Takashi Agera is in a hospital. And everything hurts. And his mind is full of strangeness due to being clipped by Moon Healing Activation. But mostly, he's just upset. Angry. Enraged. At pretty much the world, but also a selection of the people who inhabit it.
He tries to sit up, again - eliciting another groan of pain and the sound of him FLUMPHing back against the hospital bed.
He looks over to the table beside him. They removed his devices (not knowing what they were) and placed them on a table beside him. Eiszapfen in its charm form is silent. Axion, however, bids him to relax and heal. There's a card there, too. Takashi picks it up.
It's from one of his classmates. A girl he barely knows. Not Madoka. He glares at it. It's just a meaningless gesture, and he knows he'll probably get many more. Meaningless, worthless sympathy from people who know nothing of him.
He rips it down the middle, rips it again, throws the peices into the air where they flutter down. Where did he go so wrong. Everything was fine. And now he's the one injured. He's the one who unequivocably lost a fight. That same glare moves from the card to Eiszapfen, like it's a metaphor. He picks it up and hurls it at the door in rage.
Whack!
"OW!"
"Ta-kun. That's /not/ how you greet people!" Comes the smiling visage of one Hannah Sharpe as she drags in a pair of canines. The first, of course, being a familiar siberian husky that woofs at the bedridden young man.
It's the second that's likely looking far less canine-ish right now.
"What happened? It's not like you to end up here. That's my job, I thought!" Grin! When in doubt, try to raise her lab partner's spirits.
Then she puts the tossed Device on the table once again.
"Come on in here, foxy!"
Ayana was still debating just how to explain everything to Takashi. So while Hannah charged on in despite flying objects and Takashi's anger, the foxgirl remained in the hallway, nervously. WHen Hannah calls her in, however, Ayana peers around the corner of the doorway..
"Taka-kun," she mumbles quietly as she studies him from the distance. "Why are you hurt?"
There's concern in her voice, and it's quite genuine. But it may not feel genuine, given for the first time since he created her, Takashi cannot actually feel Ayana's emotions.
Takashi looks up from his bed. Normally, having Hannah and Ayana (and Boris!) barge in on him would be a time for smiling and smalltalk, but he's just in a lot of pain. Wether the balance of that pain is emotional or physical is up for debate.
He does manage to get out a "Well, at least when I get injured I get visited by beautiful ladies, which is more than most guys can say." comment, because even in pain he is still Takashi and a certain level of flattery comes naturally to him.
He looks at Ayana, confused for a moment. He also doesn't know how to say it. So he decides to blunt the affect of the story. "I had to use my new henshin because there were witnesses, and it's not as powerful as my Midchildan one... and..."
He's not going to say he lost. Unwilling, or maybe even unable. "It didn't go great." he says. There's another side-eyed glare at Eiszapfen.
There's a concerned look to Ayana. A familiar not being able to sense her master far away was frightening enough. But having to ask this close? Boris and Hannah share a frown.
Which quickly is shoved aside in favor of a smile at Takashi.
"Maybe you should spar with me some time with your new Device, then! That way, you'll get used to resting in hospitals, get your butt handed to you by beautiful ladies, and /then/ get visited by them!" Griiiin. Oh yes, she's screwing with him now.
She grows serious soon enough though as she finds a chair, and grabs one for Ayana.
"Don't get too eaten up about it, though. I know you. Your ego is probably more hurt than any part of your body, right? You're used to fighting at distance, did you really expect to not get beaten at some point while you're adjusting? You'll get better at it, don't worry!" Hannah's clearly going for the 'break him down then build him up' solution to angry Takashi's.
"Either way, I'm glad you're mostly in one piece. Need anything? I brought some snacks and stuff." There's a bag and a cooler set nearby, filled with some of his favorites. Likely gotten with Ayana's help!
Then she reaches over to Ayana's shoulder and squeezes gently.
"Who'd you get in a fight with?"
Ayana licks her lips and steps inside, slinking guiltily towards the chair Hannah has pulled out for her. "New henshin?" she asks curiously as she takes a seat. "I didn't know you had a new henshin. Or a new device."
Ayana leans forward th peer at the device, then loosk back to Takashi. "I'm glad you're mostly okay. I'm sorry I didn't come to protect you like I should have."
Takashi looks down. There's a lot of what Hannah's saying that's spot on. "I might take you up on that offer, Miss White." he says, using her Not Very Secret codename with a half smile. And yeahm his ego is even more bruised than his body. His body is pretty bruised too - though as much from the actual combat with Kyouko as the near brush with Moon Healing Escalation.
"Snacks are good." he adds. Then, after a pause. "I just expected better of myself. It was that Kyouko Sakura girl - but she'd been doused in negative energy or something. You could feel it radiating off her. She was really after me."
Takashi doesn't have the heart to explain he took that form for the first time after Ayana was chased off for attacking Madoka. "It's... new." he says to her. "It gives me more options when I can't become Riventon." he says. Then, to Ayana. "I don't think it would've mattered if you had. You probably would've just gotten hurt. I'm kinda glad you didn't come. But I'm surprised it took you so long to make it here."
There's a very clear look of disgust on his face. "I think Chiba took me here."
Hannah claps her hands.
"Great! You'll enjoy it! You need to work out more anyway, it'd be good for you!"
/Oh/.
"Yeeeeeah, she does that to people. Beats them up, stabs them, goes after you really hard..." Hannah might just sound a bit respectful of the woman. Then her brow rises.
Blink. 'New options'. Suddenly, she smiles slyly.
"You sneaky little rat, you!" Cue Takashi being threatened with hair-ruffles!
She pointedly ignores the whole thing with Chiba-kun.
"That /is/ weird though. Did someone do something to you, Fox-chan?"
"Well, your new henshin seems really costly," Ayana tells Takashi in a brief, bitter moment. "I can't gloom. I can barely hold this shape. I can't draw your mana at all."
"Are you still mad at me because of the pink-haired girl?" Ayana asks without considering the implications. "I said I was sorry. Or is it because of the experiment I ate? I didn't mean to, but I was hungry. What do you want me to do to make it better? I can't ... be like this. It's too much effort. I'm gonna have to go back to being a fox for ever at this rate. Is ... is that what you want? Do you want me to just go away and be a fox?"
Takashi looks up at Hannah. It's a glare, but a playful one. "Are you trying to tell me the reason you didn't offer a date is because I wasn't buff enough for you? Guess that makes sense." he adds before laughing a little bit.
"Yeah, she apparently was really mad at something I said to her - I guess before she went all vicious and white-coaty. She seemed to think I was out to hurt her friend, Sayaka. Which I was't... previously..." he adds, because now she's upset him.
Takashi is in no shape to avoid hair-ruffles. "Yeah, I thought I might need it if people were around. Or if Madoka-chan found herself in trouble." And that sets up a look to Ayana.
"Ayana-chan, nothing I have done recently or with my device could've caused that. Are you sure it's not something you're not thinking about?" he asks. He seems very sure of himself - and he is, in this case.
"It's not anything I'm doing intentionally. If I am responsible it's only through some other means."
"I'm not really still mad at you about Madoka-chan." he says. This is /mostly true/. He's still a /little/ upset and his face probably shows it. "...maybe it's the experiment you ate. Maybe it did something more to you than cause you to go all eldritch-horror-y. I shouldn't have to label a bunch of dark goop 'not for familiar consumption' - you shouldn't have been in that fridge. Don't make out like this is my fault."
"Once I'm better I can look into it at the lab but..." Takashi gestures down to his body."Not right now. I dunno, go grab some energy from some kids in a park or something, you can hold it together. I don't exactly have anything more to give, here."
Hannah's brow twitches at the reminder of Ayana's little action. She might just feel Hannah's eyes boring straight into her skull. It's still not enough to wash away her worry though.
Hannah just sticks her tongue out at Takashi! So mature!
"Well, just be careful. She's really good at keeping a grudge. Heck, she'll probably try to go after me next, again." Why does she sound /excited/ over that prospect?
She doesn't have much to say otherwise, frowning as the two banter. REally though, /how/ is that possible? She'll have to ask Takashi later when there's not a fox in the room.
Dangit Ta-kun.
"And make sure that they don't have pink hair, aren't Ao, and aren't anyone important." Ruffle fox-head! Her smile is far, far too vicious right now.
Ayana grimaces faintly at Takashi's answer, then hunches down beneath Hannah's hair-ruffling. "I don't know who Ao is," she mumbles unhappily, "but okay, I'll avoid girls with pink hair at least." But Hannah is someone important, so Ayana can't steal from her, even if right now she's approaching desperate enough to steal from the nearest anyone.
"I just hope this isn't permanent," Ayana mumbles. "I feel so alone, without your emotions. It's scary." She takes a deep breath, then allows herself to lean into Hannah a little. "How long are you going to be here? I can probably find some magical girl or magical boy to convince that you're a hero that needs healing, if you want."
"Well, she's not the only one who's good at holding a grudge." he adds, to Hannah. Hannah's maturity, or lack thereof, doesn't go unnoticed either.
"No, I think Ayana knows exactly which girl with pink hair I want her to avoid harming." he adds with a side-eyed glare.
Then, there's a sudden sharpness. "NO HEALERS." It's said in almost a panic, and Takashi reaches out with a desperate gasp before falling back to the bed in pain. "No, don't bring anybody like that here!" he says, in a half-gasp.
Once he calms down, he explains. "Actually... I'm really flad you're here, Hannah. I think... I think Chiba did something to me while I was out. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but..."
He holds out his hand. There's a rush of dark energy into it... and then it evaporates. "I can't hold energy right now. That's why I'm still out. I should be moving around fine. Something happened to me while I was out, but I don't know what it was. And I can't get to the lab to test myself. Do you sense anything?"
There's a picture slipped to Ayana! It's of a sickly looking brunette around Hannah's age.
"That's a good Familiar." Pet pet pet!
"Don't you worry, Fox-chan. Your Master will figure it out, and then you'll be okay. Just stay strong, alright? Don't be weak. Ta-kun here needs you now more than ever."
Then Takashi's panicking. She's up, and reaching for him.
"Hey, hey! It's cool. You're fine, Takashi. Calm down. Lay back, okay?" There's honest concern in her eyes, and she takes a moment to get her heart to calm down.
That's bad. /Very/ bad.
"That's...damn." From frowning to scowling.
"No idea. From what I've seen of the guy, he doesn't seem the type to be able to do that." Convenient truth go.
Ayana glances at the picture that's handed to her, just in time for Takashi to panic at her about healing. There is a yelp of surprise and while Hannah rushes forward, Ayana steps backwards. In her panic, the glamour hiding her ears and tails utterly vanishes, leaving a very foxy-looking girl standing in the public hospital where any nurse could see.
When Takashi clams back down, Ayana lets out a soft sigh, then pockets the picture and takes a step back towards him. "Taka-kun," she says quietly, "I won't bring any here if you don't want them. But you look dangerously low on magic." Her ears flatten aside her head, a sign of defeat from the foxgirl. "I'm going to go find some people who don't need as much energy as they've got, and then bring it to you so you can drain me, okay?"
The panic seems to have taken a lot out of Takashi, and he's a lot more still, less animated than before. He takes Hannah's advice and lays back. "I shouldn't even be in this stupid hospital bed. I've seen worse." he grumbles. Her reaction doesn't make him feel any better, though.
"Yeah, it's not good. Something happened, wether he did it or not. I hate to ask but... you know him, I think. If you figure it out, let me know. This is... pretty serious."
His eyes are a little bit droopy now, but they flash open when Ayana makes her plan. "Look, if you decide to do that - if you can do it, make sure you stay safe." There's a long pause. "I'm not really in any state to protect you, and I don't think I could handle it if you got hurt trying to fix me after /I/ got hurt. I don't wanna see you forced back to being a fox, but I don't want to see anything bad happen to you trying to help me either."
"Yeah. I'll do some snooping, Ta-kun." It's not like Takashi to be so blunt on how bad off he is. A squeeze of the shoulder, and a grin.
"He's pretty easy to trap in a corner, after all."
Then looking from the fox to the mage again, she sighs.
"You've got my number, fox-chan, I'll show up if I I'm nearby. Do what you have to. If it gets too bad, take some of mine. We can't have him laying in this bed for /too/ long, right?"
"He can take yours directly," Ayana notes quietly to Hannah, a little sullen in tone and expression. Her ears droop just a little further, before she admits, "But I might need to steal some. I don't think I've got the mana to hide my ears again, so either you have to carry me out of here as a fox, or ... everyone's going to stare."
Takashi's face is a mixture of worry and concern, and he wants to stand up, to take charge, to tell them to not worry. But all the same, he is also keenly aware of a truth that he hates to the core of his being.
The truth is, right now he needs their help. It eats at him in a manner that's probably visible to the girls, as he considers what a position he's left himself in. The thought comes unbidden to his mind.
Ah, so this is what weakness truly feels like.
"Take care of each other." he says, after a long pause, his voice tiny and low and very uncharacteristic of him. "Be careful, and be safe. Don't let Helix-chan or Fate-chan get hurt while I'm in this bed, either."
He pauses. "Tokyo wouldn't stand my vengance if something happened while I'm trapped in this damn room."
"Sure. I'll carry you out, Ayana. C'mere." Hannah opens her comfy looking coat! At the very least, it'll be a warm snuggly trip, and the poor thing seems like she /needs/ a friend right now.
Hannah opens her mouth. She very nearly just reassures him. But no, his ego's too damaged right now. Eyes close, and she nods.
"We'll be safe, don't worry. Or, uh, as safe as I am normally." A chuckle.
"...Call me if you need to talk, okay, Ta-kun?" Oh yes, she could imagine what he'd do. There wouldn't be a Tokyo /left/.
That is not the answer Ayana hoped for, but it's probably the answer she deserved. But rather than hopping into Hannah's coat, she instead leans forward just a little and touches Takashi's hand ... and then transforms fully from girl into fox, hopping up onto the bed with him. She carefully crawls up the bed, inch by inch, belly flat to the bedding, until she can tuck her nose under his armpit and huddle in as close as possible with a soft whimpering noise.