1913/Days of Our Outers Episode 1913: Kaiju Crushes

Days of Our Outers Episode 1913: Kaiju Crushes
Date of Scene:	01 September 2024
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	Michiru brought home a kitten that just happened to be a youma once upon a time. The next morning everyone discovers the new house pet. Everyone loves the new house pet, but Hotaru doesn't want to be left alone with him.
Cast of Characters:	Michiru Kaiou, Setsuna Meiou, Hotaru Tomoe, Haruka Tenoh

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Michiru Kaiou has posed:
As soon as she parted ways with Sailor Moon, Michiru set about taking care of her new little charge. She dashed off a quick text to her driver, Takuya with instructions to "get everything we need for a new cat" and trusted he would get everything they needed, including the things she didn't know to ask for. She honestly did not know what she would do without Takuya.

Keeping the calico kitten clutched closely to her chest, she went around the kitchen putting together a small bowl with some fish in it. She was going to make something else with those filets, but she also wanted to spoil her new kitty. Once she had everything together, she took him back to her rooms.

Takuya arrived not long after with supplies. They set up a litter box, a cat tree with a scratching post, and a food and water dish all in Michiru's room. She didn't want to bother the others. Not yet.

Of course, Kaiju had other ideas. He refused to be contained and escaped the instant Michiru dozed off for the night. It was a big house, and he was a curious cat.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Indeed it is a big house...meaning that in the morning, one might be trying to find where the cat has gone...or luring said cat out by leaving food.

Still, certain events around the Casa are pretty regular, and one such is the morning arrial of bear!Setsuna, shuffling blearily into the kitchen...still arguably asleep.

This morning, when Setsuna shuffles in, it not only further calls her pre-coffee conciousness into question, it also answers the question of where Kaiju got off to when he went exploring last night.

For as Setsuna shuffles into the kitchen in her usual attire of an oversized t-shirt:
    Avoid Negativity
     f(x)=|x|

...sprawled atop her head is the missing calico, sitting in a sphinxlike pose on his perch atop the greenhaired woman's head.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe had, admittedly, yet to notice the new kitty cat. She'd woken up early, as she often did. Something something, goes to bed early, something.

And she often interposed herself between the bear and the coffee. Free hugs were free hugs and Setsuna was never someone who thought she was 'weird' if she got healed.

However, when she got in close for a hug... Hotaru's eyes widened. And she gave a squeak when she was hugged.

And many of them would be woken by a gleeful, excited, happy shriek. "KITTY!"

Followed by an equally reserved, distant, exhausted voice. << Kitty... >>

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka Tenoh was not actually in the house - which explains why Michiru got to sleep in without being harassed by Haruka. The blonde of the family was returning home from a race abroad, early in the morning after an overnight plane ride.

    She got to the door with her keys just in time to hear a squeal from little Hotaru-chan! She opened the door much more quickly, with a severe urgency!

    Just in time to hear the exasperated 'Kitty.' comment from Luminous Titan, which provided enough context for her brain to realize what Hotaru had screamed about, even muffled through the door.

    "Oh." she says, having thrown the door wide open in a panic. "When... did we get a cat?" On some level Haruka's time-shunted brain is trying to remember if they had one when she left.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru did not sleep in. She never did. She always tossed and turned at night as her dreams were so often filled with visions of apocalypse. But she had been a morning person even before she awakened as Sailor Neptune. Her father demanded it.

Lately she'd been up at 5AM and practicing in her studio with the door closed all morning. But today, she got up, and when she couldn't find Kaiju then saw he had somehow gotten her door open--what a clever cat!--she filled her morning with an entirely different activity.

Which is how she ends up rushing into the kitchen from the entirely opposite side of the house than her suite, having turned over every single room she dared barge into looking for the calico. And there he is, atop Setsuna's head. Like a hat.

Looking exasperated and exhausted she rushes over and snatches Kaiju right up off of Setsuna's head. "There you are! I have been looking all over for you, mister," she says, sounding adorably stern in her kinda baby voice talking to the kitten. Then she stops. Looks up at Setsuna...Hotaru...Haruka. Everyone else is in the room.

She laughs awkwardly. "So, um, I brought home a cat yesterday."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna pauses in her morning trudge as a hypersonic shriek blasts through the air, causing her wakening mind to stutter start.

As her eyes blearily blink open and closed repeatedly while she takes a moment to process what just happened, she hears first the front door thump open to admit Haruka...then the rapid approach of footsteps from the back end of the house and the sudden arrival of Michiru...who then snatches something off of her head?

A few more moments are spent as she blinks from one person to another and back again, finally focusing on the apparent new feline addition to the household.

She then looks back and forth from the cat to Michiru, then back again before finally shrugging, stepping forward to give Hotaru the interrupted hug and kiss onna top of the head she'd been about to do, then she shuffles over to the coffee machine, "I'm okay with this."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gives another little squeal. "C-can I hold them?" she asked, holding out her hands and...

And then quickly pulling her hands back, face going a little pale. "A-actually, maybe not. It's so cute! What's its name? Will it be staying with us from now on? Are they magic? Can they talk? Can they do other things?" she asked, the excitement erupting from her voice as she bounced up and down in excitement.

If she was allowed, she'd even reach out and gently pet the kitty.

Then run off and tackle hug Haruka! "You're home! Did you win again?" she asked, looking up at her.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka puts her hand on the back of her neck and rubs it. "Oh, yesterday. That tracks, yeah." she says, bleary. She waits politely for Setsuna to get her coffee before going to do the same; a sign of how tired she is as she's a little bit less addicted to the brew than their time-bear.

    "I second most of Hotaru's questions except let her pet the thing first or she's going to explode from excitement." she notes. "But yeah, is this like, a magic-luna-cat or did we just adopt a cat or what." she clarifies.

    "...Technically I didn't win anything since I'm just a mechanic for the team." she says with a wink. "But we did win the race, of course. We do have the best drivers."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru leans down so it's very easy for Hotaru to reach up and pet the calico in her arms. "As far as I can tell, he's a perfectly ordinary calico kitten now," she says. But there's that one word. Now. Which she goes on to explain. "But when I first met him, he was a big scary youma. Usagi and I fought it, and after she purified it, this little furball is what was left."

She follows behind Hotaru, to press up onto her tip toes and kiss Haruka on the cheek, one hand holding the kitten, and the other resting on the blonde's shoulder. "His name is Kaiju."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna smiles at the tableau before her, three of the people she cares most about in the world all together.

Absently, she drops her phone into her hand and starts thumbing through a few things. She knows Michiru well enough to know that the other woman probably secured the most immediate needs, but there are others to arrange, "We'll have to take him to the vet to get checked and chipped...and I vaguely remember hearing about an app you can tie to an RFID chip to let you find the pet it's in...which, given how big this place is, will be a godsend for our peace of mind when we're wondering where he is."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave a light snicker. "Oh, well, sometimes the mechanic ios very important. One could say they practically race the race on their own. Wink." She. she was not subtle.

When Michiru brought him closer, she gasped. "He's... Kaiju? Oh my gosh, is he a monster? Yessssss. Monster kitty...." she whispered, reaching a hand out to, gently, pet him. "He's so cute and wonderful... can he crush our enemies and make them lament their women?" She butchered that quote.

"... Wait, could... could a chip like that really help us find him in the house? Are they that precise? Wow... but wouldn't we just use magic for that? Or, couldn't we?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    "Kaiju, huh? Well, he doesn't seem very monstrous now." the girl says, looming easily over Hotaru to look at the cat. "Adorable, though, yes." she agrees.

    "I don't... know if we can use magic like that. I suppose if anybody's could maybe Michiru's mirror could, but it seems a little bit weird to just use it like that?" Haruka offers. "Like. For normal things? Maybe that's just me, though. I always worry about not using it so I'm not cheating at anything." she admits. Given that she races on foot and on road it comes up a lot as the Wind Senshi.

    "In any case getting him chipped is a good idea, it seems responsible." Which is why Setsuna, not Haruka, thought about it.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
"Believe me, if I could find him with the mirror, I would have already," Michiru says drily, looking up at Haruka and then back down at the calico menace. She brings a hand up to scritch along his jaw. "That's how I tried to find this rascal from about 7AM to 8AM when he was surely already securely hidden within Setsuna's chambers."

As it so happens. Michiru knows a fair bit about RFID tracking. It is used extensively within Kaiou International's shipping operation. "I don't think the chips they use in the pet trackers have that kind of resolution," she says with a shake of her head. She reaches out to ruffle Hotaru's hair and says, "But when we can't find him, knowing he's still in the house somewhere will be peace of mind enough."

She keeps idly petting him as she's talking, and not paying total attention, and Kaiju tries to attack her hand. His front paws come up and he swipes at her. She turns to him, and rather than pulling her hand back, she attacks with aggressive pets. "Oh you're a big scary monster are you? We'll see about that!"

He manages to wiggle out of her arms and leap down to the floor, scampering across the kitchen back toward Setsuna.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna snorts a little at Hotaru's question, "Luminous Titan can maybe do a spell like that."

She pauses, as she remembers that Devices, like people, have things they're good and not so good at, "...or I THINK he can. Hey, Luminous Titan, CAN you do that kind of scrying magic, or do your talents not run to Divination?"

After a few moments, she shrugs, "Anyhow, Michiru, Haruka and I aren't all that great at that type of Divination...and yeah, RFID tags generally don't have that much resolution, but I'm more than willing to overengineer the problem, so I'm pretty sure we can get a series of detectors and put them two or three to a room and that will maybe be able to tell us which room he's in."

She pauses, then hrms, "...and/or get him a collar with a locator built into it."

As Kaiju jumps down to run towards her, Setsuna puts her mug of coffee down, then kneels and holds out her hands for the small cat to rub against...or jump into if he wishes.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded along. "Huh... I guess, yeah, that would be a waste of magic, wouldn't it?" But she did stuff like that so often, did that make her bad?! Possibly... but likely not. It just made her a tad irresponsible.

<< Negatory >> Luminous Titan responded. If the mirror couldn't find the cat, it was likely unable to.

"Ohhhh, like movement sensors? That'd probably work. But with all the magic, it might not be as effective... Ummmm... can I make one request, though?"

"... Please don't ever leave me alone with Kaiju." And there was... definitely.... something there. Something she didn't want to talk about, or mention. But that fear in her voice... it was strong...

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka shrugs. "I have... no idea... if you can waste magic like that." she admits. "Well, probably, since using my sword and attacking tends to make me tired in a way other stuff doesn't?" she offers, as her hands drop from the shrug.

    "But yes, I'd rather know he was in the house than not know where he is at all. Kind of like you, now that we've adopted him, we have to protect him." then she pauses. "...d'ya think we can get Hotaru RFID chipped too?"

    Then she turns to Hotaru because of the tone in her voice, and looks down. "...I mean, we can make sure that doesn't happen, but why, lil'bit? You seemed so excited just a moment ago, and I don't think you got scared of him because of him batting at Michiru." she asks.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Kaiju scampers across the floor and practically throws himself at Setsuna's hands with the force he brushes up against them. Definitely some big pick-me(-up) energy.

Michiru reaches up and playfully bats the back of Haruka's head with the pads of her fingers. "We are not going to microchip Hotaru-chan, Haruka," she says using her stern voice. She looks over toward the glaive and smiles, "We already have someone keeping tabs. Isn't that right, Luminous Titan?"

Then she takes a step toward Hotaru and squats down in front of her, reaching out to take hold of her hands. "He's just a cat, Hotaru-chan. He's not actually a monster. Not any more," she says. But she looks at the dark-haired girl's eyes for a moment, and lets go of one of her hands to reach up and brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "Or are you worried about what you would do to him?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Kaiju is happily picked up by Setsuna, who gently cuddles him as she walks over to the others, giving the calico headscriches and love.

She pauses to look him in the eyes for a moment, "...you are going to steal SO MANY hearts, aren't you?"

She touches noses with the calico, then answers her own question, "...yes, you are."

Declaration made, she returns to holding him gently...though if he decides he wants to perch on her shoulder or head again, she's more than happy to let him.

A few moments later, she comes to stand next to Michiru, giving the other woman moral support, but otherwise not saying anything. She's pretty sure that the seer has this.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe shook her head rapidly. "N-no, I'm pretty sure if I could have been chipped, I would have been by now." Then, slowly, her eyes wandered to her necklace. Luminous Titan.

<< Affirmative >> the device said, without being prompted. Yes, they WERE magitech tracking software.

"And... I don't think Kaiju would hurt me, and it'd be okay if he did. I just... I..." And then her voice got very soft. "I... wasn't allowed to have pets... back home..."

She was silent for a few moments after that. While she hadn't seemed to have an 'incident' in a while.... she had them sometimes. She'd just been better at suppressing them and hiding them from others.

... She didn't want the cat to discover it in an accident...

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka leans down and sighs. "Okay, no chipping the lil'bit. But Hotaru-chan. You are home. At least as home as Michiru and I are. Like, it's Setsuna-san's house but you live here too. It's your home. You're safe here and all." she says. Then again, she didn't exactly want to return to where she was before staying with Setsuna... not at all.

    "But we also understand and we'll make sure the cat's not stuck alone with you. Good thing about cats is, it's hard to keep them near you if they don't want to be." she says, and then leans forward and scritches Kaiju. "Isn't that right, clawball."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Knowing everything she already knows, it is not hard for Michiru to imagine just what Hotaru is thinking in that silence. She knows her kohai almost better than the girl knows herself, in some ways. It breaks her heart to think about the burden the poor girl bears, and then there's whatever dark energy creature is shoved inside her. It was too much for anyone, even Hotaru, and Michiru hated seeing how it wore on the girl.

She brushes her hand along Hotaru's arm to find her free hand again, then she squeezes both in reassurance. "We are not your father, and this is not his house. We have different rules here," Michiru says, firmly before rising up.

Turning toward Setsuna, she plucks Kaiju from where he was pleasantly resting in the taller woman's arms. "And we don't live in fear," she continues, as she turns and squats back down in front of Hotaru. She holds out the calico. "We live with love." She pauses for a beat. "Go ahead and hold him, Hotaru-chan. He's your cat too."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As Kaiju is picked up and placed in Hotaru's arms, Setsuna kneels behind the shortest woman there, and gently lays a hand on her back, "We're all here for you, Hotaru. Here you are loved, protected, and supported. You are among those who love you. We will help you, for that is not only what we have pledged to do, but what we WANT to do. Never forget that."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe blinked a few times, looking confused at once. "W-what? No! This... this isn't because of my father! My father got me that goldfish, I... I was the one who..."

She shook her head again. "I just... I just don't want to hurt Kaiju... That's all. It's... it's not because... daddy... It's because I'm dangerous. And I don't want to have an accident..." Hotaru whispered. She looked down at the cat, then back up at them. Slowly, she began to scritch it, looking so, so concerned and worried.

"I know it doesn't seem like I am, I know you don't seem to think I am,.... but... but I really, truly am. I need you to believe me when I say that. Please... To help me... sometimes you'll need to protect things from me."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka sighs. "I... I do understand." Somewhat. "I know that you're worried about Kaiju. I know that you're worried about Hotaru, too." she says. "But that's part of why you're here. To be protected. And to have others be protected too." she says.

    "You have Luminous Titan watching you even when we're not here - you're never really alone. But like I said, we won't leave Kaiju in soley your care." she says, trying to reassure the smallest household member.

    "But if you want us to help, it's easier if we know exactly what you're afraid of. What's this about a goldfish?" she asks.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru's heart breaks all over again, hearing Hotaru's plea. She looks at the girl with such sad eyes, and then holds the kitten just a little closer. "Hotaru-chan, I was there. I've seen it when that thing inside of you takes over. We all were. We know you are dangerous," she says, her voice soft and gentle.

When Hotaru still doesn't take the cat, she sets him down at her feet. Then she reaches up to tap Hotaru in the chest with her index finger. "But you have such strength you don't even know, Hotaru-chan."

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and sighs as she rises up. "But yes, we'll do our best to not leave you alone here with him. His things are all in my room, but this rascal seems to be able to open doors somehow."