1227/Just a little something...

Just a little something...
Date of Scene:	03 March 2024
Location:	Cafeteria Plaza
Synopsis:	Hinoiri gives Chiyo a gift, for Sailor Moon... and Usagi and Chiyo finally come clear to her... And Hinoiri accidentally comes clear to them. Two of the three handle it better than the last.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Chiyo Sakai, Usagi Tsukino

---

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had been thinking of it a while now and, frankly... well... she'd never really properly thanked Sailor Moon for the rescue. And saving her ex-girlfriend. So, she figured it was time. She'd gotten a small gift, just a little something fancy. She'd thought about getting Sailor Moon some like, moon pies. But she was CHIYO! She worked in a candy shop. EVERYONE probably got her candy. So instead? She was going to get her something special. Just for her.

So in the small case... was a glass decoration with this small, internal 'fae' girl on a moon, touching the stars... and a small black enamel and pearl gold rose/moon brooch.

Rare, expensive, and definitely identifiable. And when she saw Chiyo sitting by Usagi, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Chiyo-san," she called out, walking to her and... "Happy I got to see you today. I ummm... listen, I know you're going to say it was nothing, but well... I just wanted to thank you for um. Two things, I guess. Helping me this weekend, for one," she said, before sliding a small, red box to her. "And for the uhhh... miracle with Sayaka-chan. Really. It... I can't... really thank you enough. So ummm... here," she said.

Before quickly starting to make her retreat!

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Lunch time. With all the good things the cafeteria served, Chiyo was enjoying her lunch. A nice pile of rice with some curry, some naan, some veggie sides. It was good. She was also trying to get Usagi to eat some of the healthier stuff as well when she could. Sometimes it was as easy as just sliding it onto her plate while she was in the middle of scarfing and it would go away on it's own in a bite or two.

Currently she's just eating her own meal watching Usagi in case she needs to jump in to give her cousin the heimlich from eating too fast. "You really should slow down and enjoy--" she starts out when she suddenly looks up in surprise at Hinoiri's approach.

"This weekend?" Oh, right, she'd been saved by Sailor Moon and still thought it was her. "You really don't need to... I'm telling you, that wasn't me!" she blurts out quietly so as to not risk being overheard by others.

Aaand she finds herself with a little box that she stares at only to open, and tilt her head thoughtfully over. "On the one hand, this is clearly not meant for me. On the other... I've never really gotten a gift that wasn't food related." That much was true. She just lets out a little sigh and tips the box toward Usagi so SHE can see it. It was clearly meant for her.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's lunchtime, which is historically one of Usagi's favorite times, and also historically, the easiest time for chatting about magical things in the open without being noticed. Usagi and Chiyo's lunch hasn't really breached the realm of magical shenanigans, mostly because they've both been enjoying their own lunches!

Today, Usagi's having chicken katsu curry in a kimchi butter sauce over rice and macaroni salad, with scallions and lettuce (TWO vegetables!). It's delicious, and she's contemplating thirds. "But I am! I am enjoying it - oh, Hinoiri-chan!"

And then.

Hey, wait?

Wasn't this actually a gift for her, then? What? Uh?

She doesn't actually squawk, but she does lean in to see - "Oh, those are pretty. Chiyo-chan, these are awesome! Are you going to put them in your room?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was... not actually fully leaving. She was heading off to get her breakfast! Giving the two girls a chance to, well... talk. After the 'gift'. Oh dear heavens.

She uhhhh... was stacking her tray up. She was hungry. Fruits. Veggies. A desert (it was a cupcake, delicious). It wouldn't be too long until she returned. Didn't even ask if she could sit there.

She did, however, give a small smile. "So what have you two been up to?" she asked. Then glanced to Usagi. You know... now that she thought about it... Daifuku HADN'T been at the rescue at all. Had Usagi just... not... cared?

... No. Naru was there. She'd have come for her, right? For... Naru... Not her, fine. But definitely Naru.

Daifuku, obviously, just had been operating behind the scenes. Likely in other, more subtle ways. No way USAGI wouldn't have shown. "How'd your date go, Chiyo-chan?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"I... Maybe? I mean I didn't really do anything to earn these," Chiyo responds to Usagi, whispering back to her trying to keep it quiet. "It is pretty though," she has to admit as she lifts the little fairy globe out to set in front of Usagi so she could look at it easier. Curious, she lifts out the dark moon and rose pin to regard it herself.

"We shoud probably tell her the truth at this point. I mean, I get trying to keep it secret from Sunbreaker, but Hinoiri..." Ah, darn that veil! It had issues all around.

Just in time it would seem that Hinoiri returns earning her attention jerking back to her with a sheepish smile. "Oh! Oh that. It went pretty good I think?" She looks between the two, who at least knew she had been on a date since she'd been texting them both at the time. "He said he's been on a lot of dates before and they usually didn't go more than two or three dates. But that I was the first one he'd asked out--Usually girls ask him out." An awkward pause. "Is that something I should worry about?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Yeah, but she gave them to you, and I mean, I like them, but you like them too," she looks at the moon, rose, and pearl pen, which is the one she likes the most for very obvious reasons. The fae girl on the moon is beautiful too, of course, but the crescent moon and rose one...

"I know, I just don't want to embarrass her! But she'll probably find out before long... so it's probably better to tell her before she finds out by accident?"

She definitely wouldn't want to tell Sunbreaker, probably, because that was a whole mess, but Hinoiri-chan -

"Oh! Welcome back! Your lunch looks super healthy!" Delicious. Totally. "Ah - wait, he said what?"

What.

"Chiyo-chan... did you go on a date with a player?! Do you have a picture of him?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took a small bite of her apple and nodded to Usagi. "It is pretty healthy. But... also delicious. And... huh. Honestly? I think it depends."

"Did he just volunteer that information out of the blue, not mentioning anything but that? Or did you ask him and he told you? Cause like... if he did the former, it sounds like he's kind of a jerk and trying to make you nervous since 'Hey, girl, I can replace you'. If you asked him something and it led to that? Not really. It's just him telling the truth. If he was single and some girl asked him out, why wouldn't he at least give her a chance? Even if they don't hit it off, at least they'd learn about each other. And you can't exactly know who or what you'll like if you don't try. The fact it didn't work out doesn't mean you two won't work out. Maybe he just turns out to like... not be into the kinds of girls who ask boys out? Everyone's got a preference."

Pause. Glanced to Usagi and... "By the way, I think we can cancel the sleep over. I have a new girlfriend. She's... unique. Goes to another school, but I'll try and introduce you soon."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai fidgets a little bit, stirring her curry and rice together so that she gets a single big mouthful that she quickly shovels in giving herself a moment to just. Acclaimate to the conversation as it is. A player!? That hadn't even occured to her.

The mouthful is gulped down, and she looks to Usagi eyeing the pen which she slides over with a grin. Then she looks back to Hinoiri with a sigh.

"We should tell her," she remarks, quietly, only to look the other girl in the eye. "Hinoiri-chan, I am *not* Sailor Moon. But I am sitting next to her," she utters with a slow nod.

At least until her eyes drop back to her lunch. "... I... He brought it up himself, but said he wasn't trying to not make me feel special. That he was just wanting to be honest." Her hand dips down to pull her phone out to flip through till she finds a picture of Kukai from that day with his hair smooshed under his beanie hat. "Here, this is him. He's just joining the school. Turns out he went to the same school that Tadase-san did, too."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Yeah, honesty is the best policy - CHIYO-CHAN I THOUGHT WE'D HAVE TIME, YOU CAN'T THROW ME UNDER THE BUS LIKE THIS!

Usagi freezes up, a rictus grin on her face, fork halfway to her mouth. The fork drops back to the plate, and Usagi laughs a little awkwardly, kicking Chiyo (softly!) under the table.

"Um - aha - umm, yes, that's tru...ue."

Chiyo-chan why!

"Hinoiri-chan, we didn't want to lie, but when you um - assumed our identities, at first I didn't want to correct you because I didn't know if Chiyo-chan would want her real identity known, so I figured it was okay, but then - a lot of stuff happened."

A lot of things.

"So... that's the truth. I'm Sailor Moon. I'm really glad you and Sayaka-chan are okay now."

A beat.

"You have a what?!"

ALREADY?! Hinoiri-chan! Her power!!

The amount of relationship drama at this lunch table... it was truly passing regulation limits!

Turning to Chiyo-chan she says - "That might be a good thing. Considering he like, told you up front, and everything?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had completely been sidetracked. She didn't even hear the stuff about Kukai. Because her mind was locked onto one thing.

Usagi... was Sailor Moon? She blinked a few times. Staring at her. And as the veil parted. More things clicked into place.

Usagi was Sailor Moon.

Chiyo was Daifuku.

And it was so obvious. The hair. but... but... "That's impossible!" Hinoiri snapped at Usagi. "When I attacked the jewelry store, Sailor Moon sto--" And then she covered her mouth with both hands, the horror on her face evident.

Because she'd just outted herself.

After everything. All of her efforts. All of her struggles. Putting up with the kidnapping. Not revealing herself to Naru. The pain. The hunger. The risk of actual death. After. Everything.

And she outted herself. She... revealed who she was. To them.

And they could see the horror melt away. See it turn to anger... see the fury in her eyes. The urge to just... destroy them. Herself. She was SO STUPID! She'd worked so hard... for what? So she could out herself a day later?

And they could hear something... like a weird crack... a moment later. Weird. When a heart broke, you usually couldn't actually... hear it.

And slowly, her hands lowered. But the fury didn't. She reached down and took a bite of her apple. Her hand shaking. What was she supposed to say? Usagi wasn't stupid. There had really only been... one attack on the jewelry shop... well, as far as she knew. And at the very least she'd outed herself as a villain. What should she say? What COULD she say?

"Damnit..." she finally muttered with a sigh.

... And now Usagi would hate her. Well. FINE! She didn't care. She didn't need them. She didn't need ANY of them. She didn't need their... fake platitudes or fake friendships or fake companionship or ANY OF THAT! "Just... I guess that crap is Usagi's then..."

She wished she'd learned proper time magic. DAMN IT!

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Attacked?" Did she... say she attacked the jewelers? Chiyo hadn't known that it had been attacked. She wasn't as close of friends with Naru as Usagi was, she'd barely even visited that store. Her eyebrows draw together with a frown. Usagi might get it. SHE? She did not. Not yet.

At least, she got the gist of *some* of it... just not the actual identity of Hinoiri.

Her fork lowers to her plate with a simple nod as she nudges the items she'd been gifted over toward Usagi. "I didn't feel right taking what I hadn't earned," she explains. "And yes I'm Daifuku," she adds in as well. It might seem she's about to say more, but...

Instead she pauses regarding the apparently angry Hinoiri for a few long moments. Then the first thing that comes to mind is, "Do you need help, Hinoiri? If you need to get away from... some place bad... We can help." It wouldn't be the first time someone they knew had been caught up by the darker side of things after all. Sometimes you just needed to help them out.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And Usagi - stares.

Not in anger. Not in horror. In something more like... confusion, definitely, bafflement, to be sure, shock and the faintest of fear and an ever-growing, ever-increasing compassion.

"Hinoiri-chan," she says, slowly, the weight of realization heavy in her voice, "Sayaka-chan already knew, didn't she?"

This was why Hinoiri had blamed herself. This was why Sayaka had seemed so surprised, at the rescue scene.

Finally, she understands why Mamoru had been so determined not to reveal anything about Firefly.

Slowly, she stretches out a hand, catching Hinoiri's unless otherwise stopped. "Sailor Moon did stop the jewelry store. I fell down behind the reciption area, and then I transformed while I was down."

A pause.

"I'm still glad you're both okay. I meant what I said there."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took a bite of her apple, just chewed on it. Well? WELL?!

A little bit of apple juice spritzed when she squeezed the apple too hard. Did she need help? DID SHE NEED HELP?! Yes she needed help!

She needed someone to help her work.

She needed someone to help her understand why having friends was important.

She needed someone to help her explain to Sora why she didn't understand, why she had to work so hard.

She needed help so badly. But you know what? Help never came. It would never come for her. Because she wasn't... enough. "I don't. Need. Help. I've never. Needed. Help. I will. Never. Need. Help. From. Any of. You. And yes. Sayaka knows."

She finally looked up to see Usagi's eyes and... that did it. The apple was crushed to pulp in her hand. Don't look at her like that. Don't look at her as if there is anything good. Anything kind. As if there's anything of value in her. Her hand shook and then she looked to Chiyo. "Don't. Neither of you. Just... don't. I'm not... I don't... I almost killed your grandfather. Because I fucked up. Okay?" she snapped at Chiyo. "Because I wanted just one bucking part of my world to come here with me and he offered to *help*. Because, of course, dark energy had to infect it. Because..." She slammed a hand down on the table, picking up a carrot stick. "I don't have any magic here, princesses. I'm as helpless as bucking Naru. So I have to break dark energy into working for me. Back home? I'm the most powerful mage you've ever seen. Second only to Sora herself. But here? I don't have some fancy trinket, no chosen by some magical fairy, no super special one in a million reborn princess. Everything I have. Everything I am, I made for myself."

She then sighed and glanced to Usagi. The girl's compassion met with disdain. "Sora damnit. I should have just said 'oops, a slip of the tongue, I meant when I saw it being attack'. But even you wouldn't be stupid and gullible enough to believe it at this point." When you were hurting, well... why be honest when you could just be hurtful? She took a bite of the carrot.

"... Probably for the best. You were all going to find out eventually. Hinoiri Kirara. The shimmering of the setting Sun. Sunbreaker, she who will make the sun set eternally for Sora. Creator of the Eclipse Zones. The most powerful mage in in this world and, frankly, your greatest enemy. And I reveal my identity over something as stupid as your stupid identities. Just... buck it."

"... You can't beat me. You can't win me over. You will never, ever stop me. You can't sparkle at me and make me be your friend. I know exactly what you are offering me and the fact of the matter is *I don't care*. I don't *want* it. I don't deser-- ire it. So thanks. For not letting me die in La Crima's stupid plan, even though you probably should have. It probably would have gone better for you lot."

"... Attacking me when I can't fight back has really been the only chance any of you ever had."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Dammit. Chiyo listens to Hinoiri just *spiral* and ... and she was right, Ojiisan had nearly died. She'd been so angry. There had been time for that anger to simmer down though, and the worst of it 'burn away' as it were. The urge to point out that she'd met her head on and had made Sunbreaker *eat wall* is definitely there.

It's not what would help her to hear right now.

A deep breath is taken, and she blurts out, "The flowers are growing."

Beat. A pause, as she lets that sink in. "We purified them. They turned back into seeds... And one of us took them and planted them, and they're growing just fine." Makoto had told her herself the last time they spoke. "So there is a part of your home here. It didn't turn out 'right' at first, but it is now." And to prove her point? She flips through photos on her phone and holds it up and out toward Hinoiri to display an image of the blossoming flowers just as they should be, and without the darkness that had imbued them before. The rest she'll leave up to Usagi.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Hinoiri-chan."

Quiet and firm. The hurtful words bounce off, because in this moment, she's not having to control - so much. Because Hinoiri is her friend. And Hinoiri has always been a bit of a mean girl. And Hinoiri being Sunbreaker makes so much sense that it makes her honestly feel a little sick, but that's not helpful right now.

Right now she is looking at the gifts Hinoiri picked out, the ones she offered, as a thank you, because that is Sunbreaker as much as the many, many memories of things that make her angry.

Sunbreaker kidnapped Naru and almost killed her. Sunbreaker told her about the fake silver crystals. Sunbreaker gave her the key to stop her nightmares. Hinoiri has been her friend.

"You're not my greatest enemy. Sorry, I know you like to be the best at everything, because you're frankly really good at a lot of things, but - you don't get that one. And you didn't deserve to die for La Crima's dumb plan, or because the Outer Senshi were pissed at you for all the things you did, and okay, sure, you have to use Dark Energy to use your powers..."

Slow exhale.

"But that doesn't make you beyond hope, you know? You want to beat Sora and prove she was wrong, and I... can't blame you for that, even if I hate your methods. But I'm really not convinced you don't want our help, because right now, you're just trying to drive us away."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. "W-what?" she asked. For all of her huff, her fire, her flames... Hearing that... She was about to call them out. To call them liars. To say it was... just fake. A lie to--

And then the evidence. And, for just a moment, when the pictures were shown... The anger faded away. And that small smile on her lips showed just... how much she'd missed them. The glistening to her eyes...

Just a second before she shook her head. "I-I don't care," she lied. "You should have destroyed them. They're... they're useless. They're just flowers. Nothing but--"

But... but Usagi took the wind out of her sails again. And she wilted. She crumbled. "I..." she whispered. Looking to Usagi. "Why... why are you people like this? I am your enemy. I am your... you should hate me. You should loathe me. I am... I am hurting all of you. And I won't stop. I'll never stop until I have everything I want..."

"I don't belong here, don't you get it? I'm not one of you. Why do you have to make it so *hard?!*" she finally yelled, standing up and slamming both of her hands down. "I hate you! I HATE ALL OF YOU! WHY CAN'T ANY OF YOU JUST GIVE ME THE SATISFACTION OF HATING ME TOO?! WHY ARE YOU ALL SO SORA DAMNED PERFECT?!" she yelled. Before, finally, she shoved her tray, spilling the contents of her meal, as well as their own, all over them. Before she turned and just ran off.

On the upside... the gift would be undisturbed, as it was off to the side.

On the downside they'd... likely need to get cleaned up. Also, Hinoiri was so getting detention for that.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai lowers her phone to the table so that the picture of the flowers is still up. Still able to be glanced at as it seemed to have worked just a bit. For all her ability to help people, to purify or heal or feed them, she did not have the way with words that Usagi did.

"No. You didn't belong *there*, where you were, with that Sora person. They sound kind of bitchy and awful honestly..." And it's too late regardless. She was soft spoken when she wasn't Daifuku. It was just... her voice never carried much. While she'd gotten a bit better there was no way she was going to be able to be heard over Hinoiri just losing it like that and throwing food over onto them.

It's a good thing she put the phone to the side because she's wearing curry at the moment with her eyes squeezing shut tight. "... If only I could smack sense into people," she utters beneath her breath as she slowly stands to kind of shake off the mess she was now wearing. So was Usagi though. "Uh. Could we... maybe hit your dorm, Usagi-chan?" They could clean up quicker that way. And get snacks.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's too late to argue anything else. Hinoiri-chan is gone and Usagi is blinking away fruit juice and vegetable juice and kimchi butter, rice grains and macaron salad sticking to her clothes. There are people watching, and some of them are snickering. Others are watching in concern. Someone looks like they might be going for a teacher...

Slow exhale.

"Sometimes, I really want to throttle that girl," she mutters darkly, then does her best to brush off as much of the mess as she can. She is not cleaning this up, sorry lunch room staff!

"Yeah, we can hit up my dorm. We can clean up, and you can borrow some of my clothes for the day; I've got plenty of spare uniforms, and we're pretty close in size, I think?"

The words are said with an artificial lightness. Her eye is twitching.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Close enough to make it work," Chiyo admits even though she had a biiit of height on Usagi. It wasn't that much, really, it just meant being careful with how to sit in her skirt. She's likewise sweeping a bit of the food off herself only to scoop up her phone, and the box that had been gifted before this fiasco.

"I'm sorry, I guess I should have waited until we told the secret. My mistake." Like until there wasn't food as ammo. And off she goes following Usagi.