keyofnik: This has always struck me as an odd choice for Rei. With the demon in front of her, rather than transform or fight or slap an ofuda on it and run, she chooses to go to the Sacred Fire and do her hand seals. Rei tends to do this when she’s marshaling her energies, which it could be argued she’s doing here. But she’s got several months of experience fighting monsters under her belt at this point, and I have to think that her instincts would tell her to do any one of the above rather than seek guidance right now. Because that’s usually the Sacred Fire’s purpose: It gives Rei answers, exactly as it does here. But why would she look for answers right now? I’m reaching two conclusions. The first is that there was something familiar about the demon and she needed to know. The second is that she was looking for ways to fight it. They know already that the Rainbow Crystal carriers are people and so Rei can’t simply burn it to death. But the only one who can actually heal them is Usagi. And Rei really, really meant it when she said she wasn’t talking to Usagi ever again.
