Hannah Sharpe, with a convenient school excuse, has been haunting Tomoe Labs ever since last night. She looks an utter mess: bandaged about her head, arms, and waist, as well as even a few stitches! But her physical pain is nothing over her mental one.
She had been so close. It took all of her power just to secure one tiny bag. For all of her blood, anguish, and sweat, that was the only thing she could secure for the man who saved her, and whom she respected so much.
A fist slams onto the lab table before her!
"WEAK! Still too weak! Pathetic! Letting those delusional idiots beat you to a pulp, and hardly anything to show for it! He /trusted/ you, you imbecile!" She screams at herself in rage and frustration, only to groan at the pain from her own actions. Breathing hard, she grits her teeth. The woman had refused pain meds, stuck in equal amounts wrath and depression.
The fist slamming on the table might have been what attracted Takashi, or it might have been his talent for showing up at the worst times.
"You know, there were quite a lot of them." Takashi says, leaning against the doorway to this particular lab, one among many. He brushes some of his silver-white hair out of his eyes. "I mean, we're all dealing with things that we don't have records or information on." he continues, propping a foot against the other side of the door frame.
"You have a lot of physical power, that's true..." he adds with a smile. "But there's a certain strength to intellectuality, as well - Tomoe-sensei isn't as great as he is by just slamming himself into all of his obstacles."
Takashi can't stop himself from being a bit aggressive, though."Still... maybe with a little more strength on your part, the outcome would've been different."
Hannah twitches at Takashi's presence. It's not that she has anything against him. Really, anyone would be an annoyance right now.
Her head slumps. He has a point, and it infuriates her.
"It angers me to admit it, but you are correct. I thought I could face all of them, even with those distractions, but...it seems I underestimated them. Their wills and purpose are bright. Foolish reasoning of course...but somehow, such idiotic notions given them strength. I cannot deny that much." Raging Tempest forms, Hannah smirking a little.
"I have always been good at fighting. But scheming? Pursuits like that have never been my strength. All muscle and battlefield knowledge."
She stands up, turning to Takashi. "You know, pouring salt into a frustrated woman's wounds is rude, Takashi-san." Huffs Hannah, wagging a finger at him like some naughty child.
"...I wonder, then. Do you have some plan in your head? I collected a lot of combat data, at least, so there is that. The operation was not an utter failure I suppose. You were in the area I take? Pick up anything useful?" She couldn't blame him for not interfering. Chaos was already abundant.
Takashi smiles - it's a pleasant, polite, friendly smile, but it's born entirely of the knowledge that he got under her skin, despite its kind looks. "Well, first thing is first: I think you give them too much credit." he says, walking into the lab, casually setting some equipment Hannah's incredibly powerful fist had knocked over. "I was there, yes. I watched. I'd have gotten involved but... I didn't want to wound your pride by doing so." he says, as an aside. "In any case..."
"You give them too much credit. I don't doubt you wouldn't have mopped the floor with any of those girls individually." he adds, that smile still on his face as he looks at Hannah out of the corner of his eye. "Actually, I give you really good odds, with those interesting distractions of yours... on maybe up to four?" he adds. "That's your strength. Your spirit. Your power. Your dedication to a purpose. You obviously have something they don't." He says, walking back his previous insult. You have to bandage the wound after salting it, after all.
"The problem, though, is that there were many more than four. And just you. But even the failure served a purpose, as you said. I watched, as well. We have a lot of information we didn't - and that's information we wouldn't have gotten without you making such a, dare I say, ruckus?" he adds. He's revealed nothing concrete about his plans yet - better to hold as many cards as close to his chest as possible.
Thankfully, Hannah doesn't even realize it. But the tone is there, and she's half pouting half scowling.
Then she suddenly turns her head away with another huff, arms crossed. "Thinking that I would have my pride wounded over something like that..." He's absolutely right. Her eyebrow twitches. Grrrrrr!
But his words finally mollify her somewhat, and with visible effort, she straightens up. She'll have a ton of baggage to work through, but it's enough to keep her going.
"That /is/ the problem I suppose. So many defenders around these days, and all suddenly. As much as I like using pure force, I guess gathering data is a worthwhile objective too. They might lack in those areas, but quantity can prove overwhelming." Then, she shrugs.
"Find them individually, strike them, figure out what they are all capable of. Ahhh, conquering the world is such a busy task!" Managing a more normal laugh, it's a bit brittle.
Then she leans her head on a hand.
"Well, it /is/ one thing I am very good at. Anyway, any luck on your end? Homura-san is as elusive as ever. I know her civilian face now, but even then, slippery. Something to do while I recover I guess." She considers asking for those cards, but her own goals too are held tight. No, Hannah Sharpe is a fair woman.
He smiles. "Well, last time we spoke I /did/ warn you to not get too far ahead of yourself..." he adds. "In any case, as much as I've been working, I can't seem to..." he stops himself from going into overly jargonistic speech "...come up with a way I think will work to track them reliably."
He smiles. "But I think I can at least get general readings on... massive eruptions of the kind of energy Eclipse uses. The kind of energy I use. Like what happened on the school roof earlier." he adds with a smile, but this one is devious. "And that seems to attract them, or at least it did earlier, and in a recent test I performed."
"So I think if we can attract slightly smaller numbers than you did by kicking in the door of a bank... we should have the advantage. And then we can... sate our curiosity about their capabilities and the source of the strength that makes such pathetic attempts to oppose our own... But right now, you're injured. And slamming the tables that hold delicate lab equipment is unlikely to assist your recovery. So what I want you to do is contact me if you witness anything interesting, and otherwise focus on your less... punchy work for now. Until you get well enough to punch those smiling faces into the pavement like you want to."
By now Hannah isn't sure whether to swat him on the shoulder like a friend, or throw him out a window. The latter might make things difficult, and the former will likely get an odd look. So she settles for a sigh.
"Mmm. Well, that is an improvement at least. Keep me informed. I was lucky to be in the area, but a wide-ranged device capable of tracking down those 'Witches'...well, you have a point. Rest is what I need. Thankfully my mouth still works." A chuckle here, and then she's up.
"Right right! Caution and a bit of luck, and those fools will see their dreams come tumbling down! The first stepping stones to greatness. This was just a little stumble."
Hannah turns away. So much negative emotions are still burning in her heart, but at least she has a more concrete goal. And that, for such an action-oriented person, helps tremendously.
"Thanks, Takashi-san." A wave, and she's off!