Scene #531: Sunset Setsuna -- At The Hospital

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Rashmi Terios	Hospitals are places of healing. They are also the next best thing that Earth has to purgatory, when one is in possession of one's faculties. The sun is setting on Tokyo, on her first full day of her stay in the hospital. Bandages have been changed regularly, only mild painkillers on request have been given her, and Rashmi has received a good deal of praise for how well the treatments are setting in. For someone admitted with bad burn-wounds over a good deal of their body, she's doing well! But still so, so bored. Her Lord of the Rings omnibus has been read into, and homework half-done. But now that the bulk of her visitors have come and gone, and the hours are beginning to stretch, Rashmi does the one thing that she has -- to admit a moment of cowardice -- she has been putting off; informing a medical professional that she is in the care of other medical professionals. TXT -- RashmiT: Hiiiii, Setsuna-sensei. TXT -- RashmiT: So just so you don't hear from it from someone else and worry. TXT -- RashmiT: In the hospital, got burned pretty badly. TXT -- RashmiT: Gas canister blew up. TXT -- RashmiT: Yeah. TXT -- RashmiT: How're you?
Setsuna Meiou	The response Rashmi gets is...nothing. Well, kind of. Apparently, Setsuna's phone is an advanced enough model to have the 'recieved by' notifications...so the little checkmarks at the bottom of Rashmi's texts let her know that not only have her texts been delivered, but that they've been seen. However, there's no response from the older woman. Well, apparently. Instead, about 45ish minutes after the texts are seen, the door to Rashmi's room opens up and, depending on the placement of her bed and what's in the way, she may or may not see a very very short girl with a peculiar shade of green hair in a rather familiar hairstyle walk in and close the door behind her. She's wearing a rather plain denim skirt that comes down close to her ankles and a very generic black T-shirt and a pair of sneakers with a bit of a wedge heel built into them. She's also got a full size backpack on her back. She turns around and carefully closes the door behind her, then walks over to the end of the bed, absently picks up the chart and looks it over. Her complexion is also rather...familiar, too. However, the biggest clue is probably when she walks over to the side of the bed and looks at Rashmi with her purple eyes and says, "Okay, tell me what the hell REALLY happened to you, because if that was a gas canister explosion, I'll eat a balrog." Yes, in her hurry to get here, apparently Setsuna has forgotten at least two things. A: That she's currently physically about 12. And B: That she hasn't told Rashmi of this fact.
Rashmi Terios	That the texts aren't answered... well there could be any number of reasons. They got read, and as long as Setsuna is informed, that's enough... right? When the door opens, it actually startles her out of a half-doze, which is probably for the best; lately her dreams have been gunked up with fire and Dark Energy and a scream of terrifying hatred. So it's not the silence of familiarity that greets the unfamiliarly-small visitor, but a palpable spike of fear. One that lessens, as Rashmi takes in the hair, and the face, and... ...Wait... ... ..... ....... ..... ... "...I thought you were taller, Setsuna-sensei...?"
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna is...kind of starting to understand how Chrono feels. A little, at least. Ha. Ha. However, with the teasing from her roommates, she's gone past 'annoyed' through 'upset' moved past 'exasperated' and has transcended to 'fight fire with fire'. Thus, she just shakes her head, "Yes, normally I'm three kobolds in a labcoat, but two of them came down sick so it's just the one today." She then pulls off the backpack and sets it in a chair nearby, "So...what happened, Rashmi-chan?"
Rashmi Terios	...Y'know what? That response is just ridiculous enough that it allows Rashmi to roll with it; the weirdness is almost refreshing after the punitive dullness of a hospital stay. But of course the question was going to happen, and after recounting the tale once, the second time is... less stuffed with remembered terror. And so Rashmi talks. About Sunbreaker, and finding the sorceress draining people to heal herself. About the Dark Energy field that made Sunbreaker stronger, and attenuating the magics of herself and her allies. About the tower, and about the satellite-antenna youma, and about firing on Sunbreaker to disrupt an attack on one of her allies. About accidentally hitting Sunbreaker's wounded hand. About the assault that followed, and how darkness-fueled fire blasted through her defenses again and again and again. About how when the smoke cleared, how she was just a ball of pain and terror. And about how Sunbreaker just left, when Rashmi was certain that rage wouldn't stop until she, herself, was dead. Blotting her face -- the memory is still fresh, after all, but she does understand the importance of a proper defrief -- Rashmi looses a long, shuddering sigh. "...The doctors say I'm recovering pretty well... But I've been burned before, Setsuna-sensei. And it didn't feel like a burn, even a bad one. It was, like... the kind of hate that eats at your guts, but real."
Setsuna Meiou	At first, Setsuna might look like she's utterly stoic and not reacting to Rashmi's recounting...at least as long as one doesn't look at her hands, and the white-knuckle grip she's got on the railing to the other girl's bed. In fact, the first sign might be when there's a bit of a groaning sound from overstressed plastic. At which point it will probably become evident that she's trying VERY VERY hard NOT to react as she slowly gets out a very strained, "...I...see." This isn't the first time she's heard the name 'Sunbreaker' in regards to someone in her care getting burned...though the last time wasn't nearly as bad. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then she slowly says, "...so you say it was this...Ironbutt that did this to you?"
Rashmi Terios	"...Ye-e-eeees...?" Rashmi answers tentatively, eyes flicking down to the railing, widening in alarm. "...But I mean... Look just... just..." Sighing, she gropes for the button to raise the bed, allowing her to look at Setsuna directly, with less strain. "...Let it go, please? For now? Just... I got hurt, yeah. People tried to save me and she just blew them aside. Don't... not for me, okay? Chrono-kun's getting Nicomachea looked at, I'll heal up, and when everything's better then maybe we can look for her." Is Rashmi babbling? Perhaps a bit, but there's a very real concern, that if one of her friends goes haring off to get payback, it might not end so well as one badly-burned mage. And if so, then that'll be on Rashmi.
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna looks down at her hands...and it seems to take her a conscious effort to get her hands to let go of the railing...but after a few moments, she manages to do so. She looks down at her trembling hands, then places them flat on the bed, her arms shaking a little as she closes her eyes and takes a few long, deep breaths in and out through her nose. Eventually, she seems to get her temper under control once more, and she then says, "...Rashmi, you are the second person I personally know who has been badly burned by this 'Ironbutt', and both of you are under my care. I am legitimately livid right now, which, frankly, surprises the hell out of me. I thought I lost that capacity a long, long time ago."
Rashmi Terios	"...'Ironbutt,'" Rashmi repeats, chuckling. Partly because she's a teenager and butt jokes are still funny, partly because maybe mollifying Setsuna might help to keep her backed off. "...Can I ask who the other one was? Because maybe it'll help them to talk. ...I'm pretty sure it'll help me. And..." Clearing her throat, Rashmi turns to hunt for her glasses. When her eyes are properly focused, she turns back to look closely at Setsuna, brows furrowing. "...That's so weird... what even happened? ...Anyway. I'm not going to just sit here waiting to get better, Setsuna-sensei. That fire magic... that's a problem. And I know you haven't seen me fight, but... I don't attack enemies, I don't hurt people I don't like. I solve problems. And Chrono-kun... he really, really thinks if I wanted, and if I could leave, I could have a long career as a TSAB mage. He believes in me, Setsuna-sensei. So... I'm going to figure some things out, and maybe have an answer to the problem of 'How can I keep -Ironbutt- from hurting people like that again?'"
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna, "I don't know if you've met her. It's Guardian Daifuku. She got her hands burned pretty bad a week or two ago." She frowns, "...and I think I'll have to give her a call and see if she can make me some of the doriyaki we made to fix her hands. They should help you get better quicker, at the very least." As Rashmi asks about her, Setsuna looks a little embarrassed and she turns her head to look away while scratching one cheek, "...yeah, I got caught up in someone's magical prank. Myself and someone else had our apparent ages switched. I got turned into a twelve year old and she got turned into an adult." She then pauses, listens to Rashmi go one, then nods and says, "...let's just...not talk about her for now. Everytime I think of her I want to go round up a possee of all the magical people I know and teach her the 'Chicago Way'...and I have a feeling you don't want me to do that just yet." She then shakes her head and turns to pull open the backpack she'd brought, "...anyhow, I knew you'd be stuck here for a bit, so I brought some entertainment." And out of the bag she pulls a very thin but obviously high-end laptop.
Rashmi Terios	"Oh Daifuku-chan, yeah I know her! ...Wait wow, she can make healing food?" When you're growing up and you thought a spice artist was capable of magic by pure smell and taste alone, then you find out food can actually be magic? Sometimes the mahou life is just its own reward, isn't it? And then at Setsuna's description of the prank, she can't help but stifle a giggle. "...Okay so that's why you've been out of office, okay. Wow... I'm never gonna look at a substitute teacher without wondering what kind of magic nonsense the real teacher got caught up in." Settling back, the redhead nods, eyebrows rising as the laptop is brought out. "Oh yeah? What've you got? Because um... Once I figure out how to change formats, Chrono-kun left me with something I can trade you for." Reaching over to the end table, she plucks up a tiny, glowing cube, holding up in the tips of her fingers with a grin. "Remember how Chrono-kun said he brought his own movies and stuff?"
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna blinks at the cube, "Oh! Neat! That will be kinda cool." She then opens the laptop. It's not the biggest baddest thing on the planet, but it's apparently top of the line with a top-end screen and pretty good specs all around besides weighing literal ounces. She points to one icon, "So it's got an ebook reader with a bunch of stuff already preloaded, though I'll admit a lot of it's in English. Dunno if you've read the Pern books yet, but they're all there along with the whole Wheel of Time, but I REALLY hope you're not stuck here long enough to get through THOSE." She then points to another few familiar icons, "You've got all the streaming services worth the name here..." Then she points to two other icons, "And if you're feeling a bit more active and want to get your Tolkien on, You've got both Shadows of Mordor and Shadows of War here."
Rashmi Terios	Rashmi is not in Computer Club. Nor does she have a particular understanding of the specs and power of computers in general. But nobody can mistake four-figure electronics for anything else, and the daughter of restauranteurs knows very well when something is out of her average price range. The way her eyes widen, and she reaches out with a bandaged hand to carefully touch the laptop... Well, it's with all the appreciation of someone allowed to put a hand on a ten-carat diamond necklace. "Uwaaaa... Setsuna-sensei, it's amazing! Seriously, thank you so much! I... woooooow." One unbandaged finger twiddles the touchpad for a moment, then she smiles brightly. "I'll give it back as soon as I'm let go, I promise."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna wavewaves a hand dismissively, "Eh, don't worry about it too much. When you're as old as I am, things like this only mean as much as it makes other people happy." With that, she reaches into her bag, pulls out a mouse to hand to Rashmi, "Dunno if this'll be easier for you to use. Some people are pants with touchpads." She then gets out the power cord, arranges it and pulls over one of those rolling tables for the other girl to set the laptop on for later when she's done with it. One more time into the bag and she retrieves a black tube about the size of a can of Pringles, "And here's a speaker for you, since the one built in is kinda meh." She then thinks back a moment, "...yeah...Daifuku can make stuff that heals, apparently. I had to help her cook because she got stuck with hands she couldn't cook with and therefore couldn't make stuff to heal herself." She pauses, then giggles, "...her magic manifests a full professional-grade kitchen when she activates it...and I SO want to get her some really high-end ingredients and go all Chairman Kaga on her some day..." She trails off, then takes a breath and changes the pitch of her voice as best she can at her size as she channels Chairman Kaga, "...Today's secret ingredient...CHEESE."
Rashmi Terios	"I'm gonna worry about it!" Rashmi insists, eyes wide. "This is--" the mouse, okay, but the speaker on top of the laptop itself, and Rashmi just... fritzes in place for a moment, trying to wrap her head around someone just handing her a computer that probably costs more than any two appliances in her parents' kitchen. After a moment, she just lets loose a long, slow sigh, and privately resolves to pay Setsuna back in whatever way she possibly can. Nevermind that it'd take four summers' worth of actual day jobs, not just bumming around the family restaurant as a server to barter for extra spending money, at the very least. "I'll take such good care of it, Setsuna-sensei. Seriously." Because worse than being actively treating someone terribly, would be to not show due appreciation when nice things are handed out. Luckily, in comes Setsuna with talk of magical kitchens to derail the redhead's train of thought. "Wait. A whole kitchen? Seriously? I know that sweets are her specialty, I wonder how she'd turn cheese into a dessert! ...I mean I know how Papi does it, but that's way different."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna shakes her head, "Desserts may be her specialty and/or the focus of her magic...but I think she can probably cook regular food in there, too." She smiles, "...I mean, non-sweets might not magical in the LITERAL sense...but I REALLY kinda wanna get a few good cooks in there and see what they can come up with one day when things aren't hectic. I'm even willing to spring for the really good ingredients as long as I get to try some of what comes out of there." She smirks, "...I'm PRETTY sure I can find a crushed black velvet jacket with sequins in my size SOMEWHERE."
Rashmi Terios	"...Maybe not your size now," Rashmi can't help but say, "But that would be so much fun, yeah. ...Speaking of! I have to do something nice for you too, Setsuna-sensei. Let me talk to Mami, and I'll see if she can mix up something special for you? I don't know if you cook, but... Seriously you need to try one of her spice blends sometime."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna shrugs, "My cooking skills kinda end at 'Okay'? I can do a pretty decent breakfast, but my skills pretty much top out around the level of 'short order cook'. I've got all kinds of stuff in my kitchen I barely know how to use. Maybe you can come over some time and use it." She blinks, then says, "Oh! As long as you can put up with only using induction stuff. From what I understand, some people seem to think not using actual flames somewhere in the process is a kind of blasphemy or something?" She shrugs, "Personally, I don't particlarly trust myself not to accidentally burn myself or something, so I got the induction top."
Rashmi Terios	At this, Rashmi waves a hand. "I'm not great, but I kinda have a professional chef to measure up against, and the first rule about cooking professionally is? Whatever cuts down on time and danger is legitimate. Besides; if someone can make amazing food using a camp stove, anyone who turns their nose up at an induction stove? Dumb. Pure and simple. But... yeah I know a few things, I could probably teach you. Most of it being 'what to smell for' and 'how to interperet taste.'" The bandaged redhead grins broadly. "First lesson will be toasting spices. You figure out how to do that, you can play with your cooking." "Second lesson, and this is important; you're not putting half as much butter in your food as any restaurant is. Guaranteed."