100/Good Versus Easel

Good Versus Easel
Date of Scene:	17 July 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Hotaru happens upon Michiru painting the main office building at Radiant Heart Academy.
Cast of Characters:	Michiru Kaiou, Hotaru Tomoe

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Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou is famous for her skill with the violin, but less well-known is her skill with a paintbrush. Painting is how she relaxes, how she grounds herself. It is one of the few things she does purely for the joy of it. When she arose this morning, after last night's dance, she thought to herself, what better way to commemorate her first week at Radiant Heart than by painting some of the beautiful architecture on campus. And so it is she's situated on the courtyard facing the front of the main office building. She has an easel with a large canvas on it, a folding stool, and a little basket of supplies.

At the moment, the canvas is blank. She is simply sitting there, looking past it at the building. She has an empty palette in her hand, and the basket of supplies resting on one knee. She cants her head one way, and then the other, and finally reaches a decision about whatever it was she was considering. She starts reaching for tubes of paint and squirting various colors out into smears on her palette. She's got a plan.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe had.... had not been sleeping well lately. Ever since... ever since she had learned more about how some people could hurt others. Destroy others. Ever since then she had slept... fitfally.

And so, today, she had come to walk around the school. Not wanting to see others, she just... wanted silence. Time to clear her head. Avoiding the ride from her normal driver, instead walking. It was... slightly tiring, but even her weak body could handle it.

She didn't expect to see someone... painting. It was early enough, she didn't want to intrude. But when she did see it, she couldn't help but wonder. So instead she stopped, near the entrance to the main courtyard. She... thought she, maybe, recognized the girl from the dance. Perhaps? She'd been silent, in th corner... just watching. Social things like that were... unpleasant for her, usually. But it was nice to see her kohai having such fun.

She didn't make a sound, instead silently watching the other girl paint. Polite, generous. Well behaved.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
First Michi mixes white paint with some pale brown and takes to the canvas with bold straight strokes outlining the shapes of the building before her. The lines of the pillars at the corners, the slope of the roof, the towers and turrets. Next she picks up cerulean paint and with short fast strokes that produce a shingled texture, she fills in the slopes of the roofs, and the tops of the turrets. One by one she adds more details to the facade until it looks impressively just like the real thing, in three dimensions on the canvas, but taken out of space, out of its surroundings. Like a diagram in a book.

"I don't bite," she says, her voice light and floaty, as if speaking to somebody she definitely knows is there.

Then she picks up some green paint and starts painting trees in the foreground of the picture.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe let out a gasp when she was called out. Her cheeks took a small, rosy glow and she took a small step forward. "S-sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude. I just... didn't want to interfere or bother you," she said quickly, her face getting a little more flustered as she spoke.

"It's... beautiful," she said softly, before glancing towards Michiru. The painter was as well. But... there was something else. A... strange feeling. A small sadness, a longing, inside her. Feelings of... like something was missing. Something a part of her wanted. She didn't understand what it was, though. Maybe she regretted not being a good painter?

"I'm Hotaru Tomoe, a pleasure to meet you, senpai," she said politely, bowing in greeting. "Do... you often paint the school?" she asked, slowly taking a few more steps closer.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Having filled the courtyard with its rows of trees, Michiru takes up some light gray to start filling in the pavers and flagstones. Her eyes never leave the canvas, but she answers Hotaru's question with a light, delighted laugh. "This will be my first. I wanted something to commemorate my first week here at Radiant Heart," she explains. "I do paint every chance I get, though. It feels so good to capture the essence of a scene. It's like wielding the raw power of creation in just a little brush."

With that comment, she pulls the brush from the canvas and waves it a little as she turns to look at Hotaru with a smile. A smile that falters just a little when she actually makes eye contact. It'd be easy to miss the little glitch in her expression, the slight crack in her mask. But an observant girl might catch it, the moment of alarm amidst Michiru's floaty and welcoming warmth.

"My favorite thing to paint is the ocean. It is so beautifully complex and vibrant and full of life," she says, then she tilts her head to one side and gets a determined look on her face. "I've only got the one canvas here now, but I'd like to maybe paint your portrait sometime, Tomoe-kun."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe smiled back at the other girl and... just narrowly... misses that falter. She was not observant enough, sadly. "Your first week? In... that case, welcome to the school. It's a really nice school, there are a lot of new students recently," she said. Her eyes looking up to Michiru's. She almost swore she felt... something there. Something familiar. Deep within herself.

"The ocean? It... is beautiful," she said. A moment later kicking herself for saying something so awkward. Only for embarrassed red to flood her cheeks when Michiru said she desired to paint HER. "Me? Why would you... want to paint me? Trust me, there are a lot of better students to paint."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
"Perhaps, but none of them are _you_," Michiru says, firmly, her expression a little more serious and stern. But she softens almost immediately, smiling before turning back to her canvas, and mixing some white with a blue before taking to fill in the sky with broad strokes. "It's you I want to capture on canvas. There's something about you Tomoe-kun." The way she says it, sounds so serious, almost as if she's suggesting something important. But then she lifts her brush from the canvas and turns to look at her kohai and says, softly. "You're very cute. I have not painted a picture as cute since I was much younger, and I'd like to remember how I felt."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe looked bewildered at nobody being her. Why would... that matter? She wasn't anything special. The most special thing she did was, well... with Obsidian. And this girl couldn't know about that. Of course, the more she talked, the more Hotaru's cheeks went red and it began to click.

H-her senpai thought she was cute? "I... I ummmm... I don't think I'm... really anything special. B-but, if you want, I-I don't mind, senpai. I..." She trailed off for a moment and blinked. "Oh. I don't... think I caught your name?" she asked, staring at the other girl. She wondered if she should introduce Michiru to Fate. Her Kohai was even cuter... but then... what senpai didn't think their kohai was precious?

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
As polite and proper as Michiru is, she has the habit of assuming everybody already knows who she is. So when her kohai asks for her name, she is delighted. This is just what she was hoping would happen at Radiant Heart. She wanted to just be a girl at a school. Not that she could ever really be just that. So instead of answering with an introduction, first Michiru laughs. "No, I don't suppose you did," she says, and then turns back to the canvas to finish filling in the sky with her big blue strokes.

"I'm Michiru Kaiou, it is a pleasure to meet you, kohai," she says, echoing Hotaru's own introduction just moments before.

With one final stroke she fills in the sky. She picks up some white and puts some fluffy clouds in it, and then gets a finer brush out of her basket and dips into the paint to put a few birds in it, and then leans back and looks at the painting. "I think this is perfect. It's going to look so good in the sitting room where I mean to hang it."

She turns again to look at Hotaru and looks her right in the eyes. "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't special, Tomoe-kun, least of all that little voice in your head."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nobbed. "Michiru Kaiou-senpai," she said, before frowning. "I... I feel I've heard that name before," she said after a few moments. It sounded so very familiar. So incredibly... familiar... And there was that strange feeling of longing again. Huh. That desire. That want. Maybe she saw it on the welcoming board, to new students.

Either way, she couldn't help admiring the beautiful picture. "It really is beautiful," she said. The girl certainly was talented. Unique. Special. A... her mind was torn, though. She stared for a few moments, cocking her head to the side.

"I... I guess it's kind of obvious, isn't it?" she asked sheepishly. "But that voice is so loud sometimes. Heh, heh heh. Are... are you enjoying your time here, Kaiou-senpai?" she asked.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru's smile radiates a gentle warmth. "Well, I'm most well-known for playing violin. I've been recorded on several different records, and been on television quite a few times," she says, as if that's a totally normal list of accomplishments for a fifteen year old schoolgirl. "But my family was in the news just a few months ago, because my parents disappeared, so perhaps you heard my name then. My father was the CEO of Kaiou International, a shipping company," she explains. "There was a huge search effort to find their plane."

She says all of that so matter-of-factly. Like the disappearance, and presumed death of her parents was nothing more than a fact. Like being in the news is a normal thing that could happen on any given Tuesday. "But what's important, now, is that I'm here at Radiant Heart, and so far I'm enjoying it. I've met some rather interesting people," she says. Perhaps she's talking about the dance the night before, she certainly seemed rather interested in Haruka Tenou. So much that she barely talked to anyone else the whole night.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gaped. She just... gaped. Holy. Moly. This girl was INCREDIBLE! "On television?" she asked softly. "O-oh, wow. You sound.... you sound incredible," she said gently.

However, the loss of her parents... that made Hotaru's smile fall. "I... I'm so sorry," she said gently. "Losing... both your parents like that... It must hurt. I-I mean, of course it hurts," she said gently.

She was silent for a long moment after that, focused on that loss. It was... good. That Michiru had found people she liked. This place. Had found... people with her. "For... what it's worth... I guess not much, but... I... I lost my mother years ago. In an... accident. I.... I know it can be painful. And... I know... you must be hurting a lot... but... I think... if... if you... if you ever need someone to talk to about it... I'd be.... happy to listen..." she said, trying to offer some small comfort. It probably felt so silly, coming from one of Michiru's kohais. But... but she knew how... much it had hurt during her time of loss. At least she'd still had her father, right?

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru smiles, and turns toward her supply basket sitting on the ground. She knows she's incredible. She's been told that her entire life. Hotaru is not even the first student at Radiant Heart to say so. People had been so busy telling her that she had taken to escaping up to the roof for lunch, just to get some alone time in the middle of the day. And yet when Hotaru tells her, it feels good. It's so genuine and sincere, so real. She didn't even know who Michi was.

She lifts a rag out of the basket and wipes her brushes off on it one at a time. "Thank you, Tomoe-kun, and my condolences for your own loss," she says, adding, "No young girl should be without a mother to take care of her." She turns again to the basket and tosses the rag in then grabs a jar of solvent. She swishes each brush in the solvent in turn. "You are very sweet to offer. I am sure we'll have time to talk about a great many things when I paint your portrait."

Finally, she tosses her brushes in the basket and closes its lid, then she rises up off her stool and folds it. "I'm going to have my car come around to pick me up. It truly was a pleasure meeting you Tomoe-kun. I look forward to next time." With that, she reaches into a pocket to pull out a cellphone and taps out a quick text.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded, though she didn't smile. The memory of her own loss still hurt... which was why she wanted to be able to help the other girl. "Thank you. I... I think that would be nice," she said before taking a small step forward. She was going to offer to help. But... Michiru's tools seemed expensive. She didn't want to risk damaging them.

"It was nice to meet you as well, Kaiou-senpai. I... I'll look forward to it. Ummmm..." She'd hesitate for a moment, before sighing. "I... guess I should give you my number, so it can be scheduled, right?" she said gently. She hadn't really.... often.... given it out. But well... She'd give it to the other girl. She seemed... trustworthy. Someone who Hotaru could depend on. She didn't know why she felt that way, though. She then bowed her head again. "I should probably get going before my father worries where I've gone. It... it was nice meeting you," she said, before turning around and starting to walk away, only pausing a moment to cough into her arm.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru smiles and takes down her kohai's number, then immediately sends a text to it. "There, now you have my number too," she says with a delight. She tucks her phone back into her pocket, and then grabs the canvas off the easel with one hand, and uses her feet and the other hand to collapse the easel. She manages to pick up the basket, and starts walking toward a different exit than her kohai. She glances over her shoulder just once and smiles. It seems almost like they were meant to meet here this morning, but she can't put her finger on _why_. She casts that observation into the sea of her thoughts to churn, and hopes that she'll understand soon.