738/Orbital Alignment

Orbital Alignment
Date of Scene:	10 November 2023
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Sailor Moon and Sailor Eris meet face to face - or rather, Usagi and Hikaru do. Names are exchanged and communicators too.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Hikaru Amanaka

---

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A meeting date had been worked out, and Usagi had suggested they meet up out of henshin, just in case anyone happened to wander onto the roof. No need to risk someone remembering they saw a weird cosplayer - or a vigilante - on the roof of the dorms, right?

So there was Usagi, waiting in a pink turtle neck and black skirt - pink leggings, to keep warm - on the roof, playing a phone game to pass the time, wandering what Eris was going to be like in the flesh. Luna wasn't around - she was following after Makoto today, probably as much to get snacks as to keep catching the newest Senshi up on things.

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
It had taken Hikaru a bit of time to finally work up the courage to leave her dorm room and head up towards the roof. The agreement to meet had been easy--making it happen now is the difficult part. She's dressed simply--jeans, a comfy blue jacket over a burnt-orange t-shirt. Tennis shoes. Normal. Normal. She clambers up the stairs, then pauses at the door to run a hand through her hair--it feels a little weird when it's short, when she remembers the weight of it as Eris. Then--she takes a breath and tugs the door open and steps out.

She winces as the autumn breeze swirls at her too-short hair, leaving her looking ruffled. Is that girl Sailor Moon? Hikaru hesitates.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's the noise of the door opening that catches Usagi's attention, her ears having been pricked in anticipation. She pauses her game - glad she prefers the sort she can pause, rather than real time battles for her phone - and turns around to see -

Oh, it's a boy. That's... probably not Sailor Eris, then? But -

Her puzzlement is obvious on her face, and then she shrugs and decides to investigate, at least a little.

"Hey there! I'm just waiting for someone - I hope the roof has enough space for both of us."

There are a few chairs, a few places to sit - the roof isn't encouraged per se, but because the school officials know that people are going to be up here, they've tried to make it comfortable.

"Does um... Eris mean anything to you?"

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru stands there for a long moment, feeling almost rooted in place as she looks back at Usagi. She's probably seen the other girl around, maybe even shared a class? She's pretty. Feminine. In a way it makes Hikaru feel like her chest is getting tighter. She wants that, right? She thinks? It's still confusing. She takes a breath as Usagi speaks. Tries to smile.

"Oh, uh. I'm supposed to meet someone. I can stay out of your way..." Soft-spoken. Polite. She's always been that way, even before all this happened. Then the girl says the name Eris and Hikaru freezes again. Stares. Her mouth opens. Closes.

"Um," she says. "I... Yeah. That's me."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a moment where Usagi just looks at the delicate featured, slight framed person awkwardly, and her expression isn't unwelcoming, but she does look a little puzzled - then she remembers more of their conversation, and considers what she should say, as she bounces to her feet and walks over to greet her newest ally.

"Usagi Tsukino, Grade 9! Um, would you like Eris-kun or Eris-chan?" There's probably a better way to ask, but she can't think of it.

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru exhales slightly and tries to smile as Usagi just... walks up. Friendly as can be and asks that question very straightforwardly and easily. It's almost a relief? Hikaru nods her head.

"Um... Hikaru Amanaka, Grade 9." A pause. "...I... Eris-chan, I guess? It feels complicated. Sorry."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Nothing to apologize for! I'm Class C, by the way. Good to know we're in the same grade!" For Usagi, it's easy to roll with it, and her smile quirks as she says, "I guess if IO'm going to call you Eris-chan, you could call me Moon-chan - but I'm Usagi-chan too, if you want to be Hikaru-chan. Or Hika-chan."

That last his her musing, because she does tend to shorten everyone else's names, give them cute little nicknames that no one's protested too much just yet. "It's good to meet you in the flesh!"

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru can't help the embarrassed little blush that spreads across her cheeks as Usagi's enthuiastic cuteness washes over her. Usagi is... very pretty and very enthusiastic and very friendly in a way that Hikaru can't help but be touched by. She gives a little smile. She glances away, suddenly bashful.

"Maybe if it's just when we're around friends?" She added with a laugh. "I've never had a nickname like that before."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Ah, really? Then I'll definitely keep that one for with friends, Hika-chan," and they're friends, already, instantly. "I'm really glad we could meet up - there's a lot going on, and I know all this magic stuff can be confusing and kind of scary."

She'd been kind of on her own, as far as Senshi were concerned, when she started, save for Luna - hey, wait. "How'd you transform, the first time?"

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
"Thanks, Tsukino-san..." Hikaru says, blushing even harder at the casual intimacy with which Usagi has started to treat her. She's never had close friends and it feels weird. Weird, but good too? She fidgets. Smiles. How is she gonna explain that?

"It's... It feels kind of like a dream. There were dreams. I was in a beautiful place that felt very distant and also very familiar. Like... Uh.... Almost home. But not? It was beautiful and I remember that I was beautiful--I looked in a mirror and I had long, flowing hair and this pretty face and--anyway! I had to help someone. A queen? Or maybe a princess?" She frowns.

"I remember I had this.... I found this pen or whatever in my pencil bag? It looked like something from an anime and I thought maybe it was something that used to belong to my older sister. But... I was walking home and there was this um... a monster, I guess? And it was going to attack someone and I couldn't--I didn't want to just sit by and let it happen and the words just came to my mind--maybe I'd dreamed them before? And I transformed and uh. It felt like getting hit by a truck because it just opened up all these feelings that I didn't realize I'd had, but I did have and--and I didn't want to be a boy. I wasn't a boy, I guess? But I don't know if you can like, just stop being a boy, but Eris is a girl, right?" She trails off, having talked herself into a state of mild confusion. "Sorry. That was a lot and I was just babbling."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Usagi-chan," she corrects stubbornly, but just the once, settling in as she does to listening to the story. Dreams, again, and a princess. She'd had dreams, too. Though - none where she could see her own face. But Hika-chan is beautiful. Short hair instead of long, sure, but very pretty nonetheless - Usagi revolves to say it later, if only because that's probably not the most important part of the story.

"It wasn't babbling! I probably would have - found it really hard to explain what happened to me too. And you said it hasn't been long, right?"

Like a month or two, if she remembered right...

"I didn't remember anything, when I got my pen from Luna - she's my cat, she can talk, I'll introduce you, promise - but I had to fight a monster, too, and save someone... so maybe your pen just knew where it needed to be...?"

Hm...

"I've had dreams too. About a different life. And so have some of the others - well, maybe not dreams, but they remember bits and pieces."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
"U-Usagi-ch..." Hikari tries and then looks away, face flushed fire engine red. "I can't, sorry--it just feels way too familiar." She takes a breath, looks out past the edge of the roof for a moment.

"Uh. Maybe it did? I don't know--" Wait a second. "Is Luna your advisor?" She asks, stifling a laugh. "The one who sounded so formal?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"We'll keep trying," solemn voice, but her eyes twinkle with mischief. "Tsukino-chan thne, until you can manage!"

She's no choice but to surrender, for the moment. She might as well do it with some grace. Not everyone is as shamelessly close as she is!

And then she grins wide, giggling behind a hand. "She is! She didn't want to give it away until I knew you were you, because there's not that many people with cats in the dorms, and all, but she's my advisor, and also a cat. She does really like laser pointers."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
"Heh. I'll have to bring her some fish as a thank you for being there to help me, too," Hikaru says with a slight smile. "Um... I feel better already, honestly. Knowing other people are going through this, too. You said there were others, right?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oh, she'll love that. And there are others! A lot of others, actually," Usagi counts them off on her fingers, "Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto! And, all of them but Mars and Uranus, are connected to the school, I think - Uranus could be, I guess, but I don't know for sure... and that's just the Senshi. There are lots of other people who have magic."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
"Oh, yeah! I met Uranus and Neptune. They were both gorgeous, heh. We ran into each other hunting a youma," she explains, gesturing with her hands. "I don't know any of the others, but I hope I get to meet them soon. And that... um. They'll be okay with me." That same nervousness returning at the thought of others knowing her identity.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"If they aren't, they're not as cool as I thought," Usagi says honestly, "But I don't think anyone will. You're Hika-chan, and you just gotta carry that!"

That could be insensitive - might rbe, more than she intends. But it's what she honestly thinks, so what else can she same but that?

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
"Ah... Y-Yeah, you're right..." Hikaru admits with a smile. It still makes her head spin a little to be called Hika-chan so easily. It makes her feel... good? She thinks. She bites at her lip for a moment, tries to work out what else she can even say--

"Oh, um. You said you had a communicator?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oh, right! I almost forgot - here!" A hand digs into her pocket, and she digs out a communicator, gold and white, with the astrological symbol for Eris embossed on it. It looks like a wrist watch, with a face that can flip up.

"Here, so this is how you use it - just do this, and this, and you can call between the frequences for all of us -"

She demonstrates quickly, "And this is how you can text," another quick demonstration, "And now it's yours! Mars-chan always reminds me to make sure we only use our Senshi names, not our real ones, because you never know if you'll get a call."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru reaches out to accept the communication and peers at it with open curiosity. "Whoa. It has a symbol for me and everything..." She murmurs as she begins to fasten it to her wrist, nodding at Usagi. She gets this, yeah? Yeah! She grins, feeling a genuine little flutter of excitement and happiness in her chest that in some way reassures her that this is all going to work out.

"I'll do my best to remember! I promise!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Once Luna knew your other name, she made it to match," Usagi explains, "She didn't know what colors you like, so she used the defaults - if you want a new color though, you can ask, and she'll do it for you! She says it's important to have things that feel like ours."

She shows off her own communicator - a new one, after her experience at the Culture Festival, pink, embossed with the symbol of her transformation broach - the crescent moon with a gem set in it's curve, and four colorful orbs surrounding it. "This one's mine. You can reach me whenever you need me; I mean, you had my cellphone, but these communicators will work even if you're in a barrier. Luna says they'd even work on the Moon... but it's not like any of us would ever go there."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
"Thanks. I think the colors are fine--they're nice," Hikaru says with a small smile. "Yours is really, really pretty though--and all the way on the moon? No way--!" She laughs. "Um. I do have to do some homework, but.... I'll be in touch. I hope I get to meet everyone else soon, too."