584/Emergency Counselor Session

Emergency Counselor Session
Date of Scene:	11 October 2023
Location:	Administrative Office
Synopsis:	Cho goes to Kyouka for some advice and guidance. To everyone's surprise... she receives it. Kyouka's gonna hit her quota at this rate.
Cast of Characters:	Cho Konishi, Kyouka Inai

---

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi was uhhhh... nervous, when she came to see Kyouka. Because, well. She didn't... normally do this. This was the kind of thing she would have, in the past, tried to handle herself. Heck, even now she'd have preferred to. But... she didn't have a lot of contacts. And she was scared.

And the counselor was in the know. So if she was in the know, that meant she was fairgame to ask for advice. And if she was fairgame to ask for advice... Cho needed advice. Cho desperately needed advice.

So it was that she was outside the door and lightly knocking on it twice, so lightly it could likely barely be heard, if at all.

Followed by a firm THUNK THUNK THUNK when she knocked on it like... well... properly.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka happens to be in her office. This is far from a guarantee, even during school hours, so Cho has lucked out on this day. Or maybe it's fate- hard to say. Regardless, when the proper knocking is accomplished, the counselor's "come in!" can be heard from within the office, giving permission for the girl to enter.

    Inside, she is seated at her desk, looking over some form of paperwork. Hard to tell what it is, but as she glances up and sees Cho entering, she piles the papers into a neat pile, then shoves them into one of the drawers on her desk. "Konishi-san." She greets, with a lopsided smile, showing she remembers the girl from their previous meeting. "What can I help you with?"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi didn't look... well... She walked into the office and sat in a chair, looking up at her for a moment. "I-I..." Then stopped. "You..." Stopped again. "There was..." and stopped a third time. She crossed her arms and rocked a little bit, trying to avoid panicking. Finally...

"You're... aware, right? Of... of the magic? You know... you know about... this? All of this?" she asked. "It... there was... there... Today. I... there was a scream. It was a birthday party. And... and this little girl's brother was being turned into a youma. He then... he had his little sister and... and his claws to her throat. He said he'd kill her if we didn't... didn't unhenshin. If we didn't give him our identities. I... I tried to talk, to buy time, but... but I... I wasn't able to... then Sailor Moon did... a thing? I think? And she covered it, transformed, and... and we don't know who did it."

"... But we managed to save them this time. But... but we couldn't stop them." She was rocking back and forth a bit, obviously panicking a little bit. "I couldn't... I can't bring back the dead. I can't heal someone who is killed before I get there. Or is already captured by the time I arrive. I can't *fix* that. I punch things! I punch the monsters and then everything gets undone and maybe there's some property damage but nobody is DEAD! And I don't know... I don't even know who did this. They weren't there, they just... did everything before we got there and I don't know how to fight this. Is... is this a war? Sailor Moon said we're at war and this is normal but I... I didn't think that... how... how are we supposed to fight this? How are we supposed to protect people if they're killing them before we even get there?" she asked, sounding like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "I... I just punch things and hit them with a stick. I can't... help people after they're hurt..."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka's brow quirks as she observes the state Cho is obviously in. It's clear she isn't sure, at first, what is bothering the girl, but she gives her space to talk, appearing attentive with her hands folded on the desk in front of her and her ash-grey eyes focused on Cho in the chair across from her desk.

    She listens to the story of events, and doesn't appear particularly surprised- it's possible she's already heard about them from Sailor Moon or someone else, though it's also possible she is not surprised simply because she's been doing this sort of thing for a long time and the events Cho relates, while horrifying, are sadly not unique in their horribleness.

    When the girl finishes speaking, Kyouka gives a little sigh.. leaning back in her chair and folding her arms behind her head, seeming to think for a moment. "Sailor Moon isn't wrong, but she isn't entirely right, either." She says, after a moment. "This is a sort of war we exist in. Others call it 'the game', or 'the struggle'. Between Light and Dark. Good guys and bad guys. It's not quit as simple as 'us vs them', because who 'us' is and who 'them' is seems to be pretty fluid. But the fact is there are people out there with powers like ours who will use them for nefarious ends, to get what they want and not care about hurting people to do it. Some would say those people are the reason people like you and Sailor Moon exist at all. To make sure they don't hurt people."

    She leans forward again after a moment, meeting Cho's gaze. "You said you stopped them 'this time'. But that's really all there is to it, isn't it? You stopped them. Good. There will probably be other times, and you'll stop them then, too. Because that's the point. Protecting people, and stopping the jerks who try to hurt people to get what they want. I wish I could tell you there was a way to 'win', like, forever, but if there is I don't know it. We just take it as it comes- you do what you can."

    She offers a little smile. "But trust me, punching people is important. The thing is, you're not on your own. You have friends and allies, people like Sailor Moon and I'm sure plenty of others. You make up for each other' weaknesses' and rely on each others strengths. So you can't heal people? There are others who can. You do the punching, let them do the healing. Somebody has to be the one to make the bad guys realize they can't get away with it, right? That's where the punching comes in."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi nodded, though... she didn't look very comforted. "I... I know that. I mean... I-I know we're supposed to... to fight these fights... to... do all of this... but... I-I know if they win, bad things happen. But I thought if we won, then everything got fixed. But..."

"Is... is that what's going to happen? The... the youma said that. 'Sure, maybe you stop me, but do you plan to leave a trail of bodies'? If... if this is the new strategy? Just... just kidnap children and kill them if we don't... tell who we are? I don't... I... I don't know how to fight that. How can we?"

"... I don't want to leave a trail of innocent bodies in my wake. They can't even defend themselves. They don't know about magic. Do I just... should I just reveal myself? But what next? They go after me at home? Or... or my family? How long before it's 'stop fighting or we kill these kids'? I don't know how to protect hostages. It's not... not like a youma I can just punch and then they're free. I... I'm not good at this kind of stuff. Is this just... their new plan? Are others going through this? How do they deal with it?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Perhaps Kyouka doesn't have comfort to offer, so much as perspective. Sailor Moon found this out when she came with similar questions- reality isn't always comforting. But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to deal with it regardless.

    At Cho's words, she shrugs her shoulders. "Bad guys love to talk big. But look at the reality. You didn't leave any bodies, did you? You stopped them, and the kid didn't die. Who's to say next time will be any different? That's why you fight. Why you stop them. There have always been, will always be people out there who are willing to do reprehensible things in order to get their way. The job of those of us with the will and means to oppose them is to make sure they don't get it. Nobody has to die just because somebody is willing to kill. Not as long as there are others willing to stand in harm's way to stop them."

    She looks vehement as she says, "You're not leaving any bodies in your wake, Konishi-san. You're not responsible for what evil people do. If somebody dies, its the fault of the killer, not you." She shakes her head, leaning back again with a sigh. "Give them nothing. Show them it doesn't work. That's the way to beat them at something like this. And before you say it's impossible, I assure you it isn't. You're not doing it alone."

    "Stop fighting or we kill these kids is a terrible plan, for the record. Because all you need to do is NOT stop fighting and in fact punch them so they let the kid go."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi hung on those words and, slowly, she started to calm down. Say what she wanted... Kyouka was right. They won this time. And they'd win next time. And the time after that. If... they try it again? They'll stop them again. They'll always stop them. Because that was what they did.

And she began to relax, taking a deep, slow breath. "Thank you," she said softly. "I... I'm not the most... social... of the ummm... I don't... know a lot of the other magical people. But... I think... I think we should warn them? That someone out there is taking... hostages... and stuff? Because it's... it's... not... good to walk into that. I... I panicked a little bit. I didn't know what to do and I almost just like.... tried to distract by blowing up the roof or something. And..."

"I don't want anyone else to get blindsided and it's not like I can just put up on the community board, 'hey, be careful. Some of the youma are taking kids hostage to try and make you reveal your real identity'. Cause... I mean... I could, but I think I'd get in trouble," she said sheepishly.

"... And yeah, it was an awful plan."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka gives a bit of a smile... perhaps not reassuring, but at least understanding. "Facing the truth of the world is never really easy," She says with a bit of a shrug. "But it's something everyone has to deal with sooner or later. You panic, then you understand, accept, and get over it. You not liking it doesn't change the truth... unfortunately, that's the way of a lot of things in life. Recognizing that, and doing the best you can in the situation that exists is how people get through life. It's no different if you're mundane or magic. Same principles apply."

    "You don't have to be a social butterfly. But it helps to at least know people. Have some allies, people you know are on your side. They don't need to be your friends, you don't need to have slumber parties. But as long as you have shared goals and can work together, you'll be alright. Sailor Moon is a good starting point, which it sounds like you've already made. But take my advice. Put yourself out there a bit. So that you have people to call, and people can call you when stuff like this happens. It'll make you feel safer."

    "Warning people is a good idea. I've got a few ideas that may help with putting people in contact with each other.. just waiting on approval from the higher-ups. But I'll be sure to keep you in the loop."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi nodded and, well... while it wasn't the most reassuring thing, it was relaxing. "I... I'll keep trying. I'll keep doing my best. And... I will. I don't... I don't want to be the kind of person who hides away from life anymore." The way she phrased it made her smile.

"You know, that's why I chose the name Cho. It means Butterfly. I wanted to stop... hiding from people. To be braver and more social. But sometimes I just fall into old habits, I guess. And I'll reach out to others. Try and make more friends and... and all that. People I can depend on. Who can depend on me. Not just... my best friend. Thank you, Inai-senpai." She slowly got to her feet and bowed politely. "And thanks for talking with me on such short notice."

"And thanks, please feel free to ummm, text me or whatever method of talking you prefer. Email, too, I guess. Not faxing but... I... don't think you're anywhere near old enough for that. So, ummm, thank you," she said, bowing and quickly making her way towards the exit to get out of her hair.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "The real measure of a person is what they do when their back is up to the wall." Kyouka says, smiling. "Maybe in the past you've hesitated, or been unsure about approaching others. But now is the time to become that butterfly you've wanted to be. You need help.. but more than that, you can help other people. Not just the civilians who are in danger but the other mahous at the school here too."

    "I know its rough to be thrown into the deep end, so to speak. It's one thing to say you want to change, and another to basically be told 'now's the time, sink or swim'. But now is the time. You know what's at stake. If you show you're willing to meet it, you won't have any shortage of friends to meet it with you. And your odds can only improve."

    She inclines her head as Cho bows. "I'll keep you informed. I think you have what it takes to be a valuable ally, and if there's one thing I always need more of, its valuable allies." She grins. "Take it easy, Konishi-san."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah. I... I think I might be able to do some good in that case. Wuwu helps a lot, but well... Wukong's story had some 'helping' of other people. But a lot of times I think he just got distracted and wandered off, only to come back in the nick of time to save everyone. Sometimes I wish my powers worked like that, where I could just... do stupid things and have it all work out in the end because Wukong."

She was right, though. This was the deep end. But this was also... the time to sink or swim and she wanted to swim. She wanted to be that hero and that social butterfly. She wanted to make friends and be helpful and... she wanted to be the hero.

"I'll try to," she said and then started to leave... before pausing. Then walked back to the desk. "Oh, I ummm... I made these earlier, hear," she said before putting down a... small napkin and a few small peach cookies. "I hope you like them! Bye!" she called before heading out the door and leaving Kyouka back to her work. She felt a lot better, though...

And then a few moments later she peered in. "I ummm... don't actually... know Sailor Moon directly, though. If... you do? Could you ummm... give her my number and let her know I'd like to talk? About what happened? If not, that's okay. Thanks, bye!" she said before leaving again. For real this time.