1876/We're In Deep

We're In Deep
Date of Scene:	20 August 2024
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Hinoiri and Usagi reconnect, talking about singing, the rules of royalty, Paris, and of course, magic.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Usagi Tsukino

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was out in the common dorm area, papers spread out on the little coffee table in front of her. It... looked... like homework? For music... math... art class? It had pictures of mermaids, music notes and a lot of weird equations that anyone could tell you made no actual sense.

So silly magic stuff, probably. Why she was doing it out here instead of in her room, where... she didn't have her own private room anymore. Okay, it made a bit more sense at that point.

There was also a small, blue box to the side, which housed a few minor things of hers that she had... picked up.

Currently, she was nibbling on a small pastry and had her World's Best Employee mug by her.... Yes, she still had it. Easter hadn't tried to kill her! Just Obsidian as a whole.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's been a busy few days for Usagi Tsukino, but with Obon now several days behind them, at least she's been back in the dorms for a couple of days now. It's the afternoon, and it's still summer vacation, so she's been sleeping in and doing late night streams - who could blame her? Summer is perfect for catching up on things.

Still, if there's something she wasn't expecting to see when she passed the common area, it definitely wasn't Hinoiri, with all her work spread out across a coffee table, and the work was -

Huh. Must still be working on that project she'd said Coco was paying her to do, right?

Still, this is the first time Usagi's seen her in a while, and hey, at least she's not a pegacorn anymore!

She wanders a little closer, sipping from a straw in a strawberry milk carton.

"Good afternoon, Hinoiri-chan," she says cheerfully, "I'm glad to see that feathery problem is over now?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara glanced up and gave a small nod. "All me, again. Well... I guess in a way the... other issue was more me than the me I am now and...." She trailed off. "Anyway, yes, it's solved, now. And, on the upside, there should be no more such.... situations. I shouldn't have any more projects like that. The rest of the projects are well..."

"... Riventon would have access to them and of all the people least likely to try and destroy the world with them, there's him. Sorry if you end up getting attacked by timber wolves in the future, though."

"... So, hey, Usagi-chan. Can you sing?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"That was because of a project?" She blinks, brows raising, but shakes it off, because if the project is done, does it really matter? "Well, I'm glad you're not cat-sized anymore. Sorry if you'd rather have stayed a pony, though."

Should she be worried about the rest of the projects being in Riventon's hands? ...probably. And though she really doesn't like the sound of him having wolves of any kind, that... doesn't sound too much worse than the usual so she just shrugs a little, and then pauses.

"Hey, do you know who the blond with drill curls and guns on Riventon's team is? Codename-wise, I mean, it'd probably be a good idea to have something besides Drill-Curl-Gun-Girl to call her." She knows better than to ask for real identities unless it's an emergency.

"Um?" The question throws her for a loop. "I mean, I can carry a tune a little! I wouldn't say I'm really good, but I don't get thrown off the stage at karaoke either?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a shrug. "I called most of my experiments projects. I guess it would be more of an experiment than a project, though. The magic in this world was fascinating, so different from the magic back home I couldn't help but fiddle with it whenever I got the opportunity. A shame it so rarely made actual sense. I did find out how to turn apples into bees, though." Pause. "One bee. One very, very angry bee."

However, the topic switch to Mami made her freeze up and she let out a slow breath of air. She picked up her drink and slowly drank from it, seeming to think on it. Riventon's girlfriend. "She just goes by Mami, she's a puella. I'd advise against trying to pick a fight with her, though. She's talented and, frankly, you're likely to get a rather... large amount of blowback to anything you try against her. As far as I know, she's not a... proactive member of Obsidian, as far as I ever saw."

The comment on singing made her hmmm for a little bit. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small... recorder? "Could you sing a few lines of this into this, for me?" Legend of Mermaid, of course. Coco's song.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Experiments sounded about right for what she remembers of Hinoiri's on-goings, and she shakes her head a little, but at least the headshake is accompanied by a little smile! "Only you would figure out how to turn apples into bees. Was it as big as the apple?"

It's impossible not to notice the way the mention of that other blond girl makes Hinoiri freeze up, and her smile fades as a bit of information is shared.

"Mami... And she's a Puella. Maybe Amy-chan or Madoka-chan know her, then... well, you know we don't go out of our way to pick fights. But she kinda tried to blow a bunch of us up last week, and I figured it'd be good to know the name of the girl who tried it."

Chrono-kun had been hurt, too. She's not going to go after her - but she'd really like to know what her deal was.

"She was really uninterested in trying to get along, too," a huff, "But it was my first time seeing her, so maybe she won't come around very often."

A little shrug. She's got a name, and some people to talk to, maybe, and that's about all she needs, so she might as well.... "Uh?"

Is she going to get an explanation? No? Uh, sure, okay... oh, she recognizes these lyrics!

    "The seven colored wind,
    blows across the long plateau.
r    At the peak, a nostalgic song was playing.
    And before the dawn I could hear a melody.
    And I knew, that this song,
    would only bring joy and love."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small little nod. "Ohhh yes. Very big, very angry. Didn't do THAT experiment again. Nope. Maybe it was a hornet, now that I think about it. Or a wasp. They're evil, either way. Did you know?"

Hinoiri took another drink of her coffee before placing it down. "She works with Riventon. As far as I know, she doesn't operate alone. He doesn't even like calling her in if he can avoid it, from what I've seen. Puella and all. It was probably nothing personal, but she's good. Does an amazing dance number."

Well, that was... a thing. "She'd probably be fine trying to get along, though. When not working. Should try inviting her out sometime, she's probably not that hard to get a hold of. Hoping to friendship her, too? Or worried she'll be able to out shoot you in your games?" Hinoiri asked in a slightly teasing tone.

Once the recording is had, she stopped it and nodded. "Thanks. I've been working on some tests, measuring the way people's music affects things, how their henshin works, if everyone who has magic can sing outside of their henshin. I think most can, somewhat, but few of them are really exceptional. The type and nature of different magic seems to directly impact it. Then there's the addition of dark energy singers, which aren't innately singing, and even dark energy seems to have its own different styles, though the baseline seems to all stem from the same place. Possibly. Ugh, my kingdom for a tuning spoon..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Eurgh, that does not sound cute..." Usagi makes a face, grimacing at the very thought of an enormous bee, wasp, or hornet. "Wasps can be very evil, it's true, I knew that part. Did you know some of them get together and they can even cook the things they're killing?"

She'd learned that horrible little fact years and years ago! It was truly terrible.

"So she could be around if I run into Riventon again... got it. Well, I try not to pick fights with him unless I have to, it's never a good idea to fight with family and all, you know?"

Apparently they both just have things they're not going to explain, though Usagi can picture Mami being good at dancing, even if she had spent most of the fight wrapped up in her ribbons one time or another.

"If I see her again, maybe! And honestly I was just trying to get everybody to work together," she rolls her eyes a little, "The whole fight was silly, because something was messing up everyone's magic.... I accidentally turned some poor doggy girl into a rainbow version of herself. Which Riventon's eyes did not seem to appreciate..."

The whole thing had been goofy! However, she nods along to the explanation, and then frowns a little, tilting her head.

"I don't know that my magic has anything to do with singing, but... Venus is probably the best singer out of the Senshi. And Wako-chan is a great singer too, if you want to run into her? Except for Coco-chan, I'd never really considered magic having anything to do with music, honestly."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara stared at Usagi for a few moments, her mouth falling open. "That... that's horrible. Kind of awesome. But also, horrible."

She then glanced back down at the notes and--

"Wait, FAMILY? Are you two related? How am I only finding out about this NOW? It's Chiyo all over again..." Hinoiri muttered, shaking her head. She swore if it turned out Riventon was another magical boy who got in the way of all her plans she would SO PUNCH HIM LATER!

"Wait, magical distortions? Was ti a witch? Or more a type-3 magical artifact? Were there any strange sights? sounds? Tastes?" Hinoiri asked, pulling out her notebook and pen, getting to taking notes. "And it gave you rainbow blast powers? Interesting... And maybe. I haven't met this Wa..." Pause. "Oh. No. Wait. I remember her. Huh. That... might not go well. I don't think I have the best... ahem... history with her group... We don't really..."

And then Hinoiri looked torn, staring down at her notebook. Like she wanted to ask something, but couldn't find the words. "Thanks," she finally settled on. "For helping, and all. where you can."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Isn't it just?" Awesome, but truly horrible. "What - oh, no, he's Mamochan's brother. You didn't find out when he was still Hemachan and worked with Riventon sometimes?"

That's a genuine surprise to her.

"He's not my relative directly, but Mamochan and I are going to get married someday, so he's basically my relative, so we shouldn't fight if we can avoid it because that's just how you get an unhappy marital life!" She's read so much manga proving it! And watched dramas!

"It was a bit of a spaceship, and it made a strange sound for sure, it was like... pressure but sound too? It made everyone's attacks weird - instead of my tiara hitting, it made things rainbow. Mami's did something with her guns, but they made ribbons, and poor Bow's arrows kept doing anything but what he wanted them to do..."

There's a pause. Usagi pauses.

"...oh right, Kingu is the one who kind of... hurt your partner really badly, isn't he?" She winces, looking sheepish. "Wako-chan really likes singing, so she'd probably be willing to help if you asked and explained why, but you don't have to or anything. She's really nice, and pretty chill."

And - she's genuinely surprised, to receive that thanks and she looks at Hinoiri, loo9king down, and nods, slowly. "It's my responsibility. It's what I have all this power for, doing everything I can to help people."

She exhales, and looks incredibly tired.

"I'm glad we're getting kind of a break after - everything, honestly."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, then let out a low 'Ohhhh'. "Right, no, I knew that. I just didn't know you and... your boyfriend were married already. I just figured you two were engaged and whatnot."

"Eh, I guess. I imagine sometimes family members need to get slapped and if you can't slap them just because they're family it'll cause more problems down the line. But, well... never really had one so... I may be missing a lot of the social norms in that regard."

She started taking notes, nodding along as Usagi talked. "Huh. Fascinating. I'd love to study it sometime but... well... yeah. Not surprised Riventon and Mami showed up for that. A distortion effect would be useful and I have no intentions of trying to make one," she added quickly.

"And... yeah. Kingu almost killed my partner and, well..." she mumbled softly. ".... He had some choice words about the effort I put in when there was a weird... evil clone thing of me for a while. Yeah. I'm thinking I might have been a bit of a jerk at times. I heard your little visit to Tokyo was... intense. Sorry I couldn't be there. I'd have liked to punch Beryl in the face after what she put me through."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"We are engaged, but, it's not like we're not going to get married," Usagi says, with confidence, because she is sure, as only someone who has chosen the same man twice, as only someone who's lived, died, and lived again for someone, can be. "So we might as well treat each other's family like family. And Riventon can be a real jerk, but Mamochan loves him anyway, so I don't want to vaporize him if I can help it."

She'd felt really bad when she did it over the Yellow Rainbow Crystal, honestly. She'd offered a fruit basket!

"It depends. If you don't love your family, or owe them, or need them, I guess you can just slap them - but if you need them, or love them, or owe them... it's hard to let that kind of thing go."

She can't imagine not having her own family. She's grieving, not having her mother, the mother that so very few now know existed at all.

"I wasn't surprised they showed up either. I just wish they'd have let us figure things out before we got all rawr fisticuffs blasty lasers.."

Instead, they blew almost everything up! Luckily she'd stuffed things into her pocket dimension space, and had still managed to get them to Ami!

"...I've never really met Kingu, but I've heard he can be kind of strict. He and Bishounen supposedly still do training like, every day, in the early morning, even now we're on vacation," her tone makes it clear this is horrifying to her.

"...Don't take this the wrong way. But I'm kind of glad you weren't there. I wish none of us had had to be there. It was... the only reason there's been a scarier thing I've experienced, is because I remember what it was like, when Beryl's army came to the Moon, and slaughtered nearly everyone."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod, flipping through her notes. "Yeah, not vaporizing Riventon would be nice. He's kind of a jerk, but he's likeable-ish. And he's one of the people still at Obsidian who doesn't seem to want me dead, so that's nice."

"... Huh. Yeah. I guess... that would make slapping them hard," Hinoiri muttered. Oof. That hurt a bit more than she wanted to admit. "And don't take this the wrong way? From my experience? Your side doooooes tend to come in very 'blast first, ask questions maybe later'. And more than a few factions on Obsidian's side is the same way. It's kind of expected, I imagine."

Hinoiri did smile, at least, when Usagi mentioned the training. "That's pretty cool. I used to do that, too. Back in... yeah. It's good to be so dedicated, it'll help him and Bishounen advance their... abilities... they'll just get stronger, being that dedicated."

Hinoiri took a slow, deep breath. Closing her eyes. "I... appreciate the sentiment... but I was there. On the moon. I saw what... Beryl... would do. Was capable of. If ever there was someone who needed to be... destroyed? That was her. And... I just wish I could have helped. If I'm going to be stuck on this world I don't want it being blown up or turned into some wartorn hellscape under me. Happy you lot managed to do it without me, though. So... yay... team sparkles? I guess?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Riventon was, in her experience, both likeable, and a huge jerk. Honestly, it made Darien make soooo much sense, aside from all the Dark Energy! Growing up with him would make anybody have a shell of jerk! "That is nice. I'm glad he doesn't want you dead. It would make things kind of awkward, and they're awkward enough," she has to fully admit that.

And she waves it off, not looking offended at all. "I mean, you're not wrong! When people are getting energy drained, or there's a monster around, most people don't bother talking anymore, because we've got a job to do. This time at least, we all just wanted stuff though, so I didn't see why we couldn't just work together and split some of it up."

She's glad that Hinoiri doesn't seem offended about the training mention, because - she doesn't know what Kingu said, that it got under her skin, but she does know from Wako that he's probably as much of a training nut as Hinoiri and Chrono.

And Hinoiri takes a deep breath. And she doesn't get mad, which is - great. Great.

"I agree," she says, quietly, "She needed to be destroyed. She needed to be stopped. There was no other way but for her to die, and as permanently as we could make it happen. You were in those memories - I lived those memories. I remember that time, that place, those... those things she did. But..."

She shakes her head.

"It was bad. It was so bad. If not for a - a miracle, some of us wouldn't have come back."

The Silver Crystal still hasn't recovered all of its glow. She doesn't know how long it will take.

"Someday you'll be able to help too. I believe in that. I just hope when you do it's not like Paris. I don't want anything to be like Paris, ever again."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a shrug. "Having met Riventon, I doubt he would have settled for less than everything he saw as his and, as far as I know him? He'd consider everything of value his. So probably not easy. He's goals and motivations were a lot different than mine."

"Her plan to go to Tokyo, while I doubt it was intentional, was genius in a way. Drawing you girls away from the primary focus of the leylines would make a 'miracle' harder to achieve. But it was still one of the highest focal points of magic. A miracle was all but guaranteed. Her defeat was inevitable once you girls were there."

"... After all, you lot saved me when I completely fell, a woman who is way too obsessed with a boy half her age and with all the tact and charm of a broken corkscrew covered in month old salsa had no chance. And I doubt she had the knowledge on where she bucked up to even comprehend the full enormity of her mistake."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi groans a little, at the thought, because Hinoiri is probably right, but her focus is shifted, to the darker subject, even if Hinoiri is very hopeful.

"It was definitely intentional. The Dark Kingdom was located... deep in the catacombs in Paris. And they were ready for us - hijacked our teleport and scattered us across the catacombs, and..." She shakes her head, trying to shake off the memories.

"That's the other reason I'm glad you didn't go, even though I know you wish you could have fought. You helped train those moth girls, didn't you? You didn't - you didn't deserve to see them like that."

Bloodied, broken, empty, like that. Usagi doesn't know when the nightmares will stop. She asks Mamoru for his roses, whenever he wants to spare one, so she can hold them and not think about taking his rose, not think about the way fur and wings shattered apart to reveal a girl with wide, scared eyes, blood gushing over her hand -

"But she didn't admit her mistake. Even at the end. It doesn't matter. We wouldn't have forgiven her. I hope for all her next lives she's trapped in the path of animals, and I bet even the Buddha would agree with me."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was silent after that, closing her eyes. "I... saw them... messed up. But... yeah. I'm glad I didn't... have to watch them... die. They weren't the worst, they were just... kind of jerks. But they weren't monsters. I don't know what Beryl did to them, but... I messed with them, a lot. Chaar wasn't..." She shook her head again. "I messed up. I was an awful teacher. I should have known this was how it would go."

Hinoiri sighed and gave a small shrug. "She was a monster. But... I don't know what she'd been through, what made her that way. I don't... think... people just become monsters, regardless of how they lived. At least, I hope not. I hope even bad people can change and become better. Even if it's not easy. I mean, I got a second chance, I imagine others can too."

"... But then, I worked with a lot of the people there and saw them when they were good and bad. It's... probably... expected that I'd see more good in them than others."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I know," Usagi says, quietly. "They made a deal with Metallia. I don't know why. I don't know when, even. But that's what happened. It's why they were - it's why they wouldn't give up. The only time she ever left any of them was when they... died."

She hates thinking about it, the hate in those red eyes vanishing in the instant before death, witnessed once, twice, three times. "Look, Hinoiri-chan, you might have been a bad teacher, but that doesn't make what happened your fault. You didn't make a deal with a demon. And... knowing Beryl, who knows if she even told them that's what they were doing? They're okay now. Rashmi-chan had the pleasure of guiding them out of the catacombs."

Yeah... what a pleasure.

"I don't know all her lifestory either," Usagi says, honestly, "I don't know what made her the person she is. With anyone else - I would care. But with her? ...no. Most people can change, I think. They can do better. They can devote themselves to the right thing, and to understanding, and to combatting how they became so messed up. But some people...?"

She shakes her head. "After a while, some people are too dangerous to be given that chance. The things they'd do to other people..."

For a moment Usagi looks older than her years.

"I hated it. But eventually I had to think about everyone else. I had to make the call that would let everyone else live, even if it meant I had to do things I hated."

...

"That's one thing that made you different from Beryl - you wanted to be stopped. And you... were in a position where you could be stopped, without... that."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shook her head. "Knowing Beryl? She hid it from them. Probably said they'd get power and... I... taught them that. How important power was. How important fear was. I..." She sighed and closed her eyes, taking a slow, deep breath. "Yeah. But she's gone now and they don't have magic. So... it's better, now."

"... I don't think it was the wrong call. Just because... you pity what someone became, doesn't mean you have to accept it, or not stop it. It just means you pity it." She reached a hand up to rub her necklace. "I was lucky, though. Being in that position. Where I could be saved. So... thank you. For that. For... saving me. For not leaving me to... die... despite the fact it probably would have been easier. I try to think about that whenever I consider trying dark energy again. But... you know what? I think you were right. I think, one way or another, I'll get magic again. This time without dark energy."

She then sighed and stroked her necklace. "A shame this thing isn't actually magic, you know? I've run it through every test I could, nothing. It's just charged up from... being from home."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"That's right. She's gone, and they don't have magic - and they probably don't really remember any of it, anyway, which... isn't what I wish on any of us, but in their case, is probably for the best."

Maybe they don't remember dying. Maybe they don't remember killing. Usagi hopes, for their sake, that they don't.

"Thanks for proving it was the right call," Usagi says honestly, "Thanks for making the right choice, even now. It can't be easy, especially with how much you love magic, to not just... try and take it, no matter what, but you've been really strong, about this whole thing."

A nod.

"You'll get your magic back. And I'm telling you, that rock is definitely going to be a part of it. It's too weird not."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light shudder. "Yeah. I.... I'll admit, I've been lucky in that the veil hasn't hit me. If I woke up tomorrow and I couldn't remember magic? I think I'd go mad. Heh. Or I'd drive all of you mad. Or worse... I'd try tampering with it again. Oh, that'd not end well." Hinoiri even shuddered at that thought.

"It... really hasn't been, though. I can't... I won't steal it. That... was never what I wanted. But I didn't want to be helpless, either. If there was a way to get it without actually hurting anyone? I'd take it in a heartbeat. Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky and some magic trinket will drop on my head. Or I'll turn out to be some long lost princess of... okay, no, now I'm just being silly," Hinoiri said, rolling her eyes.

She then gave a light snicker and stroked it. "Maybe, who knows? Maybe this isn't even its final form. But things like this weren't actually that uncommon. It's kind of like my message book, it has kept a hold of the magic despite the fact its been in this world for so long. So who knows? My suspicion, though, is that it just has a cleaning charm or something that stuck on. It doesn't seem to get dusty and all. So... ummmm... anything else new happen with you guys? Assuming you feel safe telling me?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I don't think you're lucky. I think you're Naru-chan," and Chiyo-chan, but she won't be the one to reveal that. It's Chiyo's truth, Chiyo's secret. "I used to look forward to that day. Now? Now I hate the idea of it coming."

The day she'd grow up, and they'd forget...

"I mean, most people would? If you could be magic and not hurt anyone, I think most of us would do that, now. We're in deep."

Unfortunately.

"I mean, you could be. Maybe not a long lost princess, but, a duchess or something?" She quirks an eyebrow, showing she's teasing a little.

"It came apart, before. But then it came back together. So whatever it is, I think it's more than just some soul cleaning spell. But it's yours, and it's probably going to help you out, in some way."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara groaned and nodded. "Yeah... I'm the Naru," Hinoiri muttered. "What I always dreamed. Being aware of just how helpless I am." She was doing better, bitching about it less. But it didn't mean she didn't sometimes.

"I do hope you know I am *very* familiar with the rules and protocals for dealing with royalty, princess, and should it turn out I am a magic duchess? I will surely begin to require us both to follow them regularly. Perhaps I could mentor you in how a princess should behave. Here's a hint, if someone doesn't like you, every way is the wrong way," Hinoiri said in a teasing tone.

"... It came apart?" Hinoiri asked softly, glancing down at it. "Huh. I never.... saw it do that. I remember it was all... cracked... but all the cracks kind of... went away. Once I stopped using dark energy... maybe... I should run some more tests on it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You're not the Naru," Usagi protests, and then pauses, "You're a little bit the Naru. But you're not doing a Pulp Noir, so you're minding your safety a little better?"

She is not going to be the one to give away Naru's secret. It's her secret, so -

"I do remember all the rules of being a princess, you know," she pouts, "But that was for in space, so I don't know if they're different on Earth. I met a girl who said she was the Princess of Europe once, and it took a little while to realize there probably wasn't a princess of all of Europe."

And then she nods, swiftly. "It did. I remember. When you were totally losing it, it just... went to bits. I didn't notice it was back in one piece until you were wearing it again."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. "Pulling a Pulp Noir? I... no? I haven't punched anyone? Should I have? I do know *how* to punch now, at least. No more almost breaking my thumbs." Pause. "Gosh sometimes hands still feel *so weird*."

"Ohhhh, we could learn all kinds of etiquite together! Did you know which fork is the salad fork? How about the oyster fork? And what about the peach fork? I'll give you a hint, the answer will likely surprise you and apparently none of them are supposed to be used to stab the maitre de no matter how much he is just *asking* for it," Hinoiri said with the most cheerful, peppy tone and grin.

"... Yeah. I really was losing it. Funny, though. I really thought if I gave up dark energy things would be different. The idea of becoming like... this? Never really entered my mind. I at least assumed I'd have power after a week or two, find something. Without becoming a mascot. Some days, though..." She began picking up her papers. "It was nice talking to you, though. I.... hope things get better. And I hope Naru gets her own power eventually, too. Being like this... sucks..."

But, admittedly, she knew that Naru had power.

... But she was also suspecting that Usagi wouldn't tell her that. On the one hand, she understood. After all, outing another person was a no-no. But... a part of her? Wondered if it was.... because she still didn't really fit in. Still wasn't really one of them. Because she was powerless instead.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"No, before he was Pulp Noir, he would just run in on things to try and help. One time he forced his way into a labyrinth with us - against a Witch! - with just like, nothing to bring with him. Super dangerous stuff, you know?" It just proves that some people have that willing to walk through fire for a mystery spirit, she supposes...

"I know most of those, but we had different food, you know? And also we were mostly vegetarian on the Moon, and we didn't have an ocean, so I didn't get to try oysters a ton," only with Endymion, pretty much, though those were good. "...No, you're never supposed to stab anyone!"

But she's laughing as she says, it shaking her head...

And she stops laughing, because she does have empathy, and she can see how much this all sucks for Hinoiri. "I didn't think it would last this long either. But I'm sure you're going to get your power soon. And when Naru gets her power, she's surely going to tell you. Especially if she's not busy helping her Mama with her store, like she's been lately."

Hint, hint. She feels a bit bad about not sharing, but, it's Naru's secret.

"And if she did get powers and she did share, she'd definitely tell me she shared so I could talk to the people she told and not hide her secret for her."

Pouting. She might be slightly pouting at all the secrety secret keeping.

"...Thanks for talking to me too. I'm glad you're doing okay. I was kinda worried when you were mascot-sized."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shook her head. "I object to that sentiment. Plenty of people need a stabbing, here and there. Not a murder, but a stabbing. But... yeah. I mean. I did eat a witch's familiar once." Three times, actually. "So like.... I make no claims what I will and will not do when I have to."

She neatly stacked the papers up before smiling. "Oh, would she now?" Hinoiri asked with a small smile. "That's... actually kind of nice to know. Because I already do know, but I've only known for a little bit. And no, I can't give away my sources. But it's nice to know you'd tell me if you could. But, ahem..."

Hinoiri cleared her throat, held up one finger and... "Told you she was *so* magic."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"WHAT?! You knew!?" Usagi's voice rings out, and she covers up her mouth with a guilty look, glancing around but no one comes barreling towards the dorm - they're all used to the noise of an Usagi Tsukino yell. "Ugh, and here I was feeling bad I had to keep the secret because it's Naru-chan's. Whoever told you has no sense of like, class and loyalty, and I don't know, drama or anything."

Somewhere, Tamaki is sneezing like a wet dog.

"She is magic. You were totally right about that, even if your strategy was wrong. But I bet even you couldn't guess she'd be a knight from the Moon."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, opened her mouth, paused. Opened her mouth again. Paused again. Finally...

"What? So, like, she's Sailor... Earth? Sailor... Does earth even *have* a second moon? How does that even work? Sailor Sun? Sailor... meteor? Sailor Luna? Wouldn't you be Sailor Luna, actually? Cause like... technically the moon IS called Luna, from what I've seen."

"... And no, they don't. But well... a girl like me makes many friends and knows better than to out her contacts. But... thanks. It is nice to know you would see it worth telling me about."

"... Wait, a knight of the moon. Did that mean the two of you were like... ummmmmm... 'best friends'... in your past lives? Is everyone connected to you? Wait, did past you ever end up in Kirakirafantastica? because I swear if it turns out I was like, your unicorn mount in a past life or something we are going to have *words*, girl."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mamochan is Sailor Earth," she says patiently, "No, she's like a literal knight, with armor and a sword! She's not a Senshi, she's a magical knight. Luna's my cat! She's named a little after the moon; so is Venus' cat, actually."

And!

"No, actually, I don't know if Naru-chan even had a past life on the Moon; sometimes new souls are born and haven't been part of the cycle as long, so like... I think it's just life, that we're friends now. We met, and now we're friends forever."

She smiles about it, pleased. It's nice to know that something is Usagi's, even as much as everything for Serenity is also for her.

"I don't think so? I mean, I don't remember Mother ever telling me about unicorns, but who knows, maybe she did, and never mentioned it? Is Kirakirafantastica connected to other planets?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, cocking her head to the side. "So... she's a knight. But not from the past life? Just in this life? Then... how did... oh. OH! So like, she tapped into your powers kind of thing? That's neat. Huh. Yeah, that seems about right. Your magic was... weird. I remember when it went off that first time, there was a reason we were looking to skip town for a bit. Not the most powerful thing I've seen so far since coming here, but definitely up there."

"Either way... congratulations to her, I guess. now she is no longer the Naru. Now I get to be the Naru... yay," she said in the most half hearted manner. "Hopefully, nowhere near as long."

"... But yeah. Ummm, I talked to your mom in that... time bubble thing? She uhhh... didn't seem to have any idea what Kirakirafantastica is. So if there were portals back then, it likely just... was like now. Just active for short bits, then closes again. Going to other worlds was a thing back home from time to time, but aside from a few places like the chaos realm, we tended to avoid doing it. That was some high powered, incredibly dangerous magic for just anyone to be playing with. Even now, only a hoofful of the strongest mages and postal delivery ponies would even go someplace like that chaos realm, let alone other, random worlds. I've probably done more exploration of other worlds thanmy people have in centuries."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Something like that," Usagi nods, "I can boost her, and we can dual attack. It's pretty cool!" She's looking forward to fighting alongside her best friend! "It was more powerful in my Mother's hands. I've still got a lot to learn, about how to use my power... even if some things, I don't think I'll be able to practice."

She's got this feeling that practicing reviving people from the dead... is not a thing she wants to do. It just sounds like a source of nightmares.

"You know, maybe we shouldn't call it the Naru.... we could call it something else. And you know, I don't think it will be -"

Pause.

"I... saw the notes you gave me from that. It's still... I wish I'd gotten to talk to her too. I... but, you know, sometimes - anyway, the chaos realm? That just sounds like trouble!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara couldn't help but snicker. "Really? Maybe, but I doubt it'll stay that way forever. You haven't had it long, with practice you'll probably be able to do all kinds of things with it. That or you'll break it, one of the two. Magic here is weird. Still can't believe you do all this magic without horns. Ugh..."

"Well, I don't wanna call it the Hinoiri or the Sunbreaker. That already has enough negative connotations attached to it, you know?"

Hinoiri did give her a small, somewhat sad smile. "I... imagine... yeah. I uhhhh... I gave you everything I learned from her. For.... what it's worth? I think.... she cared about you. She really seemed to. And just wanted you to be happy. So... you were loved. You know?" Hinoiri said before sighing. "And the Chaos realm isn't all that weird. It's mostly just like... a bunch of... random chaos magic stuff. It's mostly just annoying, like trying to dust something only to have the dust get sentience and eat your duster or other things like that. I only visited once, never again. But.... I should probably get back to my room. I got some more work tomorrow. Thanks. It was... nice talking to you. Again. And ummmm... if... you need any help with anything? Just let me know, okay? I'm always around," Hinoiri said before she started to pull away, towards the hall.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I can't really imagine having a horn," Usagi counters, and giggles a bit. "I mean, why does an extra bone on your head make you magic? I get why wings let you fly, but why do horns let you do magic?"

What's the connection?

"You'll have to tell me sometime, okay? And yeah - we could just call it being a Normie, I guess?"

And... and her face falls into something bittersweet, as she listens, her heart panging.

"I know. Thank you for telling me anyway, though. You didn't have to. It was sweet of you. And - I'll let you know. And you too. If you need help, I'm right down the hall."

She waves, and siiiips at her strawberry milk.