2151/More Than One Way To Store

More Than One Way To Store
Date of Scene:	06 December 2024
Location:	Casa del Outers
Synopsis:	After Rabbit Hunting Season, Usagi visits Case del Outers to drop off Hotaru and update Setsuna. Their discussion includes many things - the fight, the new enemies, a vacation, and the magic of storing food in a dimension that doesn't expereince the normal passage of time.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Setsuna Meiou

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's still Friday, still Makoto's birthday, and the news is still roiling with the story of destruction in Juuban Ward, reports of a UFO sighting, and widespread panic. Usagi Tsukino has arrived at Casa del Outers to return one very tired and device-damaged Hotaru Tomoe, still disguised at Setsuna's cousin. It's been hours - Mamoru has healed everyone, Usagi has self-purified (though she still intends to ask for double tap), and food and sleep have occurred...

Which means though it is still Friday, it is firmly Friday night, now.

And thus, as soon as Hotaru has been bundled off towards bed, Usagi has some explaining to do.

"Can I have some juice while I explain everything?" She asks plaintively, yawning into her hand.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna, for her part, seems to have mostly missed the beginnings of things...judging by the look of things, after getting home from school, she's been bustling about the kitchen.

At least that's the impression given since she's wearing a cooking apron.

Of course, said apron is MOSTLY black with some silver-grey highlights up and down behind a big square with various white, red, and blue rectangles arranged within and three rectangles around belt height with a number of green, red, and white circular 'buttons'.

Up close, it looks a bit strange...but after a look at even a moderate distance and it's quite immediately recognizable as Darth Vader's torso.

By the scent of it, there's something cooking.

Judging by the various pots, perhaps several somethings.

As Usagi takes a seat, Setsuna reaches into the fridge and gets the blonde a bottle of mango juice, pausing to grab a bottle of ramune for herself before passing over the juice and popping the marble out of her drink, "Take your time. I take it that everyone's more or less okay if perhaps somewhat roughed up?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mamochan healed us all up, and we let Hotaru-chan help a little too, after she was healed up and feeling better," Usagi confirms, accepting her favorite juice with a happy sigh. Since Setsuna is in the kitchen, she's taken a seat in the kitchen too, and is half slumped over, yawning. "We have new enemies, though. They were after Chibiusa-chan, and we didn't so much beat them as complete our escort mission and get Chibiusa-chan to safety."

Which is both frustrating and unnerving, if she's honest, which she does try to be. If not for the Crystal Heart giving them a place to run too...

"They had this weird space ship that came out of a tear in the sky, and Chibiusa-chan... as soon as she saw it, she knew it was them. She said she didn't think they'd follow her, but they did, and they wanted to kill her. ...honestly, it was a good thing Charon-chan was there."

She will give Setsuna that - that verbal approval, because though she truly and sincerely believes it's dangerous to have Hotaru out and about... it was helpful, too. The kid is pretty good.

The juice is quietly downed, until the empty bottle thuds a little when she puts it down.

"I'm pretty sure Hotaru-chan's device is damaged. And I'm really sure we all need a spa day, or something, because it was crazy, Suna-san."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna hrms and gives a look back towards the back of the Casa where all the bedrooms are, and the look she has is...complicated.

All proud of Hotaru and worried she was hurt and happy Usagi is having good interactions with her and concerned about Luminous Titan.

After a few moments, she sighs and glances in to check on something in the oven before turning around, "Alright. That sounds like a plan."

She then pauses and tilts her head, "...actually, how about a hot springs up in Hokkaido? I could rent us out one for a few days. Give us all a chance to unwind a little and if we drag Rashmi along, from what I understand she's qualified to do basic level repairs on Devices now...so she can fix up Luminous Titan."

After absently checking the various pots and giving a few stirs here and there, she takes a seat across from Usagi, "...so how bad was it?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Wait, what sounds like a plan -"

Except, then Setsuna is telling her exactly what sounds like a plan, and it's extravagant and fun and while she's nervous about Chibiusa being outside of the Crystal Heart when she's clearly being hunted, Hokkaido is pretty far away. So maybe -

"I think that would be fun," she says, honest, "And we talked about it once, didn't we, going out and doing something fun together after Paris?"

She remembers it, though Paris feels almost as far as another life, (almost), now.

There's a moment of quiet, and then Setsuna joins her, asking the necessary question, and squeezes her empty juice container with both hands.

"...bad. There were five of them - a man, and these four women, and they were all trying to get Chibiusa. We held them back, but the four women teamed up and knocked Makochan out, and then - we held them back, but they left. We didn't beat them, they just couldn't get into the school to keep fighting, not with the Crystal Heart, and they left. And I don't think anyone but Mamochan could have kept fighting if they hadn't."

She hates to say it. She hates to admit it. But it's true. There was so much happening, and they didn't win the fight so much as delayed it until they could cross the finish line.

"...when Makochan went down, Hotaru-chan... she got more powerful, but not in the scary monster inside her, way? It was like... she did this crazy strong attack that busted all the windows and knocked the ladies down - probably saved Molly-chan's life, because one of them had set her on fire... and..."

She frowns again.

"And for some reason, they keep reminding me of something, but I can't remember what. They all had these black moon marks on their foreheads..."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna casts another look towards the back of the house again, "...so it sounds like I owe Luminous Titan a case of polish and one of these Black Moon people a case of MURDER..."

She turns back and the look on her face is a bit serious, but not ACTUALY murderous, so she's probably just being a bit hyperbolic.

Probably.

...maybe...

...don't push her.

After a few moments she sighs and shakes her head, "We did talk about going after Paris. Now's a good time. With school winding down for the holidays, we can easily take the days, I can get us to Hokkaido in a bit over an hour, so that's no problem. It's mostly just a matter of who we want to take with. We can even see about doing something nice for Makoto-chan since her birthday seems to have been a bit less than stellar."

She sighs, then stands up and grabs a ziploc bag that she pours two entire tubes of Ritz crackers before sealing it again and handing the bag to Usagi, "Usagi...can you be a dear and break these up for me. Not so much to be a powder, but enough so that it's mostly pieces about a cm or so in size. It's the topping for the stuff I've got coming out of the oven."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I hate to say it, but I think that's exactly what we owe them."

It's not that something has changed in Usagi, exactly, only, in some ways, it has - the Usagi of last year could not truly imagine killing, feared it, hated it, pushed the thought as far away from herself as she could manage it. The Usagi of last year had stood between her fellow Senshi and their target, even with her fuku half-burned off and her skin blistering, because she couldn't stand to see someone die.

The Usagi of this year has killed two people, and she has cried over it, and she has mourned, and she has accepted that there is nothing she could have or would have done differently. Killing is not and will never be her first option... but it is an option, now.

"One of them threatened to skin Chibiusa-chan alive," she says, quiet, and she shakes her head, as if to try and knock away the memory. "She's practically a baby, and that's what they said to her."

She will always have mercy in her heart... but sometimes mercy for one means denying mercy for another.

"So, you know - I think now's a good time, too. I think... going to Hokkaido during the break and relaxing, and getting to do something fun, would be really nice. Maybe Chibiusa-chan will be able to relax if we're far away from those guys..."

The Ritz bag is accepted carefully, and then once the request is understood? Usagi immediately starts crushing, smashing her palms down on the poor innocent crackers.

"I can definitely do that. What are you making?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna opens up the oven and after putting on a pair of gloves, retrieves first one, then another large pyrex casserole dish from within which she sets down on a pair of pre-placed heat pads on the counter, "One's a broccoli chese casserole, the other is a green bean and cream of mushroom soup casserole."

She carefully pokes each one with a separate fork before nodding and reaching over to retrieve the broken up bag from Usagi.

Opening it up, she carefully spreads a layer of the salty buttery crackers across the tops of each of the casseroles, "Things happened and I wasn't able to get around to the Thanksgiving spread...but not as many people here celebrate it anyway...and I figured it would be better to do something for our people who don't have family in town like Bow-san or Amy-chan."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The food is giving an appreciative sniff - Usagi's never thought about either of those food combinations in casserole form - she's not sure if she's ever had a casserole - but it smells pretty tasty, and knowing she's played a small part is satisfying.

"Oh! Rashmi-chan told me about that! You were going to do an American-style Thanksgiving in the Shed, right? She told me because she wanted to invite Hinoiri-chan, and, well, she wanted to know what I thought about letting Hinoiri-chan know about the Shed..."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna nods, then puts a foil cover on each dish, "I did. From what I understand, she's been really trying to help while...working for Coco-chan, as I recall?"

She pauses, then shrugs and goes on, "...anyway, I was thinking the positive feedback would be a good thing for her...but ultimately I think it needs to be more a decision amongst at least yourself and one or two others since you're far closer to the issue than I am. Most everyone will follow your lead on these things, I think."

After getting things arranged, she stands up and checks the pots.

After a quick taste, she nods and starts decanting each of them into a large soup tureen.

One appears to be some kind of potato soup, another looks to be some kind of chicken noodle...and the last may or may not be as recognizable to Usagi as a fairly mild chili.

She arranges the three tureens on a large handled platter, "Usagi-chan, do you mind helping me take these to storage? It'll go way faster with an extra set of hands, and you being a Senshi will make it even easier."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mhm, something to do with magic and music - I did a little singing for her to sample... I think she's been getting better, too. And I mean, I mostly trust her too, even if she has been... well, I can't blame her for wanting magic, I just wish... eh..."

She shrugs it off there. The subject is too complicated to put into simple worlds.

"I don't mind her knowing, but we might want to let people know she knows, so they can decide if they still want to come in without henshining first.

There's so much food! Usagi smiles to see it all, and nods, "Sure! Just, tell me where we're going and I'll follow!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna puts the two casserole dishes on a handled tray, then points Usagi at it, "If you could be so kind as to grab those handles. No need to lift just yet."

She waits until Usagi has a good hold on the handles, then the Garnet Rod appears next to her. She wraps an arm around it so it's in the crook of her elbow, then she hefts up the tray with the soup tureens on it, "Okay, might want to close your eyes and keep a good grip, there'll be a bit of a flash."

And then there's the warned-of flash...and when Usagi opens her eyes, she'll recognize the... 'Space' around the Gates of Time.

This time, however, the void doesn't look so empty.

This time, a few short steps away are several of those large hard plastic and steel tubing collapsable tables set out...and on them are dozens of dishes.

Quite a few of them are covered casserole dishes like the ones Usagi is carrying, "If you could just set those down there and I'll put these here over here we can step right back. Entropy doesn't work quite the same way here it does in normal space-time, so anything we leave here will be exactly the way we left it even if we don't come back for centuries."

She grins, "So it'll easily keep for a couple of weeks until Christmas."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Handles are grabbed up, as requested, and then she starts at the sight of the Garnet Orb, hurriedly shutting her eyes and obeying, as she realizes where stasis has to be -

And then they are there, at the Gates of Time... and food?

Definitely, food. Usagi's eyes have popped wide open, staring at all the dishes and items now being stored here, the collapsible tables piled heavy with dishes that are still piping hot and delicious scented, and she looks around, slowly joining Setsuna in lowering handles. Her eyes are huge.

"Oh, wow."

This is definitely going to be a party, plenty of food to share (even enough for an Usagi-sized diet and extras - )

"This is starting to look like it could actually feed all of us," she laughs, hand rising to her mouth. "Suna-san, you really go all out, huh?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna giggles a bit as she puts her tray down, "I guess so. I'll probably cook a few other little things here and there, but this should be the bulk of it."

She then holds out a hand, the Garnet Rod in the other, "And we can get on back so you can go sleep. You look like you could use it...and never forget you're always welcome to crash with us if you don't want to make the trip back."