830/Seeking: One Princess, Freshly Found, Please

Seeking: One Princess, Freshly Found, Please
Date of Scene:	30 November 2023
Location:	The Forgotten District
Synopsis:	Five kids walk the path to Soryuu Shrine. Eventually, four will go home. See you next time, Himeko.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Rei Hino, Haruka Tenoh, Pyrite

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A lot of things have been happening, but what else is new? Being a mahou is constantly running (with toast) from fire to fire, be it the fires of school, the fires of parental disapproval (but Mama! a 65% is more than a 100% improvement!), the fires of actual fire (enemies had to stop using fire. fire is for Rei-chans not enemies.), and often the fires of love (Mamochan<3). Today's fire is none of those kinds of fires. Today's fire is the fire of investigation! Discovery! Adventure!

"It's not fair that knowing a ghost has not made me less scared of ghosts," Usagi pouts, and despite having been here slightly more often than Rei, she is definitely trailing behind Rei in their approach through the Forgotten District. "Why's this place got to be so scary, anyway?"

They had walked from Hikawa Shrine to the eerie, fog-shrouded depths that were the Forgotten District, where little larger than the odd mushroom or squirrel suceeded in living long. Only the trees high upon the hill and stretching to the sky from the lower tiers seem to be thriving, casting old and eerie shadows upon the land. The old buildings, long abandoned, are as empty and desolate as a newly dug grave.

Usagi shivers. Even her pink turtleneck isn't enough to keep her warm. She's going to have to henshin sooner or later, but she'd been really, really hoping for later more than sooner

Luna, perched on her shoulder (the fog swirling about their feet was simply too think for her to deal with), snorts. "Years, if not decades, if not centuries, of haunting might do that to a place."

Rei Hino has posed:
    The last time Rei was here, it was as Sailor Mars. She hasn't revealed her identity to Himeko, but the ghost seems to know she's a shrine maiden at least. That was a point of tension between them before. Time to see if the peace holds this time too. Violet eyes search all around, seeing if there are still ghosts here. Any that she can see, anyway. ...Any that aren't Himeko.

    She couldn't see them before until Pyrite became strong enough that they could manifest around her, as spectators to the conclusion of the battle. They could be anywhere. That adds to the chill in a very different way. She doesn't whine about it like Usagi, but Rei Hino would have thought the walk from home to here would have warmed them up enough to make it through winter weather. Not so much, it seems.

    "So what made you think the Princess might be here?" she asks, rather reasonably she thinks. "Was it the basement on Halloween...?"

    She looks over to Luna. "I don't know what that was, but..." She also glances at Usagi. Sailor Moon has a strange, familiar light as well. It didn't mean that Sailor Moon is the Princess. There's lots of weird magic around. They can't all be Moon Princesses... Right?

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    A reasonable question one might ask is, what is Haruka Tenoh doing in the forgotten (and forsaken) district? Well, she's not being a reasonable person. She's just acting on instinct. She's never been to this part of Tokyo, and doesn't know what if anything is going on around here that a blonde-haired Academy girl would be looking for. But odangoes - who Haruka also knows is Sailor Moon - is heading that way, and even though this place's wind is eerie to her, the wind brought her to Usagi initially, and she's sure it was for some reason.

    Or, maybe she was just bored and looking for an excuse to do something other than race today. Worst case, she does a little exploring, keeps another girl out of any possible trouble, and maybe finds a really nice straight road in this creepy district she can drive very loudly down later.

    Dressed in Radiant Heart Academy's male uniform, looking for all the world like a boy with her short blonde hair and almost swaggery walk, as she does so the place gets a little freakier and creepier. What on earth could this girl need to do that's in this part of the city? More and more she's expecting a youma or something to come ripping out of the trees.

    Unfortunantly, Usagi's with a friend and Haruka doesn't know her - that girl with the long black hair and the unfamiliar face. And Haruka isn't exactly wearing a flowing dress today. So in an effort to not look like the strange boy following two girls at a distance into an abandoned area, she's keeping off the main road. Which will, unfortunantly, have the side effect of her looking slightly -worse- if either of the girls (or the cat) notice her when she clambers over a fence or into a tree or sneaks behind a deserted house.

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko has been wearing normal-people clothing more and more, and refusing to use any ghost tricks or special powers, as part of her goal to reinforce that she is 'normal'... So that when she walks the world again as a living girl, she can adjust more easily. She hopes. She's wearing a white Sailor V hoodie, with the hood having Sailor V's red mask-goggles printed on it. Good boots, blue snow pants to mimic Sailor V's skirt, and a pink t-shirt with a unicorn and a werewolf preparing to fight each other printed on it, are the rest of her attire. She could zip up the hoodie to hide the t-shirt, but why would she do that? It's so cool.
    She shows up behind Haruka silently, announcing her presence with an, "...Ah!" Then pointing and saying, "You are..." Pause. "...That one famous for being able to lick baking soda super fast." Right? That's the one, right? No? Are you sure? Well, whatever. Then she moves to just walk around Haruka and start heading over to Usagi and Rei, arms out to her sides, skipping like a child at play instead of a dead girl in a dead neighborhood that she significantly contributed to killing. She answers Usagi with, "It wasn't scary to me until I was alone. Even now, when I think of home, I think of here." She slows her skipping as she looks far up the hill, to the shrine at the top.
    Then she says, "Oh, also, that one from the baking soda commercials is over there, I think. Luna, do you lick baking soda too?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It was what happened at Halloween, but also... Himeko-chan once said something about a princess of light, and a shrine, and I mean, this is her shrine, right?" Right!

Usagi doesn't have more to go on that that, but does she need to? If nothing else, checking out the shrine could help Himeko, who still has that one more missing piece of herself, and it could help Mamochan, who worried about Himeko, and it would either find them their princess or ...well, rule their only lead out, so."

"Besides, given that someone is making fake versions of the Silver Crystal now, pursuing all leads on the Princess is of abject importance," Luna proclaims. Usagi would take her more seriously if she weren't kneading her shoulder with her paws.

The walk should be warming, but the air is just too damp and chill, and - footsteps! Coming closer! Stuff, crunching under foot! Usagi whips around, ready to scream, only to see - oh, thank goodness, it was only Himeko-chan. Her hand presses to her chest, where her heart beats fast. "If you were here when this place was full of life... I guess it wouldn't be scary, then. Himeko-chan, I'm glad it was just you in here with us!"

Shehe sags with relief, because at least the only persons here are her and Rei and Himeko and Luna and also that one from the baking soda commerci- what?

"I do not lick baking soda," Luna says slowly, confusion obvious. "Himeko-chan, did you say that another person is here? Or did you see an advertisement?"

That last one would make more sense, right? And yet, when Luna and Usagi turn their heads in the direction where Himeko came from -

"EH?!"

Rei Hino has posed:
    "Fair enough," Rei says with a sigh. "Let's get going then. I don't want to linger around here any longer than I have to--" Footsteps from very cute, tiny boots! Black hair flies wildly as Rei whips around. Though that may seem like a finely trained Action Reflex or something, she is, of course, very alarmed! Like Usagi though, she doesn't scream. Barely. It takes a moment to actually recognize Himeko in that get-up, especially with the hoodie covering up like two-thirds of the little ghost's face, but there really isn't anyone else it could be.

    "...A haunted neighborhood seems fitting for a ghost, I suppose." She shakes her head and starts to say, "Can you tell us anything about the shrine we're going--" Then it clicks for her that there's another person here besides the four of them.

    "I don't watch television, so I don't really get the refeEEEHHH!?" she lets out when she sees the highschooler lurking behind them. Oh, she really hopes that guy isn't a ghost too. She has a purple turtleneck sweater dress on, with a dark blue short skirt, and red leggings, and some sensible shoes, so that she won't be the victim in a horror movie tripping over her own feet when the youma approaches.

    She wishes she had thought to bring, like... A broom at least.

    "I-Identify yourself! And keep your baking soda where I can see it!" she calls out nervously.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka just stops. Dead in her tracks. "Uhhh..." Haruka begins. How can you respond to that? To a small girl in a Sailor V hoodie saying you lick baking soda? Who came up on you when you're trying to be sneaky? What do you even say to that.

    "Uh. No. That's not me." Haruka volunteers. nailed it.

    She puts her hand behind her head, satchel in it, and scratches the back of her head. Also WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE SHE KNOWS THAT CAT. Oh, of course. She doesn't know the cat. Even Uranus doesn't -know- the cat but knows OF the cat and.

    She blinks twice. "What?" she says, feigning innocence or ignorance, like this whole section of Tokyo isn't basically deserted and it's not just the three (plus a cat) of them for probably a few blocks. "Can I not like... walk? Do you just ask everyone you meet on the street to identify themselves? I... also don't have any baking soda, and... identify myself? You mean like... driver's license and insruance kind of identify, or you want my number kind? 'Cause you don't look much like a cop." she asks, as though this will defuse the situation in the least, and as though she isn't convinently next to a fence where she was previously shadowing herself.

    absolutely nailed it.

Pyrite has posed:
    Oh! Disappointing. Luna does not lick baking soda. Neither does the bakeneko. She has tested. Hm. "I have been trying to find some other types of fish for you that are more healthy. Would you prefer salmon over tuna? Or perhaps a roast of beef?" It takes her a little bit to clock onto what everyone else is focusing on. In confusion, she turns to her left, then turns all the way around to the right, and is finally facing Haruka again. "... ..... ....Ah! Right. I am very sorry, everyone looks the same when all I can see are legs." She pushes her hoodie up so she can see better, ruby red eyes glowing in the dark like a demon, and confirms that Haruka is not, in fact, that girl from the commercials.
    "I am Himeko. I do not have a driver's license, but my phone number is 42-42-564. Please do not enter the shrine right away, there is a void in the entrance, you will die."
    The hoodie falls back down.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"...I quite like salmon, and it is kind of you to think of me." Luna's perpetual politeness compels her to answer. Her sense of caution urges that she shouldn't let a stranger hear her talking, because cats aren't supposed to talk. The result is that she mumbles the words, trying to be quiet.

Usagi hushes her anyway, because Usagi never, ever, gets to be the person hushing someone. Her eyes are fixed on the stranger.

They're a high school student. Boy's uniform, kinda touseled hair, very handsome, the kind of guy Usagi would swoon over were this not the most hauntedest place she knew and he wasn't lurking off the beaten path like a creep. And yet, it's a fair point that they're not cops, but still -

"Okay then, we'll go first, and you introduce yourself next! I'm Usagi. She's Rei. She's Luna. Like she said, she's Himeko, and - wait, what?"

This is directed at Himeko, as the words, you will die, register.

"Is that, um, unavoidable, or, on purpose, or is there a way we could maybe enter the shrine but nooooot die? Big fan of not dying."

Rei Hino has posed:
    Any way that Rei could have taken the 'do you want my number' line as an insinuation of romantic interest is quickly dashed as Himeko pipes up in response to the demand for identity instead of the stranger. She stares. Hesitates to take her eyes off the ghost, but then focuses on strange person again. "You can certainly walk." she says coldly. "Your legs still work, don't they?" Implying that the stranger walk on over to somewhere not here, and also that they might not work if the tall blonde doesn't get a move on promptly. Miko, like eagles, are all about efficiency.

    Attention is taken away again, leaving her confused and alarmed, at Himeko's words. Not the creepy phone number (Die-Die-Kill? Really?), but the actual statement if they cross this... Void... Thing... They will just die. She looks from Himeko to the stranger, and back again. She hisses, "Should we continue... Like... Talking about this? In front of the baking soda guy?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    She tries to project her confidence, standing up straight, when she does it. Because she wasn't doing anything wrong, so there's no reason to be nervous. Then putting her hand out and leaning on the fence, way-too-chill.

    She is about to speak up, but this stops - thanks to Himeko. "Die?" Haruka asks, tilting her head. "What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into -this- time?" Haruka asks, as though she knows Usagi. Which she -does- but. "I'm following you because all the other times I followed you, something bad happened and I had to get involved." Then she rolls her eyes. "I'm not any good at this." she admits. "Do the other girls know... the thing?" she says. This is helpful, and she knows it. But probably with the name some peices might come together. "We were at the jewlery shop together. Does your friend know about..." and then she pauses again.

    "Oh, names. Haruka Tenoh." There is clearly a reason she often does things with Michiru. Things like talking to other humans. "Does she know... you know what, screw it." she says, and draws her henshin pen from her jacket. "These. Otherwise yeah this is about to get real confusing but I'm guessing since Sailor Lowercase V down there just said to not die, this is not a school field trip I'm interrupting."

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko nods her head along happily to Haruka. "It is nice to meet you, Haruka-san! I am Himeko Soryuu! My phone number is 42-42-564. Is that one of those novelty space pens from the Sailor V on-line store? I wanted to get one signed by Shin Hayazaki-sensei, but I could not figure out how to ask him to sign my pen, if he was holding the pen, because he would need the pen to sign, but it would be in his hand, but not for writing but because he is holding it, and--"
    She would have kept going, no doubt, but salient questions are raised. "--I don't know. We should try to find out. But I did not want someone to just step through and die because I did not warn them." She is, with her novelty Sailor V space-pen, writing down Luna's mumbled preferences on the back of her hand.
    "We are trying to investigate a haunted shrine, but it is hazardous, so I am giving warnings," she tells Haruka. "It is like a test of cowardice, to see who will run first." She thinks that's what they're called. She pusher up her hood again so she can see what she's writing. It looks like a doodle of a black cat eating a bucket of KFC. Rather detailed for something written on the back of her hand. Kid has talent.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"What's the baking soda guy going to do, bake us?" Usagi hisses back at Rei. "Oh no, he wandered into the creepy part of town and now a group of girls are talking about die-die-kill and death shrines. No one's going to believe him!"

It sounds like the start of a bad creepypasta. Except, right after that, the boy starts talking to her like he knows her, like they're in on a secret together, "I'm not always in trouble! Sometimes!" she sputters, defensive. And the thing is, confused as she is, Usagi starts to wonder if this boy is a boy she actually knows, and then.

Well, then there's a henshin pen shoved out, and she's staring at Uranus, and wondering if Uranus is like Hika-chan, or if Uranus is just - a boy? opposite Hika-chan? or something else? - and if it would be rude to ask. Probably rude.

"...Rei-chan, Himeko-chan, meet Uranus-san. Uranus-san, meet Mars-chan and Pyrite-chan." What else can she say? She is numb. Shocked. Dead to the world - "It's really rude that you're so handsome," her mouth says without her permission.

Oh no, she can just. Die, now.

Turning beet red and also turning her back on everyone, Usagi tilts her head back and says to the air. "We wanted to see if maybe our princess is in the shrine, because there's probably a princess in the shrine. Himeko-chan's a princess, so. That's all."

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei had just assumed that Usagi had told her boyfriend the identities of the senshi back on Halloween night. And she had resolved to apologize to her for making that assumption. She hadn't gotten around to it, because of all the stuff that happened in the basement. Now she feels much less guilty for her initial assumption. She just facepalms.

    "Nice to meet you, Uranus-san. Or Tenoh-san, I guess I should say." Since they aren't transformed. It honestly feels more dangerous to tell a Senshi about Himeko's identity as the apprentice to the lead Dark General than about her being Mars. She has heard things from Usagi about the Outer Senshi and their views on... Acceptable losses.

    She just fingerguns at Usagi to basically say, 'What she said. I already have a headache, so I'm not explaining further.' Then she turns around and starts heading up the hill, towards the steps that lead to the Soryuu Shrine.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    "Oh, that's all." Haruka says, in response to the explanation. "But now that you know what I mean you know why I followed you, cause the last two times I did there was a giant truck monster or a killer hand or a lizard demon." she pauses. "Wait, the truck thing wasn't you. ANYWAYS." she says, waving her hand like she's convincing a fly to leave. "I didn't know if your friend - hello, I would feel rude to call you by your first name, you seem a bit less immediately friendly than Usagi-chan does - was magic or not. So yeah I was following you to make sure you were okay and maybe kick a monster in the face cause that's apparently my after-school job now. Pay's not very good, by the way."

    "But I also didn't wanna interrupt if this was going to be some regular thing. Which it sounds like it's not." the tall totally-a-dude blonde says. "Just tell me if I'm about to walk into something that's liable to kill me."

    "That is a request to all of you by the way." She isn't scared; she just wants to die doing something cool or important, if she's gotta die. Not from crossing the equivalent of a magical tripwire bomb or something. "The princess of yours... I feel like this is important to me, too. Well. The other me. The... you know what I'm just going to tag along." She doesn't ask she just invites herself like a pushy teammate in an RPG.

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko looks up when she hears her name, still unable to see anything through the hoodie-goggles. She's starting to think maybe they weren't meant to be looked through. She just flips the hood all the way back for now. Sadly, it appears she must trade her +5 to Style to get her Vision penalty out of the negatives. "It is very nice to meet you.--Ah, I am the princess formerly known as 'Pyrite'. I do not believe I can even become Pyrite any more. I got rid of all my Dark Energy, and am trying to just be normal." She doesn't mention the diner incident, it doesn't seem relevant to the situation.
    Himeko calls out from the top of the steps (yes, the top, so much for trying to be normal), "We will figure it out!" Then she turns and runs out of sight, back onto the temple grounds she has spent so much time restricted to. And the utter void just beyond the threshold of the actual shrine building itself. She'll just be standing there, staring into the void, with her back to everyone, whenever the rest of the investigators get up there.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi practically squawks. "She's your princess too! Hasn't Pluto-san told you?" Huh?! Is she - is she, Usagi, actually more informed than someone? Someone who's been around a little bit? Haha, that actually makes her feel kind of smug, especially given their last encounters, but - "She's the Moon Princess. Well - the one we're looking for, anyway. Pyrite is the ... well, maybe she's the princess of light. Or maybe the princess of light is just the one in the shrine?"

Shehe starts walking, expecting Haruka to follow her, and she's not surprised to see Himeko all the way at the top of the steps - "Himeko-chan! Normal people have to suffer stairs, you know?!"

But once they're walking up the stairs, she does her best to catch Haruka up on what they've been dealing with and why they're heading up the shrine - "So, there's been a lot of youkai in Juuban lately, because someone's trying to make a new death god" - "so, Himeko-chan is a ghost, but don't worry, I'm trying to fix that" - "so, the princess is the daughter of the queen who made sure we could all live again and the silver crystal belongs to her" -

It's probably a lot, probaably very confusing, and probably not the best explanation ever. But Rei-chan ditched Usagi to do the explanation, so Haruka can blame her.

Rei Hino has posed:
    "Rei Hino," the miko provides, since Haruka is uncomfortable switching straight to something as familiar as a first name. "Sorry about before... I'm... Protective of the people I care about." Which includes not just Usagi, but Luna, and... Yeah, even Himeko. She has no reason to hate a little girl who was dealt a bad hand. Especially when that girl has done everything she can to distance herself from evil, even at the cost of a great deal of power.

    Sailor Mars remembers Pyrite's strength at the mall.

    "Maybe their memories are foggy, like ours, Usagi," Rei chastises in regard to Haruka not knowing about the Moon Princess.

    She stops once she is at the edge of the temple grounds, perhaps remembering last time, when she knew with certainty that crossing that boundary meant she would be in Pyrite's territory. She... Doesn't feel that anymore. There is no Soryuu Kami any more. Or if there is, she's not here.

    "So... What do you think, Himeko-chan?" she asks gently.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka blinks. "Pluto-san has been... busy. As have I." she says. And Neptune-san, but. They're doing the best they all can, but like many of the magical community, could probably stand to take a breath and speak to others between kicking youma in the face. But kicking youma is easier.

    Even still, while it's a lot of data, Haruka isn't by any means unintelligent, just generally focused on other things, and she picks up all of the scattered peices relatively quickly as Usagi throws them onto the mental table. "Cool." she says. It also helps that the stars are basically no effort for her, so she can focus on Usagi - and wait for her as need be - until they hit the top. She looks around with the other girls. "She's pretty adorable for a ghost." Haruka adds, looking at Himeko. "Just to be sure you mean ghost ghost, like spirit, right? Not like, a weird word for goth? Cause I met this other kinda gothy girl and felt some sort of a connection to her..." Haruka says, curiously.

    "Hino-san, thank you. Also, it's not a problem. I'm glad Usagi-san has someone who cares enough about her to get defensive on her behalf, especially since the dude she was with last time I met was throwing around dark energy." she says, nonchalantly. She's not bothered by it overall, just wary. "My girlfriend got some dark energy in her and turned into a real problem. But that's not relevant right now." she says, stopping herself."'s fixed now anyways."

    "Memories are absolutely foggy." she nods. "Plus I apparently got some bonus weirdness the rest of you didn't, or were able to overcome, so let's just say I leave the big planning to Neptune-san and Pluto-san. I wander around and get into trouble and kick youma and it's working out so far." Then she pauses and looks to 'Himeko' with further curiosity.

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko stands in a way that expresses uncertainty. Her posture, the way one foot rests the toe of her shoe, like she's not sure if she should go forwards or backwards... "I died a long time ago. I have been insane and trapped in this shrine for as far as I can remember. But that does not mean anything. Each time I am left behind, I break a bit more and forget everything again. So... Maybe I left the shrine with others before my brother came along." She turns to look at Haruka, and smiles a sad little smile, more to comfort the others than herself. "But we are working on a solution."
    Then she faces forwards again. Another few seconds of quiet, and then she says, "I don't know. I didn't put it there. And it wasn't there when I met Nii-chan." Pause. "I think." Wasn't there some sort of awful black abyss that was trying to drag her down into the Deep Dark, and... Someone... Did something. Hm. She can't remember.
    But unlike other things she can't remember, this memory feels important. "I have been divided in two. I am... Was the 'dark half', the side infected with the power of Yomi, and Dark Energy, and a Death Curse tailor-made for Nii-chan. I don't think I have any of those any more. I think, I am finally read to help the other half of me come outside too. She has been in there too long already."
    Why does she feel like she's forgetting something though?
    "How... How many times do you all remember... Doing this? Coming back? Trying again?" She looks towards Luna. She doesn't know if Luna has reincarnated too, or just bent sent forwards in a time capsule, or what. "Did you live on Earth after the end of the Silver Millennium? Did we meet before? Is there any memory, at all, of... Of us?" She looks like she's simultaneously hoping the answer is yes, and fearing it.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi is definitely the one who struggles up the walk the most, even if she's more fit than she used to be, even if she begrudgingly exercises even outside of her henshin at least a couple of times every week. She's not a person who enjoys a lot of exercise! Especially stair climbing! Her calves burn! Her glutes ache! Her lungs pull in fresh oxygen that feels the faintest tinged with the scent of decay and she wants to run home!

But she makes it, and she explains, and she says - "Well, it's not like I remember a ton either, but Luna's always yammering in my ear."

"If yammering is what you consider acting as an advisor," Luna grumbles, coincidentally right in Usagi's ear.

"But - yeah, okay. She did seem busy the last time I saw her... and I guess you are having your own stuff... most of what I remember is little bits. Flashes. I don't even know if it's really memories, or just dreams, even. But... we were from Silver Millennium, and we our princess is... we're supposed to find and help her."

She falls silent as Himeko explains her own tragedies, her own life, walking closer but not too close to the shrine. The question, curious, hopeful, fearful -

"I really, really don't remember much at all," she says again, but looks too, to Luna, who leaps down from her shoulder and sits before the shrine, watchful as a shrine cat.

"I remember only one life before this," she says, and her voice is strong and clear, confident. Her youthful voice has taken on the shadow of someone older, someone who grieves even as they try to pack those feelings away. "I remember life in the Silver Millennium, at the side of Queen Serenity, and witnessing the life of her daughter, ever surrounded by her guardians. And I remember too much death, as you do, Himeko-chan. I do not believe I've walked this planet before. And as for the others... it is possible, I would think, but not likely, not like this, with everyone here, in the same time, the same place, even so close to the same age. I am no master of time, but I do not believe Usagi and the others have been failing, all this time."

Rei Hino has posed:
    It's all a bit over Rei's head. Aside from what she remembers, mainly of dying, she has no insight. Not into Himeko's situation, or the void that prevents them from potentially rescuing their Princess at last. "I also don't remember much. But like Luna said... If there were past attempts, they've never been with all of us here, working together. So we're going to succeed this time. I believe that with all my heart." She smiles a fond smile at the little ghost. Then looks back at Haruka to see how they're handling all this. It's a lot. Too much, even.

    "We could use any help you can provide." she says, offering an olive branch. And attempt to get the Outer and Inner Senshi to work together. "I... I don't think we have a lot of time left. The visions I've been receiving are growing more dire, and I just feel..." She shivers. "We just don't have much time left, okay?" she finishes, in a way that might sound irritable coming from anyone else. But Rei is just scared.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    "Pluto-san hasn't talked about any other past lives, and she would know." Haruka says. "I mean. Maybe she forgot them or isn't telling us, but the way she talks, it sure sounds like she was stuck waiting around a long time for us to be reborn this apparently first time." she adds. "I think I remember even less than you do, but I don't have a cat to help." she says, only really now noticing that's out of place. Something about the talking cat just seemed normal.

    "Don't worry, I didn't come here to get into an argument about style. I came here because I thought this might be another situation where Usagi-san might need my help." she admits. "For me, it's... different than it seems to be for everybody else, I think. I really like Usagi-san. Sailor Uranus holds a grudge, and I'm not sure why. Probably against you, too. Me and... past me... are not perfectly in sync, so... It's easier for me to leave the talking to Haruka Tenoh, and the buttkicking to Sailor Uranus - it doesn't work as well the other way around."

    "I am here to help, though. Even Sailor Uranus wants to help, it just seems to be a lot harder for her to express that directly and a lot easier for her to blame you all for... something."

Pyrite has posed:
    If there's disappointment, it doesn't show on Himeko's face. Not before she turns back around to face the void again, at least. She takes in a breath she doesn't need, and lets it out slowly, mimicking something a living person would do to relax themselves. "Okay. Then it won't count as another fail for you if this doesn't work." Then she walks up the broken, rotting steps to the porch-like walkway all around the shrine, and stops. "I'm the only one here who is already dead. So it only makes sense that I be the one to attempt to pass through the thing that kills everything that touches it. Maybe... I was meant to do this all along. But... If it doesn't work, please tell Nii-chan it wasn't his fault."She steps into the void.
    She vanishes instantly, though the clothes she was wearing drop to the ground half-in and half-out of the void. Empty.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
That something, that Uranus begrudged them for - Usagi had to wonder if it was failure. If it was dying. If so...

She would let Rei's efforts to be a bridge stand, not offering her own words of support, because - well. She couldn't ask Uranus to not be angry. She was herself, because once upon a time Sailor Moon and her fellows were not enough. Usagi Tsukino couldn't remember those things, but the one who did, probaby deserved to be at least a little angry.

Instead, she watches Himeko-chan, and swallows. Luna too, is quiet, for the moment. "If you - or Uranus - would ever like to speak, I am on the communicators."

And she too waits to see if Himeko will emerge - alright.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei... Does not support this course of action! She steps forwards, one arm outstretched, the words, 'No, wait' on her lips, but unspoken before the clothes of a little girl fall empty to the ground. She doesn't feel anything at first. Like it's not real. Like she's waiting for Himeko to pop back out and say it was a joke, or show up behind them to scare them or... Or...

    She just stands there and stares. And waits.

    Until her arm drops back to her side. And she keeps waiting.

    It's selfish of her to think this. Considering what Mamoru is likely going to go through when he finds out... If he hasn't already. But all she can think of is her mother. How she was there one moment... And then... Just not.

    And she couldn't do anything in either case.

    Rei is surprised by how stable her voice is considering how much she's shaking, as she says, "If there's a princess in there, with a miraculous crystal, I really hope she gives Himeko back."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Truth be told, Haruka doesn't have the same connection to Himeko that the others do. It's the reactions of Usagi and Rei to what's going on that affect her more than the actual direct facts. After a moment, she pauses and looks between the two girs, takes a breath. "I really didn't walk in on just an everyday thing, did I." she says. "Sorry. I hope the kid comes back too. I don't know all of what's going on but... I'll hope with you here." she says, almost reaching out for the hands of the other girls and stopping herself. After all, they don't know her. Hell, they don't even know she is a she right now.

    "You must really want to find this princess." she notes. In her mind, it's emblematic of something else; how badly they're working, on their side, to make sure tragedies don't happen again. Somewhere, some doubts and past history concerns are having other things pile up against them.

Pyrite has posed:
    As the minutes tick by, Himeko does not come back. Hours, if they wait that long. It will be morning, without any sign of her, if the four of them wait all through the night. Of course, here at the Soryuu Shrine, the sunlight doesn't reach, so it might as well still be night. At least... There have been no more dead birds falling from the sky, or carpets of dessicated insects. Nothing else is dying around here anymore. But it's not healing either.
    Death walked here.
    There isn't really any healing that.
    And a dead girl returned to death doesn't really have any right to keep existing in the world of the living.