1721/Kind of Horrifying

Kind of Horrifying
Date of Scene:	01 July 2024
Location:	Dorms #3
Synopsis:	Usagi comes to Hinoiri's dorm shortly after her door's been covered in blood(?). Hinoiri opens the door in time to see Usagi in front of her blood covered door. Somehow, that's not the horrifying thing in this scene. Featuring: teh ever looming threat of the fade, the agony of making friends, and suggestions for an outlet.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Hinoiri Kirara

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's afternoon on a regular school day and Usagi's been back from the moon (and happily engaged) for a few days now, and perfectly pleased about it. Things are pretty normal, or at least as normal as they ever get, which means the hardest thing she's had to think about is how to tell her Mama and Papa that she's engaged now.

Her room is all the way near the end of the hall, on her floor. It means she usually has to walk past a number of rooms, to get by.

It means that she walks by Hinoiri's room.

...Hinoiri's room, with the red stains on the door. She slows, and stops, as she examines them. They sure... look a bit like blood...

"...she better not be dead," she groans, and walks to the door, fist raised to knock.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was going mad. This whole... being nice thing... powerless? It sucked. It was driving her MAD! And so, she was trying to find... alternative methods by which she could... regain some mental fortitude.

In this case? She was going to go talk to Usagi. She was a... normal... human. So she was curious what Usagi had done to keep herself from getting... annoyed. Back when she was bor-- had no magic.

As fate would have it, she was opening the door at juuuuust the right time for the knock to almost happen, and then the door be pulled away. Like some kind of mocking game of 'high five, oops, too slow'.

Hinoiri paused, looked at her. Then, slowwwwwwly, her eyes wandered to the door.

Then, back to Usagi.

"... Did... did you do that? Is this... a human thing? Cause... if this is a reference? I... don't get it."

"... Wait, is that *blood*?!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's Hinoiri. She's alive! That's great! She's -

"No, I didn't do that! I was about to knock on your door to make sure you were alive, because I mean, it looks like blood, but it's not like I'm going to test it!"

Oh she should probably lower her voice, but she's a little freaked out (not a ton, but, like, a little).

"So it WASN'T like that when you went into your room?! Does that mean someone just did this?!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and stared at Usagi. And then, slowly, the confusion gave way to fury. "Oh. Ohhhhh. It was that little TWERP!" she snapped. "I'm going to *kill him*," she snapped, grabbing the bat...

And Usagi would see the rose duct taped to it. Also, that blind fury in Hinoiri's eyes as she started to storm down the hall. "I'll show *him* a *lame horse*!"

She wasn't actually reckless enough to try and assault Obsidian like this, was she?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She absolutely was reckless enough to try and assault Obsidian like this, and that's why Usagi's hand snaps out to grab at the bat and swing it around, "Hey, no! No bat swinging, that's illegal!"

Is that really the best argument she can come up with? Yes. Yes it is. For the moment.

"Who called you a lame horse and why is that worth one of Mamochan's very sharp roses?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked and stopped, well. She wasn't going to bat Usagi! But... she wasn't just going to let the bat go. But wasn't going to swing it at her.

"Ummmm... The weird brat who was, apparently, trying to intimidate me. With a cake. Made to look like an alicorn. I think he worked for HR."

Then she motioned to the door. "And because look what he did to my *door*. I am *NOT* cleaning that up. I'm going to find him, hit him until it stops feeling good and then drag his body back here and make him clean it up! It'll be fine, I don't think he really has much magic and I am VERY angry right now and anger makes things hit harder!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Obviously she wasn't going to hit Usagi! That would make way more trouble than it was worth. "Okay, I have to admit, the idea of someone at our school trying to intimidate you is really funny, because, I mean... it's not going to work."

She's Hinoiri. She's done way too much to be scared by someone schoolyard bullying!

"Okay, I'm hearing you out, I understand your feelings, and, here's a counterargument: we go to the RA and they check the cameras and he gets in trouble, because he's probably a student if he made it in here, and the school cleans your door for you. Where as if you hit him with the bat, he will probably die, because Mamochan's roses are very sharp and I once saw them break concrete. What's better, hitting someone until they die on accident, or laughing at them as the school does all your dirty work and you rest easy knowing everyone thinks you've changed even more for the better?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara sighed. "Well, I mean, no, they were from Obsidian. I think it was supposed to be a like. Threat. 'Here's a cake of the thing you know a lot about' or something. I don't know. He wasn't really... good at it. I think he was one of the lackeys of HR, though. So he probably had magic..."

And then, deep, breath. "But... fine. You're... right. Let's see if the RA has it on camera of someone doing it. There might be magic involved, though, so it likely wouldn't be recorded. Magic messes with that stuff in an obnoxiously... annoying way..."

"But I'll put the bat... back." And then, if given up...

Would, grudgingly, put it down. But,for a second, she DID consider resorting to violence. But wasn't sure Sailor Moon, not Usagi, wouldn't chase her down the hall to get the bat back.

"I actually wanted to ask you something, though. Before ummm... magic. Hit you. What did you like... do? To not..." Trailed off. Deep breath.

"How does one... connect... and... find... an urge to not... crush... everyone else. Without direction."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Okay, well, if he's from Obsidian, you still shouldn't chase him with a bat, because what if he like, turns you inside out or something? That wouldn't be very helpful now would it?"

The bat is being lowered, though, and Hinoiri is agreeing with her, and -

"Even if the RA can't see it, we'll be able to see it, because we're magic. So it's still worth checking out, plus, if the school knows you're being bullied, they'll help keep an eye on you." And yes, what's happening to Hinoiri is much worse than simple bullying, but, having eyes on the situation can't hurt...

With the threat of someone being batted to death put aside, Usagi can relax. Hinoiri's not hurt, and someone tried to mess with her with a cake. That's a lot less dangerous than what it could have been.

"Huh? You did? Sure, I'll try and answer..." the question is one that she takes seriously, recognizing it as part of Hinoiri's effort to actually be better.

"So... I think those are two different things. You connect, by like, finding something you have in common with someone. Something you both share and can talk about! And you find an urge to not crush everyone around you by finding an outlet. Like video games, for me, but Makochan bakes and Chiyo-chan pounds mochi, so there's all kinds of things you could do."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Right. Let's go see the video. And I don't know, hitting this jerk with a bat sure sounds like a massive outlet to me... but fine. Let's go do the mature, responsible thing. Ugh..."

She grumbled and closed the door behind her, letting Usagi guide her. "... Wait, do they even have cameras in the halls?" she asked. "And... ugh. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time something like this happened. Bat guano, back home. Much easier to get rid of. I'd already mastered basic cleaning spells, so not like they were doing much but annoying me a bit. Then I setup a reversing charm on the door, next time they looked like idiots, covered in... anyway."

She reached up and rubbed the back of her head. "An outlet sounds good. The games are... okay. But what do you do once you've beaten them? Like... I don't exactly have a lot of income now and, frankly, the PVP stuff can be fun, but it's not exactly... let's say... a bonding experience. Can't really bake now, no oven. Most the bonding I did in obsidian was due to magic and ummmm... not... a big thing now. Though... I guess I'll be doing the mermaid stuff soon, so some bonding there?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I think there are, but, I don't know?" Hm, that's a good question... she taps her chin and shrugs, leading to the stairs - the RA on their floor could be anywhere, but there's the front desk, where there's always a staff member waiting to help someone out.

"Yeah, it's not that easy to stop bullying here, but, if people know the school is aware, they'll be less likely to cause trouble, you know? No one wants the school on them..."

Hinoiri's old bullies sound like they deserved it - whoever messed with her... they might have deserved the chance to vent, too, but, trying to scare someone and run was just rude, and cowardly.

And if a coward is calling you a coward, you know you've done wrong.

"If you've beaten all the games you've played and you don't like PVP, you could see if there are any super difficult games to try and one hundred percent. Or you could see if there's a game with a gameplay loop you like! Rogue-likes are pretty good for that, or open-world exploring games where you can just keep getting into fights when you're mad..."

She considers other options, too. "Or you could try sports, or fighting. Some people like exercise? Or something peaceful, like, pottery making? Something you can put all your energy into it."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not exactly the 'bullied' type. Some girls tried before because I hung out with Adrien. Threatened to cut my hair if I didn't stay away from them." Pause. "They don't do that anymore, heh. But... yeah. Maybe I should try to not... fight so much."

Her hand moved to her throat. "It... wasn't easy, though. When Chaar was.... that... kind of bullying. I don't... I didn't realize what that was like. That was what *I* was like..." she mumbled.

And then she sighed, shaking her head. "Yeah, maybe... maybe that. Just... need to find something to get as an outlet. Sports, maybe. I need to meet up with Dashu-san again anyway, she might... like that. I'm not sure I'd be good at 'peaceful' though. I've never really been the type. Heh... eh..."

"... Hey. Tsukino-san... Do... you think, in this world, I was... maybe supposed to be like you? Like... the others? Have some kind of magic?" She stroked the geode.

"Do you think... everything I did... means I lost my chance, if so?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Really? Are people that into Adrien? That's so... silly!" She scowls a little, though the fact that Hinoiri's already handled it is a good sign. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with fighting to like, defend yourself and stuff, you know? I never really got into fights, but, it doesn't make you a bad guy to defend yourself from bullies."

When Chaar - the girl who attacked her - comes up though? She falls silent, for a long moment. Hinoiri already feels bad. She's already realizing it. Usagi could make her feel worse, could press on how awful it is that this is what it took for her to get it -

But she doesn't.

"Niji-chan would probably love getting someone into a sport. And baseball might make you better at swinging that bat, if you're going to keep that thing." As they descend the stairs, she considers the question, and at the next landing, turns to look up at Hinoiri.

"I think if you lost your chance, you wouldn't still be magic. But you still get trapped in barriers, and you still remember, and to me, that means it's just - inevitable, that you'll find your real power."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "Yeah. I don't really see it myself. But I'm not exactly the... prime judger of human attractiveness. Or, well, any attractiveness, honestly. I always found personalities to be a lot hotter than... aaaanyway. Yeah. Not... going to worry about that."

"... That's... kind of horrifying, then. So if I ever lose my chance, fully, I'm just going to forget... my entire life?" And there she was stroking the geode again. Yeah, that was some anxiety. That was a LOT of anxiety. "I... I'm really hoping those 'rules' don't apply to me, the same way they do everyone else. Like... I mean. It *sucks* not being able to defend myself and *know* I can't defend myself."

"... But if I forgot all about magic, I'd lose pretty much everything about myself from before the last year. I'd just... have the world's most damning case of amnesia. I wouldn't even know who I was and..."

Yeah, she was starting to walk a little faster, imagining that. "I... Thanks, Usagi. This was a good talk. I'm going to ummmm... I'll let you know if I find out anything, okay? I've probably held you up too late as it is."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I think there's a word for that," Usagi says, but she can't remember the word, "It's not like, unheard of though. A lot of people need to like someone before they get to thinking they're cute."

Don't worry, it's not weird!

"Um, no, I don't think that's the rule? That's not what I meant!" Wait, hey, she sees the anxiety in your face so - "What I meant is, I think if you were going to like 'lose your chance' it would be because you didn't have magic. But you do. Even if you haven't figured out how to use it, you obviously do. So it's not like you have to worry about that happening? ...until you're an adult, unless we figure out how to break the Fade."

There's a grimness to her voice, then, because they're all under the threat of that.

Before Hinoiri can get too far, Usagi reaches out, catches her wrist. Waits until she looks at her.

"There's a lot on the line for all of us. So trust me when I say, we're all looking for a way to get rid of this thing, that keeps us from remembering."

And then she lets her go. She at least is still going to report what happened to the RA, if only so Hinoiri gets her door cleaned.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Yeah. It probably helps that like... my they-friend can shapeshift into anything. So if I found something hot they could just... do that," she said with a shrug. "Easy enough."

What? There were perks!

She relaxed, just a little, when she was grabbed. "I... yeah. I... I guess. There's... there's a lot to ummm... I'll... try and help. There. With... when I can. I mean... if I'm studying the magic for... your side now..."

"... Maybe I can help with that. Even if just for my own skin, even... so... I... thank. You. But... I do hope you understand... when I approach the fade? If I... disappear. Well. If the portal home ever bucking opens up again..." she muttered. It hadn't opened since she went all Sunset of Sora.

"Let's just.... find out about this door... heh... eh... thanks... and thanks for keeping me safe all the time. Ugh. At least, if nothing else, I fully understand how Osaka-san must feel all the time. It's just obnoxious."

Ah ha ha ha ha... she didn't know yet.