2363/Bad News and Good Distractions

Bad News and Good Distractions
Date of Scene:	27 February 2025
Location:	The Shed
Synopsis:	Mamoru has a Device gem to give to Rashmi after catching it from Hotaru, when she changed into Mistress 9. They talk about how terrible things are right now, and also about some fun things Rashmi can do. And also about the smol pink cape barrier jacket that Rashmi might teach Chibiusa to make...
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Rashmi Terios

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's after school, and Mamoru had texted Rashmi that morning that he had something for her if she wanted to meet him at the Shed once classes were over. Or classes and clubs, if Rashmi had any clubs. Mamoru doesn't know! And he regrets not knowing.

Mamoru has a lot of regrets right now.

He's in the Shed and in his street clothes already, and he's sitting at one of the desks facing the door, and he's ostensibly doing homework but the pencil's resting atop his notebook and his tablet is off. His hair's not very fluffy, and his glasses are smudged, and despite the leather jacket over the hoodie, he looks like he feels cold.

One hand is closed tightly around something.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
After clubs for most of this last week, Rashmi has been spending most of her time at the Outers' house -- more specifically at the Gates of Time -- giving Nicomachea his overhaul. Most of the assembly work has been done, but her Device is still very much out of action, as his programming settles into the new Device build, and performs its battery of diagnostics and self-test sims.

Which means that When Rashmi arrives in the Shed, her uniform bow is lacking the starburst charm of her Device's standby mode, and she looks... well, tired, but a different kind of tired than the last few weeks.

But one look at Mamoru, and the ball of ice begins to form in her gut. To someone who knows grief, the signs are unmistakable. "...Mamo-kun...?" Rashmi says, brows drawing down. "...What happene-- *Is Chibiusa okay?!*"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"She's fine!" Mamoru says, eyes wide as the image of his alternate future daughter flies through his mind; he stands up, and his eyes aren't red-rimmed, but Rashmi's right: his body language, his muted and reserved motion, the closed-off distraction of his eyes a second ago, they all speak the same language of grief.

But he stands swiftly, and he holds out his cupped hands, and there's a gem in them, and his face is tight and his eyes overbright now. "But Hotaru-chan... she's... she's not dead, she just-- the thing inside her took over. Rashmi-chan it took her over, I saw it happen in front of my face, a meter away."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The bottom falls away from Rashmi's heart, as Mamoru tells the truth of what has them here. Her gaze flicks from the boy's eyes, to the gem he holds in cupped hands, and back again... Numbly, she reaches out to take the jewel up, and hold it to her chest for a moment... then shakily she shoves a chair out from a nearby desk, and sort of falls into it; it's definitely more that her knees are giving way, than she decided to sit down.

After a moment, she manages a short, bitter, extremely soggy laugh. "...Well... that's three..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Before he was in Obsidian, Mamoru Chiba was an angry underfed little ass whose best friend made dark energy puppets dance for him in their room, who used his empathy as a weapon, who fought dirty and tried to punch the teeth out of bullies.

While he was in Obsidian, Hematite taught himself -- more and more easily, the more dark energy he amassed -- to care less. He taught himself to cover his own ass, and to cover his people (and his hired youma), and to harden his heart otherwise.

The minute he met Usagi that started falling apart.

Now, over a year and a half later, with his empathy working full-blast and his connections to people so solid and thriving, and with the number of people who care for him and who he cares for, he's back to where he ought to be: even a stranger's pain hurts.

Rashmi is not a stranger.

Rashmi is not only a vital and warm and charming part of their community, not only a giving and sunny person who cares and cares and cares, not only brilliant and kind and driven, but she's one of the people who gave Hematite a chance, and now she's one of the people he's honored to call a friend.

Her pain and grief are even more obvious than Mamoru's, and just the way she's sitting hurts to look at, and he doesn't know how to help her.

"Rashmi-chan," he murmurs, coming over to get on one knee in front of her desk, offering his hands. "Three..?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...So we found Molly-chan," Rashmi says distantly, her thumb rubbing over Luminous Titan's surface. "That blackout last week...? That was the thing inside her waking up, I guess... Here..."

Drawing out her phone, she thumbs to a recent picture on her camera roll, of Seriss Nyx. Wearing Molly's face, wearing a sexy kimono, and sitting at a low table managing to *eat sushi* menacingly.

"...Then she mutilated Starcrash for the aesthetics, and we left before I could die trying to tear off her face." None of that anger is in her voice, now, but it's difficult to sound anything but hollow when you've had all the air sucked out of your life again. Placing the gem in her jacket pocket, she takes Mamoru's hands, tears finally beginning to fall as she looks into her dear friend's eyes. "And then there's Aloisia-chan... Otto's daughter, it was a whole long story and she got taken over by this corrupted relic she tried to break but it turns out when you're Belkan, breaking things *is* how you activate them and-- and-- Mamo-kun I'm *so tired.*"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Looking at the picture, Mamoru's hand goes over his mouth and his too-bright eyes get a little salt on his glasses, maybe. It's very serious. It's awful. She's been changed. But... she's eating sushi menacingly. The incongruousness is almost enough to make Mamoru laugh, but not quite. Not at this. Not after laughing at Minako's bow, especially.

He listens, and his expression settles down into a brittle sort of businesslike, deeply unhappy but setting it aside. He has thoughts about Molly and her situation that... can wait.

But he takes Rashmi's hands, and his smudged glasses are a little like a mask, a little bit obscuring his eyes, softening the sometimes sharp edges of his awareness. There's the quiet golden bloom of his power in the background, and this time instead of offering a blanket of peace-- like a foot of snow in the winter woods, or the silence of a sunken ship-- he can only offer something solid and sheltering to lean against emotionally, just for a moment, to stand in the lee of the wind.

Watching Rashmi's eyes as she starts to cry, he shakes his head. "I don't know what to do for Aloisia-san, but... Molly... she was in the Dusk Zone, and she lived. That means there's hope, Rashmi-chan. I was around for another on of Viluy's attempts-- and there was a civilian girl that wasn't... wasn't human anymore. And we fixed her. We healed her. Two people on purification and me boosting them all out? It worked. If you get a bunch of purifiers together--"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yeah," Rashmi answers, sniffling, closing her eyes as she takes that offer of an emotional bulwark, and tilts forward physically, as she leans into the shelter mentally. "Yeah... It just... feels like I could actually start *running out of friends,* y'know...? I didn't think it was possible, but..."

Releasing one of Mamoru's hands, she gestures helplessly. "And once we've taken care of all of this, and everyone is back... D'you think maybe we could get a Royal Decree declaring the year to be over, and we just skip to January 2026? I think between Usachan and Setsuchan..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He'd definitely hug Rashmi, but there's a desk in the way. He feels slightly awkward about his positioning for a moment, but then Rashmi's letting go one of his hands, and he stands up to yoink a chair over with his ankle, then deposits himself in it.

"I'll see what I can do about a Royal Decree, but there are exactly four people who actually listen to me and they're all disasters, so I'm not sure how much you want one of mine," he says with a lopsided smile, and squeezes Rashmi's hand.

"I know-- I know what you mean about feeling like you're gonna start running out of friends, though. And... working toward miracles is what we do, but it is tiring, and it's neverending..."

There's a flicker of 'not so neverending, right? Remember Kazuo is eighteen--' that's quickly squashed.

"...speaking of neverending, do you want me to tell you about the people who are after Chibiusa-chan and also killing civilians? Or do you want me to save that bottle of tasty iodine for another day."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I *think* I've heard about people from the future coming after her? I definitely feel like I've had a freakout about future assassins at least once," Rashmi sighs. "But just to be sure... sure, go ahead."

Scooting her chair arounf to face Mamoru, she takes Luminous Titan's gem out of her pocket, absently tracing its surface with a thumb. "...I know you're right about us working toward miracles, but like... it's also true that miracles are only miracles because they can't happen whenever we want, and... Iunno. I get scared. It's... kind of why I never even *asked* Usa-chan if she could help with the whole Molly-chan thing, because... how *cruel* would it be for her to want to, and try, but fail? I didn't want to put that on her..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Yeah. So. You know how you're all like 'lol royal decree' well apparently in a thousand years, in Chibiusa's timeline, Usako and I are rulers of a post-scarcity extremely long-lived utopia? And these guys are mad because they think people need to fight and die in order to be human." A beat. "But like I'm not sure they're even human anymore? They said they grew up on Nemesis, the theoretical outer planet... and they definitely grew up swimming in dark energy, worse than Riventon, much worse. Their whole goal is to ruin our future because they can't figure out how to go back and ruin their own."

Mamoru shifts the way he's sitting, crosslegged in a regular chair now. His free hand runs through his hair, pushing it back from his face, and he tilts his head a little. "It's super normal to get scared. It's not normal to be normal about all the things we have to face, the things that happen to us and our friends and the people we love, the threats against everything we know."

There's the smallest smile. "I mean, I go to therapy. Please don't spread that around, though."

Finally, he says, leaning forward a little and holding Rashmi's hand in both of his, "You're right about miracles, about the big ones. And-- I don't think she would have been able to save Molly-san if she had actually been dead. But everything we do is a miracle, even if we're used to it. Maybe any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from miracles."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi nods along with the explanation, then snaps her fingers as the pieces fall into place. "Oh yeah! That's right, I remember--" And the happiness just wicks away from her expression. "--Molly-chan telling me some of this after the baseball game... Yeah."

Sighing, she looks back down at Lunimous Titan, nodding along with Mamoru's affirmation of her terror, and her analysis of Usagi's death-defying abilities. "You're not wrong," she says, finally. "And don't worry, I won't tell *anyone.* But speaking of sufficiently advanced magic..."

Looking up at Mamoru, she raises an eyebrow, then holds up the gem. "D'you think Chibiusa-tan's got a good enough imagination to give herself a Barrier Jacket with a cape...?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"CHIBIUSA-TAN," crows Mamoru, instantly dissolving into a ridiculous amused proud-dad grin, and he finally lets Rashmi's other hand slip away as he parses the context. "Wait-- you can--" he starts, staring.

His eyes flicker down to her bow, and-- no, there's no charm there. Oh right-- right yes-- she had said. And he'd... not forgotten, precisely, but it was not at the forefront of his mind.

Now his yes are the good kind of bright. "She absolutely does. You should ask her if you can get Nicomachea to talk to her Luna-P toy, she can make it change into anything she needs in the moment. Stepstool, jetpack, cape, swear jar... but it's not a henshin, it can't protect her. Oh I think-- I think I need to find her, hahaha."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean," Rashmi says, "Luminous Titan was for Hotaru-chan, right? And she could use it, even if Setsuchan was right about her being a Senshi during the old Kingdom. So... Until Chibiusa-tan comes into her power, maybe it'll work for her, too? I mean... yeah, I'll need to talk with her, and Luminous Titan, and Nicomachea, so it'll have to wait until he's done running his sims, but..."

She looks down at the gem, turning it over in both her hands, now they're free. "...She'll need a lot of training, but *if* Luminous Titan's willing, and she is, it might help solve a *lot* of problems for a *lot* of people."

Nevermind that it can't solve the *big* ones, the *important* ones in Rashmi's face... But there's nothing immediate that *can.* So, you fix what's in front of you to fix. "...I'm gonna want to consult with Riventon, Luminous Titan's *his* work and I'll need to know if there's any structurally important Dark Tape I need to fix."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Oh, please tell him that this is for his niece!" says the prince, clapping his hands together and lacing them together, konking his chin with them lightly, under the growing influence of Chibusa-related enthusiasm. "But yeah -- I can't train her in how to do Device Mage stuff, obviously, but I can definitely teach her dodging and balance and general defensive combat manuevers..."

It literally does not occur to him that he is talking about training his daughter to be a child soldier. "Man! If this works, it means I won't even have to ask Catra to babysit!"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When you're a mahou...

The idea that you might be training a toddler -- however long she may have existed as a toddler -- for aerial combat maneuvers doesn't *quite* hold the same horror that it would for a nonmagical child. After all, Rashmi already knows two girls not much older than Chibiusa, who could break the sound barrier *and* delete entire city blocks with a few words.

"...Wait what? Niece?" Rashmi opens her mouth, stall for words, shakes her head and continues. "Anyway based on what I *know* Luminous Titan can do, I can also teach her how to fly, and how *not* to fl-- okay hang on *how did you get _Catra-chan_ to agree to babysit _a child?_*"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Yeah Riventon is my brother," says Mamoru like it's nothing, "I thought you knew. Well. Adoptive brother. We lived at the same--"

He cuts himself off, then pauses. Then says, turning his head a little to give Rashmi a sidelong look instead of straight-on, and he asks with the littlest grin, "Do you think Chibiusa-chan would be able to fly me? I could only fly her when I was Hematite for five minutes a month ago."

The last question has him slouching down into his chair and scratching the back of his head. "Well," he says, "one of the future people -- the Black Moon Clan -- attacked the library, that was that huge freak snowstorm centered on one spot in Tokyo precisely? And Catra spotted her hiding in a corner, wearing my cape, and my hat to cover her hair, and holding a couple of roses, and promptly decided the thing to do was kidnap her to get her out of danger, and drive off in a blizzard at 150 kph on a motorcycle? She didn't know she was stealing our kid. When she found out she was like... okay well she's awesome and I don't want her messed up like me or treated like I was... so if you need someone to watch her while you're both fighting, let me know."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Yeah okay," Rashmi sighs. "That *does* sound on-brand for the person who spent two weeks in an energy-draining panic because she thought Joker was going to maim or kill me. I *keep telling her* she's not half the monster she believes she is." Shaking her head, she slouches into her own chair, giving Mamoru a considering look. "...I don't know if she can... But I know I can give you *both* flying lessons. Nicomachea's support-specialized, I throw that spell onto people all the time. It might even help, to have someone she knows and trusts holding her hand at five hundred feet."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Rashmi's looking considering at Mamoru and Mamoru's got stars in his eyes.

"That would be so cool, Rashmi-chan, SO cool. Yes please! I'm glad my daughter is young enough to still think I'm cool," he says, placing his hand over his heart. "And old enough to have thought my alternate self was cool for a whole millennium."

He slides his legs down off the chair seat and his feet clap to the floor, and he sits up again, "I am very excited," he says very firmly. "And cheered! And-- we'll get Molly-chan and Hotaru-chan back, I know we will. With hearts as big and determination as strong as-- as stampeding elephants have, we'll obviously win."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
While the beginning of this meeting was a gut punch that took away a piece of the world, Mamoru's good cheer is... not *infectious,* but effective, teasing a smile out of the tired, sad redhead. "Maybe work on your metaphors a little," she says with a chuckle. "Also you *are* cool, except maybe when your brain's been scrambled by Dark Energy or a butterfly or whatever happens to come along to do that nonsense for the day... But yeah. We'll get 'em back. *All* of them. ...Then maybe we can ask Coco-chan if they have an outpost in Tahiti we can borrow for summer break?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Oh gods, can you imagine?" Mamoru says, closing his eyes and sighing, obviously imagining. "Tahiti. Let's ask, yeah..." he adds, opening his eyes and hauling himself to his feet, "and if not, we can always steal the last Rainbow Crystal from Riventon and go check out the Elysian Fields. Bring that camping equipment of Setsuna-san's, you know, probably check out some, some ruined castles..."

This as he's putting his notebook and tablet back in his schoolbag, then slinging the thing back over his shoulder, arm up to hold it there. "Either way, vacation. And literally let me know if you need anything bankrolled."

A beat. "And remind me to ask you later about how your mom makes rosewater."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I'll get the recipe for you," Rashmi says, sighing as she levers herself up from the chair. "And I'll remember that, Mamo-kun... Thank you. For this... and for just, y'know... everything. I really, *really* needed to talk to someone... And I know Chrono's been his own kind of broken about everything that's happened... And he's not gonna like what this is gonna do to Setsuchan," she says, raising Luminous Titan's gem briefly.

"So tell Riventon the tune-up's for his niece... Okay. Let me know when Chibiusa-tan wants to talk about Devices, and... Is there anything I can help *you* with? I just... it'll be nice to have issues I *can* solve, the more the better."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Setsuna-san... wasn't doing well last time I saw, no," Mamoru agrees, pausing with his hand on the door. "And hey-- I'm taking feedback on my shoulder sessions, just in case I can be a therapist someday." That's said with a half-smile, and then Rashmi's--

"I'll text you and you can come over or we can meet you wherever," he says with a quick, firm nod and that brightness flickering back again.

Rashmi asks him if there's anything she can help him with, and Mamoru glances at where Entrapta's stuff had been set up, then sidelong-smiles at Rashmi again. "Yeah, I have you have a particular talent for socializing wild animals, and I've got a feral clowder of Shitennou. Feel like making friends with a couple of 'em?"

He's starting to edge out the door, holding it open now, now halfway over the threshold. "Zoisite especially, but Jadeite too. But Zoisite especially. And also Jadeite."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...THat sounds like the kind of headache I would *love* to take on," Rashmi smiles, bobbing her head in thanks as she makes her way through the held-open door. She is definitely still not doing spectacularly, but she *does* manage to feel a bit lighter leaving the Shed, than she did going in.

"And hey, at least Kunzite can vouch for me?"