2420/Don't Underestimate Yourselves

Don't Underestimate Yourselves
Date of Scene:	27 January 2017
Location:	Uminari City - Seishou Public School
Synopsis:	Miku takes Sakura back to Seishou. Doubts are shared.
Cast of Characters:	Miku Kohinata, Sakura Kinomoto

---

Miku Kohinata has posed:
Tending to small children is not exactly high on Miku's list of normal activities. This is doubly true when the small child has barely managed to tell her where to go. Nevertheless, Miku winds up on the unfamiliar grounds of Seishou Public, bearing the tiny burden in her arms.

There, she finds a bench to sit on, and lays Sakura down beside her. Pulling a spare sweater out of her bag, she places it beneath Sakura's head for a pillow, then sits down to study one of her textbooks while she waits. Surely, eventually, the small child will wake up.

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto groaned after a while, looking confused. She gave a little yawn before starting to sit up. "Where... oh. Oh wow. How long was I out for?" How far did they say it was? Twenty kilometers or something? "Did... did you drive me out here?"

Miku, secretly arms like tree trunks under her sweater. "AHHH! Oh." She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that, yes, her wand was indeed okay. She took it and smiled. "Thank you so much for your help. I... I guess I might have over did it... just a little bit." She glanced down and off to the side.

Hannah....

Miku Kohinata has posed:
Miku looks up at the groan. She sets her book down, and looks to the little girl. The sun is starting to set, already; it's been a while, certainly. "I ran," Miku replies to her honestly, offering a faint shrug. "I'm on the track team, so a little run isn't a lot. Although you were heavy, so it was a lot harder than usual."

Miku considers her for several moments, then offers her hand in inntroduction, "So. Hi. I'm Miku Kohinata, a second year high schooler at Verone Academy's School of Music."

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto blinked and smiled up at her. "Oh, ummmm, thank you! I'm Kinomoto Sakura, a fourth year at Seishou Public elementary! It's really nie to meet you! I hope we can be friends," she said with that big, adorable, sweet grin of hers that was so loving and kind. "I hope I wasn't out for too long. I really hope I didn't cause you too much trouble."

She takes the hand and shakes it, before trying to get up... and falling forward into it, having to cling. "S-sorry..."

Miku Kohinata has posed:
Miku catches Sakura as she falls into her, then pats the girl's back gently. "It's okay, Kinomoto-chan," Miku replies softly. "You've been out for a few hours, and it's going to be dark, soon, but I don't mind watching over you. I was just doing my homework while you slept. It's not a big deal."

She frowns just faintly as she looks out towards the city, mind drifting to the missing Hibiki. "I have a friend who's a lot like you," she explains. "She's brave, and strong, and just wants to protect everyone, and not need to be protected. She's friendly, cheerful, and outgoing. But there's something my friend keeps forgetting, Kinomoto-chan. Something I think you're forgetting, too. Do you know what that is?"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto sighed and sat back down, trying to recover her energy. "That I'm not alone? That I have friends who can help me?" she asked softly. "I didn't forget that. I can never forget that. I... I know that they want to help me. And... and I want to help them. But..." She wiped her eyes. "I let them help me all the time..."

"And then the moment they weren't there to save me, I... I was helpless to help myself. I... I should havee been stronger. Smarter. Then my friends wouldn't have been stolen..."

Miku Kohinata has posed:
"Mmm, those are good things to remember," Miku says, looking down to little Sakura. She smiles a little and rubs Sakura's cheek with a thumb. "I'm glad you remember them. Don't ever forget those things. But that's not what I think you are forgetting," she says softly.

"You see," Miku observes, "My friend doesn't think she's alone. She knows I'm here, and that Tsubasa-senpai is here. And she knows that there are many others who will help her. The thing that she forgets--the thing that you forget--is that there are people who worry."

Miku tilts her head a little, and her bow flops to that side. "Kinomoto-chan, if you hadn't pushed yourself so hard, you could be home with your parents already. Alex-san wouldn't have worried about you. I wouldn't have worried about you. You can do amazing things, Kionomoto-chan, and you should. This power you have," she motions to the wand, "this great responsibility is amazing, and you should use it to help people. But you have to understand your limitations. Exceed them only if you absolutely have to, because the consequences are dire, for you. You fell unconscious almost in the middle of a fight, and got left in the hands of a stranger. If I'd been a bad person, or if Alex-san, or I hadn't been there, you'd be unconscious with your wand on the ground in the middle of a busy street. And then your parents and your friends would worry about you, and who knows what would have happened.

"So for the sake of those who worry," Miku says quietly, "learn your limits, and learn how to be useful and helpful and amazing without surpassing them. It's very important, Kinomoto-chan."

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto blinked a few times and stared. Then, slowly, her eyes lowered. "I... I... you're... you're so right," she whispered softly. "I just... after... after what... what happened I just..." She rubbed her eyes. "I-I want to be... to be strong like the rest of them. I don't just want to be the... the little kid who cries or... or gets upset o-or attacked and... and needs to get... saved all the time. I want to be strong enough to protect... protect all those people who... who mean s-so much to me. They all mean so much to me... y-you know?"

Miku Kohinata has posed:
"Shhhh," Miku soothes Sakura quietly, then reaches up to ruffle the girl's hair. "I understand, Kinomoto-chan. You want to be strong and brave, and protect everyone. And that's really really admirable. You should do that. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. Not even Tsubasa-senpai, even though she's very experienced.

"You can save everyone, Kinomoto-chan," Miku continues cheerfully, "But not if you get yourself hurt. So learn your limits, okay? And if you know your limits, you can get even stronger, and then you'll be able to protect them even more."

Miku frowns a little, not at Sakura but at her own thoughts, as she dwells on Hibiki once again. "Believe me, no one understands not wanting to be helpless more than me. No one understands wishing you could save everyone. I can't even save my friend," Miku says quietly. "She has to save me. All I can do is hope to support her, and pray that she will be safe."

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto nodded, looking up at her. She cocked her head to the side. "R-really? Your... friend sounds really nice. Is... is she a magical girl too? Is she a friend of Tsubasa-chans?" Yes, even Tsubasa gets a nice name. She then sighed.

"And she's not wrong. She had to save me twice already. I'm not... as strong as the other girls. Sometimes I wonder why I was even chosen. Maybe they guy who stole the cards was right and... I can't handle them..."

Miku Kohinata has posed:
"Mmm, you might want to call her Tsubasa-senpai," Miku warns Sakura gently. "She's an idol, and much older than you, and has been a magical girl a long time." She smiles, though, as she says this.

Then she explains, "Hibiki is my friend. She's a magical girl, too; the shards of the relic Gungnir are in her chest, and when she sings it gives her power. And she's inexperienced, and foolish, and jumps in when she shouldn't, and nearly gets herself killed all the time. I'm so worried about her," Miku says to Sakura.

"And now I'm going to worry about you, too," Miku says, only a little sternly, "because you seem to act just like Hibiki. You can't take on the world alone, Kinomoto-chan. You need to practice and train. The other girls are stronger because they're older and more experienced. You'll get there. But you didn't learn to walk the first day you were born, did you?"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto cringed and lowered her eyes, her wand laying across her lap. "r-right. Tsubasa-senpai. I'm sorry..." she mumbled softly. And then she said those other things and she kind of sunk into her chair. "O-oh. I'm sorry. I... I never meant to... I'm sorry..." she mumbled gently.

"I-I don't normally... t-there were so many of them. I... I had to do something b-but I couldn't do them normal ways. Arrow wouldn't be enough. K-Kero-chan said it was technically possible. I'd just never... done it before. And I had to try sometime, right?" She gave a sigh. "Sorry... I'll try to be more careful..."

Miku Kohinata has posed:
"Promise?" Miku asks Sakura quietly, giving the girl a serious look.

But even if Sakura doesn't answer right away, Miku leans forward to give her a hug. "You're very brave, Kinomoto-chan. I'm glad to know you. But it's getting late and your parents must be worried. Why don't I walk you home, okay?"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto nodded. "I promise. I'll be more careful from now on, okay?" She then gave her a hug back. "Thank you, Kohinata-sempai," she said with a smile, before getting to her feet and... almost falling over, but barely catching herself on the other girl. "You're really nice. I'm sure whereever your friend is, she's thinking about you, too!"

Miku Kohinata has posed:
Okay, that hurt. Miku grimaces a little and looks away, forcing herself to swallow the pain of worry for Hibiki. Is she thinking about Miku? The green-haired girl isn't quite so sure. If she was thinking about her, why hasn't she called? Why didn't she tell her where she was going? Just a cryptic note that she was going to miss school for a while, because she's 'training'. Genjuro kept reassuring Miku that Hibiki was fine. He kept telling her she'd be home soon. But not knowing is tearing poor Miku's heart asunder.

With a ragged breath, Miku tries to pull herself back together, then smiles bravely as she can for Sakura. "You're going to be amazing," she says to Sakura, before grabbing her book and putting it back in her bag. Slipping off the bench, she picks up her sweater-turned-pillow and folds it over her bag, then offers Sakura her hand. "Come on, Sakura-chan. When we get to your house I'll give you my phone number, too, in case you ever need help. I'll always come, or send someone else if I can't, okay?"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto nodded, grinning and moving up besides the girl. She then shook her head. "Oh, I'm not anything special. Now, if you wanna see someone really cool and amazing, my friend Haruna-sempai is awesome! She's so nice and kind and has her own business, even thoguh she's just a kid! Oh oh! But Spark-sensei is the best fighter ever and she's beenteaching me! Oh, but Ikiko-kun and Ayana-kun have the coolest doggy ears! Oh, and cape masked man can do all kings of things! Oh and..." Oh gosh. It was true. Sakura had -all the friends-

Miku Kohinata has posed:
"And you have a wand, and some cards," Miku says as she starts to walk Sakura home, "and with them you can summon incredible powers. Don't underestimate yourself, either, Kinomoto-chan." She's smiling, now; heart a little warmed by Sakura's hero-worship of her friends. "Just don't push yourself past your limits, either. So which way is it to your house?"

Sakura Kinomoto has posed:
Sakura Kinomoto nodded and then gave a little yawn. "It's, ummm, down this way. Oh, if you want, I'm sure daddy will let you stay for dinner. Daddy is the best cook ever! Just, ummm, don't tell him about this, okay? No one in my family knows anything about magic or any of these things and... well, I don't want them to worry. They can't really... fight any of it, you know? And if they knew I was... I think they'd worry a whole lot. I'll be careful though, I promise!"

Miku Kohinata has posed:
Dinner. When all of this started, hours ago, Miku had been on her way to get okonomiyaki at Flower. Her stomach grumbles at the mention, and she smiles at Sakura. "He's going to wonder how you know a girl from Verone," she notes, "but if he really will let me stay for dinner, I'm sure not going to turn him down. Don't worry, Kinomoto-chan, I won't tell him anything."