1765/Assistant Archivist

Assistant Archivist
Date of Scene:	27 July 2016
Location:	Seiyou Public School - Royal Garden
Synopsis:	Mercury introduced Gutai to Tadase. Gutai being her proposed assistant with the archives! Gutai also being Naru Osaka.
Cast of Characters:	Ami Mizuno, Naru Osaka, Tadase Hotori

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Ami Mizuno has posed:
Even in the midst of emotional distress, Ami Mizuno cannot ignore her responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is the agreement to work on Virtue's future archive, and for that she's further taken the responsibility of drawing Naru deeper into the world of magic by having her act as assistant. But in order to get Naru involved, she must first join Virtue.

What a complicated web.

Thus, after finishing cupcake making, Ami sent Naru a text and asked her to meet at the amusement park, and sent Tadase a text and asked him to meet her at the Garden. At the amusement park, Ami waits quietly just outside, in the place she asked Naru to join her. Today she's dresse'd for success in a pair of bluejean overalls over a white tanktop, with sandals on her feet. She's busy fiddling with the little halberd on her wrist while she waits in the evening light. She looks tired.

"Do you have the coordinates?" Ami asks the halberd quietly.

"Noch nicht," the halberd replies.

Ami frowns at the device. "Keep working on it," she suggests. "There's still plenty of time."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru arrives at just the moment she said she would, not her usual satchel over her shoulder, but her second favourite. The other one is still drying. She waves to Ami as she spots the girl, waiting to come closer to speak.

"Hey Ami." Naru smiles easily, for once looking not tired herself. There's a quiet consideration and then she asks thoughtfully. "How are things? You look tired."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami looks up from the device towards Naru, then shrugs. "Been studying too hard, I guess," Ami lies. It's not a difficult lie to pull off despite school being out of session, given it's Ami, but she's still a bad liar.

"So we're going to meet Virtue today," Ami explains to Naru. "You'll need to be an official member in order to be my assistant on this project, but all that means is that you agree to help other members of Virtue out as you can."

"First," Ami says, "We need to discuss your identity. It's up to you if you want Virtue to know you as Naru-chan, or if you want to take on a secret identity. Just because the Senshi and Shitennou know who you are doesn't mean Virtue has to. Do you want to keep it a secret?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
The look that Naru provides at that answer about 'studying too hard' basically proves that she spends entirely too much time with Kunzite. There's just a quirk of her brow, and its clear that she isn't buying it. Not for a dollar, or a hundred yen, or any other amount. There's just a little 'unh hunh' that comes with the skpetical, however, as Ami continues to other topics.

Naru nods at the mention of meeting Virtue and being an official member. There's a little furrow of her brow at the notion of secret identitiies.

Naru considers that for quiet moments and then nods. "I suspect it's far too late to try and take on a secret identity, I'm fairly well known as me, but I think I would."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It's never too late," Ami points out to Naru with a smile. "Besides," she says as she draws a little pen out of the kangaroo pouch on her overalls, "We're dealing with magic. And this is a role no one but you, me, and Usagi-chan know you'll be taking on."

Offering the pen to Naru, she says, "This is a disguise pen. Just come up with whatever name you want, and--" she's interrupted b y the device around her wrist sounding a soft ping.

"Standortwechsel bereit"

Ami glances at the device, then nods. "Excellent," she says, then looks to Naru. "The pen will turn you into whatever you want to. For today, just hold up the pen and tell it, 'I want to look like a magical girl'. It'll work out the details for you."

Then, Ami flips her wrist, and the device dangling from her bracelet seems to detach and jump into her hand. "Alright, Eiszapfen, let's do it," she says. "Set up."

"Anfang verwandeln. Bereitet."

The device begins to glow, expanding outwards into subspace and drawing on its constitutent parts. A lengthier shaft appears and affixes itself to the device, along with a heart-shaped triedent head, sharpened along both edges so it is both trident and halberd. Her clothes are transformed as well: first a sleeveless bodysuit, overwhich a gold filigreed blue breastplate collapses. Pauldrons on her shoulders and a choker about her neck are positioned to hold the breastplate to the transforming Frost Knight.

Long gloves of silky white complete the upper portion of the outfit. Around Ami's waist, a heavy metal belt, similarly decorated with gold filligree, rests on her hips. From this, a leather battle skirt unfolds and falls to her knees. Tall plate boots begin to coalesce over her bare legs and feet, with enough height to protect her knees. Finally, a tiara of brilliant blue forms on Ami's brow, once more decorated with that same gold as the rest of the outfit.

Frost Knight Mercury emits an aura of palpable cold, although in the summer heat it's almost comforting.

"Whenever you're ready," Mercury tells Naru, "We'll transport to Virtue's headquarters."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru reaches for the pen and considers it a moment. "Fair point, we /are/ dealing with magic here."

Naru waits as Ami transforms into Frost Knight Mercury, watching with more intent and detail than she usually has opportunity to, just how that all fits together. Naru has never been one to be shy about her curiosity, but generally when people are going to henshin around her, things have already gone horribly horribly wrong and the opportunity for watching is slim.

The pen is held up, perhaps not with quite the vigor of one who actually believes its going to work, and Naru looks to it. "I'd like to look like a magical girl. Please." Clearly when addressing a pen, one should be properly polite.

Naru looks down at herself and there's a soft giggle. "What is it with the bare legs? Great for this time of year, but it has to suck in February."

The pen's interpretation of 'magical girl', looks very frothy skirt and bare legs and swirly bits on her top with a lot of implications of power that doesn't /actually/ back itself up when considered closely.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Mercury glances down at her outfit, then smirks at Naru. "Just what I think of when I think of a magical girl in armor, I guess," she says. "Some combination of the Senshi and Xena: Warrior Princess. Besides, I don't feel cold even in the deepest winter, in Henshin. It protects us from it. Your disguise pen won't, though," she notes. "It's not a real henshin, just a disguise. But ... you look good," she observes with a grin.

Mercury debates for a moment, then raises her trident, and from the ground she draws up a pillar of ice fully as tall at herself and polished to a mirrored sheen. "Have a look," she suggests to Naru with a smile.

"And then, when you're ready," she notes, "Tell me your name, and we'll go."

She doesn't wait long for Naru to look herself over. When the fake magical girl says the word, Mercury points her trident to the ground, and a sudden chill washes out over the asphalt as a circle of magical runes and frost draws itself on the ground. "Eiszapfen, take us to Virtue," she commands.

"Uebertragung."

There is a brief build up of magical power, and then they both vanish from the amusement park, only to reappear just outside the doors of the Garden at Seiyou Public School.

"Welcome to Virtue," Mercury says, as she opens the door to the garden and allows Gutai to preceed her.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Gutai mercifully doesn't have issues with teleportation, she doesn't even startle as they appear elsewhere.

A few steps lets her preceed Mercury into the garden, glancing around and the conversation they'd started about leggings dies as they arrive. "I am going to presume that no matter that it mostly looks as if we're at the garden here, that its' either not always here, or that we're not /actually/ where it looks like we are."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Frost Knight Mercury smiles as she follows Gutai into the Garden, then motions up the wide walk towards the center. "Actually, no. We hide in plain sight," she says as she heads towards where she's sure Tadase is waiting. "This is the Royal Garden at Seiyou Public School. Nothing special. At least, not yet."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Clearly it must be working, I've never heard anyone comment." Gutai comments as she walks with Mercury towards the centre of the gardens. "Not yet?" She asks, a note of curiosity hitting her tone. It'll be that, more than anything, which will give her away as who she really is, pen or not.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
And, of course, Tadase is where he usually is - sitting at the table that rests under the gazebo after the long walk along the floral-lined path through the massive greenhouse known as the Royal Garden. Beautiful, well-maintained flowers of all shapes, sizes, and native locations bloom - except for one specific blossom that everyone has seen far too much of.

He's in the school uniform despite school being out - because with the blue cape it's as much the Guardian's uniform as it is anything else. Settled on the table, as always, are small pastries and a kettle of tea, along with wares to serve it on.

The whole place has the air as if it would be prepared even if Tadase wasn't warned, like Virtue's headquarters is always ready for guests, rather than anything else.

Tadase waves from the chair before getting up to pull out two chairs, one for each guest. Kiseki waves, but doesn't get up from stuffing his face with pastry.

Then, he stops and tilts his head. "Mercury?" he asks, curiously. Kiseki only now comes up to sit on Tadase's shoulder. "You look... different." Kiseki astutely notes, hand on his chin.

"It's an entirely different henshin, Kiseki." Tadase says, half-sighing.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Mercury gently rests the butt of her trident on the ground, then shrugs just faintly. "It's complicated," she explains to Tadase and Kiseki. "Suffice to say, I have a Belkan device right now named Eiszapfen. I'm still the same Mercury you know, and nothing's really changed," she promises. "I'm still a Senshi. I'm just learning about Belkan devices."

"But I didn't come here to discuss my powers," she says, then motions, "I came to introduce Gutai," she says. "She'd like to join Virtue, and I would like her to be my assistant in managing the Archives. She's especially good at cataloguing and indexing, which will free my time up for security and programming."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Gutai pauses as they come up to the gazebo, and the lovely place setting that's there. She gives a little bow, a smile that holds more hints of shy than she'd like to admit to for both Tadase and Kiseki.

She's quiet as Mercury introduces her, and there's a nod of agreement as its explained the why of it, and her potential role. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase nods and bows a little bit, as does Kiseki. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Gutai-san. And it's good to see you again, Mercury-san." Tadase smiles. There is probably a sparkle or two, subconsciously escaping. "I'm Tadase Hotori, King's Chair, and this is my Guardian Character, Kiseki."

Kiseki puts his hands on his hips and puffs up a little, which really only makes him look more adorable, not more imposing.

"I think you mentioned you might have an assistant in mind, if my memory is correct, so I guess this is who you have in mind?" he says, quietly. Then taps his foot. "I don't know that I've seen her around. Lindy is probably going to want more information. It's easy to trust you, because we know you, but it sounds like you're talking about someone with almost as much access." he says, moving to pour tea.

"No offense intended - it's just that as much as I'd just take Sailor Mercury's word for it, I can't promise that'll be true with the Remnant or the Taisha."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The sparkles normally earn amusement from Mercury. They're a curious side-effect of just how pretty this boy is, and his magical connection to Kiseki. Today, though, they hardly even earn a glance. Instead, she takes a seat and rests her weapon against her hip. "I understand that she is an unknown," Mercury says, "and I'm patient in getting her introduced to those who must. However," she notes, "She has my utmost confidence. I have known Gutai for as long as I have been Mercury, and she is a good friend."

"She has my trust."

Important words, those. "I would be happy to introduce her to Lindy, and Blue, and to meet the Taisha and introduce her to them, as well, if that's what it takes. Shorter term, though, I would like her to be introduced to Virtue on the whole. I don't think it would hurt anything to get her access to a phone on my recognizance, would it? Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask can also vouch for her, if needs be."

Naru Osaka has posed:
There are moments when all of the rampaging new that has gone on in the last six months all sort of come to an absurd moment of realization, the surreal perspective of one's former self looking down upon a current moment and going 'How did I get here?'.

The sparkles appear to have caused that brief moment to flicker across Gutai's expression, there and gone again in barely a blink.

"Tadase-san. Kiseki." Gutai greets each of them as she moves to take a seat just after Mercury does. She's quiet, as she listens, nodding to the various names that are mostly familiar to her, and saving questions just for the moment. Mostly.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase nods. "I think that'll be fine." he pauses, takes a drink of tea, and smiles. "Realistically, I imagine if you trust her as much as you say, she's already aware enough of the goings on that I don't think giving her a phone will twist the balance much." he begins to stand up. "If you'll excuse me for just a moment."

Tadase gets up, walks into the back rooms of the Garden, and returns with a small sleek phone which he sits facedown on the table.

"At least provisionally, I'm going to give you a Virtue phone on the recomendations of Mercury and through her, on Moon and Kamen-san." he says, looking at Gutai. "Just don't misuse it, or I'll send Kiseki after you." Kiseki makes an akanbe at Tadase.

"Work is almost done on the Archives proper. I'll be glad to make the announcement. I've heard some people say we're not putting enough effort forward, and, privately, they might have been right. So, I don't want to keep that going. I think it'd be best if we showed we're about more than just these phones."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Mmm," Mercury agrees with Tadase with a nod. "I'll meet with Lindy's hackers whenever she's ready for that. I'd like to have our security figured out before we start putting data in. When can I go down and take a look at the servers? I'd like to verify everything before we turn them on for the first time."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Thank you." Gutai replies simply as the phone returns with Tadase and gets put on the table. "I will be careful with it, as I already am with my notes."

Gutai listens to the conversation about the archives, and annoucnements and effort. "What sort of image are you hoping to put forth to the membership?" The questions, they have started. She taps the phone lightly. "I'm going to be travelling, should I leave this somewhere safe in Tokyo, or are you comfortable with it being out of country with me?"

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase taps a finger to his chin. "Well, I think they're going to start moving equipment in tomorrow. If you want to be there to keep an eye on them and direct them, I think that'd be fine." he says, leaning back. "Lindy should be there, so probably two birds with one stone sort of deal."

"I just want people to know we're not..." he stops for a moment, finding the words... "entirely still or silent. We know there's a real danger still out there, even if now it's more quiet than it used to be. We want to protect people, and we want people to know they can rely on us to do that. To protect people."

Another pause, and he smiles. "I've already got a couple girls with thier phones well outside of Tokyo, so feel free. It's not like anyone can read it if you were to lose it. It's magical - only works for you."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Also, you can personalize it," explains Mercury to the artistic girl next to her. "And it gives you access to our message boards, texting other members, and our hotline." Pause. "Anyways, more importantly, if Lindy will be there tomorrow, maybe we can introduce you to her then."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'd love to meet her." Gutai nods in confirmation with a smile. "I'd wondered how best to set up an introduction, so this seems fortuitous." She oohs softly at Mercury and nods. "I'll spend some time customizing it later today then."

"I'm glad to hear it's not at risk of being read, can I store notes in it?" Gutai looks hopeful there. "Far more secure than how I have to this point, if so, which would be a relief."

"When things are quieter after such an intense threat, it's easy to think that there's nothing going on. Ongoing communication is valuable, even if it feels redundant." Gutai nods in agreement with Tadase.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase nods. "Yeah. I mean, it has all the capabilities of a normal smartphone, and if there's anything it doesn't do that you think it needs to, you let me know."

Then there's a sly smile. "Yeah, it'll even play Go, before you ask."

"I don't think things are as quiet as they seem to be, just the current threats make less noise than the old ones." he says, quietly. "Insidious instead of loud and boisterous. That's part of the reason for the Archives."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Really?" Gutai laughs softly at the mention of being able to get pokestops on the shiny new Impressive phone. "That, I'm surprised by. I shouldn't be, but I am."

There's a nod from her at the next mention. "Things are not quiet." Gutai is confident on that point. "Less noise, certainly. More personal than city shattering, which makes it harder to keep a sense of what's actually out there, and what's actually active. Are there any sort of statistics being kept at all? These may be silly questions, and forgive me if they are. I haven't had a lot of opportunity to get details from Mercury yet, we wanted to do this step first." She gestures at the meeting.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase smiles. "That's what you two are going to be responsible for. Keeping statistics, collating information. The Taisha may have more than the Guardians do at this point, but I'll be honest - it hasn't been my focus."

"And really, we don't have the mind for it." Kiseki notes. "We'd just make mistakes and it wouldn't be as useful as it needs to be."

"Plus, I wouldn't know how to turn statistics into information." Tadase finishes up. "I figure we let people do what they're good at, and nobody matches Sailor Mercury for this sort of thing. Especially not with help she trusts."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"She's far more effective at the quantitative stuff than I am." Gutai nods in quick agreement. "I'm hoping to help her, but also add some descriptors and less crunchy, if you forgive the term, assessments around the numbers. I'm looking forward to seeing how the numbers shake out, I have to admit." There's a smile that really speaks to exactly why Mercury might be willing to work with her, when 'seeing how the numbers shake out' brings a grin.

"I. Er. Well. I'm not entirely certain who the Taisha are." Gutai admits with a touch of sheepish, glancing between Tadase and Kiseki both.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase grins. "Well it sounds like you'll make a good team, then!" he says. "Well, we won't know what we've got until we can make sense of it. There's a lot of information stored away we really haven't had anyone to look at."

"The Taisha are... an old religious group, basically. And they want to protect the world. And they have a lot of cash, so that comes in handy." he says with a wink. "But they're on our side, even if a lot of people find them a little creepy. You probably won't run into them very often, though."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Are they of a 'dont call them, they'll call you?' sort of group?" Gutai asks with a little smile and a nod. "I am going to say that my baseline of tolerance for 'creepy' is really very high these days. Would they be amenable to a meeting to discuss what they are currently noticing, do you think?"

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase shrugs. "Most people just treat them that way. And they're kinda secretive. They're odd, but not odd in the way that you're probably used to."

"I could try to get some sort of representative in contact with you, but there's also the fact that most of them have... for lack of a better word, taken a vow of silence with regard to the outside world."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"That is going to make gathering information from them distinctly challenging." Gutai comments thoughtfully. "Are they currently contributing information? Or .. I don't wish to step on toes for not knowing the protocol and agreements that might be unspoken between groups."

Gutai flips over that new phone to start it up and go hunting for a note taking app, because of course she does. "Even to me, my questions sound presumtuous, forgive me."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
"I think at least in your initial meeting you shouldn't greet them directly... maybe I can have the representative show their face... mask... whatever... alongside Lindy?" he says.

"They do, sometimes. They're a little secretive, too, though. Like the TSAB they used to be part of Justice and we don't always see eye to eye."

"That's alright, I don't mind answering them. You're supposed to keep information, so it wouldn't do for me to hide it from you."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It tends to feel presumputous when basic questions are followed up with a lot more, but thank you. I appreciate the answers." Gutai nods, glancing up with a smile before referring to her notes again.

"That seems like an excellent compromise. I am willing to provide somewhere that I can be contacted at their discretion, if it would make them more comfortable than being contacted." Gutai mmms softly and nods a little. "I hope, personally, to try and gather information without judgement. I don't know if that will always succeed, but even when one disagrees with it, knowing that its out there is important."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase nods. "Well, unfortunantly I'm not a very good source of information on the others, and the Guardians are pretty straightforward - we're the nexus of Virtue, we try to help people in need. We protect the dreams of others." he says.

"But I'll try to fill in any gaps as best I can, if there's anything you need filled specifically. But questions about those groups should probably be directed at them, since I'm just a secondhand source."

"Your mindset is a good one for the role we need you to fill, though!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I've been discovering that tidbits of information come from a lot of places, there's never a single source." Gutai shakes her head. "So you might not think you're a very good source of information, but I expect you are far better than you think." She pauses and then asks. "Literal dreams, or the hopes and dreams sort of dreams. I thought only the later for the Guardians, yes?"

Gutai nods with a little smile. "I am eternally curious and people are fascinating. I enjoy sitting down and talking with whoever will speak with me."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
"Hopes and dreams sort. Other folks defend the sleeping kind." he says with a smile, then instinctively picks up Kiseki, who finds a resting spot on his shoulder.

"Well, I'll direct as many people as I can your way." he says, quietly. "I think it'll be handy for the archives to have. Maybe you can do interviews - not everything needs to be kept in the sense of a written word - verbal history is good."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Verbal history has a tendancy of vanishing, if it isn't recorded in some sense." Gutai comments with a nod. "Although that's better suited to recordings than reports. I'd appreciate any connections you can send."

She smiles and nods. "I should probably take my leave, and let you get to the rest of your day. Thank you." She gestures with the phone, as if that bit of magical tech is a good stand in for everything. Virtue and phones and information and all of it.