Sophia stands outside a café in the middle of Juuban Commercial District. She had been meaning to talk to David about the castle as well as get food. There was also the whole business with the president to mention. She pulls out her cellphone to call David. “Hey, it’s Sophia. I’m in Juuban Commerical District right now at… It’s sort of a large café . Want to food? Also, I have so much information to share right now. It’s been a long couple of days.”

David had nowhere else to go. He simply told Hino what he had to, not like he was lying. "I will be back," he sighed. "The mission is never over." Had he known more about Rei, perhaps he would have realized those words would make more sense to her than anyone else.

The cafe was rather cozy, a Western affair with outdoor chairs and umbrellas, the works, even with the lousy weather. Would it ever turn back to summer again? Rounding the corner, he noted Sophia, switching his phone to vibrate only, tucking it out of sight. She was a sweet girl, at least from what he could tell. However, there was still much he needed to learn about the group, their interactions, and their operation plan, if they had one.

"Sit rep?" he asked. Short for situation report, he didn't know of the lingo would register. Doing a double take, he sighed, shook his head, and closing his eyes for a moment, rethought his words. "What's the situation?"

By the time David shows up, Sophia has a lemon cupcake in hand and is starting to unwrap it. Sophia tilts her head a little, “Sit rep?” She untwists the bottom of the cupcake and uses it to sandwich the icing. As David clarifies, she smiles. It’s a little funny how someone can be so serious even over just getting food. However, she did have a lot to talk about too, but none of those things were bad news.

“Oh the situation! We’ll I’ve been studying all evening. And this is the only place that sells lemon cupcakes. I feel like I deserve one… That and I found a little about the sword and also we have a castle. And oh yeah!” Her voice drops to whisper as she leans in closer to David, “I met the President of the United States yesterday. He’s in Japan.”

She laughs, “But let me finish my cupcake first. Also, you should get something to eat as well. How’s the past few days been for you?”

David blinked, confused. How could this girl just breeze over these important developments as though they were no big deal? She knew where the sword was? There was a castle associated with the Venus monarchy? The President was here? Trying to clear his head and prioritize his questions, he nodded slightly. He really could have used a drink, but he would have to deal with the non-alcoholic variety.

Ordering a simple cup of tea, he joined the brunette again. "The days have been... interesting," he answered simply. What was she going to think about him working with a priestess? Was that something he even wanted to share? How would it influence their operations?

"I'm working with someone to strengthen my abilities, improve my control," he started. "If I can increase their range, increase their effectiveness on the Covenant goons, we won't have as much trouble as we did with Scorpio."

Sophia can empathize with David’s confusion. She had to go through all these events after all. “Yeah… this week has been really weird,” she adds before eating the lemon cupcake. She watches people walk by as David gets tea.
She has to wonder who David is training with. How many of the senshi and knights had mentors? “Yuki was training with someone too… Makoto Kino, I think. Oh, she’s Mars by the way,” she replies. “Maybe, I should consider getting a mentor,” she mumbles before shrugging.

“Alright, first things first. The castle. I sort of accidentally went there last time. I think I can get there again, but I should probably figure out a way to bring you. Anyways, the way I see it, it half belongs to you. There’s a lot of stuff there that dates back to the Moon Kingdom. There’s an shape-shifting pixie, called a power guardian, there named Aglaea who I suppose manages the place.”

“I got the shield power while I was there. And we talked about the Moon Sword. Evidently, what Kenji had was only a replica. The real one is elsewhere. It’s somewhat important that we get it before the others do.”

“If you want to go, we should probably head someplace quieter than here. And with no people.”

Artemis was lurking nearby on a windowsill. He had been observing this young soul who also had a tie to Venus. The one who showed up in the battle against Jadeite's monstrous form, he was sizing up the man. He had a strength about him, tainted by a troubled past. In spite of that, he seemed to show some kind of concern for Sophia's well being. There was something odd about his energy through: it was half open, while the other half was dormant. It was perhaps a response to a crisis in the past, where latent energy came to the surface to protect him. It made him wonder about the nature of male guardians. Was there any link between this one and the other before? Who knows.

He raised his head and meowed loudly enough to remind Sophia he was there and that he would follow them. After she had mentioned the castle before, Artemis was admittedly intrigued, though how to get to a castle floating above Venus, well that certainly produced a challenge.

David blinked, hearing the cat, and turning to see the white furball just sitting there, observing them. Twitching, he reached out cautiously, extending his dominant hand. It had an odd mark on its forehead. What had one of them said to him in the group? Something about getting their power from a mau cat of some kind?

Resisting the urge to pick the cat up, and shake it violently like a piggy-bank to manifest all of his latent powers, David simply pet the animal slowly, cautiously, showing it a timid level of respect.

"This is... one of those... cats the others were talking about, wasn't it?" David asked. "Is this conversation safe to have around him?"

“Don’t worry Artemis, I haven’t forgotten about you,” Sophia says, scratching him behind the ear. “Like I could forget about roommate,” she jokes.

She watches David cautiously pet Artemis and laughs. “Not a cat person, eh?” It was hilarious actually. He was willing to run into an army, but scared of a cat.

She raises an eye when David asks if this conversation is safe. “Well, he sort of gave me my powers. And gives me advice. And he lives with me, and I haven’t died. So yes, we can trust him. We can trust him a lot more than most people.”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you a question. My experience being taken by secret service made me realize I’d be sort of worried about him if I spontaneous disappeared. If anything were to happen to me, could you get him from my house and give him a place to stay?”

The request was odd, but not too unexpected. The thought of an intelligence service coming after her, taking her away set him on edge. How good was Japan's HUMINT resources? Could they have a man on the inside of the group already, or could they have bugged Sophia?

"Sure, I can give him a place to stay, if necessary," he answered cautiously. "Though you should get yourself checked out. Hanging out with guys like that... they carry all sorts of bugs." He hoped the meaning was clear, even if his grasp of the language wasn't. They couldn't keep being so bold and brazen about their shadow war. They needed to keep this war clandestine, at least until they could gain popular support.

"So Artemis," he started, turning to the cat. "You can fish out the rest of my powers, or..." He thought about it for a moment, David's face turning into a grin. It was almost like the recruiting videos, the promise of transformation, the long, arduous struggle that only a few could make. "The sword... is it needed to truly manifest everything residing within, or is it the challenge to get the sword that will test my resolve?"

Sophia looks at his nervous expression. She keeps her voice sort of hushed, “Sorry. I should explain that a little. So my father is a colonel. When we originally encountered Scorpio at an art exhibit, things didn’t go well. I was upset and sort of ran off for the rest of the day. When I got back, I sort of had to explain things a little. Some reason for my absence. I didn’t really know how much the American military knew, so I talked about Scorpio and the other senshi’s existence in Japan. Surprisingly they hadn’t really been given details on either of those. Anyways, they had more questions for me after seeing what happened to Scorpio. It’s a little scary to have a bunch of marines escort you off base, but I’m fine.”

She shrugs, “Considering my father is colonel and my mother is a commander… Well, it makes things a little awkward when you start to saying things like that.”

“However, the American military seems more curious about our existence unlike the JSDF which is pretty hostile right now. I’ll probably try to establish some kind of working relationship, which makes it really important Artemis has a place to go if something goes wrong. But I don’t anticipate it well! I’m fairly hopeful about this.”

She rubs the back her head as he starts interrogating Artemis, “We should go to someplace with less people or his talking is going to freak out a lot of people. Not something you see every day. There's Hikawa Jinja unless you know of someplace closer."

"The pursuit of power is the surest path to downfall...I think you need to learn there is a little more to being a guardian than just trying to get the power to defeat your foes. Strength in the service of others is twice as powerful as strength used to defeat one's enemies." he says, quietly, just audible enough for David and Sophia to hear.

The contact that David made with Artemis told the white mau a little about him. Cautious, analytical, he was more likely to see his powers as a tool to achieve his goals and not as a way to serve humanity and protect the innocent.

The white cat mumurs a little with a sound somewhere between a purr and a 'mrrrr' he leaps from the sill and waits for the two to walk off, joining them once they are on their way.

Listening to Sophia describe the situation, Yinko cracked a slight grin. This was it! This was his way in to an intelligence source. Granted, the CIA was well-known for fumbling in the field with all of the cultural clashes and clique behavior of emo adolescent, but he knew the SecDef's direct command and control of JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command running Delta Force and SEAL Team Six out of Fort Bragg and the Pentagon, wouldn't drop the ball so easily. They had been tied into some of the more riveting intelligence coups since the start of the Afghanistan campaign and the War on Terror's exploits in Yemen. And Sailor Venus, he realized, was his key in to that black world.

The ideas in his head started churning. David's conscience twisted in his gut ever so slightly, but as Yinko reassured himself, this was about war. Running a false flag operation was well within his reach, and having the intelligence to barter with the JSDF could be their ticket in to cooperation with the Japanese government, so long as they didn't make the mistake of openly sharing and cooperating with Japan's intelligence service.

Hearing Artemis start to lecture him, however, brought David back on the defensive. Scowling at the cat, he stood up, following the creature, Sophia in tow. They did have to find a place, and the shrine was as good a place as any.

"Priestess Hino and I have... an understanding," he started. "We can talk on the way there, Mr. A. Though... you talk of the pursuit of political and military power as though you were Yoda." The former Marine cadet couldn't help but grin. "However, how many times has Western Civilization been burned out of selfless service to the rest of the world? Forgive me, but until I know what I'm fighting for beyond defeating the Covenant, I achieve Sophia's and my survival through power, and through that power I gain victory. So, which is more important to you? Donating to the less fortunate before they die, or preventing their losses through crushing our enemies?"

Sophia notices the change in facial expression as she explains things a little more. Did David smile? "Wow… I’m going to record this day in my calendar as the first time David’s smiled,” she jokes. “Well, I’m glad you’re looking a little more hopeful about things. I’m still not sure how I’m going to go about all this though.”

Sophia’s a little surprised to hear Artemis’ words. She nods in agreement however. “I was only able to get to the castle by contemplating on the meaning of being a guardian. It is an important part of what we are.”

“Mr. A…” Sophia snickers. The formality seems so unnecessary. Also, Artemis just sounded better. He hardly seemed like a mister. That may be partly because Artemis was a cat though.

But it soon becomes clear that the cat and senshi are operating with entirely different set of goals in mind. She looks a little disappointed. “I see myself as having a duty to protect as many people I can rather than annihilating an enemy. And as for my own survival, I don’t care about it as long as I’m willing to save people. This world already has few enough people as it is without us killing more. And there may be a chance that some of them can be redeemed and saved. That’s worth it in my opinion. How can we expect to reap a brighter future if we only sow death?”

"There might be some truth to what are you saying, but when this battle is over, would you know what to do with yourself then? Would you know when to stop the killing and begin the healing?" the white mau says, giving David a firm, hard look. He was young, he had been through a lot, but the white cat wanted to see a little more mercy from David. Regardless, he was a guardian of Venus and it was Artemis' responsibility to support him as much as Sophia.

When the group arrives at Hikawa, Rei would be standing on the walkway, minding her own business. She would be sweeping a walkway, and perfectly content to remain doing so. It was something of a joke how Rei would sweep the temple even in the middle of a blizzard. The truth is, she found it to be particularly relaxing to do the minor work. Not a lot of people wanted to trek out to the shrine on some days for spiritual guidance.

Artemis would follow the Venus Pair, wondering how exactly Sophia planned to go about this trip. Sophia's pendant would shimmer just a little in the sunlight once on the holy ground.

"I don't know much of anything about winning the peace," David admitted sheepishly. "Still, Petraeus and his colleagues at Leavenworth, the Marine Corps Small Wars manual, and a number of sources throughout British military history can offer some insight into that." As they approached the shrine, the former warlord paused, seeing the priestess he owed for his training working vigorously on the deck of the shrine. Pausing to show the appropriate level of respect, he walked quickly, methodically towards the nearest supply closet, retrieved another broom, and proceeded to the opposite side of the deck, taking over the part Ms. Hino had not yet touched.

"So..." he started again to the cat, "how do I get to this sword?"