1666/House Call

House Call
Date of Scene:	15 June 2024
Location:	Katsuko's House
Synopsis:	A house call is made.
Cast of Characters:	Katsuko Takezaki, Tsubasa Yuunagi, Rashmi Terios, Mamoru Chiba, Amanda Faust

---

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko lives in a nice but not extravagant house. The only unusual part for the area is that the garage has been converted into a dojo. The garage door is open, and the walls are lined with practice weapons. A basketfull of bo staves, several wooden sai, a selection of tonfa, a row of wooden kama, pairs of nunchaku, enough eku to organize a rowing tournament, a couple of three section staves, a few kuwa, a handful of tekko, and so on.

    Miss Takezaki is currently doing some tonfa exercises. Despite being in her mid thirties by now, she's still in excellent shape and form. She looks pretty much exactly like an adult version of Katsuko. She stops her exercises to look over the moment she spies anyone approaching the house. If mister Takezaki is home, he's not joining in on the practice.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
When the teacher asked for a volunteer to take Katsuko her homework, Tsubasa had eagerly volunteered. That's not true, but noone else had offered, so he decided to take it on. Once he had her assignments and books in hand, he put them together in a bag with a small bundle of cookies (snickerdoodle) and was getting ready to depart whem Rashmi had shown up to ask about the homework for Katsuko as well. "Oh! You are a friend of hers?" he had asked, offering a shy smile and dip of his head, which further obscured his eyes. "I was going to take it, but it if you want to..."

Needless to say, he was convinced by Rashmi to come along, and the two made the journey to the home, with him introducing himself and his grade and when asked about interests, well, it was aviation and swimming.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi is more than happy to let Tsubasa take the homework, and keeps up a stream of friendly chatter as they walk to Katsuko's house. Introductions are made along the way, her own interests shared (debate, fantasy literature), and in general she tries to put the younger boy at ease.

When they roll up on Katsuko's house, and spot the elder Takezaki practicing in the garage, Rashmi stops at the edge of the driveway and bows deeply. "Good afternoon, Takezaki-san!" she chirps. "We're friends of Katsuko-chan from school, we brought her homework! Is she feeling up to visitors?"

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Miss Takezaki smiles, and glances at them both Tsubasa in particular. "So long as you're just friends, go right ahead. If you want to date my daughter, I'm going to need you to prove yourself." She doesn't clarify what is involved in that and opens up the door from the dojo/garage into the hallway, "First door on the left, make sure to knock first."

    As soon as they knock, Katsuko calls 'Come in.' She's sitting upright in her bed, under the covers with the back of the bed elevated. She looks like she's been through the wringer, even from her face. Bruise on her cheek, and she's shiny with burn cream. Her left hand is in a sling, though there's nothing to set a bone so it's probably just a sprain. The room itself otherwise has a desk with a computer that's a few years old but was pretty good when new, a bookcase that seems quite focused on martial arts manga and light novels. There's a poster of Sailor V on the wall next to a poster that's a collage of ladies who are world champion class martial artists.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi chuckles at Miss Takezaki's declaration that to date her daughter, they must prove themselves. "Well don't worry about me, Takezaki-san, I've already got a boyfriend so I won't be worrying about it." No mention on if Tsubasa has to worry! That's for him to deal with!

When the knock is answered, the door opens, and Rashmi pokes her head in, her polite smile growing much wider, upon seeing that Katsuko seems to be recovering well. "Hiii, Katsuko-chan~! Tsubasa-san and I wanted to see how you were doing, and he got your homework for you. I'd ask how you're feeling, but..." a hand gestures to the arm. "...I think I can imagine. So how're you *doing?*"

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko smiles as Rashmi comes in. "Hi Rashmi-san. I'm fine. Just a little injury. I've had worse in tournaments." She sounds entirely serious. "I don't know if what I did was smart but I think it was worth it." She avoids specifics because as far as she knows, Tsubasa just that awkward classmate of hers who likes planes. She gestures to the desk chair, though there's only one. "Sit down, you can borrow a chair from dad's office. End of the hallway." She suggests the moment she realizes that could be an issue.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
When the door is opened, Tsubasa was about to introduce himself as a classmate when sudden inexplicable 'CHALLENGE' arrives. "P-p-prove myself?" Tsubasa asks, his cheeks flaring a bright red, eyes wide. "I-I... she's great and lovely b-but I was just bringing her her homework!" Bowing deeply, the papers are held out like he won't even be allowed into the house, much less to see Katsuko. But she relents and Rashmi is trailblazing along, so behind her he follows, a glance back to the mother who has put the fear of who knows what into the young teen.

His cheeks are still red when he arrives at Katsuko's room. "H=hi!" he greets. "I brought you your homework!" The cookies are completely forgotten about, his feathers are that ruffled and flustered.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"And the other thing," Rashmi murmurs, amused, nudging the younger boy with her shoulder. "I'll be right back, then." And like the fiend she definitely isn't, Rashmi just dips for the spare chair, leaving Tsubasa alone *in a girl's bedroom.* How cruel.

She isn't long, however, and returns with chair in hand, caaarefully maneuvering it into the room, setting it down, and dropping in. "I'm glad you're recovering quickly, at least! We were pretty worried, and I mean... If you thought it was the right move, that's your call, just... y'know, remember to keep an eye out for everything *else* that's going on? It's always the stuff you forget is important that turns out to be super important."

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko smiles at Tsubasa, "Thanks Tsubasa-kun, just put on my desk." She gestures, then as Rashmi leaves she looks around a little awkwardly about being alone in her room with a boy, even a boy like Tsubasa. "So Tsubasa-kun, I hope my mom wasn't too mean to you?" She asks, gently, knowing how nervous her classmate can be. Then Rashmi comes back with that advice. "Eheheheh. I'll try to remember that." She offers awkwardly.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
"N-no! She wasn't... I mean, she wasn't mean at all!" Awkward and putting someone on the spot, definetly. But as he sets down the small bag with the book and cookies, Rashmi pulls her disappearing act. If he could head out the window and fly away, he totally would. Instead, he finds himself looking around the girl's room. "Oh! You like Sailor V too?" he asks her. "I don't have a poster or anything, but I followed her blog!" he admits, taking in the posters and the like. "You really like martial arts." he says obliviously. "My parents wanted me to take some classes, but I'm kinda clumsy." Then to Katsuo herself.

"You look nice." Pause. Rephrase brain. "I mean with your healing and all! You look good! Like... healing good..." Someone save him.

Oh, there's Rashmi, thank the birds.

Then she's talking about what happened. "Oh my gosh, I didn't even ask what happened. Someone said you got hit by a truck! Someone else said that there was a fight and you fought off a whole gang of bullies! Or that you ran into a burning building to save someone! Or that you were trying to get isekai'd and ... that one's just weird!"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The chuckle that Rashmi answers with says she doesn't precisely fully believe Katsuko, but that it isn't important enough to belabor. Situational awareness comes from good judgment, after all, and there's only one real way to learn good judgment.

"There was a riot at a concert," she says simply, and leaves it at that. They're Katsuko's injuries, and the redhead is not gonna speak for the bluenette. "I don't know how it started, I was just in the area when it happened, but it was pretty frightening to see. Which reminds me, Katsuko-chan; you know there's a big self-defense class after school, right? I know it's not a proper martial arts class, but the instructor's pretty good! And she often gives extra lessons after it's over."

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "You don't have to lie to me, Tsubasa. I know what she's like, especially to boys who say I look nice." Katsuko offers, and there's a bit of a smirk as she has just a hint of fun teasing the poor boy. Rashmi offers the initial explanation and she adds, "And when I found my way out there was this girl whose shirt had caught on fire and was having a panic attack and didn't see the truck coming her way, so I tackled her to the side and almost got hit myself." She flexes her good arm, trying to show off her heroism. "Or well, that's not quite what happened, but what really happened was close enough that I can see how the rumors started." To Rashmi she adds, "Yeah I go sometimes, when it doesn't clash with my club. Or sometimes after club since it runs long sometimes. Some of the girls can be a bit intense, though."

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
"A concert riot?" Tsubasa frowns a little. "That sounds terrible. I'm glad you're okay." he offers honestly to the pair as he folds his hands behind his back. Another glance around the room, before his attention returns back to Katsuko and when she points out her mother's thoughts, there's a lift of a brow. "Oh, do you have many boys that tell you look nice?" In other words, he should probably get out of the way, right?

But as he hears the whole story, he ohs. "That... that sounds rough! But you sound like you were so brave!" That might be the first hint of eye-sparkles from him as he looks to Katsuko, hands back to the front as he clasps them together.

"Oh, there is?" he asks with a small blink. And then Katsuko says she goes sometime. He stops himself from suggesting he should go sometime.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi does not facepalm at poor Tsubasa being twelve years old and awkward.

That would be impolite.

There is a *pronounced* aura of spiritual facepalm, however, and she has to bite on the inside of her cheek to contain the smile. "There is, Tsubasa-san. You should go, learning how to take care of yourself is a *great* way to feel more confident in general. See also, Katsuko-chan," she says, waving at the pile of bruises stuck in bed for the moment. "I go sometimes, but I also train with my boyfriend. Obstacle course kind of things, it's helped me out a *lot.*"

At Tsubasa's sparkling eyes, the redhead chuckles out loud. "It was pretty impressive, yeah! No hesitation whatsoever."

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "Not after what happened to the last one." Katsuko might be taking this a little bit too far without realizing it, she doesn't mean any harm by it though. "My mom always taught me that we practice martial arts so we can protect people if needed. I don't know if you've seen the family dojo?" She asks, then she joins Rashmi's encouraging. "Yeah it's great, you should come. I'll go easy on you, I promise."

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
To be fair. Tsubasa is a brawler as Cure Wing. He does more punching than kicking. It's just his fighting style. And Cure Wing is soooo confident. At least in that knightly way. But. "I'll check sometime!" he promises, and he'll at least show up and take a look and probably not join in. "Uusally after school I help at child care center. I do puppet shows!" Usually about the exploits of the Cures in his group. Probably not the best way to impress girls his age.

"I think we came in through it, but this is my first visit here." So no, he hasn't seen the dojo. "I wouldn't mind seeing it again sometime." he thinks to add. There's a little laugh at the mention of going easy on him, though. "...you could probably go tutorial mode on me and still find it easy."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You might be surprised," Rashmi chuckles. "Don't ever judge a book by their cover, that's a *great* way to get yourself in trouble. I'd bet if you really worked at it, you could give Katsuko-chan a run for her money, Tsubasa-kun!" After all, what if it turned out he was magic! Weirder things have happened just this week alone!

"...So if you don't mind my asking, Katsuko-chan... How long've you been a fan of Sailor V?"

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "I look forward to seeing you there." Katsuko promises cheerfully. "Oh, you help at a child care center? That sounds nice, can you tell me more?" She asks, sounding genuinely interesting. "Probably." She agrees to Tsubasa being easy to beat, "But we all had to start somewhere. I just started as soon as my mom cold convince my dad I was old enough, so you'll need a bit to catch up but if you work at it I'm sure you can make it fun." Then Rashmi asks that and she looks like she wants to bury her head under the covers. "A while." She murmurs.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
"Oh. It's like toddlers and younger children that can't go to school yet." Tsubasa explains. "One of the girls that I lived with before I came here worked with them more - she wants to be a teacher. I helped with things like puppet shows and such. It was a lot of fun!" he admits as he tries to keep up with the conversation, his attention returning to Rashmi and he chuckles. "She's got a big head start on me! So it'd be a lot of work. But I'm not afraid of that. I just spend most of it working on flight."

And then Katsuko is cheerfully promising and eager to see him there. And the fact that he's a thirteen year old boy that is just figuring out that he likes girls comes into play. "Oh. Sure!" he says with an enthusiastic nod. "Just tell me when!"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Awww, that sounds so nice!" Rashmi says, genuinely heart-warmed by the image of Tsubasa putting on puppet shows. Enough that one can almost see the thought-bubble pictures of Tsubasa working a pair of bird-mascot hand puppets, and dressed like a kabuki stage hand.

Then she sees Katsuko trying to sink under the covers, and laughs. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Katsuko-chan! A *lot* of my friends are fans too, and a few of them even know the girl who modeled for the original character design! Also I heard the mangaka's in town, but not if he's back into the industry..."

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko nods to the explanation, "That's very nice of you." She doesn't sound quite as interested in it as Rashmi, but she does genuinely seem to think it nice. "Well I can't come until I'm better, don't want to make this whole thing worse." She gestures at her injured arm. "Is she? That's cool, do you know if she goes to our school?" Still half-hiding under the covers to hide the degree of excitebarassment.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
When Rashmi mentions Sailor V fans, Tsubasa nods his head. "I'm a fan too! She's so amazing and cool." He might have had a crush once, but he got over that. Probably. "I don't have posters or anything, but if I ever met her, I'd probably ask for an autograph!" He smiles at that, and then he nods. "Oh, I don't mean like now. I know you're still recovering. Just sometime. Or not at all. That's okay!"

But for now, he's kinda staying out of the conversation, because he's not sure where to place his conversation spoons at the moment.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, probably!" Rashmi says, grinning. "I can find out, but since like half the kids in four wards go to school there, it's a good bet!"

As Tsubasa starts spiralling in a cloud of downplaying, Rashmi nudges him again, shaking her head just a little bit.

No, Tsubasa. Step forward, not back. Trust the recovered friendless girl.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "Yeah, she's great." Katsuko doesn't trust herself to show her face while talking about Sailor V. "If you manage to get her autograph, snag one for me, too? I promise I'll get one for you if I get one." Then Tsubasa's statements make a wrong turn and she shows her face, and almost looks stern. "I'm not saying I'd love for you to come as a polite form. Come. I'm there a lot, and if you're there when I'm there, I'll help you." She promises.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
Doom spiral engaged. Mayday, Mayday. Oh wait, he can pull out of this. Tsubasa blinks a few times. "No no, I meant... I just didn't expect you there tomorrow or anything!" This would be so much easier if he was Wing, where he felt far more confident in that form than he is as Tsubasa. His hand reaches up to sweep his fingers into his brown hair to play with it lightly.

Katsuko's stern look draws a small squawk of protest. "I'll be there!" he reiterates.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Glad to hear it," Rashmi says, shoulders shaking at how, honestly, adorably awkward Tsubasa is. "Also Katsuko-chan... d'you have my number? Cos if you need anything, you can just let me know... Well. Anything except help with math homework anyway. English I've gotten much better at though."

It's amazing, how one can be powered by alien space math, and still be absolutely terrible at the regular stuff.

...Okay it *would* be amazing if she didn't have an AI to do the math for her.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko nods firmly. "I look forward to seeing you there then." She states with a tone of finality. To Rashmi. "I don't think so? I know you've got my ..." She tries to figure out a way to phrase that which takes a moment "... e-mail but that's not the same. I should trade numbers with you, too, Tsubasa-kun." At the offer of help, she beams. "I'd love some help with English, I'm just dreadful at it."

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
Was Rashmi giving him a hint? Maybe Rashmi was giving him a hint. "Oh! We should exchange contact information too! In case something happens again and you need me to help with your homework or... or... your English!" He remembers. She's bad at English. "I'm pretty good at English because it's the same language that's used in aviation!" he explains. "I was at the English Club because I want to get more practice."

And also a nod at trading contact information with Rashmi, the redhead Wing-girl of relationship matching, apparently.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Perfect!" Rashmi says, taking a flip-notebook out of her school bag, and scribbling her name, number, and a cute little smiley sunburst that looks like the charm on her bow, then hands the notepad off to Tsubasa. "...I mean I was gonna ask where your phone, but that felt a little too intrusive, so. And cool, Tsubasa! Two study buddies are better than one, especially with English. Also... What kind of aviation are you working on? Only apparently Nurse Meiou actually knows how to fly a helicopter, which was *wild.*"

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    My notebook is on my desk, if you can get it to me I can write my deets down." Katsuko offers, and then she remembers a thing, "Oh right. The nurse told me that one of our upperclassmen, Chiba-san, loves to come bring sick students some takeout, and gave me his number but I lost it. Do you have his number, Rashmi-san?" She asks, coming up with the only thing she can for why Mamoru would be showing up. "Let's start with English homework then. Uh... book's in my backpack, if you can just pass me my backpack." Because she's not giving people permission to rifle through her backpack.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
Oh. We're writing down numbers. That's quaint! Tsubasa is used to the phone tap transfer, but writing your number down? That's vintage! And without thinking too much on it, he reaches into a pocket to take out a pen. If everyone here was mudane, it'd look like one of those pens that have the multiple colored barrels. But to those with the sight? The base is pink with star embroidery, and a white crystal like feather is the topper with a blue diamond gem (a star chip) set in the middle above a small gold ring.

Pressing a button, he gets the tip of the pen out and writes down a number. "Have you been to Morimoto-senpai's English Club? They watch American movies with subtitles!" he asks of Rashmi with a grin as he passes the pad back to Rashmi and closes the pen to put it away. He may have wanted to ask Katsuko to watch a movie sometime. But backed out of it.

He grabs her backpack however, and presents it to her. He is not going to rifle through it!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When Tsubasa takes out That Pen, Rashmi's eyes grow wide, and she starts to vibrate in her seat. After all, just because it wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen this week doesn't mean it isn't wile enough to remark upon!

But Tsubasa is saved from the point, and the shout, when Katsuko asks if Rashmi has Mamoru's number. "Oh! Right!" she says, happy to talk about anything else than semi-forcibly outing someone else, and gets to work.

    << TXT to Mamoru -- Heyyyy Mamo-kun! How're you doing, d'you have some free time? Only Katsuko kinda ate it fighting one of those Doom and Gloom Girls? And Setsuchan gave her your number but she lost it. And while I really *really* hate calling you just to ask a favor, would you mind making a house call? I'll pay you back if you want to use snacks as an excuse. >>

...Unfortunately, telepathic-texting has become so second nature that right after Rashmi said she'd be on that she just... sat there, staring off in the middle distance, for about thirty seconds.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    <GUTEN TAG!> Zwillingrute does not share Rashmi's restraint. Henshin device recognizes henshin device, even if of a different kind. Katsuko is also staring at that pen and her smile grows. "You definitely have to come to self-defense class, Tsubasa-kun." She insists, though she doesn't quite take the step towards introducing her device yet, glancing to Rashmi for guidance. Sadly, Rashmi is staring off into space. "The movie wasn't bad, but I'm not going back to English club... he implied they normally watch without subtitles, I was struggling to keep up with them on."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Weirdly, Rashmi's phone buzzes not too long after she stares into space for thirty seconds.

    Mamoru TXT: It's the kind of favor I never mind doing! I'm actually in the cafeteria now, I'll pick up a bento to go, no reimbursement needed. I'll take the roofs since everybody's busy haha.

When he does show up, he's careful about dropping down onto the street somewhere that nobody's looking, and when he walks up to the house with a takeout bag, he waves to Miss Takezaki in her garage dojo. "Takezaki Katsuko-san's house?" he calls out to her as he comes up.

He is... so tall.

He's also toooo olllld for Katsuko, but there's a takeaway bag, at least. "A mutual friend who came over with her homework earlier said she could use some croquettes and chicken karaage, and they're still hot-- may I visit for a little bit?"

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
Tsubasa doesn't seem to notice the reaction to the PEN(tm). He was too busy writing. "Here you go!" The notebook was offered to Rashmi and then he blinks a few times at her expression. "...did I do something wrong? This is like... the old-fashioned way to trade numbers, right?" he asks. And he was about to say more when sudden BELKAN in the room.

There's a surprised blink and look at Katsuko. "...you... you speak German?" he asks her, clearly not recognizing that it was her device that was talking. "You got... a really strange accent when you speak it though!" he starts to say, before Rashmi zones out. After about ten seconds, he lifts his hand up, waving it in front of Rashmi's eyes. "Uh. She okay?" he asks Katsuko. Cause this is clearly a GIRL THING he doesn't understand, right?

He's about to reach out to poke her.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"He's on his way," Rashmi says with a blink, before Tsubasa's finger can get less than a centimeter from her cheek, then blinks again as Zwillingrute speaks up, and grinning. "Okay good so nobody's keeping it secret. Okay! No Tsubasa-kun, that's Kastuko-chan's Device, Zwillingrute. He's like mine, Nicomachea... who uh... linked himself to my phone, so now I just need to think texts which is *all* sorts of handy." And the little red 'gem' in the center of her charm flashes once.

    << *BONG!* >> << PRECISELY, >> it says, in the English accent of a warm, amused professor.

"So okay now that we all know we're magic here, that's handy!"

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Miss Takezaki takes a good look at Mamoru, lowering the three section staff she was practicing with "If you hurt my daughter, I'll teach you the meaning of the word regret, you understand?" The faded former mahou may have lost her magic and her memories thereof, but she hasn't lost her fire. "But go on in, sounds like a treat and I know she's sad to miss our usual practice sessions. Up the stairs, first door to the left." Then, back to practice, without another word.

    "I'm not sure what's up with Rashmi-chan." Katsuko answers Tsubasa, before Rashmi speaks up and explains both the devices and the staring into space. "And you have magic, Tsubasa? That's so cool, I haven't had magic for long yet. My mom gave me Zwillingrute as a birthday gift, it's a family heirloom of sorts. Though whenever I ask questions about that Zwillingrute goes suspiciously quiet."

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
"Magic? Ehehhehee, what are you talking about?" Tsubasa isn't giving up the ghost yet. He looks between the two as the pair nudge him to share his secret and he kinda ducks down, trying to make himself smaller somehow. He's already pretty small, so this is quite the feat. A shame he can't turn into a bird, right? Just give him a little more time. His transform is big and flashy and definetly wouldn't work in the confines of a girl's bedroom.

When Nicomachea speaks up, he ohs. "Hi." he offers meekly, even as Rashmi makes sure that everyone knows that everyone else is magic. Of course, he has yet to catch on that have made him more interesting to some people. He's slow.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Understood," Mamoru says simply, like he's used to being threatened or something-- he doesn't sound or look overly bothered, but neither does he look like he's not taking her seriously. He, after all, does not look stupid. When he's done being given the talking-to, he slopes off through the dojo and into the house, up the stairs; he knocks on the first door to the left and opens it, sticking his head in and seeing quite a crowd.

"Goodness," he laughs. "I'm glad I brought a lot of karaage." The gloved hand lifts the takeaway bag from the cafeteria, and he slides in and surveys the occupants of the room, landing on Rashmi, then glancing at everyone else again. "I'm assuming since you called me in, everyone here is cool with magic," he just says straight-up like he's not afraid of being called a chuuni.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean I don't blame him for being quiet," Rashmi says, lifting a shoulder. "He's from space, and however he got here it was probably pretty rough on him. Nicomachea won't tell me either, but I'm *pretty sure* he was on Chrono's ship when it kind of... exploded in space *and* time. Iunno, I just... kinda... found him, in a used bookstore."

Because of course this four-eyed fantasy nerd would find a magic device in a bookstore.

About to go on, she rises and turns, grinning a greeting at Mamoru. "Mamo-kun! Hi! C'mon in you can have my chair. And *wow* that is -- probably -- sufficient snacks, you sure you don't want me to pay you back?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Somewhere between asleep and wakefulness, Amy is dimly aware of the surface she was sitting against being pulled away. She rolls over and presses her face against a textbook. Ugh. Why is her bed hard? Does she care enough to deal with it now? Maybe it'd be better to go back to sleep and deal with it in the morning.

    People are talking. She almost startles and then remembers that happens sometimes. Hypnonompic hallucinations. That's definitely more people than should be in her bedroom in the morning. A young boy? And Mamoru as well? Unlikely to be in the dorm room. They're just trying to distract you from was that a Device? Yeah fair that makes sense. Of course she'd hallucinate things like that too.

    Guh, why is her bed so uncomfortable? She nuzzles into the book and reaches for covers to pull around her. Bluh. Where are the covers? Or her pillow? Did she throw them off her bed too? "Guhhh..." Yeah, okay, she's not getting back to sleep without getting comfy. She opens her eyes and

    Stares at the giant book pressed against her face. What the. She's inside a giant backpack?! But just as she notices that, it all comes rushing back. And last thing she remembers is the school day was just ending, and the gentle movement of Rashmi walking kind of... lulled her to sleep like a baby oh my god.

    After holding her hands to her face in embarassment, she reaches up for the lip of the bag and tries to pull it down and peek out, but in the process makes the bag tip over and fall out of the chair.

    Well, so much for being subtle. At least she can't feel the pain of giant books and notebooks falling on top of her. Only incredible embarassment. "I'm okay!" She starts to crawl out of the bag and--

    What everyone else sees is Rashmi's bag fall out of the chair, announce that it is okay, and a painted porcelain doll head, like baby-size, with red hair and glassy red eyes, looks out at the room and freezes when it notices Tsubasa. Uh oh. Oh no oh no I'm gonna freak out some kid I'm so sorry!

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine, Tsubasa-kun." Katsuko smiles. "Just because I'm open about it doesn't mean you have to be. If you want to, we can pretend it never happened." She considers the matter of Zwillingrute being from space. "If he's from space, and is a family heirloom... then doesn't that mean one of my ancestors is from space?"

    "There's more chairs in dad's office." Katsuko immediately tells Rashmi when she talks about getting up. "It'll be a little cramped but we can make this work. Hello Chiba-san." She waves to the boy, "Snacks are great." Meanwhile, English lessons were also being discussed, and she digs through her bag for the book. She's startled when Amy stumbles out of the bag, and accidentally drops the Sailor V action figure she had in her backpack that she was trying to keep out of sight.

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
There's a deep breath from Tsubasa. He's debating it all. Then Mamoru arrives and is all 'everyone magic? we cool?' And Tsubasa just kinda deflates. He might as well talk. He moves to the side, ending up sitting on the edge of Katsuko's bed. He looks down at his hands, and starts. "When I was younger. Way younger... my dad took me up in a plane. There was an accident and I fell out. A flying girl in white and gold with red hair saved me with a girl in black..." he explains. Opening his backpack, he pulls out his art book, and flips through a few pages, before finding the one he's looking for, turning it to the group.

Mamoru will immediately recognize the two girls that stepped out of a room that was opened with blood just recently.

"Ever since that happened, I dreamed of flying. So I fell in love with aviation. I wanted to fly, like that girl. But I figured I'd never do that, so if I became a pilot, and I moved into a home to be closer to a school because my parents were away. It was a boarding house, and I ended up with three roommates and a toddler. That toddler is a Princess. And she was being chased after by some evil people. One day... they kidnapped her. And I was the only one around to help. I did my best, and when it seemed like I was going to fail..." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out that crystal pen from earlier.

"And the Princess gave me the other part I needed..." A small token is pulled from his pocket, and he places it on the pen, transforming it into it's microphone from. A flurry of orange feathers, and Tsubasa has grown a few inches, or at least appears that way, because he's sitting up straighter in his chair in the bright oranges and yellows and citrusy colors of Cure Wing.

This may buy Katsuko the time she needs to hide her Sailor V figure as he gives Amy a frown. "What happened to you?" he asks in confusion.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Oh thanks I--" starts Mamoru, returning Rashmi's grin, but then he registers what Katsuko's saying about chairs, and he laughs again. "Whichever works," he says, but Tsubasa is showing a sketchbook with young Stellar and Lacuna, and telling his story, and there's a toddler princess, and Mamoru is frankly getting slightly confused, but that's a thing that happens with origin stories, honestly.

"I know them," he says right after Tsubasa asks what happened to Amy, and he's pointing his ungloved hand at the sketchbook. "The redhead's the school's magic guidance counselor. The black-haired one is Obsidian HR, but I like her too."

Then, he puts the karaage and all the napkins down on Katsuko's desk-- or-- wherever there's a surface-- and he says, "I really don't need reimbursement, Rashmi-chan, I'm totally all right, I promise." He glances at Amy. "If you're going to become not-a-doll in here, I can probably teleport you out."

Finally he looks back at Katsuko. "So-- you look kind of crispy, huh? Burns are awful, you have all my sympathy, and we'll see what we can do about that. Do you know if that's a break, or...?" he asks, gesturing at her arm.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    So uh, yeah. For the benefit of anyone reading scene logs: thanks to MAGICAL SHENANIGANS, Amy's currently a doll! About 1½' (45cm) tall, with a painted porcelain head and glass eyes (with moving lids) that can look around under a red wig; There's articulation for her mouth to move like a ventriloquist dummy but when she talks it animates with much of the flexibility of a human mouth, except filled with creepy sharp teeth. Her painted-on eyebrows also move with her expressions because magic. The body must be some rigid material under her clothes; limbs have 'doll joints' although only her neck and hands are usually exposed. On the whole, she's still kinda creepy but not quite as much as you'd expect: For the most part she doesn't move like some unnatural puppet or doll creature, she moves naturally like a human being, which helps.

    Yesterday she opted for more casual clothing (her magic makes cute outfits), but today she leaned into the whole doll thing with a black dress with matching mary-janes and... tiers? Ruffles? What do you call them? Anyway it has poofy shoulders and white and red trim and wouldn't look out of place among elegant gothic lolita stuff.

    ...Anyway, she need not fair spooking the boy apparently, as she's caught him just as he was demonstrating his transformation. She blinks. "Um. ...Uh, let me..." She crawls out from under the books, then turns around and grabs the strap of the blue-and-white kinchaku that she's put her phone in, lifting it up and wearing it like a crossbody messenger bag.

    Doll-Amy then turns back around and looks up at... "Wait, you're-- you were at the rooftop ramen place. Um, anyway, there was a stall at the Tokyo market selling dolls and there was a youma turning people into dolls and..." She holds her hand to her head and looks away. "Geeze, this is like the fourth time I've had to explain it, these are words I'm regularly saying and getting routine ...anyway," she looks up at Cure Wing again, "it should wear off within a day or two more. Uh. If it doesn't..."

    Amy looks to the side awkwardly again. "Uh, heh, well, then I guess I'm living the mascot lifestyle by day until we figure something out." Her voice quavers a little with anxiety.

    She looks up and grimaces with her pointy teeth. "Riding in a backpack is surprisingly comfortable when you don't have muscles that need stretching! I, uh, guess I fell asleep..."

    Doll-Amy rubs her head, "Rashmi's been carrying me around so I could follow along in class and talk to her between classes and not be all alone in my room. Thank you again for this, Rashmi!" She curtseys.

    She looks to Mamoru, then to Katsuko. "Why would I need to teleport? And, what happened to Katsuko?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Okay *wow* that is an incredibly cool story, Tsubasa-kun," Rashmi says with a bright smile. "Here just... I'll go get another chair and see where it'll fit-- wait *Obsidian HR*-- Nope. Nope. Getting chair, we'll unpack that later, anyway too long a story for this many people in this small a room. Also Amy-chan, did you *fall asleep in my backpack? I-- chair. Questions later. Be right back."

Squeezing out around the gathered mahou, Rashmi bops down the hallway to fetch a chair, and when she returns, peers at Amy. "Do you *not remember* her fighting Chaar, Amy-chan? She's the one who hugged that girl right when a robot was flying fists-first in for the finisher? Which is why all of this?" Chair, plunked, seat, taken, bookbag strap hooked with a foot and moved closer to her new seat.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "Wait you're Cure Wing? That's awesome." Katsuko sounds excited, "So about self-defense class. There's a special self-defense class that's for magic fighting. The other day when I visited I made a friend who threw the bleachers at me, it was awesome." She explains, probably not selling others on the idea but it's clear she's excited. Then everyone is sharing stories, and then it's asked what happened to her. "Well there was this girl, she was all fire and anger and taking it out on everyone, and I thought she needed a hug. So I gave her a hug. Other people thought she needed a beating, so while I was hugging a girl who was fire, they all gave her a beating and I got my share of the beating as a result." She lifts her injured arm. "Just sprained, fortunately."

Tsubasa Yuunagi has posed:
Seated on the edge of the bed near Katsuko, Cure Wing plays with the bunting on his jacket for a moment. "I've been Cure Wing for about a year." he explains. "I came here from Sorashido City because I hoped that maybe it would draw away some people from trying to kidnap Princess Elle." There's a little smile at that. "It was my duty as a knight to do so." And it has worked a little. "Yes, that was me at the rooftop ramen."

But then, Mamoru is pointing out who the two girls are. "Really? You know them? You're sure? Oh gosh, I never got the chance to thank them properly!" After all, Lacuna and Stellar didn't have a fan page - though if anyone would, it would be them. "I'll have to figure out a way to do that!" he says excitedly.

With Katsuko getting excited about him being Cure Wing, he chuckles. "Yes... sorry, more confident like this than as Tsubasa." he admits with a small smirk. "It is something that I'm working on..." And then Amy explains what happened, and he ooohs. "I guess I missed that."

A Cure Wing doll would have been highly collectible, probably.

But for moment, as Mamoru offers to heal Katsuko, Wing considers and then gives a light touch on Katsuko's good hand to at least provide support. Even though he is well aware that Mamoru healing doesn't hurt at all!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks at Rashmi partway through her explanation. "...Oh gods right," She holds her hands against her head again. "Sorry, I was still waking up, I guess." Memories of the fight flash through her mind. "Um, holy cow, I'm glad you're conscious!" She stands on tiptoe to try and actually see over the side of the bed to Katsuki. It doesn't help. "Are you um... it's down to just a sprain, huh? That's good. I was worried about those burns. Did you get any magical healing or is this just regular magical girl speedy healing?"

    Her face approximates furrowing her brow with slightly lidding the eyes and lowering the eyebrows. "Or... speedy teenager healing? I never actually checked, like... I have no idea what's normal."

    Healing... magic. Realization flashes across her face and she looks to Mamoru and then in Katsuko's direction. "Umm, his healing is kinda... it can really hit to the emotions, so uh... brace for that, I guess?" She adds in a stage whisper, leaning towards the bed: "Remember: He's taken!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"That can be unpacked some other time yeah sorry!" Mamoru says sheepishly, holding his hands up a little bit as if to stave off the repercussions of what he just said. He takes the seat that Rashmi just vacated, since it's next to Katsuko, and he nods. "Good. That means we can get you to the point you'll be fine in the morning. What you tell your mom is up to you, but my guess is she'll forget how badly you were hurt. That's more or less what happened with my boyfriend's mother when I got out of the hospital." Isn't he Sailor Moon's boyfriend?

He holds his left hand -- ungloved -- out to Katsuko, smiling crookedly. "I should warn you, since Amy-san pointed it out to me too, this carries a bit of an emotional load. Some people find it disquieting, others like it a lot. So let me know at any time if you want me to stop."

If she takes his hand, the first noticeable effect is that the pain is just gone, like an anaesthetic just took hold. Instead of all the aches, the bruises, the dull heat and sting of the burns, the dull pain of the unmoving sprain, there's a warm golden feeling-- the peace and calm of a summer meadow on a breezy, sunny day; tidepools on a coral beach; the glow of a lamp left burning in the window of a house half-buried in snow. There's a feeling of connection to the long history of the people of this planet, just by living here; there's a sense of the electric nerves and buried rivers of the city pulsing beneath its streets, of the life that fills it, the life just like Katsuko's--

It's distracting is what it is, and the distraction covers for the work done to calm those burns, to ease the massive bruising, to do the bulk of the work of fixing that sprain.

"You can definitely," Mamoru says, preoccupied, "meet Stellar. Lacuna might be more of a problem, but only might. I can tell her she has someone who wants to thank her, if you want, but it might be a better idea to just send a card or something."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Well," Rashmi says, flipping up the flap on her bookbag. "If my time in the hospital is any judge, suddenly not being in pain is gonna be *exhausting.* C'mon, Amy-chan. Let's get ready to head out."

And knowing the *other* side of healing, she starts to parcel out the kara-age and snacks, leaving a double portion where Katsuko can reach it.

"Also it was *really* good to meet you too, Cure Wing. Look forward to helping you out sometime, too!"

And then all of the sudden, an idea hits; the kind that gives one the :3 smiles, and she shoots a quick text to Mamoru, for him to find later.

    << Hey uh... D'you know if Usagi-chan might be able to get Sailor V to autograph a picture of herself? I get the feeling it'll make Katsuko-chan's day. >>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Feel better, Katsuko!" Amy waves, and at Rashmi's calling, walks over to the bookbag and climbs in. "You fit all those snacks and books in here and me... you have good taste in backpacks, Rashmi-san! I love ones that can fit lots of stuff. Don't understand how anyone can use the ones you see in most stores, they barely hold anything."

    Beat.

    "...Admittedly, I'm usually considering it from the outside perspective rather than the inside perspective... I guess with fairies and talking cats and everything that really should be more of a concern at Radiant Heart..." she rambles to herself as she settles in.