42/Friday afternoon library time

Friday afternoon library time
Date of Scene:	07 July 2023
Location:	School Library
Synopsis:	Gentle chatter in the library and promise of future parties and tutoring. But not too many people, five is too much.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Takashi Agera, Naru Osaka

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Naru Osaka has posed:
It is a bright and sunny Friday afternoon. It is really not the sort of day when one thinks to onesself 'Gosh, I totally should sit inside and not enjoy the beautiful summer weather', especially not when it is so close to the weekend one can basically taste it. Yet, indoors is exactly where Naru Osaka has chosen to spend the time. Not just indoors, but in the school library, a place of quiet studeousness and absolutely no shenanigans. None. Zilch.

Naru has taken over a table with her school books, not quite spread /everywhere/, but she's certainly illustrated why the small desks in the dorm rooms are insufficient for her studying style. Which would be fine, if she was actually studying and not doodling in her sketchbook. Sure her math textbook is open to the current unit of study, and she is doodling geometic designs, but unfortunately the class is working on algebra right now and not geometry.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe was not feeling the best today. She hadn't had any reactions, but... she was certainly on that cusp. It had been a rough day, and she had tried to get away from others to finally allow herself a moment to catch her breath. A thin layer of sweat on her face and lightly panting. She had a small book of poetry in her hands and kind of stumbled into one of the chairs.

Finally sitting, she took a small, deep breath... and finally noticed she'd sat at the table across from someone else. She looked up and then gulped. One of her upper classmen? "O-oh. I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to intrude..."

Her necklace, meanwhile, was already activating. Trying to manage to dark energy within her, it was doing its best to help alleviate her pain and already sending a report on the situation to Takashi's device so he'd have records and snapshots of her health.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi Agera is... well, he's not precisely studying in the way a lot of people who show up in the library would. He's not studying for a test, he's studying because Takashi Agera is still in a fair amount of pain after Kyouko and her drill-haired friend interrupted him, and learning stuff is one of his happy places. So he's heading back to the desks with a couple of chemistry textbooks that are college level rather than his own, but stops when he sees Hotaru.

So he walked, calmly, over to Hotaru and put a hand on her shoulder. "Is everything alright, Tomoe-chan?" He asked. Then he paused and looked at the girl across from her. "Oh, apologies for intruding. Actually, do you mind if I sit down as well? Tomoe-chan's health is somewhat my concern."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Voices draw Naru's attention up and out of her doodling. "Oh! Oh hello." She smiles at Hotaru, welcoming and clearly not at all distraught that there's another at her table. "Please, sit down." She pauses a moment and her expression turns to one of concern. "Are you alright?" It's clear that the younger girl isn't entirely, but politeness wins the day.

Takashi's appearance is followed by Naru's gaze and she gestures. "Please do sit down. I hope it's nothing serious. Do you need a drink of water or something?" Naru leans over to collect her water bottle from her book bag, to be able to offer it. "Or a snack?" When you've spent most of your life in company of Usagi, you pretty much always have a snack available. It's just safer that way.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded. "I-it's fine. I'm just a l-little unwell," she said nervously, a hand covering her mouth. Ow. Ow ow ow. It hurts, but just a little. She just...

"S-some water would be nice," she admitted. "If it's not a bother, I mean," she said quickly. "S-sorry." At least some of the pain was fading. The device managing her internal energies a lot better than she could. Even still, the idea of EATING something made her feel queesy. "I'll b-be fine in a minute... sorry for the inconvenience," she said, lowering her eyes. "T-thank you A-Agera-senpai. I... think.. everything is okay?" she said, glancing up at him.

He knew the device better than she did, but admittedly wasn't fully sure how much of it he could monitor... subtly.

Whatever was in her wasn't getting any worse or better. The closest it could be compared to was... a baby kicking. Agitated, but not growing or shrinking. Just kind of tossing and turning.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi bit his lip for as moment. "It is... an ongoing medical condition, one she is recieving treatment for." he explained. "So... I try to be nearby. But also, interacting with other people is very good for her." Takashi continued, patting her on the head. "So just because she's a little frail, we can't keep her hidden away somewhere. That's no good, either."

Takashi wasn't sure what to do, precisely, but he put a hand on her shoulder and, experimentally, tried to pull a little bit of dark energy away from Hotaru and into himself. Maybe she just needed a little help. He was more experienced at managing it, at dissapating it.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It's no trouble at all." Naru assures as she slides the water bottle over. "I promise I haven't drank any from it yet, it's clean." And while not sealed, it's clear that the bottle is freshly filled and not half gone. Promising for being clean at least. She nudges it a bit closer. "Certainly there's no reason to hide if there's just spells of needing a moment. I hope it passes quickly."

Naru nods to Takashi as he explains. "I expect it's terribly frustrating to get a handle on. I hope it settles down for both of your sake." She leans back in her chair, relaxed in spite of dark energy work that she has no sense of whotsoever. "What grades are you both in?" The eternal first question of students everywhere.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe glanced at Takashi. "It is?" she asked. Then nodded. "O-oh. Right, it... it is," she said. Well... she didn't entirely know it was. But apparently positive energy 'helped'. Negative... negative energy could hurt it. And she'd received a lot of negativity over the years.

Having Takashi's arm on her shoulder made her let out a sigh of relief. Taking some of the energy definitely helped. Managing it was hard enough, but removing some from the equation made more room for her device to manage it.

She took the water bottle with slightly shaky hands, unscrewing it and drinking it... quickly. Almost half the bottle in a few quick gulps. She then pulled it back, coughing a little, before sighing. "I think it's... good. Thank you, err. O-oh. Right. I'm Hotaru Tomoe, grade seven," she said before getting to her feet and then bowing politely. "A pleasure to meet you, miss... ummmm...

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi smiled. "Takashi Agera, 10th grade." he answered. The older boy then nodded. "She'll be alright in a moment. She usually is. Panic is also bad for it, so." His voice is calm and even but there's the smallest undertone of worry, since he might have to be ready to leave with her at any time. And then he leans over a bit. "Those are very pretty little drawings. Art study..." he looks over at the textbook "...or math?" he asks.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Oh please sit back down." Naru assures hurredly as the other girl stands to bow. "Let the water settle things a little longer." She smiles gently. "Pleasure to meet you, Hotaru. I'm in Grade 9 myself, Naru Osaka. If you've seen a blonde tornado racing through the school, that was probably my roomate Usagi." Her tone is utterly fond, no matter her description of Usagi.

Naru retrives a pre-packaged cake from her bag, setting it on the table next to the half finished water bottle. Just in case a bit of food is tempting once Hotaru feels a little bit better.

"Nice to meet you as well Takashi." She doesn't ask quite why a 10th grader is so invested in a 7th grader without apparently being related, there's just a little quirk of her head. The rueful smile emerges. "Ah well, it SHOULD be math homework, but I'm afraid it isn't perhaps the most engaging and I got distracted." She gestures vaguely at her notebook and then laughs, a touch self deprecating. "Not just Usagi can get distracted from homemwork, clearly she's a bad influence."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi can kind of sense the wariness from Naru, and volunteers an answer before thoughts can go to a more concerning direction. "Tomoe-chan is the daughter of a co-worker and since we go to the same school they requested that I keep an eye and an ear out for her - so that she can have something a little closer to a normal life. It's less bothersome to have someone only slightly older looking out for you, than to have to constantly be checked up on by every teacher and staff member or something." And it's not entirely the truth. She was a co-worker's daughter. Well, boss' boss' boss is sort of a coworker.

"I admit I haven't seen a particular blonde tornado racing through the school, but the name sounds familiar..." he says, looking up to the ceiling. Maybe some sort of conversation with Mam- Darien? "... truth be told I'm not a huge fan of homework either, rote repition to prove knowledge of concepts I've already mastered, but..." oh, there's Takashi in full. "... is it a focus issue or an understanding one? I can only help with the later, but I do understand the former.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded. "Yes. I'm used to it. It's... nothing major." It was very, very major. However, comment on her roommate made Hotaru shake her head. "I'm afraid not. She sounds nice, though," she said, before lightly shaking her head at the cake. "N-no thank you. I don't think I could stomach anything right now."

She nodded to Takashi's comment, though. "Sorry, Agera-senpai. I... I think I'm okay now, though. Its passed." She reached up a hand to her chest. Her heart was pounding, but it was alive. She was alive. That was what was important.

Hotaru snickered lightly when he spoke up about the homework... "Agera-senpai does some tutoring as well, so if you need help he'd be more than willing to help." Awwww. Always willing to help, this one.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Ah yes, that it is a little easier than being fussed at by teachers incessently." Naru nods in understanding. Perfectly reasonable. She reaches for the cake and tucks it back in her bag so as not to let the sight of it add to queasyness.

"Usagi is agressively social, so I tend to assume that everyone knows her." Naru's tone is fond, and just hints of sidekick energy. A little sigh as she looks at her math book. "If it was a challenge to understand, I suspect I would be more interested in working on it." Naru shakes her head a little. "Today is focus. It's a beautiful day and I told myself that I would finish this assignment before I went out to enjoy it, but it is taking about 8 times as long as it should as I really do not want to be working on the assignment." She lifts her attention up to Takashi as he offers, and is offered as a tutor. "That is good to know, however. I am not expecting every unit to be as easy to follow as this one, and Usagi often struggles with math." And English. And social studies. And and and. "Might I offer you as a tutor in her direction as well?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded. "It really is. Agera-senpai is far more... subtle... and nicer... and less rude... than the people they had checking on me at times," she said softly. No, she did NOT like the witches 5 or Kaolinite checking on her. She could at least stand Takashi. He was pretty nice and sweet.

"N-not the teachers, obviously. They were... generally... pretty nice..." But no student likes the teacher choosing them directly and trying to 'protect' them. She was already kind of an outcast as it were. "I'm... sure if we ever meet, I'll remember her then. Nobody has been aggressively... social... towards me yet..." she said gently, her cheeks a little red. "I'll remember your fond words of her, though."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods. "Ah, well, I myself am not terribly social, and I usually have an afterschool job, so take that with the grade difference - I presume she shares your grade - and it's not surprising we haven't encountered her. But for some reason her name does sound familiar, so she probably met someone I know." Takashi has no idea how right he is.

Takashi Agera also does not have even the feintest idea in this universe what he's signing up for when he agrees. "Sure. As long as she goes here, the school will reimburse me for my time, assuming I can get her to sign off on saying I spent it helping her." Takashi smiles. "Ah, don't tell anyone I mentioned that, I think it's some sort of pilot program deal and I don't think they want a bunch of other people trying to get the deal if it doesn't work."

"Tomoe-chan had to speak up or I would have forgotten myself." he admits. "Oh, I suppose you'd need a way to contact me." Takashi walks over and passes a bit of paper with his number on it. "Have her call me and work out a time." He pauses. "Though if she's such a tornado you might want to make sure she does, she probably won't on her own. Especially for math. Most people hate math." he points out wisely.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Thank you." Naru reaches for the slip of paper with Takashi's number. "I will see what I can manage. Probably not until we've had a couple more tests to really encourage the notion of getting help studying from someone who isn't me." Sure, they might be roommates, but Naru clearly views herself as somewhat responsible for the care and feeding of the Usagi. Less the feeding, she's pretty good at feeding herself.

"People are fascinating." Naru declares on the notion of social or not social. "I've rarely met someone who isnt' interesting in their own way. I'm not sure I much like big giant parties, but I do appreciate being social as often as not." She gives a little shrug, as if moving on from the comment.

Naru's smile is gentle to Hotaru. "I'm glad that you're feeling a bit better."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded. Well, she had a... afterschool job now as well, she supposed. But then, she didn't participate in after school clubs anyway, due to her sickness. Though, she admittedly felt pretty good now. She'd even helped Takashi try and find some work. She helped, yay!

Though, she couldn't help but feel a little for this Usagi girl. Getting help from someone you didn't really know could be... scary, at times. "Oh? Does... your friend like throwing a lot of parties, then?" she asked, her cheeks a little red. "She sounds exciting. Exhausting, but... in a good way. I... I am feeling a lot better, thank you for the water."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi smiles, in a way there's a kinship there, sort of - Naru seems to feel responsible for Usagi and Takashi feels responsible for Hotaru. "Honestly, I'm more of a small gatherings kind of person yeah." he nods. "One of my friends tends to mill about with 3 other dudes, add me to it and it can get a little busy. But I like all of them in small doses, they're very... eclectic. Different." he comments.

He actually opens one of the thick chemistry books and leans back a bit - he's kind of aware that Hotaru started the conversation and he might have said a little too much, and he can't control every conversation if she's going to, well, have interactions with people. And the poor kid was so isolated, he really did want her to get to talk directly.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"You know, she hasnt' really thrown big parties to this point, but this is the first year we've been here at school." Naru is comtemplative of that notion. "So who knows what's going to happen here. Mostly she's just utterly not shy about making friends and talking with people." An expansive gesture of her hand includes everyone, even hypotheticals who aren't seated with the trio. "I'm glad it helped, you're very welcome." She replies to Hotaru.

There's a soft laugh at the notion of a collection of five being busy and Naru nods in agreement. "I dare say I might agree with you there, Takashi. Five starts to get harder to keep track of who and what and where in conversation." Her smile is bright. "Eclectic sounds very polite." He might be opening books, but she's slowly starting to close that math book she's been ignoring, and stack it on her notebook. Clearly packing up, but not rushing about it.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded. "I ummm... tend to get a little overwhelmed as well. Five people tends to be a fairly... unlucky number in my experience, too." But she miiiiight be biased. "She sounds really nice, though. I hope I can meet her. It was nice to meet you, Osaka-senpai. I... should probably get to class, too. Ummm... Agera-senpai, could you..." Help me make sure I get there okay? She didn't like having to say it. And he knew she didn't like to say it. But...

It was... clear she'd likely need the help, just in case another attack came. That and if there was anything her device picked up on, it would be good if he was nearby. She drank the last of the bottle before... "Uhhhh... should... I throw this in the recycle bin or...?" It had been opened once, so she just wanted to be sure the girl wasn't washing and re-using them.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi closes the book. He actually doesn't show even a little bit of annoyance at the situation. Just fact of life. Plus, well, he's always getting data from Hotaru, and he's got vested interests in her. "Sure, Tomoe-chan." he says, smiling. He gives a little bow - not a very deep one at all - towards Naru. "Yes, a pleasure to meet you, Osaka-san. If you know anyone else that could use the tutoring, I have a caffiene habit to feed." He says with a smile.

He stops for Hotaru's last question, though, giving Naru time to answer before leavin with Hotaru.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I have very faith that the whole school will meet Usagi in time, she's like that." Naru smiles warmly, tucking her books into her bag. She reaches for the water bottle with a nod of thanks. "It's designed to be reusable, so I've been washing it and well.. reusing it. I'm been pleased not to be throwing out bottles all the time, but it's also a little more awkward, I will admit." Her bow in return to Takashi is precise, but hardly unduly deferential, no matter that she's younger. "It was a pleasure to meet both of you. I hope you stay well, Hotaru and that Takashi takes good care of you."