Scene #8455: Scratched In Hearts

Owner	Pose
Meika Kirenai	Kagoshima. Friday afternoon. 33° C, light clouds. Winds NW, 11 km/h. Humid warmth, golden sunlight, droning voices, and omnipresent fatigue are the four horsemen of dozing off in the middle of the Chemistry lecture Meika and Kayoko share at Our Lady The Second Eve. The difference between 'Molarity' and 'Molality' is enough to make Meika wish she'd drifted off to get a bit of rest in, after the exhausting ordeal of the night before- a Temptation attack, frustratingly evasive and prolonged far more than it had any right to be. Bruises beneath clothes, and a few new bandages mark that nobody else had gotten too hurt, but it's Kayoko who had really worn herself ragged ensuring that- Nobody would be surprised if Meika started napping in class, but when Kayoko's eyes flutter and close, there's bound to be commotion. It only takes a whisper, and quiet unheard conversation, to prod her back to a focused-enough composure, but it's no surprise to Meika that afterwards, when class is done, with Meika returning home and Kayoko retreating to their school's dormitory, that worried texts buzz her phone alive. Polly, Kayoko's dormmate, and someone who used to be an acquaintance, has bombarded Meika with worried messages concerning Kayoko's apparent collapse on a couch, despite study plans and club meetings- and even included a photo, with a filter of the tuckered-out magical girl asleep, with added-on sparkly cat whiskers. Polly follows up her concerns on well-being with flashy kaomojis and comments on how silly the image makes her look. Implied, and stated in a few different forms, is the question, "Should I wake her up...?" That she even has to ask is answer enough, even without feedback from Meika, that Polly knows not to disturb her. Regardless, Meika answers none of it, reading text notifications as they appear instead of checking actual messages, to not even give indication that they've been recieved. Easiest way to not cause alarm is to not act alarmed, after all. It is alarming to see her sister so uncharacteristically exhausted, but there's nothing to be done. She needs her rest. I'll handle everything else. Kagoshima. Friday evening. 29° C, clear skies. Winds NW, 8 km/h. Chores done, preparations finished, and window propped open to sneak out through, there's only a little left to do, to make sure the night goes smoothly. Probabalistically, there's no real gurantee that Temptation attacks happen back to back less commonly than spaced out, but that fallacy still brings a little comfort, that tonight will probably be nothing. Even so. Kayoko would hate if she was alone, without any sort of backup- and Meika would hate more than anything to need her to back her up, when she really ought to be getting rest. So she'll take care of it.
Meika Kirenai	. . . . . . Hibiki's phone will find itself absolutely bombarded by stacatto text messages, sent one after another after another by an unknown number, curt and hasty. Meika: Hibiki. Meika: Oh. This is Meika. Meika: By the way. Meika: Kirenai. Meika Kirenai. Not a different one. Meika: Unless there are others you know? I don't know. Meika: And I'm not stalking you, I got your number from Mister Kazanari. Meika: I got his number from Paladins reports and case files. Meika: Sorry. It doesn't matter. Look. Kayoko's down and out, tonight, so keeping an eye on the city's up to me. Meika: Which is fine. I can handle it. I don't actually need help, from you. Meika: But sis would be mad if I didn't at least ask someone. Meika: And you're a magical girl. Or close enough, right? Meika: Yeah. There's a long gap until her next message, born from a myriad of typed out and promptly deleted drafts. Meika: I know it's last minute, and a lot to ask. Meika: And you don't owe me any favors. Meika: But... I have some things in mind, I was hoping to talk about. In person. Meika: Two birds, one stone. Meika: So. Meika: If you're able to, do you think you could drop by our city for tonight? Meika: I'll have snacks. And coffee. If you're not used to night shifts. There's directions already laid out for where she'll be, and how to get there from the warpgate, even before a 'yes' or 'no' or any array of possible questions get back to Meika. A construction site, quiet and empty at this late hour of the evening, where someday, some mid-rise tower will stand. For now, it's just a rectangular jungle gym of steel I-beams, concrete foundationwork, and all-encompassing scaffolding. Without knowing where to look, Meika's perch, up past the finished floors and higher up above the surrounding rooftops, would be visible mainly to the soft gaze ot the evening stars above. And even if someone did notice, she'd just look like a misbehaving kid, trespassing somewhere, still in her highschool's uniform. Her legs swing off the steel ledge, slowly and quietly, as she looks out across the city around her. A lookout post isn't critical, with the aid of the ever-vigilant Cherub network, but it helps put her mind at ease to have somewhere she can see what she's guarding over, and what needs her. Next to her is a thermos, and a plastic bag-shrouded bundle. She did say she'd have snacks.
Hibiki Tachibana	Somewhere in the realm of fifteen minutes after the stream of texts comes through, they're all marked 'read'. Another five minutes later, and replies begin getting sent back. Hibiki: I don't mind. Hibiki: I mean, I'm happy to. Don't worry about putting me on the spot or anything. Hibiki: There are a couple things I wouldn't mind talking about either. Hibiki: ...In person, yeah. I'm not great at handling things over radio and stuff anyway. Hibiki: I'll get what I need and head on over as soon as I can. Hibiki: Talk to you soon, Meika. Even with the other girl having already given her everything she needed, kind of eliminating the need to reply at all if she didn't want to, she does so anyway. It looks perfectly curt and concise at a glance, although paying active attention to her phone would make it obvious Hibiki had her fair share of delays between replies even though the 'typing' pop-up rarely ever vanished. Several times over, she considered adding more on. 'Not like I'd be getting this work done tonight, anyway.' 'Is Kayoko doing alright? What happened?' 'It's not a big ask at all.' And so on, and so forth. None of them make it further than getting typed a quarter of the way before she thinks better on it and backspaces. At least one moment of idle curiosity at her method of getting the number before also deciding herself that it didn't really matter in the end. If Meika went to all the trouble of asking her like this... ... Miku understands when she tells her. So Hibiki won't keep Meika waiting very long. At some point, breaking up the sounds of a mostly silent night, there's the sound of shoes on metal drawing closer on closer, and at least one drawn out exhale. Stepping along a length of girder without terribly much concern for lost balance or anything else that would be reasonable to have this high up, she quietly steps next to the other magical girl where she sits, her slightly tired-looking eyes cast out on the city rather than her. "...It's a pretty nice view up here," she starts, while lowering down to sit next to Meika and dropping a small sidebag down next to herself. Judging from the muffled noise, it's probably just her phone and some other bare necessities. "I like spots like this a lot, actually." A couple seconds pass, and then she glances towards Meika. It occurs to her that they were both there, in Lobotomy Corporation, recently. But they hardly talked. Or even saw each other, the ways they went. "...What's on your mind?"
Meika Kirenai	Footsteps echo faint tremors up the girders, breath barely hides itself amongst the smog-and-sea-smelling breeze. Even before it'd seem obvious to Hibiki that her presence was taken note of, Meika can hear her. She waits a moment, as the other magical girl approaches, without saying anything- without breaking the silence. She half expects her to turn around, and go home, or somewhere else, despite having made it this far. Like observing quantum particles, any interaction from her feels like it'd force a change, cinch whether she stays or goes. So she sits, quietly, and waits for action and decision to fall in place however they will. The footsteps don't stop getting closer. "...Yeah. The view helps. Hard to be snuck up on, or surprised, up here." Fitting to her words, Meika's gaze doesn't shift when Hibiki steps close, and sits down. She doesn't move in surprise, more than a faint twitch. "Are you... used... to places like this..? Are you around them for what you do, too...?" Her teeth set, after letting that question through. Is that obvious? A stupid question? She exhales, and leans back, legs still kicking slowly out in front of her. "...You... remember the Magical Girl of Courage, right..? When she went to your world. You were there, but... I'm not sure how much you heard, from her." She pauses, only for a second, to grab the thermos next to her. Its top is screwed off into a mug, quickly filled with tepid coffee, and pushed into Hibiki's hands without as much as asking if she even wants any. Despite the not-much-heat, it's fresh and rich. Meika doesn't touch any, a crumpled aluminum energy drink can sitting on the girder beside her. "I went to visit her. At.. at the facility Angela's company has her." Her expression flickers, but, avoiding any risk of explaining why, she just faces out at the shadowy skyline, and the slowly-flickering-on lights amongst buildings and streets. "That's what I was hoping to talk about. Her. Because... you're... a magical girl too, right?" So maybe you'd get it, too? Meika coughs, heavy and pained, into a bent arm, causing her to lean forwards as bruises flicker to attention. She clears her throat. "Oh. You... are one, right? I- maybe I've just been assuming."
Hibiki Tachibana	"Mmmn. Noise just kind of show up wherever and whenever they want, so it's not like it really helps with that all that much. But..." Hibiki glances from Meika back out to the city, and the darkening sky overhead. "...Places like this have always helped me think, a little bit. I used to, uh...be on my own, a lot more. And...I found myself at places like this pretty often." If she thinks it was a stupid thing to ask, she's certainly not showing it. If anything, she seems slightly tentative more than anything else, until Meika puts the thermos right in her hands. She looks from it, to what the other girl must've finished before she got here, and then slowly takes a long sip before anything else. A longer one than she otherwise would. The strong taste of coffee, even lukewarm, feels like a pick-me-up even if it'll take time for the caffeine to kick in. And it makes it a tiny amount less obvious when her attention goes back to the other girl, brow furrowing just a bit. If not at the mention of the Magical Girl of Courage, then perhaps at the obvious bruises. For once, she only doesn't have any herself right now because of Kukuru. Rather than asking about them though, or if they have something to do with Kayoko sitting tonight out, Hibiki just sets the thermos down in her lap and takes a second before answering. "...You know, I didn't really think I was anything like one for a long time. And I mean, even now--I don't have anything like...helpers sitting on my shoulder, or big attack callouts, or anything like that. A little more mechanical than most of them too, I guess." She might be thinking of shows, or something like that, more than Meika and Kayoko's own circumstances. "...Although now...yeah. I think I'm actually glad to call myself one. I sort of started thinking about myself like that after I started getting to know Strawberry a little bit. --Uh, Strawberry Princess that is." She adds on a little awkwardly, as if either of them would know anybody else who goes by that name. "...Who kind of...helped me figure out what it's all about, is the way I'd put it, maybe." Hibiki goes silent again, filling the air by taking a much shorter sip of her drink than before. But there's still a world of difference between that, and being a hero. Another unsaid thought, before she speaks up, carefully. "Back then...I only really got to speak to the Hermit. To Beozzi. I only got to see the Magical Girl of Courage...when they finally got to reunite. I was kind of sad I didn't get to talk to her myself--but the fact things worked out was enough for me then." She pauses, then looks to Meika. "...How is...she doing?"
Meika Kirenai	'I used to, uh...be on my own, a lot more. And...I found myself at places like this pretty often.' "Yeah. Me too." Her tone is softer, blending in to the steady blowing breeze. "People don't really ever look up. Have you ever noticed that? I like that they don't. It doesn't really feel like hiding, but..." She shrugs. Unconsciously, as Hibiki's attention and eyes send a nervous jolt down Meika's spine, she shifts her posture, shoulders tighter and sleeves pulled further over palms. It's far from chilly enough to warrant it. What are you looking at? There's a faint twitch to an eyebrow- but an exhale cuts off her thinking. Even if they're here to chat, Meika still needs her focus elsewhere, if any warnings come. Seconds matter. 'I don't have anything like...helpers sitting on my shoulder, or big attack callouts, or anything like that.' "...Kayoko likes the callouts. Or.. something. I didn't used to do them. It doesn't really matter, because nobody would even know, if I did. But...." A small sigh. "...That's not what it's about, though." Meika's sure the other girl knows that. 'Although now...yeah. I think I'm actually glad to call myself one.' "Call yourself one? You're either one or you aren't. What do you mean? Wouldn't.... the organization you're with, wouldn't they know if you were chosen as one, or not? Wouldn't... you know, when you got your.... you know." Powers. Transformation. Meika shrugs, instead of clarifying. "I know your... boss, used other words to describe you, but..." Drop it. If she's not one, she's not one. That's that. "...How did... you get yours..?" 'I was kind of sad I didn't get to talk to her myself' "...You should. You.. could ask Miss Angela, like.. like I did. It... didn't go well, when I visited. But I don't think she should be alone, with them. And I'll... probably make it worse again, when I go back." When. Not if. She's already certain she'll try again. '...How is...she doing?' Meika can't hide her grimace. "...I don't know. But it hurts t-to... to see her, like that. Even if she's just a...." How can you even think to say 'story'? "It's horrible, there. It's really horrible." Meika's arms cross in front of her chest, tightly. It's not fair that it's her.
Hibiki Tachibana	"...Yeah. I thought about it, once in a while. I guess part of the reason I liked doing it was because I didn't want to be seen. By anyone." Another sip, and an idle kick of her foot over open air. She lets out a sound quiet enough to die well before it leaves her throat when the other girl hides her injuries back away. Despite that, she nods in agreement with 'that's not what it's about', before taking a tense pause at the next question asked. There's a long moment where it's clear she's trying to work out the right words. She's not great at it. "Second Division...S.O.N.G...whichever name you wanna use, yeah. Maybe it's sort of the same kind of 'chosen' in the end, even if their name for them is different. 'Attuned'. The special ones who are able to synchronize with the relics our Symphogears are made of. Part of their job is to find who out there is actually able to. I, uh...I wasn't chosen, though. Not like normal." Hibiki hangs on that, and then glances down at herself. A hand leaves the thermos, to pluck at the string handing around her neck; pulling up the crimson, many-sided jewel that makes up her transformation pendant from where it was hidden beneath her jacket. "Kanade--the one who used Gungnir before me. She wasn't...chosen either." Her eyes shut briefly, and she takes in a breath. "'It didn't come by accident. She wished for it more than anything, and coughing up blood as she sang, she got it.'" The kind of language used and the tone makes it sound like she's repeating somebody else's words. "...She gave her life for mine. But it was an accident for me. She didn't mean to pass it on. She just wanted me...to keep on living." Her hand falls away, letting the pendant remain on the outside of her jacket now. There's a moment where Hibiki seems to mull something over, perhaps to consider if she wants to add on more or drop it, before she glances to Meika. Her voice is husky, despite the coffee. "...Do you think being naturally chosen or getting the powers some other way makes a difference when it comes to being a magical girl, Meika?" It sounds like a genuine question, more than anything else. The look on Meika's face - the way she responds, hugging against herself - gets her to frown though, which slowly transitions into her mouth falling open and her brow going up. It fully reverses back into her lips pursing and her expression growing notably strained though, as she tries to find the proper words. "Not alone? Worse--again...? "What did--" Pause. She wills her voice to get steadier. A little bit. She's gripping the thermos tighter, too. "...I-I talked to Hod, a little while ago. Another of the Sephirah. She told me...about how they're not normally supposed to help the Abnormalities. Their job is to get energy, whether they like it or not. But I don't...know the details. What are they doing to her, Meika? What do you mean, really horrible? What /happened/ when you went?"
Meika Kirenai	Meika flinches at Hibiki's slight reaction, disporportionately more visible than the other girl was even audible. What? Stop looking at me. Or say what you're thinking. You know I can guess. Her gaze fixes on distant harbor-side lamps, illuminating cargo yards not dissimilar to the ones where the Temptation Hibiki helped stave off had once been pinned, floating eerily above. Meika is silent as she listens to Hibiki's story, her hands fidgeting in and out of her pockets, rolling the striker on an unseen lighter absentmindedly."...Magical Girls are chosen from birth. It's predetermined. If you're one, God chose it for you. And you'll find out, when it matters, when you're needed. It's... always an attack. " Throughout her explanation, her voice softens, and a sourness seeps into the back of her throat with each word. "But we don't need relics. It can't be passed on. It's about us. Who and what we are. Something... scratched into the soul. The heart. It's not... something you can want. You don't get it by wishing. Or by accident." She sighs. "...It's... not like it's a bad thing. To not be a Magical Girl. But... yes. I think it's got to make a difference, between... being one, and... just kind of acting like it. It's probably better you aren't, really." Throughout none of this can Meika look the other girl in the face, let alone the eyes. I'm sorry someone had to die for you. Sympathy doesn't make it past her thoughts. "...When I heard that you had to sing, to... transform, I just... thought it might be kind of like us. To focus it, and stuff. Like what Kayoko and I..." Her boot scuffs against the metal beam as it collides back into it, hard, trembling through the structure. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause a confusion, I shouldn't have assumed like I did." Reaching out to the side, she grabs her crumpled-up old can, and throws it off into the night, aluminum silent as it soars through the air, and out-of-earshot wherever it lands. This was a bad idea. You should have just handled it alone. Like always. "...I know they don't like to help them. The... abnormalities. But they're also... Angela's said that they're... essentially human, anyways. Or close. And..."
Meika Kirenai	Meika extracts a crumpled-up note from her pocket, read-over by her already a few times already. The same one Beozzi slipped into her pockets a few days before. She hands it Hibiki's way, quietly, held between bandaid-wrapped fingers. 'Miss Meika I'm sorry for bumping into you like that and not saying anything but I am under watch. Even this is a risk. Though the main office said I could talk to Courage, the manager here decided I wasn't well enough to yet because I succumbed to her influence. Too much attachment work is bad for her, they say. Please don't give up. I'm sure dealing with the company isn't easy right now and it doesn't make much sense for one just hoping to generate energy but I believe one day we can actually be true friends with Abnormalities. Beozzi She watches Hibiki, expectantly. "...You've.. talked with her. Courage's other friend. She wants me to help. So I- we... should try. They're..." Her voice fades out, and hitches. "...She's... they're... punishing her. For things that... um. It doesn't matter what. T-they- they won't let me try and fix things, for her. They won't let me help. It's not fair, Hibiki... I know what I'm supposed to... what I'm supposed to do, to be for... but..." A sleeved hand wipes her face, and comes away ever so slightly wet. "It's not good enough if it's from-" A slug like "-me. They don't get it. But if I go back, too soon... I'm scared they'll... just hurt her, again." She sniffles, ever so slightly. "...They're scared, you know. Of Magical Girls. S-so... maybe you'll be okay."
Hibiki Tachibana	Chosen from birth. Predetermined. Chose it for them. Hibiki is silent as she takes in the words, a small frown on her face. Is it sympathy, or empathy? For her, it was coincidence and accident. And for Meika, it was already set from when she was brought into this world. But neither of them asked for it, and both of them have to live with it. At the same time, there's nothing saying what Hibiki has to use her power for, other than other people. She doesn't have a time limit before it's gone. And...the thing that was--still is--etched into her heart is... ...just kind of acting like it. It's probably better you aren't, really. I shouldn't have assumed like I did. Even despite 'yes, there is a difference' being a valid response to a question asked, hearing it delivered that sort of way makes her freeze up for a moment. Well, that's fine. It's just the way Magical Girls work on Meika's world, compared to everywhere else. Nobody would say Strawberry isn't actually one, even with her situation. Right? She was the one who got her thinking she was one like her in the first place. They had a heart to heart over burgers and everything, way back when. Hah, and it was about Lilian, too. And there's plenty of other ones besides. They're not all the exact same, sure, but there's common thread between all of them. None of them are... ...just kind of...acting like it. Even the vibrations rumbling through the metal underneath her or the sight of the can disappearing off into the dark seems to draw her attention as much as it otherwise would, shoulders drooping where she sits. "...The songs...still come from the heart," she murmurs almost inaudibly, just to herself. Not even in argument to the other girl.
Hibiki Tachibana	And there's nothing else out of her as she quietly takes the note, fingers very briefly locked against the thermos before reversing to take it loosely. Despite the shellshock still going through her, the more she reads Beozzi's words, the more her brow furrows. "It's the branch manager that's stopping her...? And she told you to..." Hibiki trails off, blinking and listening closely to Meika, who's practically stumbling over her words asking for her help. Even without detailing the 'punishment', it's obvious whatever she she did see affected her badly. Really badly. And she wants to help just as badly. That's not something she could ever fault anyone for. It's not something she could ever not want to help with. She cares about the Magical Girl of Courage, too. Even if... You never cared. You never will care. You'll never be anything different. ...They're scared, you know. Of Magical Girls. S-so... maybe you'll be okay. "...A-Ah. Yeah. Maybe I just might have better luck, since...yeah. I haven't given them any reason to have to be afraid of me in the first place." The words feel hollow in her chest. Maybe because she can't work up the kind of emotion she should rightfully be feeling at this awful news, even if the desire to help is genuine. Her eyes are still down on the note instead of Meika. Which she seems to realize, covering up for it by making herself sit up straighter, and taking a deep breath with closed eyes. Some energy and resolve comes back to her voice. How much of it is forced? "I'll...help however I can. Maybe Hod...or even Angela might be able to lend a hand. But--no, it'll mean going through the branch one way or another...I'm not entirely sure just yet. But if Beozzi isn't giving up, we can't either. We worked that hard to bring them back together, didn't we?" As long as she's talking, doing something, she doesn't have to think about anything else. There's a lot less of a chance for still-fragile bravery to slip away like that.
Meika Kirenai	When she doesn't watch the other girl's reactions, and body language, Meika listens, hearing all the ambient soft noises echo and rebound, becoming barely-tangible clues to Hibiki's shape and posture and expression. She notices her silence. She notices her tension. Meika's lips purse, and her teeth clench. I should just take it back, I could- '...The songs...still come from the heart.' She bites the inside of her own lip, hard. Her voice is muddled, when it follows. "...That's not what I mean. 'From the heart' is... it's part. I meant... for why, though. Like... You've seen Kayoko's camera, I... I use little drawings, which I know is silly, but... it's 'why' something's from the heart, that... I was thinking about. And if it's not that way for you, you're not lesser for it." She tastes iron, before her own tension relaxes, just a bit. Even if for only a moment. 'I haven't given them any reason to have to be afraid of me in the first place.' Meika flinches. "I haven't eith-" She cuts herself off. Haven't I, though? Haven't I done enough? Isn't it dangerous for me to even be there, on top of everything? Aren't they right to look at me like that? Isn't everyone? She doesn't speak up more, on that. What am I going on, with 'scratched into hearts'. They saw what's scratched into mine. She's quiet for a long moment, but, pulling her hands out of her pockets, and absentmindedly tapping her palms against the beam to either side of her, Meika smiles. An odd expression for her face. Even if Hibiki won't look her way. "...Yeah. I'm sure you'll have better luck than someone like me. But.. uh, if it goes okay... could you tell me? And... tell her that... I'm sorry I can't be there, and that I will when I can...?" Boot heels tap against cold steel framing, a hollow sound to echo against the two magical girls' hollow words. "I don't... know if Miss Angela would want to bother. But if you ask her, you should... say I'm telling you to do it, though. If it's too much trouble, she probably expects that from me, by now." Knuckles tap against the metal, dead silent. "...Might not get annoyed at you if I'm putting you up to it, after all." "...Thanks. For... caring, about her. About them. I... figured you'd get it, a little." Tucking her legs up from where they dangle in front of her, to rest her heels up and hug her knees, Meika quiets down. Her eyes scan the skyline, and her feet tap, ever so slightly. Little motions to keep blood and attention flowing. Harder to fall asleep. It's practiced, not just an unconscious habit. "I don't want her to feel like... what you saw, of her, is... all she'll ever be. Even if that's how her story goes. Maybe that's... too selfish, though." A small, silent sigh brushes past her lips, and she quiets even further, barely speaking above a whisper, and only a hair louder than the distant buses and whistling breeze. "...Nights like this are always just so long..."