1274/Rebuilding

Rebuilding
Date of Scene:	26 March 2016
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - Penguin Public Library
Synopsis:	Reiko, Hoshi, and Momo arrive to the library to find Sachiko dealing once more with her horrible case worker. Things go about and Hoshi makes a call.
Cast of Characters:	Sachiko Hayakawa, Momo Akatsuki, Hoshi Kogane, Reiko Touyama

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Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"Look, I know you're full," says a female voice into a cell phone. She's a tall lady in a pencil skirt and a pearl-hued blouse, glasses and a severely traditional haircut. She's pacing in the lobby of the King Penguin Library.

"Yes, I know you are full," she reiterates frustrtatedly. "But the little brat has nowhere else to go tonight. She can't stay with me!"

Meanwhile, in the children's section of the library, a little girl in a black dress is kneeling in front of a wooden table, listlessly putting legos together into a shapeless mass of meaningless bricks.

Sachiko Hayakawa looks like she's just about as sad as a seven-year-old can get while her case worker argues with yet another foster home in an attempt to get them to take her in.

"Well, no, she's not the best behaved, but what do yo--no no, don't hang!" The case-worker holds the phone away from her head and glowers at it. "God Damnit," she curses angrily, then glares at Sachiko from across the room.

The little girl just sighs, though it's unclear whether she has heard what's been said or not. She has bags under her eyes, and generally looks exhausted. And she missed the last day of school, today!

Momo Akatsuki has posed:
Today had been the last day of school, and Momo had pestered Aint Biv to take her to the library to get some books to read over the summer. Sadly, Biv had to run off with Roy for something or other, and had called someone else to take Momo to the library.

So Momo was going to the library with Reiko, and someone Momo didn't really know. She kept peeking around Reiko to look at the girl because something felt vaguely familiar about her.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Hoshi agreed to meet the others outside the library, and so she's there. "Hey Reiko, is that Momo?" She asks, peeking around Reiko at the other girl. She walks closer and bows, "I'm Hoshi Kogane, a friend of Reiko and Mei's." Especially when it comes to Mei, 'friend' is ... a flexible term. They haven't seen eachother in ages.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama had taken Momo's hand and she was happy to drag Momo along to the library! Reiko was in a chipper mood! School was over! Soon she'd be in fifth grade! School would get more challenging! She'd learn new things!

The koi pond in her backyard was almost done! Her and Grandpa just had to make that tiny push to finish it's enclosure and then she could start filling the pond with water and acliminating and then... then /koi!/.

Infact, she was coming to the library /to/ get some books about the subject. Sometimes, there was just something about taking a book home and reading it.

She smiles. "Momo-chan.. let's get some Photography books... or some books about cameras..." she ponders with a smile. She looks to Hoshi. "Yup! Don't you remember her, she was littler when we played our game, remember?" she looks away from Hoshi and walks into the library proper.

She's drawn to the woman on the cellphone because... well a library is a quiet place. She frowns a bit at this. How rude, she thinks. She follows along inside, though, not paying attention to the conversation.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
The woman sighs and shakes her head. "What am I going to do with you?" she grumbles, then dials another number and puts the phone to her ear.

Sachiko, meanwhile, pokes at her little tower of blocks unhappily. She isn't crying, really; she's been doing that all morning and all afternoon, and by now she's mostly cried out. It shows, by the smudges and stains on her cheeks.

As the other girls enter the library, Sachiko doesn't really notice. The cinnamon-haired girl just shifts position briefly, grabs another lego, and adds it to the slowly growing whatever-the-heck-that-is, presses it into place, then leans back again.

Sitting across the way, lounging lightly on a shelf, there is a cute little white-furred creature. Maybe it's a stuffed animal, for all its moving. It seems to be staring at Sachiko, but its red beady eyes don't follow her.

Sachiko hunches her shoulders, then turns away and crawls towards another table, where there are crayons laid out. There, she begins to colour, picking up just the green crayon to draw little stick figures with on the tabletop. Woops, someone forgot to give her paper.

Momo Akatsuki has posed:
Offering a deeper bow of respect to Hoshi, Momo instroduces herself. "I'm Momo Akatsuki. You know Mei? That's my onee-sama!". She looked at from Reiko to Hoshi, beaming at them both as they moved into the building.

Inside, Momo rakes her eyes around and she tugs her hand from Reiko's own, skipping towards the childrens' section. She falters though when she notices that Sachiko is there and then she notices the mean lady from the other day at school. She starts to walk softly towards Sachiko and reaches out to tap her best-friend on the shoulder, glancing back at Reiko and Hoshi as she does so.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama smiles as she blinks and watches Momo escape inside towards a very sad, baggy eyed little girl close to that yappy cellphone lady. She follows along and looks around. She hrmms. To the children's section!

This is a little young of an area to be in, but hey! She's following Momo around. Besides. Reiko isn't particularly worried about being seen here. It's a library. It's her element.

The element being dorkiness.

"Do you know her?" she asks Momo silently as she looks back.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
"I know!" Hoshi smiles, "And yes, I was part of the game, too." The girl follows the others into the building. She also notices the woman at the phone, but instead she focuses on the little girl Momo is walking towards, and then one of her stars hops into being.

It has clown shoes and a clown nose, and it appears right in front of Sachiko's face, doing a silly dance, like it's trying to cheer Sachiko up. Hoshi doesn't seem to expect Sachiko to notice it.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"Come on, come on, pick up," says the lady in the pencil skirt as she resumes pacing. Why hasn't she just been kicked out at this point? It's anyone's guess.

Sachiko raises her head at the touch to her shoulder, only to find herself startled by the little yellow star dancing right there in her face.

"Uwah!" she declares as she stumbles backwards right into Momo, then falls onto the ground and stares up at her friend, wide-eyed and confused. "Momo-chan," she mumbles, blinking up at the pink girl. "Momo-chan! Momo-chan!" Broken record. Give her a sec, she'll skip to the-- "Momo-chan, I gotta move again," she says, face turning towards tears once more. "They said I don't even get to dance, probably." There it goes.

Momo Akatsuki has posed:
Eyeing the strange fancing star for a moment, Momo turned her attention back to her friend as tears started to run down her face. Without hesitation she lifted her arms and wrapped them tightly around Sachiko, hugging her friend against herself. "I didn't see you at school today, Sachiko...".

She looks back towards Reiko. "This is Sachiko Hayakawa, she's my bestest friend ever forever.". She looked solemnly on Sachiko though and just hugged her a little tighter.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama listens to the girl. She has to move again? and no dancing? She wonders what this is about. She looks up to that woman and regards her a moment as she looks back down to Momo and Sachiko. "Hello, Sachiko!" she smiles. "I'm Reiko Touyama! I'm Momo's sister's friend! I'm taking her to the library here today." she says.

She motions over to Hoshi.

"May I ask what's wrong? You look very sad!" she says softly, trying to keep an upbeat tone!

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Hoshi doesn't ask questions, questions might help find a solution, but Reiko is already asking them. So, instead, she just kneels down on the ground, reaching out for Sachiko to try to wrap her arm around the other girl in a comforting gesture.

Clown-star reaches for Sachiko's tears, painting them yellow and picking them up, then using them like balls in a little juggling routine. Until it drops each one of them on its own 'head.'

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Hugs are incredibly helpful. Even hugs from people she doesn't know. Sachiko hugs Momo back, and she doesn't try to get away from Hoshi's hugs, either, because frankly she could use all the hugs she can get right now.

The little juggling star draws a faint giggle out of Sachiko--see, she'll be just fine. "Your stars are weird," she says quietly, then looks to Momo, before looking up at Reiko. Hoshi is behind her, so looking there is out of the question, for now.

"Ohhh, Momo's a good girl," she promises Reiko solemnly. "You should reward her a lot while Momo's nii-san is away. She and I talked a lot about this, and she shouldn't have to be lonely."

Which is why Sachiko is still hugging so very tight. "Anyways, I am very sad. The vampire made me fall asleep and left me on a bus stop, and when I woke up there were police and they were taking me to the station and then I had to see a doctor for some tests, and then the Clockwork Caseworker showed up and she told me I was a bad girl so I can't go to dance anymore and she has to find me a new house because the one I was at can't keep little kids anymore."

Momo Akatsuki has posed:
Shooting a glare back over her own shoulder as best she can, Momo feels a burning anger at the caseworker. She'd seen how the woman treated her friend most of the time. Right now though, her friend was calming down and right here, vengeance could wait.

"If we have to, we can learn dance ourselves as long as you get to come to school. We could practice afterwards as long as I don't have to go to photography club and we could become the best dancers ever together.". She looked towards Reiko or Hoshi for support in this claim, since they were older than her.

She did tilt her head towards the star, boggling at it in confusion. She whispered softly so only Reiko, Hoshi, and Sachiko could hear her. "That star is weird. Stars shouldn't be out of the sky, in clothes, and juggling right?".

Reiko Touyama has posed:
A 'Quack' noise plays over the soundtrack if this was an anime as Reiko's eyes open quizzically and she processes this.

1.) She--she can see the stars?

2.) Vampire!? O,O

3.) Clockwork whosit?

"O--Oh well." she says softly. "That sounds rather serious." she says with a big ol' sweatdrop. She blinks and smiles at Momo. "Of course!" she says. "If Roy or Biv won't let you have her over, there's always plenty of room at my house, and Grandpa won't mind." she smiles. Reiko is, if anything, helpful!

It does not, in fact, surprise her that Momo can see the star though, but she sweats profeusely like crazy at this. Oh god...

Of the list of things Mei doesn't want her exposing Momo too, this is like NUMBER ONE.

"Probably not!" she says with a vacant smile because that's all she can accomplish right now-- she's sweating!

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
"My stars do weird things." Hoshi answers Momo, either blithely unaware of Reiko's worries or, more likely, trampling all over them because she's got more important things than rehashing that conversation. "Anyway, just one little moment."

She's keeps her arm around Sachiko for the sake of comfort, but her attention drifts to her phone. She calls someone, "Hey dad. A friend of a friend needs some help, and I think you can help me with that?" She then explains quickly that the girl doesn't get along with her caseworker who is a loud-mouthed angry woman. (Based upon contextual clues, anger being potentially justified is no concern to her.) "So can you like, talk to someone please?"

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"It's not that serious," Sachiko says quietly to Reiko, then she sighs. "The bigger problem is An-chi," and just thinking about it threatens to break Sachiko into tears again. She turns to regard Momo, eyes wide as she explains, "Sky Jack-senpai told me ..." The little girl trails off, swallows, and tries again. "He told me ... he said that ... he said that An-chi's ... he said she's dead," she whispers this last.

"He said she died defending us from Walpurgy-not. I don't know what it is, but he said it was that big storm. And ... and that means Greta-chan has been lying to me, and then there's a cute little bunnyrat and he wants me to make a wish to become a more powerful magical girl,a nd I don't know what to do, Momo-chan."

She whimpers a little, then says, "I don't even know what to wish for. Sky Jack-senpai says I shouldn't wish because I won't get what I want."

Momo Akatsuki has posed:
"You just need to have hope, Sachiko. Maybe Sky Jack-senpai is wrong, and your onee-sama is alive. Don't make wishes with weird stuff to bring her back, because what if she is and you waste a wish on that.". Momo's eyes are wide, bright pink in their focus on her best-friend.

Momo laid her chin on Sachiko's shoulder, looking at Reiko from the corner of her eye and being slightly confused by that as she talks to Sachiko. "Maybe you could come stay with me and never have to worry again. We could be best-sister-friends!". Children have no understand of the adoption system.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama listens to the two. Then Sachiko goes on about Walpurgy-not.....wait...

Walpurgisnacht!? She blinks a bit. It's one thing to see things, but it's another to know certain terms-- like what that big storm actually was.

Then Sachiko is going on about a 'bunnyrat' that 'makes wishes' and she presses her teeth together because all she can think about is Momoe-chan when it's mentioned- and the things she told her.

Nrrrrg.... Momo-chan.. is right there... she's stuck between a few problems right now.

She can be truthful and say things.

She can continue to play dumb for Momo's sake.

She can just leave. But.. that seems like the worst option. Not one she's willing to do. She looks to Hoshi as she goes about making a call, and smiles appreciativly at her.

She looks back down and walks over to Sachiko and Momo and kneels down a moment...

"...your sister died in that. Then... " she asks softly, trailing off. "I'm really sorry to hear that Sachiko-chan. If I can do anything..." she says softly. Ugh, Mei.. mei is going to murder her.

But... Mei wouldn't want her to just.. sit here. During this. She knows that much, either.

"The bunnyrat... don't make a wish Sachiko. Sky Jack is right. That thing doesn't have your best intrests at heart, I don't think." she says softly.

She reaches down and pats both Momo's and Sachiko's head.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Hoshi finishes her call, and at that moment a call goes out to a relevant high official in the Japanese bureaucracy with details, asking for a quick resolution to the problem and then inviting them to dinner to discuss the fact that a certain contract is expiring soon and needs to be renegotiated.

Those two things are of course totally unrelated. Just bringing it up while they're talking.

Hoshi has full faith in her father's ability to resolve these things quickly. "Dad's putting a word in for you with some of his connections." She says softly, "I'm sure things will get better, and we'll help you out until then." The star goes to make funny faces at Sachiko again.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
Sachiko makes funny faces right back. Just a little sticking out of her tongue, really. Then she reaches up to boop the star right on the nose.

She's still hugging Momo right back, uttelry disinterested in letting go of her best friend. "I'd like that," she tells Momo honestly. "We'd be best sisterfriends forever. And then maybe I could go to dance. And you could take pictures."

She sighs, not really believing in this reality. But she does nod faintly to Reiko. "I think he is right, too," she says. "Because he's the only one ... the only one who's been truthful with me about An-chi. But if I can wish her back, shouldn't I do that?" she asks quietly. "It's so confusing and hard to decide."

Momo Akatsuki has posed:
Momo believed in the reality she proposed entirely, because it was something to hope for. "I'll take lots and lots of pictures of you dancing, and we'll stay up past eight talking about all sorts of stuff.".

Letting her attention wander now, she looked at Reiko and scrunched up her nose. "Reiko, why do you know about that? What's a whatburgerknight?".

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama softly frowns, trying not to let it slow... Momo doesn't even know the truth about Mei or about her mom right now and she's feeling terrible about it when Sachiko talks about honesty.

She frowns softly, she does honestly answer Sachiko though. "I can't answer that for you, Sachiko-chan." she says softly. "I wish I could. Hoshi here.. might have something more insightful to say. She usually does." she smiles.

She looks at Momo and shoots her an odd glance. She nrrrrgs and closes her eyes, she's being ripped apart inside.

"I know some things..." she says. "Because I'm a little older!" She says.

ugh she hopes that awful lie works.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Hoshi thinks about that question. "That depends." She says softly, "It depends on what you'd be losing in exchange. Would 'An-chi' be happy to be back if she knows what it cost you?" She genuinely doesn't know enough about wish granting bunnyrats or the girl's older sister to be able to give an answer.

And unlike Reiko, Hoshi can tell that both Momo and Sachiko can see her stars, so she thinks it's inevitable that they will learn more. "Walpurgisnacht was when a big nasty monster tried to destroy Tokyo and lots of people worked together to protect Tokyo. Some died, so that everyone else might live. If she died there, I think she'd want you to be happy and move forward. She knew what she was getting into."

The star that was booped splits into two, smaller stars. One has the shoes, the other has the nose. They start fighting in a overexcaggarated fashion that just looks like comedy, until they colide hard enough to merge back into one.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
True to Reiko's prediction, Hoshi's words give Sachiko a lot to think about. Or maybe it's the splitting stars that have her gasping in surprise and pleasure. She giggles and claps a little, but seems to have completely lost track of the conversation at hand. So pretty! So silly!

"Hey, Momo-chan," she says. "Since we don't have school for weeks, and I dunno if I'm gonna even go to the same school as you anymore, can I have your address? If I write it down I won't lose it, and then I can send you a letter or maybe my Clockwork Keepers can take me to visit you sometimes."

Momo Akatsuki has posed:
Momo replies without hesitation, spewing forth her address to Sachiko the way she'd learned it so she'd never ever forget. When she finishes she smiles at Sachiko.

However she gives a odd stare at Hoshi. "Monsters aren't real, unless they're in the closet or under the bed. Biv says those aren't real either though.".

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama has no idea how to reply to that declaration that Monsters aren't real.

"Momo..." she sighs and just shakes her head as she stands back up and sits down at the table. She looks down and crosses her arms.

She's very quiet.

"Nrg...."

"..Mei is going to kill me..." she says quietly as she slumps in the chair.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Hoshi ignores Momo's declaration that monsters aren't real. She's confident that soon enough Momo will see for real, and getting into a debate about it right now will probably just upset Reiko. She just hopes her message gets through to Sachiko.

"Anyway. We were looking for some books to read, right?" She suggests, and a second star pops into being, holding a little book and wearing glasses. "What kind of books are you three interested in?" The clown star steals the book star's glasses, who chases behind the clown star until stumbling over the edge of the table, falling down face first.

Sachiko Hayakawa has posed:
"Ack!" Sachiko says, as Momo starts spouting the address. She turns around and grabs a crayon, then hunts around for something to write on. Coming up with nothing, she holds up a finger, then runs away.

Straight towards and past the frustrated caseworker still on the phone. Sachiko doesn't slow down until she reaches the circulation desk, where she grabs a sticky paper and hastily writes down Momo's address from memory. She smiles at the lady behind the counter, then runs right back and holds the paper up to Momo for inspection. Did she get it right?

"I don't get to check out a book," she tells Hoshi. "I don't have a library card, and the Clockwork Caseworker is very strict. Maybe at my new house they'll have a big library. Although I don't really like reading very much. It's boring."

Momo Akatsuki has posed:
Momo was momentarily shocked as Sachiko ran from her hugging arms and towards the counter, but when she returns she nods at the address on the piece of sticky paper. "That's it! Now you can come visit!".

"I'd like some books about photography and frogs. I met Kaeru-sempai the other day and she talked about frogs, so I want to learn a little bit about them too.". Momo would just look at the professional photography in them though.

She eyed the stars, squinting a little and reaching to try and catch them.