[Masao Ando]

She had taken a rare excursion out of UAU, away from Tokyo to come to Saga for the International Balloon Fiesta. It was a nice break away from everything. The training, the workshop, the hustle and bustle of school. Lawbringer had asked her when she took time off and she replied that she pretty much never took time off. Well, that was all about to change. Today she was taking time off from her work as a manufacturer...

By entering the balloon competition and manufacturing something!

She was just busy putting the finishing touches on her invention while sipping on a fizzy, sugary drink she had bought at the festival grounds. Normally she didn't indulge in soda, but today was her cheat day. ''With one more tweak, the balloon should be able to stabilize when...'' She muttered to herself, making a few adjustments before picking up a remote controller to send the balloon on a test flight. The red balloon which was picked with Michael's head in mind had blades attached to the sides of it, that once it took off into the air, spun around quickly like helicopter blades. Smirking at a successful take off she marveled at her horrific creation. ''Take to the skies, Bladedancer.'' The only problem was moments later she lost control and the balloon went zipping off, zig-zagging up and down around the area before diving right towards an unsuspecting fiesta attendee. Hopefully she could halt it's trajectory in time!

Jingjing

[Jingjing]

Festivals and Fiestas and other fun events that she couldn't think of another word starting with F for were one of Jingjing's favorite things. From the food market to the music performances to the fun events themselves, there was so much hustle and bustle around that it was easy to keep occupied and enjoy herself. Well, aside from being short making navigating a crowd a bit tricky. And technically she was supposed to be here advertising the Costume Cafe. Which was why she was currently in costume, and had been handing out fliers with little coupons on them.

Which she had! It didn't matter that she had just handed them off as quickly as she could to multiple people in the same group to get rid of them all faster, did it? As far as Jingjing was concerned, it was totally legitimate.

So now she was just meandering around, still in costume, happily munching on some kushikatsu - fried meats and vegetables on a stick - and watching with wide-eyed fascination as a red balloon lifted off with blades spinning around it like some kind of... some kind of whirligig! That was a word, right? More importantly, she was impressed with how nimble the balloon zipped and zagged around and the blades added a neat effect to it as it tore through the skies.

It wasn't until the balloon was careening right towards her that she realized it had been flailing out of control, not its owner making it do tricks, and she stumbled back a couple steps with a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face. Should she duck? Dive to the left, the right? Use her Quirk? But in public people tended to get weird if you used a Quirk without a license, and she didn't want to get hassled even if it was just self defense! All these jumbled thoughts kept her locked up for long enough that it seemed like she wasn't going to be able to get herself out of harms way, but if nobody else happened to intervene Jingjing would make a last-second attempt to scrunch down as small as she could while transforming in the hopes that the only thing that got hit was her ideally durable enough head...

If someone did intervene though, she was going to still be a bit stunned and just kind of blink for a few long moments.

Masao Ando,

[Masao Ando]

''Oh.''

What little enthusiasm she was able to express dropped from her face the second her Bladedancer went haywire. She quickly ran after her invention but it was far too late. ''Look out!'' She called out to the poor woman that crossed its path, hoping and praying that no harm would befall her. When Jingjing activated her quirk and tried to get out of the way the blades of the balloon clashed with her horns, but thankfully weren't sharp enough to do any real harm and broke upon impact, causing Bladedancer to spin further out of control and crash into the ground.

''Are you all right?'' She would offer a hand out to Jingjing. What an awkward first introduction to this stranger. Despite the appearance of her contraption the last thing she wanted was to bring harm to another. ''My apologies, my balloon seems to have run amok. I trust you are all right? Can you stand?'' She hardly paid the remains of her invention any mind. All that mattered was that Jingjing was safe and not about to report her to festival authorities. ''I came to this place to practice my manufacturing skills, but from the looks of it I had better apply it in areas that are much more appropriate than a crowded venue.'' She confessed, still feeling a bit embarrassed. ''Forgive my manners, I am Masao Ando. A UAU student and weapons manufacturer.''

Jingjing

[Jingjing]

Crouched down with her hands notably tucked down near her knees, leaving her head entirely exposed, probably would have seemed like a strange way to protect herself. But when the blades broke against her horns, rocking her back but not quite tipping her over as the balloon was forced to pass by, it likely made a lot more sense to any onlookers. At the sound of a voice asking if she was alright, Jingjing tipped her head up to see a hand being offered down to her and really long red hair. "Eh? I didn't die?" She mumbled mostly to herself in Chinese, glancing around in two quick little head turns before turning her attention back to the stranger as they apologized.

Accepting the helping hand, Jingjing popped up to her feet with an appropriately sheepish laugh as she gave herself a few pats on her chest to help emphasize that she was unharmed. "I'm alright! I'm really hard-headed." She gave them a thumbs up, completely unaware of how 'hard-headed' could sound like she was calling herself an idiot, before dropping her hands down to her sides and introducing herself in turn. "Jingjing Fan... or Fan Jingjing? I forget which way around they introduce themselves here in Japan..." She caught herself trailing off, giving a little sideways wave of her hand to dismiss the topic as she continued. "Uhm, I work at Random Cafe."

She wasn't sure if she should add more or not, since Masao - or was it better to call them Ando? - had mentioned being a UAU student and weapon maker. She couldn't exactly just say 'Oh I'm also a vigilante!', right? So she left it at that, turning to look at where the luftballoon had crashed and instead commenting: "It looked really cool before it went all haywire, so I think you're on the right track!"

Not that Jingjing knew anything about machinery to actually be any sort of judge.

Masao Ando,

[Masao Ando]

Thank goodness she was okay. Masao had come dangerously close to not just losing her spot at UAU, but getting imprisoned for murdering an innocent civilian. ''I am relieved to see that you are unharmed.'' Not only that, but she was surprisingly jovial too! If Masao hadn't seen the death balloon coming right for her she would be hard pressed to even know that Jingjing's life had just been in danger. ''I see. Fan-san, it is nice to meet you. My apologies, my invention ran amok, I do wish we could have met under better circumstances.''

Oh? She blinked her eyes. ''Random Café? Is it located in Tokyo? I might have walked past your place of work on more than one occasion.'' That probably made it sound like she wasn't interested in what was going on there, but the truth was Masao never really stopped to visit any stores that didn't have to do with her manufacturing. ''You think so?'' She asked, before walking over to retrieve her failed invention. ''This balloon fiesta is all about taking to the skies, as you can no doubt see from the plethora of hot air balloons. However, there is also ample space to celebrate smaller balloons. I did not have the budget or time for a hot air balloon, so my smaller model, Bladedancer had to suffice.'' She picked it up and turned around to face Jingjing. ''Do you like balloons, Fan-san? I assume that must be why you travelled out here today for the festivities.''

Jingjing

[Jingjing]

Cover intact! Jingjing privately congratulated herself. It was maybe the smallest of hurdles when it came to keeping a secret identity and she hadn't been in any real risk of exposing herself, but she had accidentally done just that back in China sooo...

More importantly Ando-or-was-it-Masao was curious about the Cafe, Jingjing's eyes lighting up as she brought her arms in front of her, elbows down with her hands up near her shoulders, and nodded enthusiastically. "That's right, the Cafe in Edogawa, by the river!" Jingjing confirmed, completely unaware of how little that actually narrowed it down. It was a big river and there were a lot of businesses near it, mainly because that entire part of Tokyo was centered around the river. But she had already handed out her fliers and stuff today so she wasn't going to try to hard to advertise the Cafe, letting the topic shift to balloons and the event they were both here for. Even if Jingjing was only here to watch. "That makes sense, and who says you can't have smaller balloons at a balloon festival anyways?" She chimed in before tipping her head to the side.

Did she like balloons? She didn't dislike them, that was for sure. But it was more about the fun of the event, something she didn't get to see that often, and all the fun merchandise and snacks and getting to meet people. And interesting encounters like nearly getting beheaded by a runaway blade-balloon!

"Balloons are pretty good, but its more about having fun." She paused, bringing up one hand to count off on her fingers. "Well, Fun, good Food, and new Friends! The three F's." Dropping her hand again and nodding to herself, even though she hadn't ever heard anyone else use that phrase she had just used, she continued. "What about you? Were you testing out some kind of blade-balloon drone weapon to sick on bad guys?"

Masao Ando,

[Masao Ando]

''I see. I imagine that is a nice place to work every day. Being able to take in the serene sights by the river.'' She didn't suspect for a second that Jingjing was any kind of criminal, much less a vigilante or villain. After all, while she didn't say it out loud, she found her to be very unassuming and harmless. How could someone as friendly and bubbly as Jingjing possibly harbor ill intent?

''Indeed. Besides, it is time away from the workshop, something I seldom indulge in.'' She looked up at the sky, indicating at the balloons that dotted the sea of blue. ''And a sight like this does not come around every day. We ought to appreciate the little moments when we can, don't you think?'' Something which she needed to get a lot better at doing. ''The three F's? That's an amusing saying.'' She smirked, enjoying Jingjing and her weird little antics for what they were. ''Oh, the Bladedancer? No I would never use this thing in actual combat. I am no mechanic, just a weaponsmith who carries a blade.'' She was hoping she was making sense, but she continued regardless. ''That is precisely why in actual combat, well, when it inevitably comes up, but in simulated combat, I meet the enemy head-on, armed with a weapon that enables me to do what I must.'' She still felt bad for almost hurting this poor woman, which prompted her to ask her next question. ''How about I buy you a drink, or a snack? My treat, it is the least I could do after startling you.''

Jingjing

[Jingjing]

Jingjing made a cheerful "Mhm!" sound to confirm that it was great working at the cafe. Largely because of her coworkers, and because while it was hard work she could get away with being pretty lazy compared to a lot of jobs. Sometimes all she had to do to count as working as chat with a customer at their table for a bit. It was way, way better than her old day job back home. But more importantly Masao was talking about the view and Jingjing craned her head back - horns still framing the sides of her head - to appreciate the sight of all those different balloons in the air. The taller UAU student was right, Jingjing had been so focused on looking at specific balloons she had forgotten to look at the whole big skyline with all of them in the air at once.

Tilting her head to the side as she turned her attention back to Masao, one horn brushing against her shoulder - excitable and scatterbrained as she was, she couldn't muster the focus to turn her transformation off at the moment. Hearing that the bladed balloon wasn't a prototype for combat was surprising, though. What else were blades good for? The explanation that followed made sense enough and Jingjing gave a little "ohh" sound before nodding. She liked to tackle things head on too, although probably much much more literally than Masao meant, and she started to reply with a thoughtlessly blurted out "Head on is how-" before the offer of a drink or a snack completely derailed her train of thought. "Really? That's really nice of you, I'd appreciate it a lot!"

She couldn't help but give a quiet giggle, a little sound that started with a drawn out 'mie' sound not unlike the sound sheep make trailing into sharp little 'xixi' snickers. Not for any devious reason, but because now she was imagining what she'd like to get. Most would probably make at least a modest pretense of 'oh-you-dont-have-to' or something, but not Jingjing! Masao had offered, so Jingjing wasn't going to refuse a free snack. Or free anything, for that matter! A little less selfishly somewhere in the back of her head, Jingjing also thought it'd be nice to continue to chat with Masao since she didn't have anyone else in particular to hang out with at the event. Friends was an important part of the three Fs, after all.

"What do you think, something savory, something sweet, or some kind of drink?" She was asking Masao as she scanned the different stalls dotting the festival. Even if she was all too happy to accept freebies, she wasn't picky or demanding.

Masao Ando,

[Masao Ando]

She smirked at Jingjing's reaction. Thankfully she seemed easy to please, and wasn't going to report her to UAU or anything like that for acting so recklessly. ''Those horns,'' she looked at the top of Jingjing's head. ''Are they related to your quirk by chance? If I had to hazard a guess I would assume you are a mutation or transformation type. I myself am a transformation type, but I cannot demonstrate what I can do since I do not have a license and my quirk is quite flashy.'' It was regrettable, but she had done enough skirting around the rules for one day and she wasn't going to tempt fate any further. Who knew, there could be other students, or even faculty out here. It was a popular festival after all.

''Are you asking me for my opinion?'' She paused and looked around at the various stalls. ''At times like this, listening to your body and the signals it is sending you should be of utmost importance. Are you dehydrated? Perhaps it is time for a drink. If you are lacking sugar you should settle for something sweet, and if you need salt, obviously the savory option would be the one to go with. If you simply what a snack just for the sake of it, then go for what you like. I tend to be fond of savory snacks myself, but I am not in need of anything, so the choice is entirely yours to make, Fan-san.'' She looked down at her. ''Only you can make the correct choice.''

Jingjing

[Jingjing]

"Eh?" Jingjing blinked at Masao, not realizing she hadn't untransformed. In all of the excitement earlier she probably wouldn't have been able to turn it off, but now... Taking a deep breath and funneling the disappointment in Masao not being allowed to show her a cool transformation of their own, Jingjing focused on calming herself down enough for her Quirk to turn off. Shrinking slowly, her horns and 'mane' of sheep fluff steadily got smaller and smaller. Then it was all gone and she was back to normal, bringing a hand up to brush a strand of hair back behind her ears and looking around with a curious expression.

There sure were a lot of people around here, and a lot of balloons too! It must be some kind of festival or something today. Maybe they would have some kind of show or games or something?

And then she blinked a few times, giving her head a little shake as the momentary fugue state wore off, before brightening up at Masao still being in front of her. Oh good, she hadn't wandered off or left the festival! Masao was still talking too, something about trusting your body to know what you needed and leaving it up to her? Well, that was fine by her! "In that case, how about some fried squid?" She gave a little nod to herself to confirm her choice, before remembering Masao had asked her about her Quirk and hastily patting herself on the head with a laugh. "And my Quirk is a transformation, yeah! Uhm, I don't have a license either but... I can't help it when I get excited or in a tense situation like that. But it doesn't hurt anybody or do anything, promise! It just makes my head really, really durable." And insanely strong when it came to headbutting, but that wasn't something Masao needed to know! "Please don't report me for Quirk use?"

She didn't think Masao would, but just in case she laid it on extra thick by poking her index fingers together timidly.

Masao Ando,

[Jinx]

☆ MISSION SUCCESS ☆

If only the Hindenburg had swords instead of helium...
Great thread you two

+ 75 Tokens!!

Jingjing: 0 // 75 Tokens
Masao: 20,000 // 27,500 EXP

tag: Jingjing,Masao Ando