1234/Days of Our Outers Episode 1234: A new Arrival Settles In

Days of Our Outers Episode 1234: A new Arrival Settles In
Date of Scene:	04 March 2024
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	Hotaru is welcomed and settled in to Case Del Outers... not knowing exactly who has taken charge of her.
Cast of Characters:	Michiru Kaiou, Hotaru Tomoe, Setsuna Meiou, Haruka Tenoh

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Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou is a morning person. She always has been. Her father drilled it into her that successful people got more done before breakfast than most people get done in a day. Of course, waking up is also a respite from the stormy seas of her dreamscape. For all those reasons, it's 6AM on a Sunday, and Michiru is already down in the kitchen.

It's the weekend so she's dressed down, in just a cute spring dress in pink with a matching pink hair bow and a pair of black flats. She's got on a white apron and she's cooking. Nothing much, just an omelette for herself. In her omelette pan. Her Japanese style omelette pan.

Somebody's been teaching themselves how to cook in the mornings. It's her own private little time before the others get up. It smells good and it makes her happy. So happy she starts to hum a tune, one of the violin pieces she's been practicing lately.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe had crawled out of the bed and... okay, she spent like ten minutes trying to find out WHERE to crawl out of the bed. It... it was a thing. The bed was an ADVENTURE! And she'd scooped an arm under Yochu.

She was still half asleep when she went to the restroom, cleaned her face, started towards the front room...

Wait, where was she now? Oh! OH! Right! The new big place. Cool. She walked towards it and, before turning the corner... "Good morning Meiou-sensei!" she called out. Such a lovely humming voice, she was so--

And then Hotaru turned the corner... and stared. Standing there in her oversized pink sweater... baggy 'sleep' pants with little symbols all over them. Yochu half tucked under one arm. She blinked a few times, staring at her and... "Kaiou-san? You're here? I thought you would be sleeping in later?" By the time the pair had gotten home, she'd already been long asleep. Tired thing and all.

But now she just stared at the other woman, an uneasy look on her face. Had... had she intruded? Should she turn around and leave? should she--

<< Anxiety levels, rising! Administer headpats and solace immediately! >>

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Just as Hotaru's anxiety levels are starting to rise, she'll hear the sounds of someone coming around the corner behind her, feet shuffling on the floor.

Looking, one will see Setsuna coming around the corner, dressed as is her custom around the house in a huge, oversized black t-shirt long enough to double as a one-piece dress. On the front is a logo in blue that consists of a large circle with little triangles surrounding it. Inside the circle is an outline picture of a large box of some kind that a sharp eye can see has 'police box' written across the top. Around the inner side of the circle it declares 'Gallifreyan Institute of Technology'...and there is a panel of a blue unfurled scroll with the latin 'Vicis est Volatilis. Sic exsisto velox of pes.'

As is also usual, it's somewhat questionable if Setsuna is truly awake, as her eyes are mostly closed and she is rocking a SPECTACULAR case of bed head.

Still, she seems quite able to shuffle through the house without hitting anything...until she encounters an obstacle, that is.

In this case, a wild Hotaru having a bit of decision lock in the doorway.

Having seen a similar situation before, Michiru can probably anticipate what comes next...which is Setsuna stopping just behind Hotaru...pausing for about a second...then wrapping the younger woman in a hug that she holds for a few moments before kissing Hotaru on the top of her head and shuffling past her towards her goal of the coffeemaker.

Of course, should Michiru fail to move, it's almost certain that the exact same will happen to her.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    And then there is Haruka Tenoh - who like many other things in her life, enjoys the capricousness of a leaf carried by untamed wind - that is to say, on days that there isn't school to enforce a schedule upon her, she just goes to bed and gets up 'whenever'. And maybe lazes in bed a little bit watching races on her phone. And then eventually she moves into the kitchen to find some food, with a fifty-fifty chance she'll see Michiru there - and if not, likely need to start the coffee maker so that Setsuna can safely leave hibernation.

    But today, in addition to Setsuna, there's a little girl there who is substantially shorther than any of the other inhabitants of the household. There's a moment where Haruka tries to remember who she is and then the device *speaks* with a tone that really doesn't belong in anywhere but a movie that it's far too early.

    Setsuna shuffles past Haruka (who knows to not stand in the way of the shortest path between Setsuna and early coffee by now) , and watching her quietly, Haruka pauses and then after she passes, leans with one of her arms against the door, dressed in loose khaki pants and a black t-shirt that she totally didn't just pull out of the closet at random. She dresses differently in the casual calm home than she does going out. She reaches out and ruffles Hotaru's hair. It's sort of like a headpat. "Hey there, lil' one." she says with a smile. "You don't have to worry about askin' for stuff. Is there somethin' you're looking for?"

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Well it was her own private little time. Michiru is just sliding her omelet out of the pan when Hotaru appears in the doorway. The seer is caught quite by surprise. "Hotaru-chan!" She says, and then she smiles softly. "I'm always up quite early. Are you hungry? I've just made an omelette."

And then there's Haruka and Setsuna, and it's Michiru's turn to just stand there without words for a moment. It's 6AM. She's always alone this early. She does not know how to process this. So, she's definitely just standing there when Setsuna drives by with a hug and kiss on the head.

But she finds her words eventually. "Well, since we're all up, would everyone like an omelet?" She takes her knife and cuts the one she's already plated into slices, then walks over to the kitchen island and sets it down. "Hotaru-chan, you can have this one."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe just side eyed her device (down eyed?). It was a little anxiety, not that much. She doesn't need--

HUG! BEAR HUG! HUG BY A BEAR! Okay, she gave a light giggle, before blushing a bit. Oh. Oops. She hadn't meant to--

And then the Wild, Majestic Setsuna continued its grand pilgramage in search of the sweet nectar of dark bean soup.

Hotaru then gave a small smile to Haruka. "Tenoh-san?" she asked. Then acked as her head was ruffled! She shook her head, trying to straighten it but, admittedly? She wasn't exactly 'proper' this morning either. "Meiou-sensei said you two would be here. I... hope I'm not disturbing anything by being up this early."

Judging by the reaction from the elegant woman, there was a disturbance... but it wasn't entirely her. "O-oh, I couldn't. I usually just have a piece of a toast with a bit of jam, nothing so... ummm... o-okay..." she said softly, her cheeks burning. Yeah, she was not going to be able to like... resist, now.

She inched over towards the island and sat at one of the stools, climbing up it and slowly, shyly, nibbling at it.

And feeding little bits to Yochu.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Hug and kiss deposited on Michiru, Setsuna finishes her shuffle to the coffeemaker, pokes a few buttons and absently grabs a mug from one of the cabinets and puts it in place.

A few moments later, she shuffles back to the kitchen island and claims one of the stools, then, after putting the proper amounts of cream and sugar (ie, enough to stand the spoon up in), she takes a long slow slurp before setting the mug down and reaching up to rub her eyes open.

A small yawn is given as she looks around and starts consciously processing, "...well, I HAD intended to let everyone know about Hotaru-chan here BEFORE she got up...but, eh."

She shrugs, "Due to circumstances, she needs a place to stay for the forseeable future. I hope the two of you don't mind if that is here?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    "Don't give me that look! Sometimes I get up early. When the stars align." Haruka replies to Michiru's expression and comment. "But yes, I will take one, and thank you very much, sea sprite." she says, taking the opprotunity of Michiru setting the food down to sneak a kiss in on her arm before continuing on to pick a plate off the table. She doesn't sit at the island, she leans against the wall and holds the plate in one hand and fork in another.

    "Well, I figured you'd explain to us when you can think straight. It's not my house, anyways." Haruka points out. "I just live here for free like a bum." she adds with a smile.

    "But I remember the lil' one here, I took her on a drive." She says before taking another bite. She doesn't mention where the drive was to, because that might be sad-making and it's too early in the morning for that.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
"I am less surprised to see you as I am Setsuna-san here," Michiru says with a smile as she lets her arm linger there for just a moment in case Haruka wants to steal an extra kiss. But then she's off to make more omelets! Step one is mix up the eggs, dashi, and sugar in a bowl. She's already got one out so she rinses it out and reuses it.

"I was actually just thinking about you the other day, Hotaru-chan," she says. "It's been so long. I was going to try and reach out to catch up, but now here you are and it sounds like we'll have plenty of time for that. It's so very serendipitous." She loves happy surprises.

After some aggressive whisking, she takes the bowl over to the pan, puts some cooking oil in it, and turns the burner back on to heat it up. Now she gets to show off her tamagoyaki skills to everyone.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave Setsuna a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. We got home so early I ummm... couldn't sleep in long. The bed is really fun, though." Pause. "... And I ummm, borrowed some books... but I figured... I thought I'd come down and ummmm... maybe clean or something..." Or just be around.

Haruka's comment made her glance over and cock her head to the side. And then mumbled... "A pretty bum, I think..." Well, Haruka was very pretty. They all were, actually. There was something... weird. She'd have thought at least one of them might have rubbed her the wrong way when she met them... But... she had met all of them before.

But she didn't like being ruffled, or hugged, or touched by most. But them? It just felt... oddly... right. Playful. Like it was someone she knew and trusted and...

"Oh! Yeah! Tenoh-san took me on a drive and it was the coolest ever! Meiou-san said you might take me to the tracks one time and show me how fast you could really go!" she said, sitting up a bit taller, grinning from ear to ear. "It's kind of like driving with Eudial, but Tenoh-san didn't hit anything and there wasn't any yelling!"

She took another small bite of it, nibbling on it affectionately. "It's really good. You're a great cook, Kaiou-san. And... you... were? I ummm... I'm sorry. I haven't been... able to... see many people lately," she said, glancing to Setsuna. Letting her explain. Because, well. 'I ran away from home because I'm scared I'll hurt everyone if they don't stop me and now my first friend is trying to find a way to suppress it before I go critical' isn't... the best morning talk.

"I didn't know you all lived together, last time we met you lived in that big house on the tower all alone, didn't you?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna gives Haruka a mock glare, "Haruka, you are no bum. You are exactly where you need to be." A beat while she takes a sip of her coffee, "...with the people who love you."

She then sighs, "What Hotaru-chan is dancing around here is that, among other things, she has a condition that quite agressively reacts to Dark Energy. Unfortunately, Obsidian wants her and as we're all aware, Obsidian is rather soaked in Dark Energy. Being there is therefore decidedly unhealthy for Hotaru-chan."

And for those around her, but the taller woman leaves that unsaid.

The mug of coffee is finished off, "...so we'll be taking care of her and keeping her safe."

She then blows out a huge sigh and starts rubbing her face, "...which means that, Haruka?"

Setsuna pulls her hands down and looks intently at the dishwater blonde, "...either you are going to have to suck it up and drive a practical car, or you'll need to teach me how to drive without my vehicle inexplicably ending up upside down thirty feet into a tree like has happened in literally every driving simulator on the market."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    "It's cute that you want to help out, but right now it sounds like you're more of a guest than anything. At least get your bearings." Haruka says.

    "And I'd love to take you out racing..." she begins, but then Setsuna says the horrifying words Practical Car - and Haruka does make a bit of a show of eyes wide, turning to Setsuna. "You put those words back in whatever evil book you found them~!" she says, putting her plate down so she can use her fork and a finger to make a silly cross. "How DARE - yeah we probably do need one." she says, switching gears midsentence like Setsuna was suggesting they switch cars.

    "I mean, we should do both. We should get a car that actually always has a top for driving around in as a group and I should see if I can teach you how to drive without somehow destroying the neighborhood." she notes. She occasionally looks down at Hotaru's absolutely-not-fully-eaten Omlette. But she doesn't say anything, she's not that bad. Usually.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Making tamagoyaki is a process that happens in layers. Michiru pours a thin layer of egg mixture into the pan, lets it coat the pan and cook, and then tips the pan back with a flick of her wrist to let it roll down to one end. Then she pours in some more. Repeated several times, she has an omelet. She slides it onto a plate, slices it into pieces, and walks over to set it down on the table in front of Setsuna.

"I agree. We need the practical vehicle, and having more than one driver is prudent. Of course, Takuya-san could drive us in a pinch," she says with a bobble of her head. Her personal driver. Her personal car can also fit all four of them, if a bit cramped. Hotaru is smol enough. She could squeeze between two of the older girls.

She walks over to Haruka and grabs her plate from where she sets it down, then maneuvers to steal a kiss on the blonde's cheek before walking off to make an omelet to put on that plate in her hand.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave an innocent smile. "T-thanks. And sorry. It's just... just until I'm better. Daddy's probably worried sick about me, but... well... sometimes daddy doesn't always know what's best," she mumbled, feeding another piece of the omelette to Yochu. The doll... was definitely eating it. How much was going into Hotaru was questionable.

And weird how the doll never seemed to move. But every so often they'd look over and its head would have shifted to the other side.

She did, however, perk up at the mention of Setsuna's driving. "Oh! That's more like Eudial's driving! She managed to do that too, once. The impressive thing was how she got it rightside up again without getting out." Not that she told her that. Then, though, she lowered herself a bit.

"You... you don't need to buy a whole car because of me, though. That sounds like a lot of work. I can't even leave that much right now, anyway..." she mumbled.

"Oh? Who's Takuya-san? Are they nice?" Pause. "Are they pretty too?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna looks over at Hotaru's description of Eudial's driving, blinks...then she looks over at Haruka, "...we'll probably want to get the seatbelts replaced with five-point harnesses."

She reaches over and lightly pats Hotaru's hand, "Hotaru-chan, this is something I've been meaning to do for a long while, now. Which is why I was trying to get experience driving wheeled vehicles in a simulation before trying to drive a car myself."

She shakes her head, "Haruka here is the natural behind a wheel. I've had...less positive experiences."

Another sigh, "...but if nothing else, this should make my trip home from school each day far, far quicker."

Left unsaid is that it will also let her get up just that little bit later and still make it to work on time.

The question about Michiru's driver makes the taller woman blink...and then she's biting her lip and trying not to laugh.

After a few moments regaining composure via taking a few bites of omlette, she looks over at Hotaru, "Takuya-san is Michiru's family driver, and yes...he's a rather nice individual..."

She then turns and looks over at Michiru, "...Michiru...PLEASE can we get him a badge or something that says 'Pretty'?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    The closest thing Haruka Tenoh comes to diplomacy is on display here. "I'm pretty sure nobody who goes to Obsidian Tower often is... making great decisions." she says, sighing.

    "And I'd think there are some things we're doing that might be better if Takuya-san wasn't around for." She says. "Since you mentioned Dark Energy in front of her I'm gonna bet Hotaru-chan is in the know. So. Those kinda things."

    And then she thinks about Setsuna driving to and from work. "Well, only quicker if you don't end up in a tree." Haruka says, and it's not even delivered with malice, but a slight mixture of teasing humor and concern. "I should be with you for a good while while you get used to it." she suggests.

    "...but I'm not letting you pick out the car this time. Since last time ended up with the neighborhood thinking we were having an earthquake, and only kept going until it turned into an actual monster that was a truck instead of being a monster truck..." she says, giving Setsuna a little side-eye. She doesn't weigh in on Takuya-san and being pretty. That is not her department in at least three ways if not more.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Flip roll. Flip roll. Flip roll. Slide it off onto the plate, cut it into pieces, and Michiru is delivering an omelet to Haruka. Or, well, to the place at the kitchen island where she wants Haruka to eat it. She looks up at the blonde and smiles. "My prince," she says and blows her a kiss before turning to walk back and finally cook her own omelet. At least the pan is warm.

As she's pouring the first layer she affirms Setsuna's answer. "Takuya-san has been my driver since I was a little girl. I think he's very handsome, but I'm biased. I had the biggest crush on him when I was seven," she says. Then she giggles. Flip roll. Flip roll. Flip roll. Slide it off onto the plate, cut it into pieces, and Michiru returns to the island with her own plate.

"I will give him the badge, and I will tell him you asked me to," Michiru says to Setsuna, "But he's a respected member of my staff. I won't make him wear it." Then she giggles. "But I'm sure he will for you."

Settling her gaze on their new, smol charge, Michiru says, chidingly, "I'd think the device speaking earlier would have been a dead give away she was in the know, Haruchan." Then a little more gently. "Does it have a name, Hotaru-chan?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gasped. "A five point harness? Like a real race car? That sounds fun! And... wow. You must be awful at it, Meiou-sensei. But that's okay. I'm awful at a lot of things too."

She nodded along with Haruka. "Yeah. A lot of the people in Obsidian are kind of dumb. They're a lot of fun, though! Over the top and just silly and a blast to be around. Sometimes literally! Some of them are even smart! And then dumb in other ways. But... Daddy really is smart. Kaolinite is just using him and he's being dumb in believing her," she muttered, angrily taking a bite of the omelet.

Her eyes went wide. "Wait, a massive truck? Like... really, really, realllllly big? Like, big enough it could have fit like.... three other normal trucks on it? Like, the kind of thing godzilla would drive around in? I remember that! I made a youma of it! I have pictures! Or... did. I... think they're all lost now... I emailed them to people and can't access my ummm... communications right now."

And now... they knew. She was.... Achura.

"His name is Luminous Titan. He watches over me and makes sure I don't like... get hurt. And contacts people when I do. I... accidentally hurt him recently, though. I think he's still nervous... but so am I... so that's okay. He tries to keep me safe. And usually he succeeds. Because he's my friend."

<< Affirmative >>

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna pauses eating and hangs her head, "One time! One time!" She sounds exasperated...but not. Like she's obviously PLAYING at being upset at the TRUCK INCIDENT being brought up.

She then looks over at Hotaru, "ONE TIME I asked my people to get me a vehicle and I make a teensy-weensy mistake telling them what I want...and THIS ONE..."

She then points at Haruka with her fork pointedly, "...NEVER lets me forget it."

She heaves an overblown, put-upon sigh, "I'm SO HORRIBLY mistreated..."

(It's blindingly obvious that she's NOT.)

At the reveal that Hotaru was Achura, Setsuna blinks, then glances over at Haruka. Given that the event is still popular, and the only things of any worth that were damaged during the attack was a taco truck that got replaced by an improved model and perhaps Sailor V's dignity, she'll wait to see how Haruka reacts.

Especially since secretly Setsuna is somewhat glad the whole incident happened...because that attack was the one that awoke Uranus and finally brought Haruka into the fold.

Which is the reason said taco truck got anonymously upgraded.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka looks at Michiru. "You know, not everything is magic, sea sprite. Phones have those robot things, and they do talk. In all sorts of crazy voices." she points out. "I can make mine sound all weirdo too."

    Then she pauses. "Wait, you were that girl?" She almost tells her that was her first outing as a hero, but manages not to. "I... heard... about that." She says, looking around at the other girls for guidance.

    When it comes to mundane things, she's got it, but when it comes to magic, she does know she's been a Senshi the least time... and can be a little bit headstrong. "I hope nobody got hurt. Or... covered in ketchup or something." she says. She is not good at subtle, actually.

    "I never let you forget it because it's funny. Make less funny mista- actually you know what, don't."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru looks at Haruka and pointedly eats a bite of her omelet. Sure, not everything is magic, but she wasn't wrong. Then she smiles and turns toward Hotaru, regarding her. Her brain is working overtime, but she doesn't want the little girl to know, so she keeps that smile there as gentle as ever.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Luminous Titan," she says. Because she had her manners drilled into her when she was younger. "I'm glad Hotaru-chan has you to watch over her." Then she glances to the others before adding, her tone soft and reassuring, "But now we're here to help, so you're not alone any more." She's reassuring the device. But she's looking right at Hotaru again.

After another couple bites of omelet she just smiles, looking down at her plate. Her expression gets just a little blank for a moment as she feels and then tears start to well up in the corners of her eyes. She starts to blink a moment later and makes sure she has a smile on her face, before announcing, "This is the best morning I've ever had."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe just nodded along with Setsuna's story. "Oh, it's never fun when that happens. I've made teensy mistakes like that before and people get mad at me." She took a bite out of the omelet. "The kind of teensy mistakes that do enough property damage to match the GPA of a small country, right?" she offered. Yes, she could be a bit snarky/teasy too.

"My device is also my phone!" she offered, helpfully! "And yup! It was kind of fun. That truck was so oversized and silly I *had* to do it. Nobody really got hurt, anyway. And there were soooo many car puns. Built Ford Tough!" she said happily. Well, someone revelled in it.

"Yeah, it's... nice. I think. This home feels... like a home. I don't think... I've ever had a home feel as much like a home as this. You must all be really good, close people. Kind..." she said, a small smile on her lips. she was definitely feeding more to Yochu than eating herself.

However, when Michiru started to tear up, she gasped. "I-I'm sorry, please don't... oh... ohhh... y-yeah. I... I think it's a really nice morning too. It's lively. The best kind of morning!" she said happily, lightly kicking her legs back and forth on the stool. And... "Can... you sing again? It was really nice."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna sighs and lightly baps her head on the kitchen island, In a totally not serious voice she goes on, " Woe. Woe is me. Beset upon at every turn."

She sits like that for a few moments, then sits up straight again and reaches out to lay a hand on Hotaru's, "We've all here had our problems and tribulations in our pasts...but we've come together..."

She pauses and looks at the other young women, "...but we've come together as a family. You're welcome here for as long as you want, Hotaru-chan."

And then Michiru has a moment where it all comes crashing in on her in a good way...and Setsuna reaches out with her other hand to grab one of Michiru's and give a reassuring squeeze...smiling and nodding towards Hotaru, "...I think that's an excellent idea, Hotaru-chan."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka nods. "Yeah, now Hotaru-chan has a bunch of friends, and none of us are dealing with Obsidian." she points out.

    "Right, family is more than blood. Family can be other things. The special bonds of being together, doing things together, working to the same goals." Haruka says, a smile slowly spreading across her face as she moves over. She ruffles Hotaru again, hugs Setsuna, and then hugs Michiru as well, but stays hugged to her.

    "You know, Michiru, if you don't want to sing, you can get the violin and I'll get on the piano. Hotaru can join in - if there's any instrument you want to try, I'm sure we either have it or can get it quick." She doesn't say 'are good at' because this isn't about how good they are, but about how together they are. "And I'm sure Setsu has some musical knowledge in there with all of the other stuff, right? Why don't we settle in and play together."