1140/Motorcycle Mystery

Motorcycle Mystery
Date of Scene:	19 February 2024
Location:	Club Building
Synopsis:	Hinoiri runs into a kid she thinks might be a friend of Dianora's while working in the motorcycle club, Itsuki... unfortunately, it seems the kid is asking questions about a recent bike accident. Oh dear... Hinoiri better think fast. Quick! Redirect her to someone else!
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Itsuki Inubouzaki

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was... scraped up. A bunch. She looked like she'd been in an accident of sorts. And she had been. Thankfully, due to the magical girls in the school, she was.... much better. But she wasn't going to be biking for a bit. She was in the bike club's room, though. Working on, well... a motorcycle. One of the junkers they worked on, to teach them about how bikes operated and functioned.

Part of the project, at least. She was pretty achy, all things considered. But she felt better than she had... possibly because she'd had some of Daifuku's purifying magic. It always shocked her just how much dark energy could *hurt*. And oh, it did. It hurt a lot. It felt, often, like it was tearing into her. Biting her. Clawing at her.

And having it... not inside her? It felt.... pretty good. Really, really good in fact. Calming. But she was back, now. Still a bit scraped up, but nowhere near as bad as she had been. With a bit of an oil streak on her cheek, she was... well... just the mundane, average mechanic girl.

Even if, technically, she was legally too young to drive.

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    Itsuki Inubouzaki is a gentle soul. She may not have known what was going on with that mad motorcyclist a few weeks ago, but she did see that the driver appeared to have been injured. As much as she can't approve of using music to hurt people, and driving recklessly, she can't get the anger and pain on the driver's face out of her mind. She has never had anyone that angry at her before. Not ever. Maybe it was less her and more the circumstances, and she wasn't the only one there, but...
    You know? It eats at you, to be faced with someone who sees you as the bad guy, when the worst you've ever faced has been your sister scolding you for your failed cooking attempt turning the big cooking pot purple with some sort of ooze so terrible it is scramble-censored. Yes, in real life. No, probably not actually.
    Anyway, the point is she is wandering around the school in the time between her classes, asking people if they know anything about the motorcycle that went off an overpass and crashed into the street below, since it wasn't on the news (or rather, what actually happened wasn't on the news...). She is bribing anyone who has information with some of her lunch.
    Itsuki did not make the lunch, it's okay.
    Her search has led her to the bike club. She isn't sure why she didn't start with the bike club. Probably nothing magic related, to be sure. Poking her head in, Itsuki spots a student looking rather beat up, and is immediately concerned. "Sumimasen... Are you okay?" Obviously Hinoiri is not okay, but it's a more polite question than, 'The heck happened to you?'

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara paused and glanced over at the young girl. Who in the world...? Why was she-- Oh. Right. She supposed she was a... little beat up. The bruises and bandage on her cheek and... well... "Yeah, I got in a bit of an accident recently." Pause. "Not bike related." Entirely bike related. Though it was more 'racing' related.

"If you're looking to join the club, you'll need to come by during our meeting times."

She turned back to the junker she was working on, removing a bolt from the side. "Is there anything else you need, squirt?" she asked. Then paused. "Wait, are you a friend of Dianora-chan's?" Looked about the right height.

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    Not bike related? O-oh. Well, she wasn't going to ask about that, but she's glad! Crashing a motorcycle is really dangerous after all! "Oh, um... I'm part of the Hero Club, so I don't really join other clubs... But we can help out other clubs if they need it!" She is running through names in her head, trying to figure out if she knows a 'Dianora'. Maybe that's familiar? "Um... I'm not sure. Is she in grade seven?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a nod. "I think so. She's my roommate. I'm Hinoiri Kirara, grade 9." She reached over to the toolbox to replace her tool, frowning whe nshe glanced inside. "Hero club? Never heard of it. Seems like a pain in the flank, to be honest. A club that won't let you join other clubs. So, you all pretending to be super heroes or something?" she asked, glancing back towards her.

"Oh, wait. 'I'm going to be a star!' You remember a girl who did that? THAT'S Dianora-chan. Hey, can you grab me the feeler gauge from over there?" she asked, motioning vaguely towards the tool cabinet. Well, she said she was here to help.

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    "Ee... Eeto..." Itsuki is flustered. Yes, that's a good word for this feeling of confusion and mild panic. She moves to the tool cabinet, as requested, and says, "Oh! I remember that! Dianora-san... I will look for her in class next time. Ee... The Hero Club does things to help the community, like cleaning up trash, finding homes for kittens, holding events for the elderly or younger students, and other clubs and pretty much anyone can request our help via our website!"
    She is starting to hit her groove now, even if she still has no idea what a feeler gauge is. She has her phone out though, using Guguru to find pictures of them. Once she knows what she's looking for, she picks up the appropriate tool, and brings it over. "I am pretty sure we can join other clubs... Probably... But with how the Hero Club works, I guess you could say it's almost as though we're in every club!" She 'hehehehs' nervously, with a little sweat drop, as she holds out the peculiar-looking instrument.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took the feeler gauge, nodding along as she got back to work. "Mmm hm. Well, whatever floats your boat. So.... you're like... doing all of that stuff, then? OH! I think I met one of your members, recently. Morita-san. Was doing the fundraiser thing to buy food for the homeless. That kind of stuff?" she asked, her focus back on her work. "She's pretty neat. Real sweet girl. So you all do stuff like that?" she asked, before her fingers slipped and she gave a light curse that sounded oddly like she said 'horsefeathers'. But what'd say that?

"So, what exactly do you need to come here for? If you're looking for a bike to auction off for a fundraiser, sorry. They're all junkers still."

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    Itsuki brightens up at the mention of Morita. "Aa, Morita-senpai! Yes, she is a member of the Hero Club. We all do that kind of thing! We try to be heroes to the people in our community. You never know how an action on your part, big or small, might save someone in need. Not all problems are so huge that people working together can't solve them!" So, Morita-senpai was doing something like that, eh? That's so great!
    "Anyway, um, no there was a motorcycle accident, and the driver was injured, and I have been trying to find out if anyone knows more about it... They weren't mentioned in the news report, so..." She isn't sure how to bring up, 'so I guess there's magic keeping normal people from remembering or recognizing stuff like this, and I don't really understand how or why, but they may have forgotten a magical person who got hurt because of that, and I want to make sure they're okay.'
    Sort of a mouthful when you've just met someone.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "I see. Yeah... I mean, wouldn't most problems be huge enough that it'd take multiple people to solve them? Although, I guess some people are like.... bigger than others and able to do more. Ehhhh..." She shrugged.

"If it wasn't in the news, chances were the biker was fine. They're not going to run a news story for everybody who gets a fender bender or falls off their bike when they try to pop a wheelie."

Hinoiri, at least, didn't realize what Itsuki meant yet. After all, people had accidents all the time. So what if they didn't report it in the news?

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    "Well... The thing is..." Delicately, delicately. "I sort of... Saw--Or heard that someone saw them drive off an overpass and crash into the street below. It caused a bunch of damage, and there was a lot of reckless driving before that.--Is what I'm told! So, um. I was just... Wanting... To find out if that person was okay. They look--I heard they looked really angry and hurt, so..." She fidgets with her lunch bento.
    This secret identity stuff is harder than just being open about who she is!

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. "Fell... off an overpass?" she asked, glancing back towards Itsuki. "And this WASN'T on the news? Wait, they were okay? Of course they looked hurt! That's like... seven, eight meters high! And they just got up?" Hinoiri asked. "Sounds like..." Then paused. Looking confused... before returning to her food. "Wait."

"Are you talking about some kind of magic thing? I'm not magic, but I'm aware. Unless you saw someone actually fall off an overpass. If you did, I hope you called an ambulance, cause ow."

Fell off an overpass. Pfft. Who'd have--

... Wait. SHE FELL OFF AN OVERPASS! Was... was this girl talking about *her*?! She glanced back to Itsuki... The big green eyes filled with innocence... the adorable widdle uniform... The two lil front hair ties... Cute.

But her roommate was Double Trouble. She'd seen adorableness being weaponized. Had this girl managed.... to identify her? Figure out who she was? Had she been outed?! Tracked down here?

"When did this happen?" she asked, focusing on trying to remove a rather tight bolt...

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    If Itsuki notices anything suspicious, she doesn't react to it. She just scrunches up her face as she tries to remember... That was the first time she used the Yuusha System for something that wasn't fighting Vertex, wasn't it? "Eeto... Almost a month ago exactly, actually. I think. ...Is what my friend said, I mean!" Whew! Nice save!
    Then she pauses. "...Magic?" she asks in a very delayed reaction, eyes blinku blinkuing.
    That was a weird thing to bring up suddenly. Hm. Magic. Motorcycles. The bike club. A banged up girl. A busted up bike. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
    "...Can... Can motorcycles even be magic?" she asks hesitantly. That seems kind of dangerous. It probably causes a lot of crashes.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and then turned back to look at the girl. Was... was there brilliance hiding behind those big, green eyes? Was it the wisdom of a great mind?!

... Or was it the density of the crust of the earth?

She didn't know! Curses! "Your friend? I thought you said you saw them?" She cocked an eye. "And I don't know. They feel magical when you drive them. Sorry, kid, I don't know about any crash, though."

Now she just eyed the girl, searching for some sign of her true intentions...

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    "W-well... Friends were nearby... We were at the karaoke club, and then... You know... All of that happened. I saw it when I stepped outside, since we all became wobbly and dizzy suddenly. You know? So, um. I was nearby. To see. With my friends." She is tapping the tips of her index fingers together bashfully. "And... I was going to offer some of my lunch to anyone who might have information."
    She sighs. If a single person in the bike club doesn't know, then surely, this entire venue is a dead-end. "Well... Thank you for talking with me about it. Lunch time is almost over, so I should probably eat what's left of my bento..."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. Hmmm.... myabe she wasn't... Wait. Offering bits of her bento? Oh, kid... She gave a sigh. "Sorry, kid. If someone fell off that... well... they probably got hurt. But if they just walked it off? Likely no real issues. But hey..."

And mayyyyybe it was because the girl looked about Dianora's pretend age. But she pulled out a 1,000 yen note and scrunched it up, before tossing out to her(Wind resistance and all).

"Lunch is important, go get yourself a proper one. And don't give out your lunch for a... whatever this is. People here are pretty talkative. If you're looking to talk to someone about this stuff, look for Naru Osaka. Usagi-chan's roommate. She's always got her ear to the news sources. She'd be able to send you in the right direction. Until then, toodles." Pause. "But seriously, go get a proper lunch. Nutrients are important in school, you can't think properly if you're too hungry to do so."

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    Surprised by the sudden money floating towards her, Itsuki scrambles to grab it before it hits the ground, then looks at it in even more surprise. "Oh, um... Wow. Thank you! I'll go look for her then. After lunch. And class. Um... Thank you so much!" Then she smiles brightly. "You're a really good person. I'll bet you'd fit into the Hero Club perfectly if you wanted to join!" She recognizes the attempts to soothe her worries, to assure her that nobody died as a result of the crash, even if Itsuki herself was partially responsible for it. And she appreciates it.
    "Oh, my name is Itsuki Inubouzaki." She bows. She forgot to introduce herself all this time! How rude of her! "Anoo... Next time... Can I buy you lunch?" she asks as she stands near the door.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked and turned back towards the bike. Well. There went any belief she had that Itsuki was a mastermind or such. She thought Hinoiri was a 'good person'? Ha! Obviously she was delusional. Hinoiri was probably one of, if not the, nastiest person the girl would ever meet. "Heh. Not really my thing. I'm part of the yearbook club, though. So I'll probably swing by at one point or another to take pictures and the like. Maybe tell Naru-chan about this club, I'm sure she could recommend some members to you, even."

She gave a small nod. "And yeah, sure. You can buy me or make me lunch or whatever. So long as you actually make sure you eat your actual meals. Nutrition is important!" she called after her before moving to remove the final bolt. Woo, almost done!