Scene #2655: Who the heck asks Emi Hoshino for help with an assignment, anyway?

Owner	Pose
Rashmi Terios	Class is out, clubs are done, club cleanup is done, and Rashmi has the entire evening ahead of her. So rather than take care of her homework -- she's not behind, but anything is better than feeling math slip off the surface of her brain -- Rashmi decides to send a quick email through Radiant Heart's mail server. << Hallo, Emi-san! I thought it might be rude to just ask our friend Hinoiri-chan for your phone number, so I really hope your email notifies you! I have a creative-writing project I'm starting, and I heard dreams are kind of an interest of yours... d'you mind if I pick your brain about the particulars? If yes, then also tell me what your favorite snacks and drinks are, then meet me by the lunch plaza near the forest? Thanks so much in advance! >> And... now time to go to the lunch plaza; if Emi answers and says yes, then she'll already be ready to pick up whatever. If otherwise... well she'll still be having dinner, so, win-win!
Emi Hoshino	"You can't escape, Kazuo!" "Wasting food! An affront against the culinary spirits!" The voices echoed behind Kazuo Morikawa as he fled down a darkened city street, pursued. Pursued by ... something. Long, slender, tapered shapes always coming closer, but never quite catching him. He ran, possessed by the kind fear white burning hot in its intensity, the kind that propels you forward even when your legs ache and your heart hammers in your chest so hard you think it might burst. He rounds a corner and stumbles into boxes strewn across an alley. He scrambled forward on hands and knees and soon found himself amongst more boxes. How could there be so many?! Soon, he was practically swimming in them. Moldy take out boxes full, rolling against him like waves, like a mountain threatening to fall down on him and crush him, stinking of rotten noodles and soy and spices, hemming him in. Threatening to crush him. He whirled around when he heard the voices again and that's when he saw them. Those shapes again. Hurtling towards him, their reedy laughs filling the air around him as he screamed. "And you didn't even TIP!" Kazuo could do not but scream. "I'm sorry!!" And then above him, a parasol snapped open. Perched on top of the mountain of moldy food was a girl, clad in sparkling gothic garb, silihouetted against he flickering city lights. Wordless, she launched herself off the top of the box and the engaged in ... battle with ... ... the chopsticks. Evil chopsticks. Oneiric Guardian Emi danced across the soggy boxes of takeout as they spilled out their noodles and writhing maggots and did battle with the animated chopsticks, eventually rendering them little more than splinters. "Good grief, man. How much takeout do you -eat- to have a nightmare like this?!" she asked a bewildered Kazuo, who was still up to his neck in takeout boxes. "Be kinder to your delivery drivers, too. Your conscience and dreams will thank you for it! And don't be such a NEET!" And then she was gone, leaving Kazuo to wake in his bed amongst the dirt and grime of his apartment. He was definitely going to clean today. Emi Hoshino, however, had more to do. She was about to head deeper into the dreamscape when her consciousness drifted close enough to waking to hear her phone buzz with a notification. She supposed she'd better check that, and sure enough, she had an email from ... Rashmi? Really? What could she need? Regardless, before she did anything else, she wanted a shower. A big old shower. She felt like she'd been swimming in ancient, leaky take out boxes left in an alleyway somewhere. Ew. "Oh, whatever's not any trouble for you to get," answers Emi in the email, ultimately, to Rashmi's question. The latter had to at least exchange one email with her over this because she'd initially refuse out of traditional politeness. Which is why she is now staring forlornly at the ramen in front of her when she takes her seat with Rashmi and instead chooses to take a sip of the extremely fruity tasting soda that she was given. She looks like she feels a little queasy. A little bit. "So, you need some help with a 'creative writing assignment, huh'? As excuses to talk dreams god, that's a decent one, I guess." She shrugs her shoulders with traditional Emi-indifference, waiting to hear some things.
Rashmi Terios	"Best I could think of on short notice," Rashmi says with a shrug as she picks up the curry pan on her tray, turning it over in her hands. "But yeah... There's gonna be some... context to this one, but the short form is I have credible information someone's been locked inside their dreams and you're the only expert on dreams I know. The context is where it's gonna get... complicated. And sticky. Probably super dangerous, definitely more-dangerous-than-usual." She opens her mouth to continue, but pauses for a moment. "...Did I get the wrong ramen?"
Emi Hoshino	Emi shakes her head. She will not be rude. She will not be rude and throw up all over the table. Nope. "Trapped inside their own dreams?" she asks, changing the subject swiftly with a shake of her head. She digs right into the ramen instead with her chopsticks. They are not evil, thankfully. "I wouldn't say I'm an expert but I do know some things."
Rashmi Terios	"'Some things' is more than anyone else I know could say, so... Process of elimination, you're the expert," Rashmi counters with a grin... Which slips, as she monches on stuffed fried bread, contemplating. "Okay, so... context. At the beginning of the year, my best friend... well she died, as far as we knew. Big crisis, serious danger, people needed to get to safety, she stayed behind to hold the monsters off and cut off any hope of rescuing her. This... was a couple weeks before that cyberbully Nightmare found me, to give you an idea of the timeline." Closing her eyes, Rashmi takes a deep, deep breath. "So anyway... the week after that Nightmare... turned out we were wrong about my friend dying. Sort of. They'd gotten her," she says, nodding in the general direction of Obsidian Tower. "And used her body to host a... really powerful monster, I guess you could say. And since then, she's been making lives miserable, including mine. But my friend? She's still in there, she just didn't get to use her body anymore. I'm skipping over a lot, but... Recently I got told, by the monster, that my friend's tiny little acts of rebellion needed... punishing. Like... she was going to lock my friend in her dreams until she just drifted away, and died for good." Spreading her hands, Rashmi gives Emi the sort of grin that says 'I know everything I have to say is crazy, but I'm also kind of desperate and looking for anything resembling a thread of hope.' Rashmi really does have an expressive face.
Emi Hoshino	Poking at the noodles with her chopstick, Emi listens with her eyes downcast. And then she lets out a breath and says, "... awful. But not crazy. Okay. So, there are maybe a few different things I can do to try to help. No promises, but I can definitely try to help your friend." She pokes at the noodles. "But it's going to be difficult, and I'm going to need you to do something for me to make it even slightly possible."
Rashmi Terios	Rashmi nods, first at 'no promises.' She is very, very aware of the gap between 'core competency' and 'minor miracle.' A second, at her needing to do something as well. "What'll you need from me?" And that's it. No hedging, no unsurety, not even the 'anything whatever you need' rushed from someone who doesn't care what it takes. This is a mahou who knows that 'trust the expert' does not mean 'half-ass the expert's instructions.'
Emi Hoshino	"I don't generally just 'go' into someone's dream unless I know them really well. It takes work to locate the dream amongst the millions of Tokyo dreamers, then I have to punch through a 'wall', so to speak, to get into the dream proper. That's not easy. It can take a lot out of me on a given night before I even get started. In this case, I'd need to do that twice. A dream, and then a dream within a dream. No. That's dangerous. If I can avoid it, I need to. The way I make contact with someone's dream is, typically, I give them something they can keep near them when they sleep. It's like a line connecting us through magic that I can use to travel directly to the dream. So..." "I need you to smuggle something onto this monster, if you can, something that I've handled, and I can then use to connect myself directly to your friend. Once I'm in, I can try to find her, and if she's locked in a dream state, I should be able to smuggle her out into the dreamscape itself. I can bring her to the Radiant Heart dreamscape, or maybe Mamoru's place might be better. That's my first thought. I don't know if that will work at -all-, but it should."
Rashmi Terios	Rashmi nods slowly throughout the explanation, putting all of her energy into be an Extremely Good Listener. The brute-force way sounds exactly as inadvisable and personally dangerous to Emi as it ought to be, so it makes sense that that gets put on the table for the sole purpose of getting taken off. When Emi says to smuggle 'Something she's handled,' though, Rashmi blinks, eyes widening. "...Well under most circumstances I wouldn't be sure I could put anything on her that she'd want to take... but... d'you have to be familiar with the object? Like... does it have to be something that's 'yours,' or could I just hand you something for a bit?"
Emi Hoshino	"It doesn't have to be mine. I've given someone a flower I picked before," points out Emi, "Is it better if I have a connection to it? Yes. One hundred percent, but all I have to do is handle it and it'll work. It's like, you know, just a tether really that brings my dream close to their's and single out their dreamscape, you know?" She pokes her noodles again. "but mostly it just needs to be with her, or near her, when she sleeps. That'll give me a way in. Maybe, ideally, directly to the dream your friend is locked in. Depending on how skilled a dreamer this monster is, I might have a hard time getting her out but I'm going to do my best."
Rashmi Terios	"So, two things," Rashmi says, glancing about the plaza, as if to check if anyone's watching. Apparently no one is, because she brings up a hand to tap on a finny little sunburst-shaped charm with a little red crystal in the center... And comes away from a boxy device about the size of half a toaster, that resembles something pulled off the wall of a science-fiction movie set. "One... this was a piece of her Device. Um... space alien, magic spellcasting PDA, basically. The monster is using that Device now, but, mostly she only can because she's in my friend's body. So would having a tie to her magic make that any easier?" "Two... We don't fly solo if we can possibly help it. And I won't ask anyone to risk their neck without being willing to risk mine too. If you tell me it absolutely will not work with me there too... I won't like it, but I'll believe you. Otherwise I know I'll be able to keep you safer than if you were going alone."
Emi Hoshino	"/Could/ work," says Emi, thoughtfully, "Won't know until I try." Her eyes lock on the device and she reaches out to touch it, poking it with the tip of a black-painted fingernail. "As much as I have the best chance of slipping in and out of the dream with your friend unnoticed on my own," answers Emi, "they don't know me so it's probably best if there are some familiar faces with me to help rouse her. Depending on how lucid she is, we could have our work cut out for her getting her out of her own head." She lets out a breath, pale cheeks puffing outwards as she does. "But this will help, yeah. The stronger the connection to her, the better, and this sounds like a very strong connection for obvious reasons!"
Rashmi Terios	When Emi reaches out to poke the thing, Rashmi chuckles dryly, handing it over without hesitation. "It doesn't do anything on its own, handle it all you like. So... I guess I'll let you know when I've gotten this to her... which I'm going to hate, so I'll need to think up a really, really good reason to be approaching her. But..." Rashmi shrugs. "If I can't take a joke, I shouldn't have become a magical girl, right?"
Emi Hoshino	"So this is a piece of the device and she has the rest of it? I can try to just use this, the connection might be strong enough. If not, then we'll go back to plan a," remarks Emi, grimacing. She doesn't like any of these plans, that much is clear. She turns it over in her hands.
Rashmi Terios	"I'd honestly rather call that Plan Z," Rashmi says, wrinkling her nose. "Let's try and think of as many ways as possible to get to her, without you having to smash through multiple brick walls." Rashmi and Emi are occupying one of the tables at the cafeteria plaza, quietly conversing over food -- mostly gone in Rashmi's case, barely touched in Emis -- and to the student body at large, could be talking about literally anything. "Besides, I know the monster's gonna want that, and the problems it's gonna cause in this world... well they'll be our problems. I think it's worth the gamble, though."
Coco Kiumi	It's a few seconds after Rashmi has finished defining their situation a gamble, that the cafeteria doors open for one more student, and Coco looks around the tables, trying to find either Emi or Rashmi somewhere in there. For some reason, phone services had chosen just that moment to stop working, leaving her with the need to find whenever they could be on foot. Good thing that they were together already, or she still have the other person to find through the rest of the school, assuming they were in there at all. The blonde girl approaches the table the two girls are seated at with a smiles that scarcely hides the worry she is feeling. Still, smiling she is, and when she is close enough, she waves, and says. "Hi, Rashmi-san, Emi-san! Can I take a seat? There is something I would have to talk about with you."
Emi Hoshino	Oh, another! Emi scoots away a little to make space for Coco, figners wiggled in her direction. She is definitely not smiling right now. "Yeah, sure. Uh, take a seat." And now she's looking art her with a certain air of understandable expectation.
Rashmi Terios	When Coco walks up, Rashmi is... surprised, but smiles. "Coco-chan, hi! Um... sure, have a seat!" The redhead tosses Emi a puzzled glance, because this is not a usual thing for her... But she knows Coco well enough to know that if the Mermaid Princess of the South Seas is concerned, it's probably A Big Deal. ...And if she's looking for Rashmi, that narrows down the list of things it could be. ...Rashmi mentally braces herself.
Coco Kiumi	Coco takes a seat after the other girls greet her. Considering the situation, the best thing to do here is to get straight to the point. Would they have guessed already this is about magical matters? Very likely, yes, so she can avoid that kind of Introduction. "Alala has gotten involved with Seriss Nyx", she explains straightforwardly, nodding towards Emi. The Oneiric Guardian has already had the displeasure to meet her. Looking at Rashmi, she adds, "she is one of Michel's dark generals with the power to trap people in sweet dreams they don't want to wake up from." She brushes a strand of hair aside in a quick motion when it falls out of place. "Alala has been reporting to Michel a few hours ago, and Seira overheard, telling me as soon as the two of them had their meeting. Molly is now trapped by Alala's powers."
Emi Hoshino	"Alala. That was the girl at the movie theater, yeah?" says Emi, "Yeah, it was," she confirms to herself. "So that's how Nyx is trapping 'Molly' in her dream, then. That makes one thing easier. I know what her powers look like. I'll see if I can help 'Molly'." She doesn't know Molly, of course, at all. Instead, she folds her fingerless gloved hands together, one atop the other. "I've been wondering when she was going to pop up again." Eyes narrowing, Emi considers her next words. "She'll likely be in tune enough to sense if we're messing with a structure of her's, though..."
Rashmi Terios	Aaaaand there it is. The names being thrown around cause Rashmi to give both girls a blank stare, but... context is enough. 'Michel' is the new awful of mermaid business, and 'Alala' is his Dark Lieutenant. This, alone, is enough for Rashmi to let her head drop into her hands, and loose a long, groaning, utterly teenage sigh as she wraps her head around all of this suddenly helping Seriss out. "UUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuugggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh, okay. Yes my friend's name is Molly, I wasn't using names because I wasn't sure that'd help. Sometimes it's hard to tell. Molly Skyline's her full name--" Her head pops up, as the last of Emi's musings sinks in. "...So we're not going with plan Trojan Horse? Or-- Hm. So it's a sweet dream? Well... probably it'll involve racing, that's been one of Molly-chan's biggest dreams for forever. If, y'know, that helps at all..." Once more she taps on her charm, her hand coming away with a bottle of orange-pineapple-raspberry juice... That Emi can see is actually cold, enough for condensation to be present on the outside of the bottle. This gets handed off to Coco, with a quiet, "As much of a pain in the neck as this is going to be thank you so much, I cannot imagine how rough finding that out was gonna be."
Coco Kiumi	Oh, so they were already aware of what Molly is going through, just not how Seriss is doing it. "Is this what she has been gloating with you about?", Coco bites her lips with a slight frown, recalling the message Rashmi had received right at the end of the daimon's latest attack. She was really into torturing Rashmi with freely giving out the snippets of her plans most convenient for her. "Yes, the green-haired shortie with pixie wings", Coco confirms to Emi at her questioning. At least this time they are aware of her movements well in advance. "We are lucky we know she is popping up now", the blonde girl agrees with Emi. Had she not made a report to Michel until her cooperation with Seriss was over, they would have been left completely in the dark. But apparently Rashmi was trying to avoid naming Molly, and the mermaid gives an awkward glance at them. "Too many details? I am sorry, I didn't mean to", she gives the redhead an apologetic look. Rashmi is giving her a glass full of juice, and Coco takes it with a 'thank you', taking a sip before talking again. "You are probably aware of Seira's problem, but since Michel has absorbed her, we have been gradually recovering pieces of her soul, and that allows her to talk with us while hearing anything that Michel hears", she explains at the comment over how rough finding out was. "Alala is likely to be aware, but it's also how she attacks all sort of people, so I think we can avoid alerting her if we are careful about it", Coco muses.
Emi Hoshino	Letting out another breath at the further explanation, Emi shakes her head at Rashmi. "No. I still need that to happen. Especially if I want to avoid alerting Alala to what's happening under her nose, if that's even possible. I haven't had the misfortune of running into too many other people with any kind of power in dreams aside from myself and, well, things that exist primarily in the dreamscape. It's a wrinkle, but I have a pretty good idea of what her stuff looks like from the one encounter we've had together. If she's capable of more, I can't say." She leans back in her seat, thoughtfully, eyeing each of them in turn. "Pulling Molly out of a dream like that will be harder, though, so yeah. I'm gonna need people she knows to be able to get her out of it. And then we smuggle her into the dreamscape. Or Mamoru's. Or something."
Rashmi Terios	"Okay good," Rashmi says, nodding firmly and tucking the boxy bit of technology back into her charm... somehow. "I don't mind plans having to swerve, but I always feel steadier when we don't have to rethink everything after five minutes. So... Coco-chan, the plan is I get Seriss to have something on her that'll make it easier to home in on Molly-chan's dream. Which I can absolutely do... it'll just make fighting her here harder. Emi-chan can I get your number by the way? It'll be easier to let both of you know when it's done, just by texting." Glancing at Coco, Rashmi smiles, shaking her head. "No it's not too much detail, Coco-chan. And no... she called me on the burner phone Molly-chan was keeping out of her reach... until right before the whole Hotaru mess. Which means now she knows Molly-chan was taking control of the body when Seriss was asleep, and... bleh. It has been... a whole thing."
Coco Kiumi	Emi hasn't met many people with dream powers, huh? It's probably a good thing there wasn't a very big overlap between Emi's and Gaito's periods of activity, because having powers only where one of Obsidian's directors is moving around is a quite chilling prospect. One less concern for everyone. With how Michel doesn't seem to have that power, the situation is a lot more manageable. The yellow mermaid trusts Emi's ability to handle Alala with how they have been interacting last time. "I think that's a good plan", Coco smiles at Rashmi. "We already knows it works, if you remember how Usagi has been connected to. Are you going for something Molly has used? I think that will give us the biggest chances." She has a bit of hesitation when suggesting that. It probably won't feel nice having to give Seriss something of Molly if they go with that, though. She gives a very slow nod at Rashmi's explanation of how Seriss got to talk with her. "I see... Sorry you had to lose your way to talk with her."
Emi Hoshino	"Oh yeah," says Emi about her phone number, giving a nod. She gives it to Rashmi -- and to Coco by extension. Now they both have her number. "Yeah, I'm letting her sort that out. I can't do the thing needed for it, obviously, but once I've handled something and it's in her possession and it has some significance to 'Molly', I'll be able to sense her. If she's in a dream, I'll go there. We're going to need to do some preparation but ... yeah. I think I can do this." She picks up her extremely fruity soda, gives it a skeptical eye, and then takes a drink of it. "And maybe I need to see about a way to let this Alala know any further messing with the dreams or the dreamscape aren't gonna be tolerated." She seems confident that she already has her number.
Rashmi Terios	Numbers exchanged, Rashmi bobs her head. "And not...quite, Coco-chan? More like... a piece of her Device, and now Emi-chan's been in contact with it, she says she can follow it. Her smile falters a bit as Coco commiserates about her contact with Molly, and she shakes her head. "Can't be helped," She says. "What Molly-chan got out of it was... important to the both of us, so... I just hope I can sell Seriss on this well enough, she doesn't ask questions. Wish me luck, you two... I gotta go tell my boyfriend about this plan. He is... gooooonna hate it." Tapping the table with her fingertips, she rises from her seat. "Seriously though... thanks, both of you. I actually haven't been this hopeful about Molly for a while, now." And with that, she waves, and turns to the dorms, her back a little straighter.