483/The Definition of Subtle

The Definition of Subtle
Date of Scene:	22 September 2023
Location:	Beach
Synopsis:	Homura and Kyouka meet up to exchange information, and continue their track record of being very bad at being subtle. Madoka co-stars as the (very sweet) interruption.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouka Inai, Homura Akemi, Madoka Kaname

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Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Friday afternoon. The beach in Tokyo is an odd thing- a crescent of sand with all the normal beachy things, but directly abutted by a paved, multi-lane road, separated by a waist-high stone retaining wall. A wide, well-kept sidewalk runs on the road side of the wall, and while traffic is fairly constant on the road (the other side lined with the tall buildings Tokyo is known for), the sidewalk is fairly peaceful, trafficked by beachgoers and the occasional food or drink cart.

    On this particular Friday, Kyouka is standing on this sidewalk. Her motorcycle is pulled off to the side of the road behind her, parked in one of the spots intended for beachgoers. She's not in beach attire, but rather a typical casual getup for her, which consists of black jeans, a red shirt, and her leather jacket, the weather having cooled enough to make wearing it (especially when actually riding her bike) a reasonable proposition. Sunglasses firmly in place, she stands with her arms crossed, looking out over the beach. People aren't exactly swimming, as it's a bit chilly for that, but still plenty of people strolling in the sunny afternoon.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Warships that were not submarines were not intended to stay under water for long periods of time, just waiting for the right time to pop back above the surface and attack. Things like that take a lot of careful planning and attention, and moreover maintenance. It had been weeks since the ship had surfaced, fired off a cruise missile, and then slipped back beneath the waves, and now Homura Akemi had finally gotten around to checking up on things and making sure the anchors were properly secured and water hadn't started intruding upon the hull.

    That bit of checking done a figure in black scuba gear with purple stripes along the sides emerges from the water in an awkward gait, rising from the waves. Once fully out of the water swim fins are removed from her feet and held under one arm, and the mask is pulled off of her face, dangling about her neck. A quick glance around and she finds who she's looking for. As if nothing at all about this should be strange she walks over, "Inai-sensei. Thanks for meeting me here." A short pause and she notes, "Two birds, one stone."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka strolled along the boardwalk with a magic egg cradled in her hands. It's bright pink and colored like an Easter egg, covered in a white lacey pattern and with a winged jewel emblem on one side. She brought it here for a specific reason: this is where her first exposure to magic was, and this is where her dream was born. It felt symbolic somehow, with the beach being the threshold between the normal and the unknown.

    Well, not quite. Technically, the Dippin Dots episode was her earliest known interaction with magic, but she didn't actually remember that. For all she knew she could have been attacked by ten different youma that she had no memory of. That's not what really mattered, though. What mattered was the potent memory of Homura rescuing her, giving her magic weedkiller, and telling her to go hide.

    Madoka wondered if coming would have any effect on the egg she held in her hands. She didn't want to rush things, but she eagerly waited for it to hatch.

    Its roughly at that time when Madoka notices a strange figure in scuba gear emerging from the water. When the mask is removed, Madoka happily gasps. "Homura-chan!" she yells. She places the egg back in her bag, into a protective box that she's made for it, and rushes towards her friend.

    Noticing Kyouka on the way, Madoka waves to her as well. "Inai-sensei! Homura-chan! You'll never guess what happened!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka glances down the beach when the figure in scuba gear emerges from the sea and starts walking up the beach towards her. She rolls her eyes dramatically, though with her sunglasses on it's hard to get the full effect. "You don't have to call me sensei when we're not at school," She tells the dark-haired girl. "Feels weird from you anyway." She pauses, then adds, "And for the record... if this is your definition of subtle, we may need to have another lesson sometime." She grins though, clearly more teasing than serious about that.

    Just then Madoka calls out and runs over, and Kyouka turns to look towards her, then heaves a little sigh, shooting a glance at Homura as if to say, 'this is your fault for being so unsubtle' even though it's unlikely Homura would have set this up on purpose. It's not that she minds seeing Madoka, of course, just that these meetings are supposed to be... well, if not secret, at least under the radar.

    Regardless, she gives Madoka a smile as the girl arrives. "Hello, Kaname-san. Care to fill me in? I've had enough on my plate that I'm not embarassed to say I've no clue what you're referring to."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    When her name is called out by someone other than Kyouka, Homura blinks and looks over in the direction. Seeing Madoka running in her direction she smiles and lifts her hand to wave, turning to give the guidance councilor a wry look. These meetings of theirs are having a terrible habit of getting interrupted. This one hasn't even had the chance of starting properly. "Madoka-chan, hello. It's good to see you in high spirits. I was just about to ask Inai-sensei about what happened with Naru Osaka-san."

    She looks over to the 'guidance councilor' and notes, "I'd heard about what happened, but only in the most general manner. I was originally of a mind to go do something about it myself but from what I can see she's relatively unharmed." Then with a flip of her hair she notes entirely too casually, "As for your name? Be careful what you wish for; it might come true."

    Her purple eyes then turn towards back towards Madoka, emphasizing Kyouka's question with her gaze without needing to say anything.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    When Madoka gets closer, she reveals that she still doesn't quite have Magical Stamina yet, because she's leaning forward with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. After a moment, she straightens up and digs the magic pink egg out of her bag. "Look! I don't have all of the details, but... this is a Chara Egg! This means I'm gonna get magic soon! ... I think."

    Madoka shows it off to Kyouka and Homura, letting them each get a look at it if they care to.

    "Do either of you know anything about this? Someone told me that it was born from my dreams. I didn't really understand it, actually."

    She decides not to mention the X-Chara for now. That's a problem for later.

    At some point she realizes that she's actually somewhat interrupting something, and thinks back to what was mentioned earlier. "Did... something happen to Osaka-san?" She's still a bit out of the loop.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka gives Homura a smirk at the mention of her name, and then opens her mouth to start telling the story of what happened with Naru and Sunbreaker, when Madoka produces the Chara Egg and shows it off. She snaps her mouth shut again, turning to regard the oblate spheroid with a curious glance from behind her glasses.

    "I know of such things," She allows after a moment, "And it's certainly magical. I can sense it pretty easily from here. But if I said I knew much about Chara Bearers in general, I'd be lying. Pretty sure we have some at school though, so maybe I can at least point you towards someone who would know.."

    She then returns to the topic of Naru, speaking to both other girls. "Some crazy chick named Sunbreaker kidnapped her. We were able to recover her unharmed, though not, I'm afraid, unscarred by the experience. And Sunbreaker got away."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura blinks in surprise when the egg is produced and showed to her. For once the bafflement actually shows on her features. She looks to the egg, then up to Madoka, then down to the egg again. "A Chara Egg? I've heard of that before, that they're born out of a young persons desire to do or become something." She leans in to look at it a little closer, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that your desire to help people is strong enough to create a magical result like this but..."

    Well. She can't just come out and say 'I've never seen it happen before now'. That wouldn't make sense to anyone other than herself and would imply far more than she's willing to share.

    "I've never seen one of the eggs before, but I know some people on campus have Guardian Characters. Tadase Hotori, for one. I think he's fairly well informed about them, if you want someone who knows more." Then after a few moments she adds, "Congratulations, Madoka. I'm happy for you."

    The happy mood can't stay that happy, unfortunately, as the reason for her talking to Kyouka is addressed, "That's what I heard, and about as much as I know. The timing of it was odd. I'd just met her myself. I was not impressed with the idea of someone kidnapping girls without any magic." She briefly looks over towards Madoka, then looks to Kyouka again, "But she seems fine, if a little worse for the wear. Does anyone know why? And did this 'Sunbreaker' put up a fight when you stormed whatever castle she was hiding in?" Assumptions are being made, along with some creative metaphors.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka pulls her egg closer to her chest once she's done showing it off. Tadase is mentioned, and she nods emphatically. She smiles at Homura's congratulations, and says, "Thank you, Homura-chan! I'm so excited!" Her smile is bright, warm and pure. This is a really happy moment for her. "I actually met Hotori-san a couple times, but we keep getting interrupted by other things. I'll have to ask him more directly later."

    Madoka doesn't talk about it further, because the thing with Naru and Sunbreaker has taken priority, and she doesn't want to waste Important Mahou Time by gushing overmuch. The pinkette listens in, and starts considering this in a new light. There's a chance that she will have to actually fight this Sunbreaker someday, maybe even soon.

    Madoka nods emphatically as she listens, eyes wide with concern. "Well... I'm glad she's mostly alright now. That must have been rough."

    There isn't much she can do right now other than to listen.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Madoka is emitting such pure happiness than Kyouka starts to look a little green. It's not that she's not happy for the girl, just that such high concentrations of sugar tend to make her feel out of place. Still, that doesn't stop her from smiling, and agreeing with Homura's suggestion. "Tadase Hotori-san would be my suggestion as well." She tells Madoka. "I don't know him well, personally, but I've heard good things. That's probably a good place to start."

    She returns to the topic of Sunbreaker. "Well, the thing is that Sunbreaker thought that Naru did have magic." She explains. "She had previously run into Naru alongside Sailor Moon, and was defeated by Moon in combat. Y'see, the most obvious thing about Sunbreaker even after fairly limited contact is that she's an egomaniac. She couldn't accept that Moon had beaten her alone, and came to the conclusion that she had 'cheated' by having Naru somehow amplify her power. She kidnapped Naru because she believed the girl could amplify her power in the same way."

    "Upon realizing she was wrong, she proceeded to pump Naru full of Dark Energy until she went crazy and tried to kill everyone. Don't worry though, she's been purified and seems fine, if a bit worse-for-wear for the experience. Sunbreaker did not try to fight. She ran at the first sign we had found her."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "I'm sure he'll have time for you if you show him that egg and ask about it." Homura smiles again as the thanks is given. She'd probably offer Madoka a hug right around now, if it wasn't for the fact she was still dripping wet with seawater. A brief thought crosses her mind as she thinks about the egg. If Madoka is a chara bearer... doesn't that mean there will be a little version of Madoka floating about her soon? The idea of that is so cute she can't help but blush a little.

    She then listens to the explanation of the kidnapping, eyes partially lidding at the mention of the kidnapper being unable to believe she'd lost to Sailor Moon one on one. "So we have someone with far more power than sense and an inferiority complex you could pilot a ship through that she's trying to cover with egomania." The words are spoken deadpan and she shrugs, "Good to know we're at least dealing with a known factor, then." As far as she's concerned egomaniacs drunk on their own power and using it to hide some hidden vulnerability is as par for the course as it goes when it comes to dark energy users.

    "It almost sounds like it's a shame she cut and run. I can't imagine she'd have much of a chance against the posse Sailor Moon must have rounded up for the job when she lost one on one. She must still have a good sense of herself if she was willing to run without a confrontation though. That'd be a hard thing for an egomaniac to swallow."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka is a sweetheart, it's true. It's great if you have a sweet tooth, but maybe not so much if you're prone to toothaches. Talking to Tadase seems like a logical next step for her, and they all apparently agree on that.

    The story about Sunbreaker is a bit... surprising? Madoka's not actually shocked to hear that there is a villain with an ego problem, but the idea that someone would go to such lengths out of some sense of denial is... absurd. That's not the part that shocks her.

    "So she turned her into a monster? That's horrible."

    Homura's perspective is a bit insightful, and gives Madoka something to think about. "Maybe once she realized she was wrong about Naru, she knew she was in danger. After all, it sounds like she was pretty upset about losing to Sailor Moon, so I doubt it was far from her mind."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Sunbreaker is a real threat." Kyouka says, perhaps a little sharply, to Homura. "Don't underestimate her. She has a good deal of power. Losing to Sailor Moon doesn't mean you're weak, it just means you're not a god. And as far as I know, she's pretty pissed about the whole thing too, and not just the fact that she was wrong about Naru."

    She glances at Madoka, as if trying to judge what it's safe to say in front of her, and then continues in a quieter voice. "We had help from the other side on this one. Shields and his crew. They were very unhappy with Sunbreaker for what they saw as a stupid move that put them all at risk for no reason. They assisted in the recovery and my understanding is that Sunbreaker was to be chastised for the whole affair. Which, in the end, may only make her more angry and unpredictable in the end."

    To Madoka, she says, "A metaphorical monster rather than a literal one, but yes. It was dealt with, no need to worry. I think she ran because she realized she was overmatched. As Homura guessed, Moon's posse was.. a bit overwhelming."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "I'm sure she is, Inai-san," so Homura got the message despite the snark, "but she's not the kind of threat that goes attacking the non-magical best friends of people she fights because she's angry about it. I don't like that Osaka-san was kidnapped or injured but it's still a relief to hear that she was at least tangentially involved and was only kidnapped due to a misunderstanding. She may be a threat, but this means she isn't the kind of threat I'm going to drop everything to go hunt down and end myself." The way she says that makes it sounds as if that was very much on the table before this recent illumination. No wonder she wanted to talk with someone better informed about the matter.

    At the mention of Darien Shields she gives Kyouka a sidelong glance. "There's more to that one than meets the eye, though I haven't quite figured out what. For being so obviously on Team Evil he has a soft touch that doesn't seem to fit." Homura is clearly pretty out of the loop as far as that goes as well.

    She looks over to Madoka and nods, "Yeah. Being angry about losing to someone and then suddenly realizing you're going to have to deal with them and a whole lot of their friends wouldn't be a nice feeling. If it wasn't for all the internal divisions, and the fact the girl she kidnapped is the best friend of a girl one of those 'divisions' is interested in, I'd be surprised she didn't just kill Naru and make sure she was never found."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka glances off to the side at the mention of godhood. She has a wry half-frown for reasons that she... decides not to mention. That topic is something that she's still trying to parse.

    The quiet part about the 'other side' is listened to but not commented on. She's not sure she really knows who Shields is. Hematite spoke to her briefly, but she doesn't really know that he was responsible for a couple of the attacks she was hit by. When she hears 'the other side', she mostly just thinks 'dark energy users', which happens to not be wrong so much as imprecise.

    Homura's words sound... pretty dire. It's not that Madoka's never imagined that Homura was capable of violence until now. She's seen Homura fight Witches and knows what she's about. Madoka's just used to seeing a more friendly side of her. When the dir possibility of Naru's fate comes up, Madoka turns pale for a moment.

    The idea of someone being on Team Evil despite actually being sweet reminds her of something. "I've met someone like that. He was wielding dark energy pretty naturally, but he seemed like the sweetest person. He wanted to record a video for him. Said his name was Hematite." She's thinking out loud rather than actually adding to the convo.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "No, I don't think Sunbreaker is an omega-level threat like that." Kyouka reassures Homura, at her mention of possibly going to hunt the girl down. "She's just got way too high of an opinion of herself. I've no doubt you'd be a match for her, just don't underestimate her. And keep an eye out in case she tries anything stupid as 'revenge' for her humiliation. She's the sort who might."

    Kyouka glances between Homura and Madoka at the mention of Darien Shields and Hematite, respectively. She's not about to out someone she considers a friend ,for all that he works for Obsidian, so she decides to simply dodge the matter of them being the same person by speaking generally. "I consider him a trustworthy asset," She tells Homura, her tone firm. "Don't compromise him if you can avoid it. He's operating under some amount of duress, but it's best that remain quiet... or as quiet as it can, all things considered." Things like him dating Usagi Tsukino. But that doesn't need to be said aloud. "He is, however, not always entirely in control of his own actions, so tread carefully in any dealings."

    To Madoka, she adds, "Hematite is alright, for a dark energy user, but has the potential to be dangerous in the wrong circumstances. Same answer- tread carefully, but I don't think he'd hurt you of his own volition."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    There's a ruthlessness to Homura that Madoka hasn't often seen. She knows how to be direct and apply force and violence to a problem when it's the best solution. In a Labyrinth that's often the best solution, but Madoka wasn't likely to object to the quick destruction of Witches. When the target in question was more obviously a person she might-- but when that's the case immediate full force attack is less often the correct choice than one might otherwise think. Especially when you're trying to play the long game and don't want to give a nominally fractured organization a reason to galvanize and come together to defeat a common enemy. That kind of thing goes both ways, and as Sunbreaker recently found out usually results in a need for quick getaways as a starting point.

    As for Darien Shields? "I don't intend to. If I have to deal anyone involved with Obsidian I'd prefer it be the type of person who comes to calmly deliver threats of violence instead of showing up and attacking people." She's hardly forgotten the little conversation they had at the mall. "It's not natural to him like it is some of the others, is it?" she notes at the comment of not being in control of his actions. "That's the problem with dark energy. It feeds on and magnifies emotions that make people lash out. I'm sure Osaka-san learned all about that; it's a good thing that was dealt with before it had a time to start digging it's roots in."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    In Madoka's mind, the fact that there are two different dark energy users who are mostly chill except when they are not carries nothing suspicious or contradictory. That's how the Veil works. She doesn't even notice the magic affecting her mind in the same way that one doesn't notice the presence of air. She simply nods at Kyouka's response and doesn't pursue it further.

    Though, other thoughts are connecting in her mind. Dark Energy to her has mostly been 'spooky magic that bad guys use'. The thought that it might have a mind control component is mostly new to her.

    She frowns down at the ground, looking at the egg still in her hands. She decides to put it back in her bag, in its safe little box. "I'm sorry, most of this is out of my wheelhouse. I've mostly dealt with Witches until now." Tapping her chin, she thinks, "Would purification also work on someone like Shields? If Naru hadn't been rescued, would she turn out like him?"

    After a moment she gets an awkward smile. "Sorry, I'm probably intruding with my noobie questions."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka shakes her head with a smile at Madoka, "No, don't be sorry. Questions are good. Purification would probably work on someone like Shields, because Purification magic generally dispells Dark Energy. However what the actual result of that would be I don't know. He's pretty deep in this whole thing. For Naru it was simple. The Dark Energy was newly introduced and foreign to her. Purifying her was like removing an infection. Not comfortable, but effective. Had she remained infected.. well, I don't know what would have happened. While there's certain commonalities, Dark Energy tends to effect different people differently."

    She shakes her head again, then, this time to Homura. "No, I don't think he's cut out to be the bad guy the world wants to make him. But for the moment, there's nothing to be done about it. Addressing another topic though, tangentially related- you're aware of Himeko-chan, aren't you? The little ghost girl, follows Shields around? She had an... episode recently while talking with me. Seemed like a flashback, possibly memories related to when she was alive. She mentioned a princess, blood and fire, and the fall of an ancient kingdom. That mean anything to you? She doesn't seem to remember it, herself, now that the episode has passed, and given the nature of that episode, asking directly again doesn't seem like it would be constructive."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "You're going to have to learn sooner or later now," Homura notes to Madoka while speaking in a mildly uplifting tone. She knows that Madoka is getting what she wants, so informing her she has a lot to learn while being a newly minted magical girl will hopefully be encouraging. "I'd hope it would, but like Inai-san says you can have very different results. Purifying magic applied to someone new to dark energy can remove it entirely. You might even see something like a toaster being turned into a youma with dark energy, and when purified it might turn back into a regular toaster again. If the corruption runs too deep though, it might simply be burned away in it's entirety."

    She shakes her head, "It's more difficult to save someone who's been using Dark Energy for a long time, but it's not impossible. Most often it takes some kind of revelation; they have to decide they want to be saved and turn away from their path. That's the best way, but it can be very hard to convince people. That said, I've seen it work even on people who were born with Dark Energy before, so it's never hopeless." A short pause, "Depending on the person, anyway."

    At the mention of Himeko Homura has to shake her head, "I'm afraid not. I've heard stories like that before, but never any details that would shed light on what you've already said. I do know there are plenty of ancient kingdoms like that have fallen, and not all of them are even on Earth."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka tilts her head at Kyouka's encouragement. It sounds like a very teacher response, but it also lets her feel a bit more comfortable about asking. Homura seems to agree. As long as she isn't being disruptive, maybe it's okay for her to be here.

    The question about blood and fire and princesses does get her to glance at Homura, wondering if her close Puella Magi friend has an answer to that. Her response is... interesting, to say the least. There are plenty of fallen kingdoms, and some not even from Earth?

    "The way you describe Dark Energy, it almost sounds like an infection or a mold." A mold that eats away at your heart and soul. Dire. "Would something like an ancient kingdom appear in history books? It'd seem strange if it didn't, but also the Veil might hide things like that from us."

    She scratches her chin, then thinks out loud, "... unless there was a book written by someone who was magic aware."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka nods in agreement to everything that Homura says about Dark Energy. "It's never too late to save somebody," She tells Madoka, "But the longer they've been steeped in it, the harder it is and the more complicated it is. It helps a lot if they want to be saved. If they would rather be where they already are, there's much less chance of you being able to do anything but fight them."

    She sighs a bit as Homura says she doesn't know anything about the things in Himeko's visions. "Alright. Just thought I'd ask. Not sure exactly what's going on there, but I think it's a mystery worth looking into. I'll have to explore other avenues."

    To Madoka, she adds, "It really depends. If it was a mundane kingdom, probably, although let's be honest, I'm sure there are plenty of purely mundane kingdoms in our world's history that have simply been forgotten and lost to time. Still, I don't get the impression that Himeko is that ancient of a ghost. Then again, I don't even know if these visions of hers were about her own past or something else entirely." A shrug. "It's less pressing than other matters, but something I plan to keep looking into."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura nods to Madoka, "It's something like that. It has to do with the nature of magic itself and what dark energy is. All magic comes from emotions. Whether that's friendship, love, joy, a strong desire to help others, or anger at having been wronged. Once you start using magic yourself you'll probably quickly find that your magic is stronger when you feel strong emotions. The problem with dark energy is that it comes from negative emotions. Anger, hatred, greed, jealousy, bitterness, that sort of thing."

    She closes her eyes and shakes her head, "It isn't inherently evil, but it can be corrupting in the same way that intentionally feeding negative emotions is corrupting to mental health in general. Except if you have a problem, get very angry about it, decide you hate the person or thing standing in your way and your magic is suddenly powerful enough to sweep it aside-- well. It shouldn't be too hard to see why that kind of thing is quickly corrupting."

    On the topic of ancient kingdoms she shrugs lightly, "Not necessarily. Just think about the Ainu and Okinawans. How much of their history are we taught in class? Maybe there were other cultures that came before them as well, and then others before them. There might be, or there might not, but how would we know? Even without invasions and wars where attackers intentionally try to wipe out their enemies cultures and impose their own. What constitutes a kingdom to one culture might not count to another, and Earth is a very large place. Just look at the pyramids. 'Ancient Kingdom' is unfortunately an incredibly broad topic, and ancient history isn't my strong suite."

    For not being her strong suite she's at least pretty capable of complex, informed opinions. ...isn't she supposed to be 14?

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka considers Kyouka's and Homura's words on ancient kingdoms and thinks they make some good points. A lot of ancient kingdoms could get lost to history. She's used to Homura being smart, and Kyouka is a teacher, so none of that really seems strange to her. The talk about purification makes her wonder if she'll get such magic, but only time will tell.

    "Oh... actually... speaking of purification..."

    Madoka starts thinking of Gretchen again. How should she bring this up?

    "S-so... I want to mention this briefly. I don't think it's... an immediate problem, because I haven't seen her cause any trouble, but... one of my Chara has actually been hatched already. She isn't here, and I think it's because she's mad at me. She called herself an X-Chara. If either of you see a tiny red version of me in a black dress wearing a weird mask, let me know, okay? She didn't strike me as particularly threatening. I just want to know if she's safe."

    She may as well mention this now. Homura might see her at some point.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka nods to Homura, and feels she has to add, "I've actually known some Dark Energy users who were able to use it without losing themselves to the corruption. Don't get me wrong, they are universally self-serving, ruthless people who aren't very nice. But if you are able to control your emotions, you are actually able to wield Dark Energy without it controlling you... but there's always going to be effects. Nobody can use that sort of power without it effecting them."

    She glances at Madoka at the mention of an X-Chara, brows knit. "I don't know enough about them to know if that's a bad thing or not. But if I see her, I'll let you know. And you should definitely talk to Hotori-san."

    She turns then. "That's all I've got for the moment, and I've got another meeting in a bit so I need to run." She inclines her head to Homura. "Akemi-san. I'll be in touch. Kaname-san, always a pleasure." Madoka gets a smile, before she walks to her bike, puts on her helmet, gets on, and drives away.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "You know how to contact me," Homura replies in a causal, perfunctory fashion, lifting her hand to wave to Kyouka as she leaves. The one that isn't still holding onto her swim fins.

    She blinks and looks over to Madoka, "X-Chara? I didn't know any of those stayed around. I can't exactly say I know very much about them. Maybe you should get ahold of Hotori-san sooner rather than later? I'll let you know if I see anything like that."

    As Kyouka drives away Homura looks over towards the road, noticing some teenagers walking by on the sidewalk. One of them points towards her and laughs. "...I should probably get changed. Walk with me to the public restrooms? I'll change there and we can talk about it some more."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hotori-san is mentioned again, and Madoka nods. "Maybe I should. Is it that big of a problem? She didn't seem like a bad person, just kinda upset." Then again, having a youma run around generally isn't a good thing.

    Madoka waves at Kyouka as she leaves, and then once she's alone with Homura she smiles softly. She notices someone laughing at her magical friend and glares in their direction. How dare they?!

    At the mention of getting changed, Madoka nods to Homura. "Okay, let's go. I think I saw some over there." Once on the way, she happily walks side by side with her best friend. Happily swaying her arms back and forth. "So... do you like to go diving around here?" After a moment, she rethinks her assumptions. "Or... was a Witch hiding underwater? Could they do something like that?" It honestly wouldn't be much of a surprise.