761/Faust Things First

Faust Things First
Date of Scene:	14 November 2023
Location:	Obsidian Tower
Synopsis:	Mami's been thinking a lot about Obsidian lately, and so she jumps on an opportunity to visit Takashi in his lab. They have a heart to heart about what it means for her to join Obsidian, and she still decides to do it.
Cast of Characters:	Takashi Agera, Mami Tomoe

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Takashi Agera has posed:
    It's been two days since the events at the convention center, since Takashi-as-Riventon got away with one of the Pure Heart Crystals. Since he ate the retribution and attempts to stop his escape without the benefits of his shields. Since he crawled through a Door back to Obsidian Tower. A day since he woke up in Obsidian's infirmary, and today was the first day he was back in something resembling control of his own world, back in his lab, albeit in a wheelchair for a day or so yet. At least thanks to Dark Energy he didn't have to push himself - the wheelchair might have not been electric but it didn't mean it wasn't powered. But he had stayed off campus, and away from his Dorm, to avoid really awkward questions about his leg and arm. He'd been texting Mami back, slowly, but he hadn't really given her any details, until now.

    TEXT to Mami: So, I'm going to level with you now that classes should be over and all. I would go out looking for our paper-mache friends with you but I would really slow you down today. I kind of got the heck blasted out of me and I'm slightly laid up for a few more days - it's why I'm not on campus today.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
When her phone buzzes, Mami is on her way home from school to her apartment in Mitakihara. She always goes home first before going out hunting. She likes to have some tea and a little snack, and change out of her school uniform. It draws too much attention when she's out hunting. She keeps her phone on silent, but she's got a particular haptic pattern set for a certain boy. So she's already smiling when she pulls it out of her pocket.

She reads the text and her thoughts run off in several different directions, working themselves into a knot. If he got the heck blasted out of him, that means he was probably out being a villain, and he probably deserved it, but she doesn't like the idea of her boyfriend being hurt, not one bit. She pauses walking to swipe out a message on her phone.

TEXT to Takashi: Were you a naughty boy, Takashi-kun?
TEXT to Takashi: Are you bed-ridden, or are you just avoiding campus so that nobody asks questions? I have hot tea and pastries at my apartment.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi looks at the question and smirks. Of course he knows what she's asking, but the fact that she had to ask it in that way? He can hear it in her voice, even though it's all in text, that almost singsong teasing and hinting. Now, the question was how to answer it. How to express the depths of his current situation without either panicking her OR sounding like he was whining for attention. The amount of effort that went into texting between two teenagers was a lot when they were prone to overthinking things. Or, at least, one of them was.

    TEXT to Mami: I was working, if that's what you're asking.

    TEXT to Mami: I'm not entirely bed-ridden, but unless your apartment has an elevator, or a really tall ramp, or you're on the first floor, I may have to rain check the tea and pastries even if they sound super-good. Which they do.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe started walking again, but kept her phone in her hand, so that she'd be able to immediately see his response. She knew she had some time, though. He was surely going to choose his words entirely too carefully. When his texts come in she reads and frowns. 'Not entirely bed-ridden' is another way of saying 'somewhat bed-ridden' and that's not good at all.

Takashi needs his girlfriend right now. He needs to be taken care of and Mami is absolutely prepared to do that. She starts to pick up her pace as she swipes out another response.

TEXT to Takashi: You will absolutely not rain check on the tea and pastries.
TEXT to Takashi: I'm bringing tea and pastries to you. Where are you if you're not on campus?

Takashi Agera has posed:
    TEXT to Mami: I'm in my lab. It makes for fewer questions when I only see people I pay. But it does make it slightly harder for pretty girls to pay me a visit, since there's a lack of pretty girls here. Cute ones I have.

    Somewhere, Hinoiri might be insulted by that. Or maybe not, he didn't say Obsidian was low on pretty girls who thought they were horses.

    TEXT to Mami: Though, I can probably come up with a way to get you through if you're really curious. Or, we could take the safer but less interesting option and meet somewhere else. I can get anywhere that stairs aren't an issue.

    TEXT to Mami: Well, technically I suppose I could float myself up to your balcony but it might get awkward if somebody saw.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami reads his texts as he sends them, but she doesn't respond right away. She's power walking the rest of the way home and thinking. Part of her is curious. She's been curious since the beginning. Ever since she realized Riventon worked for an organization; an organization that could provide her a team; a team she wouldn't be competing with for grief seeds. She's been curious since Norie outright suggested it, telling her that their team is like a family.

This is an opportunity for her to see the inside of Obsidian without committing to anything. She's not about to pass it up. As soon as she gets home, she pauses at the door to swipe.

TEXT to Takashi: I'll get the tea and cake, you get me in the building when I arrive. I'm not that far, so I won't be long.

Mami just so happens to already have a cinnamon cake baked. She'd made two the night before, and ate one. Sometimes she just needed cake. She quickly puts together a basket of things she'll need, and changes her clothes, and then she heads right back out the door.

She's not that far, so it does not take her very long.

TEXT to Takashi: I hope you figured it out. I'm here.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi can think of several ways to resolve this issue, but each of them comes with their own trouble and annoyance. Which means that choice paralysis sets in for a little bit, before he decides to go with what is, obnoxiously, the path that makes him look kind of the weakest. But pushing anyone to help him would mean they would get their nose into this, and at this point, Riventon's got enough cache - and a little bit of sympathy - that it's easier for him to deal with people directly.

    TEXT to Mami: Fine, I'll sort it out.

    TEXT to Mami:Lower floors are a department store, but come up to the sixth floor and just wait in the lobby. Security won't give you a hard time, if they do just tell them you're here to meet someone.

    Even in a city as busy as Tokyo, in a section with as much neon and ad space as Mitakihara, Obsidian Tower stands out. Of course, the fact that it's the tallest building around helps. As does the giant Obsidian logo that lights up at night. The sixth floor, above the department stores that make up the first five, is where the building gets fully corporate - a mixture of black and white marble on the floor, a giant desk behind which some corporate security sits looking bored, and more corporate security personnel either stand or pace around. As expected, nobody gives Mami much trouble.

    Well, almost nobody. Trouble comes rolling out of the elevator in a wheelchair, but that trouble is at least her handsome boyfriend. For the moment he's pushing the wheels manually, which is more annoyingly difficult than expected since he's also only got one good arm. But sometimes, civilians or regular workers are on the sixth floor. It's not somewhere he can just use his powers. He pauses and gives a sort of sheepish, half-hearted wave with his hand.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe is not sure what she was expecting, but she's both relieved and shocked at the sight. She manages to keep most of that emotion contained. Mostly. Her eyes get a little big when she sees Takashi and her lips curl in for just a moment and then she gives him a sad smile as she crosses the lobby.

"Whatever you did must have been very naughty for them to give you a beating this bad, Takashi-kun," she says, sounding rather approving of his condition. She stops right in front of him and gives him a good once over, before meeting his gaze. She looks very concerned. "But as much as I'm sure you deserved it. I don't like seeing you like this."

She takes another step closer, sets the basket in his lap and then bends over to kiss his forehead. "So do better at not getting hurt next time," she murmurs. She knows he's not going to do good. She's reasonable in her requests.

Then she stands up, walks around and grabs ahold of the handles to his wheel chair. She turns him around rather adeptly to point back at the elevator that he came off of. "Alright. You push the buttons, and I'll push you."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not trying to push my buttons?" he asks, but resigns himself to it. Not much he's going to do on this floor. "You know, once we're off the civilian floors I'll be more capable of moving myself." he notes. And then he pushes the buttons in the elevator - buttons, plural, as he's pushing more than one at a time. "All of the normal floors are for boring normal people. All of the floors that are for cool, interesting folks use more numbers than the elevator buttons have." he half-explains.

    There's a distinct feeling of the elevator moving not only up and down, but side to side and forward and back before it finally lets out in a place that... well... looks like a normal, long series of doors in a hallway. Kind of boring dead corporate. Except for the fact that standing outside the door, waiting to go up, is an eight-foot-tall and almost four-foot-wide giant red oni, complete with metal club. Takashi nods, and the oni nods back. He seems to observe Mami a little bit more warily. "Coworker." Takashi explains, as though that explains anything. Now that he's off the civilian floors he can use Dark Energy to help revolve the wheels and pilot things. They head down hallways, passing a few other highly interesting characters before Takashi opens a door that leads to... a different elevator.

    This one goes only straight down, for a ways, and then they're off in what seems like more of an underground area, pipes and all. There's a locker room area that is wheeled past, and then a door at the end of the hallway with a stenciled on sign reading WITCHES 5. But they're not going there; they're going to a different door, an unlabeled door. Opening THAT door leads to what USED to be Takashi's entire space, before he dragged more out of the Stacked Space thanks to Hematite, and a double door offset from the wall, with two mono-eyed robots guarding it on either side. "Man, they hated it when I built my own lab." he says, bemused.

    The doors open and now, finally, after all of the drama, they're in Takashi's lab space. Which looks sort of like someone haphazardly threw magic and technology together under a bright blue light. There's a lot going on here, on screens, on tables, underneath all sorts of strange science equipment. "Sorry, it's a lot easier when you can just jump to the room outside, it's not such a long walk."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
He may not need her to push the chair, but she still just follows along behind him, her hands on the handles. It's a defensive position. You know, putting him between her and all the highly interesting characters in the hallways. She lifts up a hand to awkwardly wave her fingers to the oni, but then she wraps those fingers right back around the handle where they were.

As they approach his lab, she finally lets go of the chair. She follows him in and just grabs the basket right off of his lap, and then takes a couple of more steps in and just does a slow turn on the spot, taking it all in, and just swinging the basket around in a circle.

She finally spies what appears to be an empty surface. A table. A counter. Something. And walks over to set the basket down on it. "I appreciate you rolling all the distance to come let me in, Takashi-kun," she says, turning around to smile at him. "And I really do mean it, I don't like seeing you like this," she says.

She turns back toward the basket and opens the top, lifting her kettle, tea service, and cake out of it, arraying them out on the surface. "Are you in much pain right now?" Her voice is full of concern.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi sighs. "Do you want the honest answer? I guess you do." He says. "I feel like hell, but. It's not the first time I've been kicked around for trying to make things better. It won't be the last, either." he says. "Usually it's not so bad, though. And I heal a lot faster than some regular guy, even on my own, before you get involved in the help. It's... also not the way I wanted you to see this place, or my lab. You know I figured I'd be able to do some cleaning before I brought you here, but Dark Energy isn't as good for picking up delicate things and being stuck in a chair isn't super good for cleaning up... a mess like this." He admits.

    "So, my apologies for it looking like... it does." Takashi says, shrugging. "Also, for me looking like this." He pauses. "It's not the last time it's going to happen, though." he admits. "But I wouldn't have brought you here if I thought that was going to scare you off. I heard you met my girls." he says, with a smile. "They're good people. Not everybody in this building is, admittedly. But there are some of us... who are trying to find a better way through all of this difficulty than either of the ones presented to us otherwise."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"Takashi-kun," Mami says, admonishingly, "I am here to see you, not your lab. I don't care what condition it's in. I do care what condition you are in, though, so I accept your apology." She grabs a large bottle of water out of her basket and fills up her kettle with it. She really did pack everything. And then goes in search of power for the kettle. Surely there is some nearby. It's a science lab.

"I have. I actually ran into them both sort of by chance before you and I were a thing, but I've reconnected since," she says. She finds a place to plug in the kettle and does so, setting it to heat up the water while she prepares the teapot. She gets out a tin and spoons out something that is not exactly tea. It's too colorful to be tea. But then it's in the pot and the tin goes back in the basket. "They're both so sweet."

It's a waiting game now, while the water boils. She leans against the counter and looks at Takashi. "Norie pitched joining Obsidian to me," she says. She doesn't say anything more, but the way she said it suggests there's more to say.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi winces. At what, it's unsure. Is it Mami's words, or is it Norie's, or is it just the pain? He doesn't explain. It's nice to not have to manually move the wheelchair, at least. You'd think Obsidian would have electric wheelchairs for people who get absolutely trashed while working for them. But noooo. He takes a sigh. "They're good kids. Norie-chan, Hotaru-chan, and Fate-chan too, when you meet her." he admits. "All of this... a lot of it's for them. I don't know how much Norie-chan told you, but she's kind of... stuck, without the ability to get the full feeling a person should have. Hotaru-chan's got problems, too. My brother - I don't think you've met him - does too. All of them need my help, and probably so do a ton of other people I've never met." he says.

    "So yeah, getting my butt kicked by an entire crayon box of magical girls is not actually my personal idea of a good time, but I've come to realize I can't just ask nicely for the things I really need. For the things other people need. And if I did nothing, they'd try and get rid of Dark Energy entirely. Which would mean getting rid of... among other things, Norie and myself. Neither of us can even survive without access to it." he admits. "So that's why I'm probably going to end up with a few more scars and stuff." he warns.

    "As far as joining Obsidian, well... it's our home, but it's a broken home. It's got problems. And I don't mean the literal Oni we walked past earlier. He's really not that much of a problem. The clown above him though... and the people... the things like it? They're problems. I'm not really all-in on Obsidian, truth be told." he admits.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe was going to just simply ignore the obvious fact that a crayon box of magical girls would not be beating him down so hard if the things he really needed were ethical to take. She knows he's a villain, and the less closely she inspects it, the happier she is.

"I know you're going to get hurt again, and again, and--" Mami's interrupted by the tea kettle beeping as steam rushes out the spout. "Again," Mami finishes her thought as she pours water into the teapot, and then sets the kettle aside, putting a lid on the pot. She glances at the clock on her phone, and then sets a timer, and slips it into her pocket. "I mean, I've even shot you. I knew this going in, Takashi-kun."

She turns and reaches into the basket to get a couple of plates, and a serving knife, and cuts and plates a couple pieces of cake. "I think Hotaru-chan has the right of it. You mean well, but maybe a quarter to a third of your ideas are terrible and should be stopped. Maybe if I were here to knock some sense into you kindly you'd get hurt less by the other girls."

Tea is poured into cups. It's a rosy pink color with a sweet aroma. She brings a cup on a saucer and a plate of cake with a fork to Takashi. "It's hibiscus tea and cinnamon cake. I hope you enjoy it!"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi shrugs. "Honestly, I'd rather take the shooting. Bullets, they're easier to dig out. They don't screw with my magical energy as much. Even your bullets, which I gather are somewhat more magic." He notes. "I think that was the first time I've ever been shot. Not the last, obviously." he says. "And I've been blown up, too. And blasted. And stabbed. And I'll take the physical stuff over the magical." He smiles. "So if you ever shoot me again, it probably won't be the worst thing I've dealt with that day. The magical stuff stucks longer." he says, gesturing to his current state. "Bullets, I can be over that pretty quick. I'd be in class today."

    "The tea and cake will help, though, I'm sure." He says with a wink. "And look, if a quarter to a third of my ideas are good, it's only because I've learned things from all of the so-called bad ideas first." he says. "You learn from mistakes, from failures. Behind every real success are a series of failures, sometimes the ones you see and the ones you don't." He says before biting into a bit of cake. "...damn, this is good. Better than I deserve, probably." Takashi says.

    "Reminds me of you, in that sense... So if you have to kindly knock some sense into me to justify being around more, that's not really encouraging me to make less mistakes, now is it?" He asks with a grin before going back to the cake.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe basks in Takashi's praise for just a moment, standing there with one hand in the other in front of her just watching him eat her cake. Oh she's pleased. She giggles and then turns to go back to the counter where hers is, and she takes a bite of her own. Mm. It's just as good as last night's.

She picks up her tea and takes a sip. It's sweet and floral, and pairs very well with the cake. She sets it down and then looks over to Takashi and says, in her teacher voice, "One who knows when he can fight, and when he cannot fight, will be victorious."

"There's mistakes and then there's avoidable mistakes, Takashi-kun. Some of your ideas don't need to be tested in the field, they could just be thought experiments," she says. And then she takes another bite of cake.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi laughs. "If I could even begin to account for all of the variables... all of the strangeness, all of the magic... the weirdness... I would gladly do this in my head." He says. "I know it's easy for everyone else to forget..." he says, and gestures around the room. "but I'm not stupid. Far from it. If it wasn't for all this magic stuff, for the Dusk Zone, for Dark Energy, for my adopted family... I'd be focused on my classes like all of the other non-magical students, looking to my future, deciding which college was worth my time." He smiles.

    "But instead here I am, because I didn't get the option. Nobody asked if I wanted to be involved." he says, softly. "But I can't turn my back on em, either. I can't forget the situation my girls are in. And I look around, and I see the same narrow minds in Obsidian... and in the sparkleskirt crayon box." he says, before finishing his tea. "I don't reeally expect you to understand. But... I am glad that you're here, anyways." he says with a smile. "Reminds me that I need to be a little bit more careful. Because I have people I care about, not just people I need to protect. Also, you make really killer cake."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe continues to eat her cake and drink her tea in Takashi's laboratory. She's mostly looking at him, but she's also still glancing around. It's all so fascinating. She's very curious, but they're having a conversation.

"Yes, please take better care of yourself," she says, sounding quite stern, but then she immediately giggles. "Norie-chan described your team as a tiny family, and I told her it felt like I was practically part of the family already. Hotaru-chan and Norie-chan are wonderful little sisters." She beams as she takes the last bite of her cake.

"Oh you should have seen the look on Hotaru-chan's face when she was texting you," she says with another giggle. "She really does adore you."

She picks up her tea and takes a sip. "So, if I did want to apply for a job, how would I go about doing that?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Well, they'd be lucky to have an elegant and beautiful older sister to look up to." Takashi says, without any hint that he knows its as nice for her to hear as it is.

    "But it's not exactly a standard organization. You can't just put an application online or anything. Especially since you don't actually use Dark Energy yourself. Unless you've been hiding that from me." he says with a laugh. "If you have then I really am less capable than I think... hiding Dark Energy, that would be a feat."

    "So you'd need someone who'd be ready to take you onboard. Since you're also not an offworlder or a cat." he notes. "Thankfully, I'm now a little bit more of an official leader, as of... well... the thing that got me all of these injuries. So I won't have to pull what I did with Norie... and bring someone onboard without technically having the approval to do so." he begins. "Not that it would stop me or anything, just that it's a lot easier this way."

    "Or I suppose you could go through the trouble of fidning somebody else to sponsor ya, if it's awkward being on my team." he says, laughing. "I do look a bit like an invalid today."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe blushes for Takashi's praise. The boy does know what to say to her, that's for sure. She sips her tea as she listens to him, looking thoughtful. As if she didn't already make her decision weeks ago. As if she hasn't been slowly convincing herself all this time. Ever since she got the idea of a team that's not other Puella got stuck in her head.

She takes her last sip of tea, and then sets her cup aside. She walks over and without a word picks his cake plate right up off his lap and sets it aside on the table. She ignores any protests. Then she sits herself right down in its place, draping her arms around Takashi's neck.

"I'm really only interested in Obsidian because of you, and Hotaru-chan, and Norie-chan." That's not entirely true, she's interested in not being in the field alone. "I do not think I would work well with some other team," she adds. "I don't love some other team."

She punctuates that with a quick little stolen kiss that tastes of cinnamon and hibiscus.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi blinks, and for a moment it's obvious that Mami's taking a seat in his lap and quick stolen kiss has made Takashi's brain take some time to hard-reboot. He does however, eventually find some brain and words again. "I must admit, I did hope you didn't come here with the cake and the tea and the smiles just to end up in some other department. Plus obviously mine's the best, it has me in it." he says with a grin.

    "But, you don't have to join Obsidian to work with us against Witches. I can probably get you a long term vistor situation, or have Fate or Hotaru teleport or escort you here when you want." he says. "It's not that I don't want you to be here with us. And officially on our team. I'd really love that. I love spending time with you. I love looking at you. The girls adore you already." he says. "And it feels early to say it - but I'm going to say it anyways, I love you specifically, Mami Tomoe." he says, bluntly.

    "But joining Obsidian is a little bit different than just taking my side. It's taking a much bigger side. It'll give people opinions of you, even if you do nothing but take a business card and talk to me while I work in the lab. I told Norie she should join because Norie's an entity of Dark Energy. Hotaru and Fate's parents are bigwigs in Obsidian. I can't really side with anything but Team Dark Energy." he explains. "But you, you may have a closer amount to lose as you have to gain."

    "Plus, if you join Obsidan and have to shoot me, it becomes a whole HR thing." he says, laughing. But also serious.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe sits there, with her arms still draped around Takashi's neck, but leaning back just a little. She's entire inches away from him. Her eyes drop down to watch his lips while talks. He's saying so many good words. He's seriously trying to keep her as far in the light as he can, and it's very sweet. He's such a sweet boy. She's not making poor decisions at all.

"I know. Believe me, I know," Mami says, finally. Her voice is quiet, but not timid. She just doesn't need to speak very loud since she's right there. "I've been thinking about this for weeks now. I've been a Puella for over three years now. I had a partner for some of that, but it didn't work out." At least Kyouko's back in town. At least she's speaking to Mami, and not in anger. At least, she did the once. Progress.

"There's this group of Puella that moved here from Germany tracking this Super Witch," Mami says. "I've watched them fight together. They're like a well-oiled machine. Very efficient. Some of that comes down to one of them having time powers, but a lot of it comes down to their teamwork. It's the kind of teamwork that requires trust that comes from familiarity. We're not going to build that kind of team cohesion if I'm a visitor."

Then she shrugs. "Besides, you said you're interested in protecting people, right? Damage reduction, right? I've been thinking about that," she says. "I focus all my energy on fighting witches because I have to. I need grief seeds to keep my soul gem pure. But if Obsidian can keep me supplied with grief seeds, even when I'm not collecting them, then I could protect a lot more people."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi is entirely listening to Mami, of course - even if she wasn't sitting in his lab, she would generally have his full attention. Though there is a clear spark of thought, of other interest, at the comment of Super Witch and Time Powers. The second maybe even more interesting to him than the first. For just a moment there's that spark of hunger for power and magic, the desire in his eyes, but it doesn't stick too long.

    He takes a deep breath and looks into her (gorgeous) eyes with his (bright green) ones. "I really would like that. You've actually done a lot more fighting than I have - I can tell in how spectacularly you handle yourself in combat. You could be the tactical genius to my strategic genius, and with you, me, and the girls - we could do amazing things as a team. We could accomplish so much." Takashi says. "And so I really, really don't want to talk you out of it. But it's also still a little hard for me to see you doing what I was doing, that got me hurt in the first place, for example." he notes. "You've not yet struck me as the type to stand up to other magical girls... to have them give their little speeches and stand firm in your own reasons, and match them blast for blast and then some. To know that what you're doing might seem bad but remain secure in your reasons enough to put all of that out of your head... But maybe I've just not seen it. It's my understanding that especially in times of famine, Puella Magi can come to blows over Grief Seeds. There certainly have been some battles over it I've seen almost break out, anyways." he notes.

    "I just want you to be sure. Because..." he pauses. Takes a breath.

    "Okay, so there's a lot of reasons, but primarily... I don't want to lose you. Not in the sense of losing you in combat, I'm not worried about that. You can handle yourself even before I get involved to help. But more of... seeing the things I do, the things Obsidian does, and being called to help, to participate." he pauses. "I don't want to lose you, to lose us, to lose Norie and Fate and Hotaru the chance to have you as a big sister, just because you see me being a villain, as other people might call it." he admits and looks away, like the tea on the counter is suddenly incredibly interesting.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe listens to every word Takashi says. He's looking at her eyes, but again, she's watching his mouth as he speaks. She is paying attention, but a very loud stream of thoughts in her head is urging her to just kiss him again. But then he looks away, so she leans in and presses her lips to his cheek and then nuzzles him with the tip of her nose.

"You may be a villain, but you're my villain, Takashi Agera, and I love you, " she says, softly, not far from his ear. Her words are hot on his skin. Then she leans back again, her arms tugging at his neck just a little as she gives them some space in which to converse. "If your concern is that I'll leave you once I know the details of your work, then let's just get that out of the way now."

She's definitely still the same Mami that boldly asked him to dehenshin to exchange phone numbers.

She lifts a hand up and brushes some of his hair back form his temple. "Tell me about what you were doing that had those girls beat you this badly. Why were you doing it? Why did they object?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    When she kisses him, he smiles, and when she calls him her villain, he outright grins for a moment. He really likes being loved, in a way that he hasn't before, in a relationship rather than an adopted-sibling sort of love.

    And then she posits him just laying his cards on the table. Takashi reaches up with his good hand and rubs the back of his neck. "I guess that would be the somewhat easier solution, wouldn't it." He says. "Well, my boss is Mimete, her boss is Kaolinite, and her boss - the Division Director - is Professor Tomoe." Takashi says. "Who is Hotaru-chan's papa." he continues.

    "And he's been doing a lot of things, but one of the things he says he's working on is a way to cure Hotaru-chan." he says. The way he speaks, it seems as though he's not one-hundred-percent trusting of his boss. "In order to do that he claims he needs a pure form of energy that is best harvested via a person's... easiest to say linker core. A lot of people confuse the idea of a Linker Core with a soul or something, but it's not. It's more like a metaphysical organ - it's what converts emotions to magic."

    "Anyways, when I started out, they were trying to harvest the whole thing... which it turns out tends to be lethal. So... the harm reduction thing I talked about. One of the things I did was develop a way to harvest most of it - but not all of it. And to all of my research, that'll allow the damage to be regrown so whoever the crystal is harvested from doesn't risk dying. Maybe they lose magic for a little bit, or maybe not if they never had magic. But they don't die, the damage heals eventually."

    "Anyways... I was doing something else and an opprotunity presented itself. And so I took a shot and out popped about eighty-five percent of someone's linker core. And I intended to bring it back here, for the sake of the research to help Hotaru-chan." Of course, for the sake of that, and not for personal advacement or glory or anything. "The sparkleskirt squad that showed up had... other opinions. I managed to pull off getting away... kind of. Turns out some of them have very long range attacks. And it took me a lot of energy to break out of the Barrier they'd put us in... so yeah, I took the attacks, and then I lost my own energy, and I couldn't fly anymore, so I kind of... ate pavement." he says.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe listens attentively. This is important. She even manages to only get a little bit distracted by his bright green eyes. He's so handsome, so it's hard, but she does it. But the first thing that clicks in her head is the last thing he says.

"Wait, so gravity did this to you?" She asks with a sad laugh and a shake of her head. "No wonder you got hurt so bad. She's a bitch."

"Okay, so, a linker core is what converts emotions to magic. So, like this," she says, and she brings her hand up between them and her soul gem is in her palm. "This is what lets me do my magic. So this must be my linker core. Yes?"

She holds it there long enough for him to appraise whether or not she's grasped the concept, and then it shimmers and is a ring on her finger once more.

"If you're basically stealing soul gems, I can see why the magical girls would be trying to stop you. I did when I came upon you doing that very thing," she admits. She thinks about it for a moment longer. "Assuming the person who's linker core you extracted didn't consent, the problem is that you're taking something that's not yours to take. But if your boss was going to be taking them anyway and you're ensuring the survival of his victims, well, that's different," she explains.

Then she frowns. "Though, it seems awfully suspicious that your boss would be doing this in the first place."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi laughs. "I got used to ignoring gravity, so it owed me I think." he says. "Normally it's kind of a casual thing to keep off the floor. But this time, I took a little bit too much damage, got a little too much sparkle in my system, lost my usual access to Dark Energy, and Gravity was there waiting with a vengeance."

    Takashi shrugs. "I'm not sure. I don't know much about Soul Gems. Part of the reason I was trying to get ahold of the red girl's was to know about things." He says. "And yeah, I suppose there's some level of taking things that don't belong to me. If you buy into that. But there's also a question of time. Do I have time to painstakingly explain everything I need to everyone I need it from? Not really, no. But I suppose that's the thinking that settles me with the villian label." he notes, casually.

    "If you're in the middle of the war you don't ask permission, you requisition things. And we are, make no mistake, in the middle of a war. I can't show you directly, but... one person's right to not have some of their energy taken, it's not relevant when we're talking about the survival of this city or this planet. Back when the guns were lethal that was a trolley question but now it's not even relevant. If you could save one person by inconvinencing ten that's a good deal. But if you can save billions?" he shrugs. "I'll be the villian if that's the only way I can have that kind of thought, as long as it ends up with the smallest amount of overall damage done."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Honestly, it's not that different than the logic behind letting escaped Familiars mature into Witches. She wants to protect people, that's what she does, but she has to keep her Soul Gem clean to do that, and so she needs Grief Seeds and Witches. The people who a Familiar kills along the way to becoming a Witch are a necessary sacrifice for her continued living. These kinds of ecosystems exist all throughout nature. Viewed that way, Puella are just predators. Some might even say villainous. How is allying with Obsidian to get Grief Seeds any different, really?

She brings both of her hands up to cup Takashi's face, turning it to look right at her gaze. "You are making the best of the life you've been given, and you're trying to do what you can to make the world a better place for everybody. I am not so idealistic as to think that every life can be saved. Sometimes a few must be sacrificed for the survival of the rest. It happens elsewhere in nature, but it feels different when it's people. That doesn't make it any less true."

"I've known who you were this whole time, Takashi-kun. I fell in love with you anyway. You're not going to scare me off just by continuing to be who I already know you are," she says. Then she leans in for a kiss. This one isn't brief.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi smiles at her. "Your hands are very warm." he says, first. As though that's important, in the list of things. But maybe it is, in this moment. Certainly her hands still being on his face is very relevant to Takashi, given what he said. What he explained.

    Takashi laughs. "You know there's a lot of people who would say this is more about a question of your judgement than it is anything that's worth falling in love with." he says. "But I'm glad you're not one of those people. I've got a lot of people I care about, and who care about me. But now that I know what it's like to have that one most special girl... I think my life would feel like it was really missing something, if you weren't in it. I get myself into trouble a lot - and I'm fine with that. I'll be better much faster than a normal person. But..."

    "I can't think of any way I could actually get better if you left though. There's no way I could just..." and then she's kissing him, which is effectively a good way to shut him up -and- temporarily solve his worries about her not being around. Hard to worry about that when her lips are pressed against his and his one good hand has wrapped its way around her.

    When the kiss does finally break, Takashi smiles. "I hope you always love the person I am."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe breaks away from the kiss and smiles. "I think I will, Takashi-kun," she says, her voice soft and a bit dreamy. "I just might not always love the things you do. I don't love everything I do either, so..." She shrugs and then gives him another brief kiss before sliding off his lap. She picks up his displaced cake, and sets it back down where she'd found it, then walks back to the countertop with her basket on it.

"I'm going to leave the rest of this cake here for you," she says. There's several more portions. Several. He could even share with the girls, if he wanted to. She starts packing up everything else, dirty dishes and everything, into her basket.

Then she turns around and looks to see if Takashi's resumed eating the cake, now that she's not interfering, and says, "So, what are our next steps, then?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi nods. "Well, leaving the cake for me and the girls. I'll make sure they all get a slice." Takashi is a lot of things, but he's not utterly hopeless or selfish, at all times. He does reach out for and finish his slice, though. "I mean... in theory, paperwork, but that's all just for the cover identity side of things, so you can say you're an intern or something." he says.

    "Practically, though... I just need to get you an access card and... show you around, I guess?" He says. "You'll be under me, though. Someone has to take responsibility for you. It's not like you can come in and have your own squad or anything." he pauses.

    "I guess as long as it sounds good to you, I'll be working on that. And I'll have to explain to some people. As far as I know we've never had a Puella Magi on payroll. Which probably means... I can make sure the pay is good. Whether you care about it or not... I feel like I can probably pay you in grief seeds and my magnanimous presence, but... it's not my winning smile that got us into that restraunt." he says with an impish grin.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe laughs because what he said was funny. "Of course I want to get paid well. In actual currency as well as Grief Seeds. Your magnanimous presence is just a perk," she says with a giggle. "Because you're not wrong. I am going to face consequences, so it needs to be worth it."

For the first time in what feels like forever Mami has hope for the future. She's not just living for the next day. She's making plans. So what if they're kinda sorta evil plans? Pfft. Obsidian was going to be evil anyway, this way she can make it less evil from the inside. Because that's definitely what's going to happen.

"Don't think that just because we're going to be seeing each other at work all the time that you can shirk off on taking me on dates, Takashi-kun," she says, after a moment. "I really can't wait to see how you top Narisawa."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Well of course." Takashi says. "You bring a unique skillset to the table, same as me. That's worthy of being paid for. Especially if I can get some information about magic and the way you use it, all of that stuff." Takashi says. "But I'll make sure that the benefits at least do their damndest to outweigh the consequences." he says.

    And then she talks about the date, and he just kind of sighs. "I really put myself on the line with that, didn't I. Guess I'll just have to buy you the restraunt next time." Takashi says, in that way he often speaks where it's difficult to know if he's being serious or not - where it's a fifty fifty shot of him being impish or directly serious.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe giggles. "Buying a restaurant is not a date, silly boy," she says as she walks back over to snag his now-empty dishes. She's only leaving the cake, after all. The rest of this is going home with her. She puts them in the basket and then hooks her arm thru the handle and turns around to face Takashi. "But I'm sure you'll think of something. It doesn't have to be expensive. Just thoughtful."

Then she nods toward the door. "In the meantime. I still need to go out hunting tonight. So I'm going to take all this home and do that." She pauses, and realizes she has no idea how to get out of wherever the elevator took them when it went every which way. She's used to navigating Labyrinths with their strange spatial geometry. She was almost certain where they were didn't exist inside the building she walked into.

"So, um, can you see me out?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Well, if I own the restraunt I can make sure they somehow... cook to beat... a world class chef..." he pauses. "Okay maybe not, but look, I'm workshopping it." he says. "I'm a science and magic and technology genius, romance and thoughtfulness is still something I'm working on." he says.

    "Mami-san..." he says as she mentions she's going to go hunting. "... be careful." he says. "I know you usually are, but sometimes I think about the second witch we fought and just..." he pauses. Takashi doesn't always worry about things. But when he does worry, he can be very good at it. "Please be careful. If you get hurt while I'm hurt, I'm going to kick myself a lot, with my only good leg."

    hanks to Dark Energy, a small use of it, his wheelchair starts to roll again and he smiles. "Let's go, then. And... can you message me when you finish up hunting, one way or another?" he asks.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe looks at Takashi and just smiles. While her face is a mask of just happy to see her boyfriend, her mind is racing around thinking about the fact that she did just get gored the other day by the witch that escaped as a familiar from that the labyrinth Takashi spoke of.

She might not show her feelings, but she clearly pauses for a moment at his words. Finally she smiles just a little bigger and nods. "Of course, Takashi-kun. I'll let you know when I get home. Both times," she says. It's not as if she's taking all these dishes hunting with her.

She follows him out the door and down the hall. She's quiet. All she can think about is how Takashi laid it all out for her, and he doesn't even know she got hurt. She got healed, but all the same, he'd probably want to know. She would.

So, finally, after they get on the last elevator back down to the sixth floor, she says, "Don't worry about me, Takashi-kun. I have a friend who can heal me. A familiar escaped from that Labyrinth. I'd been tracking it as it matured into a witch. It...was worse." She rubs her side where she's perfectly fine now. "It managed to skewer me clean thru. But I saw my friend and she healed me good as new." Except for her clothes, but that was nothing she couldn't fix herself.

Ding. The elevator doors open and Mami quickly hops off. He's only got one hand and he can't use dark energy down here. She's definitely at an advantage. She turns and blows him a kiss, then. "I love you. I'll text you when I get home." Then she's off.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "That is... exactly the sort of thing that brings me concern, yes." And of course, then he looks at himself - with one good leg and one good arm. "You know, we have a healer here, too." Well, sort of. At least a way to heal faster. When she's here. Hotaru had been a little bit absent lately. But in theory, a healer. Right?

    "Please no more being skewered through." Takashi says before the doors open. He sighs. That could probably go for him as well. Goose, gander.