1711/You really pissed her off

You really pissed her off
Date of Scene:	30 June 2024
Location:	Mitakihara General Hospital
Synopsis:	Takashi sneaks in a visit to Hinoiri, checking up on his favorite unicorn... and learns some information about who's been attacking her. He also... offers her a possible taste of magic. Which definitely won't backfire.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Takashi Agera

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was laying in bed, hooked up to... so many machines. She.... she didn't look that good. She'd looked worse, sure, but she was covered in bandages. Then again, most the machines were monitoring machines, not so much 'Oh, she's dying' machines. So this was probably better.

Either way, though, she appeared to be, for the most part, asleep. Hugging a rather large sun-stuffy to her chest. Hair a mess, a little drool down the side of her face onto her pillow. Truly, the greatest of magical villains obsidian had ever known. However had they made it this far without her?

The last message Takashi had received from her was a desperate cry for 'help'... and since then? The only thing he'd know was that she was at the hospital. Not... the best thing, or way, for him to learn. All things concidered.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi Agera, once more, arrives to meet Hinoiri in the hospital. It's not easy - she's persona non grata with Obsidian, so he sure can't come as Riventon, but even his 'Takashi Agera' civlian form is known to the company. So he has to make sure he's not seen, as Obsidian often knows a lot more than they should about a lot of things. That's why he's slipping into the door of Hinoiri's room, rather than knocking or anything. Axion tells him it only reads one person there, which is both good for him and surprising. He'd warned her, hadn't he?

    "Heyyy...." he calls. "You awake over there?" He asks. He doesn't even use her name, not yet. Not while he's looking around the room both physically and magically. Making sure they're alone and trying to find any sensors as well. He can hide from detection if he wasn't using magic actively though, so it stands to reason maybe someone else had figured that out as well.

    "Check check, test test."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara opened her eyes and then, slowly, groggily, looked up at him... before giving the softest little moan. "You're not here to try and kill me too, are you? Because I'll be honest, I've had way too many people trying to do that lately and I'm kind of getting annoyed by it. Most of them aren't even that good at it, considering the whole I'm still alive thing."

There was some teasing to her tone... but ell, he could see how tense she'd gotten. She was actually considering it. But, after a moment, she relaxed. "No... no, I imagine not. If you were here to kill me, you wouldn't announce yourself, now would you? Most of the others tried to..." She trailed off before shaking her head.

"What brings you to my neck of the woods, Agera-san?" Agera-san? It seemed there was still some tension there. Some anxiety on her side. And she was hugging the plushy pretty strong.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "You can tell I have no interest in killing you because one: I told you people would be trying and two: you're not dead. Also Three: I'm not in henshin and I snuck in." Takashi says, counting them off visually on his fingers.

    "Anyways, what brings me here is that you look like you got in a fight with a flaming mummy, then lost, and it infected you with severe bandage wrap. Or something." he says. "What the hell happened? Last I heard the Board was mostly still tied up in indecisions."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "Well... I'll be out of here later today, so.... the sparkles came through for me. And so far there has been... quite a few attempts on my life. Catra told me that the board sends their regards, so it seems their indecisiveness went away. As for why I'm in the hospital... again? Chaar. Apparently... she uhhhh... she took all the things I did to her, and everyone, rather personally. Not that I can blame her. Just, you know..."

"... She chased me through a super market, toying with me like a cat with its food. I don't know if she even wanted to kill me... I just know she wanted to make me hurt. I really am lucky to have not died, considering all the stuff she... was doing... to me at the time..."

"... I really thought I would die, then. Because... she trapped me in the building with her. I didn't think the sparkles werre going to get there in time and..."

"... Sorry if my text scared you."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Yeah, well, it sounds like you didn't have much time to explain the situation." He says, with a sigh. "Wish I could rig up some kind of... tool to let you directly communicate with Axion. But no magic, so..." he shrugs helplessly. "I was worried, but so far you've had a kna- wait. Catra?" he pauses.

    "I didn't hear anything about Catra. Nobody went to me about that." he says. "I mean, she's nominally my employee but she also does a lot of what she wants, but..." he grits his teeth. "I don't like that. Not one bit." For a lot of reasons.

    "Man, you must have really pissed her off, though. Chaar's like... she's got something going on, the girls all do, that's giving them more power than they should have - but she was just petulant and whiny last time I saw her."

    "Well, that's what you taught them to do, right? Not to kill, but to wound. I'm sure some of the people you put away thought you were going to kill them, too. So don't worry about it. Or..." he pauses. "Considering Catra, maybe do worry about it. I'm surprised you're here alone."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shook her head. "No... no I really didn't. She made sure of that. I could have died... I possibly even should have. Smoke inhalation and... they had to cut my jacket off, you know. It's in pieces. Apparently melted to my skin. Real nasty. They weren't entirely sure I'd be okay..."

"As for Catra? I don't know if she really wanted to be there at all. She didn't look happy. then again, when does she?"

She rested her head on the stuffy. "I... I really thought... I don't think I've ever been that scared. I really don't think I've ever been as scared as I was there. When she was..."

She stroked a hand over her geode. "I came so, so close to tossing off my geode. To just... going back to dark energy. But... I know Sunset would have returned, if I had. I might have killed her."

She shook her head. "I'm not as alone as it seems. I'd tell yopu more, but I imagine it's best you don't know." After all, she WAS dating Double Trouble... she could be anyone. Or anything.

"I don't want to make anyone ever feel the way I felt there. It was horrible."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "She looks happy when she's eating Sushi, if she doesn't know you're watching." Takashi offers, less than helpfully. He slowly moves over closer to her, his eyes downcast.

    "I mean, she did try to nearly kill you first. There's a reason I talk about escalation like it's my favorite word. I mean, it's really not, but." he gestures to Hinoiri's body. "This isn't gonna make anybody feel like Chaar isn't worth bringing out the heavy artillery for." he notes.

    "I'd almost be proud, if it was my work that made her like this, but she should be a lot more controllable. She should be a lot more dependent on the Company. She should be worried about breaking rules and protocol. But she's not. Some sort of secondary power source... somebody tampered with my work and I have a good idea who. I'll need to let Osaka-san get her hands on some data, though. If I put all of the peices together and just tell them..." he shakes his head. "I can't do that. No plausible deniability at all."

    "You don't think, knowing what you know now, that you could control Sunset of Sora?" he asks. "I mean, when I'm Riventon, there are times when I feel like it might get away from me, so I just grip it tighter. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm just trying to understand from your perspective. I don't think you can keep living your life going from hospital ward to hospital ward."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "It's not. I... told everyone, not to. To let her go. That she's not... that this was my fault. That I... pushed her. Taught her. But... but she was... cruel. I didn't realize... that's how she saw me. I can't say I'm surprised. Still.... still kind of hurts, knowing I made both of the people I trained hate me so much..." she muttered. "Chaar makes sense. I... I really bucked it up with her. I was so worried about her escalating things and getting hurt, I never even considered how she actually felt, how.... how scared she actually was."

"I was a jerk... a massive, incredible jerk..."

She glanced up at him. Control it? Her? SERIOUSLY? She opened her mouth to object, then stopped. A hand gripping her geode.

"I guess that's it, isn't it? It's really... this for me. Either Sunset of Sora... or keep... getting put in the hospital. They didn't come in time, this time. They tried. But they still weren't fast enough. But..."

"Sunset of Sora almost killed so, so many people. Innocent people. She would have. *I* would have. And it wouldn't have even upset me at the time. I don't.... I don't know if I could ever control that..."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi shrugs. "I mean, how you behaved with her would have been something easier for her to take if you hadn't gone off. I think she probably feels slightly betrayed. You went through a lot to teach her to be as good as she can be, but... now you're not there and she's got power from another source. Dark Energy, you know? It'll push her to prove she's better than you. Abandonment isn't a situation most people handle well. And I know that's not what you did, but. Perspective."

    Takashi sighs. "Look, you're not the only one to leave Obsidian. I mean, you know someone who did, but I won't say that - it's their story to tell, not mine." he notes. "But they're not dodging assassins every day. Sure, you did demonstrate a level of power they didn't... but... I think eventually, they'll probably back off. Maybe not officially, but practically." he says. "I don't suppose we can get you back to Kirakira? That might be safer."

    Then he pauses. "Actually, that gives me an idea.... once you're out of the hospital. Maybe I can do a little more for you in terms of getting you some power. Without Dark Energy. I can hardly claim mastery if I can only work with Dark Energy and not you know, regular energy, right?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Yeah. Funny... thing... is? I'd... I'd be back with Obsidian now, if they were. You know? Not trying to kill me. I mean... I don't... know if I'd... want to keep working on everything I was doiung. But I wouldn't... Obsidian was there when I needed it. I'd feel indebted to them."

Then her tone went flat. "Now? Now any information I get to screw them over I'd give straight to the sparkles. Your bosses really aren't the smartest, you know? I hope when they inevitably turn on you, that you have more backups in place than I did."

Yes, she was bitter.

"And I... tried that. Portal is random. I have no idea when it'll open again. As far as I know, it hasn't opened since... since a little before I went crazy. For all I know, my little tantrum closed it for good. I might just be trapped here... forever..." she muttered, giving a little shudder.

However, his notion perked her interest. "You.... really think you could do something like that? Without dark energy? Like... a normal sparkle? Wait, not like Chaar and the others, right? Something... else?" she asked. Excited, but wary.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi nods. "I've been quiet partly because I've been setting up some contingency plans, yeah. I don't plan to go all crazynuts and try to kill a bunch of youma, the sun, and all of that. But... I can see a world where I'd need to go it alone. For now, though, I can make use of their resources." He says, after looking around the room once again.

    "Something else, yeah. I don't know. It's... admittedly, not in my field of personal expertise. But I think it might work if only because you had magic before - both Dark Energy and your home. So... in theory your linker core is... a little more open. Basically if it'll work on anyone it would work with you. And I've got some of those artifacts we heisted from your homeland. Been doing a little study, when I can get Mami to hold them for me. I still can't touch the things." he says.

    "I'm not saying I can. I don't want you to get too excited. But... I think I'm closing in on some stuff, from a theory perspective. And it probably won't hurt you to try." he pauses. "Probably. I make no guarantees." he says, holding his hands up. "But once you're better, I've got a place set up outside of Obsidian we can do some work at."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort. "Yeah... probably not. But, ummm. Keep an eye on Catra and Chaar, okay? They... might. And they're... both idiots. But... I don't want what happened to me, to happen to them. And I don't want them to die. If I'd been a better teacher, maybe I could have done better by them."

She laid back and closed her eyes. Slowly, a small smile formed on her lips. "If anyone can, I figure you can. You're almost as smart as me when it comes to magic and now you're the only one with access to the tools needed to do it. And... I wouldn't mind trying. So long as there isn't anything with dark energy. Just... don't do anything that'll likely get me, or someone else, killed."

Pause.

"And I'm including you in that list of 'someone else'. And... thanks for not joining the list of 'let's kill Hinoiri'. With everyone else... I honestly thought you might try, too. I thought... I thought Catra was my friend. I didn't think she'd try that..."

"... Buck, I hate being the Naru. Oh! Did I tell you? Naru laid out Thetis when we were on a cruise. It was hilarious. Sure, she threw me out a window a moment later. Thetis, not Naru. Still funny, though."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "I don't know what caused Catra to do that - it's pretty... active and aggressive for her, and you'd expect them to reach out to me rather than her. She didn't even mention it." Takashi says, looking up. "I'm guessing you're sure it was actually her? I mean, I might accuse Double Trouble but the only shapeshifter I know of is on your side. Except... well, there was one time, once, where I had to fight someone who was pretending to be you. Never did figure out who it was, but I don't think it was Deetee."

    Takashi smirks. "Look, just helping you in general might get me in trouble, but so would being here without trying to blast or stab you." he admits. "I do all sorts of things that might get me into trouble. The trick is staying one step ahead of it. Trouble's always chasing me, but it's never caught me." he says with a wink.

    "No Dark Energy. Probably need you to work as a lab assistant though, I still can't touch that stuff from your world without it burning, and there's some stuff that's hard to do in a secure case." he says. "Plus, I don't want to break out into showtunes."

    And then Takashi laughs a bit. "You didn't tell me about Osaka-san and Thetis, but I've heard. I haven't given her too much heckling over it because I'm trying to fly under the radar for a bit, but... it's a very funny rumor around Obsidian."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light nod. "She had that sword you made for her and was using the magic I taught her. So if it wasn't her, it was really, really good at imitation. She said the board sent her, so.... I don't know. Maybe they don't want to go through you after all? Or they don't feel she's doing enough."

"Maybe you should make sure the rest of your team is more... visible. The last thing you'd want is one of them getting a target on their backs because nobody saw them actually doing anything. Not everyone's like me and has... a lot of sparkles keeping me safe."

"... But yeah, I'll be your lab assistant. That magic doesn't burn me, at least. And it'd be nice to get my hands into the magic again." She left out the fact that she, admittedly, would be doing the same with some of the girls on this side. But it was probably better he didn't know. He might need to report it and well... "Showtunes aren't that bad. I thought Mami's was pretty great. I loved the dance number." She gave the stuffy another little squeeze. "Speaking of avoiding trouble, though. How much longer do you think you have before someone gets suspicious? I'll be out very soon, so if you want to chat... well, you have my number."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi shrugs and rubs the back of his neck. "I don't know. It's not like I have to report where I am every second. I don't think they're looking at me as closely as they were." Takashi says.

    "Yeah, we'll probably have to get more visible if only so we don't have people thinking we're not in. Probably soon. I don't know what's going on in Beryl's office but it feels like that pressure of hers is only growing. Kinda makes my hair stand on end, so I wouldn't be spending as much time in there anyways. Plus my office is... noisier than it used to be." Because Glimmer.

    "But I don't want to put you at risk for smalltalk, no. We can talk later, over beakers and burners, it's a more familiar setting for us anyways." he adds. Remembering Mami's showtune brings a little color to his face. "Yeah... well, I don't think I would pull it off quite as well as she did. She's got a whole ballet theme and I do not."

    "Anyways, stay safe. I'll be in touch soonish." he says, heading towards the door.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara watched him go, giving a small nod and waiting...

The moment he was gone, she laid back and closed her eyes, hugging the stuffy to her chest. He didn't want her dead. Good. He... didn't.

Some people still liked her. Some people... some people didn't hate her. She might even have friends. That made her... happy.

And another opportunity to get her hands into magic. Even if it didn't work... it'd be nice to be able to work with it again. Even if just as a lab assistant. She'd just need to keep her work with Coco separate from her work with Takashi. How hard could it be?

Things really were looking up for her now...