Scene #8569: Overdue Meeting

Owner	Pose
Hibiki Tachibana	Rose has certainly been planning to track Hibiki down, and nobody could blame her for that. It may or may not be surprising that Hibiki has gone and finally made getting in a proper talk easier on her, on account of sending her a simple message after Lydian's class hours for the day have passed - one that's not just some hasty and poorly-explained promise made while being stuck in a falling planetoid, or anything like that. 'I'm really sorry about everything again, Rose. You've deserved way better explanations. And more, too. There's a lot of things I've been meaning to talk to you about. Here. I'll be waiting.' 'If they ask, don't tell Miku or anyone else where you're going, please.' Along with a set of coordinates that, after a few Warpgates, wouldn't be hard to reach. In what seems to be a mundane and unremarkable, modern-era Japan currently bathed in the red tinge of an evening sun, Hibiki sits with her chin resting on drawn-up knees, on the sandy bank of a sweeping and wide river. On the far side, on the opposite end of a nearby bridge that must span a little less than a mile, a brightly lit cityscape spans as far as the eye can see both left and right. Even the sun setting won't diminish its brightness. It probably says something that she's watching the city skyline from afar, rather than asking Rose to meet her somewhere inside of it. Or maybe she just likes the view from here. Could be either. It's a pretty nice one, admittedly. At least when the agent finds her, she won't look /as/ tired as she has been. That time spent on Dysnomia's ship did her some good, in the sense that she actually allowed herself to relax enough to get decent rest. Still, a different kind of it still sits behind her eyes while she waits.
Angela	Rose doesn't actually immediatley betray Hibiki's trust and tell Miku. Rose doesn't think Lilian or Petra are gonna gun for Miku to try and hurt Miku but that's mostly because it seems maybe too fucked up for them? But it's not like she really knows them and--well--there may be others after Hibiki. Caution isn't exactly unwarranted. Rose arrives wearing her Lydian uniform, "Heard you were able to help Carol and Nikki. Thanks for that." Rose says, twirling a cigarette between her fingers. She doesn't really smoke too often but she's been in the mood for it as of late. Her mouth continues to be a horrifying set of fangs. Rose moves to sit down next to Hibiki. She doesn't actually light up the cigarette, just playing around with it in her hands. Eventually she says, "Would serving her coffee really have been all that bad?" Rose is still from the City.
Hibiki Tachibana	Really, Hibiki is being just as selfish as she is concerned, making a request like that. She knows Miku must be worried sick about her, especially not knowing what's going on so suddenly. It's not fair to her, to just avoid coming back while doing all of this. The girl she considers her sunshine has a right to know everything just as much as Rose does right now. But she can't. If she did, she knows she wouldn't be able to keep this up. She'd take one look at her face, lose all the nerve she's built up, let it all spill out...and then not be able to pull back from the comfort of being around her. She wants it. So badly. So, so badly it makes her heart hurt. But she can't. And she deserves to be outside of the sun's warmth for a while anyway. "It wouldn't have," Hibiki replies with a mumble, after giving a quiet nod on the mention of Carol and Nikki. Her focus is still on the distant city. "It should be the easiest thing in the world to do something so simple like that for someone...but I guess I'm too messed up to let easy things be easy." And her eyes close. "...I never even sat down to tell you how glad I was, that you finally managed to put on Courage's gear. I didn't get to talk to you about your history with the Magical Girl of Love...and now I left you back at home, dealing with stuff I should be handling because I'm out here doing all sorts of stupid junk that I know is stupid." "I'm sorry, Rose. I've been a really crappy friend."
Angela	Rose is quiet for a moment as Hibiki claims to be a crappy friend. She doesn't immediately refute it, but she takes her time with the comment before saying, "Well," hesitantly. "Sure you didn't do those things, and you did get into that trouble with the Kana though I feel saying you're responsible for the actions of others doesn't feel quite right to me, even if you happened to be supporting them. I bet it's just the straw--they seem to have already had a grudge." Rose pulls the cigarette closer to her mouth though she seems to just be using it for affectation as she has no light. "Thanks for saying so though. And... Yeah, the Queen of Hatred did a lot of damage to our team. Fatalities, sure, but we all loved her before she really showed what she was to us. That hurt more." She lowers the cig and adds, "...When you put your mind to it, you aren't the worst communicator. You should try to make peace with 'em. I can tell you from experience..." She shakes her head. "That ain't easy, pardner."
Hibiki Tachibana	"Already had a grudge..." Hibiki's eyes open back up, just to shift down from the sight of the city skyline to the waters of the river. "...Yeah. A lot of things happened, even before you were around here. And I did a lot of crappy things back then, too. It'd be..." Nice? No. "...easier, if everything with the Kana was all it was. But it's not." Out of the corner of her vision, she can see Rose's unlit cigarette. Well, even in the world where she would offer such, it's not like she keeps anything /to/ light it with in the first place. The mention of the Queen of Hatred - loving her before her true nature came to light - is something she can't help but think on. She probably shouldn't too deeply, the ways she's been thinking lately. "This--.../is/ my way of trying to make peace," she says back after a short delay, before she follows up with a mutter of, "More or less." There's an uncomfortable shuffling where she sits on the beachside. "...I've never been able to talk well with either of them. ...Handle things with them at all, really. Everything comes out wrong. Everything ends up wrong. And when my chest is so tangled up it aches, I wouldn't even know which words I'd say." Hibiki's mind drifts. To Lilian, offering her an out in the first place. And to Qetra, what she had said...and what she had been wearing. "...I could give one single cup of coffee, yeah. And then what? I'd never be able to keep it up...not feeling the way I feel. Nothing would actually change in the end. I'd be right back where I started...with one more lie and betrayal to add to the list." Her voice lowering makes it sound half like she's mumbling to herself. "...And that'd hurt more than anything else." A shaky exhale leaks out. "So...this is the only way I know how to deal with it. I'll be the villain in the wrong, and maybe it'll fix some of this mess inside of me too. And I can step forward...one way or another." She sounds resolved towards that...yet her head droops a little after. "...I told Dysnomia that it's fine. If I'm the only one who has to be hurt. But Miku...you...her...Violet and Rose..." The other Rose. "...even now, I'm hurting people because of what I'm doing, aren't I...?"
Angela	Rose thinks about Hibiki's words. She's not sure that those two are going to see it that way, she is--in fact--a bit nervous. Even if Lilian only intends to thrash her around a bit, she's not sure if Petra will hold back or not. She doesn't hang around her like some of the other Agents do. Different Team too. "I guess if talking doesn't work, having a fight is worth a try. I'm just worried they'll actually take your arms, Bikki." She uses Bikki, instead of pardner, mostly for a little extra friendly emphasis. She'll be the villain in the wrong. It rankles at Rose that the person who saved her so many times is going to go down like that. "I mean, I'm used to it. It'll suck for a while if you actually get offered or thrown in a cell but I'll be okay." Rose lies. And then says something that's probably true honestly. "Don't think Miku'll appreciate this plan, though." She doesn't comment on Violet and Rose largely due to not knowing them.
Hibiki Tachibana	"Well...it's not like I haven't had worse before," Hibiki says as if that's any real kind of reassurance, or that she doesn't have cold apprehension over the thought, a serious concern or not, crawling up her spine and swimming heavily in her gut. Trying to write off losing arms so casually doesn't really hold as genuine in the least, like that. "T-There are ways to get them back, and...and..." She trails off, not even able to finish the sentence before a slight choke comes to her words. Speaking with Miku would have completely destroyed what she's built up for this, but talking with Rose honestly isn't so much easier to brush off either. And unlike Dysnomia, she doesn't have quite as much multi-faceted exhaustion bearing down on her and making it all feel numb. It's obvious Rose (this one) wouldn't be fine with this. And it was obvious Miku wouldn't be either, but actually hearing it be said out loud gets her face to scrunch up and her lip to quiver, just enough to be noticeable. "...I know. I know she won't. If she knew, she'd do everything she could to stop me...to fix it..." Maybe realizing this, her head hangs lower, hiding away and burying itself in her drawn-up knees. It's harder to pick up on any breaks in her voice when they're muffled like that. "...Like she tried at the beach party, and now look at everything..." Rose doesn't have any context for that either, but even the smallest improvement between her and Petra getting wasted like this is another weight to add to her guilt. "...I-I don't want Miku to see me like this...I don't want her to know what happened, or what's going to happen, or..." Hibiki's shoulders pull in, tense and tight. "I know she'd understand...I know she'd try to help--s-she wouldn't look at me any differently...not even a little bit..." Those tiny trembles are what still makes it through from quiet sobs pulled back and kept from leaking out. "That's why I can't--I can't involve her at all...I can't go back and see her, o-or risk hurting her...I-I won't be able to do it...I'll get too comfortable and won't be able to fix anything...all these things I have to make better..."
Angela	Rose is a patient listener. She's not the chattiest person to begin with--she's not like silent and stoic exactly but she prefers to think her words out before saying them and sometimes that works out for her and somteimes it doesn't. "She's a good lady," Rose says. "Don't reckon there's a perfect answer here. I hope this does improve things, but if it doesn't it means you hurt her for no real reason." She sighs. "But I know I can't stop you, pardner. Just... remember what typically happens to lone rangers that seek out one big stand." Rose puts away the cigarette without ever lighting it. So much for Chekov's Cig. "Do your level best to fix it and we'll move on from there. I'll wait for you on the outside, pardner." She offers Hibiki a fist, still looking down at her own lap.
Hibiki Tachibana	...if it doesn't it means you hurt her for no real reason. Just the thought of it seems to elicit an instant response out of Hibiki, in the form of her face further pressing into her knees and her fingers digging deep into the skin they're sitting on. Something she's scared of more than anything, the worst possible end result of this stupid and reckless thing she's trying to do. The seed of doubt resting somewhere in her chest doubles in size, just out of unfiltered fear of that outcome. She could still bear whatever else, fail anyone else, as long as that doesn't have to happen to Miku of all people. But she has to swallow it down. There's nothing she can do that won't hurt her for a while, one way or another. If she can't make it all mean something... "...I never forgot," she muffles a reply to Rose on the subject of lone fighters making a stand, and although it's not really a reassurance, it shows she at least understands what she's getting herself into. There's a drawn out, shuddering inhale and a little shake of her head, before Hibiki pries her face up a little bit. And a hand comes around, clenched just enough to tap back against the other girl's fist. "I'll...yeah. I'm counting on you to...help keep an eye on things back home. I know that's not really fair to ask, but I always know I can rely on you. Thanks...Rose. You're one of the...best friends anyone could ask for." Her voice is more put-together now, but she hesitates for a moment after. "I'm gonna...um. Miss--my birthday. In a couple weeks. Miku a-always...starts getting ready for it around now. So let her know t-that we can celebrate it together...when I come home."
Angela	''I never forgot'' "Glad to hear it." Rose says, even though she kind of feels if Hibiki knows all these smart things why is she still doing this?? Well, ultimately she seems to think it's the way she'll put things right. And in the end, whether she's doing the right thing or not largely depends on the end result. Not her favorite kind of operation, but quite common in the Fixer business. "I'll keep an eye out back home." She does, indeed, use ''home''. "Course the others will too. I'm guessing you'll get informed if the Alchemists try something." SONG seems like it has its shit together, more or less. The fist bump does put her a little more at ease. She doesn't know what she's going to do if it goes bad so she's gonna hope it goes fine, at least. Wishing it goes good seems like a dangerous amount of greed. "...Making me be the messenger for that huh?" Rose says dryly. "Well, I owe you one, so fair's fair. But I'm complainin' 'bout it, pardner." It's a tough job and someone's gotta do it.