Hibiki had stayed behind at the sight of the Noise Attack for a little while, chatting with some of the other magical people who had helped fend-off the attack. But it wasn't too long before she came trotting out of the stadium exit. She's in her school uniform again, Gungnir having been banished before she emerged into public again, casting her gaze about for Miku and/or their other friends.
She was sure they had all gotten out safely, but she still can't put her fears absolutely to rest until she sees them all again (or hears from Miku that the others are okay too). She skirts along the policelines no doubt already set up to control the exiting crowd, stretching onto her sneakered tiptoes to try and spot any of the other girls.
As Hibiki requested, Miku rushed out after the barrier dropped to make sure their friends were okay. There were a lot of questions about 'what happened!?' and 'where is Hibiki?!' that Miku fielded with applomb: 'Apparently a gang war' and 'making sure Tsunade-senpai is alright' (after all; they do all go to the same school).
It didn't take too much more prodding to get the trio to make their way back to the school, and their dorm life. But Miku didn't follow them the rest of the way back. Instead, the grunette is busy sitting on a bench just outside the stadium, knees tucked to her chest and arms wrapped around her shins. Thinking.
It doesn't take Hibiki that long to find Miku. As if guided by a sixth-sense, she homes in on the other girl's location, finally spotting her sitting on that bench and hugging her knees. A smile lights up her face, and she runs over through the crowd, although she's going perpendicular to their motion so she doesn't have too hard a time.
Upon arriving, she throws her arms around Miku, uncaring if she is disturbing her thoughtful reverie. "Miku! Oh, I'm glad you're alright!" She says, although she was sure Miku would be. Miku always figures out a way to be alright. SHe leans back after a moment. "Did the others get out okay, too?"
To call the sudden hug unexpected would be misleading. Miku expected it to come eventually--it always does with Hibiki. The startled jump and little gasp are more a product of not being able to predict exactly when the hug was coming. "Hibiki," she says, quickly twisting on the bench to return the hug tightly.
"I'm okay," says Miku softly. "Just a little scared. I sent Yumi, Kuriyo, and Shiori back to the campus. They were all worried about you, so I told them I'd stay to make sure you're okay."
Hibiki is relieved to hear her other friends are alright- after all, Miku wouldn't have summarily sent them off if they were injured or something. She relaxes into the hug slightly upon receiving that news, then pulls back to stand in front of the bench. She offers her hand to Miku.
"Sorry it was scary," She says, making a little bit of a face. "I mean, it was for me too- that poor man. But at least we kept anyone else from getting hurt. Considering the side of the crowd.." Well, she doesn't want to devalue life by saying 'one death is good', but it's hard to argue with the logic. It could have been much worse.
"C'mon, let's go back to campus too. I'm hungry!" She smiles. "Fighting Noise always works up an appetite!"
Miku looks to that hand for a moment, then smiles and reaches up to take it. She pulls herself off the bench and intertwines her fingers with Hibiki's. "Food sounds like a good idea," Miku agrees as they start the walk back to campus. She's silent for only a few moments before asking, "Hey, Hibiki ... why did all the people just disappear for a while? And then the stadium put itself back together. It was so bizarre."
Hibiki smiles as Miku takes her hand, happily twining her fingers with those of her friend, and swinging her arm just slightly as the walk together back towards Verone. She pauses as Miku asks her about the people disappearing.
"Apparently it's called a 'barrier'. That mage guy with the hood did it, using his Device. Which I guess is sort of like a Gear? I dunno, it's some kind of magic. He said the point of a barrier is to keep the bad stuff in and the innocent people out while you take care of it. It sounds like a great thing to me! I kinda wish I could make one.. eh heh.." She looks contemplatively at her free hand, as if thinking of the gaps in Gungnir's powers, including her much-lamented lack of an Armed Gear.
Miku frowns all the more at that explanation, but doesn't challenge it right away. Instead, she falls silent for most of the rest of the trip back to their home. Just as they reach campus, though, she brings the conversation right back up to ask, "If it's supposed to keep out people who don't have some form of magical protection ... why did it pull me in?"
Hibiki blinks a little bit- she had been content to walk along in silence, but when Miku spoke again, her eyes return to her roomate. She had been wondering the same thing honestly, but all she can do is shrug. "I dunno! I had been thinking about that too. It doesn't seem fair that it would have kept you in danger.."
Of course, that's her primary concern- the fact that Miku wasn't kept safe when everyone else was. Not that she'd have let anything happen to the other girl, but. "Maybe it didn't work right? But I really don't know, I only found out they even existed today.. if we see that hood-guy again, Hunter he called himself, maybe we can ask."
"That was a guy?" Miku asks uncertainly, as she pulls out her key-card and opens up the door to their dorm building. She holds the door for Hibiki, then follows her friend inside. "Anwyays, I think I would like to ask him. Because you're exaclty right; it felt unfair that everyone else was safe and I was trapped. I'm not mad. It's better me than Yumi. But I was so scared, and if you hadn't been there ... if you weren't fast enough ..."
Hibiki nods her head, sure on that point at least. "It was a guy! Or at least, I've never heard a girl with a voice that low." She says, with a little giggle. She follows Miku into the dorm, shaking her head slightly at hearing the girl's worries..
"Don't worry Miku." She says, tugging on her friend's hand to get her to stop, and then looking her in the eye. Her face is as determined as it ever gets, her orange eyes hard yet somehow loving at the same time as she says, "I'll always be there. And I'll always be fast enough. I promise."
Miku comes up short when Hibiki tugs on her hands, and the intensity of that loving glare is difficult to match. Still, her eyes hold onto Hibiki's for a few moments until she lowers them with a blush. "H...Hibiki," she murmurs, then slides forward to hug her friend.
"I know you will," Miku murmurs quietly. "I just ... get scared. That I'll lose you, or lose me, or that you will have to make a horrible choice between saving me or someone else. I don't want you to have to make that choice, Hibiki."
Hibiki smiles as she hugs Miku tight, squeezing her for a moment. "You won't lose me. I'll always come back to you, I promise. Miku is my sunflower, it's warmest when I'm near her and that's where I'll always return to." Hibiki promises, reaffirming a statement she's made before.
She leans back then, since they are still standing in the dorm hallway and even she has some sense of propriety. "And I promise, I'll work hard to become better so I can save everyone." She raises her free hand and clenchse her fist in determination. "That way I won't ever have to make a choice like that."
Miku smiles at Hibiki's determination, even if she's still blushing just a little at the description. She's heard it before, but it never ceases to make her happy. Still, there's something not quite right, in all of what Hibiki says, and Miku tries to re-balance the burden. "I'll help you in any way that I can. Especially if I can get you smart and powerful allies so that you don't have to do it all alone. Just promise me that you will always stay Hibiki. No matter what .. don't change who you are."
Hibiki smiles as she turns to walk down the hallway again back towards their dorm room. "I promise. I'll always be Hibiki. I don't think I would know how to be anyone else!" She says, with a careless laugh, making light of it although Miku is serious. "But that doesn't mean I'll stop trying to improve myself, either."
She reaches the door to their room and feels around for her keycard, looking panicked after a moment. "A-ah, I think I left my keycard at my seat in the concert with my bag!"
Miku wraps her arm around Hibiki's, half hugging the girl's biceps as they walk the rest of the way to the dorm. She could practically put her head on Hibiki's shoulder. When they reach the dorm, she lets Hibiki go so she can open the door, then puts her hand to her mouth and stifles a giggle.
"Geeze, Hibiki," she accuses lightheartedly, "you're always so forgetful. How did you make it all the way home and not remember your bag?" she asks, then pulls out her own keycard and opens the door. "Why don't you go get changed. I'll be in in a minute," Miku says, then turns to pad down the hallway.
Hibiki has biceps now! Sure, she's not exactly a muscle-builder or anything, but she's definitely got a bit more than she used to! Still, when Miku giggles at her forgetfulness, she raises her hands in protest. "B-b-but I was fighting Noise, I can't be expected to remember everything!" She exclaims in her defense, her cheeks reddening.
BUt Miku opens the door for her, an she sighs. "Thank you Miku~." She goes inside, glancing curiously after her friend as the other girl walks off, but shrugs and goes to change out of her uniform and into her comfy pajamas. She /should/ go get debriefed at Section 2 HQ, but this is technically her day off, and she's tired. She'll do it tomorrow. (or they'll call and demand she shows up, whichever happens first).
Miku really isn't gone long at all. The door opens again, and she enters with Hibiki's bag hung on her fingertips over one shoulder. "Good thing I was paying attention, hm?" she mentions as she puts Hibiki's bag down next to her own.
"I knew you'd forget it," Miku says, "but I didn't want to carry two while I was waiting, so I asked Shiori to take it back to her room, since she's right next door." Miku stretches, pleased with herself, then toes her shoes off and works on getting changed for bed, as well.
Hibiki looks up as Miku enters the room, then lets out a 'whee!' at the sight of her bag and runs over to hug Miku again. "You're the best Miku! I really don't know what I'd do without you!" This, at least, is entirely true. She does release the other girl so she can get changed and stuff though, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking at her phone in the meantime, unless Miku should ask for help with anything.
She makes a sad sound. "One dead at freak accident during concert." She reads the headline, her voice deflated. "I wish we could have saved everybody."
"Geeze, there's already news about it?" Miku asks as she finishes buttoning up her pajamas. The girl reaches up to brush out her hair, since it's no longer constrained by her bow. "Nosy reporters work way too fast." She sighs and sets her brush down, then climbs up onto the top bunk and slides under the covers. "It's not your fault, Hibiki," she says. "That guy died right away, before we even really knew the Noise were attacking."
"Well, you know the internet.." Hibiki says, with a twist to her lips. "They leap on anything the moment it happens! And Tsubasa-san's concert was a big deal, after all.." She sighs as she turns and crawls up onto the bed with Miku, then slides under the covers with her.
She peers at her friend in the dim lighting. "I feel bad for her. Tsubasa-san, I mean. I know she would say her duty as a sword comes first, and all that, but I think she was looking forward to getting to perform again.. and then this has to happen at her very first show."
"Mmm," Miku replies thoughtfully as she pillows her head on her hands. "It doesn't seem fair," she agrees quietly. "I wonder if there's anything we can do about it for her next concert. Maybe ... figure out how to predict the Noise, and stop them before they get anywhere near the concert. Or ... have you and some of the other members of Virtue just keep watch. But then you don't get to go to the concert, either."
Hibiki ponders that.. "Virtue.. I think it's good, if we can make friends with some of the other people trying to protect the city." She says, her tone contemplative. "I mean, we have our work cut out with the Noise, so maybe taking on more is not smart, but... they can do things we can't, like that barrier, and I'm sure we can do things to help them they couldn't do on their own either. I can't help but think that we'll be stronger helping each other than we would be on our own."
SHe ponders the idea of keeping watch at the next concert. "That's true but, I think I'd be happy if I could make sure everyone /else/ got to watch it in peace."
Miku expresses her agreement with a faint nod of her head. "It's true," she agrees quietly. "I've been trying to build up the connections that Genjuuro-sama hasn't had time to. If I can help in that way--coordinating some kind of way for Section 2 and Virtue to work together--I will be very happy."
She seems to ponder a moment longer, then turns over to face Hibiki, and wraps the orange-haried girl in a tight hug. "Thank you," Miku murmurs, lips practically kissing Hibiki's ear. "You were so brave today. I'm really glad you were there."
Hibiki nods her head a few times. "I think that's really valuable." She says, earnestly. "Maybe even more important than what I'm doing. After all, anybody can punch and kick." Not strictly true in this case since not everybody can wear a Symphogear, but. "It takes a real hero to build that kind of connection, and-eep!"
This because Miku has embraced her, and she blushes slightly, but relaxes into the hug after a moment, feeling no need to hide her feelings here in their own dorm room. "Of course." She says quietly, her voice serious but warm. "I hate to see anybody hurt, but I'll always come when you call. I promise."
It's Miku's turn to be just a little embarassed. She certianly doesn't think of herself as a 'real hero'. "Me too," she agrees with Hibiki anyways. "But I especially hate to see when you are hurt. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally, too. I just want you to be happy, Hibiki."
Hibiki wiggles a little bit, pleased despite herself to have someone who cares about her so much. "I am happy!" She exclaims, though softly, no need for her normal shouting when Miku's head is so close to hers. "I think it's wonderful that I've been given this power which I can use to help people." She smiles, raising her hand above the blankets and flexing her fist closed.
"It's scary, sure, but I still wouldn't give it away if I had a choice. Gungnir is a gift that Kanade-san left to me- the gift of the power to help other people. And I'm really grateful for that."
"Mmmm," Miku ... mostly agrees. But she's also very warm and comfortable, snuggled up so close to Hibiki, and the greenette is starting to fall asleep. "I'm really grateful," she murmurs out, "for you, too."
Hibiki starts to say something else, but then realizes Miku is falling asleep beside her. She closes her mouth after a second and just lays back, staring at the ceiling for a while and enjoying the comforting presence of her lifelong companion, before she too closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep.