384/How it started...

How it started...
Date of Scene:	07 September 2023
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Naru wakes up. Sunbreaker TOTALLY has all of this under control. Totally. Yup. Definitely.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Naru Osaka
Tinyplot:	Dangerous Orbits

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker paces back and forth. Oh no. No no no no no. AHHHHH! She didn't want this. THIS WAS NOT PART OF THE PLAN! Hinoiri was the greatest student... of all time. But you know, Kirakirafantastica had a LOT of classes. All kinds. Amazing kinds. But they did not have a 'taking hostages' class. They had hostage negotiation, how to escape when imprisoned BY a dragon and teleportation. Yes, she aced all those. No, she should NEVER do hostage negotiation, unless you were DESPERATE.

And now she was freaking out only mildly less than Sailor Planet-decoration out there. VERY mildly. She had just wanted to talk, that was all. Then that one insane girl with glowing fist got involved and then the next thing she knew she'd ended up taking the girl and what was she going to do, just drop her off at Obsidian? GOSH no. That would have been stupid, there were SO MANY psychos there!

So instead she'd just taken her to a random cabin... in the mountains. It took her a bit to find one that was like... Abandoned. But she'd just tossed the girl on a bed, turned the heaters on and made sure there was no internet. Then took Naru's phone.

AND THEN TAKASHI HAD TEXTED HER! So now? Now she had the place wrapped in so many anti-scrying spells, so much dark energy and so many hiding spells that the original owners of this cabin could likely be outside and not know where in the heck it was.

So now what? How much dark energy could a person take before it got dangerous? Humans were like... adaptable, right? Like... give them plenty of fluids and it just comes out? Or... AHHHHHH! Right. Right. She was sure Naru would wake up aaaaaaany minute now. She had things under control. Completely. Under. Control. She was Hinoiri. Prized pupil of Sora herself. She had this FINE. Nobody would find her. And if they came close, she'd just toss Naru in the... That thought made her stop and take a slow, deep breath.

Nobody would come close. She. Was. Hino. Iri. She didn't MAKE mistakes. So she wouldn't HAVE to resort to anything like that.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's a struggle for Naru to manage to claw her way to consciousness. There's a little whimper of discomfort as she starts to wake up, shifting in the bed a little to try and find a comfortable position.

If she hurts everywhere, she's probably not dead, right?

Naru opens a single eye to confirm her assessment of 'probably not dead' before committing to both eyes being open.

Awake, or awake enough, Naru lays still as she evaluates the current state of the body.

If this body was a car, there would be a lot of lights on in the dash.

Naru takes a few moments longer before she uncurls to sit up a bit, and look around, blinking as she tries to clear her mind.

Naru's phone gets a lot of messages, hiding behind the lock screen.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker stops, her back to Naru. Eyes narrowed. Game face. Don't let them see you sweat. Don't act like you're not in total control. A moment of weakness, and they'll see you as weak. Unworthy. They'll tell Sora that you're not enough. They'll say you're just like everypony else. Mundane.

While the mantra wasn't... entirely relevant here, she had been using it for years. So when she turned around and saw her, she gave a sigh. "Finally woken up, have we? Hungry?" she asked before motioning towards a small bag from the kourma chameleon. Vegetarian korma. No receipt.

"Go ahead, take your time. You've been out for a while and... frankly... you're not going to be going anywhere anytime soon. So we've got all the time in the world," she said with a light chuckle.

Power. Control. Strength. She had all of these. She WAS all of these. Don't buckle. Don't break. Only losers showed fear. Showed worry. Especially for others. Nothing mattered but winning. Nothing ever matter but winning.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Thirsty, too." Naru confirms, as she moves slowly. Unsurprisingly, all things considered. She pulls herself up to sitting on the bed, and finally takes a good look around.

"No, I'm not going anywhere." Naru confirms, as she moves to reach for the bag, a little bit of relief at the smell. The lack of meaty smell, really.

"Thank you." Naru is a polite captive, as she opens it to find vegetarian food within. "I'll be pretty pathetic for a while, you drained me a lot. I'm not used to being out of mental and physical energy at the same time."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker sighed and resisted face palming. "There's cups and tap water in the front room," she said. "I'm not your waitress. Oh, fuck it. Just be grateful I'm so generous," she muttered before storming off. A minute later she returned with a cup of water. She placed it down in front of her. "I heard you're vegetarian from one of your crying friends, so you'd best be grateful," she snapped. "This entire thing would have been avoided if you'd JUST answered my questions instead of making this harder than it had to be. Idiot! Besides, you're always pathetic."

Then, she decided to bluff... "That girl who saved you? She's in the hospital you know. She shouldn't have gotten involved. If you don't want to join her you'll tell me what I told you. Otherwise I'll have to find some other use for you." She flicked out her right hand, a bit of dark mist coalescing around it.

She then opened the blinds... and Naru could see where they were. The mountains. Mount fuji? Possibly. In a... rather nice cabin. Surrounded by a dome of dark energy.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I am grateful." Naru replies quietly, gently even. She leans forward to get the cup and swallows it down quickly, before setting the empty glass down and scooting back on the bed.

Naru settles herself using the wall as a backrest and with her meal on her lap. "Thank you for the food, for getting water for me and for being thoughtful enough to get me a vegetarian meal. I do appreciate it."

Naru sighs a little, not yet having started to eat, even with the smell of the food wafting through, being deliciously tempting. "I can't answer your questions and holding me here won't change that, I'm afraid."

Naru arches a brow at the bluff. "I hope she heals up well." She notes mildly, not willing to actively tell Sunbreaker that she's lieing, but it's not exactly the horrified drama that perhaps was the hope.

Her gaze follows Sunbreaker to the windows, watching the view, obscured by that dark energy. Not the best way to take a mountain vacation.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker nodded. "Good. You know, most people would be grateful to have the personal attention of THE H-- Sunbreaker. Future Sovereign, destined ruler of Kirakirafantastica, the greatest mage your backwater world has ever known. If anything, I'm practically doing you a favor. Though I doubt YOU see it that way," she said before turning to face her, the flames growing a little.

"You're giving me a lot of trouble. Your friends are idiots. Don't they realize if they make holding you prisoner more trouble than it's worth there's a very quick, and easy, way to end my troubles?" she snapped.

"Can't? Oh, don't even start with that. Don't think I didn't notice just how 'picky' you were with your words. Not to mention I saw what you did with that... one weird girl's power. You amped up her barrier. It was alllllmost subtle enough I didn't notice. Almost. But I didn't earn this title because I missed things." She gave a light snort. Then...

"Your friends are worried about you, you know. They're scared I'm going to kill you. As if I wouldn't have done that already if I wanted to. Any two bit mage with a broken wand can kill someone. I'm after something much, much more valuable."

She made a mental note about the reaction to the news of her savior's painful demise. It seemed the other girl didn't care... maybe she wasn't nearly as nice as she pretended after all...

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It was a pleasant surprise to not wake up dead." Naru agrees as she listens to Sunbreaker, with little nods in agreement. "I mean.. you /are/, if you don't kill me, and are willing to talk to me at all."

Naru spreads out her hand, the one not holding the korma from spilling in her lap and all over everything. "I'm /interested/ in magic, but I'm a mundane. I can't do any powers, no matter how much you want me to. Yes, I'm picky about my words." She sighs softly. "I like using precise language."

Because technically correct is the best kind of correct!

If Naru doesn't have faith that Stellar is fine, or at least fine enough, she might lose her legendary calm and she really would prefer not to do that right now. So clearly, Stellar is /fine/. Clearly. Only option.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker gave a light snort. "Don't be ridiculous. You're hardly worth killing. If not for your interference, you wouldn't even be here. But obviously your magic is subtle, is... more pwoerful than I would have imagined. That girl, Sailor Moon. She never could have hoped to defeat me. Especially not with the help of a mere, mundane, pathetic human. So tell me... what did you do?" she asked before, very gently, she reached out to grip her chin.

"One way or another you WILL help me. And if you keep refusing, maybe I'll find another way to make use of you. Experiments with dark energy go so much faster with a living victim. I wonder just how much dark energy you could take before you turned into one of those monsters. Or maybe you'll learn how to harness it first, just like me... though I find that unlikely."

"So, what will it be? Would you rather be a good girl, or a monster?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm sorry, Sunbreaker." Naru is captured and held, to be looking into Sunbreaker's eyes. There's no guile in them, she's not trying to dissemimate or anything. For all intents and purposes, Naru is telling the truth as far as she knows it.

"I am a mere, mundane, pathetic human." Naru recites back to her, trying not to have those words echo in the bits of her brain that are entirely too happy to agree fully with every last one of them. Just a human. Not magical. Not /really/ part of it all.

Just a hostage sitting on a bed, being threatened for not having any actual magic. But not really part of it all.

"I also find it unlikely that I'll figure out how to harness it." Naru has to admit. "And I am not exactly delighting at becoming a monster, but I'm still not what you think I am."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker let Naru's face go. She turned and walked away, her eyes closed for a moment.

"Sailor Moon didn't have that kind of power before," Sunbreaker said. "She couldn't defeat me. Do you not understand WHO I AM?! I am the SUNBREAKER! She who will SHATTER the SUN and make her KNEEL BEFORE ME!" Sunbreaker yelled, stomping her foot. "I will SHOW HER everything I EARNED! I would NEVER lose to some PATHETIC MOON GIRL! Some... Some NOTHING! Fine. FINE. Hold to your..."

Then she trailed off and blinked. Very slowly she giggled. "Oh. Oh duh. Wow. Ohhhhh. Obviously. Heh. Ha ha ha. Oh, it makes so much sense. You're just a human, how could you know? Duh. It's just like a baby unicorn. Surges of magic, just. Oh. Wow. No wonder." She motioned to the food. "Finish eating, 'Naru'. Get your energy, you'll need it. We're going to tap into that magic of yours one way or another. Geez. You humans really are dense. You can't even see magic when it's under your nose."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I dont know how she got her power to begin with." Naru points out, finally unwrapping the to go spoon and settling in to eat. She /is/ hungry. Drain always does that to her.

"I do not usually get my energy back all that quickly after that much drain." Naru points out pragmatically. Mostly in a 'be careful, the toy you are planning to play with is a little fragile still' sort of way.

"It is a hazard of being a mundane, yes. I cannot actually detect magic." Naru's comment is faintly dry, completely turning Sunbreaker's comment on its head.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker sighed and then rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Right. Humans. You jsut don't... get magic, do you? You don't understand. The fact is, Naru?" Sunbreaker said before turning to face her with a smirk.

"I do. I live and breathe magic. And the fact is? You have magic. You just... don't know how to use it. It's tied to emotions here. Obviously what happened is when you feared for your life, you used it instinctively. Now? I'm just going to have to draw it out from you. Silly girl, you really almost had me there for a minute."

She eyed the girl, a frown on her lips. "Though... this might be a bit... painful for you. Eh. It'll be worth it in the end."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I don't understand." Naru agrees readily, pausing with a spoonful of korma before setting it back in the container.

"I would like to understand more, although I will admit, this was not exactly how I envisioned my next set of learning to go." Naru's tone is wry, and still that bone dry.

"I don't think that, for the purposes of our conversation, that 'getting' magic, and 'unlocking' magic are functionally different." Naru lifts her spoon again, to be able to gently gesture with it.

She considers a moment, just looking at Sunbreaker for long moments, sorting through her own thoughts.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't. You've never even been in basic spellcasting 101, let alone taken any lesson of actual value. Don't worry."

She snapped her fingers and, for a moment, a small shadowy human appeared floating in the air. "To put it in laymans terms..."

The shadowy figure slumped, head down. "Humans are, many times, pathetic. Magic ignores them, avoids them. They can't use it. They're not special. But then..."

It flexed and stood up straight, radiating darkness! "Then they get chosen, yada yada, become big special sparkle skirts. But sometimes?"

The figure stood up straight, kind of flailed, lifting arms up... "They just... don't. They have it in them to become it. But there's a block, or something stopping them. Or they only have it sometimes. Sad, really... that... seems to be you."

But slowly a grin formed on her lips. "After all, you've known for a while about magic, haven't you? But none of your own? Seems... odd. Doesn't it?" she asked with an amused grin. "Or did you think that the rules just... didn't apply to you? That you, somehow, got to know something was up... but weren't actually magical, right?" she asked in a taunting tone. "Or did they just tell you that you were special?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
A little gesture after Naru takes another bite of her korma, towards the shadowy figure. "Part of your general curriculum?"

Naru snorts softly at Sunbreaker's grand declarations. "No, I do not think that I am special, nor am I told that I am special because I can see and recognize magic but can't use it." She stretches her legs out, starting to aim to work at some of the muscles stiff from being in the same spot for too long.

Also a distracton to keep her from snapping back on just quite how 'not special' she is usually meant to feel for her lack of magic. Liability is far more accurate.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker gave a small nod. "More or less. Humans are weird, honestly. But this kind of thing isn't all that uncommon. A block in your system. But the signs are all very clearly there. I can't say I'm surprised that the people of this world can't identify it."

"The fact is, Naru. You are magical. You're just... broken. Damaged. Think of it like, ohhhhh... missing an arm or something. Ugh. Arms are weird, you know that? Sometimes you get little flare ups. But... you know what?" A smirk formed on her lips. "I am the greatest mage this world will ever know. And I'm going to fix you. So be grateful," she said before crossing her arms and looking down at her again. "You'll soon have magic and teach me so much more about how you humans use it. My newest, grandest experiment. Your welcome. Eat up, rest up, and get ready. I'll be back in a few hours or so. I just need to... prepare." She then turned to leave, stepping out through the doorway and disappearing in a swirl of flames.

Only to appear back in her dorm room.

AHHHHH! SWEET SORA! She didn't know anything about magical medicine, THAT WASN'T SOMETHING SHE TOOK LESSONS IN PAST THE BARE MINIMUM! She was A MAGIC EXPERT! Not a DOCTOR! No. No no. No panic. Calm. Everything. Was under control. She'd show Takashi. She'd show ALL of them. But... but she needed more time. She needed....

She needed an expert... at delays. Slowly, a grin formed on her lips.

She needed Double Trouble.