2133/Whatever Became of Shiori-san

Whatever Became of Shiori-san
Date of Scene:	17 November 2016
Location:	Earth Court Frat House
Synopsis:	Sayaka has questions for Kunzite, about the White Flower and Madison Perry and Virtue. Some of them Kunzite even has answers to.
Cast of Characters:	Kunzite, Sayaka Miki

---

Kunzite has posed:
By this time, the approaches to Mamoru's shared apartment(s) are familiar to Sayaka. The original main room is still (still!) in the last stages of renovation, but the balcony with the unlocked door has light spilling out that door and the closest windows; or if she comes up the more mundane way, the concierge recognizes her and keys her in to the elevator, and there remains a 'Use This One' sign on the door from the entry hall to the currently-in-use living room.

Inside, there's the faint smell of coffee, there's an open and half-empty box of pastries on the coffee table along with a bowl of apples that's had significant inroads made on it, and there's a Kazuo camped out on the couch with two phones and a tablet in arm's reach. He's seated sideways on the couch, slippers on the floor and sock feet on the cushions, scowling down at a laptop propped against his knees.

Evidently, it's a tech evening.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    It was only a dream..But, any sort of dream involving Kyubey had Sayaka instantly freaked out. Besides, the girl in the dream seemed kinda familiar..Hadn't Madoka once mentionned someone by that name?

     Some sort of dangerous Puella Magi? It had her worried, but sadly, the White Flower was not something she had been involved in, at all, as she had had her hands full with something else at the time.

    Still, she needed answers, and after having no luck locating Madoka who was increasingly hard to reach these days, Sayaka had decided to seek out Mamoru as he often seemed to have the answers to her problems. This time she comes through the front door in her normal civilian attire, rapping a few times softly on the door; Hopefully she's not showing up at too late an hour, but then it seemed that someone was always awake.

    Of course, she finds the door unlocked, and after a soft 'hello'?' not wanting to catch anyone by surprise (she's still a little unused to letting herself into other peoples' apartments that she doesn't know that well), Sayaka steps in, peering around.

    The delicious aroma of coffee is the first thing to hit her, followed by the sight of Kazuo sitting on the couch, evidently busy with tech stuff. "Um, Hey..Is this a bad time..?"

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo is already glancing up and over when she lays eyes on him; the scowl is still fading, but that it is fading suggests it's not at her. "Not at all," he says; he turns his attention back to the laptop for a moment, to tap out a relatively quick hunt-and-peck message, then closes it and leans to set it, too, on the coffee table. "Never worry about that. If we minded interruption, we wouldn't be out here. May I get you something to drink? Particularly if you might be willing to help us deal with these before they stale."

(Nephrite, Usagi, Kyouko, and Momo all frequent the apartment. Odds of having to cope with stale pastry, actually pretty low.)

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    She does notice the frown and thankfully it's not aimed at herself. Still, Saya is a bit worried. "Doing some more late night cramming?" Noting the laptop and personal devices she grins, "Heey, it it's techonology you're having trouble with, I can totally help with that!"

    As for her own problems, she just sighs tiredly and shrugs, "Probably nothing but..I had a strange and somewhat disturbing dream about Kyubey, and a Puella Magi named Hana..I know I've heard that name before. Something to do with a white flower? I know Madoka once mentionned the name, but it's been hard, trying to locate her or Homura lately. So I figured maybe you or Mamoru-san might be able to help me out."

    Sayaka smirks, realizing how odd it might seem at first, asking for help about a dream. "Now, I guessi tm ight seem weird for me to be stressed over a mere dream, but I dunno..It seemed a little too..Real.."

Kunzite has posed:
"I'm fortunate enough not to be in school right now. Though if I'm going back with the others, I need to study anyhow." He shakes his head and rises, pacing into the kitchen. The sink runs, and a few moments later there's more of that smell of coffee. Given that there's effectively an open stretch of window-and-counter between that and the living room, it doesn't interrupt the conversation. "Just working on a very quick change of plans. Nothing terrible; a friend ran into a sudden opportunity, which may be all to the good, but which needs her to free her schedule for up to a month within the next day. Some of us are sharing out her usual tasks."

The tray that he brings back into the living room contains two glasses of water, two cups of coffee, and the usual accoutrements for tailoring coffee to personal tastes. That's set on the last empty patch of coffee table large enough to hold it, silent offering.

"The White Flower," Kazuo repeats. "Hana Shiroi. She targeted Tokyo last fall; there was an image in the sky for a time, and monsters doing things strange even for their kinds. She employed Madison Perry, a gleefully murderous but overall pragmatic individual -- one of the Device users; her Device and therefore most of her capacity for magic is in her knives."

By this time Sayaka has already figured out the gist of what he's about to say next. "And yes, you're the third person I know of who's had that dream."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka grins, "Geez, lucky you, midterms are brutal for a lot of people, all around." her nose twitches hungrily at the strengthening scent of coffee, and she smiles when he brings back the tray. "Heey, thanks, you read my mind. I just love coffee! And it'd go great with these chocolate chip cookies my mom made! I hope you enjoyed the last batch." Sayaka pulls out a big baggie of cookies and it looks like her mom made more than Saya could eat on her own. She adds them to the tray, grabbing one of the mugs of coffee and sipping on it thoughtfully.

    "Oh yeah, I remember now. I think it happened before I became a Puella Magi, but I think I might have run into a monster or two, fortunately there were magical girls out in full force around that time.." she frowns a little at the names, recalling what Madoka had said before. "Oh yeah, I think I remember some of Madoka mentionning those names before. So..Whatever became of Shiori-san? Did she die?"

    And then he mentions others and she frowns, "Really? Who, other Puella?"

Kunzite has posed:
Given how teenagers eat, Sayaka's mom's baking is scary. "They were, and these will be, much appreciated," Kazuo assures Sayaka. He claims the other mug, leaving the water to take care of itself, and he settles down.

"Naru dreamed about Kyubey and Hana," he says. "Her dreams have been invaded lately; she's sensitive to such things, at least for now. And I did, but I had direct contact."

With Kyubey?

Let's hope not.

"The White Flower's current condition is... anomalous." Kazuo is actually, for once, uncomfortable enough to shift his position a little, to glance to one side, to glower at his coffee for a moment. "She -- you know, already, what Witches are." His eyes flicker up to Sayaka; there is never any way to make that moment of the conversation less than awkward.

And he presumes she knows. But they've never spoken about it; this is the first time she'll know he knows. So he pauses, just for a moment, watching her reaction.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka frowns, "Wait a minute, she witched out..?" Oh yeah, madoka had mentionned something like that, it had been a while ago. "Soo..Was she defeated? Or is she still out there somewhere? And why did she sic a bunch of monsters on Tokyo anyway? And what about Madison Perry? Is she still out there? I just...Dont know how it all adds up with these dreams.."

    She grins, nodding at the cookies, taking one, "Dont worry, they're fine, my mom's a good cook. And, save some for Kyouko.." She looks thoughtful as she says that name. Kunzite probably knows about the distance between them lately.

Kunzite has posed:
Maybe Kazuo's taking the questions in order. "She was defeated," he says. "Homura Akemi took custody of her Grief Seed, and has kept it, since. Madison Perry made an attempt to retrieve it a little time ago, but was repelled. She acquired an object that allowed her to make a second attempt, bypassing most of Homura's defenses. She was injured badly, but she made it out with the Grief Seed."

There's something still shadowing his expression; there's something there he hasn't yet said.

He turns his attention down to the cookies, postponing a couple of the further answers for a moment. "I'll find somewhere to hide some of them from the other ravening appetites in this apartment. ... never mind, that won't work. If Momo's not home, we can drop them off downstairs later."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka frowns, "Oh..I see. So Homura kept such a dangerous object in her possession all this time, and didnt even tell me.." her expression is suddenly serious. But of course she wouldn't have told her if she knew how Sayaka would react. Still, Saya is likely to give her a piece of her mind later.

    "However, this Madison Perry girl, she's not even a Puella Magi then? But what does she plan to do with this grief seed?" She arches a brow, tilting her head as she notices something in his expression, "Is there..Something more to it?"

Kunzite has posed:
Kunzite gives an entirely different glance aside at Sayaka. "Homura carries an arsenal on her person at all times," he says. "I'm uncertain why her keeping dangerous objects would be a surprise." ... was that meant to be a joke? The way he leans toward nonexpression, it's hard to tell.

He delays answering that question by taking another swallow of coffee. Then says, "The Grief Seed talked."

There is, inevitably, a moment of silence after those words.

"It manifested power at least twice -- once a flare of light to draw Perry's attention to it, once a distortion of space. And it talked. It held a conversation with Madoka and Homura. It didn't manifest a Witch. It didn't try to overlay a labyrinth on the space. It was ... only the seed. But it talked; it was coherent and responsive, if from a warped point of view; it tried to play psychological tricks on them. It claimed that Kyubey called it an anomaly."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka arches a brow. She really doesn't know a heck of a lot about what Homura does carry in her shield. She barely even understands how her powers work, other than that she can stop time and apparently travel back in time too.

     "Well, carrying illegal weapons is one thing. Carrying a particularly powerful grief seed, at least from what I've heard of the White Flower..Is a totally different thing..Especially given the shortage of grief seeds. Grief cubes can hardly compare. We have to work more than twice as hard just to survive now."

    Sadly, it doesnt seem that Sayaka will ever fully trust Homura, especially when she continues to keep things from her. However, the fact that the grief seed actually talked has her a little shocked. "Oh wait a minute..Since when could they..Talk?l And why is it an anomaly, exactly?" Oh wait, is this somehow connected to the dreams?

    "I wonder...If Hana was trying to tell us something in those dreams. She said..She wanted to be herself and not what everyone else wanted her to be. That's why she made a wish, but..How exactly did that manifest when she became a Puella?"

Kunzite has posed:
"Given that Homura was working actively to alert other Puella and make as sure as possible that they knew to conserve and weren't likely to run out, and is presently offering opportunities for Puella who aren't having luck finding Wraiths to get by, it's possible that things might balance out." Kazuo pushes hair out of his face, then leans to reach for one of the cookies Sayaka brought. Apparently even he's occasionally susceptible to the lure of chocolate chips.

"I didn't know they could talk, frankly. I haven't encountered as many or as closely as you likely have, but this is the first time I've seen any sign of consciousness or ability to interact. Which may be part of whatever the anomaly is."

The cookie is studied, rather than eaten. "I don't know what the White Flower did, or how her powers reacted," he says. "I ... wasn't precisely in the loop on local news at the time. I can tell you that whatever the White Flower was doing, it irritated Queen Mirage of the Phantom Empire enough that she invoked her pact with Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom over it. Something about minion hijacking, I think."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka's frown deepens as she considers this. "I suppose...However, there's now an extremely dangerous and powerful grief seed out there, in the possession of a very dangerous and powerful individual. I wish I knew what she was planning on doing with that grief seed. Homura should have just used it, or destroyed it."

    She sighs tiredly, reaching for another cookie. They're the big soft, chewy kind, the kind that melt in your mouth and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. With all the emotional roller coaster and midterm blues that Sayaka's been suffering lately, it's like a warm hug from her mom.

    "I didnt know they could talk either, but..I guess maybe I need to pay a visit to Madoka and Homura about this." She smiles gravely, "But you know, I kinda feel sorry for Hana, afterall, she just wanted to be herself. This is really all Kyubey's fault, manipulating her like that.."

    Sayaka pauses for a moment, trying to digest all this information, "Wait, who is Queen Mirage of the phantom empire? Is that like, big bad like Queen Beryl?"

Kunzite has posed:
"There's a great deal that is Kyubey's fault." That, at least, Kazuo can agree firmly with Sayaka upon.

"Talking with Madoka and Homura might be wise, yes. I intend to see whether anyone in Virtue knows more; it's likely enough that someone in the group opposed the White Flower last year. We'll need that information out in the open. If I find anything I can pass on, I'll let you know." Somehow. New phones create problems, sometimes. But Kyouko will know how ot reach her; taking a step back does not mean taking a step off a cliff.

He shakes his head then, brief. "Something like, but not so directly active. She has an extradimensional base, and sends minions out to attack the Earth; her forces aren't so coordinated as they might be, so she's not in this moment so much of an imminent threat. I didn't pay much attention; Beryl kept my focus on this world, not on her nominal allies."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka nods again. As far as she's concerned, all of the Puellas' problems start and end with Kyubey. Homura..She's not so certain, even after so long. But at least she doesn't despise her as much as she used to.

    "Yeah..So who else is a member of Virtue? Y'know, I really want to make contact with them too, I feel like I could be more useful if I was more in the loop, y'know? As it is, I'm pretty much operating on my own now.."

    She frowns a bit, knowing that Mamoru and Kyouko (And probably Kunzite) had all said at one time that she could always ask any of them for help. But somehow, it's not the same as being one of the team, being a Senshi or a Puella Magi, or even part of the unbreakable Sayaka-Kyouko duo that they once were. That last part she misses terribly, among other things, and even though they had talked, it still felt like they were taking a 'break' from each other.

    She goes back to chewing her cookies quietly, thoughtfully, pondering. "I wish I could have met Hana. I almost feel..Sorry for her. Whatever happened, whatever led her to that point where she became so destructive. It all stemmed initially from her only seeking happiness. It's something I can relate to, something I'm still trying to achieve myself."

    As for this..Phantom empire, seems they're not yet an immediate threat. "Well, maybe I'll just have to seek out Madison Perry and learn more too. If she's been injured, she should be easy to track down..Maybe."

Kunzite has posed:
"The Seiyou Guardians are the best to contact," Kazuo says. "They do much of the support work. If you have contact information, I'd be pleased to pass that along. The Senshi are involved, and the Waldians, and the Prism Keepers. Some independent people, like Storm Knight. Mamoru is, and some of his people -- Nephrite, Zoisite, me; not Jadeite or Kyouko. I don't know who else; I was only permitted in recently."

For some reason. Like being able to discuss Beryl's diplomatic efforts. Ahem.

He inclines his head to Sayaka, though. "Seeking happiness in the wrong way generally makes matters worse. But loneliness shouldn't have to create one's doom. Madoka tried to talk her back, you know. Tried to offer her another chance. The Flower refused."

(Since when do grief seeds talk? Since when even do Witches talk?)

The suggestion of tracking down Madison Perry makes Kunzite lift his head, frowning. "Madison Perry," he says, "has at least twice now fought four or more Virtue members to a standstill by herself. And she is no longer by herself. And her physical injuries do not make her Device any less dangerous. If you're intent on tracking her down, I will by no means tell you no -- but I will ask you not to go alone."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka nods, realizing how much she doesnt know about the magical girl community. "Hmm, I've heard of the Guardians. Think I only met one, though he was pretty foolhardy, attempting to attack WPS on his own, nearly killed himself doing so, the poor fool.." She grimaces at the memory.

    "Huh, that hard to get into? That's weird, are they that paranoid? Well, whatever." Sayaka waves a dismissive hand as she sips some more of the coffee. Looks like it's gonna be another sleepless night. Fortunately, she has a small break from exams for once.

    "I suppose that's right. But..I guess it's too late for Hana anyway. Even so, how is it that a grief seed can even talk? Perhaps that means that there is some part of her still left. I suppose only Madoka-chan would have the power to purify her, but she'd probably have to really want to be purified in the first place. There MUST be a way to get through to her, somehow.."

    Another slow, grim nod as Kunzite describes how others attempted to fight her and were so easily overpowered. No, she's not as strong or as experienced as a lot of magical girls out there. "Huh. So she's not even open to a peaceful talk, huh? Well at the very least I'll see if I can discuss this with Kyouko. Maybe we can come up with some kinda plan. I dont intend to fight her, only to talk to her. Sometimes fighting's not the best way, maybe there's a way to get through to her, if we can only understand her."

    Sayaka laughs a little, "It's funny, isnt it. I often wonder if or when I might witch out myself. What would cause it. Maybe it'd just be..I dunno, loneliness. But I shouldnt be lonely. Afterall, there are people who are always offering help. Maybe it's just that..I dunno, I miss what Kyouko and I were. Or maybe I'm just a selfish jerk who wants to be 'special' somehow.."

Kunzite has posed:
"Sky Jack," Kazuo identifies from Sayaka's few words of description. "Not normally that foolhardy. He was deeply upset at the time, and not thinking straight."

His mouth tugs at the corner, given Sayaka's handwave. "For most," he says, "I don't believe it's nearly that hard to get into. But when there's one person who's at the core of the organization's recruitment, and his introduction to you came via your kidnapping one of his best friends and covering it by making him believe he'd killed him -- well. It might reasonably take some time to prove to him that you'd had a change of heart."

He listens to Sayaka considering the matter of the grief seed; but he's given her all the information he has for now. And she's a Puella. She has by nature more of a feel for these things than he can, with his secondhand knowledge, with his soul gem that's the wrong kind. He breaks the cookie instead, separating a bite-sized bit and eating it as he listens.

"When you try to understand Perry," he says, "bear in mind that 'murderous' was not an exaggeration. She enjoys fighting. It's likely that she either enjoys killing, or simply doesn't care one way or the other. That doesn't mean that there is necessarily no hope for her; but it does complicate things considerably."

That last sentence is said with a certain amount of care, as if he were edging around more than one uncomfortable truth.

And then Sayaka touches on the subject of her own possible witching, and Kazuo studies her silently for a few seconds. Long enough for the silence to begin to grow uncomfortable.

"There's nothing selfish," he says finally, "about wanting to know that someone sees you for yourself, and still wants to be near you."