1973/Saturn Hunting Season

Saturn Hunting Season
Date of Scene:	27 September 2024
Location:	Administrative Office
Synopsis:	With Obsidian now magically hunting Hotaru Tomoe, Usagi thinks it's time to read Kyouka in on the other danger that Hotaru houses. Some advice is shared.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Kyouka Inai

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's not a given, that Kyouka will be in her office at any given time. This is why Usagi texts her, just to be sure.

    TXT Kyouka: hey kyouka-sensei, you at the office?

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    It's a good thing that Usagi did so, because the reply she gets is:

    TXT Usagi: no, but i can be. give me 10

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
    TXT Kyouka: meet you there!

And, indeed, in about ten or so minutes, Usagi Tsukino is breezing through Kyouka Inai's office doors, closing them behind her so they can talk in private. There's a fairly harried look on her face, the expression of a girl who appreciated a quiet summer and wants it back.

"Does school being back in session actually make you busier at all?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka is in her office, only having just arrived a minute ago. She's in her 'school clothes', her leather jacket slung over the back of her chair, and seemed to have been checking some messages on her phone or something when Usagi walked in, though it's clear she hasn't been waiting long.

    She glances up when Usagi enters, making no comment on her shutting the door behind her.

    The question is met with a mild shrug. "Do magical kids stop needing guidance just because classes aren't being held?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Dropping herself into a chair, Usagi sighs at the response, because, yeah, alright, fair enough.

"No, but we did have a pretty good month there, after the worst month ever." It had been so nice. Too bad it's over. "You remember when I had that fight with Setsuna and her housemates - the Outer Senshi - over Hotaru Tomoe?"

She's pretty sure Kyouka will remember it, if only because like most mildly self-absorbed teens, she assumes people think as much on the problems she's brought to them as she does.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "There's quiet times. Learn to appreciate them." Kyouka says with a bit of a crooked grin. "They never last. Which I guess you've already figured out.. but don't worry, there will be another one eventually. It won't last either, but you'll still enjoy it. Trust me."

    She quirks a brow at the question, tilting her head a little bit. "Vaugely. That is to say, I remember it happening and mostly what it was about- you thought they were being irresponsible with her, due to her being so dangerous and stuff, or something along those lines. Was that it?"

    She doesn't seem impatient or dismissive, she just honestly has a lot to remember and what was a minor spat, in terms of her experience, and hasn't re-emerged as an issue.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"That was it," Usagi confirms, and doesn't seem upset by the quick summary. "And for the record, I was right, cause Tomoe LifeSciences is looking for her, and it sounds like they're teaming up with the rest of Obsidian too. They've been using Hinoiri-chan's eclipse towers, and sending out pings to try and find her, far as Ami-chan and Rashmi-chan can tell, and we're gonna work on some options to like, not have them find her but..."

The quiet times are certainly over, at least. They're in the stress now. She leans forward, looking at Kyouka seriously.

"I left something out, when I told you about that fight. Another, another reason we can't let them find Tomoe-san again."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "That's not really a surprise." Kyouka says, when Usagi mentions Obsidian looking for her. She leans her elbows on the desk- again, not dismissing the info, just confirming that this is not something unexpected. "The head of Tomoe is her dad, you know. And she's a powerful weapon- they would view her that way, not saying I do. But she escaped from them, denying them a significant tool in their arsenal. Of course they're looking for her. It took them longer than I expected but I'm not shocked they're doing it."

    "I didn't know that about the towers though." She grimaces faintly. "More reason to knock 'em down whenever we come across one I guess, although it's not like we needed more reasons."

    At the mention of having 'left something out', she raises her brows. "Do tell."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Okay, sure, it's not a surprise, but still! Be not-smug with her, Kyouka-sensei! She was right, and it was terrible, and they really had not done enough to prepare for it because who figured on this?

"Well, they were looking for her the whole time, but this is their magic way of looking, I guess," Usagi admits with a grimace. "She's some terrible weapon or science experiment or whatever, plus a daughter, so they want her back, and I guess they're using everything at their disposal, but we can't let them get her back because she's..."

And her expression says she is not thrilled with what she's about to say next.

"She's a Senshi. Like me, and Suna, and our group. Only, she... Sailor Saturn is never supposed to wake up, because she has the power to like, wipe out everyone in the system, just by dropping her Silence Glaive. She... after what happened with Beryl and Metallia and Serenity and Endymion and Mother, she was the one who wiped the worlds clean."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka leans back in her chair, crossing her arms as she regards Usagi thoughtfully. "You had told me before you thought she might be a Senshi. Or at least, that you suspected it was a possibility. But you're sure now?"

    She doesn't seem shocked or panicked by this information about Saturn, that she presumably has this apocalyptic power. It's scary, in the same way that any apocalypse is scary, but when you've lived through enough apocalypses that you need to know the proper plural form, learning of a new one is, while never comforting, not about to send one screaming down the hallway. She processes the info though, putting it together with what she knows about Hotaru.

    "So is the crazy super-strong being inside her Sailor Saturn? The one Hotaru-chan has to keep fighting to keep suppressed? Also, is she guaranteed to want to use this Silence Glaive thing if she wakes up? Based on what I know of the story, those were pretty extreme circumstances which you're referring to."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I thought I might, because I told Mamochan, and Ami-chan, and Mako-chan, and Mina-chan, aaaand Rei-chan," Usagi says, and at least with that part, she's a little sheepish. "I didn't want to keep secrets from my team while I was mad at the Outers for doing that too."

And she leans forward, grimacing.

"As sure as can be without her actually transforming. The Outers are sure, and it fits, and it makes sense but - no, the thing inside her isn't Saturn. I'm sure of that, too. I don't know what she did to get stuck with both of them, but Tomoe-san's luck is well, shit."

She's not often prone to cursing outside of text messages, but what else can she say?

"I don't think she's guaranteed to use it, but she'll be able too, which, is kind of why I've been hoping she'll stay asleep and not wake up. You, Mamochan, Haruka-kun - you all say she has a good heart, and I don't think you've been fooled. But even the bestest most nicest person ever shouldn't have the power to kill billions so easily."

And yes! She has contemplated the existence of the atom bomb, like just about any other Japanese citizen has, at one point or another.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Your team are all pretty trustworthy." Kyouka says, again with a shrug. "Keeping secrets from your enemy, or from people who you don't trust, that's just being smart. But there's generally no reason to keep them from people you know you can count on. I'm not gonna give you a hard time for that."

    She quirks her lips in a thoughtful mien at Usagi's insistence that the 'thing' inside Hotaru isn't Sailor Saturn- or at least, not just Sailor Saturn. "I'm not sure luck has anything to do with it. If she's a Senshi, that means she has inborn magic.. the spark, the talent, whatever you want to call it. And she was at Obsidian. The logical conclusion is they had something to do with it. Whether or not they realize she's one of your Senshi, I dunno, but I also don't know if they would even care."

    Kyouka makes a mild snort at the comment of 'nobody should have that power'. "I mean, I don't disagree with you. But aren't you like, the Princess and leader of the Senshi? Can' you just, y'know, revoke it? Or does it not work that way? I mean, the Prime Minister could always fire the guy manning the nuclear silo.. although I guess he can't destroy the nukes, not personally, so maybe that's less of a solution than I'd like to think. After all, if your previous self trusted this person with that kind of power, there must be a reason."

    "I think Hotaru-chan is a good person. But she's also got a lot of trauma, and is somewhat unstable because of it. I wouldn't be terribly comfortable with her holding that kind of power, in her present state. I won't argue with that."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"They are! They are, and I love them too, so, I wouldn't want to hide anything, especially another maybe apocalypse, but... sorry I didn't share this part with you, earlier. I wanted to, but as long as the Saturn part of things was more... maybe-maybe, I didn't want to make it a problem for anyone. Not when we still had Beryl to worry about."

But Beryl is dead now, and they're going to have new and worse problems, everyone has to be in the loop.

"Sometimes it feels like bad luck has to do with it. I mean, whatever monster she's got in her, it really seems like they must have put it in her, but like... talk about bad deals."

The idea that Usagi - as the princess - could just take the power away - it's one she's never considered, given her mother hadn't ever done it, but -

"I don't know if I can," she admits, "I mean, I never thought about it until right this second, but - it's not that I trusted her, in the past. I never even knew her. I don't think anybody really did. She just... slept. She was hidden away, sleeping away, because she had the power to kill everyone, everything, whenever she wanted, and it - I don't think it's entirely fair, but, it really freaked everyone out."

And she pauses, a little more...

"Right? I mean, I'm biased because I don't trust Tomoe-san at all, but with that kind of power? Especially don't trust her. Maybe... whoever Saturn was, back then, was different. But Tomoe-san's kind of a huge horrible nightmare for me, and even if I want her to be happy, I really don't want her to have that power. So if I could take it away, I probably would, in like, a second."

The Outer Senshi might not like that, but, she's not going to lie to her mentor of all people, especially when Kyouka is agreeing with her.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka shrugs a little bit in response to the concept of bad luck, but when Usagi describes how Saturn was just hidden away, sleeping endlessly (or, hopefully endlessly) because of her power, she raises an eyebrow at Usagi. "I mean, to me it sounds like this girl got a pretty bad deal in both her lives, then. Given a great power, but then forced to remain in eternal slumber, not able to live your life, because your power is too scary for everyone else to live with? That's pretty messed up if you ask me. Maybe not as messed up as like, medical experiments on a kid, but it's certainly no way to live."

    "Not that I'm criticizing past-you. I don't know all the circumstances and decisions that went into it. Just saying, feels like this Sailor Saturn hasn't exactly had a cheerful and rosy life in either time period.

    She sighs a little bit. "Well, from the way you're presenting this, I assume she hasn't awoken yet. Which means that there's still time to research.. solutions." She makes a face. "I'm not going to suggest anything extreme at this juncture, but maybe.. look into it? Ask Luna. If there's some way to get that power out of her hands, whether actually take it away or simply remove her ability to use it, whatever.. we should at least consider it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It was my Mother's decision," Usagi says, uncomfortable, and grimaces, "And yeah, it was - I mean. I don't, entirely, know what it was like for her, but - the Inner Senshi all knew they were Senshi their whole lives, back then, or at least, they knew by the time they were like, five, and coming to live with newborn me."

They haven't talked about it much. She knows very well that aside from Minako, she's got the clearest memories of the Inner Senshi, and it's - hard to talk about, the past, when they aren't those people and their relationships are different now. And she's a little sheepish, to be blaming her dead mother, even though it's the truth.

"It was a bad thing. I think - I didn't know very much about Saturn, then, but I talked to Luna about it, and... a lot of people were really scared. It wasn't Saturn's fault, but... and it's not all Tomoe-san's fault this time, I mean, she didn't ask for the monster, or for her dad to be in Obsidian, or to be Saturn. But also, she's kind of unstable, and scary."

Which, she thinks is fair to say.

"...Talking about it with Luna is a good idea, I mean, if anybody knows my mother better than I did, it's Luna."

She, after all, had known her mother as a daughter. Luna had known her mother as a friend, as an advisor.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "It being her fault and it being safe are two entirely separate things." Kyouka says, grimly but not without kindness in her voice. "It's an unfortunate fact of the world that bad things happen to people who don't deserve them. Hotaru-chan, in other circumstances, I think would be a sweet girl who doesn't want to hurt anybody."

    "But that doesn't change the fact that her having this power is a risk. No matter what a lot of people would like to believe, intent or whether someone is a nice person doesn't really matter in the end. It counts for something, but it can't be the deciding factor."

    "We have to do what keeps the most people safe. If that means an unfortunate outcome for an innocent person.. well, that's terrible. But it's a lot less terrible than doing nothing, and having many, many more people also face an unfortunate outcome. You can't save someone at the expense of many and call it a moral action."

    She gives a faint laugh. "That's the Trolley Problem, isn't it? Which is the moral choice, save five people by pulling a lever that condemns one other person to die, or do nothing and let the five people die, but technically you haven't killed anyone. I'm not sure there's ever been a 'good' answer to it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
That's it, right there. It's not fair, and it's not Hotaru's fault, but the situation is what it is, and it's - bad. Contained, but only for the moment.

"...I told Uranus, I'd do it for them," Usagi confesses quietly, in the wake of that. "Because there is the chance, and because - I don't love her, the way they do. I'm not, stupid, it will still hurt, it still - but, you know, it wouldn't hurt me like it would hurt them."

The Catacombs still haunt her, is what she almost said. Killing the way she had, not just what she'd contributed to Beryl's downfall, but the blood on her hands after stabbing Fem, after watching her chest burst outwards from her own spell. She knows very, very well that it would haunt her, to kill Hotaru, if it came to it.

"She turned me down though. Said it was her duty, and, that she didn't want her going out like a youma, if it came to it."

She wants to save everyone. And maybe, maybe, she could tap into that power, the power that had set to right bodies and buildings torn asunder alike, and create another miracle - but she can't guarantee it. Can only hope for it and want it and pray for it and plan for the worst.

"I always hated questions like that, because life shouldn't be a numbers game, numbers suck, but - is it really compassionate to just walk away, to preserve my own innocence? Isn't the right thing to do to save more lives?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka rests her forearms on the desk, and can only give something of a shrug to Usagi's rhetorical question- because that's really what it is.

    "At the end of the day, Usagi-chan, you can only do what you think is best. Not 'right', but best. The two should be the same, most of the time. But the sucky thing about being the one with the power to make those choices is that sometimes you need to make a hard one. You know this already, it's not like you haven't made hard choices already. I'm sorry you have to be in that position, but it is what it is."

    "I don't think we should rush to killing the girl as the solution. There could be other ways. Like you said, talk to Luna. Maybe there's other avenues to pursue as well, or she can at least point in a certain direction where more info might be found."

    A faint sigh, leaning back in her chair. "I do agree with you, though. If I was going to pick someone to have an apocalypse switch I would.. well, I wouldn't pick anyone, I think that's a bit extreme. But if I had to, I certainly wouldn't pick that girl. And with the 'work' Obsidian has done on her, it's even more risky."

    "Thanks for telling me about this. I'm not sure what we can do yet, but it's definitely a situation that needs tracking."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'm definitely not going to kill her unless it's to save someone else, after everything else fails," Usagi says very firmly, "But Uranus and the others can get very, um, murderous,,, so I figured I should tell them before that happened."

Why yes, she does still think about how close Hinoiri came to being murdered all those months ago! And while the Outers had changed in many ways, their purpose, as Michiru and Haruka had both said in different ways, at different times - hadn't. Setsuna had accepted her authority to release her from the Gates, but if they thought killing their own fister daughter was the only way to fulfill their duty and save her at the same time, who knew what they would do? Not Usagi, that was for sure!

"I'm definitely going to talk to Luna... and maybe see if there's anything in our ancient moon computers..." It's worth checking out. Her Mother isn't around, but Luna is, and the computers are, and hopefully, hopefully that would be enough."

"Of course I told you! The situation is different now; it's not just about hiding Tomoe-san, it's about stopping those towers before they find her. Of course I'd tell you."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka doesn't comment on how Usagi has known about this for months and only just told her now, which puts just a bit of a spin on 'of course I'd tell you'. She's not really bitter about that- the Princess is free to handle matters of her senshi as she sees fit. But she definitely rolls her eyes just a little internally.

    She just smiles a bit on the outside and shrugs her shoulders. "Think about how weird it is that "seing if there's anything in our ancient moon computers" is a sentance you can say to me in utter seriousness." She says, with a laugh. "What a time we live in."

    She nods her head then. "Well, that sounds like a start, at least. And I'll let people know those towers are more of a priority than they were before. Let me know if you find out anything important."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It could be worse. Amy-chan still thinks there's 'real science' we can learn to understand how everything that we didn't know about before works."

Usagi's tone says what she thinks of that. There is no real science, there is no real math, there is only a world of 'whoa that's wild!!!!'

Forever. Or until she's an adult. Not for the first time, the idea feels her with enough mixed emotions to turn her stomach, and not for the first time, she turns from the thought again.

"Will do. Also - those heart guns are back, I guess, unless they just brought them out to shoot Chiyo-chan," there's a scowl on her face at the thought, "Since I haven't heard of anymore coming back. Watch out for yourself, okay?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Hey, Amy-chan might be on to something.." Kyouka says, with a mild shrug that says it's not her problem, "But that's for the smarties to figure out. I just stab things." Well, used to, anyway.

    She gives a little mock-salute with two fingers. "Kid, I've been watching out for myself since before you were born. Don't worry about me. Just keep your head on a swivel. We'll figure it out."