3806/A Scanner Dreamily

A Scanner Dreamily
Date of Scene:	23 September 2019
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - King Penguin Park
Synopsis:	A few days after The Last Nightmare, Sailor Mercury invites Kotomi to the Park to scan her and see what she can figure out about Kotomi's magical potential.
Cast of Characters:	Kotomi Kobana, Ami Mizuno

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Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Ever since the incident in the dream-world, Kotomi has been particularly anxious and depressed. It's gotten to the point that her mother and sister, on separate occasions, each independently asked her what was wrong. Naturally, Kotomi was entirely unable to tell them.

So when she gets the text from Sailor Mercury, she jumps at the chance to be distracted. She hurries over to the park on her bicycle, wearing her pink and white striped dress, and with a trans flag pinned to the lapel. Of course, as she makes her way to the appointed spot, she finds herself becoming ... increasingly nervous this time. Quite apart from everything else, meeting one of the actual Sailor Senshi again is somehow even more startling than running into one of them by chance.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Waiting at the appointed spot, Sailor Mercury tries not to fidget. Even in her Sailor Senshi guise, she's... well... an anxious person. She swallows and looks at the Mercury Computer, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

When she notices the life sign approaching on said computer, she looks up and around, spotting Kotomi right away. She forces herself to relax, shoulders dropping, jaw unclenching before the other girl meets her.

"Hey, thanks for meeting with me," she says in a quiet voice once Kotomi's close enough.

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Ahh it's Sailor Mercury! Kotomi bows stiffly. "Ah. Hi!" she says. "It's, um. It's ... fine. I mean, um." She shakes her head. "I'm not ... really sure ... what to even say, heh ..." She sighs. "... stuff happened the other day and I'm ... even worse at, at talking than usual ..." She shakes her head and stands up straighter. Wow, yeah, she's really kind of out of it.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Mercury tilts her head, looking at Kotomi closely--without the Mercury Computer. "What happened?" She stows the computer and walks toward a bench nearby, then pats the seat beside her. "You are not okay, and even I can see that." She smiles faintly. "Talk to me."

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi goes completely silent for a moment as she walks over to the bench and sits next to Sailor Mercury. She remains silent for another moment, looking like she's trying to put her thoughts together.

Then in one breath, she blurts out, "The Nightmare Prince broke open the seal to release the Eater of Dreams because he wanted revenge on it but it beat him and Ariel-san and, uh, and another dreamer magical girl stayed behind in the seal so it couldn't get out and she's been there for two days now and ... and ..." She shakes her head. "... so ... uh ... yeah. It's. I ..." She basically runs out of coherent words at that point.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The girl known as Sailor Mercury slowly looks confused, then horrified. "Ariel's... in this seal?" She shakes her head. "I see." And she stares out across the park for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "More reason to get you up to fighting speed, then, right, Kotomi?"

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi mumbles, "Yeah. She ... put it back up from the inside ... and ... yeah." She shakes her head. "I-I mean, don't get me wrong, I know we're gonna ... get her out somehow. But. In the ... in the meantime, uh." She shakes her head. "Yeah."

She smiles weakly up at Sailor Mercury. "... That sounds good," she says finally. "... heh, with all this going on, I'm ... not even worried about fighting in the waking-world at the moment? It feels like it sort of ..." She shrugs. "... doesn't matter as much." Another shrug. "B-but, I mean, it'll definitely help, thank you!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Smiling gently, Mercury nods. "I know. It doesn't feel like it matters much at all." How many times has Usagi pulled this kind of thing? "But Kotomi... If we don't help here, on the ground, while Ariel fights in there, what she's doing is moot." And then she nods. "Are you ready? It'll just take a few minutes to scan you."

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi shrugs. "W-well, I mean ... all this is happening in the dream-world, where I can fight." She nods. "But, um ..."

She takes a deep breath. "Y-yes, I'm ready!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Well, that was rather figurative," Mercury muses as she pulls the computer back out. "If you don't keep monsters from swarming the seal, it'll really help." And then the bluenette smiles kindly. "Can you stand, please?" And she does the same.

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi nods. She ... basically doesn't want to keep contradicting Sailor Mercury, so she's wary about bringing up the fact that Ariel's mother Amalthea is already on guard duty, but she obediently gets up and stands in front of Sailor Mercury.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Well, if Mercury doesn't know, she doesn't know, and more knowledge is always good. She literally knows nothing here! But, she doesn't know to ask more, so she just scans Kotomi, quiet as is her natural state, and then waits for the readings to compile.

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi does her best not to fidget! She swallows, starting at the Mercury Computer as it works, eyes wide.

... Her magical output isn't great; there's clearly some potential, but it seems to be immediately below the minimum necessary for her to easily perceive and remember magic on her own, outside of repeated or long-term exposure.

There does seem to be something curse-like, or some sort exposure to dark energy, and it seems to be cut from the same cloth as Ariel; in other words, it came from the dream-world. However, it has clearly been mostly purified, and there's nothing left that seems directly dangerous to Kotomi in and of itself. Just, y'know, indirectly, due to the whole thing about seeming delicious to youma.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Mercury bites her lip and carefully relays this info to Kotomi, her expression guarded. "I don't know what it means," she says. "Curses confuse me. That's more Sailor Moon's realm, or Ariel's, or someone who can purify. I can't," she explains, frowning.

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi bites her lip. "... oh," she says softly. All at once, she deflates, and goes to sit on the bench again. This is one of those bad moments, where her anxiety feels vindicated that things are going badly.

Then she frowns up at Sailor Mercury. "I ... know that I only started to remember magic clearly after I got the curse," she says slowly. "I kept sort of ... blanking out on it for bits at a time ..." She hesitates. "Or ... maybe ... after I started transforming," she says, picking up steam again. "This ... spirit sort of girl called Icela sort of pulled my classroom into a Nightmare, and it ... I guess I must've purified myself. Uh. Hmm ..."

She pauses. "... I still dunno what it actually means or what to about it, though," she says. "I'm sort of ... coasting by on dream-logic, I think."

She sighs. "... Ariel, right ..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Frowning, Mercury sits beside Kotomi. "I wish I had better news. Maybe find this Icela girl again? Maybe she can help you. I'm at a loss."

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi snorts. "No, Icela-san hates me for fighting off the Nightmares she sends after people," she says. "I-I know this other Nightmare, Yasumi Yumeji, is the one who actually put the curse on me." She frowns. "... She's been considerably easier to find, but she ..." She hesitates. Realization starts to dawn on her. "... Well, A-Ariel-san knows her better than I do, but ... I think Yumeji-san doesn't want to be a Nightmare. She's just really unhappy ... but ... she feels like she has to do bad things ..."

Her voice trails off. She shakes her head. "... yeah, I dunno what's up with her ..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Watching, listening, Mercury lets Kotomi speak. Her blue eyes watch the other girl as she speak.

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi shrugs, and looks hesitantly up at Sailor Mercury. "... dunno what else to say, really," she says. "But. Um. Finding her ... might help, like you said. Lacrima-san offered to talk to her about stuff, maybe she can talk some sense into her."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I'd take Lacrima up on that. She's good at talking sense into people," Mercury agrees quietly. "I really like Lacrima."

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi actually manages a faint smile at that, and she nods.

But then she deflates slightly. "... Haven't talked to her at all since ... it happened," she says softly. "Haven't ... gotten out much, really." She shrugs. "... but ... so, um, thanks for at least, um, getting me out the door, heh ..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"You may want to text Lacrima sooner than later. See how she's doing. I understand that she and Ariel are--close." Mercury speaks very quietly.

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi nods slowly. "Um ... yeah," she mumbles. She has absolutely no idea when she'll be able to do so, since she's not the best at reaching out to others at the best of times.

She gets to her feet. "Well, um ..." She shrugs. "Thank you, Sailor Mercury, for the help you've given me so far." She smiles faintly. "Guess I'll, uh, see you later, then."

... Wow, she can't believe she's saying that to an actual Sailor Senshi, but ... oh well, that's pretty much her life now.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Mercury gives Kotomi a sad little smile. "I'll see you around, Kotomi. I'll be in touch, okay?"

Kotomi Kobana has posed:
Kotomi nods, heading back over to her bike. "Right! I'll, uh ..." She hesitates. "... try to talk to Lacrima-san, too!"

... Not that she has any way of knowing what Lacrima has been doing since then ...