1704/Pizza, fries and so much conversation.

Pizza, fries and so much conversation.
Date of Scene:	06 July 2016
Location:	Uminari City - Game Center Crown
Synopsis:	Food, and creepy dolls, and tennis balls, and social forces of nature and significant looks and veiled commentary and blushes and wee fairy-critters and dogs and teasing. So in other words, a typical meandering afternoon at the Crown.
Cast of Characters:	Mari Katsu, Naru Osaka, Misa Sakagami, Kunzite, An, Nadeshiko Fujisaki, Hannah Sharpe

---

Mari Katsu has posed:
    'No tennis practice today, Mari.' The Verone Academy Coach told Mari as she was setting up for her usual routine. 'You won't admit something is wrong, but I'm not going to let you ruin your arm by forcing yourself to practice.'

    A soft sigh follows that memory as Mari sits at a booth staring at an ice cream float infront of her and narrows her eyes slowly at the fairy sitting across from her on the other side of the table, pretending to be a tiny little stuffed keychain propped up on her own ice cream sundae to use it as a back rest.

"Don't give me that look, Raquel." Mari states silently to the 'doll' as it stares at her in silence. "I don't need you giving me that lecture too.. The last thing I need is to upset Suzu-chan or worrying the others."

A few moments pass after Mari finishes mumbling to herself before she reaches up with her left hand to rub her right shoulder slowly and sits back closing her eyes in thought. After a few more seconds, she reaches into her pack and retrieves a tennis ball which she begins bouncing on the floor directly to her right, letting it hit the floor and rebound up to her right hand where she grabs it and gives it a firm squeeze like a stress ball.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Yesterday was a long day. To say the least. Naru still looks a touch on the tired side today, to be honest but nothing a milkshake .. sorry.. 'ice cream smoothie'.. won't fix. She has a basket of fries in one hand, smoothie in the other and her school bag is desperately attmepting to slide off her shoulder.

Naru pauses by Mari's table as gravity starts to triumph over friction and asks almost as she's setting the fries down. "Do you mind if I just borrow the corner of your table a second?" Her tone is apologetic as she barely waits for an answer before getting a free hand to be able to tug her bag back up on her shoulder.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Darkness has arrived! ... Okay, no, not really. Just Misa. A very confused Misa. She'd not been 'out' in such a long time, she barely knew what to do with herself. Or why she had woken up in a corner of the game center. Blink. Blink blink.

     The girl slowly stands up from that corner and begins to kind of wander. But, something about this girl would likely seem familiar to the two if they happened to look at her as she passed by in that absent way of hers... she was that girl from the missing persons posters. The other thing of note is that she's barely looking where she's going, so she may just be on a collision course for Naru's poor drink if people don't notice her!

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari just.. blinks at the sudden arrival, dropping the tennis ball as she almost jumps to her feet to help Naru sit down, reaching to take the girl's bag before she helps her get seated. If Naru pays much attention to school sports, or even rumors, she might recognize Mari as one of Verone's star players - That is if she had the energy to care at the moment!

"Ah! No, no, don't worry about it! I was just sitting here with my friend Raquel, anyway. We have more than enough room, right?" Mari asks... no one in particular, since the only other 'thing' on the table is an extra sundae and a keychain.

"Are you... okay? You look really worn down..." She asks Naru in a more hushed tone, not wanting to stay full energy and potentially upset the already tired girl.

    The sudden 'movement from the other corner causes Mari to blink as well before she looks back at Misa, raising an eyebrow.. Where has she seen that face before... It wasn't coming to her, immiediately, but as Misa stumbles closer, Mari slips over to gently guide her to the booth as well.

"Geeze.. So many tired people today.. Is there some kind of epidemic going around...?" Mari asks, her eyes moving around the room quickly to check for any oddities.

"Um..." She pauses, plucking her 'keychain' away from the extra sundae and slides it to Misa. "Here.. You can have this, My friend wasn't going to .... show up anyway." She catches herself, almost blowing the cover for Raquel completely. "So.. yeah better someone else has it than let it waste, right?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Yesterday was just kinda crazy, everything at once, y'know." Naru explains as she gratefully has her bag taken and then she chuckles softly. "But I'm fine, thanks. Nothing some fries and an early bedtime won't fix just fine."

The fact that she offers Raquel a smile of greeting and a little nod of acknowledgement means that the 'friend' ruse isn't exactly panning out with Naru, but she doesn't comment on it directly.

"Woah!" Naru reaches out a hand to help steady Misa such that she doesn't fall on any of them. "Wow, are you alright? I thought the faceplanty tired crap was done now that the flowers are gone."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Blink... blink. Misa looks up towards Mari, watching her quietly for several moments as she's snagged and pulled into the booth. "...I'm not tired. Just... uhm. Just woke up." She says, giving an awkward little smile, almost blowing her /own/ cover. And then there was a sundae pushed towards Misa, who's eyes turn on it quietly. "...Thank you..." She says quietly, reaching to take the spoon and begin to take a few tiny bites of it.

     And then she realizes something. Though Maeko had kept her in more or less stasis and fine through energy draining... she hadn't eaten in almost literally months. And her stomach ached. Those tiny bites turned into rapid eating, quickly scooping the ice cream into her mouth. Before she seems to realize that there are people there when Naru speaks towards her.

     "...Just, uhm... ... ... there... uhm. Weren't flowers around me. Just chains." She mumbles absently. "I mean, uhm. I just woke up, that's all..." She says, shifting slightly in place, her head seeming to sink. And then it began to happen. The thing that always happened when Misa was around.

        There was an overwhelming feeling of being watched.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari just... smiles as she watches Misa /devour/ the sundae, with a metaphorical sweatdrop on the far side of her head, she doesn't say anything directly, but.. wow. Shaking her head a bit, her eyes return to Naru before she gives a smile. "Ah... Yeah, I know... Things tend to pile up quick if you don't stay on top of them.." She mumbles slightly before she takes her seat again, leaning forward to sip her own desert quietly.

    A few moments pass of silence before that opressive feeling of being watched is noticed... Mari's eyes raising in response to look around the room as she feels a soft 'tug' on a few strands of her hair... Raquel was feeling the odd sensation as well... Still, Mari wasn't going to just blurt it out or call attention to it... Instead, she decides to take a more proactive approach.

"Ah.. Right, how rude of me." She says as she stands up and folds her arm at her waist giving a polite bow. "Mari Katsu. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Chains?" Naru quirks a brow at Misa and as the sundae is devoured in a blink, she nudges her basket of fries over in that direction too. She can easily get another. A little twitch of Naru's shoulder at the sense of heavy that comes with being watched, or 'watched' in this case.

Sidelong glances to consider where its coming from, and a lingering sip of her milkshake. "Things really do pile up, and they seem to always happen on busy days. Clubs /and/ class after school, Tuesdays are busy enough." She smiles and bows in return. "Pleasure to meet you, Mari Katsu.. I'm Naru Osaka. Thank you for letting us invade your table. It is appreciated."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa's cheeks flush a light red when Mari smiles at her, quietly pushing the sundae back towards Mari. "...Sorry..." She says softly, her legs crossing as she sits there. "Uhm. I'm ... Misa. Misa Sakagami." She responds quietly to Mari, bowing her head towards her in return. "It's, uhm... nice to meet you, too..." She says with a small smile.

     That feeling of being watched wasn't just a feeling, there were people watching, but more importantly, on top of one of the game systems, a single, small doll was sitting. Just out of visual range; and when she comes into visual range, she's only there for a split second before disappearing, only to reappear somewhere else.

     Misa, meanwhile, responds. "Oh. Uhm... a... fence... I think...? It was a bit dark... I think I passed out and someone carried me here... I uhm... I sleep walk sometimes..." Misa explains towards Naru at the question of chains. "It's, uhm... nice to meet you, miss Osaka..." Pause. "...I think you're my upperclassman... I think I've seen you once or twice at school..."

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari just.. smiles slightly and shakes her head. "No, it's okay, you can have it. I already have my o-" Mari's head kind of 'bounces' forwards slightly. "...I already have my own desert, and can get another one later." The end of her sentence seems to have some agrivation in her tone, though aimed at neither of the two girls. Shaking her head, Mari just smiles and puts one arm around Misa. "Go ahead, really. I insist. It's what friends are for!"

    The other people 'watching' aren't setting off any flags.. and Mari hasn't caught sight of that doll yet... But that feeling is keeping her on edge enough that she stays somewhat tensed even as she sits back, pointing one finger at Naru. "Naru Osaka..." Then the finger points at Misa. "Misa Sakagami." A firm nod follows this. "Got it. Marking it down that I made two new friends. ....Even if today is a total blow out for tennis practice, at least I can say I met two new friends!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Usually I'm with Usagi. And everyone knows Usagi because she is a social force of nature." Naru confirms with a smile and a nod for Misa. "I think I've seen you at school. You're familiar, certainly."

She steals a fry from her own basket and nudges it closer to the middle to be able to share. "Free for the taking. If we want more when its gone, I'll get more. I just wanted something more substantive than ice cream today."

The movement just on the edge of her vision catches Naru's attention, her eyes flittering to where the doll had been, not quite catching it. "Okay, this is probably a serious social faux pas, but am I the only one who has that weird back of neck wiggy feeling and I can't figure out why?" Her voice is quiet as she asks the two girls at the table, three really.

There's a soft little laugh and Naru asks of Mari. "Tennis practice? Why do you have to miss tennis practice? Friends are a pretty good trade off though."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa gives a small nod as she's told she can have it, quietly reaching for the half-finished ice cream. She looks towards Mari's head. "...What about the thing that keeps hitting your head...?" She asks innocently as she looks up towards Mari, taking another small bite. "... A total blow...? Was it canceled..? I mean... I wouldn't be surprised... it is summer... summer gets pretty hot..." She says with a little nod, taking another small spoonful of the ice cream.

     Naru's glance nets her that very brief flash of a tiny doll, but it was gone fast enough that it might have been a trick of the eyes, something that she could be seeing because of yesterday, even! That feeling of being watched doesn't really leave, though.

     "...Uhm... back of the neck... wiggly feeling?" She asks curiously, looking towards the crowd. "Well... there... are a few people looking this way... I think because miss Katsu keeps getting hit by something..." She says, nodding slightly towards a couple of people who were hurriedly trying to look like they weren't looking at them. Afterwards, she does reach for the delicious salty goodness of a fry, nibbling on it slowly.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari quietly glances up at Naru as she asks, frowning silently as she considers that for a moment. "...Ah... It's ... It's nothing, Coach just wanted me to take the day off is all." She replies before she takes another sip of her desert and quietly glances to the basket of fries before she takes one and gives it a quick nibble. The mention of the odd feeling from Naru causing her to pause as she looks up thinking she sees something from the corner of her eye, but once she looks again it's gone.

"I dunno... I've had that feeling myself, but.. I didn't want to say anything. It doesn't really 'bother' me." She replies before continuing. "I've been trying to ignore it, but it seems like it wants me to 'notice' it without actually noticing." She mumbles before shaking her head.

    A few moments pass before she giggles.

"If I had to describe it, it feels kind of like a child. It wants our attention, so it's letting us know it's 'here' but doesn't want to actually let us know it's here so it keeps hiding if we're about to notice it... Whatever 'it' is..."

    The comment from Misa about her getting hit in the head causes her to give a nervous laugh. "Ahaha! No no... that's just me... I have a bit of a muscle twitch because.. um... Well... I injured my shoulder..." She admits rather than blowing Raquel's already-blown cover. "Every now and then I get a muscle spasm that causes me to twitch... Yeah!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Mmmm. Hide and seek, except with just enough creepy, especially today, to make me all weirded out. Ah well." Naru shakes her head, attempting to clear her head and just push it out of the forefront of her thoughts. "Tokyo is quirky."

Which is pretty much the understatement of the century, right there.

"Do you play for a school team?" Naru asks on the subject of tennis again. "Sucks about having a sore shoulder, I hope it heals up alright." She turns to Misa and smiles. "You waking up a bit? Passing out is rarely a good sign y'know."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "..." Misa tilts her head as she watches Mari curiously a few moments. "...Yeah... I feel it too... it's creepy..." Misa mumbles quietly. "...It's probably my fault, it always happens around me..." She admits quietly, sinking a little on the bench. Why had she woken up? Maeko had let her out, but why? Misa shifts a little nervously as she thinks about that. "Oh... so... you injured your shoulder... that's not good..." Misa murmurs quietly, feeling around on herself. Let's see. Something... where was it... oh, there it was. She pulls out a small slip of paper, and then a small pen, which she begins to use to write on that slip of paper!

     Soon the paper has a rather childish rendition of a prayer slip, which has the kanji for 'healing' written on it. And she holds it out towards Mari. "...Maybe it will help... I read in a book that charms like this can help with luck and stuff..." Of course, that one had no magic in it. It wasn't activated, and Misa didn't plan to try to activate it, since it was pretty much quickly scribbled out, and probably wrong in several places! ... Okay it might be completely right, but low self-esteem.

     "...Oh... uhm... it... uhm... like I said... I sleep walk... I wake up all sorts of random places... somehow I even get through locked doors and windows and stuff..." Misa responds to Naru, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. "It's, just, uhm... something I've had happening for a while now..."

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari just.. giggles slightly before she reaches over and hugs Misa softly. "I appreciate it.. But it's going to take a bit more than a prayer charm to deal with this." She replies before she quietly looks to her shoulder. "I'll be fine in a few weeks." She mumbles before shaking her head. Then she glances to Naru and smiles nodding her head. "Ah! Yeah, I do!" She states excitedly before she smiles and gives a thumbs up.

"I'm #1 on the Verone Academy Varsity team. At least in current rankings. The rest of the team has been pushing really hard to try taking that spot lately though. It's awesome seeing them push so hard."

    She gives a quiet giggle before she shakes her head in silence for a moment then smiles to Misa. "As for... whatever that feeling is, I don't mind it. It's kind of unsettling at first, but if it's just something that 'happens' around you, I don't mind. We all have quirks or oddities that make us unique sweetie, so don't worry too much about it."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Awww, man. That has to suck!" Naru's voice is full of sympathy for Misa as she watches the other girl shrink under the admission. "I'm so sorry to hear it. I hope you've mostly gotten used to it, because it has to be just miserable if you /always/ have that weird creeped out feeling going."

Naru smiles as she watches the kanji get drawn out, reaching for a couple of fries as she does. "Can't hurt, at the very least. Must be pretty serious if you're out a few weeks. Oooh! Congrats on being #1! That sounds awesome!" Naru looks dutifully impressed.

"The sleepwalking thing is pretty scary though, do you wake up places that are dangerous?" Naru whistles lowly. "That sounds terrifying, to not know where you'll wake up. But Mari is etnirely right, we're all kinda quirky in all sorts of ways, its nothing to be shy about."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Hugged! ... Misa actually tenses slightly as she's hugged, because among other things... hugging her quite likely completely blows her cover, her skin is just slightly too hard, there are unnatural doll-like joints everywhere, and she oddly doesn't... smell like anything. Well, beyond the stuff she ate earlier. "...I...it wouldn't actually do anything, it's like a good luck charm... doesn't really do anything..." Misa mumbles, trying to gloss over the potential oddity that Mari just encountered.

     "...I guess so... quirks and stuff make us unique and interesting..." Misa says quietly, looking towards Naru after that. "...Mostly I just try to ignore it... and, uhm... no... I don't really wake up anywhere dangerous... I mean... I've never really been in danger, at any rate... worst place I tend to wake up is on the side of the road, but I don't have anything worth stealing on me usually..." She pauses, looking towards Mari, seeming to remember the mention of Mari's accomplishments now that Naru had mentioned; she'd been off-put by the hug!

     "Yes! ... It must have taken a lot of work... hopefully your shoulder heals up right so you can get back to it again... being number one must have a lot of competition that you have to be better than..."

Mari Katsu has posed:
    If Mari did notice anything, she isn't letting on or acting odd about it - even as she swayss lightly with Misa. "See?! That's the spirit. Absolutely nothing to be shy about~" She replies with a giggle before she smiles and finally turns Misa loose, moving to sit back quietly before she sighs.

    "...Truth be told, it'll probably be a few months... And I may never 'fully' heal. I kind of..." She pauses. "..Well... I kind of shattered my shoulder." She mumbles in a low tone so that no one beyond the table can hear. "It's.. a long story but I only just got back a few days ago. I'd been gone for a few months and.. some things happened while I was at home looking after my little sister."

    She lets that soak in for a few moments as she takes another french fry and pokes it into her mouth, staring quietly down at the table as she does so while listening to the ambient noise of the arcade and slowly shakes her head.

"I couldn't go see a doctor, either, so I've been treating it by following some instructions I got from a friend. So It's taking a bit longer than I'd like." She finishes before she shakes her head. "I've been trying to keep a lid on it and act like nothing's wrong, but I guess people are finally starting to take notice that I'm not up to full form. You two are the only ones i've actually 'told' out right."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"That's like, one of my big fears, is ending up in an alley or side of the road to get mugged or stuff when I'm unconscious. Fortunately, so far so good." Naru lifts a hand, crossing her fingers to show just how lucky she's been so far. "I'm so glad nothing like that's happened to you, Misa."

"Oh my goodness Mari!" Naru blinks at the other girl. "That's awful. And just leaving it not healed properly has to /hurt/.. are they working? The instructions? They can't be, if you're worried it won't heal fully." She shakes her head a little, her voice quiet to keep Mari's secret. "Things? Big things, clearly." She chews on her bottom lip a moment. "If I knew people who were pretty good at medicine and stuff, would you mind if I asked them to give suggestions?"

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa frowns a little as she watches Mari, listening to her as she speaks. She shifts a little bit as she listens to that shy, looking towards that slip. She shifts her gaze around quietly a few moments, before reaching to take the tag again, moving it under the table.

     "...I'm sure it will heal fully eventually!" Misa says towards Mari, giving a quick nod. "T...that would be too sad, that would probably ruin your career and... and... stuff..." She only half-knew what she was saying, but she did know it was /bad/! As she talks, she was trying to focus as much as she could on that little prayer slip. "A...acting like nothing is wrong is bad too... I mean... if I was broken, I wouldn't be very happy..." Misa inches a little bit closer to Mari, continuing that focusing, trying to move her energy and /not/ fill it with the icky darkness that filled her a lot of the time.

     "W...well... yeah... but usually it turns out okay... there's a few people who know me around who tend to take me home when I wake up in odd places..." Misa mumbles softly towards Naru. "So it works out... uhm..." She shifts a little bit, closing her eyes as she gives a slow exhale. Come on... come on... heal... fix... repair... though it was incredibly faint, there was some energy beginning to come from her that Mari or Raquel might be able to feel. Which was followed by Misa moving to attempt to give Mari a hug. And place that tag against Mari's shoulder, where it would stick if successful! Sadly she's only slightly above mortal, so the actual healing aid would be... questionable. Most likely, mainly dulled pain.

Mari Katsu has posed:
"Big enough!" Mari replies in a joking tone before she quietly snickers. "I decided to be a moron and punch a rock." There's another laugh there as she jokes and rubs the back of her head, then she frowns a bit as she reaches over and pokes Naru's forehead. "That's the reason I don't tell people. I don't like them fretting like that." She states before she sighs and raises her right arm - the fact that she can do so without even grimacing is probably a miracle - or at the very least some other power at work.

"Most of the 'major' damage was healed while I was away.. call it forced bed rest. The treatments have been working and i've almost gotten full range of motion back, it just.. needs more time." She mumbles before she quietly shrugs her shoulders. "It only really hurts if I have to do something really strenous." Like beating some random youma with a tennis raquet.

    The mention of asking a friend causes Mari to raise an eyebrow before she replies.

"It...depends on who your friends are and what they might think about a tennis player that managed to ruin her shoulder but is still running around playing tennis and not laid up with a cast or something..." She states, trying to dance around the issue as politely as possible.

    Then the odd 'energy' is felt and Mari gives a ... glance to Misa as she places the prayer tag on her shoulder... There's a moment where she contemplates how to handle that, but rather than make a big fus, she just smiles. "Thanks Misa-chan. I'm sure I'll get better soon, so don't worry, okay?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru giggles softly. "Punching a rock seems totally legit, if you ask me. I'm betting the rock was totally asking for it." She holds up her hands. "Fretting is my job, and I'm very good at it, thankyouverymuch. Actually I dont fret all /that/ often, other than when things deserve a bit of fretting at, but I will try not to fuss too much." Because the two are entirely different.

"Mmmm. Friends who would find that to be pretty much the least weird thing they've seen this week." Naru nods to Mari. "Like.. /seriously/ the least weird thing this week. Okay, maybe ten days, I think its been quiet. Ish. Kinda." She reaches to dig into her bag and collect out her phone and tap on it.

TXT: Hey Kunzite, how does Endy or Dai feel about healing people that they may or may not know? She's got a little fairy friend.

The hug and tag and casual thanks from Mari to Misa gets Naru to look up from her phone, but she doesn't make a big deal about it. "Want more fries, Misa? Friends coming to get you is a good thing. I always hate bugging people, I feel like such a bother, but it's nice to know you can."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     The energy was, thankfully, benevolent energy! It might have been stronger, if not for Misa's own issues. She watches Mari with a curious look. "...Why would you punch a rock? ...And how did you do it hard enough to shatter your shoulder..?" Misa asks curiously. Sure, Misa could shatter her arm easily if she punched a rock! But she is also made of fragile and tears, so that's not really saying much. "...Fretting means they care, though..."

     Muse muse. Hmm... most of the major damage was healed? Well, that was good at least, though Misa doesn't comment! She turns slightly towards Mari. "...I probably won't end up worrying." Misa admits towards Mari; there was this edge that almost spoke the fact that she probably wouldn't have the chance.

     Naru agreed with Misa! Which got her doing a conspiratory nod towards Naru. "...Yes, what she said." Misa says quietly. She shifts slightly in place. "Uhm... s...sure..." She says, reaching to take a couple of fries to nibble on, smiling towards Naru. "Well... uhm... more like... people my parents know..." She says with a helpless shrug. More people were possibly going to come though.

     So a certain doll's eyes turn away from the group towards the doorway. They are spared from her gaze, for now.

Kunzite has posed:
The pause before Naru's phone chimes (or buzzes, or just scrolls, depending) with the answer is a fairly brief one.

TXT: Can't speak for them. Knowing the two of them? We'll see. Unless the fairy is dripping blood or leaving a wake of dark mist that causes floor tiles behind it to writhe unhealthily.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari... quietly gives a giggle. "...Yeah I guess Tokyo is kind of a weird place sometimes..." She mumbles quietly before shaking her head, then she glances to Misa again and smiles. "We're friends now, so you'll worry about me, and i'll worry about you, even if neither of us want to. That's just friendship!" She states before frowning slowly. "...Yeah I know that means they care, but... Well there's at least one of them that I'd prefer not to see worry, if at all possible."

    After the first text message is sent, and the reply is recieved.. There's a TINY little sneeze from the back of Mari's head, causing her hair to raise up slightly in response... Someone is talking about Raquel and it's causing her nose to itch! >.<

    Trying to just.. gloss over that, Mari takes another french fry and looks at it for a moment before she pauses and stands up. "You know what... I feel like celebrating a bit. I'll be right back." She comments before walking off towards the front counter.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru considers the reply on her phone and starts to laugh as she replies back. "Are there people you can text when you wake up? I suppose training yourself to text in your sleep is just not going to happen, but at least to come get you." she asks of Misa as she taps out her reply back to Kunzite.

TXT: So far, eating ice cream, teeny sneezes and kicking the back of Mari's head. Not so much with the blood or evil mist, with or without floortile death. I've more questions. Again.

"What are we celebrating?" Naru asks after Mari as she looks up to find the tennis player off getting more food. Or drink. Or both.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "...I guess that's true..." Misa murmurs softly. Not that she really knows what true friendship is! Her friends from before probably think she's gone or dead or something, since she's not messaged them in literally forever! There was a sneeze, though. A tiny, adorable sneeze. "...Your plushy needs a tissue." She comments in a childish way. She was just saying a little girl thing, right?

     And then Mari was wandering off! And Misa is left with Naru and an awkward question. "...Uhm... t...theoretically, but, uhm..." She pats her clothing. "... My phone uhm... is long gone. N..not stolen, just got broke..." Misa responds sheepishly. "I'm, uhm... a bit... clumsy." She reaches to take another fry to nibble on. It was honestly not entirely a lie, either! It got broken, and she is clumsy! ... But...

Kunzite has posed:
TXT: Ice cream is generally a positive sign, as long as it isn't possessed.

TXT: Are these questions yesterday-derived, or do you need to be picked up?

Mari Katsu has posed:
    A few moments later, Mari returns to the table with the ultimate celebration food - Pizza! If her coach is going to force her to take a day off then by gosh she's going to take the ultimate day off ever - then spend the rest of the month making up for it.

"You guys. We're celebrating you guys. You're both awesome." She replies with a grin as she places the box down on the table and gives an enthusiastic thumbs up. "I came here to just sit around and be bored all afternoon but you guys showed up and now everything is awesome. So yeah, perfect cause for celebration."

    Of course, Mari's inner self is just.. facepalming. Between her outbursts, she's pretty sure Raquel is fooling /neither/ of these two young ladies with her plush toy routine anymore.

"Um... ven..trilouquism?" She offers in a defeated tone before she sits back down with a quiet sigh.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru giggles softly. "If your keychain plushy wants to have some pizza, there's plenty of room for her." She grins and then glances down at her phone and shakes her head a little before she replies. "I'm pretty much always in favour of pizza."

Naru glances to Misa and pauses, considering her for long moments. "You've had it rough for a while, haven't you?" She asks, a note of sympathy in her tone. "Broken phones and waking up random places."

TXT: Yesterday. Today. Both come with questions. I'm good. There's pizza if you want some. We're at the Crown. Mari, Fairy, Misa, me.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     A small amount of self esteem restored to the Misa! She shifts slightly in place, straightening up a bit. "...But I just woke up in a corner and wandered over." And there goes that self esteem. "...I mean... I almost ran into her, that seems strange to celebrate." She mumbles. She pauses at the offered defeated mention of ventriloquism. "...uhm... w...what's that?" She asks curiously towards Mari. Well, at least it's a distraction!

     Misa looks towards Naru at her question towards her. "...Yes." She responds quietly, though she seems hesitant to go into details beyond that. "...But in the end, it will be fine." She adds quietly. If she just doesn't resist, Maeko tortures people less... at least, that's what she hopes and thinks!

Kunzite has posed:
TXT: Not names I know. Not unusual.

(So *he* says. Naru may be slightly suspicious, given he's been able to identify random vampires in alleys via description of their hair. Well, okay, one random vampire in an alley, but still.)

It's only a minute or two later that an older and almost distressingly tall teenager is letting himself into the Crown, jeans and button-down and hair as white as his shirt, and moving to catch Motoki and have a brief conversation with him. His expression doesn't offer any clues. Motoki's is rather more on the concerned side, but some quiet words and a couple of gestures get him to calm down a little.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari considers for a moment, then.. slowly reaches up into her hair to retrieve Raquel who unclips herself from Mari's collar once more and sits in her palm, letting the girl pull her down before she hops from the palm to the table and takes a seat, staring at Naru silently before she blinks.

"Neither of you are normal." Raquel speaks fairly bluntly as she casts a gaze towards Misa, then narrows her eyes in silence before trying to 'track' that odd feeling she's been getting with her own fairy powers, without actually making it look like she's looking.

    This sudden.. declaration causes Mari to just slump forward a bit and hide her face in her palm as she takes a slice of pizza and begins to devour it politely while at the same time listening to the two other girls as they speak.

"Reguardless of how we met, we still met, so that's good enough reason to celebrate for me, Misa-chan. So.. From now on, no matter what happens, you've got at least one... two friends in us." She replies before she looks up from her facepalm and smiles motioning to Raquel. "This... is Raquel. She's... a gift from a friend. She's been looking after me for nearly three years now. And any friend of mine is a friend of hers."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Which worked out great, meant we got to meet you." Naru is wholely and entirely unconcerned with the prospect of having been almost run into. She leans in just a touch closer to Misa and there's a soft little giggle. "Take one's excuses for celebrations where you get them, really. Especially if life's been hard. Uh. Ventriloquism is a parlor trick where someone makes their voice sound like it's coming from somewhere else. Usually a puppet or something. I'm absolutely rubbish at it."

Naru waves to Kunzite as the taller teen steps into the Crown. "Do you guys know Kunzite? I told him there was pizza when I texted him about healer stuff." She explains without really explaining all /that/ much.

"I'm actually pretty boring and normal" Naru comments to Raquel with a smile, which basically shatters her point about being boring and normal. "Nice to meet you Raquel. Do you know Lilac?" She asks, as if speaking with the tiny fairy is just the most normal thing in the world as she reaches for a slice of pizza.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     As that white-haired man walks into the game crown, there are a few moments where he has an intense feeling that he is being watched by... something. Though, like before, whatever is looking at him... if he looks towards it, seems to disappear the moment he actually looks at it; the doll seeming not to be actually seen as it watches others.

     Tracking those feelings, well... it's in the room! And watching! Though actually looking /towards/ it, it would disappear. Possibly more immediately concerning is that she can probably feel that Misa, herself, has dark energy in her... though it doesn't seem entirely like it's naturally hers, almost more like a residue.

     "...Uhm... well... I ... guess not... most girls don't like occult much..." Misa responds quietly towards Raquel, giving her an awkward smile. She looks towards Mari and gives a slow nod. "...Okay." She pauses, beginning to look more carefully at Raquel. "...Having someone to watch over you can be nice..."

     She listens to Naru as she leans towards her, Misa's eyes turning towards her as she watches her. "...Okay. I'll try to." She murmurs softly. "...Oh... uhm... that's good to know..." Though mention of puppets seems to get her shifting slightly uncomfortably. "Kunzite? ... No, I've never heard of him..."

             Once Naru points him out, though.
        That feeling of being watched returns.

Kunzite has posed:
The too-tall boy is alert in a fashion that might be irritating for entities less patient than dolls can often be. Twice in fairly close succession, after his entry, the doll flickers out of existence before he can quite see it. After the second time, he stops trying. Which is telling in itself.

Coffee is acquired despite the heat outside, and fetched to the girs' table. The slight nod to Raquel suggests that, still, nobody here is normal. Also that he is deeply familiar with the body language of Mari's particular slump. Something that Pretty Cures and Chara Bearers have very much in common. The three girls are glanced over without that much greeting. Naru gets lifted eyebrows. Nothing is actually said.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Raquel turns to look at Misa directly while remaining silent... before she gives a silent smile and steps forward on the table to place her hand against Misa's. "It's okay. Liking something doesn't mean you're not normal. I meant more that you both kept noticing me. I'm a master of disguise!" The fairy poses with a victorious grin before Mari just gives a sigh.

    Raquel then turns to look at Naru as she mentions Lilac, causing her to tilt her head silently before she puts a finger to her chin.

"Lilac.. The name sounds familiar.. I think I have, but everything's been so crazy the last few days that I don't know for certain..."

    With a smile, Mari stands as Kunzite arrives and blinks at the wordless greeting before she folds her arm at her waist and bows. She really had no way of knowing who the man was or why he had his coffee delivered to their table, but given that he did, she was at least going to be polite and offer him a seat.

"Um... Going to go out on a limb here and guess that you're one of these two's friend." She replies while narrowing her eyes... Something feels familiar about him but it's blanking on her memory at the moment.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Lilac is your size, and she travels with Cure Spark, who I'm sure has another name, but I never caught it." Naru explains for Raquel and then scoots over to give Kunzite room to sit down if he wishes to join the table.

That look from him earns Kunzite a bright smile from Naru. "Pizza?" She offers, gesturing at the pepperoni on the table. "There's fries left too." Clearly the table needed to feast. "I seriously figured you knew everyone in Tokyo purely by association with Endy. I mean I /know/ he knows everyone in Tokyo. And who he doesn't know, Usagi does."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Most of these people are strange and not reacting much to her! ... Maeko was actually fine with that. For now. Maeko was just observing, watching, and waiting! But mostly just watching. Misa, however, is thoroughly unnerved as Kunzite just walks up and stands there, glancing over them and then looking at Naru. She seems to shrink slightly at his presence!

     Luckily, there is a Raquel stepping up with a distraction; a hand on her own hand! "...Oh... well... I mean... you were like... sneezing and hitting miss Katsu, so it's, uhm... well... normal that I'd notice something..." Misa says with a helpless shrug. "...And the tiny spoon marks." She adds quietly, reaching for a slice of pizza to nibble on.

     "...Cure Spark? ... Endy?" She says quietly as she looks towards Naru curiously. Endy. Why was Endy familiar? Misa gets a confused look on her face. "..." Meanwhile, Maeko is much less confused. And much less calm. These were friends of /him/? Well then. She would have to be careful about this. "...Is Endy short for... uhm... Endy...mion?" Aaaaand Misa makes it so that being careful would be harder for Maeko.

Kunzite has posed:
Mari's bow is returned, neat and even and precise -- and he's still watching her carefully when she straightens. Misa receives one too. Neither of them gets a smile, but Naru's doesn't get returned either, so maybe he's just a case of what mothers warn about and his face got frozen that way. Kunzite, if that's his name, does take the seat cleared by Naru. "There are, believe it or not, several million people in Tokyo whom Endymion does not know personally." That would be a yes for Misa.

He considers the table once more, and adds, "No-one seems to be bleeding. That's more promising than I'd expected." Which may raise the question of what the hell Naru actually texted him...

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Well for the most part it would seem hiding what she was would be silly and arbitrary at this point since names are being tossed about like this, but Mari for the most part just... shrugs. Other than Raquel, she really doesn't have any visible link to Cure Victory yet, so she intends to keep it that way as long as possible.

"Sorry.. These names are going over my head. THe only one that sounds even remotely familiar to me is Usagi-chan, and that's because I gave her some food, once..." She states as she gives Kuzite another glance. "..You look familiar too, but I can't place it."

    As Kunzite takes his seat and mentions bleeding, Mari raises an eyebrow... this was who Naru was texting? That makes Mari glance to Naru with a raised eyebrow before she takes her seat again.

Raquel, meanwhile, has seen her chance to steal a slice of pizza - if one can imagine such a tiny thing making off with an entire slice of pizza, and beginning to devour it with a tiny fork and knife.

    Scooting back into place next to Misa, Mari just grins as she waves her hand somewhat dismissively at Raquel. "You have to overlook her. She has a bad habbig of trying to reprimand me when certain things don't go her way.. hence the head kick. ....The sneezing I dunno about though."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru gives Kunzite a little nudge with her elbow and she laughs softly. "I didn't even say I was fine. Sheesh. Mari has a poorly healing shoulder. I wasn't sure if anything could be done about something half healed, but I didn't want to poke people if it was a 'no' off the top, so I asked you first." Because clearly Kunzite is the clearinghouse of all knowledge. Or something.

"Feeding Usagi is an ongoing thing. I am pretty sure she can eat her body weight in snacks daily." Naru's voice is utterly fond, entirely fond really as she speaks of her bestie.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa points, simply, towards Mari after giving a little return bow. "...She shattered her shoulder and thinks it won't heal properly." Also there was a poorly-made prayer slip with 'heal' written on it attached to the back of said shoulder. It was really weak, though. In spite of a tiny bit of magic being in it. "...Bleeding might be easier."

     Mari gets a small nod as she listens to her. "...Oh... okay... well... at least she seems happy now, right?" Misa says, a hand cautiously reaching out to attempt to rub against Raquel's side with a single hand, before she returns to her own pizza, taking little nibbles now that her stomach doesn't feel like it's trying to turn inside-out anymore.

     "...How can someone eat their own body weight in snacks...? That sounds impossible..." Misa responds to Naru, shifting slightly in place as she turns towards her. "...Or maybe like something a dog might do..." She adds thoughtfully. She's seen some dogs eat a /lot/ before!

Mari Katsu has posed:
"It's... not really poorly healing, just... slow. I didn't want to go to a doctor because I couldn't explain it, and ... well coupled with the fact that I really don't know any healers.. I didn't tell any of my friends here because I didn't want them worrying, so I've just been taking care of it with some advice from a friend back home." Mari contests with a slightly 'lowered' tone as she pokes two fingers together. She hadn't done anything 'wrong' so why did it feel like she was having to fess up to something.

    The comment about Usagi gets a snicker before she shakes her head. "She wasn't that bad... She just ate my lunch for that day." She replies, giving that due consideration. "...Though I didn't try to get more food or anything. She might have... Hm." Shaking her head a gain, Mari just brushes that topic aside. "Well, either way, she's a good friend so I don't mind."

Kunzite has posed:
"Anything that moves every time you breathe will heal slow if it's not set up right," Kunzite says to Mari, matter-of-fact, apparently not particularly concerned. "I know two people who might be able to help. Both of them are occupied right now, and this doesn't sound like an emergency. But we should be able to make arrangements."

The prayer slip is noted. He doesn't say a word. Maybe he thinks it's reasonable first aid. At Misa's comment about it seeming impossible for someone to eat their own body weight in snacks -- gray eyes slide right on over to Raquel and her slice of pizza. Not one word is spoken.

An has posed:
    Natsumi had no reason to eat food, and honestly she found it largely weird..However, in this hot weather, she was starting to see why cold food like what they called 'sundaes' were so popular.

    And so she headed to the second floor parlour, scanning the menu for something vaguely cold looking. Of course, being unfamiliar with earth food, she's left scratching her head as she skims through the menu list.

    "Argh! Why do they have so many weird things like 'Frappucino, Cappucino, Delacappino, Zazazinno, and Smelareeno!?' I just want something cold.." She grumbles.

    Fortunately that last catch of energy from her latest mousy cardian did manage to net her some tasty human energy, which at least kept her going for a little while longer.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"How Usagi eats non-stop is pretty much a question for the sages." Naru opines with a grin. "I love her to pieces, I have basically forever, but if she's not at school, I come up with most of my lunch, and its weird." Naru isn't opposed to eating, she's making headway on pizza herself. "I could totally see Dog making a really good attempt at eating his weight in snacks." The word is clearly used as a proper noun in her speech.

Naru glances over to where Natsumi is puzzling at the menu and waves, lifting her voice a touch. "Hey there Natsumi!" She notes to Misa with a vague gesture. "She goes to our school too."

Mari Katsu has posed:
"...Fair point..." Mari concedes to Kunzite, and to be fair, her friend had told her to 'take it easy.' ...which to Mari was kind of like on the level of 'in one ear and out the other.' It's enough to make her blush and rub the back of her head though. "...It's .. really not an emergency, but if they can help I wouldn't be opposed to seeing them." She states while pulling back her sleeve enough to show that she does at least have the shoulder wrapped and for the most part has full range of motion without any discomfort. "It only really hurts when I have to do something strenous."

    The conversation about snacks and the look Kunzite is giving Raquel just causes Mari to blink in silence before she snickers and nods her head. "Raquel doesn't n ormally eat.. but when she does, she can put a pretty hefty dent in things, too..."

    The sudden commotion at the counter causes Mari to look back at Natsumi around the time that Naru points her out, to which Mari smiles and gives a wave. "Man.. I don't think I ever bump into my friends from verone outside the academy... I should round some of them up for a night out or something..."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "...You could explain that you punched a rock and your shoulder broke. Maybe not well, but you probably could..." Misa responds to Mari with a shrug! "Injuries are injuries..." She adds, giving a simple nod! She falls silent as Kunzite talks though, just nodding slightly. Her gaze does follow his to Raquel's though. Hmm. Well, she was going to eat that slice of pizza...

     "...Maybe she's a dog?" She says quietly towards Kunzite. A new person entering, and though Misa doesn't really notice her much -- until Naru talks at her -- Maeko does. A sense of being watched easily felt. "...Oh. Okay..." Misa responds to Naru, shifting slightly in place. "...I'm gonna go." She says, standing up. If not stopped, she rather unceremoniously begins to leave; and the sensation of being watched leaves with her.

Kunzite has posed:
"Possible," Kunzite agrees to Misa, voice lowered to be as quiet as hers, "but not likely." As if it were a perfectly reasonable question, to be given as reasonably thought-out an answer as any other.

He inclines his head to her as she rises, hands still laced around his untouched coffee, then turns his attention back to Mari and her shoulder. "That's a good sign," he says, "but it's still a little too easy to do it more damage while it's in that state. Would there be a convenient time to meet again -- say, here -- and --"

Hey there Natsumi? He follows where Naru's looking, and actually acquires an expression for a brief moment. 'Tired' is an expression.

An has posed:
    Natsumi never came to earth to make friends. Why would she, when she'd sooner eat them? Naru however, seems to be somewhat useful so far..As far as discerning space plants from ordinary plants at least. She'll have to...'Taste' her, at some point though. With all those brains, she's probably brimming with energy!

    With a rather weird expression on her face, somewhere between hunger and surprise when someone calls her name, she spies the 'potentially tasty girl' and offers a weird grimace (hey, she's not big on smiles!), walking over towards her.

    "Oh, Naru-san..Err..How have you been?" another awkward question. Like she cares, but this girl can be useful.

    She arches a brow at Misa, "Oh, you go to Juuban, too, huh?" a little smirk is given her before the other girl fgets up to leave. Well, whatever.

    Oh, there's that annoying pale haired 'bodyguard to Mamoru'. Fortunately, she's pretty much given up on pursing Mamoru after meeting his rather real (albeit clutzy and annoying) girlfriend. She just quietly glares at him before looking back at Naru.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Are you sure?" Naru asks of Misa as she gets to her feet. "Do you actually have somewhere to go from here?" She asks, simply enough of the other girl.

"I seem to meet plenty of people from school, and a fair number from other schools. I try and get out a fair bit, and be social and stuff." Naru gives a little shrug and a touch of a rueful expression. "Sometimes it works better than others."

A glance to Kunzite and Naru just quirks a brow at his expression, but silence is quite capable of going both ways beween them.

"I'm good, thank you." Naru smiles easily to Natsumi and then asks. "How's the club going at school? I'm sorry I haven't been out much lately."

It seems very likely that Naru is, indeed, full of tasty tasty muggle energy. She fairly oozes with it. Generally. Unless someone else has stolen it first.

Mari Katsu has posed:
"...Well, I had planned to meet up with Suzu-ai later and explain things to her... She'll probably either break my arm again for you or drag me off by the ear to have something done about it. Possibly both." She mumbles in defeat. "Not to mention she'll probably be highly disappointed in me for keeping it hidden. She replies before she shrugs her shoulders a bit and retrieves her tennis ball which she bats up into the air with her right hand and adjusts ever so slightly so that it comes to rest on her forehead as she leans back in her seat.

    Then Misa...abruptly makes her exit before she smiles. "Misa-chan~ You'll have to come by Verone soon. I'll show you some cool tennis tricks next time i'm allowed to practice. If i don't die from being forced to sit still for too long first." She states before she glances back to the conversation being held between Natsumi and Naru, who doesn't seem to have noticed her yet.

    Shrugging her shoulders a bit, she bounces the tennis ball up as she sits up, catching it atop her head this time before she reaches over and 'pokes' the fairy on the table devouring pizza with a tiny knife and fork. "You keep eating like that, Raquel-chan, and you're going to turn into a balloon..."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Misa gives a brief little nod towards Naru. "...Yes." She responds quietly as she continues off, though she did hear Mari's invite!

Kunzite has posed:
Glare meets tired, and winds up producing a nod from Kunzite in Natsumi's direction. "Good afternoon." ... he slid into the booth after Naru, too, which means he's inconveniently between Natsumi and her. Does he practice being annoying?

(Maybe.)

He returns his attention to Mari a moment after. "We'll hope for a lack of further fractures. Still. The offer's open. Motoki can get a message to me if you need it; ask him to let Kazuo know." Close enough to the name Naru gave for him to be comprehensible, and reasonably easily remembered. But not actually a rock. Trying to leave a message for a rock would probably get jokes about having spent too much time with the jeweler's daughter.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari just smiles a bit as Kunzite tells her that, then nods. "I'm not refusing the offer, mind.. We can meet up after I see Suzu-ai tomorrow." She gives a grin as she stands up. "That said... I'm going to take off." She replies as she bows to the group. "Um. Kazuo... Got it." She smiles softly as she nods her head. "I'll remember that, incase we can't meet up tomorrow for whatever reason. But I should be free." She states as she looks to Raquel who conveniently finishes eating and floats up to Mari's shoulder.

"By the way, you're welcome to come visit me at Verone too, you two."

    As she turns to leave the cafe, she pauses, glancing at Natsumi before she smiles. "Sorry to leave so soon after you got here, but I've got a few things I have to take care of. Maybe we'll meet again soon." She replies before she waves to her as well then heads for the exit, glancing around slowly as she realizes the weird 'being watched' feeling did leave with Misa. Of course, Raquel has her own information to tell Mari about what she sensed, later.. but for now the two just seem content to leave unless something stops them from doing so.

Naru Osaka has posed:
And then there was two.

Naru takes a deep breath, one of those slow zen sort of ones, held for a moment and let out slowly.

"Thanks for coming." She notes quietly. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

Kunzite has posed:
"Given the amount of trouble that centers in on you, I worry more when you don't call." There's something faintly shadowing Kunzite's expression, but there has been the entire time. "I wish I knew what else had heard the names you were using, though. Or who those two actually were."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"One's a Cure who is attempting to pretend she isn't, I /think/." Naru comments and she chews on her bottom lip. "The other.." That prompts a slow sigh. "I was trying to poke her, I have to admit, to see if there was recognition. She reminded me of the stupid from yesterday, in ways I can't quite put my finger on, other than vague sensations."

Kunzite has posed:
"You might want to remember," Kunzite says evenly, "that just because someone can see something like -- that --" he glances toward where Raquel had been -- "does not necessarily mean that you want that person to know everything you know." He shrugs a little. "There's a saying about horses and barn doors. But that doesn't mean we need to make it easy for every watcher."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It's fair." Naru nods to Kunzite. "Although if the conversation is going to get interesting at all, I usually need to be fairly blunt about what I know, otherwise just because of who and what I am, there's no means of knowing otherwise." She gestures to where Natsumi had been. "You knew her.. I only knew her from school, although based on the fact that she's involved in the Space Botany club, I'm not surprised that you knew her."

Kunzite has posed:
"She's the most reasonable of Mamoru's stalkers so far," answers Kunzite, presumably not counting himself. Or maybe aware that he doesn't always count as reasonable. "She's left him alone for a little while, though, and last time we saw her I didn't need to physically remove her from Mamoru's person. So she may be improving. He's the one she gave a fake name to." He never has touched that coffee.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Social skills are not her strong suit." Naru notes diplomatically. She'd say 'a rock would do better', but she's known some very social rocks.

"I'm a little surprised the space botany club hasn't just folded, with the flowers being gone, but perhaps they've found other ones?" Naru hrms softly. "Or they'll be disappointed a lot."

Kunzite has posed:
"The club preexisted her knowing about those flowers. And there's always theory." Kunzite's silent for a moment. "Who else was watching that conversation?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"The creepy doll." Naru gestures a touch around. "Other patrons, not paying attention, but the creepy doll I caught a glimpse of oh /so/ briefly. She was quick. I thought the club came at the same time as the very first flower, or perhaps I just didn't hear about the club until after that. Either way, not really important."

Kunzite has posed:
"So now a creepy doll knows Usagi's name in connection to these things." Kunzite studies his coffee. Does not look up at Naru. "Usagi isn't a common name. There's only one in your school, I think. And she has a little brother."

Who likes dolls.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I think she's already been at our school." Naru comments quietly. "And there, Usagi's name comes up early and often." She takes a slow breath. "But your point stands, and I know where you're going with it, and perhaps I really should go back to being a hermit."

Kunzite has posed:
"Not a hermit. God knows I made worse mistakes than that one when I was your age, and somehow we all lived through it. But when you're using other people's information as bait, you might want to keep an eye on where it's likely to go."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"This one /feels/ funny." Naru wrinkles her nose in vague irritation. Mostly with herself, generally. "That weird sensation.. you did feel it too, right? I'm not completely insane." She glances to him, even if he's not looking at her. "It's like variations on a theme. And what is /with/ sticking paper on people with intent."

Kunzite has posed:
"I did. You're not insane." Now he's glancing back at her. "I'm curious where the thing actually exists. Whether the doll was real or a projection. But that kind of magic is out of my league." He pauses, and shrugs for a moment. "So are the prayer slips, for that matter. Some religious thing. I've never paid more attention to that than I could help. Gods tend to be inconvenient at best, in my experience. With one or two exceptions."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"There were dolls at the school last night, and their mistress. I really don't know how they fit together." Naru fesses up some of how her evening went yesterday, before dance class. "I think they're a focus? Or /something/.. I wonder if Rei would know better." She mmms softly. "But dolls and prayer slips two days in a row is just enough to make me go 'hrm'."

Kunzite has posed:
"Or constructs. Or nightmare entities. Or something else altogether. For all I know they might be as much of a hive entity as the flowers were." Kunzite shrugs slightly. "We could ask Mamoru. Or do you mean the ofuda? Hino-san's a miko. She'd be better at explaining."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Sorry, changed thoughts partway through." Naru nods to the second. "Ofuda for Rei conversation. Puzzlement for the dolls. Constructs, or hive mind. They worked together, and they weren't using the papers. Which I think is for the best, all in all."

Naru reaches for another slice of left over pizza, now that she doesn't have to leave any for more than just Kunzite, who hasn't even gotten to his coffee. As usual.

Kunzite has posed:
"I doubt they could. Those things banish dark energy, not enhance it." Kunzite glances over at a particular table -- he doeesn't quite wince, but Naru can see the slight shift of his expression that is serving in lieu at the moment. And he does resort to his coffee. Which by now has got to be cold; he doesn't seem to care.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
The Crown. Nagihiko has his pride to reclaim. The Mizuno girl still has most of the high score screens covered with her initials on games he and Tadase had spent countless weeks last summer filling up.

So, on occasion, he comes out here to passively attempt to regain his former glory.

And of course, when he enters the arcade-slash-cafe, he's...not feeling it.

He's hungry, so at least the trip isn't wasted.

He places an order, takes a placard that lets the wait staff know where to feed the bottomless pit that is a growing teenage boy, picks up his...milkshake smoothie, turns, and nearly splorts ice cream out his nose.

Oh boy.

Of all the cafes in all of Tokyo, he had to come to this one.

Still, Kunzite was with a girl he'd met briefly, and he still felt bad about--

"Oh yay! It's her!"

Rhythm eagerly flies forward and before Nagihiko could get more than an 'urk' out, the tiny chara is plastered on Naru's cheek. "Yay it's you! I called you awesome when I hatched, but you were leaving!"

Well, then. Decision made for him, he ventures toward that table. A short incline of his head.

Temari is visibly snubbing Kunzite...

This is going to go well...

"Hello, I'm sorry about him. He's boisterous."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Except Misa /did/ use a ofuda, or tried to, with Mari." Naru hunhs softly. "Which adds to the puzzle. Interesting." She nibbles on more pizza and then there's a chara upon her cheek.

Naru blinks a moment and then draws her head back a little. "Hi there little one. You were at the beach, weren't you?" She asks of Temari directly and then looks up at Nagihiko. "Er. Hi." She offers an almost shy little smile. "No worries." She glances to Kunzite a moment, and follows his glance and then back to Kunzite with a quirk of her brow, but no actual question.

Kunzite has posed:
"Being haunted doesn't necessarily mean one's doing the haunting." Kunzite has enough time to say that, still slightly distracted, and then -- chara to the face.

Kunzite eyes Naru's new decal. It looks ominous for, oh, about a second and a quarter, before he lets his expression slip to faintly-amused instead. "I don't think we've met," he says to Rhythm, before following Naru's gaze to ...
ll, that's interesting.

"Good afternoon, all three of you." He can be polite to Temari even if she's pointedly turning her back on him, let alone anything else.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Temari gives Naru a delicate smile behind her sleeve. "I was. It's a pleasure meeting you again, Osaka-san."

A polite little bow!

And then she turns her attention to Kunzite and...eyes on him, boldy steals a peperoni from his pizza.

Horrified, Nagihiko just plops down on a seat. "Temari! That's just outright rude!" He looks up at Kunzite. "I am so sorry." It's obvious it's for more than the peperoni!

The blue chara beams at Naru. "My name's Rhythm! And yours is amazing!" And of course, he'd seen Kunzite's evil eye.

Instead of being afraid, Rhythm just stares at him with stars in his eyes. "Wow..." Then Kunzite is the one with a chara cheek hug! "You're so scary but you're also not! Your rhythm is amazing!

Nagihiko...wishes he never got out of bed.

He turns to Naru, looking very embarrassed but also grinning. "I'm glad I ran into you again. I've been wanting to apologize for how...abruptly our conversation ended. I just got...distracted." By Kukai. "I've been worried that's why you left."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I think you're outnumbered." Naru comments to Nagihiko with a chuckle and she wiggles her fingers to wave at Rhythm. "Nice to meet you Rhythm. My name is amazing?" She asks of him and then laughs as Kunzite gets ambushed.

Naru's attention goes to Nagihiko again and she chuckles softly and shakes her head. "It's fine. I got there crazy late, and you were hardly the only one who was distracted by their partner by that point. Did you have a good time?"

Any conversation about the nuances of hauntings and the details therein shall wait just a few more minutes.

Kunzite has posed:
It may help that, unknown to Temari, the pizza she is stealing from is still technically unclaimed. Kunzite nods to the chara gravely and turns a hand over in her direction, as if to yield the point, or at least the pepperoni. He starts to say something else to Nagihiko --

Then pauses to occupy himself in removing a tiny starry-eyed chara from his face.

There are certain movies that may never, ever be recommended to Nagihiko.

"You might want to consider, eventually, being slightly more careful about that," he says to Rhythm. "Not everyone is likely to react positively." ... two weeks ago, and he might have reacted not so positively himself. At the moment, he has the patience back that kept him from strangling a princeling, once. (How Nagihiko manages to avoid strangling anyone, he doesn't know.)

"Actually," he notes to Nagihiko, "I'm pleased you're here. There's something I wanted to ask you about." What that is will apparently wait, too. Because Naru and Nagihiko have entered the realm of Gossip, and rescue from that place is usually best not essayed at once.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko's face grows increasingly red. "Um...yeah. I did. You?"

"Of course he did! I hatched!" Rhythm chirps.

Then the tiny blue chara, peeled off of a cheek, puts his hands on his hips and nods gravely. "Oh yes. I've been more careful. But Na knows you!"

Temari nibbles her pilfered pepperoni. "Technically, he knows Lacrima, as well."

Rhythm's shoulders droop as he decends to sit next to Temari. "Oh, yeah..."

(Nagihiko manages not to strangle Rhythm because, well, patience? Or something.)

Curious eyes turn toward Kunzite as he straightens a bit. "Oh? What about?"

About this time, the waitress finds him and, assuming this is his table, plops the food in front of him.

Heh... The amount of food may nearly rival that of a certain odangoed one his table partners know well.

He's a growing teenage boy, okay!

Still sulky, Rhythm grabs a french fry and lugs the heavy stick of fried potato over to Kunzite and sets it down. "I'm sorry. I brought you an Apology Fry."

Nagihiko gestures toward the large plate of fries while looking at Naru, inviting her to join as well.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"You hatched, did you?" Naru dodges the question about how much she enjoyed the beach by taking up Rhythm's excitement about his hatching day. "That has to make the day special indeed!" She laughs softly and there's a murmured 'thanks' as she steals a hot fry rather than get into the last remains of the cold fries from earlier.

Naru is a relatively petite girl, who is even mostly recovered from the yesterday she's not admitting to, and mostly finished growing. AND has no powers to fuel. She's hardly about to do much damage to Nagihiko's plate of fries, especially after pizza.

"Wow, Lacrima is surprisingly well known, although I suppose if you and Kukai are a thing, that makes more sense." Naru gestures a touch at Nagihiko with that french fry.

Kunzite has posed:
"Thank you." Because what else does one say to a tiny potato apology? Once the waitress is gone, Kunzite takes a paper napkin, tears it in halves, and breaks the Apology Fry into thirds. One third, with improvised napkin plate, is set by Temari's current hovering location. One by Rhythm's chosen site, which may well also be, well, by Temari. The last third is eaten, because doing anything else would it would obviously be failing to accept the apology.

"I understand you're acquainted with someone rather good with the naginata," Kunzite says to Nagihiko. In that Nagihiko's acquainted with himself, technically, but there are certain gender associations that are very much Nagihiko's option whether or not to dig into at the moment. "I'm curious whether that was a matter of study and practice, or simply the young lady's natural talent." -- also it lets him compliment Temari without actually explaining the entire embarrassing story and the Chara Bearers' characteristic weakness to someone who Nagihiko might not want knowing it. But mostly, study-versus-granted-ability is indeed a genuine question, right now.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru pipes up after Kunzite's query. "And if that's a question that feels like it would be more easily answered without me listening in, I can take myself elsewhere for a while." She offers, not even glancing to Kunzite as she makes her offer to let the two of them chat.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Rhythm puffs out his chest and preens! "It does! Because I'm awesome! Yay!"

Now, if he didn't go around calling everyone awesome, that would probably be more narcissistic than the tiny chara intended.

Nagihiko, of course, chokes on a fry. "Um, well, yeah. Though even if...I mean, even before we were...well. Yeah."

Shoot! How does one handle sudden proclamation of one's date life!

Rhythm happily enjoys his third of the apology fry! Temari, on the other hand, blinks at it for a moment. And when Kunzite's compliment about her ability comes up, she blushes and finally eats the fry.

"You can stay!" It's a bit sudden and abrupt, and may come across as rude. Nagihiko doesn't mean it that way, but he's not sure how Temari would act without the social buffer of Naru.

Blushing again, he clears his throat and looks back at Kunzite. There's a small smile of thanks at the discretion on who Kunzite is talking about. "It's a bit of both. She learned the basics of many weapons, because the foot movements help with the dance, but the chara pulls out the potential. The naginata happens to be what she is most adept with."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"You are totally awesome." Naru agrees gently with Rhythm and has settled to really just picking the toppings off the last of her pizza, and eschewing Nagihiko's fries entirely. She erms softly at the abrupt declaration of her being able to stay. "Thanks."

Naru is pretty good at listening, and she does so as Nagihiko answers Kunzite. "Weapons training helps with dance?" She asks curiously, more general than their conversation, it would seem.

Kunzite has posed:
"Better if you stay," Kunzite confirms to Naru, offhandedly. To Nagihiko, then: "Would you perhaps be willing to look into whether whoever first taught her the basics might still be teaching? If not, or if not taking students, that's all right. But the other young lady here," this time he's gesturing slightly toward Naru, "needs a competent teacher. She's had one offer, but I'm ... ah ... not certain the woman in question has a setting lower than 'test to destruction.' I don't have much experience training women myself. Enough to know I'd expect the wrong things. So I'm asking around."

Apparently the price of Naru's deciding Kunzite needs a hobby is ... turnabout being fair play.

There's a pause. "Also, congratulations." Whether that is 'congratulations on dating Kukai' or 'congratulations to Kukai on not having been strangled by anyone he's tried to date yet' is perhaps an open question.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Rhythm preens some more! And gives Temari a wide, cheesy grin. Temari sighs and rolls her eyes.

Nagihiko waits for Kunzite to finish before answering either of their questions. His eyebrows draw together in some concern at the first offer. "Um, yeah, it's best if someone at least learns the basics before going into more...strenuous training. Especially where a sharp pointy stick is needed."

He tries to think for a moment. "Well, her original tutor moved to Osaka some years ago. Her father took up the training, but lately he's been busy teaching a new dance class."

He looks at Naru for a moment. "Nadeshiko can teach her. The basics, at least." Then he leans a bit closer to Naru. "Dancing is a lot light fighting, at least where the footwork is concerned. If you can move your feet, if you learn the basics of the steps, you can pretty much adapt it to real world applications."

Another blush at the congratulations!

Naru Osaka has posed:
It takes a few moments into Kunzite's words to Nakihiko before Naru realizes that the 'other young lady' is actually her. "Wait what?" She blinks, surprised and then with a quirk of her head.

"How is training women different? Other than the fact that I'm a wimpy art student, but that's hardly gender specific. Okay, I'm shorter than you, but /still/. Really? Is it that weird?" Naru frowns a little, and then turns her attention upon Nagihiko.

"I figured out the dancing and fighting connection when /he/ picks up on footwork in class before anyone else." Naru gestures a little at Kunzite with an entirely theatrical harumph. "I.." She nods. "I would like to learn, though. If Nadeshiko is willing to teach me."

Kunzite has posed:
"Less reach is one thing, but that's why women kept using the naginata when men for the most part stopped; it solves that problem neatly." Putting a blade on a long stick: a time-honored method for keeping one's attackers over there. "There are other differences. Men have a higher proportion of upper-body strength. Women have a potentially more secure center of gravity. My expectations for what you'd be able to do, and what would be best, would be shaped by what Jadeite and Zoisite could do when they were your height -- and they wouldn't be completely wrong, but they'd be wrong enough to do you an injustice."

And, of course, the biggest problems would forever be the ones that Kunzite doesn't know enough about to expect.

... the idea that Kunzite might be in a dance class with Naru is one that he attempts to gloss over. A lot. Given Nagihiko -- given Temari -- this may not work well.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
There's a ding of someone entering the Crown, followed by a rather distinct woof. Hannah Sharpe and Boris walk into the arcade still wearing the track pants from her morning run. Hair's still wet, too, and the flush of hot water and lingering exertion are still on her face.

"'Toki! Been a while! Miss me?" That's the sound of extrovert. Boris gets on two legs, and is soon getting a doggie hand-shake to poor Motoki.

One slap on the back after a bit of natural bewilderment when faced with Hannah 'Social Tornado' Sharpe, and Hannah's got a milkshake as well as some food for her canine companion. A pause, and she catches a familiar voice.

"Kunz-kun? That you?" That grin goes a mile wide, and soon in comes Hannah, arms wide ready to to try to yank the young man into a backwards squeezing hug completely ignoring the mere concept of personal space. Kunzite might want to run.

"Never thought I'd see you out socializing. Hi folks. Who are the master magicians that lured /this/ lug out and about?" Boris is already up towards Naru and Nagihiko, seeking pets! Big blue doggie eyes are used to full effect.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Both Temari and Nagihiko look over at Kunzite when dance class is implied. A moment later Nagihiko's focus is back on Naru.

"There are benefits, as he's mentioned. There's also a difference in strength, but that's only a handicap if someone's not properly trained." He looks over at Kunzite. "Nadeshiko has been studying the differences in the way men and women fight as of late, to broaden her perspective, though I'm told that aside from nuance--"

And then they are struck by Hurricane Hannah. Temari and Rhythm both study Hannah with curious eyes.

Thrown for a loop at the sudden hurricane, and without Nadeshiko's persona of Dealing with Extroversion, Nagihiko blushes again and lets out a stuttered laugh.

"The honor was not mine, I'm afraid..."

For a moment, he takes solace in petting Boris, both fingers eagerly scratching behind ears as he ruffles the doggy.

Finally, he remembers his manners. "I'm sorry. I'm Nagihiko Fujisaki, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Mmmm." Naru considers all of Kunzite's very valid points. "When Jadeite and Zoisite were my height, they weren't finished growing either, and I pretty much am, nearly enough I should think." She mmms softly, not dwelling too much on capping out just slightly under average. "My centre of gravity is not so secure that I don't get knocked on my butt, or into a locker." She grumbles softly, giving her shoulder a rub, without even thinking about the fact that she's doing it. "Stronger I should be able to do /something/ about, usually though? I'm SO out strengthed its pretty irrelevant, and usually too slow too. But I guess practice helps with that."

And then Hannah and Boris appear on the scene, and Naru's laugh is easy to identify. "Hi Hannah. Hi Boris. Can Boris have pizza crusts?" Naru asks as she reaches her free hand out to offer the dog scritches. It's even less just the hard edge, but half a slice that Naru's eaten the toppings off of.

Kunzite has posed:
"I have coffee in my hands," Kunzite notes to Hannah by way of warning. Also, he's in a booth. Sideways squeezing hugs might be a threat, but he's unlikely to be hauled over backwards out of his seat, or anything similarly awkward. No comment is made who lured him out. Naru's greeting should be enough to make Hannah jump to a correct conclusion. ... actually, no comment is made on anything else, either; he's interested enough in Hannah's reactions to the conversation that he wants them uninfluenced by his.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Squint. Riiight at Kunzite. Arms cross, and she scuffs the floor dramatically. She's still smiling.

"Ahhh, to think, I've been coffeeblocked once again. Mamo's pretty good at that trick. Or it could just be the caffeine addiction. How are ya? No, uh..." Nagihiko's the wild card here.

"Recurring car accidents again?" She's kinda reaching on that one, but hopefully Kunzite will get the hint.

Reeeeach. Instead, it's Naru who's going to have to put up with Hannah, as she's the target of a friendly hair ruffle!

"Hey kiddo! Oooh, I hear you guys talking about fighting? I take it you've been considering my offer? With your bad luck with bullies, you really aught to think about it. Heck, even just some gym time would do you well. You're a creative, smart kid Naru. No use letting your body go to waste even /if/ you're short. Just makes you harder to hit. The whole strength thing we can work on. Do you think I got this by sitting on the couch and good genetics?" Fleeex. Hannah is a toned young woman.

Boris has all but claimed Naru's legs. There's a doggie head in her lap nap, at the mention of 'pizza crusts'.

"Yeah, sure, don't give him too much though. Haruna got 'im all fat when I was on vacation." Frown. Dangit, Gull-chan.

That pizza is practically inhaled.

Nagihiko gets rounded on. Suddenly, she's reaching out even as Boris melts into pizza-double-scritches, and she's hunting for a hand. The American goes right into a firm handshake.

"Nice to meet you Nagis! Name's Hannah Sharpe, Infinity U's Captain, President, /and/ treasurer of the Kickboxing Team! That fluffy idiot is Boris. Glad you and Naru here are getting Kunzite some air, as nice as Mamoru's apartment is." The entire time, Hannah has that look of someone wondering about something. She doesn't hesitate as soon as it clicks.

"Hey, wait a minute. Fujisaki...I've heard that name somewhere." A rub of the back of the head. A 'glance' to Kunzite, and she'll fall into the booth if he lets her.

"Hey, any relation to that famous dance school? I /swear/ I've heard your name before."

Blue husky eyes, oddly, seem to occasionally watch the two chara near Nades. Very intently. For all of his dopey tongue-waggling, the dog's eyes seem sharp.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Unlike Naru and Kunzite, Nagihiko has never been around Usagi to get used to the idea of social hurricanes. The closest he's ever come was in calming a frantic Amu down. Of course, now that she's gone...

So to say Hannah's sudden exuberance is a little out of the left field is...probably putting it lightly. Still, despite his nervous smile, he's polite and shakes the offered hand.

Temari and Rhythm catch the doggy's eye. Rhythm is the one who floats closer, hand outreached in hopes for sniffs and the allowance of pettings. "Good doggy?"

His voice is quiet, but he hopes so!

Temari's eyes are sharp in watching the interaction. Should the doggy try to chomp her 'brother,' Nagihiko's right there, and he wouldn't be too angry if she used him to rescue Rhythm if needed, right...?

Whirlwind over, or at least accustomed to, Nagihiko finally finds his voice! "Um, yeah! My parents run it. And Nadeshiko's offered to teach Osaka-san how to use a naginata."

Rhythm pipes up, really loud! "Nadeshiko's Nagihiko's sister!"

Nagihiko's shoulder droops and his eye twitches just a little, trying very hard not to react in case Hannah can't see or hear the tiny chara.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm totally taking you up on your offer." Naru assures Hannah as Boris attempts to become one with her, and the pizza, and then her again as he inhales the pizza in a doggie slorp of pizza inhalation. "You're not fat, Boris." Naru informs the dog as she scritches. "Just a little squishier than you were."

"No breaking me." Naru waggles a finger at Hannah with a little laugh. "Delicate flower and all that. I think I'm mostly aiming for better dodging and running, honestly. Usually once I get grabbed, I'm pretty done for."

Naru isn't very good at not reacting to tiny chara and she oohs softly at Rhythm's announcement. "Shouldn't we ask Nadeshiko first, before she just gets offered without having any say in the matter?"

Kunzite has posed:
At least the uncertainty about lower settings may make a great deal more sense now.

Kunzite's on the outside of Naru; he leans out of Hannah's way to enable the hair-ruffling, which is enough warning that by the time Hannah's liable to fall into the booth, there's been space made for her that isn't actually on his lap.

"Nothing that serious," he says regarding the 'recurring car accidents.' "But the young lady does seem to attract more than her share of attention." Bad luck with bullies. "And I do actually leave the apartment these days, difficult as that might be to believe. Now that Mamoru's feeling better, at least. Speaking of which. Thank you again for your intervention." With the FALLING BALCONY. These people's lives.

Naru receives a sidewise glance. "You need to learn how to handle impacts better, too," he notes. "We don't want you breaking more limbs than necessary, if this keeps going." Always the cheerful view!

Nadeshiko ... Kunzite doesn't address that one. No screwing up other people's cover stories. The glance that he gives Nagihiko's way is momentary, and is one that Mamoru would've been able to translate, but it's not like anyone else speaks that language. Alas.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Rhythm gets rewarded for his bravery! Leeean. Slurrrrrrrpt! Enjoy your doggie lick, Rhythm!

Hannah considers it. "Hey, it's good for a girl to know how to handle herself, but kinda hard to lug around a naginata as a personal defence device. Yeesh, Naru'd be better off with a knife."

"Still, again, the exercise would...not...kill...her!" There's a toe suddenly prod-prod-poking Naru's belly.

Hannah can totally hear the chara. It doesn't help her Device pinged her almost as soon as she was in the building. She plays ignorant, for now.

"That's pretty cool. Your sis, I take it? Oh man, apologies if I get you two mixed up. I'm still awful with japanese names. Good ol' southern tongue just isn't built for it. Pretty cool though. What about you? What's your angle in the family business?"

Suddenly, a hand slams into a palm roughly.

"I /knew/ you weren't a coward deep down, Naru! Don't you worry. I'm just going to push you out of your comfort zone, and I'll stop just before you snap like a twig. I am good at not breaking my training partners. You could say I'm a Professional at it." Smirk.

"See, the whole point is that if you want to stand even a minute chance of not getting your head caved in when these situations pop up is that you know exactly /when/ you're going to break and how close you are to that point. If you stay calm and know how to reach deep down for just one more step, one more punch into the other guy's ribs, well it's them who's going to be on the mat instead of you. It's a matter of willpower and drive, kiddo. I think you're underestimating yourself, Naru."

A sigh of relief. "That's good, Mamoru, Usa and the rest of you guys need a break. But hey, you guys have my numbers. Things are...mostly uncomplicated right now, so feel free to throw stuff my way. I might not even charge you if it's entertaining enough." Her voice is almost teasing to Kunzite.

A wave. "Hey, no matter what happened in the past, I like to think of myself as a friend. Besides, letting those two go splat would be a darn shame, even if it's kinda hilarious looking back on it now. Too bad, I liked how the breeze was out on that balcony."

Impacts. Suddenly, Hannah's all attention on Naru again. "Good thing you've got me around. Blunt force trauma is my specialty! Hint: tuck and roll." Hannah stands, hops to a corner of the table, and then demonstrates just that with a slow fall into a roll and back to her feet.

"See? Not too hard."

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
For a moment, Nagihiko considers just excusing himself and rushing to aa nearby bathroom to change.

But of course, that comes with its own issues.

Instead, he returns Kunzite's looks with one of his own (after all, he's an actor trained to look for cues) and holds up his phone. With a grin, he rocks it back and forth in his hand. "Don't worry, she's looking forward to it."

However, he does continue to grow more and more uncomfortable... Hannah's way sounds...painful. "One's inclination not to fight doesn't necessarily mean cowardice...and if someone only learns through near pulverization, the mentality then becomes kill or be killed, when it should more be focused on self preservation. Those two don't always go hand in hand."

Rhythm is covered in doggy slobber! Ewwww! Still, he giggles and body-plants against the dog's head, snuggling the fur! And likely will walk away a furball, himself!

Naru Osaka has posed:
"If there's a better way to get thrown into things and people, I would love to know it before /that/ happens again." Naru agrees with a firm nod on the notion of 'handling impacts' better. "Although by the same token, if I'm never used as a ranged weapon again, I'd be alright with that." Naru scoots over to give Kunzite more room to give Hannah more room, such that all three of them aren't utterly snuggly. Much.

"Eeep!" Naru wriggles at getting poked in the belly, apparently ticklish. "I'm pretty good at calm." says the girl who generally manages to distract the people draining energy from her with questions and conversation and a distinct lack of freaking out.

Naru watches Hannah pop back up again, like an inflatable punching bag, really. "Somehow, I suspect it's going to take some really uncomfortable practice to get good at it."

Naru looks to Nagihiko at his assurances about his sister and smiles before gesturing. "Exactly! I'm fond of self preservation more than anything, really. I mostly want to just try and dodge and run. I'm not on the same scale to go toe to toe, blow for blow."

Kunzite has posed:
Kunzite: trapped between two pretty girls, and at a table with a very pretty Nagihiko. Oh. Help. Granted, he'd probably be more comfortable if they were nearer his age, but still.

Naru's reaction to Hannah's demonstration tumble is observed neutrally as well. "That part of the practice isn't so bad," Kunzite assures Naru. "You learn fairly quickly how to predict the force of your landings. Sparring is more interesting, but that takes some time to build up to." Step one: learn how not to accidentally maim your partner. Step two: learn how not to be accidentally maimed. Step three: combine these factors into ow. (Step four: Be glad you know healers.)

"They're looking at trying to restore the balcony," he adds to Hannah, as if it were all part of the same topic thread. "So you may not be deprived of the breeze after all."

Death versus self-preservation is for some reason a topic to which Kunzite's response is ... coffee. Yes. Once again, not a word.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"Hey, I didn't say sit there and try to knock out a guy three times out of your weight class. What I'm saying is you need to learn how to take enough of a hit to not immediately crumple like wet paper. And yeah, the dodging and self preservation part comes into play too. But if you're head's rattled after a love tap, then all the thinking that kind of stuff involves means absolutely nothing. And perhaps more importantly, learn to know when said dude that's way out of your league is going to throw a punch." Comes Hannah. There's no doubt it will be absolutely agonizing. And that's just from the first few morning runs.

"But don't worry. Cardio's the first thing on the list. Oh yeah, Naru, here." She hands over a piece of paper. It has an address and a number.

"My house. Six a.m. Bring extra clothes and running shorts, a towel, and some water. If you don't show up, I'm going to look you up in the phone book, find you, then drag you up. Cool? Cool!" Grin.

Hannah perks up. "No kidding? Great! Otherwise I'd have to climb the roof, and that's just a pain. Plus if I recall that spot's generally taken. Oh yeah, make sure it's idiot proof." And by idiot, she means mahou-proof.

Meanwhile, Brois is a happy doggie! He curls up, and gives Rhythm plenty of doggie fur to snuggle with! Happy woof!

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko...wishes very much he could pretend to be someone else.

"If you're still up for Nadeshiko teaching you with that morning routine."

His silent phone that doesn't even vibrate is suddenly in his hand. "Oh, hah hah! Speaking of! I have to go! But Nadeshiko's heading toward this area! I'll tell her to meet you guys! Hah!"

Zoom!

About five or ten minutes later, a very familiar looking girl sits down next to Naru. She gives an incline of her head toward Kunzite. "Kazuo-san, a pleasure meeting you again." To Hannah, she inclines her head, as well. "And you are Hannah-san?"

Rhythm and Temari both float in with her again. Rhythm plops on Boris, eyes circling at the rapid-fire wardrobe change. Temari is used to it.

And yes, in that ten minutes, she had a cursory scrub, a complete change of clothes, and makeup. Not to mention perfume instead of cologne.

She's an actor, after all! Fast wardrobe changes come with the territory.

Nadeshko looks at Naru, her smile wide and happy. Though they look very similar, it's very obvious Nadeshiko is more comfortable in large crowds...

"I take it you're my new student?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru has to lean around Kunzite to accept the paper from Hannah and she glances at it. "Six?" She nods at that. Mercifully she's a morning person already. Granted her mornings usually look more like yoga pants and canvases rather than running shorts.

"So far the ground hasn't been so much of a problem in the landings, but walls suck." Naru leads an entirely too exciting life for a muggle, seriously. "I also have never been punched, nor thrown a punch, for that matter. I need to learn how to break out of someone who has grabbed me, while the distractions are huge. But.. running seems good." Naru pauses. "No, running seems miserable, but necessary."

Someone /else/ is a whirlwind and woosh, there's a Nadeshiko in short order. "Hi." She waves to the freshly arrived woman. "I am. If Hannah doesn't kill me running in the mornings, and you're willing."

Kunzite has posed:
"You learn on the ground, to take advantage of gravity." Negative advantage. Sort of. "You adapt it to being thrown into things after that." For the most part, though, Kunzite is leaving it to Hannah and Nagihiko to actually put into words what their Plans are. Step one in outsourcing training: get the hell out of the trainers' ways. (Monitor, certainly. Keep a close eye out. But don't assume that they'll do things the way you would, and don't assume that the differences mean they're wrong.)

That spot's generally taken? Well. The roof. Yes. "And if anyone disturbs Nephrite's telescope," Kunzite confirms to Hannah, "no power on earth will save them." THE STARS KNOW ALL. And occasionally they snitch.

... and then there is a Nadeshiko. Kunzite blinks. Twice. The inclination of his head is nonetheless precisely calculated to match Nadeshiko's, and this may very well be a conditioned reflex on his part, because the intelligent portion of his brain is warning the rest not to say anything until he can avoid it being potentially lethally stupid. If her hair weren't so dark, he might be in real trouble.

... again.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Suddenly, off goes the Nagihiko. Hannah has one finger in the air. Frown.

"...The old phone trick? Really? Was it something I said?" She asks of the two remaining.

Then, she leans back in the booth after she's sure Nagi is out of earshot, propping up her legs with the empty spot.

"Still, interesting kid. I mean, really. /Two/ charas? That's pretty rare. I should look into him. I wonder if he knows Sky Jack. Eh. Nah, world can't be /that/ small." A glance to Kunzite.

"And don't worry, I won't do anything unethical. Charas and heart's eggs can't give me power."

"...Eh?"

The sister is back. With the very same Charas that were just with the brother. Some part of her wants to immediately call out the change. But given Naru and Kunzite are here, she forces down that vindictive streak.

There's a hand being offered too! "Ah, the storied dance and stabby-curved-stick expert! ...I should really introduce you to someone, you might be able to trade tips. Anyway, yup, nice to meet you too kiddo. And please, call me Hannah, or Hannah-chan if you really want to stick to the honorifics. Never did get those. Good luck. Naru here is a good kid, but we have a /lot/ of work to do. And I mean a lot." Poor Naru. Hannah's being brutally honest here.

A single finger wiggle at Naru. "You're a peach, Naru. Don't worry, we're fixing both of those problems." Yes, she considers those 'problems'.

"Now, now, it's only going to be life threatening, not lethal. There's a difference." By now, she's teasing.

"Seriously, though, Naru. First I think we need to get you in shape before we go too hard into fisticuffs. I know a nice gym. Good old cardio, then some weights, plenty of stretching, heck maybe some laps in the pool if you're wanting a good old cooldown. Heck, the place has a jacuzzi, so you can relax off some of the muscle aches. Then we'll start you off with the punching bag, and once I'm sure you're not going to break your wrists doing it, I'll chuck you in the ring and show you how to move. I'm sure Nade-chan here will agree, that's one of the most important aspects no matter whether you're using a weapon, or your fists."

A hand in her direction, as if passing a trainer baton.

Both hands go up. "Even /I'm/ not that stupid Kunz-kun. ...Though if you ever want to prank him, try reversing the lens on one of those things. I did that to this jerk in my astrology class once, oh man, took him /week/s to figure out what was wrong!"

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
"I am very much willing, though I'm afraid I have no part in whether you live or die by Hannah-san's hand. All I can do is hope."

Kunzite is very subtle. Very subtle. But Nadeshiko catches the double blink and there's a slight tilt of her head and a curiously amused eyebrow.

She laughs at Hannah's confusion on honorifics. "To be honest, Hannah-chan, I believe they're more in place still so people know when we are angry at them. After all. If I were to be angry at Naru-chan, it would be easier to let her know by calling her Osaka-san, wouldn't you agree?"

Another curious tilt of her head. "And who is the other person? A friend of yours? I do admit, I am sometimes too fond of trying to stab people." A look is shot at Kunzite, though whether it's coy or apologetic is up to interpretation.

It's been mentioned Nadeshiko is a thespian, yes?

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru listens to Hannah's detailing out of what she hopes is going to be a month's worth of exercise, and fearing that she means a week. Possibly a day. She leans in to the distracted Kunzite and comments quietly to him, although not so quietly that everyone can't hear her. "I think Hannah is going to try and kill me."

As if Kunzite hadn't speculated on 'testing to destruction' first.

"Osaka-san could be angry, could be many things, depending on tone and situation, and the look that goes with it." Naru is far more confident in the whole nuances of insults than in punches.

Kunzite has posed:
There is a ritual response to Naru's concern, and Kunzite does not fail it. "You'll only wish you were dead. Actually dying would make it over too soon."

The look Nadeshiko gives him at the overly-fond-of-stabbiness is met with just about the same expression as met Hannah's wonder-if-he-knows-Sky-Jack. There are, all too frequently, no safe answers.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah waves a hand in deference. Really, the sheer change in personality is almost enough to kill her suspicions. Almost.

"Admittedly, I can kinda see it. That actually reminds me a lot of Dad when he's angry at me. 'Git on in here, Hanhan an' wrassle'!' is a lot different than 'Git on in here, girl, I'mma whup ya back into shape!'." She has her Dad Impression down pat.

Pause. She almost looks nervous. "Ah hah...friend is pushing things. Uhh. Let's call it 'battle buddies'. And yeah. You'll /definitely/ like her. Look up Kyouko Sakura some time."

Hannah, at that whisper to the Kunz, just looks one part very smug, and one part waaaay too excited about being Naru's personal trainer. The poor girl is /doomed/.

Sluuuurp. The last of her milkshake is finally annihilated. Reeeeach. Kunzite isnt getting away from a nice, friendly squeeze of the shoulder.

A sloooow nod. Kunzite knows what's up.

"Alright kids, as much as I'd love to stick around and torture-slash-delight you with my continued presence, I should get some physics homework down. Seriously, screw AP classes. If they didn't transfer to Infinity U proper and free, I'd have gotten a third phys-ed class. Hey, Kunz, tell Mamo I'm still good for that 'study group' back at my place some time. Bring vodka and a gas mask, and don't mind the explosions." What is she going on about?

Uuup, and a wave to everybody.

"See ya tomorrow morning, Naru. Nice meeting you, Nades. I'll give your new student back to you with a healthy minimum of battle scars. C'mon Boris, leave the kids to themselves."

Almost in passing, Hannah gives Temari a finger-pet as she leaves. It's subtle, but just enough to hopefully make Nadeshiko suddenly doubt many, many things.

Hannah Sharpe is, in fact, a jerk.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
"Of course. It is almost always the nuance of the thing. For isntance, it would be a different tone altogether if I were angry than if I were pretending never to have met the other person before. And there are benefitial circumstances in which this could happen."

Another appraising look toward Naru. Nadeshiko wonders if the girl's ever considered acting.

Rhythm rides along on Boris until Hannah and the dog leave. Temari just looks mildly affronted at the sudden head pet, whereas Nadeshiko regards Hannah's retreating form with much suspicion.

"Should I be worried?" This is asked at Kunzite.

To Naru, she offers an amused but also sympathetic smile. "Aunty knows of many remedies to help soothe sore muscles. If you wish, I could provide you with some, whether or not you take lessons from me."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I like Kyouko, she's pretty awesome." Naru has, indeed, met the pocky chomping, befanged puella before, and she waves after Hannah. "If I'm going to wish for death at Hannah's hands at six in the morning, I should also get going to finish up some homework and try and kill the last of the tired before Hannah ensures I have WAY more tired."

An appreciative nod to Nades from Naru. "I really like the dance connection so hopefully I can make this all work, without completely giving up sleeping or something." She nudges Kunzite to let her free from the booth and then she waves, and takes her leave of the group.

Kunzite has posed:
Kunzite rises to let Naru exit; the hand that falls on her shoulder (is he passing along Hannah's?) is I-know-you-still-have-bruises light. "Try not to get ambushed on the way home," he advises her straightfaced. "I don't think she'd take that as a valid medical excuse."

Presumably he'll take that message to Mamoru. He did nod back to Hannah about it.

... and then Hannah is gone, and Boris is gone, and Naru is gone, and Kunzite allows himself to look slightly more visibly as if he wished he still had coffee. About three times as much of it. "About which of them?" he answers Nadeshiko's question at last. ... that would be a yes.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
"Be careful!" This is called after Naru, of course.

Nadeshiko grins at Kunzite. "Hannah-san. Naru-chan...I think I'll be okay."

She studies her straw wrapper and bites her lip, looking very much both shy and uncertain all of a sudden. "Thank you. For your discretion. I wasn't even sure you knew until a bit ago."

She looks up at Kunzite with large eyes. "I'm not ashamed of who I am. I just prefer to have the mask of Nadeshiko when needed."

Kunzite has posed:
"I didn't know," Kunzite admits. "Kukai's been very careful about establishing the two of you as separate. But your company suggests -- they were both likely aware, by the way -- and I have a good friend with similar qualities. It seemed wisest to be careful where I could." He'll stick with 'good friend.' It leads to fewer questions than any of the other terms he could use, and there aren't any extant that actually sum that relationship up, anyway.

That she has no need or cause to be ashamed seems so obvious that he doesn't bother to waste words on it.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Her cheeks grow pink, but more at the fond thoughts of Kukai than that the two who just left would suspect. "Naru-chan, I think, would benefit from knowing, especially if I'm to teach her." She pulls out a piece of paper and scribbles two numbers on it. One is for Nagi, the other Nades.

"Hannah-chan...is an anomaly."

She pushes the paper toward him. "Give Naru-chan these numbers? You and yours may use them too, of course."

And then, an almost shy admission. "I'd lied to him for years. But when it was blurted out, he must have been...but he handled it very well. And without even trying, he just..." Nadeshiko shrugs. "After all you know of him, put that on top of it, would you be blamed for falling in love with him?"

Nadeshiko clears her throat. "Anyway. If your friend is the same as I am, and not the opposite, I would love to get together and speak fashion with them. I want to...bridge the gap, so to speak. Be me, but also be me."