714/It's Always Wishes

It's Always Wishes
Date of Scene:	06 November 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Kyouka accosts Adrien to find out more about evil butterflies. Darien provides helpful commentary.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouka Inai, Adrien Agreste, Mamoru Chiba
Tinyplot:	Inner Conflict

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Kyouka Inai has posed:
    It's a Sunday evening on campus, which means that the place is pretty quiet. A good amount of the student body lives on campus, so it's not deserted, but most students are in the dorms or out getting some food or something, and the well-kept paths between the buildings are nowhere near as busy as they would be on a weekday afternoon.

    Kyouka Inai does not live on campus, or so she claims, but maybe the school requires a lot of overtime of its faculty. Whatever the reason, she's here now. The paths are well-lit by numerous stand-lamps, but there's really no reason she should be wearing her sunglasses after sunset. She's doing it anyway. At least she's not smoking, as doing so on school grounds would get her in trouble. She's chewing bubblegum instead, walking along the path from the administrative building towards the exit from the school grounds, wearing her usual office attire though with the addition of her black leather jacket overtop. It's chilly enough now that it doesn't seem out of place.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
While there was no real reason for Adrien to be at the administration building, there was a good reason for him to be coming into the school from outside. So he's on the main path approaching Kyouka's direction while carrying a few bags from the local Konbini mart not far away. He'd gotten refills on all the important things: Coffee, creamer, some sugar, ramen and some of the rice balls that were great for quick snacks. Also a bag of croissants from a bakery because he was surprised to find there was one nearby that made croissants. He had to stock up.

The blonde model spots the gum-chewing Kyouka so offers her a pleasant, "Good evening, Inai-sensei!" more out of habit than any intent to actually catch her attention. He didn't quite realise that someone might have passed on to her that he KNEW things.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
From somewhere nearby and above -- probably a rooftop -- there is the slightly muffled sound of a phone overdosing on texting and someone cursing.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka was not looking for Adrien, in the sense that she was not walking down this path with the intent of seeking him out. However, she was looking for him in the sense that multiple people had told her that he knows things which she wants to know, which means that when she spots him coming along the path in the other direction, and with nobody else around to boot (always convenient when magic is the topic of inquiry) she senses her opportunity.

    Whoever is cursing on the roof just over there does not count as 'around', for the moment, although he sounds like he's having a bad time.

    Kyouka slows her walk as Adrien greets her. "Agreste-san, right?" She says, her tone friendly. "Do you have a minute? I've actually been meaning to talk to you. A couple mutual acquaintances told me that you might have some information of interest to me following current events." She smiles a lop-sided smile. "Off the record, of course."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
The sound of cursing was familiar enough that Adrien begins to turn his head in that direction. He falters when Kyouka starts to inquire about information he might know. Both eyebrows dart up looking a mix of confused, perplexed, and then marginally worried. "Yes, that's me," he agrees slowly as if admitting to it would just be an issue in itself.

"Ah... What current event are you referring to? I know the school festival was a bit of a flop for our class but I didn't really have much to do with it...." He begins only to pause at the 'off the record' remark.

A quiet sigh comes. "All right. Off the record. What is it you want to know?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"She's a pain in the ass who wants to know about what happened to you a lot in Paris, sorry for throwing you under the bus twice in one week," comes a voice from... NOT the roof, which is the same voice as the one that was cursing a second ago, and it belongs to the black-haired too-tall tenth-grader looking at his phone screen as he walks toward them. "Are you really gonna talk about it right on the sidewalk, Inai-san?" Oooooh. Somebody's stroppy today.

Darien Shields, wearing the ugly green jacket over a black turtleneck and bluejeans, looks exceptionally cranky. "This isn't even my fault, why am I getting the karmic downfall?" he complains. "I was *kidnapped* all of yesterday, I couldn't even defend myself! From the whole internet!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka has stopped walking, and is standing casually with hand in pocket, illuminated by one of the street lamps just overhead. "No, nothing to do with the culture festival." She says, with a small laugh. "What I want to know about is-"

    She stops mid-sentence as Darien emerges from the darkness like a social-media-obsessed abyssal fiend. Her expression sours, though it's less outright dislike and more the expression an older sister gets when her bratty younger brother intrudes on the slumber party. "What's it matter to you, Shields? At least I'm not asking via a video on ClockApp."

    As he continues to complain, she adds, "I highly doubt one day of gallavanting around with your girlfriend is likely to alter your karmic balance." She then returns her gaze to Adrien, and sighs. "I don't care about Paris, specifically. I want to know about the evil butterflies, and who sent them and told Usagi-chan that she could have fun forever if she brought him 'miraculouses'. Miraculi? Pluralization unclear."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"If you keep throwing me under busses I'm going to have to start charging a fee," Adrien replies to Darien trying to make light of the situation a bit. He does offer a charming smile back toward the apparently surly teen with a bit of a sympathetic nod. "Social media really has a life of it's own. Even if you had been around I don't think that would have mattered much."

The Konbini bag is swapped to his other hand so that he can give it a break as he contemplates exactly how to go about this. "I really wasn't expecting this sort of thing to happen outside of Paris in all honesty." There's absolutely no lie there, not a bit. He had no idea Hawkmoth had also come to Japan. Frankly he was expecting to become a liability to Ladybug for not being able to be around when she needed him in Paris.

"I do try not to talk about things like this in the open. I'll tell you what I know from my own experiences, though."

Glancing aside to Darien he drops his voice a bit, softly remarking, "I hope Usagi-chan is feeling better now? I'm sorry you both had to go through that."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Darien literally sticks his tongue out at Kyouka, pulling down an eyelid. Then he shakes his head at Adrien. "It's fine. We've been through worse, and we'll undoubtedly go through worse in the future. She'll be all right. She'd probably love to get a text from you about it though."

He puts his phone back on do not disturb and shoves it into his pocket, then makes shooing gestures at the both of them. "How about keep walking," he suggests, "and we can get to our hallway, and you can give Chrono your bags to put away, and you both can find someplace else to talk. I think the plural is probably miraculouses. It's not Latin."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "What's it matter if it's in the open?" Kyouka complains at both of them. "If any mundanes hear it they won't remember anyway, and it's not like people are spying on me from the darkness in case I happen to run into someone and have a conversation that contains sensitive information." She glances around, then shoots Darien a sharp look. "Right? They aren't, are they?"

    To Adrien, she says, "I'd appreciate that. It's not that I'm picking on you in particular so much as that I feel it's my responsibility to learn what I can about the sorts of threats my students might face.. and this is one that I didn't have any insight into. So y'know... anything you can tell me would be much appreciated. And help me feel like I'm a little better prepared for the next time something similar happens."

    She doesn't actually protest being shooed into walking again though, and will do so assuming that Adrien is also doing so. "Miraculouses sounds like amazing parasitic bugs."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste glances to Kyouka, and then back to Darien again breifly at the remark of 'mundanes won't remember anyway.' Lightly he clears his throat as he allows his attention to return to Kyouka. "... *Some* mundanes remember, Inai-sensei."

Darien's suggestion just earns a nod as he starts to head for the dorms keeping his pace easy to follow in case those of differing heights had issue. Granted, Darien was taller than him too by a bit.

"I'll text her in a bit," he assures Darien before starting on the topic requested. "Miraculous is just... Miraculous, I think. There's a man known as Hawkmoth that has one of his own, and the powers of his allow him to send out 'Akuma' to give powers to others. I don't think the way he does it was how it was originally intended to be used though? He's after the Miraculous of the heroes known as Ladybug and Cat Noir. Anytime one of his Akuma, which is kind of a butterfly spirit I suppose?" How exactly did one describe it without just saying 'evil butterfly'? His head shakes lightly. "When someone has very strong emotions like anger, or fear, or jealousy, he takes advantage by using his Akuma to promise them whatever it is they want in exchange for stealing the Miraculous of those two. I was caught by one once, as were several of my friends in Paris."

"The Akuma will posses an object that the person has. You have to find it, and destroy it, to release the Akuma. Then purify it so it can't posses anyone else."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"In Usagi's case, it was her broken watch," Darien says, sounding -- something. Cranky is still there, but also indignant on her behalf. And when he says it, he lifts his own hand and pulls down his sleeve, showing Kyouka one he has that looks just like Usagi's.

That's disgustingly cute he wears a 'watch' just like hers, sparkly and everything.

"So I imagine the object is also a focus of emotion. Whether it's something that the victim was fond of or emotionally attached to, or it's attached to whatever just happened to awaken those negative emotions, that link is probably necessary. I may just be projecting because that's how some dark energy stuff works, and because purification makes it stop..." Darien starts strong and then peters off, meandering alongside the two of them.

"Anyway so this guy already has one, but he specifically wants the miraculous items of those two? Are there others?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka gives Adrien a look when he says that 'some' mundanes remember. "What, you mean like Osaka-san?" She asks, sounding skeptical. "That girl is not a mundane, no matter what she might pretend. I'm not exactly sure what she is yet, but mundane is not it. If any other supposed mundanes hear a conversation about evil butterflies and remember it, I highly doubt they are going to run to the newspapers and get anything but laughed at."

    She doesn't stop walking though- aggravation with over-cautious mahous is secondary as long as she is getting the information that she wanted. She listens attentively to Adrien's summary of Akuma and where they come from. "That tracks with what Eclipse told me." She muses, before glancing over at Darien and his pretty watch.

    "That's interesting and probably true but 'break the thing' is the actionable bit of intel, although that also tracks with what we've experienced. Break the thing and purify. I like a simple solution.. you know, relatively speaking."

    She doesn't interrupt Darien's question, which she also wants to know, but instead adds one of her own. "What does this Hawkmoth guy want with the other Miraculous? What's he gonna do if he gets them?"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"That's the million dollar question."

Adrien can only shake his head a bit about why he wants those two Miraculous. With a light clearing of his throat he shoots a wry grin at Kyouka. "Naru, and myself. I've known since Paris. It's kind of nice having someone else to talk to about it, a bit."

That wasn't the *real* question at hand though. He just had to try to keep up that lie at least. It wasn't so bad if they just thought he was like Naru in that he knew, for some reason or another. "Granted it happened a *lot* in Paris. He was really after them and would often re-Akumatize people he had used in the past. I guess it's easier for him once he knows their weak spots?"

"As for the two Miraculous, from what I gather they're very powerful and if used together they can grant a Wish. So it could be any number of things he's after them for."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"And who doesn't want a miracle," murmurs 'Darien'.

He stops walking. "I have to go find someone," he says regretfully, his voice losing all of the annoyed tone and crankiness. "Sorry to crash your conversation. See you around."

Moody-ass teenager. He walks off back the way he came.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka quirks a brow at Adrien as he claims to just be a mundane who knows things, as well. Her expression conveys doubt, but that is a topic for another time and not actually relevant to the current conversation so she doesn't comment on the subject, at least for now. "Well, hopefully he doesn't go after Usagi-chan again, although I think she'll be a hard target to repeat now that she's aware of the threat." And those around her are, as well.

    At this point, Darien turns to walk back the other direction. Kyouka calls after him, "Take care, Darien." And for whatever reason, it sounds genuinely concerned. She doesn't linger on that though, instead returning her attention to Adrien.

    "It's always gotta be wishes." She says, with another sigh. "Whatever happened to hard work and determination? I bet if this Hawkmoth guy dedicated half the energy to whatever problem he wants to wish a solution for as he apparently does to evil butterflies and making people go crazy he wouldn't actually need to wish for it. But who am I to psychoanalyze bad guys, it's not like I have a degree in brain stuff."

    She shakes her head slightly. "Anyway, thanks for filling me in. I know a lot about the sorts of problems native to Tokyo, but I guess foreign mahous have their own problems and I don't know much about them."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste half-turns when Darien remarks about having to head off. He lifts a hand lightly to wave with a call of, "Take care." Maybe he was simply claiming such things because he was in front of Darien? It's hard to say, really.

"It's not quite like that. Wishes like bringing back the dead or changing history. One of my friends that became changed was the daughter of the museum director when they had an exhibition on an Egyptian king who had been obsessed with bringing his wife back from the dead. Apparently, the Miraculous were around back then, and that's what he tried to use them for."

Adrien takes a deep breath while looking back to Kyouka with a single nod. "That's all I know though, really. There are Guardians who protect the other Miraculous, but sometimes they are handed out to others to use temporarily. It's not often though."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "In my experience," Kyouka says with a mildly sardonic tone, "Wishing to bring back the dead never works out. For anybody. But I guess that won't stop people from trying. Never has before." She blows out a puff of air, raising a hand to push through her bright red hair, before she nods. "Well. That's a lot more information than I had before, and at least it's enough to act on if we run into a similar situation again. So thanks."

    "Ladybug and Cat Noir, huh?" She muses aloud. "Haven't met either of them, but it seems like Eclipse wasn't successful in getting anything from them, so I assume they aren't pushovers. Still, maybe worth looking into.." She then glances back at Adrien. "Hey, you don't come to my self-defense classes, do you? You should consider it." She digs in a pocket and produces a business card. It has her name, position, and phone number on the front printed over an embossed RHA logo, and on the back in pen is written the schedule for the class. "Here." She hands the card over.

    "Anyway. I got what I wanted, so I'm going to return to my previous plan of 'dinner and drinks'." She gives Adrien a smile as she turns back the way she was originally walking. "Thanks for answering my questions, Agreste-san."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Self-defense classes. Were those the ones Naru said she was taking these days? Adrien reaches out to take the offered card looking down at it curiously. "Maybe. I'm already in the fencing club, take Kung-fu and Judo. My father's always insisted I stay on top of all of my activities as well as my studies." A little smile is flashed toward her as she heads off.

"You're welcome, Inai-sensei. Have a good night!"

Again he glances down at the card thoughtfully. A deep breath is taken, and he turns back to the dorms to head in. Time to see how Chrono was doing.