1945/The morning after

The morning after
Date of Scene:	18 September 2016
Location:	Earth Court Frat House
Synopsis:	Conversation post-barbeque. Coffee and cake is a part of a well balance breakfast. Along with nightmare sketches and Questions.
Cast of Characters:	Naru Osaka, Alexis Raskoph, Kunzite

---

Naru Osaka has posed:
The morning after.

Late night tidying only goes so far, especially when people are tired, and leaves post-party in a state that's not trashed by any stretch, but there will need to be some picking up of bits and bobs, putting things back to rights, and a whole lot of dishes. Always with the dishes.

It's early enough that most are still crashed out, rendering the apartment deliciously quiet. There's coffee already on in the kitchen, the smell of it possibly both a help and a hinderance to those who overindulged the night before. Leftover party food is the best morning after breakfast.

Naru is cursed to be a morning person, even after a night before. She slipped out of the guest room, ideally without waking Alexis, and is now settled on the couch, curled up with a coffee and her sketchbook and the quiet. Perhaps a couple pieces of left over cake too. Breakfast of champions.

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
Alex is not really known much as a morning person. Especially not when he's had plenty of tequila the night prior.

The latter does eventually kind of lead him to wake up, however. Namely by way of him eventually bursting out of the guest room he was deposited in and making a mad dash through the apartment to find a bathroom.

Cue very distinct HUUURRRRRRKKK sounds echoing from within the aforementioned bathroom.

Kunzite has posed:
Coffee is a subtle evil. That may have been why Kazuo started it going. The white-haired one is far too calm and far too put together for this hour of the morning; possibly he is actually a robot devoid of the need for sleep. He is not, however, doing chores. Not yet.

Instead, he's seated on the couch at right angles to Naru, in a variation of his normal routine: cradling a coffee cup, true, but it's for the residual heat, the coffee itself being already gone.

It is not coincidence that Alex's guest room was placed /directly by/ a bathroom -- the door was maybe two steps down the hall, and left discreetly part-open. These things are arranged. Kazuo turns his head at the unfortunate sound, then glances toward Naru. "It seems we'll have company. I'd have asked Zoisite how Germans deal with the morning after, but there'd have been no telling whether he was giving an honest answer or entertaining himself."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"And people seriously ask me why I don't drink." Naru comments with a little shake of her head. "My guess is probably much like eveyrone else, with water, painkillers and whining and probably a heartfelt, if generally unlikely, promise to themselves that they are never going to do that again."

Naru reaches forward to set her sketchbook next to her coffee, leaving the page open and the frankly rather disturbing art visible as she gets up to go and fetch water and painkillers from the kitchen in anticipation of Alex ever managing to leave the bathroom.

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
It... probably takes a good while before Alex has been reduced back to a state where he actually dares to leave the bathroom.

But when he does, it's with a mild stumble in his step and one hand set against the side of his predictably-aching head. The usual leather jacket has, as perhaps expected, also been left to the guest room. At least he has all his otehr clothes on.

And upon getting all the way into the kitchen, he only manages one thing as a vocal response:

"Mrblrblr."

Kunzite has posed:
Having his other clothes on is a positive step. There will not need to be any lectures on the importance of pants before the recipient makes it back to the capacity for speech. Kazuo glances up to monitor Alex's progress once he staggers out of the hallway, but ... it's not as if the maze of the four interlinked apartments is something Alex actually has to navigate just yet; everything he has to deal with is relatively close by.

And Naru already got up for water. So Kazuo just sits quietly and lets her deal with the problem.

Given his habit of blending into the background and Alex's brain still trying to reboot enough to bring up the desktop, this will surely not backfire in any way later.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Good morning sunshine." Naru comments to that incoherent mumble. She passes him the glass of water, and presses a couple aspirin into his other hand and then settles a kiss on his cheek. "Take these, and drink this." Naru advises in simple directions that should permeate the reboot process.

It's a moment or two later that she attempts further conversation. "Are you actually up to stay up, or is this just a brief pause for death before you go back to bed?"

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
"Mrbl."

Alex's head tips to brush his brow against that of Naru's, briefly, after the cheek-kiss, and the water and aspirin both are accepted more than happily to be consumed both. This is, perhaps, not his first date with a hangover.

"I'm... still trying to figure that out..." He mutters in a low, quiet tone after downing the aspirin and water alike, and he goes on staggering towards the general direction of the table.

Kunzite has posed:
There is a lack of table in the kitchen, although plenty of counter space; and as befits a place technically occupied by five teenaged guys, there is a lack of dedicated dining facilities. The closest table is out in the living space, in the space made by the L of the two couches, convenient to the gaming consoles. Fortunately, Alex passed that on the way. And given that one of the couches is empty, it's a very convenient place to collapse.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"C'mon, you can crash on the couch for a while as you decide." Naru reaches to turn Alex and aim him generally towards that empty couch, quite confident in her own ability to find a spot to settle even if he takes up the whole couch.

Naru ensures that the glass of water is topped up before she returns to the living room herself, and there's a questioning quirk of her brow to Kunzite as she looks to his empty coffee mug. She's up anyhow, after all.

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
It's thus that Alex's path, guided as it might be by virtue of being bodily turned around into the right direction, takes him to the couch. And the instant his legs come bumping against the side of the piece of furniture, he's immediately sent toppling over, and goes SMOOSH face-first onto the cushion. And there he just lays limply for the time being while a low, whining sound muffles against the couch itself.

Kunzite has posed:
The slight shake of Kazuo's head in reaction to Naru's glance is silent. So is his regard of Alexis. He's studying the wall past and above the couch when he says -- not loudly -- "Sadly, gravity has not yet been taught to respect the house rules."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru calmly moves enough of Alex's limbs to be able to settle in under his boneless sprawl, leaning over and around him enough to recollect her coffee and sketchbook.

Naru is just in the midst of a sip of that coffee when Kunzite speaks and she sputters a little, with laughter. "If you can manage that.. I will be /delighted/." She notes back to him.

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
"Mmmbh."

ALex eventually lifts his head upwards just enough to turn it resting upon it's side on the couch, to stare on off to the (seemingly) distant wall.

"So..." He eventually manages to groan out, after some coherency has been returned to his brain. "...Were me and Naru the only normal ones here last night...?" Apparently he remembers, this time.

Kunzite has posed:
That's a good start. A good question, and asked calmly. "Don't know," Kazuo answers Alex. His tone is the same steady thing that it was in the gym, or talking with the girls at the grills the day before. "There were a couple of people I didn't recognize."

... Implying that everyone else was -- well.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"A couple I didn't recognize either, only a couple though. The guy who came with Jiaying." Naru muses thoughtfully and then nods. "And I didn't know the catguy."

Alex seems to make a perfectly adequate table for her to lightly balance her sketchbook on, and Naru's attention returns to what she's working on. Just pencil at this point, a monochrome drawing.

There's another lingering pause, with the sound of pencil on paper the only sound from her. "My normal status is a little wonky at the moment, for the record." Naru admits quietly.

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
Those particular words take a moment before they fully sink in to Alex. He continues to stare blankly to the wall for what seems like forever.

"...Wait..." He groans out finally, when the words at least partially register, and he shifts into the movement of trying to turn around -- but then thinks better of it when he realizes he is, in fact, being used as a desk.

"...What was that?"

Kunzite has posed:
"The cat I've met, if briefly," Kazuo notes to Naru. "Last year, I think it was." ... that is not the most reassuring statement to someone who knows how to interpret it. He continues without a blink, therefore. "Helped rescue a young woman in trouble. Then landed in trouble himself, for a while. I'll ask around about him later. But yes. Both the ones who came with Jiaying; I didn't recognize the girl, either."

It's all perfectly casual conversation, as if it were, itself, perfectly normal. Alexis's 'what was that?' doesn't even earn a variation in tone. "Nothing particular to worry about." Kazuo's definition of 'worry' may not be most people's. He's still leaned back on the other couch, taking a few minutes to be a little lazy. "You already know she's an artist."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru lifts her sketchbook to let Alex move if he wishes to. The hungover one is likely also the one who has a harder time getting comfortable, and she's fine with adjusting as needed.

Naru quirks a brow at Kunzite at 'last year', but doesn't comment on it. "The crazy shy one was Nagina. You met her at the art thing.. or at least she was there, but strangely enough there wasn't a lot of time for introductions. I've met her since with.." Naru pauses just a moment as if considering her words and then shrugs a touch. "Did I tell you about the youma in the abandoned warehouse? That one was a new one to me, and an unfamiliar rescurer who declined to give her name. I hate having to hunt them up later."

Naru glances down to Alex and there's an apologetic sort of look. "I'm an artist, which hasn't changed."

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
"...I know that," Alex says, on teh artist part, and he slowly wriggles himself along the couch until he is actually allowed to turn around into laying on his back instead -- hangover-fatigued eyes trying to come staring over to Naru. "...Do you have powers? Is that what you're saying?"

Kunzite has posed:
Abandoned warehouse. "Not in those words," Kazuo answers Naru. "Do we need to adjust the counter?"

(It may have been good that Alex was quite so distracted while in the kitchen. The 'If you want cake, you need to tell me what your birthday is, no more than one birthday per person per year' sign is harmless. The counter with Naru's name associated might not have done well for him.)

He glances over at Alex s the boy turns face-up, and studies him for a moment before asking Naru, "And did you give him anything besides water?" And painkillers. Painkillers go without saying. without waiting for the answer, he pushes himself up from his seat on the couch and starts toward the kitchen.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Didn't get touched, and I haven't been adjusting the counter for stalkers." Naru points out to Kunzite and then shakes her head. "Just water so far."

Questions from Kunzite are far easier than the question from Alex and Naru cowardly goes for those ones first. She looks down at Alex as he looks up at her and mmms softly. "If I was being a pain in the arse, I could probably debate my way to a 'no' on powers, but it would be a stretch at best. I have barely controlled and generally fairly uselessly irrelevant powers, but yes."

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
Alex sends a look to the way of Kazuo with... well, the same bit of vague bemusement that he seems to have every time he deals with him, really. "...Toast," is what he calls out after him before he's out of sight, and his attention turns to Naru.

"...CAn you show me?"

Kunzite has posed:
There is no comment back to Alex's call. But after a minute or so, the appropriate faint scent will be perceptible, right along with the quieted-by-distance whir of a microwave.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru lets out the breath she didn't realize she was holding as Alex simply asks to see, rather than say.. freaks out. Granted, the hangover is a great discouragement on the energy expending that is required for a proper freak out.

"Mmm." Naru nods as she flips back a few pages in her sketchbook, to get to a drawing of a tree upon the white page, being sure to lean such that Alex can see. Brilliant colours, too rich to be pencil crayons, or watercolour. The more interesting part comes with the fact tht the tree's branches and leaves are rustling to an unseen breeze that would correspond to the movement of the air from the turning of the page. A few of the leaves are scattered around the tree's base, and without too much pause for thought, Naru reaches into the drawing to come away with one of those leaves to be able to pass to Alexis.

Legit. A leaf. A rather small leaf, to be certain, but it isn't paper.

Naru fairly beams as she passes it over. "I've been working with this drawing for /ages/."

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
At some point, Alex brought himself to sitting up so that he can watch NAru. Legs cross over each other and hands go resting onto his lap - and nostrils flare out to take in the scent of the toast nearby - and his head dips down low to look at the sketchbook, with some vague measure of confusion.

And then there's a leaf.

A leaf.

His eyes blink slowly with some initial disbelief, and he reaches a single hand over towards the thing that should logically not be there-- and just touch it, lightly.

"...You called this boring," he murmurs, and then looks at the redhead herself, eyes widened out still. "...CAn you... um. Draw anything to... be?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I.. don't know." Naru answers honestly as she passes the leaf to him, still grinning. "I'm barely learning, and compared to the amazing that everyone I know can do, basically I feel like I can do parlor tricks. I .. still can't entirely control /which/ drawings I can pull from. And sometimes I notice after the fact that I didn't mean to make something real, and did by accident. Which can be awkward." No venomous spiders so far!

"This drawing moved right from the start, but that's the first time I've managed to actually have it come out of the drawing after the fact." Naru grins to Alex. "This is kinda new for me." She explains, probably entirely unnecessarily.

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
"I would think 'parlor tricks' are a little different from literally creating things just from a drawing," Alex points out, a faint smile starting to twitch along his lips now in spite of the pounding headache that still drums against the inside of his skull. "You could just bring up anything whenever you wanted, you know? Whenever. That's..." His lips manage to spread enough to flash his teeth in a grin. "That's fantastic."

Kunzite has posed:
"Keep telling her that," Kazuo comments as he returns from the kitchen. "She doesn't believe us." The tray he sets down includes a plate of toast, yes -- dry, but with butter and marmalade off to the side -- and a bowl of miso soup. Innocuous in theory. Possibly even innocuous in practice.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'll be sure to distract the wraiths with pretty pictures.. or not at all pretty pictures, cause I suspect I wont have /any/ trouble finding the angry to fuel things if I meet them again." Naru comments dryly to Kazuo before settling back with her sketchbook, to just watch the tree be entirely treelike on the page.

"It is pretty cool." Naru has to admit, acknowledging at least /that/ far. "Still not with the whatever I want, whenever I want, cause back to the lack of good control yet. Practice, practice practice, and all that." She gestures at her sketchbook. "And currently attempting to /not/ fuel something with energy, no matter how emotional AND get it out of my head. If I fail, I am /so/ sorry, Kunzite."

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
"I'm pretty sure you could probably find more use than just *distraction*," Alex points out with a quiet chuckle-- which is followed immediately by a wince and a return of his hand pressing against his temple.

"...So what can other people do?" He asks then, since his curiousity is going all haywire, now. "I saw Haru fly to the roof last night. ...I guess flying is kind of given, huh?"

Kunzite has posed:
"It varies. Some people fly. Some people can make improbable jumps. Some people glare up at them from the ground and swear." Kazuo circles the table, leaving Alex's tray where he can ignore it till he chooses the risk, and seats himself in his place on the other couch again. "I can take energy and repurpose it. Which means that I'm not certain why Naru feels the need to apologize, since if she has trouble here, it means she brought me lunch."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Which is, to be fair, why I am experimenting here and not at my house, where I would need to sheepishly text you while hiding." Naru points out on the notion of providing lunch. "That being said, its hardly kind to bring cranky lunch to a sleepy and hungover household early in the morning. So I have incentive to make an effort." She flips the pages of her sketchbook.

"Even a distraction isn't the worst thing in the world, save that when I'm alone.. well.. that's why I took up running." Naru comments with that dry tone coming up again. "I've seen everything from impossible weaponry to throwing fire to healing magics and a lot I was generally too dazed to entirely follow. I.." Naru pauses and then gives a shrug. "I'm generally more familiar with the abilities of those trying to attack me than everyone else."

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
"...The fact that that is the case should probably be considered a little worrying," notes Alex with a quiet wince, and takes to shuffling himself along the couch, now, until he's effectively sitting side-against-side to Naru. "Maybe it'll get better."

And then there's a look sent to Kazuo that is of mixed bemusement and suspicion alike. "... What do you mean, 'brought lunch'?"

Kunzite has posed:
"Should and is." Kazuo agrees to Alex, though as ever without any particular emphasis. "And it has been getting better. One may hope that the current streak is a sign of a new normal, rather than mere chance. The things Naru's told us have been distinctly useful on occasion, but we'd be pleased to lose that information source."

He spreads a hand palm-up. "I can take energy and repurpose it," he repeats. "Heat and light, to begin with, but magical energy also. When Naru draws something that begins to come to life, she puts a kind of energy into it. So if she drew a bonfire, say, and it started trying to get out of hand, I could take the energy from the drawing," and the fire, granted, but he doesn't specify that, "and use it to fuel other things. Eating's the easiest analogy. Though I assure you, I can't actually get along without food."

... anymore.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It was bad, got worse, got to awful, then mostly just wary and has settled at wary." Naru comments on the topic of her attack levels with a touch of a shrug. "I really have been attacked enough to have energy gels and protein bars in my school bag. Between those two in combination, I figured out that I usually could get home or here before passing out. Now it's not so much of a concern for a lot of reasons, but still." She resettles a little to lean lightly against Alex, going back to drawing. "You should eat some of the toast before it gets cold and awful." She points out to him.

"Basically Kunzite gets to play fire extinguisher to my attempts not to light things on fire." Naru nods as she considers the vague nightmarish forms that are coming out of the pencil lines on the page. "My hope is that he gets to be bored and drink more coffee."

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
"...Ah, geez, that sounds like a nightmare in physics homework..." Alex mutters after receiving the explanation of Kazuo's... well, abilities, and now the rubbing against his temple that ensues comes from more than just the hangover-headache.

Naru's 'nagging' earns her an indignant "Yeah yeah yeah..." from Alex, and the plate of toast in question is carefully brought over onto his lap, and butter spread over it. "...I'll skip on the coffee, myself. I'm not sure my stomach would take it right now."

Kunzite has posed:
-- good. Good. So leaving out the addition that he does not in fact practice this on people (also anymore) was the right choice, then. Kazuo Takeba, learning modern social skills one very small step at a time.

"I won't tell the textbook authors about it if you don't," he assures Alex. Then glances toward Naru's sketchbook, but she's at the wrong angle for him to see it. Which is probably well enough in her opinion.

"Don't worry," he adds to Naru. "If you don't set anything on fire today, there's always the possibility of Mifune trying to cook. I'm sure I'll get some exercise sooner or later."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I have the coffee drinking covered for both of us." Naru points out to Alex as she reaches for her almost forgotten coffee, taking a drink of it and then looks over to Kunzite again.

Naru laughs brightly and then looks sheepish as she remembers that Alex is /right there/, and probably not appreciative of humour at the moment. "Makoto hasn't managed to teach him anything yet? Or just enough to be a hazard?" Naru grins and then turns her attention to filling in more details on her drawing.

"I have Questions, as a note. Although I think they're easy ones." Naru comments with the sort of tone that speaks to it being a phrase used often. "Especially as you've already covered two of them, in the people that I didn't know at the party."

Alexis Raskoph has posed:
"I am pretty sure they wouldn't much care to let that change anything even if they heard it all," Alex points out in response to Kazuo, head shaking again briefly before his eyes squint at Naru. He doesn't say anything, he just gives her that *look*.

"I'm seriously having a hard time keeping up with the two of you," he says ruefully then, while he studies the toast before him with some hesitation. "While you guys keep juggling with all those names I have never heard before." And finally, he decides to brave the toast, and take a bite.

Gulp.

Kunzite has posed:
"Mn," is Kazuo's first response to Alex's comment about the textbook authors. He adds a moment after, "It has reliable enough rules to build computers out of it. We just don't know all of them yet. Someday we'll put together a new discipline and start figuring out how it all works."

Just ... probably not soon.

Naru's query about Mifune claims Kazuo's attention next. "If he let Makoto teach him how to cook, he would obviously not get to eat her cooking as often. Besides. As he's fond of pointing out, that's what restaurants are for." ... that's what the restaurants he owns are for. And the crepe stand. Ahem.

Kazuo turns to Alexis again, glancing to make sure he still has water. Not that he doesn't have an alternative form of liquid, but if he hasn't risked the miso soup yet, odds are he's not going to try right now. "Mifune is one of my housemates here," he explains. "You half-met him last night. The one with the blue monster puppet on his shirt, whose liquor cabinet Mamoru raided for you." Tall. Loud. Grinning. Hair like a shampoo commercial. "Makoto is deigning graciously to put up with him. I don't know that you've met her, but you probably will in not too long; she's agreed to give Kyouko a hand teaching Naru. Pretty girl. Brown hair, tall. Tell me when you're up to more than toast, and I'll give you a better explanation."

He pauses for a moment. "Naru has questions." He doesn't give it an audible capital. "If they confuse you, and they probably will, ask. If they make your head hurt too much, say something, and we'll stop." He tilts his head toward Naru then, silent.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Well, I'm hoping if you hear the various names often enough, you'll start to remember them and eventually be able to put connections with people." Naru explains as she watches Alex sidelong to see how the toast is tolerated.

Naru lets Kunzite do the explaining of who, exactly, Mifune and Makoto are with the additions of. "Makoto goes to my school, same class as Usagi and I.. Mifune goes to .." Naru pauses and then turns to Kazuo. "Is Mifune going to school right now?"

Ah, questions. More than just about Mifune's schooling. Naru nods at Kunzite's additions about questions. "Ask. I still do, as is evidenced by the fact that I am pestering Kazuo with yet more questions." She doesn't really pause in her drawing, apparently able to sketch without entirely thinking about it too hard as she asks. "Homura mentioned something about a Madison Perry, and white flowers from last fall and I'm hoping for more details. Which you might not have. That one was first on the list. Second one was if you knew anything about youma known as 'Noise'."

Kunzite has posed:
"All three of the others are in class with Mamoru at Infinity," Kazuo confirms for Naru. "Which means that you should expect nothing whatsoever to happen here between New Year's and the time that university entrance exams are done. I will be the only functioning human being in the apartment, and I'll be busy keeping the rest of them from either studying themselves unconscious or driving the ones actually studying insane."

Naru's questions, however, actually get a slight pause. "Given my condition last fall," he says, "I don't have that much information on the White Flower. I know there was activity. I know that, apparently, someone involved was taking some kind of control over various monsters and directing them; it annoyed multiple factions." Presumably including the one he was on at the time. "I know that Madison Perry fought Sailor V and myself at the same time, and got away nearly unscathed, so I'd suggest not looking into her too closely. I'll be following up with Homura about that later." He pauses for a moment. "As for 'Noise' -- no. Mamoru mentioned something like that in passing once, I think. Months ago. Something about concerts."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Duly noted." Naru comments with a touch of a smirk and a gesture. "So visit, drop off food, and then flee. Got it. Clearly we'll have to hide in another living room." There's options, even with four people on insane study watch.

"Mmm." Naru is thoughtful at Kazuo's comments, leaning lightly into Alexis as she listens. "I was even less with it last fall, so I've a blank page and the most token of pokings got me that same blank page." She squints a little and hunhs softly. "Right. You and Sailor V and yeah. I won't poke too hard, but realistically speaking, statistics says that if she's back in town, I'm probably going to meet her."

Naru nods. "That's what I got, again largely in passing, when one stalked me and someone who was stalking it was.. efficient and wary and skeptical and I can't say that I blame her, but not being able to keep the conversation on track was making me want to spit nails." She pauses and holds up a hand. "Which is besides the point. Apparently they are fairly well fatal to those without magical protection, so said the mysterious one who I couldnt get a name for."

Kunzite has posed:
Another living room. That probably wants explaining. Kazuo glances over at Alexis and his toast. "Mamoru owns the floor," he says as an aside. "Four apartments; we've connected them for convenience." So 'another living room' makes more sense than it otherwise might.

Granted, Kazuo does not know where Alexis lives. (Yet.)

Him and Sailor V and ... a brief shrug. There is a certain subset of explanations that Kazuo's not entirely inclined to go into in front of someone who's still trying to keep his head above water, especially given the condition the head is in at the time.

"Someone knows something," Kunzite says. "I'll ask Homura about Madison Perry and the White Flower, and we can see whether Mamoru remembers his source on the Noise business. How long ago was this stalking? If something that's lethal by proximity is loose, we need to make that a priority."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Homura will be more open to explaining to you than me, you two already have a working relationship." Naru doesn't sound put out by this, simply a fact and she glances down at her sketch as if startled to notice how much she's done without thinking about it. There's a pause as she looks it over as if bracing herself for movement, or that subtle shift in the tone and timbre of the drawing to be something more.

Nothing.

Naru relaxes a little and then looks back over to Kunzite. "Mmm, ten days or so. My mysterious benefactor was hunting them, and took out all that she found there at the time. The one that had stalked me was the last in the area. I get the sense that much like the puella and the wraiths, she hunts these." She pauses, thoughtful. "Her sword was named Ame no Habakiri, does that help at all?" Naru shakes her head a little. "I tracked down Princess Runealy eventually, I'll find this one too."

Kunzite has posed:
There are certain kinds of people for whom bringing up the names of people's weapons does help. Kazuo blinks. "Yes. That's Mamoru's source." Gone from 'faint, fuzzy memory' to no doubt whatsoever, not about that part. "He may be able to put you in touch."

Eventually is working faster than usual, today.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm glad I remembered it." Naru smiles as that clarifies things immensely. "I'll try to remember to ask him. I don't think there's much of a rush, she seemed to have them well in hand."

Naru considers her sketch and then passes the sketchbook over to Kazuo.

It's a nightmareish sketch, and the black ink only highlights the starkness of the sketch. It's something of an escheresque concoction of looming shaggy plant-esque creature, who almost looks ready to snuffle off the page and bring a certain icy death with him. But not quite.

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo studies the sketchbook calmly and critically, then passes it back to Naru. "You might want to leave that one here for a while, rather than taking it with you," he observes. "The tree advanced while you weren't working on it, you mentioned."

Given the degree of unperturbed -- maybe he missed his morning run and wants some exercise, or something. Or, on the other hand, maybe the local prank wars have escalated to the point at which he's seriously considering planting it under someone's bed.

Or maybe he just thinks rule six, "No Witch labyrinths," needs some expanding.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"In theory, it's purely a reference sketch." Naru points out as she accepts it back. "Which is an interesting theory. I'm not sure if its of use. I should have another one in a day or two, if I decide to draw it out. I might. Good exercise at least."

Naru smirks at him a touch. "If I leave this sketchbook here, I'll have to come over here to draw it."

Kunzite has posed:
"It would limit you so terribly not to be able to work on one particular sketch at school," Kazuo says, in that familiar bland tone. "Have you eaten anything beyond coffee and cake this morning, by the way?" Apparently looming plant-creatures make him think of eating things. Possibly he's run into a few too many of them.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I know, right? I'd have to use another sketchbook. Oh the humanity." Naru quips back to him and then mmms softly. "Cake is a perfectly reasonable breakfast, especially post party, you know."

Which is really just another way of saying 'no'.

Kunzite has posed:
"I see today is a Hannah-gifted holiday, then." There's a moment in which Kazuo's giving her a narrow look, as if he were considering whether it were necessary to Fix This.

Fortunately, politeness to Alexis's hangover appears to trump all.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hannah has nothing to say about my diet." Naru points out as she settles back on the couch, leaving her sketchbook on the table. "My plan was to go for a run this afternoon, as I had few illusions about getting up early post party. Even if I ended up getting up early anyhow."

Naru reaches for a blanket to cover the sleeping Alex, at least the toast seems to have gone alright. "Usually I take weekends off, you know. Mostly off."

Kunzite has posed:
"Eat something resembling food between now and then. Running on coffee and cake is a good way to pass out without need for ouside intervention." Kazuo: not Hannah, for which many people are probably grateful.

He's quiet for a moment while Naru applies blanket. And then he adds, forgoing even the chance to comment on her taking weekends off: "Not bad."

Presumably he means Alexis.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It's a long run today too, so food will be required, yeah. Although I learned the hard way about eating too much before a longer run." Naru shakes her head a little. "Also, not good." She quirks her head thoughtfully. "I am going to guess that I ping if I pass out, even from stupidity. Mmm."

There's quiet and then Naru smiles a little at the 'not bad' from Kazuo. "I expected more freak out." Naru answers honestly. "It might yet be coming, but he's coping shockingly well. Tequila notwithstanding."

Kunzite has posed:
"No idea. You might want to ask the one who made it." No, Kazuo does not in fact say 'why don't we test it.' Besides, it'd be pointless; having Mamoru or Daisuke around might change its behavior, for all he knows. Lunar technology is strange.

"Tequila was reasonable, under the circumstances," Kazuo adds then. "And he doesn't seem to be treating it as a short-term solution. I might be biased, though. He's acting the way I suspect Kazuo would have."

He pauses to lean down and gather up the tray. "-- so keep him away from fallen sorceresses and unfortunate bargains." Of course he starts kitchenward on that note. Of course.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm not always sure she knows." Naru points out and then reaches for her coffee cup and finds it cold beyond even what she's willing to drink.

"Tequila smells disgusting, but no. I don't begrudge him the tequila." Naru glances to Kunzite as he starts in on the referring to himself in the 3rd person.

Well now that is reason enough to carefully stand, aiming to not wake Alexis as she does, and follow Kunzite into the kitchen. Because of course she does. For more coffee. Clearly.

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo does not dispute Naru's uncertainty, whether or not he shares it. He just deals with the kitchen -- reheating the soup a second time, since it hasn't been out past the time of caution, setting the dishes aside for cleaning. "I trust you found the leftovers," he adds. Only some of which are in this kitchen. And the 'unknown number of guests for breakfast' supplies, which explains where he got the soup from.

There is no other comment about the topic that prompted her to glance his way, but she probably expected that.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru nods at the question about leftovers and she really does pour herself more coffee and lingers in the kitchen to drink it. And sniff appreciatively at the wafting smell of the soup being reheated. She might be hungry for more than cake, it's true.

"There's more leftovers than I expected, to be honest. You guys are going to feast for a week." Naru comments as she leans against the counter. "Or depending on visitors, about two days."

"What sort of bargain?" Naru asks, calmly, as if it's the same sort of degree of interesting as the leftovers in the various fridges.

Kunzite has posed:
"Usagi hasn't been here yet," Kunzite confirms to the two-day figure. Soup is removed from the microwave, and it and a spoon are passed to Naru; he fills and heats a second for himself.

What sort of bargain? "The usual," he says, not looking toward her, but not looking further away, either. Naru's spoon came from the tray; his he has to find for himself. "Whatever you inaccurately think you want, for something far more than you think you're paying."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru accepts the soup and takes a careful sip. And discovers, as she really did already know, that it's hot hot hot! "Random thing I've noticed.. I don't quite keep up with Usagi, but I eat markedly more than I used to. Granted, I'm also building muscle, hard to know which is at blame."

Naru blows lightly over her soup to cool it before she tries again. She's quiet as she does, one of those lingering silences that both of them are very good at.

Kunzite has posed:
"There are ways to calculate it, if you really want to. I did, when I was younger. Had to maintain a certain weight or the doctors noticed." 'I', not Kazuo, this time. He retrieves his own from the microwave, but doesn't imitate Naru -- just holds the bowl in his hands instead, the way he does with the coffee cups. Equally ill-advised in theory, but it never quite seems to make him flinch. It doesn't take long to cool enough to be reasonably consumed. Quiet, then. Maybe they can hear the boy breathing in the living room. Maybe not.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm a teen girl." Naru points out as if this is somehow a vague irritant, and an eternal explination. "If I gain or lose weight, the world will be sure to tell me in no uncertain terms, likely in a way designed to wreak the greatest havoc with my self esteem, either direction." She takes another sip of soup, her tongue's already burnt and she's hungry. "I just eat when I'm hungry."

The quiet is a reasonable thing, and a comfortable thing, and a lingering thing. "I should warn him about rat-puppy things bearing contracts." Naru breaks the silence thoughtfully.

Kunzite has posed:
Fair enough, all of it. Never having been a teen girl, Kunzite isn't in a position to dispute anyhow. And now that he thinks of it, he remembers the advertisements he watched, the magazines, the judgments that certain youma more adept in mortal society would render in order to get their way -- or sometimes their energy.

He trusts Venus has dealt with the survivors by now. They did tend to cluster in Paris.

Naru's voice breaks that chain of thought before he can spend too long on on it, thankfully. "Mn? I thought Kyubey only targeted --" No. No, that's a bad assumption on multiple front. "-- you're right. He's been experimenting. Best to go the safe route."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Wraiths rather say that he's gone off script." Naru points out with a nod. "Besides, it almost feels like tradition. At least to me, if only for all the warnings I got." She drinks more soup and takes a slow breath.

"I've no idea what I'd wish for." Naru comments thoughtfully.

Kunzite has posed:
"You can dole out the entire list to him, over time. That, too, is tradition." Junior becomes the senior, to train up the next seniors in turn. Undoubtedly it'll be as unnerving for Naru as it was for him. Which should make it all too amusing to watch.

The next sentence makes him tilt his head a little, and look up. "Perhaps you have a better idea than most of what can be accomplished without the help." Or maybe she just doesn't want anything that much yet. That'd be nice. Particularly if it stayed that way.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm not sure I have the entire list. I got a slew of warnings about Kyubey, and then it all went fairly sideways and I got stubborn." Naru quirks a half smile, acknowledging her own irritating independant self.

Naru takes another sip of soup and considers that. "Perhaps." She acknowledges thoughtfully. "I'm not very good at taking help."

Kunzite has posed:
"You're writing the master list," Kazuo points out. "I've still never seen the ... what was it, snake woman? Something like that?" Speaking of not being good at taking help. Which he does not dispute in the slightest.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Which one?" Naru asks with a flash of amusement. "I've a couple on the list. One who generally seems to be on our side, and one who still ranks dead last on the energy drain ranking list. Nightshade Serpant. While wraiths aren't technically on that list, they're the only ones who actually get a lower ranking."

Kunzite has posed:
"Someone should put together an actual list," Kazuo says deadpan. "Useful for Virtue. And for the Fabled Boyfriend."

Thus are scotched any hopes that he might have forgotten that line.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru coughs on her coffee, having momentarily forgotten that line and she laughs, shaking her head. "You seem to think I don't have an actual list. Only of the ones that have gotten a piece of me. I probably should add in some of the near misses too, but I can't give them a ranking."

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo takes his bowl to join the dishes from Alexis's tray, and runs water to start washing them. "I'm sure no-one would begrudge you a separate category for them. This Monster Is Not Yet Rated."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I.. will have to add that in." Naru hunhs softly before she adds her bowl to the sink and acquires herself a dish towel. "I can only think of two I haven't got that should be part of it off the top of my head."

"Virtue is odd." Naru decides after a moment. "I know you have no opinion on it, as you're not in it, but it's odd."

Kunzite has posed:
"I trust you won't take those two as a challenge." Kazuo passes her the plate from the toast. Matter-of-fact gestures, no magic required. "That's a contextless statement, about Virtue, yes. How is Virtue odd in this particular case? Or is that something better discussed within the circle, rather than without?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm a noncombatant, remember?" Naru points out as she dries the plate and puts it away. "I don't think I've ever gone looking for a bad guy. Which considering my ranked list, is pretty impressive."

"It is a contextless statement, and one that I'm struggling to put context to. Within or without." Naru replies as she waits for the next dish. "I expect I am merely being shy, all in all."

Kunzite has posed:
"I'm a noncombatant, says the girl who tried to take on four Wraiths armed only with a satchel, and who complains constantly that her well-equipped and flexible toolbox makes an inefficient blunt weapon." Kazuo hands her the bowls next. They'll hurt less if she throws them at him than the knives would. "Being quiet, are they?"

(Pot, meet kettle...)

Naru Osaka has posed:
"They pissed me off." Naru points out, waggling a bowl at him. She's close enough that a throw would be far less effective than just a good solid swat.

If she thought she could hit him at least.

"Pissed off was all they left me." Naru comments with a bit of a shrug as she dries the bowl without using it as a solid thwaping object.

"I am getting more comfortable with my flexible toolbox, as you put it.. but when you end up a chew toy often enough for a counter and rankings, when you acquire a toolbox that's full of subtle potential and you can't just take out months of frustration by searing something into the ground, or even effectively hiding? It's hard to appreciate the subtle potential." Naru pauses a moment, possibly not having /quite/ sorted that out in her head before she explained it aloud to Kunzite.

"Quiet, yes. And I don't quite know what pigeon hole I'm in anymore. Which is interesting, and probably only my own issue." Naru reaches for another bowl to dry.

Kunzite has posed:
"More fools they." And Puella snacks was all they left the Wraiths. It still, somehow, does not seem to balance out. But that anger isn't allowed to surface enough to become visible, no more than any of the others.

Kazuo inclines his head to Naru without actually looking her way. "The Ring of Gyges isn't something you can draw," he agrees. "Perhaps fortunately." The rest isn't commented on, yet again.

Which probably means he's been waiting for her to put that into words.

And the other topic only yields, as he works through the silverware, "You're not a pigeon."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm a terrible pigeon." Naru confirms as she takes some of the silverware to work though. "I'm scared of heights."

"I wondered if I could." Naru comments, jumping back a topic and expanding upon it. "If I drew something magical, how does that magic translate. I expect not at all. If I'd arsed it up and put power into that nightmare creature.. would it be the sort of nightmare creature that Ariel and ... the other dream person whose name I've forgotten.. would recognize, or something else?"

Kunzite has posed:
Silence for a moment, and consideration. "I don't recall which of the dream people you've met," Kazuo says. "I can think of at least three others who might fit." The space of four slow breaths before he says anything else.

Finally: "It might be that such a creature would only have access to the power you put into it; be able to exert that, and be done. It might be that such a creature would have access to your own power to draw on, which might not bode well for you. Or it might be a beacon for some existing power to notice, and shape itself to match, and use as a gateway to reach the Earth. That would be the least pleasant of the alternatives, I think."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I have it written down." Naru gestures a little, probably towards wherever her virtue phone is hiding.

There's quiet thoughtfulness on how drawing her nightmare and feeding it power might be a bad idea, more than just how much of a bad idea it sounds like on the surface. "Interesting."

Which doesn't actually include such words as 'I promise not to try this empirically'.

Kunzite has posed:
Of course it doesn't.

It also doesn't include 'I promise to have whatever Mercury hooked that alarm to nearby.'

Kazuo says nothing on this. Just hands her the rest of the silverware.