Scene #7: Gangsta turf

Owner	Pose
Kyouko Sakura	For most of the morning, Kyouko's been nothing but a skulking figure on the rooftops and a red blur in midair. Last night's regrettable episode of ice-cream-flavored disaster has left her starved for magical energy; she can almost feel it gnawing at her stomach. Or maybe that's just how she always feels, empty and uncomfortable and in need of the psychic equivalent of a little snack. But she's pretty sure she's getting close to a witch now, and once she finds it, she'll beat it up, and then everything will be fine. Violence, as usual, will solve everything. Her search leads her down from the rooftops finally to a narrow alleyway--and it's there that a suspicious sound startles her. Hastily she calls off her transformation, returning to her normal clothes (or rather, the t-shirt and shorts that annoying girl who dragged her away from the fight scene gave her to replace her ice-cream-stained ones), and peers around the corner.
Cho Konishi	Cho Konishi sighed as she walked through the streets. Paperwork was never fun, even for her. But that wasn't why she was sighing. She was sighing because of her 'stuffed animal' that was hanging over her shoulder. Wuwu, though most likely thought it was just a stuffed animal. NORMALLY he stayed in her bag. Normally. "Come ooooon. Let's just get one game in, okay?" he said. Trying to entice her. "No," Cho said. "School is still going on. The only reason I'm out was to deliver those papers. If I went to the arcade now, I'd be setting a bad example." "How did I get stuck with such a fuddy duddy of an apprentice?" Wuwu asked. "Hey, you're the one who picked me. But play can happen AFTER the work is done. Now come on, let's..." She trailed off when she passed an alleyway... and saw a girl. Close enough to her age that, well... "Hide," Cho said. Before he could object, she stuffed her 'stuffed' animal into her back and started making her way down the alleyway... Meanwhile, on the other side of said corner... a small trash can was rumbling. Shaking... and then... finally... it tipped over. And out came a trash panda, rolling out with a half eaten piece of pizza in its grasp. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Cho asked, suddenly, from a bit behind Kyouko. Though depending on how focused she had been on the raccoon, she might have heard her approach. "Do you have a teacher's note for being out of school right now?" Something about the girl was familiar, though. She couldn't place it... But she'd seen the picture in the council room. One of the frequent delinquents. It was just taking her a few moments to piece it together. If Kyouko looked to her, she'd actually be able to see the moment the light went off in Cho's head and she recognized who the girl was.
Kyouko Sakura	At the sight of the source of the noise, Kyouko relaxes just slightly. She even smiles a tiny bit; at least it means someone is eating that discarded pizza. Speaking of which...since she's out of magical girl form anyway, maybe she'll go get some pizza. There's gotta be somewhere nearby-- "Augh!" She spins around to glare at Cho. "What? What? Are you serious?" She speaks like she's the one being wronged here. "Hey. Give me a pen and some paper, nerd."
Cho Konishi	Cho Konishi glared at her. "I am NOT a nerd!" she said defiantly. "And when you ask for something, you're supposed to ask with a please," she said firmly, glowering up at her. She then reached into her bag and grabbed a pen and blank piece of paper, before holding it out. Of course... after a moment, as Kyouko was writing, she'd speak up. "You're not really going to try and write a fake teacher's letter, are you?" she asked. "And why aren't you in uniform? Playing hooky outside of your uniform doesn't hide the fact you belong in class when you're still obvious a child." Though, honestly... as much as she hated to admit it... a part of her was worried. Before, she'd always HATED confrontation. When she saw someone playing hooky, she'd have ignored it. Pretended not to see. It wasn't her problem, right? But... if she wanted to be the person she desired to be... sometimes it meant facing things that worried or even scared her. Even if it meant sticking up to a girl and trying to hide how intimidating she thought the red haired delinquent was when she glared. And she was doing a good job of it. Aside from how tightly she was clasping the handle of her book bag in front of herself, her knuckles white now.
Kyouko Sakura	"Yeah, whatever, nerd," Kyouko says with a wave of one hand as she snatches up the pen and paper with the other one. "Uniforms are for nerds." She braces herself against a wall and starts writing hastily on the paper. "That's why you're obsessed with them. Because you're a nerd." Scribble, scribble...she sticks her tongue out a little and squints in concentration. "Okay, here's your pen back." She hands the pen back to Cho even as she holds up the freshly-written note in her other hand. "See? I didn't write a fake teacher's note." The paper just says, in scrawled katakana: I CAN DO WHAT I WANT. Underneath it's just signed Kyouko in the usual kanji. "'Cause I'm not a teacher," she adds helpfully. "Now get lost, nerd!"
Cho Konishi	Cho Konishi sighed. Nerd. She wasn't a nerd! She USED to be a nerd, she wasn't one now! Okay, she still kind of was one now, but she was trying to be different. Trying to be stronger. She took the pen back, sliding it into her bag. "Thank you," she said before reading the note. Then blinked a few times. Then she couldn't help it. She just couldn't. She'd never seen anyone actually DO that before. She started to giggle, lifting a hand up to her mouth and trying to not calm it down. Trying, so hard, to be firm. But she couldn't help it. That note, it just... "O-o-one moment," she managed to squeak out while she tried, desperately, to get control of herself. After a few seconds of helpless, desperately suppressed giggles, she managed to finally get control again. "Right, right. I see. So then, the only way you're going to go back to class is if you WANT to go back?" she asked. "And I can't get lost. I'm on the student council, you see. It's my job as a representative to look out and over all of the school's students. What would I do if you were to get hurt after I left, Kyouko?" she asked with a smile... that was slightly twitchy as she was REALLY trying to not laugh again. "I'd never be able to forgive myself. And besides..." She glanced around. Then... "If I make myself a big enough pain in your ass, going back to school will be pleasant compared to having me follow you around." ... She couldn't be serious. Then again, she did make sure nobody could hear her say such a word EXCEPT Kyouko.
Kyouko Sakura	At the reaction from Cho, Kyouko...pauses. Her smirk falters a little, becomes more of a grimace, and one eyebrow twitches. "What." She's sliding towards a sulk now. "I thought it made sense! It's a way of saying only I'm in charge of me! I--screw it, never mind!" While Kyouko is sulking in the aftermath of that, Cho gets the chance to give that whole speech about student council junk and stuff, or at least that's how it comes off to Kyouko. She just continues sulking, looking less and less impressed...until Cho says that. Kyouko's eyebrows go way up for just a second. Then she bursts out laughing. "Hahaha! You're not totally stupid, nerd! Just stupid enough to care about school. Why don't you just go back to class if you care about the rules so much? Go on! Leave me the hell alone! I got other crap to do!"
Cho Konishi	Cho Konishi loved it. Absolutely loved it. This Kyouko was hilarious. However, when she realized the girl was serious? Wellll... admittedly, she only baaaaaarely managed to suppress another laugh. Writing a note like that was EXACTLY the kind of thing Wuwu would have done. It was beautiful. So much arrogance. And the other girl laughed too. She'd expected some shock, but not laughter. She couldn't help it, her cheeks got a little redder. Not because of any romantic thoughts, mind. But because she'd made someone else smile and laugh. It was the little moments like that which made her feel somewhat... right. "School is very important, afterall. We learn all kinds of things, like history. The more we learn, the brighter our futures become. And wow, that sounded wayyyy less cheesy in my head. I think I just cringed from that one, sorry." Yeah, it was bad. "I guess I am still kind of a nerd. But I am a determined and motivated nerd. While I can't force you back to school, I can exert passive annoyance until we head back to class. And well, if you have something you need to do, perhaps I can help you," she offered. "So, tell me, Kyouko. What is so important that it's worth missing your education for?" And then, as if on queue... Kyouko could likely feel it. A witch? A familiar? If she could differentiate the two... she'd realize it was the latter. And it was slowly coming towards them.
Kyouko Sakura	Kyouko's blustering sneer shifts into a scowl as Cho goes on her self-described "cheesy" speech. She looks more and more annoyed as it continues--right up until Cho does the thing. Right up until Cho offers to help her. And that, well, that's way too much. She crumples the note abruptly into a ball in her fist. "Never mind, you are an idiot," she says in disgust, and she pulls her hand back to fling the balled-up paper at Cho-- --which is when the nasty sense of a familiar nearby penetrates her awareness. Instead of throwing the paper, she opens her hand and lets it fall to the ground. Then she folds her arms over her chest. "Listen, you idiot, just get out of here. It's not safe for nerds right now." The braggadocio has drained out of her voice, leaving only a tension and seriousness that wasn't there before. "I don't care if you go back to school or what. But I gotta find something and you can't help me with it."
Cho Konishi	Cho Konishi blinks a little, cocking her head to the side... She's been punched enough times she she suspects at the very least she's about to get punched or have it thrown at her... Only for it to drop on the ground. And for her to blink a few times. "What?" she asked. "I will admit, dark alleys are not exactly my standard hang out spots. But as they go, this one is almost... actually it's filthy. I'm not sure what I stepped in, nor do I want to know. But I'm certainly not leaving one of my school mates to hang out in it while I scamper off to school. Nerd or not, it doesn't mean I have to be a... push over...?" she said, though she looked up. "Do... you hear that?" she asked. The familiar was coming closer. And there was... very... soft... but getting louder... beat? A terrible, awful beat. Like gangster rap that had been put through a blender and then had the notes duct taped back together. Before being thrown down a staircase for good measure.
Kyouko Sakura	Kyouko looks at Cho, and then she looks out of the alleyway. She makes a face like she ate something too sour even for her. "Crap." And then she hurtles forward, one sharp shoulder aimed at Cho's solar plexus to slam her into the dingy building wall to her side, and then she's past her and racing towards the mouth of the alley. As she runs, she reaches out her hand, her Soul Gem a beautiful gleaming egg in her palm. And crimson light begins to wrap around her as she transforms.
Cho Konishi	Cho Konishi hit the wall, hard, dropping down to the ground. She sat there for a few moments, gasping for air. "Smooth," Wuwu said from her bag. "S-shut up," Cho said. "O-ow..." "You're not going to follow her, are you?" "I-I think I have to. She's probably in trouble or... s-something. I can't help if I don't know what the problem is, now can I?" "Do you want to?" "No," Cho admitted. "But... the old me would have just... let her go. I don't want to be that person ever again. Come on," Cho said before grudgingly getting to her feet. "But, uhhh. If I see like... the yakuza or anything... I am so transforming. Abuse of precure powers or not." She then ran after the girl... And... huh. The street had gotten... oddly... quiet? And that sound... Where was Kyouko? Oh gosh. What if she'd ran towards it? What if SHE RAN TOWARDS THAT STRANGE SOUND?! She started to run towards it. However, as she got closer... She finally got to see what the source of that music was. A stereotypical 90s gangster rapper. Except... it wasn't... really one. It was more of a drawing of one, made of paper and moving in erratic, strange ways. In that strange way that only a witch's familiar could. Cho's eyes were locked on it, staring. "What... in the world... is THAT?" she asked. Not even noticing the puella heading towards it, yet.
Kyouko Sakura	By the time Kyouko has her feet on the ground again and her spear in her hand, she's already throwing together a quick plan for how she's going to handle this. She's not exactly the most tactical thinker, it's true, but she's a veteran Puella Magi and she knows what she's doing. She's going to engage the familiar, draw it away from attention for a bit, and then she'll play cat-and-mouse with it while trying to goad it into leading her back to the witch. Then she'll get her grief seed, and...wait a second. That stupid nerd is still here! A tall lattice of crimson spears shoots up from the ground in front of Cho, blocking her off from the bizarre thing, the familiar. Right on the other side stands Kyouko, one hand on her spear and the other on her hip, glowering at Cho. "Hey, nerd, I told you to get lost. Did you think I wasn't serious? How stupid are you? I always knew nerds were really stupid!" The terrible not-quite-music continues, and it's not doing wonders for her mood, either. Also, she's hungry--well, she can deal with that, at least. Her dress has no pockets, but somehow she pulls out a mini-pack of strawberry Hello Panda, rips it open one-handed while still holding her spear, grabs one, and pops it in her mouth.
Cho Konishi	Cho Konishi blinked a few times. Spears? Why were there... spears here? How did she...? She then turned towards Kyouko. And the veil worked to confused her. Who was she? Where was-- Only for Kyoukoa to reveal herself. Told her to get lost? They'd never met be-- except then the obvious became clear. "W-what? Kyouko? You're a... Oh. OH! Wait, that's what this is about? You should have tol-- oh. Wait. No. I guess you can't, huh? But I mean... I guess if you told me, it's only fair I repay the favor, huh?" she asked. Before reaching into her bag and pulling out... a strange compact? It looked kind of like a journal with a little pen... Wait. Was she doing HOMEWORK?! THERE WAS A FAMILIAR, LADY! She then drew on it. It flowed and... "Historic Legacy, Pretty Cure!" she called out. In a flash, the short girl with mildly long hair... was gone. In her place was a girl with a golden tiara with two massive feathers pointing up over her eyebrows and pink flowing hair that went so far down it practically touched the ground. Her boots were knee high and red, while her dress was pink with black tiger stripes across it. Around her neck she had a yellow handkerchief tied, with a large pink one wrapped around her waist, over a... monkey's tail. Over her wrists she wore black armguards with pink metal plates over the front of her arms. In her hands was a thin, red staff! Followed by... "And I told YOU I was going to help. Also, that I was really annoying." Wuwu flew up and out of her bag a moment later. "Cure Wukong, that's not one of the Deadbeats." "I know that," she said with a sigh. "But it's definitely not good." Well, that was likely a lot to take in over... three seconds.
Kyouko Sakura	"What the HECK!" By the time Cho is finished transforming, Kyouko's eyes are wide as dinner plates. She's straight-up gawking. But then she's scowling again. "What's with all the magical girls around here? It's such a pain. Listen, nerd, don't make me spell it out for you." For one thing, she's bad at spelling. "This familiar is going to lead to a witch. I'm going to smash the witch to pieces and take its grief seed." Vaguely, she's aware that this other girl can't be a Puella--like the weird annoying girl with the tiara at the ice cream stand last night, she must be something else entirely. But that doesn't mean Kyouko wants to work with her any more than she would another Puella. Just because this new girl doesn't need the grief seed doesn't mean she can be trusted with it. "So I don't need your help at all. Scram. Get the hell out of here." The lattice stays up for now. Kyouko turns around and starts heading for the familiar.
Cho Konishi	Cure Wukong just gave a shrug. "I don't know. Technically, I think I'm supposed to be somewhere else, but welllll... I got invited. And you know, it was kind of... a weiiiiird situation, you know? I had to decide if I was happy being miserable or if I wanted to rewrite my life. I decided the latter," she said happily. Though, she didn't know what a witch was... but... She DID know how to be obnoxious. After all, she could hardly be Cure Wukong if she couldn't be annoying. She leaped into the air, spinning her staff around and hurtling over the wall to land directly in front of Kyouko. She then reached back and plucked two hairs and tossed them out. "Distract, don't destroy," she told them. The hairs turned into... copies of her? Before running at the familiar. "But fine. I don't know what a witch is. Or a grief seed. But if you're going all magical spear murdery on it, I have to assume it's important. And I can understand that." "But it doesn't mean you don't need my help," she said before offering a hand. "So I'll make you a deal. I'll get out of your hair and go back to school. I'll even cover for you... But only if you promise me two things. Promise that you'll be okay, that you'll be able to handle this witch on your own... and that you'll come back to class after you finish with your witch thing." Behind her, one of the clones got 'shot' by one of the familiar's 'bullets', which were more like drawings of bullets that moved slowly... but the clone was still popped. "Promise me that and I'll consider us even. Otherwise... I'll just have to keep helping you until you come to school with me." Wuwu, on the opposite side of the wall, just sighed. "You know, I would have just knocked her out, kicked the witch things butt, grabbed the seed and then just hauled her to the school by now! Just go full me on her!" "I'm not going to fight one of my fellow students. Students are NOT supposed to fight each other!" she said firmly, scolding the flying monkey.
Kyouko Sakura	Well, that didn't go to plan. Kyouko hauls herself to a halt as Cure Wukong appears in front of her and gawks at the other magical girl once again. She really is stubborn and determined to help: the absolute worst combination possible. "If you're supposed to be somewhere else, go somewhere else! I still don't want your help, and you're stupid for offering it!" A flicker of a thought tugs at Kyouko's mind, an old, wistful instinct. It really would be easier to fight the witch with Cure Wukong's help. And maybe she means it when she says she really wants to help... No, forget that. That's old news, and new Kyouko doesn't truck with that garbage. "I'm not promising you anything! Cover for me? I don't need a nerd to cover for me! And what the heck is that thing?" she adds, jabbing the spear at Wuwu. "If it thinks you can beat me up, I'm gonna beat it up!"
Cho Konishi	Cure Wukong urked. "What? No. I wasn't... like... supposed to be right now. Well, I'm supposed to be in class right now. But I meant in the grand scheme of things. You know? And that's fine. I've done a lot of stupid things in my life. Doing a stupid thing to help someone is a lot better than just doing a stupid thing because you're stupid. Or... something. I don't know. The whole being a magical girl thing is still... uhhh. Not the best at it. Besides, things are easier when you have friends. Doing everything alone is just... bland and boring. You know? Like... everything around you is gray and... empty," she said softly. And then she griiiiiinned at her. And held her staff horizontally in front of herself before happily rocking back and forth. "I'm soooooo sorry. That wasn't one of the choices~ The options were I help you fight or you promise and then keep your promise and I can go. So helping you fight it is! Cure Wukong, at your service!" Although... the smile fell when Kyouko asked who Wuwu was. "Oh gods, why?" she asked. "You don't know who I am? I am the embodiment of the GREATEST hero of all time! Sun Wukong! The Monkey King! Born from stone, I acquired supernatural powers through taoist practices. I have challenged both the gods and death itself, becoming seven times immortal. I have--" "He's going to go on like that for a while," Cure Wukong said as he kept going on and on. "He's my fairy. See, there's these weird guys called the Deadbeats who run around, wiping out the history of heroes of humanity's past, so people forget them and lose their motivations to keep struggling in day to day--" And she hadn't been paying attention. A bullet hit her from behind and she stumbled forward, a little blood coming from her mouth as her eyes went wide. Right. It was then that the second clone popped and the familiar turned towards them. It seemed it packed a bit of a punch, judging by the way she stumbled forward. "O-ow," she said. "Well, that's one. That thing can kind of sting when it hits you, huh?" she said before turning around. "So, it's like... not the witch, then? Or is it?"
Kyouko Sakura	Pretty much the moment Wuwu starts going on about his glorious heroic past, Kyouko's eyes start rolling. "Oh, great, it's a weird thing that thinks it's a magic hero." It's kind of like Kyubey, but even more annoying. "Heroes of humanity's past? Am I supposed to care about--hey, wait!" Because that's when she catches sight of the bullet heading for Cure Wukong. She dashes forward to try to spear it out of midair--but it's too late, and for just an instant guilt flashes in her angry eyes. Stupid, stupid. Some actual person got hurt right in front of her because Kyouko was busy arguing with her, and even though she knows she shouldn't really care, that kind of sucks--even if that person is a big stupid nerd. Then she's scowling again. "No, that's just the familiar, and if it's gonna get you like that, there's no way you can handle the witch." Another series of weird jerky bullets flies at them to the sound of the (terrible) beat, but this time Kyouko sweeps them out of the way with her spear with barely a glance. "I promise you that."
Cho Konishi	Cure Wukong shook her head. "N-no, it's fine. It's uhhh... part of my thing. Seven times immortal, you know?" she said sheepishly. "If I pay attention, I'm actually pretty... okay. I guess. My first fight I got ran over by a magic cement truck. That sucked a lot more. Haven't actually been shot before, though. Not a lot of guns in ancient mythos. But, in theory, I can survive anything." Well... only so many times. "And hey, you made a promise! That's step one! Right! So, this thing will lead us to a witch, then we just... stomped it and get its seed? Is it like a plant, then? Is that why this thing looks like its made out of paper?" Watching Kyouko hit the bullets out of the air, though, she couldn't help being impressed. The girl was quick, hard headed, stubborn... Huh. She wondered who'd be more stubborn. "Unfortunately for you, though," she said. "The whole thing with us? Is we're determined." She cracked her knuckles. "And I'm not going back without knowing my fellow student will be coming as well. So shall we go find this witch?" she asked. Then glanced back to Wuwu who was STILL going off about how amazing he was. She hmmmed... "Maybe I should try bribery if annoying doesn't work. Do you like peach snack cakes?" she asked. Meanwhile, the bad rapping gangsta was realizing that bullets weren't getting the job done... so came at them. With a big, pink, 'poofy' switchblade.
Kyouko Sakura	"That wasn't a real promise," Kyouko snaps indignantly. She turns around long enough to feint a stab at the familiar and fend off another round of bizarre bullets. "That was me telling you you're weak. Because you are, and you're just going to get in over your head if you don't back off right now." But...she can't help but think about the peach snack cakes. "I'll come to class afterwards to get the snack cakes," she decides. "All right? Now get--augh!" She steps aside quick enough that the ridiculous switchblade only nicks her, but the pain is a sudden shock, and she whirls around and hurls her spear to try to wrap its jointed handle around the switchblade and yank it away.
Cho Konishi	Cure Wukong 's eyes lit up when the girl agreed. YES! She'd come by after for the snack cakes! Bribery, the ultimate weapon. "Deal!" she said. Meanwhile, behind her, Wuwu kept going on. "Of course, I was unwilling to just give up, so I waited outside the cave for months, and..." Then... there it was. That cry. The smile on Cure Wukong's face was gone, vanishing the moment Kyouko cried out. She lunged forward, twirling her staff. Kyouko's spear coiled around the switchblade, snapping it off with ease and disarming the familiar. However, it had drawn pain, and was already going for the kill. Drawing its paper gun again, holding it gangster style... Wukong's staff was suddenly dug into the ground between them. Not embedded, but... "Grow!" she ordered. The staff then grew, going higher and thicker until it stood like a great red oak, parting the two. Cure Wukong landed by her a moment later. "Are you okay?" she asked, a concerned look on her face. Of course, once she realized that Kyouko was fine... she reached out and put a hand on her staff. "Shrink," she ordered. Within a moment it was back to its normal, tiny size. The familiar, however, had been knocked down. Losing its switchblade had been one thing, then having tree... It slowly got back up and began to flee! Cure Wukong gulped and gave her a sheepish smile. "I'll make sure to save the biggest of the snack cakes for you, okay? They have butter cream frosting," she said. Well, if the cakes were the only way to get the girl back to class... She'd abuse whatever was nexessary.
Kyouko Sakura	Wait, what? Why is there a tree now? That's not any kind of magical girl style Kyouko is familiar with. She pauses long enough to stare as Cho puts it back away and promises to save the snack cakes for her. "You'd better," she says, her face a little red. She hates the idea of being given things like that--she'd much rather take them--but she's not going to turn down food. She turns to flee after the familiar, leaving Cure Wukong behind--but by the time Kyouko gets to the mouth of the alleyway and looks out after it, it's disappeared into another alley. She scowls and turns around to face Cure Wukong again. "Stupid nerd. You cost me the grief seed! Those snack cakes had better be the best ever. You hear me? 'Cause I'll be coming to pick them up." She's not lying or anything. But she didn't say she'd stay.
Cho Konishi	Cure Wukong nodded. "I'll see you there," Wukong said happily. Once the girl was gone, she let out a sigh. Wuwu FINALLY stopped talking and hovered over. "Do you even have those cakes?" "Finally stopped talking?" she asked. "Of course I do. I just... need to make the frosting. But that'll only take a minute. Really. I just need to swing by my home." "Oh, but arcade is a no-go, but quick cooking is fine?" "Quick cooking to help bring a delinquet into class. Very, very important for a member of the student council to do." "... And if she gets hurt?" "She won't," Cure Wukong said happily. "She's strong." "Let me guess, because her heart? Or how she smiled? Something like that?" Wuwu asked with a smirk. "No," Cure Wukong said before lifting a hand to her chest. "S-she slammed me into that wall REALLY hard, I wasn't even transformed. O-ow. It still hurts..." she said with a light whine before leaping off, back towards the school. If she abused her powers as Cure Wukong she could possibly even get home, make the icing and STILL not be back any later than she would have just walking back! Yay for abuse of powers!