725/A Chat. A Cat. Do we have a Hat

A Chat. A Cat. Do we have a Hat
Date of Scene:	17 December 2015
Location:	Nakajima Family Safehouse, "Summer Garden"
Synopsis:	After the battle with Toymajin at the skate park, Ikuto again tries to get Mikoto to play it safe.
Cast of Characters:	Ikuto Tsukiyomi, Mikoto Nakajima

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Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Afternoon rolls into evening, in the wake of Toymajin's attack on the skate park, and the sun slowly sets over the city. It sets in particular in the windows of one building, a tall apartment complex somewhere in urban Tokyo. On the thirtieth floor of that building, a large, comfortably-furnished apartment stands empty and silent... until the door clicks open, and a tired-looking teen in jeans and a sweatshirt walks in.

"I'm sorry, Vicki," she says into her cellphone, "I've just got to take care of something... no, I won't make it to dinner tonight, I'm meeting - yes, yes, fine, you're right, it's a boy. And a decent one, not one of those snobs like Hiashi. ... yes, I know there was a monster attack at the park, I was there too, remember? So I'm not as thrilled about skating as you and Amy. ... no, I didn't see any of the magical girls that fought it. ... she did? Well, good! I'm glad you two are okay. I had to make sure - yes, yes, I had to check on my boyfriend. Yes. No, you haven't met him. Look, I have to go, Vicki, I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright? ... To. Mor. Row. Bye!"

She hangs up and tosses the phone on the counter. A sack of takeout containers is set more gently next to it, and Mikoto leans on the counter to look out the window at the sunset cityscape. Security at the front desk should know to let Ikuto up, if he comes in that way, she's added him to their 'permitted' list after the first visit. "Hope he gets here soon... stubborn damn cat." Her reflection gazes back at her from the window, silver eyes tinged crimson by the setting sun.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
There was never any response from the text message. Usually Ikuto would at least acknowledge, send 'OK', or something. This time? Nothing. Complete silence. Did he even get it? Maybe his phone had been damaged during the fighing? Or maybe he had left his phone somewhere?

He doesn't make her wait too long. But when does Ikuto EVER do things the way he's supposed to? As Mikoto looks out the window, a shape suddenly drops down from above, onto the balcony, in a crouch. It's a human shape, but has ears and tail like a cat. As he straightens, there's a pop and a flash of light from the balcony, and the ears and tail disappear.

It looks like Mikoto's 'date' is here...

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
The movement on the balcony catches Mikoto's eye, and she narrows her gaze on the arriving cat-boy. Took you long enough, she grumbles to herself as she stalks over to slide the balcony door open, her nose wrinkling briefly at the sudden burst of cold, winter air it lets in.

"Good, you made it. I was starting to wonder if I'd need to go fish you out of another one of pinky's little heart sugar bombs." She steps aside to let him in. And there's a scent of warm seafood from the kitchenette...

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto actually seems to hesitate before entering. More cold, cold winter air! But eventually he comes in. Mainly because Yoru comes in first. "It's cold outside!" he observes. "Feels good to come in and get warm-nya."

Ikuto hasn't said anything, and that look from before is still on his face. And he appears to be avoiding Mikoto's eyes...

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods and slides the door shut. A brief thought signals Carnwennan to remotely activate the gas-flame fireplace, which bursts into light and heat over by the sofa. "Come in and sit down, warm up by the fire. I've got us some dinner, I hope you and Yoru like shrimp." She waves you over to the sofas, where there are now a couple of extra throw-blankets to curl up with in the cold weather.

"What in the name of all the Sankt-Kaisers is with this town? Easter I can get, the Dark Kingdom or whoever is messing with the Sailor girls makes some sense... but a flippin' kami of abandoned toys?" She shakes her head, muttering something that is probably not printable. Fortunately it's in Ancient Belkan, so is not translateable either.

She grabs the bag of take-out as she walks over to the sofa herself, settling in and pushing a container across the coffee-table to Ikuto, once he's taken a seat. If he does so, that is.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"Oooh, shrimp! That sounds good-nya!" Yoru heads over to where the food is and starts sniffing around the takeout bags. "Mmm, that smells so good-nya...~"

Ikuto actually... doesn't go sit down. Quite the opposite in fact. "Yoru," he calls. The feline Chara looks at Ikuto, confused. "Remember what I said last night." Yoru's ears droop, and he hangs in the air sadly.

Then Ikuto looks to Mikoto. "...We aren't here long," he states flatly. "I came to tell you I'm serious. Don't follow me. If you interrupt me during collection, I'll fight you."

...Wait, what?

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto settles into her seat and flips open her own takeout box, releasing the spicy scent of one of her favorite dishes, shrimp and vegetables in a sesame-garlic sauce. She takes a deep breath of the aroma, picks up her chopsticks, and pauses to look up at Ikuto.

"Sit down," she says, just as flatly. "Pick up the box, and eat your dinner. We are going to have a civil conversation. We've had this discussion once before, I had thought you had gotten over that particular bit of testosterone poisoning."

She holds up a shrimp, oozing with the gooey sauce, and waggles it near Yoru, then pops it into her mouth, chews, and swallows.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Still sad Yoru out of snow, the feline Chara's ears perk up at the shrimp being waggled in his direction. He zips over to Mikoto, just in time for her to eat the shrimp. And then he places himself in front of her, still floating in the air, and puts on his best (ironically) puppy-dog eyes.

Between his attempts to clam up being met with a brick wall and Yoru being cute... Ikuto doesn't have the wherewithal to refuse. So... he picks up one of the containers and sits down, without another word.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto picks up another shrimp, tossing this one to Yoru with an easy lob, then gets a bit of broccoli for herself. Ikuto's box proves to contain the same mix, and there's soda to be had as well if it's desired.

"You did well today, against that stupid nutcracker youma. It was good to fight alongside you again." Her tone has warmed a bit, abandoning the flat insistence for more casual, friendly conversation, as promised.

"Pinky tried to warn me away from you again, the other day. I think she's got a bit of a crush."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Yoru catches the shrimp-- in his mouth, no less! He seems quite happy with the shrimp, and 'nya!'s happily as he devours it. And of course he has to clean his paws when he's done. Because cats are clean animals by nature!

Ikuto's still being quiet. And he's not eating. "...She's nicer than she lets on. She doesn't want anybody to know it, though." Gee, does that sound familiar?

He lets a long moment of silence pass before he speaks up again. "...I don't want you involved in this anymore. Let me handle it. This isn't your problem." A long pause, and then...

"...Involving yourself in other people's problems just gets you hurt. Or worse...."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto actually smiles, softly, as she watches Yoru eat the shrimp. Her attention returns to Ikuto, though, as he finally speaks up. The longer he speaks, the more her smile fades.

"I will remind you that I am already involved." She meets his gaze, her eyes narrowed. "At least one agent of the enemy has witnessed me taking part. There may well have been others observing. It is too late for me to back out now, Ikuto-kun."

She eats another shrimp while she watches him, taking her time over it, to savor one of her favorite dishes. It's too bad he has to spoil it this way. "As for getting hurt, that happened last night, and again this afternoon. A Knight is no stranger to danger, or to pain."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"No it isn't," Ikuto insists. "You could let it go. Let me handle it. Besides, realistically if I start having /worse/ results, they're going to get harsher on me. And on my sister. That's not what I want." Another pause. "...I had to take a number out of my phone recently. Do you know why? The one it belonged to..." He lets the statement trail off. It's a moment before he speaks up again.

"...He's dead."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods, silent for a moment. Death is something that comes to all, eventually, but when you're this age... you're immortal. Invincible. Even if you get beaten, you can always come back, have another go. Her loss to Riventon the night before is no more depressing, really, than a poor test grade.

"Who?" she asks, quietly, her voice soft and somber. If nothing else, the fallen deserve respect, honor for their sacrifice. She bites back other reactions, denying them with all the strength of her young heart and Jethri's jaded experience.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"Chiba," Ikuto replies. "Mamoru Chiba. I just heard about it. I don't know what happened. Just that he's dead now. But I've seen him before. Throwing himself into situations he was woefully underprepared for. Just like Tadase..."

He tilts his head down so his eyes can't be seen. "It's bad enough I know that's going to be him one day. Probably Amu, too." His voice is rough. Hearing it, Yoru floats over to alight on Ikuto's shoulder. "I don't want that to happen to y-- anyone else... not over me..."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods. She's heard the name. Never really met the man. "Chiba. One of my sempais, at Infinity. A decent fellow, from all I heard. Didn't know he was in the Game." She sighs and looks down into her box of food, then back up to Ikuto.

And just as quickly as she's paid her respects to the dead, she dismisses the argument.

"It doesn't change anything. I'm still marked. They know I'm in, they know I exist, they know we're connected. If I drop out now, they'll take it as a sign of weakness."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"And if you don't, you could end up just the same," Ikuto replies, tilting his head back up. His expression is severe, and he looks pissed. "You can't help me or anyone else if you're dead."

He pauses then, tilting his head down again. "I'm not asking you to stop stopping me. I'm asking you to stop holding back. It isn't a 'game'. Not anymore. Play for keeps. If you have to hurt me to stop me, do it. Because I'm not going to be holding back anymore. I need them to think I'm obeying..."

Yoru joins in here. "Ikuto's gonna make 'em think he's being good so they'll stop watching him so closely-nya," the feline Chara pipes up. "That way they'll give him more leeway, so he'll get into their inner circle."

"There's a certain amount I won't be able to convince them of, though," Ikuto replies. "They know what Yoru represents. And if I truly submitted to them, Yoru would disappear. So I'm going to convince them that I've 'wised up', and that I understand that the only way I'll get free is to obey."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods, mulling it over for a minute. The minute stretches into two, as she picks up a shrimp and tosses it to Yoru, then takes another for herself.

"Alright," she finally says. "At least this makes a certain amount of sense."

The bit about Yoru disappearing deepens her scowl, however. Her understanding of things Chara is still, perhaps, somewhat limited. "That would, in turn, end your usefulness to them, if I understand correctly. So they must expect a certain amount of resistance from you, if they're thinking things through at all."

She pauses, pensive, for a moment, then adds, "Eat your dinner already."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Oooh, shrimp! Yoru catches this one, too, and noms it! While he does, Ikuto confirms, "Yeah. They can't use the same methods with me that they can with my sister. Her Charas are different." No, they have to keep pushing Ikuto, taking away just enough of his freedom to make him want it back. But not so much that they make him lose hope.

Finally though, Ikuto smirks as she requests he start eating. It's not a smile, but at least the smirk is an improvement. He retrieves some eating utensils and makes to do just that! But he also shares his shrimp with Yoru, too. Not just that. Yoru will even eat the rice! If there's spare chopsticks he'll grab a pair! Surprisingly he can use them with those massive hand-paws.

It's a few moments before Ikuto speaks up again. "...Just don't involve yourself with me more than you have to," he says. "There's a reason Tadase calls me the Black Cat of Misfortune. And it's not just because he's mad at me."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto seems to relax - a little - when Ikuto starts to eat. "What are hers like?" she asks, indulging her curiosity. She's heard about this sister, but never met her yet. It's a failure she'd like to correct.

"Too late," she answers the 'stay away' order. "The only misfortune I've had from meeting you is the minute and a half I spent wondering when you were going to make it to this meeting. Everything else has been entirely someone else's fault; either the (censored)'ing Phantom, or that rat-(redacted) with the foxgirl familiar, or the like."

Another shrimp and a bit of rice disappear. "None of that is in any way traceable to you." She points her chopsticks at you to emphasize the point.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"It's just a matter of time," Ikuto replies. "The longer it takes, the worse it's gonna be when it happens."

He pauses there, to eat. And he doesn't complain about Yoru hanging off the container to get his share, either. But he suggests, "...When you can. Go to Tadase. Tell him you've tried to help me and I won't listen. Tell him I lied to you, and to Amu, that I'm really a horrible person. That you saw it first-hand. They'll be more likely to trust you then, and accept you."

"That's the best way you can help me," Ikuto states. "Take care of them both." He knows he's going to be forced to hurt them in the future. Because he doesn't want to look like he's going back on his apparent attitude toward Easter, in any aspect...

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto shrugs. "Get it through your head, cat-boy, I don't give up once I've set myself on the trail. If I were going to get scared off of anything the White Flower would've done it." She scarfs down another shrimp and mouthful of rice while she watches Yoru's antics, the sight of him keeping her smile light, if small.

"If I just go to him, he'll suspect. I already did, once, told 'em to keep up fighting, that it was the best thing they could do for you." She shakes her head. "Kids don't listen. You know how it is." If things keep going like this, someone is going to get hurt. And right now she'd really rather be the one handing out the pain than the one receiving it.

"Three of them, now. The new kid, with the Spanish name..." She shakes her head, unable to immediately remember it.

(("Alejandro, Meister.")) She nods. "Thank you, Carnwennan. Alejandro."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto nods. "Yeah. I only saw him once," he notes. "But given what he turned into... he's probably one of those like Tadase, wanting to help people. So he doubly doesn't need to know what's going on."

As for suspecting? "That's why you'll go to them as if you're upset and angry at me," he replies. "If you tell them I used you to get more X-Eggs, took advantage of your help, and that you want to kick my ass over it, they'll probably believe you without too much trouble."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Maybe," Mikoto consents. "But it'll work better if I'm more subtle about it. Let them find it out naturally, rather than me just spilling a story at them." She's read plenty of spy novels. That kind of direct approach never works. It just makes people more suspicious.

"But we really need to keep in touch. And try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. What the blankety-blank do they want X-eggs for, anyway?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto nods. "Maybe let it slip the next time you guys have to fight me," he notes. "When they shop up, say Tadase was right about me, that I'm horrible and everything." Pause. "Remember, no holding back. I'm strong, I can take it."

As for the X-Eggs? "They're looking for a specific heart's egg. The corruption wouldn't take if it was the one they were looking for. X-Eggs are kind of a byproduct of failure right now. But one of the people there thinks he can do something with them. I don't know what he's planning. Nobody ever tells me anything unless they want me to do something for them."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto nods. "You'd better be able to. If you die on me, I will drag you back from the grave and slap you silly." She's deadly serious, too.

"And every egg that doesn't go back to the kid you take it from is one more dead dream. I don't like that, Ikuto-kun. If they tried to take Yoru from you, you'd fight, wouldn't you?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto smirks at the mention of being dragged back from the grave to be slapped. "Easter wouldn't begrudge me medical care," he reasons. "I can't work for them if I'm injured." Though he goes quiet as Mikoto points out the problem with taking the X-Eggs. "I'm not going to try and rationalize it. I'm going to be doing a lot of things I don't want to do, I know that. But unless I go fight them now, there's no getting around that." he shakes his head. "There's no staying clean. Right now it's fighting tooth and claw, and there's no room for caring in that."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto sighs. "I know that. I hate it, but I know it." She looks up, silver eyes meeting yours. "It's just more motivation for me to really not hold back. Because until we can at least have a chance of getting both of you clear, we can't take direct action against them." She looks back down to her food, and takes another bite. The mood is really ruining her enjoyment of the dish.

"Now you've got me missing the stupid nutcracker-youma. At least that I could blast."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"It doesn't matter what I do, as long as Easter goes down," Ikuto states. "I'm already in things too far to be able to get out clean. It was too late four years ago." He pauses, shakes his head. He's not going any farther into that. he chuckles, though, at the mention of the nutcracker youma. "It always is," he replies, though his tone's sad. But he does smile, even if the expression is a bit bitter and a little sad.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"It matters to me." Her tone is flat, again, insistent. "We'll do what we have to do. We'll bring them down. And we'll walk out of this mess, together." She's quite insistent on that last point, it seems to be very important to her.

"You're mine, and I'm not letting go."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto just half-smiles, the expression sharp. "I don't want to bring anybody down with me," he says softly. "Why do you think I've stayed away from everyone like I have?" Ikuto knows he's already hurt Tadase enough, at least. But it's the only way to keep from hurting him worse. There's no way the people close to him won't get hurt. So... push them away. Logical choice, right?

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"I've faced scarier. And I'm still here. Do you really think I'm scared of a bunch of people who hide away and send kids out to do their hunting for them?" She shakes her head. "They're not going to get me. You know this, Ikuto-kun." She's confident in her own abilities, even more so than usual. Posessive. Territorial. Very feline, in her way.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"Probably not," ikuto replies with a chuckle.

Yoru pipes up, "YEAH! No need to be afraid'a them! They're just a buncha chickens lookin' for other people's eggs-nya!" Mind, he's got shrimp sauce on his face, so it kind of ruins the effort he's putting in to look fierce.

Ikuto smirks, and then gets a napkin. "Here," he hands it to Yoru. "Wipe your face, you look like you got sick."

"HEY!" Yoru replies, snatching the napkin. "I didn't barf! I'm just a messy eater-nya!"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Fortunately, there are plenty of paper napkins with the takeout. And the sauce is pretty tasty, too. The food is almost done, and Mikoto sets her box aside. All the shrimp is gone, but there's still some vegetables and rice left, if Yoru wants to go dig for it.

"A bunch of chickens who are shortly going to get thoroughly plucked," she says, sitting back on the couch.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Yoru can dig through veggies, sure! While he does prefer meat (who doesn't?), he's not adverse to some nice yummy vegetables and rice. For his part, Ikuto chuckles at the mention of being plucked. "Please, no." he says flatly. But it's in a humorous tone. "I don't want to see Director-san with his pants down."

Now he's just teasing her.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto chuckles softly, nodding. "Good, good. In the meantime... here." She tosses him a cellphone. Apparently Mamoru's not the only one to come up with the idea of using burners. And it's a nice small model, too. "Keep this one secret, and keep in touch, damnit."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto catches the phone, looking at it. Mikoto explains it, and he nods. "Right. I will." He slips the device into an inner pocket of his jacket. "On both counts." Smirk.

Now that he's eaten, though, he stands. "I should get back, before they wonder where I've gone," he notes. "...Thank you." Pause, and that smirk comes back. "...For the food." And now he's teasing her again! But before she can fire back, his ears and tail appear, and he's slipping out the door, with a laughing Yoru following!

Aggravating cat...