113/Petals and Cheese

Petals and Cheese
Date of Scene:	30 June 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Infinity University
Synopsis:	Nagisa Momoe goes to Sakura Kinomoto for a shoulder to cry on, Sakura remedies with hugs.
Cast of Characters:	Sakura Kinomoto, Nagisa Momoe

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Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Tuesday afternoon, the sun high in the sky on hot summer day. Most clubs are just finishing up, and the Cheerleading Club is no exception, having just gotten through their last practice set. It went pretty well with only one major disruption, Nagisa Momoe having finally returned after a couple of weeks of not having been at school. By now the fact that her mother passed away is common knowledge, and so she was given a warm welcome and a good amount of encouragement at the start of practice. The girl seemed pretty happy to have everyone looking out for her, but even so her performance was a little lackluster and somewhat low on pep- something she apologized for and promises will get better.

    After putting her pompoms away she hangs around the edge of the group of other girls a little bit, looking indecisive. As much as she knows how sincere Sakura's offer to help her when she felt sad is, it feels strange wanting to actually go over and ask. Especially when there are so many other people around. She also worries she'll seem like a bit of a baby considering she only just got back to school... but that's also part of what feels bad!

    In the end the girl does her best to put her worries aside for just long enough and walks up to the other girl when she's alone for a moment. "That was a good practice don't you think, Sakura-san?" she starts with. Looking slightly less cheerful she asks, "I know you might have things you need to do or plans with your friends, but do you think we could talk for a little bit?" The white haired girl tries not to pay attention to the other girls noticing walking right up to one of her seniors like that.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
    Sakura was, needless to say, quite happy to see Nagisa returning to school after such an ordeal. She may not know the younger girl that well yet, but it's always good to see someone taking her advice to heart and refusing to give up. True, she noticed that Nagisa wasn't doing so well in practice today, but that's understandable, since she's probably still trying to get used to losing her mother. It's not an easy thing to recover from, and Sakura couldn't imagine going through something like that with her father or brother...

After practice, Sakura is hanging around and chatting with the other girls, when she notices Nagisa approaching, offering a friendly smile and a wave. "Hi, Nagisa-chan! Everyone did great!" she responds to the first question, choosing not to mention Nagisa's performance. Seeing the look on her face as she asks the next question, Sakura nods and turns to the rest of the group, apologizing and excusing herself as she starts walking toward a quieter spot. "I told you, any time you need help, I'll be there. Come on, let's go somewhere more private."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa smiles a little herself when Sakura tells her everyone did a good job, knowing the older girl is covering for her a little. She fidgets a little as Sakura excuses herself before offering a few of her own little apologizes to the other girls after mentally chiding herself that these are her Clubmates too. She looks relieved though, that Sakura is true to her word and quickly begins following her to that quieter spot, the skirt of her cheerleading uniform swishing a bit as it is designed to do.

    "I'm sorry to have to bother you so soon," she says at first once they find somewhere private to settle down. "I felt... as well as could be expected, yesterday. But today feels so weird. People are giving me a lot of space and are being extra kind, but other than that..." She trails off a little while trying to put her thoughts into words. Eventually she looks up into Sakura's eyes, clearly trying, and failing, to keep tears from forming in her own. "It feels -too- normal," she complains, "I feel sad and horrible and torn up inside but I'm going to school and going to clubs like nothing happened, but something did happen! Something, really, really bad!"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
    Sakura has always been honest and willing to help, and this is certainly no exception. They don't really go very far, just over to a nearby tree to get out of earshot... and the sun. Once there, Sakura turns to Nagisa and nods to signify she's ready to listen.

A minute later, once Nagisa's done speaking, Sakura steps a little closer to give her a gentle hug. It's weird, but she feels like the older sibling for once, something she isn't really used to. Comforting someone even younger than herself in their time of need... how does she even begin? "Well... it's hard for everyone to deal with, Nagisa. Nobody is good at it, and nobody really has a solid answer. I asked my dad about how he dealt with my mom's death once, and he said that all you can really do is keep pushing forward, no matter how much it hurts."

She steps away a bit to give Nagisa some breathing room, but keeps her hands on the younger girl's shoulders, looking directly into her eyes with the warmest, most reassuring smile she can muster. "You have people who love you, and friends you can share that pain with. It's hard, but they can help you keep going. Just don't forget your mom along the way."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    The hug helps break a lot of the tension that had built up in Nagisa, and she returns it with a small squeeze of her own. "No one is good at it? I think you're probably right." She keeps her gaze on Sakura when the older girl steps back from her, for the moment not caring that her eyes are tearing up a bit, having remembered people telling her that crying is okay. "I know there are people and friends to help... that's why I came to talk to you! It does help a lot."

    She sneaks another quick hug of her own before moving away and saying, "I don't want to be a burden on such super nice people like you who will care about me even though you barely know me, but being alone is really hard!" She sniffles a little as she tries to think of how to explain the way she feels, hurting in a necessary way while exploring her emotions, "I know there are people that care, but it's easy to forget when I'm not with them because it never stops hurting right here," she reaches up and puts her hand over her chest, squeezing at her uniform a little.

    She nods a little bit when told to remember her mother, "Mom was beautiful and smart, and cared for me more than anything else in the world. She always did everything she could to teach me to do the things I wanted and let me know she loved me. I don't think I'll ever forget her, we did almost everything together." She bites her bottom lip a little and looks up to Sakura in an almost apologetic way, "This might be a strange request, but could you tell me a little about your mom, Sakura-san? You lost her when you were very little and you said you don't remember much... but I know you understand because you're the same as me in that way." After a tiny pause she adds quickly, "I-it's okay if that hurts too much though! I don't want to make you cry too, Sakura-san!"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
    Sakura is glad to see that the hug had the intended effect, and even as Nagisa sneaks another little hug in, she not only allows it, but gives the younger girl a soft pat on the head. She shakes her head afterwards, saying, "That's why we're willing to help you carry the load, Nagisa. It's a lot for any one person to handle. But if there's a time when it hurts and you can't reach out to one of us, you can try doing what I do. Take a deep breath and say, 'everything will surely be alright'. It won't make it stop, but it might help it hurt just a little less..."

She nods and gives Nagisa a willing ear as she talks about her mother, but then things take an unexpected turn when the younger girl asks about Sakura's mom! Stunned for a moment at the question, she quickly shakes her head again and the smile returns to her face. "No, no, it's alright. I don't remember much, but I talked to my dad a lot about her when I was younger, and sometimes I still do. Let's see..." she says, looking up at the sky as she tries to think of what to say first.

"Hmm... Well, she was really cheerful and always smiling, which made her even more beautiful than she already was, according to my dad. We have a picture of her on the table in the kitchen, so I can attest to that myself. I always say hi to her every morning too, through that picture." she explains, then lets out a small giggle as she remembers something else. "My dad said she was always really clumsy. She couldn't even walk down the sidewalk without tripping, and sports were pretty much impossible for her! She wasn't really very good at cooking, either, so my dad had to take over for dinner a lot of the time."

She finally looks back down at Nagisa, her smile returning. "But no matter how many times she fell or messed up, she always got back up and tried again, and she always put her whole heart into it. I think that's the important part, that she did everything with all her love, and never let anything keep her down. I think that's why my dad fell in love with her." A moment later, her smile turns into a sheepish grin as she rubs the back of her head, blushing slightly. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to talk so much. I bet it was really boring..."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa lets out a soft breath when the pat is given to her head, calming back down more as she has someone to share her feelings with. "Thank you so much for helping me, Sakura-san. You and everyone else have helped me more than you know." A small nod of her head is given then and she repeats, "Everything will surely be alright. ...okay! The next time I'm feeling sad when I'm alone I'll try it."

    When her question seems to surprise the older girl she looks momentarily worried, hoping she didn't just break some taboo, seeming relieved when Sakura lets her know it's okay. And when her new friend speaks she listens, letting her gush as much as she wants about her mother and the memories she has and the stories she's been told about her. She squeezes Sakura's hand if it's still on her shoulder when told she greets the picture on the table every morning, and manages to giggle along with her a bit too.

    In fact this is probably the calmest and most in control of her sadness Sakura has seen from the Nagisa, even if they've only seen each other a couple times. She's even managed to keep her eyes completely dry, and when the older girl looks back down to her she smiles and gives a little shake of her head, "No, it's okay. It wasn't boring at all; your mother sounds like she was fun to be around, and beautiful too! And Sakura-san, you looked so warm and happy remembering her. "

    She reaches up to gently hold onto Sakura's hands, "Seeing you like that, when you lost her so young, being able to have wonderful memories to remember her by... it makes me feel better knowing I'll be able to do the same." Nagisa gives her a small smile, "Someday Ican tell people happy stories about Mom without feeling sad too, right?"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
    Sakura nods and sighs, relieved that Nagisa not only found it interesting, but even rather comforting. She can practically feel the aura of calmness from the younger girl now, and she smiles again as it's made clear that she has had a positive effect on things. When Nagisa squeezes her hand, she shifts slightly to hold it in turn, a firm, friendly hold that might symbolize the strengthening of the bonds between them.

"Your mother sounded like a wonderful person too, Nagisa. I don't have a lot of memories of my own, but it's always comforting to think about her. Just imagine, with how happy /I/ was, and you have so many more memories and stories to tell, one day you'll be able to remember her even more fondly!" she says, squeezing Nagisa's hand in hers as if to affirm what she said. Then, when she speaks again, she seems to look more serious, a resolute light in her eyes. "Promise me, Nagisa. Promise me that one day, you'll be able to remember her without sadness or regret. I'm certain she would want you to be happy when you think of her."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa returns the squeeze to Sakura's hand, and for the moment is able to focus on the sweet joy of making a new friend. She then gives a slightly shy nod of her head, "She was a wonderful person. I'm glad you're able to think about your mother with comfort and fondness without getting sad." She then makes a more firm nod and looks up to Sakura, "I promise! It... it might take a while, but I promise you I won't forget her, and that some day I'll be able to remember everything about her without it making me be sad.

    The small girl squeezes Sakura's hands again, "A-and I also promise that if I see someone hurting, I'll do my best to cheer them up just like you did for me, Sakura...chan!" As strong as she's been the last few moments her emotions begin to overwhelm her, and she lets go of Sakura's hands to try and hug her again. And though her eyes are tearing up once more it's not entirely out of bitter sadness this time.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
    Sakura nods, satisfied that Nagisa has made her promise, and even a little surprised that she added another to the mix. Deep down, underneath the youthful exterior and all the tears, Sakura knows that there is a well of strength that even Nagisa probably doesn't know about... probably! "Good, I'll hold you to it then, Nagisa-chan!" she says, and then her expression softens again as the smaller girl's tears start flowing once more, and she accepts the hug with one of her own. A soft, gentle embrace and a shoulder to cry on, sometimes that's all you need...

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa nods her head up and down as she clings to Sakura, holding into her for comfort and support as she lets her emotions flow free. She's happy to have such a nice new friend, still so heartbroken at losing her mother, and a little worried about being able to live up to all the promises she's made. But having someone there for her does make it all a lot easier to handle, and Sakura's instincts are correct; an embrace and someone to be there for her really is all she needs, and after not too long she's wiping her tears away again. She pulls away from Sakura and gives her a tiny smile, reminding herself not to say 'sorry' because crying is okay, "Thank you... I'm saying that to you often, but you've helped me out so much."

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
    Sakura has all the time in the world for someone in so much pain, and she simply stands there, allowing Nagisa to take solace in the presence of someone who understands, gently rubbing her back. She knows all those emotions can be overwhelming, and hard to deal with, and once Nagisa has cried herself out, Sakura returns the smile and pats her on the shoulder. "It's okay, I'm glad I could do something to make it easier for you. The others will be just as happy to help, I'm sure, so don't be afraid to go to them if I'm not available, okay?"

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa nods gently, "I'll try, Sakura-chan. It's a lot easier with people I know understand, like you. But you're right, I should rely on other people too, if they'll let me. Everyone was very nice to me at the start of practice today. I feel bad I let them down a little during my cheers, but I know they'll be better once I feel happy cheering again." Saying that seems to stir a memory in her, as she blinks suddenly and looks into Sakura's eyes, "Oh, Sakura-chan! I just remembered. Do you think we could hold our practice cheering for the high schools Kickboxing Club sometime? The club's president was really nice to me the other day, and she was a student of my mothers. Sharpe-san a really amazing person- she's kind and strong and the president of the Kickboxing Club even though she's blind!"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto lets her hand fall from Nagisa's shoulder, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, it's hard to cheer when you're going through so much, but I have confidence that you'll show them some real pep soon enough, Nagisa-chan!" she says with a grin, then blinks as the younger girl brings up the Kickboxing Club. "Huh? Hannah-san? I helped her find her seeing-eye dog once, but we didn't get to talk much. Sure, I'd love to practice with them! It's always good to have more friends."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    "It is really hard," Nagisa agrees, "but I'll try my best to at least seem a little happy tomorrow. As long as I can move forward just a little bit at a time, I'm sure I'll be better eventually!" She then quickly smiles when Sakura seems to know who she means, "Yes, that's her! You know her, then? Hehe, Boris is a really nice doggy. I bet she's really happy if you helped find him when he was lost!" She claps her hands together a little, "I hope we can! Bringing together people who have all been so kind to me, that would make me happy, because I'm sure you'd make such good friends together!"