322/A weekend meeting.

A weekend meeting.
Date of Scene:	28 August 2023
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	Ami comes to visit Setsuna at home. Tea is had and various topics are discussed such as Prague and why Setsuna must never go back.
Cast of Characters:	Setsuna Meiou, Ami Mizuno

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Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Ah, the weekend! Days off! No need to be in school! Students can actually do things THEY want...WHEN they want.

Well, theoretically, at least. Real life tends to impose restrictions on that kind of thing...but there are far fewer on the weekends, at least!

Still, for some, weekends are a time to relax and take things easy. Such as one Setsuna Meiou. Who currently sits in the kitchen of her house sipping coffee and waking up for the day...well, to be fair, 'house' kind of undersells it. 'Mansion' is probably WAAAAAAAAAAY more accurate. She lives in a really swank neighborhood of Tokyo...a very high-income neighborhood.

When she gets Ami's text asking if she can come over, Setsuna arches an eyebrow, then shrugs and absently sends back an affirmative...then figures she'd probably better change and makes arrangements.

Thus, when Ami arrives at the front gate, it opens for her automatically...and the door is answered by Setsuna herself.

Unlike her normal, professional type of dress seen at the school, when Setsuna is at home, she apparently dresses a lot more casually...in this case, just a pair of knee-length denim shorts with a black T-shirt tucked into it. Said black t-shirt has yellow lettering in English which says, 'If You Can Read This, My Cloaking System Is Offline'.

Oh, and as might be expected, she's wearing sneakers with three inch wedge heels.

Seeing Ami, she smiles and waves the younger woman in, "Miss Mizuno, please enter freely and of your own will."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami steps into Setsuna's yard and smiles to Setsuna. "Hi," she says cheerfully. "I brought cookies from the bakery down the street," she adds, lifting up the bag with them in a box. She's dressed in a blue dress, with a white cardigan over it. "You look comfortable!" She grins at the words on the shirt. "Star Trek, huh?" she teases, before looking around. "I really like your home, Miss Meiou," she adds, eyes slightly wide. Ami's no stranger to money, but the house is amazing as opposed to her mother's penthouse apartment.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Recognion of the source of her shirt gets a smile from the older woman, "Precisely, Miss Mizuno."

Setsuna leads Ami down the hall. Various decorations are here and there...but they appear to be mostly generic. Nothing that seems to be tied to the green haired nurse.

Also, oddly, there are a series of arrows printed on what appears to be sheets of A4 paper (bog standard printer paper) taped to one wall at regular intervals. Each of them is kind of stylishly curlycue in design...and the color is a yellowish shade that, as a hair color is generally described as 'dishwater blonde'.

Setsuna turns off before the last one leads into a different room...and into what is likely the entertainment or living room. There's a huge tv over on one side, a sound system surrounding it and at various points around the room, and plenty of bookshelves full of media.

Stepping in, Setsuna waves over to one side of the room where there's a small table with some comfortable looking chairs, and what appears to be a modernized tea set (electric kettle, a choice of mugs, a wide variety of both bagged and loose teas, and several different varieties of sweetener as well as milk for those that take it that way), "Please have a seat. What brings you to my humble abode on this fine afternoon?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami nods, inclining her head at the smile. "I prefer Deep Space Nine, but it's all great," she says. She follows Setsuna, looking around with open curiosity as they walk down the hall. She raises an eyebrow at the arrows, but says nothing, just walks behind her host.

"Thank you for having me," she says once they're in the living room, giving a small bow as she moves toward the table in question. She sits, and looks up at Setsuna with a smile. She doesn't mince her words, and just opens with: "I hear we're teammates."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna stops dead and blinks when Ami drops her verbal bomb.

It's almost visible, the moment when she mentally changes gears, then she smiles a bit more broadly and sits, "Oh. It's going to be one of THOSE meetings, I see."

She quickly makes herself some green tea, and offers whatever Ami would like as she does, "Well, then...feel free to call me Setsuna when we're not in public, then." She tilts her head, "...I take it that Luna found you? How long ago was it?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami tilts her head, grinning a bit. "All right, Setsuna. You may call me Ami, then, in private. Naturally." She nods.

"Luna and Usagi, yes. And Rei." She sees nothing strange about Rei being Awakened before her. She starts making herself a cup of bagged green tea, waiting for it to steep, with the honey in reach. "Did she find you, too?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna shakes her head, "Oh, no, dear. I'm Sailor Pluto, the Senshi of Time. I got to take the long, slow trip to the present."

She snags a cookie, eats it, then takes a long sip of her tea, "...I would not reccomend it."

She gives a sigh and leans into her seat a little more, "I imagine you likely have lots of questions...and I probably have as much of them as Luna does...though perhaps not all the same ones for reasons that I'm sure will come up."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
That makes Ami pause a moment, eyebrow quirking. "Time," she says wonderingly, looking at Setsuna in a new light. There's a moment of all that weight settling in as she realizes how heavy a load Setsuna carries.

It takes her some time, but she drags herself away from her thoughts after a bit and clears her throat. The tea is done steeping by her estimation, and she takes care of that, busying herself with the ritual of teamaking and sweetening. "I see," she says finally, once her tea is to her liking and she has a cookie in hand. She's looking at Setsuna differently now. Not oddly, but there's definitely some kind of... awe in her expression. But she doesn't ask anything, just squares her slender shoulders. "I will answer anything I can to the best of my ability, Setsuna."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
It's apparent that the change in perception is noted, but Setsuna doesn't comment on it. Instead, she takes a long sip of her tea, then smiles a bit and says, "Ah? Is this to be a question for a question, then? Fair enough."

She sets her mug down and snags another cookie, "Then my first one is, which Senshi are you? Because if you haven't noticed, the magicks inherent in your binding are EXCEEDINGLY powerful if subtle. Even now that I know you're a Senshi because you've told me you are, I don't know which one...though from what I recall Luna saying before, you're either Mars or Mercury."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I don't want to ask my questions yet," Ami says. "I want to wait and see if you answer anything as we go, if you don't mind." The bluenette gives a smile. She's not trying to be threatening or overbearing, and is probably not succeeding in avoiding either. "I am Sailor Mercury," she says, tilting her head. She seems puzzled, but holds the question on the tip of her tongue.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
There's a moment when someone watching closely can almost see Setsuna relax a bit more. At the moment, one might be forgiven for assuming it's some kind of relief at being able to make that mental connection.

In truth, it's because she's officially that little bit less 'alone'...but that insight will perhaps only reveal itself in retrospect.

"Well then, Sailor Mercury...it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance once more." Setsuna gives a smile and a little wink, "So, then...what would you like to know?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami smiles and nods. "How many lifetimes have you seen?" It's both a softball and another bombshell. Her smile turns sympathetic.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
The question from Ami gets Setsuna to pause, and she gets a mildly faraway look as she considers how to answer that question. It could be taken as 'how many lives have you lived' or it could be 'how many human lifetimes have you been through'.

Eventally, Setsuna blows out a sigh and decides to simply answer both, "If you're asking how many lives I've lived? The answer is just the one. If the question is how many human lifetimes have I been around for? Hundreds. The Silver Milennium fell a little over fourteen thousand years ago."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami waits patiently, looking at Setsuna. She nods slowly, exhaling. She takes some time to process that. "Have we been reborn before? You said meet me again, but was that Sailor Mercury, or Ami Mizuno as Sailor Mercury?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna shakes her head, "No. This time around is the first time you've been reborn to the best of my knowledge. The spell the Queen used to send you all into the future had to have been tied very heavily to Destiny...and thus it is now that you're all being reincarnated and awakening."

She takes a pull from her tea, then continues, "And as Sailor Mercury. I'm sure I knew you as the Princess of Mercury back during the Silver Milennium...but..."

Here her expression darkens a bit, "...between all the years and recent exposure to a nearly catastrophic backlash, my memories of that time are fairly decent for the broad strokes, but the details have mostly been washed out."

She snorts, "From what Neptune has said, there's a very good chance that before long, you might remember more than *I* do, probably through dreams."

A pause, "...or maybe not. Neptune's possibly an outlier, as she's a bit of a seer."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami is taking SO many mental notes right now. She nods, wide-eyed. "Who all has awakened?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna Meiou says, "Well, Luna said she found you, Moon, and Mars, and since there are four members of the Inner Court, she has the last transformation device for the Inners as well." Normally, this math wouldn't add up...but disguise magicks plus the Princess' will (because of Luna's mistake) are keeping Setsuna from making the proper connections.

She then agoes on, "As for the Outers, there are three of us as well. Myself, Neptune who has Awakened, and Uranus, who has not...but we know who she is for...reasons." A shake of her head and a wry smile at that last addition.

She trails off, "Technically there's Saturn, as well...but..."

Setsuna gives a bit of a concerned frown, "With any luck, Saturn won't awaken. She was the Senshi of Destruction and Rebirth. When the Fall happened, after all hope was lost and the Queen enacted her final gambit...it was Saturn who did her duty and dropped Silence upon the system eradicating all life."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami quirks a brow. "Four of us? So one more." Then she tilts her head at the Uranus bit, but doesn't ask that one--it'll become apparent in time, she figures. But she listens, and absorbs, paying more attention (if possible) when Saturn comes up. She sits for a moment, a bit shell-shocked. "We can be that powerful?" though it's not really a question for Pluto. She shakes her head in wonder. "I see," she says, finally looking up at her companion, blue eyes concerned and curious. She sips her tea, and brushes a lock of hair behind her ear.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna nods, "Oh, yes. Silver Milennium magic was very powerful, if often subtle. Our magic was always tied to things and Concepts...and concepts can have a LOT of weight to them. As Mercury, you've got a lot of ties to water...and I doubt I have to tell you how much one can do with water if you're creative."

She sighs, "Even still, Saturn was a bit of an outlier...but she was supposed to be the...what was that phrase..."

She trails off for a moment in thought before smiling, "Ah, yes...she was supposed to be the 'big stick'. Kind of the strategic weapon for the Kingdom, as it were."

She frowns, "Still, don't put TOO much stock in that...from what I've been able to gather, the rules of magic have changed a little since then. Much is the same, but some of the details are different. I'm not sure how much is from Silence descending and how much was just drift over time, though."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami nods. Her brain is going a million miles a minute under that placid face and mild frown. "I admit," she says slowly. "I'm not sure what Silence is."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna frowns a bit, "To be fair, the specific particulars are kind of beyond my level of expertise...but..."

She trails off, then smiles a bit, "...to borrow a reference as an analogy..."

She changes the tenor of her voice a little as she does a quote, "Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami stares. "...I see," she says finally, exhaling slowly. She then forces herself to inhale. Exhale, inhale again. It takes a moment of concentration for her breathing to even out and become automatic again. Once she can do that, she carefully lifts her tea in a trembling hand and sips the cooling liquid.

Ami Mizuno has Blue Screen'd, please wait for reboot.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna, sensing that Ami needs a moment...and perhaps a distraction, elects to just finish the reference.

She pitches her voice up slightly from before and says in a slightly awed voice, "...total protonic reversal..."

Then she pitches down just a little, "...that's bad...Okay...important safety tip. Thanks, Egon."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami raises an eyebrow at the Ghostbusters reference, blinking rapidly. "Oh," she says weakly, then gives a little laugh that is not convincing whatsoever. "I haven't seen Ghostbusters in a while." A shrug, but the bluenette still looks a bit overwhelmed.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
The older senshi snorts and shakes her head, "I've seen it enough times I could quote it from beginning to end."

She probably HAS.

She gives a shrug, "Still, it's a classic for a reason."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Nodding, Ami smiles a bit more naturally. She breathes out, and takes another cookie to nibble on. "I think my analytical brain is offline for a while," she says, shaking her head slowly in frustration.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna shrugs, "Fair enough. So don't analyze. Focus on something less serious until you're centered again. Like what books or shows you like."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Oh," Ami says with a smile. "I have been reading this book series..." And Ami starts talking about The Wheel of Time, which typist hasn't actually read.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna smiles, "Ah, excellent choice. I'm planning on rereading those before too much longer. I'm just currently taking my time rereading through the Dresden Files series again because I got the latest book."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Oh, I like those, but I'd argue that the author has a really whitewashed, mysoginistic view of the world," Ami notes with a small smile.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna Meiou says, "Perhaps, but given that the main character is a bit of an unreliable narrator, there's some interpretation."

She then goes on, "Have you also read the Discworld series?""

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I concede that point willingly," Ami says with a smile, before nodding at Setsuna. "There are so many good characters. "I really think I love Tiffany Aching best, despite her technically being a YA protagonist."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna smiles, "I loved her books. Well, I loved all of them...though my favorite character is, perhaps, a bit stereotypical."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami smiles and tilts her head. "I see you as a Granny Weatherwax fan, but I don't know how accurate that would be."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
The older woman puts a hand over her mouth to conceal a giggle, "I'll take that as a compliment for wisdom and not a dig at age...though I find 'head-ology' works fairly well. No, my favorite character..."

Here she trails off for a moment before starting back up and pitching her voice to be stentorian, "...TALKS LIKE THIS."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I was absolutely not digging at your age," Ami says, horrified, covering her mouth with wide eyes. She relaxes a bit when Setsuna keeps going, and smiles a bit. "Death," she guesses. "I should have known."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna just grins and sighs, "I kind of identify with him. Being separate and only very rarely interacting...well..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Something sinks in, and Ami's face returns to that now-familiar expression of horror. "Wait, you weren't alone this whole time."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna just looks back. She doesn't answer. She can't.

But the answer is obvious in her eyes if one knows what to look for.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami's heart breaking is written all over her face. She just stares at Setsuna with sympathy and apology. She can't speak verbally, but her face speaks volumes.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
After a few moments of silence, Setsuna shakes her head, "But that's in the past now. Sadly..."

There's a tone to her voice that indicates that at least PART of her isn't sad about the fact at all.

"...sadly, the Gates of Time are no longer functional...so I no longer need to guard them. Which means I can actually be here to help you girls out."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno listens but also breaks from her staring to blink and look away a moment, before looking back.

"The gates of time are no longer functional?" she asks. "I mean. That's good that you can help us. But. What broke them?" she asks, curiosity getting the better of her in the moment, despite the sadness of the prior moment, though not changing the topic much away from the past it seems.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna frowns and sits back, taking a moment to sip her tea before going on, "...sadly, I can't say for certain. I have some GUESSES, but that's all."

The forced admission of not knowing briefly causes her expression to turn to a scowl, then she sighs and shakes her head, "...honestly, my best hypothesis is that several major events happened so close to the same time that it caused a temporal backlash of some kind. The recent explosion of magical girls awakening was possibly a kind of early warning sign...the reverse echoes of whatever could be coming...as it is, I know of at least two massive magical events that happened fairly close together...and I've seen stuff that indicates there might have been at least a few more."

A cookie is taken, looked at like it personally offended the greenhaired woman, then she eats it before sighing and waving a hand generally towards Ami, "...not the least of which would have been the Queen's Spell finally resolving after fourteen thousand years."

She shrugs, "...which, NORMALLY, wouldn't have been a problem...but get several big magical things happening all at once or at least close enough for no practical differenc...and they all cause waves...and sometimes those waves interfere with each other destructively...and sometimes they interfere CONSTRUCTIVELY."

She shrugs, "I don't have any evidence, because the systems that would tell me that got fried in the overload. Right now I'm working on supposition and estimates."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno listens as she takes one of the cups for tea from the set in the middle of the table, and pours herself hot water, before choosing a green tea, as she listens. She thinks to what Setsuna is saying as she looks at her reflection in the hot water as she considers.

"I suppose that's a good hypothesis. If the door is sensitive to magic, there's been a lot of that going around lately..." she agrees as she listens.

"I'm assuming the door of time does, well. What's on the tin?" she asks with a little bit of a small, sad smile. "Systems?" she asks. "Do you mean. Like a computer?" she asks. Computers... maybe there is a way she can help after all? She is so unsure.

She watches Setsuna eat the cookie. She reaches for her own, placing it next to her tea cup as the tea steeps and releases from the bag into the water. "Maybe. I might be able to help? I'm unsure." she admits.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
The older woman nods, "Pretty much. When they were active, it was theoretically possible to use the Gates to move forward or backwards in Time..."

Once Ami is done with the hot water, she reaches over and pours herself another mug full before putting in another green tea bag to steep...And she absently eyeballs the container in a way that pretty obviously says 'Need to stock up on this' before setting it down.

While she waits, Setsuna continues, "Not that we ever DID. Queen Serenity made a decree forbidding anyone actually using the Gates to travel through Time, and appointed a Guardian to assure that nobody did."

She then give a small smile and tosses her hands out to either side in a gesture conveying 'that's me' before she goes on, "That being said, they could also be used to look back at events in the past and forward at the future...though doing that was a bit trickier because, as a great muppet once said, 'Always in motion is the future.'"

And yes, she even manages to do a rather accurate Yoda voice for the line.

She then shrugs, "Frankly, with both the cores offline and running on standby power, that's the only functionality that's left...but with most of the expert systems fried, searches of the past for specific events are tedious almost to the point of uselessness...and looking ahead is limited to the point where I can probably reliably predict whether it's going to rain tomorrow...but much beyond that?" She shakes her head.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno is letting her tea steep and steep. When it gets nice and strong, she removes the tea bag, she places it onto the plate the teacup was sitting on and sips it. Nice. Hot tea. Relaxing. She listens again to what Setsuna has to say entirely before speaking again.

"So the future isn't written in stone, of course. That would be bizarre if it was." she admits. "I do wonder if multiple futures exist at the same time..." she shakes her head and gets back to the matter at hand instead of her silly musing out loud.

"You do a good Yoda, impression though." she says with a little smile.

"Of course, I mean. I love solving a good problem. So if you have them, I'm willing to look at them. I can't promise I have all the answers. As much as I wish I did!" she says.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna frowns a little bit and she opens her mouth to say something...then she blinks and pauses.

She tilts her head a little and looks down and off to the side, her eyes darting back and forth in that thing some people unconsciously do when they're digging through their memory, "...wait...no...didn't..."

She scowls and squeezes her eyes shut, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she digs through her memory, "...didn't one of the Inners have a computer as part of her kit? Was that you, or Mars?"

She sighs and reaches out to take a long pull of her tea, "I'm sorry, Ami...details from back then are kind of hard for me...too many years...and being far too close to the safeties when they blew didn't help any."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno smiles. "That's me. Sailor Mercury." she says. "I have the computer." she says as she lowers the teacup from her face and smiles.

"Sailor Mars does other things." she says as she nods.

"It must be hard to remember so much." she asides. "When well.... I'm trying not to dig at your age again." she admits. "But when you've been existing for as long as you have... I'm sure you forget things. Or items get mixed around. Right?" she asks curiously.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna sighs as she sits back in her chair again, "Oh, for a certainty. A lot of the details beyond a certain point are pretty fuzzy, for the most part."

She shrugs, "Still, I did a lot of people watching once human history began...and the Gates had an automatic maintenance cycle, so they'd shut themselves down every so often for a day or two, which let me take a little time off here and there." She coughs, "...though...that didn't ALWAYS work out well..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno puts down her tea cup more properly and sighs.

"That must had been interesting, peeking out into time as it passed, however. Might I ask as to what exactly went wrong when it didn't work out well?" she wonders. "Also. What happened when it worked out well." she adds.

She asides. "Lots of talk of unpleasant things. Let's talk about some good things too." she asks as she leans forward inquisitively, placing her hand underneath her chin, and tapping her bottom lip with her finger.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna gets a look that's obviously her trying to fight embarrassment, "...well...Ghengis Khan might have been my fault...also, I can never go back to Prague."

She then blinks and thinks for a few moments, "...well, I got to watch Dr King speak once..."

There's a pause, then she smiles, "...and once I managed to see one of the very few performances of 'Waiting for Godot' done by Steve Martin and Robin Williams."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno listens and blinks a little. "Ghengis Khan is your fault? And why can't you go back to Prague?" she asks ever so curiously. "Did you... egg him on? Did you tell him to never give up? Is there a strange time anomaly in Prague now?" she asks.

"Oh those seem to be nice things." she smiles back.

"So." she then adds as she picks her teacuo back up. "Do you want me to take a lot at your systems?" she asks, curiously. "Or do you think it would be fruitless?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Oh, yeah...Setsuna looks embarrassed as she rubs her face, "I don't KNOW! All I knew was that I had a day off and wanted to try Mongolian food. So I went and found some big party. Someone handed me a drink..."

She pauses, then sighs, "...the next thing I remember is waking up in front of the Gates and Europe was awash under a tide of horse archers."

She then shakes her head, "Prauge? It's a lovely city...but I've tried to visit it four times." She scowls, "...and every time I visit, someone gets thrown out a window somewhere in town and it starts a war. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME."

She blows a big sigh, then shakes her head and centers herself once again, "...and actually, it would probably be helpful. There's no way to fix the physical passage of the Gates without restarting the cores...and we'd need a nearly Type II civilization for that...but getting some of the support systems back online might let me be able to do some past viewing again...maybe even give me better probability determination for the future."

She trails off, tapping her chin, "...though I suspect that we'll probably have to do a fair bit of jury-rigging if we're using current day components...you'll probably be better able to judge that."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno considers these things Setsuna says. "Ah." she says. "That kind of an event, then." she says to the Genghis Khan topic. You drink and the next thing you remember is everything may be your fault. She makes a mental note and moves onto the topic of her systems.

Ami Mizuno ponders this for a bit as she considers. "Perhaps. We'll need to see. How about I come by then, at a better time, with a clearer head on the subject and we can see what might need to be done, or if, I can even do anything to begin with." she says.

"Speaking of next time." she says.

"I should head back, before it gets too late." she says, stealing the cookie she never ate, along with her as she she starts to stand. "Let's talk when school begins properly again, right?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna nods, "Of course, Ami. And feel free to visit anytime. Even with my current housemates, it does get a bit lonely on the weekends, as they're often doing their own thing."

She looks around and says, "Don't worry about helping to clean up. This is easy enough, and if you leave now, you should make the train back to school with about five minutes to spare, depending on how fast you walk."

She stands up and sees the younger woman out, "And feel free to drop by the Infirmary anytime."