547/Pity Stayed Her Hand

Pity Stayed Her Hand
Date of Scene:	03 October 2023
Location:	Mitakihara General Hospital
Synopsis:	Following the events of Culminating Plans, Setsuna visits Rashmi's hospital room to apologize for failing to kill Sunbreaker. Rashmi has some Big Opinions About That, but by the time the conversation is over, perhaps the gaping wound in Setsunas soul hurts a bit less. Also with more Tolkien Quoting!
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Setsuna Meiou

---

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When you're in the hospital...

Getting out of bed is often discouraged, save brief stints to keep the ability to stand from atrophying too much. People may think it to be the height of teenage ambition to not have to do anything but laze around all day, but in truth, the novelty wears off after the third hour.

Three days in, and despite the rapidity of Rashmi's recovery, the redhead is quite certain she'd've lost her mind if she didn't have things to *do.* Books to read, movies to watch -- and wasn't following the rabbit hole of the Willow series to the original movie just a *joy* in every sense of the word -- and, thanks to a kind-hearted benefactor, games to play.

And keeping a mahou's sleep schedule means that it's hard to go to sleep until the long hours of the night become Way Too Long. The games have *really* helped with that, especially given her new... vocation, and the tactical thinking it requires.

So while visiting hours may be over, as long as Rashmi has this much of a room to herself, and her homework is caught up on, she will happily stalk the wastes of Mordor for a good couple hours yet; learning weaknesses and training apply-on-the-fly situational awareness. That counts as practice, right?

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
It's after visiting hours. The Hospital is, while not dark, dimmed. The lights in the hallways are turned down a fair bit and the lights in most patient's rooms are off or very heavily dimmed as well.

This evening, however, a small figure is stealing down the hallways. Her main advantage in not getting caught is familiarity. Familiarity with how hospitals run, how nurses think. What time certain things are done. When they aren't.

Even where the security cameras are.

Thus, it's with extreme stealth that the door is opened and Setsuna slips quietly into the room, shutting the door just as silently behind her as possible before walking quietly and somewhat subdued over to the side of Rashmi's bed.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
*DUN!*
*DUN!*
*DUN DUN!*
*DUN DUN DUN!*

Rashmi's be-spectacled eyes are wide and locked onto the screen, her teeth fastened on one side of her bottom lip as she frantically clicks at the mouse, apparently finishing a particularly tense boss battle. With the press of a key, she is treated to a slow-mo rendering of Talion's furious decapitation of an Orc warboss... which seems to *disappoint* her.

"Awwww," she groans, dropping back against the pillows... And only then noticing Setsuna. There's a squeak, and a startle, and bandaged hands grip desperately at the laptop in case it decides to go flying and injure itself.

After a moment's silence, while the sheet settles back into place, Rashmi clears her throat. "...Um... Hi, Setsuna-sensei? Is something wrong?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna's very quiet for a very long moment, not seeming to react to the startlement she causes.

Which might be a bit of a clue, as normally she'd hide a giggle behind a hand.

Finally, after the silence starts to get a bit uncomfortable, she looks up at Rashmi with sad eyes and says, "...I'm sorry, Rashmi. I tried...but she got away."

She doesn't say who...but it's probably clear from the context.

The temporarily younger woman reaches down and grabs the sheets, twisting her hands up in them as she goes on, "...not long after I left here, I got a panicked message from Chrono...Ironbutt had run into another mage like yourself and put a curse on her...said it was a 'death curse' and that it'd kill her when it reached her heart in a few hours...looked like an animated snake tattoo..."

She takes a deep, sighing breath, then goes on, "...I called in Guardian Daifuku, who can make stuff that purifies and we juryrigged a solution that seemed to be working...but Ironbutt had programmed the curse to accelerate if that happened...and she was panicking...so I grabbed her and got my fingers on the curse and very nearly broke THE RULES..."

Yes, it even SOUNDS capitalized.

"...trying to slow it down or stop it...but I couldn't. She was screaming out her last goodbyes in my arms when it just blew up into confettii like some kind of sick party gag..."

Setsuna trails off again, looking down at her hands twisted up in the sheets, "...it was just like last time...I couldn't do anything useful and just had to watch as it all came apart..."

One might kind of get the feeling that she should be in tears at this point...but she just isn't, "...so tonight I got with Uranus and Neptune and we went out looking for Ironbutt."

She lets out a soft, humorless snort, "...and we found her. Just about to put a javelin through Sailor Moon. She wasn't expecting to be caught between a hammer and anvil."

She trails off for a moment, letting the silence stretch a little before she goes on, "...we had her. She was down and I was about to send a Dead Scream right into her head...when Sailor Moon yanked my aim off."

At least it killed a seagull.

Another moment of silence as she trails off...then she takes another big, sighing breath and says, "...so yeah...she's still out there...I'm sorry..."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
That's a lot of news to process all at once. Rashmi has a pretty terrible poker face, so it's pretty obvious when she goes from confused -- at the apology for 'her' getting away

-- to horrified -- at Molly's death curse

-- to panicked -- at the curse accelerating --

"I think I need to punch her in the mouth..." -- at the curse turning out to be a prank

-- to relieved -- at Pluto gathering a team and going out to stop her

-- back around to horrified again, as Setsuna talks about being ready to *shoot Sunbreaker in the head with Death?*

At the very end of it, she simply goes quiet, pausing the game, carefully shutting the laptop lid, and setting it back on the swivel-mount table. Careful, exaggerated movements, those of someone processing what they're hearing and trying very hard not to act in a burn-pulling flurry of motive emotion.

"...I'm glad to hear that, Setsuna-san. I'd like to thank Sailor Moon personally, if I can."

Even her voice is... not subdued, but very, very controlled.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna blinks and turns a shocked look at Rashmi...and all she can offer is two words:

"WHAT?!"

"WHY?!"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The shouted reply does cause Rashmi to flinch, but the redhead forces herself to meet Setsuna's eyes. "Because if I was there, I would have too. And I'm just glad she stopped you from doing something you *can't take back,* Doctor Meiou."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna smirks and gives the reflexive 'nurse' response to that kind of call-out, "I'm not a Doctor. I *WORK* for a living."

She then shakes her head and looks a bit betrayed, "...she's just going to do it again. She's just going to hurt someone again. Even when Moon was there standing between her and us, she kept trying to attack Moon."

Her hands ball up in the sheets again...but this time it's because her anger is coming back, "...she needs to be PUT DOWN before she hurts someone else I care about."

She turns to GLARE at Rashmi...though it doesn't really feel like she's glaring AT her, per se...just that she's kind of there, "...I WON'T stand by and watch them all die again. Not THIS time."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi really *does* have a terrible poker face. Enough that Setsuna can *see* the puzzle piece locking into place, and context giving a completely new understanding of a person. Where before, Setsuna's demeanor made Rashmi think the nurse was more of a bored immortal, finally having shore leave... Now, the understanding is there that this is *personal.*

"...Setsuna-sensei?" Where before, Rashmi was keyed up, nerves perhaps making her words more of a wild stab in the dark, now? Now she sounds sad and worried for her friend. "What happened before?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna sags in place...and it's only because there was a chair just behind her that she doesn't fall to the floor as her legs go out from under her. Still, she's close enough that her voice can be heard by Rashmi easily enough even though she speaks quietly, "...we lost."

She trails off into silence for a moment, then goes on, "...we lost. Fourteen thousand years ago...the Silver Millennium, it was called. The Kingdom spread all across the system. Every planet was either colonized or had habitats. It was a golden age ruled by Queen Serenity."

She closes her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath before going on, "...we were the Guardians of the Kingdom. Each of us bound to a planet, tied to it's leylines and empowered by the concepts associated with them. The Inner Senshi guarded the Queen and her daughter, the Princess...and the Outer Senshi, we were for protecting from external threats."

She leans back in the chair a bit, "...I was charged by the Queen to stand watch over the Gates of Time, to not allow them to be used, to not abandon my post while they worked and to never stop the flow of Time."

She then opens her eyes to look at Rashmi, "...so when we were betrayed, all I could do was watch. Watch as the Inners fell one by one. Watch as the Princess and her lover were murdered...and watch as the Queen gave her life to seal the great evil empowering our enemies before unleashing the Silence and wiping all life from the solar system while casting the souls of her subjects forward in time to be reborn."

She stares for a moment at Rashmi, "...I had to watch. And do NOTHING."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Quietly, closely, Rashmi listens as the horrible tale unfolds. That there are concepts that break her understanding of reality -- and worse, *history* -- are set aside. Not the issue, questions will keep. This is not a moment of cosmic significance, this is a suffering friend laying bare the wound that pains her.

And to that, Rashmi can only answer in the most limited, human way possible; she lifts her arms for a hug.

"I'm sorry," is all she can whisper around the brick lodging itself in her chest. "I'm so sorry."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
It's a wound that's been there for a LOOOOOOONG time...so long that Setsuna's usually able to convince everyone it's not really even there. Even herself.

Maybe ESPECIALLY herself.

At the offer of a hug, there's only a very brief moment of hesitation before Setsuna is out of the chair and almost lunging into her friend's arms, "...it's all happening again...our enemies are here...the Senshi are awakening, but we haven't found the Princess yet...and there's no Queen this time. We won't get another do-over if we fail this time...even if I WANTED to use the Gates, it'll take a Type 2 civilization to restart them...so we HAVE to get it right this time...and we had her BEATEN...and she's not the reluctant kind of enemy that you can safely ignore if they're beaten...she keeps hurting people..."

And here the anger starts to well up again, "...and I HAD her...but then...and she..."

She trails off, shaking her head into the hug.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
And Rashmi's arms close around Setsuna, as tight as her still-healing wounds allow. Silently, she just lets Setsuna pour her worries into the redhead's hospital gown, offering only what comfort actual human contact can bring.

But when Setsuna starts to feel the anger rise... She can *feel* the smile rising on Rashmi's cheek. "'It's a pity you didn't kill her when you had the chance'?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
...and Setsuna has NEEDED that contact.

Like a drowning woman needs air.

It's been evidnt through her time in a smaller body that, subconsciously, at least, she's been taking advantage of this.

Little girls can get away with being much more tactile and 'huggy' than adult women can, after all.

And as Rashmi quotes Tolkien at her, Setsuna, having read the books more times than she can remember, responds back almost automatically, "...Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand..."

She almost doesn't go on as she thinks about what she's saying, but eventually she continues, "...Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them..?"

She goes quiet again, then says, "...it was my job. It was my job to guard against external threats...and she's an external threat..."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
And she picked up the thread. *Wonderful.* Already tension is easing out of Rashmi's lungs, now that they're almost to the goalpost.

"...But is that *all* she is?" is the question she returns with. "That's the thing... I don't think so. And if pity really *did* stay Sailor Moon's hand... I want to know why. Because I've fought with Sailor Moon a couple times, Setsuna-sensei... she's got really good instincts. And Ironbutt? I don't know. She doesn't strike me as unrepentant evil. *Breathtakingly* self-absorbed, sure. Less grasp on the theory of the existence of the notion of the *concept* of chill than Chrono-kun, okay. But she *screws up,* even the most basic things. Something's weird there, and I want to know what that is. It's like..."

Leaning up a bit, she gestures at the laptop. "...Did you know, sometimes it's random whether or not you'll kill a boss for good, in that game you gave me? I kinda hate that, I like it when they come back. It's always interesting to see how they've changed."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna closes her eyes and hugs for a long moment before she forces herself to let go and stand back once more, "...okay."

Deep breath, "...okay."

One more pause, "...okay...I'll give her another chance...for your and Moon's sakes."

Her voice then goes quiet as she nearly whispers, "...but I can't go through that again, Rashmi. I just can't...so PLEASE don't let this be a mistake."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"There's a couple things you have now, that I don't think you did back then, though," Rashmi murmurs, resting her chin in Setsuna's hair. "Freedom to act, for one. But... most importantly?"

Lifting her chin, she pushes Setsuna up to meet her eyes. "There are *so.* *Many.* *People.* Who have a vested interest in the world staying where it is. It's not just your empire anymore. Gods and aliens and cooks and monster hunters and *we have a werewolf on our side Setsuna-sensei.* C'mon."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna blinks a few times, "...a werewolf?"

She waves her arms a bit to indicate a huge, hulking monster wolf, "...like gynormous and fangs and hurt by silver and the whole thing?"

She shakes her head, "...when did THAT happen?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"No she's the most *adorable little pinball you ever saw,*" Rashmi laughs. " She says the curse runs in her family, but it's so diluted she's more like a wolfgirl. Great with her claws, and have you met the zombie pirate yet? A *zombie pirate!* *Fighting evil!* It's so ridiculous and she sings a new pirate song every time I see her and she's *basically out of that movie* and just..."

Flailing her arms, she dissolves into giggles. "How in the *world* can I stay afraid of much when there's an even chance if there's a problem, pirate werewolf dessert-chef backup is probably on its way?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna just blinks at Rashmi for a few moments. Normally, she can roll with stuff like this, but she's a bit on the outs at the moment so she has to take a few moments to just...deal.

"...zombie...pirate?"

She sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose, "...did she make a deal with Davy Jones, too? Because if so, he's going to be hard to deal with..."

Then she blinks and snaps her fingers, "That reminds me! Hold out your hands."

As soon as Rashmi does, Setsuna drops a few small, powedered cubes into them, "There were a some Turkish Delights left over from the batch Guardian Daifuku made. They purify and heal a little, so I snuck a few because they should help you."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Nope!" Rashmi chirps, delighted by the absurdity. "Cursed treasure! And I'm pretty sure she's gotta fight sea monsters to get it back a bit at a time!"

Then she's told to hold out her hands, and in profound curiosity, she just does. When the candies are dropped in, she can't help but loose a bit of laughter. "That's *amazing!* ...I better not eat them all at once though, then the doctors'd have a *serious* heart attack. But between this and when Chrono-kun gets Nicomachea fixed up, I'll *definitely* be out of here soon. Thank you so much."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna just shakes her head, "....ooookay then."

After a moment, she snorts and smiles a little at the absurdity of it all, "Just make sure to eat them all over the next day or so, and you should even be able to avoid scarring."

She then sighs and shakes her head...though there's a much more light air about it now, "...I'd probably better get back home and check in on Uranus and Neptune before they get up to something."

She leans over and gives Rashmi a quick hug, "...I'll try to visit you again before they let you go."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Got it," Rashmi says, looking down at the treats again with just delighted wonder. "Be safe, okay? And I'm serious; if you could ask Moon-chan to come visit before I get out, I'd *super* appreciate it."

The hug is returned with a brief squeeze. "That'd be great, Setsuna-chan," she says. "Seriously, thank you. For *everything.*"