954/Our tallest thing needs us

Our tallest thing needs us
Date of Scene:	01 January 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Chrono grabs Haruka and Michiru early on christmas morning to go grab their lost planet before she can go rogue. (Prior to Where in Space/Time is Setsuna Meiou?)
Cast of Characters:	Chrono Harlaown, Haruka Tenoh, Michiru Kaiou

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Chrono Harlaown has posed:
It was the morning of Christmas and all through Chrono's mind ran tales of... okay, no, he wasn't thinking this in rhyme.

Setsuna needed their help. The moment she'd gone back into that void he'd begun to get suspicious. She'd had a job to do, of course... but...

Once the job was done, the task was as well. And he'd seen enough shows, chatted with her, even lodged at their house enough times at this point, that he could tell there was damage there. A lot of damage. SOOOOOO much damage. He'd seen soldiers like that before, ones who buckled and cracked under the pressure they were forced to live under. Setsuna was no different.

It wasn't that she wasn't strong, no. That would be stupid to think. But... Even if she was an ancient and immortal creature, physiologically she was still a teenager. Age was more than a number, it often was based on how the body, the mind, developed. And the formative years were important.

And if those formative years were spent isolated... Well, no. There was damage there. Damage he couldn't blame her for, any mind would buckle under such constant strain.

But the difference between now and then? Now she had friends who cared about her.

So Chrono and Rashmi had made a plan. Originally it was just going to be the two of them, but then Rashmi had asked if she had anyone else who should be there. Family. Friends...

'...they're crazy and they're mean and they tease me and don't take me seriously but they're my family and I love them...'

Those words echoed through his mind and he knew where he had to go. A quick delegation of duties, Rashmi to get the key, him to get her family, and they two had a plan.

So when Christmas Morning came and Setsuna wasn't home, the plan went into action. Which was why Chrono and Fenyx were on the front landing of Casa Del Outers and he reached out, lightly knocking on the door. Fenyx stood behind him, both bearing determined looks.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka was the one who answered the door, unfortunantly for Chrono. Doubly so because she answered the door groggily in a long button-up shirt with shorts underneath, but the shorts were the same color as the shirt. Her hair was... a mess... and yet she still looked some degree of dashing, because Haruka Tenoh is still Haruka Tenoh, even tired.

    Chrono and Fenyx look solidly determined to deal with something (at least until Chrono processes what's before him). "Whatever you're mad about, I didn't do it." Haruka says, still waking up obviously. "But if you need me to go kick somebody's butt you'll have to wait for coffee."

    "But seriously, what's all this about." she asks, bringing her hands up to smooth out her hair which works out better for her than it strictly should.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown had planned for much. So much.

He had expected Haruka to come out in like. Pajamas. Or something cute. He hadn't expected her to just come out in a shirt. He quickly turned away, the blush on his face so intense she could likely feel it.

"T-Tenoh-san, it's not about kicking someone's butt." Pause. "Well, we may need to, but that's currently plan B. We need to go save Meiou-san, from herself. So, um. Please put on some pants. Or a fuku." Oh, that was a big enough hint.

Meanwhile, Fenyx just stared at Haruka. Finally... "He's not mad at you. He's more... annoyed, I believe. Well. Now he's flustered. Is your other half home?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka frowned at him. "I'm wearing shorts. I wouldn't answer the door in nothing but a shirt." she pauses. "Probably, anyways." She's not awake enough to not say that.

    She listens to Chrono and it's obvious her pre-coffee gears are turning slowly. But they are turning. "Oh, has she not left the Weird Space of No Stuff yet? I really was hoping she'd be home today... way. Today?! She was looking forward to today for so long, she got stuff and... why isn't she here?" she sighs and shakes her head.

    "Okay, I'll go see if I can rouse Michi. Do you want to wait outside or come in?" she asks. She'll help Chrono with whichever then go to knock on Michiru's door.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
There was no need to rouse Michi. She was awake. She'd been awake. She's one of those annoying morning people. She just had not yet emerged from her suite because she didn't expect either of her roommates to be up early, and so she decided to start her Christmas off with a nice, long soak. As Chrono knocked on the door, she was just toweling off, and slipping into her teal, silk house robe to wander out and find the other girls and some breakfast.

But then she hears Haruka at the front door, and so she emerges, her robe only down to her mid-thigh, and her hair spun up in a towel. She see's Chrono at the door and Haruka looking concerned. She's no dummy. That can mean only one thing.

"She's not even here, is she."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a nod. "Yup. She's still there, she'll likely not be coming out until we go get her. Rashmi is getting our way in as we speak." He uhhhh. Wasn't touching the 'nothing but a shirt' comment. He knew his life. It was the kind of thing that was almost guaranteed to happen to him. So he wasn't even going to pretend he didn't expect her to do something like that to him.

"I'll come inside and get started on the coffee and breakfast. You have twenty minutes."

And then there was Michiru. And yup, there was that blush again. Fenyx reached out and covered his eyes with her arms and just... walked him away. Good bird.

The pair would, of course, head into the kitchen... And well... Within 20 minutes there would be some food. Simple eggs, hot coffee, Chrono tidying up. They were going to go save Pluto, they'd need their energy. Also, it helped Chrono NOT think about the two breathtaking girls upstairs prepping to go rescue another breathtaking beauty.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka didn't intend to mess with Chrono this morning. She didn't know Chrono was coming over! She's not responsible for this. So once the Michiru's presence had been confirmed she went back into her room and got a t-shirt and jeans. Just standard Haruka lazing around the house gear. And something that would probably make Chrono feel more at ease, dressing boymode like that.

    Haruka blew the steam off her coffee before drinking it, looking up. "So yeah. I guess we have to go drag her out. I was afraid it would come to this." She says. "Thanks for the coffee and breakfast, Chrono-kun." He'd been over enough times, and anybody who was going to help her pull Setsuna off of whatever spiral she was in was at least close enough to be distant found family. "Neat bird-lady."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
"Thank you, Chrono-kun," Michiru says, before she walks over to Haruka, puts her hands up on Haruka's biceps, then presses up onto her tiptoes to kiss the blonde. Then she's back off to her suite. She re-emerges dressed in a teal sweater dress with a brown leather belt and brown knee-high boots. her hair cascades down over her shoulders. She never does anything casual.

Coffee and breakfast. It may be simple, but she didn't make it, and the boy who did clearly cares about Setsuna. So it's wonderful all the same. As she finishes a bite of eggs and sip of coffee, she agrees with Haruka. "Yes, thank you again."

Then a moment later, "So you said Rashmi was getting us a way there?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small nod. "Mmmmm hm. Setsuna-san has been doing this job for a long, long, long time. In isolation. That will mess with anyone and, frankly, it becomes fairly apparent the more you watch the way she interacts with the world. Especially when she was... ahhhhh... tiny." Shorter even than him. It was glorious.

Fenyx nodded to Haruka. She WAS a neat bird lady. The neatest.

"She's strong, but even the toughest mind will break eventually. And it's not hard for someone to go back to auto-pilot when they get a shock to the system." He glanced to Haruka, but didn't say anything in regards to that. Even if she HAD nearly stabbed him.

"It is possible that she'll snap out of it on her own. But it's also possible the longer we wait, the deeper she'll drift into that role. In a situation like this, it's not unprecedented for someone to even fight their allies in order to keep doing what they believe is their 'duty'. The uhhhh... princess... is being informed of the situation and, should we not be able to calm her down... plan C will be involving her personally, possibly along with another temporary mage of the TSAB. But, hopefully, it won't come to that. You'll both want to be in uniform for this, though."

"In the end, we're all soldiers, of varying types. And it'll be important that she knows that. There's more to being a soldier than just the battles we fight."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka didn't take the glance to her negatively. She was there for that, after all. "Plus all of this battlefield psychology stuff is neat, but there's also more going on than just that. I don't know how much Setsuna is feeling the pull of her Guardian - maybe this is all just what Chrono says it is - but with me, when Serenity woke up... for a little bit, I was only Sailor Uranus, guardian of the princess and her beloved. Haruka Tenoh was... buried for a little bit." she says. "It's not just a sense of personal duty or loyalty or expectation that guides us. Or at least not me. It can also be the fact that we are reincarnated spirits. Might be the same way for Pluto. So I think it's a good idea for us to go as Uranus and Neptune, not as Haruka and Michiru."

    "When I went all guard-dog mode, I didn't pick up the other Senshi as threats, but I saw pretty much everybody else there as possible threats to Serenity. So having us in 'uniform' may be more than just helpful."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
"It'll be a little different for Setsuna," Michiru says, looking toward Haruka as she polishes off the last of her eggs. She's an efficient eater. "Because she's not reincarnated like we are. She spent a very long time in that void. It is not surprising she's gone back after such a big shock. It's what she knows best." Even if it's not what's best for her.

"But she's almost as stubborn as you are, and if she's got it in her head she needs to be there, that's where she'll be," she concludes. She picks up her mug of coffee and takes a big drink. Was it even cooled off yet? She doesn't care.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a small nod. He didn't... fully understand all this reincarnation stuff. He did understand 'immortal', though. Sailor Senshi things were their bag, time and space was his. To each their own. He did take a few extra moments to wash the dishes and set them up to dry, though. Why? Because it was easier to clean as they were used, rather than later. And when Setsuna came home, the last thing she'd need was to worry about a bunch of dishes. Also, it helped keep him calm, to focus. To be useful.

But the food was done and he pulled out his card, henshining mid step as he made his way towards the door.

He had her family, Rashmi would have the key.

It was time to get their planet. Because in the end, her classification wouldn't change to them.