1739/Surprise Visit

Surprise Visit
Date of Scene:	16 July 2016
Location:	Pikarigaoka/Uminari City - Hikawa Shrine
Synopsis:	Misa needs a place to hide for the night, and has come to Rei's shrine.
Cast of Characters:	Rei Hino, Misa Sakagami

---

Rei Hino has posed:
    It's a relatively peaceful night in the Hikawa shrine. Grandpa is in his room, asleep, giving the world a long-awaited rest from his usual antics. The crowds of visitors are long gone, safe in their homes and away from trouble. Crows are in their trees, awake longer than they might normally be, their cries soft yet many. If one were to study them closely, they might think that they were calling out to someone dwelling inside.

    And one young shrine maiden does answer their call, peeking her head out of the shadowed doorway, before walking out across the darkened stone pathway. She's wearing her usual white and red, having fallen asleep for a short while in her miko outfit. She runs a hand through her long raven-black hair before approaching the trees.

    Rei extends one hand, and a crow lands on her finger. She opens the other hand, revealing birdseed for the crow to eat. In a whisper, she asks, "What's going on, Phobos? Is something wrong?"

    The crow stops eating, looking Rei with black little eyes. Another crow descends onto her shoulder, finding its perch and resting there.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Maeko had taken a beating. She still believed in her mind that she won, but ultimately... she had lost much of her body to the fight with Hannah and Lacrima, even if she regenerates quickly, it was still a loss of energy that she didn't like. As such, she separated from Misa, leaving her... wherever, really. In the two smaller forms, they could regenerate without using the energy of maintaining the transformed form.

     Which is why Misa woke up in pain. The right side of her face, an arm, much of her back and her front. All were in pain, all were cracked and damaged, and her right eye flat out didn't seem to be working. It was terrifying. It was agonizing. And so all that Misa could think to do is go to the only place she knew of that was even remotely safe. The shrine. As such, there is a slow ~plip~ ~plip~ ~plip~ audible as Misa makes her way up the shrine steps.

     Her footsteps were just as slow as she made her way into the shrine, one arm holding the slowly-regenerating arm that was ... seemingly partially just... gone. In fact, her face wasn't much better off, though it seemed to still have some structure to it, though there were cracks around the edges, and it seemed she was still human enough to bleed... though... the fact she was a doll might be glaringly obvious as she finally gets to the shrine. Her right eye seemed to be completely missing for the moment, with only a pink glow in its place.

     In short, the young girl walking into the shrine is an absolute mess. "I...is... anyone here..?" She asks in a somewhat hoarse voice; cracked and partially damaged lips creaking a little as she talks. Dark energy swirled around her, focused on where the wounds were the worst, providing a relatively fast regeneration, visible when watching, though still pretty slow. Which begs the question of just how bad she was /before/ she got to the shrine.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei feels Misa long before she sees or hears her. That much swirling energy would catch her attention no matter what, and the fact that it's dark energy makes it an immediate threat. Or at least, a potential one. Aren't villains usually a bit more sneaky about this kind of thing?

    Rei's gaze darts around, looking at bushes, trees, at the shrine... trying to find where the source of the darkness she's feeling is. When she hears Misa's voice, she turns her eyes in her direction, and then with slow, cautious steps the rest of her turns as well. Rei studies the little girl, widens her eyes as she notices that it's a doll, and then gasps as she notices that doll body attached to a recognizable face.

    The two crows take their leave of their mistress, returning to their tree. She casts the birdseed aside, and in an instant there's an ofuda in Rei's hand. A raven squawks, and she turns a questioning gaze it's way. Is it telling her to stop?

    Rei studies Misa for a moment. The ofuda-holding hand falls to her side, and then that thin slip of paper vanishes back into some hidden pocket on her clothes. It's then that she notices what exactly that dark energy is doing, and the sight of so much damage pushes her away from 'defensive' and closer to 'pity'.

    She tilts her head, a sad look in her eyes. Rei's hands clasp each other behind her back. She calls out, "I'm here."

    After a pause, she adds, "You look like you're in rough shape."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "...It hurts..." Is Misa's first response to Rei as she speaks about her being in rough shape; now that she was closer it was probably obvious to see that there were tears coming from her good eye, she was beginning to make her way towards Rei, lifting her less damaged arm towards her. "I woke up... and... it hurts... n...never... been like this..." She manages to get out.

     She seemed to be doing her best to be strong and explain what happened, but since she can't ... really... remember what happens when she 'sleepwalks', she doesn't really know what's going on. "She's... not even... watching right now..." She adds quietly. And it was true. There wasn't that ever-present sense of being watched that Maeko's presence always seemed to come with. No. It was just Misa tonight, for whatever reason. "Can... stay... here..? Safer..." She asks quietly, her voice was gradually getting a little less hoarse; she was getting her lips repaired more fully, a very subtle creak audible.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei watches as Misa approaches. She's dark, scary, and inhuman. Should she trust this little girl?

    Every sense except one is telling her that this is some kind of trick or deception. Every sense except one is saying that this is a terrible idea. Every sense is screaming 'no' except for the one sense that she trusts the most.

    "Sure."

    Sometimes the minority gets its way.

    Rei walks towards Misa, her red pleated skirts swishing as she moves. When she gets close to Misa, she extends a hand. "If my grandpa wakes up, just say you're a friend of mine and that you're staying over. Also..." Rei glances towards the dark energy currently healing Misa's arm. "... it's probably best if he doesn't see that. I'll give you some blankets to hide under. I might have some old clothes around you can wear."

    She purses her lips, considering. "... don't you have a home to go to? Or... is that not safe right now?"

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Dark, scary, inhuman, and yet... also gives off some strange sense of weakness. Even the dark energy surrounding her felt more borrowed than necessarily Misa's. Though it might be hard to tell because of how it's permeated through her body. That 'sure' gets a smile, a small one, but pure and thankful. "...Thank you..." Misa murmurs quietly.

     The extended hand is taken in Misa's likely-smaller hand, and Misa grips it firmly as she gives a little nod. Luckily her face was probably one of the first things regenerating; the disconcerting half-damaged face was becoming a much more normal face. "I'll... try to... hide it... maybe... it's hard..." She mumbles quietly. Not only was she kind of missing an arm, but she was bleeding. Just human enough that there was a mixture of both porcelain and flesh.

     The question of if she has a home to go to gets her gaze lowering. "...My arm... my face... my body... questions I can't answer... they would just get scared..." Misa responds quietly, biting her lip softly. "Wouldn't you... if your adopted daughter wasn't human anymore..?" She asks quietly, a little shudder running through her body at the thought of her parents seeing and knowing. They already had enough problems with her as their daughter.

Rei Hino has posed:
    As time goes on, the miko... well, it wouldn't be correct to say that she's relaxing so much as it is to say that her concern is less about 'someone maybe attacking shrine' and 'someone seriously needing help'. Which is a different thing entirely. With Misa's hand in her own, Rei guides her closer to the shrine. The crows are no longer making noise. This is the right path, no matter how strange it may seem.

    "I wouldn't... but... it's different for me. I don't think that this is a problem that normal people can solve." Rei's voice is soft, and a little sad. So, this little girl used to be human. Did she see her joints the last time she was here? Rei doesn't recall. She certainly never saw anything that would indicate that Misa wasn't a person, but she recalls that strange spine-chilling feeling that she certainly isn't feeling right now.

    "I know people who might be able to help. Maybe. I don't want to make promises, but... if it's okay, maybe I can introduce you to them?"

    Mamoru would be a good contact, especially since they've already met. Usagi, too. She constructs a mental list of people she might involve in this. She might even go ahead and just tell Virtue, honestly.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa moves ... mostly ... easily as she's guided towards the shrine. Blood loss and pain was making her a little unstable, and when combined with the stairway leading up to the shrine, the girl was exhausted, but likely in too much pain to actually fall asleep at the moment. It was honestly likely a miracle that Misa was able to talk and not just sob uncontrollably at the moment, possibly saying something about her strength... or possibly just how used she is to it by now.

     "...Going to my adoptive parents would just get them hurt anyway... I've been... trying so hard... looking... every chance..." But Maeko had stopped her every step of the way, had hidden the books that could actually help from Misa's eyes, had filled Misa with dark energy that would make it so that even if she found them, those methods wouldn't be effective.

     "...If you want... she'll probably come take me again soon though..." Misa says quietly towards Rei. There was a distinct resignedness in Misa's voice; the voice of someone who had all but given up. But she had still reached out for help, so obviously she hadn't fully given up... right? Or maybe she was just scared and wanted to find somewhere safe.

     Her face had fully healed, though there was a lot of damage; much of it hidden under her clothing to her front and her back. If she was a normal human, she would be horribly scarred from it, most likely.

     "...I'm Maeko... I ... I mean... she... she uses me..." Misa whispers quietly, her gaze lowering. "I... I don't... remember it... so I just call it sleep walking... but I know she uses me... I remember when she enters my body to take it over..."

Rei Hino has posed:
    It probably says a lot about what Rei's seen and been through that the sight of blood and even missing limbs doesn't cause her to gag or pass out. It probably also says a lot that she isn't immediately revulsed by the broken doll currently holding her hand. That she even believes her story and accepts it... well. It wouldn't be hard to conclude that Rei has dealt with things like this before.

    The sight of Misa getting better so quickly, especially from such grievous wounds, is a bit relieving. Even if she's using dark energy in order to do it. It doesn't solve the long term problems.

    Still, it's never a happy thing. She isn't happy seeing this girl suffering, but that just means she has work to do, doesn't it? Happiness comes later, when things are fixed, if they can be fixed.

    The news of who this girl is, in relation to Maeko, the cursed doll... Rei's face is covered in shadow as she hears that. To know that doll is this girl... to know that one is using the other... It's not a happy story, but it explains a lot. Puts a lot of things in context that were mysteries before. Was it Maeko who constantly watched them, last time Misa was here?

    "Well, you don't have to worry about us getting hurt here." She turns to Misa with a gentle smile. "I'm a lot tougher than I look."

    The walk into the shrine and through is fairly straightforward. Rei leads Misa to her room. Usually when she has a sleepover, it's with the other senshi, but it happens often enough that there are spare beds and blankets around. The miko is fairly used to having company over, especially of the magical variety.

    Rei points down a hallway as the two of them pass it. Her voice is just a little bit lower, since they're now inside. "The bathroom is over there, if you need it."

    She looks down at Misa. "You can hide here if you want to. I'll contact my friends. I won't let her take you easily, but even if that happens, we can start working towards a solution. Just be careful, okay? There's a way out. We just need time."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Though she was healing relatively quickly... Misa was probably going to take at least overnight to recover from the missing arm, it was healing quickly -- for a missing limb, but that was still a lot of body to replace. Still, there was some vague sense of feeling safe from Misa. She gives a small nod at Rei's assurances. "She doesn't like it here... it's... why I came here..." That and she didn't know where else to go. Shrines were safe places though.

     Even if the dark energy in her rebelled against being in a place like that, it made her feel a little on edge and uncomfortable, but it was still better than the alternative. Just... wandering in the streets didn't seem like a good idea at the moment. What if someone tried to take her to a hospital? "...Okay... I... haven't eaten or drank in a long time... I probably won't need to..." Misa explains.

     "I think... I'm like Maeko... I need energy now... food helps a little..." She mumbles quietly. Though she hesitates, looking up towards Rei with a little bit of fear on her face. "I-I have enough right now though! I... I wasn't asking for any, or anything..." She says with a firm nod. She wasn't even sure she could get energy, short of letting Maeko take her over, anyway.

     When she's told that she can hide there if she wants to, she gives a little nod. "Thank you... I'm sorry... I'm probably going to bring you trouble..." Misa says quietly, biting her lip lightly. Maybe it would be better if she just left in the morning... Maeko wouldn't be as mad... probably...

     She takes a slow breath once they're in the bedroom, looking towards Rei quietly, waiting for her to tell or show her which bed she could use. Or where she could sleep.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei tilts her head at Misa, a question clearly in her violet eyes. "You don't eat or drink anymore?" She glances down to the doll-like arm, the mix of porcelain and flesh, before looking back at Misa's eyes. "I guess not. I'd offer some energy, but if you have enough then it's probably best I remain at top form." Especially if she's expecting a doll to come around soon.

    Rei notices Misa's look, and releases her hand to go walk to a nearby bed. She spends some time straightening out the covers and blanket. "You can sleep in this one. It's Usagi-chan's. Sort of." If Misa were a few years younger, she might phrase it as 'a princess usually sleeps there!', but she decides against.

    Rei walks over to her own bed and sits down in it. "Really, any bed is fine, except this one. It's mine."

    The miko reaches up to run a hand through her hair. "Don't worry about that. I'm used to trouble. Especially of the magical variety. I can take it."

    She pauses, considering, and then smiles at Misa. "I don't know if I introduced myself last time. I'm Rei Hino. I'm... also Sailor Mars. So believe me when I say I'm used to this kind of thing."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "...I do eat and drink... I still get hungry and thirsty. It just ... doesn't... uhm... feel... as ... good?" Misa responds quietly to Rei. "But... I mean... I'm just... Maeko didn't let me go for a long time..." Not that she doesn't eat. She just hasn't really. Beyond that pizza and such when she was 'found'.

     Misa kind of stares at the bed for a bit, her gaze trailing towards her arm a few moments. And then the bed. She carefully pulls out a small spell tag, carefully erasing what was already written on it, and replacing the writing on it with 'clean'. and then she attaches it to herself. The blood begins to go away, getting off of her clothing and body.. her healing had largely stopped the bleeding, luckily her arm was probably not as unpleasant to see as it could have been, since it looks mostly just like broken porcelain that was gradually repairing itself. Soon, Misa crawls into the bed she had been directed at.

     "...I'm still sorry... you're probably busy and stuff." She adds quietly. She pauses, listening to Rei speak. She smiles a tiny bit. "It's nice to meet you miss Hino... I'm... uhm. Well, I'm Misa Sakagami. The... uhm... I guess... the body of Forsaken Doll Maeko..."

Rei Hino has posed:
    So... Misa does consume food. "Would you like me to get you anything? I'm sure I have some cookies around here, and maybe some water if you want some." Rei really is used to having guests over, and especially guests who like snacks.

    She frowns as Misa mentions Maeko not letting her go for a long time. Now that things are calmed down, she's starting to piece things together. It's not hard to infer that this girl ran away from home, or at least went missing. Either way, it was because she was possessed by Forsaken Doll Maeko. Her foster parents are probably very worried about her right now, and even though Rei knows where to find them she can't very well contact them about this. Not until Misa's condition is in some way cured.

    Then something happened to her recently. She's been beaten up and has taken wounds that most people would not be able to walk away from, let alone heal from on their own. Actually... that does bring up a question. "How... did you get beat up? That must have happened earlier today, since you're healing up so quickly? You don't have to say if you don't want to, but... if you're willing to tell, I'd like to know."

    Rei shakes her head profusely. "This is my business. It's one of the duties of a Sailor Senshi to help those who can't otherwise help themselves. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakagami-san."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "...I don't really want to eat right now... Maeko had a 'meal' earlier that doesn't feel good." Misa mumbles quietly. Probably why there was so much dark energy swirling around her; it might be recognizable as Hannah's if Rei had enough familiarity with the punchy device user and what her energy looks like.

     The question of how she got beaten up gets a slight shake of Misa's head. "I don't really... remember when I'm possessed. Sometimes I have nightmares when I'm asleep that might be what happened, but I don't... really... remember... so I really don't know how I got beaten up..." Misa responds honestly, though her gaze never seems to quite meet Rei's. "I'm sorry... I really don't know... I'd tell you if I did..."

     The mention of it being her business and such, she gives a small nod. "Maeko is a strong curse... I don't ... I mean... I've tried... I read so many books to try to learn how to get rid of her... but nothing really works... she just kind of laughs it off..." Probably because Maeko's magical growth was stunted, taken over by Maeko's energy.

     Misa carefully shifts over to get against the wall on the bed, pulling the blanket up over her to hide everything except her head, which seemed fully healed by now. "...Has Maeko ever hurt you?" She asks quietly.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Has Maeko ever hurt Rei Hino? The senshi thinks back. "I know that she's fought with some of my friends before, but aside from that one night you came here so long ago I don't think I've had a confrontation with her. She didn't stick around long enough."

    Actually, back then, Rei did see those joints. She recalls Misa saying that Maeko made them that way. The thought of that causes her to frown. This little girl has been suffering for a long time, hasn't she?

    She shakes her head. "It's okay if you don't remember. Don't worry about it. You did say earlier that you couldn't remember things when she possessed you." Rei does feel a hint of magic other than dark energy around Maeko. They might indicate wind magic. Mars hasn't really seen Hannah Sharpe in action that often, nor has she had man fights with her. Her knowledge of Hannah is based mostly upon things that her friends tell her.

    Mars offers her a weak smile. "Well I offered you a magatama last time, but you said it wasn't strong enough. Purification magic might help you, but that's Sailor Moon's power, not mine. It must be a pretty strong curse, if actual magical charms don't help."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa listens quietly to Rei as she says she's never actually fought Maeko, which gets a little nod and relieved exhale. "I'm glad... I don't like people getting hurt because of me." Misa mumbles, shifting a little bit in that bed, her eyes half-lidding. Exhaustion was starting to catch up with her. "...Well... Maeko would just remove the magatama when she possessed me... and I mean... I... don't... know that purifying me would help... I... I mean, I have this body, but I think Maeko would just re-curse me... maybe make it worse..." Misa says quietly, though her tone seemed to be getting quieter.

     And then she was completely quiet, her eyes having slipped shut as she lets herself drift off to sleep.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei watches as Misa falls asleep. Closely, as if guarding her. When Misa does finally drift off, Rei takes out a red smartphone and starts typing something up. It will take a while to figure out how to explain this, but Mars does need to get the others in on this.

    Rei stays up another hour or so after Misa falls asleep, warding the building, and especially the room, against evil. She remembers that having some effect, last time. When she's done, she takes a glance at the sleeping Misa one last time.

    Poor thing.

    It may be foolish, but Rei does need to get some sleep, so she lies down in her bed and closes her eyes. There's a chance that Misa might sneak out, or at least try to. If so, it's probably best that Rei doesn't keep her.