just finished pgsm, vvvoice testing

[forthepresent]

Well-- in the end, looks like everything turned out okay. Guess we all just had to trust Usagi a little more.

It's nice, having time to ourselves. Not having to worry about fighting anymore. There's a lot I'd like to do as Rei Hino that Sailor Mars got in the way of. Lots of lost time to make up for.

But if evil strikes again? ... We can probably take it.

Comments

[waterfell]

So my new year's gift is a sailor senshi to play with!

[Possibly not the person Rei will be happiest to see.]

[loves_la_vie]

Mars.

[This is hard to say. It's even hard to think.]

You were right. In the end, what put to rest the past life was her sacrifice - Usagi's.

[Finally, she's learning to separate those two.]

[forthepresent]

[ Rei's lips twitch aimlessly for a moment, before tugging into the form a smile, awkward and slow -- but happy. Minako's alive, their duty from the past life fulfilled; perhaps now, with nothing more to drive them apart, they could finally become proper friends

Rei would like that. she would like that much more than she's comfortable admitting in words.

so instead, she resorts to the usual snark. ]

Wow. You even saved me the effort of telling you 'I told you so'.

[ it's only a halfhearted attempt, though, with that smile still on her face. ]

so awesome to see pgsm characters btw <3

[loves_la_vie]

[Savor it, Rei, because it's the only chance you'll get. The past four years since the senshi fate ended haven't made her less competitive.

They've made her warmer, though. More able to appreciate every day she suddenly has in front of her because of this miraculous second chance to live life without that illness and her duty hanging over her head by a thin cord.]

I thought you could stand to have a victory.

[forthepresent]

[ she flinches back, eyes darting frantically across Ami's body, hardly able to process what she's seeing. ] Ami-chan? How--

[waterfell]

[Mercury's smirk only widens. Can she just take a minute to say she loves provoking that reaction?

Because she does. They deserve to be running scared, panicked, witless.]

It's just as you see in front of you. [And no, she really can't resist a tiny twist of the knife, not to a senshi:] Don't you remember me?

same here \o/ minakoooo

[forthepresent]

[ she only rolls her eyes in response, but even that is not without some fondness. (some.) ]

So when're you going to stop calling me Mars?

reiiiiii <3 this made my night. awesome start to the impending new year XD

[loves_la_vie]

[Nope. Too easy.

Wait. No such thing as too easy. Not when giving Rei a friendly hard time.]

You prefer Mars Reiko-san, right? [Smirk.]

hehehehe c: it's still 3pm here but happy new year to you!

[forthepresent]

I always thought that was kind of a mouthful, actually.

[forthepresent]

[ Rei swallows, straightening up into a more guarded stance. she's not ready to attack Ami, but she doesn't want to look vulnerable, either. ]

But you came back.

thanks! and i am still squeeing. /sits on hands so as not to flood you with 498483040343 threads

[loves_la_vie]

So what will you do now? Continue your training in Kyoto? [Good guess. Or she just recalls Rei doing that after the princess disappeared.]

[waterfell]

[Oh, Mercury isn't planning on fighting, either - here. But she'll enjoy every drop of Rei's discomfort.]

I have no intention of doing that. [These words, in contrast to the facetious cheer of earlier, are colder. Harsher. She has sworn she'll never go back to what she hated.

She had hated them, hadn't she-?

What a foolish question. She keeps her manner strong.]

I'm only here to find out what you're planning to do.

FLOOD AWAY though that many might be a bit much

[forthepresent]

[ either way, color her impressed. it's enough to distract her from the fact that her request has pretty blatantly shot down -- not that it had particularly high chances of success to begin with, or anything. ] Yeah... probably. And you're going to keep yourself busy with idol work as ever, huh.

[forthepresent]

[ Rei's whole body is stiff. it takes actual effort to loosen her jaw enough to speak. ] What I'm planning to do...?

we'll party with more another time >D

[loves_la_vie]

[Oh, a 'Rei-chan' might sneak itself in there later. But even after this long, she's not quite used to relating to the girls on that level. She's rarely able to see them, unfortunately.]

I'm focusing on my career. [She finds she likes being able to say that after so long when Venus had to come first.] Ever since back then.

\o/

[forthepresent]

Ever since...?

[waterfell]

Of course. [And another twist, another bit of their words she's throwing right back at them:] Don't you also take note of your enemy's movements?

[Even the way she gives a little sidelong look with the words, almost mischievous, holds that sense of restrained glee - or perhaps malice.]

[loves_la_vie]

Ever since the past life ended.

[And then it comes, finally:]

So let's enjoy peace and do something fun this time - Rei.

[forthepresent]

-- We're not enemies. The Dark Kingdom fell.

[forthepresent]

Ah--

[ she had really not been expecting that. ]

-- sure.

[waterfell]

[Oh, Rei. It's not about that. It never was. It's about looking her straight in the eye and telling her there was no point staying there at Crown for her.

Of course, if she even fully recognizes it herself, it's something Mercury can never say. She gives an entirely skeptical, dismissive sound and a flicker of her eyes she might have learned straight from Kunzite.]

Don't think the Dark Kingdom ends with Beryl. [Beryl. No honorific, no title. She has about as much liking for the red-haired would-be ruler as Beryl had for her.]

[loves_la_vie]

[The way Minako sees it? When you're on tour half the time, and busy filming or recording the other half, you make the most of the moments you get. She learned a lot about that in her life.]

I'm feeling energetic today, so I'll even let you choose where to go.

[forthepresent]

[ her voice rises, cracking at the edges with frustration. ] The Shitennou are dead! There's no reason for you to be-- like this!

[waterfell]

[If Rei was looking for a way to wipe away that facade, she's found it. The shitennou are-

The shitennou are Kunzite, a man she has many reasons to dislike and resent, but the only one to ever think she was worth something and want her. Zoisite, who stays to himself. Nephrite... Nephrite, who for reasons she can't even name, keeps making her want to see something finally go right for him. Jadeite, overly loyal but reliable in many things. She finds she doesn't like thinking of their demise.]

Don't speak like that about them to me. I don't like it.

'is this?? a date?? help me'

[forthepresent]

[ well. the majority of Rei's life has been split between the temple, training, and school -- most of her social outings have consisted of their group meetings in Crown.

so she is honestly kind of stumped. ]

... What do you like doing?