Hikawa Shrine is peaceful at this time of day. There are no crowds, and only a few visitors have come to meditate. Rei Hino herself is in her miko outfit, sweeping the stone pathway leading up to the shrine itself.
She occasionally stops to watch the passers-by walk down the sidewalk, but only for a moment before she gets back to work.
A black bird flies over to her and lands on her shoulder. "Phobos," she says, holding the broom up straight and petting the raven with a single finger. "If only all ravens could be as well mannered as you."
Deimos lands on the opposite shoulder, and Rei reaches to scritch her under the neck.
A few minutes later, Ami is walking up the steps to the shrine. She's carrying her bag, but she still seems to be pretty down in the dumps about what happened the other day. She tries not to show it, but it's clearly etched upon her face and how tightly she's gripping her bag. "hey Rei." She says in a soft voice looking to Phobos and Deimos.
"Ami-chan!" says Rei, seeing her friend climb up the stairs. Phobos and Deimos fly off, perching in the trees among the other ravens.
Seeing Ami's expression, Rei frowns a little sadly. She glances back to the temple before turning back to Ami and says, "Hey, you want to come inside for some tea? Grandpa just made a fresh pot."
Inside the tea room would also be a much better place for them to talk freely, or at least that's what Rei is thinking.
Ami smiles a little to Rei and nods. She lets out a little sigh before she lets Rei lead her to the tea room, so they can talk privately. She sits down and slowly pulls her computer out of her bag. Knowledge is still her thing, but it's quite clear her confidence is gone. The events that happened yesterday clearly has her shaken up, and not just because children were involved.it also seems that she's doing everything in slow motion, and wordlessly, until her computer finally boots up, and the sadness is evident in her voice.
"I found something that you and Makoto might find a little interesting, Rei-chan."
Rei leads Ami to the tea room, careful to avoid a conversation with her nosey grandpa. Once the two of them settle in, Rei pours a cup of green tea for Ami and then another for herself.
There is also a plate of bready treats for the two of them. It should probably last the two of them a while since Usagi isn't here.
Watching Ami boot up her computer, Rei tries to think of a good conversation starter, but Ami brings up her own topic.
"Oh yeah? What did you find?"
Ami Mizuno takes a breath and reads something. "Apparently, Corvus was a crow, according to greek mythology. A messenger and courier for the old greek gods, who was caught in a lie when asked to fetch water in a cup. Instead it waited for delicious figs to ripen and made up a lie that it had been attacked by a snake. As punishment, Corvus was flung into the sky and into the heavens, where it is now a constellation."
She then begins to look in the files upon ehr computer. "A second one may be a little more relevant. It is also the name of a god in the native american traditions, a trickster god....a stealer of fire....and souls, who speaks in riddle and rhymes."
This is where Ami starts to do a little bit more on the computer. "The last part is where it becomes a little relevant to our current situation, and the native american god. An article in a newspaper brought something up in a side news article, buried, but about a month ago, an exhibit from america was moved into the museum in penguin park.....about native american heritage. A few weeks after it's arrival, one of the artifact was reported stolen....a stone tablet of a small rare set. A few days after this tablet is confirmed missing, is when the first victims begin to start appearing." As she explains the last part, she turns the computer around so Rei can see the picture. "The only thing is....the connection to the girl makes no sense at all. The greek tradition mentioned priests and prestesses, who's job it is to feed and divine from crows and ravens and their feather....called Augurs."
Rei sips her tea as Ami explains. The Greek connectiion kindof makes sense... but the Native American reference seems more spot on.
When Ami brings up the image of the tablet, Rei stops midsip, and for a moment looks like she's about to spit out her drink. Miko-like restraint is the only thing that stops her, and she sets the teacup gently down on the table.
"That tablet. That exact one. I've seen it before, in visions surrounding the raven. I mean Corvus. When I focus my readings on that, that's when it starts getting really dangerous for me."
Rei stops to think for a bit, but then she says, "It sounds like there might be some truth to those legends. Corvus gave a very strong feeling of being bound or restrained, as if he were in a cage or was somehow imprisoned."
However there's still one piece to the puzzle that is missing. "Still nothing on the girl? I think I can guess on Corvus's motive's here. He wants to be free. The girl, however... we still have no idea what her goal is."
"No, nothing on the girl. I don't know why she's stealing the souls, whether for this, Corvus, or just for her own devices, it's....dispicable. And completely out of our league. Even Nephrite wasn't this powerful. By the time we get to anyone, she's already claimed either one or more souls and then she disappears, and we're no closer to an answer." She says turning her computer back towards herself. "It's starting to look like the only option given to us is to destroy her."
Rei listens as Ami explains, and closes her eyes. She meditates on what Ami has said to her for a moment, before opening her eyes again.
"I've felt much that makes her pitable, but I haven't really felt anything that would indicate that she can be redeemed. We'd just be assuming that, and in the end... we might not have a choice."
"Even if we give it our all, destroying her might not be easy. She's no pushover. We've given her a chance to turn around or open up to others... she refuses, and keeps running around hurting people."
Rei pauses. Even if what the witch is doing is terrible, is killing her the right thing? Is she ready to make that choice?
"If we do destroy her and Corvus just finds another student, we'll be back to square one. We'll need to figure out how to destroy him, too. If we can't do that, we may have to seal him up."
"So, in the end, we need to seal up Corvus, or destroy him." Ami says in finality, and she leans forward enough for her head to tap the table. She hasn't even touched her tea. "This is......how do you defeat a god." She says flatly. "A god is supposed to be everything and nothing. Beyond even our mortal senses. Corvus even steals FIRE!" She says gesturing to Rei. "So....how do we defeat him? Plus the fact that he's stealing the souls of children......"
Rei watches as Ami leans forward. Defeat a god? Rei isn't sure she even has an answer to that.
"I don't know, but it's been done before. Someone must have imprisoned him, because he's imprisoned. Maybe he's not as godlike as the legends claim, or maybe..."
"... Maybe the crack in his prison is small enough that mere mortals can fix it."
Rei adjusts her legs, folding them underneath her.
"Whatever the case, it's clear that he needs souls. He keeps badgering the girl to get them. The fact that he /needs/ something means that he's not all-powerful and can't just get whatever he wants."
Rei holds up a single finger to punctuate her point. "If he could, the prison wouldn't even be an issue."
Ami Mizuno sighs a bit. "or we could find that tablet that was stolen....figure out where he is, why he wants souls, and if need be, destroy the tablet. In any case......I don't even know if I can be of help to you, Rei-chan." She says rubbing her face. "You saw how.....useless I was at the tower. it was only when I was willing to kill the girl, that I was able to drive her off."
"I don't think you were useless, Ami," says Rei. "The enemy is adjusting to our tactics, and we have to adjust to theirs. If the only way to stop her is to attack her directly, then that's what we have to do."
"It's not like we haven't tried it the other way. My ofuda worked this time, but I got distracted by that polearm guy and couldn't finish her, and now that she knows how dangerous that is I doubt she'll fall for it a second time."
Ami is really sad about this, and Rei reaches across the table with her hand. "You've done a lot. You've really driven our investigation forward. Yesterday we got unlucky. We just need to keep trying."
Ami looks to Rei, but it's clear she's not truly convinced. "do we truly have to destroy her? there HAS to be another way, Rei-chan. If we destroy her, this Corvus could just find another way to exact his will, like you said, then we're back to square one." She then sits up. "there has to be something about that tablet that was stolen. it was the only one in the entire set that was stolen." She then ponders. "We have to see the rest of the set....."
Rei hesitates a moment, looking into her tea for a moment. "There is a way..."
She lifts the teacup and sips, before setting it down.
"I've mentioned it before. If I do a reading on the tablet, I might be able to find out more about it. Yet as I've said before it's really dangerous."
Rei considers for a moment how to do this. "I want to be in my henshin when I do it, and if we can get Makoto and Usagi to help us that would be ideal."
"I also have no idea what will happen." Rei swishes her cup around, wating the tea swirl inside. "Also, I'd like you to have your computer out and monitoring me when I do it. I'll be focusing on the reading, so I'll need you to watch my back."
Ami seems a bit more motivated since Rei still wants her help, but she still seems a little....off. "I just feel helpless against this girl. She seems determined to put everyone in a coma, and she also begs us to let her do her work. it's like she doesn't even realize that she's hurting people at all, or she think begging us to let her do her work is going to make us say 'oh, since you asked nicely'. It's what made me snap and try to kill her. She KNOWS what she's doing is wrong, but either she's being forced to, or she's using a ploy."
Is it a ploy? Rei has to consider that for a moment. "I think she's desperate, and she's pleading with us in desperation. If I had to guess, she does what she does because she /has/ to, and she's just trying to get us to let her do what she feels she has to."
Rei props her elbow onto the table and leans against her hand. "... but let's not be dishonest with ourselves here, Ami. Corvus was a trickster god, right? It's likely that he's tricked her into thinking that she needs to do these things. For all we know, he /caused/ whatever made her so desperate, and manipulated her feelings in order to bend her to his will."
"Even if that's the case, I don't think that lets her off the hook, but we can't discount the possibility that Corvus is tricking her."
"On the other hand, it could very well be the case that she's learning how to be a trickster herself."
It's at about this point that a polite tap of knuckles against the wooden door frame sounds from just outside the room, and a moment later Makoto peeks in. "Rei-chan? Ami-chan?" Her green eyes flick from one to the other, brightening a little in confirmation of what she'd hoped to find, before her gaze settles on Rei. "Your grandfather said you guys were back here..."
Ami look up and smiles a little bit. "Hey mako-chan." Her voice isn't all that pleasent, especially when she relays the information again to Makoto. It's not good news, but it's news that they didn't have before. But the conclusion so far is that they either need to seal Corvus away, or they need to destroy the girl. The latter isn't something Ami wants to even say.
"Mako-chan!" says Rei, cheerfully. "Please, come in! I hope my Grandpa didn't harass you too much on the way in."
From beyond the doorframe a passing grandpa's voice complains, "You're so cruel, granddaughter. How could you suspect your poor old granddad. I've been a perfect gentleman!"
Rei glowers at the direction of the voice. It responds, "Alright! Alright! I can feel your eyes boring into me through the wall."
As grandpa wanders off, Rei pours a cup of tea for Makoto and gestures to a pillow next to the table. "Please, have a seat."
As Ami makes sure that Makoto is caught up on the conversation, Rei adds, "It's not a pleasant choice either way... but the stakes are really high."
"I don't think we can afford to mess up here."
Makoto laughs a little ruefully at Rei's greeting and Grandpa Hino's reply from outside, which might give some indication of how much of a 'perfect gentleman' he actually was (hint: not very). The humor doesn't last very long, though, as she settles down at the table and listens to Ami's review of the situation.
She's quiet until both Ami and then Rei have spoken, cradling the cup of tea between her hands. When Rei has finished, Mako lets out a quiet sigh.
"It really does seem like that thing is probably manipulating her somehow," Mako says. "If it comes down to it, though, we might not be able to make her talk to us. Either way, we can't let her keep hurting people."
A grimace crosses Makoto's face, before her eyes find Rei again. "If you think it'd be worthwhile to try another reading, I'll be here to back you guys up. Although," she admits, "I don't know how much help I can be with something like that."
Ami Mizuno says, "it's likely, We'll only need to be here to support Rei while we do the reading. And yes, it seems like it's manipulating her, but until we can figure out HOW much it's manipulating her, she's as much of a threat as the one manipulating her." She then takes another sip of her tea. "And I don't know how comfortable I am in destroying someone, despite what I did yesterday.""
Rei pauses for a moment after Ami says her piece, then she just says, "I don't think I'm willing to write her off either... but even if we decide not to destroy her, we're still going to have to fight her, even if it isn't a fight to the death."
Going back to an earlier topic, she says, "And yes, you'd be here in case I end up summoning something terrible, or in case I pass out, or in case whatever-it-is that I'm doing a reading on notices me and tries to track me down."
"Whatever we do, we should do soon," adds Rei, "We need that information."
Ami Mizuno nods quietly. "yeah, I know. I guess the Ice shard will come in handy after all." She then chuckles. "Thankfully, I got a few more attacks too. Variations of the Shabou spray I had."
Makoto looks from Ami to Rei and back again, brows lifting, concern visible on her face. "It sounds like all of us feel the same about wanting to save that girl," she says. "So let's not borrow trouble too far in advance. We already know it's not gonna be easy, but there are still things we can try."
She takes a small sip from her tea before setting the cup down and straightening up a little where she's sitting. "For right now, we know what our next step is. We'll figure out where to go from there depending on what happens during your reading." That's good enough for Mako, at least.
Rei nods at Ami, and then at Makoto, "That's right. We need to focus on the here and now. We don't need to commit to such a choice, especially one we don't like, when we're so far away from being in that position."
"We know what the next move is. Once we know that, we can make our next decision. Anything else is too far ahead for us to really plan for it."
Rei runs her fingers along the edge of the table, thinking for a moment. "It might also be the case that we don't learn anything, but we still need to try."
"Right, Rei-chan." Ami says putting her computer away. "DO we want to wait for Usagi, or do we want to schedule your reading sometime soon?"
"Usagi would probably help," says Rei. "If nothing else, four can do more than three."
Makoto looks to Rei for her answer to Ami's question - and, when it comes, she nods decisively. "And if things do go really bad, we'll probably need Sailor Moon's power. That's that, then!" Suddenly her voice is full of the energy of a course of action set, and she sounds almost cheerful. "We just need to check with Usagi-chan and figure out a day that all of us can meet."
Ami Mizuno nods quietly. "all right. Lets see if we can get a hold of her before we do the reading." She says before smiling. It seems she's gained a little bit of confidence back....at least for the short term. "I'm really sorry I freaked out on you, Rei-chan. Just....seeing her taking the souls of CHILDREN.......and there was nothing I could do....not even my fog helped. I just lost it."
"I'm just glad you're feeling better, Ami-chan," says Rei. "I know fighting is hard and what she did was inexcusable, but your a critical part of this team and I don't want you to forget it."
Rei looks between Makoto and Ami, seeing the energy come back into the room. "I think we're all set. I'll see what I can do to set up in the meantime. Between the four of us, we'll figure it out."
"Don't worry, Ami-chan." With these words, Makoto leans to place a supportive hand on Ami's shoulder. "Feeling powerless when people need you is the worst, I know. But it's not over yet! We're all backing each other up, so just like Rei-chan said, we'll definitely find a solution."
She smiles, warm and encouraging and - somehow - full of confidence. "It'll be all right."