1044/Recovery Begins

Recovery Begins
Date of Scene:	16 February 2016
Location:	Mitakihara - Mitakihara General
Synopsis:	Hibiki visits Tsubasa in the hospital. Tsubasa asks why Hibiki fights. Early signs of Tsubasa tolerating Hibiki start to appear.
Cast of Characters:	Tsubasa Kazanari, Hibiki Tachibana

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Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
It's been roughly two weeks since Walpurgisnacht. Two weeks since Tsubasa Sang. Again. She's been in Mitakihara general for most of that time, recovering steadily but, by her own yardstick, far too slowly. A rigid physical therapy program has started one week ago to get her back on her feet.

Today, the end of physical therapy manages to align pretty well with the end of classes in Verone Academy, thus creating the perfect opportunity for any of her underclassman who happen to be privy to her exact location to stop by should they choose to do so.

The hospital room she's been staying in is not especially marked on the outside, to preserve her privacy, and on the inside is currently a chaotic mess much in need of tidying up, with clothes strewn across the floor and furniture almost randomly. The patient herself is in her bed.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki has been meaning to get to the hospital and visit her precious senpai, but things just kept coming up- with Tsubasa out of comission, Hibiki became the main way for Section 2 to respond to Noise outbreaks, after all! It's hard being the only operational Symphogear wielder in a city this size!

    Today though, there's finally no emergencies, so she's hurred over to the hospital after school before any emergencies could pop up. She carries a bouquet of blue and white flowers as she walks up to the door. She pauses outside of it, taking a breath. "C'mon, Hibiki, it's just Tsubasa-san! No need to be nervous!" Then she knocks.

    Assuming she gets permission to enter, she opens the door and walks in, closing it behind her. "Tsubasa-san!" She says, with a cheerful smile. "You're looking well!" Well, relatively. "I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get to see you.." She crosses towards the bed, holding out the small bunch of flowers.

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"Tachibana-san." Tsubasa smiles, albeit barely so, at her fellow Symphogear wielder's arrival. She presses a button on her bed to make her sit up a little straighter, it's only polite, and takes the flowers, taking a quick sniff at them before placing them somewhere to the side. "I'm doing a lot better. Thank you for coming." That last bit sounds just a little forced.

The idol looks around the mess in her room a little guiltily, but doesn't mention it. At all. "Had any trouble with the Noise lately? I'm sorry I haven't been able to help." Her focus on business is almost laser-like in its precision.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki doesn't seem to notice the messy state of the room, or at least if she does she's tactful enough not to mention it. "I'm glad! I couldn't believe it when I heard you sang your Swan Song again.." She looks worried for a moment. "I'm sorry, I should have been there, but I was trying to keep all those weird dark girl things away from Verone.."

    She shakes her head at the question about trouble with the noise, making a muscle with her arm. "Nope! Don't worry, you just take your time recovering! I can handle it!" This may be a bit of her putting on a brave face, but there's no way she'll let Tsubasa know that trying to keep up with the Noise and school is running her a bit ragged.

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"I made a tactical calculation." Tsubasa justifies her actions, without going into most of the specifics of her calculation. "Knowing that I could survive it, and that there's someone to pick up the slack while I'm out of comission were part of that calculation." That's kind of a compliment, probably.

"Tell me, Tachibana-san." Her voice takes on a rather serious tone, clearly not a tone used for anything that she doesn't think is important. "Why do you fight?" She looks at her junior, the girl she's referred to as the rookie under her responsibility, with a face that's looking so serious, it doesn't look like she's accepting half-assed answers.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki does look a little bit pleased by the implication that Tsubasa considers her a fitting replacement, if only a temporary one, drawing herself up a little bit straighter and smiling.. although that smile falters slightly at the suddenly serious question. She glances away, looking out the window at the sunlit city as she considers her answer, fingers twiddling together in front of her.

    "Why do I fight? W-well.. because there are a lot of people who are important to me that I wouldn't want to see hurt." She takes a breath, then looks back at Tsubasa. "And because it's my responsibility. I didn't ask for this power, but I have it. I can't give it to anyone else, even if I wanted to. So I have a responsibility to use it to help others. Otherwise it'd be a big waste." It would let Kanade down, although she doesn't say that part out loud, perhaps fearing Tsubasa's reaction.

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"Is that all?" The veteran still sounds serious, and doesn't really show much, if any, emotion while asking that question; allowing Hibiki to assume what she means by that rather than making it too obvious. She folds her arms, studying Hibiki calmly while waiting for a response, giving no indication that she intends to say anything else before receiving another answer.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki draws her brows together, peering at the older girl. "Isn't that enough? I have power, and I want to help people. I don't think anyone should need any more reason than that. I couldn't love with myself if I /didn't/ fight. I'd blame myself everytime somebody got killed by the Noise, thinking that maybe I could have saved them if I wasn't such a coward. So I make sure not to be. Well.." She laughs slightly, raising her hand to the back of her head. "I try anyway."

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
And thus, Tsubasa smiles. "You're right, you don't need any more reason than that." She agrees, her sterner facade breaking somewhat as she begins to explain why she pressed that point so much. "But you didn't train to live like this, it's not a choice most people make."

"I was worried you were in this because" She points at the rough area of Hibiki's scar, "You feel like you need to fill a hole left by someone else." Of course, Hibiki has said some things that could lead Tsubasa to believe that. "And you don't. If you're here only because of that, you're always going to hold me back."

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki frowns a little bit, looking down at her chest, where the scar lurks beneath her shirt. "I do feel that way.. a little bit. Because like I said, I can't give this power up- I can't just give my Relic to someone else. I would disappoint people if I had this power but chose not to use it because I was scared, and I don't want to do that."

    "But that's not the only reason. Even if I could give it away, or if I wasn't worried about that, I'd still choose to fight. Because I /do/ want to help people. It's the first thing in my life I really felt like I've been good at." She pauses, then blushes a little and laughs again, "Eh-heh.. well.. getting better at, anyway."

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"Good enough for now." Tsubasa seems satisfied, at least Hibiki is no longer talking about replacing Kanade. She relaxes a little, and leans back. "There are others with power, and when I am out I'll be fighting again. While your help is useful, I wouldn't call it irreplaceable."

Then she looks out of the window, away from Hibiki. "Have you been able to summon your armed gear yet?" Like always, there's no malice in that question, clearly it's just back to considering strategy and tactics.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    "I know I'm not irreplacable.. I'm probably not even really needed." Hibiki says, with typical self-deprecation, although she smiles a little bit when she says it. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up. I want to keep getting stronger, so I can help more and more people!"

    She deflates slightly at the question about her armed gear, or more specifically her lack of one. "No. But I hope it doesn't matter, Tsubasa-san. Genjuuro-sama has taught me to fight ,and I can defeat the Noise with my fists. That's all that matters."

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"It would be easier if you did, but we'll have to make do." Tsubasa doesn't sound upset, just stating facts calmly. She looks back towards Hibiki with a small but genuine smile. "I'm sorry for how harsh I've been to you." That sounds simultaneously reluctant and heartfelt. A genuine apology that wasn't easy for her to make.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki blinks slightly at the sudden apology from her sempai.. then blushes, looking down at her feet. "It's not your fault, Tsubasa-san. I know it hasn't been easy for you, and I'm.. well, Miku says I have all the grace of an elephant trying to tapdance, sometimes." She laughs again, still rubbing the back of her neck.

    But then she smiles and leans over from the bedside to throw her arms around Tsubasa's neck! (Gently, in case she's still hurting anywhere). "But that means a lot to me, Tsubasa-san! Thank you!" And she lets go a moment later, straightening her tie in the process. "I hope we can continue to work together to help keep the city safe!"

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
That gesture, however heartfelt and genuine it may have been, just leads to more stoic awkwardness from Tsubasa; who most certainly does not reciprocate the hug. "Kohinata-san isn't wrong." That's said with a little bit of a lighter tone, like it's meant as kind of a joke.

Once the physical contact has ended, there's a slight bit of visible relief on the girl. "We will, well, once I'm recovered again. Keep me posted on what's happening? Ogawa-san hasn't been the most forthcoming about what's going on." She sounds a little bit like that displeases her.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki nods her head a few times. "Of course, I'll let you know. There hasn't been anything major." She hurries to assure the other girl, raising her hands in placation. "Just a few Noise incidents, but I was able to handle them, no problem! I'll let you know as soon as anything important comes up."

    She smiles. "I should probably let you rest, huh? I just wanted to stop by so you knew that I wasn't being irresponsible. Do your best and get better soon, okay?"

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"Thanks for coming by." Tsubasa says again, resting in her bed and closing her eyes. "I'll make sure I'll recover as soon as I can." It sounds like that isn't soon enough for her, but also that she has accepted that she can't do anything to hurry it along that she hasn't already. "Tell Kohinata-san that I expect you to not let your grades slip?"

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki pouts over her shoulder as she turns to go. "As if she needs to hear that from you! Miku is a slavedriver!" But there's affection in her tone even as she says it. Then she slips out the door and closes it behind her.