View source for 1894/Help, in Three Flavors

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2016/09/01
|Location=Earth Court Frat House
|Synopsis=Makoto and Kunzite talk about various kinds of assistance. Would Makoto be willing to help train Naru? Yes, she would. Would the guys be willing to help Makoto go through some of her parents' papers? Yes, they would. Would Makoto be willing to support Nephrite if he has trouble coping with ASK ANOTHER STUPID QUESTION, KUNZITE, THE ANSWER WAS NOT QUITE OBVIOUS ENOUGH THERE
|Cast of Characters=109,42
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kunzite has been dealing with the aftermath of the ... visit ... from his father's hireling more or less the same way he's been dealing with the aftermath of most of the social problems in their circle. Namely, by ignoring the hell out of it. He did thank Makoto for her participation in the performance Endymion staged, and added his compliments to the stack she collected, but since then his official take appears to be Nothing Happened Last Week, Why Do You Ask.<br /><br />Which means that whatever's prompting the couple of considering glances she's caught him giving her while he's been her extra hands for today's cooking adventure, it's not ''that''.<br /><br />It's not the apartment renovations, either; he's already asked her to recheck the primary kitchen to make sure that the contractors didn't leave anything significant out of place or awkwardly spaced.<br /><br />There comes a stage in all things, though, when the handwork is either done or not deserving of full attention, and that's when he's out of excuses not to speak up. "May I discuss something with you? It involves Naru. And Kyouko."<br /><br />Sometime in the last month, he appears to have learned that given names exist and that sometimes people are allowed to use them.

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Pretending that nothing happened last week seems to be acceptable to Makoto; she hasn't tried to raise the subject, either. She's clearly noticed that there's something on his mind - once or twice through the process today there's been an 'okay, what is it?' almost visibly on her lips before she decided against speaking up and reined it back. Better to let him get to it in his own time.<br /><br />So she's just putting the lid on the last of several here-grab-a-lunch bentos, chilled chicken ramen and late summer vegetables, when Kunzite finally does speak up and Mako pauses to look toward him, eyebrows lifting a little in curiosity and faint surprise. "Sure," she replies, snapping the lid tight and turning to stash the container in the fridge with the others. "Is something wrong?"

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The ''no'' is conveyed more by a brief, contained gesture than anything else, a little twist of his hand at the wrist. Nothing significant, anyhow. Or nothing not previously known, given what he says out loud. "You know that Naru's been a frequent target. Once a week or so, during June and July. More often since she came back from her family's vacation. She hadn't been in condition to help herself, even for someone without magic; Hannah offered, and Naru accepted, to help her train up." Something around his mouth tightens slightly. "Hannah's been occupied elsewhere as often as not the last little while -- that's something we should look out for, but that's another matter; Zoisite's been keeping Naru on track. Kyouko's gotten involved, too; last night she sparred with Naru a little, getting her over her first unwillingness to actually hit something."<br /><br />He pauses for a moment before adding, "I suspect you can see the potential drawbacks in Hannah and Kyouko being someone's primary influences in a fight."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mako shuts the fridge door and then leans lightly against it as she listens to what Kunzite is saying, processes the information. That last comment brings a wry smile to her face, and she inclines her head in a little nod. "Neither of those two is what I'd call defense-minded, no," she agrees.<br /><br />And, after a moment or two more of consideration, she sighs softly. "I knew Naru-chan was getting targeted a lot, but this is the first I'm hearing about the rest. Although it only makes sense she'd want to be able to defend herself at least a little. I wish I'd thought of it before now; the summer break's a great time to work on training while we have the days free, but now it's almost over."<br /><br />With another little smile, Mako shrugs. "Well, that can't be helped. Anyway, I'd be glad to help out Naru-chan if she wants."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Couldn't be helped," Kunzite agrees, but the shift in verb form is significant. "She needed the underlying qualities first -- more strength and stamina than she'd had, a better sense of balance and of where she was placing her own limbs. A little more willingness to confront. So. Running and dance and the gym." For all that they're in the most domestic possible of contexts, his hair still bound back out of the way and his hands still damp from the dishes, the sudden gleam in his eyes is neither domestic nor domesticated. "Time dealt with the other; she tried to take on a pack of Wraiths armed only with her bookbag a couple of weeks ago."<br /><br />He glances down toward his hands a moment thereafter, then. "Mn. There's something else you should know. ''Something'' happened to Naru while she and her family were away. I don't know the details, and it happened in Austria, so it's difficult to research. But she's generating energy of some sort. Mostly uncontrolled, though she can channel it into her art to an extent. i don't know why. I've let Mercury know, in case she has a chance to look into it, but -- there's the chance of being sharply surprised at any time."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At this, Makoto's eyes widen. "Generating energy," she repeats. "Well that's not potentially alarming or anything. Okay." She frowns a little as she thinks this over. "So basically, on top of helping her learn how to defend herself, it sounds like the more time she spends around people who can handle unpleasant surprises. Is that how it is?"<br /><br />Distracted by contemplation, Mako folds her arms loosely in front of her. "I run a few times a week anyway," she notes. "More during the break, but - well, I can ask if she wants company for that, if she's planning on keeping it up once school starts." It's said with a certain assumption that this is the case, or at least should be. "Aside from the rest."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"The company doesn't hurt," Kunzite agrees. "Mercury gave her something that calls attention if she's in trouble, but there's a delay there at the best of times."<br /><br />He falls silent for a moment, glancing from his hands to ''Makoto's'' hands. "She is. There's a ten-K in late fall that she's planning on running. I'll be doing that with her, but more company wouldn't go amiss there, either, if you're interested."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Sure." There's no hesitation in that reply; Makoto's eyes brighten, and her expression relaxes a little. "Sounds like fun." They both know more than a few people who would be fairly appalled by that description, in all likelihood.<br /><br />A beat, and then Mako's pushing away from the fridge, hands falling slack at her sides again. "You mentioned Kyouko, too," she observes. "Did you just mean her training with Naru-chan, or was there something else too?"

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Some of those people even live in the apartment they're standing in, either officially or part-time. That doesn't keep Kunzite from tilting his head toward Makoto in agreement. It'll be fun. Whether the fun comes in the form of catching Naru's collapse at the end of it, or in the form of trying to spot any youma activity before it starts eating the crowds, it'll be fun.<br /><br />Kunzite shifts away from the counter, as if to escort Makoto out of the kitchen if she's so inclined. "Kyouko was speculating about asking to spar with you sometime," he says. "If ''that'' sounded like fun. She was concerned it might not, to you."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Once again, Makoto pauses briefly in vague surprise - this time in the act of beginning to drift towards the door out of the kitchen and into the rest of the apartment. "I definitely wouldn't mind," she says, after that moment of hesitation has passed. "It'd probably be good for both of us. I'm sure I'd learn a thing or two, going up against her."<br /><br />There's a 'but' in her tone of voice, however. As she starts across the kitchen again, she gives it words: "I don't really... fight for fun."<br /><br />There's something in the way she says it, hard to define but clearly present nonetheless, that perhaps makes it seem as though she's talking not about not finding a thing ''enjoyable,'' but about something more like a personal rule.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nuances aren't something Kunzite is always good at. But he inclines his head to her again, at those later words. "I can't say the same," he says. "But there are times and places." And people. There are strict, stark limits on the ''people,'' as well.<br /><br />He follows her out, and detaches himself to the eternal task of untangling the controllers. Sometimes he's convinced those cords knot even when no-one's touched them. Sometimes he doesn't care, because they're a convenient thing to be looking at. "Still. You know, now, and the rest is your business and hers."<br /><br />There are any number of reasons that Kunzite might find the topic awkward. Roses. Cats. Nephrite's forest. Darkness and ice and whispers. It's closing in on six months; that's enough to get around it most of the time. But once in a while --

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Of course." It's only now, as Kunzite makes for the controller cords, that Mako belatedly realizes just how awkward the subject could really be, and that 'of course' has a bit of a tone of apology to it. "She and I can work out the details, the next time we see each other. Thanks for passing the word along."<br /><br />She falls quiet after that, suddenly uncertain, searching for something to say. Preferably on a different subject. The first one that comes to mind isn't really any less awkward, but at least it's a different awkward-- "I was thinking, lately," Mako says, in a sudden and ungraceful shift of topic. "I have a lockbox of old papers. Stuff my parents left, and stuff from after... I've tried to look through it, but to be honest, my eyes kind of start to glaze over pretty quickly. I'm not even sure what in there is still important and what isn't. But..."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>A different awkward: one that prompts Kunzite to set the controllers back down again, one of them worked loose from the knot, and sit upright so that he can turn toward her more usefully. "We could take a look at them," he says. "If you want. I'm working my way through a box to cross-reference against, myself. Still. Nephrite might be better at identifying some of the important things." Nephrite who spent more time in the mortal world. Business dealings. Legal ones. But there are complications there, too. "It'd be up to you who you wanted to see them."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Makoto winces slightly when Nephrite's name is mentioned, but then she smiles lopsidedly and nods a little, acknowledging the sense it makes. <br /><br />"I could ask him," she murmurs, looking aside and absently rubbing a hand against the back of her neck. "Maybe Mamoru-niisan, too. That would be all right, if he didn't mind it. There's nothing obviously suspicious in there or anything, but... it'd be good to know what's important to hold onto, at least."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Both of them would be glad to help you. If you decide you want them to." Kunzite rises to his feet, studying -- not quite Makoto. The piece of furniture nearest to beside her, instead. "If you decide you'd rather have someone uninvolved to lean on -- that's important, too." Not quite the way that one of the others would have said it. Learned by rote, rather than filled with conviction. But learned, at least, and said.

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There's a quiet laugh from Makoto then, a half-swallowed sound, but there's no sarcasm in it and no edge. "Aren't we kind of all involved? Just in different ways, and some closer than others. It's okay," she says, and if she's half trying to convince herself it seems to work all right. "I trust them both. I trust you, too."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Furniture to floor, for a moment; and then Kunzite glances back to her, and there's something not ''quite'' hinting at a smile in his expression, somewhere. "I was about to say," he answers her, "that it helps some people to know that they have someone who'll be stable to lean on, someone who won't be too much affected by the same problem to lend them support. But you have that in any case, don't you."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mako meets that not-''quite''-a-smile with a smile of her own, warm with affection. "I do," she agrees, without hesitation. "Most of the time. But," she adds, "it's not good to take things for granted. Even a pillar of strength can need someone to lean on themselves, sometimes."<br /><br />There's no indication of ''which'' pillar of strength she might have in mind as she's saying this. The answer to that is probably 'yes,' anyway.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"If they're actually clever enough to ask." The hint of expression vanishes, and Kunzite turns his head to glance at one of the walls; follow the line far enough and it might, perhaps, end in a certain room with a piano. "Keep an eye on him, would you? After the incident with Nakayama, I'd planned to push him a little myself -- but Mamoru beat me to it. More effective, but it means he's down one person to lean on, if he needs it. And if he thinks about it at all, he won't want to trouble you."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Surprise flashes over Makoto's face, and uncertainty follows it, even as she's nodding. "I will," she says - that first, with no hesitation, but after that-- "What do you mean, you were planning to push him a little? Over what?"<br /><br />Maybe it's not her business, whatever it is. All the same, if there's something going on that's giving Kunzite reason to think Nephrite might need support, well... Makoto can't very well ''not'' be concerned.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"The four of us don't know where we came from," Kunzite answers Makoto, straightforward. "We've been taking time to get our feet under us before we do anything else. But Nakayama's a warning. Our histories won't necessarily leave us alone. Sooner or later, each of us is going to have to deal with his. And Nephrite --'<br /><br />He glances back at her, and something almost gentles around his eyes, no easier pinned down than the last near-expression. "Nephrite's happy as things are. If someone didn't push him, he'd never deal with it on his own."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Oh. ''Oh.'' A look of understanding sweeps over Makoto's face even before Kunzite has finished explaining what he meant or why Nakayama's visit would have anything to do with it. She wasn't as unaware of the problem as she'd thought, after all - she just hadn't quite connected all the dots.<br /><br />"He and I talked about that, a little, the day she was here. More about you than about him, but..." Thinking back to that conversation, Makoto grimaces in regret. "I think I might've made it harder for him to come to me, if he does need someone to lean on."

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Maybe," Kunzite acknowledges. "But it seems unlikely." Both in that Nephrite finding it harder to migrate toward Makoto under ''any'' circumstances seems unlikely, in the long run -- and in that if he thought Nephrite would say something overtly anyhow, he wouldn't have needed to ask Makoto to keep an eye on him. "With luck, we're worrying over nothing, all the same."<br /><br />It's Nephrite. Fastest of them to smile, quickest to move in the wake of emergency when the adrenaline drops and the emotions take over, looking after the other four in ways they don't expect and don't recognize till later. Surely it's not something he'd have a problem with in the long run.<br /><br />Right?

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Makoto still looks a little uncertain, but after only a brief hesitation she nods. "I'll keep an eye on him anyway," she promises, and then cracks a smile. "It's not like that's a hardship." <br /><br />A beat after she's said this she has to look a little off to the side as she feels her cheeks starting to flush.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Which means that when Kunzite ''actually'' smiles, as he's turning to look a little away in the other direction, Makoto only catches it out of the corner of his eyes. "Here, Usagi," he says. "We need someone to eat this chocolate. Do you think you could find it in your heart to come up with a candidate?"

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>If it were anyone else she'd have caught on faster, but it's ''Kunzite,'' and Makoto is Makoto, and so there is a second or two just as he speaks where she's actually ''looking'' for Usagi to have somehow just come into the room without her noticing, or maybe be coming in from the next room over. But no, Usagi is nowhere in sight or hearing, and the 'gotcha' moment when the joke sinks in is perfectly evident in the comical look of nearly affronted surprise that she shoots in Kunzite's direction.<br /><br />Then Mako starts giggling and can't seem to stop; she can only duck her head, hand coming up over her mouth. "Pretty much," she has to agree.
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