14th Guitar Drive-By - Action, The Park

[ukelelenogood]

[Today is not a good day for Haruko.

Oh. The whole disappearing carnival wasn't so bad. Hell it was kind of fun the way Haruko saw it. What was bad was what was waiting for her at "home".

There's a big rule Haruko operates under or at least endeavors to. And that rule is to keep away from attachment. It was something she just picked up during her adventures due to how often she'd go from place to place and how disposable she'd come to think of people. You hang out with people for a time, use them up for what you can, then leave on when you have what you want or all you can get. That was the ideal for how she operated. But it'd be a lie to say she always accomplished it. Fleecing kids was part of her shtick in trying to find Atomsk, the being that held the power she so craved. And while she'd always try to keep as impersonal as she could while getting them to trust her it was hard. And in a way she always felt SOMETHING about them. Hell. Even in this town she was growing fond of people which she recognized was a bad thing.

But Naota had been...something special. Her favorite of the kids she guessed. It wasn't even because he was the one who had gotten her the closest to capturing Atomsk so much as the fact that there was a spark in him. Despite all his pouty, whiny bullshit he actually could grow with a little prodding. Haruko had to admit she liked that. Hell she'd even admit if pressured enough that she was happy he was in Mayfield.

Or had been. It's a bit easier to tell she's less happy he's gone now, at least mentally. She doesn't even know if she wants to call whatever is in front of her when she looks at him a drone. The whole thing is just so tasteless. So bland and stupid and obnoxious and so obviously meant to piss her off.

After almost nine months the town has for the very first time hurt her. But she won't admit it. At all. Instead she'll deal with this the most proactive way she can think.

She'll be taking Naota's drone to the park and give him a baseball bat. Hell she even seems almost nurturing as she gets on a knee and takes a handkerchief out of her pocket.]

Gee mom it sure is swell you're going to help me practice baseball! But don't you think dad would be better for it?

Sorry Ta-kun. Dad's busy right. And I'm pretty sure I know a thing or two.

[Her voice is her usual tone but deep down...there's something wrong. The people who've known her the longest in town, in fact, would possibly tell that it sounds like she's forcing her voice. As if it's some kind of shell with something else waiting underneath it.

Haruko takes the handkerchief and ties it over drone!Naota's eyes, leaving the boy confused as she walks back towards a sack of baseballs.]

Haha mom! Is this some kind of prank?

Oh, no prank.

[Haruko takes one of the balls out, tossing it up and down for a moment. Feeling it. Testing it.]

We've just got some hardcore training to do.

[The speed of the ball as she throws it at the drone is incredible, and the crack it makes against the drone's side as it hits is audible. The drone cries out in surprise and pain before falling to the ground, clutching his side.

Haruko just laughs.]

Oops! Looks like you weren't ready, huh?

[She takes another baseball out of the bag, gripping it so hard her knuckles go white and one of the seems on the baseball pops. Haruko cusses a little under her breath as she tosses the ruined baseball away and picks up a usable one. Her eyes turn to Naota's drone, still down on the ground, and she glares.]

Get up.

[Get up dammit. Get up and get the bat and hit the ball. You did it back in Mabase. You proved you can do it. Show her that there's something of you still in there dammit.]

I said get up!

[And she's throwing another ball.

And another.

And another.]

[OOC Note: Attempting to interfere with Haruko at the moment can be incredibly dangerous. She's extremely volatile and likely to attack people who refuse to move, and is an astoundingly physically powerful fighter. The possibility of injury and harm is pretty high in this case, so please specify if you want to avoid it.

I apologize for how late I was to getting this warning up. That was my bad.]

Comments

[begintheoperation]

[Fran just happened to be in the park and she walks up the path just in time to see this happening]

Oh my~ Is he okay?

[ukelelenogood]

Oh yeah!

He's just fine!

[And she will just be pitching another fast ball as hard as she can at Naota's drone.]

[begintheoperation]

[Fran just cocks her head as she watches]

If you keep that up you may cause serious physical injury or brain truma~

[Note Fran did not yet tell her to stop]

[ukelelenogood]

Oh don't worry.

I'm pretty sure he's as brain dead as he can get.

[a_gentle_boy]

[At some point, the balls will begin to ricochet off a certain point before striking the drone. Lucas stands behind Haruko with a hand held forth.]

...Stop it.

[ukelelenogood]

[She's quiet for a moment. And when she speaks she doesn't bother to face Lucas.]

Kid.

Today is not the day to screw with me.

I'll give you to the count of three to get gone.

[Her voice is practically mechanical. Almost droning at this point. In a way she's holding herself back; the idea of going ahead and jsut attacking you was really tempting, Lucas.]

One.

[a_gentle_boy]

This won't help anything.

[Lucas sounds a bit mechanical himself.]

You're not going to get what you're looking for.

[ukelelenogood]

Two.

[She'll be swinging her guitar off of her back and into her hand now.]

[heardramonasing]

[There's a good weight of resistance against Haruko's arm as she tries to fling another ball towards the drone. A hand had some how managed to, with great speed, catch her throw before any further damage could be done.

On the other end of that hand stood one, Scott Pilgrim, staring dead-pan into the woman's eyes without so much as a inch of movement.]

"Game's over."

[ukelelenogood]

[To someone who can hit baseballs through the stratosphere, the resistance is trivial. But the touch surprises and stops her.

She doesn't turn around to face whoever's holding her arm. But she does give a very, very low warning.]

You've got ten seconds to get your hand off me before I break your arm.

[heardramonasing]

[Scott tightens his grip, not budging for even a moment. He's going to regret it, he knows this. Scott knew the extent of her ass-kick-ary. However, helping was far more important than losing an arm.]

"Then at least stop pelting that sack of meat on the ground for a few seconds, yeah?!"

[ukelelenogood]

Okay then.

So I should start pelting the sack of meat in front of me, is what you're saying you little monkey?

[There's no playfulness in her voice. She does not need this shit right now and it shows in her tone.]

[guiding_starlight]

[ One of the throws hits a target, but not the intended one. It bounces painfully off of the right shoulder of a woman who has pushed the boy back and out of the way.

Nanoha cries out, gripping that shoulder before turning and facing the woman. ] Stop what you're doing, right now! [ Maybe if this had looked like an accident she would have been willing to forgive and come off as more polite but that all went out the window after witnessing the third throw. ]

[ukelelenogood]

[God damn she is getting so tired of this.

She'll just be throwing another ball. But this time it's pretty clearly meant to hit Nanoha.]

Mind your own damn business. You don't even know what this is.

[guiding_starlight]

[ Catching a ball bare-handed stings like one would NOT believe, but her reflexes allow her to do just that. ] I won't. [ Mind her business, that is.

She turns her head to the side, giving the boy a bit of a smile. ] You should go ahead and run on home. Your dad must be worried about you.

[ Whether or not the kid will listen, but it had been pretty obvious to her from the reactions that he was not himself; whoever he was.

Then he regards the woman, dropping the ball to the ground and cradling her hand. ] I have eyes enough to see what's going on. [ ...hm. There's something about this voice that's familiar. ]

[ukelelenogood]

[Haruko would tease or whistle at Nanoha catching the baseball. A mocking gesture that possessed its own underlying sincerity in being impressed.

But today is not one of those days. And Haruko will just follow up with throwing another ball.]

Oh. You know huh? Kinda funny someone would defend a corpse but okay!

What do you think you're seeing here?

[The drone!Naota, for his part, is still clutching his head, mumbling. He's at least standing up but it's hard to tell how cognizant the drone is of anything by this point.]

[forgotten_titan]

[The cries of pain echo throughout the park. It's hard for Terra to miss them and she runs towards the source. Just as she arrives on the scene, there's a near sickening crack as yet another ball smashes against the boy's body. Her breath hitches; she should go and find Beast Boy, or some of the other heroes around town. They could help the kid better than she can.

But yet here she is running forward and throwing her body in between the two.]

Stop!!

[ukelelenogood]

[Oh good another person she doesn't know getting in her way. Excuse her, she's just going to put a hand in her bag again to pull another ball out and just pitch it straight at Terra this time.]

Move it!! Right now!!

[forgotten_titan]

[The ball hits her hard. Terra stumbles and bites her tongue just to keep the scream in, but she refuses to go away, moving instead back into her original position in between them.]

No! You're hurting him!!

[captainofthe10th]

Haruko. That's enough. He's gone.

[ He'll walk over to her, in armor clad, and attempt put a hand on her shoulder. Not a restraining hand, though. Rather, he seems inclined simply to comfort her.]

[ukelelenogood]

[The moment Garviel's hand comes down on Haruko's shoulder is the moment Haruko tries to grab his arm. She doesn't face him, but at least she isn't throwing baseballs at Naota at the moment.]

Don't touch me.

Of course he's gone. I'm just making sure.

[captainofthe10th]

You know he is. Come home. I know what it is like to mourn the loss of those from my home. I do. In the end, all we can do is survive, and take our vengeance price from the town's masters when we get the chance.

[ He looks at her, still in armor. But his voice is extremely gentle, the voice of someone who has felt this very pain, many, many times. ]

Action

[jaws5sonofjaws]

[Mart was passing by Haruko's expecting some kind of shenannigan's, but not...]

Holy shit!

What the hell are you doing!?

[He runs over to see who the poor kid is.]

[ukelelenogood]

I'm testing something. Shut up and get out.

[And she'll be picking up another baseball to throw as Mart runs to check on Naota. Or his drone at least.

Well. His semi-conscious drone.]

[jaws5sonofjaws]

[Mart stands aside her and sees the damage.]

Testing what?

How many times you can chuck a baseball at that poor kid till he dies?

You're cruel, but you can't be that cruel, maybe you should just cut it out...