Scene #1257:

Owner	Pose
Tadase Hotori	Tadase Hotori is once again back at one of his main haunts - the administrative building. There's a small annex within that's largely used for Student Council work - and since the Administrative Building is open on weekends whereas the classroom the Council usually sets up shop in is not - well, that's the best place to find them on the weekend. Right now, Tadase is leaning over some information about Princess Prom, and making suree that everything's going to be taken care of from his side- that the committees ask for funding from the sponsor is reasonable, but also covers what they need and the like. The door to this room is wide open, meaning anybody who steps in looking for someone is going to see Tadase right off. Kiseki is also dozing on the desk, propped up against a stack of finished paperwork.
Ami Mizuno	After all the trouble Ami had gone to so that she could try to catch the 'brothers' that were helping students cheat by selling them essays, it turns out that even catching them admitting to the cheating on camera wouldn't matter; it was a pair of youma. That didn't mean the papers weren't still out there though. It was hard to tell if it would be or not, and with finals coming up, that made Ami all the more wary. Though she could be out doing something fun today, or studying more, or just be anywhere not here she's come because her deep seated need to ensure that people were being fairly graded was still ingrained into her. She steps into the room glancing around with one hand raised to catch at the doorframe as she does. "Hello?" No sooner has the greeting left her lips than she spots Tadase. It's the snoozing Kiseki she spies a half second later that causes her hand to lift to her mouth covering it with a quiet 'oops' as she's not certain if she may have just woken the fairy or not. "Sorry! I wanted to warn you about something," she adds in a further hushed tone as she steps in.
Tadase Hotori	The halls of the admin building are mostly silent on non-school days - the occasional pair of footsteps or sound of a quick greeting is all that usually breaks them. So Ami's greeting gets an instant almost startle of surprise from Tadase, and he spends a moment juggling the pen that he was idly tapping against his head in two of his hands and, after a moment, catches it. "O-oh! Hello Mizuno-san." Tadase says, his voice not hushed at first but lowering to match hers after a moment. They hadn't seen each other since... whatever happened at the beach. He hadn't put it all together though, not yet. "Did you get all of the plants that you needed for... whatever?"
Ami Mizuno	Plants. That's right that was the whole point of going there. Ami had actually forgotten in the heat of the moment (or itchiness, really.) "I think so. I passed them on at least so I certainly hope we got enough. I'm sorry I ran off, I really couldn't stay any longer at that point." Her head shakes a bit to get her thoughts straight tossing the others aside for now. "Listen. There were some youma on campus the other day. They called themselves the Plagarism Brothers and they were selling fake essays to students." This was, clearly, a very serious matter the way she ends up leaning her hands down on the desk opposite Tadase to lean in toward him sharing this news. "I don't know if defeating them caused the essays to vanish or not so they may still be floating around. With finals coming up this could be very serious."
Tadase Hotori	Tadase shakes head head. "MM-mmm. There was no reason to be in that ice water any longer than you had to be." he says, regarding leaving. "I'm sure whoever is helped by the plants we found would be very indebeted to you. And hey, going around in an underwater bubble was fun." he admits. "Mmm, we don't have any tolerance for cheating. Although, if they were calling themselves that - did they call themselves that to the students? It's a little on the nose, I wonder if most would have even taking the bait." he says. "Do they have anything in common? I can let the teachers know there's something like that going around." he says, taking the matter with all seriousness. "And... I'm gonna guess they do something else other than help people cheat or youma wouldn't be involved?" Kiseki slowly wakes up despite their best efforts - they have big voices he has little ears. "Hey, what are we... oh HI MIZUNO-SAN." he says, excitedly.
Ami Mizuno	Ami Mizuno draws a deep breath... only for her shoulders to droop with a rush of exhaled air. "It wasn't very inventive, their names. They posed as older students. Plagi and Raism. They took money, the lock box they used vanished after the fight. And unfortunately the other essays were destroyed by lightning so I'm not sure what subject they were for, unfortunately. Just that they were typed and four pages each." "Which doesn't help a lot." Her attention is quickly stolen away by Kiseki waking up. A softer smile is offered to the sleepy chara. "Sorry to wake you, I was trying to be quiet. We were just discussing some cheating issues that came up recently."
Tadase Hotori	Tadase nods. "Well, the good news is, anybody who would buy essays 'from' two guys named Plagi and Raism, they will probably stand out to the teachers when whatever the turn in isn't to their... normal caliber of work?" he offers. "But in any case I'll let the teachers know over email. And hey, probably some of them will read it." he adds with a grin. Kiseki, meanwhile, sleepily floats up. "Cheating issues? Who's cheating on who? Tadase can't be cheating, he doesn't even know when he likes someone, much less have anyone to cheat on yet." Kiseki proclaims.
Ami Mizuno	"Oh that's an excellent point, Hotori-kun." Ami hadn't considered that clearly the students who would likely buy such items would be the sort that didn't have great grades to begin with. At least she seems relieved about this while nodding firmly. "Yes, please do that, it should help at least a bit I hope. And they are essays not math or science so that's already a few subjects that should be all right." Kiseki's talk of cheating causes her to pause blinking at him with a look of confusion. "Academic cheating," she corrects while reaching up to gently pat the top of his little head, only to pause and nudge his crown a bit more on-center for him. He was kind of cute even if he often sdaid embarassing things. "That's at least one less thing for me to worry about. I've just got to finish my own studying and the study guides for my friends. This year really does feel as if it's very busy," she has to admit. Then again she had a lot more friends than she had before so there was more to do. Plus helping the Shittenou fit back into school... She really was busy.
Tadase Hotori	Tadase laughs. "Thankfully my math class doesn't ask for much in the way of essays, yeah. Sometimes science does, though." He says, putting a hand on the back of his neck and looking down at Kiseki. "Really, are you sure you 'didn't' know what kind of cheating she meant and were just using the occasion to make a bad joke?" "Of course not, Tadase-kun. I just woke up." he says. Ami's finger gets a very broad smile from the little king. Tadase shrugs and looks at Ami with a sort of 'what can you do' on his face. "Yeah... I would think school would be enough for us and yet all of the other stuff going on, having to deal with adults with dreams of grandeur hurting people and having to deal with monsters seems a bit overdone, but it's not like we can go to anyone else. Just a duty like any other, even if it means we have to do crazy things." he says. "You've been really busy with all of this Princess Prom stuff, right Tadase?" Kiseki asks. "Yeah? It's strange of you to even notice what I'm working on though..." Tadase says, his voice clearly showing concerned suspicion. "...so busy you don't have a date yourself, riiiight?" Kiseki asks. "Is that unusual? It's like a month out anyways." Tadase asks.
Ami Mizuno	"It is difficult," Ami has to agree with a wan smile. There was never really any choice for her though. Once she awakened, helping where she could magically speaking was a foregone conclusion. She just had to. "Ah, Usagi-chan is very happy about that. She's volunteered to help for the decorating committee, and I believe Mako-chan is helping with the refreshments. It's not really my sort of thing to volunteer for. I can't cook or sing. Besides," she adds with a laugh, "Knowing Usagi-chan I'll get pulled into helping with decorating anyway."
Tadase Hotori	Tadase nods. "I think it must pick the people best suited to it, because I can see a lot of people cracking under the pressure. What's it mean, being a Sailor Senshi? I talked a little bit about Kiseki, about us Chara Bearers, but I don't think I've ever sat down to ask what your magical deal is, other than a really cute uniform." he pauses. "I mean... nevermind that last part... actually nevermind you don't have to answer." Tadase immediately switches topic now that his face is going from normal to red. "Aa-anyways. This is where I help, same as everywhere else. I try to keep everything running smoothly in the background. And make sure that nobody is spending our sponsor's money in a bad way - there's a lot of stuff that it takes to make this thing go. Which is good, because I'm not a cook, or a singer, or even much of a decorator. But here, I can give those who are what they need to succeed - the singers sing, the chefs cook, and everything goes as it should be."
Ami Mizuno	Ami Mizuno regards Tadase a moment as the questions begin to spill from him about being a Sailor Scout. Her hands rest in front of her skirt as she considers a moment how best to explain. "No, it's a fair question," she admits with a small shake of her head. Turning to the side she leans against the edge of the table top that Tadase sits at half sitting on it. Not outright just. Leaning a bit. It's not her usual behaivor but school was out. "We weren't 'chosen', we just are Sailor Scouts. Apparently a long, long time ago there was a Kingdom on the Moon. The Queen of the Moon Kingdom had a daughter, a Princess, and the guardians of the planets swore to protect her." Here she pauses with lips pursed together while her head tips up to stare at the ceiling. "It was my past life. I don't really remember much truth be told. Just bits and peices. There was a war where some of our allies were turned against us, and in an effort to save everyone, the Queen sent us to Earth and ... reset the timeline. We're the reincarnations of the original guardians."
Tadase Hotori	Tadase at least stops flailing for now because she's talking and taking his questions in stride, which is much better than dwelling on the comment at the end. "That is... a crazy thing, you just said. Or it would be except I've fought clowns the size of houses and girls that summon fire and traffic-lights turned into nightmares, so finding out there's another timeline where the moon had a kingdom and then that timeline got reset..." he says, looking up too. "I guess I kinda have to take it all in stride." he says. "So... Ami Mizuno is almost more the new name of Sailor Mercury - than Ami Mizuno sometimes being Sailor Mercury?" he asks. "Since you know, there's all that past life stuff." he says. "Kinda makes me feel... I don't know." "So you're a guardian of an actual princess, then. Well. That's what you said was the past. Is that still true, too, since your comment about reincarnations was plural?" Then he pauses. "You don't have to answer anything that has to be a secret, though."
Ami Mizuno	"Well I can't really tell you who is who, but we found our Princess, yes," Ami agrees with a soft smile as she watches Tadase put it all together. As he does she's reminded of the old addage that she knew herself rather well: Sometimes the best way to learn is to teach. She'd been struggling so hard to remember things but now that she was explaining it to someone else... In a way this was easier. "And her..." A glance is cast toward Kiseki before her throat clears. "Earth counterpart that she was in love with. Regardless. I am Ami Mizuno. My past life is my past life. It's a part of me, of course, but it's not this life." "I find it easier to keep it seperate if I think of it as a prequel and a sequel," she adds on a bit quieter at the end. "Essentially I'm not the person I was then. Different experiences, and knowledge can make a huge difference." Looking up at Tadase she adds, "I don't even know what my name was back then, other than 'Sailor Mercury.'"
Tadase Hotori	Tadase has completely given up anything other than paying attention to Ami ttalking about her situation, now. He's looking at her, and really listening, and somewhere something might be starting to get through to him. He's at least established the blue girl is pretty and well spoken. "Prequel and sequel, huh? But still the same actress, in a way, playing slightly different roles..." he notes. "Well. For a Guardian of Mercury - for a girl from another planet, or at least your spirit - I do find you pretty easy - to talk to." He says, smiling. "I keep running into you, and it's really nice." he admits. "I bet you were still as academically driven back then, though. But it does make me wonder if you were even 'Sailor Mercury' then - or if it was another name, given how the planets got their names. Or... maybe if it's a new timeline we shouldn't overthink it, but that's really hard for me. " he admits, rubbing the back of his neck again. "It's a shame you don't remember much, but maybe that's good or I'd ask you questions until you got exhausted?"
Ami Mizuno	"Oh it was definitely Mercury. I have a theory that some of the terminology and aspects of the prior timeline managed to somehow leak through to this one during the development of it as time progressed," Ami begins to prattle on rather suddenly energized at the topic. "For instance, some of the languages used by those from other universes that have come to Earth in current day are extremely similar if not identical to the languages currently spoken on Earth. I theorize this may be because they had at some point visited in the prior timeline--" She was going on, she knew, and she stops here to take a breath while looking over apologetically to Tadase with a sheepish grin. Besides that she'd reached the point in her theory that made it remain only a theory. "--But I have no real proof of that, or any way to get that proof. It's very much only my own personal theory on the matter." "Oh, I do know knowledge was just as important to me back then as it is now. It might actually be better not to remember everything, though. I mean. It was a war."
Tadase Hotori	Tadase is a little bit entranced though, because when she talks about it, it's obvious she has energy for it, excitement for it. And that in its own is something that he can appreciate and keep his interest. "I mean, it's certainly intriguing and would explain a little bit about why certain languages seem to be common despite what should be impossible distances." he nods. "There has to be some reason, it can't just be... coincidence? Even I can't buy that, and I have a tiny fairy version of myself." he notes. "So there's something to it, maybe it's your theory or just something adjacent to it." he nods. "Oooh, yeah. A war... might be a mercy to not remember. Still, I think it'd eat at me. Something so core to my past self... I'd probably take the good with the bad. But I've never been in a war so I can't pass judgement. Probably your spirit knows better than mine."
Ami Mizuno	Ami Mizuno smiles softly in agreement. "Exactly. The important things seem to be known. I know who my friends are. I seme to instinctively know how to use my powers. There's more I've yet to unlock, of course, but it does help. Given the situation isn't the same nor the worlds it may just be information that would be confusing to think about too much." "Or at least that's how I choose to view it. There's no sense in feeling bad about not remembering something. I can't force myself to, so I'll just focus on the here and now." Raising a hand from her lap she tucks her hair behind her ear awkwardly. "Thank you for listening to me. I've share the theory with a few of the others but I know I can tend to ramble, too."
Tadase Hotori	Tadase nods. "Yeah, I can see how it is. After a point you're just trying to think about things you can't really know anyways." he says. He waves his hand. "I like y- listening to you." he says, another little catch. "Even if I'm not the best at talking sometimes." he says. "And you know, you went out to help me, too. Or at least thought about it more than anybody else did. Instead of just assuming you'd have to keep a bucket nearby and not thinking further. Though I'm still kind of against a bucket hat." He says with a smile. "But if you ever need someone to listen to your theories you can always come talk to me. I'm not as smart as you - but really who is, according to your grades?" he says with a grin. "But I can keep up pretty well."
Ami Mizuno	That little falter in his remark reminds Ami she'd rather bowled him over with her theories earlier when he had been mentioning he felt relaxed around her. Oh. Maybe she should have let him speak more instead of hogging the conversation. A little smile comes over her though in spite of such worried thoughts. "It's nice getting to talk, too. I'm sorry I wasn't able to find a way to help you further with that... and I can understand not wanting to wear a bucket hat," she agrees with a little laugh over it. It was just one in a number of ideas that had crossed her mind. "I should warn you though to be careful around the other Sailor Scouts. We do have someone that holds the particular position that seems to set Kiseki off." A glance is given to the chara that has remained rather quiet for a bit, admittedly. Had he fallen asleep again? "Thank you, Tadase-kun. I appreciate it."
Tadase Hotori	Kiseki seems a little bit tired, for sure, but whenever she looks at him, he's actually looking between the two of them. Occasionally he'll look at Tadase and make a somewhat confused or disappointed face. But he has seemed largely okay to let the two of them talk. "Hey, you have to try a whole bunch of things that don't work to find what does, right? If anybody can find a less... actually putting a bucket on my head solution to this, I'm for it. If all of these planetary royalty keep showing up this is gonna be more of a problem than it used to be, yeah. And Kiseki's no help." "Why would I want you to be the best version of you less?" Kiseki says, tilting his head. And now we know that there was a king of the earth, a queen of the moon kingdom, why can't you be a king, too. You really shouldn't settle for less than a whole planet." Kiseki says firmly. Then he turns to Ami and regards her from his tiny height. "Mhm. Well. If there were people on the moon, and a Kingdom, were there people on Mercury? And a Kingdom?" he asks. "I don't think she remembers enou-" Tadase begins before Kiseki floats up and tugs on Tadase's cheek. "I just want to know if there's a King of Mercury or anything. Since we've heard people talking about Moon Queens and such. If you'd stop for a few minutes and listen to your own feelings instead of hiding them you'd figure out why this is important!" he says, with a level of seriousness that's unusal for him. Then he turns back to Ami. "So, do you know?"
Ami Mizuno	"Ah? I know there were ..." Ami pauses. Does she? What does she know? Blinking a signle time her head tips down, her hand cupping at her chin in a thoughtful posture. "I think it was a primarily Matriarchal society. Queen Serenity was the ruler, but I vaguely remember there were castles on the other planets. Princesses too, I think." If only she knew for certain. "But I really don't recall a King of anything being mentioned, ever. Certainly not one of Mercury," she finally decides with a firm nod, and a flash of a grin as she smiles toward Kiseki. "So don't worry, you're the only King I know of," she assures the Chara having completely missed the purpose of the question.
Tadase Hotori	"Matriarchal?" Kiseki says, his face screwing up. "That's j-" and then he is caught by Tadase, who had drawn out both halves of Kiseki's egg and has smooshed him into it with a deft motion that he has clearly had to do many times before. "That's enough questions now Kiseki." He says, surprisingly firmly. And then Tadase shakes his head. "I don't know what he was on about. Yeah, I wanted to be a king, once. But it's not like that's something you can just work into or anything. It was decided long before I even knew I wanted it." he says. "It's nice of you to call me one, though. But I think I've given up on thinking about it in terms of like, actual nobility. That's not to say I've given up on it, or Kiseki wouldn't be here. It just means that I've realized that you don't need to be an official King to protect people around you, to lead, to make things turn out alright. So it's more like King in spirit than in title." Then he looks at the egg in his hand. "I'm just hoping some day he gets it. Or maybe he does and he just doesn't like it. Or maybe he just likes messing with me." he adds with a smile. "But... if you remmeber castles, then you remember people - which is amazing on its own. If all of the planets had people that is... so many people." he says.
Ami Mizuno	Ami Mizuno sits up in surprise when Kiseki is egg-trapped. She'd seen Tadase deal with him before but never with the egg. That was a new bit of information to absorb. A few quick blinks come as she takes it all in and listens to Tadase further. "This is true. There's something to be said for having a noble disposition I imagine. Wanting to help others though, and wanting to lead, those are all good things. Things that you seem to be doing very well here in the student council," she points out with a smile. "I'm sure you'll find a way to continue on this path in your life in general. "Perhaps my memories will come back further as I become more familiar with my powers. We'll see." Shifting her weight back to her feet properly she flashes a smile at Tadase. "I suppose I should be on my way for now. It was good seeing you again, Tadase-kun." And much more relaxing of an interaction than their last but she decides not to dwell on that particular thought.
Tadase Hotori	Tadase smiles. "Ah, that's the words I was looking for. A noble disposition, yeah." he says. "And yeah, I'd ask why you aren't on the Council yourself - I mean it looks great for college applications..." he adds with a wink "... but I guess between school, and Sailor Mercury business there's not a lot of time for all of this." he says. "I really don't have enough time..." he says, looking down at the paperwork in front of him with an annoyed, forlorn expression. "Well, if your memories come back and you suddenly know any new cool stuff that isn't secret, I'm always up to hear it. The idea of a world before ours is... really interesting." And then as Ami starts to leave, Tadase starts "Actually.." His lips move, sound doesn't escape, and then he shakes his head."No nevermind. Not important. I have to finish this all up now."
Ami Mizuno	"I'll be sure to keep you in the loop if I do. It's at least a very interesting topic to discuss," Ami has to agree as he pauses in the doorway. He'd called out to her after all. When nothing comes of it, she flashes a smile and gives a quick nod. "All right. Don't work too hard." "I know I don't really take my own advice there, but it's still good advice," she admits with a laugh before heading out.