380/Fights We Didn't Start

Fights We Didn't Start
Date of Scene:	07 September 2023
Location:	Administrative Office
Synopsis:	Usagi and Darien arrive at Kyouka's office to learn the details of Naru's kidnapping by Sunbreaker.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Usagi Tsukino, Kyouka Inai
Tinyplot:	Dangerous Orbits

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Significantly less than a minute ago, Hematite texted Usagi Tsukino to see if she needed a teleport to Kyouka Inai's office, in light of Kyouka texting them both about Naru's having been taken.

Now, Hematite's stepping out of nothing, holding Usagi's hand-- and he squeezes it and lets go. "It was absolutely," he says, very clearly shaken, "no one who works for me, and I don't know who the girl is that Inai-sensei described--"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Her name is Sunbreaker," Usagi says and if she's a little shaken by the teleport, it doesn't show, not with how obviously upset she already is, her eyes shiny and wet with witheld tears, her hand shaking. She would have reached for his hand again, but Naru-chan doesn't have a hand to hold, and so instead she just grabs the back of the chair in Kyouka's office for support because she's shaking. It's a mix of fear and dread and anger, a slow burning anger building in her gut.

"Her name is Sunbreaker, and she tried to steal from Osa-P Jeweler's and Naru-chan and I beat her up and now she's got Naru-chan and I didn't even know -"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka is in her office, which is dimly lit, the rest of the school likewise mostly empty and lit only by security lights and the occasional office light of someone working late. Perhaps it would be better to say that Stellar is in her office, because she's still in henshin, and she looks pissed. Standing behind her desk, scowling at nothing, and there's a fresh fist-shaped indent in the wall next to the poster of the sunglass-wearing sun which definitely wasn't there before.

    As soon as Hematite and Usagi arrive, she whirls around and marches up to them, ignoring Usagi for the moment so she can glare at Hematite from close-range, which would be just a little funny if the situation wasn't so serious because he's nearly a foot taller than her. "You better be telling the truth about that," She says, referring to his claim that Sunbreaker was not one of his employees. "She was chock full of Dark Energy."

    And then she's turning to Usagi, and she hugs the girl who is obviously so upset. "I'm sorry," She says, and she sounds like she really means it. "I tried. But I'm so limited in what I can do, I.. I'm made to help magical girls, and Naru isn't so she couldn't do anything but run, and it wasn't good enough. It's my fault, I should have found a way."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Hematite's hands are in fists, now, at his sides, and all of a sudden he drops his henshin again. "I don't lie, even when I should!" says Darien, face twisted up, and he stops looking at Kyouka, and he only looks at Usagi, and he tells her, "I'm sorry! I want to help. I just want to help. She's not my best friend, like she is yours, but I'm not like that-- and she is my friend!"

There's an abortive motion where he almost reaches to touch her, then shies away from it again, as he used to, and he whips around to look at Kyouka again. "Her name is a step. Red and yellow hair, fire, dark energy, that's good. If you've got anything else, I can relay that and work on finding out who she is, it's not like I don't know a LOT of people who use dark energy--"

And he's got his phone out already. And he's starting to text already, hands shaking.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The hug is returned, Usagi gripping at Kyouka - at Stellar - with all her strength; it's not much compared to a henshin, but it's enough to be felt, that's for sure. A part of her wants to pull away - it's not like Naru-chan is getting warm hugs right now - but she can't. She's too weak. She needs the comfort, and she can't stand it and she can't stand the tension in the room because she knows in her heart of hearts that Darien has nothing to do with this. It's not Darien's fault. It's not. It's hers.

"It's not his fault. I don't - I don't think Sunbreaker would work for Hemachan at all," and this is the first time she's acknowledged it, but it's not like she can pretend she doesn't know, not when Hematite is Darien again, in Darien's clothes, and - what's the point of secrets right now? "This is my fault. I know you said it wasn't, Inai-sensei, but it is, because I beat her and she was mad about it and I should have made sure she knew not to come back."

There's a vicious anger in her voice, anguish twisting to rage, and in the back of her mind, some distant part of her wonders if this is even close to how Hannah-chan feels, and shies away.

Hannah-chan's parents are dead. Naru isn't. She isn't. She isn't.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    There's nothing warm about this hug, not in the way Usagi probably wants. It's full of anger, and sorrow- anger at Sunbreaker but also at herself, sorrow for Naru but also for her inability to do what she knows she is capable of. This is the first time that Kyouka has truly felt the limitations placed upon her by her contract, and nevermind that without it she could do even less.

    "I'm sorry." She whispers again to Usagi, before turning back to face Hematite- no, Darien, taking a deep breath. A moment later, she drops her henshin, too. There's no need for secrets here, not that she ever bothered with one to begin with. "I believe you, Darien. I probably shouldn't so easily, but I do. I know you're Naru-chan's friend, and I know you wouldn't sanction something like this. But you might have the best chance of finding out who this chick actually is."

    She looks back at Usagi, then. "Don't apologize for beating her, Usagi-chan." Her voice is sharp, hard. "Never apologize for winning a fight you didn't start. And never apologize for showing mercy. This isn't your fault. But that doesn't mean this 'Sunbreaker' gets away with it, either."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
    <PHONE> You text Nephrite: Someone called Sunbreaker took Naru
    <PHONE> You text Nephrite: Red and yellow hair, fire-type, dark energy
    <PHONE> A text from Nephrite: Doesn't ring any bells.
    <PHONE> A text from Nephrite: Is it safe to join you, or should I begin searching?
    <PHONE> You text Nephrite: Can you start looking? I'm talking with Counselor Inai, who saw it, and Naru's best friend. They both know I'm Hematite but havent told anyone
    <PHONE> A text from Nephrite: I shall do so. If I find anything I'll contact you right away.
    <PHONE> A text from Nephrite: While I locate Osaka, perhaps you can have Himeko earn her keep by following the trail of the perpetrator. The survival of the abductor will probably depend on which of us finds her first.
    <PHONE> You text Nephrite: ... okay. Okay. Thank you. Yes.

"I know," Darien says miserably to Kyouka, hands falling from up in front of him, holding the phone with its screen lit up. "Nephrite doesn't know who she is, but he's gonna start looking for Naru. And he suggested I ask Pyrite to look for her, too, but Pyrite can sometimes be overenthusiastic about swords..."

He lifts his arms again, fidgeting, passing the phone from one hand to the other. "Neph wanted to come join me but I told him no. I-- he's-- he likes Naru. A lot. Not like-like, but he really does like her. So he's probably on his way to big mad. I-- I'm sorry. I'm glad you trust me even though you shouldn't."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Anger isn't foreign to Usagi, but it's never in all her life been like this. Even against Jadeite, she'd never been this angry. Even standing against Hooded Guy, with lightning crashing down all around, she'd never been this angry.

But no one had ever gone after her friends before. Even Jadeite had only threatened it. For Sunbreaker to do this, over a necklace -

(If there was more to the story, Usagi wasn't seeing it. There was just the jewelery store, the fight, the necklace, and Usagi blasting her with power she hadn't even known she possessed, at the sight of -)

She doesn't say it's not Inai's fault. She can't bring herself to say it, her guts clenching, her throat tight with witheld words. She won't be able to say it until Naru is home safe and she knows she's okay.

"I'm not sorry I beat her," Usagi denies, and it's a lie. She is sorry she beat her, if this is what came out of it, "I - "

As for showing mercy? She's sorry about that too, maybe. She can't really think about what she would have done otherwise - can't, even with her newfound sympathies for Hannah, think about actually going the extra step.

Darien is a good distraction. Especially when he starts sharing what exactly he's been doing on his phone. His friends - they want to help? She doesn't know Nephrite, though considering the theme, it's obvious where he's from, but Pyrite - "Your little apprentice? I - would it help or hurt if I was transformed, if he wants to come? Do you think he can help us find Naru, or are you just reaching out to everyone, because I'm going to reach out to everyone -"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka gives a sharp glance to the phone, then to Darien, baring her teeth as she snaps, "Are you sure about that? Compromised assets, Shields. They may want to help right up until they don't. And don't give me that 'I'm compromised too' crap, you know the difference I'm talking about." She holds that angry presentation for another moment, then drops it with a sag of her shoulders. "I guess.. if this really has nothing to do with your people then it's unlikely to be an issue. And the more eyes on this the better.. as long as they aren't the wrong eyes."

    Then she turns back to Usagi again. "This Sunbreaker chick, she seemed to think Naru helped you last time. She alluded to Naru somehow strengthening you, and that she might do the same for me this time. Obviously she just can't accept that she lost, but I think that's what this is about. She's convinced Naru has some kind of magic and she took her because of that. I.. am really not sure what will happen when she finds out that isn't true. I don't know enough about her to predict-"

    She frowns, turning back to face the window. "God if this was even 5 years ago I would have plastered her all over that alleyway without breaking a sweat."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"My little apprentice yeah," says Darien, eyes widening a little with hope at Usagi's hope. "I'm not reaching out to everyone, because I can't trust everyone with this--" he looks at Kyouka and his chin's got a very, very Mamoru-stubborn set to it, which is different from Darien-stubborn, because it's not angry, just pointed, and then he looks back to Usagi. "--but Neph is my seer, and might be able to locate her that way. And he's-- he's trying really hard not to let the thing get him. And he likes her."

Compromised assets. He can read Nephrite sometimes in ways that Nephrite's words don't reflect, though.

Darien's breath isn't even, quite, but he's getting a little closer to the kind of calm that can act without breaking anything important. He almost shows Usagi his phone, but then remembers that Nephrite said 'Himeko' in the text, and he closes his eyes for a second. Then, "I told him I was talking to Counselor Inai, who saw it happen, and Naru's best friend. And as far as I knew up until a minute ago, Naru had two best friends, so it really is up to you which face you want to show."

His heart can sing and sink later. Usagi is Sailor Moon. Later. When Naru is safe.

A second later, and Darien looks guiltily at Kyouka. "It's not fair," he says quietly, "that you can't."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Strengthened me?" It's enough to surprise Usagi out of her anger, at least for the moment, and then her eyes widen, and a look of understanding crosses her face. "She thought that was Naru-chan? I mean - I guess I can get it, if she didn't..."

And it's not totally wrong, she guesses, if she twists around her thinking and cocks her head and tries to see it from the angle of someone who hated to lose and had been on top of the world. Usagi had gotten stronger because of Naru - because she couldn't stand to see her hurt, because seeing her dangling from Sunbreaker's grip had brought it all back, the terror and panic and love of that first day, of transforming for Naru, because of Naru - just not the way Sunbreaker apparently thought.

Try as she might, she can't really understand. Usagi, with her sympathetic, soft heart, can always want the best for people, but she doesn't always understand them, and right now, she's not really trying to understand Sunbreaker - just trying to think about what she wants with Naru, and what she'd do if - if she couldn't get it.

She doesn't like what her imagination, well-fed by manga and video games, comes up with.

And she looks at Darien - Darien who knows, the way she knows, Darien who is compromised and said she shouldn't trust him and who she trusts anyway, has never not trusted -

"Moon Prism Power!" A flash of light. A vision of hope and love, sparkling and brilliant, Usagi's human body and school uniform wrapped in cosmic energy and replaced in an instant with Sailor Moon's strength, her fuku, and most importantly, her new tiara, glittering gold, jewels shining. "I want to meet him. Even if it's not here - even if we need to go somewhere else, so Inai-sensei's office stays safe, if he's looking for Naru, if he likes her, I want to meet him. Maybe he'll like me too."

A stubborn cast hardens her own chin, makes her bright blue eyes spark. "And if he doesn't, he'll deal with it 'til we get her back."

It's probably unnecessary, but she drags in a breath and pulls off her new tiara, rolling it in her hands - "I got a new tiara. Fighting Sunbreaker. She was - she had a spear in her hands and I thought she was going to - to k-kill Naru-chan, and I was going to throw it, Moon Tiara Action, and instead -"

Well, the Tiara in her hands now - with it's crescent moon relief, with it's shining red jewel, so like her old one, studded with eight pearls - is unlikely to have been one sold in a jewelry store.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    When Kyouka sees that set to Darien's chin, a complicated expression crosses her face, one that would be difficult for someone who didn't know her very well to parse, but has some aspects of regret, annoyance, and relief all wrapped up in it at once. She looks away a moment later, as if not wanting to confront it right now, when there's more urgent business that demands attention.

    She hears Darien's quiet words, and something about them makes her angry again, even if it isn't anger at him. "Maybe if my goddamned arm wasn't broken," She snaps, immediately regrets it, and looks back at the floor. "No.. sorry, I didn't mean that. It wouldn't have made a difference." And that's true, even if the broken arm had made her task more difficult. More difficult than impossible is still just impossible.

    She blinks as Usagi henshins in front of her- not that she wasn't aware of this identity already but wow, that's really bright, especially in the dim office. "You probably... considering what else we have going on, it's probably best not to do it here." She says, after a moment. "It's not like this office is secret or anything, it's on my damn business card but.. I don't want mixed messages being sent." In other words, she doesn't want word getting out that 'the enemy' has been hanging out in her office and sowing doubt amongst the students who are less understanding of nuance.

    She glances at the tiara as Usagi draws attention to it, and she does smile, faintly. "Well. You'll have to make sure she gets a much closer look at it, won't you?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Usagi is Sailor Moon. Even in the middle of this awful-- this awful thing-- Darien's expression when he sees Usagi transform is one of wonder and admiration and... something else, something blessed and true and real and--

He nods once, firmly. "He might have to fight you someday, Sailor Moon, but I bet he'll like you a lot." Then he looks at Kyouka and shifts uncomfortably. Wishing he could heal pain he caused is nothing new, and he deserves the snap; he just shakes his head when Kyouka apoogizes.

He listens, and nods. "I broke into an empty dorm room to have a meeting inside the RHA wards," he says frankly, "and we can do that again. The neighbors to either side haven't moved in yet. Or back in. Or whatever."

Kyouka's last comment elicits a wicked grin. "A much closer look," he agrees. "Inai-sensei, should we leave you or do you want to come with?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Being reminded that Darien is the reason Inai-sensei's arm is broken is not what Sailor Moon needs right now, but absolutely none of this is about what she wants or needs. Instead, she grimaces, looking away until Inai-sensei backs off, and then nods, looking from her teacher to her friend, her expression softening at his own admiring look.

"This is where people come to feel safe, and, if they figured out - I trust you, Darien. I know you think I shouldn't, but I do, but I know you. If anyone else figured out Inai-sensei was having you and your friends around, as, Hemachan and ...Nephrite," she was going to call him Neph-kun or something and it's obvious and she is breezing past it, pleased that Darien thinks his friend would like her. "They probably wouldn't get it; some of them really want to beat you up for breaking her arm."

A pause.

"I told them they weren't allowed."

She told them they couldn't kill him, but surely they understand it's the same thing. Surely!

At Inai-sensei's approving glance and her and Darien's combined commentary, a smile manages to come to her face. "You guys know me too well."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka sighs heavily. "I want to come... I feel responsible for this happening. What good am I if I can't even actually help when people call me?" Nevermind that the system was designed for magical fighters, not mundane ones. "But I probably shouldn't. Not right away. As much as I wish I could make everything just about Naru-chan, I can't take the risk that... other priorities will be compromised if I'm not careful." She nods in agreement with Moon's assessment of the situation.

    "But that doesn't mean I don't want to be involved. Keep me informed, alright? I mean it." A scowl, as if she doesn't trust the two not to cut her off because she's old, or something. "You know how to reach me, and you know how to get me there, if you need me. I'm with you on this until it's resolved."

    She looks between the two of them. "Just be careful. Please. We don't know who Sunbreaker is or who she works for, which means we don't know who we can trust. I know-" She holds up her hand to forestall protests, "That you want to trust your friends. Fine. If it helps us get Naru back more quickly, then fine. Just be careful."

    "I'll let you get to it. I need a shower, anyway." She flashes them both a small smile. "Naru-chan is lucky to have friends like you two. And Sunbreaker is very unlucky that she does."

    Then she just disappears, with a small sound and brief rush of air, in a teleportation quite similar to the one Darien used to arrive.