1520/Days of Our Outers Episode 1520: The Beacons are Lit

Days of Our Outers Episode 1520: The Beacons are Lit
Date of Scene:	29 April 2024
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	Following on the events of Scene 1513, Michiru comes home to find Setsuna curled up in bed. Fortunately, she is able to comfort her friend and housemate...and she calls for others who will help even more.
Cast of Characters:	Setsuna Meiou, Michiru Kaiou
Tinyplot:	We Got The Beef

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Setsuna Meiou has posed:
When the trio of Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru make it back to the Casa, they'll find the place dark.

Not so dark as to make navigating aound a hazard...the casa has a series of well-placed dim lights that manage to strike that delicate balance between 'bright enough for someone to navigate safely around' and 'dim enough to not interfere with those wanting to sleep' as a default.

Which is probably a bit odd. Most nights Setsuna isn't inclined to decamp to bed this early.

It's the little signs in the kitchen that give away that things are more decidedly off.

First and most obvious, the butcher's block that sat on the kitchen island and that had a faint but noticable crack in it from...some event is now broken clean in two along that crack.

The counters are clean enough, but there's a large piece of cast iron that Setsuna sometimes lays across the front two elements of the range as a griddle surface that's been wiped down but not hung on the rack from the ceiling.

It's not hard to tell by the odors that hamburgers had been made...especially since there are several pre prepared balls of meat in a container in the fridge along with what looks to be two untouched double cheeseburgers sitting on a plate next to them in the fridge.

Aside from that, there's nothing. The lights are for the most part out in the Casa, and the place is quiet.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru had sensed something was wrong as soon as she stepped off the stage. As she walked through the corridors backstage and gathered her things, she felt an increasing feeling of discomfort with the choppiness of the seas only she could sense. And so when she emerged to rendezvous with Haruka and Hotaru, she had the most concerned look on her face.

They all climbed into the car. Takuya-san was driving. Michiru had insisted. She wanted her prince in the back seat with her, Hotaru nestled right in between them. It was a very cozy ride home. But the entire way Michiru's feeling of unease became greater. By the time they arrived home, it was almost a sense of dread.

As soon as they crossed the threshold she knew for certain that something was wrong. She quickly stepped up to Haruka to give her a kiss and whisper a plan in her ear. It was late, so Haruka would help Hotaru to bed, and Michiru would see if she could suss out just what was wrong.

Setsuna would know. She was here. Michiru could feel her. It was time to find out just what was up.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna is not in any of her usual places at home.

Of a day, when she's there, one can often find the tall woman poking around the kitchen, or sitting at the island reading, or sitting on the couch in the entertainment room, watching something on the television.

With all of those unoccupied, the most common place left for her is the spare room that had been turned over to Setsuna's hobbies and interests much like the one for Michiru.

Where Michiru's room was predominatly paint studio on one side and music studio on the other...Setsuna's was half library, half sewing and costuming department.

That room, too lies empty.

Which means, if Setsuna is home as Michiru's senses tell her...leaves one real place left for her to be.

Her Bedroom.

Approaching, Setsuna's bedroom is just as quiet as the rest of the house...but the door to it is ever so slightly ajar...and those dim nightlights present throughout the house are here too...and which reveal that the woman of the house is indeed in bed.

Except, as Michiru's instincts have been telling her...something seems wrong.

An outsider likely wouldn't be able to tell...but Michiru has lived with Setsuna for the better part of a year now...and by now, she's had chance enough to see the older woman asleep several times.

And when Setsuna sleeps...well...the best way to describe it is that she tends to sprawl.

A glance at her asleep in bed on a typical evening will probably reveal her taking up almost as much of it as possible, dead to the world and often snoring like a chainsaw.

It's a good thing the soundproofing is actually very good in the Casa, else nobody else would likely be able to sleep.

Tonight, however...tonight, even with the lights as low as they are, it's easy to tell that things are...different.

Setsuna isn't sprawled all over her bed.

Instead, she's curled up tightly in an almost fetal position...her large frame scrunched up into as tiny a ball as it seems possible for her to occupy.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
By the time Michiru was walking up to Setsuna's bedroom door, she had stopped by her own room to deposit her things and change out of her eveningwear. Whatever it was she was sensing, she was certain she wanted to be comfortable when she found out. She would face down whatever horrors waited for her in her blue silk pajamas. They were comfy and cute.

Knowing what she knows of Setsuna, the fact that she's not snoring makes Michiru wonder if she's actually awake. "Setsuna-chan?" She asks, quietly, after slipping in. She tiptoes over to the bed and sits down so that she can place a hand on Setsuna's back, if she doesn't move.

"Setsuna-chan. What happened?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Up close, it's even more apparent that things are...unusual.

Instead of her normal evening wear...which for Setsuna tends to be some ridiculously oversized geek t-shirt or other that she wears like a once piece dress...lying in the bed, she's actually dressed in a knee-length burgundy skirt and matching pink button up blouse.

Hardly the kind of thing one goes to bed in.

And it seems she's more or less curled up around her right hand...which she's gently holding against her chest with her left hand.

As Michiru reaches down and touches her, Setsuna starts slightly...which causes her right hand to move...which then causes her to let out a slight hiss of pain.

After a moment of taking a few deep breaths, she shifts her head a little to look over at her green haired housemate, "...michiru? You're back already?"

And then the other woman asks what's wrong...and Setsuna somehow seems to sag in place before she responds quietly, "...I...I fucked up, Michiru. Usagi-chan and Ami-chan came by to check on us...and I wanted to have some discussion with them anyhow...but then I mentioned Hotaru...and Usagi-san asked about why she's here...and I told her...and I let her know Hotaru was Firefly...and...Usagi-san didn't take that well."

And another sign something is wrong.

Setsuna is usually very particular about honorifics and how she addresses people.

For those she doesn't really know or is only casually acquainted with, she always addresses them as mister or missus whatever their last name is.

For those she considers friends, the adress is whomever 'chan', 'kun', or 'san' as appropriate. This includes people like Amy Faust and Hannah Steiner...Chiyo Sakai and Koji Silva and the like.

But for those closest to her...for them she uses no honorifics at all. Haruka. Michiru. Hotaru. Rashmi. Chrono...and until very recently, Usagi and Ami were among that group.

After a brief pause, Setsuna goes on in a tumble of words, "...she got really angry...and she said some angry things and I got angry too and I broke the butcher's block...and..."

She trails off for a moment before she goes on again, "...and that rift between us and the Inners that we'd almost gotten rid of...it's back and worse than ever and it's all my fault because I kept a secret...a BIG secret."

She looks at Michiru...and she chews at her bottom lip for a few moments before she closes her eyes and whispers just loud enough that the other woman can hear her, "...Firefly is Saturn."

At which point she seems to hunch in on herself a little once more...like someone expecting an imminent explosion.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
"Yes, we came home as soon as the performance was over. We didn't want to keep Hotaru out too late," Michiru explains. She doesn't say that they came home so promptly because she could tell something was wrong. Her intuition tells her that won't land well.

Instead, as soon as she hears 'I fucked up', Michiru starts to climb up onto the bed, draping an arm over Setsuna and snuggling up to her like a curled up big spoon. Her big sis needed hugs. She needed hugs and perspective, and Michiru had both. But first she listened, doing her best to silently comfort Setsuna with her snuggle.

No explosion. Only snuggles. Snuggles and silence for several heartbeats. Then she asks just one question. "How long have you known?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
It's the curse of being so large that Setsuna is most often the huggER and much more rarely the huggEE.

Especially someone hugging her from behind.

When Michiru does so, she can feel the tension just DRAIN from the taller woman...who just shifts slightly to figuratively 'lean' into the hug like the lifeline it's meant to be.

After drawing strength from the closeness, she responds, "...I was finally able to put it together a bit after she moved in."

She sighs, "...I was worried at first...but then she was so BRIGHT...and innocent...and HAPPY...and I realized...this was the first time she'd really been ALLOWED to LIVE."

She shifts a little so she's lying on her back so she doesn't have to try to pretend to be Linda Blair to look at Michiru...but it can be noted she's still holding her right hand protectively, "...you saw what Saturn's existence was like in the past...I figured that if we were able to give her the life she needed...the life she DESERVED...then we'd keep that...THING that they stuffed in her sealed away until we can find a way to deal with it. Her happiness keeps it in remission."

She trails off, basking in the human contact for a few moments...drawing strength before she goes on, "...Rashmi reacted so well to Hotaru once she knew...I...I just figured that Usagi-san would too."

She pauses to wipe at her face with her off hand, "...but apparently they had very different interactions with Firefly...and Usagi-san in particular seems to have been extra..."

Here, she pauses for a few moments, thinking for the best word, "...extra raw. Extra FRAGILE."

Setsuna heaves a sigh, "...which, given what we all just got through, I can kind of understand but..."

She trails off, then she tenses as her mood shifts, "...but if my fuckup blew up because of THIS...because Usagi was so on edge because of that ordeal..."

The green haired woman emits a soft growl in the back of her throat...then that means that bitch Beryl got what she wanted..."

Reflexively, her hands curl into fists...which is followed a mere moment later by another hiss of pain and Setsuna clutching her right hand once more.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
That's about how long it had been for Michiru too. Usagi had mentioned she'd had a theory about Firefly. But back then, Michiru didn't know Firefly was Hotaru. That all changed when their precious woobie moved in. It was unavoidable knowledge. "It is not your fault. You were not the only one keeping it secret, Setsuna. I have suspected as much for months, though I did not know Firefly was Hotaru until she moved in."

She rolls up onto her side, planting her elbow in the bed and propping her head up on her hand, her hair tumbling down over it. "It is a very nuanced situation we're in here with her. The kind of nuance Usagi does not tend to grasp very well. I'm not surprised she was upset, especially after everything we just went through, as you said."

She reaches back out to place her free hand on Setsuna's shoulder. Just a touch. "We know what we're doing is right, Setsuna. She's ours to protect. If Usagi has a problem with that, then it's not you who is driving us apart."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna seems to relax a lot as she hears Michiru say those words and take her side, "...ah."

She shakes her head, "I was so worried that everyone would see her as Saturn...I wanted everyone to get a chance to know her as HOTARU first..."

There's another hiss as shifting her hand sends another twinge through her, "...ugh. I am NOT looking forward to walking around with a splint on this for the next few days."

Slowly, carefully she pushes herself up to a sitting position, trying to protect her hand, "...still...I don't want this to fester..."

She blinks and looks down, then over at Michiru, "...uhm, the whole thing with Usagi-san, not my hand. THAT just needs a splint and a few days."

She shakes her head, "...still, much as I'd like to take care of this now...I think all of them are too raw after the ordeal..."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru sighs, and then shakes her head. "Setsuna. You take too much on to yourself." Her hand gives a squeeze and then she pushes up more until she's sitting up, her legs curled around, looking at the other senshi. "We look up to you, because how can we not, but you're not responsible for everything. It doesn't all fall on you to fix."

She takes a deep breath as she unfolds her legs and scoots off the edge of the bed to rise up to her feet. "I will talk with Usagi," she says. "After she's had some time. After we've all had some time. None of us are in a good place right now."

Finally she looks at Setsuna's hand and sighs, shaking her head. "I'll also get us a new countertop for the kitchen island. You just take care of your hand."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna slowly scootches off the bed after Michiru, then takes a deep breath and blows it out, "...I'll...TRY, okay? It's hard. I'm USED to HAVING to take care of things on my own."

She pushes herself to her feet, "...don't get me wrong, I am eternally grateful for having you and Haruka around...but...well...that rut in my mind is VERY well worn...so forgive me if that tends to be my default and I backslide."

A moment later, she snorts, "Tall jokes." 'how can we not', indeed?

"Thank you, Michiru."

A moment later, she glances at the door, "...did Haruka put Hotaru to bed? I'd rather not have her possibly freaking out while I splint this. Tomorrow morning, I can put something more subtle on...but for tonight, I'll have to immobilize this pretty good."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru stopped in the doorway to turn and nod. "Yes. It's late, and I knew something was wrong," she says, simply. Michiru Kaiou is always so direct, at least with the people she's close to. "Though I've got to hand it to you. It managed to be both better and worse than I anticipated."

She looks at Setsuna for a moment and then says, "You might have an easier time connecting with her if you just treated her like a girl still. Change into one of your shirts and come to the living room. I'm calling in reinforcements."

Then she turns and leaves, pulling her phone out of her little sailor space. It's not like her pajamas have pockets.

    TXT to Rashmi: GondorCallsForAid.gif
    TXT to Rashmi: Setsuna pissed off Usagi. She needs you.
    TXT to Rashmi: Bring curry. Bring Chrono.

Knowing that they would there in no time, Michiru went off to find Haruka. That conversation was going to be delightful, she was sure of it.