270/Do you fight for your Princess, too

Do you fight for your Princess, too
Date of Scene:	09 August 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Hotel Augusta - Grand Ballroom
Synopsis:	Guardian Hino needs to fill a crystal with someone's magical heart for Princess Runealy, and Tuxedo Kamen has the bad luck to be visible in the wrong place at the wrong time. Spoilers: ouch.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Hinote Kagari

---

Hinote Kagari has posed:
This evening started out with Hinote scrambling home from a late practice session in Seishou. In fact. he stayed late because he's been missing and blowing off a lot of reherasals. Balancing a magical life and a real life is hard sometimes. He's starting to wonder if he should even bother continuing clubs. Runealy placed the return to Waldia in measured /months/. Not a year, not two years. A few more months. Just weeks. Will clubs matter when he leave Earth? Not very much....

And still. He can't dissapoint everyone by not partcipating. And he knows what Runealy would say if he even brought it up to her. A big. resounding, unhappy 'No!'. She really does care that other people are happy. Most of the time. When she's not calling herself disparaging remarks.

He's looking at the moon over the harbor for a moment when-----

In shilloute. He watches the figure of a cape and a top hat jump over across the top of the Augusta's ballroom dome. He pauses. Was that.. Tuxedo Kamen? He knows a little of what went on between him and Runealy. But not the whole picture. Just that there was an arrangement, but that something went wrong with it recently.

Hinote slips into an alleyway and slips into henshin as Guardian Hino, via chanting the oath. 'To protect justice... I am Guardian Hino.'. He doesn't yell it out. But soon, Hino is tailing Tuxedo Kamen. He is holding the edge of his cape as to prevent it from making an obvious sound in the breeze this high up as he jumps one rooftop over away from the Augusta's domed fancy ballroom. He jumps into the air, and draws his sword. He grits his teeth as he comes down at an angle.

The next thing that happens is that the two crash down from the glass dome down onto the shining floor of the ballroom. Glass following, falling like bits of sparkle dust onto the ground from the ceiling.

Guardian Hino lands on his feet. He has no doubt Tuxedo Kamen will be able to do the same. It's why his sword is pointed out, and held forward at him immediatly. It is not on fire.

"Tuxedo Kamen." he says. "Is it true you fight for a princess?" he asks.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
And here Mamoru was just taking a shortcut home, not having even fought today, and basically never patrolling. Skill: Abuse of henshin +1.

This'll learn him.

Out of absolutely nowhere, there's a sudden impact from behind, and all Tuxedo Kamen has time to do is whip up his cape in front of him so that he doesn't get a faceful of glass. Then he and Guardian Hino are falling amid shards of glass, and he shoves roughly away from the other boy midair, twisting himself around like a cat to land soundlessly on his feet in a defensive stance.

Moonlight glitters off the glass shards as they fall to the floor like a rain of sharp music.

He sees a sword, and he tips his hat with one impeccably gloved hand as he produces a cane from thin air and holds it en garde. "Not your princess. Mine keeps her promises," he says in a light tone that's tinged with the slightest hint of salt. "I see yours hasn't wasted any time. Are you here to cut me down or drain me dry?"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hino's longsword isn't a ridicolously huge blade. It's a realistic longsword. But it also lights on fire and has a ridicolous magic gem in it's hilt, and overall super orante. It also isn't on fire yet. "We were told of this deal. She said it was up to us if we wanted to obey it." he says.

"I was willing to, until the other night." he says. "We are not her yes men. She did not command me to seek you out. We are sworn friends. Not sworn servants." he says.

"But everyday, when I return to my princess. I am always returning empty handed with an empty crystal." he says. "Because I refuse to assault the protectors of this city at underhanded moments after attacks from people like the fellow with the dark mask." he says. "And she continues to worry. To continue to cry. To spend sleepless nights awake. As far as I've known her. I have not seen her laugh. I have not seen her smile. She does not feel safe." Safe. A word that has a specific meaning in Waldian parlance. He understands it now.

"Tuxedo Kamen. My purpose tonight stands two fold. I will not return empty handed tonight. And I shall play the part of a villian to further ends."

His sword ignites.

"Tuxedo Kamen. Tonight we fight for the honor of our princesses." he says.

He dashes forward, his orange-red cape flowing after him as he aims to swing forward from the right, the sword leaving a fire trail in it's wake.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Hah! Is that when she told you she'd be going after the ONE PERSON I volunteered to stand in place for, without a fight? That she wouldn't have to hurt someone additionally to get what she needed if only she came to me instead of putting Sailor Moon through that agony?"

Tuxedo Kamen's eyes blaze bright in the moonlight, outlined by that brilliant, glimmering mask, and his teeth are bared, white in the darkness. Oh yeah, he's still angry about this, even as he seems to stand his ground against the oncoming fire-sword train--

--and he spins on his heel out of the way of the onslaught, twisting his wrist and angling the cane down and away, so that the flaming blade skims off it and deflects away. There's more weight to it than he was quite expecting and he staggers slightly, but it doesn't stop him from spinning again to whip the cane at his attacker's back as Hino passes.

"He that does good, having the unlimited power to do evil, deserves praise not only for the good which he performs, but for the evil which he forbears--" Kamen quotes, almost spitting the words out. "The honor of my princess has nothing to do with my victory or defeat! Her honor is inviolate, and woe betide you should you think me given to misstep if it's questioned! I would help-- so many of us would help, if only the folly of your princess's secrecy did not forbid explanations!"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Guardian Hino smacked on the back with a cane. Hino was already treating the cane as a deadly weapon- the hard hit to his back just confirmed it, is all. Tuxedo Kamen basically says his Princesses honor has nothing to do with it. Hino doesn't seem to agree. But he keeps the notion to himself.

"I know, Tuxedo Kamen, that things would be easier if we could just tell you. I would love nothing more than to tell you everything, I've saw, and seen since I've met the Princess." he says. "..and why what we're doing. Must be done. But I made a promise. I took an oath. I will not betray this promise." he strikes forward again, trying to get Tuxedo Kamen to block his attack with his cane. He then calls out...

"BURST IGNITION!". Fire rages out of the gem on the hilt, trying to shoot past that cane and into Tuxedo Kamen.

The fire doesn't seem to damage the floor, or the walls of the lovely ballroom. It still burns if it washes across Kamen.

"I know that we are loathed. But I can't make that better." he says.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Of course he blocks with the cane; the words Hino is grinding out at him aren't so easily blocked, and the echoes of the frustrating sentiments he had to listen to Runealy pour out a few days ago make his irritation ramp up considerably. "I KNOW you need energy! And by god I know how much it hurts when you take it-- there has to be a way for people to GIVE it to you, and then it won't hurt at all, and she can stop cryi--"

(BURST IGNITION!)

The irritation, the words, the pure frustration of the situation that Runealy and her people have put themselves in, and the wreck Kamen feels it's making of their chances to succeed-- the fact that his gambit backfired, and one of her guardians came to take his magic from him again instead of the princess herself doing it and crying about it again and maybe thinking harder about maybe finding another solution--

These things conspire to make him caught completely off guard by a wash of heat and flame.

He disappears in the blaze for a second, and the pressing weight against Hinote's sword abruptly vanishes with a swift *shinnng* of metal blade against... metal blade? The flames billow out and dissipate and Tuxedo Kamen is nowhere to be seen, unless Hinote should happen to look up:

The boy in the formal dinner wear and cape has leapt up, tattered from where fire ate silk and smoking from where it smoulders, blackened where white's been scorched, and actual anger behind his blue eyes now. He's bearing down on Hinote with a gleaming greatsword, his hat is gone, his mask is luminous, and his face is in silhouette with the moon behind him.

"You're not LOATHED, you're BEING DUMB!" he cries out.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Guardian Hino sees the incoming attack, he raises his sword and attempts to block. This doesn't work. Hino is sent straight down to the floor for a moment. Tuxedo Kamen seems to be strong. It's a powerful enough hit that he has to use his sword to lift himself to his feet. jumping backwards. "Your conviction is strong, Tuxedo Kamen. I can feel it in every hit. I can see why Sailor Moon never worries when you're around." he says. He's breathing a bit heavier still. How hard did Tuxedo Kamen hit him anyways? "and do you know what?" he says. "You're right." he says through a little catch up on his breath. This fight is taxing. "But you won't find the selfpity here of a weary, worn Princess today." he says.

He points his sword at Tuxedo Kamen again.

Guardian Hino fires off a blaze of fire from his sword, licking from the tip. No attack name. Just fire. He then crashes foward, trying to land another hit with the sword proper. These are weak strikes. He's trying to throw Tux off his guard, before he points his sword. Firey wisps attempt to engulf Tuxedo Kamen. "FIRE BLAZER!" he calls out as a collum of flame begins to attempt to engulf Tuxedo Mask.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tux-- no. It's Mamoru Chiba reacting here: he's clearly and cleanly both offbalance and a little sick over the amount of rage his frustration turned into, by the amount of power he put into the blow; he takes a step back, then another and another, as Guardian Hino gets up heavily, and he looks at the cane in his hand. Hino is speaking, and the words don't register, they just fill his buffer for a moment to be examined later.

"I didn't--" he starts to say, and then Hino's coming at him again, with fire, with the sword, with threat and with implacable determination.

The first blast of fire glances off his hastily raised cape, and Tuxedo Kamen blocks and parries several blows of the sword with the cane, edging back, obviously on the defensive, equally obviously no longer mentally in the fight.

When Fire Blazer comes, it hits him square on and it's only his armor-- his devastated formalwear, his cape-- that keep him from getting completely toasted. He makes a small sound; it's a much larger sound that's choked back, and he scrambles away from the funnel of flame as soon as he can find his footing.

Burned. Charred and burned and already in pain. "Hold," he chokes out, and a cough is a spasm, and he drops his cane. "Hold!! Take it-- I'm not fighting to defend her, I have no reason to hurt you-- take it! Damn it-- leave me with Dr. Shelby please--"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Guardian Hino lowers his sword. He's a little ragged himself. It's only when the sword is lowered that his arm begins to shake. He puts his sword back into it's scabbard. It's better to not be holding it right now. He closes his eyes for a moment. For a moment there's a pause before he reopens his eyes. He's seriously going to do it. It feels wrong. This man... protects people. He throws himself in front of people. But he can't continue to return to Runealy empty handed. He's not afraid of being seen as a bad friend, or fear of effectivly, having his oath taken away. But he wants Runealy to know she isn't alone. Almost all energy they've collected... has come from Runealy's own actions. He needs to act. He pulls out that blue barrier crystal and looks at it. He kneels down to Tuxedo Kamen. "I'm sorry." he says.

He touches the tip of the gem to Kamen's chest, and closes his eyes. "Transfer."

The gem begins to do it's gut wrenchingly painful work. He keeps it steady. When either, the gem is filled--- or he's taken what Tuxedo Kamen can live with being taken. At the same time, a hand fishes for Tux's pocket. He's seeking his phone. He has to have one. Right?

That should have this Shelby's number in it.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
When Hino lowers his sword, Tuxedo Kamen semi-falls: he's on his way down anyway, everything hurts, burns are the second-worst, and the worst is yet to come. He shuts his eyes behind his mask-- still pristine, the only thing about him that is-- and just waits.

He hears Hinote approach and kneel next to him, he hears the apology, and he smiles bitterly but gives no answer. When he wakes up, he thinks, at least no one will be angry with him for not fighting. Silver linings.

This time he knows what to expect. His face contorts but he's silent throughout; the blue crystal is suffused with an incandescent golden glow, bright enough to turn the moonlit ballroom to daytime once the crystal's neared full-- thankfully, the boy passes out part way through, and at least doesn't feel it anymore.

The Tuxedo Flip-phone is, in fact, in his pocket; Dr. Shelby's number is, in fact, in his contacts. Even more helpfully, so is her address. It seems he expects this sort of thing to happen to him, for some reason.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Guardian Hino would had just called. But there's an address. When he withdraws his crystal when he's done. He safetly puts it away on his person. He then scoops Tuxedo Kamen off the dance floor- though not in the way people typically like being scooped off onto a dance floor. He jumps upwards, because magical knight powers lets him jump up the same broken skylight they entered from.

Within a trip, Tuxedo Kamen would find himself on Iris's doorstep. Hino would ring the doorbell. Hide to make sure he's taken in. And then...only then. Does he leave.

He has a mixture of feelings when he begins dashing away. He feels accomplished. He can go back to the store with energy. He's proven to himself he can do this.

The downside of course. Is that he has proven he can do this.

He finds a safe spot to hop out of his henshin, and begins the walk to the store.