(Untitled)

[asleepinsilence]

"On mount Koyari-"

"-uick Mika-chan if we don't hurry-"

"-'s do the Alpine dance-"

"Wheee! This is so much fun Daichi-kun!"

All over the playground the voices of happy children can be heard, squealing and giggling as the children themselves play. Some play clapping games, others skip, while there's a group running happily over the ground. Adults

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[firextinguished]

When Rei finds herself in a Jyuban park she's familiar with, she knows it's the nexus' fault. After all, moments earlier, she'd been brushing the calligraphy onto several ofuda in a small room of a Kyoto temple.

She only sees the children, and she hopes for their sake that no enemies have been brought here with her. They play and run and shout and laugh, and she finds herself smiling, too. She's always liked children.

One of them's sitting alone, she notices after a little while longer. Rei makes her way over to Hotaru and bends down to put herself closer to the little girl's level.

"Don't you want to play with your friends?" she asks.

[asleepinsilence]

Hotaru jumps slightly, lowering her eyes to meet Rei's. "Oh..." she says softly, studying the older girl. I mustn't have seen her when they introduced me...

"Friends?" Hotaru cocks her head to the side, "Haruka-san isn't here but."

[firextinguished]

She'd been using 'friends' in a broader sense, as a teacher might with a classroom of children, as a way to encourage thinking of each other that way. So Rei smiles anyway, and holds out a hand.

"Come on. Let's go join them, alright?"

[asleepinsilence]

She stares at Rei's hand, debating whether to take it or not. To take it, means to go over to them, and while yes she might make some friends, she also might be ridiculed, have to see the rejection in their eyes. And that would hurt more than this solitude would.

Hotaru shakes her head, looking away. "No thank you," she says softly, staring at the ground, "I'd rather stay here. I like it here. I'm okay."

[kousagitsukino]

"HELLO!"

The sudden bombastic greeting will no doubt catch Hotaru by total surprise. Kousagi doesn't notice if that happens; she's too busy eating something. But hey, she's also not in school anymore! No more boring lectures!

[asleepinsilence]

Oh dear lord, it's a shrieking ball of pi- oh it's just Kousagi. No need to flail. That's okay.

"Kousagi-san? Did you start here?" Hotaru gives the girl a quizical look.

[kousagitsukino]

"Eeeeh?" Kousagi blinked, not realizing what Hotaru meant. Or the fact she knew her. But that second thing was ok. "Start where??"

[asleepinsilence]

She didn't remember her? Oh... well that makes sense. At least it's better than remembering and teasing. "At... at school, of course?" Hotaru says, nodding towards the building. "That's where we are."

[maguscollection]

...This is definitely not her lab. The nexus' fault? Must be. The woman in a red lab coat looks a little irritated for a moment, then takes notice of a certain dark-haired girl. Her expression relaxes, she smiles and comes close, sitting beside her.

"Hotaru-chan," she says gently, "Why are you over here by yourself?" This is a different one, she notices, the youngest one she met the first time here. Really, she knows why Hotaru chooses to be alone, but she asks anyway.

[asleepinsilence]

Hotaru looks up, giving Kaorinite a brief smile. "Hi Kaorinite-san."

The smile flickers, dies, and Hotaru looks away. "I... I don't really get along with the other kids... but I'm okay. Really. I like being by myself."

[maguscollection]

"It's fine," the woman answers, laying a hand over top of the child's. "I understand why you're by yourself." She knew all too well. Even if this girl was different, perhaps even wholly human (she seemed young enough, even though she had said her father had died), Kaorinite saw the same bullied girl, the same resolute loneliness.

"I'm sure you'll find a friend you can play with soon enough. It will take time, but it will be worth it," she offers as encouragement.

[asleepinsilence]

Hotaru responds with a soft, "hmm... maybe," and a nod.

"How are you Kaorinite-san?" she says, attempting to change the topic.