2226/Time Loops: Jadeite

Time Loops: Jadeite
Date of Scene:	12 January 2025
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Hinoiri encounters Tamaki, or as he is known, Jadeite, across multiple loops. While he offers help, it isn't until the final loop she's finally able to accept it... and asks him a few questions about his own path of redemption.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Jadeite
Tinyplot:	Hinoiri's Endless Loop

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Multi Loops:

Hinoiri had a lot of work to do. If she wanted to get out of this blood thing, she was going to need to break it, somehow. She wasn't entirely sure how, yet, but well...

Her mornings were getting dominated by the things she 'had' to fixed. A person needing help here, another needing help there. Trouble that needed to be dispersed. No sooner would she help someone in some way, she'd then be off, ignoring any gratitude they offered. Though... the way she moved, as if she knew what was causing it. As if she knew trouble would arrive. It wouldn't be hard to guess that, maybe, she was behind the trouble in some manner.

Jadeite has posed:
Hinoiri's bouncing through the school like a rock thrown into a hole in a glacier. It's not unusual for her to race around like, well, a horse, given her nature, but there's usually not such purpose behind it.

As Hinoiri marches to her next problem to fix, Tamaki joins her, matching her rapid pace. "Do you need back up?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had stopped the first time he did that, turning to look at him with confusion. That was new. Was he... the one causing this? Looping, like her? Her eyes narrowed on him and, for a moment, he could almost feel the anger and annoyance coming off her, before she spoke up. "Why do you think I'd need help?" she asked before glancing at her watch. She... didn't have that watch yesterday.

Jadeite has posed:
Whatever's going on, it's put her in a foul mood. Magic seems a likely culprit - although he hasn't seen any signs of active danger around here, it could be that it's not here YET. Especailly since she keeps checking her watch as if she's waiting for something. She didn't have that watch yesterday, after all.

"Because you're moving like there's a threat around here - and it looks like you're needing to deal with it fast."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara sighed and shook her head, glancing at the watch again. "It's kind of hard to explain. Lots of things are going on and I really can't..." She trailed off, before she just... ran off. A few minutes later, she'd... help catch a kid's toy they'd thrown, right before it could hit someone who was coming around and hidden from their sight before. If he'd followed?

"There's going to be a..." Then she trailed off. Tamaki. He was... Jadeite, right? How strong... then frowned. No. Maybe when he was one of the Shittenou, but... she couldn't keep him and others safe at the same time. "Just stay out of my way. I've got it handled. I'm looking for... something."

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki trails her. She's caught a toy before it could hit someone? Are there enchanted toys around? Or maybe this is a case of foresight...

"If there's going to be a fight, let me know and I can help with it. Or keep civilians away," he says, continuing to keep pace with her. "I know you have it handled, but I want to help. Even if it means keeping people away from the trouble."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara stopped and took a long, slow breath. Before looking to him. "It's a timeloop, Tamaki. I'm stuck in a timeloop. I'm trying to find out the cause, fixing things where I can. I don't expect you to understand, I certainly don't expect you to help. Because if you could help, you'd already know what was going on. But you don't, so all I need is for you to jsut stay out of my bucking way."

To say she was curt was an understatement. She was... downright vicious. It was a good thing she was wearing her geode, otherwise she might have gone dark energy already...

Jadeite has posed:
Tamakin blinks, then nods.

"Next time, tell me you're experiencing Groundhog Day. I"ll understand what it means. If I don't, tell me that I told you about the statues."

IF it really is a time loop - that will help her explain it to him faster.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara opened her mouth to object, then sighed. "Statues, fine. I'll keep that in mind. I... listen. I've... already seen people I like die today. I really don't want any more. Just... stay out of this. I..." She then mumbled something rather nasty under her breath.

Then she just ran off, again. She just kept doing that today, it seemed. Still, the things she was fixing? Didn't... really... seem that... vig? Minor things, people tripping, things getting knocked over... but she seemed to also be looking for something?

Jadeite has posed:
....Well. He could nose in, but she'd probably yell at him again. If it is a time loop: if it's fixed and he doesn't help,then it's not his problem. IF it's not fixed, he'll relive this day again and she'll ask him for help next time. Eventually.

(Part of him wonders - if this is a time loop, then maybe I could be irresponsible? But he shakes the idea off. If it's solved,then he'd be living with that, and he does have his responsibilities.)

"...is it some kind of toy monster?" he murmurs as she bolts, then goes about his day.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara just gave him a look like he was the world's biggest idiot... then again...

She'd been looking at a lot of people like that. And future loops she wasn't any nicer. Especially as more and more people asked her if she was okay and the like... she was getting more and more tense. As she saw people get hurt, saw them... saw them suffer. It was her fault, after all. She remembered, so she had to stop this. That was what she told herself. Piling more things up... Adding more that she had to deal with. To the point that when he asked if he could help, she jsut snapped. Like a wire that was pulled too hard. "No! I don't need your help. If I could use your help, I would, but I can't, every time I drag one of you with me, it just goes wrong, understand?! So why don't you just beat it?!" she yelled, making a few students just turn to stare in confusion.

Jadeite has posed:
Her rage washes over him, and he holds steadfast. She's furious. He should advise her, calm her down, whatever's going on is straining her -

But what comes out of his mouth is: "When's the last time you had a full night's sleep?"

He knows this maddened energy all too well. He'd lived it before, after all.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara opened her mouth to snap at him again, but that, at least, got her to pause. "... I admittedly... don't know. What did you say? Groundhog day. I'm groundhogging," she said, the annoyance clear in her voice.

"I don't know if it even counts as truly sleeping at this point. Even if I do, I'm not really. Or... I am really. I don't know. I don't know if I even can truly 'sleep' like this. Ugh. I don't think anyone has asked me that..."

Jadeite has posed:
He snaps to attention when she mentions Groundhog Day.

"First of all, lead with that next time. If you haven't been telling me that on the loops, of course I've been trying to meddle!! Secondly - look." He very gingerly puts a hand on her shoulder. "As a former villain, I get it. You want to save people; you want to prove you're different. You're going to throw everything into it for both your pride and your desire to help others.

"But! If you keep up like this, you're going to burn out. IF you're in a time loop, that means you're going to do this until you find a way to fix things - and it sounds like you're already en route to finding that. But you also need to take care of yourself. You can't defeat the enemy if you're exhausted! The loops will keep on going until you fix them, won't they? You can take one off now and then to eat and rest - and giving yourself that time will help you go back to the battle refreshed!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"... Maybe next loop," she said, before she started going again. "I'm so close. I think I've almost got it figured out. And this has absolutely nothing to do with what I did. I'm just tired of being trapped, that's all. I'm not a villain anymore. I'm good. I'm doing better. I'm being better. So... just... stay out of my way."

They were all like this, all interfering. Every last one of them...

She ran off again... Girl just... didn't know how to relax. How to be chill.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Recovery Loop:

Hinoiri had calmed... considerably... It had taken a lot of advice from friends, but well... she was doing better.

And now? She was reaching those who had offered her help. And something that Jadeite had said was rolling around in her head.

So, it was early morning when Tamaki would find Hinoiri knocking on his door, glancing at her phone. Wondering if he'd even be there. She'd already sent out some texts...

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki answers the door, still in his pajamas and slippers. His hair isn't quite combed enough to get the bedhead off him, and he's still blinking sleep from his eyes.

"Hinoiri? It's not even sunrise yet. I'm glad to see you, but why are you here so early?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and glanced at the phone again. "I... guess I got up earlier today than I thought. Buck. Ummmm... I'm groundhoging, you told me to tell you about the... towers? I think? The stones? Something like that. I'd like to have a little chat and uhhh... I can... wait for you to get dressed. I'm in no rush. And this loop is going to get reset anyway so ummmm... I wouldn't worry about the classes. I'm still not entirely sure what's causing this...:"

Jadeite has posed:
Groundhogging? Groundhog day, like the movie, going in time loops, which means the towers and stones must be related to a password he gave her to prove it was a loop -

Oh no. "The statues?"

(Which were the kidn of embarassing secret he'd use for something like this, to be SURE she was in a loop because otherwise youcould not torture the statue story out of him.)

"Yeah, come on in. If it's statues, then you're definitely in a time loop and neither of us need to worry about classes. Want some coffee?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, before opening her mouth. Then shrugged. Well... Riventon gave her his mother's name, Jadeite gave her the statues, it seemed. She nodded and sat down. "Yeah... coffee sounds good. I uhhh... I've been talking to some people, checking out what I can... where I can.... helping where I can.... pulling back a bit. But I want to ask you a few things, if that's okay?"

She'd move to sit on whatever furniture was available, idly glancing at her phone from time to time. "One... ex-villain to another ex-villain, actually. Things like... how do you know when you've paid that debt back?"

She did seem different from yesterday. Calmer.... more zen... more relaxed. Glancing at her phone, but not really tense. More just keeping herself alert in case anything bad happened.

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki makes them both coffee, adding sugar and milk to each before handing one mug to Hinoiri. They're on the apartment couch together, able to watch the sun rise through the window if they want.

"Go ahead," Tamaki says, and - hmm.

Honestly, he'd expect her to be more frazzled about being in a time loop - but in all the movies, there was a point where a person got used to the loop and relaxed. This must be that part of it... Right?

He sips his coffee, thinking over how to phrase what he'll say before he replies.

"It's different from person to person depending on what they did, I think," Tamaki says slowly. "I helped destroy both my own homeland and that of the moon. I killed thousands of people, and lead to far more dying. My best friend died in despair because I lead his worst enemy right to him. I don't think there's any way for me to pay that back in one life."

"But - my friends trust me enough to rely on me in a fight now. I don't have something to prove - or, I guess I already proved it? And I'm going to keep proving it and keep fighting. So I think you can stop beating yourself up about what happened. You're working on becoming someone reliable, who won't do it again. You don't need to do big gestures to show you're good."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took the coffee and, slowly, she drank from it. Her gaze lowered. Not upset, or ashamed. Just thinking. Her mind in a thousand different places, yet still here.

She took another sip of the coffee when he explained the terrible things he'd done. "Huh. You were busy. Guessing this was from that... past timeline? The thing Beryl made? Frankly... it was a really dumb move. Like. She basically gave everyone an answer on 'How to beat me'," she said, taking another drink. "Then again, she was nuts. So I guess that's not surprising. So... you forgave yourself, then? Do you ever feel that... everything... sometimes just spirals out of control and you don't know how to stop it?"

Jadeite has posed:
"Yeah, the past timeline. That was a mirage based on what really happened in the past. I'm not quite the Jadeite that lived back then, but I'm enough of him, you know?" Siiip. "I think she was hoping more we'd all get killed back there, like we had the first time around. She did always have a habit of getting so upset she'd shoot herself in the foot."

And he starts to nod to Hinoiri, then pauses, shakes his head - then nods again. "I don't know if I've forgiven myself, but I've come to terms with it. Last year - I got the sense knocked into my, quite literally, and I decided I'd try and fix things. I threw myself into helping Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, into defeating Beryl, because I was in control of myself that way - and then when she was defeated, I hit a wall. I didn't know what to do with myself. I'm still figuring out. Though for me, it's not so much a spiral dragging me down as a hole I'm trying to dig my way out of."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod and took another big drink of her coffee. "And... when you relapse? Or... feel you relapsed? When you do things, things you aren't sure are good? What do you do then? If you're scared that you're.... not going evil, no. But if you're scared you're not really any better than you were?"

"Do you have any answers for that? Any special way that you cope?" she asked.

Then she looked up at him and gave a light hum. "Have you ever thought about trying Yoga?"

Jadeite has posed:
"Generally, I ask my friends if I'm being weird and they tell me and help me get back on track. I don't trust my own judgement yet, but I trust theirs. I know I'm not better than I was before, but I have lots of help to keep me on track."

The sun's starting to rise, painting both of them with pink light.

"You probably shouldn't be entirely relying on other people to help keep your moral compass straight like I am, but it's good getting feedback. Checking if the thing you want to do is good, and if it's not, weighing if it's worth it. As corny as it sounds, I was saved by friendship."

And then he flusters a little. "I do fencing. And I've been doing some sculpting. Having something to do with your hands to make you just sit and concentrate helps a lot - I think I told you that already, didn't I? I'm repeating myself but - I haven't found easy answers yet. If I knew any, I'd tell you in a heartbeat, believe me."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. Asking others to help keep him on track? Interesting. She took the rest of the coffee before getting to her feet. "Thank you. I've... still got more to learn, I think. But... this has been nice. I've... actually tried that. I've been learning to fence, thanks to another friend. I've also been painting. Really... getting a feel for it. But... I still think I've got a while to go. Getting there, though. Should... I leave the cup in the sink, or do you have somewhere else you like it?"

"... Thanks, though. For meeting with me. I guess this wasn't as long as I thought it'd be, but well... heh. I figured I wouldn't take chances. Before I go... is there anything you'd like to ask me? Or... you'd like me to let you know? Once out of the loops?" she asked, giving him a small chance to tell her before, well... she'd head out. Occasionally glancing at her phone.

Jadeite has posed:
"Put it in the sink, that'll do for now."

Tamaki's still sipping his coffee as she takes hers over. "Is there anything I can do to help with the time loops? If you send me a text with instructions that mentions Groundhog Day and Statues, I can do that, try and save you some time. And you can come back here whenever in later loops."

"And... I'd like to do this conversation again when you get out of the loop, so we aren't on a time limit and I can remember it. I want to hear the whole story of how you got out. It'll make a great painting."

He grins sheepishly. "I've been pretty antisocial the last few months since I'm still trying to dig out of that hole, but I'd love to hang out more often. If you have time?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod and... "Well... there is an issue with a witch and Amy. If you feel like helping her out. I've... actually sent a few people to help her now. But I could send you tomorrow. And I'll try. I figure I'm going to need to get everyone together and have a long, lonnnnnng talk about it. Maybe work on an edited version, though."

"... For example, I found out Rashmi does, in fact, have a limit. And she can, and will, strangle you to death. Riventon will die to protect people he cares about. But he'll also blow up the world if you give him access to the wrong stuff. Punching some people is very satisfying... and enlightenment? Not... really for me. I tried doing the zen thing. Not really my jam, you know?" she said, giving a small smile.

"... But most of all, I learned... I like all of you people. A lot. So... I'm happy I'm here. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? And... hopefully not really before," she said, before heading towards the door. "And hanging out sounds like fun. Maybe we can form a club. The 'we'll do it better this time' club or something."

Jadeite has posed:
"...I don't know if I"m relieved or disappointed I haven't killed anyone in a loop. Probably relieved?" Tamaki says. "You can send me tomorrow. And I"m glad that Riventon does have a conscience, even if he's still going more and more off the rails. Punching is pretty satisfying! So is stabbing. But you shouldn't do that," he adds hastily, because it's probably not great to advise stabbination.

"I like you too. I'll see you tomorrow - and we can start working on our club!"