1628/Sunset of Sora: Her aftermath

Sunset of Sora: Her aftermath
Date of Scene:	04 June 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Takashi comes to meet with Hinoiri in the hospital and let her know how Obsidian is taking the news of her de-powering. Chances of murdering her? ... Terrifyingly high. Her self esteem? Under the ground. The damage to her is more than just skin deep it seems.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Takashi Agera

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
In a hospital bed, in one of the hospitals on the edge of Tokyo, Hinoiri had been asleep until not that long ago. Her burns had been... fairly bad. All things considered. A few first and second degree burns. She was healing, fortunately. At an incredibly fast rate, the doctors would likely say. Magic was like that.

She'd been grateful to Double Trouble and Takashi, making sure to get her out of there and to proper treatment... away from both Obsidian and the sparkles. Since then, she'd spent most of her time cuddling with her girlfriend and getting the burn packs changed.

However, she had a visitor. Takashi. And Double Trouble was... well. Was close. Not exactly eavesdropping, but certainly close.

So when he came up? She was sitting up in bed, covered in a few packs, and bandages. And she looked... defeated. She'd been defeated before. But this was likely the first time she LOOKED defeated. sitting there. Eyes down, hugging herself. That geode around her neck.

"Hey," she'd say, voice soft, a little weak.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi walks in, takes a look at Hinoiri, and sighs. "I spend entirely too muuch time lately meeting people I like in hospitals." Takashi says, walking in. "But I suppose that's what happens." he continues, shrugging.

    "Do you feel as bad as you look?" he asks, taking a few steps closer. "I have some stuff to talk about, if you're not too pumped full of Earth's Finest Painkillers to talk."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Worse, probably. But.... the burns aren't so bad. The painkillers I'm on aren't as strong as they likely should be. Could be. I mostly just feel... I mostly just feel like I bucked everything up, I guess. So... let's talk. How... bad is it, back at Obsidian?" Pause.

"And I wasn't... entirely... aware during all of that. Do you have a list, by any chance, of everyone I attacked? I'm sure they'd love to remind me."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi shakes his head. "Sorry. I don't have a full list of people you attacked while going all Sunset of Sora, then there's all the youma on top of that. You brutalized one of the DG Girls, I know that much." he says.

    "It's... pretty bad, back at Obsidian. Nobody's coming to take your head for a trophy yet, but that's a course of action some people are advocating. Since you've got the information on the Eclipse Zones, there's a little bit more pressure on the 'keep you alive' side, at least for now - that's officially why I'm here, to pump you for information." he explains. "But not only did you cause a bunch of devastation to our people and our youma, you brought the sparklesquad together for a big-ass fight and turned off the sun for a bit as part of it." he continues.

    "I'd... keep Double Trouble nearby and if there's anybody who doesn't want to beat you up that owes you a favor, I would suggest you tell them where you are. The board's full of people with Big Opinions and Big Egos, but I... honestly think it's not very long before the votes switch to some variation of 'kill her' and 'get the information from her, then kill her'. You kinda upset a lot of people who aren't on the forgive and forget side of things."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took a long, slow breath. "So....when you say 'kill'... you mean actually kill, don't you? Not just... emotionally, politically. But actually murder?" she asked, before lifting a hand to her forehead.

"Buck... I really... bucked it all up, didn't I?" A few tears welled up in her eyes. "I just... I lost control. I didn't think... I..."

She stroked a finger along her necklace. "I thought I could handle dark energy. I thought I was strong enough. But... I really... I really wasn't... I was going to kill them, you know? I was more than happy to kill all of them. Destroy this world. I didn't even care. I was so angry and hurt and sad I just..."

"... I'm surprised you weren't there to try and stop me, too. Did you really trust them that much?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi nods solemnly. "Yeah, you really served as a great object example of what happens when you don't maintain control over Dark Energy and let it control you. Great job undercutting my arguments that it can be used safely, it'll be a while before I can make any progress with that again." he says, shaking his head. "Sorry, I'm a little mad but not stab you in a dark alleyway mad. And - that's the sort of thing I mean, yeah."

    "But it shouldn't surprise you. Easter is still all over Ikuto for leaving, and Beryl is still hunting Hematite and his boys. YYou pissed off the whole damn company, and did more than just leave... They're not looking to drag you back in one peice."

    Then he pauses and looks at her. "I was there. I didn't trust them to do it right or not to try to put you down after they won. Thankfully I didn't have to intervene much, just keep some of your youma out of the way mostly. But I was there. I helped! I threw a rock!" Takashi protests indignantly.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a soft, weak little nod. "I... understand. Yeah. I... just can't handle it. I shouldn't have been playing with it to begin with. You were... right. When we first met. I was lucky I hadn't turned myself into a youma. The moment I lost my confidence... the moment it was... shattered... I broke. My magic went out of control and I just... exploded. Dark magic and all. I didn't even... I didn't stand a chance."

Her arms tightened around herself and she gave a weak little whimper. "A... a part of me really wanteds them to. Put me down. I don't... even know what I'm supposed to do now. I don't belong here. I don't belong back in Kirakirafantastica. Buck. Maybe it'd be better if they did..." She trailed off before shaking her head. "No. I... I won't... I won't go... that. I have... a few people on their side. Sailor Moon made her position... pretty clear... I guess... but Sharpsong can come by if I need it. I think... ummmm... Pagemage? Would too. Maybe others."

"... So, I guess this is just another banishment, huh? At least when Sora banished me, she didn't try to execute me on top of it... buck... what... are the chances of this blowing over, do you think? Heh... eh..." Judging by the look on her face, she didn't expect it to ever.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi sighs. "I'm right pretty often you know, it's kind of my thing." Takashi says, bluntly. "And the wanting to be put down thing - that's the despair talking. And it sounds like you still have some of it floating around inside you. That's your biggest enemy. Whatever you do, you can't just give up and walk away. Or fade away." he says, starting to pace around the room.

    "But yeah, generally when you remove a noticable amount of someone's army and cause a global catastrophe people tend not to let that slide. Ikuto made it clear he wasn't Obsidian's enemy and that helped him, so maybe something to that effect could help. But as far as blowing over..."

    Takashi sighs. "I'm not a Director, I don't get to sit in on their discussions. I can try to put good words in for you, I can report on you being helpful if you are. I can do what I can, and I will."

    "If I can get Beryl's Eclipse Zone back up and running - or even just make progress on that and make her think you'd help with the rest - that will help me in dealing with her. But I'll need you to be pretty information free. I can cast you as... a consultant. Try to argue to delay things, and like any wound, this one will get less painful to them over time." he says.

    "But they also don't want to seem weak, so be on your guard - they may not necessarily tell me if they decide to break the Sunbreaker."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Y-yeah. Yeah, I guess. I just... I just feel so... lost, you know? Like... where do I belong? I thought... I wrapped myself, my mind, my future, everything... around Sora for so long. Now that's gone and I just feel... hollow. I feel empty. It's kind of.... freeing ,in a way? I guess? Now that it's... gone... Now that I don't know where I belong? I can go anywhere. But I have no idea where to even start."

"... I feel like a ship in the ocean and there's no land in sight... So... I guess... what do you do, then?" she asked softly. "I'm not going to give up... but.... dark energy isn't for me anymore. Not now. And... I guess... that means.... Obsidian isn't for me either." She pulled ehr knees up and then groaned, resting her head on her knees.

"I am so. Utterly. Bucked. That Eclipse Zone is gone. For good. I utterly tore it apart. Not... really a surprise, I guess. I was planning to do that the moment I took it. But it's just... ugh..." She banged her head on her knees a bit more.

"Keaka made the interface that everyone interacted with, but I shattered the gem cores. They wouldn't function. I.... can teach you how to imitate some results, though. Make it look like it's working, kind of. And... I can show you where all the points in Tokyo could have these. You could set up a siphon, of sorts. But it wouldn't have the same effect without you finding out how to drag some of the dusk zone out with you, and even that I was only able to do with a lot of preparation and energy."

"... How much progress do you need to make? I'm.... sure you could figure out your own way to set them up without using my magic. You're almsot as smart.... you're probably smarter than me. You can figure it out... without using the gems..."

The fact she said that part outloud? Probably a sign of just how incredibly low she felt right now.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi listened, and finally blinked. "You really have fallen off the wagon hard, haven't you..." he says, in response to her saying he was smarter than her. "... let's just focus on what you 'can' do." He wasn't going to 'dispute it' but hearing it from her really spoke volumes about her headspace.

    "Whether I can figure it out on my own or not - of course I can - doesn't mean I couldn't do it faster and more consistently with access to your data and your information, and that also serves the purpose of being a good argument to keep you around. Really, if you wait a little bit, someone else will probably screw up and draw attention. I figure that situation is your best bet.

    "As far as finding direction? Well, there's a saying here on Earth - if you fall off the horse, you have to get back on. So I wouldn't just write all of your dreams and hopes off because you made one tiny mistake. You're only a failure when you stop trying. So don't stop."

    "But if you really feel like you need to avoid Dark Energy and Obsidian - I disagree - but then you have to figure out who and what are important to you. And make your plans from that. Right now, though, we need to make sure you don't get murdered in your hospital bed - that kind of serves as a full stop no matter what path you take."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Yeah... I'll... I'll help you... just... bring some stuff around and I'll work with you on the magic. Just... not... touching it myself." Her hand lightly stroked over her amulet again. A comfort, in times like this. "I... I guess... maybe they will. Just keep them off my back and I'll get your stuff working," she mumbled.

However, when he mentioned falling off the horse, her mouth fell open and she stared at him. "What... the buck? Are... is that flirting? What does that even MEAN? I'm not even on any... what?!" And he had managed to almost blue screen her in bewilderment on that one. "And it was HARDLY tiny, I almost destroyed the WORLD, Takashi! I might have killed people! I broke EVERY single rule or, if I didn't, it wasn't for lack of trying! I lost... I lost control. I just..." And then there were some tears. "I just... wasn't good enough. I was everything Sora said I was and I didn't even care. I can't... I don't know how to fix any of this. I don't even know how to start... I don't know what I'm supposed to do here anymore... so... I'm not... I don't..." And there were a few more tears. "Double... Trouble wants me to get better. And I will. And from there... I don't know. I'll just... try not to die and work it out from there. O-okay?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi pats Hinoiri on the head. It's hard to see her like this - defeated, truly. Not just beaten in a fight but defeated. He's sure he never wants anyone to see him like this. "I know, Hinoiri. I was there." he says, in regards to her nearly destroying the world. "But it wasn't a choice you made. The mistake you made was letting the energy control you. After that?" he says, turning his hands up in a shrug. "Not really decisions you made with your whole brain engaged."

    "So now you know the warning signs and can pull back. You know what causes it to overwhelm you. You've found your limit. Just operate underneath that and everything will be fine." he says.

    "Besides, you don't want to go around as a 'normal' person, right?" He says, spitting out the word normal like it's a vile curse. "It's not like you can go back to horselandia still. So you're gonna be here, do you want to just... be a regular student?" he asks. "Forget about magic, eventually?"

    "Bah, this isn't the time to ask you to think about it anyways. Right now you need to get bettter and you need to make sure you have people capable of defending you until you can defend yourself again." he says.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "I... I know. I just... I don't know if I can... operate... under it. every time I take off my necklace, I can feel it. Sunset of Sora... it's like... crawling in me... just under the surface... waiting... I don't know if I can... do it. Use dark energy again without becoming that."

"... I won't.... I won't be that again. I'd... I'd rather just be *normal*. If that's the... penalty for this, for what I did, I'll... I'll be it. I'll be... useless... a damn... pathetic... nothing. Mundane and... simple. It'll be the least I deserve after what I did..."

It'd likely mean more, though, if she didn't say it with such disgust and hurt in her voice. Hugging her knees to herself.

"... I don't know... maybe... there's another way. A way to not... be utterly... pathetic. Some middle ground... just..."

She looked up at him, a few tears going down her cheeks. "I'm scared, Takashi. I'm terrified. I don't... want to be that again. Nothing is worth that. Not even... not even this... I just..." and then she began to full on start crying.

"She didn't care. Not even a little. I left... I was gone for over a year... and she valued me so little... she didn't... write a single word i-in our book. She didn't s-scold me. She didn't yell at me. She didn't t-tell me to come home or stay away. S-she just... she forgot about me entirely. I-I wasn't even *worth it* to her. Worth *remembering*. Worth *thinking* about... And I don't... I don't know how to process any of this and I was going to destroy everything and everyone because I can't handle it and I'm so scared I'll do it again a-and I won't. I'd rather... I'd rather be mundane and pathetic and useless than let myself become that e-ever again!" She closed her eyes, shaking and crying into her knees...

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Look, just take some time to recuperate. Like you weren't in your right mind then but that doesn't mean you're in your right mind now, either. First you gotta heal up, do that before making any life decisions, okay?" he says, as the girl begins to cry. He puts an arm around her and hugs her because what else can he do?

    "Look, maybe she didn't write to you because it was too painful. Maybe she wanted to see if you'd write back first. Who knows what happened. You can't ask that now, though. It's time to stop letting Sora control your life - one way or another. Alright?" he says. He can't really offer the girl the support she needs, and he knows that. "Look. I have to go, I'll come back with some documents for you to unlock for me, but for right now I'm just going to go get DT for you." he says. And then pauses. "And just be wary of anyone who isn't DT or myself. Anybody who wouldn't normally visit you. Alright?" he suggests before heading out to send the person who is likely better at hugging Hinoiri to do just that. Or make it worse, it is DT.