1216/A Small Girl, A Small Favor

A Small Girl, A Small Favor
Date of Scene:	01 March 2024
Location:	Administrative Office
Synopsis:	Takashi comes to the school nurse seeking to find a more permanent place for Hotaru Tomoe to hide out.
Cast of Characters:	Takashi Agera, Setsuna Meiou

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Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi Agera needed somewhere more permanent than Kyouka's house to hold Hotaru. But he also needed someone who was trustworthy... who wasn't tied to Obsidian... who understood magic and quiet... it was a lot of things. Most of the people he knew were teenagers and lived in the dorms and that didn't even include the fact that he didn't actually trust most of them with a ham sandwich, much less Firefly/Hotaru. He'd been wracking his brain all day - and then he had an idea.

    Kyouka wasn't a long term choice, but Kyouka wasn't the only one of the Staff that he was pretty sure was magically-aware... and had a sort of commitment to looking after people. Maybe if she wasn't the right choice she could at least push him in the right direction. Worst case, he was no worse off - he was pretty sure she wasn't at all related to Obsidian and she already knew Hotaru was magical in some way for the same reason Takashi knew she was - they'd swapped sizes once.

    And this is why after classes, as the Radiant Heart Academy campus gets slightly less crowded as most of its student body leaves to have fuun, that he makes his way to the administrative wing... to the nurse's office.

    Because Nurse Meiou knew magic, and with the way she'd acted with Hotaru before, she cared. So now Takashi Agera heads to her office, hoping she hasn't already left for the day. Did the nurse ever leave? There were students on campus all the time, after all... he really should know more of these mundane things, he supposes.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
The infirmary at the Radiant Heart Academy is, as perhaps expected, just as swank as the rest of the school. It's a large, well-supplied room separated with some of those rolling medical divider walls. Fairly nice beds can be seen here and there through gaps, and the main area is set up like a typical waiting room/nurse's station, complete with posters giving info about various adolescent diseases/conditions/problems.

One poster that catches the eye is a small, framed one that looked like it might have been made on a printer with a sheet of A4 paper. It simply reads:

    'Please do not confuse your GOOGLE search with my medical degree.'

As classes are over for the day, things are winding down in the Admin wing. Most of the teachers/administrators have already taken the chance to knock off at the very first opportunity...though as suspected, the Infirmary is still apparently open at the moment.

Still, once the young man pokes his head in the office...at first look, it'll seem abandoned...but a second look, especially by the observant will indicate that it's still occupied.

For one, there's a softcover book facedown on the counter...with a bookmark sticking out of it that looks like nothing more than a hole in space made manifest.

Pure, sheer, unrelenting black that seemingly no light escapes from.

Once one peels their eyes from that distraction, however, it's reasonably easily spotted that there's a closet door in the back corner that's open...and a good ear will hear the sound of someone rummaging around in there.

And sure enough, a few moments later, Nurse Meiou walks out of said closet and closes it behind her before pausing and turning to look over at Takashi. She gives him a slightly curious look as she asks, "Ah. Mister Agera. What brings you here this late in the afternoon? No injuries, I hope."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi shakes his head. "None new, anyways!" he says cheerily. "I am sorry, though. I have come here for... I'm not sure if it's a solution or just a direction to look." he says.

    "It's a complicated problem that..." Takashi pauses, turns, looks down the hallway and confirms it's empty.

    "Do you remember the girl that you shared a candybar with and there swapped sizes with? I feel like it'd be a hard thing to forget, but it's kind of how I know you can possibly help here, so either way I felt like I should bring it up." Takashi begins.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou blinks...then tilts her head up to address the room at large a little more clearly, "Niti-chan...security mode, please."

A pleasant, synthesized voice responds from a little speaker in the corner, "Certainly, Nurse Meiou."

And with that, the blinds flip over to blackout mode and the door closes and locks itself, "There, Mister Agera. Now that we can't be easily disturbed or eavesdropped upon, feel free to speak more freely."

Absently, she waves the young man at one of the waiting chairs and she takes another for herself, "Please, have a seat. Now, what's this about Miss Tomoe, and how can I help?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi takees a breath. "Well, I'm hoping you can, anyways. Inai-sensei has been helping a little bit, but it's not really a long term solution, and she needs stability." he explains. "But starting from the top. Hotaru Tomoe, daughter of Professor Souchi Tomoe, who is head of Tomoe LifeScience, which is part of Obsidian." he says, leaning back. "She had... an episode recently. She's magic. You may have met her, you may have not. I don't know who you are and it might be better to keep it that way anyways."

    "But her other name is Firefly."

    "And recently I have come into the knowledge..." Directly, but he's not going to say that "... that she had a crisis relating to the energy within her body. She tells me that's been contained now, that one of her benefactors was able to rebuild whatever is being used to hold it back. But she fears that returning to Obsidian will... or even just may... cause the whole process of keeping it held back to regress or worse." He says, picking his words carefully and trying not to reveal too much.

    "So... that's difficult because she's twelve. And Professor Tomoe is... not exactly super happy with his daughter being missing? So a lot of those of us who could shelter her, can't." he says.

    "She's been staying with Inai-sensei, but that's not really a good long term arrangement for either of them - I need somewhere for her to stay, with someone who won't turn her over if Obsidian comes knocking, who won't get rolled over in a fight if Obsidian comes swinging, and is willing to take in a 12 year old girl with a creepy doll for an indeterminate amount of time." he says, sighing. "I don't know if you know anybody like that, but - well, I'm starting to run out of options."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As Takashi starts laying out who Hotaru is the daughter of and where he works (all things Nurse Meiou technically knew...but which got kicked to the backburner of her mind due to all the various crises these days), her expression gets immediately concerned.

When Takashi reveals that Hotaru is Firefly, however...she blinks precisely once...then blows out a big breath as he goes through the rest of his explaination.

Sitting back a bit, she nods, "Well, I can see why you're concerned."

She then smiles softly, "...however, I will be MORE than willing to help Miss Tomoe. She's welcome to crash with me."

She holds up a closed hand, then starts showing fingers as she ticks off, "One, I've got the money to easily absorb a houseguest for indefinitely long. Two, I have been low-key looking for ways to improve the young woman's life ever since she first crossed my threshold here...and I'm CERTAINLY not going to just hand her back to Obsidian if they're as bad for her as you and I think they are. Third, as you might suspect, I have the magical contacts to not worry overly much about an assault, as I have a long speed-dial list of high-calibur backup on tap."

Granted, the top three candidates actually live in the household already, but she doesn't need to mention that.

She then smiles a bit, "So I will gladly take in Miss Tomoe and give her a place to stay...and with any luck down the line, we can find ways to more permanently improve the young lady's situation..."

She sighs, "But I imagine that is likely something for rather down the line. For now, we need to take care of her current needs."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi lets out a sigh of air he didn't even know he'd been holding in. "Good. That's good to hear. Firefly is a good person." he says. "I don't necessarily believe everyone in Obsidian is bad, or everyone fighting them is good, but I do think she's right that Obsidian is not good for her right now, and I do think they'll go to unacceptable lengths to retrieve her, and I do think that on my own I don't have the power to protect her. And hell, I live in the dorms so it's not like I have anywhere to put her either." he admits.

    "And I don't think you'd be the type to backstab Firefly, or Hotaru Tomoe. But I would like to know if the place you have in mind, as a houseguest, is somewhere you're also okay with me or other people visitng her..."

    He leans back and looks up. "She's very... warm... for a girl in her... situation, and she has friends. Magical and not. And I think that if she was cut off from them, it would be bad for her. Both as a person, and in terms of keeping herself together so she doesn't have a dangerous episode." He says.

    "I know I'm asking for a lot here and I don't really have anything to offer in return."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou blinks and arches an eyebrow, "Mister Agera, from everything I've seen, Miss Tomoe has had a very rough time of things...something I can QUITE empathize with. Despite that, on the occasions I have had to be in her company, she has been a delight to be around."

She then smile a little, "Now, as far as visitors, I'm alright with you and others coming over, but I will ask that you call ahead first. I'll taking steps to enhance my security again once she's there, and I will necessarily need a little warning to prepere if we're having visitors."

She taps her chin, "Now, I can't say as I really keep track of all the social circles and who is in them, but Miss Terios and her family live not terribly far away, Miss Mizuno is a protege of mine and visits fairly frequently...and she will likely leap at the chance to help keep Miss Tomoe's grades up...and Miss Tsukino visits from time to time...and I vaguely recall her mentioning have met Miss Tomoe once?"

She trails off after a moment in thought, then shrugs, "...and of course anyone else Miss Tomoe is friends with is almost certainly welcome to visit as long as they can keep secrets."

At Takashi's worry about what he's asking and what he can offer, Nurse Meiou shakes her head and waves him off, "You and she helped me out during that whole episode earlier, so if you MUST balance things that way, just think of this as me repaying the favor you paid me when you came to help Miss Tomoe and I after our little swap."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi nods. "That does make things a little easier, thinking of it that way. But I do feel like the asks aren't even so. I suppose let me know if you need anything? I mean, I go to school here so you can find me, too." he says.

    "I don't know all of those names, but if Hotaru-chan does that's good." he says, brightening a little bit. "The energy she's fighting doesn't do very well with despair or lonliness, so I've always tried to make sure she doesn't have reason to fall into either. And though her dad has not been... terribly attentive anyways... being away from him is going to be hard for her." he says.

    "Security is good, and Hotaru-chan will probably have the way to get help if she needs it too - her current boss is, I believe, in on this part of the plan too, though I haven't told him the specific details." What, was he gonna say it to a mirror?

    "She probably knows more people than I do, come to think of it. But all of tthis is really giving me a lot of... a lot of hope I didn't have. If we can keep her safe and contained, maybe other people can figure out how to help her in a more permanent manner." he says, nodding. "Cause that's the goal, of course. Get whatever she's dealing with settled so she can be a normal girl - or as normal as she can be anyways."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou nods, "Well, perhaps in the fullness of Time, we'll find a way to adress THAT problem as well..."

She then stands up and brushes her labcoat, "...but THAT'S something for FAR down the line. Right now we need to keep her safe and secure."

Walking over the the counter, she picks up her book and moves it over to her desk, revealing the cover to read 'So You've Just Arrived From a Parallel Dimension'.

A quick look is given around the infirmary as she checks to see if anything else is out of place, then the nurse nods, "So. When should we bring miss Tomoe in on this? If we're going to do this right away, I can make arrangements for a temp here tomorrow, that way I can be at home with Miss Tomoe while she settles in through the entire weekend."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi smiles. He doesn't get the Time reference, but he picks up that there's something there. "I never have enough time for all of the things I need to do. But at least maybe I have more time on this than I used to?" he says, shrugging. "It's hard to accomplish much in the magical world without Power."

    He tilts his head when he sees the book cover, and has a moment of wondering if he should buy the book for Catra. Wait, does Catra read? Wait, CAN Catra read? "I'll have to covertly reach out to her and Inai-sensei. And then loop back to you. Without getting seen, or picked up on, so my cellphone is out. Maybe I should get a burner." Another burner. "Which means it'll probably wait till the weekend proper? Easier for you, no temp."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou leans down to one of the bottom drawers of her desk, rummages around, then tosses something at Takashi...which turns out to be a cheap flip phone still in the sealed retail packaging, "Here you go. I usually keep one or two around here and there. Having one on hand can sometimes be INCREDIBLY handy at need."

She grins, "...like now."

At the comment on the weekend being easier, she shrugs, "Eh, it wouldn't be a huge imposition. I've got quite a lot of days off booked, and it's been pointed out to me that I am chronically bad at taking time off...so I would have been okay with the excuse."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi smiles and laughs. "Well, there's one thing we have in common besides being on the upper ends of standard deviation for height." he says, as he takes the phone. "I'll reach out to Hotaru-chan and others and see if we can move it up so you can have that excuse - but I'd still expect after classes tomorrrow unless you hear from me otherwise."

    "What's the number I should use to reach out to you for... non-school-related things?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou twirls her fingers...and a business card springs into being. On it is 'Setsuna Meiou' in Hiragana, Kanji, and Romanji letters as well as a phone number, "Here you go. My personal cell."

She hrms, "...well, if it's going to be at least a day...do you happen to know what she likes to eat? I'll make sure to stock up on some of her favorites."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi smiles. "Okay, this is going to be a little weird..." he begins, taking the business card "... though not as weird as swapping heights and ages... But Hotaru really really really likes pudding. You know, chocolate pudding. I think it's something her dad used to make for her, maybe? But whatever it is it's her favorite." he says. "I suppose that's not real food, though."

    "Honestly, she eats very little, because of the... situation with her limbs? So she likes also... things that she can eat for a while but are low calorie - pickles, stuff like that... And... cheap cookies. I don't know why, and I don't ask - Hotaru's diet usually doesn't crack the top ten of my Weird Stuff I've Seen This Week and I'm used to it."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou nods, "Got it. I just got a thing of those new Oreos they just came out with. You know, the ones with the pop rocks in?"

She nods, "...and I'll get a few things so I can make her pudding now and again."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi nods. "I should try and organize this now but..." he pauses, and turns back. "Thank you. That question, about what she likes to eat? That put me at ease. It's hard to think anybody could care for her well being as much as me, standing here, but I hope you can for a little while. And if not... just take care of her. She's a good kid who's been dealt a really, really, really tough hand. Tougher than you know so far, even with everything I've said."

    Tougher in fact than the boy who's leaving the room knows, too.