[aneko]

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]The lighting for the small lab booked out for Aneko's use was dimmed, and the workspace swiftly changed from its neat and orderly presentation to her flagship mess of wires, circuitry, and various materials littering the desk's surfaces. It was often difficult to stick to one project long enough when roadblocks became clear, so she'd go from idea to idea, keeping the previous ones around in case she thought of a solution. It was one of the many flaws that she was working on, the inability to stick to one thing at a time, and never completing anything. It was a miracle she was able to create something for herself, without being stuck endlessly theorizing.

She was hardly making any progress on the assignment she had been given and she lacked the inspiration to continue for the day. However, with so much time left with this particular lab, she thought it'd be just a waste to leave... so there she was, leaning back in her chair, with a random manual covering her eyes. If someone were to enter, she would surely wake up, and it'd be an easy way to convince them she wasn't slacking off during school hours! Though it wasn't like people weren't aware; many of her professors and friends knew her as a chronic procrastinator.

However, it wasn't as if she didn't get things finished on time, it's just that her workflow often made people doubt that she'd get things done on time. Which is not her fault! In her eyes, people just had to have a little more faith that she could complete designs a day before their deadlines... okay, maybe it was totally reasonable that people didn't like having her in group work. Regardless, it wouldn't be a stretch for her professor to assume that she wasn't doing anything of importance currently, much to her dismay, as she disliked having work shoved onto her plate.

Raiomaru Toshigawa
zZz

but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

[attr="class","mizocredit"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.mizocredit]font:bold 6pt calibri;color:#ffffff;[/newclass][newclass=.eire b]color: #802D35;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][googlefont=Karla]

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free             aneko

Lord, it felt strange to be walking about in public in anything except his hero costume.

The man once known as Raiomaru Toshigawa had spent close to every waking moment for the past forty years as Leonid. If he had appeared to the general public, it had been in his armor, if he had been anywhere where he could be seen, it had been in his armor. It had become a part of him, of his presentation, and to a degree it was unthinkable for the veteran to appear in any other manner. Yet, it couldn't be denied that the armor was also... Well, not perfect anymore. With a decade since it last saw active use, and the fact that it had been cutting edge when it was made, but with the caveat that this was nearly half a century ago... Well, it could certainly do with some touch-ups.

Fortunately, the old lion found himself in U.A. University, which not only sported the best heroism program on the planet, but one of the best support development programs to match. Not only did they have excellent professors in the field, they also had a student body of some of the best and brightest, and he was sure that someone in that student body would be willing to earn themselves some extra credit, if nothing else.

Thus, the old lion found himself at the U.A. support labs, adorned in a sharp (if slightly snug - He still kept himself in good shape but he was not as lean as he used to be) three-piece suit, a rarely worn old outfit of his that now did its part to make him appear presentable as educator. Under his arm a rectangular case containing the Leonid Suit, along with the old schematics that the boys in development had given him back in the Big Five days as the armor had been completed. He was expecting this place to be bustling with life, eggheads theorizing on their next piece of gear and ambitious designers doing their part in making the future happen.

...So color him surprised when the place was nearly empty. Just the one student, and the one did not even seem particularly engrossed in work here. He wasn't even sure that she was awake.

"What, professor call in sick or something?" The old lion joked with a jovial, if as always rumbling quip as he stepped into the room. Not that he particularly cared, support wasn't his department, but it was strange seeing the labs this... Quiet.

template by punki of adoxography

[aneko]

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Aneko was pretty damn confident in her ability to wake up in the presence of her professors, but perhaps she was a bit more sleepy than the other days as his voice cut through the air and she was sent into a mini panic. She kicked off the desk as the chair that was leaning as far back as it could go begin to tip and, after a surprised yelp, she felt her back crash into the floor. It took a few seconds for her to process what had happened as she sat up, holding her head and wincing as she woke up.

"Owowow, that hurt..." Taking a moment to let the stinging pain subside, she looked up at the large... lion person. Oh, not a professor of hers, then. He looked... well, presentable, so she doubt he was a mere student like herself- perhaps hero studies? She hadn't interacted with people from the other departments as much, admittedly. "Ehm, haha... no, I just prefer to work alone." Caught in the act, she was glad that she wasn't at least chewed out, and instead was joked with. She quickly picked herself up, grabbing the chair by its back and pulling it back up, turning it around and sitting back down in it.

There, she was once again faced with her many, many failed attempts at finishing a project. She cringed at the view of it, forgetting what sort of process she was going through before falling asleep deeper than she would've liked on campus. "So, what brings you here, Professor...?" She draws out her last word, a roundabout and vague way to ask him who he was, and if he even was a professor; she was sure that there were some overachieving students who would wear a three-piece suit trying to impress their professors. Or he was some sort of admin, which was honestly worse than just any ol' professor.

"Does it have something to do with that?" She makes a nod to the briefcase underneath his arm as she begins to haphazardly push aside and clear space in her messy workspace, whatever project that was in front of her swiftly forgotten in the face of potentially being able to procrastinate further.

Raiomaru Toshigawa
awake

but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

[attr="class","mizocredit"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.mizocredit]font:bold 6pt calibri;color:#ffffff;[/newclass][newclass=.eire b]color: #802D35;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][googlefont=Karla]

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

Leonid flinches at the clear surprise that he had caused the student, and the subsequent crash into the ground that followed. Ah, crap, he hadn't meant for that to happen! Walking forward at a brisker, more hurried pace, the old lion towered over the support student with what... Well, was hard to read owing to his inhuman face, but was meant to be a concerned scowl. "Aw damn- You doing alright there, lass? Didn't hit yourself too bad, did you?"

Well, fortunately she seemed to be alright enough, getting up after the wince-inducing hit and answering to his previous short quip. Well, being a shut-in had always been a feature of brainiacs like these, wasn't it? He had never been one, but that was always the impression that he had gotten. Now, at her unspoken question regarding his position, he simply raised his free hand, shaking his head. "Ah, no, I'm no 'professor'. Just 'Leonid' works just fine, educator in Hero Studies." Admittedly, it did kind of sting that he even had to say as much, but he supposed that it had been a long time since he had appeared in the limelight.

"But you would be quite right!" He continued at the question regarding the case he was holding, hoisting it up onto the table and popping it open, revealing both the folded armor and the attached schematics inside. "See, I was hoping that more of you would be here. This armor of mine, it is... Well, it does its job, certainly, but I had it made over thirty years ago." There was another shake of the lion's head. "I was hoping to touch it up some, give it some much-needed maintenance before classes begin earnest. So, what I was thinking, if you know anyone in your class who would like to tackle a real, practical project to expand your experience base..." He let the thought trail off there, the invitation made clear enough, as far as he was concerned.

---

aneko

template by punki of adoxography

[aneko]

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Aneko would be quick to stop any approach from the large... lion... dude, holding her arm out and insisting that she was fine. It was one of her many falls, and she couldn't say it was a particularly bad one. Though she did raise a brow when he corrected her in saying that he was only an educator- they weren't all professors? Was there some significant difference between a professor and educator? It was not a debate she wished to mull over, so she decided to treat him the same as any other professor she had the displeasure of playing nice with.

Luckily, they didn't need to drag on any sort of pleasantries or small talk, watching as he promptly displayed the briefcase and its contents, along with some context for why he was there. Peering into it, it being thirty years old was certainly... clear. Honestly, part of her felt it was unwise to tinker with what could be considered a fossil with the breakthroughs in technology in just the past few years, the world of technology always volatile and unwelcome to the past. "Hmm... can't say I deal in antiques, but..." A bit of her humour slipping through, her eyes drift over to the well-made schematics and documentation, "... I can probably do something with this. Looks well-made, just old."

She haphazardly picked up the documents and began to skim their contents, her eyes glazing over looking for the important bits in a sea of clutter, developers of stuff like this always loved to fluff their designs with fancy words and the first step of working on foreign hardware was always to try and dissect the meat of it. "So," Her curiosity was now piqued, old hardware such as this wasn't too common in the hero spaces, as they must've been more of a luxury back then. "What's up with the fossil? You've been in the game for a while, don't you pro heroes usually get these remade every few years when the new stuff hits the market?"

Her questions aren't exactly meant to jab at him, though her harsh voice could certainly make her seem mean-spirited, alongside the lack of eye contact as her gaze was stuck mainly to the manuals.

Raiomaru Toshigawa
notes here

but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

[attr="class","mizocredit"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.mizocredit]font:bold 6pt calibri;color:#ffffff;[/newclass][newclass=.eire b]color: #802D35;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][googlefont=Karla]

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

The veteran watched the student closely, scoffing slightly at the jab regarding antiques. The emotions that resonated in response were mix, a combination of amusement, of taking the joke as it was intended and understanding as much, and that ever-present pride of his making a tinge of irritation run through his body. Who was she to deride him now, she ought to know that legacy belies respect, but that was an impulse that he was able to stifle. Now, she meant no disrespect, he had no reason to get angry. That was how he had ruined so many things in the past, he needed to control himself.

"Really now?" He chuckled "Far as I can tell, you are speaking to one, are you not?" A bit of lighthearted comedy, some levity to dispel his own unreasonable irritation that, he would at least like to think, he was doing a good job of not letting show. That ought to do it, had to stay on his best behavior.

If he just kept doing it, maybe it'd eventually come naturally.

He watched the girl work, he shrugged at her next question. Why hadn't he had it upgraded? Smug satisfaction that he already had everything that he needed perhaps, or maybe simple complacency. Inertia. And by the time that he had begun to rethink things, well, he had no true reason to worry about the combat-readiness of his old armor. But it's not like he could say any of that, so second-best option, then. Half-truths.

"Well, when I got it, it was cutting-edge." He replied, that part truthfully, at least. "There was not much that could be done to upgrade it and by the time that this was no longer the case, I was already phasing myself out of active field work, so there was no reason to take the time. Besides that, at that point this suit was iconic for me, I suppose I was hesitant to have it changed."

"But," He went on, waving his hand a little. "If I am to host simulations and partake in exercises with the new freshmen, I figure it would do me best to equip myself appropriately. Besides, gives you eggheads something to actually do, no?" Another joke as blatant as any. Leonid may not be a support educator, but he was well familiar with the demanding, perfectionist nature of the head of the Department of Support, he had no doubt that they already had enough work and then some.

---

 aneko

template by punki of adoxography

[aneko]

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Oh wow, he wasn't stuck up like some pros could be. That's cool. For once, running her mouth didn't land her in hot water, especially since he brought in something kind of interesting; yeah, she made that whole point that most people would get this sorts of things upgraded, but there was bound to be something she could learn by messing with old tech. See how it differs from the new. If she doesn't even glance at what people used to do for these things, would she ever improve?

... Probably. They had quite a few conveniences nowadays that dodge a lot of the issues these engineers likely had to mull over for a long period of time to solve. But hey, getting experience with maintenance was the least she'd get from this, and it's not like she was going to be creating new, ground-breaking inventions every single day. "Cutting-edge, hmm? So it's not a hand-me-down..." She begins connecting a few dots; not to his exact identity, mind you, she was never huge on heroes of the past. She barely pays attention to hero media nowadays. "Oh, I guess you've been doing this for a while, huh." She comes to the realization with a bit of amusement in her voice as if it was such a small detail.

She can only give a pained laugh in response to his joke, "Yeah... definitely need more on our plate." She's once again reminded of the multiple partially started projects surrounding them, having tried to... well, block them out of her mind for the time being. "Not like we can't distract ourselves with other projects from time to time!" Somehow, her productivity was far better when it came to shit she didn't have to do. "So, any problems, in particular, you've noticed after using this thing again? Hope it's not blowing up in your face, that'd suck..." She trails off as she seems to be done skimming the documents, now looking towards the lion. "Oh! I could make it blow up in your face?"

She doesn't let the awkward attempt at a joke sit for too long before she quickly follows it up with, "Ehm, that was... a joke. Nevermind." Turning back to the suit itself, she waits to hear about any issues he's been having with it, left to curse her social skills in the meantime.

Raiomaru Toshigawa
notes here

but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

[attr="class","mizocredit"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.mizocredit]font:bold 6pt calibri;color:#ffffff;[/newclass][newclass=.eire b]color: #802D35;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][googlefont=Karla]

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

'Oh, I guess you've been doing this for a while, huh.'

If he had needed to suppress a tingle of irritation before, this comment actually dropped a mote of anger in the lion's gut. Yes, yes he had been doing this for a while, thank you very much. He had been one of the first and one of the best actually, maybe it wouldn't hurt you to take your mind out of the damned textbooks and turn on the news once in a while, maybe learn some common knowledge, basic history? Was that too much to ask? Then again maybe that was not INTERESTING enough to the current generation-

Forcibly stopping that train before it continued to speed up, Leonid simply let out something of a grunting scoff in response, something that could probably, hopefully be played off as a snort of laughter. Fortunately, at least his animalistic features did some work to hide the detailed emotions running over him, as they would likely be all too easy to read on a more human face. "Well, I have been doing it for... Roughly as long as hero licenses have been a legal concept, yes, so I would certainly consider that 'a while', if I may say so myself." There. At least it was addressed, and he certainly hoped that this did not come across as too irritable. At least it could be read into as the more relaxed presentation that had leaned into thus far.

"Now, as I am sure that you can tell from your surveying of the blueprints, the armor itself is not terribly complicated. A padded kevlar mesh, made to stop blades and light gunfire, nothing that needs changing there. However, there is the matter of... Well, I am not entirely certain how it does it myself, I am sure that you will be able to discern the details, but the armor absorbs the force of the blows it suffers, and can convert and store that energy as electricity. Electricity which I can then discharge through the metal components that you see here, to add a stunning quality to my elbows, knees or fists." A large hand pointed at various points of the blueprints as Leonid spoke.

"The sticking point for me is that I could swear that it used to be... More efficient at this? I feel like the armor seems to require more blows to generate the same level of voltage that it used to be able to with less.  Maybe something with the circuitry has been taking a toll over time, I do not know." He shrugged.

"But," And there was a chuckle now, playing into the girl's earlier, awkward joke. "I would very much prefer my armor non-explosive, thank you very much."
  

---

 aneko

 template by punki of adoxography

[aneko]

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Aneko is unaware of the storm brewing behind the hard-to-read Leonid. Maybe she could've been a little more knowledgeable when it came to the heroes of old, but, it's not like not knowing anything has had any repercussions thus far so... perhaps it wasn't so important. "Well, must've done something right if you're still around 'n kickin' after so long. Wasn't it like, super brutal all those years back?" She knew that things naturally took a while to settle after the development of quirks, but the specifics of it were lost on her. After all, she was born long after the end of the vigilante era, probably past when he was in his prime. She had no experience with it.

She nods along as he explains the functionality to her in layman's terms, coinciding with most of what she had seen so far through the documents, she had finally begun to grab the suit, lifting it and feeling around for its components. "Hmm... well, assuming you had it repaired before you stopped using it, I doubt it's anything to do with a broken component..." She mulls over it for a moment after, "Might be deterioration of the generators. This hasn't seen service for a while, right? The conductive metals could've corroded, the generator might have several parts that are clogging the system..."

Many of these things were not 'immediate' fixes. "If that is the case, it'd probably take a day of work or so to go through the entire thing. I'd just replace everything according to the blueprints, it shouldn't have anything that we don't have in the labs... but if you wanted to modernize the components and systems, it'd take longer." Two options presented, one she was confident she could do, the other... not so much. Trying to work with older systems was a pain, as newer ideas and systems were often incompatible with them. She couldn't take on the goal of recreating the suit in its entirety, so she just hoped he would be satisfied with a simple touch-up.

"It'd be the same suit, just with new parts. Without the explosions, promise."

Raiomaru Toshigawa
notes here

but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

[attr="class","mizocredit"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.mizocredit]font:bold 6pt calibri;color:#ffffff;[/newclass][newclass=.eire b]color: #802D35;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][googlefont=Karla]

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

Leonid nodded along to the student's question, humming to himself in thought for a moment as he crossed his arms. Brutal..? Well, he supposed that was a word for the earliest days of heroism, the chaos that immediately followed the end of the Vigilante Era, he had never thought of it much in those terms. Things had been difficult, but that had just been the nature of the industry at the time and, as one of the biggest success stories of that era, it wasn't like he had been exposed to the worst that the times had to offer. "Well," He mulled his answer over for a moment, lingering before replying properly. "I suppose so. I like to think of it less as that things were difficult then, and moreso that they are easier now. If you were to ask me, that sounds like we succeeded at our job at the time, does it not?" He chuckled a little, before moving on to letting her analyze his armor.

He listened with rapt attention as she went over the various options for just what exactly it was that could be wrong with his suit, but he was not going to pretend that he understood the details of what was being said. Potentially corroded parts, components that had aged, he got the gist, but what exactly that meant in reality? Well, he had never bothered to look into or learn any of those things. He simply trusted her judgement on this one, as someone who was actually studying the topic.

"Oh, I would not want a complete overhaul." He waved his hand. "I am not that serious about getting back in active duty, here. Besides, call me stingy if you'd like, but at this point I do not enjoy the prospect of replacing something that has served me way for several decades, now." There was another smile from the old lion. 

"A day, you said? Well, if you have the time to spare, I would most certainly appreciate the favor. Just make sure that everything works like specified on the schematics, and I will be more than content." For a moment, his brow furrowed. "That is, if you do have that time to spare. All jokes aside, I understand that your lot oftentimes have plenty on your plate as-is."

---

aneko

template by punki of adoxography

[aneko]

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Aneko didn't understand. There was a clear showing of confusion that came across her face as he said it- was that not just the same thing? Things were difficult back then as opposed to just being easier now. Maybe there was some kind of difference between the two, something that only a veteran like himself would understand, but it wasn't something she exactly bothered to discuss further. "I suppose. I've heard some horror stories about heroes back then, though... though I guess you'd know more about the bad apples back then, huh?" It wasn't a dig at him. At least, not from her perspective.

She felt a wave of relief as he made it clear that he had no intentions of getting a complete overhaul, although it was quickly followed by the realization that he could've just gotten someone else to take on such a task, as opposed to a student like her. But still, getting her own hands dirty through this task was a good experience and a welcome break from the unproductive loop of starting and abandoning projects that hardly helped reinforce what she had learnt through her year of U.A.'s hard as shit support course.

"Well, not my place to get in between you and your sentiments. Not like it won't be effective with just the small touch-up and nothing else." The suit was pretty well-made. Not particularly timeless, per se, but definitely could still hold its own. An overhaul would pretty much just be reducing some of the systems to do the exact same thing, anyway. But he brought up a good concern, one that had her freeze for a moment, before she kicked herself back and let her chair skid across the ground as she stopped in front of a variety of materials, well organized, sifting through and picking a few of them out.

"Pssh, I wouldn't have offered to do it if I didn't have the time." A lie. She was swamped with coursework as is, but she couldn't bare another minute of trying to make progress on it. After she was satisfied with what she grabbed, she pushed herself back to the desk with the suit, took it out and placed it on the table and quickly got to work. "Besides, I'm at least seventy- no, fifty- percent sure that my professor would prefer we do things that are practical. You know?" She wasn't sure at all. But, hey, if she were to be chewed out- she could at least sic them on him should he agree, right?

She'd open up the suit to its components, following the instructions from the documents, and began to scan for anything corroded, damaged, or that has otherwise lost its lustre. Using her tools, she'd begin plucking out whatever was modular and required a change, choosing from the assortment she had taken from the lab's readily available, and far more effective, parts. "Anything else? I'll have it ready by... uh..." She glances over to the clock, unaware of the time. "... around this time tomorrow. Probably."

Raiomaru Toshigawa
hmmm

but they tore me apart like a hurricane.

[attr="class","mizocredit"]

MADE BY MIZO

[newclass=.mizocredit]font:bold 6pt calibri;color:#ffffff;[/newclass][newclass=.eire b]color: #802D35;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans][googlefont=Karla]

[Raiomaru Toshigawa]

I got something deep inside of me
Courage is the thing that keeps us free

Well, while he doubted that the girl had as much available free time as she was claiming, Leonid had little reason to doubt the fact that the girl knew what she was doing, or that she knew her own capabilities as far as workload went. So, as she ensured him that she was able to wrap up everything that she claimed, the old lion simply crossed his arms and nodded with another of his almost-smiles. "Very well, I will leave it in your hands, then."

As she began to work, popping the suit open and going through the circuitry and metal linings that ran along the insides of the armor's padding and internal mechanisms, Leonid watched along with rapt attention for a few minutes. All of these years, and he had never bothered to actually look what the inner compartments of his armor looked like, he had left all of that to the boys in support while he dealt with what he had considered to be 'real starpower work' in the meantime. Yet, the more that he thought about it with the benefit of hindsight, he would never have been able to make himself the name that he was without people like this. Deriding it as nothing was... Well it was foolishness, the foolishness of a young man with far too big a head.

But, this did not change that as he watched the support student work, Leonid did not have the slightest clue of what the hell she was doing. Simply standing around and looking over her shoulder wasn't going to do either of them any good, and he did genuinely have other things to see to while this was being done. U.A Educator, hah, sometimes he missed active hero work, he could have sworn he had less on his plate at the time.

"This time tomorrow?" He confirmed. "I will leave you to your work until then, in that case. Thank you again for taking the time, lass, I will make sure to talk to your professors, make this count for some kind of credit." A large hand clapped down on the student's shoulder as a parting gesture, as the teacher turned and returned to the door leading into the support lab, making his exit. It was good to know that the younger generation could be relied on, even if he could only hope that he hadn't caused her too much trouble.

---

aneko

template by punki of adoxography

[hugs]

☆ MISSION SUCCESS ☆

SUPER cool excited to see what they make together!! 🦸💙💙

+2,500 EXP!!

Leonid: 1,750 // 4,250
Aneko: 1,250 // 3,750

tag: Raiomaru Toshigawa aneko