2211/Recovery Loop: Sayaka

Recovery Loop: Sayaka
Date of Scene:	07 January 2025
Location:	Plot Room 2
Synopsis:	After her perfect loop fails to BREAK the loop, Hinoiri has a bit of a breakdown and runs to her best friend for help and to destress. She confesses to being Equivalence, as well as some other mistakes, and Sayaka manages to convince her to, well... reach out for some help. Admittedly, not something she has ever been good at.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Sayaka Miki
Tinyplot:	Hinoiri's Endless Loop

---

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Post Perfect Loop:

She didn't get it. Hinoiri had just... she'd been perfect. She'd done everything right. Saved everyone. Fixed every problem. Broke every barrier. Defeated every youma. Nobody died. Nobody even got hurt. Well, other than emotionally. She'd made sure of it.

And yet, here she was. Waking up to the same morning. The same song. The same. Day. As. Always. Every. Day. Every day is the same. It just keeps looping. Over. And over. And over. And over. And over.

It didn't end. She stared out the window....

And then crawled her way out of bed...

Honestly? when she felt this terrible? She should have likely gone to her theyfriend. But... this was drama. And she didn't want drama right now. She wanted escape. To get away. To just... to just...

Be anywhere else.

So, it wasn't lon before there was heavy knocking on Sayaka's door. A little before classes, but...

And Hinoiri looked like... she hadn't even brushed her hair. She'd just thrown on her jacket and left. "Sayaka, grab your jacket. We're..." She trailed off for a moment. "Just... grab your jacket, lets hit the beach." Skipping class even?! Granted, with the haunted look in her eyes...

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Do you think Scorn ever goes back to Gullwing Coffee?", Ula asks, brushing her hair while Sayaka taps the ground with the tip of her shoe to fit well. "She does miss Gull-chan, so maybe?" the bluenette replies tentatively, reaching down to grab the bag at the side of the door.

She reaches for the handle, and just as her fingers have barely brushed it, there is that heavy knocking. "What's up?", she turns the handle after a brief hesitation, wondering what was the the deal this early on.

"Hinoiri, you look...", starts coming out of her mouth upon taking note of her disheveled appearance. Horrible? A mess? Like she has been trampled by a herd of buffalos? "Tense. What is going on?" Yesterday she had been completely fine. Seeing such a radical change in not even 24 hours was staggering.

"Ula, come, we are playing truant", she tells the fairy without hesitation, throwing the jacket on and closing to the door behind herself once the fairy has reached her, but not before grabbing a surfsuit with haste just in case.

"Why, what is going on here?" the mermaid asks puzzled, to Sayaka's internal remark that's what she'd like to know as well. But there is the beach first. For some reason.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"Tense? Oh, tense is certainly *a* word I might use for right now," Hinoiri said before glancing at her phone. She then shook her head and took a deep breath. "No. *No.* I just... I need... I..." She trailed off. "I just... I need to blow off some steam. Don't worry, it won't affect your attendance. Not that attendance will really matter anymore. Heh. Who knows? Maybe I can even get a lecture. 'Missed the most classes in one day!' Ha! This has got to be a record. Probably missed more today than this entire school put together," she said, her voice dripping with bitterness.

"... I'd say I'd come back later, but this really can't wait. I mean. For me. For you, it can. Because it likely won't even happen. Ugh. Just... just... come on. Ula, you can come too. I don't even care."

Once Sayaka was coming, she'd grab her wrist and half lead, half pull her towards the bike...

And Sayaka would likely realize that something was definitely wrong when she didn't even take out the helmets. Hinoiri NEVER let a passenger on her bike without a helmet. Even if she didn't wear hers, she always made others wear theirs. But she didn't even offer it this time, only giving it if requested.

And her driving was... more reckless than normal. Dodging in and out of traffic with a fluid ease that the other vehicles might as well have been standing still... yet... at speeds that... were terrifying. Like she was trying to run from something...

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Huh-huh", Sayaka listens with growing concern to the somewhat connected flood of words coming out of Hinoiri's mouth. "I doubt you would get a stern talking to for a single day missed, Hinoiri. Your marks have always been near-excellent", is Sayaka's reply of choice. She knew they were so for the wrong reasons, but at least she didn't have to worry about her academic future.

Blowing steam honestly was a long time coming, as much as she doesn't think school is the reason.

"Unless I am dreaming, I am sure this is happening, Hinoiri", she can't help but say. "But if it is a dream, at least it's a fun one." Though the cold air would be a confirmation as good as any this is happening.

"Wait up, the helmet", Sayaka does request, keeping her feet on the ground even as Hinoiri starts the bike without any looking out for safety. Why is she so off today?

"Can you stay in my jacket for a few?" she whispers to Ula, finally mounting after the koi mermaid gets in. She has the feeling they will need that extra safety.

"Hinoiri!", she shouts at the redhead once she is proven right, holding tight on the bike's side handles.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"It's fine," Hinoiri said. "Even if I crash, it's not like it'll actually happen." That was... concerning. Albeit... very... well...

Okay, concerning and confusing. But she at least gave over the helmet. "Don't worry, the red car always lags so bucking far behind."

As she zoomed past a red one and... what?

Still... there were no accidents and she moved through the traffic like a beast... And when they got to the beach... she just... leaned on Sayaka. Didn't get off the bike, yet. Just leaned on her, in the parking spot. Shaking. "I-I did... I did so much... you know? I did everything right. I did *everything*. I made sure nobody got hurt, I made sure nobody had to... got hurt... I did it perfectly. I dealt with the witch, the youma in the library, the sand youma. All of it. I did it. Nobody had to die. Nobody even got a scrape."

"And it meant nothing. I'm still *trapped*. I'm still *here*. It's still the same *bucking day* and it didn't matter *at all!*"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka stares at Hinoiri like the redhead had just announced they were about to jump into space. "What do you mean, it won't actually happen? If you want to make some stunts, at least let me transform first", she reproaches her slightly. A frown appears on her face as she feels Ula tense up under her jacket.

The right prediction turns Sayaka to silence, forming then immediately discarding the thought it may have been just like with the convinction she had said it with.

"Alright...", she starts saying, stopping there when she can see and feel Hinoiri shaking.

"So, something has happened that has forced you to repeat today, and you have been treating this like a school test?", Sayaka considers. That is normal enough? Probably? Not too different from the usual weirdness.

The bluenette hugs the redhead from behind. "How long has it been since you have had a break?", the concern increases in her voice.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara just gave a shrug, not even caring if Sayaka transformed. If she wanted to? She could. It wasn't Hinoiri's problem. Nothing was Hinoiri's problem now. It was all meaningless. All a waste of bucking time. She wanted to scream...

"Repeat today? Over. And over. And over. This is like... the ten thousandth time. Or at least it feels like it. I died, you know? A lot. And Ladybug died. And... and others.... I just... I made sure nobody had to. I did it all. I worked. I trained. I figured out the patterns. I realized every mistake. I knew how they'd attack, where. And I *did it*. I did *every single bit of it*. By myself. Do you know how hard that was?!" she screamed, gripping Sayaka's shoulders and actually shaking her.

"I-I'm not that strong! I'm not *Sunbreaker anymore!* I can't just blow things up! BUT I DID IT! And it was meaningless and... and I can't... I can't keep doing this. W-what's the point of anything if, if I just... if I just have to repea it? If nobody remembers anything? I'm so... so tired of this... I just... I want... something to change..." she whispered.

"... I... I guess... today is a break... people... will get hurt without me to save them... but... it's not like it matters. I'm the only one who remembers... nobody else c-can..."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"And you did all that by yourself. Where did you find the magic for it?", Sayaka inquires with a weird inflection in her tone, making enough space to let Ula out of her jacket. "I could feel myself suffocating in there after a while", the koi fairy asks. Sayaka nods, giving Ula a glance and tilting her head towards Hinoiri. Getting the message, the tiny mermaid floats slightly to the side.

And Hinoiri does seem to need the space. The closest Sayaka comes to understanding what Hinoiri has been through is looking back through the memories of Klarissa turning into Oktavia and of her being the Mermaid Witch. "I can try to guess at it, but no, Hinoiri. I don't know about any of it", the bluenette looks at her with sympathy.

"If you want today to be a break, I do have a surfsuit with me, and it's just a short walk from her to the rental shop. Shouldn't be too hard to get two surfboards on a winter Monday", she suggests.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara opened her mouth to speak, then paused. She stopped... and then looked away. "Right. I didn't want to tell you... I..." She gave a soft sigh. "Blue was right. I'm a terrible person. I'm not some bastion of justice, like you. I'm not... perfect, like you, and Madoka..." she muttered. And there was a bit of bitterness to her otne again, but she really was just lashing out.

"I... try to live up to the example you set, but I just... keep bucking it up. But he was right. I'm a dirty, terrible little bucking liar. I'm Equivalence. And I didn't earn my power or anything like that. I found parts of it and just kind of cobbled it together. I was hoping... I was hoping I wouldn't buck things up long enough that people would like Equivalence, then I'd reveal it. But I never got to that point. I just kept bucking it up."

"... Sorry. I should have told you sooner... but... Blue was right. I didn't fight as Equivalence. When something really important to me was on the line, I went back to the power I knew I was strong with."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka grits her teeth and takes a deep breath, repeating in her mind what Hinoiri has just revealed to her. Unsettling and troubling in a manner of different ways. "Hinoiri. You know that was bad for you. Do you think Double Trouble would have wanted to see you gone? What would you tell me if I had the power to break this loop at the cost of becoming Oktavia? Would you be happy?"

She stares frowning at the redhead. "You didn't have to lie to me. I accepted you being Sunbreaker even when we were still dating. You are my friend, Hinoiri. Why do you still hide from me? Do you really think I would cast you away?" That honestly hurt a bit.

Her arms cross over each other, her fingers clinging tightly. "I don't know how you can believe I am perfect. Do you seriously think I have gotten where I am now thanks to some sort of perfection? When I first met you, I was tunnel visioning into what's right and what's wrong, I couldn't even accept myself." Her voice turns slightly quieter.

"I couldn't accept I wasn't doing a good enough job, I couldn't accept that I was envious of Madoka, of my own childhood friend, of the fact she had the power to effortlessly do what I was struggling towards. I couldn't accept that my wish was selfish."

"But you helped me. You and everyone stayed by my side even when I got so depressed that I was having trouble seeing reason. Where is the perfection there, Hinoiri?" Her expression turns softer.

"I don't know what dying is like aside from turning into a Witch, but I know what's like to struggle being a good magical girl. I know that much. And I am never going to stop believing the person that helped me so much doesn't have what it takes to get there. You do, no matter what Blue says. No matter what mistakes you make. Let me help, Hinoiri. That's all I ask, that you don't start avoiding others. Don't do my same mistakes, ok?", she offers a smile.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shook her head. "I-I... no... it's not... I don't... think I'd hide from you... I just... I..."

She struggled to find the right words, leaning back against her bike as she floundered. "It's not... it's..."

"... I don't think you'd cast me out," Hinoiri mumbled. "I just... I don't... want to disappoint you. You mean a lot to me, I've never really had friends and stuff and... I don't... I want to measure up. Be the best kind of pony... the best kind of friend I can be for you... I just... I thought... if I could do things right... if I could be strong enough, work hard enough... save everyone... I could... you know? I could... fix things. Do... things. I'm not avoiding othes, though. I'm just not... sure... how to approach them. I've made a lot of mistakes as Equivalence. And I don't.... want o just be the girl that everyone looks to as a troublemaker. Someone who causes them more problems. I want... to be helpful. I just... I'm not sure how."

She then sighed. "Ugh. And I don't even know if this ties into the loop, either. For all I know it does. Maybe there's another fight I need to figure out, too."

"... I'm... missing the point, aren't I? Buck. I'm... sorry. I'm... really not good at this. Maybe... maybe we should just go surfing. Try that. There's the shop over there, right? You mentioned? I've never... actually surfed before, though."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Just try not to shoulder all the burdens. You are not alone, ok?", she remarks, getting down from the bike and turning towards the shop. She has stressed the point enough, she thinks. And honestly, she does want Hinoiri to take a break from all the days she has been repeating.

"I can teach you. My aunt, she is an innkeeper, but she also knows how to surf, and taught me in turn. I guess it's your turn now", Sayaka gives Hinoiri a small grin, taking her hand and walking towards the establishment.

"I will go ahead and get into the water", Ula brings up, not following after them. A fairy wouldn't really be helpful there, anyway. "Sure, we will be there in a moment!", Sayaka nods and waves to the small mermaid.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod and followed after Sayaka, letting her lead her to towards the shop. "I... thanks. Your aunt runs an inn? I didn't know that. Is it on the beach area?" she asked. "I mean... I guess that makes sense, since she taught you to swim."

She gave the bluenette's hand a little squeeze, smiling. "And... I know I'm all alone. But I'm the only one who can remember anything, so that does kind of make fixing all of this my responsibility, right?" she asked. "It's not like anyone else could do it. They might get hurt, or worse."

Oh, there were so many things Hinoiri was missing... And she did pause, pulling at her phone for a moment and seeing the time. She then sighed. It was an... oddly practiced gesture. As if she had been pulling out her phone, glancing at it, sliding it away. Getting everything down to the minute... for a long, long, long time...

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Quite close to a beach, but not the one in Yumegahama, it's another Ward", Sayaka replies. "She is really cool, the time of person who is inflappable no matter what, and very welcoming", she thinks back to her aunt with a smile.

"Surfing is more than swimming, you will have try to keep your balance on a surfboard eventually", Sayaka warns her. Even if they are not going to tackle that for some time still, better to let Hinoiri knows what awaits her in the future. If she intends to go ahead instead of treating it as a one of.

"We will start by having you lay flat on your surfboard and get you used to the feeling of using one, then I will try to form a perimeter with my wheels as long I can to minimise the sea current while you try to get your balance." That phase of the training would normally be done in a swimming pool, but this is what they have now.

Taking a step into the shop, Sayaka goes to the cashier and explains how long they intend to use the surfboards for, then gives Hinoiri hers before taking her own. "Now all we have to do is find a place to change before catching up with Ula."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded, and well... getting the surf suit wasn't that hard.

Finding one that she was willing to wear? That wasa little harder. Not a ton of variety. But, eventually she settled on a dark purple one. That only smelled a little funky. She then followed against Sayaka with a small nod.

"I've never been the best swimmer, admittedly. I'm... a little better than when I first got here, though." She quickly decided to leave out the fact she almost drowned because she was scared to let others know she couldn't....

Laying out on the surf board, at least, would be easy. And with Sayaka's wheels, well... "Isn't that an abuse of your magic?" she asked in a playful, teasing tone. Walking with her and... Once they were in the changing rooms, Hinoiri had a little bit to think on what Sayaka had said. Leaving her to ask a question when she came out.

"Hey... Sayaka? Ummmm... are you... really not like... mad at me? I mean... for lying to you? I.... know you're... disappointed, but..." She then sighed. "... And no. I... wouldn't be happy if you had to with out in order to break the loop. I never want to see you like that again. I'd rather be stuck in this loop forever..."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"I think I can be a patient teacher", Sayaka reassures Hinoiri, though her own doubt would be more on the second word than the first. She has never really taught someone anything, much less something as delicate as this.

"If you want to be left at the mercy of the sea currents, I don't mind having you learn how to surf the hard way", she reacts to the taunt with a smirk. Going into the room to change, she transforms into a Precure and then changes into her surfsuit. There would have hardly been a difference when she was still a Puella, but the much longer hair is a telltale sign now.

"I don't know if I would say I am mad or disappointed. I am just... not that welcoming of the fact you were thinking I could able to give up on you just because Blue said something. I am not either of those, though", she confesses once they get back together.

"And Double Trouble... They too fought to bring you back from being Sunset of Sora. I think they too would be sad if saving them came at the cost of losing you to yourself", the bluenette explains.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara did give the hair a look. Geez. Every time she saw their hair do that she couldn't help being a little annoyed at the way this world's magic worked. Back home, altering one's hair with magic was... dangerous. And quite difficult. It took ages to master, and even longer to do it on someone else.

Yet in this world? Bam. Just does it. Long hair for everyone!

Although, it wasn't much of a thought she had when she dipped her toes in the water and let out a shudder. Well. Oh well. Tomorrow wouldn't come, so why not give it a shot?

After a few seconds in the water she came leaping back out. The suit helped, but didn't make it perfect... though it DID help.

"Hey... Sayaka. I'll keep in mind what you said, though. I'll... try and not do it all myself, okay? Maybe you're right. Heh. And you know what? Maybe... maybe I'll just take the next few loops off. Just have other people do everything instead." Pause. "... Buck, I hope that kid's alright... her and her weird time key..." she mumbled softly.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Having a swimming pool would have helped for more reasons than just the waves, Sayaka realises at the frenetic leap out of the water. Being transformed also helped with more things than just having access to magic, but she doesn't know what being Equivalence would entail for her.

"Welcome back", Ula swims closer upon their return. "You didn't have much trouble finding them", she states, considering the time that passed. "Nope, we got it easily", Sayaka replies with a raised thumb.

Sayaka smiles at the decision Hinoiri has come to. "That's the spirit, Hinoiri. I am sure that working together will find a solution to your problem." She looks at Hinoiri quizzically when Hinoiri brings up a kid with a time key. Would that be related to this repeating Monday? If it were though, why would Hinoiri think a 'perfect' loop if she'd found the cause already?

Whatever the case, she hopes her friend will be safe now. "When you are ready to get back in, we can start training. And also, Hinoiri... See you tomorrow", Sayaka smiles as a teasing promise.