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Who: Fuyuka and Natalie
What: New surroundings
Where: Vegas, on the strip
When: September 20th

Adjusting to new surroundings was rather easy for Fuyuka, as she'd done it fairly often already. She wasn't quite sure the same held true for Natalie. Fuyuka traveled a lot as a way of life, but she knew the same wasn't true for her oldest friend. Nevertheless, Natalie had pleasantly surprised her with her new found resolve.

Still, the specter of what was happening in Locke was still hanging over them, even if they weren't living there. And that was why they'd both agreed to work on honing the magical powers they'd received, practicing in an area around the mountain that was, thankfully, away from the eyes of most people.

As they headed back to their new living arrangements, Fuyuka turned towards Natalie and smiled. "You did rather well today," she said.

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Natalie smiles a bit nervously, scratching the side of her head. Truthfully, she's just winging everything at this point, which is something she's not used to. Everything in her life was usually so well planned, and everything had gone according to plan. She'd earned what she had, but... this was the biggest upset her life had ever experienced.

So, she's actually surprising herself. Quietly, and it's a feeling that makes her a little ashamed, it's actually a little bit exciting.

"Well, I've... had to use that stuff before, but I guess this is the first time I've really been able to sit and focus on it..."

"Yes, well, it's about like using a gun, isn't it?" Fuyuka replied. "You already have more natural ability than I did when I started out how to use one."

She sighed, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay with all of it, though?"

"I've got a bit of a confession, there... Daddy might have bought me that gun, but... I sort of. Kind of. Never shot it before."

Ah-heh.

She looks at the hand and smiles at her then. "I'm as okay as I'm going to be, I think. Which might not be saying a lot, but... I'll be fine. Other people have it even harder than me, don't they?"

Fuyuka smirked. "I know, actually," she said. "What I mean is, you're already better than most beginners."

Then she nodded. "Still, that doesn't mean you should ignore them. And you have someone who knows right beside you."

She pulled her hand away and looked forward. "You know, I've been to this city before, but I never really paid much mind to it from this level. Its excessive-ness takes a bit of getting used to..."

"But it's not quite Tokyo either, is it?" she says with a smile, holding her hands behind her as she looks ahead of them. "Of course, that was so long ago, it feels so distant now... After that I didn't know anything other than Locke, so..."

She laughs.

"Yeah, it is pretty different, and... the mountain, the flooding... That's all worrying. I'm not feeling as worried as I probably should be, though..."

It's strange, and it's hard to put a finger on just why but... that's how she feels.

Fuyuka laughed a bit. "The fact that it's excessive compared to Tokyo should be telling, really," she said. Then she looks at Natalie with a hopeful expression. "And yes... it really was a long time ago. Maybe... maybe, someday, when all of this has changed, you'd like to visit?"

Natalie's next comment causes her some degree of surprise, as well. She had picked up on Natalie's new-found resolve, but that was still a bit surprising. "Really now...? Any idea what brought that on...?"

She gives a small smile at that. "I think I'd like that, actually. It's where I was born, and I haven't been there in so long... It'd be nice to look at it as an adult." She turns the smile back at Fuyuka a moment, and then quickly looks back ahead of herself, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, I mean... It'd be a lot scarier if I was on my own..."

You're embarrassed, Natalie? That comment causes Fuyuka to turn to a shade closer to the color red than the usual color. She stepped back, and cleared her throat.

"A-ah well, yes," she said. "I... I'm glad I could be there for you, then."

And then, a thought. "... You know, if you hadn't given me a place to stay when I needed it, we'd both potentially be alone in this situation."

Natalie scratches her cheek and laughs a little, nodding. "We might be, but when you look at it... Even then, neither of us are alone. There are many other people dealing with the same things. People that can help us... people we can help."

"... That's true," she said. "That's what these powers are for, aren't they? Helping people..."

Suddenly, Fuyuka stops, eyes widening. She stares forward, catching sight of a symbol painted on the wall of a nearby alleyway.

"Natalie..."

Natalie stops and looks back at Fuyuka curiously. She tilts her head to one side, and then steps over, waving a hand in front of her face. "Fuyuka? Are you feeling okay?"

Fuyuka steps back, frowning. Inside her shirt, Bardiche pulses as Fuyuka receives, well, a pulse.

"I'm fine," she says, sneering. "But I think it'd be best if we hurried home. I have a bad feeling about this."

As if to explain, she pointed forward, at the symbol that was marked on the alleyway wall. The symbol of the cultists that had been plaguing Las Vegas.

Natalie blinks a little and turns as instructed. When she does so, she finds herself freezing up completely for a good moment or two as a pulse then hits her. Her own Device reacts, but it's a little less quietly than Bardiche.

Light suddenly flashes out from Raising Heart, engulfing Natalie. "Barrier Jacket: Aggressive Mode." It takes only a few moments, but both Raising Heart and her clothes transform in a burst of pink.

When it finishes, she's holding the transformed device but still staring a bit blankly. Really, it takes a couple moments to catch up to her, and when it does she looks up and down at herself several times before making a small, high-pitched sound.

"Wh- what?!" she stammers, whirling around to look at Fuyuka, before adding. "Why is the skirt so short?!"

Priorities.

Fuyuka just stares for a moment, looking at Natalie's outfit up and down. She... she's at a loss for words, for a few moments at least. Of course, she's more or less snapped out of it by Natalie's words.

"... I... I have no idea," she said, trying to ignore the comment running through her head. "Though... this matches what we've seen in some of our returned memories. Just... an older person's equivalent, I suppose."

She raised up Bardiche. "It appears I have the ability as well, Natalie..."

"That's... that's all well and good, but..." She tugs nervously at the skirt's hem to realize, no, it does not go down any further. "Am I supposed to believe Nanoha fought in something like this?! They can cover that sort of thing up in a cartoon, but this is real life...!"

"To be honest, I... I'm not sure they were designed with real world practicality in mind..." Fuyuka replied with a sigh.

She needed to say something reassuring. "Still, if you're feeling self conscious, I could... show you mine?"

... she wasn't sure that fit quite well.

"N- n- no, that's fine! I'm fine! This is enough, really...!"

She's not really sure if she's just self-conscious or what. But this is more than enough.

Fuyuka nodded quickly, her cheeks quickly turning red.

"Alright..." she said. "Erm... perhaps we should hurry home, then."

Natalie nods furiously, trying to scuttle off as best she can, sort of fumbling with Raising Heart as she goes. She didn't even know how to get this thing off...!

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