2014-03-22 - A Cat Like Luna

Title: A Cat Like Luna
Summary: Usagi touches base with Sailor Vega after the events at Tokyo Tower
Who: Asagao Uekawa, Orpheus, Usagi Tsukino, and Luna.
Where: Uekawa Residence, Somewhere in Wealthy Area of Town
OOC - IC Date: A day or two after the big Sailor Moon Spotlight plot at Tokyo Tower; 3/22/14.

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
First off, getting a phone call from Sailor Moon is... weird. Mostly because when caller ID shows 'Sailor Moon' it makes Asagao wonder what Sailor Moon's obviously magical cell-phone must look like.

Of course she answers it. But she's still thinking about that until Sailor Moon explains how she got Asagao's number. Oh, that Tuxedo Mask. Asagao also remembers that she *saw* Sailor Moon transform.

And since her parents are away, again, Asagao just comes right out and invites Sailor Moon to meet her at her house. "It'll be fine, there's nobody here but me and the household staff anyway. Come on over."

Yeah, the Uekawa's are rich, and they live in one of those huge traditional-style mansions with walls and a courtyard.

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
"Household staff?!"

Usagi Tsukino has had a good amount of time to think about this since she hung up her phone. Now, standing at the front door after having walked through an actual courtyard, she has articulated her thoughts.

"...household staff?!"

Still, this girl is a sailor soldier. There's nothing to be intimidated by. They're the same, even if only in that one way! And, selfish Usagi considers, having a friend with a household staff is almost like having a household staff yourself.

She knocks and waits, looking mildly incongruous her modest Juuban uniform. Especially amongst this traditional architecture. Maybe she should have brought her summer yukata.

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Incongruity - meet thyself; Glamorous Traditional Exterior meet East/West 'Too Much Money So We Spent it on This Kind of Stuff' fusion interior. It's like an homage of what Americans think a Japanese person would build for life in America. In Japan.

Wrap your brain around that!

Asagao is the one who answers the door, because dear God. She'd just as soon not bother with making the staff actually DO anything and they know it so aside from geniality and duty - Asagao doesn't have anybody answering the door for her when she's expecting a guest!

"Hiiiii!"

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
At the door opening, Usagi spins around to meet the mysterious Sailor Vega. Her smile fades fast, but only because she's shocked. "You!" she says, punctuating it with a pointing finger.

"I met you at the library when Mamoru-san was being a jerk! You're a soldier?! Is it because--"

--she probably doesn't know Mamoru is Tuxedo Mask. Usagi falls short of finishing her sentence, pressing her lips into a flat line and briefly looking shady. It's all in the squinty eyes. "I wonder if I should have noticed."

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"OMYGOSHCOMEINSIDE!" Hand! Grab! Asagao moves to yank Usagi in the door before she can shout 'You're a SOLDIER?!' even louder.

Once inside, Asagao relaxes a little, "Yes, I'm Sailor Vega - but come on, I saw you transform! Like I was going to lord 'I know who you are but you can't know who I am!' over you? That would be *so mean*!"

Asagao leads through some of the rooms - lots of rooms, this place - and towards the kitchen. Or at least some kind of demi-formal dining room near the kitchen. There is food set out, though no sign of any of the supposedly attending adult staff. "Noticed what? Are you hungry? I have no idea how far you walked or rode your bike or whatever, please help yourself!"

Then she starts looking around. "Orpeus? Orpheus!"

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
"Well okay--eep!"

Usagi is easy to drag around.

She doesn't take it personally either, and genially follows Asagao afterward. There's a few times when she almost gets lost due to gawking at this thing or that, but the house isn't so big that Asagao can't get her back on track.

Usagi's wandering attention is slain by the food. She fixates, barely glancing over to acknowledge the other girl when she speaks. "Oh, um, yes. I road my bike over, so I'm actually very hungry, which is understandable and not unladylike at all," she murmurs in reply.

Asagao looks for Orpheus, and Usagi already has one plate loaded up by the time the second 'Orpheus!' comes out.

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Ugh, he's around here somewhere, I *told* him you were co--"

Yes, this is naturally when Asagao turns around to find Usagi with a plate full of food. Already. "--ming."

"SO!" she says with a short nervous laugh, "you called? I mean, you called, so, obviously you wanted to talk about something." Taking a plate for herself, Asagao picks up just a few things - probably so that Usagi isn't Eating Alone. "I probably shouldn't have given Tuxedo Mask my real number, he's probably figured out who I am already... I was just so flustered when he asked! You know how he is. Kind of a jerk, but then he bought me ice cream to apologize for making me cry. Sweet guy."

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
Usagi seems to have no qualms about eating alone. She's started before Asagao gets her plate, anyway, and appears to be very happy with her choice.

It's difficult to be angry with so much food right there, but still her tone turns darker for a moment. "Kind of a jerk alright--uh, I mean, Tuxedo-sama's very cool. He's always swooping in at the last moment and protecting people from things!" And swooping in at the last moment and ruining otherwise pleasant days as Mamoru, she adds while her mouth is full.

"Is Orpheus the cat that told you about being a sailor soldier? Are you looking for the moon princess too?! Wait, uh--I think someone mentioned something about Vega being a star."

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"I don't know anything about any Moon Princess," Asagao says, a little wide-eyed. "But the thing about Orpheus is right. He found me, gave me a wand and a locket and told me what to say. I thought I was dreaming."

Moving over to a low table, she sets herself and invites Usagi to follow; "Vega's a star, yes, but to hear Orpheus tell it the stars in the constellation Lyra only had one inhabited planet apiece, so the Senshi are all named after their star."

"I've actually been looking for other Senshi of Lyra. There's only two others that Orpheus can even remember the name of, but I haven't had any luck at all so far."

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
"I have a wand," Usagi says, forgetting her food to instead stare dreamily off into the distance. Asagao leaving gets her attention, and she hurriedly bustles over with her plate (grabbing a few things to fill cleared space) to join her.

"Huhhh. So, no moon princess, no solar system sailors? Mmm."

Usagi purses her lips. "I wonder if Luna would know about this. Oh, um," she gestures in a direction that is presumably where Luna is, "Luna's the cat who tells us what to do. She's from the moon and very important, I think. There's--me, then Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and..." Sailor V, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus. Usagi once again substitutes words with a frown, and once again covers her reaction with a new thought. "We're supposed to find the Silver Crystal and stop the Dark Kingdom from doing Dark Kingdom stuff."

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Well, apparently me and the other two I'm looking for are princesses, but beyond that Orpheus doesn't remember. Apparently he was reborn too, at least to hear him tell it."

Leaning in a little over the lower table towards Usagi, Asagao brings her hand up to her mouth, "Between you and me, sometimes I think he's just a talking cat who has a knack for finding magic items and he just wants to make himself *sound* important."

"HEY! I *HEARD* that, Asagao!"

Suddenly, there's a calico cat with big green eyes standing on her head and batting irritably at her forehead. "You should be nicer to me and not say such rude things!"

Cue flustered consternation.

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
Usagi clasps her hands together. "Princesses!" she can't avoid glancing at her surroundings. Yes. That makes sense.

She leans forward when Asagao does, because conspiracies take multiple people to be successful. "Whaaat? Do you think all talking cats are like that, because--"

Usagi scrambles back to a prim seating position, and then ruins the illusion of her being refined by stuffing her mouth full of food. At least she doesn't have to say anything right now. Instead, she watches Asagao to see how she reacts.

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Well, she doesn't *apologize*, that's for sure, "You should show up when I call for you, not sneak around!" Reaching up to pluck the cat with the stars on his head from *her* head and set him on the floor, Asagao just sighs.

"Usagi, Orpheus. Orpheus, Usagi. She's a Senshi, but apparently NOT one of the ones I'm looking for," Asagao's tone is a little accusatory, even, and she is suddenly pretending she didn't see all that food disappear *so quickly*

"Hey look Asagao, I *told* you this wasn't an exact science or anything, right? I can't tell you what I don't know about! -- Hi," he tells Usagi at last. "Definitely not one of ours though, you don't look like a princess at all."

"BEHAVE!"

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
"I'm not a princess though!" Usagi is very pleasant on this point, because food is brightening her mood to dangerously cheery levels. "I'm looking for a princess. I'm the leader of her personal guardians, and we have to make sure she's alright! What happens when you guys find the other two? Will there be some sort of artifact--"

"Usagi-chan."

Usagi freezes. The voice, belonging to a girl their age or perhaps a tiny bit older, is coming from the high table. There, with white-gleaming eyes, sits a black cat. "Hi, Luna," Usagi squeaks.

The cat hops down, padding over in such a way that asserts cats can be regal.

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Asagao opens her mouth, then close it again, "I don't--" She's pointing a little. Plural talking felines.

For what it's worth, Orpheus stares at Luna but there seems to be no sort of recognition. Except for a Lecherous, "Hhhheeeeeeeeey there!"

Asagao is disgusted, but oh god. She looks over Luna too, just not in the same way. "Your marking is different," she says, obviously stating the obvious.

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
Luna turns sharply to glare at Orpheus. With a proper dosage of fierce applied, she continues to the table and hops up onto Usagi's shoulder. Usagi, for her part, maintains balance very well.

"This is a mark of the royal family of the Moon Kingdom."

The cat narrows her eyes, studying Asagao's face with feline inscrutability. Finally, as Usagi is beginning to sneak another bite, Luna speaks: "I remember Lyra. I remember its queen. I likely remember you, though we never met." Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Orpheus ... belches. Apparently he has gotten into Asagao's food while she was, you know, paying attention to Luna.

So, probably a 'no' then.

"You must have regained your memories quite some time ago, then!" Asagao is definitely impressed by Luna. She is giving Orpheus the most embarrassed of looks right now. "He says he was reborn, like me and the others. So I guess that means he remembers about as well as we do at this point? Which is not much."

Looking back to Luna, Asagao's brows furrow a bit. "How do you know so much about Lyra if you belong to the Moon Kingdom?"

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
"Reborn?" Luna queries. She is content to let the point go, however, and allows Asagao to ask her question. It's better than acknowledging Orpheus.

"In ancient times, Lyra attempted to court close favor with Earth. The Moon Kingdom was naturally involved. If you do not remember anything about your past, or why you are here--hmm." The cat raises a paw and strokes her chin. "What about Lyra has changed?"

Usagi relaxes and enjoys the dinner theater. Free meals are great.

She glances sidelong at Orpheus. "And I recall that Mau sent an ambassador. Do you know what you are doing on Earth right now?"

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"I couldn't say," Asagao says with a small shrug and apologetic smile. "The dreams I have - the ones Orpheus says are memories... they don't stick. I see bits of things, shades of this princess I supposedly was, the people around her... but when I wake up, they fade."

She shoots an accusatory look at Orpheus then, though still is talking to Luna, "I didn't even know there *were* other Senshi besides the ones from Lyra."

"I TOLD you I DON'T REMEMBER, OKAY?"

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
"Those are natural sensations of a past life manifestation," Luna says. She glances at Usagi, who is oblivious, and so the cat continues: "Without a specific memory-triggering event, there's no way of telling when these memories will become clear to you, if they ever do."

Luna joins in with the accusatory Orpheus looks. Shameful, a citizen of Mau acting so inept and, worse, inelegant.

"The Queen of Vega sought to marry one of her daughters to Earth nobility. She later withdrew all diplomatic ties with Earth following some sort of scandal involving the very same daughter. Lyra was not a large empire, and we did not keep constant contact with them after they nullified all their alliances and partnerships. Beyond that, there's nothing I can say about your situation, though I do clearly sense that you are a sailor soldier."

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Is Sailor V one too?" Asagao suddenly asks. "She showed up chasing Tuxedo Mask because she thought he was a bank robber."

She blushes a little, too. "I was so excited to find out she was real, I might have blurted out that Tuxedo Mask was looking for the Silver Crystal."

Slapping her forehead with her hand, Asagao apparently realizes she's just done it again. "Because he is. He said a princess in his dreams wants him to find it for her." In for a penny, in for a pound!

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
Usagi raises a hand to cover her mouth. Nope, nope, nope. Not getting involved in this one. She's here to eat. Asagao can be Usagi for today.

Luna narrows her eyes. "The Silver Crystal should be in the princess' hands only. Failing that, it's the duty of her personal guard to keep it safe. Tuxedo Mask is neither of those things." She pauses to inspect the claws of one paw. "Sailor V is her own situation. If you want to know about Sailor V, you should ask her."

The cat then looks up at Asagao, over her paw, eyes gleaming just so in the light. "What do you intend to do with your powers, other than look for your friends?"

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Claws make Asagao nervous, and she sort of cringes and 'meeps!' a little. But Luna changes the subject to something a lot less embarrasing and a lot easier to answer.

"Fight monsters and evil wherever it threatens innocent lives and hearts! And obviously there's a lot of that to be done here, because I think you can't skip a stone across a pond without striking at least four other magical girls of some sort in this town."

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
"Yes. Many magical girls," Luna agrees, pensive. "In any case, please remember that there are dangerous things going on this planet. The sailors of this system are sworn to protect it, and have done so since ancient times."

Usagi finishes off her plate and sighs contentedly. Through the haze of self-satisfaction, she suggests: "Shouldn't we give her a communicator, so we can all work together? I mean, we're all soldiers."

"Mm." Luna steps down from her shoulder, onto the table, prompting Usagi to mouth 'watch this!' 'This' turns out to be a back flip, specifically one where Luna casts off sparkles and light as a small device materializes in the air.

Upon landing, Luna sits again. "There. Place this card in your phone and it will upload a communication program. If you really do want to help us, then there's plenty work to be done. A princess of Lyra would be a powerful ally against the enemy."

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Oh wow," Asagao all but whispers, definitely impressed. Picking the magical card up with her thumb and forefinger and inspecting it - watching that little shimmer up the details and tiny lens flare - it brings a bright smile to her face.

"Thank you, Luna! I will!"

Orpheus, who is doing that thing that non-magical Earth cats do when they want to pretend they aren't listening, which is grooming. Ugh.

Why didn't she get the COOL cat?

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
Luna offers Asagao a sympathetic look, glancing at Orpheus to make it clear what she deserves sympathy about.

"You can also send messages to Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Jupiter with that program. They're all very busy scouting for the enemy, but they may need to contact you one day."

Usagi bobs her head in agreement. "See, we split up the city into sectors, which I call levels, because--"

She is silenced by a look from Luna, who stands and begins walking out. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Uekawa-san. Usagi-chan, come on. We have a lot to talk about before night comes."

Usagi casts a final, longing look toward the table, and then grins haplessly at Asagao. "Let's hang out more, okay? I visit Ohtori a lot to see some of my friends over there. Or, if you happen to come by Juuban for whatever reason, right? We could have lunch!"

Pose Tracker Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Asagao hops up as Usagi and Luna get ready to leave, and immediately Asagao presses a bit; "Take some food with you, they *always* make too much!" Several small boxes filled with goodies are foisted off on Usagi without so much as a by-her-leave.

Not that she'd mind, surely.

"Absolutely! I'll come visit you, you can come visit me, we'll compare notes and stuff!"

Oh NOW Orpheus is paying attention, "Oh come on, Asagao - you're not gonna work for *them*, are you? What about the other Lyran Senshi huh?"

"I've been looking for *two months*, Orpheus! I might as well do something to *really* help until they make themselves known!"

Pose Tracker Usagi Tsukino Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
Usagi's lips part in amazement when Asagao offers food to go. She doesn't change this expression as the piling-on of boxes continues, save that her eyes get a little watery. When it's all over, she mouths 'thank you,' and then hurries to catch up with Luna.

Near the front door, she glances down at the space cat. "I thought you would be more excited to see another cat like you, Luna."

Luna stares straight ahead, her expression blank. "I would be."

Usagi grimaces. "Oooh, harsh."

END