2778/no more orb

no more orb
Date of Scene:	09 October 2025
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	The aftermath of Mamoru and Takashi's fight flows out, as friends come together to vent, comfort, and most importantly, ponder the question of why and what the fuck is Riventon, anyway.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Minako Aino, Amanda Faust, Hotaru Tomoe, Mamoru Chiba, Kazuo Saitou, Haruka Tenoh, Nephrite, Zoisite
Tinyplot:	Brotherfight

---

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's late, late enough that most kids would be done with homework and contemplating whether they wanted to sleep and wake up on time or stay up just a liiiiiittle later to keep up with gaming. Usagi Tsukino isn't at her dorm, her house, or even her husband's house, though.

Mamoru fought with his brother today, to a terrible result, and the secret she knows now doesn't make it worth it. ...but the orb that's destroyed? The truths that are out?

...she can only hope that's worth it.

Mamoru had talked as much as he was willing to, but Usagi has left him to be stuffed with cookies while Masato takes his turn in the ballpit, because there's one other person who was there, and there's a people she needs to make sure knows the truth.

So...

Usagi TXT Hotaru: hotaru-chan, would you mind meeting me at Ichinohashi Park?
Usagi TXT Hotaru: me and minako-chan.
Usagi TXT Hotaru: i was hoping you'd tell me what you thought about today, and, there's cookies

The texts to Minako are a lot more blunt.

Usagi TXT Minako: minakochan meet me at Ichinohashi Park by the swings, it's important.

That's why Sailor Moon is waiting on the swings for two of her girls, her soldiers, to arrive.

Minako Aino has posed:
In spite of the many times that Minako could be flighty, and easily distracted by many things, there was one thing that would always gain her attention: A call to arms. Or at least a call to Important Things.

It's not long at all before Sailor Venus descends from an elegant leap to land gracefully on top of the set of monkey bars at the park. A white cat is held carefully in her arms. One further hop brings her to ground level allowing her hair a moment to swish and settle behind her like her own personal cape.

"We're here," Venus informs even as she gives a quick glance around. It was too calm to be an immediate danger, after all. Given the blunt text she remains serious as even Artemis hops down from her grasp to saunter toward the others.

"Sailor Moon. What do you need?" Asks the more formal Artemis.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Despite everything... Retro shooters kind of get to Amy a bit. Yeah there are parts where you're a kickass space marine, and there are also times when your good weapon only has a few shots left and you hear a monster roaming somewhere and you're gonna get jumpscared. It's always bothered her a bit, it's just that now she's somehow less vulnerable in real life. She could tank the damn monster hit and just kill it, if explosives didn't make finding it not a problem.

    Maybe going on patrol to calm her nerves wasn't the most logical action, but leaping from rooftop to rooftop through the night air just feels great, and-- Sailor Venus is in a hurry to get somewhere, and Amy races after.

    But instead of a youma attack Sailor Moon is sitting on a swing. Sailor Moon, not Usagi Tsukino.

    Amy lands from her leap next to Sailor Venus, puzzled. "Hey uh, what's up? I saw Venus in a hurry and followed..."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe was... not very happy about any of this. When she'd seen all that happened... And she didn't like it. But when she was called by Usagi? Well...

Hotaru TXT to Usagi: Okay Usagi-senpai.

She didn't really know what happened. She knew, of course. But she didn't *know*. And now? She had... two flags. And one of them was dirty.

But, eventually, she arrived, not too late after the text had come, walking down in the same dark dress with a sunhat that she'd been wearing at the fight... Looking none too happy. She had her arms crossed as she made her way towards them, giving a small nod. "Hey... everyone. Sailor Moon, Venus, Amy."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
    <PHONE> You text Usagi Tsukino: kazuo and i are coming
    <PHONE> A text from Usagi Tsukino: hotaru-chan will be here
    <PHONE> You text Usagi Tsukino: ok good i wanna ask her not to call me king, haha

Tuxedo Kamen has more cookies in one hand, and Kazuo's hand in the other, when they teleport there. A featherlight split second later and the silk and summerweight suiting wool have dissipated, leaving an extremely denim jacket Mamoru in its place in the chilly air.

He's still holding Kazuo's hand. When they step out of the culvert and Mamoru sees Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus, he stops and looks too tired to make the decision as to whether he should re-transform or not. He does it anyway, letting go Kazuo's hand but not the cookies, and he henshins still holding them. "Earth Crystal Power make up," he says unenthusiastically, and he calls over as his tuxedo trudges itself on in the most try-mid way possible, "I had fomo. Kazuo is enabling. If you don't want us here you can tell us to butt out, no offense taken."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo's other hand is holding a thermos; unlike Mamoru, he does not actually transform, only follows Mamoru and finds a piece of playground equipment support to lean against. He tips his head in a little nod-bow to Usagi, then to Venus. Actual nods to Amy and Hotaru; a 'hello' rather than a 'hello, following your lead.'

Apparently 'enabling' today doesn't mean talking? Hard to tell.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Thanks for coming, Venus-chan, Artemis-kun," Sailor Moon says, and she smiles at Artemis. "Sorry I didn't bring Luna. She's with Chibiusa-chan and Diana."

That honestly might have been rubbing salt in the wound, but - oh! "Amy-chan, hi. We're - just handling some us business, but, it's not like, private, I guess? It's - just to - hi, ah, Hotaru-chan-"

Would it be awkward to ask her to transform? It just seems better for their identities, especially since people are still after Hotaru, but she looks so deflated and miserable that Sailor Moon can't bring herself to get after her about it, even kindly.

"Venus-chan, Amy-chan, we're meeting because Kamen-kun and Riventon fought it out today over the thing Riventon scavenged from Beryl - it's destroyed - and Hotaru-chan was there, so I wanted to ask her to tell us about it." Her phone vibrates, and she pulls it out with a muttered, ah, sorry! It's Mamoru, of course. She's not telling him not to come, it's his life too!

"Mamochan's coming," she tells them, and then, barely a second later, he's there, the worlds most tired Tuxedo Kamen, accompanied by handsome boyfriend.

"I was just getting to the part where the Beryl thing is destroyed. Hotaru-chan... if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to, but... since you were both there, it helps to know more about what happened?"

Minako Aino has posed:
"They finally had it out, huh?" Venus doesn't sound terribly surprised by it, but it was concerning none the less. She'd met Riventon at the wedding and a few other times. While he was arrogant and... arrogant... He was Mamoru's brother and currently afflicted by Dark Energy. Everyone was kind of an ass when they were suffering from that.

Some even recovered after it was removed.

Artemis pauses mid-step in his approach as Sailor Moon informs him of Luna's whereabouts. His tail which had been held high now does a sudden twitchy shudder at the news. "O-oh that's fine I'm sure they want some time together. You know. ... Mother and daughter bonding..." He trails off with a little dip of his head trying not to look dejected over that. His little Diana! (And apparently his Luna? At some point.)

He's quick to recover when Hotaru appears. A glance is cast toward Venus who tips her head toward the younger senshi with a knowing grin. The silent communication passed between themn leads Artemis to alter his path so that he can bump up against Hotaru's side gently in greeting.

With her long-time partner seeing to Hotaru, Venus focuses her attention to the others. Amy gets a smile and a simple, "What she said," in explanation because this was news to her, too! Kazuo and Mamoru's arrival draws her attention further. "Sounds like a lot happened. Are you going to be okay?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
Before Hotaru can answer, a tall girl - the third Senshi Blonde - moves up from behind her and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Guessing this is about the two boys fighting over something stupid, thing?" she asks, both curious and trying to be supportive. "Unless this is somehow a private party I'm not invited to?" she asks, looking to Usagi and the others, which is about as close as they're going to get to a request from the Soldier who'd been keeping tabs on Hotaru ever since she came home with all of the obvious wear on her face (and Michiru sensed the slight tinge of Actually Saturn).

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks as she sees the assembled group all showing up, waving to Hotaru and nodding to Kazuo. "Oh uh, is this Senshi business?" Flames quickly swap her outfit to Chalcopyrite's. "Or, uh... Senshi-only business?"

    She listens, and then nods, before walking over to sit on another swing.

    She briefly grimaces at the feeling of sitting in such a short skirt. Right.

    "It... doesn't sound like it was something stupid... It sounds like it was pretty serious." She glances back to Usagi, then to Tuxemo Mask, then to Hotaru. "If it was destroyed, though... what do we need to know about it? Did he make something using it earlier? Are there more like it out there?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe glanced up at Uranus before nodding. "Mmmm hm..." she mumbled. "The stupid rock is broken now, I think," Hotaru said before walking forward to sit on one of the swings, lightly rocking back and forth on it. "... They fought... they punched each other... they said a lot of things to each other... and then Riventon broke the rules... he lost his temper... and he went into full dark energy mode and hurt people..." Hotaru said, rocking back and forth.

"Then he attacked his brother, attacked Mamoru-senpai..."

One might note that was probably the first time they heard her call him 'Riventon' and not 'Riventon-senpai'.

Nephrite has posed:
With a shimmering of stardust and swirling constellations, Nephrite appears. When he filters into view he's morose looking, his handsome face lined with pensive irritation, and his arms are crossed over neat Shitennou uniform.

The sword at his hip juxtaposes the play equipment he's currently leaning against, but he looks to be in a mild sulk, wearing his emotions from the day fairly openly.

"He blew up Beryl's gem, right in our faces," He adds with a hint of bitterness, entering the conversation after Hotaru speaks, "He said, 'This wasn't how letting you and the boys ditch Beryl was supposed to turn out.' He said that gem was 'just a tool'. That he doesn't get what he's due. He implied a lot of what sounded to me like Usagi-chan had somehow turned Mamoru against him."

He lifted his chin. "'Fuck you, and fuck your family, and fuck your future.' That's what he said."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
OH. Mamoru's immediate (probably incorrect) assumption is that Hotaru might think she's in trouble, with all the henshins, and now extra people, so he just wordlessly drops his henshin again. He does, however, briefly shoot Kazuo a dirty look.

And then suddenly Uranus is there and the energy changes, and he's even more glad he's out of henshin. He doesn't need his raw nerves heightened, not when everything feels like social danger, even when it's not. Not when everything is so complicated.

Out of henshin in fancy shoes, black skinny jeans, a light cyan button-down shirt, and a black denim jacket that looks like it's straight out of 1994. He is either broadcasting 'harmless' or he is broadcasting '90s lesbian' which in Hotaru's brain might induce a feeling of safety-- no really mostly he's just tired and blue. "It wasn't full dark energy mode," he protests, "he didn't henshin. I've been almost where he is -- he didn't mean everything he said. I didn't mean everything I said. We were both really mad. But he can't handle dark energy... if antagonized..., and that was proof. And he does hold grudges, so I'm probably going to be frozen out for a long time after I tell him I told Usako and Kazuo his identity."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo inclines his head to Uranus, too. Not to Nephrite. They are both leaned against playground equipment, he is not going to try to nod through it. "To keep his justifications to himself going," he says, "Riventon can't let himself be wrong about anything, and he has to figure out ways to accumulate more power and control than all of the rest of us together. The fight hit him hard enough to challenge those ideas. Which is one good thing among the bad. He can still have those ideas challenged. On some level, locked away somewhere, he still knows despite himself that there's a possibility he's doing the wrong thing."

Translation: yes, Uranus, on target.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You don't need to be in a Senshi-suit for this," Sailor Moon says, and there's all the usual kindness, but also a trace of something firm in her voice, here. "You're an ally, even though you're not a Senshi, Amy-chan, and this - isn't about Senshi, anyway, but being a Senshi - means something particular, anyway, especially now."

This isn't about Senshi or Shitennou, it's Mamochan, and many of the people close to him, and about Beryl, and the people who most need to know even her energy isn't around, and -

"Uranus-kun," she greets, and then she nods at the both of them, and Minako too, "Yeah, they did, and it was serious and stupid, because it was stupid to insist on using the thing, and..."

ANd Hotaru is sharing, now, telling her side of what she's saw, and then Nephrite, appearing with spectacular timing to share even more details - including somem Usagi hadn't heard. She sucks air between her teeth as Mamoru protests, because as far as she's concerned, it was close enough to fully dark energy mode. Being a healer is the only reason he's not in the hospital the way Hannah was when she pissed Hematite off.

"Next time we see him he'll probably be as messed up as he was during the Crystal Heart hunts. We just have to be ready for that, because... even if this didn't turn out good, we made him give up the Beryl juice rock."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus absolutely noticed that from Hotaru. The lack of honorific. The girls had been (after heated, shushed discussions) trying to give Hotaru space, that whatever struck her so hard was something she'd share when she was ready - but it affected her so much she had been tailed by her two adoptive parents. To varying degrees of success in their being sneaky.

    It's clear, on her face, that Sailor Uranus has a lot of things she wants to say, ways she wants to reply to that. Her mouth opens and closes a bit, and she just looks down, shakes her head, and instead hugs Hotaru. "I know he meant a lot to you, though." she says to the girl, lowly, before letting her go.

    Michiru isn't here, and Haruka can guess what she'd say to all of that... but instead she speaks up and asks a different question. "How sure are you about what was him being pushed, and what was just... him, and Dark Energy? Neptune and I have both fought Riventon at times. He seemed pretty serious." she says, without directly criticising him in front of Hotaru. "I know he helped Hotaru-chan, but at the time, Hotaru-chan was working for him. That kind of gives him a selfish motive, right?" she adds, even as she hugs the girl. "In the end it was that other boy that got her out of Obsidian, which is what she really needed to be safe, especially with what we know about who the guy running Tomoe LifeScience was."

    Mamoru gets two looks, one for his outfit and one for not just sharing with everyone. But she softens quickly. There are certainly things about her family she doesn't tell everyone.

    "On the other hand... Kirara-san was saved, even after she tried to eat the sun. And all both of you..." she says, looking at the Shitennou of Stars and Mamoru collectively "... made it out to the other side. So I'm not saying we have to give up hope. It's just... complicated." Uranus notes. "But Kirara-san had to go all the way off the deep end before we could save her."

    The way she looks at Amy isn't unkind, but it's... well, she hopes she takes Usagi's hint. "There's a good point in that, though. He's tried to pull fast ones on us before, with stuff. Right? Are we sure he blew up the real thing, and it wasn't just... performative? Sorry, I have to be the one to ask."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe cringed with each word Nephrite said, closing her eyes and sinking a little lower in her chair. Stopping her swinging. Yeah... That... that was it.

"No, he can't handle it, can he..." Hotaru mumbled softly, resting her head against the swing chain.

She didn't say anything else, she just listened.

She nodded to the hug, leaning in for a moment, but didn't speak up.

"I wasn't working for him when he helped me," Hotaru said. "I was just a kid he saw who nobody else would listen to. It wasn't until after he helped me that I ended up working for him. Then he helped me more. And kept helping me more..." she mumbled softly.

And certain people here might also note by what Uranus said that Hotaru had, noteably, *not* told the outers, or at least Uranus, that Takashi and Riventon were the same person. Judging by how morose she seemed right now, possibly not the best time to broach the subject...

Minako Aino has posed:
The more details that begin to spill out from the various trio that had been there, the harder Venus' expression grows. It was rare her lips pressed so tightly together that they grow pale from lack of blood flow. Her blue eyes are sharp and bright as they flit among the myriad faces here.

Especially at Nephrite's words though. The direct quote. "Well fu--" Her gaze snaps instantly toward Hotaru as she alters her remark to, "-Udge him too." That took just a bit of steam out of her quickly puffing sails at least. Instead her arms cross over her chest as she leans one shoulder into the a-frame of the swingsets so she can look at the majority here without having to simply stand. The best seats were already taken and any remaining one certainly belonged to Mamoru. A puff of air is exhaled.

"Amy-chan you can be *you* now. Trying to pose as a senshi to throw off the Black Moon Clan is long over," she suggests lightly as she turns her attention back to the rest.

"I have to admit I'm not thrilled with being left out of who your brother really is, but that is your decision. It's also your decision about what we're going to do next because it doesn't sound as if he's just going to go sit on his lorry."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy only doesn't look more concerned at Hotaru's words because Mamoru is here and self-evidently not grievously injured. Nephrite adds a bit more context. "Ah. Bros getting mad when one pays more attention to a girlfriend is a tale as old as time, but... That's gotta be the dark energy talking, right? I mean, obviously she didn't turn you against him, you invited him to the wedding..." She looks to Mamoru and nods at his explanation.

    And then blinks. Oh right, they still don't know Mamoru's brother's civilian identity. "...Huh. It does kinda suck, how you can't even introduce us to your other brother. Since then we'd figure it out."

    Amy cocks her head to one side slightly and stares into space thoughtfully. "Does Agera-san know Riventon is your brother? Funny how they both got an interest in magic artificing... They'd have a lot to talk about." She blinks. "Ah. That'd be bad, though, if Riventon got Agera-san into dark energy..."

    Amy shakes her head. "Sorry." Mamoru's brothers' relationship with eachother isn't important right now. "A lot of people... have to cut off their family members. You can't... save everyone from themselves; at least you saved him from this Beryl thing. And if he's ever purified, he'd probably come to his senses, right? So like... maybe it'll happen, in time, if we keep... magic-ing?"

    She's not entirely sure she read Usagi's voice right, but Uranus gives her that look too, and she shrinks into herself a bit. Venus voices it, and she changes the clothes to a civilian outfit, a red sweatshirt and jersey-knit skirt -- a copy of the clothes she was left with when she first dehenshined -- and soft and warm in the cold. She looks at the ground, fidgeting nervously in the swing. "S-sorry."

Nephrite has posed:
"Look, he doesn't... know what it even is to be connected to somebody without needing to dominate that. Riventon collects people the same way he does resources, with meticulous curation and a need to be in total control of it. He thinks he's the only person who can see the best way to utilise a potential."

Nephrite mused this much, wearing a frown. It wasn't easy to speak about openly, the strange dynamic he himself had with Riventon-- some strange dance of care and wariness, not built on trust but not without loyalty, either. Mamoru wasn't the only one who had not entirely known what to do with him, or if distance or closeness (despite everything) was better than not.

"It's complicated. I know it's not that he doesn't care, but that care exists like a kind of claim. There's something deeply possessive about the way he looks at those connections... Once he looks at you as one of his people, you don't need to be working under him for that to apply. But it comes with a cost, and a lot of imposition."

He shakes his head. "I don't believe that the orb was a fakeout... and maybe part of me would love to be able to say all that Beryl-ness cast a certain colour over him recently, to be saying these things, but I don't think that's true either."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru takes two more cookies, then steps over to pass the box to Hotaru first. "Pass it on," he murmurs, then goes back over to lean next to Kazuo. "No it's a fair point," he says to Uranus. "He ripped it out of Axion, his Device, while using it, and then when he shot it it exploded in Beryl juice. But if you want Neptune-san to look over the pieces before they're purified-- oh, no, we should get Hinoiri-chan to look, too," he says, looking to Sailor Moon.

The prince glances at Amy and says warmly, "You're okay. I can show you later if you need it," he says to her, then again, glances Usagiwards. Then he sighs and rubs the side of his nose, looking at Hotaru again, and he nods. "And he has helped in so many ways. He even helped protect Chibiusa-chan. I don't understand why he thinks me needing him to *not use Beryl's stuff* means none of the stuff he did counted. I'm still turning a lot of this around in my head," he says quietly, apologetically.

Mamoru nods gravely to Venus. "Thank you for being understanding," he says, and that's when he chews on kaak warqa, listening to Nephrite.

With each word, he sinks a little more. "And I fucked all of that up."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo says, "No," to Mamoru, not quite as patient as training a puppy. He offers the thermos without straightening up. "You stopped putting up with a --" somehow he manages not to glance at Hotaru as he swaps words midsentence - "messed-up situation. He couldn't cope with that. That is not your fault. You do not belong to him. Not buckling under in order to help him feed his addiction is not a bad thing."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe cringed with each word of Nephrites. Her hands gripping the chains a little tighter. She wanted to say more, to defend him... But... She glanced around...

Riventon had... hurt people. He'd hurt a lot of people, this time. And often? She really did feel like the only one who defended him. And she knew she had seen a side of him that the others hadn't. But... This time? She felt hopelessly outnumbered. Normally she felt a little. But this time? She felt helpless.

He'd gone too far. And there was no defending him this time.

She took the box and only took one of the cookies before passing it on to Uranus. Nibbling on it like she had, well... Before, when she'd been hurt.

She then glanced towards Mamoru and... She opened her mouth as if to speak, trying to say something. She WANTED desperately to say something, to defend, to argue, to... Talk... to... Help... but...

Instead, she just sunk into the chair and bit into her cookie.

She couldn't. But... finally... She answered...

"Be.... ot... test... e gets... ad..." she mumbled gently, so soft the words could barely be heard.

Zoisite has posed:
There's a large poof of cherry blossoms as Zoisite makes his appearance, silver tray in one hand with steaming kettle and several non-breakable teacups in saucers. "Nephrite said he wanted tea, so I took the liberty in bringing some for a couple of people." Sharp green eyes glances around the group, noting that there was indeed more than just the people mentioned in texts. Did they all really have to be there?

Of course not. Neither did he. But he had tea, so the was worth something.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'm pretty sure they have to know each other," Sailor Moon says without missing a beat, in response to Amy's musing. She won't give away what she was told. "I mean, since they both work for Obsidian, even if Takashi just has an internship, and all that... Venus-chan, what Mamochan old Kazuo-kun and I is... honestly, it doesn't change anything but that we can talk to him about all his feelings."

It changes a lot, but not anything at all, which... is kind of how the veil works, a lot.

Amy looks shamed - Usagi didn't mean for the others to pick up her lead, but that's the thing about being a Senshi, and she slips closer, puts a hand on Amy's shoulder.

"No, it's not - you don't need to apologize. It's just... being a Senshi, being one of my Senshi, like that... it means being... sworn, you know? In a way that you haven't offered, and that I wouldn't ask for." These words are quiet, though the others can hear them, it's not that quiet, but - well, then there's Mamoru, slumping and looking down, and there are others speaking up for Hotaru's sake, and Usagi will speak up for her husband's sake.

"You didn't fuck anything up. He fucked himself up, because he's the one who had to mess with Beryl stuff, and I will ask Hinoiri to take a look, but -" she pauses. She thinks, slowly, and then she tips her head back, and exhales slowly. "Riventon's good with devices and tech and now he's got a magic Beryl rock. And he used to work with an expert in magic crystals. Because he collects useful people."

Oh, she's going to scream into a pillow if Hinoiri is involved in this, and boy can she scream loud.

"Not the point. Point is, if it's not my fault you keep having boy trouble, it's not your fault that your brother thinks helping sometimes makes up for being a total jerk the rest of the time."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus doesn't look like she's taking any joy at all in the negative things as she takes a cookie and almost violently consumes it before passing it to the next in line; these were questions that... well... just that someone had to ask them. And maybe someone with more tact might have saved some of the questions and comments for after Hotaru wasn't around... but she didn't. She could feel her charge's worry, though, and that she could try to do something about.

    She grabbed Hotaru and hugged her tightly, again, enough to lift the smaller girl off the ground. "We're not *giving up* on someone who helped you." she says, firmly. "Even if we're being realistic. He's also Chiba-san's brother. Which means he's kind of distantly related moon family. And he means a lot to people here too." she says, firmly.

    "But Sailor Moon is right too, he can be helpful sometimes and a jerk sometimes and that's a problem." And maybe Haruka would be harsher, if not for Usagi having saved Hinoiri from a Senshi Summary Removal and it having worked out in the end... barely... but Usagi could often be the difference between 'really bad idea' and 'miraculous success' and if she was on board Haruka would be too. Especially with how Hotaru was acting. "We have to talk about the jerk parts and be real about them though, and it seems like he's kind of been an extra jerk lately."

Minako Aino has posed:
Sailor Venus dips her head toward Sailor Moon even as she clarifies. "I trust you of course. It just doesn't put me at ease to know he knows US but we don't know him. Especially since he seems to have made his decision instead of sitting on the fence."

"Still want to punch his smug face myself." A glance is cast toward Hotaru with a look of absolute understanding. She'd been there before, believing she could trust someone. Maybe even save them. Only to find out they weren't *wanting* to be saved.

A hand raises to flip back through her hair in a gesture that was more an attempt to soothe her own nerves rather than be flippant. It was just... That's what she did. "Sometimes people make dumb choices because they think it's right and all we can do is be there for them after. Hopefully it won't be as bad as Hinoiri-chan situation but..." She trails off.

The newly arrived Zoisite is flashed a tired smile. "Even the jerky ones can be helped when they let us."

Zoisite has posed:
A smile is offered in return to Sailor Venus as they make eye contact, making a bee line towards her since Mamoru was already being comforted by Kazuo and he needed to catch up on the rest of the discussion anyway. Letting go of the tray, it floats near him so he's able to prepare the drinks.

"Why do I get the feeling that was a pointed statement from you?" It's quiet, lacking some snark. "Stupid decisions happen when a person is desperate, lacking the ability to see that there are other options. Not an excuse, of course, but..." At least in his case, he could look back and see why some of his decisions were still fueled by something darker then. The same with so many that were manipulated by Dark Energy, even the few he decided to give a chance in being close to--or try to.

"I very much doubt we'll be giving up on anybody that's important to one of us." Offers a cup to Venus. Chamomile. Then his gaze turns to Hotaru, something sympathetic in the way he looked at her. "So don't worry. Criticism is a sign of care, not the contrary."

The next cup of tea was for Hotaru.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    You're okay. Amy immediately looks at him, relieved, and nods at the offer. "Probably best, to prevent any misunderstandings later." Right now things are about the Beryl Rock situation, as it pertains to the senshi and shitennou.

    ...But Usagi, ever the good and caring friend, puts a hand on her shoulder, and red eyes look into blue and blink questioningly. "...Ah." She glances away, then back to Moon. "In truth... there've been times like it felt like I certainly would, but... I thought you kinda didn't want to be the Queen of this world? And I haven't thought about it in awhile, s-so... yeah, it's something to be...thought over. But... maybe to be discussed, sometime later, instead of just... assuming it couldn't work."

    The obvious accidental metaphor likening this to shooting her shot earlier does occur to her, and she's not sure how to feel about that but it'd be awkward to point out.

    She looks away as more things are brought up. Have Hinoiri look at it? "Definitely a good idea." Amy agrees with a nod.

I don't know why he thinks this means none of the stuff he did counted.
    Amy stares thoughtfully into space for a moment. "You didn't mess this up. I think... it could be a lot of things? Like, all at once?" She extends a finger as if starting to count things off, and then hesitates. "Um. Err. If you think, maybe, someone... The perspective of someone less closely involved might see something, here?" She looks around at the others.

Nephrite has posed:
"Right," Nephrite agrees with the others, because regardless of the understanding or insight, this is key. "Riv's got his damage, he's always had it... But so do we. We care about him, anyway. It just means... we don't lose sight of the good, while being more honest about the bad." His gaze finds Hotaru first, and then Mamoru. "You said it yourself, this was about you setting a boundary-- one that should be blisteringly obvious to him, it shouldn't even be a question why that's off limits-- but now we know just how much he can't help himself."

A slight huff passes through his nose as he turns to Zoisite, reaching out for a cup-- he needs to be drinking something. 'Chamomile? Thank the stars for that', he murmurs to the other Shitennou.

"He's gotta be held accountable for crossing that line, when we know he knows better. He just can't afford to see it like that-- all those checks and balances he says he puts into place, but it's all after the fact that he couldn't *not* mess with it. It's a rug to kick the point under."

He nodded to Uranus and Venus, and for a moment watched Amy and Usagi. "For as much as he'll kick and piss and twist all of this, I'm still willing to help hold it open until the day he gets so powerful it slams it shut and it locks. But I know that's... going to mean pushing back hard against him trying to close it."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru looks up at Kazuo as he takes the thermos, looking at once grateful and duly chastened-- first at him, then at Sailor Moon as he's opening the thermos. He pours some in the lid, and does his best to regain some equilibrium, at least during this conversation. "Okay, right, sorry," he says with a little laugh. "I just didn't have to be a dick about it. You know how sometimes I laugh when I shouldn't..."

Then he clearly and visibly doubletakes at Usagi. "Hey, hang on a minute, you think she... oh, no..."

Morosely, he sips at his hot chocolate, carefully, burning his tongue anyway. Mamoru sighs. "No he..." he trails off, then looks at Amy. "Sure," he says-- and he half turns to reach around and very lightly catch at Neph's hair to get his attention and smile at him. "Yeah, like that. But to do that we also have to examine where I have done poorly. I mean later. I'm too tired right now."

Nephrite has posed:
The catch at hair is like putting a hand into a lion's maw, and Mamoru does it with ease and to very little recourse. A look studies his friend, full of furrowed brows and concerned understanding, and more than a little sympathy.

"Yeah, well... that's part of 'being more honest about the bad'." Masato noted it to Mamoru softly. "It's not like I haven't had my own fair share of bad habits kick in with Riventon, this past year. I've also been..." His mouth ticked, and he recalled a particular word from conversation past, spoken in English-- "<<Sloppy.>>"

A glance to Venus on the tail end too, given her earlier statement of Riventon knowing them, but them not knowing him. Even the complication of Riventon now knowing Ami's identity, partly because of Masato's own porous boundaries with the man and the assumption of extended trust.

"Later, though. Yeah." With a short sigh, he drank his tea. "We gathered up all the shards of that orb, so we can deal with that next."

Minako Aino has posed:
Sailor Venus accepts the calming tea offered over. It was a pleasant smell and given she was a bit aggitated with nothing she could outright deal with in her usual manner, it wasn't an unwelcome offering. Plus the chill in the Autumn air meant a warm cup of tea was good to wrap her fingers around even if being in Henshin did mean she was far less suseptible to the cold in general.

"Just meaning that everyone we *can* help, does get a chance to *be* helped," she responds with a quieter aside of, "Mamoru and Riventon had a fistfight. I think Riventon lost and threw a fit."

The cup of tea is drawn up for a quick sip. "Neph knows more, and Hotaru-chan too." Who was at least getting some tea to wash down that cookie which had garbled her talk so much. It was just the cookie, right?

At Amy's attempt to assure Mamoru she pauses as well, and lets out a long sigh. "Mamoru-kun you didn't mess up any more than I messed up when dealing with Danburite. He made his choice how he wanted that to end." And even know he was back having a second chance. "Don't beat yourself up when there's others willing to do the job for you.'

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Not wanting to be queen of the world doesn't mean I'm not still the Moon Princess. My Senshi are my soldiers, and there's more than just a bond there. You're a really good friend, Amy-chan - and we can talk it about it more - but..."

It's not rejection, just as the confession that wasn't properly responded to, in the chaos of pending brotherfight, wasn't a rejection. It's an offer to talk more. "More eyes on the situation can't hurt, though. Everyone else has plenty of big feelings about all this."

And boy, do they.

"You didn't have to be a dick about it, but like, speaking from experience, normally being a jerk to your sibling doesn't see them launching you like a pog, so I think you should listen to Kazuo-kun and Venus. And maybe try to break your arguments and words and all that after you've had some real sleep."

Because there's hopeless tasks - like trying to tell Riventon he was wrong - and there's hopeless tasks.

"The orb is gone now, and Riventon is pissed about it, but at least he did it, instead of Mamochan and Nephrite having to like, fight him for it. I'm glad for that, at least."

At least.

"Hotaru-chan... we're not going to go after him unless he makes us. You don't have to defend him from us, y'know?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    This is a lot and Sailor Uranus stands near to the other senshi and also gives Amy a bit of an apologetic look. She didn't directly intend to come off rude either, she's just... a lot of things are going on and she's protective of Hotaru, Usagi, Mamoru, Minako... so many here.

    "He was gonna be pissed no matter how that ended, and I think we all knew it." she says, without passing any further judgement. "The situation's in his court, now, really. And the longer he takes to move the better things are going to be, right?" she says. "So right now I think we just have to hope for a little calm." she says, looking around. "And keep each other informed and aware."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods to Mamoru and Usagi and Haruka, smiling a bit, and then focusing and ordering her thoughts; She extends fingers as she counts.

    "One... This was a huge deal for him. Beryl's one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, foe we've ever faced. To get a piece of her power is a huge deal, right? He's probably been thinking about what he can do with it for months, making plans even... and if he worked for it and didn't just stumble on it, then all the more..."

    She looks at Mamoru. "How would you feel if you like... finally got all the rainbow crystals together, and then all your friends said, nothing good could come from something that caused so much fighting? It's not the same thing at all, but like... I had Dark Energy for a few hours and was convinced I could find good uses for it by the end of it. How long has he had it?"

    She takes a breath. "Two. He's been trying to do his thing for years and we keep stopping his plans. And he does the right thing sometimes but like..." She nods toward Venus, "Like she said, the sum of the good and the bad is still a problem. And when you know people see you as a problem..."

    "...Even the good reactions eventually become hollow and tainted. It doesn't feel like people see good in you, they just like when something you did happens to work out good for them. You're still a problem."

    "Three, when you feel like that all the time and nothing makes it better, anything you expected to have control over can be..." She shakes her head and looks down at the ground.

    "One of my first days here I made a scene when the machine ate my subway card with like 750 yen on it. An' that rock sounds way more important than not getting seperated from everyone else in a foreign country or making them wait for the next train for you because even if you didn't mean to do something wrong that's never mattered before."

    She looks up at Mamoru. "Sorry. I got too personal, but my point is, like... He's in the wrong, but there could be plenty of reasons for him to feel that way, you didn't have to do anything. And Dark Energy is making it all worse I'm sure."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe would take the tea and, very slowly, she'd drink it. Taking a small sip, leaning into the hug from her fellow outer. She'd then look around. She'd then gulp. Before... finally... She stuffed the cookie into her mouth. And then just downed the tea.

And then she took out her henshin pen. "Saturn planet power, make up!" she called.

One henshin later... She took a slow, deep breath. Sailor Saturn stood up. "Riventon... is cocky, arrogant, and a... jerk, at times. But I have spent my entire *life* being surrounded by people who have been trying to get to me, who have *pretended* to listen to me because of who my da... because of that thing who was pretending to be my daddy. I'm not stupid. I know he felt he was getting something out of helping me."

"But I also know he went above and beyond that, as well. I know there is... actual care there. He doesn't just collect people like resources or toys. He does, actually, genuinely care. He *was* a part of the group that helped me. Both helped me survive *and* helped me escape. I would be *dead* now if not for him. *He* made Luminous Titan, and he also gave the information necessary to help others help me escape. Despite the fact it was nothing but risk to him. Despite the fact he knew that people in Obsidian would tear him apart if he knew. Despite... that thing in me attacking him and hurting him more than once."

"... And he's... stupid. He's arrogant. And he has to be the smartest person in the room. At all times or he gets *so upset and grouchy*." A few tears welled up in her eyes. "A-and when I was there he was the only one who would listen to me even w-when nobody else would a-and he would help other people a-and I know what he did was wrong a-and I know he lost control and this... dark energy is a part of what he *is*... like it was me... but he was born with it... it wasn't put into him like it was me and... and... I think he's losing control of it because that wasn't the Riventon-senpai I know because he wouldn't have crossed that line... but now he has... and I don't know if he can come back from it... and I don't know what it means... I don't know what any of this means... And... I just... Uranus... I just... Uranus, I need to go."

And then? Then she just turned... and she ran.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Amy does have a lot of thoughts, as an outsider, and definitely as someone with a lot of sympathy for being on the outside. Usagi listens to all of this thoughtfully, resisting as much as possible the urge to defend her own view and their actions. Amy is raising good points, after all, but...

"He probably did work on it for a long time, and it is a huge deal to get her power... but it's her power. And asking anyone, but especially the brother she tortured to feel happy for him that he has it is too much. Even soaking in dark energy doesn't excuse away being that self-centered."

Power or triggering trauma responses in someone you love. Riventon, in his own way, is like Demande and Saphir - someone who loved toxically, who hurt people even when he meant his best.

He's not as bad as them, but, she's sure that if Riventon could take their power, he would. It's why she hopes he never makes it to Nemesis here, in their own time.

"You're not wrong that being seen as a problem hurts... but sometimes the only way to make that hurt go away is to stop being a problem. Mamochan kept quiet for years and years, all to spare his feelings, and all it got was Riventon attacking him when he finally told him he was wrong. Riventon's feelings... his hurts and sorrows... they're real... but they're not like... right, and that's why this is hard: we can't lie to him about this. Mamochan played pretend with me when I was new Moon for like a month and a half, and it sucked. He's been doing it with Riventon for years. Now that he knows even a little about how Mamochan feels... there's no undoing that. We just have to try and move forward... and hope that we can get through to him even with the dark energy that says reminding my brother of his torturer is totally worth it."

And as if to remind them of that? Saturn has her own speech, and she offers it before running away.

Reminding them of things that Usagi knows... because she believes that Riventon has good in him. That he has well-meaning, sometimes. It's just that -

"This is hard," she says as Saturn runs away, "A little because it's really hard to admit when someone you love is hurting someone else. I had to deal with it with my Moon Mama... and Hotaru-chan's having to deal with it with Riventon." It's different with her father, after all. She can finally mourn him, knowing that he was dead, instead of evil.

Riventon's alive, and he's himself, and he's being cruel... and that's hard to deal with.

"We've talked ourselves around and around, so... let's go home, and get some sleep. Mamochan's been trying to figure out his brother for like, years and years. We're not doing it in one vent session."