1955/Mahounet: The Math Ain't Mathing

Mahounet: The Math Ain't Mathing
Date of Scene:	17 September 2024
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Rashmi calls Hinoiri to the rooftop for a working lunch. The project; to work out how to make a communications spell that can be handed out in portable to all mahou regardless of magical type. Also news about the hunts that Tomoe and Easter are staging is exchanged, and much more besides. But the important part: this is not a project that would work, without Hinoiri's knowledge.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Hinoiri Kirara

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Rashmi Terios has posed:
During morning homeroom, Hinoiri might be surprised to get a text from Rashmi:

    << Hey Hinoiri-chan! Would you mind meeting on the rooftop at lunch? Koji-kun and I have a project going, and we both decided it absolutely would not work without your help. I'll bring cookies from that shop a couple blocks from the entrance. >>

Come lunchtime, Rashmi is indeed within sight of the door to the roof, her bento to one side and an open book on her lap. On the other side of her is a large paper bag, printed with the cheery mascot of the bakery in question.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times when she read the text. That was... interesting. They needed her help? Maybe her talents were FINALLY being appreciated around here. First Usagi was trying to get her magic with some girl with sunshine, now Rashmi needed her help.

... And for a moment, the gnawing thought hit her mind. All of this happened AFTER she got magic again. What if... that... was why? What if her just having magic again was what caused people to notice her again? Could magical girls sense it? Did they know?

Did magical girls have pheromones?!

Either way, when lunch came she joined her, walking up the stairs with her tray and sliding in besides her. "So, I hear you need a genius?" Hinoiri said in a playful tone.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As the door opens, Rashmi's head snaps up. Upon spotting Hinoiri, her face breaks out into a grin as she marks her place in the book. "Hinoiri-chan! Matter of fact I do! Have some cookies, I'll explain."

Detaching her charm from her bow, she activates Nicomachea, letting the book float a few centimeters above her lap. The crystal at the center of his cover gleams, and a blank, holographic screen pops into view. "So... What I want to do is to create a communications system that we can all hook into. I have communications system parts scavenged from the Arthras, and I have enough of an idea on how Mid-Childan technology works that I could probably put it together... But to make it one hundred percent reliable, I need a way for *all* types of magic to be able to work with it. And the only person I know who's even *working* on how sound reacts across magical types, also happens to be way better in math than I can ever manage to be. Koji-kun has some ideas based on how Earth microphones work that *feel* like they could be adaptable... But that's aboooout as far as we got, before we both decided that we wouldn't get any farther without you."

Glancing aside at Hinoiri, Rashmi grins. "So, whaddaya say? Want to have your name attached to the very first Mahounet?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded along, listening and... huh. Like the internet? She took a cookie, biting into it. They needed--

And then she kept explaining and Hinoiri paused, her eyes going wide. Oh. Ohhhhh. She got it. They really DID need her help. She could--

And then she positively *beamed*. Almost sparkled. A big grin on her face as she imagined things, did some mental calculations. Maybe if she... but she could.... huh...

"sounds like fun," she said, trying to play it cool... But alas, Rashmi could see that like, ten-twenty seconds of glowing eyes, excited, almost squealling energy from the other girl. Hinoiri was exciiiiiited.

"Okay, yeah, I think I could help you lot with that. Now, it likely wouldn't be too easy. One thing I've noticed about tech on this world is that the moment you try to have someone non-magical see something magical, it all goes boom. You'd need to make sure that non-magical people don't touch it. But in a lot of cases, whenever a new magical 'type' shows up you'll need to wire it into the network. But that's not the hardest thing, we had some stuff like that back home. Mixing pony magic, griffon magic, dragon magic, all of those kinds of magics together wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. So I'm sure between your knowledge of the device technology and my knowledge of magic and Koji's talents with electronics, we could all work something out."

"Speaking of, I have something I was gonna talk with Setsuna and Koji about... How good are you with like... magic GPS tracking things?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi cannot help but be absolutely tickled by Hinoiri's reaction. It is, perhaps, the single most genuine smile she has ever seen out of the villain-turned-normal, and it is an absolute delight to behold.

"See I was thinking about that," she says, sliding into the groove of workshopping. "But Devices are *really good* at interfacing with Earth technology. Like, I've been texting with my thoughts since late last year, so... I really think that on the receiver end, it'd probably be doable to like glue a Device-to-Bluetooth adapter onto just some earphones or something. But what Koji-kun was proposing was a spell that works in the same way chargeless microphones do. Here..."

On the screen, an image of the kind of microphone that is just a little thingy on the end of a wire, attached to headphones. Then, the image zooms in past the casing. "So there's microphones that work without any batteries," she says, as the image resolves into a wide disc, and a little coil shape draws itself into being above it. "The sound vibrations jiggle the coil, and it reacts with the magnet to make just enough electrical signal to carry down the wires. ...I'm explaining this like a complete electronics idiot, but you get the concept, right?"

Then Hinoiri asks about magic GPS, and Rashmi's eyebrows rise. "Nicomachea, as he likes to say, has a *very* comprehensive sensor suite. If he knows what to look for, he can detect it in a pretty decent range. If there's something capable of emitting like Devices do, he could follow it no problem. What's up?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded, still nibbling her cookie as she ran over the information, mentally cataloging it and trying to figure out how to place it. "Mmmmm... I see," she mumbled. "I never could get the devices to work for me. I had to do everything related to that kind of stuff with gemtech, though Riventon's device always seemed useful at the very least. And no, I get the idea. Seems simple enough. Setup a spell that attaches a kind of magical microphone to everyone, so all they have to do is talk into it and the magic sends the message across it? Then use your devices to kind of... translate and catalog the information to distribute to everyone else?" she asked.

"And well... I swiped this kind of... GPS thing that one of Gaito's, uhhh, evil mermaid guy, henshin were using. It looks like they were trying to locate something but I'm not sure what. I turned it off, but I figured I should talk to more electronically savy nerds about it. If I could translate the electronic parts to a magical signature I could likely locate the signature easily enough. But well... I've studied magic. Electronics are still something I'm learning. And I'm a little wary to take it apart because the last time I did that it... well... I can't just buy a bunch of new cellphones to practice, you know?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I've been practicing more and more with figuring out how to work with Device stuff," Rashmi says, bobbing her head and fishing a madeline out of the bag and nibbling on it. "I'm definitely not on Riventon's level yet, but I've been pretty okay at putting together stuff *less* complex than a Device. It helps that Nicomachea's purpose-built to give good advice and information. But math... It's never come easy for me. I'm pretty sure I'm *always* gonna need his help for the math part. And trust me," she says with a wry chuckle, "Device math is *insanely* complicated for someone who has problems with trigonometry. But sure I can take a look at it. If nothing else I can guarantee a safe environment to turn it back on, so we can figure out what it's looking for."

"With the Mahounet though... I was thinking at least at first, just making it a centralized communications thing. Because there's a bunch of people who can talk to mahou *like* them, and everyone has their cell phones... but cell phones tend to have to be put away when you're getting ready to fight. I figure with something like this, it's a way for *everyone* to be in contact and call for backup without needing the extra steps, y'know? Which is why I'm thinking of cheap earphones with little magic microphones; something Earth enough to go unnoticed, but magic enough to stick around when it's time to shine."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, looking confused. "Really? What's hard about trigonometry? As long as you don't rush it, you should be fine. I can see it being a problem if you haven't learned some of the calculations, but once you've got all of them memorized you just need to take your time and go by them one by one. Simple."

"And... yeah. That'd be helpful. I'm just not sure what they'd be looking for and it, admittedly, makes me a little uneasy not knowing that. I have a few sources in Obsidian still, but none of them have mentioned looking for anything big to me and those people are not exactly... subtle."

"Earbuds, though. Those sound like a good idea. That or maybe an arm band of sorts. You girls all wear so much poofy stuff, I don't imagine most people would notice if all of you girls started wearing an extra sparkle band or two."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Might notice on some of the boys," Rashmi chuckles. "But that's an interesting idea too. And... that's the problem, though. History and English and things like that, I'm great with. But retaining math is *hard,* past the simple stuff. But," she says with a shrug, "everyone's got their strengths. Oh, try the thumbprint cookies, they're great. I got raspberry, peach, and lemon."

After that diversion, the redhead comes back on track, mulling over the thought of what Easter might be looking for. "Tomoe Sciences seems to be hunting for something too," she says. "Whether it's the same thing or different, I *know* they're using your towers for it. I don't suppose you happened to build in an easy self-destruct system, so all we have to do is shoot some tiny weak point?" This question, asked with the kind of wry grin that clearly says she doesn't expect it to be that easy, and more... she's not actively mad at Hinoiri for having come up with the idea. "But seriously... if you hear something and pass it on, awesome. No pressure on that, though."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. "Wait... really? Huh. I thought it was easy for everyone," Hinoiri mumbled before taking one of the raspberry cookies and biting into it. "Sorry for your loss. And not really, I've seen a few of the boys who sparkle as much as the girls."

"... Wait, Tomoe? Riventon's old division? He might be the one to ask, I'd guess he's back with them with Beryl being gone and all. And... no. I mean... well... actually... I kind of... did..."

She then glanced off to the side. "The problem is... I can't... access... it... now... since I don't have dark energy anymore... and I can't... I can't... touch them... anymore... or use my magic on them... and without my magic to touch them, they won't activate the self destruct part..." she mumbled.

"... I can tell you how to break them, but I did kind of make them so you lot *couldn't*... and I can't help but notice there is one that's still active that you lot haven't touched."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Actually I have a fix for that," Rashmi says, clearing her throat. "A while back I, um... and someone else... Kinda... snuck through one of your zones and sort of... mugged an employee for his glove. ...While you were studying." Her cheeks flare red briefly, and she coughs into her hand. "...But then things kinda went out of control before we had a chance to use it, and you *did* build the damn things tough enough it's hard to pull in the firepower to bring it down easily."

Shaking her head, she looks back up, smiling. "But *anyway,* the point is if there *is* an off switch, there's a way to flip it. You could, if you wanted to risk the drain, or someone else can. We just need to know where it is."

With that said, Rashmi shrugs. "But even all of that is... kinda secondary, really. What I need most is your help with this project of our, and I'd gladly help you with yours in return. ...Also I've been thinking about it, and if you wanted? I could take you flying, sometime. ...Under your own power, I mean. Just with a borrowed spell, but."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara cocked an eye. "I told Easter having gloves like that was a bad idea. But nooooo, they just haaaaad to have it so their idiots could access the system. Never mind their tampering with it almost got one of them killed once, I swear. Sadly, that won't work. I'd need my dark energy to do it, not just touching it. I didn't..."

"... At the time, the idea of me losing all of my power was... laughable. I didn't think I could lose control like that... I... can give you some of the passwords, but the access you'd have is limited. They're designed with my gemtech, with the electrical part added by another member of Obsidian, Keaka. She's... alright. But I doubt she'll be able to do much to help. I guess, with her help, I might be able to cobble something together. She's the only one who accessed the gemtech at all... but good luck getting her to help."

Hinoiri considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I... appreciate the offer. But I was a unicorn, not a pegasus. Flying wasn't... really my thing. It's not what I miss. But.... thanks. For trying. And... thanks for caring."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Keaka, Keaka," Rashmi mutters, brows furrowing as she tries to place the name. "...I don't think I've heard of her, but... I'll keep that in mind. Even if nothing comes of it, it... well, *usually* doesn't hurt to try. But sure, the passwords would be nice, in case we need them. If you want to."

Her eyes soften as hinoiri thanks her for caring, and she can't help but chuckle. "C'mon, Hinoiri-chan. You *know* you're almost thanking the sky for being blue, right? But... I'm happy to. To try *and* to care, because you deserve it too."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Sure, I'll write them down later and make sure to drop them off at your family's restaurant. I need to swing by there later, anyway. Got a cram session coming up."

"... Yeah. You... know. A lot of you sparkles say that. But..." She glanced down at her food. "Since losing my power? It honestly hasn't always felt like it. still feels like I'm on the outside looking in and I hate that. In some ways, being your enemy was a lot nicer." Pause. "... Not that I want to. Just... you know. Sometimes it felt like unless I was wrecking stuff, I didn't warrent much care."

"... Then again, I guess it's not like. Magic trinkets are falling out of the sky for you people to give me. So I can hardly fault you for not having any more success than I have. And I doubt it's really a priority. If it was that easy, you lot would have given Naru something a lot earlier."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...You aren't wrong," Rashmi says quietly. "I was just talking to Molly-chan about that a couple days ago. About how hard it has to feel for you. And believe me, if I could, I'd build you a Device right now. But I'm not nearly good enough yet for that, and there aren't the parts. And I know it has to be frustrating, but I really... *really believe* that if there wasn't magic for you here, in this world, you wouldn't still be able to interact with it. It's out there, Hinoiri-chan. I know it. I just don't know what it's waiting for."

She shrugs, then reaches out to put a hand on Hinoiri's shoulder. "But I'm still gonna cheer for you, no matter what. Because magic or no, you *are* a genius. And you're my friend, y'know? That means something."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave her a small smile. "It... it really is. It sucks. I won't lie. I... sometimes... I sometimes feel like I'm... losing my mind. If I lost my connection to magic..."

"I come from a world of magic. I think I'd lose my mind. Everything I was, everything I've ever been, would be gone. I don't know what I'd do, then."

"... The portal back home hasn't opened either, since I... since I went mad. I'm starting to worry its been closed off forever. And I'm trapped here. But... I don't know. I... thanks. And thanks for noticing. It's really hard to be a genius sometimes, you know. With so many other geniuses in this school." It was hard to tell if she was joking on that one.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"It... kind of wouldn't make sense, to be closed off for good," Rashmi says, tilting her head. "I mean, sure, it's really, really hard to get off Earth, but like... if it was a random thing? It's probably just an alignment problem. Like... two spheres rotating in different ways, but there's a connection when they line up just right."

Rashmi looses a long, slow sigh. "And y'know, it's *absolutely crazy* that I can't keep complex math straight in my head, but thanks to learning Device repair I can wrap my head around N-dimensional axes, a little. This time last year, just *thinking* about it would make my brain cramp up."

Rolling her eyes, she pats her friend's shoulder. "Maybe there's lots of geniuses, Hinoiri-chan. But nobody's a genius in *everything.* Everybody has their strengths, right? Yours is just in a field that maybe fifty girls here interact with at all, and maybe four really grasp enough to work in. And one of those four knows for certain that without your help, her idea can't work."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara couldn't help but feel that warmth from Rashmi, and it had more to do with the girl than the cookies and treats. "Thanks," Hinoiri said. "That... does mean a lot to me. And yeah, I know. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Just feels weird not to be the best at everything anymore. Felt weird to actually botch a test, even if it was on purpose." She put her tray aside, now empty. She'd definitely been eating this whole time.

"It's good that your device helps. Like a learning aid for the..." She trailed off. Being smart enough, now, to NOT finish that sentence.

"But yeah. If you'd like to bring your equipment to the music room, I can see if I can take a look at it. Or did you intend to set it up somewhere off the grounds? Since I imagine you will need a like... core place to set it. Something like this will need a stable core to make it not drop over at the smallest breeze."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...For the terminally incompetent?" Rashmi says teasingly, nudging Hinoiri with her shoulder. "It's okay... I know where *my* strengths are, and I don't mind needing help if it gets me where I want to be; in a position to help as many people as possible be the best they can be."

Nodding at Hinoiri's thoughts on the core, Rashmi tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm not nearly at the prototyping phase yet, honestly... I came to you cos I don't know *what* I need to make, specifically, and I need your brain to help me work out what I'd even be building. I'm pretty sure I *can* make sure that the transmitter and receivers can get better reception than any cell phone, though, thanks to how Mid-Childan stuff works, but it's all conceptual."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shook her head. "No. I don't think you're incompetent. You're maybe not the smartest girl I met, but you're nowhere near incompetent. You fought me plenty of times and survived, so you're strong too. More... academically... challenged."

She moved a hand up to her chin, hmming a little. Seemingly lost in thought. Finally, she nodded. "We had communication devices back home, usually more... pools of water, magic mirrors. Things like that. I'll try and write up a basic spell grid for you, okay? With that, it should help you get started on a prototype. My style of magic tends to be different from yours, though, so until you have the first thing setup, I won't be able to do much nudging on the right path for you, sorry."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hey, a starting point's a starting point," Rashmi chuckles. "Actually... did you have any interest in learning Device spell structure? Because I can give you the structure of a Telepathy spell and the math that goes with it. Maybe if we both look for common points, we can find what we need?"

"But that would be wonderful, Hinoiri-chan. And let me know when you want to take a look at the GPS thing? I'll Barrier up a club room and we can have the whole space to ourselves."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and imagined that. Device tech information...

"Yes. I would love that. That sounds awesome," she said, a little bit of excitement in her voice. "I bet I could do all kinds of things with that knowledge... And sure. How about later this week? Maybe you could grab Koji, too. I'll see about grabbing the nurse. Can show everyone it at once. Doing that in a barrier sounds safer, anyway."

Then paused. Blinked. And... "Ugh. I sound like an intern. Worrying about safety and equipment... I hate not having magic. Bleh."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hey, safety's important," Rashmi says, raising a finger with a grin. "What's the point of making an important discovery, if you don't have a lab anymore to replicate the experiment? But that sounds great, and I'm sure Setsuchan will be glad to be on hand."

Getting to her feet, Rashmi sticks her hand out with a wide, pleased grin. "I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do together, Hinoiri-chan. And putting your name on the plaque, once it's done and working."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara got to her feet, the tray under her arm and.... reached out to shake Rashmi's hand. "Fair enough. And that does sound pretty nice. Thanks for trusting me with this. I won't let you down."

... And she meant it, too. There were a lot of ways she might let the sparkles down...

But she didn't want to let them down in this way. If they could believe in her, trust in her, support her redemption, as it were, she could help them get a simple communications system going. How hard could it be?