2551/Twilight's Mask

Twilight's Mask
Date of Scene:	08 March 2017
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - King Penguin Park
Synopsis:	Haruka Haruno meets Sachiko. It is not the least dread-filled meeting Haruka has ever had.
Cast of Characters:	Sachiko Hayakawa, Haruka Haruno

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Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
It's a beautiful late afternoon. The sun is shining, the weather is comfortable (if a bit chilly), and students throughout Tokyo have finished studies for the day. King Penguin Park is bustling, as it often is, with plenty of students playing and enjoying their afternoon. Over in the playground area, there's a line for the slides. That line is presently being held up by a small girl--she can't be more than 6 or 7 at her size--who is very slowly making her way up the ladder. Most of the kids are jeering her, calling her slow and lame and other sorts of names.

But Sachiko ignores them all. Dressed in a pretty black gothic dress, with more buttons and petticoats than anyone has a right to, she is the model of picture perfect. How the big floofy skirts will interact with the slide is a mystery, but the girl seems unintimidated by the problem as she climbs. More a problem is the climb itself, which she is taking terribly slowly (the source of the jeering). It's almost as though her legs don't quite work the way they ought to.

More important, however, is the intense feeling of wrong that she puts off. Something only magical girls or boys might be able to sense, yet it is a cloying, overwhelming sensation; enough to reek from half way across the park. And on her face, a lovely golden opera mask with a ruby gem at the chakra point in the forehead, and feathers around the edges.

Princess Twilight's mask.

Haruka Haruno has posed:
Haruka is out for a run in the park- it's something of a daily routine, unless she is sick or injured. It keeps her in shape, and is usually a good time to think about her homework. There's something that makes her stomach roll, though, on this run.

She jogs in place for a moment, trying to find the source of this feeling, and stops entire when she sees a small, too-perfect, too-prim girl wearing a familiar mask. The teenager runs over and squints, gently shushing some of the kids back with a soft admonition about their behavior before she addresses Sachiko.

"Where did you get that mask?"

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
The girl finally reaches the top, just as the elder teen calls to her. She glances over her shoulder and peers through the mask at Haruka. The sense of wrongness increases dramatically, a feeling of dread that pierces Haruka as she is peered at. The little girl sticks her tongue out at her before turning away and sitting down on the slide. "It's mine," she declares loudly, then pushes herself down. Her skirt, predictably, bunches up, and she gets very little speed on her way down the slide. But she does reach the bottom.

Standing, the cinnamon-haired girl turns and wobbily makes her way from the slide towards another area of the playground, obviously having difficulty walking.

Haruka Haruno has posed:
Haruka puts a hand to her mouth- her gut feels deeply uncomfortable, like she ate something nasty. Still, Haruka follows Sachiko. "It's yours now... but did someone give it to you?" she asks. "It just looks familiar, is all." There's the impulse to avoid offering her hand, but...

But, well, Sachiko is little, and wobbling. Haruka offers a hand. "You look like you're having a hard time. Please let me help."

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
The little girl squints up at the offered hand. She stops walking long enough to give it serious consideration, then reaches up to adjust the mask on her face. Then, with that same hand, she takes Haruka's hand. "It was given to me by a Princess," says the girl, emphasizing the word as if it were special.

Which, of course, it is.

Sachiko starts walking again, leaning a little on Haruka, but mostly trying to do it on her own. "She said if I keep it safe, and learn to walk again, then she'll come back for it and take me somewhere special. So I'm trying really hard to get good at walking again, like before the vampire ate me."

Haruka Haruno has posed:
There's a quietly horrified part of Haruka's mind at that. "I... see." She takes a deep breath and shakes her head. "I know the princess who gave it to you, but... we're not exactly friends." The idea of a vampire eating a little girl makes her queasy as well.

"Have you tried talking to doctors? There are special ones, called physical therapists, who focus on helping people who have issues with that, like if someone broke their foot and had to re-learn to walk after a long time not being able to." And finding influences outside of Twilight would possibly help with getting the little girl away from the Princess of Despair.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko glances up at Haruka, then rolls her eyes a little. "Well the doctors kept me in the coma for like a bajillion years," she complains, "and I have a physical therapist who helps me sometimes, but I also have to work on it on my own." They reach the edge of the playground, and a bench, which Sachiko turns to sit on. "They're just happy I'm trying, now. I wasn't, before, because I didn't really care. If I can't see An-chi, why should I try to be normal again? But then, the princess came and told me she would take me to her kingdom if I learned to walk again. So now I want to do it."

Haruka Haruno has posed:
Haruka sits down too, taking a deep breath. "That princess is... from a kingdom of despair, though. Do you want to live in a kingdom of despair?" She's keeping her voice gentle, even as she internally wrangles with the number of disturbing revelations Sachiko so casually mentions. "I mean, if you want something, you're probably dreaming about it, right? And that kingdom... does not like dreams."

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"I just want to die," Sachiko explains very calmly. "The vampire didn't kill me, though, so now I'm still here." She shrugs a little, then sighs and looks up towards the distant sky. "Dreams are stupid. I dreamed for a while that An-chi would come back if I became the best dancer, but that can't happen. I also dreamed that An-chi would come back if I was a magical girl who saved her from the Clockwork Lord, but I can't be a magical girl, and there is no Clockwork Lord. So now I just want to be dead, and the Princess said that I was beautiful and that she thinks my dreams of death are beautiful, too."

Haruka Haruno has posed:
That... honestly explains a lot, and makes Haruka deeply uncomfortable. Haruka shakes her head. "Dreams aren't stupid. I wouldn't be here, and a friend of mine would be dead, if it weren't for dreams. And... I honestly think that you probably could be a magical girl, but... not while you want to die so badly." It hurts. It almost physically, palpably hurts to be around Sachiko, and Haruka stands up. "I- need to get home and do homework though. It... was nice to meet you. I hope our next meeting is under good circumstances." But somehow, she doubts it. Her gut turns again as she bows.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"Dreams are stupid," Sachiko says quietly, as she turns to regard Haruka. Then she pauses and tilts her head. "Howcome you know Princess Twilight?" she asks curiously. "You didn't tell me your name. Mine is Hayakawa Sachiko."

Haruka Haruno has posed:
"Haruka Haruno... and... well... we're on opposite sides of a conflict. Twilight and her side believe dreams are worthless, and admire despair, and me and my friends... well, we think the opposite." Haruka takes a deep breath, hand going into her pocket to wrap around her Dress-Up Key.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko squints a little as she considers Haruka's words. The thought going on behind her green eyes is almost visible: like gears turning slowly but inexorably.

After a moment, she leans back and realizes, "You're the fake princess she told me about, huh?"

Haruka Haruno has posed:
Haruka sets her jaw and squares her body. "That's what she likes to think, but being princess of a realm of despair does not make her any more or less legitimate than me. If she wants to call me a fake princess, I will refuse her her title, too. I am recognized as a princess by the kingdom that is polar opposite to hers, and if she does not want to coexist peacefully..." Haruka shakes her head, regretfully, over the needless conflict. "But, like I said, I need to go, and I hope we are as friendly the next time we meet as we are now." She needs to talk to some people, and catch her breath.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"Do you have a Queen for a mom?" Sachiko asks, a little sneer in her voice. "Because she does!" If Haruka's leaving anyways, Sachiko is calling after her, jeering at her. "Real princesses have Queens for moms! Or Kings for dads! You can't be a real princess if you don't have that!"

Haruka Haruno has posed:
Haruka rolls her eyes and turns her back. "Then where does the first King or Queen come from, hm?" she asks as she runs off, every stride taking her to a place where she feels like she can breathe. "Or rulers of principalities?"