2014/Cranky things

Cranky things
Date of Scene:	11 October 2016
Location:	Earth Court Frat House
Synopsis:	Tutoring and magical conversation with Seth, Naru, Kazuo and Mamoru goes awry when everyone gets cranky with everyone else by the end of the conversation. Whoops.
Cast of Characters:	Naru Osaka, Kunzite, Seth Locke, Mamoru Chiba

---

Naru Osaka has posed:
With the hermiting options having had pillars in deserts and within shadow cats crossed off, ECFH has come up to the top of the list. The mural needs time to dry (paint, not flooding) after the most recent additions, which is how Naru finds herself sitting on the floor. She's using the coffee table as a desk as she leaves her sketchbook quite deliberately closed and her homework open, even if she's ignoring it in favour of confirming the time and location for tonight's tutoring session with Seth.

Kunzite has posed:
The apartment does have advantages over desert pillars and being eaten alive by youma, true. The far end of the coffee table has a bowl of pears, for one thing, half-apology for the unusual lack of baked goods. (It has not been a weekend conducive to being in the kitchen.) There's access to drinks -- water, soda, coffee, tea. There are couches to sit on or, in Naru's case, either to lean back against or ignore completely.

There's also a Kazuo seated at the far end of one of the couches, the English-language book he's been working his way through for weeks now set on the endtable next to him as he prods irritably at a phone. He's angled to have a clear view of the entrance, which means that (once the concierge downstairs sends him on up the elevator) the door from the hall -- yes, it's still marked 'USE THIS ONE' -- is unlocked, and indeed left slightly open in a silent sign of come-in.

Seth Locke has posed:
The concierge arrives, bringing Seth with him. He thanks the man, and proceeds to enter the lobby, changing his shoes to some comfy house slippers. As he comes into view of both the head of the Shittenou and Naru, he greets, a slight bow of his head. "Konbanwa, Naru-chan... Takeba-San." He sideglances at the rules, which are still posted; he believes he's starting to graze the surface about these rules, or at least, some of the truth behind them.

But nevermind that! He's a guest here, and he's got a job to do. "How are you this evening?", he asks, eyes fixed on the people, not the objects - not those rules.

Naru Osaka has posed:
It's a long and lingering sigh as Naru sets her phone down on the table, face down out of habit and she leans back on the couch, stretching out. She resettles, tucking her legs up to settle kneeling at the table and then she pushes herself to her feet. "Want something to drink?" She asks of Kunzite as she pads her way towards the kitchen.

And then Seth is arriving and she waves, clearly oh so very formal, based on her bare feet having made herself well at home. "C'mon in!" There's a gesture over towards the couches. "I'm alright, getting a coffee. Want anything? There's coffee, tea, soda, water, probably juice.."

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo's eyes flicker to Seth's arrival, and he inclines his head slightly. White hair spills forward over his shoulder, neither short enough to behave nor quite long enough to stay in place. "Locke-san, yes? Be welcome." The rules are not mentioned. After all, Seth isn't so likely to be here to start a fight. Except with textbooks, which is completely allowable.

He thumbs another couple of keystrokes, pauses regarding the thing, then locks the screen and lays the phone down on his lap. "Mystery juice," he amends to Naru's list. "The label's in Spanish again. Some kind of citrus, I think. Coffee would be appreciated, Naru, if you have the hand free; it should be ready by now."

Someone may have 'accidentally' left mugs conveniently on the counter, for some reason.

Seth Locke has posed:
"I feel welcome", Seth replies in a formal fashion, proceeding further into the room. "But please, no need to be so formal."

Setting the books by the coffee table, he replies to Naru, "Some coffee would be nice, thank you." Coffee - battery power for the brain during late night study times.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Is there a black hole of weird beverages in that fridge? Or is someone just really fond of spanish juice?" Naru asks Kunzite with a little laugh as she moves into the kitchen. She doesn't need to confirm with Kunzite how he takes his coffee, she just pours a mug for herself and another for Kunzite and then calls over. "How do you take your coffee, Seth?" Clearly Naru isn't standing overmuch on formality.

Upon receiving the answer, and doctoring all three mugs suitably, she returns to the living room to pass out mugs. "Thanks for being willing to come over here to work on languages, Seth. I appreciate it."

Kunzite has posed:
"Everyone in this country is really fond of Spanish juice. Or Italian. It's only that some people bother to get it repackaged into something legible." Kazuo regards his phone for a few moments as if he were wary that it might suddenly metamorphose into a poisonous snake. No scales spring into evidence, though, and he looks up again at Naru comes back in. "Though given the pineapple soda incident, a black hole of weird beverages is not beyond the realm of possibility. Thank you." How does Kazuo take his coffee? Black, unsurprisingly. Or possibly 'doesn't care as long as it's hot,' and black is just the most efficient way of acquiring that. He cradles the mug in both hands again, studying the pair of them for a moment, then glances down to frown at the coffee instead of the phone. It's his very best attempt neither to loom nor to spook Seth by disappearing into the background. Whether that works, well -- at least Seth's in the same height range as he is, instead of being someone that he can't help looming over even sitting down.

Seth Locke has posed:
"I take it no cream, two sugars", the american boy replies. "Nothing better to keep the brain running during the study evenings, I tell you." He returns his attention momentarily to look at Kazuo, a slight hint of amusement as well as curiosity, "A pineapple soda incident...?" He looks at Naru jokingly, "And be careful about black holes of wierd beverages. They might leave you the next morning with a hangover that will break the laws of quantum physics."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"In spite of the fact that I /like/ pineapple soda, I promise it wasn't me." Naru comments with a grin to Kunzite as she resettles on the floor next to her books and the table.

Because clearly, the tiny one should be the one sitting on the floor, that totally makes the most sense.

"Six impossible things before breakfast? Isn't that how the quip goes." Naru asks with a little laugh as she sets her own coffee down next to her books. Unlike the other two, she actually puts cream in her coffee. "Fortunately, I don't drink alcohol, so I generally dodge the hangover thing. At least in most sense."

Kunzite has posed:
A pineapple soda incident. "Someone filled the refrigerator with it this summer. Even with five of us living here and the number of guests we get, it took us weeks to get through the stuff. We never did figure out whose idea that was." Kazuo reaches aside for his book, finally. He does not quite have enough time to find his page before his phone chimes for attention. The glance he gives it says 'really?' without any need for words; the book's set back down and he picks the phone back up to deal with the messages.

Seth Locke has posed:
Seth Locke listens to Kazuo's explanation, then holds back a laugh, "Then, I guess when you update those rules, you should add 'no pineapple soda'." He looks at Naru, "Good philosophy, an alcohol free life." Collecting his mug, he asks Naru. "But, should you ever find youself in a situation you did drink alcohol, and you're feeling wobbly about it, you know what's good to perk you up?" He raises his cup as an indicator to his answer. "Coffee."

He finally takes a long sip, eyes closed. And then, he replies to Naru: "Danke."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"A complete lack of pineapple soda would made me sad." Naru comments with a little laugh as she watches Kunzite and his phone. "You are seriously Mister Popular tonight."

Naru quirks a brow at Seth and then offers a smirk of a smile. "Oh good, so you can do stupid alcohol fueled things even /faster/, that seems like a seriously winning combination. I've had alcohol, I wasn't much of a fan. I'm not about to stop other people from drinking, that's their business."

Kunzite has posed:
"Why would we do that?" Kazuo asks, mostly rhetorically, to Seth's joke about updating the house rules. "Discourage the harmless pranks, and you get more annoying ones in their place." Also, Naru likes the stuff, for whatever reason. Her comment about his being Mister Popular tonight prompts a brief wry expression, still angled down at the phone. "Mamoru's studied himself past being tired again. To the point at which his texts involve spelling and grammar."

Seth's next comment, about wobbliness, prompts Kazuo to look up from his phone and regard the slightly-younger boy steadily. He doesn't say anything, and the look on his face is back to its usual one, casually and unreadably neutral. It doesn't last long; Naru's reply is his cue to look away and try reaching for his book again. This time it works.

Seth Locke has posed:
"Some people should be forbidden to drink, however", Seth invites to agree. "But yes, as long as you're aware of your actions, there'd be no problem with it." He settles down, and pulling out his books, he changes the subject to the tutoring. "Given the fact I'm drinking coffee, and that you gave it to me... What was it I just told you?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"He's going to faceplant on his exams if he keeps studying himself past being tired." Naru points out to Kunzite, but soon leaves him alone to attempt to focus on his book.

Naru reaches for her own coffee as she listens to Seth and she flashes a smile. "A rather polite 'thank you'. I do have a few words of german, I spent almost a week in Austria and got just a couple phrases together, with no doubt a truly awful accent, while I was there. Please and thank you and the like."

Kunzite has posed:
"He's managed to avoid falling asleep mid-exam so far. It would probably help if he were satisfied with essays that didn't involve outside research, granted, but he has his preferred medical school in mind." The casual chat is likewise let to fall aside, in favor of the discussion of German; there's only one further glance Naru's way, around Seth's 'aware of your actions' line, and that's also left alone in favor of wrestling further with sequestered supersymmetry breaking.

Seth Locke has posed:
"Trefflich!", Seth exclaims. "And this is going to be the method we'll imply in these sessions. We'll speak, starting with simple words or sentences in german, and we'll evolve from there." He points out, "School is amazing to unload tons of information, but to actually apply said information, the ammount of time dedicated is close to none." He smiles, "So, nothing like empyrical knowledge." A smile that broadens, "Verstehen Sie?"

And, on the subject of Mamoru, "Mamoru... I think I've seen him once or twice around... Wasn't he that guy who showed up at the Hikawa Shrine the other day while we were talking?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Unless you tell me what they mean, then its not much different than being terribly confused in Austria." Naru points out as she leans forward to nudge her books aside, and dig out her sketchbook from the pile and take up her pencil. "Trefflich?" She makes an attempt to repeat back. "And .. what was the other one? Verstehen see?" She offers as she puts a couple lines upon the page.

"Mamoru owns the apartment, he lives here too, with the other guys." Naru explains, leaving off the mention of the shrine, turning her attention to Kunzite for him to field that question.

Kunzite has posed:
"Briefly, yes," Kazuo says, once again without looking up from his book. "Senior at your school, also, so you may have seen him there. He used to be in kendo and track, but he developed a medical condition last year that interferes somewhat. That's why he wasn't talking."

Seth Locke has posed:
"Trefflich", now is said by Seth in a form of announcement, "is german for 'terrific'." He adds, "And 'verstehen sie' is really a sentence, meaning 'do you understand'. Applied in the context, I asked if you understood my method." He asks this again, in german, <<Do you understand?>> He waits for Naru to give him a reply.

He looks at Kazuo/Kunzite for a moment. "Nothing severe, I hope."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Ja." Naru nods in agreement of her understanding. "German conjugates weird, if that's a whole sentance." She decides after a moment of thought and then adds some notes around the sketch in progress. "Are there books or websites that I should look up when not working on conversational German? Mmmm. I suppose I could ask google for that. I should have already, really." She quirks a smile and shakes her head. "I need to get out less."

Kunzite has posed:
"He's been able to keep his grades up," Kazuo assures Seth. "Given his definition of 'up,' that's sufficient for any reasonable human being." The discussion of German conjugation he leaves carefully alone; he is, apparently, merely someone who exists in the same room as it. Possibly he thinks English is weird enough without going the extra step further. (... never mind that German makes more sense.)

Seth Locke has posed:
Seth Locke shakes his head to Naru, "No, you need to get out more, preferencially with someone who is fluent in German." He sips some of his coffee. "Empyrical knowledge, remember?"

Looking back to Kazuo, he remarks, "I never saw Mamoru-san at school, actually; he's... what, same age as me?" He considers, adding a shrug. "I suppose, if I were in the same year, we might've met already. But alas, two years downgrading on behalf of the schoolboard may've caused a 'butterfly effect' in regards to meeting." He seems amused at the way he just placed a theoretical scientific principle into the conversation.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Contextual learning or not, the one who is fluent in German is the one I'm hoping to surprise and who tends to work on his japanese rather than teaching me German, Ja?" Naru points out to Seth with a touch of smile. "Which is why I'm looking at websites, tutors and books. My options for German speakers in Japan is a touch sparse."

"Mamo's older." Naru is confident on that point as she adds a few more lines to her drawing. "So immaterial of transfer, you guys wouldnt have been in the same class."

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo turns a page, scowls momentarily at the new page, and turns back three instead, scanning absently to recheck something. "Have you asked Izumi, Naru? There's a chance he might be able to help."

Seth Locke has posed:
"Fair enough", Seth replies in regards to the subject of the German language. He searches and compiles a list for Naru to have a look at. In the meantime, he talks, "The closer the year, the higher the chances of meeting. He's on the 12th grade, am I right?", Seth asks.

He drinks more of his coffee, and his eyes fall upon Naru's sketchbook. Oh, right! Naru pulled a sword out of her sketchbook the other night! "So, uh..." His voice trembles as the memories flood back.

And the sudden realization: the conversation was getting so nice, that he for a brief bit had forgotten all the things going wrong in his life.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I haven't. I should." Naru hunhs softly at Kazuo and nods. "I hadn't considered it, I think of him with romance languages, but that comes from France." She muses on Izumi and then smiles to Seth as he offers a few suggestions on how to further her sekrit learning.

The picture that Naru's drawing is simple enough, a rough sketch of a street light, casting twisted and warped shadows onto the ground behind it. She looks to Seth at his abortive attempt at a sentance. "Uh?" Naru prompts gently, watching the ripple of different emotions crossing his face. "You sound like you have questions."

Kunzite has posed:
"He's a third-year, yes," Kauzo says. "The two of you are in the same part of the school. You still might not see each other, though; he and the other three are all in the same class, and Mifune blocks sight lines like a bipedal bear."

Naru's sketchbook is merely an extension of Naru, not to be remarked upon. Of course.

Seth Locke has posed:
"U-Uhm... Questions?" Seth shakes his head. "N-No! Why would I have... q-questions?" But in fact, he's not shaking his head; he's nudging it in Kazuo's direction, looking at Naru with an inquisitive look. In other words, he's trying to silently say: 'Does he know?'

Now looking at Kazuo, he shrugs, "Oh well. If I won't find him at school, then I might just find him here, if I'm around long enough."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Because when I pulled a sword out of my sketchbook, I thought you were going to fall over." Naru notes calmly to Seth. "And you're getting weirded out by my sketchbook all over again, although this is just a simple drawing, if not of a simple topic, I suspect."

"Mamoru is elusive, if one isn't university entrance prep work at the moment." Naru comments with a smile that certainly is fond. "It happens. Then again, I'm not one to talk, I neither live here, nor go to the same school and generally am almost as busy. Not quite, but almost."

Kunzite has posed:
At the exhange around the sketchbook, Kazuo falls still for a moment. Then draws a very slow breath and gives Naru a momentarily resigned look, before turning that same neutral expression he wears most of the time upon Seth. "If you're stammering," he says, "perhaps we should offer you something a little less caffeinated after all."

Seth Locke has posed:
"Okay", stammering gone, and all the other subjects put aside, Seth looks between Naru and Kazuo. "Can /someone/... /please/ explain to me what the hell were those things we came face to face against the other night?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru takes a moment to nod, setting her pencil down and picking up her coffee again. She leans back against the couch, rearranging her legs to end up cross-legged. There's a breath and she goes with the basics first.

"Those were Wraiths." Naru explains to start. "They're.. well.. skeletal things, robes. They're relatively new as monsters go. They come in packs, as we found. Often with a mist or miasma, although I rarely notice that in time for it to be useful."

There's a pause there, as Naru considers where to go next. "They seem to be attracted to negative emotions. Lonely, sad, depressed, but when they drain a person, they remove emotion. Not negative ones, but all of them. If you aren't drained badly, they do seem to heal, but down to naught, and people are just shells. Husks really." She takes a deep breath, letting it out in a touch of a sigh. "That's the third time I've fought them, and the first time I wasn't one of their victims."

Seth Locke has posed:
Seth Locke takes a deep breath as he listens to the explanation. "Okay, that says a lot, but clarifies me in just about zero." He proceeds to explain, "Ever since my coming to Tokyo, I've been witness to stuff ranging from these... wraiths as you called them, to some crazy woman who decided to make a whole theme park into candy land extreme, not to mention these oddities which two girls called... 'whatever'-bads, going from your average size, to the size of a small building." He still adds, "Not to mention a hell hound the size of a mack truck rampaging the streets intent on devouring everything in its path, myself included!"

He realizes he's raising his voice from all the freaking out, so he backs down. "Sorry about that. It's not your fault." His hands become the support for his head, arms over the coffee table. "What the hell's going on?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's a slow sigh from Naru. "I so totally need to make a pamphlet." She mutters, to herself and possibly the silent Kuzuo, but mostly herself. She nods after a moment and takes another fortifying drink of her coffee.

"Right. Sorry, I didn't realize I needed to go back a step or two to the bigger picture, not just the Wraiths." Naru sounds apologetic as she glances to Seth. "All of this sort of weird exists. And has existed for .. well.. basically forever. There's more details on the history, and it's fascinating, but I'm not really qualified to give it. So know that this isn't a /new/ thing and we'll jump to now. Those who do magic, and a very few who don't, can see the weird for what it really is. We protect those who don't know, and can't see. Clearly, for whatever reason, you can see the weird. And yes, when that change happens, it's extremely disorienting and confusing."

Naru watches Seth, curious as to how he's taking this particular line of explination.

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo is saying precisely nothing, as if what Naru were saying were absolutely normal, not needing comment in the slightest. This may or may not be reassuring.

Seth Locke has posed:
Can you hear that proverbial thump? It's the sound of reality coming down on people like a ton of bricks - except, in this case, it's Seth whose world is being ravaged by the harsh reality of magic.

He raises his hands over tho his head; he then lets them slide over his face, in exhasperation. "It... It all makes sense, now."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It probably doesn't, but I do appreciate the optimism." Naru comments on the notion of it all making sense now, her voice just a a touch dry.

"I spent a fair chunk of time as someone who could see but had no magic of my own, which comes with its own frustrations and confusions." Naru comments thoughtfully. "There are a lot of bad things that wish to prey upon the people of Tokyo, it can be rather depressing to think about it too hard."

Kunzite has posed:
"You'll notice," Kazuo says drily, "that the people best equipped to deal with the problem generally have other people on hand to do the thinking too hard tor them."

Seth Locke has posed:
Seth Locke sighs, "The miko at the Hikawa Shrine advised me, after doing a session for me, that my best course of action would be to stay away from negative influences." He shrugs, "What the hell am I supposed to do, given this bit of information?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru quirks a brow at the mention of the miko at the shrine but she gestures a touch with her coffee mug. "So to my mind, there's two ways to interpret that advice. One would be to find a cave, or a mountain top and install yourself as the next hermit, avoiding all of humanity and it's negative influences. Because even without magic and the supernatural, humans have a disconcerting propensity for the negative, even if it's just being obnoxious on the internet, or shoving on the subway." There's a pause and then she adds. "No pillars in the desert. Bad idea."

Naru continues after barely a moment after that random addition. "Alternately, it can be interpreted as don't let yourself fall in with a bad crowd, and bad influences. Don't let peer pressure turn you into someone who is obnoxious on the internet and shoves people on the subway, or who thinks 'y'know, I think the Terribads might have a point', or something equally dumb."

Kunzite has posed:
"Keep a sharp eye out for people trying to feed you things that involve unpleasant-colored glows Or shadows that stretch longer than they should, or birds with cold fire for wings." Kazuo has not yet bothered to look up from his book again. "Keep a list of people you can scream to for help, if necessary."

Possibly they keep him in the apartment to avoid him trying to spread good cheer, or something.

Seth Locke has posed:
Then, the next question that comes from Seth is pronounced in a very somber way, capable of sending shivers down the spine:

"What if it's already too late for me?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Who is feeding people glowy things?" Naru asks Kazuo absently, clearly utterly comfortable with his particular flavour of delight and joy spreading in conversation.

"I absolutely recommend having a few friends on speed dial for when you meet stuff that you can't run from." Naru nods in agreement of /that/ recommendation for certain.

Naru quirks a brow at Seth anew. "In that you already have friends who are bad influences? Or you are already sympathetic to the Terribads, or other villians, or you're obnoxious on the internet? Or you shove people on the subway?" She adds after a moment. "I, personally, tend to be entirely of the 'never too late' philosophy, so my answer to that is 'no such thing', but more details are welcome."

Kunzite has posed:
"No-one in particular," Kazuo answers Naru. "Generalized example."

Seth's question finally makes him mark his page and fold the book shut again, lifting that calm gray gaze to regard him. Steady. Assessing. But Naru has good questions; he waits to hear the answers.

Seth Locke has posed:
"I was never one to have many friends. Personally, I value quality over quantity", remarks Seth. "Few, but at least trustworthy."

"But no, I'm referring to something that happened quite a long time ago."

The american boy takes another sip of his coffee - ah hell with it, let's call it 'liquid courage' and move on -, then gulps it down, nevermind that it's still hot.

"When I was young - about six - my mother got cancer. It was a really nasty form of cancer, spread through her like wildfire. Over the course of a whole month, I saw her getting weaker and weaker..." He dismisses that with a wave of his hand. "If you don't know it, I'll spare you the thoughts." He takes a long moment of pause. "However, something seemed... Off about her, something I couldn't quite wrap my head around. "But it felt like every fiber of my being was telling me that my mother was becoming something else entirely."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Tokyo is a rough place to be a lone wolf in." Naru comments quietly before she settles in with her own coffee, taking another sip.

Naru is quiet as she listens to the tale, a touch of a frown creasing her brow. "I'm sorry to hear about your mother's illness." She notes softly, breaking her own silence, but after that waits for Seth to continue, only a little nod coming as encouragement.

Kunzite has posed:
    Only silence, from Kazuo, and that same steady regard. Not likely a surprise by now.

Seth Locke has posed:
"On her last day", Seth esxplains, "after I went to get her a glass of water, I found her off her bed, leaning over my sleeping kid sister." A nervous chuckle, "I thought, 'okay, she managed to get up', but... then I realized..." He clears his throat, "Sorry, this is where it gets blurry... I noticed her feet were not touching the ground." His face grows pale from the memory, and going through the process of describing it. "She was /floating/."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hunh." Naru nods a little at the mention of 'blurry', entirely not surprised that Seth finds it all a little hazy. One would at the best of times, and that is by no means the best of times.

"What happened then?" Naru asks, her voice quiet, not-judgemental at all, just absorbing the facts as Seth presents them, punctuated by sips of coffee.

Seth Locke has posed:
"At that point", Seth continues, "she turns her attention back to me." A short breath follows, then, "And literally, in the space of me blinking, she's just an inch from my face, staring at me and grinning, teeth bared." All his time, he's looking at some point on the coffee table; but now, he looks at Naru. "But those eyes... They weren't human! They had sillted irises, those eyes. And the teeth, they looked like fangs."

"Then, she lifted me against the wall, holding me by my neck, and..." He clears his throat, unsure of how to say this. "Well... She, um..." He's visibly disturbed by this, that his voice falters, "I... think she marked me, somehow."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Oh." Naru blinks a moment, surprised but not horrified. "Were you injured? How did you decide you were marked? How did it make you feel?" Naru eternally has questions, and suddenly there's a whole slew of them.

"Was you sister marked as well?" Naru asks after a moment. "What happened to your mother?"

Seth Locke has posed:
Sighing, Seth just shakes his hed. "I-I'm sorry. I'm speaking too much. I shouldn't be bothering you with this kind of stuff." Especially because he kept it hidden deep down for so long. "Shall we change the subject?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru pauses and just blinks at him a moment. "I promise, that it's not a bother, and if I thought you were talking too much, I wouldn't be showering you with a collection of questions, I'd of already changed the subject." She considers him a moment. "But I can appreciate that it's hard to talk about, and no doubt really distressing to remember. If you're worried about yourself, and it implies that you are, it's okay. You can say something now, or later."

Kunzite has posed:
"She does, however, have an excellent point." Oh God the white-haired one still has a voice. "To determine what happened to you, some of those details are important. If you /were/ affected, but the miko did not react to it directly, either it's not some permanent irretrievable doom, or it's something hidden or not as yet triggered. Or both." He pauses a moment more, still watching Seth.

Then finally blinks and glances away. To Naru for a moment, and then back. "Even so - the odds of something completely irretrievable having happened are not high. Complicated, perhaps. But there are powers in the world that are not dark, and now and then they intervene."

Seth Locke has posed:
Seth Locke shakes his head at Naru, summoning up all his courage. "Was I injured?", a scoff is produced. "I'll show you the scar someday, but I hope you have a strong stomach." He shakes his head, "Thank god, my sister is perfectly alright; and she doesn't know a thing. She was asleep through the entire ordeal, young as she was back then."

Seth reflexively reaches for his coffee mug, but finds it empty (dammit!). He bites his lip, then resumes. "What I can describe from this, is that she jabbed a finger into my chest, and from deep inside me, it felt like a cold fire was consuming me from the inside out." Beat. "No only that, but I felt like my very energy was flowing away from me - not unlike when those Wraiths attacked."

And after this being said, would there be any wonder that he's freaking out?

"Now", he resumes, "knowing what I know now about energy flows, be they holistic or scientific-based, what I can theorize is that there was some sort of exchange going on back then - from me to her, and vice-versa."

He looks at Kazuo, "Oh, Hino-san did react to it. Next thing I know, I have an ofuda on my forehead." Beat. "But I guess it turned out different from what she expected, since she ascertained I'm not an evil spirit." Concern pops into his eyes, "She says it might be a warning for the near-future, so you can imagine, with me being faced with a lot of similarities now, I'm kinda regretting getting out of bed and go out every single day." A nervous chuckle pops up.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I can probably manage looking at the scar." Naru comments quietly as she listens to Seth's reply about his injury. She fiddles a little with the handle of her coffee cup, thoughtful as she listens.

"Mmm." Naru doesn't look wierded out, or even all that freaked out about the revelation that there was some messy shenanigans involving energy on a fateful day. "I would say certainly that there was energy transfer from you to her. Magic being magic, there's not /necessarily/ a return of energy back. There can be, there isn't always. Wraiths, for example, just take. There's no giving back, which all in all, I don't want anything they'd give."

Naru drains the last of her own coffee, thoughtful. "How long ago was this? And what have you noticed since?"

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo inclines his head to Naru's summary. "When a plant absorbs light for photosynthesis," he says, "it would do the plant no good if it had to transfer an equal amount back to the sun. Still. It's not impossible; that cold-fire sensation can accompany either a drain or certain kinds of implantation. Again, though, dormant or hidden if so. And even hidden and dormant things might be affected by that kind of exorcism. Still. I wouldn't recommend hiding in bed. Solitude is more likely to ... mn. The closest parallel would be weakening your immune system, I think."

Seth Locke has posed:
"This was past 10 years, now", Seth replies, "and I still remember it like it was yesterday." He shakes his head, "I dunno if it's related, but some time since then, I started to feel tired." He sighs, not wanting to go into this. "I've been diagnosed a heart condition."

"Implantation?", Seth looks at Kazuo with a hefty ammount of surprise. "Implantation of what?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Wow, you weren't very old yourself!" Naru points out with a blink and then quirks her head. "Heart condition? Which is kinda weird in a teen, but not utterly outside the realm of possible." She considers him for a few moments, but lets Kazuo explain his theories himself.

"Oh and not to totally creep you out, but my experience is that once things have gone weird, hiding doesn't help much. It sort of seeps in everywhere, and hiding just makes you feel even less in control of the situation." Naru comments thoughtfully and then shrugs a little. "I totally get the temptation though."

Kunzite has posed:
"Could be anything. A curse. Corrupting energies, though the miko would likely have expelled those. An enchantment. A subtle energy siphon. The seed of some entity. A fragment of a frozen mirror. A microchip. There's at least as much variety in magic as there is in technology." Kazuo leans back in his seat and reaches for his coffee. "I'd offer to take a look, but most of what I could determine the ofuda would likely have banished or drawn into the open, and it would take extended study to detect a reasonably subtle drain. I doubt you'd find that comfortable."

Seth Locke has posed:
"I do remember... Something, that my mother said to me... About my life force, and staying together forever..." His glance is to Naru, to whom he shrugs. "Yes, well I don't like to hide, either, and I've been trying to live my life. It just so happens it's been flooded with these influences I was advised to stay away from."

He looks at Kazuo, "Implantation...?" The word is almost down to a murmur. He takes a hand to his chest, as if touching it brought back the memories. "Comfortable?", he chuckles. "Okay, one question, if you don't mind my asking... How do you know all this?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Again, you interpret that differently than I would. Short of hiding in your closet forever, you will never be able to keep yourself aloof from everything weird in the world." Naru points out plainly. "Not the weird, not the dark, not the evil, not the jerks. You can stay away from becoming part of that list with your own behaviour, but a literal interpretation of 'stay away', basically means a fairy tale castle, and look how well /that/ worked out for all the damsels in them."

Naru looks from Seth to Kazuo and then back to Seth. "How does anyone know anything? Research, study, learning, spending time finding out more information, asking questions."

Kunzite has posed:
"Then identify external sources, and see if there's anything you can do about them." It's a half-idly careful phrasing. Kazuo takes a drink, again not interrupting Naru. Her list is allowed to stand. Though he adds at the end of it, "Experience. Collation of experience." Gray eyes glint. "Empirical learning."

Seth Locke has posed:
"Good turnaround for a reply, there, I'll admit", he replies to the others in the room. A bit of a smile creeping up on his face. "I guess I'm concerned about the means you'd use for an in-depth analisys, given we're touching 'Dungeons & Dragons' and 'Final Fantasy' territory, here. As in, stuff for which there's no scientific method, and that until a few weeks ago, I had only seen on books and movies."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Of course there's a scientific method," grouses a surly voice from one of the doorways. It's Chiba, hair in 'has been gripped in hand recently' disarray and glasses in one hand, being polished by the other with the front of his undone yukata, currently worn rather like a bathrobe over jeans and a t-shirt that says 'TRUST ME I'M A DOCTOR' (and the kanji for 'Doctor' is written in blue ink, with the English words 'police box' written small across the top bar).

"That's what the scientific method is for. Being able to be used on anything. If the scientific method doesn't work on something, you're either doing it wrong or you're just unsurprisingly producing inconclusive results. Which happens. All the time. Not just with magic. You can even do the 'publish' part -- publish for peer review -- just need to find peers first, don't you?" He snappoints at Seth with his glasses dangling from his hand, then slides them back on and swans across the room toward the kitchen. "They're out there. Even if you don't approve of them when you find them, everyone has peers."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I disagree." Naru starts to answer Seth and then Mamoru appears like a mad man and explains just what she was going to get it, save for probably far more articulately. Naru considers and then nods, accepting his reply to stand as hers. She reaches a hand out to set her empty coffee cup down on her sketchbook, the ceramic covering the drawn in horror shadow, making the lamp post look perfectly normal again.

"You might need to make another pot of coffee, Mamoru." Naru calls after him as he heads towards the kitchen, if that is his quarry within.

Kunzite has posed:
"I don't have the equipment to do an in-depth analysis anyhow," Kazuo says. "There are people who do, that we might be able to put you in touch with. But I'm not a medical professional. I can analyze energy patterns, but how they interact with a living human is a topic I prefer not to involve myself in."

Leaving that aside, he glances toward Mamoru's kitchenward progress. "I don't see keyboard imprints. Amazing. Working on the tablet, were you?"

Seth Locke has posed:
The american boy looks at the arriving Mamoru, and moves to greet, but the guy is firing off into the kitchen, so he halts. "True, scientific method can be applied. However, scientific method serves to obtain answers. Concrete ones. 'Magic', I would assume, would allow you to do otherwise impossible things, like spontaneously convert lead into gold - the pinnacle dream of ancient alchemists. Chemistry-wise, all fine and feasible, should you discover the means to remove the one proton and the appropriate ammount of neutrons from the lead nucleus. But at the wave of a hand...?"

He shakes his head, "This would fall into a whole different category of science. Obscure science, if you will, for which new rules to the scientific method would have to be added."

He looks at Kazuo, "Equipment to measure... magic?" He's frowning, now. And he looks back to Naru. "So, Hogwarts is real too?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Maybe I'll be a jerk and just use the Melitta," Mamoru calls back from the kitchen, just visible from where they are, through the counter-window thing kittycorner from them. He does not seem to give a damn about his appearance, despite a vaguely-remembered stranger in his living room. From the running water to the distinctive sound of the kettle going, it sounds like he's doing just that. Then his disorderly head appears through the counter window and he points at his eyes, then at Kunzite. "You're noisy," he tells him. People may have told Seth that the translation for that is 'shut up', and they would not be wrong. "I'm just tired. And I have to finish BSing this paper around the citations I ganked. Only then can the weary find rest."

He eyes Seth appraisingly, tilting his head slightly so that the light glints off his spectacles and obscures his eyes. He's silent for a moment. Eventually--

"First," says Mamoru patiently, "make an observation. Say, 'ara~! It appears that this person can heal injuries by touch.' Then do background research: gather anecdotal evidence of the observed effect and information on the injury that was healed and on the person who performed the healing-- this, in social sciences, is also the stage where you find a theory to match to, say, 'it is possible to heal by touch'. Next, ask a question: 'how does this person heal people?', and then form a hypothesis. In this example, a workable hypothesis would be 'the observed effect, healing, takes place when someone is injured and this person touches them. I posit that he uses some means of determining the nature and extent of the damage and then transfers his personal energy to the injured party in order to encourage cell regrowth'. Then experiment and gather data. Experiment repeatedly to make sure that the same, or close to the same, effect occurs each time. Record the data. Analyze the data. Draw conclusions. If the results align with the hypothesis, good job, publish for peer review. If they don't, then the data you've gathered can be used in a future experiment. I think you may be confusing 'scientific method' with 'must be done in an expensive laboratory with restricted access and an accelerated mass spectrometer'."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"If you're being a jerk and using the Melitta, then I'm going to come in here and make /tea/." Naru threatens, although it sounds a lot less like a threat if you actually listen to the words, rather than the accusing tone. The petite girl pushes herself up to her feet in a graceful move, clearly intending to follow through on her tea threat, such as it is.

"Magic still follows rules, there's still answers to be had. Real answers, rather than imaginary ones." Naru shakes her head at Seth's assumptions. "You're insisting that the scientific method is something that it is not. It is not a set of physical principles. It is not the laws of physics. It is a framework to ask questions in. Does this fall into 'science' at school? Of course not. Are there ways and means of measuring it? Absolutely."

Naru adds after a moment. "If Hogwarts is real, I never got my owl, but I'm barely out of muggle and absolutely a mudblood, so I probably wouldn't have ranked a spot at Hogwarts /anyhow/."

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo's expression leaves its usual range for a moment; he actually smiles at that 'you're noisy.' The shadows of it linger through bits of talking, vanishing entirely only at Seth's invocation of the spirit of J.K. Rowling. But again, he stays quiet, interrupting neither Mamoru nor Naru, waiting until they've finished speaking. And then:

"Locke-san."

His tone is subtly changed, the consonants crisper, something cold running through the vowels. The honorific sharp enough to make its politeness into a rebuke.

"You began this conversation by advising a fifteen-year-old who openly admitted having neither experience with nor interest in alcohol in unsolicited ways to make herself drunker than she would expect to be. It is possible you thought you were doing her a favor; you are seventeen and therefore occasionally a fool, as all seventeen-year-olds are. But introducing such a topic in a situation in which you are tutoring the girl remains inappropriate.

"Now you are speaking to people about a topic in which, apparently, you badly need the advice of experts. And you are mocking them for possessing expertise. This is steadily suggesting that you are more than merely occasionally a fool.

"You may, perhaps, wish to consider the virtues of applying your mind before opening your mouth."

Seth Locke has posed:
And at the sound of Kazuo's stern voice. He listens to that - and very much so, until the very end. Then, he clears his throat.

"Number one: conversation started with the idle topic of 'black hole of beverages in the fridge', to which I commented with the harmless joke 'of being careful with them, for they could give you a headache that would break the laws of quantum physics'; true, alcohol was then mentioned, but never in the ways of encouragement. My apologies that you thought it that way, but that was all you. And on that regard, I did not see Osaka-san complain in any fashion."

"Number two: Admittedly, yes, I may be in dire need of help. And my lack of knowledge in this field actively works against me, because a) I've witnessed things from landscapes altering at a whim, magical creatures coming into reality, girls of all ages changing outfits into some sort of battle armors, magical kawaii creatures hovering about, and the best thing I could think of at the time was that it looked like I had jumped into /an anime tale/!" Half-a-beat. "Seriously, look it up! Magical themes are abundant, it looked like these girls had taken some sort of inspiration from some of those shows." The other half of the beat. "Am I mocking when I bring out 'Dungeons and Dragons', 'Final Fantasy', or 'Harry Potter' into this? No. It's called /coping/ - look it up online, you don't need empyrical knowledge for that." Beat. "Besides, if magic does exist, wouldn't it stand to reason that /some sort of magic school could really exist/?"

As he says this, he's become increasingly agitated, so much so that he has to take a deep breath, because of him panting. He produces a pill bottle from one of his pockets, and takes one of the pills inside and places it in his mouth. He turns to Mamoru, bowing his head, "Apologies, Chiba-san. My uneasiness brings disharmony to your house. I should leave." He turns to Naru, replying, "Sorry." And he starts to pace towards the exit.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"If your apology is for your bringing disharmony into my home, it is accepted," Mamoru says evenly, turning away and pouring hot water into the one-cup filter sitting over his mug. His tone is patient and almost kind, but his voice possesses a strangely ringing authority, embodied in the careful formality of his language and the taste of gold and roses in the air, in the sense of ancient elemental power and presence and awareness. For just this moment, the boy with the mussed hair and the careless wardrobe isn't just an overachieving upperclassman preparing for a prestigious school, isn't just the former star athlete with a medical condition, isn't just someone involved with magic somehow.

He's something Other.

"You may return when you understand your true misstep and are capable of rectifying it. You are still welcome to claim asylum here should you find yourself in need, but it will be restricted," says the Prince, setting down the kettle and coming back to the kitchen window to watch Seth, and this time the light does not reflect off his glasses. He takes them off, and his eyes are the same dark living blue as the oceans of Earth as seen from space; he's taken several layers of mask off in the span of a heartbeat.

"I suggest keeping in mind that people in this country will not always speak up if they are made uncomfortable; I suggest deference in place of justification. I advise you to ask, in future, if you have caused a person discomfort if a third party states that it is true, rather than asserting that a lack of protest is identical to comfort. I strongly advise against insult as a response to chastisement unless you are forced to be somewhere against your will and have no other way of fighting."

Folding his glasses and hooking them over the neck of his t-shirt, the boy with the bone-deep regality in his bearing, called on command, removes the Melitta filter from his coffee cup and calmly disposes of the grinds. "I do respect your decision to leave before losing more ground: your trial now is to complete your departure without challenging me."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Almost sixteen." Naru amends as only fifteen /and three quarter/ year olds ever do.

There's a breath in as Kazuo gets going, and the Seth gets going in return and she quietly holds said breath a moment, before letting it out in a slow sigh as she pauses in the doorway to the kitchen. A further step aside as Mamoru gets all Endymion upon it all and Naru is simply silent for the time being. Tea is forgotten, she simply looks between all three of the boys and there's a quiet nod.

To add anything at this point would be insult upon injury, and Naru does not heap more upon many points already brought up. She simply adds her own more quiet, "Good night, Seth."

Kunzite has posed:
"My apologies in turn." Kazuo inclines his head to Naru. "Almost sixteen."

(Minus one quarter.)

He does not say anything else. He only comes to his feet and stands by the couch, calm and even and straight as a blade. And from there, he watches Seth move. Does not follow him, not in pursuit and not to escort him away. Only evaluating. As if the way Seth stood, or how he held his head, or the pattern of that quick and irregular breath, were his actual contribution to the conversation conversation -- as if the words he spoke were meaningless, were something being fed to him off a prompter.

And in other things that speak more than words ... Kazuo's stance is turned slightly toward Mamoru, echoing a trace of that Other, responding to that sudden and quiet sense of authority.

Seth Locke has posed:
There are times when you feel like the whole world is against you, and this be one of them. Gathering all his things, and making sure nothing stays behind, Seth is otherwise not reply; as for his movement language, his emotions, he shows signs of confusion, embarassment. As for Mamoru's way of talking, it's really up to him. After all, he is lord and master of this house - okay, forget for a moment that he's the Prince of the world, it's not like Seth knows it, right?

He reaches the entryway, changing from the slippers to his shoes, and by the door, he just replies to the people gathered:

"Sayonara."

And then, he departs.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru nods his head to Seth at the goodbye, silent as he pushes the kettle vaguely toward Naru.

Once the door closes, Mamoru puts his hands together and bows to Naru. "I am sorry for speaking for you," he says, straightening and looking very, very tired, "when both Kunzite and Seth had already done so. I am not sorry for putting a condition on his welcome. He's a stranger to me, this is my home and Kunzite's, and instead of accepting that he'd caused offense and apologizing properly for it, he tried to justify himself by dictating what our reactions to him should have been."

He picks up his coffee and moves, but it's to linger in the door of the kitchen with it cupped in his hands. "I have neither the resources nor the desire to teach him to walk or drink from a cup without a sippy lid. I'm sorry if he's your friend and I've made things awkward."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Well that didn't exactly go as planned." Naru comments as Seth takes his leave, and she lets out the breath she'd forgotten she was holding, looking between Kazuo and Mamoru. A hand lifts to rub at her eyes, Naru looks as if she's trying to compete with Mamoru for tired.

"For the record, conversation about alcohol gets awkward, but on the scale of social awkwardness, is low enough to just ignore by and large." Naru replies quietly enough and then she turns to Mamoru directly at his apology and there is a nod, and a bow to him. Apology understood and accepted.

"I'm sorry for bringing him here and causing both of you upset. If we meet for tutoring again, and I'm not holding my breath at the moment, I'll arrange for it to be elsewhere."

Naru reaches for the kettle, to make herself that tea she was talking about, possibly momentarily rethinking the 'no alcohol' stance she's adopted.

Kunzite has posed:
"And I apologize," Kunzite says, echoing Mamoru's bow to Naru, "for using his behavior toward you as part of a pretext, without your permission." He straightens, exhaling, and glances between the two. "It was still the best diagnostic I had, though. And it does confirm that he has behavior consistent with long-term dark energy influence of some kind ... and subtle enough that Hino-san could neither detect it directly nor exorcise it. Which means that I would be exceedingly unlikely to be able to detect it directly myself, either."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's a glance at Kunzite, then back at Naru. Mamoru's frowning slightly. "He's tutoring you, then? Can I find you a replacement? --if not, I'll relax the sanction and he can come here again; it's certainly safer than going somewhere with him. If he's got some kind of dark energy influence, gods know he could be a pawn of something with teleporting henchmen or whatever instead of just entitled."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Extra stuff, not school stuff. I'll work around it." Naru shakes her head a little at the concern about returning. "And it's alright, Kunzite." She climbs on the counter absently, to get a clean mug for tea, because a rinsed coffee mug is just not clean enough to keep the flavours out.

"Speaking for me or not, I do appreciate you guys looking out for me." Naru adds as she waits on the kettle, it doesn't take too long, it only just boiled for Mamoru. "I admit to shamelessly using this place as somewhere I could confidently bring someone I didn't know very well, quieter than a coffee shop, but knowing /someone/ was probably home was reassuring."

Kunzite has posed:
"Victim, from his story. Something took hold of his mother when he was small, and she in turn did something to him." Kazuo glances back at the door Seth so recently left through, frowning. "But if his reactions are that close to Riventon's, he's not in a condition for much to be done for him right now, even if whatever it is may not be all that active. Lacrima's a more effective target for assistance, right now, and I'm not sure she technically still exists."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Waving a hand a little impatiently, Mamoru closes his eyes and thunks his head lightly against the doorframe. "That's why. I'd rather eat crow than take that option away from you in his case. I just won't show my face if he's around unless you call for help or I actually sense creepy magic going on in the living room." And then his eyes snap open and he gives Kunzite the most aggrieved look. "Are you serious? Goddammit, it's like he's lab-grown to... his mother? Jesus. I'm already trying to teach at least two of you knuckleheads how to people, why does he have to--"

The prince closes his eyes tight this time, scowling. "I am not in a mood to try and rescue everyone, right now. This research paper must be conceptually made of dark energy. Or sleep dep. Screw it. I'll be in my room. He made me mad and I went overboard, Naru, so I'll probably be apologizing for going overboard anyway. Let me know if you want him back here."

Seth Locke has posed:
A ringtone is heard, one that is familiar to Naru...

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hey, to the best of my knowledge, I still go ping if it all goes horribly wrong." Naru comments with a wry little smile to Mamoru. "Good night, good luck on the paper."

She nods, more sombrely at Kunzite's assessment of dark and people's status on the triage board of soul saving.

It always happens that one's phone goes bing at the same time as the kettle goes click and there is a flurry of tea making before Naru makes it out to check on whatever message arrived while tea was forthcoming. Herbal tea. Someone has delusions about sleeping tonight.