4025/Socializing: Greater Than Algebra

Socializing: Greater Than Algebra
Date of Scene:	18 April 2016
Location:	Tomoeda-865
Synopsis:	The two girls from Tomoeda take a break from study to converse lke (mostly) regular high-schoolers.
Cast of Characters:	172, Tomoyo Daidouji

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Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    School and after-school activities are out in Tomoeda, the sky stained crimson by the setting sun. At the Daidouji mansion, the bedroom of the young heiress is mostly silent for once. No automatic embroiderer whirring away, no recordings being played on the giant television in the adjacent room.

    Instead, the only noise in the room is Tomoyo running through an algebra problem while she sits at her coffee table which is laden with books, snacks and tea. "... so you see, when they ask you to simplify, they would you to expand any brackets in the problem, and then start grouping like terms. So here you have a 12x and here a 3x. But because the 3x has a subtraction sign in front, you subtract the 3 when you group it. So you end up with 9x. Do you see~?"

    Next to her might be a certain Cardcaptor, who might be somewhat bewildered!

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
Sakura is, of course, sat beside Tomoyo! And she is... well, yes, somewhat bewildered. "Th... that doesn't -sound- simple..." she murmurs around a pocky stick she's apparently forgotten she was eating a moment ago. Mathematics are really not Sakura's strong suit!

    Kero is there too! Although he's been so unhelpful - he's worse at math than Sakura is! - that he's been relegated to the corner and 'forced' to wear an adorable little dunce cap.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo is good at reading people, especially if they are Sakura. She's basically the top Sakuraologist in the Multiverse at this point. And she can tell that, if Sakura is at the point where she might banish Kero away from snacks, it might be time to let her take it easy for a while.

    "Don't worry, you're doing wonderfully~ But, I'm getting a little thirsty. Let's take a break." And with that, the thick textbook is shut, removed from the table and dumped onto the couch next to the tailor. Shortly, it's replaced by a cup of tea and a slice of sponge cake with whipped cream and berries.

    Tomoyo stirs her tea serenely, a soft smile on her face. "So... how is everything, Sakura?" After... the unpleasantness, Tomoyo had taken great care to avoid bringing up the Multiverse to Sakura. Hearing her on the radio again though, it seems like she's past it.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura collapses backwards in relief when Tomoyo decides to stop. "It feels like I'm trying to think through fog. Or pea soup," she complains. "Kinomotos weren't meant to do math!" Of course, her father and her brother are both good at math. She really just takes after her mother.

    Meanwhile, hearing studying is over, Kero practically pounces back towards the coffee table.

    "Oh, you know. Everything is... fine, I guess." Sakura responds, still laying on her back and looking up at the ceiling. "It was weird the other day," she admits.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo just smiles at Sakura's overblown reaction. Thankfully the couch is a pretty wide one! "Well, it's good that you have so many greater talents to make up for this lesser one~" There she goes again, framing everything in a positive light.

    Kero is, of course, welcomed back with his own slice of cake and the dunce cap subtly removed, then put to the side. "Oh? You mean the filming? I have to say, you were very cool and dashing~" she says. Indeed, all the best shots of Sakura have been compiled and saved separately from the main film, but that part Tomoyo keeps to herself.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Kero doesn't waste time talking - he has cake to eat!

    "Well, no, that was... that actually felt kinda normal? I'm pretty much always half acting when I'm doing hero stuff anyway..." She shrugs, sitting up. "Just. Seeing Gawain and the-Saber-whose-name-I-can't-remember in person after not seeing any other Elites for so long? It was bizarre."

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo nods softly, taking a sip of her tea while she mulls over her best friend's words. "You've been living normally for a few months. I guess it would feel a little strange. Like the time after you caught the Cards but before Eriol arrived." She puts her cup back down and turns to smile down at Sakura.

    "But, for what it's worth, I think it was good for you~ You're back to your cheerful self." Tomoyo wasn't worried, of course. She knows that Sakura is the type to bounce back. But that doesn't mean she can't worry while Sakura is feeling blue.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura can't help but giggle. "I don't think the way I've been living can be described as 'normal'..." She glances at Kero, who has somehow managed to fit an entire strawberry in his mouth. It looks ridiculous, of course.

    "I'd be more cheerful if math would stop trying to be literature," she grumbles melodramatically, even shaking her fist at the textbooks. Then taking a bite of cake.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    "Normal is relative~" Tomoyo says sagely, giggling as Kero's head distends in response to the whole fruit being ingested. The cake is, of course, delicious. Coming from the staff of the Daidouji estate, one should expect nothing less.

    "And yet, you keep trying and remain... well, some degree of cheerful~" Sakura's mental resilience is honestly amazing, when you think about it. "That's why I'm so certain that your plan will succeed. At the very least, you'll draw a lot of allies with an attitude like that."

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura sticks her tongue out at Tomoyo. "You're amazing, Tomoyo. You can even turn a study session into an excuse to throw compliments at me~" she teases. "So... What have -you- been doing, anyway? Like... Sometimes you're not in Tomoeda, right? But you haven't told me anything that happened." Pause. "I-I'm not... faulting you for it! It's probably good that you didn't but, you know. I'm not on 'vacation' anymore."

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    "I can turn any situation into an excuse to compliment you," Tomoyo says, sounding far-too-proud of it. "Where have I been going? Well..." She thinks back on the past couple of months. "There was that whole Amarillo affair~ I wasn't there when it ended though. I also venture out to shop for new materials. Among other things."

    That's very vague, and not at all ominous.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura fixes Tomoyo with a suspicious eye for a second, before wrapping one arm around her and giggling. "As long as you're not importing anything I'd have to arrest you for importing~" she teases. She's still the Mage of Tomoeda, after all!

    "What was the Amarillo... thing?"

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Whoops. Based on recent local affairs, that might have been the wrong thing to say, Sakura! But, the tailor keeps it cool and just says, "Oh, of course not~" while leaning into the hug.

    She certainly won't be doing that any more...

    "Oh, it was quite a mess. Aliens crashed down, causing Elvis to die earlier than usual. We had to help them get back to space by gathering the parts of their ship, but there was a demon trying to do the same. But then it turns out an Exalted was behind it all? I wasn't there at the end, I only have the reports to go on. But apparently, I had met him before while he was disguised. While I was preparing for-"

    Tomoyo goes quiet. That's a name Sakura doesn't need to be reminded of.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura tilts her head. "Aliens, a demon -and- an Exalt? All at once? That sounds confusing." She shakes her head. She has no idea why Tomoyo might be importing stuff she'd have to arrest her for! And she doesn't suspect anything either. "While you were preparing for..?"

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Sakura can be pretty dense sometimes. But even she's not dense enough to not notice Tomoyo trying to change the topic at this point. So, from behind the hand she raised to her mouth, she says, "Jack Slash..." with an apologetic look in her eyes.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    There's a pause. A slightly uncomfortably long pause. "Oh, okay." Nom! More cake. Also tea! Tea is good. "...Exalts are way too good at disguises. Did you know that the old shogun of the Confederacy used to be in the Union pretending to be a Solar Exalt?"

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Well, the topic was changed in the end. And Tomoyo is happy to accept the change in topic~ "Oh my goodness, really? This Exalt was disguised as a spider... I wonder what else he could be."

    Tomoyo's eyes scan her room for a moment, before she shakes her head and drains her cup. Thoughts like that will just make you paranoid. And there's no need for two mostly-mundane paranoids in the Union. General Hall is more than enough!

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    She tilts her head to one side. "Oh, was he one of the... moony ones? They can turn into animals right?" Pause. "Or am I thinking of Laine..." She hmmms. "You'd think I'd know more about the ones connected to the moon considering the moon is my favourite celestial object~" Because Syaoran is aspected toward the moon, you see.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    "Well, that's the thing. They're apparently an 'Abyssal Exalted.' Which aren't a thing in the world he's supposedly from. Which means... either he's lying, or we don't have all the facts." She takes a cookie for herself and ponders. "Maybe the last of his kind, whose clan was wiped out and expunged from all records?..." Tomoyo no, you're reading too much trashy fantasy again.

    But, she certainly understood that reference. "Is that so? I like stars the most personally." Wow, she wasn't kidding. She really can compliment Sakura no matter what.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Keroberos, Beast of the Seal and the Sun, just kinda huffs in the background.

    Sakura gasps. "The last of his kind! Oh, that's so tragically romantic..." No, Sakura, stop.

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Smoothly, Tomoyo says, "Well, the sun is a star, just much closer~" to soothe Kero's ego. "It is, isn't it? Maybe he's just misguided on his path to revenge, and only needs some friends to show him a better way?"

    There's no stopping them now.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Kero makes another grunt and goes back to cake.

    "I tried that once. It doesn't tend to go well." She rubs the back of her head. "I mean, assuming he's a Confederate..."

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    "Oh Sakura, how quickly you forget~" Tomoyo says sagely, a small grin on her face. "Think about it; how did you get Syaoran and Meiling on your side? They certainly weren't at first." Indeed, the two had been downright abrasive. Syaoran practically tried to mug her!

    "You didn't do anything special, did you? You just treated them with the same warmth and kindness you treat everyone with. And it worked." Tomoyo bites into a strawberry, chewing on it so Sakura can chew on those words. "It's like we agreed on the radio; you just need to have faith. Faith that if you treat people nicely, they'll come around. It might take time, but it will work eventually."

    She looks to her best friend and smiles. "Am I wrong?"

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura rubs the back of her head. "We were ten years old back then..." She giggles nervously. "And, um. I'm pretty sure some people really ARE just... terrible people without a shred of decency in their hearts. Like Lute."

Tomoyo Daidouji has posed:
    Tomoyo nods slowly while biting her lower lip. "You think so? I guess you have more experience than me in this kind of thing." The tone of her voice suggests that she doesn't entirely believe it. Or that she doesn't want to believe it.

    This is getting depressing again. Time to change topic! "So, I was wondering~ When you give magic to everyone and found some magic schools... can I design the uniform~?" She gives Sakura a hopeful look! How can you refuse that face?

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura blinks. Then bursts into a fit of giggles. "As long as you don't make a new uniform every week," she teases, with a grin.