Scene #7726: The Friends of Hibiki

Owner	Pose
Candy	That short guy with the attitude and the dirty mouth is making calls at a certain music academy. How polite he is seems to depend largely on how close the staffers in question appear affiliated with the JSDF, but delivery aside, the message is the same. "We're friends of Hibiki's, and we're looking for Miku." 'We' is including Rita Ma--the other person clued in as to why they're actually here. "It's simple," he'd told her on the drive there, made in a flatbed pickup with the form-over-function curves of an early twentieth century model. "We go to her little music academy and we meet that Miku girl. We get a read on her, make sure she's not no bootlicking 'law and order' turd polisher, and if she's not, I give her a present. Then... then you and me both help her test the present, ah?" Of course, he wouldn't request Rita's help without payment. "If chumming around with one of Hibiki's buddies is not enough for you, you know I would give you aaaall the food you could pack in." There's a particularly toothy grin there. "Maybe I even get fancy with it, see if there's something I could do to spruce it up a little, you know." At the academy itself, he's patient. Perhaps annoyingly so, if he has reason to be.
Rita Ma	Rita the perfectly ordinary girl spends a lot of time in the car ride staring out the windows in abject fascination. On a boat in an endless ocean, you can't really see the world go by; there's no static reference point. A car is something totally different. The road blurs past beneath them. Trees and buildings glide along in an endless parallax. She get a little car-sick, but she's very very brave about it. "Right," Rita says firmly. Her hands are curled up in determined little fists in her lap as she nods along. "If she's a friend of Hibiki's, I know her heart's in the right place, but it's always good to make sure. And, um... how are we going to test it, Mr. Candy? I don't really get that part." The offer of food, though, assuages the few doubts she has- even if she seems a little ashamed of how easy it placates her. Her eyes turn down towards the floorboards. "Right. If you could do the bugs again... or some steak, maybe... I'd like that a lot." She hops out of the pickup truck and takes a couple of timid tries to close the door, but eventually figures out the technique. Her unbuttoned cardigan with slightly-too-long-for-her-arms sleeves, crisp shirt, and pleated skirt mark her as 'decidedly not a student', but not terribly out of place, either. Honestly, Candy probably resembles a schoolgirl more than she does. Maybe that's why she lets him do all the talking.
Hibiki Tachibana	Fortunately for Candy's manners, most of the regular staff of Lydian Private Music Academy seem to be exactly that - regular. If they're affiliated at all with the Japanese military or the secret facility right underneath the campus he's visited, they don't make it obvious at all. It could be a front, though he gets the impression they're genuine about it. It's up in the air whether he and his companion for the day are being observed, but given his skills and the casual entrance they made, it's a fair bet they won't have to worry about any interruptions, at least for now. It's only just after-hours on a weekday, and since a large portion of all-female student body lives on the expansive grounds in the dorms, it's actually still quite busy with many of them going to-and-fro, and thus it shouldn't take that long in order to get pointed in the direction they're looking for. A bit of patience is good, since the first few staffers that Candy asks after figure she might have already left for the apartment she and Hibiki share out in the city. But a younger student overhearing them on her way by happens to be able to get them in touch, luckily. "You're looking for Kohinata-san? I think she was staying behind in one of the classrooms to finish a project...hold on, I'll go get her for you!" After a few short minutes, Candy and Rita can catch who they're looking for turning the corner, catching sight of them, and hurrying over with a small wave. A school uniform, black hair tied off with a white bow - that's her. Rita in particular saw her not that long ago at Mishelam Wonderland, so there's no mistaking it. "Ah, hello! You're...Hibiki's friends, right? Hello again, Rita!" She slows up when near them, glancing between them both with a smile, and then a little curiously. "...But you came here looking for me and not her?"
Candy	Under his breath, as the younger student goes and gets Miku, "Believe me, a happy Rita is something I would like a lot, too, ah? Heheh." He nudges her playfully with an elbow. "The testing, well... it's gonna involve shooting, probably both ways, so you will want that cute little pistol of yours. Maybe one of mine, if you feel... what's the word? Adventurous?" He clears his throat once she arrives. "Hey!" Candy utters a sharp whistle, flagging her down. Smiling right back at her, thumbing his suspenders, "Miku, right? We met at that Mishelam place--Candelario, Candy for short--and you already met Rita. Great!" A soda appears in his hand. In the opposite hand, he holds two, which appear in that same smoky, light-filled kind of cloud, and he extends the two-in-one-hand to Rita, then Miku. "'Course I'm looking for you. Hibiki's..." Well. They keep that stuff a secret here, don't they? "Hibiki I already know about, but she didn't tell me about no card-playing friend of hers, and miss, I make it my business to know all the card players." "Whattaya say the three of us get the fuck out of here and shoot the shit someplace else?" He pauses, and will offer a clarification for his slang if necessary--there's no literal shit to be shot just yet.
Candy	There's gotta be someplace Miku knows of where three people could have a conversation and definitely not test military hardware. En route to such a place, there are a few questions he'd have: -How much does she know about Hibiki? -What's most important to her in life? -Genie in a bottle, if she could have one thing, what would it be?
Rita Ma	"Ah... is it really okay to shoot at her?" Rita says quietly. Her expression's restrained, but nervous, as she confers with Candy. "I don't want to scare her, but I can try..." Even if Hibiki knows what I'm really like, I don't want to reveal myself to Miku like that. Fighting while keeping up my disguise is really hard... but I guess we're not really fighting to win, either. Rita does an absolutely adorable up-on-tiptoes wave at Miku when she's first sighted. For a brief moment, doubt flickers behind her eyes, chased swiftly by relief. She didn't see me do anything weird at Mishelam, right? ... No, we split up at the start and didn't meet up again until dinner. And by then I'd eaten already, so my table manners with the sashimi were a lot better. "Hi, Ms. Kohinata! Um, I mean, Miku. We're not holding you up from anything, are we...?" She takes Candy's soda, twists the cap off (even though it's not a twist-off cap), and pretends to sip from it while not actually doing so. An invisible hollow tentacle drains the bottle periodically instead, giving the impression that she's taken occasional swigs. "Hibiki's an amazing person, isn't she? So if she's friends with someone, I know they must be a good person too. And since you're her best friend, you must be someone really worth knowing, right?" It's a flimsy excuse for coming out here, but it's at least sincerely-felt. Her own questions take a somewhat different tack. - Is there anybody you consider a role model? - What's something you really, deeply hate? - How important is found family, compared to blood relation?
Hibiki Tachibana	Miku regards the soda-spawning magic trick with open-mouthed awe, and then gratefulness as she takes it with both hands. "At Mishelam...ah, that's right! You showed up right as we were getting..." Miku goes from pleasantly surprised at recalling him to closing her eyes and laughing awkwardly in the span of a moment. "...totally beaten by Mr. Coldsteel. Ahaha..." She may or may not have tried to remove that terrible defeat from her mind. Next time, Rean Coldsteel. Next time. She is at least perceptive enough to give a curious pause at when he trails off mentioning Hibiki, but doesn't comment on it in favor of what he says next. His way of phrasing it isn't met with confusion, but rather an understanding giggle and a sunshine-like smile, especially when Rita compliments her. Flimsy as it might be, that sincerity seems to hit her enough for a slight blush to come to her face. "No, you're not interrupting anything at all. Nothing I can't get done later, at least! But you really came all this way just to learn more about me? It'd be rude of me to say no after you went that far...and I did want to find a good chance to thank you all for always watching over Hibiki. I'll pack up my things and we can go! She's already expecting me to get home a little late." If it's someplace quiet Candy looking for, Miku does have one good idea - there are cliffed hills bordering part of the city, accessible by the roads going up the side of them, or walkways that lead up the shorter ones. There are numerous parks and forested areas up there, and it's away from all the bustle while overlooking the metropolis and the sea below. And conveniently a good enough distance from the academy for the pair to get their questions in on the way.
Hibiki Tachibana	To Candy's first question, she explains that she very much knows what Hibiki does, both with them and in her own world. They're old friends from school that reconnected after a long period away from each other about a year ago, after some events that'd take a long time to explain, and she's been in the know ever since. She's officially marked down as an 'accomplice' to their organization, in the sense she's a civilian who's aware of their operations and who can come and go as she pleases. The most important thing to her is, no hesitation, Hibiki's happiness. For her to have some place to come back to at the end of the day and live normally, and for her to be able to be there beside her whenever and however she can. Before said reconnection, Hibiki suffered a lot from being alone - and she doesn't want that to happen again, more than anything. Miku considers Hibiki to have a strength and a certain kindness she wistfully wishes she had, but also really looks up to Tsubasa, the other Symphogear user in their world, for a lot of reasons...and in a way, also people like Rita and Candy. Even though she doesn't know them that well, she's heard enough to know that she really does respect them for working to make things better, and for being people Hibiki can call her friends. If she had to hate something, it'd definitely be the Noise. Not simply because they're monsters or anything like that, but because they're the reason they can't have a peaceful world and so much conflict has to happen. Rita's final question visibly takes her a moment to think about - but in the end, she thinks that both of them are just important as one another, in their own ways. It's sad, having a poor relationship with your own blood, but also, nothing says you can't find the place you belong outside of that. Candy's final question is one she needs to think about even more, but also has a simple answer. "Mm...it's a little selfish, but I wish Hibiki...didn't have to fight. But I know she's not the kind of person who can stand aside when there's something she can do, so instead...I think I'd wish to be able to protect her as much as she tries to protect everyone else. After everything recently..." She trails off, though one can only imagine she's alluding to when Hibiki was hospitalized not that long ago.
Candy	"Hibiki is good people," Candy says firmly to Miku, nodding. The cliffed hills are more than fine for their purposes--his and Rita's. They're Miku's purposes, too, she just doesn't know it yet. He'll suggest, by taking it, the path that's shorter, preferring to stay off the main roads, or otherwise minimize the amount of time they're present on said roads. The second, not the first forest, is the one where he eventually decides to stop, abruptly furnishing the woods with some creature comforts. Several playing cards are tossed into the shaded dirt, where they burn up, into clouds of smoke. Those same strange lights dance inside the growing plume, until a chance wind blows it all away and reveals what he's made. Three chairs, the likes of which you'd see on the set of a movie--cloth backed and seated, wooden legs, folding. A folding table, with sturdy metal legs and a spread of snacks from his home. As you might guess, they're mostly in Spanish, but they're easily discerned. Corn chips, something that looks like little fried funnel cake pinwheels, chocolates with jam and cream filling, as well as less insalubrious fare like home cooked tamales, fresh salsa and, yes--jumiles and lots of raw steaks for Rita. "I'd set up a bug zapper, but something tells me them steaks won't be there long enough for that to matter," Candy teases. "So!" Clapping his hands together, he takes a seat in one of those chairs. "You know about the Symphogears. You wanna make Hibiki happy, be by her side, stop all the bullshit with the Noise--be weird if you didn't--" he teases with a little grin, continuing, "And you wish Hibiki didn't -have- to fight." Tapping a finger to his cheek, he crosses his legs, and his grin takes a mischievous shade. "What do you think, Rita?" We got the right person for the job? He certainly seems to think so--but what job? He is... just... gone. Not even so much as a poof, only the creaking of his chair and the snapping of some twigs to suggest anything moved at all.
Rita Ma	Rita nods along with Miku's answers- she's decided to sit in the back instead of riding shotgun, so that whether Miku wants to sit in the back with Rita or up front with Candy, one of them will be able to scrutinize her facial expressions during the responses. But that's hardly even necessary. Miku's answers are sincere, unflinching, and more or less perfect. "Noise". Those are her world's monsters, aren't they? Hating monsters more than anything... big sis Kana would say the same thing. That's the kind of hero I can really trust. Someone who says 'I don't hate them, but it has to be done' could only turn out like Ms. Langstrom. Once they arrive, Rita's too entranced by the raw steak to even remember to sit down. She just stares, glassy-eyed and longing, with just enough inner turmoil to stop her from lunging at them immediately. I'm starving. Candy must know that. And right now, those look like the most delicious things in the world. But, in front of Miku... we've already taken her from school and out into the woods. She barely knows us, and we're saying such strange things. Wouldn't it horrify her if I just started eating raw meat? Candy's question, at last, snaps her out of her reverie. "Oh! Um, definitely, Mr. Candy. I think Miss... er, Miku is a really good choice." She turns towards Miku with a little heartfelt smile. "Monsters that hurt people need to be killed, don't they? That's the most important thing, as simple as it is. I'm really glad you get that." She eats the jumiles by the handful after settling down, but forces herself to leave the steaks alone. While he's gone, she takes a second to address Miku. "... I'm really, really sorry for what happened to Hibiki. The Multiverse is a scary place, and I feel bad we couldn't protect her. It must be tempting to just want her to stick to your world after that, where fighting monsters is simpler and nobody has a reason to want to hurt her." "Thank you for not feeling that way, Miku. I appreciate you being brave."
Candy	He's gone because Time stops. Candy is a ways away from the two girls--enough so that, were time not stopped, they'd likely only be able to hear him if the wind were completely still. He needs to pace, and he doesn't want to spook two people probably very used to sudden ambush bullshit with the sudden rubberbanding of a workshop session's worth of twigs snapping and leaves crunching. Boys, we have got to make us a fucking relic. What do we know about those? It ssshould sssing a sssong that resssonates with her, sssomehow. They're powerful! They're a little scary! Hmm... there is something you remember, from your mother's stories. Something powerful and terrible. Something which is finely suited for hands as hers--if she would make war so that others do not have to, if she would be the sun in Hibiki's sky, ever there to balm with warm radiance and incite the spirit with burning passion... yes. We could make something like this. Time resumes. -There's a sound like an animal scurrying into some brush or something. It's actually a fuckload of twigs and leaves being disturbed about two minutes' walk away. -"Hey, guys!" Candy is just walking towards the two girls, with a heavy briefcase in one hand and what appears to be a songbook in the other. One of those flimsy metal musical stands is tucked under the same arm as the suitcase, but despite all the shit he's carrying, he doesn't seem too slowed down. "Rita, you haven't touched them steaks," he says with mild concern. "You okay?" He puts down the suitcase, and the stand, putting the songbook on the stand. "Let me know if you can read the words--I didn't know how the Understanding would play there or if it would fuck anything up. It's page 3--everything else in there's just for fun." He placea the back of his hand against Rita's forehead assuming she doesn't swat it away, trying to check for a fever and just generally fussing over her while he explains: "Oh, and when you're ready to start singing, open up that suitcase--" "And we'll start on three." The voice of another Candy. Dressed in that same combo of unassuming breeches, suspenders, work boots, and a not-very buttoned-up button-up shirt, there are two guitar Candies, both acoustic, as well as a bongo Candy, a drum set Candy, and an afuche Candy, all waiting for Miku's command. Proudly, the Candy with the briefcase nudges it towards Miku. "I forgot to mention, it's called--" Xiuhcoatl, Solar Sling of the Hummingbird
Candy	The 'sling' resembles a snake, and is made of a flexible, polished wood. Scales are carved with excruciating detail, painted a vibrant turquoise that As a matter of fact, at first glance it doesn't much look like a sling at all. One end is pointed, enough to be used as a weapon if necessary. It is bound at that end with tethers of red, white, orange and turquoise, whic, when held towards that end, allow the weapon's length, which curves back, to rest against her arm. Here is where she may realize why it's called a sling. The 'head' of the serpent, frozen with its fangs bared and wild, majestic defiance in its eyes, is bent, so that the jaw rests just after a cylindrical groove cut into its body. It doesn't hurl stones--it hurls spears, and judging by the shape of it, the curve in its body, it's designed to hugely magnify the throwing power of the user. "When you're ready, Miku..." The Candy accompaniment will begin, on her signal. The song is one selected intentionally--one which reflects Miku's strong feelings for Hibiki. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY0fuEfBmD4
Hibiki Tachibana	Rita isn't wrong; it's not everyday that friends of your friend want to take you far enough that you're going to the /second/ forest off the way. Between her and Hibiki, Miku definitely has a more sensible head on her shoulders, so she does suspect there's more going on here than just wanting to have a friendly chat to get to know each other better. But it's because they're friends of her best friend that she trusts them, and is more than fine going along with it. And her impression of Candy's magical prowess only goes up when he produces an entire snack area out of thin air. Leaving her giggling and even outright clapping as she takes a seat. "That's amazing! Seeing what everyone from outside our world can do is still so unbelievable..." Those fried funnel cake pinwheels are hard to resist, though the whole spread is more exotic than anything she's ever seen in any of their cooking classes. That is a lot of steak, though. A lot. The way she eats is slow and polite, and she's mid-bite when Candy speaks up. Naturally, Miku's gaze briefly goes to Rita when she's referenced, and when she looks back to him a moment later...he's gone. "Job...?" Rita doesn't seem to find his disappearance odd though, so she also brushes it off for the moment, especially when Rita speaks up towards her, and her expression goes a bit solemn. "...Mm. You don't have anything to say sorry for, Rita. If anybody could have done something, I know they would have. You, too. It's scary...really scary, knowing that she might be hurt again. In that way..." Her head briefly drops. There's a flash on her face, of much more anguish than she's expressing on the outside. Then she lifts it again with a bit of a lighter expression. "...But I still want to support her in what she wants to do. And when she puts her mind to it, and has friends like you all...I want to believe nothing will ever keep her down forever." She might have commented on the subject of monsters and Rita's obviously strong feelings on the matter, but that's about when the sound of some disturbance and Candy showing back up snatches her attention. "Mr. Candy? Is that...?" She glances to the very familiar-looking stand and then the briefcase, followed by wide eyes at him bringing in the entire band of technically one but actually five. Wait, what is he...?
Hibiki Tachibana	From the look on her face, the last thing she expected was for the briefcase to be pushed her way. Miku is a mixture of confused and awed as she sets it down and tentatively, slowly cracks it open. "Xiuh..." The extravagant detailing of what's inside is nothing like she's ever seen before. It's not like Hibiki or Tsubasa's crimson pendants, it's an object with more craftsmanship put into it than she'd ever believe Candy made on the spot even if he told her outright. Her fingers lightly brush over the scales, and then over the jaw of the serpent. "...coatl..." She repeats reverently, still catching up with the situation. It's meant to throw spears, like the very one Hibiki wields as an expression of her heart. Something representing the sun in the sky...Hibiki calls her her sunshine, but with this... "Is this really...?" Something she should have? Finally, her face tightens up from raw astonishment into focus, and she gulps, and then nods. She's quick on the uptake. Without any more words, she leans in to turn the pages of the songbook, glancing over the first few pages before ending on 3. Her eyes go over it before closing, and she gives a nod. The signal. Her voice is slow and a slightly lower tone than her normal speech. "Kiss me much, kiss me with passion... Kiss me as if this were to be our very last night..." "Kiss me now, kiss me with passion... For you I may never-more see Once past early light..." "I want to hold you so closely, and look into your eyes to find you mirroring me..." "Im sure dawn will find me lonely, cast away so far behind where you then will be--..."
Rita Ma	"People from other worlds really can be amazing, Miku, but... it's Hibiki I'm the most impressed by. Being able to 'talk with her fists' like that... it's a beautiful thing, isn't it? I could never make fighting seem like something pretty." Candy's disappearance, in itself, doesn't seem to concern her- but that clattering way off in the woods makes her perk up, just in time to notice that he's returned. Just as soon, he's fussing all over her. "Oh! Um, it's really nice of you to give me steak, Mr. Candy! And I'm fine, really," Rita protests as he checks her for a fever. "It's just that they're... you know... raw?" Her hesitant, faltering tone and averted eyes clearly communicate the problem. It's not that she isn't starving, or that she doesn't want to rip those steaks to shreds- it's just that she doesn't want Miku to see her like that. The bowl of bugs is cleaned out, though. Those are at least 'normal person food', if exotic. She can't really contribute to the musical spectacle, herself, except to rest her chin in her hands and bask in it with sparkling, awestruck eyes. But when Miku looks briefly uncertain- "Is this really...?"- she pipes up with a gentle, encouraging tone. "It's up to you, Miku. Hibiki wants to protect you, more than anything else... but she needs someone to protect her, too. She knows that. Is there anyone who wants her to be safe more than you?"
Candy	Candy rests a hand on Rita's shoulder. "It Is scary," he says to Miku, as the last notes of the song fade into the forest, and the illusory accompaniment all ripple like disturbed water, before breaking apart and vanishing. "Caring about someone like that. And it hurts sometimes, too. But it's also kinda like Hibiki's fancy boxing." "How your fists, they get stronger from the little bitty breaks. How, when you're in shape..." He smiles down at Rita, squeezing her shoulder. "It's a good hurt. Like an old friend--" The relic activates. It arms and armors her--the sling itself becomes the heads of two snakes, one to a shoulder. The mouth of each is wide open, revealing the business end of two powerful mortars that adjust in accordance with her mental commands. Lines of orange, white and red detail two wrist-mounted serpents, with those colors blending into tethers of the same hues that wrap around her elbows, with her upper arms exposed to allow more freedom of movement. A headband bearing simple geometric patterns of those same red, white and orange colors, keeps her hair from her eyes. "The wrist thingies, you will get a lot of mileage out of those," says Candy sagely. After a pause, "They are flamethrowers--but who knows fire better than the sun? Hibiki, she is this kind," says Candy, tapping a finger to his fist. "But you," he says, tapping that finger to his temple, "Are this kind. Your Symphogear--it's built so you can back each other up. You keep her from getting blown out of the water, and she keeps you from catching a right hook, ah?" He chuckles. "Not that you can't throw some nasty hooks of your own in that sucker. Use your imagination with the fire, ah? Spears, fireballs, lashes, you name it. Soften 'em up with that, finish with the shoulder mortars." Mortars? Yes, mortars. "You want 'em to hit really hard, they need a minute to build up speed, which means them barrels are gonna -vwoop!-" He pantomimes an extending motion with his hand. "If you get into trouble, think about someplace nearby and blink." He taps an index finger to his chin thoughtfully, pacing back and forth--and snagging a tamale. Rita's hints are taken--at long last. "So you got your Symphogear. Rita--what do you say we give her some time to get used to it, and come back in a few days to help her get some practice in?" In other words--he'll wrap those steaks up, give the both of them a ride back into town, and then let Rita tear those things up without worry of Miku seeing.
Hibiki Tachibana	Xiuhcoatl responds as her voice finally goes quiet, and Miku almost automatically lifts her arms just a little bit higher as armor and weaponry envelops itself around her limbs and forms onto her shoulders. They're heavy--but now, she can more than handle it, and the transformation completing is marked by her running her fingers lightly across the headband tying her hair back before brushing them off to the side. It's a dramatic little flair in true mahou shoujo fashion, that she doesn't seem to have even realized she did a moment later when she's busily looking over herself. That meaning lifting her arms as Candy points out the purpose of the serpents on her wrists, and the rest of the--her Symphogear. Something meant to support Hibiki. Something made for it. Later, she'll probably take Candy's suggestion of imagination to heart, in the same way her friend does all sorts of things with her Gungnir. And she'll find out how to use artillery this mighty, which she might be strong enough to use but certainly will take some getting used to feeling resting there. But right now, she looks like she's caught between a mixture of disbelief and an overflow of emotion, looking from herself back up to the pair. But she gets it under control with a swallow, and flashes back a wide smile that is every bit as bright as the solar relic she's just been gifted with. "Not in the whole wide world," she answers Rita with full confidence. "...So I'm going to make sure I do. Hibiki is...my shining sun, you know." And there's no sun without sunshine, and no sunshine without the sun. "If I can be bright enough to burn alongside her...I really will do my best!" A bit of her emotion spills out in that last word, and she finds herself sniffling just slightly before briefly rubbing at her eyes and addressing Candy. "I--um...I want to say 'thank you', but I don't think those words are enough to say how I feel...even still! Thank you! Both of you!" It's good they're giving her some time, because this is a lot to take in. Still, she has to say something before they go. "When you come back...I'll cook something up to repay you for everything!" MEANWHILE, IN THE SECOND DIV. HQ BELOW LYDIAN: An alarm signal goes off - the unmistakable sign of a relic activation being picked up by their detection systems. The confusing thing for the staff (read: bridge bunnies) on hand is that the signal matches no known records in their database, not even after a thorough double-search. Most of them are completely confused, and are going back and forth on what to do about it. A certain bespectacled woman in a labcoat, however, casually takes a sip from a coffee mug and waves them down. "Take it easy, take it easy~! It's nothing to mess up your pants over. I have a pretty good idea what this is all about, you know, genius that I am! Sit back down and let me worry about it, m'kay? I'll have a chat with Genjuro-kun later." What she says next is kept low enough that only she can hear it however, taking another long drink while glancing up at the main screen. "Looks like you found your insurance, hm...? 'It wouldn't be like anything you've ever seen.' I'll be looking /very/ much forward to seeing exactly what you meant by that, fufufu..."