godbent | 37th: The Losses of Haruhi Suzumiya

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37th: The Losses of Haruhi Suzumiya

[Voice]

For everyone who knew the idol and the Deputy-Vice Chief of the Brigade, Azusa Miura, I can say confidently that she'd been sent home. I didn't check her apartment yet, but there's a lot of stuff in her Brigade locker here at the HQ. The typical letters Jeez, when did she write all these... for a few people are here for one. [For the people listed here. She expects those who know her to ask or just stop by] You can stop by to pick them up. She's left some other things too, but those are mostly Brigade property.

[And she flips through the items some more before... you know there's no "FOR X" on here, but there are some bookmarks in some of them which say her name on them so.]

...Except these things. Buffy, are you a woman yet? [She doesn't get a filter. The next guy does]

[Filtered to Sanji // 85% Unhackable]

I've got something in particular for you.

[Action]

[So for the last few days, Haruhi was Shiki. That... Was weird. She has decided to make herself as Haruhi as possible. So she's actually going to ignore that aside from maybe her housemates and Minato and sit inside the Brigade HQ all day at the front desk. That event had to be traumatizing for some people, maybe they'll get some clients looking for counseling! ...Finally!

The spelunking trip is in a few days anyway so.

Come on in, step in! Be therapy'd! PS: Brigade To Do List]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

One of them, yeah. It's called the Light of Guidance. You use it to get out of being lost... I just can't get mine to move. [Series Note: Willow used it to try to find her way out of a haunted house in season 3 apparently]To be honest though, she was way more concerned with me knowing two other rituals than anything neat.

Y-yeah. I've...seen it used before. A few times. Will was already doing it by the time we w--

[ not helpful. ] Oh? Which witchy rituals were those?

The one which removes a vampire's invitation from your house was the first thing I actually learned from her. Another one was an early warning incantation system. [She runs a hand through her bangs. Both of them are defensive spells, which was of interest to her. Buffy always struck her as a very brunt force thing. Maybe Willow was a support system for her]

The uninvitation mojo was one of Willow's early bits, too. And a very important early bit. O-or maybe not as important in these parts, but...

[ a shrug. ] Willow understands better than most of us that these steps gotta be taken one at a time. And carefully. Maybe even more so here.

She actually gave me a sort of an awkward lecture about not going to the dark side... I think she doesn't think she's a good tutor.

[Maybe that's just her perception, though. She shrugs]

[ that worries her, but: ] You're probably right. But teaching is a learning process all on its own. I...

[ she wrinkles her nose. almost nervous. ] Thanks, for giving her a try.

[ willow can be so skittsh about magic these days and while buffy knows the good she's capable of -- the spell over the scythe -- willow hasn't yet lived it. teaching haruhi, she hopes, will help her with that. ]

[Haruhi, however, averts her eyes and waves a hand dismissively] She's knowledgeable and practical, the later Helios and a bunch of other magic tutors I could have can't even begin to claim. I like her, don't worry.

[After that confession though, she doesn't want to focus on it. In fact, she's going to let her eyes drift back down to the bridal magazine]

So, you getting hitched?

Good. She's...likeable. I'm sure you two'll -- [ have a lot in common. ahem. ]

[ ah! saved by the unexpected question! ]

E-excuse me -- what?

In her locker, Azusa had this. [She holds up a bridal magazine. It might not be clear from a distance, but it has a few post-it notes sticking out of it, one of which has Buffy's name on it]

That's right. I -- oh, crap. I have a bunch more of hers back at the house. I should've...

Should I have brought them? Do you want them?

[ she sounds rather skeptical, herself. ]

Why would I want them? I got dumped because I didn't want to be married, remember?

[she's over the break up. She really and truly is. But around Buffy, who she knows was probably On Winry's Side she can't help but have a bitter note in her voice]

I just thought...'cause of the pictures of Azusa and...

[ ugh. nevermind. buffy reaches for the magazine. ] I'll take care of it.

I have my own pictures.

[She bites her lip. She doesn't release the grip on this one. Or hold it out. She called Buffy over to take the thing off her hands, but not confronted with it, she doesn't really want to relinquish it.

...She weighs that for the better part of twenty seconds before chiding herself and thrusting it towards Buffy's arms]

Y'know -- [ haruhi's hesitation would have been impossible to miss ] -- you can think about it. Everyone deserves a chance to think about it. That's my philosophy.

[ buffy doesn't know if she's talking about the magazines or marriage, now. ]

Thinking doesn't change your instinct, Buffy. I'm old enough to have thought about a lot of things.

Didn't say you weren't. Though...

[ too young, she thinks, to have to make a decision about marriage. hell -- she's nearly twenty-seven and she feels too young! ]

It's not me. I'm not the one doing the hitching. By the way.

Good, that would have been creepy. I know that guy looks and acts young, but I can smell it on him - he's like almost seventeen years older than you, right?

[Blase. Trivially]

Sixteen. But who's counting? [ her, obviously.

and -- more tellingly -- jack. the things he said on his birthday... ]

It's not that dire of a gap. Not really. But -- hey. It's not my job to justify it. [ tired; not combative. ]

Guess it's kind of a stupid reason to dump someone. [ age difference? or being unwilling to marry? one of the two. maybe both. ]

[...She frowns. To herself and then hangs her head. she arms fall, and she then goes to set the bridal magazine back on the counter, half open to a page that has a picture of Azusa on it. She tsks herself and shakes her head]

I've dumped people for dumber reasons. That [Age difference] Is actually a legitimate concern.

[ loose looped arms over her chest. ]

Sixteen's better than a couple hundred. Right? [ ... ] And last I checked, love wasn't supposed to be about rings and pragmatism and planning for the future. If you love someone in the now...

[ well. then maybe age nor marrigiability mattered. ]

Love's a mental illness, so you're right in that respect. Illnesses don't wait around for your priorities or make logical sense. Just look at the likes of Romeo and Juliet, Hikoboshi and Orihime, anyone who was gay before like the 1970s... the fact is, your heart leaps into your throat and you just fall right in. Even a girl like me gets infected sometimes...

[Buffy already knew that. Haruhi isn't looking at the older woman though. Instead, she's leafing the magazine open to look closer at Azusa]

But I don't think life is as generously open as love is by definition.

[ generous? open? nah. love -- and life -- is pain. buffy's just gotten to a point where she can nearly-almost-just-about embrace that pain.

but it doesn't dull the feelings. ]

It was cold -- what she did to you. Cold. But she'll never hear that from me.

[She's not looking at Buffy now, but her eyes widen. She really, really was not expecting to hear that. and frankly, she doesn't know how to react to it.]

[So she builds up indignation from nothing and huffs out a defensive tone, still not really making eye contact with Buffy, but not facing her general direction]

Yeah, well, she was in love with someone else and now they're dating. All's well that ends well.

[Except for her]

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