2024-07-03: Kamogawa Jealousy

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<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

Madoka heaved the smallest of sighs, leeeeeaning back on the chair and streeeeetching out. Fate had conspired against her, the worst of all possible fates on this fateful day. Her fate: Catching up on homework! Okay, so it wasn't as terrible as she'd describe it, but the fact of the matter was that she had some pages of various subjects to fill out.

"Mmh...I think he talked about it..." The few notebooks she had were, at least, well-used enough to showcase at least an average level of note-taking and understanding. BWH was her home, and a weekday night in summer wasn't the worst time to do it out front. Sure, the occasional customer came in, but Hiroshi was maintaining the bar and food; He was, after all, a successful businessman in his own right! To say nothing of the salty breeze and the cool air of the evening, the scribble of pencil against paper...

"Say, Muginami. Are you holding up well to this? I don't think any of this is too bad, but if you need anything, I'll try." Even if she had to go across every so often to Pharos and Tokyo-3, the sheer amount of commute time meant she could at least try to study a bit after organizing her Jersey Club schedule!

It was a normal uniform today, though. No one was dumb enough to do daytime activities in school hours in summer. Mostly.

<Pose Tracker> Muginami has posed.

        The last vestiges of the evening sun glimmer behind Muginami as she idly kicks her legs across from Madoka. Fluffy sleeves propped up on the table, cheeks resting in her palms, sipping a pink-colored oh so refreshing little tropical drink through a peach-shaped bendy straw...somehow, even wearing that fuzzy ostentatious getup, she feels summery, still...

        The straw pops from her lips with a gentle puff of air.

        "Truth be told, a lot of it is a litle out of my league~ I'll manage some way or another though. I already did all of these assignments, after all~" Those olive-hued eyes close in a cheery, overconfident smile aimed Madoka's way, before Muginami repositions her finger to trace a little circle in the air just inches from Madoka's nose.

        "I'd call you a bit irresponsible, but bringing me to where you live, in such a lovely scenic place like this...no wonder something like homework slips your mind. It's gotta be hard to try dragging yourself away from this little paradise...but you're working hard now, and that counts for everything!"

        A long "aumf" later, and the straw's back in Muginami's mouth. Slurp. Sip. "It really is nice hanging out at a friend's place...living above a cafe's gotta be as cozy and romantic as it gets!" Her voice is a little muffled around the plastic...
BBSYS: Post 1580, 'Unit Tier Guidance' has been published to Announcements by Escudo Shard. 

<Pose Tracker> Laffinty Fin E Ld Si has posed.

Lan has been a rare sight for Madoka for the last few days - whatever she does over at Pharos, ever since the battle with Array it's kept her busy. But, in the way the pale girl has, she just sort of...APPEARS at the door, with no preamble or announcement. The bell jingles and there she is. "Madoka," Lan calls softly, hands at her side as she walks into the dining room. She brightens as she sees Madoka. "I'm--"

Then, she sees the other girl, and her expression slowly falls off to curiosity, then to something neutral and uneasy. "...who's...this?" she asks, head tilting. 

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

Scribble. Scribble scribble scribble. Despite everything, she's still diligently working at that stack of problems, slowly chipping away at them one by one. This is all understandable; A bit more structured and rigid than she's used to, but the mental stimulation is a refresher on its own right.

"Where I live? It's a cafe, people pass by here all the time." It's such an innocent answer. And yet, her eyes follow that light trace of a circle for a moment, instinctually muttering 'maru' to herself before returning to her coursework. "It'd be bad if people don't pass! Uncle Hiroshi's good with people when he's not being lazy. If you need a place to stay for a bit, like I said. I don't mind helping."

Ah, maybe she should stop for dinner soon. Home work, work, work...!

"Ah, Lan~!" A bright, beaming smile towards the welcoming sight of the princess, giving a wave as if nothing were the wiser. "Welcome back. Not too much trouble today, I'm hoping." Being in cahoots with an alien princess meant that, unfortunately, Madoka paid slightly more attention to the news. Depressing.

The pencil stops moving for a moment, pointing over at the girl currently mooching off of a spare room. "Muginami. She transferred over recently thanks to being forced to move for conflict, so she's staying here for the time being. No home, trying to make her best life..." She had to help somehow. "But how have you been?"

<Pose Tracker> Muginami has posed.

        The most saccharine giggle in the world follows from that whispered "maru". It'd be absurd for Muginami to say it herself - but to provide the traced circle...isn't that getting a little too close!?

        "It's still hard for me to believe I can just stay with someone like this...I didn't want to be a bother, but you offered straight away, and I almost can't believe it!" Muginami covers her mouth with her hand a little, to hide another laugh. "Mr. Hiroshi doesn't really have endless rooms, does he!?"

        A surprise voice comes from behind, and Muginami's head cranes over her shoulder to take a look. ...Ah. The princess. It takes her a moment of eyeing Lan up and down to realize that she's finally made an appearance - of course she'd show up here. "Ahah! Hello~ I'm Muginami!" She gives a merry little salute to Lan, and nods enthusiastically at Madoka's approval, sipping the last of her drink with a noisy slurp, sucking up every last little drop she possibly can. "Madoka's a friend of mine since I've gotten here in town, and she's being oh so generous to me!" Those wide olive eyes blink once at Lan, like the shutter of a camera.

        "If you're a friend of hers too, introduce yourself!" ...Though what Muginami's looking for is more how she introduces herself. What can she garner about Le Garite's princess...

<Pose Tracker> Laffinty Fin E Ld Si has posed.

Hasn't Lan seen this girl before...? It's rattling around in the back of her head.

She tears her gaze from Muginami to briefly favor Madoka with a look, asiding, "Nothing significant. The..." don't say captive in front of strangers "guest isn't making much fuss. I should be able to be away more often, now."

Then, all lines converge: Muginami. Name, name...For all that Lan is pretty flat-faced most of the time, when she looks at Muginami there's a visible sourness in her expression she may just not even know she's showing. "I see," she says, quietly. "So, she's staying here?"

... ... ...she doesn't move for several long seconds.

"'Lan' is fine," she says, and orbits around the table to be opposite Muginami, next to Madoka, before pulling up a seat without invitation. "Madoka is my friend." Her eyes squint just a little when she says it. 

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

BWC, contrary to popular opinion, does not have Endless Rooms To Crash In. There's only a few when people seriously need someplace to crash after too much alcohol. Sure, Muginami's got one room right now, but there's always more...and more...and more...

"Mhm! Still, to suddenly transfer over...Haa, its been getting worse, hasn't it?" Or maybe its the realities of the world hitting her bit by bit. There's still an undercurrent of optimism. Its the amplification of bad, not the domination of it.

Ah, Array... "Really? Good for them, I hope he's doing well!" The tact to at least not refer to Array by name or his actual status. "Mhm, she's staying here. I'm not sure for how long, but we weren't using that room, so if she's that strapped for cash..."

Madoka barely parsed Muginami's War Orphan explanation as anything minutely above normalcy. It just was.

There's barely a rise of her head from the homework, an eye creaking upwards in light curiosity. "Of course you are, Lan." It's stated so simply and non-chalantly. Lan is a good friend. The end.2

<Pose Tracker> Muginami has posed.

        "A friend of Madoka's is a friend of mine!" Muginami exclaims cheeerily as Lan joins the table - leaning forward over the table and occupying...quite a lot of its space in doing so. The last glimmers of sunset surrounding the peach-haired girl in an almost halo-like outline...

        "What was it Madoka called it? Being a 'comrade'? It sounds really nice!" That almost weapons-grade sugary-sweetness is endlessly firing from the cannon at Lan - who she can feel full well is a hard target to charm. "It's good to meet you too, Lan~ What do you do around here? You're definitely an interesting sight compared to others here~"

        A hand extends forward to Lan. Muginami's cheeks couldn't be rosier.

        Madoka's little sigh about the state of the world elicits a little 'hm?' from Muginami, before she reassures Madoka with a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you worry about that, Madoka. A girl like you shouldn't feel the weight of all that stuff. Really, I'm fine! I'm tougher than I look!~" A cheery little arm flex. ...it's true, though, and Muginami knows it. There's no way the precious princess of Le Garite's been in a fight in her life, and Madoka's just an ordinary girl in this peaceful place.

        ...If she wanted to...

        Enigmatically, Muginami's gaze distracts over to Hiroshi behind the bar counter - which he notices, and offers a little smile and wave between cleaning some dishes.

        ...He's far from a fighter too, but he's a reasonably big guy, with the same kind of aura as her big brother. If it could lead her to the Vox, could she take these two into custody? Maybe...but not a three-vs.-one.

        So, Muginami just gives a little wave back. It's a hopeless prospect right now - all she can do is think of some other angle! 

<Pose Tracker> Laffinty Fin E Ld Si has posed.

Maybe...one more room? Two? It's fine don't worry about it.

Lan flinches in a way that nearly warrants fully bristling when Muginami says 'comrade'. no that's my word. it doesn't matter that madoka calls like a bunch of people that it's FOR HER. NO. REMOVE YOUR SMILE, PEASANT

Lan gets the most plastic smile the Blue Planet has ever seen on her face. "Yes. She's very understanding, isn't she? She works very hard for everyone."

Ah, Madoka, angelic as she is, has opened her home to this... ...human person.

Her frustration prevents her from noticing Muginami's sneaky glance. That and the fact that Madoka just agreed that they're friends, which disarms some of the tension in her spine. "So...she's staying here, then," Lan confirms. "I see..."

A tick of lavender eyes back over to Muginami. "I do...some support activities, for Pharos. The big fortress out in the bay." Her smile is tight and polite. "Madoka encountered each other by chance. But as you say...she's a very kind person, isn't she?" 

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

A comrade? Madoka could swear she didn't say that, but...It didn't really matter. Friend, comrade, both applied in this situation. Lan was a friend. Muginami was a friend. Both of them were friends! Simple! Easy! What more was there to think about in that regard?

"Ooooh, you do? That life must've been rough...Really, I should show you both around Kamogawa! Even if there's a bit of trouble nearby, I think this city is great for the both of you!" Ah, she gazing away from her homework again.

Lan's flinching earns her a bit of notice, an eyebrow crooking up curiously. Surely, she's fine; Sending regular texts and such, talking on the phoine, at least trying to keep in regular contact due to their circumstances...Well, that and being easy to relax with.

"I'm right here, Lan..." A sheepish smile. That praise was a little embarrasing, for some reason. "But really, its good that you have a bit more free time. We're about to get a bit busy again!"

<Pose Tracker> Muginami has posed.

        ...It's gonna have to come down to taking a look at that Pharos place, Muginami concludes. She takes care to only glance at that distant shape on the horizon once Lan mentions it - she knows that Array got caught up in there, but she also knew he may have been an unreliable partner of circumstance to Villagiulio. "Ahh, Madoka also mentioned that place. I guess it's the talk of the town! It sort of blocks the really pretty horizon line of the water, though, doesn't it? Couldn't they have put it somewhere else?"

        The sun finally goes down. Despite there being plenty of patio lights, it's a little too dim for anything like homework, and Muginami, having offered Literally No Help, stands up and stretches tall and showily like she's had such a hard day.

        "I just had to wash the sheets in my room, so I'm gonna get them set up, kay? Lan, it's lovely to meet you! Just between you and me," she is not hushing her voice in the slightest, "Madoka can lose sight of the forest for the trees a little bit, and she's hardheaded enough to try chopping them down with her head. Take good care of her while I'm gone, okay?~" - Like she's somehow the primary caretaker of Madoka now?

        "I'm probably gonna go to bed early, Madoka. If you need me, you don't have to knock~" Really, the response Muginami's trying to gauge is just how defensive Lan might be - just what she can learn about how these two have connected, since they really do seem to have activated two off the Vox units...

        ...The sooner the better, Muginami decides. There's a scuba gear rental place not too far from here...

        "I think I know what I've got to do early tomorrow morning. Don't stay up too late, you two!~"

        And with that, the oh so cheery interloper's bounding up the stairs... 

<Pose Tracker> Laffinty Fin E Ld Si has posed.

"But then it wouldn't be here," Lan answers Muginami's proposal for Pharos, as if it were obvious. If it were somewhere else...they couldn't work with Madoka. Yes. Novumundus couldn't.

Madoka demures to Lan's praise, but Lan smiles at her nonetheless, timid though her smiles are. "That's why I can say it..." she says, quietly.

And then, Muginami stretches out her whooooole back, and skips up close to share a secret with Lan, and Lan could swear her vision goes red for a second. She looks positively astonished as Muginami swans away, a poleaxed expression splashed across her usually flat affect. Who's this...INTERLOPER to tell her about Madoka! Of course, it's totally true that Madoka would make up her mind about something and charge directly at it with no subtlety or impulse checking and probably slam directly into a wall! That's what's incredible about her!!!

"...I should also go," Lan says, suddenly, shooting to her feet. "I have some arrangements to make. Goodnight, Madoka." She doesn't include Muginami, surely just because she is already gone and not because she is AN ENEMY TO BE SCORNED.

        * THE NEXT DAY *

"Alright, folks," Machiko Iwabuchi says to her homeroom class, with an unfamiliar girl with pale blue hair and lilac eyes in a Kamogawa Girls High School uniform standing next to her. "I realize it's a bit of weird timing, but I guess it was important she get started today...let's get introductions started for yet another new transfer student."

        FIN E LD SI LAFFINTY, the blackboard says.

"Wan," Lan says, with her hand up in imitation of a dog paw. "Now that I am a Kamo Girls' High student, I too can join the Jersey Club."

...she did say that out loud, to be clear. 

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

There's not much thought in Madoka's mind, working along the various pieces of homework while keeping track of the two's conversation. There's not much light left...! "Not if they want the supply lines to not block the area..." It's an absent mutter.

Ah! The sun is gone! The poor sun! Wait, she has the lights of BWC. She's fine. The quizzical look of Mugi whispering something to Lan...It must not be much, right? Surely, this is just something between those two. It'll be fine.

"Yeeees. Just get some rest, okay? I'll see what I can do about the arrangements tomorrow." At least, something more than just a bed and some leftover sheets for a guest staying over.

"...? Yes...Goodnight, Lan. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She offered up that same bright smile, radiant as always. They're going to see each other during training again, so there's not much to think about!

THE NEXT DAY --------


...Eh? Another transfer student? How strange. One in one semester was strange enough, especially for a town so close to the border. Two? Who else could it be? Thumbing at her pencil, stifling a yawn. At least homework's do-

"Lan!?"

Her sleep-addled minute had taken minutes to catch up to the sight in front of her. Lan!? Here!? Now!? ...Wait, this is fine. Still surprising!

But fine nonetheless. 

<Pose Tracker> Muginami has posed.

        .. .. ..

-- -- -- -- THE NEXT DAY -- -- -- --

        Muginami hasn't even come to class that day. No notice, no warning. Since, after all...

        ...It's before the sun has even properly risen. Thankfully, stores like this open early for exactly this kind of market.

        With the cash she managed to secure from various odd jobs around town, Muginami rents herself a wetsuit and a little underwater sea scooter - and perches on the quay overlooking the bay in front of Kamogawa.

        The first rays of sunrise gleam off the surface of Pharos in the distance, and once they do, Muginami gives a bright little grin.

        "Well~ Nothing for it but to get going, shall we? Madoka...you're really too ordinary to be involved in all this. ...And Lan...there's too much kindness in your eyes for how we're stuck as enemies."

        "...Well, if I succeed, maybe that'll be the end of that, since I'm pretty sure they need all three! Could be the last time I see either of you. Who knows~"

        Snapping a rubber cap to contain the top of her tied-up hair, and a scuba mask across her face...

        Muginami drops into the water, and off towards that destiny in the distance.

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