Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Go Shijima     Seito University Hospital is a major stronghold in the fight against the Bugster virus. From the outside, it doesn't look like much--the beige exterior is styled with modern tastes in mind, but the campus itself seems small for the task laid out before its staff.

    Not long ago, several determined individuals came to blows with a Bugster, and there was debate. 'Risk the patient to study the virus, or destroy the Bugster to save the patient?' The latter choice is the one that was made--but Go Shijima knows what it's like, wanting desperately to help and being unable to.

    "Thank you so much for coming, everyone," says Go, genuinely. His voice is soft, and there's a gracious nod given to each person here. He seems surprised to have gotten such a turnout. The meeting place is the hospital cafeteria, and he gestures to an empty table. There's already a doctor seated there, with a youthful face, black hair that nearly covers his eyes and both ends of a stethoscope brushing against either lapel of his coat.

    "This is Dr. Hojo--we met last week when I was looking for a point of contact about the vaccine," explains Go, taking a seat beside the doctor. "There were..." He frowns. "/Other/ avenues for development, and fighting the virus, but if you guys didn't like Lifesaver's idea, I'm sure you won't like this one."

    Go smiles. "Anyway..." The carbonated -pssht- of a soda being opened, and the creak of a flimsy hospital cafeteria chair in gaudy green. "I probably can't help the way that all of you can. Dr. Hojo, what would you say the biggest obstacles are right now, as far as getting the vaccine rolled out?" After that question is posed, he takes a sip--his way of saying, 'ok, I'll be quiet now.'
X X and Lifesaver are both present, both of them standing off to the side. While X was much closer to a regular human's proportions, if not bulkier, Lifesaver really takes the cake. Despite visibly having no armaments, his body is like a moving medical fortress, which makes it shocking that his arms have the range of movement to fold themselves behind his back.

Both of the representatives for the Maverick Hunters seem to be all business, and lack the easy-going geniality that Go was providing; Go .. he really does seem more relaxed now than he has been in the past. Like the heaviness in his heart has been bleeding out; like an oil change. X thinks to himself.

"We'd prefer not to endanger life needlessly," X puts on the table, " -- Lifesaver's suggestions have merit towards this end, but, naturally we'd also like to hear out any potential ideas that Dr. Hojo might have." he concludes.

Lifesaver rumbles, additionally, "Your assistance is invaluable, Go Shijima. At any rate, I am also curiousas to the other suggestions that could be provided, given how little luck we've had in being able to study the virus in action. The problem is that its composition shifts completely based on the level of viral activity, at least, according to the preliminary research that we have been been able to perform."
Rita Ma      Rita is here- of course, in her guise as a perfectly ordinary girl. Nobody here, save for Hibiki, can gainsay that- at least, not yet.

     Her demeanor is uneasy and timid. As she enters, her eyes linger on X and Lifesaver; her expression turns into a light, apologetic grimace. She can infer, at least, that they're the people whose plans she was defying.

     I'm not sorry that I did it. If Hibiki hadn't done it first, I would have, anyway. 'Monsters that hurt people need to be destroyed'. Isn't that true? ... But I am sorry for the rift it's put between Hibiki and X. For her sake, maybe we can find a better path.

     Unusually, she doesn't bother getting any food or drinks for herself- she just sits down, lays her hands on the empty table in front of her, and fidgets restlessly with her fingers. That fidgeting, once introductions are done, is interrupted by offering a hand to the doctor to shake. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Hojo," she says. "I'm Rita Ma. I hope we can be of some assistance." Her words, even translated, give the impression of a briefly heightened level of formality.

     Unless she turns out to be a girl genius, it's hard to imagine what contribution she could have to a medical process like this, but she's prepared to listen with rapt attention.
Cantio Cantio looks like she's seen better days when she arrives at Seito University Hospital. She's not injured or anything, but she does look a little worn down by the time she arrives in a slightly different looking outfit with a purple tie and black stockings that almost make it look like she's wearing pants under her shirt dress thing.

"Thanks for having us, Mister Shijima. Doctor... Hojo?" Taking a seat at the table as well, Cantio lets out a relieved noise as though she hasn't sat for a while, but still takes a moment to smooth out her skirt. She tenses up briefly when she hears X and Lifesaver speaking, then relaxes when the latter starts talking about his findings.

"My research has been... Well, I've been able to figure out a few things, but not much in terms of actual cures. I still need to analyze things in more detail, but..." She cricks her neck lightly, pausing for a moment to smile politely and wave at Rita when she introduces herself. "Ah, hello there. I'm Cantio, Drive C... Second-in-command of Cadenza. It's good to meet you."

She chuckles briefly, then claps her hands on her knees. "R-right. The research... So far, it looks like bugsters have to be eliminated completely in order for the patients to recover. Anything less isn't enough. And their ability to spread is like real virus. Exposure, food, injections..."
Hibiki Tachibana     Hibiki is here. Maybe she shouldn't be, she almost wasn't. She told Rita as much before - she doesn't think she has much to contribute to a scientific endeavor like this in the first place. It's pretty much the opposite of her forte, after all. She's in the same boat as Go when it comes to helping like that.

    And then the elephant in the room, at least in her eyes, is the fact this is the first chance she's gotten to see X (or met Lifesaver in person at that) since then. A lot of time, thought, and teenage angst has gone into trying to figure out what to do about the damaged trust there.

    But today is as good a time as any, and shows she's still here to help. That's what she tells herself, anyway, resolved to finally do something about it.

    That, and she didn't want to let Rita come alone for more than one reason. So despite some tension in the way she's carrying herself, the blonde girl is carrying her own soda as she falls into a seat, putting aside her own problems for the moment to listen to Go. Between last battle and now, compared to earlier battles she was with him...he really does seem almost like a different person.

    When all is said and done, she does, after all, want to do something more permanent about the Bugsters herself if they can. And with any luck, they will. "...Nice to meet you, doctor. Hibiki Tachibana." Her free hand gives a small little wave, and her voice is a bit more restrained than usual. A few glances are given in the Reploids' direction, but otherwise, she's listening. "You got our full attention."
Hamada Haru Hamada Haru is simultaneously present, and miles away. He's pulled up a chair and has a cup of coffee and some sort of donut that probably came from nearby rather than the hospital itself. But he has a thousand-yard stare that suggests he's not really paying attention, and that perception would be correct.

He's thinking of Kamen Rider Prima, and Bobby, and Leo.

The first sign of life from him comes when X speaks. His eyes flick towards the machine, then toward Dr. Hojo, and back again.

The second is Rita's entrance. The lingering look on X and Lifesaver draws his attention briefly, before he goes back to staring into oblivion.

Cantio's arrival and what she has to say keep him in the moment a little longer.

Hibiki keeps his attention the longest, and it's not hard for the involved people to figure out why even though all he does is stare at her for a bit longer than the others he's "woken up" for.

It doesn't take a psychic to recognize that he's thinking FIX YOUR SHIT very hard. Probably.
Staren     Staren lands outside in a riding cloak and goggles, and removes these before taking a moment to check her appearance in the front windows.

    She couldn't wear a labcoat to a *hospital*. She's not a *medical doctor* and doesn't want people to think she is (although the irony is lost on her that she certainly has or has access to offworld medical knowledge that could apply.) What else looks authoritative. A suit...?

    Thus: Staren is clad in a brown, double-breasted jacket and pants, with matte black flats, white gloves, and a white button-up shirt underneath with a sea green cravat and short cuffs. The messenger bag is inside a briefcase. Staren completes the look by putting on a pair of glasses with thin-silver-rimmed, large circular lenses.

    'I'm not sure what I'm looking at', she thinks of her reflection. 'A lost teacher, or someone trying to look like one?' Although, the gloves and cravat aren't exactly teacherly... 'I guess it can hardly be received *worse* than normally...' She steps inside.

    Staren sets the briefcase on a chair or something after she comes into the meeting room and takes a soda, fumbling with the tab for a second as the gloves make it slightly harder to pry it up. *Pssht*. She sips it and looks around the room, ears swiveling as people speak.

    And people talk about proposed 'solutions' and previously-studied data, without showing that data or elaborating on the solutions. She has no idea what the problem is or what's been tried, beyond 'apparently a disease turns people into videogame villains'.

    "Well... I hope I can help, but without knowing more specifics I'm afraid more general suggestions might be of the unpopular type. Such as incubating the virus in a volunteer already terminally ill in some other way, to study its progression and pathology... or, even better, infecting a mindless clone body kept alive on life-support."

    She pushes the glasses up on the bridge of her nose slightly as she notices them, not used to having them on her face. "Of course, I also have ways of transferring a volunteer to a new, healthy body of their chosen specifications, if only people from this world are affected, or if another plan requires infecting someone and we need a backup option if they can't be cured in time."
Rita Ma      Rita stares sidelong at Staren for a good few seconds, her eyes wide and expression neutral. It's the kind of face you'd make while watching a wild animal do something bizarre. Finally she says, in her most innocent voice:

     "Are you a 'scientist', miss? Where's your labcoat?"
Staren                                        :|                                      

    "This is a hospital." She turns to Rita, trying to look Severe And Authoritative, but she can't help but speak in a more relaxed tone to someone clearly asking an innocent question. "...I didn't want to give the impression that I'm a medical doctor."
Chase      There's an audible HUH from the doctor as Go asks him a question, his eyes shooting wide open as he suddenly wakes up. He doesn't need to say anything, but it's clear from the dark bags under his eyes that one of the problems is a lack of staff.

     "Well uh... Hmmm."

     As he pauses to think, he cracks open a beverage underneath the table, bringing the can to his lips as he downs half of it in one go. It's an energy drink, the kind you'd see a hardcore GAMER consume when pulling an all-nighter. Unlike an actual GAMER though, he places the empty can gently on the table, stretching a bit as he tries to shake the remains of his grogginess off.

     "Nice to meet you all. You can all just call me Emu by the way, I want you all to feel comfortable here."

     He smiles at everyone reassuringly, before reaching for his drink to take another sip.

     "As for the problem... Well, I'll spare you all the internal problems, that's for us Doctors to solve. The major problem right now though is we had such a large outbreak, we haven't had time to collect samples for this strain. Fifty-two cases at once, when it's normally like one or two a week at most. We're all doing everything we can just to eliminate the Bugsters fast enough. Eighteen-hour work shifts, working on Sunday, everything."

     Despite the grueling conditions, Emu doesn't seem to be complaining. He takes yet another swig of his caffeinated beverage before placing it back down on the table.

     "Wow. You guys seem to already have done your homework... You sure you aren't like doctors from abroad or something?" Emu lets out a weak laugh at his own joke, and then continues, "It's uh... You guys pretty much know everything we know at this rate though. The Bugster virus spreads through whatever means it can, starts clumped on the victim in a weird mass at level 1, and then disengages at level 2. From there, it's a count-down until the victim disappears from the stress it causes on their body and psyche."

     Just about as Emu feels like he can relax for a moment, Staren says something that makes him spring up from his seat, his hands slamming hard enough on the cafeteria table to create a loud and audible echo.

     "Absolutely not!"

     His eyes narrow extremely hard on the cat girl, before he exhales and falls back into his seat.

     "Sorry. But no. We're doctors, our job is to make sure our patients smile, not treat them like guinea pigs. No matter what. I don't know what you're talking about with clones, but please don't suggest the first thing ever again."
X Well... I hope I can help, but without knowing more specifics I'm afraid more general suggestions might be of the unpopular type. Such as incubating the virus in a volunteer already terminally ill in some other way, to study its progression and pathology... or, even better, infecting a mindless clone body kept alive on life-support.

X's eyes crinkly dangerously, his green eyes narrowing down into cold and hard emerald as his face visibly tightens in irritation. He voices a practically identical "Absolutely not." to Emu's almost in the same breath, before reeling himself.

Lifesaver, being even more stoic than X had been, has a much more subtle show of discontent, the disapproval on his face being a good deal less overt. That the ever cool, calm and collected Lifesaver had his attitude crack even slightly just went to show how little support he was willing to put into the notion.

" ... that aside," Lifesaver says with a mild drawl, before X can open his mouth and deliver a tongue lashing about the ethics of willingly infecting someone to test on them, "It is a cause for serious concern that the cases, by your own count, have increased approximately twenty-five fold at minimum."

Lifesaver shakes his head, and X visibly restrains himself, his hot gaze catching Rita and Hibiki before he takes in a calming and deep breath that restores his professional veneer, " -- right. The window for action isn't very long, either."

Lifesaver interjects, "It is not impossible, depending on the underlying cause, that the exponential growth of cases recently will become a common trend. It goes without saying that if this is the case, defeating all of the Bugsters before the victim expires will be un-tenable, to say nothing of the current rate of progress towards a vaccine."

X stiffens, "That's .. more or less correct. It would be nice if this were an anomaly, but, it is possible that there will be another 52 case spurt; or an even bigger one. We just don't know at this point."
Go Shijima      "A cure..." Go stares into his soda, thinking of the right words before he can look Lifesaver in the eye. "About that. There's someone working on a cure, but I don't know if you'd like their methods," he says. "And I know X wouldn't--I'm not a doctor, but it sounds pretty risky, what this person is doing. If Cantio's resources could make it safer, maybe, but..."

<J-IC-Scene> Rita Ma says, still with elevated formality: "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Shijima. I'm sorry about the circumstances that put us here."

     Go shifts uncomfortably in his seat, sliding his canned drink across the smooth surface of the table with both hands. "Please don't be." There's another pause. Afterwards, he sounds very certain of himself, straightening in his seat to look upon her with a small smile. "I'd much rather be here, talking about how we can work together to beat this thing."

The alternative... fighting each other because we disagree on how to beat it, or because we don't even see what the issue is... I've had enough of that. It isn't fighting to protect anything but my own feelings.

     He and Hibiki have fought together several times, but this is the first time he's really seen her. She looks... uncertain? Perhaps as much as he is. Several memories of glances she gave him during his fights with Chase come bubbling back to the surface, and he avoids her gaze. Clearing his throat, "Hibiki, Haru," he offers. "Glad you could make it." He at least sounds like he means it, even if he's a little embarrassed to be around so many people who have seen him at his worst.

     Staren's suggestions and Emu's reservations do finally draw a little more out of him, when it comes to more 'unpopular' opinions. "There's an unlicensed doctor working on a cure, and he seems to be doing pretty well at it. The thing is... I'm pretty sure he's got help coming from somewhere, and if I'm right, it's a huge company--one that's being suspiciously tight-lipped. Do you know anything about Genm Corp, Emu?"
Rita Ma      Rita sucks in a breath, then lets it out to steady herself. Her eyes close, briefly, with her palms flat on the table.

     "Dr. Hojo- I mean, Emu," she says, barely catching herself. I don't know whether this is usable for your purposes, but... I may have collected a sample from a Bugster. That's why I've come here."

     She down-shifts to a more casual formality level. "Just... please don't be scared, okay?"

     There's no way to explain this without revealing that I'm a monster. I hate doing this, even if it's the right thing to do. The way people wince, or look away- I can't stand it. ... But it's for Hibiki. So I have to.

     A long, flat strip of what looked like her skin and the sleeve of her casual jacket peels away, revealing a slice of the true form underneath: paler flesh shot through with azure veins. The long diagonal strip sways in the air under its own power, like a serpent sprouting from her upper arm.

     Slowly, its disguise as clothes-and-skin melts away like a mimic octopus giving up the game. It's revealed as a blue-purple translucent tentacle, as thick as Rita's leg.

     (It isn't a stretch to infer that the rest of her body, too, is covered by a disguise like this. Nor is it a stretch to realize that she must have many, many more tentacles.)

     The tentacle's tip modifies itself over the course of seconds: crystalline structures, organic lenses, and pulsing bioluminescent lights shift into existence under its translucent surface.

     Rita's looking down. Her hands are balled up in her lap, white-knuckled with anxiety. Her voice is brave, but a little trembly.

     "I... I ate part of the Bugster, the last time it appeared. And my body did this, replicating its essence. I don't know if it'd help, but... you can have the tentacle to study. They grow back."
Cantio Hibiki's arrival gets a slightly groggy, but friendly wave from Cantio. There's a hint of anxiety in that wave, too, but it could also be because of Haru's everpresent intimidation aura. She glances in his direction a few times to see if he's still looking her way, although she never looks at him for long just in case he notices.

When Staren mentions incubating the virus, Cantio takes another deep breath. She hesitates from speaking long enough that a very gamery doctor introduces himself, and she clears her throat awkwardly when he and X make their stance on human testing rather clear. The former's much more obvious, but she's also wary of looking too long at X even with just those two words.

"Th... There's no need to suggest it, Miss Staren. As Doctor Emu said, he's a doctor. Er." Cantio glances towards Hojo next. "They're doctors. Curing something like a virus or disease or anything has risks. If it increases our odds of fixing it for good, then it couldn't hurt to hear that person out." Cantio comments after Go, rubbing her neck lightly after.

"And I don't know if it'd necessarily be safer with what I have access to, but..." She trails off again after that, although it's less because of uncertainty and more about Rita peeling her skin and jacket back. She stares at that strange unwrapping mechanism, although she never actually looks away. Instead, she's staring at Rita awestruck, leaning this way and that to get a better look while (barely) trying to not breach personal space protocols.

"Amazing... And you can do this at will?" At least for that moment, Cantio's concerns about the Bugsters are pushed aside in favor of studying Rita's transformation. "Does it take conscious effort to maintain it like this? Or is this easier than looking like you did before?"

After indulging in her curiosity for a bit longer, Cantio clears her throat again before turning back to Emu. "Sorry! A-anyway. People like us can do things doctors can't since we're not doctors ourselves. And... Ehm. It's been done already." She nearly goes to a whisper saying that last part, not looking at anyone in particular while taking out a flash drive and setting it on the table next to her.

"I haven't had enough time to analyze it all, but... It's there."
Staren     'Absolutely nots!' and looks of disapproval seem to fill the room. Staren jumps slightly at the table slam, but continues explaining... when there's no warmer reception to the rest of what she said, one can see on her face that some mental process is tagging them all as closed-minded idiots not worth listening to. Her free hand clenches into a fist, and the soda can crinkles slightly.

    "'Make them smile.' Someone in a dying body gets to not only contribute to a cause to help others, but gets a young, healthy body of their choice in return? If you don't think that would make someone smile, maybe /I'm/ not the one who needs to worry about growing detached from the people I'm trying to save..."

    She starts to turn to leave, but hesitates at Cantio's whispered words. Ah. So there's a Previous Incident hijacking people's brains.

    She faces the others again. "Of course, I offer such technology freely to all patients in need, but I imagine it would take time to scale up local use. A volunteer would get to be first in line." She adjusts her glasses again. Damn unfamiliar accessory! "...I suppose there may be some reason people dislike such things -- the new bodies, not the infection part, I mean -- but this probably isn't the time to explain that to me."

    Staren takes a breath. "I came in here with no data. What do you expect of me? If someone ELSE is making more headway on a cure, why don't we work with THEM and ensure it's done ethically..."

    And then she stares as Rita says that, and... Becomes Partially Tentacles. Those last words make it clear that Rita is a practical-minded sort, and she approaches approvingly, getting almost close enough to touch the offered tentacle before recoiling. "Ah, um, is it possibly contagious like this?" She holds the cravat over her mouth and nose. "That concern aside, though... Thank you." She sets the soda aside, or awkwardly transfers it to her other hand, so she can set her right hand on Rita's shoulder.

    She looks at Rita's eyes but isn't sure what to say for a long, awkward moment. Automatic pattern-completions are rejected out of hand because Rita deserves words from the heart, but Staren doesn't know her situation and doesn't want to assume.

    Eventually, Staren settles on: "I don't think someone who wants to help is scary." She smiles.
Hibiki Tachibana     "Emu, then." No formalities involved seems to get Hibiki to ease into relaxing a little bit more. At least as much as she can after Hamada Haru's eyes have fallen on her, and she understands everything behind it very, very keenly. She has to get this done today. X isn't going to go anywhere before she's had the chance to speak to him...and honestly, Lifesaver probably deserves something said to him too.

    Go avoids her glance, and she catches that, though with a genuine nod back. She...doesn't blame him for it, really. It's the very same reason she's averted her gaze from people more than once in the past - and she doesn't have much room to say anything in the first place when she doesn't entirely meet X's scalding look for a split second.

    She didn't know the Bugster problem was /this/ bad, though. No wonder he looks so exhausted. It makes his sudden reaction to Staren surprising enough that she jolts a bit in her seat, blinking at him and then the catgirl. That, and what he says after...really makes a certain something click, very quickly. The reason he wasn't complaining is because he cares about his patients...a lot.

    Make them smile no matter what...that's the kind of person he is.

    Hibiki is silent, for a time, digesting Lifesaver and X's words, as well as what Emu had said--and then a request is made to her. There's a sharp breath, and as Rita speaks up, beginning to unravel her disguise...

    The girl reaches over from where she is next to her, and hidden by the table, she clasps her hand over one of her balled-up ones. Despite how tight it's balled up, she gently works to loosen it with her fingers to grasp onto it properly, and hold it exactly like that.

    "It's okay," she murmurs to her. Her voice picks up after, back towards Emu. "We were hoping that the sample would help. Even if...you weren't able to study one in a more detailed way," she adds on after a swallow. "Hopefully this should still help push towards figuring something out." Her tone is halfway between apologetic and sounding resolute, and her expression is the same.

    Though it falls, somewhat, when her attenton drifts towards Cantio a little bit. Wait, what did she mean by...?
Hamada Haru "Setting aside all ethical concerns with using a brainless clone, it might require a minimum of fighting spirit to function. That's true of a lot of things here," Haru asides to Staren, dully. He doesn't sound like he expected anybody to necessarily know that, but it does sound as if it's a common sense entry for //him//, at least.

Regarding the problem of viral spread, he says, "At present, Rider Services isn't overtaxed and has government contracts that would handle payments for that sort of wide-scale problem. It'd be best if it didn't get to the point where that's necessary, though."

Despite saying so, there's no implication that he thinks that's an open-and-shut problem they don't have to worry about at all.

//Glad you could make it.//

Haru nods towards Go, and sips at his coffee. If he intuits what Go is feeling, he doesn't show it.

//please don't be scared, okay?//

Haru looks towards Rita. His reaction is mostly one of distant interest, but he doesn't display the sort of shock that really feels appropriate. To those with a sense, he's rather numb emotionally at the moment.

"Feel any different, after doing that?" He asks.

//It's been done already.//
//It's there.//

Haru looks from Cantio to the the flash drive. He takes out a flip-phone, dials three numbers, cranks the phone into a shape that is only momentarily odd, and fires a three-round burst of energy towards the storage device.

Although certainly quick enough that he's hard for anybody to stop, Hamada Haru doesn't really go for a second round. He angles the steaming phone-gun towards the ceiling and asks, "Do you know why we don't use research like this?"

"It's because, best-case scenario, it encourages the usage of unethical research methods to 'get the job done', and more often encourages cruelty that results in no useful results at all," Haru explains, almost-- ALMOST matter-of-factly. That he's something close to angry is probably lightly detectible to the perceptive, although it's a subtle undercurrent. His ability to maintain a reasonably professional demeanor is solid.
Rita Ma      Rita's eyes scrunch shut as Hibiki loosens one of her fists. She takes the magical girl's hand, holding it just a little too tight- nothing painful, but it's obvious how much tension she's feeling.

     "It's okay," Hibiki had said. I don't know if that's true... but with you here, I can tell myself that it is. Thank you, Hibiki.

     She was braced for the sudden attention, but its tone still wrongfoots her: she was clearly expecting more panic, less innocently inquisitive poking. As Cantio crowds in, Rita stumbles over herself trying to explain, obviously slightly flustered: "I don't... it doesn't take effort. I just tell it what shape to be, and it does it. This is how I prefer to look, so... please see me that way. Okay?

     Staren's words make her flinch at first- "I don't... think it's contagious? Nothing else I've eaten has ever been like that," she says hesitantly. (She keeps the tentacle very deliberately pointed away from anyone present, as if it were a loaded gun, but that's clearly a different type of danger she's worried about.)

     But Staren's concluding words, and Hibiki's hand in hers, coax Rita back to smiling- even if it's an anxious smile. "Thank you, Ms. Wiremu. I... I was worried. But that warms my heart to hear. I just hope it can be some use."

     When Haru fires his blaster, she goes through a three-stage reaction. First her human reflexes make her flail and topple backwards off the cafeteria bench in surprise; then her new predatory instincts cause her to roll backwards and land in a gracefully feral low crouch; and finally her conscious mind reacts to the situation, straightening her up bolt-upright, widening her eyes, and clapping both hands over her mouth.

     "I... Mr. Haru, what did you do? She said..."
X Lifesaver and X look absolutely shellshocked as Rita, bravely, steps forward and begins to unveil part of her true form. The blue bomber's knee-jerk reaction is very human, at least in the sense that there is a visible fight or flight response as his body hunkers down and tenses, although his arm doesn't convert itself into his iconic X-Buster. "What on earth..?!"

Lifesaver says nothing. Wordlessly, the medical scope situated over his right eye flips down and covers it, synchronizing with his ocular to presumably perform some kind of scan on Rita. The massive Reploid remains stilled in this state, even as things continue to devolve around him. " . . . . . . . . . "

X's takes several moments to come out of his stupor, carefully keeping his distance from Rita, even with Hibiki right there to hold her hand. She's not a human; at least, not in the strictly physical sense .. she "ate" the bugster? -- it must have been just after we defeated it. Then ...

Wearily, he looks to Lifesaver, who appeared to still be contemplating whatever he was seeing from his visor.

And then, Cantio quietly murmurs something damning, and Haru obliterates the data she had been attempting to present with one of his transforming armaments, a common feature of the Kamen Riders of this world.

Wiping his face with his hand to try and regain something resembling composure, X straightens his posture. " -- that's right. How could you? Work like that can't save anyone."

That someone had to have died because of her research went unsaid because it didn't need to be. The heaviness of her posture spoke volumes to him. And it was also the key difference between what she had done, and what Lifesaver had wished to attempt in the prior incident; Force Metal Treatment could have theoretically kept the patient alive while they studied the active Bugster for the necessary data before eliminating the Bugster in a safe environment to rescue and treat the patient in question. It would have been as safe and ethical as such a procedure could be; willfully infecting someone or something with the virus so that they could be studied as they die was a different matter entirely, at least in his mind.

The heat in his eyes is an unrelenting hardness as he glares at Cantio, before they soften and widen, recognizing her after a good moment of introspection. They'd met before, twice -- and he'd failed to apprehend her.

X looks away and internally kicks himself. No. .. even if I don't agree at all with what she's done, I can't blame myself for it, not entirely. I'll just have to do everything I can to make sure that none of this is in vain.

Lifesaver approaches Rita, the medical scope disconnecting from his eye and returning to its position hovering over his forehead. "Your body seems to be able to partition the infection and prevent it from spreading. Biologically, you have an astounding amount of control over yourself, like a kind of recombinant amorphism. If you're willing to help us, then we will do everything in our power to resolve this crisis while treating you with as much care and respect as we can. I, Lifesaver, promise this."
Chase      "I don't think this is natural. But I'll work 24 hour shifts to solve any Bugster problems if I have to! There's two of me, I can handle it"

     The Gamer Doctor tirely laughs at the Reploids. He knows he actually can't keep up, but thinking that this might be a natural evolution of the Bugster virus is not something he wants to entertain right now.

     "Ate...Errr... You're not sick, right?"

     Emu's concerns are instantly kicked aside as Rita extends a weird squishy tentacle-thing to give him a sample. Seemingly unbothered, he simply smiles earnestly at Rita as he takes it from her. Either he's exhausted and not processing what's happening properly, or he's just spent enough time around rubbersuits to not care. He looks it over for a bit, before motioning to a woman to come take the sample. She's rather plain looking, but she's got an abnormal amount of pep in her step. Kind of like an idol.

     As the mystery woman walks away, he turns to Go.

     "Gemn Corp? Yeah, they provide all the equipment here, including our Drivers. And you're talking about Taiga, right?"

     Emu's now scratching the back of his head in confusion.

     "I know he's got a Driver, but we're under the impression he got that illegally... That doesn't add up... But if we can get past the hiccup between us, I'd be more than willing to work with him."

"Detached? I believe in the techniques used by the doctors that saved me. The man who wanted me to smile. I don't mean to be rude, miss, but I don't even know you. Nobody in this facility does. Even if I agreed, I doubt anyone else here would."

     Emu's reaching back underneath the cafeteria table to grab yet another drink when suddenly Cantio reveals her dark deeds. Emu doesn't even get time to object to the methods of her findings, as Haru shoots at the flash drive. His natural gamer instincts kick into full gear as he tumbles out of his seat, head first. There's a loud, audible thump, but he eventually picks himself back up, ignoring the bump that's forming on the back of his head.

     "This is a hospital! If you're gonna fight, at least take it outside on the roof!"
Staren     Staren just, y'know, assumes that data will be available to the Concord later, so didn't show any interest in the physical object of the flash drive. She smiles a bit wider as Rita is brought somewhat out of her anxiety...

    Her ears turn to Haru, but her eyes are still on Rita, so she doesn't realize what's about to happen until too late. She jumps away from where the drive was, her hand reaching for the laser pistol NOT presently holstered at her side, although when she sees Haru and he begins explaining she relaxes -- at least, in the combat-readiness sense.

    She frowns. "He's making a statement." She replies to Rita, then focuses on Haru.

    "I used to think it was quite the dilemma. I suppose I've always come down on the side of 'we'll use the data this time, and then we'll try to make sure no one ever does this again', which, yes, the latter part never actually happens and so the problem goes unsolved."

    "But you know... I wonder if it's REALLY the choice you say it is? Consistantly denying it... would that really change anyone's behavior? Or would anyone who cares, and believes they know better than you, do it anyway, resolving to work that much harder since they'll have to find and administer the cure on their own, even while fighting you off? Whether they're right or wrong. Really, would someone telling you 'I think you're wrong and I refuse to work with you, and I'll fight you if you do what you think is right' stop any of you from taking action?"

    She shakes her head. "Doesn't sound like much of a deterrent to me." She looks between Haru and X. "It sounds like a way to isolate people, drive them to secrecy, and remove any chance you might have had to work with them and influence the direction of the research, any chance of them listening when you ask them to consider your ethical concerns. And if they weren't going to cooperate anyway, it certainly won't CHANGE their mind."

    Staren shrugs. "I don't know what the answer is, to reduce unethical research. Something should be done, but this doesn't help, and it's kind of myopic. How many of us are here only because someone once did something bad? I only started in the position I did with the resources I did because my dad's an Adventurer. How much treasure did he recover from bandits, monsters, and extortionist warlords who stole it from someone else" Her face twitches slightly at some thought, "...Dad couldn't locate?"

    Staren waves a hand at the wall towards the center of the building. "How many rich people donated to this hospital whose family got the money from something bad? THAT'S okay, isn't it?" She shrugs again. "I don't know what the answer is. I bet it involves people working together instead of looking for reasons not to, though."
Hibiki Tachibana     Haru unleashes the power of G U N right as she was trying to understand the full implications of what had just been said, and Hibiki nigh-instantly sits up straight, nearly toppling over the soda she had sat down in the process. This is, of course, at odds with Rita flailing backwards while she's still tightly holding her hand. She did say she wasn't going to let go.

    Though because of that, she ends up falling back too and pretty much being forced to do so to catch herself after a brief tumble, falling onto a knee and then quickly back to her feet. She has good enough reflexes herself, thankfully. And even if she didn't, with what she's hearing...

    "Research like this--?" She echoes Haru in a questioning tone, looking from him, to Rita...to X, with his heavy words, and then finally to Cantio herself. Hibiki looks...confused, for sure. Her look is one that's begging her to elaborate, to explain things properly. She...wouldn't have done anything like they're implying, she knows her well enough to hope for that.

    In the midst of all of this, she's remaining close by to Rita, and then Lifesaver's approach had her even more tense than she's already gotten for a moment, it doesn't last for long. Actually, it's a lot better than she could have hoped for--and Rita too, she's sure. With a deep inhale to find the ability to get words again, she gives a side-glance to the other girl. "...What do you want to do? If you /do/ want to...you know I'll be there the whole time." Lifesaver gets her direct attention right after. "...If...that's okay, that is."
Rita Ma      Rita slowly puts together what, exactly, Cantio must have done- and why Haru destroyed the data- after recovering from her pratfall. Her face cycles through shock, into conflictedness, and then into somber approval.

     Allowing someone to die to extract that data... is that really what she did? She seemed so nice, but... no, Mr. Haru's right. Think of it this way: if someone killed an innocent person just so I could eat them, I wouldn't accept it just because the deed was already done, right?

     "Miss, did you really...? X and Lifesaver risking someone's life to make a vaccine... I couldn't allow that, but I understood it. But this is worse."

     I sided with Hibiki because I didn't want anyone to die for this cure. So I have to side with Mr. Haru, too.

     She doesn't say anything to Haru, but her posture- standing slightly behind him- hints that she's backing him up.

     As the nurse comes by to collect her 'sample', Rita turns to X and Lifesaver. Her expression shifts into something earnestly reassured as she takes in the medical reploid's words.

     "'Recombinant amorphism'? I don't understand at all, Mr. Lifesaver. But... I believe in you, now that we've met in person. I don't enjoy being this way, but sometimes it lets me help people. I really hope this is one of those times," she says with a brave little smile.

     That leads into her answer to Hibiki, too, whose hand she re-takes at the earliest opportunity. "It's okay. I was worried Mr. X and Mr. Lifesaver would be upset with me, but they're not. ... I want to help however I can. If that means staying here a while so they can run more tests on me, I'll do that. If that means eating more Bugsters so they can get safe samples, I'll do that too."

     The sample being taken elicits a wince from her: the Bugster-mimicking part of her tentacle breaks right off, like an earthworm or a skink's tail. Once that's done, she wraps the remaining tentacle back around herself to re-complete her disguise, looking exactly like she did when she came in... if a little sunnier, and a little less anxious.
Hamada Haru //What did you do?//

"What I had to," Haru says, simply.

//If you're gonna fight, at least take it outside on the roof!//

Considering that for a moment, Haru instead angles his blaster from the ceiling towards the ground. This is not because he plans to fight, but because there are things to hit above him and at worst a gift shop to hit below him.

"This is a hospital cafeteria," he points out. No elaboration is offered.

//I wonder if it's REALLY the choice you say it is? (...)//

Hamada Haru turns to face Staren. He listens through the entire spiel, and then replies, "You never thought it was a dilemma, because you were always looking for an excuse to do what you wanted to anyway. But you had the answer to what you were really wondering before you even started talking: We're almost all Kamen Riders here. We'll act accordingly."

A few presses of the buttons deactivates the phone-blaster, and it returns to just being a decade out-of-style cellular device before re-collecting his coffee and retreating to a slightly more distant table.

Even though he's more alert now, Haru definitely looks more sour than he was when he got here...
X X's face scrunches slightly again in response to Staren voicing her opinion, before he says, "That's...that's so insipid. You're just boiling it down to being 'good' or 'bad' in those examples, as if we couldn't quantify how bad this was? Unethical research will still happen? That's no excuse to throw away common morality for the sake of a quick fix!"

Assuredly, if he were standing in front of the table, he would have argumentatively placed his hand against it in a firm press. Instead, he's left clenching his fists with a hydraulic tightening noise.

<J-IC-Scene> Emu Hojo says, "Also, miss Staren, was it? Just because someone else did something wrong to get where we are, doesn't mean I'm going to. You're free to say and do what you want, of course, but we're not that hospital. That's not why I got a job here."

" ... right. It's important to do things the correct away, otherwise ... all we'll create are more tragedies down the line."

Lifesaver for his part continues to address Rita, "Thank you very much for your cooperation, and for trusting us. We will not let you down."

Affirmingly, he nods to both her and Hibiki, "I would like it if we could keep you here for at least several days to conduct tests, and if you could spare one day per week afterwards to allow us to run periodic check-ups on you, it would be immensely helpful. The choice on that in addition to the sample you've provided is, ultimately, up to you. We appreciate your bravery."

Stoic and matter of fact, there's a certain kind of hidden gentleness to the man, it seemed. But as someone whose entire body and life is dedicated to saving others, perhaps that's for the best. Lifesaver then takes this time, once the others have spoken, to address Staren and to a degree, Cantio, "Those who would employ such methods more often than not serve as conflicting elements to the team as a whole. If we are not united in the grounds we establish as ethical pasture, then we can not unite ourselves in our efforts." he says before, more pointedly continuing, " .. as well, it is rare that those who need to stoop to such means have much to contribute beyond them."

X, breathing in deeply through his nose, calms himself before talking to Rita. "As Lifesaver had said, we appreciate you coming to help us. It can't be easy to show others this side of yourself .. I can tell." he nods, indicating with his eyes towards her need for Hibiki's emotional support.

<J-IC-Scene> Rita Ma says, "Thank you, Mr. Lifesaver. Thank you, Mr. X."

The maverick hunter gives a small, ghost of a smile and provides her with a thumbs up. "You can just call me X, if you're comfortable with that. Mr. X is the name of a criminal I fought, once."
Staren     Staren clenches fists as sides seem drawn and disappointment flickers over her face as Rita chooses the other one. "I wasn't wondering that, and I don't know what that's supposed to imply. But I don't believe Cantio intentionally let someone die to get this data. But if you all are so eager to judge, it's clear we won't get along." She bows and walks over to retrieve her briefcase. "My offers, of course, remain open as always. I'm always willing to save lives, even if it's more important to YOU to find people to call bad and feel superior to."

    Staren turns and walks towards the door.
Cantio Despite Cantio's face being stone still, her fingers practically digging into the table even as she withdraws her hand from the flash drive reveals how tense she really is. She nearly jumps out of her seat when Haru shoots at the drive, only able to stop herself by focusing instead on the pain of banging her knee into the table while. It's pretty obvious she wants to curse a couple of times as that, but she only lets a very quiet 'darnit' before settling back into her seat.

The drive itself is a stock standard flash drive aside from being branded, so it'll blow up rather easily and leaving a little smoking crater afterwards unles someone makes a move to stop that. Cantio does not.

Instead, she maintains that stone-faced stare while turning to Haru, then X, and then Emu despite the latter not actually stating his displeasure. "I did it so nobody else would ever have to. The testing's already been done, so destroying that is not going to bring any of them back." She struggles with her words briefly, then continues. "All that needed to be done with that was to analyze the data so something useful could be extracted, and then..."

She pauses again, exhales sharply, then rubs her face while waving her other hand. "It's... It's fine, Miss Staren. I'll just have to speak to the families later. They'll still be compensated regardless, so..." She lets out a weary sigh, then slouches back in her seat. She can't ignore those looks from Hibiki and Rita, though, eventually nodding and sitting back up. She recites nineteen names by memory, followed by whether they were terminally ill, on death row, or serving life sentences.

Seven survived. She doesn't elaborate on the other ten.

"What other options do we have for researching this? Miss Ma seems to have survived consuming the Bugster directly, so that's a start. Beyond that..." Cantio trails off again, instead turning to Emu with a raised eyebrow. "Why the roof?"
Staren     Staren pauses on the way to the door as she listens to Cantio's words. "...They volunteered. That is not the same as 'letting' them die." The intent of her words is honest, this isn't trying to weasel out of what she said.
Hamada Haru "If you think that... anybody here is going to come running after and begging the only person pitching a fit and flouncing out of the room to come help, you're mistaken. Nobody else here is such a weak person they need praise to fight," Haru replies to Staren, dully.

His fingertips tighten, briefly, on his coffee cup when Cantio elaborates, but he doesn't actually address the matter further.
Go Shijima It is scary. Just a little. But... how scary is it for her?

     "Okay," says Go, belatedly. Sheepishly. There was an initial pause, at the tentacle, and then a flinch, at how naturally she lands when she recoils from Haru's blaster. He can't quite play it off as flinching from the blaster. "...I'll see you that way."

     When Emu brings up Taiga, he nods. "So you're familiar," says Go, guardedly. Well... I guess there's no point in keeping him a secret, then. Whatever problems he might have, we both want the same thing."

     Go frowns, and finally takes another sip of his soda. Then he pushes his chair backwards. "And the same goes for the two of you," continues Go, standing up and nodding towards Staren and Cantio. "Staren, the reason I called this meeting in the first place is because I wanted to prevent everyone fighting each other over the best way to stop the Bugsters, while the disease continues to get worse."

     "You're a scientist, aren't you? At least, that's what I've heard. So why don't you test what Haru said," he continues, with a glance towards the now-isolated Kamen Rider. "Get with Taiga Hanaya, and see if you really can use those clone bodies. I won't lie, it's something way over my head, and more than a little weird. I'm still glad that you want to help."

     "Just... something to consider, before you do something that you can't take back. I've done... too many things like that."
Staren     "...I don't think anyone will come running." Staren responds, almost as dully. "It's just one of those things you have to say on the off-chance it works for once, like 'It doesn't have to end like this! Surrender now and we can work things out peacefully!'"

    Her ears perk up at Go, and she turns, smiling: "Case in point!" Although she frowns in confusion at the actual suggeston. "...Isn't that the guy you were calling shady and unethical a moment ago...? Honestly, that was my plan anyway. Seemed likely that if you all wouldn't work with me, he'd be the obvious next step... I'm not sure how your blessing to do so is relevant, but I'll share as much data as I can. Whether to use it for target practice is up to you."
Go Shijima      Staren's remark about last-ditch persusasion efforts causes Go to cross his arms and level an unimpressed look her way. "I said that some of you might not like his methods," he replies. He's actually been very careful to keep his -own- opinion on 'which approach is correct' under wraps. Which... that's kind of unusual for him, X, Hibiki and Lifesaver might notice.

     "It upsets you when people put constraints on how you're allowed to help. I get that." He lets his arms fall to his side, and stuffs them into the pockets of his hoodie. "Taiga Hanaya struck me as the same kind of person. There are reasons we have rules in place. Those reasons aren't 'to keep bright minds from solving problems.'"

     "I'm not trying to belittle you, Staren, or tell you how you can and can't help. I'm just trying to show you someone like-minded, and hoping that maybe the two of you can do good work, and keep each other from being the reason new rules get made."
Rita Ma      "It can't be easy to show others this side of yourself," X had said. "It isn't," Rita admits, crossing one arm behind her back and turning her face away from the conflict happening at the other end of the room.

     "I don't like being seen as a monster at all. But... protecting people is more important than what anybody thinks of me. And I think I can trust that you'll still treat me like Rita. So... yeah. I'll be happy to stay here for a few days, Mr. Lifesaver. I don't have any bags I need to pack."

     X's anecdote coaxes a smile out of her, despite the tension in the room. "Really? That's awful! I can't believe he stole your name like that. But I'll try to keep it in mind, X. ... Even if that feels a little weird to say, haha."

     She turns that smile back on Go Shijima, too, adopting a rueful undertone. "Thank you, too, mister. I... we've never really talked, have we? I don't even know your name. I hate for this to be anybody's first impression of me, but... you have a really generous heart, I think."

     "Thank you for letting me be 'Rita'."
Chase      "Yeesh. What a mess. But I think you guys are working things out... Yeah?"

     There's a hint of hope in Emu's voice as he says this. Even if it isn't true, maybe if he simply wills it, it'll end up that way. Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to try.

     "Anyway, Shijima, right? If you're willing to play mediator, I'm sure I can actually work something out with Taiga. He's a good guy, I know it. He's just uh... You got a belt, right? Probably gonna need it...Haha..."

     The doctor nervously pulls at his pink shirt collar. He doesn't say it, but Haru and Go probably know. The dreaded Kamen Rider fight. Or at least the threat of one.
Hibiki Tachibana     Rita gives her affirmation, and Hibiki gives a slow nod, some of her worries on that front dissipating. She had a feeling that her monstrous reveal wouldn't be as bad as the other girl imagined, and she's glad that feeling was correct. Lifesaver and X can see her growing visibly more strained for a brief moment.

    But seeing Rita cheerier, and X even flashing a smile towards her, it's gone as quickly as it came. To both Reploids, she decides this is as good a chance as any to finally air out what's been hanging over her. "...Thank you guys. And...I'm sorry." The words come out heavily.

    "I don't...think I did the wrong thing. I just wanted to make sure nobody ended up getting hurt. It's not because I don't trust you," she says towards X in particular, with a shake of her head. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be grateful to you for giving Rita the chance to help. I just...was afraid of what could happen."

    She inhales, then exhales with a small grimace. "...I don't want anyone who doesn't have to suffer because of this virus. But I guess...that's in the past now. And we're all working together again to try and figure something out. So...if there's anything I can do, even more than just being there for Rita, please let me know."

    Hibiki still looks unsure of that after it's all out--but Go has had a very good point. Compared to the old him, he's been remarkably composed and...non-opininated, getting everyone here to work together and even now serving as a peacekeeper. She's glad for it, whatever happened to him to help him change gears. And it's an example she wants to follow.

    Though when it comes to Cantio, who she still can't seem to bring herself to directly address so much as glance towards after she had confirmed everything, she goes back to looking rather downfallen, and her hands clench together at her sides.

    The only reason she's not actually saying another word towards her right now...is because she's not sure if she can trust herself to keep the atmosphere that Go is trying to make here. Between that, and the exchange between the other girl and Rita...no, she can't do that and ruin it. But the confliction on her face and in her body language is clear enough.
Staren     Staren listens to Go, though as he finishes, she holds up a hand with fingers bent, then raises it a little. "You're doing well. You're following up all the opportunities and I respect that. But you're getting a liiiiittle close to patronizing. You can stop with the sweet words." She pulls the hand back down slightly, before dropping it to her side.

    "And don't pretend endorsement of this isn't *exactly* what the kamen riders and friends are speaking out against. Although if it gets them to use the data, I guess I can't complain too much..."

    She stares into space thoughtfully, for a moment. "They ARE the reasons, by the way. The rules are to maintain the status quo. Any problem solved in a way that upsets it... that suggests the current power structure or way of doing things might have problems... is a threat to those who are in power now."

    Her ears splay and sympathy flashes over her face as Rita says that protecting people is more important than what anyone thinks of her. Gods, she hopes that girl has friends that understand her.
Cantio "I suppose... Nn. I want to cure this as much as any of you, even if our methods are... Not completely compatible." Cantio replies to Lifesaver, grimacing just a bit when Staren mentions her belief that she wouldn't intentionally let anyone die. There's some clear internal cringing there at that. She looks like she's about to say something else, but stops herself and turns to Go once more.

"Taiga Hanaya? I'll see what I can do, sure. Having more minds on this should certainly help, right?" She chuckles awkwardly and trails off once again, just gesturing vaguely around the room with the increased tension and all starting to visibly hamper her ability to speak up again.

It's pretty hard to get over that awkwardness, especially when she sees Hibiki struggling with her own something. Taking a few moments to breathe calmly so as to avoid sighing again, Cantio turns back to Go and Emu with a slow nod. "Thank you again. With any luck, we'll be able to find a cure that doesn't involve more deaths than neces-"

She clears her throat. "-Than have already happened." Cantio gets up, curtseys lightly, then heads for the door. She takes a moment to glance over at Hibiki once more, but remains quiet as she makes her exit.
Hamada Haru Hamada Haru rises from his seat, and picks up his donut from the table. It's gone uneaten because he's been too agitated all this time to do much more than sip on coffee. He looks down at his belt, and the buckle set into it.

"'Why not, since it's already done?', 'Is it such a bad thing?', 'What if somebody thinks it's really right and does it anyway?' Because every person here can make that 'already done' a reality on a whim. Some, easier and more permanently than others," he says. "It's a little more space you cede to the 'thing that shouldn't be happening'."

"If," Haru continues, heavily, "the only thing stopping others of power from acting on 'the end justifies the means' is salting the earth of the ends and making it in vain, I will do that."

"Which isn't to say that a single word out of your mouth is reflective of what I actually think about Go's alternative," he asides to Staren.

Finally, he turns towards Emu. "I'll take care of Rita's requests while she's in this country."

Out comes the flip phone again, this time he dials an actual number and steps to a deserted corner of the cafeteria to carry on a conversation with what is probably some sort of handler...
X X frowns slightly at Hibiki, thoughtfully. His face returns to impassivity moments afterwards; its the kind of carefully cultured look that a professional used to having to hide his soft, gooey heart would naturally develop over the course of his career. In the end, it melts slightly as he looks to the side. "This isn't really an ideal time to bring up our personal issues, given the purpose of this meeting, but ..."

Thinking on it, he remembers a suggestion he was given and decided to follow it.

" ... you didn't trust me." he says, calmly and without accusation, but softly stating a fact. "Although I understand your reasoning; that you were afraid of the consequences, you still chose to prioritize your own sense of the situation over mine and Lifesaver's."

A pause, "It hurt my feelings. Because I've afforded you that benefit of the doubt before; when my own sense of things demanded I act, but I trusted you, and followed your lead instead, most of the times we worked together."

X turns again to look her in the eye, "..that's why it bothered me. That I wasn't also given that same trust. I forgive you, but I'm not sure I can trust you like that again, or .. no, rather, right now. Is it alright if we start over? I don't want to cut ties with you, or anything like that, but ..."

There's a troubled furrowing of both his brows and his lip, "I can't really just pretend that it didn't happen, so I'd rather move forward and try to continue being friends."
Staren     Staren just gives Haru the same tired look. Seems he rejects outright her suspicion that none of this WILL stop people from doing any of it. "...In other words, we'll fight over it if we have to. Just like so many other things."

    If they're done, she finally leaves.
Hibiki Tachibana      X's words back to her, delivered straightforwardly and matter-of-factly, do get Hibiki to near-wince and swallow as she listens, both it and Cantio's exit equally hanging over her. She's not sure if it's better or worse that it's being said in such a way compared to if he sounded upset, or angry, or more emotional. Everything gets laid out and put on the table.

    Right in her face. It's difficult to meet his eyes when he focuses back on her, but she holds it. Her natural urge to defend herself, or speak up the way she did to Lilian a few days back doesn't crop up, and maybe that's why she can do it. And accept it.

    It hurts to hear, but it's also true. "...Yeah. I can't expect you to give me that trust again any time soon." Hibiki's eyes are the ones to go off to the side this time, as she speaks again with a slightly self-depreciating, small smile. "Or forget it happened. Whoever was right or wrong, it wasn't fair of me."

    Her shoulders square up, just a bit, as she looks back fully with a more steady look. "...But I could sit here all day going on about that, and that's the opposite of moving forward. So...er..." She swallows again, glancing down and then back up. "...I'd like that."

    And, after a moment to remember where they are exactly to catch on to the first thing X said, she closes her eyes. "...And sorry about that. If I didn't do it now, I'm not sure when I would have..."
Go Shijima      >You've got a belt, right?

     Go grins and turns to Emu, waggling a little miniature motorcycle. The Mach Shift Bike honks a merry little 'deedoodeedoo' at the Gamer Doctor, before Go stows it away in his hoodie again.

     "The professor who made it..." he admits to Emu, "...he said I left before I knew how to use it properly." There's a bit of embarrassment with the next admission--"I found out the hard way he was right, not long ago. But that day with the Bugster..." He frowns thoughtfully. "Well, I think maybe I found out the right way. Even if I'm wrong about that... if he's really a good guy, then meeting him is worth a few scrapes and bruises."

     He finishes his soda and makes a graceful shot into the trashcan. "It sounds like everyone has an angle they'd like to work here--so I'll get to mine, too." He manages to leave with a smile and a wave--but he's not smiling when that performance bike of his takes off. Something is on his mind, and won't leave until he does something about it. It isn't until he's well away from the hospital that he can.

     About 30 minutes after Go leaves, Haru's phone-blaster beeps with a new text message.