Scene #8610: Reconciliation

Owner	Pose
Hibiki Tachibana	After their last talk together - and, just maybe, to make the time spent there a little less lonely in the meantime - Miku has invited Rose over to her and Hibiki's home. There's not any particular reason for it or a specific purpose, just a gesture from one friend to another. As ever, their abode is a fairly spacious and well-to-do apartment only a relative hop and step away from Lydian Private Music Academy; the entrance hallway past the front door is where one leaves their shoes, right next to the stand bearing all manner of photographs framed and arranged neatly. Some of them are clearly much older than others, snapshots of a younger Miku and Hibiki, with the latter visibly more wide-eyed and openly happy. The rest have been taken in more recent years, both at social events and in private, with only the two of them. Further in, past the open entryway to the kitchen off to the side, past the living room where most gatherings here have taken place, there's a room that might normally be a spare bedroom that neither of them have had an excuse to fill up yet, so it's currently being used for storing some odds and ends - including a moderately sized piano set in against a wall. It's here where the two of them are situated right now, with the black-haired girl seated right at it while chatting away. "...Really, sometimes I wish I'd have decided to practice something easier to carry around, ahahaha...I'm a bit jealous of things like guitars." It's probably not a surprise that a mutually interesting subject to talk about would be music, for obvious reasons. Miku had just gotten done explaining how she picked up piano not long after reuniting with Hibiki. "Did you play at all before you came here, Rose? Or were you learning everything from scratch?" The impromptu 'music room' is just far enough from the entrance that it's awfully hard to hear the sound of the front door being clumsily unlocked.
Angela	Rose is happy to spend time with Miku, particularly since she feels like they've become fast friends. They also have some mutual interests, such as CONCERNS about a mutual pal. What they don't have in common, as far as Rose knows, is a bloody past both in receiving wounds and losing friends--and in ending the lives of others. And now she's trying to be brave. Rose marveled at the spacious apartment because she frankly didn't expect them to be living in a place quite thi big or nice. Rose is stationed in this world but she still tends towards sleeping back at Lobotomy Corp (and even lends a hand during its Meltdowns) because she doesn't have the kind of pay to actually live in a place like this--if they'd even take payment from her world. The City doesn't get a lot of visitors. But she isn't sure how much longer she will get to..be here, even. She asked to be stationed with SONG but that was with the understanding that she'd be helping with the Magical Girls. The way things went, Rose didn't really get to bring any of them back except for Wrath. King of Greed returned on her own and the other two don't seem like they'll ever be coming back. Her days may be numbered. She sits near Miku as she tunes her guitar, looking over to Miku. "Ah well... At one point I had a dream of being a musician but it didn't really work out. I had to get work at a Fixer's office t'make ends meet." She glances over to the piano. "They make portable keyboards though don't they? Like the 'keytar'? I guess that's not really the same though--but you know, a good pianist really puts out some beautiful stuff." Her cheeks flush faintly. "So--y-yeah I played a bit. Did a stint with the Mariachis for a bit but--eh..." She is about to say more when-- There's noise at the front door. Rose sets down the guitar carefully and draws out her hammers. "Stay back. Could be trouble. Unfamiliar with the lock--"
Hibiki Tachibana	If it weren't for the disturbance, there'd be some extremely curious questioning about 'the Mariachis', and maybe some mental imaging of Rose wearing a funny hat - but all of those thoughts are left on the wayside for later, with Miku only realizing something is amiss when the other girl begins moving to prepare herself. "Trouble...?" A hand comes up to worriedly clasp over her chest as she lowers her voice, which leaves the air quiet enough for the both of them to hear the unmistakable creak of a door opening, then shutting softly. A second later, the sound of footsteps drawing closer. Step after step after step after-- The mystery assailant moves into the doorway and stops. A girl in a yellow jacket hanging halfway off her shoulder on one side, and shorts that don't do much to hide the scuffs messily bandaged up. Messy blonde hair with a few stray locks falling over her face despite the hairclips, eyes bagged by several different kinds of exhaustion...and a slightly trembling hand still holding onto a house key. "U-Um..." Hibiki starts, left staring at both of the other girls, one readied for combat and the other looking just as much like an animal caught in headlights as she is right now. She tries and fails to put together words, with her mouth opening and falling shut more than once, but none of them seem to be able to come out right away. After moments pass, her head tilts down and she audibly swallows. "...I-I'm...I'm home," she finally murmurs with a small break in her voice.
Angela	Rose says, "Unsure but..." She's not sure why anybody WOULD go after Miku--Paladin's didn't seem the type--but those Alchemists don't seem like the sort to really hold back on anything. She keeps those hammers at thee ready but doesn't lift them to attack--particularly when she sees who the mysterious intruder is. Rose blinks twice and then manages a relaxed smile, stapping back and turning her body so Miku doesn't have to look past her to see who it is. "Welcome back, pardner." Rose says before taking note of the bandages and the messy hair. That sharp-toothed mouth of hers manages an awkward...grin? She does, at the very least, put those hammers away. "Sorry, you asked me to keep an eye out for trouble--didn't realize it was you." Rose adds by way of explanation.
Hibiki Tachibana	"A lot of people could call me trouble, and probably not be wrong..." Hibiki says back to Rose with the kind of reply that'd normally be an obvious joke, but the tiredness in her tone drags that down into unknowable territory. Still, seeing Rose smiling back at her like that gets her posture to ease up some. It must be a relief, awkward or not. "I, er...thanks, Rose. I know that it wasn't fair at all to...ask you to..." She starts, her head shifting off to the side as if she can't look at either of them - but doing that and focusing on the far, far easier task of speaking towards Rose is exactly why the third girl in the room, having been left looking back in wide-eyed and lip-quivering silence of her own, is able to take her off-guard without any warning. "Hibikiiiiiiiii--!" Faster than you can blink, Miku crosses the distance and desperately throws her arms around Hibiki while nearly tackling her, forcing her to let out a sound of surprise as she buckles back and almost loses her footing for real. The grip is vice tight, and fingers are digging deep into the back of her jacket while a face presses into her shoulder. "D-Don't you ever...do something so stupid...and r-reckless..." "M-...Mi--..." "I was so worried...y-you wouldn't answer...you didn't say anything...!" "I--" "All t-this time, all by yourself--! What was I supposed to think...!? If something happened...and I never...n-never..." With the beginnings of sobs starting to be muffled into her jacket, Hibiki goes from staring straight forward struggling to respond, to her mouth falling open--and then her face scrunching up before she wraps her own arms back around Miku and drags her in that much closer. "I'm sorry...I'm s-so sorry..." Her eyes shut tightly, buried in black hair. "I did an awful thing, Miku...something awful that I can never take back...! And I didn't...all I was doing w-was running away from what I should have done...t-the things I needed to do...and..." Her voice squeaks out hoarsely, and it's hard to tell if it's because she's choking up too, or because Miku is holding her that tightly. "...A-All I did was--hurt everyone I cared about...doing s-something stupid and wrong, and selfish...especially you...the person I-I...I..." Hibiki trails off, and without Miku replying instantly, she swallows and holds onto her tighter. After a few seconds, her eyes half-open back up, and drift towards Rose. "You...were right, Rose. I was never going to make anyone happy...doing that. I'm sorry...I should have listened...to you and everyone else..."
Angela	Rose says, "Awww shut it. You're just a handful that's all." without heat. She seems more relieved Hibiki came than upset that it took her as long as it did for it to happen. "Won't blow smoke, just glad you're here." She stays back a bit because AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT Miku engages in the powerful technique known as the hug tackle combination. Rose steps back a bit more so she can lean against a wall, cross one leg over the other, and her arms as she keeps on grinning. She got her tears out earlier with Miku but they're starting to feel a little wet again. While she's not one who believes in happy endings, moments like this are about as rare as them. Usually it's everything else you gotta try to make happy to make the inevitable sad ending more bearable. That's her attitude. She eventually considers maybe that grin of hers might be a little inappropriate so she pulls up her scarf so the lower half of her face is properly covered. "You came back." Rose says. "Sorry for being a grump about everything but ... I'm glad you're back." Whether she was right or not to be a bit of a grump isn't really material, she can still be sorry for flinging that mood Hibiki's way for its own sake. "I get it. It's tough to... It's tough to be in that position. But the one you really should be apologizing to is your friend there." She nods to Miku who may be in the process of crushing Hibiki. "She's been real patient and understandin'." She hefts up that guitar and starts strumming some basic chord progressions.
Hibiki Tachibana	"I should have done it a long time ago...or never done it in the first place..." Hibiki murmurs into Miku's hair, her eyes shifting downward. Apparently, hearing about that patience and understanding is making the weight of guilt feel a little heavier. "I'm the only one who has anything to apologize for, Rose..." The embrace is at least tight enough that Hibiki couldn't wedge her way out of it even if she wanted to, although she's gripping back nearly as tightly. Even though she's not really and truly crying (yet), there's still wetness bubbling up in the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry...I won't--" "...Ever do that again. Especially not all on your own. Right...?" "Miku..." "When you make mistakes...or you're having trouble...you don't need to bear all the burdens yourself. You should know that better than anyone..." After Miku muffles that into Hibiki's jacket, she doesn't actually have a response to it for a few seconds, other than a noise squeaking out from her throat. "Everyone's...probably been worried sick. No, I bet they have a ton of things they want to say to me, too..." "They have been," Miku confirms with another squeeze. "...You didn't say anything to them either, you know." Hibiki grimaces, audibly swallows, then exhales. "I'll need to--...talk to all of them. The Commander...Tsubasa-san...and I'll need to...there's so much that I have to--...I have to tell you everything about..." Hibiki begins speaking up, just to be cut off by Miku finally prying herself back with a small, teary-eyed smile. "You do. But before all of that--...welcome home, Hibiki." As is proper to follow up with, after 'I'm home'. "You missed your birthday. I'm not going to forgive you for that easily, you know...? So before you go and do all the things you have to do, say all the hard things you have to say that we'll have to deal with...we're going to make up for lost time. And I'm not accepting any 'buts'." "M-Miku--" While Hibiki is trying to formulate what to say to that, the black-haired one of the pair glances back towards Rose. "You'll join us, won't you, Rose? I'm not going to take any 'buts' there, either."
Angela	Rose's current outfit doesn't have a cap or cowl that she can dip down over her eyes or anything, but she does hip her gaze down a bit as Miku speaks to Hibiki. Her basic chord progression gradually transforms into a tune. Otherwise she is wholly quiet as they have their exchange. She doesn't have anything to say that Miku can't put better, or more effectively. "Sorry, you've been outvoted, Bikki." She quips when Hibiki tries to 'but' without using 'but', smiling down at her guitar until... ''You'll join us, wont you Rose? I'm not going to take any 'buts' there, either.'' Rose's cheeks flush vibrantly as she's called out. "W-well shoot. When you put it like that I guess you've got me hogtied and at your mercy." She lowers her guitar midperformance and spreads her arms from side to side. "But that's fine and dandy. No 'buts' here from me." She tilts her gaze up so she can get a better look at Hibiki's face. "Looks like you're gonna have a Happy Birthday whether you like it or not." Is that scarred mouth smirking? Looks it.
Hibiki Tachibana	She really is outvoted. This isn't especially how she thought it'd go - she went and steeled herself for telling Miku the entire story first thing. About Lilian...about Petra...about what she did. There's explaining herself to the rest of S.O.N.G., apologizing for leaving them just as in the dark as Miku and causing so much trouble in the first place...saying sorry to Rose, for piling this on her and leaving her high and dry here...and even after that, there's everything else she has to work away at. The idea of stopping to enjoy herself at all feels... But would it...get her anywhere to force all of that when she's up against this? It hurt, so much, being away from Miku and everybody else, and it was for the opposite of any kind of good reason. And now she's back. Maybe instead of making all of the things she has to do feel harder because of it, even taking a little bit of time now that she's back here will...-- "You're thinking too much again, Hibiki." Miku taps her on the nose, and Rose can see the moment that she goes from stuck in her own head to looking between the both of them. "I know you want to. So don't make it any more complicated than that. We can talk all you like after. And we'll figure it out together, instead of you bottling it all away. Okay?" "Ah..." That finally gets the bubbling tears to begin slowly falling down her face, although Hibiki is quick to bring up a sleeve to wipe them away. "...Y-Yeah. Feeling sorry for m-myself...has only ever made any of this worse...you're right." When she pulls it away and exhales--her sunken eyes soften up, and she puts on a tiny smile for the first time in... ...she's not sure how long. "...Okay. It's my fault for missing it, anyway." "It certainly is," Kohinata Miku is truly merciless, even without her expression changing. "So I'm going to go make sure everything is still in order. Make sure she doesn't go running off again for me, please?" Without waiting for an answer from Rose, Miku is already off towards the kitchen and leaving the two of them alone - very conveniently holding off until she's out of sight to wipe at her own eyes. Which leaves the two girls alone with one another. Hibiki awkwardly rubs at the back of her neck. "...Whether I like it or not. Yeah. I, um... ...no, I'm not gonna say it again. But I'm going to--...try. To be a better friend, from now on. A-And a better person, too. I'm r-really, seriously g-going to...try..." Despite her best efforts, she starts sniffling and losing composure partway through, bringing her sleeve back up again. "...I-I'm really getting tired of saying 'sorry' so much...but thanks, Rose. For everything..."
Angela	Rose places a hand on her hip, closing her eyes for a moment. She sets her guitar and leans it against the wall and holds this position for a moment-- ''Make sure she doesn't go running off again for me, please?'' --before straightening up and making her way over towards Hibiki. "Sorry pardner, I got my orders." She then promptly will hug Hibiki and will hold her there for a while physically. Maybe not the whole time Miku is gone. But she holds this position for a while before saying. "You'd do the same for us." Rose says. "Don't forget that neither." And that seems to be all she has to say on the matter.