2119/Different Here Too

Different Here Too
Date of Scene:	29 November 2024
Location:	Mamoru's Apartment
Synopsis:	Mamoru spots Sad Chibiusa In Rain and invites her in to dry off and have some dinner. They talk about alternate universe counterparts and wards and talking cats and the Silver Crystal, and they talk around some very big things indeed.
Cast of Characters:	Chibiusa Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba, Usagi Tsukino

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Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa watches as a barrage of rain crash against the windows of the bus she's currently sitting in. Luna-P is in parasol form, still dripping wet. There's not much point in shaking it off, because she's about to get right back in it.

    This is so weird. She screwed up so bad. Pluto didn't even know her. One of her very few real friends in the whole world, and she didn't even recognize her. Mamoru and Usagi not knowing her is no big surprise, because she hasn't even been born yet, but Pluto is timeless. At least, her Pluto was. No, really, the Senshi of Time and Space shouldn't even be here. She should be guarding the Door, which only further confirms it.

    How far off course did she have to go in order to end up in an era that had a completely different Pluto?!

    It left her feeling lost. She didn't know how to feel about the people around her, whether or not these alternate senshi would even consider her problems to be worth addressing. Whether or not this Usagi or Mamoru would even care.

    Whatever. They don't have to care. As long as she gets the Silver Crystal.

    ... but that line of thinking feels so lonely.

    The bus comes to a stop, and Chibiusa disembarks, opening up her frilly yellow-and-red umbrella to shield herself from the rain. Some of it still gets on her, around her legs and shoes. She looks ahead, seeing Mamoru's apartment, and starts heading that way. This is where she arrived, and it's possible that this is also where she'll some day have to depart.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Grounding embraces, being looked after, being let to have quiet alone time-- all things that help Mamoru with terrifying painful helpless situations, like the one that happened when they just all, a bunch of them, went off to just have fun...

Mamoru's having some of that quiet alone time, but he's more or less done for now, since he's moved on to peoplewatching on his balcony, under the unrolled umbrella awning attached above it.

That's when he sees Sad Girl in Rain, a tiny figure with big pink hair with rabbit-ear odango and a cute parasol. He leans over the balcony and waves. "Chibiusa!" he calls out, sounding glad to see her, "I'll come get you! Four seconds!"

He disappears inside the apartment, and literally four seconds later, the sidewalk-level door to one side of the big glass windows on the ground floor-- it opens, and Endymion's holding it for Chibiusa (and Luna, if she makes herself known).

Yes: Endymion, Prince style, who's dressed in rich dark colors, who has gleaming metal armor on his shoulders and at his waist and boots, who has a sword, who is suddenly more recognisable as looking just like her dad-- apart from the clothes, there's something more familiar.

"Quick," he laughs, "before you get even more drenched. I'll change back once we get upstairs, okay?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Luna had followed Chibiusa out into the rain, which, more than anything else, is a mark of true dedication and love. What else could she do, though? She was hardly going to let a strange young child wander off alone, just think of the trouble she could get up to!

Only, she's been following her for a while, and she hasn't caused any trouble, and she hasn't gotten caught into any, either. In fact, she's just looking somber and sad, protected from the rain by her parasol, and maybe she should just reveal herself and see if the quiet girl would share her thoughts?

Before those thoughts can become a reality, there's Mamoru calling out and Endymion down on the ground floor with them, calmingly welcoming Chibiusa to his place, and Luna blinks, having not even realized just where their travels had taken them.

Well... this is probably for the best. Mamoru was fairly good with people, after all.

She reveals herself silently, slinking out from under the shelter of a parked car, tail lashing.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa nears the building, hears her name being called out in the rain, and looks up to see...

    Papa.

    He's here. Daddy's here and he's okay and he's come to take her home and...

    No. No, that's impossible. That is this world's Mamoru, appearing as Endymion, possibly to use his magic a bit more effectively.

    As Chibiusa goes through this emotional journey, she's brightly smiling for one moment, then trembling the next, and then gazing down at the ground being obviously melancholy after that. When she next looks at Mamoru, there's a tinge of sadness around the edge of her eyes, but she's also... considering him. Gauging him.

    Regardless of anything else, whether or not this is her 'real dad' in a way that matters, this is still someone who is concerned about her. Someone who cares. Someone she can probably trust, at least a little bit. That's... enough. For now at least. Right?

    She looks behind her and notes Luna's presence with a complete lack of surprise. The cats have been tracking her since the moment she showed up here, and even before that she'd grown used to her mother's smallest advisors being a constant presence. It would actually be somewhat surprising if one of them wasn't around. Some things don't change even across dimensions.

    Even so, considering that Chibiusa was expecting one of the cats to be nearby, it's pretty impressive that Luna managed to remain unseen. This, too, is something that Chibiusa is used to.

    She runs into the open door, next to alternate-to-her Endymion. She halfway closes her parasol and starts shaking the water off, only for it to turn back into Luna-P on its own and start shaking itself a bit. The small stranger makes sure to stand off to the side so that Luna can join them freely. She grabs Luna-P with one arm, and then reaches up to take Prince Endymion's hand.

    "Thank you."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Not oblivious to the emotional journey, he has eyes!!, Prince Endymion's gaze softens. He recognizes a sad and disappointed kid when he sees one.

He half-bends to give Luna an easier (slightly less tall) target, and there's plenty of cape to grab hold of, and now the back of his neck is wet, and he shivers, then takes Chibiusa's hand.

"You're very welcome," he says and in his ears it's distant and underwater, because it's different things he's hearing and seeing, a different time, a different... place...

Not a very different place. Close by, but old, old, old, and blasted and broken and smoking, a wreck with bodies around--

--and Mamoru breathes, and--

--what Chibiusa will feel from him is familiar, familiar, familiar. Warm golden calm, a connection to a long history... the history's just not as long, and the calm isn't as calm. The warmth is the same, though, and the feeling of refuge and comfort.

And then they're in the foyer with the genkan and closet, and Endymion bends to let Luna slide off before he drops his henshin and is bespectacled Mamoru in his t-shirt and jeans again. He won't let go of Chibiusa's hand before she does, but he does say, "Let me get you towels, at least. And one for Luna. Did you eat yet?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa looks at Mamoru's bare hand and considers, too late, what might happen. Daddy always knew things. Things that he shouldn't. Some might attribute that to royal wisdom or a good information network, and while King Endymion may certainly have such things, Small Lady is also aware that sometimes he just... sees things.

    Mamoru seems to have a similar reaction. Chibiusa can only guess at what it is that he saw, but... she can read his mood. Even before she feels the psychic connection, a daughter knows.

    Yet she doesn't say anything. Maybe she doesn't need to.

    She lets the handholding continue for a second longer than strictly necessary, if only to feel that familiar warmth, but then releases before shaking her head. "Not yet." She is, still, being quiet. Not really knowing what to say, and not wanting to say too much. It's hard to take back what's said, and easier to simply not say anything... But that doesn't really help some things do kinda need to be said.

    Most people have already guessed that she's from an alternate universe and, considering the portal she just dropped out of the other day, it'd be a fairly reasonable assumption. That much, at least, would be kinda pointless to deny or hide. Still...

    "Just so you know... I'm not an alternate-universe version of your girlfriend. We just have the same name." There's a moment of hesitation before she asks, "But... if such a person existed, how would you feel? What would you think of them?"

    After the words leave her mouth, she realizes that it's probably a dumb thing to ask. No, it's pretty selfish. She's not really trying to figure out how he'd feel about an alternate version of his future wife, after all. She's asking for her own sake.

    "Nevermind. Forget I asked."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I think," Mamoru says, considering seriously as he goes to the closest linen closet and pulls out a couple of towels, "that I would love them. I would try to understand them, what's different and what's the same. Is there a scenario, a... situation this would be in? Or just in general?"

As he hands Chibiusa the towel and lays the other one down for Luna, he asks Luna, "Do you want me to dry you off, or... Anko is on the kotatsu, but she'll always make room for you."

But then his full attention's on Chibiusa again, and he offers help with the towel if it's too big (it's so big, it's so big and fluffy it's practically a blanket of a towel next to Chibiusa). "I have a bunch of food that Mako-chan made for me, and I was thinking of curry. Does that sound reasonable, or do you want to look through the fridge?"

He's just calm, and warm, and matter-of-fact. "And, thank you for letting Luna and Anko follow you around. We worry, but don't want to crowd you. And... sorry yesterday turned into such an awful mess. We'll have to try again."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Mamoru's shoulder has certainly been dampened by Luna's presence, the mau cat kindly electing to avoid shaking out her fur so long as she's riding him -

But once they're in the foyer, she leaps down and promptly shakes out, spattering ankles as she tries to dry off, keeping an ear on the conversation. Is this the part where they get some answers? Perhaps, but she should likely offer an explanation of her own.

"I do hope I haven't bothered you, Chibiusa. Keeping an eye out is more for your safety than anything else. As you've seen, Tokyo can be very dangerous, but no one wants you to feel locked down, either."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa takes a moment to consider Mamoru's answer, which means that there's a pause before she responds. Time enough to ask about food, and about whether Luna wants to be dried off. Chibiusa is small and the fluffy towel is big, so she wraps it tightly around her. It's not as if she's never had to dry herself off before, but she is still a small child and she sees nothing improper about the offer for help. "I've got it," she says, trying to be strong and capable (like mom) despite the fact that it's clearly to big for her to consistently keep it off the ground.

    Luna-P is also caught under the towel, and as she floats up the big fluffy cloth starts to resemble a sheet ghost.

    "I don't mind cats," she confesses. "Especially not cats who talk." There's a moment when she considers talking about Diana, but... nah. That's saying too much. "Yesterday was scary, but I don't know how it could've been handled better. At least that lady won't be able to steal or break your... whatever that was again."

    Yeah, this kid has seen death before. Chibiusa isn't bothered by it at all. Alt-mom killed them so they were probably really bad, right? Though maybe Usagi is more like a 'big sister' here.

    "Anyways... I'll eat Mako-chan's food anytime!" Wait... Has she even met Makoto in this timeline yet? Chibiusa realizes that slip up too late. Would the cats notice? What if they ask Makoto and realize that she's never even met Chibiusa yet? Geeze...

    After deciding that Mamoru's previous answer to her question was good enough, she finally says, "It's just something I think about. If the people you meet in other worlds are the 'same people' deep down, or if having different memories and being from another world makes them... disconnected." After a pause, she says, "I'd like to think... if I met a copy of someone who mattered to me in another world, even if their experiences and personality were different... there'd still be a bond there, maybe. There'd still be love."

    After a moment she says, "Maybe 'copy' isn't the right word. It's a bit rude."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The laugh's an affectionate one, amused by Luna-P's towel ghost and by the sight in general. "Here, let me get this part for you-- I know you've got it, but this should make it easier," he says, partially taking the towel for a moment and folding it over so it's cape length for her, or shawl-length more like.

"Oh yeah, it was handled really well. That was the first time Sailor Moon's ever used that attack! And a new weapon! That was so cool. And you were quick and clever with Luna-P, and very brave when Eudial went after you," he finishes, leading Chibiusa toward the kitchen.

All the lights are off in the vast living room, and the evening lights of the city play with the rain on the windows to make cool patterns in light and shadow on the wall and floor. The kitchen's lights are warm, though, and the table right next to the kitchen counter has cushions on the seats and handy ladder-rung bars on all the sides. The kitchen floor is a colorful mosaic, and the cabinets are golden varnished wood.

Mamoru moves to the fridge and grins quick and bright back at the small pink-haired girl as he opens it up. "Mako-chan's cooking is the best," he agrees, and he doesn't ask. He hasn't asked about whatever he saw, either. Instead, he just takes out a couple of individually packaged meals with a small smile and puts one in the microwave, starting it.

Then he turns around and leans back against the counter, considering what Chibiusa says again. "Counterpart? But no, I understand what you mean." For a moment, Mamoru looks past Chibiusa at the darkening windows behind her, chewing on his lower lip and thinking, strangely, of Kyouka for a moment. And then he says, dark blue eyes focused through wire-rim glasses, "There's-- bonds like that, yeah. Everyone has different connections to places and people, and there's a sort of resonance to each person that's different. And when someone's close, when there's love, it can persist across lifetimes-- so why not across dimensions, too?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Usagi showed me that rod when she arrived home yesterday," Luna hums, "It's very distinct - nothing like anything Queen Serenity wielded, which is fitting. It sounds like you were very brave yesterday."

This is a matter of fact compliment, Luna observing the little girl and her Luna-P carefully. Unusually brave, honestly. It wasn't typical for small children to keep their heads when those they loved were in danger.

As far as the subject of counterparts goes, she can only concur. "When you love someone, what is a counterpart but more to love?" Ultimately and truly, isn't that what matters?

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa doesn't fuss or fight when Mamoru helps her with the overly large towel. She wears it like a shawl, because that seems more appropriate somehow. Capes are for heroes. She doesn't feel heroic. Even if Mamoru might say otherwise.

    Chibiusa shakes her head. "Bravery isn't enough. All I did was distract her for a second. If I were alone..." She holds Luna-P a little more tightly in both hands for a moment, pressing her thumb against the toy and fidgeting. That's a hard sentence to finish, but... she probably doesn't need to. "I wish I was as strong as Sailor Moon."

    She glances towards the table near the kitchen while listening to the rain outside, then decides to take a seat there. The thought of helping out crosses her mind, but she doesn't know where things are yet, or how Mamoru does things in this era.

    Counterpart seems like a better word, so it's the one she decides to go with. "I think, even if a counterpart is a 'different'... they can still remind you of someone you care about. Still be like them. Whatever made you care about one version might still be found in the other. Whether they're the 'same person' or not... they're just as valid."

    Chibiusa relaxes a bit as she thinks about that. She feels less alone, now, because even if she's in the wrong world she's still surrounded by family. Even if they don't know her, they're still treating her with love and respect.

    Despite the fact that her goals put her at odds with them. She still needs that Silver Crystal. But... that can wait. She has all the time in the world. She has a Time Key. Assuming she can even go back.

    She glances at Luna, and then at Mamoru. "That... probably sounds like a dumb question, but... you humored me, so thanks."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
She says she wishes she were as strong as Sailor Moon, and as the microwave beeps and Mamoru takes the plate out, he keeps listening. It's hot, so he leaves it on the counter, and comes and brings chopsticks and napkins down, putting them on the table in front of her, and across from him, and he puts down a placemat at the end of the table for Luna. It's like a cushion.

"I'm glad Sailor Moon and all our friends can protect me," he says honestly, "and I'm happy when I can protect people too. Everyone is stronger together. If you were alone, that would have been bad, but... you weren't. So stick with us! We'll look after you until we can get you... home..."

Mamoru trails off, then says softly as he puts Chibiusa's bowl in front of her, "I won't ask you about it. But you can tell me, and maybe we can help. If you want to ask more questions instead, you can do that too."

Mamoru grins, then, getting out Luna's carefully guarded sashimi and putting it on the table. "I didn't think it sounded dumb at all."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You know, Sailor Moon was very frightened when she started out. A bit of a crybaby, really. It's only because of help from all her friends that she's able to stand so strong now."

Perhaps... This could be a lesson... an invitation... an example? Luna doesn't stare her down, though. She eats her carefully guarded sashimi in neat bites, ignoring Anko's big eyes.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    The table is being set out, and Chibiusa watches. She reaches up to hold the chopsticks in her hands for a moment. Now that she's starting to relax, she's realizing that she is actually a bit hungry. She feels... at peace, here. Sure, it's different from home, but... it's the same in all the ways that matter.

    Looking at Luna with a raised eyebrow, she says, "A crybaby? Really?" Then she thinks about just how much Usagi has complained about things recently, most of those things being Chibiusa's fault. "I guess I could see that but..."

    She thinks about it, then she frowns and looks away, "... I don't think you should come with me when I go home. It's way too dangerous. Even to someone like Sailor Moon. I shouldn't have gone that way either, but..." She pauses to find the right words to say, fails at that, and then gives up. She looks up at the ceiling that she dropped from just the other day. Then she gazes out the rain-drenched window. "... I needed to go someplace where no one could follow me."

    Because surely, no one evil would ever come from the other-future to try and murder her. Nah, that could never happen.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Anko sounds tragic from where she's sitting, smol and helpless and all alone and betrayed and filled with unending misery, "Anko is abandoned and hungry, Luna," she starts, melting into a stretching and spreading puddle of cat on the floor. "Mamorrrru is hearrrtless!" Her extremely fluffy hair makes this that much funnier-looking as she reaches from the land of the dead, grasping hopelessly at the air, claws in, claws out.

"Stop being so dramatic, Anko-chan," Mamoru sighs, making his own bowl and bringing it over too. "You had yours today. I made a mistake." He doesn't look anything but rueful, at least.

It's nothing like home, but it still feels like--

"She wasn't that much of a crybaby. I mean, she bullied a Dark General into protecting her friend from the youma while she fought it, the first time she henshined," the teenaged prince protests to Luna, who lives with Usagi. "But I mean, we're all teenagers, you expect us to act like adults all the time?" he asks her, mock put out.

Mamoru stirs his rice and his curry together, then says, "Itadakimasu~" and digs in. He's silent for a moment as he eats and thinks about what Chibiusa's saying.

Finally, Mamoru pushes up his glasses and swallows, then says thoughtfully, "I mean, you want the Silver Crystal to fix something really bad that happened, right? But you need Sailor Moon for it to work, Chibiusa-chan. It's her heart, it's the power of her heart."

He glances toward the window, too, focusing on a streak being left by a large drop, and he hmms. "It's a good thing you're staying with Usako at the dorms. The school's highest administration's put up a ward against dark energy on the grounds. It's a great place for avoiding being followed by people who might hurt you."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa hears Anko's complaints with a frown. "How much sashimi have you had recently? You get offered it every time you follow me around." She is, of course, ribbing the dramatic cat a bit. Even if it doesn't really show on her face.

    Now that she thinks about it, a lot of the discrepancies she's seen here are pretty easily explained by the fact that she's from a different world. Anko being here, for one. All of the other kinds of magic. A story about Sailor Moon bullying a Dark General seems like a story she'd have heard from her parents, though.

    She thinks about that as she says, "Itadakimasu~," in a very similar way to Mamoru, but also different, maybe slightly more emphasis on a sing-songy nature. Then she eats. It's only when he starts talking again that she responds.

    "... She's not the only one who can use it." she objects. In theory, at least. Chibiusa considers the crystal hanging around her neck, next to the key. She has not let that gem leave her person once since arriving here, but not once has it responded to her in a way that was helpful. "... Unless... that's different here too..."

    The ward is mentioned, and Chibiusa considers. "A ward... is that why it feels different now?" So, if someone comes after her... "Then... I'll probably spend a lot of time there. Just in case."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Well, the Dark General was remarkably polite, some of the time," Luna says, with clear amusement, "But I live with her, and she is most definitely a crybaby. She'll tell you herself, if you ask - well, she'll tell Mamoru-kun. It's unlikely she'll admit it to you, Chibiusa-chan."

No, in fact, she would probably be irritable with Luna for admitting this. But that's a problem for Usagi, not Luna.

As for Anko...

"You are very loved, Anko." It's on the tip of her tongue to say that perhaps if Anko had followed Chibiusa in the rain, she would be fed, but Luna holds back; there's every chance Anko would decide to just immediately throw herself into the rain.

She nibbles at her sashimi, enjoying it for a long moment, before considering, and pushing the plate with a paw, implicitly offering the remainder to Anko.

"You're correct, in that others can make use of the Silver Crystal. Queen Serenity was very adept with it's power. But it is Usagi's crystal, her power, that truly allows it to shine. If you want it's power, you want Sailor Moon, too."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"You know about that?" Mamoru asks Chibiusa sheepishly, uselessly. "Of course you do. It's all she talks about now, isn't it."

He sighs and leans down to scritch Anko, who snubs him and jumps past his face and smacks him with her tail on the way. As he sputters and brushes his hands over his face, Anko sidles next to Luna and deposits herself, then licks Luna's head in thanks and hunches over to finish off the rest of the sashimi.

And they all eat except for Luna for another moment, as Mamoru considers how to put what he wants to say. Finally, head lifting, he says, "I've only ever seen Usako and her Silver Millennium mother use it. And as I understand it, it's also her soul. It getting smashed would kill her like my heart crystal getting smashed would have done the same to me, wouldn't it?" He sighs. "But that's all theoretical. If something is too big for Sailor Moon, you call Sailor Moon and her friends."

He looks to Luna as if for reassurance, then back to Chibiusa. "That's definitely why it feels different. School was a lot more relaxing today, wasn't it? It felt safe for the first time ever, for me." A breath. "It's a really good idea for you to be where it's safe, yeah. You can always come here, but Kazuo and I aren't always home. So if someone's chasing you and nobody's around, school's the place to run to."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Queen Serenity could use it. Neo Queen Serenity could use it. Usagi Small Lady Serenity can't seem to do a thing with it. Her tiny hands grip her chopsticks a little tighter. She doesn't voice her fears or frustrations, but she feels them very strongly.

    "But... she..." Chibiusa freezes up. Neo Queen Serenity should've been able to stop what happened, but she couldn't and it was her daughter's fault. The Silver Crystal hanging from her neck feels especially heavy today. Chibiusa took it for a reason. At first it was because she had something to prove, and she hasn't proven it yet. Now it's because she has to keep it away from the enemy. She could tell them that she can use it too, that she should be able to, but those are empty words when the one she already has wont even respond to her.

    "I can't go back right now, and I don't know when I'll be able to, but even if I could..." She shakes her head. "Even with all of her friends... No."

    After a pause, she asks, "Who is Kazuo? Does he live here, too?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
They're not voiced, but fear and frustration are visible in that tiny frame, on that cute baby face. Mamoru's feeling really bad for her, and wishing he could take some of that burden from her, and then she asks who Kazuo is and it's Mamoru's turn to briefly freeze. For a different reason.

"He lives here too," he confirms. "If you see him fighting alongside me, he's Kunzite, just like Jadeite - Tamaki - was there to help yesterday. There are two others, Nephrite and Zoisite -- Masato and Izou, but we call them Neph and Zoi. They're my guardians, like the other Senshi are Sailor Moon's, and I'll introduce you to them all as soon as possible so you know who else will help you out in a pinch."

He considers.

She's five.

"Let's go shopping with Usako tomorrow, you need other clothes," he decides.