim. Considering the way current-Fuyuko lives, though, maybe past-Fuyuko would stand firm in her opinion. Either way, she is blissfully unaware she has been stalked in this manner. She's heard some rumors about the younger versions of herself and Fuyuko running around the city, but not in a while. Perhaps she had assumed they had somehow taken care of themselves.

    Unfortunately for her, this is not the case. Unfortunately for Young Lacuna, this version of Kyouka has a large amount of experience in fighting against her former partner. It was basically all she did for two long years.

    Even if that weren't the case, this version of Kyouka has something the younger one never did- a very acute magic sense. Which means she feels Lacuna coming, diving down on her, before she even has a chance to see her. She henshins in a sudden burst of bright golden light, thunder rippling across the otherwise-cloudless evening sky as her arm comes up with golden lightning crackling along its length to intercept the arc of the scythe of darkness.

    The void consumes all- all except the light of stars. Where the two meet, rather than cut or devour, there is instead a shrieking, howling feedback of energy that crackles at the point of impact for a moment before pushing back backwards. On her feet, Stellar is just forced back a few steps, though Lacuna mid-jump is likely blown a bit further away.

    Frowning, grey eyes narrowed, Stellar shakes her arm out slightly as if it's slightly numbed from the impact, her other arm still held in that sling against her chest, even in henshin. "What's this? Decided to follow in your own footsteps a little early, is it?" She asks, sounding mildly annoyed. "Where's... your Stellar? Did you drive her off already?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's running a little late to his noodle appointment -- his own leather jacket, a gift from Kyouka, is actually closed and functional instead of just being style points. It's chilly, after all. He's got his hands shoved in his pockets and he looks both ways when he gets to the corner opposite, and he decides he's going to let those trucks lumber by instead of henshining and jumping over the street.

Tempting.

Actually, just as the trucks are about to obscure his view of Kyouka's bit of sidewalk, that is exactly what Mamoru does, because he sees something magic drop down on Kyouka. "Earth-power-make-up," he huffs all in one breath, pulling his watch out of his pocket as he jumps--

--transforming into Tuxedo Mask in midair--

--and pulling out a rose, and then he lands and stops short, eyes widening behind his mask. "Oh, sorry, don't actually want to get between a girl and her destiny-- or bestie or whatever," he says, stumbling over the words as he backpedals to the curb.

He holds up his hands. "Don't mind me. I'll be over here."

He moves away down the sidewalk, silk cape fluttering to either side of him as he does not turn his back on them.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
There's the howl of feedback and Lacuna is launched back by the clash of creation and destruction meeting. She flips, neatly landing on top of a nearby shop awning, scowling. How the heck did she notice her, anyway?

"Like I'm gonna make Stellchan watch you die," is her disdainful rebuttal. "In a choice between you and her, I pick her."

And then she dives at Stellar again, a frontal assault that's fully a feint because she twists to the side and goes for her knees this time.

She didn't want to make her suffer. That's not what this is about. But she is determined to go home a success -

"Is your back up just chilling out, ready to watch you die? You're even less popular than Stellchan!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Stellar considers these words from Lacuna- if she's concerned about her 'Stell-chan's' feelings on the matter, than she hasn't gone full-evil yet. Which makes sense- there's been no instigating incident that she's aware of that would have caused that to happen a year or two earlier than it did in the 'real' timeline. Which begs the question then- "So pick her, then. Why does that mean I have to die?" She doesn't even sound particularly threatened, more just kind of confused.

    Lacuna's moves are pretty slick, and the girl is an accomplished fighter. But so is Stellar, and she has years of experience fighting against this girl. Not just this girl, but a more powerful, refined and yes, insane version of this girl. And being crazy does tend to be an advantage in a fight, at least a lot of the time.

    She predicts the feint, not falling for the frontal assault but rather half-turning and blocking the swipe at her knees in another howling impact that sends her back half a step on the sidewalk. "You're not going to be able to kill me, kid." She says, in what doesn't even sound like a particularly arrogant boast but rather a mildly-sympathetic statement of fact.

    Lacuna draws her attention to Mamoru and she glances over at him without taking her attention off of Lacuna. "Hey, sorry, Mamoru. Just hang on a sec and we can get those noodles." She makes a face at Lacuna. "I'll have you know I'm considerably more popular than I was when I was fifteen, thanks."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"You won't be able to kill--" Mamoru starts at the same time as Kyouka, glancing at her and grinning. And then he leans against the wall, one arm over his waist, the other twirling the rose absently. "Yeah, I'll hold you to that. Sorry I didn't get here fast enough to fix your arm first."

He crosses his arms loosely then, still holding the rose, and he looks to Baby Lacuna with an extremely sharp grin, "She does actually have friends who like her and hang out with her on purpose. And she definitely doesn't need me getting in her way."

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
For being a washed up old-hag, Old!Stellar is keeping up with her maddeningly well. It's not like she thought Stellar would be easy to kill, but come on! Shouldn't she be younger and faster?

And then Lacuna's blade flickers, as she ducks around Stellar, her magic vanishing into nothing for not just a split second, but three full seconds, and Lacuna snarls and just goes for a direct punch to the face, in those long seconds.

"What was that dumb American phrase? There can only be one?"

The sympathy is enough to drive her mad, and when her magic is back, darkness is flung like a wave, aiming to splash over Stellar and eat away at anything that she manages to touch -

Also a move a much angrier, crazier, and more powerful Lacuna had used many a time.

The cocky boy with the sharp smile is going to get kicked in the face. Some day.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Lacuna probably is faster than this Stellar- not to mention the fractured arm. But Stellar knows how Lacuna fights, knows her moves and what she's likely to do in any given situation. It's not like she can see the future, but she can read her opponent like a book, and that makes up for any disparity in their speed a few years might make.

    She does blink when the other girl's magic just vanishes all of a sudden, though and the punch-to-the-face almost lands as a result, before her hand raises to catch it; similarly without magic, just gripping the fist with knuckles brushing her cheek. "Yeah, and there is only one. Me. I dunno what you think, kid, but I hate to break it to you- you and your buddy are the fakes. We've been here the whole time."

    She pushes the younger girl away, only to be met by a wave of darkness which she passes through harmlessly by bringing her own magic up in a shield in front of her, the crackling light opening a hole through the wave of darkness so that it parts around her, although the vending machines to her side aren't so lucky. She's scowling a little now, getting annoyed. "Look," a mild amount of heat in her voice, brought on by this attack bringing back unpleasant memories more than anything else. "I've done this, okay? I've done it a hundred times- a thousand. You attack me, I attack you. It never gets us anywhere, which real-you finally, finally managed to admit a couple years ago, so can we just skip to the 'this is futile' part and let me go have dinner?"

    Over her shoulder to Tuxedo Mask she says, "You know I can't really attack her, right? You might actually have to 'get in the way', or we'll be here all night."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Some day. But probably not by Laclona.

"Literally I don't want to die, I'm not getting between you two," the black-haired boy in the mask says, taking out his phone. He waits until the perfect moment to take a shot-- no he doesn't, he takes a jillion shots, this is the age of big data or whatever.

Then he looks at his phone, not at them, and starts doing stuff on it with his magical glove thumbs. "I can't outpunch her, I can't do anything about the void, I'm not as good a fighter as either of you, and my aim is great but you two are fast and I can't predict you," Mamoru explains, still without looking. Then he looks up and smiles lopsidedly, hitting 'send'. "But don't worry, I'm calling for actual backup."

What did he send? The best shot, along with 'come watch this is hilarious' and then '<cross street> or i could pen you'

To Fuyuko.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Fake!

The punch almost goes through, and Lacuna thinks about it for a single second, the likelihood that she would fight without her magic, and then she forms two new blades of darkness, striking rapid-fire, knowing she's going to be bounced back, and tries to swing her foot around in a kick aimed at Stellar's fractured arm.

"We're not fake! You might be the one native to this shit-heel time where the only thing good is the prey, but you brought us out that door, and we're not dying just because only one version can stick around."

She is not trying to give this up, because otherwise, she needs Stellar's help, and otherwise, that means Stellar has to see herself die -

So she's going to try interspersing magic-less strikes with magical ones.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
    Lacuna TXT to Mamoru: be there in two.
    Lacuna TXT to Mamoru: has she actually landed a hit yet?

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "We didn't bring shit through that door. You came through yourself," Stellar retorts, with less-than-perfect-accuracy. Although it is true that they certainly didn't mean to create annoying replicas of their teenage selves, the fact that they exist is in fact a direct result of their actions. She won't admit this though, least of all to herself.

    She manages to barely side-step the kick to her arm, scowling as Lacuna switches things up, using magical and non-magical attacks but even here Stellar is no slouch- she's been teaching martial arts to non-magical kids at school for a year, not to mention her own considerable personal training once she lost the ability to use offensive magic to augment her attacks.

    "You were never going to 'stick around'," She snarls, annoyed now. "You were an accident and you're not real, which makes this doubly annoying because I do not need to relive my past trauma every time I try to go out for noodles because you somehow think killing me is going to legitimize your existence. Sorry honey, I'm not your magic ticket to becoming a real girl, so how about you piss off?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Glancing down at his phone again as it buzzes, Mamoru thumbs out a quick response as he winces at Kyouka's snarl.
    Mamoru TXT Lacuna: only an emotional one

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"Bitter and washed up and pathetic," Lacuna snarls, "And in denial too. You really are the worst possible future Stellchan could have."

She's not able to break through, which is the most annoying part. She isn't anywhere near losing, but she's not winning either, which in her mind is as bad as losing.

She doesn't have a naginata, not like her partner, but her darkness can make plenty of weaponry for a moment - so maybe it's just pettiness that causes her to form and throw the void-born naginata at Stellar before sweeping after with more blows.

"We're here because you fucked up, you and her, with that stupid fucking door we came out of here, so don't act like you didn't do this!"

She's blown back, again, by the strike against Stellar's shield. And this time, when she launches another attack - it's her own darkness that stands in her own way, darkness meeting darkness, feeding into each other.

The Older Lacuna stands there, looking distinctly irritable.

"Yeah," she says, coldly, "We did this. But I didn't think your Stellar was such a coward she'd send you out to do the dirty work alone."

"Stellchan is not -"

"Get out of here," Lacuna interrupts. "I don't care. You weren't doing a very good job of killing her, and you're not going to do a better one with both of us here."

It's true, and young Lacuna knows it. She scowls viciously, face torn - and then she runs off, leaping up towards the rooftops to flee.

And then Lacuna turns to Stellar with a shit-eating grin.

"Can't believe I just rescued you from a baby. Thanks, Chiba."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Stellar might take exception to 'washed up and pathetic' but there's really no defense against 'bitter', and the darkness-naginata being thrown her way only seems to add insult to injury as she intercepts it with a sweep of her good arm, the shrieking impact of light-on-dark causing it to deform into hissing nothingness.

    "So you're just going to blame us because we happened to be in the room?" She demands, doing nothing to help the 'in denial' bit of Young Lacuna's accusation- but then Fuyuko is there, suddenly in front of her and blocking the next blow, and she does something she was always better at- admits some responsibility.

    Stellar looks like she might say something, an angry protest on her lips but unvoiced as the Young Lacuna flees in the face of her older counterpart. A moment's pause, then Stellar is straightening up out of her combat-stance.. brushing a hand over her coat as she mutters, "You texted her Mamoru? Jeez, way to embarrass me."

    She then scowls at Lacuna- her Lacuna, the one she should be scowling at- and says, "Look it's not like I was in danger. I just couldn't actually do anything to her, you know how it is."

    She huffs, dismissing her henshin. "I don't know what that was about anyway. She was spouting some 'there can be only one' bullshit and saying that by killing me her 'Stell-chan' would be able to keep existing or something. Sounds like bullshit to me, I dunno where they got that idea."

    She pauses a moment and then, grudgingly, adds, "Thanks."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru gives Fuyuko a sunny smile that says 'you're very welcome'-- and then spreads his hands, dropping his henshin and tossing the rose in Fuyuko's direction. "Stab something and remember me kindly," he says, laughing.

Then he jams his hands back in his leather jacket pockets and rocks back on his dress-shoe heels. "Hey, all ribbing aside, you keep telling us how powerful they are, and Sailor Moon has a math test tomorrow and Mercury is helping her study. I am not stepping in the way of that either."

Then he edges toward the noodle house door. "I was gonna ask her that before she took off, but I'm pretty sure she'd've told me to eat it. Besides, who's on the table for 'actually thinks it'd be great if you were dead?' I'm pretty sure it's currently a short list."

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"Obviously I'm going to blame you! We are you!"

It does seem more likely that their weak shit selves would summon their strong selves. If you ask her.

But then baby Lacuna is gone, and real Lacuna is very smug.

The rose is spun around, contemplated slowly, and the tucked into Lacuna's pants loop as she smirks at her counterpart. "Yeah, yeah, you were handling her punk ass."

She doesn't seem to think of that punk as her own punk-ass-self, at least.

"I was always good at making up bullshit reasons to do things," Lacuna says dismissively, "We'll know it's actually a problem if punk you tries to come at me for once."

She's cognizant enough to recognize that it really is more in character for her to try and kill Stellar.

"Honestly, it's not like there are that many people gunning for us. The people we knew are shells of their old selves, and my higher ups wouldn't come for her."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "I think it's a problem now" Kyouka gripes to Fuyuko. "I mean, I'm not going to walk around town constantly looking over my shoulder because Baby You might leap out at me. I went through enough years of my life feeling like that and I'm not going to do it again."

    Fuyuko and Mamoru both seem to think the list of people who want her dead is pretty short, but Kyouka herself seems skeptical of this idea. "I dunno, sometimes it feels like half the city wants me gone.. but maybe that's just residual resentment I feel, I dunno."

    She frowns a bit, not oblivious to the implications even if she's not as sure of them. "So you think someone is putting them up to this, huh? I guess that makes more sense than them just deciding it for no reason. Makes me feel kind of bad though, since I'm pretty sure them being not-real isn't going to be cured by either of us dying." A gesture at herself and Fuyuko.

    "Anyway, can I get this damned arm healed already?" Now addressing Mamoru. "If I'm going to have to defend myself again I'd at least like two functioning arms. And then we can finally have noodles." A pause, then a look at Fuyuko. "You can join us if you want. Since you bothered to come." She would have been fine. But the gesture is appreciated.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Complain, complain," Mamoru says genially, reaching over to grab Kyouka's wrist lightly, skin to skin, and then there's that dim golden glow and the accompanying wash of connectedness and respite and cessation of pain.

"The short-list is really short," he adds helpfully. "I mean, has anyone not Corona tried to set you up, or get you hurt, or pit you against each other, or lie to people about you in the past year?"

It's just a fracture, despite Young Lacuna's best efforts, so it doesn't take long before Mamoru's finished with Kyouka's arm. "There, you're fine now. Noodles."