944/If Wishes were Fishes

If Wishes were Fishes
Date of Scene:	29 January 2016
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - King Penguin Park
Synopsis:	Greta learns what it means to be a Puella, and meets Anshi's little sister.
Cast of Characters:	Sachiko Hayakawa, Greta Legend

---

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
It's afternoon on a Thursday. A school night, technically. School has only been out for about an hour, when Greta's phone rings. As soon as she answers it, there is a loud crashing noise on the other end of the line, followed by someone yelling loudly.

The line is muffled quickly, and then a cheerful, chipper voice sounds. "Greta-chan?" asks Anshi. "hi! It's me, Anshi Hayakawa. Are you busy?"

Greta Legend has posed:
    o/` O-ma-e to nara kan-ji-te KNIGH-To o/` O-ma-e naraba de-ki-ru ROCK MEEE o/`

    The ringtone lingers for only a few moments before Greta picks it up, and props it into her shoulder and leans into it, "Hello?" Meanwhile, her hands are working on a seafood dish in the kitchen, as she carefully cooks the salmon fillets on the saute pan.

    She winces when she hears the crashing and yelling on the other end, and arches an eyebrow when Anshi speaks up, "Oh, hi, Hayakawa-san." She learned relatively quickly the importance of honorifics and the various other Japanese syntax and Grammar. "Busy? Not overly, just finishing off some cooking..." She pauses, "What was that noise I heard? Sounded like something crashing.."

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"You can call me Anshi-chan!" Anshi is quick to correct, cheerful to a fault. "Oh, don't worry about the crashing, it's--" loud and obnoxious and interrupting her ability to speak again. There are some very colourful words coming out of a feminine mouth, too. Then there's the sound of a closing door.

"Sorry about that," Anshi says with a little nervous laugh. "Anyways, uhm, I was gonna head to the park." In this bad weather and coming tropical storm. Good job. "I was thinking you might like to come with! My little sis could use the time out of the house, and I know the weather's starting to turn but I don't plan to be out long. Besides, it can be fun to play in the rain a little bit, right?"

Greta Legend has posed:
    Greta cringes a little, arching an eyebrow as she hears the noise in the background, and takes a bit to turn off the stove and tends to the salmon for a little bit. "The park? Okay, I guess that's fine... Weather's a little bit of a bluster, but nothing a little wearing of a jacket and packing and umbella won't hurt..."

    She considers the foods she's cooked up, before hmming, "Alright, I'll see you in... Fifteen minutes? I just need to finish up.."

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"Soundsgreatseeyouthen!" Anshi calls into her phone. Then the line goes dead.

Fifteen minutes later, Anshi is at the park. Sh e doesn't have a rain coat. She doesn't even have an umbrella. Just her infinity school uniform and blazer, which she's huddled up in under a tree.

There is, however, a young girl, maybe six years old, with long brown twintails who she seems to be watching. The younger girl is running around in the rain with her arms held out, giggling as she plays airplane in a clear-coloured rain jacket, matching galloshes, all over white socks and a pretty blue dress.

Greta Legend has posed:
    In just about fifteen minutes, Greta has made her way to the park, clad in her own rain jacket, making her way with an umbrella in hand, and eventually spots Anshi sitting under the tree, and makes her ways over, carrying in her other hand a sack containing a something pretty box shaped.

    When she gets closer, Greta realizes how Anshi is clad and rushes on over, "Anshi-san!" Having at least compromised on going on a first name basis at least. She huffs a bit and asks, "You're not even wearing a jacket! You're going to soak and freeze at this rate!" Before moving over and holding the umbrella over Anshi at least to keep the rain out.

    She does note the presence of the little sister, though she doesn't speak up yet to her until introduced.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Anshi looks up with a smile when Greta comes to join. "Nah, it's fine," she explains quietly, though she's shivering just a little. She is glad to hide under the umbrella, though. "Being a Puella mostly makes me immune to getting a cold, or the like, and it takes care of the whole 'freeze to death'. I heal pretty quick!"

But she's still shivering. "Sachiko-chan!" Anshi calls to her little sister.

The girl turns at once, and she smiles as she rushes over, bounding with great leaps. Her arms are no longer stretched out, but now one is pointed straight from her forehead, and the other waves behind her. "Neiiiigh, I'm Unicorn!" Sachiko says as she joins the pair.

"Sahiko-chan," Anshi says happily, "this is my good friend I was telling you about. Can you say hi to Greta-chan?"

"Hello, Greta-san!" Sachiko says excitedly, waving to Greta wildly. "An-chi says you're really really nice and a super good friend. She says you taught her how to ice skate! Can you teach me how to ice skate?"

Greta Legend has posed:
    Greta can't help but bust into a smile when Anshi's little sister approaches in all her excited, and she stoops to meet her at eye level, "Hi there, Sachiko-chan. That's right, I taught her how." She giggles and nods, "Of course I can teach you to skate, Sachiko-chan, the next chance we get."

    After a moment more, she stands up straight and looks to Anshi, "She seems like a good kid... I'm kind of jealous, since I never had any siblings growing up." She pauses a little, "Let's at least get out of the rain. I brought a couple of bento boxes with me from what I was cooking earlier, so we can at least munch on that while we're at it."

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko's excitement is a noisesome, squeaky thing. "An-chi, An-chi, An-chi! Did you hear! Greta-san's gonna teach me to ice skate, too!!"

Anshi giggles at her sister, and reaches up to ruffle the little girl's hair. "I heard, Sunshine," she says to her sister adoringly. "And she said she brought food for us. C'mon, let's go see what she's brought. It's super nice of her to bring it, don't you think?"

Sachiko practically leaps out of her boots with excitement, and Anshi has to physically restrain her from leaping onto Greta for a hug. Anshi hefts her little sister up onto her shoulders with ease, carrying the sleight girl through the rain.

"She's honestly the best thing that ever happened to me," Anshi tells Greta happily as she follows along. "Thank you so much for offering the bento. That's really nice of you! I'll have to see about making something for you next time we hang out together, although I'm not a very good cook."

Greta Legend has posed:
    Greta continues to hold the umbrella up over Anshi to keep her dry at least, "It's no problem. I'm in the cooking club at Infinity, and I've been cooking as a hobby anyway. I think I might go to culinary school once I'm done with secondary school--That's High School here, I think."

    As she walks along, she looks to Anshi, about ready to ask a question, before closing her mouth as she remembers that Sachiko's still there, "So... You said you're a Puella? What is that exactly?" Her eyes drift to the little girl, then back to Anshi, unsure of how much Anshi is willing to discuss it in front of her family.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Anshi glances towards her sister as well, then grins at Greta. "Let's get Sakuchi settled in with something to eat and then I'll tell you all about it," Anshi promises as they find a place to sit at a park bench under an awning. "Sachiko-chan, sit here," Anshi says, patting a seat.

Once Sachiko is set up with food, Anshi moves to sit just a little away from her little sister, still where she can see the twin-tailed girl, but not so close that a quiet voice will be overheard. Sachiko seems incredibly focused on the food, eating with a gusto that most six year olds would only display with their favourite dishes. Then again, most six year olds are also incredibly picky. Odd.

"Puellas are ... a kind of magical girl," Anshi explains at a whisper. "We get one wish--anything we want--and in exchange we agree to become magical girls and fight against witches."

Greta Legend has posed:
    The bentos that Greta brought aren't particualrly extensive, though it's definitely savory enough to look at, and if one samples the sauted salmon drizzled in teriyaki sauce, on top of the rice, with the veggies on the side, one might venture to say it tasted pretty good. At least Greta likes to think so.

    Once they're all sat down and the little sister is sufficiently distracted, the discussion about the kind of magical girl that Anshi is begins in earnest, "Well, I kind of gathered that much..." Of course they're a kind of Magical girl, what with the Magical Girl party they were all at. The stipulation for getting the power, though, gets Greta's attention, "A -wish-?!" She clamps down on her mouth so as to not blurt out too much, glancing at Sachiko to see if she noticed, before proceeding, "You're kidding, right? It can't be that easy."

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"Ummm," Anshi grins a little at Greta, then shrugs slowly. "Yeah, it kinda is," she whisper softly. "We make a wish, and get it granted. But in exchange ..." she trails off, then turns her hand over. There's a ring on her index finger; simple and golden

The ring begins to glow, then coalesces into a small golden bottle in Anshi's hand, filled with apricot-hued plasma, and dark sludge. "We get this," the puella explains quietly. "The blackness is uh ... well, it fills up when I use my powers. The more I use, the darker it gets. If it ever gets completely black, I'll die. I've only had it a month and I've already come close," Anshi explains. "Tomoe-senpai says that Puella have it the worst of the magical girls. Sure, we get a wish, but we also have to constantly work to keep the ick out of our Soul Gems."

Greta Legend has posed:
    Greta's initial reaction is that of awe, at least until she notices the bit of sludge in the Soul Gem. The subject of the soul gem brings the conversation about them back at the ice skating rink back to mind. Once all these details, plus the fact that even being a Puella is functionally lethal, Greta goes wide eyed, "What?! Why would you AGREE to those kinds of conditions!? Did they even tell you when you signed up?!"

    Now Greta's livid, "No wish could be worth that kind of drawbacks!"

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"Mine was," Anshi says, smiling at her little sister with a warmth that's undeniable. The smile grows all the more when she turns to include Greta in it, then shrugs. "I knew," she says. "Tomoe-senpai explained it, and Akemi-san tried to tell me not to make the wish. But ... it was the right thing to do. And now I get to help people. And life is better now." Right? No, not right. Not at all. "It was worth it." Or it will be, just as soon as her dad finishes crossing the distance to get home.

Greta Legend has posed:
    Greta opens her mouth and closes it, trying hard to find something good to say about this, but she finds herself shaking her head, "You're kidding... That's... You can't be serious! If you're not able to keep up, you're going to die! How can you be carefree about it? Just---" She's actually starting to tear up a bit in her frustration.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Anshi glances towards her sister nervously, then slides closer to Greta and wraps her arms around the girl. "Don't worry about it," she whispers quietly. "Tomoe-senpai is a great teacher. Every witch I kill drops a grief seed, and just one of those can completely clear my soul gem two or three times. I can keep up," she promisees. "It's okay. I wanted this. I needed this. There are people out there suffering in this world because no one will stand up and protect them. I can't let them suffer. So I do what I can, because someone has to do it."

Greta Legend has posed:
    The hug from Anshi does cool Greta down a little, but she's still rather steamed at the whole sscenario. "You could find some other way... Any other way... Tri Soul says there are other mages that use Devices like him, maybe we could find you a device to work with!" She brightens up a little, hoping that she could run on that idea. "Yeah, we can do that! Then you can drop this Puella stuff, and... And..."

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"It's too late for that," Anshi says quietly, smiling at Greta sadly. "I got my wish. And now I have to keep up my end of the bargain. If I don't, I die. It's simple as that. But don't worry, Greta-chan. I don't mean to die any time soon."

Greta Legend has posed:
    Greta grits her teeth, still lingering in the hug as she tries to make sense of things, before finally prying herself out of the hug, "I... I'd better go... I need a bit..." She stands up and picks up her umbrella, "I'll pick up the boxes later." Refering to the bentos once they've been consumed.

    She pauses a bit to look to Sachiko and smiles at her, "It was really nice to meet you, Sachiko-chan. I'll teach you ice skating soon. I'll see you later." Her eyes still a little misty.

    She nods to Anshi and makes her way out. She just needs some time to come to terms with this.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Anshi sighs just a little at Greta's reaction. "Okay," she says quietly. "I'm sorry I upset you, Greta-chan. But ... please believe me when I say it's better this way. The wish is what's important. Being a magical girl ... that just means my wish was worth it, too."

She sighs and then moves to join her sister, hugging Sachiko tight. "Did you enjoy the bento, Sachi?" she asks>

Sachiko's eyes widen, and she nods fervently. "Thank you thank you thank you, Greta-chan!" she calls. "I can't wait to go ice skating!"