310/Planetary Alignment

Planetary Alignment
Date of Scene:	27 August 2023
Location:	Hikawa Shrine
Synopsis:	When everything lines up just right...
Cast of Characters:	Rei Hino, Minako Aino, Usagi Tsukino, Setsuna Meiou

---

Rei Hino has posed:
    With school out, there's been a surprisingly sparse amount of hanging out with her few friends for Rei Hino. But between her feeling lonely and reaching out to Usagi regarding spending time at Rei's house, and Usagi maybe having some stuff to tell her or a person to introduce, and also maybe some youma-possessed humans breaking into a series of houses in the neighborhood of the Hikawa Shrine to steal jewelry for some reason, there might be cause for the Crusader of Love and Justice to make a scouting trip of the area or just come along with Usagi because who doesn't like hanging with Usagi?

    It's evening, and visiting hours are over for the night. They probably won't have too much time together before bedtime, and Rei isn't about to invite Usagi to spend the night without any preparations for a sleepover, because that might give the wrong message, and while yes the blonde girl is very cute and nice, Rei is already scarlet just thinking about the hypothetical mistaken intent behind a question she hasn't asked and isn't going to, and is this what having a friend over is like? Is this it? Right here?

    She is never going to do this again.

    Anyway, she's standing outside, and she's not wearing her school uniform or her miko attire. She's wearing an oversized shirt-dress with pink sleeves, orange wrists and collar, and a soft yellow for the rest. It goes down to mid-thigh, and she's wearing some simple shorts under it, and sandals on her feet. She's not planning on going out, so she keeps it basic. She's recently been in the shower so her hair is still a bit damp and thick with moisture, and looks it. It's a wild divergence from her usual aesthetic, but hey, she's still a teenage girl, and she has been on enough shopping trips with Usagi and Ami by now to have accumulated quite the array of options.

    So she's here. Alone. Leaning against a wooden post that bears one of the paper lanterns that gives light at this time of night. Waiting as she pretends she's not glancing surreptitiously with her violey eyes down at the street, when she is totally checking if Usagi has shown up yet down by the street level.

    "...If this turns into a youma attack somehow, I am going to be so upset." she mutters to herself as she folds her arms and looks off to the side with a pissed off expression.

Minako Aino has posed:
It wouldn't be the first time Minako had been mistaken for Usagi if she were to be today. Hell, technically sometimes it had been deliberate in her role as a protector of the princess...not that that connection had been made yet.

Headed towards the shrine in her own deep red short dress and a black jacket around her shoulders.

With her hair tied back by that favored ribbon that matched her dress, the young woman was making her way down the street towards the temple, pondering the thought that she was actually somehow managing to balance being Sailor V and Minako...maybe.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi has felt kind of bad about it, honestly, how little hanging out with her friends - her senshi friends - she's managed this summer. Between half of their shopping trips turning into unmitigated disasters and everything that had happened with Shingo -

But Rei contacted her. And she wants to talk to Rei too, because she remembered - something. It's scraps now, scraps and strands, but it was something, and it was Darien, and it was her, and it was -

Weird.

So she's glad to be going to Rei's place, to Hikawa Shrine.

And she'd asked Setsuna-san to come with her, or meet her there, because Rei-chan SHOULD know that she'd found another Senshi, and she'd felt awkward revealing Setsuna's identity without her permission, and well! This was good, right?

And of course, Luna is with her - healed and out of her casts, thanks to time and Chiyo-chan's help, but nonetheless very carefully perched on Usagi's shoulder, with absolutely no chance of her getting hit by anything at all, or falling, or getting hurt, nope. Usagi doesn't care if people look at her strangely for it.

And she's nearly to Hikawa Shrine, bracing herself for the thought of climbing those stairs, when she sees -

Eh?

"Minako-chan?!" Her voice is pitched, to cover the distance between them, and she waves excitedly as she sees the other girl. "Minako-chan, hey!"

"Usagi," Luna hisses quietly, "Did you forget Rei and Setsuna are waiting for us?!"

Usagi had not forgotten, per se, but, the young blond maybe had an ulterior motive. She couldn't climb the stairs if she had to politely trade conversation, right? Right! She tugs her sweater dress - thinner than a proper sweater, a knee-length yellow and blue striped garment she was wearing with yellow leggings - down a bit, and says primly, "Shh Luna, or someone will hear you. Like Minako-chan."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna is beginning to discover that Usagi Tsukino is something of a force of nature in certain circumstances. Like when she wants to introduce or meet or socialize with people. Honestly, she's not entirely sure HOW she got roped into this...but she's willing at the moment to find out whomever the younger woman wants to introduce her to.

Thus, she follows behind the blonde, similarly dressed in far more 'casual clothing' than is the norm for her.

In this case, she's wearing a very pale blue pair of jeans with a simple shortsleeved black t-shirt underneath a gold tanktop.

And three inch heels.

As Usagi peels off to say hi to Minako, Setsuna pauses partway up the steps, then mentally shrugs a little and continues up to meet the two girls at the top.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei hears a female voice call out, and her intense RBF switches to a girlishly happy smile as she turns to look down the steps towards the source. "Usagi-chan, there you a--" Oh. That's not Usagi. That's... Another cute blonde? But she's not the one who called out. Is that actually Usagi with her hair down? No... Maybe?

    Then there's two blondes of similar build and appearance below, and the miko's violet eyes nearly bulge out of her face. It takes a moment for her brain to decide, 'No, there aren't two of her, that would be stupid. Also the real Usagi has Luna on her shoulder, and the other girl clearly doesn't have a cat of her own.' (Probably.)

    Then she shakes her head and starts down the steps. Rei doesn't resume calling out immediately, instead hoping to get a bit closer since it's late, she doesn't want to bother the neighbors, and there's yet another visitor coming up behind Usagi.

    Rei is baffled at this one. She's very tall, looks rather exotic, and doesn't appear to be concealing her presence. "Uh... Good evening. I'm very sorry, but visiting hours are over for today..." she starts her spiel, not realizing Setsuna arrived with the moon rabbit.

Minako Aino has posed:
Did that cat talk? No...that'd be strange, right...that someone else had another talking cat following them around. Wait...didn't Sailor moon have a-

The train of thought followed by the lean forward was somewhat interupted by the sight of Nurse Meiou -and- her exciteable friend approaching her properly. One quick hug and exciteable smile, the 'Sailor V' mindset behind the mask is pushed to the back to just be 'Minako' for a little while. She could think things out later!

Of course, Minako did have a cat, admittedly a white one, but almost humorously Artemis was at least attempting to remain a little out of sight while keeping an eye on his ward.

The Usagi doppleganger brought to a blink at the arrival of a newcomer, her own bright eyes widening at the sight of the darkhaired miko coming their way. She'd been told the name, but it had fallen out of her head in that moment.

Usagi, Setsuna, the new girl...what was everyone so damn pretty around here?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Hugs are quickly offered and exchanged, and Usagi is delighted with her plan to put off going up the stairs.

Of course there's a problem, though, a flaw in hern not-so-cunning plan.

Or rather not with the plan, but with the rest of this plan - because, unfortunately, Usagi remembers all too suddenly that she hadn't told Rei-chan who she was bringing with her. And of course, there's Rei-chan coming down the stairs. Probably? It's probably Rei-chan and not her grandpa.

And with Minako-chan here, who goes to the same school and just might know the school nurse and who definitely isn't a Senshi, she's realizing it's actually a bit awkward for students to be hanging out with the school nurse after hours, so -

Is her best bet to hope Minako-chan doesn't ask questions about it?

And then! Minako! Bless her!

She doesn't ask questions!

"Rei-chan! Setsuna-san isn't a guest of the shrine!" Pause. "Well! I guess she is, but she's my guest to the shrine, to see you! For non-shrine purposes...ahaha... and, ah, Minako-chan, this is Rei-chan! She's the miko of this shrine, and my very good friend! Rei-chan, this is Minako-chan, who goes to my school! And Setsuna-san, do you know Minako-chan?"

Please say no.

Maybe if she just doesn't acknowledge that Setsuna-san is also Meiou-san the Nurse, no one will be willing to point it out...?

As Usagi contemplates this, and her life choices, Luna abandons her, leaping down from her shoulder... there's a scent on the wind. Nothing a human would detect, but easy for a mau to catch. It's almost like... Artemis. Has he been here? Could she catch his scent? It's not like Usagi could get into too much trouble, not with two of her fellow Senshi with her.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna blinks at the byplay between Minako and Usagi...but then when asked, she unfortunately for Usagi torpedos the younger woman's wishes as she responds almost immediately, "Of course I do. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Aino. I hope the evening is finding you well." Because yes, she's memorized the names of all the students.

Or at least all of the ones that have something 'unique' about them.

She then looks over to Rei, back to Usagi, then back to Rei before saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...?"

Sadly, Rei is NOT a student at Radiant Heart, so Setsuna doesn't know her name offhand.

Luna's reaction and actions get a momentary glance...then seem to be dismissed...but she's actually paying a lot more attention to the mau than she lets on...Luna is perhaps onto something.

Rei Hino has posed:
    "...Haaah?" is Rei's stunned response. Usagi just... Invited over... Another person? ...TWO extra people? ....?

    ??????

    Sighing, Rei just gives up. "Rei Hino. Nice to meet you, Setsuna-san, and... Aino-san." Both of the unfamiliar ladies get an additional once-over, then says, "I guess you're also invited as Usagi's guests." She eyebrow raises at her friend for not understanding how guests work, apparently, and with a respectful lowering of her head, she leads the way up the stairs. All aboard, anyone who's coming aboard.

    She's muttering under her breath the whole way until she gets to the house that serves as the residence for Rei and her grandfather.

    She pre-emptively calls out, "I have some school friends over for studying, no they aren't boys, no you can't meet them." She hears the explosion of fiery temper from her grandpa chasing her all the way to her room over how disrespectful she is, and she better not be sneaking boys into her room, and yadda yadda yadda. Normally it'd be an argument with him that she wouldn't back down from, but not tonight.

    Her room is simple. Austere, really. Compared to some other teenage girls' rooms, there's precious little other than a dresser for her clothes, with a photograph in a picture frame on top of it. She doesn't even have a bed, just her futon rolled up in a corner. She does, however, have a low table with snacks on it.

    Because she knows Usagi likes snacks and will whine if she doesn't get them, and also there's some cat treats for Luna--Where'd she go, anyway?

Minako Aino has posed:
"Ummm...Hi!" Minako offers in response to Setuna's greetings. Yep, she knew the woman and she probably did feel it was strange, however she does find herself greeted by Rei and that's enough of a direction to have the blonde giving a little blink and a blushing smile of greeting. "Thank you, Usagi was excited for me to meet you Rei-chan...this place is...really neat!"

Smooth Minako, but bright as she was in personality she was clearly a little out of practice with socializing and visiting friends."

Temple was cool, but Rei's room was very different to her own, not to mention the obvious flaw that was called out as she leaned over conspiratorally whispering to Usagi.

"You didn't say we'd be studying!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Great! Now everyone knows each other!"

Rei's look is observed and ignored. Usagi would like to defend herself. She only brought one unasked for guest! And it was a very important situation! But then she did greet Minako-chan, and she did introduce her to Rei-chan, and she did - did she do this?

Hm.

The distraction from that gets her up the rest of the stairs, at least. She's barely even paying enough attention to feel the exhaustion from climbing so many stairs.

And! Minako is great at conversation! So everything is fine - ah. STUDY?

"Rei-chan, you didn't say we'd be studying!"

Minako may have whispered it first, but Usagi isn't bothering to whisper, looking at Rei in betrayal because - studying?! Again?! On a day where she was going to do something as amazing as introduce two of her fellow Senshi?!

And meanwhile - Luna is prowling about, looking carefully for that trace of Artemis she'd caught on the wind. But will she catch that white tomcat, or is she prowling the area near the shrine for nothing?

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna really isn't entirely sure why she's here at this point, but she's here, she's with a bunch of women MUCH younger than she is...and even rather younger than she presents. She's fairly certain Usagi KIND of had some plan...but she's got the feeling that the girl in question has rather unthinkingly derailed herself in the process.

As studying is mentioned, Setsuna raises an eyebrow...it's not what she had in MIND, per se...but it IS something she can perhaps help with if it turns out that was what Rei was thinking was going on. For the moment, however, she remains silent, curious to see where precisely this potential trainwreck ends up.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei's temper finally gets the better of her, and once everyone is in her room, she wheels around, sticks her head out the door, and yells back, "MAYBE IF YOU ACTED YOUR AGE, YOU'D GET MORE RESPECT! YOU'RE THE HEAD PRIEST, BUT YOU ARE SERIOUSLY LACKING IN VIRTUE!" More yelling back about how ungrateful he is, and how hard he works bringing in visitors to the temple and maintaining things and as the man of the house, he is keeping things safe around here with all of these break-ins, and Rei's negative energy will attract evil spirits, and why can't he please come in and meet her school friends, and--

    Rei has already slammed the door so hard the door practically goes concave from the force of it before physics reasserts itself and makes it be flat again. With her hands on her hips, and a great big, long, sigh. Rei claps her hands together in front of her, smiles, and turns around. "Now where were we? Oh, right, we're not actually studying, I just said that so he wouldn't bother us." She waves that off like that's totally reasonable and this is a common interaction. "Ah... Please help yourself? The tea should still be nice and hot, and I think there's enough for everyone, as long as we all don't have Usagi-chan's appetite." She gives an oh-hohohoho laugh that's a bit too forced before she realizes she probably looks and sounds like a goon, clears her throat, and just kneels by the table while trying very hard not to look at anyone until her face is under control again.

Minako Aino has posed:
"Luna?"

Seemingly it wasn't only the black cat that had grown aware and made the same connection that Minako had almost managed. Outside the temple, where Artemis had been trying to sneak close enough to ensure the safety of the blonde girl that had become his partner in fighting evil, a heartfelt reuniting of the two advisors to the kingdom of the moon was beginning...

And the senshi had no idea!

Minako for the moment did indeed seem to recognize that Setsuna being present might indeed mean this was a study session, but Usagi's reaction does bring with it a little blink. Was this unplanned? A study ambush?! Such a devious plot was worse than any youma attack!

Thankfully Rei sets her heart at ease quite quickly and Minako actually offers a sigh of relief...and then a little squeek of excitement. "Yay! Snacks are -way- better than studying."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Artemis!"

The call is louder than Luna meant it to be, but, for all her hopes, she hadn't truly expected to see him. And yet - there he is. Her counterpart, her friend, truly the most irritating man she knew -

She runs to meet him, forgetting her charge for the moment.

Usagi winces her way through the yelling - mostly for Rei-chan's sake! Because boy, this is pretty embarrassing, she has to admit! It's a good thing she's extremely good at ignoring things.

And an equally good thing she's good at thinking on her feet. And being relieved! "Oh, that's quick thinking! Phew. I was worried for a second there, I thought you'd want to study for real, instead of doing something fun like... our horoscopes?"

Work with her here, she's onto something. Really!

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
The back and forth byplay between Rei and her grandpa quickly has Setsuna covering her mouth so that nobody will see how hard she's fighting not to giggle. After a good minute listening to the back and forth as she bites her lips not to burst out laughing, she finally gets herself under control and just steps over and calmly settles next to the table in seiza.

She takes a brief moment looking around...she's a guest here...but...Rei DID say 'help yourself', after all

Thus, after a few moments looking unsure, she finally gives into the 'big sister' instincts that she had been building of late, and she just shrugs and moves to start pouring everyone some tea and evenly distributing the other snacks...aware by reputation that if she does NOT, the lion's share are likely to disappear into the bottomless void that is Usagi's stomach.

Usagi's comment on horoscopes get a raised eyebrow as she wonders if the girl is perhaps trying to be clever. Still, for the moment she doesn't say anything...by this point actually kind of honestly curious how long things will go before someone asks about what the school Nurse is doing here.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Wrong school, so Rei doesn't know Setsuna is a nurse. No one mentioned it yet anyway. That she noticed, at least. She gives a weak smile to the assertion that snacks > studying, but she isn't a study fanatic like Ami, so she just agrees. "We all need energy to keep our brains going, so in a way..." She looks back to her guests now, focusing on the here and now. "I don't tell horoscopes, Usagi-chan..." she says tiredly. Maybe they've had this conversation before. But she takes it on anyway, because it's a welcome topic change and distraction.

    "So, you all go to the same school? I sometimes wonder if everyone there knows you." The leader of the Senshi does have a way of drawing people to her, and brightening their lives. It's no wonder she has a following.

    Rei gives a grateful nod of her head and a smile to Setsuna for the tea, but when she reaches for it, she pauses with her hand extended and a frown on her face as her eyebrows come down.

    "I'm sorry, I think I must have forgotten. Where did you say that you and Usagi-chan met, Setsuna-san?" Her voice is perfectly polite, if not entirely friendly, but her violet eyes are slowly burning as she looks at the seemingly older girl. It's very rude to stare someone in the eyes like this, especially someone older than you, but that doesn't appear to be stopping her.

Minako Aino has posed:
"Horoscopes?" Minako repeats, taking her cup of tea in hand and a small sip for herself. "Ooh, that could be super romantic or exciting!" Hey, maybe they'd predict she'd meet someone special soon!

Unaware of the reunion and confessions about their charges being exchanged by the feline guardians of Usagi and herself, Minako clearly also didn't seem to get the reference at first. After all, after all this time what were the odds her new friend she made at the arcade would randomly lead her to two of the other Sailor scouts she'd already met?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I know, I know Rei-chan, you can't tell my fortune either. But! A horoscope can. And they are super romantic and exciting, just like Minako-chan said! Actually, I was finding out that with the Western one there are all these signs, there's like, a Moon sign, and I was talking to Setsuna-san, because I think there should be a Mars sign and even a Pluto sign, if there's a Moon sign. Don't you think?"

No one ever accused Usagi of being subtle - but aside from thinking that she doesn't know anything about astrology (true), Minako shouldn't find anything too weird about this, right?

Right?

And, ahaha, yes, she and Minako go to the same school, and in a very technical sense, Setsuna-san does kind of go to that school. For work.

Rei-chan pick up on her hints! Setsuna-san, pick up on her hints, before she has to explain why she dragged a school nurse here!

"I don't know everybody, but I do like to meet all sorts of people. Sometimes it even turns out we have a connections!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Oh-ho! While Setsuna can certainly respect the suspicion and protective impulses that Rei seems to be showing towards Usagi...that doesn't mean that she's merely going to bow before a stern look.

In point of fact, she returns Rei's look quite calmly and smiles what might be described as a 'Mona Lisa Smile' as she calmly responds, "We met at Radiant Heart Academy, Miss Hino."

A statement which has the virtue of being absolutely true...while at the same time being enough of an obfuscation to very nearly be a lie. The stare is returned with that same vague smile...it will sadly take far more than a staring contest to unnerve Setsuna.

Usagi's 'less than subtle' hints cause her to smile a bit more. Sneakiness, truly thy name is Tsukino.

Still, that puts her in an interesting position to be studying Rei's face at the comment...and to see if she makes the connection...so Setsuna just takes a long, slow sip of her tea.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei is focused on her 'conversation' with the taller of the two new acquaintances. She doesn't look away either. She also doesn't respond verbally for quite a while. The staring contest continues to the point of likely becoming uncomfortable for others watching, until the miko apparently decides she doesn't like whatever she sees in Setsuna and huffs before turning her head away and picking up her cup of tea. "I recommend you have a fire reading taken, Setsuna-san. It might help you with your problem." She doesn't specify what the problem is, just pointedly doesn't look at the nurse. Well, this is a nice friendly atmosphere isn't it?

    Rei suddenly puts down her cup and holds out one of her hands palm up, over the food. "Put your hand here, palm-up, Aino-san. I'm not a palm reader, but I can tell you if I see anything in your future." Apparently Usagi was just too subtle for Rei Hino. Or she was distracted. There's a lot of things Usagi says that she tunes out. At least now when the twin-tailed girl speaks it isn't annoying to Rei. It cheers her up, even if the words Usagi is saying are frequently ridiculous.

    "There are an entire set of planetary symbols and star signs. It's not like we're the only ones to consider them important." Her face which had gone to placid and disinterested goes back to frowning. But this time it's a thoughtful frown. She glances at Usagi.

    "Hey..." she begins. "...Where's Luna?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Did Usagi suspect her? Was she just trying to confirm identity between Pluto and Mars with no idea there was another senshi in the room?

"A fire reading?" Minako blinks. Oooh! Neat...and apparently distracting enough that Minako hadn't called Usagi on her weirdness, even if it was potentially affected by the magic of a Senshi transformation to mind-hole such a thing...

Hand out and offered to Rei, there was a teeny tremble and a flush for a moment, but excitement won over shyness as she tilted her head. "What do you see?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
No! Oh no! Her efforts at subtlety were too subtle (she will be using this against Rei-chan in the future, just watch)! And it's not like she minds an actual fortune telling session, even if it's not her fortune, but she'd had actual purpose! Thought! Plan! For once in her life!

Truly, it's like her manga said: woman plans and the gods laughs.

And yet, all is not lost - for even as Minako offers her hand to Rei in what could surely later become an iconic representation of their bond as friends, teammates, and more(?), Luna enters the room, having used the power all cats possess to enter a closed room despite having neither thumbs nor the height typically necessary to open said door. She is followed, presumably, by Artemis - or at least, as Usagi and Rei will recognize, a white cat with a Moon shaped icon identical to Luna's.

"Usagi," she begins plainly, "That was terrible. You've got to learn subterfuge from Naru, right away."

Usagi is blue screen of death, please give her a moment to reboot from the absolute shock of Luna just talking in front of a stranger.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna arches an eyebrow at Rei's huff and comment, "Oh? And what problem would you imagine that to be, Miss Hino?" She then sips her tea again, watching the byplay between Rei and Minako.

She looks over at Usagi for a moment, curious to see how the girl in the twintails reacts...and then Luna enters the room and just speaks up.

Well, then. That means that subtlety is out the window at this point.

Before Setsuna can respond, however, Artemis walks in behind Luna...and the green haired woman smiles, "Ah, Luna, I see you've found Artemis." She then turns to look at the white cat a bit more directly, "Artemis. It's been quite a long time."

She knows Artemis by name...which may be a bit of a surprise to the bow-wearing blonde.

Rei Hino has posed:
    The priestess is frowning more, and about to answer Setsuna while trying to focus on the strange feelings she's getting from putting a single finger upon Minako's palm, like this is another person hiding something huge that she can't quite perceive, and it's something she wants to perceive, because it's important and Minako is important, but Rei doesn't know in what way quite yet--

    But then she hears Luna's voice. She freezes. Rei turns slowly to look behind her at the talking cat. And the other cat, because of course. She turns back around to look at the ghost-white Usagi. "Is Aino-san your twin sister after all?" she asks in amazement.

    That's what she's concerned about? That maybe Usagi just, like, cloned herself by splitting into two rabbits and got two cats out of the deal in the process. She is so tired, shut up.

    She turns her head quickly when Setsuna addresses the two cats. Sighing, she closes both of her hands around Minako's, and closes her eyes as well. "I see." She can guess, anyway, but she trusts Luna's judgment, so she isn't going to yell. She's not going to get upset. She's not going to--

    "Luna-san, what if my ojiisan saw you?" she hisses before looking worriedly at Setsuna again. "I'm sorry, I saw... Death in you. I couldn't tell what it was exactly. Did Luna find you or...?" She still doesn't want to say too much, just in case she got it wrong.

    Also, she still hasn't let go of Minako's hand.

Minako Aino has posed:
"I KNEW IT!" Mina declares loudly! Her free hand immediately snap-pointing at Luna. She'd seen the mark after all, but she'd been successfully distracted long enough to not think about it until that moment it had been waved in front of her face.

Of course, that reaction probably still wasn't normal for most people who'd been suprised by such things, but her sheepish moment is somewhat undercut by Setsuna just calmly commenting on the moment and recognising Artemis.

Artemis! What the heck was he doing here? What was he meeting strange lady talking cats about? Normal shipping reflexes might battle it out before finally veteran magical girl logic finally comes to speak up and said bow-wearing blonde realises that the dark-haired miko holding her other hand hadn't reacted with the expected brand of suprise to talking cat.

"Wait..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"My twin?!" Usagi demands, shocked anew by the mere thought, because - a twin?! Her?! She looks again at Minako, as if to confirm for herself that she doesn't have a twin, only to pause, taking in Minako's similar appearance for the first time. "...huh?"

Minako-chan does kind of look like her... long blond hair and blue eyes and... huh...

"Wait. Luna - is Minako-chan - "

"Artemis hasn't fully explained anything about this Minako-chan, but she is most certainly involved, Usagi-chan."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
At Rei's explaination to her, Setsuna lets out a small 'ah' of recognition and she gently sets down her tea, "...my congratulations on your perception, Miss Hino...that's an insight that very few people manage to make. Rarely do we get to choose the magicks we are bound to...and not all of them are always nice."

She then glances about at the others in the room, "Now, then, since the cat is out of the bag, so to speak..." She then pauses, looks over towards Luna and Artemis and asides to them, "...speaking metaphorically, of course..."

Then she looks back towards Minako, "...and judging by various reactions..." then over to pointedly look at Rei and Usagi, "...or lack thereof, I imagine we all have some secrets to share, hrm?"

Rei Hino has posed:
    The shrine maiden nods, understanding the vague comment from Setsuna in the same vague way that she sensed Death to begin with. "I understand being born into circumstances we didn't ask for." she says a bit sadly, though still with a smile.

    Rei suddenly realizes where her hands are and yanks them back to stuff them into her lap under the table, face going totally red. "Haha! Ha! Sorry, I uh, got distracted and, um--" She grabs her tea and drinks it with utmost focus, only to cough and put the cup down because she didn't realize how hot it was and may have inhaled a bit of it. Thumping her chest with a fist, the miko eventually gets her composure back. She then looks at Usagi with her violet eyes and shrugs. "It's up to you, Usagi-chan."

    She's the leader after all. Even if everyone else is spilling beans, it's up to Usagi whether to admit to being Sailor Moon.

Minako Aino has posed:
The veil that kept a magical girl's identity was powerful magic, even if Minako had met each of the other girls as a Sailor Scout -and- Minako herself had her identity plastered over Sailor V merchandise including Usagi's favorite video game, noone had been able to make the link. But Luna herself? She was a little more memorable and Artemis had basically spilled it out for them. The sudden way that Rei yanked her hands back had Minako remembering her own hands had been locked to the other girl's own from the 'reading' that seemed to have been sidelined had Minako flushing for a moment before she turns her gaze back to Usagi and tilting her head to the side.

Her own mind might be finally making the leaps properly, but she'd let Usagi speak. Ask....confess all in one.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Death, clinging to Setsuna. Usagi doesn't understand what that could mean - doesn't like it, either, because death doesn't - it's not - could it be okay at all?

And then, there's the situationship, of course. The revelation. Luna, outing herself, with a white cat too boot. Artemis to her Luna. And Minako-chan, and Rei-chan putting it all on her -

"Minako-chan, are you a Sailor Senshi too?"

What else is there to say? Why deny it now?

And then she pouts, just a little, ovedramatic and teasing, lightning the mood, maybe even when it shouldn't be lightened - "Ahh, how many of us are there, anyway?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna covers her mouth to conceal a small giggle. She knows that almighty disguise magics are at work, since she still finds herself unable to figure out who is whom, as it were...but the presence of Artemis and Rei's rather telling reaction to Luna combined with Usagi's less than subtle hints make it fairly clear that everyone in the room is a magical girl.

She shakes her head, "Nine. Five Inner Senshi, Four Outers."

She sounds quite confident in that answer. Luna and Usagi know why...perhaps even Artemis does, too...though for the moment it's probably an extra layer of confusion for the other two.

Rei Hino has posed:
    "That's... More than I was expecting." But still not enough, Rei adds on silently. Not for people like that Lightning Guy or Fire Eyes -- now revealed as Jadeite. But maybe if they work together they can succeed. Sailor Moon makes it all seem possible somehow. Shrugging, the raven-haired girl says, "Hi, Rei Hino. I'm also Sailor Mars." She looks back at Luna sourly, for having been left out of the loop for so long.

Minako Aino has posed:
Well, that was direct, but that did tend to help in situations light that. Instead she makes to stand up and step back, a little look of recognition as the 'confession' from the other girls brings her mind making connections to completion, the 'shroud' of that magic fading before she lifts a hand to rest against her own chest.

"It all makes sense now..." she offers softly, a look towards the white cat who offered her a little nod of both permission and encouragement before she spoke again.

"I am...and I have been looking for you all for a while now..." there was a moment of consideration, that she might transform and demonstrate...but there was a small chance Rei's grandfather might notice the lightshow of their transformation, so she simply offers a bright smile and lift of her hand to pose triumphantly with all the grace and drama the idol-hopeful could manage.

"You, and the rest of the world know me as the beautiful heroine Sailor V!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Five inner senshi," Luna says softly, and there's a moment where her brow furrows, and she almost thinks - but then it passes, the thought slipping away. Of course - five Inner senshi, as there have always been, for how else could it be otherwise, when even Setsuna-san remembers the count? She avoids Rei's eyes as she looks at Minako. "You have been active for longer than any of the others, save Setsuna-san, Minako-san. I'm sure Rei-chan and Usagi-chan will appreciate your guidance."

Rei-san! Don't look at her like that! They were coming to bring you into the loop.

Usagi is blissfully oblivious to any hint of tension, because the single greatest thing in all the world has happened, something that almost makes all the fear of Lightning Hooded Guy and Jadeite worth it - Sailor V is her very own senpai.

"Minako-chan!" Her hands are clamped over her own mouth, so the squeal is muffled so as not to wake grandpa, but the effect is there. She lowers her hands slowly. "I can't believe you're Sailor V! You're in Rei-chan's shrine! You're a Senshi! Like me!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna's smile widens, and she gives a little bow where she sits, "A pleasure to meet you all. I am Protector of the Planet of Space-Time, Sailor Pluto, Guardian of Revolution."

She looks around, "Traditionally, there's a fair bit more spinning and posing for dramatic effect, but I fear that there isn't sufficient room in here."

She tilts her head, "Sailor V? What's going on there?"

She takes a long sip of tea and eats a cookie while she waits, then shifts a little to look more over at Rei, "Circumstance has left me with fewer memories than I'd like, but I'll try to answer what questions you might have."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I - I too, will try to answer all of your questions, Rei, Usagi. I know that I have been... less than forthcoming, and that it must have frustrated you. But with more and more of our allies gathering, and the situation getting worse... the two of you deserve answers."

Luna dips her head, ears drooping.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei sighs. "It's fine. You were protecting us. If we didn't know then we couldn't tell anyone. When some of our enemies can control minds..." She shakes her head. Then she focuses on Sailor V I mean Minako. "Oh... We teamed up with you at the warehouse! Where we fought Jadeite!" She totally doesn't have a stash of Sailor V manga in the closet from Usagi introducing them to her. "Hey, how accurate are the manga to real life?" she asks, leaning forwards on the table. "Do you really fight jewel thieves? What's it like having a romance in every country you visit? Doesn't that get complicated?"

    Yes. Rei has questions. And none of them are related to the secrets Luna and Setsuna have kept.

Minako Aino has posed:
What was the purpose of Sailor V? Well...Minako herself would answer, but there was also a moment to blink and consider.

"I remember...a lot of my past life, the Kingdom, the Inner Senshi...but I do not remember you..." she offers in confusion to Setsuna. A lack of memory, or had her role leading the Inner Senshi keep her away from the secretive Outer Senshi?

Her gaze sweeps over the others, but whatever seriousness they might need she couldn't help but smile brightly at Usagi's excitement before she lowers her hands. "Sailor V is a heroine on her own, someone who could draw attention of our enemies, who could look for the Senshi without drawing attention to them and who could help people in need when it wasn't the duties of a Senshi guardian." Excited grin, she does lift a hand to her mouth playfully. "Jewel thieves and gangsters included!"

Tastefully, talk of her romantic history was skillfully dodged.

Her hands come to fold over her heart, looking between the others once more. "But I have been waiting for the time where I could find you, and join you against the darkness...As the Guardian of Love and Beauty, Sailor Venus!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As Minako declares herself Sailor Venus, Setsuna blinks a few times...as the connection is finally allowed in her mind...then she smiles, "Ah, Venus." NOW it's obvious.

As has been said, 'Magic Be Like That'

She shakes her head at the lack of recognition from the younger woman, however, "I'm not ENTIRELY surprised. We Outer Senshi almost never spent much time around Court. Our duties forced us elsewhere. Uranus and Neptune were largely busy guarding against external threats...and I was charged to stand watch over the Gates of Time."

She trails off for a moment, then shakes her head again, "Anyhow, the Gates are broken now. Nothing physical can pass them. However, that DOES mean that I don't have to stand guard over them, which means I can help you girls here and now."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It's all true," Usagi whispers, and her eyes are full of hearts and stars. "The jewel thieves and the gangsters and all the times you tricked someone into giving up secrets because you're too beautiful to resist!"

A fact that she'd never doubted, because Sailor V, is the most cool and wonderful hero of them all!

And Rei-chan is right there with her, asking all the same questions that Usagi wants to ask, because it's all so cool, and she wants to ask which of the heists were real, and which of the adventures were her favorite, and if any of that romantic speculation was true, and -

Wait.

She may never get this chance again. Luna, being willing to answer questions - could she afford to ignore it? After all, Minako-chan went to her school. She could ask her questions whenever she wanted.

"...where did we come from? I mean, we came from somewhere, right? We had to, if we had whole past lives, and we have a princess, and there's a Dark Kingdom - but where? And - how? And - what does it all mean? I mean! I want to know all about Minako-chan's adventures, and I'm so excited that you're Sailor Venus, Minako-chan! But! I'm really... confused?"

And Luna nods, looking guilty about Rei's immediate trust. "Our enemies are part of the reason I didn't tell you this, but the other is - well. I wasn't sure how much you would believe, with your world world changing so quickly. But yes - as Minako-san has shared, and as I once told you, it isn't that you were chosen as Senshi - you simply, are. Once upon a time, you were all the guardians of the Silver Millennium. The Outer Senshi, as Setsuna-san has explained, once protected the Kingdom from outside threats, while you Inner Senshi were the guardians of our Princess. For many, many years, it all went well - our kingdom flourished, our people were happy, our princess was happy - "

And Usagi bites her lip, looking away. She doesn't want to be the one who has to say, until, even though it's obvious what must come next.

(Also, it's not escaped her that Setsuna had said there were four Outer senshi, and then named three.)

Rei Hino has posed:
    Completely deadpan, Rei says, "Oh? So you aren't the Senshi of Planet V?" Pause. Then her mouth quirks and she has to put a hand over her mouth as she starts giggling madly. She's tired, girls. We're all tired here. Getting herself back together and being glad she didn't cover her mouth with the same hand that she held Minako's with, because that'd be... What? An indirect handshake? Incipient kissing-a-lady's-hand? Is that even a thing? Anyway!

    Luna's answers returns somberness to the meeting. "Ah... So what I saw in my visions was real then." She chews her bottom lip as she looks around the room to see if anyone else saw what she had seen. "I remember Sailor Mars... Not me, but... The one before me... I remember her dying. I saw it in a vision when that Lightning Guy attacked us. I think. There's been a lot of visions lately, and since none of them are from the present it's hard to pin down which happened when on a fixed timeline..."

    She also spares a, 'Nice to meet you, Pluto-san.' quietly so as not to interrupt the Q&A session. She messes with her long hair a bit to distract herself. It was a very real-feeling vision. It's dream-like now, and feels more like it happened to someone else rather than Rei Hino, but she still knows what it feels like to have a sword stabbed through your heart and out the other side while she chokes on her own blood. That's not the kind of sensation that you shake easily.

Minako Aino has posed:
Mina had memories, more than most, but they weren't complete and many of them were imperfect. She could remember the other senshi, the princess, the kingdom...but it was like forgetting names or faces, frustrating and...she remains quiet for the moment, letting Usagi and her feline mentor speak, secrets be revealed while Setsuna's worda earn a nod and she lapses into silence.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Rei-chan... you remembered something like that?" Usagi asks quietly. It's not a necessary question; it's not like she doubts Rei. It's just, to hear that her friend had remembered such an awful thing, and kept it to herself - it was worrying, and frightening too, that Rei-chan had remembered something as awful as dying. It echoes what Michiru-san told her when they met - that the world had ended, and if it had ended, for them to be reborn, obviously they had all -

"I... I changed my mind, Luna! I don't want to hear anymore, not tonight. We should be celebrating, right? Tonight, we found each other! And it was all a big coincidence - well, okay, I was going to introduce Setsuna-san and Rei-chan on purpose, but no one expected that Luna would find Artemis, or that Minako-chan would be Venus, and Minako-chan didn't expect that we would be us, and that's - that's good! We should celebrate that, instead!"

It's cowardly, maybe, to change the subject so quickly, to back away from it all, but Usagi's a bit of a crybaby anyway, and everyone knows it. It's just - she just -

Is it so bad, to want to run away from the things, if only for a little while?