1420/Days of Our Outers Episode 1420: A Secret Laid Bear

Days of Our Outers Episode 1420: A Secret Laid Bear
Date of Scene:	17 April 2024
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	Sailor Pluto inadvertantly frightens poor Hotaru...but the young woman quickly bounces back and decides to base her new secret identity on her new protector.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Setsuna Meiou

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Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe had learned with time... if she was in the kitchen in the morning, then in a strange occurance, she would receive hug. A mystery of the universe! From someone she liked. Setsuna, not a morning person, it seemed.

Though, for once, she wasn't just lingering there. She was nibbling on some carrot sticks and feeding Yochu, her thoughts lost in contemplation. She'd been here a while now and she'd been considering... when was she going to join people on magical adventures again?

She could join them whenever she wanted... in theory.

Kind of.

Takashi had reset her outfit, so the next time she henshined she'd have a new henshin, with a new name and everything. But... she didn't know what to pick. Firefly had been her codename back in Obsidian. Now? She was unsure. Going by Firefly would just out her now. So.... what name should she, COULD she... use?

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Mystery of the universe, indeed.

A mystery that is as regular as clockwork.

Moreso.

Michiru might have actually SET a clock by it once.

Said thing being the moment that Setsuna wakes up.

Though this morning IS somewhat different.

See, last night Setsuna had to stay extra late at school processing the end-of-year physicals that get sent in to the government. Normally, it's not a big thing but they rolled out a new system this year that didn't work and it took until right before the deadline for them to get a functioning system in place.

Thus, Nurse Meiou had to stay extra late.

Late enough that she really didn't feel up to just taking the bus like normal...so instead she locked up, henshined into Sailor Pluto...and went roof hopping to get home.

However, on arriving home she found herself with just enough energy left to wander into her bedroom and proceed to pass out on her bed.

And after thousands of years, she's practiced enough with her henshin that she doesn't drop it when she falls asleep.

Thus, shortly after the normal time...the sounds of someone shuffling down the hall can be heard...right on schedule.

Except it's not a bearlike Setsuna Meiou that shuffles blearily around the corner and into the kitchen, but rather a bleary and bearlike Sailor Pluto.

Who proceeds to follow the exact same route she does every morning...which of course passes her right by Hotaru...where she stops, gives the young woman a warm hug for a good long moment...the kisses her on the top of her head and go back to shuffling her way to the coffee machine.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe received her morning hug, yay! She grinned and looked up and--

There was a sound akin to a terrified balloon having all of the air just... sloooooowly billowing out of it. She stared up the person who was hugging her.

And gave a soft, delicate whimper.

And she didn't move, aside from to watch Pluto go forth to make coffee.

Hotaru was standing there, arms clutched around herself, holding on as tight as could be while she just watches the girl make her coffee.

Except when Setsuna turned to look at Hotaru, she'd see the little girl shaking. Hugging Yochu to her chest. Looking at her with *terror*.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto turns around absently sipping her coffee like Setsuna always has...right until she catches view of Hotaru having an apparent panic attack. At which point the mug of coffee is abrubptly tossed into the sink as the tall woman BOLTS over to her side, concern evident in her voice as she says, "Hotaru-chan! Is everything okay? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

She hasn't realized she's still Sailor Pluto yet...but she drops down to one knee so she's at eye level with Hotaru as she carefully reaches out to the younger woman...trying to determine if a hug will help or hinder in this situation.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe eeked, closing her eyes and whimpering, cowering a little when Sailor Pluto reached out to her.

She'd seen this woman in her dreams. Her and the other two. A nightmare. Takashi had said it was nothing, but... "D-don't hurt me..." she said softly. Her voice so weak, so frightened. Yochu's head turned towards Pluto. It was possibly the first time she'd actually *seen* the head move.

... Was Yochu planning to attack her?!

"W-where's Meiou-senpai? You didn't... didn't h-hurt her... did you?" she asked, slowly opening one eye and peering at the woman.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto blinks, "What?! Hurt you!? I'd NEVER hurt you, Hotaru-chan!"

As she sees Yochu's head move, she shifts her head to look back at her...

Then she blinks and looks down at herself for the first time that morning.

With her eyes closed, all Hotaru will hear is a slap, followed by Sailor Pluto's voice muttering, "...dear heavens, but I'm a dumbass."

And when Hotaru looks over at the taller woman, she takes a deep breath and gives the younger woman an earnest look, "Hotaru-chan...please look at me, okay?"

When she sees the opened eye...there's a brief explosion of the impression of ribbons as she dehenshins...and Nurse Meiou looks at Hotaru with concern and a hint of panic in her expression, "I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan...I don't know what I did to scare you, but I'm sorry. It was a late night last night and I forgot to change back."

She quickly looks left and right around Hotaru's sides, "...are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe slowly opened the other eye, peering at the woman. Why was she so kind? Why was the scary--

... The scary...

Blink. Blink blink. Blink.

"That was you? All this time?" she asked softly. "Is that why I had dreams about you? I... I'm sorry. I thought the dreams were supposed to be.... bad, you know? I didn't think that they were, well..." she gave a small, sheepish smile. "Sorry. You're... Sailor Pluto? I thought... I mean..."

Blink blink... blink... And then just hugs her. Tight. Squashing Yochu between them. "I'm sorry! I thought you were going to attack me! I didn't know you were, well... you!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna just hugs back fiercely, "Oh, Hotaru-chan. I would NEVER. Yes...I'm Sailor Pluto."

After a few moments, she scoops up Hotaru and carries her into the den so the two can flop down on a more comfortable couch.

As she goes, she absently twists her off hand, drops her phone into it and fires off a quick text letting them know she's taking a personal day because she had to run herself so ragged last night.

As she sits down with Hotaru on the couch, she says, "I'm sorry about confusing you. I've been Sailor Pluto so long that I can actually forget if I'm henshined or not."

She sighs and relaxes a little as she feels Hotaru calming down a bit, "...apparently this is a secret I don't get to choose how I reveal it to the people I live with..."

Her tone then gets a bit more wry, "...not sure if this reveal was better or worse than Haruka finding out."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded slowly, wiping her eyes and trying to not cry. And she was doing a good job of it, too! Not crying, that is. Sure, she was a little teary eyed, but she didn't cry. Letting the other girl carry her away.

However, after a few moments she asked THE question... "Wait... does... the fact that they don't count Pluto as a planet anymore make your powers weaker?" she then let out a little gasp as a thought occured. "OH! Could I be your moon?!" she asked, perking up a little bit.

However, there was one very, very important thing she needed to learn. She cocked her head to the side before asking, in a very, very soft voice.

"How did Haruka-sempai learn? Did... did she walk in on you when you were transforming?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna fusses with Hotaru's hair, brushing it with her hands a little as she waits for the younger woman to get herself together again.

And then then question is asked...and Setsuna goes VERY still for a moment...

She takes a DEEP breath...and at this point, Haruka or Michiru could probably WATCH the greenhaired woman wrangle down her desire to go off.

After a few more deep breaths, however, she says in a very controlled voice, "...one of these days..."

She trails off and has to take another moment before continuing, "...one of these days, Doctor deGrasse-Tyson and I are going to have to have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG talk about what constitutes a planet."

There's another slight pause, then she sighs and says, "...no, my powers didn't get weaker because the IAU are a bunch of stuffy nincompoops."

Then she smiles and looks at Hotaru, "Which one? Charon, Nix, Styx, Kerberos, or Hydra?"

There's a pause, "...Charon's probably the one you know the best, I imagine."

Then the question about Haruka finding out comes up...and Setsuna snorts, "...no, she didn't walk in on me. Haruka figured I was hiding SOMETHING, but didn't know what. So she suggested we go test out one of the cars in the garage she'd just finished getting fixed up."

She shakes her head, "...I had NO idea what I was getting into when I agreed. So we drove out to Fuji Speedway...and that MANIAC decided to show me why they call it a 'supercar'."

Setsuna leans back a little, "...bear in mind I've NEVER been in a car like that before...and Haruka is talented enough to be able to wring every single erg of performance out of the thing. Suffice it to say that for someone unused to the way she handled that car...it was more than a little disconcerting...and she kept it up until I confessed to being a magical girl just to get her to stop."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe relaxed, soothingly, into the pets. It was... so nice. So relaxing. So wonderful... And when she saw Setsuna get all tense, welllll...

Too relaxed, being hair pet. So it didn't matter.

She did, however, giggle slightly at the discussion. "Hee hee. That's nice that it doesn't affect you. So... what does make it a planet? I mean... it's not as big, is there another reason? Or is it because it was a planet once, it's still a planet?"

She perked up when her request was given! "Woo! I could be Charon! Magical Girl Charon! Oh, oh, noooo! SAILOR Charon! I bet I can get my barrier jacket to look like a Sailor Senshi uniform, too! Ohhhh, that sounds so cool! And nobody will suspect I'm actually Firefly if I'm a Sailor Senshi!"

Oh child of little knowledge...

But oh. Ohhhhhh. The answer to Haruka? Welllll...

Her eyes literally *shimmered* for a moment. "So... you mean if I hide something for Haruka... she'll take ME to the racetrack and do that to me, too?!"

Oh dear. What madness has Setsuna wrought?

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna shifts a bit, then hrms as the ponders the question for a moment, "The only reason that they don't qualify Pluto is a planet is because of a stupid rule they made up about having to have cleared it's orbital of debris in order to be called a 'planet'. Nevermind that for an Outer planet like Pluto, that's a process that can take millions of years...and Pluto isn't any smaller or less qualified in any OTHER regard...so Pluto is a planet in every way that matters."

The younger woman's growing excitement causes Setsuna to smile a little more, "Well, if you want to modify your barrier jacket that way...I don't have any problem at all."

She taps a finger to her lips, "...what's the process for that kind of thing like, anyway? Do you need a reference to work from?"

She shrugs, "If you neeed to, I can change again and you can use my fuku as a reference so it all looks right."

When Hotaru suggests hiding something from Haruka, however, Setsuna's hand practically shoots up to cover her mouth to conceal a nearly full-on giggling fit, "...oh...well...yes...she very much might well do that..."

She's SO going to pull Haruka aside and get her to do that.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave a small nod. "Yeah. I mean... you have a lot less rotations around the sun than we do. One year for you is like... a quarter of a millenia for us. It's only fair it'd take you a lot longer to clear all your surroundings at that distance."

She gave a small shrug at the questions. "Honestly... I'm not entirely sure. I mean... it was all set before. When I got my new device it was all reset so it could have a new outfit. Takashi-senpai didn't want anyone to know who I was, so my identity was hidden. Even from him. But yeah! If you transform, I bet I could make all of it shift so it looks just like a little mini-you! I could be like... Sailor Mini-Pluto, or Sailor Charon! In the name of Pluto and Charon I will punish you! Doesn't that sound so cool?"

And her eyes were still glimmering... "Don't... tell Haruka-senpai that I'm doing this yet... okay?" Oh, two guesses what her 'secret' from them was going to be....

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna lifts Hotaru off her lap and sets her down on the couch and stands up.

She winks and says, "My lips are sealed, Hotaru-chan."

And she makes the 'zipping' motion across her lips, then shifts until she's at a clear enough place of the floor.

Then she looks at Hotaru and winks before raising her right hand high.

Her voice gets a slight reverb as she calls out, "PLUTO PLANET POWER! MAKE...UP!"

And then her henshin wand spins out of her dimensional pocket into her hand.

Her body gets covered in a garnet colored aura that reduces her to a seeming outline as a sudden mist swirls in from seemingly nowhere to spin around her and conceal her from view.

And then just as quickly as it came, the mist is gone, and the strange wind along with it...that has somehow NOT turned the whole room into a mess of small things blown about, revealing Sailor Pluto (and a quick eye will catch her garnet-hued lipstick materializing on her) who then strikes a pose holding the Garnet Rod, which makes a subtle bell-like noise when she lightly strikes the ground with it, "Protector of the Planet of Space-Time, Sailor Pluto."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe stared at her with the biggest, widest, most excited eyes. They were practically sparkling as she watched her.

"Ohhhhh..." She looked down at her necklace. "Do you think you can make an imitation of that?"

For a long while, there was silence. Just... silence. Then, finally, Hotaru's eyes lit up.

<< Standby, ready! >>

"Luminous Titan, execute," Hotaru said, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

The amethyst necklace around her throat glowed with a purplish-gray light. A strange, key-like glaive formed over her and she reached up, grabbing it in both hands. Light green light washed over her until, a moment later, she was wearing a fuku, gloves and shoes of many sailor senshi. Except hers were gray... << Sailor Charon, engaged! >>

"How do I look?" she asked, holding up the little glaive of her own. It was... far too tall for her. But then, it was almost as long as Pluto's. "Do I make a good imitation?" she asked, a big, excited grin on her lips.

... And oh, this... this probably sent another surge of 'This has to be her' thoughts through Setsuna's mind. Except, well... all of life wasn't wiped out. That was good.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto looks at the Glaive 'Sailor Charon' is holding...and indeed...it once again re-inforces her certainty that Hotaru is the final Senshi.

The glaive form of Luminous Titan...isn't QUITE right...but it's close enough that it's triggering an 'uncanny valley' effect in the mind of the oldest Senshi.

Still, she manages to keep all of that to herself.

Instead, she walks a circut around Sailor Charon, absently doing tiny shifting or adjusting the two bows, the scarf and the little rolls at the shoulders.

It's obvious that she's just doing a 'checking your work' thing, then she steps back and nods, "That looks very good. I'd be proud to have you as a Senshi."

Hopefully words she will remember and take to heart at some later date.