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Usagi Tsukino <PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: can i come show you something magic and see if you have some answers later?

<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: Sure, sounds fun. Whenever you got the time bring it on over.

a while later

<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: ... So, you aren't gonna believe this.
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: i'm so scared but sure tell me what's up
<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: Remember my uhhh... replacement? Sora's new student? Nice girl, purple hair, Yuyami Kagayaki? Met her in KKF? Kind of a bundle of anxiety?
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: oh yeah! she kind of reminded me of ami-chan if she was way more socially awkward and anxious
<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: Yeah. And guess the name of the new 9th year I just ran into, with purple hair, glasses and a pile of books almost as tall as her. And social anxiety to match.
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: wh - you mean you ran into her??? are you sure she wasn't just - you know, taking a tour of our side? like chibiusa-chan?
<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: ... Oh, I'm sure. I... I need to lay down. And trust me. I'm sure. She uhhhh... I may have... freaked her out a bit... because I assumed she was at first. Yeah... She uhhhh... thought it was advanced bullying.
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: advanced bullying?! like advanced chemistry for bullies? oh nooo... hinoiri-chan, please lay down and um... maybe you can give her some anpan as an apology!
<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: Maybe. I apologized, I think I smoothed it over? Told her my dorm room and let me know if she needs help with anything but... I also might have... well... Hey, what's an academic olympiad?
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: oh you did? that's good!! i mean, it's not like you dislike her or anything, and you can make friends!
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: oh it's like a big brainiac competition i think?
<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: ... Yeah, she might have challenged me to one of those.
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: friendly challenge?
<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: ... Here's hoping?
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: here's hoping. and it's not like you can't win! you're a total brainiac, just like ami-chan and dumb riventon
<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: Oh, no, I'd crush her. I'm like, two years her senior. That's not the worry. I just don't wanna scare her.
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: AWWWW Hinoiri-chan!
<PHONE> A text from Hinoiri Kirara: Wait, is that a good awwww?!
<PHONE> Usagi Tuskino texts Hinoiri Kirara: of course! it's sweet
Usagi Tsukino It's the next day; the day after Hinoiri met Yuyami, the day after Usagi asked her to look at the pieces of the beryl orb (the porb for short), and the day after a quite emotionally heavy conversation about Takashi and Mamoru's relationship.

It's the next day, and it's a ''school day'' which meant Usagi decides to catch up to Hinoiri in the afternoon, after class and before clubs meet, in hopes of cutting her off before she gets too involved in a project. The dorms is a great place to corner, er, catch up, with someone.

"Hinooooiiiiiiriiiii-chaaaaan," Usagi sings out, knocking on her door. "Are you in there?"
Hinoiri Kirara The door opened after a few seconds and Hinoiri was...

... Wearing overalls. Ah. Motorcycle club day. Considering the oil stains on it. Hopefully motorcycle day. And her hair was tied back. Please be motorcycle club day.

"Heyyyy, Usa-chan, wassup? You said you had something you wanted me to take a look at?" she asked. "Was heading out in a few, but I got a minute, come on in. I was gonna grab a snack before I headed out, want something?"

She headed back inside, letting Usagi close the door behind herself, as she started inside and was making a... lil veggie platter. Cauliflower and broccoli, with ranch dip. Yummy.

"Wait, you wanted me to take a look at something, right? You bring it with you?"
Usagi Tsukino Gotta be motorcycle club day. Definitely motorcycle club day. Usagi is ''so glad'' she caught her before she went out for motorcycle club.

Usa-chan catches her a little by surprise, it's so intimate, but considering ''she'' chan'd Hinoiri on their first meeting, she's not going to go getting upset by intimacy! Instead, she carefully removes the pieces of the Beryl orb from her backpack. They'd been gathered into a bag, then stuffed in another bag.

"I did bring them, I was hoping you could tell me if you've seen these before, and I would ''definitely'' take a bite of a snack, while you look at these..."

She carefully places the pieces of orb on the nearest flat surface and starts raiding broccoli bits.
Hinoiri Kirara Hinoiri Kirara gathered up a small plate of them and walked over to the table, placing them on it, with the lil cup of ranch for them to dip into as she looked at them.

She picked one of the pieces up for a moment, looking at it curiously, cocking her head to the side before... "Oh yeeeeeeeeah... I forgot about this thing..." Hinoiri mumbled. "Wow, this was from a while back..."

Blink. Blink blink.

Urk. "Oh buck. If you have that... that means..." She let out a low whistle. "That means we need to have a talk, don't we. Hold on..." She pulled out her phone and sent a text. She was gonna be a liiiiiittle late to club...
Usagi Tsukino Usagi has broccoli in her mouth when Hinoiri confirms that she was, in fact, involved. Because this surprises her 0, she keeps chewing, and then swallows and turns to face Hinoiri.

"Uh huh," she says dryly. "We got these from Riventon. After he blew it up because he and Mamochan had a fight over Mamochan being a ''little bit'' uncomfortable with his brother using the tools of his literal ''murderer and torturer''. Just a little, you know?"

In spite of the emphasis, she doesn't sound angry at least. Maybe a teeny bit disappointed, but Hinoiri would have be to searching for that.

"Could you tell me how you got involved?"
Hinoiri Kirara Hinoiri Kirara picked up a piece of cauliflower, dipped it, took a bite, thought, chewed, sighed. "Well... it was a long time ago. Right after I got kicked from Obsidian and they were all 'Let's murder Hinoiri' on me. He asked me for some help, since i was kind of Obsidian's only expert when it came to jewel magic. He had the pieces, I knew he was going to tamper with them anyway and I didn't want to alienate the only guy there who was helping keep them off my neck."

"... So I helped him out. Showed him a basic array so it wouldn't feedback into him, cycle the power through it, without cycling too much. Not as much oomph as he would have liked, but not much risk of him getting any sun demon inside him, either. So much was going on at the time and my life was so chaotic that it eventually got brushed away with... a lot of other things."

"... So... Riventon blew it up himself? And... yeah. I guess phrasing it like that, I can see why it could upset Mamoru," Hinoiri said. "Sorry."
Usagi Tsukino It would probably be reasonable to be upset, but with the situation laid out as it is, the circumstances and the reminder of what time it was in Hinoiri's life... she's not scolded.

"Thanks for the apology," Usagi says instead, and smiles wryly. "A heads up would have been nice but... back then, we were kind of on a break anyway, and you were in a tough spot. Would you mind it very much if I purified these shards here and now, then? It won't damage any of your stuff - well, unless it's made of Dark Energy."

What would be the point of getting mad at a friend over something they regret, now?

"Oh, he blew it up alright. He ripped it out of Axion and blew it up, after he threw Mamochan right at Nephrite - out of henshin! And they Saturn had to step up and save them both, because they were a little busy being a pile of busted bones." Her voice is ''definitely'' exasperated - frustrated - there.
Hinoiri Kirara Hinoiri Kirara gave a shrug. "I mean, I don't mind. I don't think anything in my room should be dark energy, so long as you don't have to light anything up when you do it. And... yeah. At the time? I was just thankful that he of all people wasn't tossing me to the wolves, I wasn't going to sell him out. But sure, purify away."

"... If not for that whole... history with Beryl, I'd say we could probably do something with them, but... yeah. Even purified? I doubt he'd be comfortable with it. And the way magic works here... meh. Maybe take them to Kirakirafantastica. Toss them in a vault over there. No way they'd be coming back that way. Heh."

She did let out a low whistle at the idea of how it was torn out, though. "Ouch... poor Axiom. Hope they're okay. And wait, he attacked his brother? Out of henshin? As Riventon? What happened?" Hinoiri asked, her eyes wide.
Usagi Tsukino "Nope, if I use Moon Healing, it literally ''can't'' hurt anything but Dark Energy," she reassures Hinoiri, and with permission granted, reaches for her compact.

"Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

The transformation is swift, but not so swift that Hinoiri doesn't see Usagi, body covered head to toe in shimmering energy as she twists about and her fuku manifests on her body, first the leotard with it's armored chest place, then the collar and skirt, then the ribbons, boots, and jewelry, and finally the gloves as she strikes a pose on instinct as the light fades.

"This won't even leave any glitter behind," she promises, pulling the Crescent Wand from nowhere, and then she says - "Honestly, asking Sora-sama to dump them in a vault somewhere ''does'' sound like a great idea. They'd be pure and away from Earth..."

She raises the wand, carving a circle of light in the air. Hinoiri's room is flooded with purifying light, that, as promised, does no harm to anything but the pieces of the orb, which shimmer and release their color, dimming.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

She hadn't even had to take them from the bag - but with thast done, she turns to Hinoiri, eyes serious, "No, they were both out of henshin. They were ''supposed'' to both be magic-less, and just fight it out, because they upset each other when Mamochan wanted the orb and said that if Riventon wasn't willing to give it up... he'd tell me and Kunzite Riventon's identity, so we'd know who we were letting around us with that thing. Ultimatum style."

She lets Hinoiri imagine that before continuing. "But their fistfight was like, a verbal fight too, and when Mamochan told Riventon he was wrong about Dark Energy and that he's been wrong about a lot of stuff, he lost it and made it a magic beatdown after all."
Hinoiri Kirara Hinoiri Kirara nodded along, letting out a low whistle, closing her eyes as OH GOSH HER EYES! And she didn't wanna be blind. So she munched her cauliflower and cringed.

"Ahhhhh. He gave Riventon an ultimatum. I'm sure that went over spectacularly well. Perhaps he should have insulted his mother while he was at it," Hinoiri said dryly. "To really cement the fight. But going straight to identity revealing... that's... a really dangerous game to play. There's a reason I don't play that card with people, even with all the identities I know," Hinoiri said.

"... But attacking his brother, out of henshin like that? I wouldn't have thought Riventon was the sort. I know he's not the most... stable... person in the world. But I wouldn't have thought he'd..." She trailed off and sighed. "That? That's crossing a line. He's losing control. That was the kind of stuff I didn't do until I went full Sunset of Sora."
Usagi Tsukino "Of course he gave him an ultimatum. They were in Crystal Tokyo. You know, where all our future selves were, our future selves who were ''really'' eager to pop Riventon like a grape the ''second'' they felt ''Beryl'' after ''finally'' getting rid of the Black Moon Clan?" Her voice is serious, as she conveys the risk. "Mamochan doesn't ''have'' a brother in Chibiusa-chan's time, so the only reason they held back was because Mamochan asked them to please not kill his brother for bringing ''Beryl's power'' to their city."

Not that she thinks they would have killed him, exactly. Chibiusa said the death penalty was banned, after all. They'd probably have just... tried to purify him and then killed him on accident. Yeah... she's not mentioning that thought to Mamochan.

"It ''is'' rough," Usagi agrees. "But Riventon knows who we are, and Mamochan wasn't okay with us not knowing who he is, if he's going to go around using Beryl's stuff, when it feels so much like her that we could feel it ''without'' even seeing it. He was hoping Riventon would either decide he didn't want the orb, or he'd decide he did, and that he didn't mind his sister-in-law and future brother-in-law knowing his identity."

Of course it's crossing a line. It's all been crossing a line.

"That's because like Mamochan said, he can't handle his dark energy. He never could. You can bet how mad that made him."
Hinoiri Kirara Hinoiri Kirara stared at her. "He gave him that ultimatum in *Crystal Tokyo*?" Hinoiri asked. "I thought they *grew up together*? I worked with the guy for a *year* and am a *pony* and know better than that. So, what, they were there and he threatened him there? And then he immediately told you guys or... wait, how long have you guys had this gem? Did they have the fight *there*? Was there a fight there? How did I not hear about it?" Hinoiri asked.

"You guys do know if they'd tried to go after Riventon, there'd have probably been a round two, right? Beryl crystal or not. As much as Riventon may be a jerk, he's our jerk and he did... well, he didn't come to help, but he did help. And some of us do... like him... somewhat..." She gave a sigh and shook her head.

"... But yeah, if Riventon knows who you lot are? Then that's fair. That's something I'd say Mamoru should have talked with him about... Threatening him about it, though, in an alternate reality world, though, where other him is a king? Yeah... that... really wasn't going to do anything but end in a fight. I doubt you could have gotten him to give up a magazine subscription there without a fight, let alone this."

"... The fact he snapped, though... Lost his cool... lost control... That's... really a sign that his control is slipping. And if his control is slipping... I've seen what he can do if he fully goes off the deep end..." Hinoiri muttered, looking very unhappy about that. "Tearing something out of Axion, too? That's... his partner... On top of it all..."
Usagi Tsukino "The mistake he made was forgetting that his brother doesn't love him more than power, and that his brother isn't someone he can be honest with without consequences," Usagi says, and it's honest and sincere, and also maybe not something Hinoiri wants to hear about someone she likes.

"And really, he thought it wouldn't be a fight. He thought he'd be able to tell his brother, who he grew up with, who is in his oldest memories, that he doesn't want him to use this orb, this ''thing'', from Beryl, who literally tortured him and who tried to groom him in this, and who murdered him in the past, and that brother would go 'oh, yeah, that is a huge trigger for all that trauma huh? You're right, I ''am'' stronger and better than Beryl, I don't need her stuff."

But he was wrong, obviously.

"They had their fight a few days ago. They both just simmered on it, for weeks, and then went and had a big fight and Riventon spit out all his anger and rage over Mamochan being his own person with different ideas from him and you know, the ability to think Riventon can be ''wrong'' about things."

She looks at Hinoiri, flatly and honestly, next, and says, "If it had been a fight, we'd have tried our very hardest to convince them not to make it a fight. But in an actual fight? It would have been round one and a half. And yeah. He's known about me being the Princess since prom, and he's known about Kunzite since Mamochan was still Hematite."

"It's been over a year of him knowing, and him getting worse. Mamochan didn't see it as a threat because he loves his brother, and he didn't think his brother would see him as a threat, but like I said - Riventon doesn't love anyone more than he loves his power. How could he? He was born stuck to it. But... yeah."

"He's probably losing it more now than before, since he's awfully mad about the whole thing - and so am I, and the only reason I don't purify his stupid, jerk face is because Mamochan ''still'' wants him safe, even though Riventon ''literally'' broke his bones over being told he was wrong."
Hinoiri Kirara Hinoiri Kirara picked up a piece of broccoli and dipped it in the ranch, blinking a few times before she bit into it.

And Riventon? He had bucked up. There was no excuse. She wasn't even going to try. Nope. There was a bridge too far. There were lines you didn't cross. Attacking civilians like that? FAMILY? That was one of them. And that was a sign she didn't like. She was going to have to have a talk with him.

Buuut... he was still a friend. And that first thing she said? 'He doesn't love him more than power'. It was so hard for her to not snap back with 'Neither does Mamoru'. Would Mamoru give up his power for Takashi? No. Not if he though he'd need that power to protect Usagi. Because there was nuance to all of that. It was a gross oversimplification that she didn't like. But...

But Usagi was Mamoru's wife now. And she realized that. She was Mamoru's wife and so she was likely being hit by this INCREDIBLY hard. A lot harder that Mamoru might be. There were likely a lot of feelings that Usagi had right now that weren't even being considered by anyone, Mamoru or Riventon. Just like a lot of Riventon's feelings and Mamoru's feelings hadn't likely been considered by the other in this whole thing. Her gaze softened. "I'm sorry," Hinoiri said. "This must be really hard for you. And... yeah. That sounds like him. Riventon is kind of an idiot like that. He and I get into debates over that all the time. He's wrong all the time, though. Never admits it."

"Hmmm..." She kept her thoughts on the round and a half to herself. But made a note about that for the future. "... The identities... those... I'd say they shouldn't have been tied to this. Connecting them just led to more trouble. And... no... that's... going too far... Even he should see that." she didn't comment on Usagi's words of 'love more than power'... Because Usagi didn't know Riventon. She knew Mamoru. And her husband got hurt, and she understood that. So she could understand the need to vent and lash out. Sometimes? You just needed to.

"... How is Mamoru doing now? Is he okay?"
Usagi Tsukino Hinoiri is Riventon's friend. She has certain ties to him, certain debts to him, that Usagi knows means she has a different opinion, one Usagi won't ever share. But she means what she said: Riventon, with his dark energy, would never consider giving ''that up'' for anyone. And she ''does'' think Mamoru would give up his power to save the people he loved, if it was a choice.

If she was asked though, she'd point out that Takashi ''did'' give up the orb and he ''still'' has power, so obvious no one was asking him to give up all his magic, they were asking him to ''give up the Beryl power''.

But it's not asked about, so she doesn't offer that.

Still, she sees the look on Hinoiri's face, the way her mouth and eyes turn more stern, and she can bet that she's upset her - but she isn't going to preempt with an apology or a softening of that stance.

"I'll be alright. I mean - when it comes down to it, this is about Mamochan, not me, and making sure he's fine is my priority here. That's one of the reasons I wanted to come to you too - because you're Riventon's friend. But you're my friend too, and Mamochan's, and I'd like to ask if you'd be willing to ''not'' help him with another ''Beryl'' orb, if he finds one. The rest of it's... not really my business, even if I don't approve. But Beryl is always going to be our business, so..."

It's a request, and Hinoiri can deny it, of course. But it's out there now.

"Sure, he's wrong all the time, I know that, and you know that - but Mamochan's never really told him that, so it made their fight worse... but for the rest of that? It's really his business, all the rest. I just didn't want you to go around thinking Mamochan brought this on himself, when he just misunderstood his relationship with his brother."

She shrugs, and then says, honestly - "It probably was a mistake. We're all still kids. But Riventon's identity? Is the only thing Mamochan had that Riventon cares about as much as Mamochan cares about ''not being triggered'' by Beryl."
Hinoiri Kirara Hinoiri Kirara shook her head. "No, it's about both of you. You're being affected, even if you're not being attacked directly. But no, I won't be making any more of these orbs. And if you want? I'll toss them back home in some vault somewhere as well. You two are my friends. And I've worked with all three of you, and I like to think I have a decent raport with all three of you."

She picked up one of the gem shards and sighed. "... Man, he is the trouble that just keeps on coming, isn't he? First he hands over the memory jar, turns out he's Hiddenite, losing control... I wonder if that's why he gave the jar over, just in case he *is* worried he's losing control, trying to make sure he's got backups in case he needs to get put down. It's the kind of thing I'd have done when I was Sunbreaker," Hinoiri said.

"At least he's not connected to this Yuyami thing, that's probably just my problem. If it's a problem. No, wait. It's your world. Of course it's going to be a problem."

"... And no, I don't think he brought it on himself. You don't bring henshins to a non-henshin fight. That's a line, and he broke it. The whole fight happening to begin with? Ehhhh... that was inevitable with how it was handled from the looks of things," Hinoiri said, placing the gemstones down.

"But... henshining and tearing him apart? No. That's one of the first signs of losing control. I... think I'm going to need to have a talk with him... ugh... on school grounds since he still thinks I'm a civilian... and he's going to be an *utter obnoxious tool* the entire time..." Hinoiri mumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "... I'm sorry this happened, though... I really am..."
Usagi Tsukino "I'd appreciate that. I think he can find plenty of other trouble, you know? And - if Sora-sama, and Runa-sama don't mind, I would like it stored over there. I don't exactly want it on the Moon, and that's the next safest place I know..."

Usagi frowns a little, then shakes her head. "I mean, I ''am'' affected. But I knew what I was marrying into, you know? I knew Mamochan and Riventon's relationship is troubled, so even though I'm unhappy... I'm not surprised."

Not entirely. She hasn't forgotten how crazed Riventon got during the fights for the Crystal Heart.

"That's right, he did hand over the - he's what? He's ''Hiddenite''?!" And Usagi's eyes pop wide open, and it's clear that everything else that Hinoiri said has been shuffled off to be revisited later, when her auditory processing rewinds the tapes.

"Of ''course'' he's Hiddenite, oh my - and he said he wasn't jealous - and he - oh that makes so much sense."

Oh she's so mad but in a bewildered, half amused way.
Hinoiri Kirara Hinoiri Kirara nodded and started gathering up the bits and pieces of gemstone. "No problem. At least dark energy doesn't exist over there. And I'm sure they'll be fine with it, once I explain. They're pretty cool and Sora has been cool about things now. I think she feels pretty bad about... well, everything that happened. Me eating the sun and all over here, heh. And Runa is... nice. I play my cards right, I might get to hide it on their moon," she jokes.

"And... yeah. Riventon is... a complex person. Difficult and... complex. More than you'd think. Ego the size of my anger issues." Yes, she knew she had them.

"And wait, I thought you-- ughhhh... yeah, he is... just found out... keep it on the down low for now, okay? I'll... tell him I told you, though. I thought he revealed this. Buck. Ugh." Pinching the bridge of her nose. "I swear. And that name is ridiculous. Of course he's Hidden-ite."

"So glad today is bike day. I really need to work on my bike today."
Usagi Tsukino "Oh, people are always complicated. I learned that a long time ago..." From Fruits Basket! Among other things. "Thank you, again. I'll write Sora-sama a thank you card! So she knows I appreciate her help. Runa-sama too."

She will! It will be messy and full of little doodles.

"No, I know his ''civilian'' name now, not that he's Hiddenite, and - I'm not going to tell the whole world or anything." She's absolutely telling the Shitennou and Senshi, though. This is a secret the family should know, even if Hiddenite hasn't really been seen around much lately.

"And Hiddenite's an actual rock, but, but ''man'' he really made it a stupid pun, I can't believe him... I'm going to head out now, so you can go fix your bike, and all that, but... at least we cleared something up."

Remembering Zoisite's advice, she takes a shard of the Beryl orb and keeps it, before handing Hinoiri the bag with all the other shards. There. Now no one gets the whole orb, even on Kirakirafantastica.