1088/Moving Pains

Moving Pains
Date of Scene:	23 January 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Mami goes to check on Hotaru, making sure she's safe inside the familiar's labyrinth. And she is... for now. Unfortunately, the labyrinth isn't doing well. Mami quickly decides after a small snack it'll be time to move her little sister and then meet up with Takashi. The things she does for her kohai...
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Mami Tomoe

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Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe was, well... sitting in the labyrinth. Playing with cards. She... was bored. Yochu occasionally woke up to play with her, but for the most part the doll slept. Conserving her power. After all, she was Hotaru's protector. She couldn't allow her little one to get hurt, after all.

So Hotaru was lonely. She wanted to bother the familiar... but Mami had warned her not to. So the only time she bothered it at all was when it was going to attack, or hurt, other people.

But that was different. At those times she 'bothered' it in the sense that Yochu moved to protect people who might be in danger. There was no way she was going to just LET people get hurt. Nope. Even if she knew she wasn't supposed to interfere.

As such, the labyrinth was... not the most stable thing anymore. In fact, it likely wouldn't last much longer. But she was certain Mami would understand. Her senpai was, well... she was amazing. Sweet, and kind, and elegant, and perfect. After all, she was dating Takashi and Takashi only settled for the best, he told her. And she was a Tomoe! So there was no doubt in her mind she'd do the same.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
It has been twenty-four hours since Mami left Hotaru in the labyrinth. Making use of ribbon clones to let her be in more than one place at a time, she managed to go about her life while still checking in on the girl a few times. She just didn't sleep. It's fine. She's a fancy rock. Rocks don't need sleep, especially since she has a rather full cache of grief seeds. Magic really does make hard things easier and impossible things possible.

When she arrives at the barrier she frowns. She can see immediately that it's faltering. The familiar was not growing like it normally would. She presses her lips together in a smirk. Hotaru was surely not just sitting idle like she was supposed to be. The girl didn't have an evil bone in her body, no matter what anybody else said. If it weren't for her father, Mami is sure she'd be playing for the other team. She always reminded Mami of herself when Mami was her age. So pure and concerned about everyone.

At this rate, it was going to start getting desperate, or it was just going to die. Either way was bad for Mami and Hotaru. She had to do something. So, with her picnic basket full of hot tea and little strawberry finger cakes she stepped through the barrier in her henshin. She finds her way to Hotaru and looks at the girl with a smile. "Did you miss me?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Mami would get the answer before she even asked the question. Much as her ribbon clones had.

"Oneesan!" she called out before jumping to her feet and hugging the yellow girl. Why?

Because this was her big sister. There were many sisters in the world, big ones, but this one was hers. And she adored her. Her face was lit up, excited, giddy. And she just hugged the other girl with so much glee. Pulling her head back after a moment to look up at her. "Yes! I missed you lots!"

Hotaru... wasn't exactly what one would call a 'hugger'. In fact, in many ways she was a hugger in much the way Norie was a hugger. She just... didn't. She might cause questions, if she did. so it was so much easier to just not.

So her love, her adoration, for the other girl, was on clear display.

"Have... have you had any trouble? Because of... I mean... is... anyone looking for... I mean..." She trailed off, her gaze lowering when she pulled back. She... knew she was trouble ,right now. She understood that. She didn't WANT to be trouble... but she, logically, knew she was. Just being a troublemaker. No matter how much she wished she wasn't.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami, on the other hand, was absolutely a hugger. Whenever she saw her adorable little kohai, she'd pull her into a hug. So, naturally, she was delighted when Hotaru leapt at her for one. Her arms wrapped around and she gave the girl a gentle hug with the picnic basket still dangling from her elbow, but somehow not uncomfortably bumping either of them.

"Oh, they're looking for you, but nobody knows I have you hidden away here," Mami says, sounding very confident like she's got everything under control. She gives Hotaru a squeeze, and then pulls away from the hug at about the same time. She sets her picnic basket down, and then steps forward to take Hotaru by both of her shoulders, looking down and trying to meet the girl's eyes.

"But it hasn't been any trouble for me, Hotaru-chan," she says, gentle but firm. She brings a hand up to ruffle Hotaru's hair a little. "Us Tomoe girls have to stick together, you know. Oneechan will take care of you, I promise."

She lets the one hand drop away, the other hand resting on Hotaru's shoulder still as she looks around the labyrinth. "But we're gonna need to move you somewhere else. This familiar isn't growing stronger like it usually would, and so the labyrinth is weakening. It's not going to last much longer, and the familiar may lash out as a last resort." She's pretty sure she knows why this is the case, of course, but she's not saying it. Just stating the facts.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe revelled in the hug. Her senpai really was the best. "Nobody?" Hotaru asked. And she actually lit up a little bit. Why? Because she believed Mami. And it was making her more certain than ever that coming to Mami was the correct move. "I, ummm, I've kind of... interferred with the familiar a few times. I'm... I'm sorry. There was just... it was going to hurt somebody. I couldn't let it... I... I'm sorry if I've been making things more difficult."

And she was. But would she really be Hotaru if she didn't?

And she almost purred when her hair was ruffled. Giving the softest, happiest little giggle/squeal at the ruffling. She was loved. She was WANTED. "I have the best Oneesan ever!" she said happily. She reached out her hand, not moving from Mami's grip, and Yochu reached up to take her hand. "If the familiar is going to lash out, should we stop it before we go? Or should we leave it for the sparkle skirts?" Pause. "If... we don't stop it before it does, will it draw their attention towards me? Or... would stopping it... now... draw their attention towards me? I'm sorry. Thank you... thank you so much for helping me keep everyone safe, oneesan. I... I know I'm trouble for most people..." For most people. But Mami wasn't most people.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
As stressful as the situation was, hearing Hotaru declare her the best Oneesan ever made it all melt away. Yes, she was the best Oneesan ever, wasn't she? She had everything under control. She was taking care of her kohai and was definitely not making poor decisions or messing everything up.

She didn't have another labyrinth lined up yet. She wasn't expecting to need to move Hotaru this soon. She should have. She should have known her little sister would want to protect people. But she could recover this. She just needed to buy some time.

She was still using ribbon clones, after all. There was another her out there, and as soon as this her had stepped into the labyrinth, her duplicate had started searching for another. All Mami needed to do now was buy some time. "Well, I think that for the moment, while I'm figuring out our next step, that we should sit down and have a little tea party," she says with a grin and a gesture toward the basket. "I brought strawberry finger cakes."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe wouldn't believe that her senpai didn't have everything under control, anyway. She was perfect. Amazing. Breathtaking. The best senpai the world could ever have. She could ever have. She was... Mami.

She'd have not realized how panicked Mami was unless she told her and, in fact, would have thought the idea of trying to find another labyrinth was brilliant. Exactly the kind of forward thinking she would expect from her amazing senpai.

And then... the notion of a tea party? That made her give a little squeal of delight, almost jumping up. Instead, her hand not holding Yochu reached out and, very gently, squeezed Mami's hand. "Mami-senpai? I just... I... I want to say... thank you. So much. I... I know this isn't easy. Hearing about what I am.... like this... but... but you've been there for me all this time. Protecting me. Keeping me.... keeping me safe... Even from Obsidian. Thank you so much for being what I need."

Then, slowly, she'd pull away. A smile on her lips. Odd, that. How she'd gone from a girl covered in tears when she'd come to Mami's door. To now, hidden in a labyrinth with monsters, and she was just... smiling.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Thank you so much for being what I need.

Mami's eyes got wide and she looked down at Hotaru and she started to cry, pulling the girl back into a great big hug. The gratitude felt good, but it was the validation that was making her so emotional. All she'd ever wanted to be was the best senpai she could be, and here was her kohai telling her that she was exactly what she needed.

It never occurred to Mami that maybe Hotaru wasn't the best judge of that. Why would it? This way of thinking about it made her feel good. She had her stuff together. She knew what she was doing. She was Hotaru's Oneesan.

But she also knew this was not at all sustainable. They could not just keep running forever. For one, whatever was going on with Hotaru was way outside of Mami's areas of expertise. For two, Mami could not sustain this kind of watch indefinitely. They needed help, and there was only one person she could think of to go to.

"Hotaru-chan," Mami said as she pulled back away from the hug again, making a blanket appear from ribbons and setting it down on the ground before lowering herself to kneel on it, sitting on her heels. Her voice sounded tentative, uncertain. "I don't think we should hide you from Takashi any more. We're a team--even if Obsidian wants to break us up--and teams face problems together."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe was a lot better at saying the right things, it seemed. She was learning where to poke, where to prod. How to get juuuuuust under someone's skin. In short, she was learning from Takashi. And when Mami hugged her, she smiled.

She was a good girl, mind. And she did WANT to do the right thing... but...

Sometimes, the right thing required you to play people the right way so bad things didn't happen to other people who didn't deserve to have bad things to them. She was a good girl, ergo, it was okay when she said things she knew would make people be happy... and want to help her.

But, also, she really did think Mami was the best big sister. After all, Hotaru had sprung all of this on her. And she'd come through for her. Repeatedly.

But that last thing, the idea of telling Takashi? That made her smile fall.

"I... I hurt him though," Hotaru whispered, as if she was afraid saying the words too loudly would cause problems. "A-and he just got promoted... he.... he leads the team. Our team. W-what if... what if he finds out and... and he's mad at me? What if he wants nothing to do with me anymore?" she asked gently. "What if they find out and he gets.... what if he loses his position? What if he gets in big trouble because of me? If.... I get in trouble or someone o nthe team does.... they just get in trouble.... and he can help protect us. But if he gets in trouble then... the whole team does... I could destroy everything if I ruined this for him...."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
It didn't even occur to Mami that Hotaru might just be saying these things to manipulate her. The girl was definitely learning from Takashi. She was just so happy that her kohai thought she was a good senpai.

She started setting out plates from her basket onto the blanket she'd laid out on the ground of the labyrinth. It's all quite absurd. A fancy brocade blanket--because nothing Mami's ribbons turns into is plain--and a functional portable tea set in a landscape of paper flowers and magazine cut-out wildlife. About as absurd as a girl made out of ribbons and...whatever Hotaru actually was.

"Takashi-kun loves you, Hotaru-chan. It's so obvious every time he talks about you. More than anything he wants what's best for you," Mami says. She sets a plate with cake down in front of each of them, and then teacups. She starts pouring tea that comes out of the thermos piping hot, already steeped. "Your hurting him is only going to make him want to help you more. And you should keep in mind that part of his promotion moved him over to Beryl's organization. He doesn't report to your father any more." Even if her father is on the Board.

After she sets every thing out, she leans over to reach for Hotaru's hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. "He won't be mad at you, I promise." He's going to be mad at Mami, and she knows it. He's going to hate this whole thing she did.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
On the other hand... Hotaru did mean them. But she also knew they'd have a big impact on her senpai. After all... She'd absolutely have crumbled if Fate said those things to her.

She wtched Mami work, still hugging Yochu in both arms now. Looking over the elegant plates and blanket and... She gave the softest little sniffle.

She really was happy. A year ago? She was alone. She didn't have anyone aside from her father. Now she had a big brother and a big sister and a little kohai and so many others... She wasn't alone now. She... had friends. She gave that hand a squeeze as well.

"Thank you, senpai. I... I'd be lost without you. I'm so happy I have you as my oneesan now..."

She slid down to the blanket, sitting next to her. Not across from her. Next to her... And leaned on her big sister. "I... I trust you. If you say he won't be mad at me... I believe you. He.... he really does love us, doesn't he? Even if he's sometimes a big silly head..."

She'd take the tea and... "Ow!" And burned her tongue. Again. Because of course. She could both be smart and scary...

And also kind of a dummy sometimes. Blowing on it a little bit, trying to clear some of the heat before her next sip. "Hee. It's good. But that might be mostly because of the company."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami leaned right back, her head resting on top of Hotaru's for a moment. A sweet, sideways, hand-free hug. She let out a happy sigh as she looked at her cup of tea, steam rising up off of it, looking extra real set against such a fantastical setting as the labyrinth.

"You might not believe it, but I feel the same way about you, Hotaru-chan. You and Norie-chan have really given me purpose I didn't have before. I was so lost before I found Takashi-kun," she admits. It's so romantic, really. Forget about the whole descent into evil. She found family.

She lifted her head and brought her tea up to blow on it and finally take a small sip. She did not burn her tongue. Looking aside to Hotaru she giggled. "You have to blow on it more than that, silly."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded and gave a little giggle when she watched a little origami frog eat a paper fly. "I... I do. Takashi-senpai is good at that, I think. He's... kind. I was really ready to give him so much grief when I first got him as my senpai," Hotaru admitted. "I thought he was going to be like Kaolinite and the others."

"... But he wasn't. He listened to me. He actually... cared. I know daddy is always busy and he tries really hard to fix things. But... sometimes it feels almost like he's forgotten about me, you know? But I never feel like that with Takashi-senpai... well. Usually."

... Christmas, she didn't like. But then she got to meet and help SANTA! So that was cool. Then her eyes lit up.

"I... never told you about what I was up to over christmas, did I?" She leaned in and looked up at her and... "I met *Santa*. The REAL Santa! Takashi-senpai doesn't believe me, I think, but I did! I went to the north pole as Firefly and everything. We fought nutcrackers and rescued him from evil toys! It was like a cartoon!"

She then blew on the tea a few more times, calming it, before... taking another sip. "Heeeee. No burny this time."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami's mouth dropped open. "You. Met. Santa?!"

With all the magic surrounding her, the idea that Santa is real too had never occurred to her. But really, why wouldn't he be? Magic is so weird. "Wow, Hotaru-chan, that's amazing! It sounds like you had a real adventure," she says, and reaches up to ruffle the girl's hair again. "I'm so proud of you. You saved Christmas!"

She did not try to one up her by talking about what she had been doing with Takashi. For one, she actually cared about Hotaru's feelings, unlike a lot of other people's. But more importantly, rescuing Santa was actually cooler, and what kind of oneesan would she be if she didn't acknowledge her kohai's accomplishments?

After another sip of her tea, she set her cup down and picked up the plate with the little strawberry finger cake on it. A delicious little morsel. Just a few bites. The perfect cake for a tea party in a labyrinth. She takes a bite and lets her eyes as she enjoys it. She really is good at baking.

"Mm, yes," she murmurs. "Takashi-kun will know what to do next." After he yells at her, probably. "Once we get you settled again, I'll go find him."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe stared up at her with practically glimmering eyes. They all but shimmered. Why, they practically glowed.

Senpai praise, eeeee!

"Yup! He was cool! And there was singing and dancing! It was definitely magic." Pause. "I'm not sure if that means like... Santa was always real? Or if all the magic that's popping up now made him real. But... but I do know I met him and it was awesome and I ate sooooo many cookies. And we did so many cool things!"

Hotaru took another sip of her tea and it was... likely noticeable again. Hotaru was imitating Mami. Sitting like her... even going to grab one of the little cakes like her. Her adoration and care of her senpai was almost radiating off her, in everything she did. Mami was... well... her senpai. The one she looked up to. The one she believed in.

The one she wanted to be like when she grew up.

Heck, considering she used to use her glaive like a 'rifle', it was even more fitting in some ways...

"If... if we find a way... to help me... to... ummm... stop... this... do you think... I could help you bake these next time? Takashi-senpai says I'm a good lab assistant... so... I... think that'd work with like... baking assistant?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami ate the rest of her cake, watching Hotaru as the younger girl excitedly told her more about her Christmas adventure. She popped the tip of each of her fingers into her mouth to suck off the bits of cake that had stuck to them, and then set the plate back down in the basket.

It was about time to get going. Her other self had found a labyrinth, though it was not a familiar's labyrinth. It was an actual witch, and so it would not be as good a hiding place. But it would keep her hidden long enough for her to go to Takashi and come up with a better plan. Hopefully one that didn't get them all killed.

Hotaru then asked her if she could be her baking assistant and it was just too adorable. She smiled very wide, and nodded. "Of course, Hotaru-chan. As soon as this is all over, when you can come over to my place, we'll bake together. I promise."

She ruffles Hotaru's hair again and smiles, then reaches for her tea to drink the rest of it before setting her cup down in the basket as well. Then rises up to her feet and looks around, a pair of rifles dropping out of her skirt into her hands. She lifts them both up to rest on each of her shoulders. "But first, we need to go kill us a familiar and then get moving."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe didn't have cake stuck to her fingers, oddly. Maybe she was just really good at eating cake! Or maybe it was the fact they were less... real. Or maybe it was magic. Or maybe Yochu.

She did, however, try the finger sucking thing like her senpai. It was a little more awkward. And she did feed some of the tea and cake to Yochu. Magic doll was magic!

"I... I can't wait," Hotaru said before slowly getting to her feet. Holding Yochu. And when Mami pulled out her guns she gasped. Eyes were DEFINITELY sparkling. "You look so cool..." she whispered. "And I think Yochu is ready to help." Hotaru would help, but well... She couldn't guarantee she'd *only* stop the familiar if it came to that.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami turns around and looks down at the doll, and then bends over to talk to Yochu just like it's a little person. "Hotaru-chan can't protect herself right now, so the way you can help me out the most is to make sure she stays safe while I take care of this familiar."

Then she straightens up and offers Hotaru a smile. "Don't worry. It's just one familiar. Before Takashi found me, I was killing witches all by myself. This will be a piece of cake."