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Owner	Pose
Usagi Tsukino	Chiyo and Wako had made it clear that Hotaru was - as Mamoru and Rashmi and Setsuna and Haruka and Michiru had said - a mostly normal girl, immature, undersocialized, almost definitely abused, but normal. Not a murdering nut, which meant all the rest of that was probably the evil thing in her body. Usagi, having heard that, had done the only reasonable thing one could do: whine to Luna about how this meant she needed to get over herself and meet Hotaru again but she didn't ''want'' too. Luna, being very reasonable and utterly merciless, had told her to go do it anyway. So then Usagi had gone to ''Makoto'' and begged her to come with her, and make up an excuse that wasn't as transparent as 'I need to spend time with this kid so I'm not scared of her'. Makoto had promptly agreed to come with her, and even helped brainstorm an excuse - using Setsuna's kitchen! To test out the cookability of the stuff that came out of the alien snack machine! So it is that Usagi and Makoto approach the door of Casa del Outers each equipped with containers - one a large basket of blueberries and lemons and cinnamon sticks, the other a cheap cooler with the stuff to make pie crust. Setsuna had already been called in advance, plied with the offer of food and company, and the warning that Hotaru didn't have to be away or anything. "Okay.... here we go." And Usagi rings the doorbell.
Makoto Kino	Makoto is wrangling the cooler, it being a bit bulkier and heavier than Usagi's basket, and she's draped her oversized apron over the lid to put on once they get started. "I still can't believe you and Ami-chan fixed up an alien machine to make food," she's saying, standing a bit behind Usagi while the blonde rings the doorbell. "Do you have any idea how mind-blowing this will be if you two get it working properly? Even if it only made fruit, the possibilities..." There is, honestly, no telling what kind of impression she must have made when she reached out to Setsuna to ask for the temporary use of her kitchen. Her mind was pretty well blown at the time. ''Fresh fruits, out of season. All year round!'' She probably sounded a bit more panicky than the actual situation at all warrants.
Setsuna Meiou	Once, a long time ago, Setsuna made the offhand offer for use of her kitchen if needed to the various inners. So long ago, she thought they'd all forgotten about it. So when Makoto called her asking if she could use the kitchen, Setsuna gladly agreed and set about getting things ready. Not that she needed to do MUCH. Mostly just making sure all the dishes were washed and no mail or other of the day-to-day odds and ends of life were there. Hotaru had also been told of company coming that was okay to know she was here and asked to be, for the most part, herself. Thus, when the knock comes to the door, it is soon opened by Setsuna, who's wearing a black t-shirt of some kind under a brown apron with the words 'Romaine Calm and Lettuce Carrrot On' written on it. Seeing the other two, she smiles and waves them in, "Come in. Come in. Enter freely, and of your own will and all that." Once the other two are in, she leads them down the short hallway to the kitchen. It's fairly spacious with plenty of counter room, a large kitchen island that's set up for prep work with enough stools around it that it's obviously often used as a kitchen table as well. Appliance wise, there's a large split-door fridge, an induction cooktop over an oven as well as all the other more common gadgets such as an over-stove microwave, an air fryer, a large Zojirushi ricemaker, some horrendously complicated-looking thing that has to be some form of coffeemaker judging by the stuff around it, and a few other odds and ends, "So what all are we making? Fresh fruits give a pretty wide range of options."
Sailor Saturn	Company? Mysterious company? Who were okay to know she was here and all she had to do was be herself? Ohhhh. A mystery. It was a MYSTERY! Sure, maybe Setsuna would have told her who it was if she just asked. But she didn't. Instead she focused on who it might, possibly, be. It could be ANYONE! Or ANYTHING! So when she heard that someone was downstairs, she'd grabbed Yochu and, hugging the haunted doll to her chest, she'd made her way downstairs. She could hear them in the kitchen... Rashmi? Ohhhh. She did like Rashmi, so that wasn't a problem. But she wondered why Setsuna hadn't just said that it was Rashmi. However, then Hotaru peeped her head around the corner to peer into the kitchen and-- And her heart almost burst. IT WAS THAT ONE GIRL! The really nice one she'd met that one time at the park who kind of made her heart skip and not in a like 'I wanna hug her' way but a kind of 'I hope we could be friends but she's probably too cool but she seems really nice so maybe she'd be my friend too' way! She froze in the doorway, staring, half her face obscurred by the wall. She was wearing black and orange pumpkin slippers, a black spider-web themed skirt and a cute little top with long sleeves and lil bat wings today, even... ... Blame Setsuna, the woman let her wear all kinds of things.
Usagi Tsukino	"I give all the credit to Ami-chan," is what Usagi is saying before Setsuna opens the door, "Because it was just junk before she fiddled with it. Now it spits out fruit! And one time, pine nuts! We're still trying to figure out the alien alphabet, mostly by pushing buttons when the machine has juice, but, I ''knew'' you'd like it -" The plan to get unlimited snacks is so going to work... and it's even helping to calm her nerves. Because she ''is'' nervous, definitely in spite of herself - And the pun on Setsuna's shirt, hilarious in English as it is, doesn't quite land for her, with her shaky grasp of English. "Hi, Suna-san! Thanks for letting us use your kitchen - Makochan is gonna make blueberry pie! Or cobbler. Or turnover. Apparently they all take the same ingredients, so it's gonna be one of those or maybe more~" Because she's batting her eyes at Makoto, turning back as they walk in. "Is, Tomoe-chan...?" She doesn't see her, after all - oh! Oh. There she is. "Hi, Tomoe-chan. Are you going to bake with us?"
Makoto Kino	"Definitely pie," comes Makoto's decisive reply, in the wake of Usagi's more lengthy answer. "And probably some turnovers with whatever doesn't fit in the pie pans. Cobbler is a maybe... if we have some kind of horrible pie crust incident, perhaps. Thank you for having us, Meiou-san." Having been shown to the kitchen, she takes only a brief interval to look around before she starts making herself at home - setting down the cooler, she shifts the apron out of the way in order to retrieve a package of butter and move it to the fridge. Other ingredients - a series of canisters, a half carton of eggs and a half-pint of heavy cream - get set out on the counter. She's moving to relieve Usagi of the basket that contains the rest of their ingredients when Usagi greets Hotaru. At this, she pauses to look the younger girl's way, and offers a polite bow. "Usagi-chan can probably tell you, I'm not really used to having a lot of help, but you're certainly welcome to join us if you'd like."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna shakes her head, and helps Makoto as needed finding where various pots, pans, and utensils are, "I can help you somewhat as well, Makoto-chan. While I'm not all that experienced with baking, I can at least help you with some of the prep work...and feel free to raid my pantry (here she points to a door off in one corner) for extra supplies if you need a little more to finish a batch or whatnot." She then smiles, "...or if you just want to make extras to enjoy or share. I certainly don't mind the use." She pauses, thinking for a moment, "...and if you haven't had dinner yet, I can make burgers for everyone for dinner once we've got the oven going." After a few moments, she looks over at Usagi, "...I don't know how much baking needs doing, but I'm happy to have you all as long as you care to stay."
Sailor Saturn	"... i... ki... o..." Hotaru mumbled so softly the words couldn't be heard. Then she disappeared. Oops. Scared. Her back to the wall. Oh gosh, it was the nice girl! And... and she vaguelly, kind of knew her, right? They'd met once. Alas, she didn't know she was Sailor Moon, so she had no way to know why her heart was pounding so hard. Ahhhhh! Setsuna hadn't told her she was friends with her! ... Wait, Setsuna was the nurse, she knew everyone, that made sense. Then her head popped out again and she walked towards them. "H-hi. Ummmm... y-you.... you can call me H-Hotaru... if you like..." she mumbled, hugging Yochu tightly before, gently, putting the doll on the chair. "I-I'd... I'd like to help if I could?" she asked. "I... I've been told I'm a good helper..." ... And the doll's head definitely didn't seem to switch witch side it was tilted to when they looked away and then back. Definitely not. "W-what would... you like me to ummm... d-do first?" she asked. Eyes down. Rubbing her hands nervously over the front of her skirt, wishing she'd ironed it or something first. As if she was being inspected. Friendship wasn't to be done lightly!
Usagi Tsukino	Makoto is making that face that says 'please my friends, just allow me to do all the baking and you carry the conversation and give my mouth things to while my hands are at work', and Usagi laughs a little, relaxing, even as Hotaru steps into the room, and offers her name, and it's - nice of her, it really is, but, doesn't she... know? Doesn't she know about Usagi and Sailor Moon, the way she clearly knows about Setsuna and Sailor Pluto, on account of her being Sailor Charon - She looks at Setsuna, her face snowing her confusion. Um? The thing is, Hotaru does seem nice, and young, like, ''young'', because Usagi is pretty sure she's only a couple of years younger than her, and yet... "Hotaru-san, then. And thank you, and... honestly, I shouldn't have asked. You're probably a good helper, but the thing is, Makoto-chan never actually needs any help. She's an amazing chef, and she's testing out a bunch of alien ingredients; I picked up this machine from the uh, Arthura? wreckage, that Ami-chan fixed up so it works... sorta?" A shrug. "None of the writing is in Japanese, or like, any Earth language, but it spits out identical clone copies of snacks, which, apparently all the berries that come out of a tree aren't copies of the same berry, so ''now'' we're going to see what it's like when you make a pie out of berries that are all the same one berry." And this, at least, makes it apparent that Usagi and Makoto are in the know. "So maybe instead, we can uh, make some cookie dough, while Makoto-chan makes the pies? Or help Suna-san make burgers?"
Makoto Kino	Makoto is, briefly, very interested in tying on her apron - a capacious purple thing with white ties which fully covers her clothes except for the sleeves and verges perilously close to being more of a small tarp. It gives Usagi the chance to step in, and once she's finished fussing with the apron ties, Mako offers Hotaru a warm smile. "It's an experiment," she agrees. "You can't rush making pie from scratch, so burgers... or cookies... would be good to have. But whoever you're going to help with cooking, the first thing you'll need to do is wash your hands." She proves to have brought an assortment of her own utensils, tucked away in Usagi's basket: measuring cups and spoons, a well-used silicone spatula, and even a pastry cutter. These, like the ingredients, get set out in an orderly arrangement, and she avails herself of Setsuna's cupboards, with the latter's direction, for mixing bowls and pie plates. Despite her lack of familiarity with this particular kitchen, it doesn't take long to become clear that she definitely has a system in mind.
Setsuna Meiou	As Usagi lets Hotaru (and also herself) know where the various fruits she acquired came from, Setsuna blinks a few times, then GRINS, "OH! Well, as it turns out, I can actually help you there, Usagi-chan. If it came out of the Arthra, I can actually speak and read that language." She pauses, then waggles a hand, "...a little, at least. If it's beyond me, I know a girl who I guarantee will be able to translate all the buttons." One of the things Chrono gave her was a primer on how to speak and read Mid-Childan, after all. She's FAR better at speaking than reading, though. Turning back to Makoto, she helps the brunette with pointing out this and that...mostly helping by fetching...but she does duck into the fridge to set aside the ingredients for burgers for later. Aside from that, she's pointing out little details of her kitchen that Makoto might not notice offhand, "...all my stuff is set up for my induction top, so you don't have to worry about any of that...it comes up to temp a lot faster than most people expect, so just keep an eye on that...also the oven has a convection setting, but you can turn it on or off with that button there as you like." As she does, she keeps a little eye on Hotaru...and she manages to keep in a little cheer as she sees Usagi and her young charge apparently getting along...if a bit mutually timidly at the moment.
Sailor Saturn	Hotaru Tomoe nodded, lowering her eyes. "O-oh... I... I understand. Sorry, I didn't mean to get in the way," she said gently, a hand reaching up to rub her arm nervously. "So... it's... a weird... magic space machine? That makes food? That sounds cool. You..." Then she trailed off. "Wait... the... arthra? More pieces fell? Oh... I hope nobody got hurt." She gave a little shudder as she remembered last time. The lightning... "If... if it's okay to help, I'd like to. I won't get in the way, and... and if I do, you can just tell me and I'll go. But I'll try my best, really!" she said, sounding determined. Even doing a lil jump when she said it. Making the little cloth 'wings' on her outfit flap once.
Usagi Tsukino	"Wait, really - oh, because of Chrono-kun, huh!" Setsuna! Setsuna!!! "You've definitely got to help Ami-chan with the labels, we're trying to figure out how many snacks it can make us! If we get unlimited ingredients, we can get unlimited ''treats''." This is a big deal. It's obvious how this is a big deal, right? She doesn't have to explain the fact that this is a big deal? Meanwhile - underconfident, maybe mood swinging a bit, excited to anxious, and, Usagi takes a deep breath, trying to channel big sister energy without the combativeness of her ''actual'' relationship with Shingo into this interaction, because... trying to make a good impression. Setsuna didn't respond to her meaningful eye contact, on account of explaining how her fancy kitchen works, so that's leaving Usagi to figure this out herself, so... "You're not in the way. I mean, okay, you are, but only as much as I am. Makochan only really takes help in the kitchen when she's cheering someone up, and so far, no one seems to need any cheering up, right?" And then - "Yeah, a few weeks ago. Everyone who got hurt is okay, now, though it would have gone better if -" oh she probably shouldn't mention Riventon - but - secrets have not been working out, and she can't go forever without mentioning it, right? "If Riventon and his back up hadn't of shown up to steal everything. We managed, though."
Makoto Kino	Makoto listens to Setsuna's explanations of the kitchen's finer details attentively, looking suitably impressed by the appliances and their capabilities. "I'll keep that in mind," she promises. "The recipe I want to use doesn't need for the filling to be cooked before baking, so I shouldn't need to use the range... but if you notice me doing anything obviously wrong, please let me know. Oh - do you have a kitchen scale?" While she asks this, she's finishing up organizing everything as she wants it, and she heads to the sink to wash her hands, only to stop and turn an apologetic look Hotaru's way. "It really isn't that you're in the way or anything. I'm just too used to doing this kind of thing myself... Is there anything you've done enough that, if you had to explain to someone else how to do it, having to stop and think about it would trip you up?" Reaching to turn on the tap and begin washing her hands, she goes on: "Even if I don't need help, though, I still like having company. I've been wanting to meet you properly, since Usagi-chan told me about you."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna listens to Makoto as the younger woman lays out her main plan. When asked about the kitchen scale, she nods and says, "Just a moment." And with that, she steps over to the pantry and reaches around the doorway to snag a nice digital kitchen scale that she brings over to the counter where she plugs it in, "Here you go. Button to switch between milligrams, grams, and ounces is there. Button to zero the scale is there." She looks over at Hotaru and nods along with Makoto's explaination, "To be honest, my role here's probably going to top out at pointing at where things are stored and maybe occasionally handing tools over." She then leans over and mock whispers to Hotaru, "I'm going to be paying attention and tomorrow or the day after we can try ourselves and see how close we manage to get to what Makoto-chan makes." That said, she moves more or less out of the way before turning to Usagi and nodding, "Reading Mid-Childan's a bit tricker than speaking it, but I've got a basic primer I can work out of." She chuckles a bit, "...and I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will let you produce unlimited ingredients."
Sailor Saturn	Hotaru Tomoe nodded along. Well, she understood that, at least. "Oh... yeah. Riventon's kind of an idiot. Really smart, but also an idiot sometimes. He doesn't think thinks through and everything can go poorly when that happens. It's why he needs so many people to help make sure he doesn't get over his head." She found it funny that someone could be like that, though. Super smart and super dumb. But she didn't think that made him bad... "I get it, though, I'll stay out of the way. There's... a few things like that. Not since coming here, but back home there were... some things. Kaolinite would always say she was trying to help but she *wasn't* helping she was *snooping* and I *hated it*," Hotaru said, managing to actually look annoyed. "U-Usagi-chan talked about me?" And her face actually lit up. You'd think Usagi was her idol, with the way she clasped her hands together and actually stood up a little taller. "You talk about me? T-to other people? W-wait, is it good or bad? I-I'm sorry!" She quickly moved aside, over by Setsuna, to try and get out of her way. "O-oh... okay," she whispered. "I-I'll try and memorize what I can..." Whichwould work better if... well... she'd be a bit less... nervous.
Usagi Tsukino	"Ami-chan's probably going to do the language changing part," Usagi says, frank, "But if you can help us get there, that would be so awesome. The snacks are great, but like, knowing the difference between if strawberries are gonna fly at my face, or if kiwis are, would be a big help." The lemons... the lemons to the face had definitely been a lesson in 'don't stand directly in front of the machine, dummy!', that was for sure. Then, she considers Hotaru, and Riventon, and her thoughts on his needing help, and she shrugs. "The help he needs is leaving Obsidian, but if Mamochan can't convince him, I'm sure not gonna be able to." She knows her limits and her talents, and they don't include convincing stubborn, dumb future brothers-in-law that they should give up their stupid supervillain plans. "Kaolinite is someone in Tomoe LifeSciences?" Usagi asks, seeking clarity, and wondering if Kaolinite is going to be another villain, someone to look into. "And - uh, yeah. We talked about you. Me and Makochan, and - some other people, you know. It was, uh... a little bit of both?"
Makoto Kino	Makoto abruptly looks a bit chagrined - "Oh. That was one of those things I probably shouldn't have brought up, huh? But I don't think you've said anything bad about her, either." This, obviously, was directed to Usagi. As she dries her hands, she looks back to Hotaru to explain, "Mostly just... concerned about your situation, you know?" Once she's said this, she hastily inclines her head with a murmur of thanks to Setsuna and busies herself measuring out dry ingredients - flour, using Setsuna's kitchen scale, and then small amounts of salt and sugar.
Setsuna Meiou	For her part, Setsuna mainly just stands to the side and limits herself to passing bowls or utensils over to Makoto as needed while otherwise doing her best to stay out of the other young woman's way. During idle moments, occasional small forays are made into the fridge and pantry to arrange ingredients for burgers later. As she does, however, she blinks and snaps her finger, "Oh dear. I've been a TERRIBLE hostess." She looks around the kitchen, "Can I get anyone something to drink? I've got several flavors of ramune, some fruit punch Capri Sun packs, as well as coffee, multiple kinds of tea, and soda. Does anyone want anything?"
Sailor Saturn	Hotaru Tomoe nodded, glancing away slightly. "Kaolinite is the worst. She's selfish and greedy and nasty and daddy trusts her but she's *awful*. She's the one who convinced him to work with Obsidian to begin with. And she's in charges of the witches 5 who are just her lackeys, anyway. I keep telling daddy she can't be trusted but she keeps making him think that maybe she's not terrible but she *is* terrible and she's *awful* and she can't ever be trusted, nuh uh. She's just using him because daddy's a genius." Well, if Usagi was curious... there did seem to be somebody who Hotaru *Really* didn't like. "My situation is much better now, though. I'm not sure what everyone did, but... it has suppressed the effects a lot. I know it's not a... permanent solution, but I've been really happy. I haven't blacked out or had any full seizures in weeks, either. I've ummm... even been able to help with some... extra curriculures at times. Sometimes. On good days..." She rocked back and forth a little when she said that, squirming nervously. She wanted to tell Usagi who she was, but... but what if they'd met and she didn't think Sailor Charron was cool? Her heart couldn't take it!
Usagi Tsukino	So this is what it sounds like when Hotaru doesn't like someone, besides just wanting to stab them, a bunch of times. It's... well, Usagi is definitely getting what Chiyo meant, about her seeming young, all over again. A part of her wants to question if some random woman could ''really'' convince a grown man to decide to join an evil organization, or if it's more likely that he really wanted to, but - well, who's that going to help? "She sounds pretty terrible," she sympathizes, "Does she like, want to be your step mom?" Is daddy really a genius, if some mean lady can manipulate him? So many questions she's just not saying out loud! Inside thoughts. Makoto offers an apology for mentioning the talking, but - "Nah, it's okay Makochan," Usagi says, shaking her head. "I mean, it had to come up eventually, right?" Then she continues, looking at Hotaru. "I'm glad you're happy. And, I don't exactly like, approve of the extracurriculars, you could get hurt, or get found out, or something could go wrong, but... I guess I haven't heard anything about Sailor Charon having an attack the way Firefly did, so it must be going well, right?"
Makoto Kino	Looking gradually less apologetic and more relieved, Makoto nods rueful agreement with Usagi before smiling Setsuna's way. "I'd love a ramune. And, ah... about a hundred and fifty milliliters of very cold water? Though that I should probably be able to figure out on my own..." She's already making for the fridge, her face still angled partly toward Usagi and Hotaru as she retrieves the butter she'd stashed there to keep cold a bit ago. "People with names ending in 'ite' working for Obsidian seem guaranteed to be bad news," she remarks. "In any case, I'm glad to hear you've been doing better, Hotaru-chan."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna hands out drinks as desired, getting a straweberry ramune for herself. The charactaristic POP sounds as she smacks out the marble, then she reaches into the back of the fridge and retrieves a sealed bottled water that she pours the desired measure for into a tumbler (with a bit of assistance from the scale) and then to Makoto, "Here you go." The rest of the bottle is put back in the fridge for later use before Setsuna moves out of the way again to stand not too far from Hotaru. Close enough that the youngest person in the room can perhaps draw a sense of support if needed, at least. Otherwise she's watching Makoto to learn a thing or two and wait for the brunette to get things in the oven so she can take over and make dinner for everyone.
Sailor Saturn	And there it was. Hotaru stomped a foot and for the first time, she actually looked *angry*. Not scary-angry. Just angry. "She'll NEVER BE MY MOM!" Hotaru yelled, before covering her mouth. "I-I... sorry... I didn't mean to... just... she wants to. Things were so much better before her. Daddy was funner, and... then I got hurt, and then she came, then... Obsidian got involved because my injuries needed the funding and... she's terrible. She's just awful and she's just using daddy and tricking him and he doesn't realize it. Daddy's a genius, he doesn't need her help..." she mumbled, crossing her arms and well, looking annoyed. But not angry. "... Wait, you know I was... o-oh... p-please don't tell anyone, I-I mean, you know, I'm sure it's okay that you know, but ummmm... I just..." "... Please don't tell Sailor Moon. She... she hates me and... and I... I messed up and... and I want to make a good impression on her before she finds out who I really am because she's really cool and awesome and smart and graceful and I... messed up before and I don't know how to make it up to her..." Hotaru mumbled, poking her fingers together. Entirely unaware that, first of all, Usagi WAS Sailor Moon... and second of all... Setsuna did tell the ONE PERSON SHE BEGGED NOBODY TO TELL exactly who she was... And kind of inched behind Setsuna as she spoke, poking her fingers together. "S-sorry... if... if that's okay..."
Usagi Tsukino	She'll never be my mom! Well, that was anger alright, and all it had come with was foot-stomping and a raised voice. Usagi had seen worse, a lot worse, from this girl in particular, and the fact that she could get angry, Heck, Usagi had ''done'' worse, so - "You don't have to apologize," Usagi says, waving it off, "You don't like her, and you think it's her fault your dad is the way he is, so... it makes sense that you'd be mad about it." If her dad ''doesn't'' know about the thing inside of her? Then they're going to be in the middle of an even worse evil step-mother story than Cinderella's. But Usagi doesn't say ''that'' either - but this time it's mostly because she's busy throwing outright shocked, vaguely horrified looks Setsuna's way, because what? What?! They've been being ''blatantly sparkly'' this whole time, and Hotaru ''didn't even know''? Didn't this whole secrets thing blow up in their faces enough last time?! What was the point of keeping secrets like this when Hotaru is ''living with three Senshi''?! There's an entire face journey that Usagi goes through, listening to these pleas, and the fact journey is directed mostly at Setsuna, before being turned on Makoto, the kind of eyes wide, what the ''hell'' do we do now plea that came with being totally unprepared for the turn a conversation has taken. "I - can't do that," Usagi Tsukino, The One Named Sailor Moon, says finally, and maybe she'll circle back to the absolute lie that is how ''graceful'' she is, later, but - "Because I am Sailor Moon. I kind of thought you knew?"
Makoto Kino	Without a word, Makoto passes her ramune to Usagi, who clearly needs it more right now. She's extremely grateful for having pie crust in the making to work at - it gives her something to do with her hands. "...so," she says, portioning out cold butter into the bowl of dry ingredients and briskly applying the pastry cutter, "obviously, we all need to talk to each other more, huh? In case it wasn't clear, Hotaru-chan, Sailor Moon doesn't hate you. She's been worried, is all, because this whole situation is dangerous for you and for people around you." A beat or two passes, while the pastry cutter works away at turning 'flour and butter' into something increasingly more akin to crumbly dough. "Um, also," she adds after a moment, "for the record, I'm Sailor Jupiter."
Setsuna Meiou	As Usagi does the big reveal, Setsuna makes sure to be right there for Hotaru, offering contact or a hug as necessary. Looking over at Usagi, she shrugs a little, "She found out about me because I wandered into the kitchen after a long night of patrolling still transformed and Hotaru was waiting here to meet my sleepy, grumpy morning self. Haruka and Michiru decided to let her in on themselves, as did Rashmi-chan." She shrugs, "I could have told her other people's identities, but, well...they're not my secrets to tell." She then nods towards Hotaru, "...and Hotaru here has been SO VERY worried about what Sailor Moon thinks of her...she was, in fact, UTTERLY TERRIFIED of me that first morning because she was so convinced Sailor Moon hated her." She sighs, "I wanted to get permission before I shared any secrets that weren't mine to share." She then gives Hotaru a little pat, "...as far as the Charon thing?" She shrugs and sighs, "...once I got through to her who I was, she was just SO EXCITED to help..." And here, Setsuna gestures to the tiny necklace form of Luminous Titan, "...and she's got an active Device...the help is appreciated." She shifts so that Hotaru can't see her mouth the words 'Better we know what she's doing.' at Usagi once she's sure the blonde is lookig at her. She's certainly hoping Usagi catches the subtext that it would be VERY EASY for someone with a device on par with Nicomachea to sneak around unknown...this way at least there's some nominal supervision.
Sailor Saturn	Hotaru Tomoe cringed when Usagi said she couldn't keep the secret. "B-but... I..." And then. Usagi was Sailor Moon. Usagi was Sailor Moon. USAGI WAS SAILOR MOON! So many bits and pieces clicked into place all at once and Hotaru squeaked, shrinking down as small as she could. And inching into Setsuna, holding onto her hand. "O-oh..." she finally said. "I... Sorry... I caused you so much trouble... I'm... trying to do better now, while I can..." she whispered. "But... Setsuna-senpai... is right... I mean... she can't share information with me. Not... not other people's identities. That's wrong. Not to mention I might... I might one day become an enemy... if the..." She glanced away. "When my time runs out. If that happens, it's better that everyone who I know also knows that... well... I know. In case I can't be trusted..." "... I'm sorry. I ummmm, hope... it hasn't been... I hope I've been a good Sailor Senshi, even though I'm just a fake. I hope I haven't been a... uhhh... a disappointment... or... made the rest of you look bad...."
Usagi Tsukino	"Maybe in most cases," Usagi sighs, "But given the circumstances..." The fight they'd had, the revelation, the fact that Usagi was still invited to this house, that they ''all'' were, she'd thought it was obvious that if Hotaru was taken it would be a disaster of identity reveals, because find one Senshi and it's pretty easy to topple over the rest of them. "Never mind. You know now, and - look, Hotaru? You already ''have'' critical information. I'm sure you know that - you can't exactly go home again. And if you become an enemy again, you ''already'' have important information. You know about all three of the Outers, you know about Rashmi, you're going around as a Senshi and letting everyone think you ''are'' one." Her tone is calm, matter of fact. "Given how badly you've reacted to surprises before, I just thought Suna-san would have told you before we walked in. It's fine. You didn't have an attack or stab me again or anything so..." She doesn't shrug it off, because that's too casual. "I have no idea if you've been a good senshi?" This time at least, Usagi sounds apologetic. She's not good at lying, and she's not good at pretending to feel something she isn't, and - "I've never seen you in action, as Sailor Charon. But you probably aren't doing bad at it, because I know like, almost everyone, and someone would have mentioned ''that''. So... my only real worry is what happens if something goes wrong. But if you're sticking with the Outers when you go out, then you've got someone to keep an eye out." Because Sailor Charon is totally only going out with supervision, right?
Makoto Kino	"Tuxedo Kamen-san and I ran into Charon and Pluto in action once," Makoto offers. "That was a bit back now, but it went fine, aside from some differences of opinion about whether or not to be stealthy, I think?" More flour goes into the dough-in-progress, and Mako resumes her work with the pastry cutter. "Anyway, there have been understandable reasons to keep things secret, but I feel better with it out in the open. At least among us. It can't be helped a lot of the time when you're dealing with magic things, but I'd just as soon be honest when I can. That way, there's fewer unpleasant surprises later on." It's also, in fairness, because Makoto cannot tell a lie to save her life. Seeming more at ease now, she puts the pastry cutter aside in favor of her spatula and begins moistening the dough with cold water, periodically testing its consistency as she goes.
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna gives Hotaru a gentle hug as she inches back, offering support and strength to the young girl. A slight squeeze is given, "She's done alright and helped us out mostly around the immediate area." Mostly. Meanwhile, not far away, the Ruler of the Household yawns and stretches awake, disturbed by the sound of unfamiliar voices. And the scent of unfamiliar people. This must be investigated. Thus, a few moments later, a small calico cat pads into the kitchen from the entertainment room (where all the big pillows on the sectional couch made excellent napping area). This is unlikley to be noticed, however...since Makoto is busy cooking, Hotaru and Setsuna are on the other side of the kitchen island, and Usagi isn't looking in that direction... So the first that anyone is likely to realize that Kaiju is there is when the calico reaches out to bat and tug a little at one of the two long blonde streamers dangling not far off the floor. They're dangling low and waving around...they must be cat toys, right?
Sailor Saturn	Hotaru Tomoe bliked a few times, looking up at Usagi. "I... I know. I want to hide it. I wouldn't even tell daddy. But..." But when she changes she's not sure how much that side of her knows. WHAT it knows... "I... am sorry I hit you before. And fought you... And... I'm sorry for everything..." Hotaru mumbled gently. "If anything goes wrong, the outers will put an end to me. To it," she said quickly. But well... it was pretty obvious, at least in her eyes, the best way to put an end to 'it'. "Oh... if we're sharing secrets, though, ummm... this is Luminous Titan," Hotaru said, motioning to her necklace. "He's my device. Riventon made him for me, to help manage my... condition. He does a good job of it, mostly. Except when I have issues. He's also equipped to call for help if I... have an issue and am alone at the time. It..." Then she trailed off. Because there was a cute kitty batting at Usagi's hair and she? She was squealling. Not internally. "Eeeeeee..." she whispered, little fists coming up near her chest, eyes shimmering. "Setsuna-senpai, look... look... look look..." she whispered. As if Setsuna couldn't see.
Usagi Tsukino	"I feel better with things out in the open too," Usagi offers Makoto a quick smile, warm and bright, thankful for her support. Things are going better than she'd feared, and she's confident that at the very least, the pie Makoto has been dutifully making will be delicious. "Thank you for apologizing," she feels out the words, careful, meeting Hotaru's eyes. "It sounds like... you didn't entirely know what you were doing. It's not ''okay'', but, I can move past it." That's the best she can offer, given she still has nightmares about it - less the stabbing, and more the killing, and she does understand that that wasn't Hotaru, not really, but - it needs time to sink in. As Chiyo and Wako had reminded her, she didn't need to get over anything, let alone quickly. And then, Hotaru says that the Outers will put an end to her, and Usagi looks at her for a moment, seeing that she seems to genuinely believe that will happen, never mind how clearly, deeply, and truly the Outer Senshi love her, and for a second, she wonders if it's easy to believe, because her ''father'' had done this to her - But she shakes that away, because she certainly won't be saying ''those'' words out loud. It had been hard to believe that the Outer Senshi would be able to kill Hotaru, and that was when it was coming from Haruka - hearing it now, from Hotaru, while she stands there with Setsuna, watching her so closely, lovingly, protectively... she can't help but laugh a little, though the sound isn't entirely pleasant - it's more of a disbelieving laugh than a joyous one, and she shakes her head, smile crooked. "Hotaru-chan, if there's one thing I definitely know, it's that if the worst happens - if we try everything we possibly can and we pour all our strength into saving you and no matter what we try we can't stop the monster inside you anymore - it won't be the Outers who put an end to you." There's a tug at her hair, sharp and insistent, tiny claws that tangle in the long strands, and she winces, breaking eye contact so that she can kneel down and snag Kaiju with a deft hand, graceful in this, if nothing else, from long practice at grabbing Luna (and Artemis) when they least expected it. The little cat, as full of energy as the youngest member of the Outers' household, is deposited in Hotaru's arms, and Usagi looks up, seeking to Setsuna's gaze for a moment. "They love you like their own daughter, you know? No matter what big talk they manage, if it comes down to it, I don't think they could truly raise a hand to end you. It would break their hearts too much. If there is nothing else to be done, then it will be me and my Inner Senshi who save the world by taking you from it." It would break her heart to do it too, and hopefully, Hotaru can see that in her face, when she looks down at her. After a long moment, Usagi looks, hesitant, tentative, back at Makoto, because it's a heavy thing she's volunteering her friend for, taking part in a killing, and as she well knows, it's a weight that never leaves the conscious, a new and unwanted awareness of what one is capable - but she ''can't'' see the Outers doing it. Not now. Hinoiri was one thing. Hotaru is another. "Not that this means I don't like you," she adds, awkward, because she knows now that Hotaru looks up to her, and she doesn't know how to deal with that, "But you know... they really ''love'' you. So we're going to do everything we can to ''not'' go to the bad end."
Makoto Kino	Makoto makes a soft, startled sound, a beat or two ahead of Usagi's disbelieving laugh. Pausing in the midst of shaping dough into rounds with her hands, she looks over to meet the hesitant look that Usagi turns her way. Her green eyes are somber, soft with understanding. And she nods slightly. "...she's right," Mako says, and she fixes her gaze on the pie crust dough, patting it into shape with too-deliberate motions. "Of course, we'll all do our best to make sure it isn't necessary in the first place. But, if the worst comes to worst... it'd be way too cruel to expect that of the Outers. Even if they could bring themselves to do it." Her voice, too, is a little softer than it was, but her tone makes it clear that whatever Hotaru may believe, she doesn't truly think that any of the three Outer Senshi would be capable of delivering that killing blow. A beat - maybe the space of a single heartbeat - and without changing tone, as if continuing the same conversation, she asks, "Meiou-san, where do you keep your plastic wrap?"
Setsuna Meiou	It's obvious that Usagi knows Setsuna well enough...because when Hotaru starts talking about having to be put down...the look on the older woman's face clearly says that she's not sure she possibly could do such a thing. Especially since mention of the act causes Setsuna to reach out and gently touch Hotaru on the shoulder as she tries to provide some support and comfort to the youngest there. And then curious kitty is deposited in Hotaru's arms and Setsuna reaches around Hotaru a little to give the Casa's fur baby some light headscritches with her other hand while Usagi goes on. Otherwise, for the most part, she stays silent while trying her best to provide a sense of support for Hotaru. Silent mainly because she's not fully sure she'd be able to speak without her voice breaking from all the talk of having to put Hotaru down. And then, finally, Makoto's request comes through...and after a few moments that she needs to process it, she shakes her head and says, "...oh, yes...plastic wrap..." Taking a deep breath, she leans down, kisses Hotaru on the top of the head, then steps over and walks into the pantry door, where she can be heard rummaging around for a few moments before she walks back out and hands the brunette a roll of cling wrap, "Here you go."
Sailor Saturn	Hotaru Tomoe sighed and, very gently, she took the kitty. Lightly petting him. Awwww. Is kitty. She smiled down at him... but then she looked up at Usagi. And her eyes were soft, and sad. And they... were filled... with pity. "I... understand. But please, don't. All of you... don't." "When the accident happened, I was sure I was going to die. I knew I was going to die," Hotaru said, looking down at the kitty and scritching him. "Mommy died. Daddy was hurt. Every single day he'd come by me and tell me I was going to be okay. He was going to save me. He was going to make me better. But I was dying. We both knew that. But he refused..." "And then I could walk again. I could hold things. I could pet a kitty. But... I wasn't saved. I was just delaying it. I should have died years ago... and daddy did everything he could to save me. And he's still doing everything he can to save me. Riventon is now, too. And all of you." "I am so, so happy. I should have died years ago. I was given so much extra time. I was allowed to do so, so much. I was *given* time." Her eyes glanced to Yochu then. "Not everyone was given that." Then they moved back to the kitty. "... And then my condition continued to deteriorate. Daddy focused more and more on a way to save me. But... time was coming to an end. But then Riventon worked with all of you to save me... and... you all bought me more time. And I am so, so grateful." "... But when I... go. When... I lose... myself. I do things. I... hurt people without meaning to. I do... whatever is inside me... it's... not good. Every... every time I can feel it clawing out... it... hurts. Every time I can feel it trying to take over... it's... I'm... so scared. And I don't know if I can fight it forever." "... When... I can't... when I lose... when I can't fight anymore... you won't be killing me. You'll be saving me. You will all have given me so much time, so many experiences, so much joy I *never* would have had anywhere else... And please... don't... don't be like daddy... don't... lose yourself in a desperate attempt to save me. You've already saved me. I'll just... need you to rescue me one last time, while I'm still me." "... Please... don't... do so much for me and then hurt yourself when you can't do even more..." Hotaru whispered, the smile on her face wavering. "I don't... want you to be sad when I'm gone... when you've helped bring me so much joy..." She looked at Setsuna when she said that, a little moisture in her eyes, hands still gently scritching her kitty. "You've all helped me to live, so I'm not scared to die."
Usagi Tsukino	Hotaru's eyes are filled with pity. Usagi's eye fill with exasperation - and a touch of sorrow, too, but, mostly, exasperation. Because Hotaru's is a sad tale, with a sad life, and though she's been given more time, she deserves yet more, an entire lifetime, a full lifespan. But the thing is - and the ''thing is'' - it's not just about her. She's lost her mother. In so many ways, she's lost her father. So surely grief is something to her? Usagi lost her grandmother, many years ago, but it's in recovering Serenity that she's become acquainted with grief, the way it sits in your chest and carves a home for itself in your bones, the way it aches. It's in being Sailor Moon that she's become acquainted with guilt, the way it drags at your muscles and dwells in your nightmares. She looks at Hotaru and she sees a girl who seems grateful for what she's had and the people's loved - but also a girl who was immature. Who was young. Who was just as Wako and Chiyo said. And so she sighs, and she breathes, and she turns away, so her face doesn't have to rest on Hotaru, looking instead at Makoto. "If things were different," she says, quiet, "If you were staring down at killing Suna-san, Haruka-kun, or Michiru-san, could you think of it as saving them? Could you say you wouldn't be sad, when they're gone?" If they have to kill Hotaru, that will be blood on her hands, again. A death on her conscious, just as that Doom and Gloom Girl was, just as Mars was, just as Jupiter was, as Venus was, as Mercury was, as Endymion was, as her ''Mother'' was... "We aren't going to lose ourselves. But if we have to take you out of the world, we've still got to live with it after."
Makoto Kino	The smile Makoto offers Setsuna as she accepts the plastic wrap is an apologetic one. "Thank you," she says quietly, and with practiced efficiency she wraps up the first of the rounds of pie dough in cling film, gently pressing out air bubbles as she goes. She slows a bit as she meets Usagi's eyes - her gaze silently communicating understanding and sympathy. And where Usagi leaves up, Makoto once more picks up the thread: "It's kind of you, not wanting anyone to be sad," she says to Hotaru. "But... that's not how it works, you know? People care about you, and want to save you. If we can't do that in the end, then of course we'll be sad." Her work picks up pace again; she finishes wrapping the other dough rounds and transfers them all into the fridge. When she shuts the refrigerator door and turns back, it's to look directly at Hotaru. "Besides," she says, gentle but firm, "even though you almost died then - you're alive ''now''. There's no such thing as a fate like that. It's okay to want to live."
Setsuna Meiou	As the conversation continues on this path, Setsuna finds herself unable to speak. It's that sensation where one's emotions are so intense that it feels like your throat is closing and speech is nigh impossible. So for a few moments, she just stands there, taking deep breaths as she tries to get herself more under control. And then she suddenly steps into motion, deftly sidestepping around the working Makoto and heading for the horrendously-complicated-looking coffee machine over in the corner. By the time she reaches it, she's already managed to retrieve a mug from a cabinet in passing and a bag of tea that she deposits in the mug before dispensing some hot water. Then the mug is held in her hands like a lifeline as she lets her tea steep, returning to stand behind Hotaru once more at a rather more sedate pace. She gets a slightly embarrassed look on her face as she says, "...sorry...I just REALLY needed a mug of tea."
Sailor Saturn	Hotaru Tomoe sighed and gave a small nod. "If... I was saving them. If the only options... were to kill them, or let them be lost and become a monster they never wanted to? I... I'd be sad. I hope I could do it, though." "... I wish, I really, truly wish, I could spare others that pain. I know... I know it hurts. If it didn't hurt, daddy wouldn't try so hard. Riventon wouldn't work so hard. But... but I want to try and make that hurt as... small as possible. Is that... really... so wrong?" Hotaru asked, a few tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I don't want to die... but... I don't... I don't want everyone to be sad w-when I'm gone. I want to stay here, with daddy and Riventon-senpai and H-Haruka-senpai and Michiru-Senpai and Setsuna-senpai a-and you and Mamoru-senpai and the mermaids and the otters and and everyone, but... but even if I don't want to go, I don't want to hurt everyone. I don't want to do more damage than... than I fixed. I don't want to leave things worse than when I came... I want to have meant something good." "Like... like daddy. He makes things for me so, so often. And... and I know he works hard. But there's so many p-people who... who can walk a-and touch things a-and live because of w-what he has made. Because o-of the help he's done for me. And... and I want that to be what I leave behind..." "... I won't... stop fighting... though... I just... I... I don't want... I don't want to go... but I'm scared to hope for a miracle that I don't deserve, when I've already been given so much more than I ever dreamed. I'm... sorry... I just... I..." Slowly, she put the kitty down. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I just... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I'm sorry." She quickly turned and tried to flee out the kitchen, tears starting to go down her cheeks. She... desperately didn't want Setsuna to see her crying like this. She didn't want those to be the memories Setsuna had of her. She just... wanted to be brave. And strong. To not worry them any more than she had to. And now she was crying and she couldn't stop.
Usagi Tsukino	Setsuna has to step away. Usagi can't blame her - she sure wouldn't be half as composed if it was Shingo standing in front of her, asking how he could make his death hurt as little as possible. Is that really so wrong, Hotaru wants to know, and she's crying, and Usagi doesn't know what to say, because ''yes'', yes it is, because giving up when everyone else is trying feels wrong, but - When Hotaru runs away, Usagi doesn't stop her. She just groans under her breath and blinks away sympathy tears and goes to lean against Makoto like a wobbly tree. "That could have gone worse?"
Makoto Kino	''Is that really so wrong?'', Hotaru asks, and though Makoto can't bear to interrupt her, she murmurs a reply softly all the same: "It's not wrong." She, too, does not try to stop Hotaru from fleeing the kitchen - she understands that need, the urge to hide when she can't keep a brave face up any longer. Her expression aches with sympathy as she watches the younger girl go. When Usagi comes to lean against her, Mako wraps an arm around her, a sturdy support with only slightly floury hands. "It'll be okay," she assures, as though she has any reason beyond hope to be certain of it. Looking to Setsuna, she makes a ''very'' apologetic face. "...Sorry. I'm sure this wasn't what you had in mind when you offered me your kitchen."
Setsuna Meiou	As Hotaru goes running from the room, Setsuna puts her mug of tea down on the island and takes a step to follow her...but then she stops as she sees the tears. She stands there for a few moments, arm outstretched before finally letting it fall to her side...and then she just kind of sags in place. The greenhaired woman's shoulders slump visibly...and her knees sag slightly before she reaches out and clasps her hands around the Garnet Rod which is just suddenly THERE. At which point Setsuna leans heavily on the staff that she has spent so much time with...and she leans forward to press her forehead against the giant garnet orb that makes up it's head. At Makoto's comment, she shifts slightly to indicate she heard what was said...but she can similarly be heard to be taking a series of deep breaths in an apparent effort to get herself back under control. An effort helped by the furry form of Kaiju stropping himself against her ankles. After a few more deep breaths, she says, "..nO.." Her first attempt to speak comes out a bit strangled...so she takes a deep breath and, after a moment or two, starts again, "...No, Makoto-chan. It's not your fault. These are things that needed to be said and laundry that needed to be aired. I'm just sorry it had to happen when you came over to visit." She takes another deep breath, then stands up straight before, with an obvious effort of will, dismissing the Garnet Rod back to wherever before absently brushing down the front of her apron.