27/Office Hours 3 -- Madoka

Office Hours 3 -- Madoka
Date of Scene:	03 July 2023
Location:	Administrative Office
Synopsis:	Madoka gets called to the Guidance Office because she had a rat on her shoulder.
Cast of Characters:	Madoka Kaname, Kyouka Inai

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Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Although her powers, in practical terms, have been severely curtailed by her employment, one thing that Kyouka does still have going for her is her ability to sniff out magic. It's not as precise as, say, 'look over there, it's a Puella' or 'Hey, that chick's a cure', it's more a vague sense. That person has something magical about them. There's some big magic fighting going on in that direction. Or hey look... there's a mascot riding on that girl's shoulders. Even if normal people wouldn't notice anything there.

    Maybe that's why Madoka gets a summons to the Guidance Office. It's certainly not because she's broken any rules, or done anything to warrant the attention of the counselor. Of course, the summons she get isn't specific at all, which no doubt has her stewing in some anxiety over what, exactly, could be the reason behind it... at least until she shows up and finds out.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka Kaname isn't the kind of person to get in trouble, but she is the kind of person to get called around for one administrative duty or another. Usually it has something to do with being the nurse's aid or some other student helper duty, but for some reason Madoka feels like it's not about that today. It's different, in a subtle way, but ultimately she hasn't yet had a reason to be distrustful of school faculty and staff.

    Madoka shows up at the Guidance Office in her Radiant Heart school uniform. She's pretty sure she hasn't been to this exact room before. She opens the door, peeks her pink pigtailed head in, and looks inside.

    "Hello? You wanted to see me?" she calls out.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    The office is rather small, but the fact that it's a private office at all is something of a marvel, considering its occupant. Then again, perhaps the school has decided that it wouldn't do to have students airing their dirty laundry, so to speak, in a shared office where someone might overhear. Either way, though small the office has a cozy feel about it... and the woman sitting behind the desk certainly doesn't seem hung up on formality.

    She has her office chair tilted back on its swivel, lazily turning this way and that as the door opens, as if she had perhaps been looking out the window over the sports fields. As Madoka peeks her head in though, Kyouka swivels the chair around to face front and sits more upright, hands coming together on the desk. "Kaname-san, was it?" Her tone is friendly, though her accent is a bit informal compared to what might be expected of a teacher. "I'm Inai-sensei. Please, c'mon in and have a seat." She gestures to the two overstuffed green armchairs facing her desk.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka looks inside at the cozy, private office. It certainly is a bit strange, but she doesn't overthink it. In her mind this is just normal school business and there's not much point in questioning it.

    She nods when her name is called, and responds, "That's right, Inai-sensei." When she walks in, she quietly closes the door behind her so as to not make a sound, and then finds the nearest armchair to take a seat. Her back is straight, her posture is very precise, and her hands are in her lap. Kyouka may not care much about formality, but Madoka at least considers it somewhat important to be polite in situations like these.

    Her eyes, however, are wide and curious. She still doesn't know what she's been called in for, but she'll patiently wait until Inai-sensei explains.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Hey, at the very least Madoka didn't find her the way Homura had a few days ago, sneaking a smoke in her office with her feet up on the desk. By most standards, Kyouka is doing pretty well at looking 'teacherly' at the moment, even if she has something of a 'tryhard' feeling about her- maybe because she's so young, relatively speaking. Well, it's not like Madoka is likely to call her on that.

    As the girl takes a seat, Kyouka regards her for a moment in silence. Her grey eyes are soft, ash-like, her fingers laced in front of her on the desk. Her nails are painted a dark red, a shade darker than her head, but are chipped as if she needs to maintain them better. There's a quality about her gaze that seems to suggest she is trying to glean some information from Madoka before she starts speaking, though its unclear if she is successful in this.

    "Tell me, Kaname-san," She says after that silence has lapsed, "Has anything... unusual happened to you lately? Things you can't really explain?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    If Kyouka wants to keep up appearances, the last person who would ever think to call her out on it is Madoka. She knows that faculty and staff have lives outside of school, but here in the moment a certain kind of conduct is important. Madoka doesn't see a 'tryhard'. She sees someone who is doing her best!

    During the silent moment, Madoka's eyes do dart here and there to pick up on small details. She focuses mostly on Kyouka's eyes, because it's rude not to look at someone when they're speaking! That's something that she might change her stance on a little though, if she knew Kyouka a little better.

    Her composure subtly changes as Kyouka asks, and Madoka glances away. Her eyelids seem to lower slightly, giving her a sad look for a moment. When she looks back to Kyouka, she nods.

    "At first I thought I was dreaming, or that I had wandered onto a set where they were filing a toku show, but... I've seen people fighting weird monsters. Mami-sempai tried to explain some things to me, but I feel like there's a lot more out there that I don't understand."

    She shakes her head. "I don't really know how to make sense of it all."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Hmm. Kyouka is unfamiliar with this "Mami" that Madoka mentions, but makes a mental note to find out more about her. She's here for a specific purpose, after all, and being the guidance counselor ain't it- this is as close to a 'cover' as it can be with her still actually doing the job. Which she does. It's just not actually her priority. But that's fine, because the Headmistress knows exactly what she's up to, and has given her blessing, more or less. As long as Kyouka doesn't completely neglect the mundane part of the job.

    "Mmmm. Well I'm sure that's true." Kyouka agrees, with a slightly crooked smile that nonetheless attempts to be sympathic, with mixed success. "I can tell you yourself don't have any magic yet, Kaname-san.. that's a gift of mine. But it seems you've been exposed." Way to make it sound like a disease, Kyouka. "I saw a... thing riding on your shoulders earlier when I spotted you walking on campus. Like a little.. white rabbity catty thing." She makes a vague gesture with her hand. "Does it talk to you?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka's head tilts to the side as Kyouka asks about Kyubey. Her eyes widen for a fraction of a moment, but after that she seems somehow calmer. Okay, so she's not the only one seeing these things. "Kyubey told me that most people couldn't see him. Not without magic." Pieces are starting to fall into place here, and what was once a mystery is now starting to come together. "So, that's what you wanted to talk about."

    Madoka takes a moment to straighten her skirt while she considers how to respond to that. Inai-sensei doesn't seem like a bad person, but as Madoka takes a look around the office she starts to think that being here alone is somewhat intentional. She's grateful for it, really. This conversation would sound crazy in front of anyone else.

    "Yes, he talks to me. Tells me that I he'll grant me a wish if I agree to become a magical girl and fight Witches, but..." A moment of hesitation. Madoka thinks back to Homura's dire warnings. The girl seemed so sincere. "... I'm not sure. I've been warned not to get involved. It's not that I don't want to help, I just don't think I can wish for just anything. Something like that is really important, right?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka doesn't seem surprised by the admission- she wouldn't have asked the question if she was expecting a different answer. However, she is perhaps a bit surprised by how calmly Madoka takes it. Not the fact that this weird stuff is actually real (for certain definitions of 'real') but rather that Kyouka knows about it, or perhaps is 'in on it' somehow. Some people would have reacted poorly, seeing conspiracies or ulterior motives. But Madoka seems to take it strangely in stride. Well, Kyouka isn't going to complain about something that makes her job easier.

    "Yes. You see, Kaname-san, my job here has a very particular description. Guidance counselor, sure, and I do do that. But mostly what I'm here to do is help students with magic. In one way or another." She leans forward slightly over her hands on the desk, arching her eyebrows. "It offered you a wish did it? Mmm.. well. I think you're smart to not leap into something like that. You know that offers that seem too good to be true often are, right?" She leans back again. "I can tell you from experience that sort of life isn't easy. It's not something you should leap into without thinking about the consequences."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "You sound a lot like Homura-chan," admits Madoka, considering Kyouka's words. "Or mama..." Then she shakes her head. "Not that that's a bad thing!"

    Madoka is sincere to a fault, and isn't quick to judge. Even someone flinging around evil looking energy isn't likely to make her think ill of them, though she might think that maybe they can do a little better. So of course she takes it at face value when Kyouka explains that she has a very particular set of skills.

    "Too good to be true. That sounds about right. I don't want to assume bad things about people, but it's hard to know who to trust when you don't know what's going on." Her pink eyes shift to the side, and then back up to Inai-sensei. "Plus, I'm not very good at fighting," says the girl who has already killed one familiar.

    "Homura-chan said that there was going to be a fight between good and evil soon. Do you know anything about that?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka considers sounding like Homura. She's met the black-haired girl, and indeed had a chat with her in this very office a couple of days ago. She doesn't think they sound very much alike at all, but she gets where Madoka is coming from. "Lemme make something clear, Kaname-san," She says, with a quirk of one corner of her lips. "I'm not telling you to 'not get involved'. You do what you think is right. All I'm telling you is to think about it beforehand, and realize that the reality of things is often a lot more complicated and lot less fantastic than they might seem from the outside."

    "Being good at fighting is something I can help you with. Magic or not!" Kyouka says, more brightly. She reaches into her desk, rummaging around to retrieve a business card. It's one of hers- the front side has the Radiant Heart Academy logo with her name, position, and office phone number. "I teach a class... Practical Martial Arts for Self-Defense. Wednesday at 3:30. You should consider taking it, even if you don't decide to go the whole magic wish witch-fighting route. It behooves a girl in this day and age to know how to stand up for herself."

    She writes down the class details on the back of the card and slides it over towards Madoka, before considering the other question. "There's always been a fight between good and evil." She says, evasively. "Did she gives you any more details than that?" She looks very interested in this particular answer.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Well of course Inai-sensei isn't exactly like Homura-chan. Madoka's got a slightly different idea than Kyouka does regarding Homura's demeanor, though.

    The pink girl listens to Kyouka's pitch, considering her words carefully. She nods when told to do what she thinks is right, and tilts her head in curiosity when fighting lessons are offered. Her mouth makes a tiny o shape as she reaches out to take the card. It flips around in her hand as she reads the front and back, before looking back up at Inai-sensei.

    With a sheepish, slightly mortified smile, she adds, "Well, I may not have a choice." Nervous laughter escapes her lips of its own accord. "Even without magic, I should still prepare. I'm in this world now, even if I can't do much."

    She shakes her head at Kyouka's question regarding Homura. "She was fighting a plant monster at the time, so she didn't really go into details. She's not very talkative."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    They aren't /fighting lessons/, its self-defense class! Ok so any self-defense class taught by Kyouka is bound to boil down to fighting lessons, it's true. But that's not what the school is legally allowed to call them, anyway. She nods her head at Madoka's frankly practical take on the situation. "You always have a choice, Kaname-san," She says, because that seems like the sort of a thing a guidance counselor should say, "But it never hurts to be prepared. Even if you choose not to step fully into that world, the regular world can be plenty scary enough."

    She makes a noncommittal sound at the mention of no further details, seeming to dismiss the detail of 'plant monster' as irrelevant. "I'll ask her about it myself, next time I see her." She says, revealing that she has at least some sort of relationship with Homura, though not that it basically amounts to 'spoke to her once'. "Anyway, Kaname-san. Hang onto that business card, okay? If you're in trouble, it might let me help you out." A crooked smile, showing just a hint of too-sharp canine. "A little magic of my own, you might call it."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka will certainly make sure to call them 'self defense' when her parents ask where she goes on Wednesday after school. Technically that doesn't necessarily mean fighting. It could also include things like emergency response. Whatever it is, Madoka will find out on Wednesday.

    The young girl tries to consider what it would mean not to choose that world, but such a thing seems impossible. Still, the words, 'You always have a choice', might stick with her in ways that Kyouka might not intend. Approaching her like this, while Madoka's still confused about everything, naturally puts Inai-sensei in a respected position in the pink girl's mind.

    "It might?" asks Madoka, when Kyouka starts to indicate that the card itself is special. She'll have to make sure to hold onto it. In her wallet, maybe? She slips it away for now. "I will. Thank you, Inai-sensei!"

    She picks up on the fact that Kyouka seemed to know Homura, but she also gets the impression that the two aren't that close. "Will... Homura be coming to these classes, too?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    There's definitely more to Kyouka's business cards than meets the eye, but Madoka doesn't need to know the details yet. It's enough that she hangs onto it, and maybe finds it useful in the right situation. Or the wrong one, as it may be. At the question of whether Homura will be attending the classes, Kyouka gives a mild shrug of her shoulders, tilting her chair back on its swivel again and crossing one slack-clad leg over the other. "She's planning to attend my... special lessons. For the magically inclined. Those happen after the actual class. Those ones aren't on the official school schedule, as I'm sure you can gather. Whether she comes to the mundane class or not, I'm not sure, but she's welcome to. She is a student here, after all."

    Kyouka always tells mahous that it pays to know how to throw a punch even when you're /not/ in henshin. You never know when it might save your life. Or somebody else's. Whether or not a young, magically-gifted girl is likely to believe that is another matter altogether. "But there will be a bunch of students there, and I think you'll find some of them pretty valuable to know, if you're running into monsters on the regular. And they're largely pretty nice." She avoids mentioning Kyouko, and adds the qualifier 'largely' mostly for her benefit.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    The pink-haired girl almost seems excited when Kyouka explains that there are special lessons, and that Homura is planning to attend one, though that excitement fades when she realizes that Homura's attendance to the mundane classes is not guaranteed. It would have been fun to have something to do with her, thinks Madoka, though... she's not sure she can really explain why she cares so much about that. She just met her the other day, after all.

    When Kyouka goes on to talk about the other students that will be there, including some who might be magical gifted, Madoka nods her head eagerly. "Oh! Of course! I'd be happy to meet them and make friends!"

    The fact that this might lead to another confrontation with Kyouko does not cross her as-of-yet innocent mind. Not that Kyouko has given her too much trouble, but... well a girl like her gains a reputation.

    "Is there anything I should bring? Like... safety equipment?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "You bring whatever you feel like you might need, hun," Kyouka says with perhaps just a touch of patronizing tone to her voice, "But the school provides everything for the lessons. And nobody gets hurt. That's rule #1." At least in the 'official' class nobody gets hurt. She's not going to make any guarantees about the 'special' class which isn't officially on the schedule at all.

    "That's really all I wanted to say to you, Kaname-san." She says, tilting her head slightly to one side. "I saw you with that creature on your shoulder and I felt like it would be shirkin' my duties if I didn't at least give you a friendly word of advice or two. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me.. either now, or any other time. I'm always here if you need help, or somebody to talk to. Between the hours of 9 and 4, anyway." She's quick to qualify. Lady's got a life, after all.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Whatever she feels she needs? Madoka will take time to mull that over later. She doesn't quite have boxing gloves or a practice sword or anything like that, but if the school provides it anyways then it's probably good enough. At least until she needs something more.

    She stands up from her chair, and bows politely before Kyouka. "I get the feeling there's a lot more that I can learn, but that's enough fro now. Thank you so much, Inai-sensei."

    The comment about the time passes by without pause. It's not unusual for a guidance counselor to have office hours, and Madoka is the kind of student who could... possibly get out of class if she needed to. Though she might have to tell a little fib.

    "If that's all, then I'll see you on Wednesday. I look forward to your classes, sensei."

    Madoka isn't sure how long she'll last in such an environment, but... it has to be better than being clueless.