2369/Catch That Mina!

Catch That Mina!
Date of Scene:	01 March 2025
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Minako leads Usagi, Mamoru, Amy, Makoto, Tamaki and Izou on a chase through the woods and school grounds after using the heartstealer rifle on herself. She gets what she deserves.
Cast of Characters:	Minako Aino, Zoisite, Usagi Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba, Makoto Kino, Jadeite, Amanda Faust
Tinyplot:	The Demise of Bow-chan

---

Minako Aino has posed:
A few days after Mimete had bitten the dust, Minako made her way to the Shed. She'd texted a few people to let them know she was going to be dropping the Heartstealer Rifle off. It all seemed fine. It was perfectly fine. It would just be a quick drop off after all right? Right. Riiight.

A half an hour later...

Emergency communicator: This is Artemis! Minako-- The Heartstealer Rifle-- !!!

The message cuts out abruptly after what seems to be an awful cackling laugh. Ke ke ke ke ke~!

Zoisite has posed:
A'ight. He owes Nephrite an apology and perhaps 5,000 yen for assuming the boar would be the one to make this fuck up. Not one of the sailor senshi. Guh. He'll cross that bridge when he gets to it. Already henshin'd into his silver grey uniform outlined in spring green, he's already teleporting towards the Shed now that he knows the location of it.

What was it? Turn the knob this way for the actual shed, and that way for the Shed? Click, click, and a smooth transition from the outside to the dimmer inside of the secret hideout.

"Artemis?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Broken fragments of a message over the communicator. Artemis' frantic voice. Mad cackling. The heartstealer rifles.

Obviously it can only mean one thing, and Usagi blasts it across her communicator list in a frantic:
"SOMEONE SHOT MINAKO WITH A HEARTSTEALER!"

Sailor Moon calls Artemis frantically. "Artemis! Where is she?!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru teleports in a couple of seconds after Zoisite, stepping out of the air next to and behind his guardian a little bit, brow furrowed a little above his mask.

Then his wrist yells at him, and Tuxedo Kamen pulls his sleeve up a little. "She was going to the Shed with it, Zoisite and I are here--"

He is in prime knocking-over space and not paying attention to the door Zoi just opened.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto was already transformed by the time Sailor Moon put the comms on blast, and she doesn't wait to find out if Artemis responds. Running is still faster than flying - as Zoisite opens the door, Sailor Jupiter arrives in long, ground-eating bounds, not really caring too much if any of her fellow students just saw a Sailor Senshi booking it across campus at top speed.

Jadeite has posed:
Ok, technically he does not owe Minako anything for covering for the Shitennou after the disaster with the Heartstealer Rifle. But he does want to pay her back. He does want her to feel appreciated. And so he's here to offer her a free drink from the shop of her choice, his treat, let's be normal together?

Except, uh. A text, the rifle, and he's hustling -

"Izou, any sign of her?" he asks as he sees his comrade in arms.

Minako Aino has posed:
The Shed door opens correctly for Zoisite allowing a shaft of light to spill inside. It wasn't dark persay, but the natural light was different than the magical ambient lighting within.

It's Artemis' voice which first greets them all with a panicked cry of, "Don't let her out!"

It's too late however--A blur of athletic blonde hair barrels toward the space between Zoisite and Kamen to the freedom beyond! For a normal girl this would be troublesome. For a girl who was an athlete in her prime, and a senshi, and perhaps just *slightly* out of her mind at the moment? Freedom lays in the wooded campus beyond the Shed door!

One might think even then that it's one of the remaining Witches that Artemis was chasing after but the familiar laughter that had filtered over the comm comes from the blur that is Minako as she takes off.

"Ke ke ke ke ke~!"

The white figure of Artemis lopes out after, breathless, as he blurts, "She won't put it back!" And it may be obvious now that Minako had her Hear Crystal cluched protectively in her hands while dashing wildly away.

Zoisite has posed:
"Why yes, Tamaki. I believe that was the sign of her running right past us." Zoisite blinks at his companion, unimpressed that neither himself, Kamen, Jadeite or Jupiter got ahold of her with how fast she flew by them.

He sighs, focusing his energy to be able to fly above them, in hopes of keeping an eye on Minako and where she was running to. For now, he could still see her--somewhat.

"She's headed back to campus! Run!" And he also bolts as he lands on a sprint.

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki blinks - then henshins, following -

"If you all can get her into an alleyway, I can block the exit and help you corner her!" he shouts, and then bolts after Zoisite. "I'm going to have a stroke," he hisses under his breath as he chases after Minako.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon is racing along the path to the Shed - having finally remembered that text, earlier - and she's wondering how on Earth someone got onto campus to shoot Minako without anyone noticing at all, when she sees a blur of blond burst from the Shed, cackling madly -

She stops dead in her tracks.

"MINAKO-CHAN?"

This is a problem, because Minako runs her down. There goes Sailor Moon, soaring through the air, flailing as she shouts, "MINAKOOOOOOO!"

Sailor Moon is blasting off for the first time ever!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Class is out, she's free, she's free! Why must the Japanese education system insist on spending half your Saturday in class?! Although, Amy's not really planning anything special. It seems like a good afternoon for videogames, or maybe visiting Veronica.

    But then a message comes from Sailor Moon, and Sailor Jupiter is running across campus, and -- an attack? Here?! While those near her are looking in Jupiter's direction, she transforms to Sailor Chalcopyrite -- let people assume she's part of the same whtever-is-going-on -- and bounds after the Senshi of Lightning!

    She's approaching the Shed as Minako is already running off into the distance, just in time to hear Artemis. "What?!"

    Amy looks around for a half-second to check for youma, but Artemis is already running that-a-way, so she leap-and-bounds (is there a word for this method of travel?) in the same direction. "What do you mean, she won't put it back?!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Dammit--!" Sailor Jupiter had been primed to throw down with whoever had dared to ambush her fellow senshi. She had not been expecting any of... whatever the hell this is. She spends her forward momentum in a sliding stop, wide-eyed at the sight of Minako bowling Sailor Moon clean over and taking off hell bent for leather. "How is she so fast?"

'Sailor Chalcopyrite' earns a brief doubletake and a visible 'WTF?!' face, but Sailor Jupiter has much bigger problems to focus on. She takes off again, this time after Minako, flinging a hand forward as she runs. "Slow down! Flower Hurricane!"

Petals scatter in the air, caught in the spiraling rush of wind that kicks up out of nowhere to pull at hair and clothing and - she can only hope - push back against Minako's headlong sprint.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Oh. Oh no.

Tuxedo Kamen starts laughing when Minako bursts out, and then he laughs harder at the sound of her laugh, and then he starts chasing after her too, but he is SO much slower when he's laughing--

--oh no, Usagi's literally flying without the ability to stay aloft, and Mamoru races to catch her, but he's still laughing and instead of actually catching her, it's more like she lands on him and they both go rolling in the dead leaves and bracken. "Sorry!" gasps Mamoru, wheezing, trying to help Usagi up while he's still on the ground, which isn't working great.

Snicker.

Minako Aino has posed:
Have you ever seen an out of breath cat? You have now. Artemis is bristled up a bit as if he'd been running in circles for awhile now. He's still trying though as the others start to also chase after Minako. At least until he bowls over himself in a kitty-cartwheel to stop from crashing into the duo of Kamen and Moon when they end up on the ground.

"Her heart crystal!" He blurts out, pausing to pant as others have joined in the chase. "She shot it out to check it she said but then she just --" Somehow he gives the impression of giving a grand gesture as if to say 'THIS' with his tail twitching irritably behind him.

Minako does glance back over her shoulder after bowling over Sailor Moon, ah but there's Kamen of course to catch her. The entire time she doesn't stop as she moves seemingly on muscle memory to dash and jump over some a tree stump in her path toward campus.

It would likely be much harder to stop her there!

The petals of Jupiter's flower hurricane surround her. Rather than stopping her momentum though she moves with the vortex of the flowers abruptly veering off to the side. No longer toward campus directly, but dashing among the trees headed toward the gardens with the ease and speed of someone who couldn't feel pain right now.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen are on the ground in a pile of limbs and he's laughing and Artemis is huffing and puffing and the Shitennou are chasing and Jupiter is chasing and for a moment she is enraged.

And then she just bursts out laughing, all that anger dissipating into the air, along with the majority of her worry.

"I'm going to kill her," she snickers against Mamoru's chest. "Artemis, I'm going to wring her neck, I can't - hahaha, why the fuck did she do this -"

Jadeite has posed:
ok, ok, she's heading for the woods, she is en route - she's headed to the gardens. Jadeite turns on a dime to head to zoisite, running with him in turn -

"It looks like she's headed for the gardens and running through most of the things being thrown at her. If they can herd her to the gardens, we can set a trap if we get there ahead of her! You in?"

Zoisite has posed:
Shit. Shit! He's watching the vortex of flowers only aid the Goddess of Love in changing direction instead of heading towards the open area--which would have made things so much easier. How was she running with her heart crystal out anyway? Obviously she was built different, and in a very annoying way!

Damn it all, he slid to a stop, bellowing out towards the direction she went off to. "Aino-san! MINAKO!!" He yells out, clearly frustrated, and he turns his head to hear out Jadeite's plan. Not a bad one.

Nods.

"Grab on." Offers his arm and soon a swirl of cherry blossoms surrounded the two in white light. From the forest to the gardens in a split second, stopping ahead of where they both hoped would be where Minako would run into them.

Makoto Kino has posed:
In her peripheral vision, Sailor Jupiter registers Zoisite and Jadeite vanishing in a flurry of cherry blossom petals. She wasn't exactly privy to the exchange between the two Shitennou, but she can make a pretty immediate guess about where they're headed.

"Gotta head her off - before she gets to campus!" she calls to Chalcopyrite, lengthening her stride to keep Minako in sight as the blonde makes for the gardens. "If we can run her into whatever the guys are up to--"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Wheeeeze. Then panting, and Mamoru hugs Usagi tight, breathless, then reaches for her hand and puts his other hand on the dirt, and they can both see where Minako is, right now. The moment Sailor Moon is on her feet, Tuxedo Kamen shuts his eyes and teleports them directly in Minako's path.

He is still on one knee on the ground.

They are in the way.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "To check it?!" Amy is incredulous. "But most people just go unconscious when they're not in their body! She has to have known that!"

    She looks from Artemis to Minako. "Also, why isn't she unconscious?! How is she doing that?!" The latter is more a rhetorical question, as she suspects this turn of events has Artemis puzzled as much as everyone else.

    She sees Jupiter's attack redirect Minako, but not stop her and considers her options for a few agonizingly long seconds:

    She doesn't have a lot of helpful nonlethal options! At least not in this situation! Smoke grenades would only make following Minako harder! And if she blinds and deafens Minako, she won't be able to listen to the people trying to talk her down.

    ...Well, she doesn't seem to be listening anyway...

    "Flashbang out!" Amy calls to warn the others, and points at Minako, a small rocket appearing mid-flight over her shoulder, arcing up into the sky then dropping down, Amy trying to direct it to go off right in front of Minako -- It's 'just' a flashbang, but Amy doesn't think it'll stop her, just make it harder for her to evade pursuers.


    Amy starts running towards Minako before it's even gone off, closing her eyes and briefly summoning and then unsummoning her helmet to block the noise.

Minako Aino has posed:
There's no answer or information from Artemis on any of this at this point because he didn't know. He was also just slumped to the ground wheezing for breath while everyone else took over the chase. The feline advisor had done his job and brought those more capable in to help. He was just going to sploot here for awhile until he wasn't reminded he didn't have the energy of a kitten anymore.

"Ke ke ke ke! Keee~?"

Minako's breathy laughter rings out until she's suddenly surprised by the flashbang going off in front of her. Instinctively she *LEAPS* as her momentum was already built up to the point that she was going to crash into or through it one way or another. This takes the blonde through the bright light and deafening noise in a blind jump that lands her ever closer to the gardens.

This would probably be easier if she wasn't one of the schools top athletes. Long distance jump!

At the very least since she's momentarily blinded she doesn't see where she's jumping and may very well end up right in the middle of one of the teleporters traps! Or just plowing into them again. The entire time she keeps her hands cupped in front of her protecting that precious glowing spiked crystal which was the magical embodiment of her Heart.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Oh no.

Oh no, there she is. Coming right for them, barreling at full, fool speed -

"Mamochan! Give me your hand!"

And then she slides away, with just their joined hands outstretched with their arms, creating a line for Minako to run right into.

"Makochan! Get ready! You know what to do!" Sorry, Minako-chan. But if you think about it, you did this to yourself.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tuxedo Mask has started laughing again, but at least it's not the uncontrollable bwahaha of earlier, now it's more like bwee hee hee, and he will hold Usagi's hand literally any time she wants, and he can see what's going to happen and it's so funny and he'll make sure she's not injured afterwards...

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Moon calls out to her, and Jupiter can see the plan. She hits the brakes, squares her stance and digs in her heels.

"Guys!" she yells in the general direction of where she thinks Jadeite and Zoisite must be, not daring to take her eyes off Minako as she barrels toward her comeuppance. "The crystal!!"

Because Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen have joined hands, and if that flashbang from Chalcopyrite was anything to go by, Minako probably can't see for beans, and--

Yeah. Yeah.

When Minako goes flying back, Sailor Jupiter is ready. It's almost gentle at first, the way she catches the careening girl with an arm around her shoulders.

Until it turns into a face lock, before Jupiter slams Minako down onto the ground.

DING DING DING

Jadeite has posed:
Here comes the crystal. The arc is high and long. If they don't catch it fast, it will fly on and on and on,into the gardens,possibly shattering -

Jadeite looks to Zoisite, summoning an icy flower stem that he drags back like a catapult - but instead of the usual ice flower cannonball, it's Zoisite he sets up -

"Go, go, go! Zoi Thimble!!"

- and YEETS his fellow Shitennou into the air to catch the crystal before it can fall.

(He'll make snow for the landing, Itll be fine.)

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Okay, the flashbang was on-target, now they just have to actually catch her... and it looks like Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask are in position to do that! Amy slows to a jog, still approaching anyway in case things go further away, and furrows her brow as she tries to come up with more magical countermeasures.

    No one can really see what she's doing, but Amy would liken the experience to... Okay so usually keys and connectors just plug in, right, but sometimes, for whatever reason, they're kinda fiddly, even if you have them positioned seemingly right? For Amy, trying to get her magic to do new things feels kind of like doing that, mentally. -- but when it's something she can almost do, or can do something similar to, or she's just close to figuring it out, or it's thematic for her but beyond the scope of her power, she can't tell if the key's not going in because it's the wrong key or she's just not positioning it exactly right (or in the last case, if there isn't an actual keyhole just a divot).

    (Trying to do something she flat-out can't is like having no hole to fit the key in; she can just feel that her magic can't do that)

    Anyway, she looks like she's focused on something but it's not very visible.

Minako Aino has posed:
"Keeeeee~!" Right into the clothesline. It's like rebounding off a rubberband at the speed she's going as her feet go out from under her and she instead flips back toward Jupiter.

The Heart Crystal goes flying into the air! Minako goes flying into the loving, gentle embrace of Jupiter who was showing her a nice upside down view of OH WAIT.

Minako is stopped to say the least. For a half-moment she just hangs there upside down with her head slammed into the ground and neck bent. Then her body flops down leaving her sprawled limbs akimbo on the ground completely out of it. The speed had left her body. Her soul may have too if it wasn't already in crystaline form at the moment.

Zoisite has posed:
White smoke begins to poof above the trees, and he's wondering what in the gods name was happening in there. Was that smoke to confuse Minako? Good. That should work. Brilliant work to whoever thought of that. Stance ready for him to charge if by any chance they see the shine of blonde locks through the shade. Instead, what they get is a call from the forest. GUYS!

And a blink as something is quickly shot out above the trees. Higher and higher as it shined like diamonds. The heart crystal! Only a look was shared between himself and Jadeite, connecting twink minds like they were twinning in madness.

Ice stem catapult, putting his trust in the blond Shitennou. And in one dramatic launch, Zoisite was in the air positioning himself to catch the precious tangible heart gem--and it slide right into his gloved hands!

Got it!

Zoisite stops himself from falling rear first into the trees below by slowing his momentum down telekinetically. But of course he saw the pillow of snow on the ground and smirked to himself fondly. Oh that's precious Jadeite, you buffoon. He does land on it gracefully though before making his way quickly through the trees to find where the rest were.

Didn't take long, judging from where the crystal had launched from. The tall figure of Sailor Jupiter was the beacon he needed, quickening his step as he saw Minako on the ground. Sharing a small glance with Tuxedo Kamen, Zoisite was already kneeling next to the unconscious body--sliding an arm under her back so he could proper her upwards towards him.

Gently, he pushes the crystal back into her chest and hold his hand there so it would not pop out again.

'We're even now. Thank you.'

Minako Aino has posed:
Bruised. Battered. Probably winded and exhausted after her mad dash. Yet Minako was still alive, breathing, and in relatively good shape other than every inch of her body hurting. It all slowly starts to come back as she lays held in Zoisite's grasp when he pushes the heart crystal back into her.

Of course it's done far more gently than when she had done his but they also weren't in the middle of an actual fight. Surely if that had been the case she would have shown him such tenderness too in spite of all their differences, issues, potential love rival-ness if only in her own mind.

A single deep breath is drawn while her eyes crack open again becoming more aware of what's around her. The trees, the other mahou, Zoisite right there with his hand ... His hand...

Minako lets out a sudden shriek! "Why are you touching my boobs!?"

Zoisite has posed:
A breath. He felt it as her chest raised in his hold, feeling the healthy heartbeat. Her eyes fluttering open. And he's able to sigh with a small smile on his face, not realizing where his hand lingered, not even thinking much of it at all, much less how this mirrored when he had woken up and felt a particular way with Venus on his lap.

That is, until her eyes connected to everyone else, then his, only to shriek right at his face.

He shrieks in return, taken aback by the reaction, letting go of her and jumping back in haste. Then it hit him like a brick. "What?!" Him?! Touchin--

NO! OH GODS NO!

"I was returning your heart crystal!!" Now he was offended.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Oh no Mamoru's laughing again. He drops his henshin and just sits on the ground with his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. And then he falls back in the grass and laughs at the sky.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A held-in breath, as they wait to see if a it works - and when Minako shrieks, Sailor Moon's henshin pops with a poof of light and ribbons, returning Usagi to her school uniform.

Mamoru's busting up laughing, but Usagi is brushing the grass off her knees as she stands and walks over to join Minako and Izou.

"Minako-chan," she says kindly, lovingly, "I choose to see this as a cry for help."

Jadeite has posed:
Once Jadeite throws Zoisite into the air - he chases after him, checking that he lands safely, that Minako is -

Safe. Heart crystal returned. He drops his henshin and sags, hands resting on ihs knees as he catches his breath.

"Minako, if I have a stroke from blood pressure, I'm making you pay my insurance!" he calls out as he wobbles over -

Then slaps Mamoru and Zoisite on the back. "Good work,everyone. We've never been a red flag like this before."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    They got her!

    But something small and sparkly goes flying -- IS THAT MINAKO?! -- Amy watches the heart crystal intently, trying to see where it lands... but TWINK TEAMWORK saves the day as Zoicite catches it and walks over to them, returning Minako to her body.

    Amy steps close, watching Minako with concern, waiting for her to awaken--

    And then life swerves into high school comedy anime for a second. "He was putting you back in your body!" she protests at the same time as he says that. "Yeah! It's like giving someone CPR, at least we didn't have to break your ribs for this!"

    Still, the topic change kind of distracts her from what she was really wondering, until Usagi starts talking about cries for help. "Yeah, what were you thinking?!" She holds a hand to her face. "Okay, sorry, that was an unhelpful phrase. But... why did you take your heart crystal out? You know it's not good to be out of your body..." She blinks. "Wait, you have heard about these things, right...?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Girl." That is all Makoto says at first, as her henshin fades and she just kind of... steps back and sits down, right there on the ground.

She looks around a little, to see how much attention they've drawn with all of this maybe. Maybe just looking for a particular white cat. "Artemis? Come get your person."

Minako Aino has posed:
"Do I have to?" Artemis had caught his breath a bit ago and just. Just watched this unfold with his ears airplaning as he sits staring unimpressed. A weary sigh is heaved out. The Mauian (sp?) gingerly pads over to the laughing Mamoru to whisper, "Can I stay with you awhile?" with big pleading kitty eyes.

Minako for her part sits bolt upright on the ground with her eyes wide and wild and then Usagi was grasping her hand. Speaking words that left her stomach plummeting at the words. Cry for help. Oh no. She hadn't meant to get caught doing what she'd done. That's why Artemis was there, he was supposed to put it back! "Arty you traitor!"

Still holding Usagi's hand she ducks her head with a sheepish, guilty grin as she realizes she's made a huuuge mess of this. "What? I was just, I mean, it wasn't the lethal one and I was in the Shed-- Where are we?" Oh right this was NOT the Shed. Ontop of that Zoisite was looking SUPER offended.

"Well, okay then, I mean. I guess you are gay so. Okay. Thank you."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Traitor?" Uh oh. That was the wrong choice of words. The kind and loving face of Usagi Tsukino is becoming the irked face of a worried friend before their very eyes. "You SHOT yourself! With a HEARTSTEALER RIFLE. You SHOT YOURSELF."

Oh there is some raised voice there.

"And then you ran away with your heart crystal like a madwoman! You're lucky Zoisite caught it and put it back!" Deep breaths. Deep breaths. "Also! Him being maybe gay is not why he's not doing weird things to your chest, it's because despite you pulling a - cry for help - he still came and saved your life."

Jadeite has posed:
"YOu ran out of the Shed, ran past us, ran OVER Usagi, and lead us all on a merry chase," Tamaki says, and he crouches next to Minako and Zoisite. "Respectfully, neither of us would touch your boob even if we were straight. So you don't need to be worried about that,"he says primly. "I was going to get you coffee for saving our butts before, but I'm wondering if you owe US coffee now."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I'm going with 'yes,'" Makoto contributes helpfully from the peanut gallery.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Isn't it great to not be the ones in trouble?" Mamoru asks Zoisite and Jadeite quietly once he's caught his breath again, though he hasn't gotten up. He's still laying on the grass.

Zoisite has posed:
Yes, he was offended. Very much so. No by anything else by the crassness of the accusation when he would never-- Deep inhale. Very deep. And exhales slowly. An attempt to remain level headed, hand on his own chest now as her reaction had almost shot his own crystal heart back out.

Everyone else was barking at her now. From Amy to Usagi, Mamoru laughing out into the winds, and Tamaki being rather on point. At the question, Zoisite looks over to Mamoru, blinks. A smile began to form slowly. "Yeah." He whispers back.

He dehenshins, returning to his uniform as he finally got back up to his feet, brushing away the grass and dirt that clung to him. "You're welcome, Aino-san." Is all he says, calmly.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "'Wasn't the lethal one'? Wait, there's a nonlethal--" Again, before Amy gets lost on a tangent, Usagi gets things back on topic. Sort of. "Yeah, by that reasoning, any of us who were gay or bi putting it back would be a problem." She shakes her head. "It's like a medical procedure. It doesn't matter whether the doctor's-- it's not about that." She taps her chin. "Besides, I've heard gay guys think they're pretty neat too, which is even more confusing when I don't see why people are so fascinated by them--"

    She realizes she's gotten off topic and shapes her head. "Anyway! This is about the heart crystal! Why did you do that?"

Zoisite has posed:
"I'm going to head back to campus. I was hoping to sign up for Fencing and Music clubs before this happened." The discussion around him was worrying, but when he had his, no one else but Mamoru and the other boys were present. This much he could dignify Minako in having. The privacy of the bollocking she was going to receive in doing something to herself that set off not only himself by keeping a henshin up for weeks on end, but that set off his brothers in arms in killing a witch without a single thought.

This was much more complicated.

"Tamaki, guide me? You know more about the Fencing club than I do." Looks over.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino blanches. Usagi is yelling. Oh no. "I meant I shouldn't have assumed that he was, because he is, but I..." The words fumble all over one another as she remains just sitting there feeling bruised and tired and achey all over. Why did her neck hurt?

Even with all the distractions going on, everyone was starting to fixate on the one topic that might actually matter in this case. "I was just... I..." But the questions keep coming before she can really think of a proper answer.

A good thing. Instead of coming up with some pleasant lie or fib she suddenly hiccups with her eyes tearing up. Not overflowing. Oh heck no she wouldn't cry in front of people! What does burst from her is a yell of, "I wanted to make sure it wasn't broken! I wanted to make sure I even had one!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru immediately recognises what Zoisite's doing, and as he gets up and brushes himself off, he gestures to Amy. "Riventon built the nonlethal one after I yelled at him," he says. "Come on with us and I'll explain the difference."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Here's where Makoto picks herself up and brushes the dirt and dead leaves from her skirt, herself. The boys have the right idea on this one; she moves to join Amy and Mamoru, bringing her voice down a little. "We should let Artemis know she's okay now, too."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Well, at least she knows better than to think - and Amy's getting on her about that too - and oh, does Usagi have plenty of gas in the engine to keep yelling -

But instead, Minako starts to cry a little, and bursts out with something true and sincere, instead of a pleasant lie or goofy joke.

(It's only a little bit of a joke to say this saves her.)

"Of course you have one! What kind of question is - of course you have one!" Unfortunately, now it's supportive yelling, not no yelling at all. "Why would it be broken?! Why wouldn't you have one?! It's your heart Minako-chan, of course you have one!"

Zoisite has posed:
She's crying. "..."

Yes, it was better that they all left Minako alone. This was more than an accident. Usagi had her new monkey to deal with and he genuinely didn't want to know more than he had to at that moment. Izou was already leaving ahead of them.

Jadeite has posed:
"Let's go. Fencing isn't that far,"Tamaki says, and he steps back with his prince and his comrade, giving Minako the privacy that anyone would want in being chewed out by their royal.

But - Minako's wail gives him pause. He looks back to her, sympathy bare on his face. "You have a whole heart. People like you,and you like people. It's normal to feel pain when things go wrong. Falling in and out of love all the time is what normal people do. If you ever stop having a broken heart, Usagi would tell you in an instant. You won't have to brew on it."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru rapidly scoops Artemis off his pant-leg and puts him in Makoto's arms. "Artemis," he tells the white cat intently, "you can negotiate that with Anko. Get Luna to vouch for you."

And then he's following after Izou, tugging at Amy's sleeve if he has to.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "You wanted to know if you even had a heart crystal?" Amy goes from mad to concerned. "Why wouldn't you..."

    But, she sounds more sympathetic now. She's not sure what Minako's dealing with, but that kind of doubting yourself and feeling broken seems at least adjacent to something Amy can understand.

    But Mamoru is saying she should go. She hesitates, and good boy Tamaki gives a brief speech. "Yeah. I don't... know you that well, but..." She hesitates. Then shakes her head. "I can at least tell you that people being made to feel broken isn't as uncommon as you'd think. Um... I hope you... I hope you figure things out but I'll defer to my friends' judgement about whether this is anything I can help with." She turns and follows Mamoru and Makoto and the boys somewhat awkwardly.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino lifts her free hand, the one Usagi didn't have hold of, to swipe at her eyes before they betray her further. She can't help the little sniffle though. The others start to leave which maybe does help her pride a little bit. Amy's own thoughtful concern is taken in with a simple nod of silent thanks.

Of course now comes the hard part: TALKING about what's been going on in that head of hers. In a quiet, meek voice, she mumbles, "I've just been... Since Paris... Really kind of lonely and I missed so much and I know it's probably all in my head so I just wanted to reassure myself and not worry anyone." Boy had that failed big time.

Before everyone is too out of earshot she calls out, "Thank you, everyone. I'm sorry!"