1450/Every girl wants Flour, right

Every girl wants Flour, right
Date of Scene:	25 April 2024
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	Hinoiri runs into Madoka in the super market and the girls chat about standard girl things. Flour, eggs, world domination... They give each other some advice and, maybe, learned a bit about each other.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Madoka Kaname

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was shopping! And, admittedly, cooking was... harder... now. Thanks to her roommate being a BRAT and getting her the new room that didn't have a stove, she had to cook in the common area, which she rarely did...

But, frankly, she wanted to give it a shot again. She, just maybe, might be able to find something she could cook worth it. She had a little cart with a few dozen different ingredients, eggs, cream cheese, different fruits... and was now looking over the flour. So many different brands and... She looked frustrated.

It was the flour, she suspected. Why things just... weren't... as good here. Back home? They were so... perfect. But here? Here it was just... it lacked the purity. The light, as it were... that made Pastry Patty's donuts so good...

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka Kaname is also shopping, because she's a good girl and her dad asked her to. She's also here with her baby brother sitting in the cart, because apparently in addition to shopping she's also babysitting. Tatsuya giggles as Gretchen hovers in front of him with her mask down, occasionally pulling it up and saying, "Peekaboo!"

    Medo is also here, looking at the shopping list in Madoka's hand and being judgemental about the nutritional information. "You need more vitamins in your diet!" she chides as Madoka half-ignores her, just trying to get through a day.

    "I know you're worried about our health, Medo-chan, but this is what papa asked me to buy so it's what I'm going to buy." Madoka is starting to get a bit tired. She's surrounded by three tiny, lively individuals who all have a lot more energy than her.

    "Well maybe you could pick healthier alternatives!" responds Medo. Madoka shrugs and turns the corner down the aisle and sees...

    "H-Hinoiri-san?" she says without thinking. Gretchen and Medo both look. Tatsuya makes a baby noise and then reaches up to get his big sister's attention.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara went still and then glanced over at Madoka. She moved back, lifting an arm as if to shield herself... then paused. Realized, sweet, no sparkles. She then sighed and looked over at her. "Madoka.... san," Hinoiri said. "What? I'm not making..." she trailed off before her eyes fell on the cart and Tatsuya.

"... That's... not a... your little flying kinder eggs don't get that big, do they?" Well, to be fair, it was a valid concern, there was no telling how BS the magic worked!

Then her eyes fell on Medo and Gretchen. She was about to say something else, then looked back to the boy. Then the eggs. Then groaned. "Wait, they don't combine into like... one big kid, do they? Or like... does the kid break down into a swarm of them? My gosh I wish I'd known more about how your thing works before you found out about me... Are you following me?"

She crossed her arms and glowered at Madoka... but... well... it did soften if the kid looked at her. She wasn't a monster. She didn't want to scare a little kid.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka hesitates before answering Hinoiri. Long enough for her to ask all of her questions, anyways. The pinkette glances down at Tetsuya, then back up at Hinoiri, and then wonders if a lie would even work here. Well, it might, but it'd probably just cause more annoyance further on down the line.

    "Yes, behold my true power. A tiny baby boy. If I Chara Transform with him, I can destroy worlds." Her tone indicates sarcasm more than any attempt at deception, though she's also a bit tense. She gives a meaningful glance at Gretchen. If need be, her little brother can be shoved into her Labyrinth at a moment's notice. He might be able to see the fairies at his age, but it could be arranged such that he doesn't remember the rest of what happened.

    Unless Hinoiri does something very vicious. She... wouldn't, would she?

    In a more serious voice, Madoka adds, "Actually, he's my little baby brother, whom I will never allow anything bad to happen to. Ever." She picks him up out of the cart, thinking that the safest place for him is in her arms right now. Tatsuya curiously looks over at Hinoiri and immediately notices her red and yellow hair color, looking her over with a single tiny finger over his open mouth.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort. "Ahhhh, truly got one of the b-list powers there, didn't you?" she asked in a teasing tone. She even smiled, none the less. "And really? Huh. Usagi has one too. I wonder if it's a thing amongst you sparkles. Your parents just instinctively have a second child. To replace you in case anything bad happens. Or maybe just distract them so they don't notice if you disappear for a while. Heh. Who knows? Magic is weird."

However, when the boy looked up at her, she just smiled down at him. "Hi there, kiddo, don't worry," she said in a soft, soothing tone. "You're in good hands." Then she glanced up to Madoka.

"I don't involve the powerless, Madoka-san. I certainly don't... whatever you're imagining right now. First of all, I'm not a monster. Second of all, well. I'm already a lot tougher than you. I wouldn't need to sink to that level to beat you. And even if I couldn't without that?"

"I don't do victory at any cost. There's *always* a cost too high. When I win, I win on my terms. Because I was good enough. So don't look so worried, I'm not a... physical danger to them."

And then, a mischievous grin.

Madoka was holding up the kid. Her arms were full. So she reached into her pocket and...

MIRACLE POPS! She pulled out two suckers and gave one to the kid... and if Madoka's mouth was open, would stuff one into her mouth.

"I won like a thousand of these things, so enjoy."

Okay, so still an ASS.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka watches closely as Hinoiri responds to her sarcasm. Well, they're joking around. So that's... something at least. She goes from panicked to quietly tense as Hinoiri discusses what her limits are. When she speaks to Tetsuya, she starts to actually believe that they aren't in danger.

    "Toughness isn't everything," she says, "but you already know that."

    Madoka... is mostly tense and quiet, but... she's not going to start a fight here if Hinoiri doesn't. Whether or not she'd win or lose, she doesn't really know, but she's not going to be the first to throw a punch. Well, not today.

    It isn't until there's a sucker suddenly in her mouth that Madoka's tension actually breaks. Medo is the first to speak up, flailing at her pinkette Bearer as if this is her fault. "Hey, wait a minute what exactly is the nutritional information on these?! You better brush your teeth as soon as we get home!"

    Tetsuya, meanwhile, smiles up at Hinoiri and silently consumes the sucker. It makes an effective pacifier.

    As Madoka pulls the Miracle Pop out of her mouth and looks at it, she raises an eyebrow. "Oh. It looks like the thing Sailor Moon was chasing." There's a pause, and then a sigh, before she says, "Okay, fine. I guess you do have limits. Apparently they don't stop you from draining people, but that's not as bad as actually hurting them. Well, I have limits too, and I have no intention of messing up your personal life, following you anywhere, or anything like that. I'm sure Saya-chan would start hating me if I was the one who took things too far."

    Gretchen crosses her arms and gives Hinoiri a suspicious look. The masked fairy eventually says, "I really don't get you sometimes."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light shrug. "It's not. Toughness. Power. All of that. It's... important. But application, it all comes together. And that's why I'll win in the end, Madoka-san." Pause. "Just be grateful me winning isn't such a bad thing for most of you."

She snorted at the fairy's little panic attack. "Oh, they're sugar. So likely... just sugar. And yeah, Chiyo-chan... made them," she said, a frown on her face when she took another out. "Won a weird contest. Heh. Got so many of them. Weird, right? As if some pretty crystal could grant a miracle..." she muttered, before shaking her head and looking to Gretchen.

"I'm not that hard to get. It's simple, really. I want power. I *will* become strong enough, powerful enough, worthy enough to ascend. And I'll earn it, by my own means. With my own power. That's what sets me apart. Most of the people there? In Obsidian? They want it handed to them. They want it given to them. They think they deserve it, like it's some kind of birthright. But me? I'll succeed. Because I will *earn* it. I'm already so much stronger than any of you. Now I just need to become stronger than five of you. Then ten of you. Then so many of you that it won't matter anymore. You won't be able to stop my ascension..."

She then turned and picked up a bag of flour. "It's like baking, you see. You can't make the best cake by using shoddy ingredients. You can't become stronger by making people face you at their *weakest*. It's not about *beating* you lot. It's about being *able* to beat you lot. That's all there is to it, simple, no?"

She then glanced to Gretchen and her eyes narrowed. "You, on the other hand... don't you think you have someone else you should be trying to understand?"

She then glanced back to Madoka. "And... probably. Sayaka is... special," Hinoiri said, her face a little red. "She's... good. Really good. All the way in her core. But she's far too self sacrificing. I... am admittedly... always a little worried about her. That she'll push herself a bit too hard. So as much as you and I dislike each other... I figure we should at least try to not beat each other... too much... for her sake."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka, for her part, hears what Hinoiri has to say. Her whole villain speech sounds a lot like a motivational speaker gone... competitive I guess. Honestly, there might be a part of her who understands why Sayaka would still want to be friends with this person, even if she was on the wrong side. Not all members of Obsidian are equally terrible, she supposes.

    "I actually wouldn't be surprised, so long as it was the right magic crystal. Most things like that come with a cost," she says, with an amount of wisdom that she probably shouldn't have. Maybe she's read too many stories, or maybe she's just thinking about Kyubey. "In my case, I got... most of what I wanted, only to realize that there was something else I wanted more. Maybe ambition is just like that. Maybe I'm greedy."

    She places Testuya back into the kiddie seat of the shopping cart, now no longer worried that Hinoiri would do something truly vile. Maybe she's overthinking things. Maybe she's judged this girl a little too harshly. "I can't really say that I agree with your methods, but I think you have the right attitude. Were Brai here, she'd probably agree with you, too. Entitlement doesn't really get you anywhere in the long run, but working on yourself makes a huge difference."

    Gretchen crosses her arms and retorts, "For the record, I understand her just fine. She's the one who doesn't get it." Madoka looks guilty for a moment, then reaches over to pat Gretchen on the head. The Witch chara mostly ignores her, but doesn't really move away. Headpats are the least she could do to make up for her failures as a Chara Bearer!

    Madoka continues, "As for Sayaka... fine. As long as all you're doing is draining people, as long as you aren't killing them like some would, I can agree to... maybe not a 'truce', but a certain sense of fair play. Harassing each other out of henshin, needless fighting over petty things... I have better things to do, and if you're serious about what you just told me then so do you."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara rolled her eyes. "Miracles aren't something that just pop into existence with a magic rock. They..." Then she trailed off. And thought about Sayaka. And the miracle she'd been given. "... Well, fine. They rarely do. Trusting some stupid rock to do everything for you like that, it's just lazy. It's trying to shove things aside, rather than facing the challenges themselves. It's pathetic."

She gave a light snort and looked to Madoka with a cocked eye. "Some call it ambition. Some call it greed. But if you are willing to work for it, fight for it, live for it? It's not greed to want what you deserve." She then put the flour back on the shelves before grabbing a different brand. "Maybe this one will be better."

She put it into her cart before shaking her head. "Making your dreams the reality takes hard work and determination. When I succeed, when you all fail to stop me? Just remember that. The big difference between me and all of you? I was able to control things so they didn't go too far. I had enough power to stop it before it got out of hand. That's what makes me better. The drive, the control, the effort. I don't just accept the hand dealt to me. I make it mine."

She then turned and cocked an eye. "Or maybe that's just something humans are bad at. But no, I don't kill. That's more your lot's jam." She started to push the cart away... then paused. And then pulled out a handful of the suckers and basically thrust them on Madoka. "Here. For you and your brother. Don't overthink it, they'll go bad if I hold onto them too much longer and they put too much effort in them to just let that happen. It was nice clearing this up, Madoka. Happy I could let you know where you stand." She then turned to flounce off.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    This is a strange heart to heart, and not one that Madoka ever thought she'd have. So, this is how Hinoiri-san thinks. It's actually... not that evil or bad. It's pride, she guesses, or maybe it's just hard work corrupted by dark energy. Much like how Gretchen's concern for Madoka's growth gets turned into constantly berating her for not doing enough.

    Madoka points out the brand of flour that she came here to get and says, "Papa prefers this brand. He's kinda like Makoto-san. Well, I mean... in terms of being able to cook, not... punching and throwing."

    Madoka follows her own unsolicited advice and takes the flour for herself, just moments before a bunch of suckers are thrusted into her hands. She... isn't sure where to put these at first, so she just stuffs them into her school bag. She figures if they were too bad, either Medo or Gretchen would be raising more of a fuss.

    As Hinoiri starts to leave, Madoka turns around to say, "I hope you keep that attitude after you lose and get purified! It's one of your better qualities." Taunting and smack talk, apparently, are apparently not specifically condemned under whatever agreement that they just made.

    Tetsuya, meanwhile, watches Hinoiri leave and waves, calling out, "Bye bye!"

    Once Gretchen thinks that Hinoiri is out of earshot, she grabs one of the Miracle Pops out of Madoka's bag and says, "Gimmie one! I want it." Then she shoves it into her tiny mouth and ignores Medo's insistence that she, too, must brush her teeth later.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara noteably... did get the other flour, as well. Not that she commented on it... after all. Who knew? Maybe Madoka was right. She wasn't too arrogant to believe she might not always know the best in that stuff.

She also scoffed at that notion. "Please. I've been purified and without dark energy before, I'd jsut get more if THAT happened. It feels kind of nice, but... sometimes you have to learn to accept the pain to get what you want. And I'm just filled with good qualities, you should ask Sayaka!" she taunted.

The suckers, at least, were good. Chiyo outdid herself.