538/In the end, you will know, won't you?

In the end, you will know, won't you?
Date of Scene:	01 October 2023
Location:	Mitakihara General Hospital
Synopsis:	As Hannah is getting discharged she meets with Sayaka, Kyubey and Kyousuke, getting to know both of them. Her rousing speech also leaves a distinct impression on the young violinist, leaving him to consider new roads. Meanwhile, Sayaka is left pondering what she should actually do going forward.
Cast of Characters:	Sayaka Miki, Hannah Steiner

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Sayaka Miki has posed:
The time has come for Sayaka to visit Kyousuke again, and as per her habit, she has brought with herself a few more classical composition that she thought Kyosuke would enjoy. The compliments he gives her and the way he happily smiles after receiving those gifts make her feel quite fuzzy, and at the same time, quivering, inside. Despite her nerves not being quite solid in these occasions, for the recent visits, she has had a companion keeping her more grounded (not that he talked much about that), it was more the fact of his tangible presence on her shoulder providing a distraction from the nervousness.

The duo of the bluenette and the white cat resting on her shoulder is proceeding towards the lift that would bring them to Kyousuke's floor, the background chime of the machine only doing so much to help her.

'Ok, to the right now', she reassures herself, going down the hallway in that direction. <<Sayaka, you have done this several times already>>, Kyubey suddenly expresses telepathically. <<I know, Kyubey, please stay out of it>>, the bluenette rebukes him.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Everyone hates hospitals. It's a universal truth. But one way to make it either tolerable or intolerable is getting the proper room mate. Which one this is for Kyousuke? Well, that's his problem. Hannah Steiner has decided over the course of their small association that she rather likes the talented young man. Finding someone who can hold a decent conversation has been a treat, and frankly she's learned more about music and the violin than she's ever wanted to know. It's been a good time for her!

But as the recovery has gone well for her, Kyousuke's has been...well, lots of bad news. And the associated depressed and lack of purpose in her new friend? It's eating at her perhaps even as much as him. Thus she briefly took her leave of him just to get out of the room! With her cane in hand, Lyra beside her, she grips the giant 'dog's' leash. Walking out of their shared room, she lets out a long sigh.

"Acht! It is like swimming in a sea of dissappointment und false mediocrity! What shall I do with that fool?" She mutters to herself out loud!

Meanwhile, spying both Sayaka and most importantly, Kyubey, the big Razorhound lets out a bark! Bark! Bark bark bark! Waaaag.

"L...Lyra, cease! Who...hello?" Queries the young woman curiously!

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Hey, calm down", is the first thing that comes out of Sayaka's mouth as she notices the big dog running towards her, quickly rescuing the music tracks from danger by securing them inside her bag. "Hi, big dog", Sayaka mutters towards Lyra, tentatively extending a hand towards the alien creature slowly to reassure her there is nothing to get worked up about.

The bluenette turns towards Hannah, having heard her cry of surprise and her question, bowing towards the Belkan as she gives out her introduction. "Hi, I am Miki Sayaka. I guess this dog is yours then. You said Lyra, right? She is beautiful", the student grins having recomposed herself after the surprise.

Kyubey meanwhile is still completely unfussed on Sayaka's shoulder, looking straight at Hannah calmly. <<My congratulations for your recovery, Hannah Steiner>>, he speaks into the Belkan's mind.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Lyra is a big ol' sweetheart, and so when a hand is out? She's absolutely snuffling then out right licking and nuzzling happily! Puuuush! Lyra is trying to /so/ get up in Sayaka's personal space, a nuzzly cuddly giant of a woof!

Thankfully Saya is distracting her from Kyuubey, which the razorhound's instincts get All Sorts of Not Good from. Semi-sentience is a weird blessing like that, even if she can't communicate the wrongness like a Familiar could.

"Guten aben, then, frau Sayaka!" Comes Hannah's chipper voice, quickly coming to a grin, and tapping about with her cane to retrieve her guide not-dog. A light tug from the lead, and Lyra reluctantly is back at her side. Mostly because she's eye-locked with Kyuubey.

"Mein freund und eyes as it were! A pleasure to meet you! Forgive me, she is usually not so..." She pauses to find a word in Japanese. The language is mostly fluent on her tongue despite her insistence on peppering it with Belkan, but she's no expert yet.

Which gives a certain magical rat time to get up in her head. Now, this isn't new to Hannah. This is exactly the kind of thing Device Users do all the time. But between her dog's disquiet earlier, and now getting prodded in the head with /zero/ protocol about it, Belkan /or/ Mid-Childan?

She replies easily, but that smile suddenly might seem a touch...fragile if Sayaka is good at detecting that sort of thing.

<By the Sankt's own blood, how refreshing it is to have mein name precede me on this backwater! May you Walk In Her Grace, I am glad to be about. You have me at a disadvantage. To whom do I have the vergnugen?> While it's all very polite and Politik, her mental tone does /not/ seem to find this intrusion pleasant. And she's not hiding the fact.

Unbeknownst to her, this is her girlfriend's patron, and a creature she's been wanting to speak with.

Mentally switching gears, she makes to not have her pause seem /odd/. "What brings you to such a dreary place? Seeking an injured freund?" She asks conversationally!

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka is all sorts of puzzled by the speech mixed with words she doesn't know, but she takes it in stride, not letting the confusion get to her. She smiles energically at Hannah, before saying "Great to know you just recovered, Steiner-san!", side-eyeing Kyubey while she says, wondering how he knew Hannah had been in the hospital. Probably he passed by with Magda, she rationalises.

"I am all good, Steiner-san!" Sayaka is quick to say at the Belkan's apology. "I don't mind Lyra's affection, I like how appreciative she is." She is quick on bouncing back since her music tracks are safe and sound. "What about you, how do you feel?" she asks out of courtesy, since the warrior just got out of the hospital.

<<He is Kyubey>>, Sayaka replies for the white critter. <<He is accompanying me since I am considering taking up his contract, as he calls it, and fight for what is right!">>, the bluenette exclaims proudly. Hannah's disappointment at the breach of etiquette gets lost under Sayaka's enthusiasm.

<<That's correct, Hannah>> intervenes Kyubey, switching to just her first name. <<She is a candidate just like Amy.>>

Sayaka nods and smiles at Hannah's question. "Exactly, I have been bringing him a few more gifts since he is going through a hard time. I want to keep up his morale while he waits to get better. The doctors aren't really helpful about this." Her smile only ever so slightly wavers at this point.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah Steiner visibly twitches, and then sighs. She runs a hand through her blonde hair, and attempts to not look insulted. She smiles again. Unfortunately such a direct mind link is a bit...imperfect sometimes, and so Hannah's annoyance leaks out. Also she has no problems calling out Kyoobs here.

<Seriously!? A direct connection without...herr Kyubey while I am /delighted/ to meat you mein dear freund to discuss certain matters, have none on this Sanktkaiserless backwater ever heard of /protocol/ und /OPSEC/????> Her initial rage is mostly dying thanks to Sayaka's enthusiasm, making it more into Space Noble Grumbling. She does the universal 'point at Kyoobs, point at her, then thumbs up gesture' to indicate a meeting later.

Then she switches back to Japanese-slash-SpaceGerman.

"Any delegations aside, mein freunds, wunderbar to meet a freund of mein dear engel's! Mostly recovered, last few checks und all, bloodwork, the usual over-precautions of those given to mending the corporeal body und all! Though I tire of being here. Mein bedmate in this place is...bluntly, not long for things, if the nurse's talk is to be believed, und quite depressing." Honest worry seeps from her voice.

Then she gives a genuine smile! "Perfect! I assume he is on this floor, then? Come, come, mein wanderings have acquainted me with most of the...less likely to slought off the mortal coil here." Pause. Shrug.

"Hospitals are boring. What is your dear freund's name, hm?" She offers, again.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
<<I am sorry, Steiner-san!>> Sayaka is quick to apologise as soon as Hannah mentions the breach of etiquette. <<I should have made it clear how it works!>> she bows towards the noble, Kyubey holding onto her shoulder even with the sudden movement.

<<There is no need to be anxious about such things>> is Kyubey's seraphic reply, completely nonplussed by the Belkan's outburst. <<This is just communication, I won't be made privy to anything that you wish to keep for yourself>>, the white cat explains in his usual cheery tone.

The bluenette struggles to follows all the complex vocabulary Hannah is throwing out, but she understands enough to get that she is feeling well and she promply expresses her happiness for that. "I am glad you can be back into the swing of things, Steiner-san, and maybe into the fights, right?" <<You are a magical girl, right, a paladin of justice?>> She asks mentally, out of heavesdroppers.

"Yes, Kyousuke is on this floor", the bluenette blurts out, before giving out a more thorough explanation. "Kamijou Kyousuke, he injured his left hand in an incident. Do you want to come with me?" If Hannah accepts, Sayaka will have lead them in Kamijou's room, and the three of them will be looking at the boy still on his bed, with the covers on his legs.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
<Much obliged, then, herr Kyubey, frau Miki. Mein apologies for seeming paranoid. One can never be too careful given the myriad dangers this world seems to wallow in as a liz-sow so often does!> Declares Hannah, finally mentally sounding a bit mollified.

And then, she ponders Sayaka's more pointed question. Kyoobs has already mentioned 'candidate', and so Hannah has a sudden moral question. Preserve some cracking sense of ambiguity that she's not entirely certain Sayaka is aware of in the magical realm, or out herself as a magical girl? Best not to make things /more/ complicated for Sayaka.

"Let us merely say that in mein home, one is well blessed by Her upon the Cradle to wield a blade! Nevermind to wield it twice after a powerful injury." Comes Hannah with an open smile.

<'Paladin' is a weighty word, und one I am not so selflessly worthy of> Starts Hannah mentally as though she's clinging to that one word in particular. Could be some cultural significance there!

<However, if your question is whether or naught I raise a blade in Her Name that I might beat the vile forces here back to their dark pits? Ja!> She too is mentally cheerful here, a brow raised.

But back to more mundane matters, there's this poor young man! Hmmmm!

She grips her lead, gently finds a free arm somewhere in all that discography of Sayaka's, and is happy to be lead to the bed of the unfortunate violinist!

"Perhaps we can do something for morale as it were, mein dear freund!" Comes Hannah easily at the offer!

And once led in? She's all smiles, waving her arms openly as though Kamijou has been her friend for all her life.

"Und so this is the vaunted herr Kyousuke, hm? Guten aben! Hannah Steiner, an utter delight to meet you! I believe the good frau Miki has a gift, given the weight I feel clamoring around mein freund!" Cheeer. Grin! Her good graces are, as usual, like a hammer to the face!

Sayaka Miki has posed:
<<That's awesome, Steiner-san!>> is Sayaka's reply to the valiant response of the Belkan, an image in Sayaka's mind forming of Hannah pointing a determined blade an oppressive figure threatening to harm innocents. <<I am glad there are people like you and Sailor Mars in this city! I have been actually worried about Madoka getting herself in some danger, given Kyubey's revelations>>, she reaches out with a hand, giving the white cat a pet, <<but knowing people like you are out there, fighting for what is good and right, is reassuring!>>

When they get into the room, Kyousuke isn't quite as energic as Hannah, a calm face hiding behind a strained emotional state, coming forth from his eyes.

When Hannah mentions Sayaka having a gift for him, his brow considerably darkens and he grimaces. "Yes, I know, another one of Sayaka's gifts", he says irately. "Another reminder of what I can never achieve anymore, of what I will have to spend my whole life hearing others do. Do you enjoy torturing me, Sayaka? Or do you hate me?" he asks, a piercing glare turned towards the bluenette.

"What are you saying Kyousuke? You like music. This is going to make you feel better", the prospective Puella Magi replies, looking at him confused.

"Do you even realise what you are saying?" he growls at her. "I just told you how I feel about this, I don't want to listen to music anymore! Why be tormented by a reminder of what I cannot do? I don't feel anything anymore, I can't even move a violin like this, nevermind actually operate it!"

"You don't have to lose hope, Kyousuke", is Sayaka's rebuttal amidst the shock she feels over his reaction. "You will heal someday", she adds, trying to comfort him.

"That's not how the doctors see it. They came here to say the current state of medicine can't help me and to give up on music", he looks at her with dispassionate eyes.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah is about to blush with so much praise, and genuinely so, at least until they arrive in Kyousuke's room. All that bluster and over-the-top friendliness suddenly dies upon the blade of Kyousuke's depression. He stabs wildly.

She follows the exchange expertly, like a good politician's daughter. In her more rational mind, the insult seems clear. As does the expectation between the two. Blunt hope on Saya's part, and Kyousuke's pure depression and wallowing in his own /loss/!

Part of her feels bad for Kyousuke. No. She can absolutely relate, still feeling that hole in her heart from losing her parents. Of something no magic, no science, no /magic science/ can give her back. She'd begged, pleaded, and sobbed before the altar of the Sankt Church for too many nights, and consulted the greatest of Meisters to no avail after the assassination.

The young man's words are barbed, and while she can't exactly /deny/ his pain, she sure can try to lift him up.

A Belkan lifting however is neither subtle nor gentle.

"With respect, frau Miki, let us give this young a touch of reality, by allowing that his hand may well not heal." She offers, strangely gently and almost admonishingly of her new friend. She pauses for /just/ a second.

And then she proceeds to hurl her tinged glasses into a corner, shattering them dramatically, and walks straight over to Kyousuke's bed, and sits on his side table like she owns the place. With an audible sound of her neck making an effort, she 'stares' into Kyousuke's own eyes sightlessly. Teeth grind. And there's nothing but irritation in her gaze as the empathy slowly dies.

"HOWEVER!" She then adds, before anything else can be said, just on cue. She knows what she's doing.

"You are a savant of the universal language of music, ja? Und from a mere disabling wound upon your person, you deign to give up something so...so...schon??? By the Sankt! Mein bedmate in her lucid moments hummed her own dirge, und tried to comfort /me/ while the...what is the word??? Reaper tried to claim her!? Whom has the greater strength, hm!? I stand here humbled by freund und stranger, mein life barely kept after mein own /foolishness/, und yet here I gain another freund so -even if insulting by her lack of protocol - willing to offer you some empathy?" She rants, all the pain, all the worry for her planet, for her Uncle's works, upon friend and world alike just works up in a black ball inside of her!

Her eyes are a bit wild, actually, but she sucks it all in and suddenly pulls herself back and catches her breath as she leans against the wall.

And points a finger sharply!

"Frau Miki is, perhaps, a fool! But if you say she /hates/ you, herr Kyousuke then I shall personally call you to a Duel regardless of your hands! You know music. Your ears work, do they not? You still have /one/ hand, at the least, und knowledge of pitch und...whatever else you musicians do, do you not????" Continues Hannah, furiously leading the young man on to a point.

"Teach! Or, by the Sankt, /LEAD/ a crowd of musicians! She means to inspire you, und perhaps you can use your skills und knowledge to do the same! To just lay down und die in this pathetic ward of invalids und death-seekers would be to tear away your /genius/ from this world! I, Hannah of House Steiner, merely ask you consider the other path still open to you, herr Kyousuke rather than wallow in suffering! It shall sting, mein freund, I shan't deny!"

She runs a hand through her hair!

"However even in the depths of despair, remember that there is always another path for one of /skill/ such as yourself!" Her words, previously furious, end in pure blunt encouragement as she smiles to Kyousuke, those brilliant teeth one-thousand-watt aimed right at him!

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Kyousuke stares agape at Hannah as she walks over to his bed with a determined stride, a chill coursing up his back as he finds himself staring back at those sightless eyes that, even before her voice, trasmit the Belkan's fury to his face.

Hearing the passionate speech Hannah delivers to him leaves him astonished, before he starts shouting at her back. "What of my dream!? I wanted to be there in person, to feel the violin under my hand as the vibration of the cords produce sounds both mesmerising and inspiring. To watch others contribute with what I had to depart myself from! Is that something you would wish for yourself? Facing that torment every day?"

He pauses his rebellion when the noble has more to say, showing herself as one who wishes to brand a sword and cut the vegetation that hides paths that he isn't acknowledging. "You wish for me to find pride in guiding others to brilliance? In being remembered as the one who made it possible for many others to shine?" he asks rhetorically, his dream almost gone from his heart as he lays there despondently.

"I suppose I will get used to that idea eventually. Not right now", he adds, a part of him still clinging stubbornly to his ideal. "I would like to be alone. Being told that I would pretty much need some inexistent miracle or magic isn't something that feels particularly nice. It does sting", he concludes looking at Hannah.

Meanwhile both Sayaka and Kyubey are looking silently at the duo, the latter reserving a few words for Sayaka with Hannah distracted by Kyousuke. <<Even after he was offered a new hope, he still clings to his old life>>, the white cat notes with his usual cheery tone. <<I have known Kyousuke for a long time. I have seen the effort he put into things, of course he would want it back. And I can give it to him...>> she notes, the words about miracles and magic still ringing into her mind.

<<Of course, I doubt he would blame you if you left things as is: he is about to find a new hope; sure, nobody would be able to ever see him playing again, but he has a second choice now, and it's not like he would know you would have given it up>>, Kyubey observes.

The bluenette observes out of the window as she ponders those words. At the end, she would know: would she be able to live with it if she didn't do what's right? The sun is setting on those thoughts, leaving the four of them alone, the advancing darkness reminding Hannah and Sayaka they will soon have to get home.