1996/Worries and Wishes

Worries and Wishes
Date of Scene:	03 October 2016
Location:	Uminari City - Juuban Avenue - South
Synopsis:	Haruna reaches out to Kunzite for aid since Hannah seems to be on the cusp of doing something rash. They talk about wishes and recompence.
Cast of Characters:	Haruna Kurosawa, Kunzite

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Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa texts Kunzite. Hey, let's talk. Meet me at the old, closed diner by the beach. Just come in the door~

Old closed diner by the beach. Yup.

Kunzite probably understands why when he actually gets to it. There's a sign out front. It reads: 'Gullwing Coffee - Coffee Soon!' then underneath: 'Gullwing LLC' in small print. There's obvious construction going on, but there's no workers here now. They're not working today.

Haruna Kurosawa is sitting on an old stool near an old counter in the diner. Corvus is on her shoulder, the seagull apparently tapping at a mascot sized cellphone. (Once again, it usually isn't good for one's brain to question where mascots get tinier mascot sized things.)

The interior is going through a strip and remodel. There's water damage. Lots of it. This is most likely damage from things like Walpurgisnacht.

The floor is currently first it seems-- it's bare, but clean, wood in the back area- it seems the kitchen/preparation area is being done first, then the dining area, then the exterior.

Haruna Kurosawa taps the counter a little. Perhaps in boredom, or perhaps nervously. It's hard to tell. She is however, biting her bottom lip.

Kunzite has posed:
Old closed diner by the beach. There are worse places to meet. Certainly there are places where Corvus being in on the conversation would draw more attention, so it's a good choice in that regard.

Once Kunzite sees the sign, it's a good choice in another.

He arrives in more or less the outfit he was wearing at the barbecue. Jeans, plain white button-down shirt, heavy metallic watch (that is not a watch) on his left wrist. He inclines his head toward Haruna and Corvus, studying the damaged open space. Maybe it was Walpurgisnacht; there was a lot of flooding then. Maybe it was later. The later part certainly didn't help any. But as damage from the Dark Kingdom goes, water issues are ... relatively mild.

"Good location," he notes aloud, with his usual regard for words like 'hello.'

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa looks up and turns the stool to face Kazuo. It squeeeeeaks and creeeeeks due to the rust. She smiles. "Hey!" she says as she waves. But she doesn't smile long. "Yup! We're gonna be doing fancy iced coffee stuff in the summer, and hot coffee in the winter. Well. I mean. We're doing both. But. You know. Also. Pastries and stuff and the like." she says.

"Place was a good deal for it's location, because you know. Fixer-upper." she says.

"Neph hooked me up with that deal." she nods matter of factly.

She crosses her arms. "I have a feeling I know what you want to talk to me about." she says. "Given I know exactly where she went after leaving the damn hospital early that day." she says crossing her arms. "To get healed by Mamoru.".

Yeah sometimes she wishes Hannah would just stay in the hospital for a change, but ugh, you can't keep her still for longer than a few hours sometimes.

"So what did she tell you guys?" she asks. "I mean. Hannah." she says.

Kunzite has posed:
Neph hooked her up with the place. "Good to hear he pulled his head out of video games long enough to be useful." Saying it in those terms keeps Kunzite from having to acknowledge that Nephrite's been able to make video games useful. He needs to get out and stretch his other skills now and again.

As it is, Kazuo crosses the floor toward her, leaning a little against the counter -- warily, given that it may or may not be inclined to hold up against pressure. Further down it. Out of arm's reach. Probably not out of Corvus launch-and-swoop range, granted.

The hospital -- that takes him a moment to parse, but he catches it. "Seven cartridges," he replies. "A bad week. Nonspecified Puella politics. It's not what she said; it's her behavior patterns. She's been busier; more tired; under more emotional stress. As a general rule, not just in that incident."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa head tilts. "Okay. So she didn't tell you guys what she told me." she says softly. "Not surprising. I know about the Cartridges, and the Puella Politics." she says. "WPS watches the Puella Politics carefully, usually. Not always." she says.

She frowns. "Look. What's said here. Is between , you and me, and potentially Mamoru, but this needs to be on the downlow." she takes a deep breath.

"Hannah has... really... really lost her patience with Eclipse now. Something about the Puella stuff didn't sit right with her and she's upset."

"Considering that, only weeks earlier and heck even for months- even I couldn't get her to budge on the issue, It's a big deal, you know?" she asks.

"I know she's going to do something rash- She asked me 'So, Haruna, if an ally teams up with your enemy.. is your ally really an ally?'."

"I'm not. Really worried about Hannah." she admits. "Hannah's strong. And she has me backing her up. I made her promise that. And she has friends who'll help her if she wants out. She knows that." she says.

"Part of why I'm making.. this." she motions to the diner around this. "Is so that she and I have something when she ditches the Big-E and probably loses WPS in the process." she nods.

"I'm more worried. About mom and dad. I mean. Hannah's mom and dad." she says. "Her family." she says.

"Eclipse. You know. They don't exactly. Play nice."

Kunzite has posed:
"They don't," Kazuo agrees, calm and flat. "And while Mamoru may not have to worry about hostages, other people do."

He sets a hand on the counter, letting his fingers spread there. A physical object, a visible interruption of any magic he might have been trying to conjure. "I can think of several things Eclipse might have done that might have upset her. I've only seen proof of one. But the specifics are not the important part of this.

"I wanted to speak with you to make certain that you knew that you had people to call on, if you needed them. It sounds as if others have already done that; if they have, good. Either way. Let me make it explicit: that goes for 'if you need people to watch over her family' -- or yours, for that matter -- as much as if you need people to be involved more directly."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa frowns. "I haven't seen my parents since... well. Aki's memorial service. Years back. When... we thought she was dead." she says softly. "-and they live a few areas over anyways. Me and my parents. We're not on. Good terms." she says silently.

"--and Aki's a Precure like me and can take care of herself... but. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have someone check on her." she says. "But she doesn't need a constant watch."

"Yeah. I need. Help. Getting people to check on her family." she says quietly. "Watching. Making sure." she says softly.

"That kind of stuff." she says. "Just you know. Discreet if possible." she says and sighs. "These past two months have been a roller coaster." she laments.

"Lots of stuff to think about." she says.

"I need to talk to. Some of the Puellas. About. Wishes. Soon. I guess." she says.

Kunzite has posed:
The news about Haruna's disconnection from her own parents is met with a brief, noncommittal nod. Kunzite had said, after all, that Mamoru didn't need to worry about hostages. 'Not on good terms' runs rampant, one way or another.

"We can arrange something," Kazuo says, casual, neutral. When she ads 'discreet if possible,' he amends, "I won't send Nephrite." Not in person, anyhow. "The interesting part will be trying not to alarm any system Hannah's setting up herself, of course. But that can be dealt with."

Her statement about talking to the Puellas gains another brief nod, this time amended. "Kyouko Sakura's joined Mamoru's guard, so she can be reached through us, if you think her instincts on the subject would be valuable. If you want analysis, of course, Homura Akemi is still the better choice." And if Haruna wants miracles, Madoka is best of all. But that name goes unspoken, both obvious and in some ways ever so slightly terrifying.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa nods. "See..." she says. "Puellas and... Blue's Precures. We have something in common. And that's. We both get a wish for our 'service'." she says quietly. "It's not something us Precure talk a lot about. But. When you see us collect the cards. Well. Each card brings us closer to that wish." she says quietly.

"My PreCard Decor is full. It means I've got the complete set." she says quietly.

"It means I've earned my wish." she says.

"In theory..it's limitless in potential." she says quietly. "But Blue-sama always gives us a warning."

"The wrong wish can create just as much misfortune as fortune, just as much sadness as happiness, just as much strife as peace." she says.

"For example. If I had this wish many months back... I could had just wished the Dark Kingdom away. Just. Vanish. In an instant." she says.

"But."

"Then Mamoru would had lost you four. Sailor Moon wouldn't have done what she did. Maybe some other new force would come up to take it's place that was WAY worse." she says.

"That's the kind of stuff Blue means. He warns us away from stuff like. Using it to solve a problem for us, because we can't be bothered. Or for selfish reasons. Or anything that'd force someone to change." she says.

"The wish isn't like the rat's though. Blue-sama doesn't even talk about it until after you've accepted becoming a Pretty Cure-- it's... optional. Some Precure choose not to collect the PreCards. Those are the Precure you see without a partner. Like Corvus. My sister's like that. But Tide's always kinda been like that." she says quietly.

"But when I make my wish. I want to make sure it's the right one, and I want to know how others, who have wished for things... how it made them feel. Maybe what they'd asked for differently in retrospect." she says softly.

"Sorry. Just. That's been. The other major thing on my mind. And you're here. And listening." she says.

Kunzite has posed:
Wishes. Miracles. It's difficult, sometimes, to tell the difference between the two. Perhaps a miracle is just a wish made with an intuitive understanding of the consequences --

There's an instant that hints at something deeper, there, but Kunzite draws his attention deliberately away from his own thoughts and centers it on Haruna again.

"How their wishes went wrong," he says quietly. "And how they went right. Homura would indeed be your most likely source, there; she's seen more than one iteration of events, and may have seen some Puella who made different wishes across different histories. Where the patterns lay. Whether they could be escaped."

He draws a breath; lets it out, slow. "The Puella usually don't take -- often don't have, to begin with -- so much time to examine their choices. You have an advantage over them there. And on the other hand ... you have a temptation that they had less of."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa nods. "I heard it depends. Kyubey sometimes gives them time. Or. He takes advantage of a very terse, timed, urgent situation. WPS deals with a lot of Puella Magi." she says softly. "Homura and Madoka's company is the one doing the remodeling you're seeing." she says motioning to the work going on.

"So yeah. I'll ask her. If I'm able to get a good time to ask." she says quietly.

"There's a secret to this place. I'm having them build a small, magically 'safe' area below this joint." she says. "I..." she says.

"Well. When. Corvus was trapped. The first time. When I was Scorn. Virtue was unable to help me, because, well. My powers were still pretty much bad dark energy juju." she says. "It wasn't hurting me. It was affecting my mood. But I hadn't been attached to it very long." she says. "But. I had no choice but to kind of. Go back to Eclipse at the time, when I was Scorn. Who did. Have resources and things to keep me from say.... becoming overwhelmed with it over time. Stuff like that. But what hurt most was. There was literarly no other alternative at the time." she says.

"I'm going to try to make a safe place. For people like that. That want to change. Give another option." she says. "One I didn't have that just led to me being kidnapped and brainwashed and let back loose on the world." she says.

She sighs and crosses her arms. "Right. So. I need help. Watching Hannah's parents. Maybe check in on my sister every so often. That should be easy, she lives in my old dorm in Infinity."

She sort of nods. "Thank you. For your help in that. By the way." she says.

Kunzite has posed:
Kunzite follows her gesture, actually turning his head to do it. "Good choice," he says. "Mamoru hired them for our renovations, and we've been pleased with the results so far." Including the defensive elements -- which mean that when she says 'magically "safe"', he can give a slow, understanding nod.

And her explanation wins another. "That's related to what Mamoru's trying to do," he says quietly. "You know that already. Providing a place where people can, and are expected to, just talk. Trying to encourage enough chance of contact that people who aren't themselves dedicated to the darkness might begin to see other possibilities, and might have somewhere to go to investigate them where they won't need to fear being turned away. But the step beyond that -- that's what you're doing. And if anything, that's needed more."

A moment's pause, and he reconfirms, "We can help with Hannah's parents, and coordinate with anyone else who helps there. And Mamoru and Nephrite and Zoisite attend Infinity; they may be able to check in with your sister from time to time -- though if the dorms are single-sex, that might be more suited to one of the female students. Not impossible for us, but not as easy."

There's an instant's flicker of something like a quiet smile. "We owe the pair of you enough; lending a hand with problems you're too busy to deal with personally is the least we can do."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa shakes her head. "Infinity Dorms are like tiny apartments. Just walk up and knock/ring the bell." she says. "I live up with Hannah in her swankier dorm. Has multiple rooms." she says. "Which is another reason I'm not worried about Aki. She's just halfway a building down." she says.

"But yeah. Please. Thank you." she says.

"And yeah, they do great work!" she says.

She shakes her head. "Don't feel that you guys owe me anything." she says. "I'm not... holding grudges about old suff." she says. "I don't like holding grudges. They make me feel like a butt in the end. Even if sometimes they're justified." she sighs.

She shakes her head. "Um. How are. You. And the others doing anyways?" she asks. "Still working things out? Settled down?" she asks.

Kunzite has posed:
"Not holding grudges on your end is one thing. One that's appreciated, mind you. But -- doing what we can to make up for what we were used to do is another." Kunzite's eyes crease slightly at the corners. "Apartment rules, after all. 'Clean up your own mess.'"

... and redirecting Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber into Hannah's face is not the worst thing he did to her, back then.

Her question prompts him to lift his hand from the counter again, but the gesture he makes with it is so level that there's no possibility of it summoning magic. "To some extent. Mamoru's doing much better. The others are coping with classes, which is giving them at least a semblance of exposure to normal life again. They've by and large found some sort of temporary balance to get their breath in. More permanent grounding -- that will take time. I suspect you've seen for yourself that Nephrite's doing the best in that regard. His lady helps a great deal; she's good to him, and kind. Moon is helping with the others. Largely by being herself at them, whirlwind that she is. It's hard to be gloomy and uncertain when it's all you can do to keep your feet."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa nods. "Right. Not that I'm turning away the help." she smirks.

She nods. "Yeah. I singled out Neph specfically because. You know. Stuff. I wanted him to be sure I wasn't gonna haul off and boop him in the snoot." she says shaking a fist. "But then he offered to use what little pull he has left with the Sanoujin name to help me out with this stuff." she says.

She sighs and nods. "Normalcy helps. I mean. Interacting with everyday things. I was a mess for a bit when I was suddenly 'not Scorn' and the first thing like. Corvus did was make me go to this game contest at the crown. Like. Three days after that mess. Ugh." she says.

"Now it's all second nature to me." she smiles.

"Um. Thanks. For your Time. Btw. Kunzite." she says softly. "I appreciate it a lot." she says.

"Please, let me know if you need any information. I'm just a text away. Or. I can make Corvus be a carrier pigeon!"

Corvus hrmphs.

"I'm kidding." she laughs.

"Anyways. I need to. Get back to work." she says.

"Um. Do you want anything before you leave? I mean. I don't. Have anything here yet. But. There's like a box of donuts in the kitchen from yesterday." she says sheepishly.

Kunzite has posed:
Kunzite nods back to her, straightforward, at the interaction with everyday things. "The first thing Mamoru made us do," he says, "after Beryl and her demon patron were gone, was help rebuild a house damaged by Walpurgisnacht. I'm too old for classes -- so I deal with grocery shopping, instead. Small things, solid things, help."

Nothing she doesn't know already. But confirming that it isn't just her -- that's something she can use, for that magically secure place she has hidden away, and for what she wants to do with it.

"Thank you," he says gravely in turn to the mention of texting. "If you need anything yourself, ask. We're still sorting out where we fit. But Mamoru's always had contacts; sometimes we may have information you won't have through WPS. And if anything happens with Hannah -- you know that, already."

He glances at Corvus at the mention of pigeons; there's a faint glitter of amusement in his eyes at the reaction. Of course Corvus isn't a pigeon. They're entirely different forms of scavenger.

To which end: "I won't deny you your donuts," he says. "I'm old enough I actually have to exert effort to burn off that much sugar. Enjoy them while they're consequence-free. And good luck with your work. I'll be interested to see what you make of this place. This country is obsessed with terrible coffee; someone who did something good with it would be very welcome indeed." ... someone has Opinions about coffee, apparently. He bows to Haruna, solemn, and then to Corvus, before pacing across the floor to take his leave.