1029/Days of Our Outers Episode 1029: On Bookstores and Apocalypses

Days of Our Outers Episode 1029: On Bookstores and Apocalypses
Date of Scene:	21 January 2024
Location:	Casa Del Outers
Synopsis:	Michiru arrives home from her afternoon of shopping only to be melodramatically greeted by her older housemate who had just been to Watanabe's Books. After talking about how easy it is to get lost in that store, the conversation turned to the apocalypse Michiru dreams about, and how she wishes she wouldn't.
Cast of Characters:	Michiru Kaiou, Setsuna Meiou

---

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
It's a new year and a new Michiru. She's been busy making friends. Today saw her meeting Ami and Makoto and Fairy Drop Fashion for girl-talk and fashion fun. And, you know, introductions. They'd met in the afternoon, and by the time Michiru's car rolled up in front of Casa Del Outers, the sun was already starting to set.

"Thank you, Takyua-san," she says as he opens the door for her and helps her up out of the car. She's wearing a royal blue, cable-knit sweater dress with black wool tights and knee-high black leather boots. Over that she's wearing a sky blue, double-breasted, wool peacoat. A Fairy Drop Fashion bag dangles from her elbow as she walks up the steps to the front door and pulls on the handle to open it and step inside.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As the door opens, the hallway inside is...dim. The lights are turned down somehow...and the kitchen ahead is similarly lit very dimly. At least, that's what it looks like at first.

A closer look will show the back half of the kitchen from the front door is cast in a much deeper shadow...

...at least for a few moments. Because as Michiru approaches down the hallway, a light appears...of a sort.

A large pair of rounded squares that are apparently a pair of glasses lenses appear in the darkness, glowing with an ominous light as a deep voice intones, "...Miss Kaiou...it has come to my attention that you have been...HOLDING OUT on me...this is...UNACCEPTABLE."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou was on auto-pilot toward her rooms, and didn't even notice the dim lighting. Her mind was deep in thought, reviewing her day. She had learned a lot, and it wasn't even about what she expected. She'd learned just how much she still didn't know about being a normal teenaged girl, since she was not normal by any measure. So, when there's suddenly a glowing light and deep voice, she does the only sensible thing.

She shrieks. "Ahhhhhh!"

Then she flicks on the light, since the switch is right there. "Oh my goodness, Setsuna, you really gave me a fright," she says, sounding just a little breathless.

Looking puzzled, she asks, "I'm...holding out?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As the light is turned on, what WAS a possibly ominious and scary scene becomes VASTLY less so.

The woman in question is indeed wearing a pair of glasses...but with the lights on, it's clear that she's sitting ever so slightly too far away from the kitchen island, and is turned ever so slightly to one angle.

In the normal light, it looks...weird and awkward.

Which is of course because she'd spent time figuring out exactly where to sit so light angling in from the windows in the entertainment room would glance off her glasses to produce that effect...and when it's NOT concealed by surrounding darkness, it looks goofy as all heck.

After a few moments, she straightens up a bit more normally and coughs as she brushes down her clothes...which themselves are a bit different than her usual.

Rather than anything more normal like a plain blouse, or one of her tshirts she wears when bombing around the house, today the taller woman is wearing a white longsleeved blouse under a brown vest and red necktie as well as a black skirt that goes down to slightly below her knees. Atop it all, however, she's wearing a cream-colored duster with large leather reinforced panels in kind of a shawl-shape around her shoulders and with matching leather reinforced collars on the ends of her sleeves.

After a few moments of fussing with her clothes, she then turns not-all-that-great sad puppydog eyes on Michiru, "I had to find out from RASHMI-CHAN that you'd known where an absolutely AMAZING used bookstore was and you'd never told ME."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou just stands there with her shopping bag in her hand and stares at Setsuna for a long moment. "You did all of this," she says, and gestures around the kitchen with her hand. "Because I neglected to tell you about Watanabe's?"

She giggles.

Then she walks over to the kitchen island, sets her bag on top of it, and then gives Setsuna a hug. "It never even occurred to me to tell you. I guess I just figured you of all people would already know," she explains as she squeezes the taller girl's shoulders.

She lets go and takes a step back. "But if you'd like me to, I'd be happy to take you."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna returns the hug wholeheartedly.

Apparently she decided to take after Usagi in the 'how to return hugs' department.

Which, granted, is far from the worst example to follow.

Eventually, she steps back and turns to grab some tea makings, absently looking over to see if Michiru would like some as she goes on, "Oh, it's alright. Rashmi-chan took me there."

She then giggles, "Got us thoroughly lost. Took us almost twenty minutes after coming in to find the front desk...and when we got there we could see the hallway we'd originally come in from on the other side."

A shake of her head, "Poor Rashmi-chan was SOOOO embarrassed about that."

As she waits for some water to heat, the taller woman shakes her head and waves, "To be honest, aside from a few brief visits here and there, six months ago was the first time I'd spent more than a day or two in Tokyo in a LONG time."

She shrugs, "Frankly, I was or or less playing the odds and expecting most of you girls to show up in America, since they're basically the world's cultural hegemon at this point."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou undoes her coat and folds it over her arm then sets it on the kitchen island right next to her shopping bag. She pulls out a stool and slides up onto it as she watches Setsuna make tea.

"Oh yes. It's so easy to get lost there. It's a good thing Mr. Watanabe is so good at finding things," she says with a giggle. "He's who I go to when I need to find new music to practice. He finds me the most interesting stuff from all over."

She considers Setsuna's last statment and arches her eyebrows. "And yet here we all are. Us and everyone else."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna snorts, "Oh, I'm pretty sure he's going to love having me as a client too. I spent a LOT of money there today."

She frowns, "...I might need to have an extension built at this rate."

After a few moments, the woman sighs, "In any event, yes...we all are."

She shrugs, "Not that I really mind particularly. I'm glad we're all together rather than any particular place, even if this was a bit of a surprise."

A few more moments later, Setsuna frowns, "...though now that I think about it...were our enemies drawn here because the Queen's spell was going to deposit you all here...or were you all deposited here bcause this is where our enemies showed up...?"

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
"Whatever it is that brought us all here is bigger than just us senshi. There's all sorts of magical girls here," Michiru observes. That, of course, does not rule out the possibility that it was the Queen's spell. If anything, it just underscores how powerful the Queen's magic truly was. How powerful Usagi's magic could be.

"And I'm glad for that, because the end is nigh, I'm sure of it," Michiru says. The tone she uses is just a little mocking. She knows she's a bit of a one note instrument. Like a little windup clock that comes out and says "Apocalypse!" on the hour.

"My dream has been getting more detailed, Setsuna," she says. "I think whatever it is, it's drawing closer." That's how time works, of course. Events fixed in the future get closer and closer until they happen, or are averted.

"I see the glaive every night, now."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna takes a sip, then paues to add a little bit of honey to her green tea.

At Michiru's confession about her dreams, however, Setsuna reaches over to put one hand on the younger senshi's, "We'll get through it, Michiru...this time we're all together."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou looks up to Setsuna and smiles. "Yes, we're all together, and it's not just us. It's different this time. We're different this time," she says.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

"And besides, now we know we have Princess Serenity," she says with a light laugh. "I've been hopeful ever since she emerged. I just know we'll be able to meet the coming events."

Then she sighs. "I just wish I'd dream about something else."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna hrms, "Have you tried anything to help? I know a few herbal remedies that help with sleep and there are a few drugs I can look into getting you a prescription for...they're probably not great for long-term use, but taking them every now and then might help you sleep better..."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou shrugs and shakes her head. "No, why would I? I may be bored with this dream, but it's my duty. It changes just a little every night. If I don't pay attention, I might miss an important detail," she explains.

She looks off toward the wall for a moment--really just away--and sighs again. "I'm sure I'll stop having the dream once we save the world from whatever it is I'm dreaming about."

Michiru has her sights set low. She just wants to dream about a new apocalypse.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna frowns for a moment, then reaches out to touch Michiru's cheek and gently press her to tilt her head back a little.

The taller woman then gives her an intense look for a moment, looking into Michiru's eyes as if searching...then she looks over the other woman's face before sighing and letting her hand fall to her side again.

After a little shake of her head, "...I'm sorry, Michiru. I worry about you. Well, I worry about ALL of you...just..."

She trails off, then sighs, "...just let me know if it gets too much and you need a night or two to recharge. You've already given us advance warning, It won't do us any good if you harm yourself trying to See..."

A long sip of tea is taken, then she puts her mug in the dishwasher for later, then snorts a little, "...besides, if you DO manage to wear yourself out somehow, you KNOW that Haruka will be an insufferable mess until you get better."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru leans in to Setsuna's touch, her blue eyes staring right back at the taller woman for a moment before she closes them and just smiles. "Mm, Setsuna, you worry too much. That's my job," she says quietly. Then she giggles.

Setsuna goes to the dishwasher, and Michiru slides off her stool She throws her coat over her arm and grabs her shopping bag. "I've had this same dream every night for months. It's not disrupting my sleep any more than usual," she says. Of course 'more than usual' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence. She's not an early morning person because she goes to bed early.

"But, I'll be sure to let you know if that ever changes," she says. Then she starts to cross the kitchen toward the hallway that leads off to her rooms. "Because we really do need to think about Haruka here."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna overdramatially throws her hands up in the air, looking up at the ceiling, "Oh you KNOW it. She'll be all like,"

And here she shifts her voice to be a comic parody of her shorthaired housemate, "Oh! Setsuna! Michiru's hurt! What do I do? Does she need medicine? You're a Doctor, fix her! Panic, panic, panic, waugh, waugh, waugh."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou stops in the entrance to the hallway and just looks at Setsuna doing her best impression of muppet Haruka and giggles.

"Thank you, Setsuna," she says with another giggle. "I needed that."

Then she turns and heads down the hallway.