887/No More Time

No More Time
Date of Scene:	14 December 2023
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Dark Laboratory
Synopsis:	Mamoru comes to tell Takashi that he's leaving, and also Sailor Moon didn't kill Cyprine btw.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Takashi Agera

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's a knock on the door to Takashi's lab -- the actual lab, not the closet that was a lab that's been turned into a foyer. Which means he cheerfully ignores the security roomba in sunglasses.

Darien -- Mamoru, really, all the time now, but Darien for Obsidian census purposes -- is dressed down, wearing his green jacket over a black shirt. The comfort jacket. The thing that's still a little too big for him, even if the sleeves are finally the right length, and that is really not the greatest shade of green. His hair's loose, the way it always is in HQ, and he's got a lollipop in his mouth.

"Hey," he says when he steps in. "Still alive and full of dangerous secrets, how about you?" he asks, taking the lollipop out of his mouth. It is shaped like the Silver Crystal. It looks like the Silver Crystal. It's even silvery.

In his other hand there's a little brown paper bag with the logo for Nonamu Sweets on it.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi is very clearly working with some ridiculous magitech tool - there's a long vertical arc of electricity barely contained by the machinery around it, and Takashi's hand is guiding the Dark Energy to do something in reaction to the other power. Or doing something. Or building something. It's hard to tell with him. He doesn't turn around immediately, he just keeps working with it for now. He can see Mamoru in the reflection of one of the monitors, though. "Still not seen as the genius I am but thankfully given a little bit more free reign to pursue projects now. And funding." he says, as whatever he's manipulating starts to power down, his other hand tapping on the computer, and the whole apparatus eventually ending with a small sliver of crystal suspended in the air where he was manipulating energy. Whatever he was doing, though, he seems to be done with it for now. Or have stopped it to speak to his adopted brother.

    "So you're here in That Jacket, with sweets, and you came to my lab in person." he says, creating a little tendril of Dark Energy out of his right hand and using it to whip out - but only to grab a chair rolling office and push it towards Mamoru without needing to walk across the room himself. A nearby chair to him is also grabbed and he pushes it over towards where Mamoru and the first chair is, before sitting sideways on it. "So, what's up."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"This jacket is comfortable," insists Mamoru, catching the chair and swinging it around, then sitting in it with one leg under him. Then he sticks his lollipop back in his mouth and tosses the brown paper back to Takashi, and says around it for the first few words, "These are for you and your girls. I got a whole bunch, I'm going to put them out on a table outside my office with like, 'take one', but don't you or your girls take one of those, they're a prank."

He gestures with the lollipop and smirks. "I got someone to put purification magic in the prank set. It'll be like ghost pepper candy. These ones are just sugar, flavoring, and whatever iridescent silver edible stuff the candy-maker used."

Then he points with the lollipop. "You're right about stuff being up, though. I did three interviews and got the same answer-- and also found out that Stellar and Sailor Pluto don't know each other. The more I heard about what they saw from the different perspectives, the more I thought about how stuff sometimes tips Hotaru-chan over into Not Good Space. Like, the time the teal Sailor's ocean attacks messed with her head, or whatever the hell Zoisite said to her that other time that messed with her head--? They all said that Cyprine grabbed Firefly and her glaive started beeping like crazy, and then something came into her eyes and she just vaporized Cyprine and the other one, then passed out. The only reason I'm down to listen to that is because of what you keep trying to prevent."

Mamoru makes a noise like a laugh but he's not laughing, he looks annoyed. "They wanted me to tell you it was Moon so that Obsidian would take her seriously, some quote about 'your name is in their mouths, make it one they fear' or something, but... Moon literally doesn't have that kind of power. Her most purify-y attack sent Norie into a vapor form, it didn't wipe her out. Her tiara can explode stuff, but not vaporize."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi listens intently to Mamoru, and then pulls out one of the candies and unwraps it. "Well, Fate and Mami could probably take the ones outside your office, but I'll warn them against it anyways." He kind of observes the way the candy reflects in the light before putting it into his mouth, stick outside of it. He starts eating it, taking it out to talk.

    "So, I get what you're saying, but I'm telling you, Hotaru-chan doesn't have that kind of control over her energy. The last time she fully went off, she left a *crater* and the reason I got her out of the building after Zoisite set her off was I didn't want her to blow up half the tower; that'd be hard to explain." he says. "She simply has no control over her energy. To go from 'city block' to 'two people' - I don't really buy that?" he offers.

    "Plus, if Hotaru had any control at all, she wouldn't hurt anybody. The girl got startled by a bug flying too close to her face and smacked it, then she apologized to the damn thing and healed it before she would move on. She asked me if youma were people. That's not the same girl that just flash-dunks on two of the most capable combat mages. I mean, Cyprine didn't get her rank from being good at science. She got her rank because she could easily disable the rest of us." he says, sighing.

    "... though if you say it wasn't, couldn't have been Moon or the others... I do... hmmm... I see how it could be nobody's fault at all, except Cyrpine's. They fight by drawing magic into their staves and returning it, maybe there's a maximum they can store before catastrophe happens? If I had time I'd analyze their staves, but murder mystery is a little bit off my agenda right now." He pauses. "If anyone asks I don't have the staves."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I mean, the teal Sailor was there, and did apparently use an ocean attack on Cyprine, but... if you say it couldn't have been Hotaru either, I believe you," says Mamoru, unfolding his leg from underneath him before he can get pins and needles. "I do buy it being Cyprine and her clone or whatever doing a tragically epic self-own, though." Then he grins. "What staves?"

He almost taps the lollipop into his hand like it's a pen and thinks better of sticky hands at the last second. "The other thing... is something you're really not going to like. And it's a long story that involves my boss, reincarnation, the prince she's looking for, and how ungodly creepy she is to me in particular." He watches Takashi's face. "I gotta go, man. Maybe I'll move to Argentina."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi is nodding along, right up until Mamoru says he's got to go. "What do you mean, Argentina. You don't speak... argentinian. I think that's spanish? Maybe portugese? I don't know, I'm not up to date on South America. But I'm sure it isn't Japanese." he says. "Anyways, that's silly. I mean, I know you're having fun out there and all, and I know your boss is a right creeper. But people don't just -leave- no questions asked. You know things. People. You know who I am." he points out.

    "And you're a real high muckety-muck. You probably know things I don't, or at least, they think you do." he adds. "Besides, a few more weeks, maybe like 2 months or so at the most, and I'll have what's going in your Linker Core as controlable as I have Hotaru's. A pendant or something and bam - no more wasps and you don't have to leave. I just need a little more time."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"You've needed just a little more time for like six months, friendo brotherly bro," Mamoru says gently, amused, rueful. "But it's not just the wasps, Taka," he continues uncomfortably, "it's that I'm literally the reincarnation of the prince she's looking for. The one she burned the world to get and only managed to kill, last time around. And she doesn't know it yet-- we were too young, she thought I was-- she really thought I was one of the Four. But I'm not." He pauses. "I sort of-- I found the other one. It's only a matter of time before she figures it out."

Mamoru starts unpeeling the rolled-up paper at the bottom of his lollipop stick, not looking at Takashi. "I know you say you just need a little more time, but I can't wait any more. She flicks a switch in their heads and they do what her demon wants. I don't want to be like that. I don't want to wake up somewhere I really don't want to be because she walked me there like a puppet."

He exhales through his teeth, spinning the lollipop around again. "I'd rather die if that's my only other option, and I'm not just being dramatic." Then he waves a hand around as if dismissing his own seriousness. "At any rate, I don't give away identities. Even if the higher ups don't believe that, and come after me, you can rest assured I wouldn't betray you, or any of your girls, or my guys, or anyone else. There are some things you just don't do." A beat. "And you know I'm just a psychic and a healer without the dark energy. Maybe scrappy, but not against a real combatant."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi frowns. "Reincarnation? Burned the world?" he then waves his hand in front of Mamoru's face. "You sleeping alright? You're just talking crazy now." he says. "Look, even if that's all true - a situation I have to at least give some possibility given you know everything else we can just throw her off your trail. You have to be able to manage her better from the inside than from the outside. At least this way, you know what she knows. You go outside, all you're gonna know is she's looking for you. Probably your boys too. If she can flip a switch and make them do whatever, you think she won't make em' come after you?" he asks.

    "Plus like... personally? On a selfish level? I'm not always there but my dorm room is like two doors down from yours, and you've got your roomate too. Are you gonna just ditch school and your girlfriend and all of that and really go to Argentina? I doubt it. I don't wanna wake up to a fire alarm cause they decided it was a good idea to turn Adrien's coffee machine into a youma to hunt you or something."

    "I know you're not a real combatant without the wasps. The hell do you think I'm worried about? Otherwise we'd just punt your boss out a window and be done with it. Cept she might not die from hitting the ground." he grumbles. "But you cannot think it's a good idea to put yourself in this kinda danger."

    "C'mon there's enough stupid people in this org, you don't need to be one too."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"...I probably won't go to Argentina, no," Mamoru allows, shrugging out of his jacket and standing up, then putting his jacket over the back of the chair and re-seating himself, backwards, leaning on the jacket.

He sits there listening with the lollipop in his mouth for a while, spinning it so its facets clack mutedly against his teeth, then pulls it out and sighs. "I said I wasn't playing around with leaving," he says. "And that I had a new plan. It involves a highly recommended lawyer and the fact that I'm a missing person. It also involves a safehouse. I'm telling you because I love you. Please don't tell on me."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi sighs. "I'm not going to tell on you, you tense idiot." he says. "Or the grown-up version of that, which would be reporting you, since we've been out of elementary school for years at this point." Takashi notes.

    "But once you leave I can't help you anymore. And you can't help me. You're not just talking about leaving Obsidian. I can't tell what kind of path that'll put you on. Put us on. You're talking about taking all of my plans and shaking them like a martini at a bar. And you're talking about wasting the time I spent trying to help." He shakes his head.

    "I see it in your eyes though, I can hear it in your tone. You didn't come here to talk, you just came here to let me know." Takashi says, looking down at his hands, gripping them into fists. "Well. If you feel like this is what you have to do... if you're sure you've got all your ducks in a row - I'm not going to stop you." he says.

    "It's not like I didn't notice, and you warned me earlier. It's just... if you're gonna do what you feel like you have to do, for you... you have to understand that since I won't stop you and won't work against you, all that's left is for me to do what I have to do for me. And it's not leaving."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Suddenly the lollipop flavor is ashes instead of pineapple, and it's not like Mamoru didn't see it coming. It's not like he was looking forward to this conversation. He knew it would hurt.

But it hurts, dammit.

"I'll always heal you," he says in a small voice, finally. "If you need me to. If you ever need to run, please let me help with that." He's a little firmer after a second. "And if you want hallway ramen, come get hallway ramen. And if you want to talk about stuff that's not work, or NDA stuff or whatever -- like girlfriends -- maybe it'll be easier because it'll only be your busy schedule, not both of ours. And-- I won't work against you, either, and-- I don't expect you to stop anyone who comes after me. I know you can't. It's okay."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Yeah, I can't stop anyone from coming after you." he says, with emphasis. "You know what this all... means to me. I just got a promotion. I just got access to more resources. You know I've been trying to figure all this stuff out my whole life. I'm close to so many breakthroughs. To saving Hotaru, even if you don't want to wait for me to save you. Norie needs my help. And Fate. Hell, Mami needs my help. Help I can't really give without access to these resources."

    He pauses. "And I know my mother didn't end up the way she did so I could turn my back on my gifts - and there's only one place on the planet right now I can grow to my full potential. So I don't know if I have some past life stuff going on or not - but I know that my current life and my current circumstances mean I'm right here, at least for the forseeable future."

    "I'm not running. I'm so good at not running you made me a robot for that, remember?" Takashi asks, leaning in a little bit. "I can't run." he adds, seriously. "So maybe there will still be hallway ramen and uneasy interactions, but look. You've got powers, and you've got a bleeding heart for people. Don't think I haven't benefited from it at times either, but you do. I know you."

    "So forgive me when I say this, but I fully believe if you enact this little plan of yours, no matter how much you or I want to avoid it, we're going to be on opposite sides of things. We're going to end up fighting. Because you're not going to keep your nose out of things. My things, other people's things, all of this magic stuff. It's been as much a part of you as it has me, and it's not going to let you go. You're not walking off the field, Mamoru-san. You're not going to be able to leave the game. And... at least for the forseeable future, there are two teams on this field. If you can't wait for that to change, there's only one other team you can play for."

    "You already got mad at Sunbreaker over Naru." Takashi pauses. "Do you know I shot Naru, too? Recently. V2 rifle. Did it personally. Aimed, fired." Takashi says, making a finger rifle with his hands. "Perfect shot. Of course, I didn't know who she was from the back of her head with a hoodie on. And... If you were there? After leaving, and doing whatever plan you've got in mind? I don't think you would have stopped yourself from doin' somethin' stupid." he says, bluntly. "Give me time, I could protect you from Obsidian, even Beryl. But there's not enough time for me to figure out how to protect you from you."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I did know that, actually," says Mamoru after a moment. "I don't mind the v2 rifles, they don't kill. She collected the data on how it felt, you can probably ask her for it if you do coffee again." A beat, and he watches Takashi's eyes. Mamoru-san. "You're trying to make me mad at you. I won't. And soon, I'll finally be something like myself again, without the dark energy I obviously can't handle messing up my all of me. Maybe you'll figure out you were missing me for the past two and a half years. You know it was never good for me. I tried, but you're right -- you know me. You can thrive here-- you know how, and you're willing to, and I want you to succeed. But I can't thrive here, not when I'm hiding myself from her all the time."

There's a faint smile, finally. "Maybe I'll invent magic doctors without borders," he says, getting up. "Text me and let me know if anyone's walking around with a completely deadpan face and red eyes from the other lollipops? If I'm not in."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "I liked having you around and I'm not gonna like not having you around." he says, bluntly. "That's pretty much what I can guarantee. Everything else, it's all chaos now. It's all unknowns. From a path I had all plotted out to something I'm having to come up with on the fly." he says."So right now I think I'm processing all of this in a mixture of shock and frustration." he admits. "I don't like that, at the very least. In fact, I'm pretty sure this sucks, like a lot."

    "Man, I'm probably gonna have to lose your number you know." he adds. "Feel like it's a bad idea to message the person who just left to tell them how their parting troll went." He sighs, and shakes his head. "I'll have to tell you in person." he continues, with a sort of as half smile.

    "By the way. Doctors Without Borders is the translation - the organization is originally French, so it'd be magie sans frontieres."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Still MSF," says the black-haired boy, standing there uncertainly for a moment, his own Silver Crystal pop in both hands right now. "Cool." He looks down at it. "That's understandable."

Then Takashi says he'll have to tell him in person--

A heartbeat passes, and another, and then Mamoru steps forward quickly and all his body language is telegraphing what it always does for Takashi -- incoming hug. Incoming BIG hug.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi reflexively takes a step back. He always has. A step back and then a step forward. And then returning the hug. "I'm..." and he doesn't actually continue for a moment. - just hugs his brother. A lot of other things he might say, could say, won't say. He could tell him to take care of himself. He could ask him to give him a little more time. He could apologize for not solving the problem faster. He could threaten him. And he decides on none of them. "... sad to see you go, though." he admits, in the end. For so many layered, complicated reasons.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
After a long hug, Mamoru's voice is thick, and he says, "I'm sad to leave you here."

He is grateful for every thing that Takashi doesn't say, and so very, very grateful for the thing he does, and when he pulls back he immediately scrubs at his eyes. Undignified sniffle-laugh. "Don't tell anyone I cried. I'll see you at school, Takashi-kun."

And then he steps back further and henshins as he turns around, and teleports away by the time he's finished turning.