681/Two Tomoe Limit

Two Tomoe Limit
Date of Scene:	30 October 2023
Location:	Penguin Park
Synopsis:	Hotaru meets with Takashi's new girrrrrrl friend. Mami is all too happy to have a new little sister and MUCH texting occurs. Not that Hotaru is excited or anything. (She totally is.)
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Mami Tomoe

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Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe was sitting in a rather dark, gloomy raincoat today. It was nice, of course. Especially with her little beany. But it was still the same dark, depressing colors she so often wore.

She was staring in the pond, a little sad as there weren't any ducks today. It was just... quiet. Calm. Very few out and about, instead just... quiet. A time for her to think on things. She hadn't been very active lately. The nightmares were getting worse. She kept seeing... those girls. The sailor scouts. She felt... afraid of them in some ways. Yet, she also wanted to know them. To be near them. She was scared of them and also wanted to see them again and it was so, so confusing... She wished there were ducks here to feed.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
It's after classes for the day, so Mami Tomoe is doing the same thing she does every other day after classes. She's hunting for witches. She doesn't usually venture out of her little corner of Tokyo because Mitakihara Ward is usually enough to keep her busy. But today, she's following a faint trace of a labyrinth that has her walking through Penguin Park.

The path that she cuts through the park takes her right by where Hotaru is sitting and she pauses. She knows that girl. She has, in fact, been thinking about girl quite a bit the last few days, ever since she found out about Hotaru's connection to Takashi. She'd be lying if his love for these girls wasn't one of the things she liked the most about her new boyfriend.

Her soulgem shimmers back into a ring around her finger, and she diverts toward where Hotaru is sitting, just watching the empty lake. It's serene, but boring. One of the best parts about watching a lake is seeing the wildlife. As she approaches she says, "The lake would be a lot more fun to watch if there were ducks."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave a small nod. "It really would. It's so quiet when the ducks aren't here," Hotaru said. She then paused and glanced up. "Mami-senpai!" she said, a smile forming on her lips when she saw the elder girl walking towards her. "I haven't seen you in a while, are you well?"

She started to mention to the bench besides her, then paused. And... "Oh... ummmm, I'm not in your way, am I?" she asked. Always a little worried, a little self conscious. Afraid that she's causing trouble by being around. By 'existing' in some ways. But also by causing a disturbance, if Mami was here to meet with someone, she didn't want to be troublesome by standing in the way when she needed the privacy.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe shakes her head as she walks up and sits down on the bench next to Hotaru anyway. "No, Hotaru-chan, you're not in my way. I was walking through the park and saw you over here, how could I not say hello?" She smiles warmly, her shoulders turned so she's almost facing the younger girl.

"You've actually been on my mind lately," Mami admits, after a moment of silence, her voice quieter. "Ever since Takashi-kun told me he couldn't call me by my last name because he already had a Tomoe-san and a Tomoe-chan," she explains. Then she smiles. "You know, I've always wanted a little sister."

Mami left out some important details.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave a small smile. How could she not say hello? Well, most people didn't. that was how. After all, she was just a--

Then, blink blink. A few things she said started to click. "You've been thinking about me?" she asked, unsure of why. Then... "Oh! You know Takashi-senpai?" she asked, almost instantly perking up a little. "I didn't know you were friends with him! He..." then she trailed off. Giving Mami a... slightly suspicious look. "What... do you mean... little sister?" she asked, wary of her now. Something was up. Something... fishy. Was she a friend of Takashi's? Or... something else? Was this a trick?

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe is always observant, even if she's also sometimes reckless. So she sees the surprise and suspicion on Hotaru's face right away, and she knows she's messed up. Hotaru doesn't know yet.

She laughs just a little awkardly. "I'm sorry, let's back up. I do know Takashi-kun. We've been acquainted for a little while," she says, omitting just how they're acquainted, of course. "But the nature of our relationship changed rather recently." The way she says it, you can almost see the hearts floating around her head.

"I'm his girlfriend now, and he said you're basically his little sister, so that makes you my little sister now!" She beams.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe narrowed her eyes even more. Back up? Start over? Why was--

... Wait. WHAT?! And then the hearts. Now she was confused. Why would--

And just like that, all of the confusion was replaced. For a moment, it was jealousy. Then almost spite. How DARE she try to steal HER--

Then she wanted to be her big sister. Wait, what? Confusion... then... "Eeeeee!" Hotaru said, yup. Finally settling on happy! "You're dating Takashi-senpai?!" she asked. "Ohhh! How long? He never told me!" and she leaned forward a little bit. The excitement obvious in her eyes. "How'd he ask you out? What's your favorite thing about him? Do you listen to music together? Have you two gone on a date? Do you work with him too? Well, I mean, are you going to?"

And now her phone was out and she was TEXTING HIM!

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe laughs with delight and relief. Thank goodness she took that so well. "Oh, not long. We went on our first date Friday. Well, our first date," she says. Because that makes sense. But she's going on to explain herself. Well, at least she tries to. She's not sure if Hotaru knows, but she figures she must. Norie clearly did.

"You could say we met at work, though we're not co-workers," she says. Then she thinks for a moment. There were a couple of little girls with Riventon the first time she met him. She couldn't say for sure, but it seems totally plausible one of them could have been Hotaru, if they were the girls on his team. "I actually think you might have been there the first time I met him. We were all in a Witch's labyrinth. I was the one with the ribbons and rifles."

She shrugs. "Anyway. He just showed up out of nowhere to help me fight a Witch a week ago. Let me have the Grief Seed. Gave me another one..." she trails off and blushes. "And then we exchanged numbers. And he took me to Narisawa on Friday, and it was magical." She wraps her arms around herself and gives her a little hug when she says magical. Oof, she's got it bad.

Then she turns and looks back down to Hotaru and smiles. "So, really, it's just been a few days. It's all very new."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe blinked a few times and then urked. "Y-yeah. I ummm... was there. S-sorry. I uhhhh..." She gulped. Should she say? "Promise... not to tell anyone?" If she did... "I'm... Firefly. I uhhh... I've gotten better since then, but I was realllllly bad then. Like... so bad. I-I thought we were going to just stop the witch and then go, but then he was like 'We need to fight!' and I didn't expect it and then he was yelling at me and... I panicked and then I had one of my seizures and... sorry..." she said gently, eyes lowered.

As if she HADN'T been an enemy then. So her doing poorly was GOOD for Mami.

"Narisawa? Wait, that really... fancy place? Isn't that... a super special place where couples go?!" she asked, leaning forward and, finally, putting her phone away. "Ohhhh! I've only been there once, but it was with dad once..." Pause. "And he left after the first plate because work so ummm... I left soon after... eeeee! That's so romantic! And he helped you in the witches labyrinth? Did try to take the grief seed after?"

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend! When did you get a girlfriend? Are you going to be a Tomoe too?

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: It was pretty recent and I wanted to make sure it wouldn't blow up for at least a few days before I told you, because I knew you'd be all excited like this.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: I'm not excited! So, when'd you meet her? How? How much do you like her? Do you think she's pretty? Have you held hands? Did you two hug?

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: You're not excited which is why you asked me six questions in one text?

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: I'm curious. I could ask her instead, she's right here.

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: Like I could possibly stop you from asking her. At least if you ask her I know she gave the answers she wanted to share.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: Why are you dodging my questions? Inquisitive minds want to know!

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: Before you continue, are you sure you're prepared for me to be equally annoying when you get a boyfriend/girlfriend/etc? You know I have unfathomable depths of pettiness.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: Are you... questioning my ability to want you to interested in my life? Sure, go ahead.

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: just remember, when future you is very mad at past you, it will be this moment

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: Of course I think she's pretty. I like her enough to date her which is a lot more than is probably rational or safe considering she's not part of Obsidian. The rest I will leave to her to answer if she wants.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: Fiiiine, fine, gonna go hang out with my new big sister.

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: You should probably be more careful with your identity and such than I was with her.

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: It's one thing for me to get me in trouble, but I don't want to put you at risk.

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: She may figure it out or be let in someday, but it really hasn't been a very long time.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: ... Uhhh... she already figured it out...

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe watches as Hotaru has her text conversation with Takashi and just keeps an amused smile on her face. She feels just a little bad, because she clearly unleashed a storm of questions, the way the younger girl is swiping and tapping away at her screen. Which is unsurprising, considering how many the younger Tomoe has asked her.

She shakes her head. "No, he did not. He's learned his lesson about Grief Seeds," she says with a little bobble of her head. "He'll be bringing any more he finds to me."

Then it is her turn to text. Her phone buzzing in her pocket. She pulls it out, smirks, and starts tapping and swiping away at her screen. It's just a few messages back and forth, and that smirk never leaves her face. Then she tucks the phone back away where it had been before and turns her attention back to Hotaru.

"I think my favorite thing about him is how much he cares about people," Mami says warmly. "He cares about you a great deal, for example."

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: Be careful with Hotaru. She's more frail than she acts, and stronger than she knows.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: Of course I'll be careful with her. She's precious. I could tell that right away when I met her before.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: Sorry if you wanted to be the one to tell her. It was a surprise I ran into her out here.

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: Wasn't planning on it until we had a little more time together. I wouldn't want to have to guide her and me through the trouble if you and I didn't work out. You see how excited she is, I don't want to see the opposite of that. o_o

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: Weren't you the one who said we've got to want this to be good? ^_^ It's sweet how you care about her.

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: I do want it to be good! And I believe it will be if we both want that. But there's always a little bit of an unknown.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: I liked her before I liked you, Takashi-kun. Don't worry.

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: it's one of my jobs - to worry about her. And now you too.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe had gotten more texts immediately after and had to text again...

A text from Takashi Agera: Did you transform in front of her

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: No. Does that matter?

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: So you just told her, then? She couldn't have known otherwise. Suspected at best. You need to be careful. I don't think Mami is dangerous to you but other people are.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: I mean... she knew I was me or Fate. And Fate gave her full name there, remember? I... I guess she might not have known but... oh. Oh dear...

<PHONE> A text from Takashi Agera: Better to not confirm in those cases. Can't take it back, just have to be careful going forward.

<PHONE> You text Takashi Agera: Oh... okay.

"Have... have you two... ummm... h-held hands?" she asked, her face bright red. "And... he really does. But ummm... I think... sometimes... he might care about me too much. Worry about me too much. I--" Then she coughed, having to cover her mouth with her sleeve.

"S-sorry. He's... Takashi-senpai is really, really smart. And he means well. But he doesn't... always... have the smartest ideas. But he always thinks he does. I think he's about... mmmm... seventy-percent of the time he's right. But it makes those thirty-percent times kind of... annoying. Just... just remember that. But when he IS right he's really good about it. He actually helped me get a lot better, so now I can actually go outside and be around people without getting sick as much. And whenever I do get hurt, he always comes to get me immediately and makes sure I'm okay. He's really the best big brother. So... so don't hurt him, okay? He's... he's really, really cool. And he's going to do a lot of good things one day, just you wait and see!"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe just smiles as Hotaru launches into telling her all about Takashi. Putting in those disclaimers only his little sister would think to share. Like rough estimates of just how dense he is. Mami appreciates this a great deal.

"I'll do my best not to hurt him, Hotaru-chan, I promise," Mami says, immediately thinking about how she shot him just a few months ago. He said he gets shot at all the time, so it was no big deal, but she wonders if Hotaru would think the same thing. She doesn't bring it up. Instead she says, quietly, "He saved my life. I would never want to hurt him."

She's quiet for just a moment, then her face brightens. Hotaru asked questions! She has answers! "Yes, we have held hands. I walked him home from the restaurant, because it was on the way to my apartment. We had such good conversation. And then he kissed me good night before he went up to his room." She's smiling so big and her eyes are lidded and she's again all but swimming in a cloud of hearts.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded. "Thank you! Oh, and like. I mean emotionally. Hurting him physically is... probably going to happen sometimes. But then you need to take him out somewhere nice."

Pause. Blinked. "Okay, that's like. If you hurt him because he's doing something dumb and you need to stop him from doing the dumb thing before he hurts someone. You aren't allowed to hurt him because like. When he hasn't done anything. Dumb or otherwise." Such a good little sister.

"Oh, and if he ever gives you flack because he thinks one of your plans suck, just remind him... 'the vacuum'," she said with a smile.

... Yuuuup.

Then, however, she found out about the first date. "Eeeee! You held hands and walked him home? That's so cute! You... wait... you... you even... you held HANDS? On the FIRST date?!" she asked, her eyes wide, both hands over her mouth. "O-oh. I... I never imagined... Mami-senpai... you're so forward... Wow...."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"It already has happened," Mami says with an awkward sort of grin. Hotaru seems to understand how it is. "But it was just like that. He was trying to steal my friend's Soul Gem." Kyouko's her friend. Deep down inside, she has to believe it's still true. "He was hurting her." There's a pause, and then she just smiles. "But he knows better than to be downrange now," she says, and then smiles brightly.

She makes a mental note, filing away 'the vaccuum' so that she can wield it at the perfect moment later with Takashi.

Then she once again delights in the younger girl's enthusiasm which seems almost as big as her own. She's so adorable. Mami laughs lightly, her eyes creased with her smile. "It didn't really feel like a first date, Hotaru-chan. Not after he saved my life in that Labyrinth." She pauses for a moment, and then grins. "How many dates would you wait until you held someone's hand? What about kissed them?" She did that too, after all.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gasped. "You... oh. OH! You mean the... hurting him has already happened. Right. Heh. Eh. I wouldn't worry about that. Like, as long as it's just fighting. Like... I know he doesn't admit it, but I think he thinks a lot of the Sparkle Skirts are doing good too. I know he doesn't want to hurt anybody... but he also... well. He's kiiiiiind of not always got the right ideas and stuff," she said with a shrug. "We've gotta be the bad guys for the right reasons."

She nodded along, gasping at 'it didn't feel like a first date'. It didn't? Ohhhhh. That was... "And he saved you? That's so romantic..." she said with a content sigh.

But the last comment. How many dates... "I... I don't know..." she said, her tone shifting to a sadder one. "I... doubt... I'll ever go on any dates... I'm... ummmm... not... I... how... much has Takashi-senpai... told you about my condition? Why.... he has to keep an eye on me?" she asked. And if she took out her phone to text him, she'd quickly put a hand over it. "Don't... mention it to him. Please. I can tell you. He... already thinks about it too much as it is, I think."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe shakes her head. "He hasn't really, he just told me that you're frail. He's very careful with what he says," she tells the younger girl. Mami's curious, now, though, and she's not above letting the little girl spill the beans. She can protect her better if she knows what's up with her, right?

"I won't tell him I know, Hotaru-chan. It can be our little secret," she says with a smile. She's so curious. "What's your...condition?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe sighed and shook her head. "It's... not so important what it is. Just... that... I'm... I was in an accident. Years ago. It... it's... I'm... not..." Slow, deep breath. "I'm dying. Takashi-senpai doesn't want to admit it, but it's happening. I don't know how much time I have left and time is being spread out, but... I'm probably not going to make it another year, let alone longer than that."

"... Takashi-senpai knows. But... he thinks... he can fix it. But daddy can't even... he's... trying. But... I'm not... going to... I'm probably... not going to last a lot longer. But... I know Takashi-senpai is going to do a lot of good things. If he doesn't... forget... he can... and... I... I think you're right. He's really great. You're going to like him a lot and I'm really happy you're going to be my big sister for now. Do... you want to go get, ummm... a snack or something?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe's expression transforms from bright and smiling to sad and heartbroken in an instant. This pure, precious, smol girl was dying?! She doesn't know what to say, so she just defaults to, "Oh, Hotaru-chan, I'm so sorry to hear that."

She listens as Hotaru struggles to explain to her just how dire her situation is, doing her be a strong senpai for the little girl. She'll just have to cry about this later. At home alone. Over tea.

But then Hotaru suggests snacks. Food makes everything better. Especially cake. Mami's face brightens and she almost leaps up off the bench. "Yes! Let's go get some sweets. Do you like cake?" Who doesn't like cake?

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded rapidly. "I... I love cake," she said. "And... it's okay. I've known a long, long time. It's... not so bad, now. I have friends. I... didn't used to. Before I used to be alone all the time. Now I have Takashi-senpai, and Yochu, and Fate-chan, and..." Oh my gosh there's a list. But it ends with...

"And now a big sister, Mami-senpai!" she said happily. And then she'd get up... and let the other girl get up. and while she didn't hold the other girl's hand.... she did hold her sleeve.

After all, she was the little sister now.

Eeeeee. She had a big sister!