834/Hinoiri did what!?

Hinoiri did what!?
Date of Scene:	01 December 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Lydian comes to Sayaka because she finds unbearable keeping in Hinoiri's mistreatment of Madoka. The bluenette now has things to say.
Cast of Characters:	Sayaka Miki, Madoka Kaname

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Sayaka Miki has posed:
It's just a few minutes past the end of today's classes and Sayaka has just finished putting her books back in her schoolbag. She just needs to bring it back to her dorm room, and then she is free to go on patrol.

She is trying to keep sparing a few glances to Ula, who is currently sitting on her shoulder, continuing to talk about how she is still about yesterday, and she is very anxious about Sayaka possibly doing something like that again.

"It's alright, I regenerated", Sayaka replies giving her a little caress of comfort, despite her tone actually being a bit irritated by it. "I only needed to get out of those situations, and then I was back on the offensive anyway."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Junko Kaname didn't take very long to catch onto the fact that Madoka got hit, because Madoka's an inexperienced liar and her mother is a sharp woman. The kind of red mark that appeared on her cheek is the kind of thing that draws attention, and the idea that someone would dare harm Junko's sweet little girl is infuriating.

    Funnily enough, Madoka faces violence all the time being a magical girl. The person who struck her is someone she'd actually consider weaker than her, since she doesn't know about Hinoiri's secret identity. She keeps trying to play it off or deescalate, but no one is really buying her attempts to mollify the situation. The Bearer is stuck trying to deal with something that is quickly spiraling out of her control. That's why, when it came time to go to school, she just... didn't. She asked her dad if she could take the day off, and he granted her permission, and now she's in her room trying to figure things out. She never went to school today.

    Needless to say if Junko Kaname ever found the person who struck her daughter, such a person would soon earn a slap mark of their own.

    Still, Madoka doesn't want to give details, such as who it was or why. She's maybe hoping for something that will make it all turn around or go away.

    Thing is, there's one additional complication in Madoka's life that she isn't accounting for. The issue is that she is a Chara Bearer, and one should never trust one's own Chara to not speak your mind for you.

    Thus it is that Lydian has wandered to school, on her own, to find someone to complain to. She already spoke her mind to Gretchen about it, and now as she's wandering around she spots Ula and Sayaka.

    The ponytailed minidoka floats over to the pair with clear indignation on her face and her hands on her hips. "Saya-chan... Ula-chan... there's something I gotta tell you!"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka has been worried about Madoka, and in fact sent her messages asking if something was wrong. It wasn't like her to just skip school like that, with no warning whatsoever. The messages hadn't done much to placate that unnerving feeling. She knows her well enough that she doesn't believe Madoka just randomly came up with a flu and she replies with a vague "I'm not feeling well today".

Both her and Ula have been staring at the phone screen anytime they could get away with it (which, for Ula, was almost all the time), even if they knew it was a hope. Resigned to the fact they aren't getting anything else out of her, Ula spends the rest of the time on her craft, while Sayaka tries to pay attention in class. The two of them can only hope Lydian is willing to keep them posted about what may have her happened. So when the Chara does show up with crystal clear indignation, Sayaka wastes no time with asking her: "Is Madoka alright? What happened to her?"

Ula for her part is almost thrown off with the energy Sayaka has when approaching Lydian, so she just flies next to the Chara, talking to the mini pinkette. "Please say anything you can, we have been worried all day. She hasn't been hurt, has she? She doesn't have Sayaka's regeneration..." Those two are birds of a feather, really.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Lydian looks between Ula and Sayaka with a big frown, but eventually her eyes focus on the bluenette. "Someone said some pretty mean things to Madoka-chan yesterday. Cussed her out and called her bad names and everything. Then at the end of it all, she hit Madoka! Slapped her right across the face!"

    With a dramatic finger point at Sayaka, Lydian adds, "That person was Kirara-san, your girlfriend!"

    The Chara lets that settle in for a moment as she crosses her arms. After a meaningful pause, she adds, "I don't really think what she said was very fair. She shouldn't have called Madoka names, and it's not fair to call her selfish! My Bearer works really hard every day to help others, and it's not right! My Bearer didn't do anything to deserve this and I don't like it!"

    Around a corner, Gretchen peeks her tiny mask-covered head out. She doesn't say anything yet, but she's watching.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka bites her lips, a frustrated expression as she listens to Ula recount yesterday's events. Madoka has never done anything to be anyone's enemy in her everyday life, who could possibly have something against her? Everyone knows her as friendly and helpful. She doesn't think it makes sense that someone would just go into such a mean tirade against her. This person can't be all that well-put.

"Poor Madoka-chan", says Ula, starting to twist and squeeze her hands in discomfort while Lydian goes into detail. "Your Bearer is so nice, that person must be heartless." When the slap is talked about, Sayaka narrows her eyes, asking "I hope this person is alright, because she isn't going to be soon." Reporting her to the school comes later, first she wants to meet this person herself.

"Sayaka-chan, Madoka-chan wouldn't want you to get in trouble, I get it's worrisome someone has it for her", Ula says, placing her hand on the bluenette's own, "it's just going to make things muddier for people to understand."

Whatever reaction there was to be had from that, it's completely lost when Lydian reveals Madoka's attacker is none other than Hinoiri.

"She did that!?" Sayaka growls, her face darkened. She brings her phone out and sends Madoka a message.

<PHONE> Sayaka Miki texts Madoka Kaname: I'm sorry Hinoiri did that to you. She is so going to hear from me.
<PHONE> A text from Madoka Kaname: Did Lydian tell you?
<PHONE> Sayaka Miki texts Madoka Kaname: Thankfully, yes.
<PHONE> Sayaka Miki texts Madoka Kaname: You don't have to hide these things from me, Madoka-chan! Lydian is currently telling me the rest. I won't let it happen again.
<PHONE> A text from Madoka Kaname: I don't know how to feel about it. I really didn't want another big problem on top of everything else. For what it's worth, I think she really was worried about you.
<PHONE> Sayaka Miki texts Madoka Kaname: And that justifies her taking it out on you how?
<PHONE> A text from Madoka Kaname: I guess it doesn't.

"Why would she do it!?" Sayaka goes back to asking Lydian. "She has always been so nice. She will have a lot of explanations to give me. What did she have against Madoka exactly?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Lydian watches as Sayaka stops to text Madoka, still hovering with her arms crossed and a big frown on her face. There was no doubt in her mind that Sayaka would understand, and the tiny fairy either doesn't comprehend or doesn't care that this is basically a nuclear option.

    When Sayaka speaks to her again, Lydian shrugs her shoulders. "Honestly, I really don't get it! Kirara-san came over to tell Madoka about the Soul Gem secret, and when Madoka already knew about it she got all mad. She kept saying things like Madoka was pretending to be a hero, or that she was being fake nice, or that Madoka didn't really care about you. She didn't think that Madoka was doing enough to help."

    Shaking her head firmly, Lydian says, "I've never seen my Bearer get so mad before. I don't think anyone talks to her like that."

    Gretchen comes out from behind the corner and floats a little bit closer. Close enough to be part of the conversation. "What exactly does she expect Madoka to do? I don't think she even knows about Hope Blossom, let alone Madoka's true potential." Crossing her arms behind her back and leaning forward, the X-Chara adds, "Honestly, I think she was mad that Madoka didn't mention anything to her about it."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
That was why Hinoiri has been doing that, because she thought it was Madoka's duty to fix her? Like what, it isn't true that she has been reduced to a mere pebble, her soul torn away and her body only medically not dead? How is Madoka supposed to fix that?

"And Madoka has never told her she has never been anything but kind when having to deal with her rock of a friend. This frustrates me about her! She isn't going to accomplish anything by taking the blame for things that aren't really her fault!" The bluenette has started pacing back and forth in the courtyard, her winded talk only unheard because by some miracle nobody else is there. Well, Gretchen won't have any issue listening, if she was having any.

"I bet she hasn't even told her about how she has tried to console me, giving me far more attention than what I actually deserve! Honestly, I didn't expect the first thing you would have reported to me would have been about my girlfriend assaulting my best friend. Well, Hinoiri has got something coming to her if she thinks being her girlfriend gives her the privilege to do as she pleases with my friends."

Ula can only awkwardly as Sayaka paces back and forth and during these movements, her gaze falls on the peeking Gretchen. 'Is that her?' she thinks. A dark mini Madoka... Can't be anyone else, right?

The tiny mermaid floats over there, intending to get some clarifications. "It would be nice if you didn't have to peek like a thief in the dark", she starts talking, just casually standing next to her watching the heated discussion unfold in front of her. "But I get that Sayaka is sometimes hard to talk to, especially when she is worried about Madoka. Gretchen, I presume? I am Ula."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Madoka wouldn't sing her own praises," explains Lydian to Sayaka, "Though she did make it pretty clear that she thinks about you all the time when she's out fighting Witches... Honestly I don't really think Madoka-chan had much of a chance to get a word in at all. It wasn't something she ever expected."

    As Lydian listens to Sayaka, Gretchen watches Ula approach. The X-Chara floats a little bit closer to the little mermaid. Upon hearing Ula's introduction, Gretchen pushes her mask up and off to the side, revealing her face. "That's right. I'm Gretchen, Madoka's prodigal X-Chara. It's a pleasure to meet you, even if the circumstances..." Her pink eyes dart towards Sayaka and Lydian. "... could be better."

    Fidgeting slightly, the X-Chara says, "I don't really... have anything against Miki-san, but I know she doesn't trust me very much, and right now I'm probably not the person she most wants to see." She lets out a heavy sigh. "Now I have to figure out how to tell my roommate this."

    Back to Lydian, who has her arms crossed and is nodding along with Sayaka's anger. "Madoka didn't even want to say anything about it. She just wants to pretend that it didn't even happen. I can't even begin to express how frustrating it is to watch that! Later today she's probably gonna call me back so we can go on patrols, and then... what? Am I supposed to act like I'm not mad about this?"

    Gretchen, at a distance, rolls her eyes and grumbles. Ula can probably hear her say, "Obviously, the issue is that Madoka-chan wants to be a good girl, but there's no 'good girl' way to handle this. She can't remain honest while also being pleasant. Maybe it's better this way. Hiding what happened would only drag things out."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"It's a pleasure to meet too", Ula offers a smile to Gretchen. "Sayaka-chan has never taken well the fact you stuffed Madoka full of information, so she may have become a bit prejudiced after that in your regards, but she means well." Ula doesn't fully understands what was going on when she did that, but maybe bringing it up would motivate Gretchen to fill her half of the context.

"And not to mention the Walpurgisnacht", she sighs, worry exhuding from her voice. "That seems to be a huge deal even without Kyubey's treachery. But instead the more they go forward the more bad news they find. And Sayaka now has started disregarding herself. Do you know what she did yesterday? She cut off her own arm as if it meant nothing, just because she would be fine after and it would help get out of a binding spell."

Meanwhile Sayaka is even more unsatisfied. "Well, maybe I should sing her own praises for her! Because she got attacked over something she never did even when she showed me all the care anyone could have asked for. And then what? Someone can tear into her as if I wouldn't worry in turn about her? I just can't do that to my best friend. I should just drill it into her that she doesn't need to be like that." She brings out her phone again, messaging Madoka again. She is going to start now.

<PHONE> Sayaka Miki texts Madoka Kaname: Madoka-chan, there is no better friend than you. That. Is. Unquestionable. By. Anyone.
<PHONE> A text from Madoka Kaname: ^_^ Thank you, Saya-chan. You're a wonderful friend, too.
<PHONE> A text from Madoka Kaname: I'm sorry that all of this has happened. I wish you could catch a break or something.
<PHONE> Sayaka Miki texts Madoka Kaname: I just appreciate that you care for me. That is more than enough. But you are important. And you should never forget that.
<PHONE> A text from Madoka Kaname: Of course I care! You're important to me, too. And I won't.

She takes a deep breath, despondently going over the messages again. "Just look, Lydian", she says, turning the screen towards the Chara." Do you see how she is being? This is the person that is keeping her mouth shut with Hinoiri. This is my best friend. And who knows why, she still values me."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Gretchen is a bit more... mature than the rest of Madoka's Chara, and so she picks up on the subtext of the unasked question. How to explain that? "It was... a complicated situation. On the one hand, Madoka had already told Sayaka not to trust Kyubey. Recent revelations have... validated her judgment on that. On the other, Mami Tomoe was clearly starting to dislike Sayaka and making some unfair accusations. At the time I thought that Miki-san and Tomoe-san should be allies, and was stepping in to try and smooth things over between them. In the middle of that, my Bearer accused me of lying and grabbed me."

    Gretchen fidgets a bit more, grabbing the end of one of her too-long pigtails and playing with the strands. "At the time I was afraid of getting close to Madoka-chan. I was afraid that by touching me, she'd unlock something or trigger something that I wouldn't be able to take back. Overloading her mind was the lesser of two evils. I knew my power was dangerous to her, but I didn't know it would literally send her home sick. Nor did I know that doing a Chara Transformation with me would cause Brai and Medo to go to sleep."

    The X-Chara looks away. She can't really tell the full truth, that if Madoka had full access to Gretchen then she'd uncover the true source of Witches. She doesn't know what kind of disaster that would cause, but it'd be a burden that Madoka shouldn't have to bear right now.

    Instead of saying all of that, Gretchen states, "I'm sorry I can't give you more details than that. I can't help but be dangerous, especially to Madoka. That's why I avoid her, and why I can't get close to her. I still don't like how things went, especially with Tomoe-san apparently joining Obsidian, but I also think we're lucky to all be alive right now."

    When Gretchen hears about Sayaka's severed arm, she gives the mermaid an amazed look. She glances at Sayaka, and then back at Ula. "She cut off her arm and regrew it? That's hardcore. I had no idea she was so cool." After a moment, Gretchen realizes a bit too late that calling it 'cool' is probably a bit tone deaf and inappropriate. "Er... though... that probably hurt a lot. That can't really be good for her."

    Lydian reads the texts when Sayaka shows her, and then blinks. "Well, of course she cares. Let me put it this way. Let's say, instead of being shoved into a rock, you were a ghost instead. Would you expect Madoka-chan to care any less? It's not your humanity that makes you worthy of being cared about. It's the fact that you're her best friend. It's because you're you."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
So Gretchen knew for a long time, Ula realises. Oh, joy, she grimaces. On one hand, she doesn't like she kept it a secret. Maybe people could have been saved, or least have gone in with some idea of what to expect. But truthfully, she wouldn't want to be in her position either. That is not a decision to be taken lighly. And considering the explosive reactions everyone had, the events ended up corroborating her actions.

Something that she wouldn't be able to take back... Ula grimaces. "So it's not over. There is more yet." She sighs, her tail flipping nervously left and right. "Soul Gems can kill them, are literally their souls and some other outrageous matter now." Ula shakes her head. "You don't have to apologise, I understand these are hard matters to tackle. I don't expect you to tell me and of course, I won't tell Sayaka there is something else - she would just break further - but haven't these girls had enough? Does Kyubey enjoy torturing people?"

Ula's tone is displeased when she speaks next, but she is accepting Gretchen's last minute change. "Yeah, she has so little consideration of herself now. She still wants to be around helping people, and that helps. Without it, she would have likely given up on herself. Her body is an accessory to her, and I don't get why she accepts having to power through that pain."

Sayaka scowls. This is supposed to be about the fact Madoka is too good for the behaviour Hinoiri has given her, and the Chara is making it about Sayaka instead. "And what if one day my body is destroyed beyond repair? How will she relate to a rock that can't communicate with her? I know Madoka would just spend the rest of her days cleansing me happily, but something like that is too harsh. I don't want to give her that."

Sayaka readjusts her hairpin, gathering some runaway locks behind it. "Anyway, I have another favour to ask you. Madoka is going to just keep for herself, maybe even more so now. If this happens again, I don't know how to help her. So, I need you to lend me a hand. Lydian, will you warn me about anything that is stressing Madoka?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Gretchen may have said a bit too much. She fidgets even more. What can she possibly say about this? "I can't really say anything more along those lines. I'm sorry, but... there are a lot of things I need to keep to myself. Kyubey doesn't really... have the same values that we do. It really doesn't understand why a human would be upset about having her soul put into a rock, especially without her knowledge. He'd probably say something about how most of them aren't even aware that they have souls. As if that makes anything better."

    The X-Chara crosses her arms and looks down towards the ground. Her long black ribbon dress slowly blows in a very light air current. "It's her body to use as she sees fit, but I hope she's not seeing herself as expendable. I'd also caution her against subjecting herself to too much pain. Despair can darken a Soul Gem just as much as corruption can. Other emotional issues might not be good for it either, but I can't say that for sure."

    Lydian tries to imagine Madoka humming happily while polishing Sayaka's soul gem. It's a mental image that only really makes sense inside her head. No, actually, all things considered it's something that Madoka might do. "I doubt she'd leave it at that. She'd want to give you your life back, one way or another."

    Will Lydian tell Sayaka about what's stressing Madoka? "Of course! I'm born from her desire to express herself, so she can't really keep my mouth shut even if she tries! Though the answer to that question would be... a lot, actually." The tiny Chara smiles, at least somewhat glad that she was able to get things off of her chest. "That said, I kinda doubt that Madoka would keep a repeat of this incident to herself anyways. What Hinoiri did was really not okay, and while Madoka would rather forgive a one off event, it's something else when it's a pattern."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Ok, sorry, let's not talk about Kyubey anymore." Ula is going to bust a vein if she does. She can only hope he gets his due comeuppance one day. Possibly sealed in a Witch's Labyrinth. Though... "I wish he could be sealed forever in a Labyrinth like yours. But I imagine he has some way out of it since he is the one that dispenses the power to fight Witches." That really is the last thing she is saying.

"She is, but it's sort of a joint effort to make her think otherwise", Ula says, looking over at Sayaka still talking with Lydian. "The only things she cares about right now besides making sure she doesn't keel over are training, protecting people and especially Madoka. Everyone has been sort of helping, but there have been adversities in this matter as well." That failure still stings at her. "I had managed to drag her to a concert, and it just so happens Sunbreaker decides to attack that same place."

'Is something like that even possible?' Sayaka ponders. "That can't be. I have had to make a wish just to cure a hand. What sort of power could recreate a body?" Nevermind the fact that's not her point. "And that would only make it worse. Don't you see how bad it is Madoka would have to sacrifice herself for me?"

Lydian's willingness to tell her and the reassurance Madoka wouldn't hide repeats is a huge relief to Sayaka. "That... that is wonderful. I couldn't have forgiven myself if it happened again. Thanks, Lydian."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Gretchen considers whether or not she should even respond on the top of Kyubey, since Ula seems like she wants to drop it. She decides not to. Truth is, Kyubey caused the mess that she's currently trying to clean up. There's nothing she can really say to defend him. She's not really convinced that a Labyrinth would contain someone who teleports, though.

    "Sunbreaker sure causes a lot of trouble," grouses Gretchen. "She tried to turn Madoka into a youma the other day. She failed, somehow, but she tried. I'm still mad about that."

    Lydian considers, "Well, I don't really know what is or isn't possible. I know that healing is hard, but youma bodies get created all the time. I mean... you'd probably hate having a body like that, but there has to be some way to make a body that isn't intrinsically horrible." How much of that is logic, and how much is blind optimism? Good question!

    The ponytailed Chara smiles as she's thanked, and she nods. "Madoka-chan's just being quiet because she doesn't know how to respond. No one treats her like this. She'd probably have to tell you sooner or later. In fact, if she didn't want to say anything to you, then I probably wouldn't be here!"

    Is that reassuring? Maybe. Lydian seems to think it would be. Madoka probably wouldn't be that reassured to realize just how good Chara are at getting you to blurt out things you'd rather keep secret, though.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Ula raises a brow at her once she mentions that Madoka almost got turned into a youma. "Uh, she failed? I mean, that's a good thing, but when she did that at the concert she was successful." Just what they needed. "So yeah, apparently she learned from her mistakes, unfortunately. You may want to keep an eye on Madoka then, so it doesn't happen for real."

"Lydian, have you seen the effects dark energy had on Madoka?" Sayaka asks directly, before realising that no, of course she hadn't. She was born after Gretchen did her thing. "If I had a Youma body, I wouldn't even be myself, but a warped version of my worst traits."

If Lydian is Madoka's desire to express herself, that makes sense. Sayaka gives the Chara a smile, before caressing the top of her head. "Yeah, I know Madoka is quite strong, but I would fear she lets that exact quality force her to cave in to others, because she is kind like that."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Gretchen frowns at the news with the concert. "Huh. So she's gotten better at it, then." She makes a dissatisfied noise. "I guess we aren't the only ones trying to improve ourselves. It's only natural she'd join the magical arms race. Thanks for the warning."

    Lydian blinks, and then considers. "I mean... I wasn't there, but I had a vague idea of what happened. Was Madoka..." The Chara looks over at Gretchen, frowns, and then thinks about that. "Okay, okay. No youma body. I guess we can't take for granted the idea that we can just make bodies, since apparently they have such massive drawbacks."

    Her head is caressed, and she smiles brightly. That smile gets a little softer as she thinks about Madoka being too kind for her own good. "I think, in this situation, Madoka-chan feels a little helpless and frustrated... She wants to save people, but she can't really save Kirara-san from her mistakes."

    Lydian starts to float up and away. "I should go back to Madoka-chan. Thanks for listening to me. It was driving me crazy how she wasn't telling anyone."

    Gretchen makes eye contact with Lydian for a moment, and then starts to turn away. Pulling her mask back down, she asides to Ula. "It was nice meeting you, but I think it's time for me to go, too. Nights are often busy for me."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Ula nods when Gretchen mentions she has to go, so she starts rummaging through a small bag she has with herself, before taking out of it a jewel that she thinks Gretchen could like. "Thank you for your time, please take this", she says, giving her the jewel. "I make them myself, and I would appreciate you having it." Whether or not the X-Chara agrees, Ula says "See you another time" to her before going back to Sayaka.

Sayaka replies "I am glad I could help, and besides, thanks to you for telling me. I wouldn't have wanted Madoka to be stuck at an impasse just because of my ignorance. Let's meet again, Lydian."

"Have things turned out well?" Ula asks them when she reaches the duo. "Yes", Sayaka replies. "Lydian is really nice."

The koi mermaid nods happily. "That's awesome, thanks for the help, Lydian-san, I hope we meet again." The two of them go back to the dorm now. Sayaka has many things to say to a certain redhead, to whom she sends a message.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Gretchen looks at the jewel, admires it for a moment, and then says, "Oh. Thanks." Her black X-Egg appears and splits open, revealing a small horde of tiny Chara-scale plushies in the bottom half. She places the jewel on top of the pile before settling into the bottom half of the egg herself. The jewel might get a closer inspection later.

    Lydian smiles brightly and says, "Sure, lets!"

    After that, the two minidokas head their separate ways.