Revelations: Aftermath

From Radiant Heart MUSH

Revelations: Aftermath
Date of Cutscene: 09 May 2024
Location: Earth - Casa Del Outers
Synopsis: What happened with Setsuna after Usagi stormed out.
Cast of Characters: Setsuna Meiou

As Usagi storms out, dragging Ami in her wake, Setsuna stands, her hand reaching out towards the departing pair...but ultimately dropping it as the front door slams shut behind the blonde and bluenette.

The impact carries what feels to Setsuna like a terrifying FINALITY to it...and as it does, the woman slumps to her knees like a puppet with it's strings cut, the strength just draining from her body. She's unsure how long she kneels there (five minutes, twenty eight seconds) before she finally, slowly, heaves herself back to her feet...and on autopilot, she begins cleaning up the remains of the dinner she'd made for her departed guests.

As she does, uncaring of the twinges of pain that shoot through her arm each time she shifts her right hand (...hairline fracture of the fifth metacarpal of her right hand a detached, clinical part of her mind supplies,) Setsuna thinks about what is going to happen now. After all, she HAS to tell Haruka and Michiru about Saturn...and she can only PRAY that they've built enough of a rapport to see Hotaru for HERSELF rather than the one who pronounces the End with Silence.


Maybe if she's lucky they won't hate her too much for tearing a rift between the Inners and Outers again.

Maybe if she's REALLY lucky, they won't move out.

Maybe they won't leave her alone again.


Granted, on some level Setsuna is well aware that that is incredibly unlikely to happen...but by the same token, she just had the kindest, most loving soul she's ever known...the woman she trusted enough to start using as her moral compass spit hate and vitriol in her face before storming out.


Eventually, she'll realize that a lot of that was the pain and anguish of emotions rubbed raw from the ordeal they all just went through, and much of what was said were words said in anger, and thus not meant.


But that's eventually.


Not tonight.


Tonight, Setsuna stands there, wishing she could cry...but past events have worn her down such that she finds tears exceedingly difficult.


Tonight, Setsuna clutches her broken hand and wallows in the lance of pain that shoots up her arm as the least she deserves.


Finishing up, she turns and heads to her room. She needs to sleep. She'll need it if she's going to regain enough equilibrium to function properly. Much less enough to keep Hotaru from finding out...because she will only blame herself...and this whole situation is most definitely NOT her fault.

Behind her, she leaves a more or less clean kitchen...and a very obviously broken butcher's block sitting on the kitchen island.