View source for 1094/Dangerous Games

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2016/02/23
|Location=Pikarigaoka/Uminari City - Hikawa Shrine
|Synopsis=Ami has been taking on some Dark Energy from Takashi, and Rei is a bit worried.
|Cast of Characters=54,64
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>For nearly two weeks, Ami has been largely out of contact with her friends. Certainly she's been available by text, but she only really asked Usagi and Makoto to visit her where she's been staying, and she's been largely quiet about where--specifically--that is.<br /><br />A few nights ago, however, she finally escaped her captor's home and fled to Makoto's, where she's been staying since as she finishes her recovery. But there are some things which just haven't sat right with Ami about her entire experience with Kunzite. Today, she is feeling relatively well, and so she decides it is a good day to go out for a walk, and see one of her friends.<br /><br />A cab drops Ami not too far from the shrine, but it's still quite a ''bit'' of a walk through the wooded area to the Shrine itself. By the time Ami can see the Torii that marks the shrine's entrance, she's already grimacing and out of breath. She'd be cold if it weren't for the very oversized blue coat she's wearing, especially given her attire seems to consist of a not-quite-winter-appropriate dress and knee-high socks beneath boots. There's far too much skin showing, and most of it is very pale.<br /><br />Ami turns towards the gates, taking one step after another, hugging herself as her pace slows with each following step. "Rei-chan," she calls ahead, voice a little softer than it ought be.

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei is, fortunately, in the courtyard of the shrine when Ami shows up. She was in a shop booth, organizing the charms and other nick-nacks that they sell, when she looks up to see her friend. Her friend who has been out of contact and... looking... very... pale.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What the heck?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei leaves her booth and runs up to Ami, seeing her out of breath and a bit underdressed for the weather. Rei wraps an arm around Ami for support, trying to help her get to the shrine proper, or at least to some place where she can sit.. "Are you doing alright? You look ill."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei hesitates. Something seems off and wrong about her. This isn't just a physical problem, is it? "... wanna come inside and tell me what happened? I get the feeling something very bad happened to you."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei tries to lead Ami inside the shrine. Whatever Rei was doing can wait. Ami looks like she needs help yesterday, but Rei can't do much unless she knows what's wrong.

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I'm fine," Ami retorts gently, although she doesn't shrug off Rei's help. "Just a little winded," she mumbles, as she allows Rei to help her inside. Ami doesn't say anything else until they're safely ensconced within the shrine, and there is a nice comfortable couch beneath her. There, she huddles up within the coat, allowing the oversized blue monstrosity to rise up until her nose is buried beneath the collar.<br /><br />"Sorry," Ami says after she's had a few moments to catch her breath. "Still recovering from whatever Kunzite did to me. There's a lot there, and it's not ..." she trails off. "It's not all healing well. I should probably still be with Agera-san, but I needed to get away from him for a little bit."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei takes Ami to the nearest couch inside and sits her down, sitting next to her and peering at her. Her lips are curling into a frown. She ''really'' doesn't like what she's seeing here. Or hearing. Or ''feeling''.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"What Kunzite did to you? Is ''that'' why you've got so much dark energy in you right now? You're practically oozing with the stuff. I'd be concerned that you were a youma if I didn't know you."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei's mad. She's mad because her friend is hurting and has been inflicted with something terrible. "So you're not healing properly. Any idea why? It wouldn't surprise me if that dark energy had something to do with it."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She catches something else Ami says, too. "You had to get away from Agera-san? What, was he being a creep? Or did you just not like being around him that long?"

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>She should have known Rei would sense it. She should have known, but she didn't think it through. And that's really just evidence of the effect it's having on her. Ami grimaces at Rei, then looks away. That's not a good sign; since when has Ami ever failed to meet Rei's eyes and face her honestly?<br /><br />"I guess Usagi didn't tell you much that's been going on with me," Ami mumbles quietly, then sighs and reaches up to rub at her face, inadvertently smushing the coat collar into nose even more. "How much ''do'' you know?"

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I know that you've been out of it for a while. I know what you told me, that Kunzite poisoned you... but that was a while ago! I'd have expected a recovery by now!" Rei frowns at this. This is well beyond 'having a rough day'. This... this is actually very concerning. "I also know that Agera-san has been trying to help you by taking the poison into himself, but that apparently hasn't really cured you."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei shakes her head. "I think you need some other form of help. Has anyone other than Agera-san looked at you recently?"

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"What?" Ami asks, surprised by Rei's conclusions. "No ... I mean, no one has, but that's not ... I'm a lot better than I was," Ami says. "I can ''walk'' now. I couldn't even do that on my own for the first three days. Look it's ... it's complicated," Ami says quietly, then sighs and cranes her neck a bit, getting out from behind the muffler that is the oversized coat.<br /><br />"Ugh, I guess it's going to get out eventually," Ami mumbles with a sigh. "Kunzite's attack was meant to kill me," she reiterates quietly. "And it was ''very'' carefully crafted to do just that. He injected me with a poison on nearly every square inch of my skin, usign diamond-like flechettes that caused intense abrasions. The ''abrasions'' healed very quickly, just like you'd expect, but the flechettes were armed with a nasty toxin that combined dark energy, legitimate poison, and an impressive array of anti-restorative arrays."<br /><br />"The reason I'm not dead at all," Ami says, a little more terse than she should be, "is because Agera-san has been taking that ''out'' of me, little by little, and using himself like a dyalisis machine. He takes it out, then puts his own energy back into me so that I will have enough. " Here, she swallows, grimaces even, then explains, "The problem is, Takashi was born with dark energy through some cruel twist of science. So that's why you're sensing dark energy: because I have ''his'' energy in me. It's not been hurting me, but it probably has retarded my natural healing a little. Nevertheless, the alternative was my death. If Usagi had tried to simply purify this away, it would have only made the poison itself stronger. If Mamoru tried to heal it, it would have tained his healing. Kunzite never expected I'd have an ally with dark energy to defeat this poison. I'm lucky in that regard. I wouldn't have thought of it on my own."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ami couldn't walk before. Well, Rei actually remembers her saying that, but 'not being able to walk' is something that can happen after a normal fight, but then you sleep and get over it. The fact that it's even taking this long is still concerning. "It's complicated?" repeats Rei.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei listens to Ami's explanation of the attack that Kunzite used. Abrasions, okay. Actual poison, ouch. Anti-restorative arrays? So that's probably the thing that cinches all of it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"So the dark energy was from Agera-san? He was born with that inside of him?" Rei looks down at the wooden floor ahead of her. So the dark energy wasn't from Kunzite, but Agera. "The dark energy is actually helping? That's... a little hard to believe. If it didn't come from ''you'' I'd probably just say you were being brainwashed somehow."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei stands up, crossing her arms as she takes a few steps ahead. "If Moon-chan and Mamo-kun couldn't help, then my ofudas might not be all that helpful either. I think that much dark energy might be a threat to you too, but I guess medicine isn't always gentle on the one taking it."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turns to face Mercury, kneeling to match her eye level. "Still, the moment you think it's safe to, you need to get that energy out of you. Do you think there's someone else's energy you could use instead of his?"

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Why do you think I'm here?" Ami asks Rei quietly, sighing just faintly. "I'm staying at Mako-chan's, now. I probably ''should'' still be with Agera-san, but I need to be away from him. Too many ... too many things were happening too fast and I wasn't comfortable anymore. It's not that he's creepy, although he ''is'' a little creepy sometimes. But that's probably because he's a complete nerd, like me, and he doesn't know how to not be creepy, and how would ''you'' be if you had been filled with Dark Energy all fourteen years of your life? You'd probably be a little creepy, too, right?"<br /><br />It's very clear that Ami is rationalizing; as if she's trying to convince herself, rather than merely Rei. "But that's why I have to get away. I'm starting to think things that I don't know if it's really me or if it's the dark energy. I went to Makoto's last night, and I'll be staying there the rest of this week. Monday I plan to go back to school, so ... hopefully by then I'll be back to normal. I'll probably still not be physically perfect, but at least good enough to sit in class."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei listens as Ami explains. Alright. So Ami actually thought of that on her own. At least it isn't clouding her brain. Or maybe it is, considering what Rei's hearing from her.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Alright. Well, if that's the story..." She sits back down on the couch next to Ami, letting her hands rest in her lap. "I think anyone who has been poisoned with dark energy for that long would be lucky to not become a monster. He actually seems willing to help you, which is a good sign, but there's something scary about that, too."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Still, if he was going to attack you, he would've done so already." Rei sighs, then puts an arm around Ami. "If you think you can get to school, sure. Usagi and Makoto will be there if you need help." Rei won't, because she goes to a different school, but for the moment she's kind of wishing that wasn't the case.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I guess it's a good thing you went to Agera-san. It's also a good thing you left when you did."

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Ami leans into that hug like a cat into ear scritches. She puts her head on Rei's shoulder and closes her eyes, then sighs. "He'd never attack me," Ami says to Rei quietly. "He saved my life. He risked himself against Kunzite and got me to safety, and then he shared his soul with me, told me everything about himself, so that I could be healed."<br /><br />Ami puts her arms around Rei gently, then hugs her softly. "I know it seems really bad, but Kunzite's all dark energy, too, and if he weren't being mind controlled by Beryl ... I mean he's helped us so much. He's why Jadeite is free. Why we found out about the palace in Paris, and why we had help at Walpurgisnacht. I believe in Agera-san. I think ... I think he might have a crush on me," Ami tells Rei quietly. "And I'm not sure if I feel the same way. ''That's'' why I had to get out. I need to figure this out, and I'm worried it's just the dark energy talking. I don't know."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei's hug gets tighter as Ami leans into it. "Yeah... I mean he seems safe enough in that regard. I guess anyone who has lived with dark energy for that long has learned some way of coping with it. It's true, Kunzite was inundated with dark energy and he was actually very helpful to us before he got brainwashed again. He started being helpful again after the brainwashing cracked a second time."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei's violet eyes glance at Ami from the side of her eyes. "Did you hear about that yet? Nephrite was also purified, and Kunzite helped with that too. I don't know where he is. He might be hanging out in Jadeite's palace along with Mamoru."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei scratches the back of her raven hair, thinking out loud, "I guess if Kunzite could act like that, so could Agera-san."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then the crush is mentioned, and Rei nods. "I remember you asking me about that. Well, if you're uncomfortable with that, it's probably good not to stay in his house."

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"What?!" Ami asks, surprised enough to lean away from the hug, just a little. Except Rei's hugging tightly, and it's nice, so she falls right back onto her friend's shoulder. "No, no one told me. Usagi-chan said she's with Mamoru, and that he's safe, but that's all I knew."<br /><br />"Kunzite and Nephrite free again," Ami mumbles thoughtfully. "Oh but Kunzite's probably still not ''free''. I think I figured out how to solve that. Maybe. But no one's going to like it, and if I'm wrong ... we won't get a second chance." She purses her lips in thought, then shakes her head.<br /><br />"I'll find a better way," Ami concludes quietly. "Anyways, yeah. I don't ... I don't know if it's real or not. And I don't know how to figure out if it's real. But I know I can't do it while I'm under his influence. So I left. He knows I'm Mercury," she notes thoughtfully. "Usagi-chan told me that since I know so much about him, it's safe to tell him. And he wanted to know in exchange for some information I thought would be useful."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Kunzite couldn't be freed because... well, it's just more complicated than that. He's just... like he was before right now. I don't know what state Zoisite's in, either." Rei cants her head when Ami says she might have a solution, and no one's going to like it. "I see. Well, it has to be better than what we have right now, which is nothing." On the other hand, no second chances. That's no good.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"... a better way, yeah. I mean, better to make sure, right? May as well make it count."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei listens as Ami talks about Agera. She thinks it over. "His energy might be affecting you, even if he didn't mean for it to." She nods. "It'd be better to figure that out before agreeing to anything."

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Ami lets out a little sigh. "I'm not sure it's better than nothing," Ami notes quietly. "It involves killing him, and then trying to resurrect him. It won't work," Ami is second guessing herself. That ''has'' to be the dark energy; she usually won't even discuss an idea unless she's reasonablyt sure it will work!<br /><br />"I'll find a better way," Ami reiterates, "and if I don't,w e'll use that as a last restort. But I don't want to kill him."<br /><br />"Venus probably does, though," Ami notes thoughtfully. "And Agera-san definitely does."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Killing him and reviving him...?" Mars blinks as she hears the plan. "Y-yeah! Don't tell Venus about that unless you're ready to do it. She'll want you to kill him regardless of whether or not it'll work!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, it's a little unlike Ami to doubt herself. It's normal for her to double check and make sure, but to say outright that it won't work?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"How would you revive him? I mean... that in itself seems like quite a feat." Not entirely impossible, since apparently the senshi and the Dark Kingdom are all living a second life ''somehow'', but Rei can't imagine that being something that one could do every Tuesday. "Last resort, yeah."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She hugs Ami a little tighter. "I think that dark energy ''is'' affecting you. It's not like you to not have faith in yourself. You must have some reasonable amount of faith that it will work. Maybe if you just have some time to recover from that... not only the poison but the treatment."

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"It won't work," Ami reiterates with a shake of her head. "But if it did, I'd figure out how to get that little crystal they all seem to be made of. Or gem. Whatever. It's a kunzite, of course. I'd find his, and after I killed him I'd plant it in an Osiris Bed made to look just like him, with earth that Mamoru-kun selected from the right places, and roses. And then I'd put it in the palace in the South, and we'd nurture it until he just ... regrew."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"An Osiris bed?" Rei blinks, trying to imagine a bed of flowers in Kunzite's shape. "Well... I mean... I could kind of see that working. If you had his gem, you'd essentially have him, and you'd just need a body for him, right? Planting him on Earth, in his palace, seems like the best chance he could have."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei thinks it over. Would that work? Ami seems to think otherwise, but she's afflicted. "Well, we can't purify him. If we did, it... it would probably just reduce him to his kunzite crystal. That's if we're lucky and Beryl hasn't infected that as well. He might have to be saved for last, all things considered."

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"We'd probably also need Usa--no, no not Usagi-chan," Ami says, furrowing her brow. "No, it'd have to be Mamoru-kun. He'd need to imbue the bed with his energy. Maybe often. Like watering the flowers, but ... with his earth energy. Or whatever. I'm sucking at articulating th is stuff right now. Ugh, it's so ''annoying'' second guessing myself like this. How does Usagi-chan cope!?"

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei listens, and nods. "I think I get it. Mamoru would have to use his energy to nourish... whatever was growing and would become Kunzite. I imagine it'd take a lot to make Kunzite a full and complete person again, but I know that Mamo-kun wouldn't give up easily."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How does Usagi cope? Rei giggles. "You know her. She just pops back up no matter what knocks her down. I don't know how she does it, but she does recover, and so will you."

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Mmmhhhhhhh," Ami grumbles out oh-so-eloquently. She falls silent for a few moments, then asks, "Do you have any coke? I could really use a coke. And then ... maybe I should take a nap before I go back to Mako-chan's. Because I don't think I'm feeling right, right now."

:'''{{#var:64|Rei Hino| (64)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rei shakes her head, "You ''aren't'' feeling right. I've never seen you act so down on yourself, but that's probably the dark energy talking. You'll feel better when it clears."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She releases Ami and stands up from the couch. "I'm pretty sure we have some coke. I'll go get it for you, and if you need a nap you can use my room. I'll probably go back to work if you're napping though, since there's still stuff I need to go do."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The miko heads off towards the kitchen to fetch a soda, looking back once to make sure she's okay before vanishing around a corner.
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