View source for 2677/That Grade Is Not A 30

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/05/14
|Location=Somewhere in Tokyo
|Synopsis=Usagi runs into Kazuo. And Kazuo's father. Who promptly starts considering the possibility of grandchildren. NO HIROSHI SO VERY NO.
|Cast of Characters=109,58,215
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:109|Kunzite| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Afternoon, out on the streets! Sunday afternoon, at that, and the weather is fine and fair; it's cloudy, yes, but it's not raining, and the temperature is that lovely point in spring where the air is just ''nice'' on the skin. Give it another week and it'll be getting to 'warm' and then 'uncomfortably warm,' but for right now it's beautiful out even when the sun is hiding.<br /><br />So there are people out. And in Tokyo, that means a ''lot'' of people out.<br /><br />Still. Even in a crowd, some things are unmistakable. Like a certain six-foot-six figure with long, blade-straight white hair. Granted, Kazuo is wearing a suit for once rather than his characteristic outfit, and the graying fifty-something man he's adjusting his pace to (also in a suit) is very definitely ''not'' Mamoru or Zoisite or anyone else from that apartment, but still. There aren't really two of him in the city.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Oh joy!!<br /><br />Usagi holds her school satchel close. Inside marks a good start to her highschool career! And inside the plastic bag she also holds is the soupy remains of what ''should'' be a thank you...maybe if she froze it again? Or maybe if she went out and got the stuff without stopping to debate on plushies next time?<br /><br />And yes, okay, it's Sunday and she should have left her satchel at home but the ''grade'' she ''got'' means she totally obviously ''has'' to carry it around and squee for at least a week over it!<br /><br />Such a lovely test. A beautiful test! Why, even the marked-wrong answers are--<br /><br />Oh! Her KunziteSenses are tingling! And by that she means she sees him above the crowd!<br /><br />And since they're in public she knows to behave! And by that, she means she catches herself at the last minute!<br /><br />"''YOOHOO!!! KU'' - er I mean - ''KAZU-KUN!!''"<br /><br />Said Kazuo will find his arm a sudden host to a BunnyLamprey. But unlike most lampreys, this one isn't parasitic and is more adoring. (Platonically of course!)<br /><br />"Kazu-kun! Guess what guess what! That test you tricked me into studying for!" She pulls out her test. A 'B' is Very Evident in red on the front. "Look! And that's only because I got all woah about Inuyasha! But my teacher likes Inuyasha! So she only took off half! See? See? Thank you! Here! It's the ice cream you like!" She droops a little. "Okay, it's the soup cream you like...but there were plushies and..."<br /><br />Now, normally Usagi wouldn't be so late in realizing there's someone else there but she's just ''so excited'' and--<br /><br />She jumps and un-lampreys Kunzite's arm. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't realize you had company!"<br /><br />She looks up at Kunzite with 'I'm sorry, did I do a bad?' sad doe-bunny eyes.

:'''{{#var:109|Kunzite| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>That voice gets attention, anywhere. At least the 'yoohoo!!!' part indicates a lack of Oncoming External Doom. As opposed to Oncoming Enthusiastic Doom, which is inescapable. Kazuo turns in the direction of --<br /><br />-- whoops lamprey.<br /><br />Kazuo straightens under the double onslaught of armcuddles and chatter, which leaves him placed reasonably to accept soup gravely when it is offered. Before there is ''any'' risk of Usagi dropping into armflailing mode while forgetting she's carrying it. "Congratulations on your grade," he says, trying for a moment to remember what Inuyasha is and deciding that it must clearly be something to do with the plushies. "Father, please permit me to introduce Usagi Tsukino. Usagi, this is my father, Hiroshi Takeba."<br /><br />Kazuo does not seem to think Usagi did a bad, or at least he isn't frowning any more than usual and didn't actually try to scrape Usagi off of his arm.<br /><br />Hiroshi, on the other hand, ''is'' frowning. But it's the kind of frown that Kazuo uses when he's thinking about something, not the kind he uses when he's actually scowling at someone. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tsukino. Have you known my son for long?"<br /><br />(Oh. That is an entirely different kind of potential doom than Kazuo was expecting.)

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Oh, happy day! Soup has been accepted (psssst it''was'' the rose ice cream you like before plushie doom!) and grades have been praised! Plus, bonus on all of that, she apparently hasn't done a Bad!<br /><br />And best of all!<br /><br />"Ohh!!!" Usagi droppsinto a respectable bow. All seemed to be going more smoothly with much more politeness as accustomed--<br /><br />Nope, sorry, this ''is'' Usagi!<br /><br />She shakes Hiroshi's hand with Much Enthusiasm. "''You're'' his Papa! I've heard you've been around but not much!" Okay, ''maybe'' enough to make her want to bite his face off, ''if'' she were the sort! But she isn't! And perceptions! And she doesn't know this man that well yet to want to ''actually'' bite his face off! "Mamo-chan's told me some, but he's very shy when it's not about himself!" She pauses and looks at Kunzite. "Okay, even then, but you gotta read between the lines with him. You know that."<br /><br />And she's still...shaking his hand.<br /><br />Finally, for him probably, she stops. But it's also mostly because she wants to Behave in the Way She 'Should' for Kunzite. (Who, she knows, doesn't ''care'' if she Behaves in the Way She 'Should' normally, but that actually makes her want to Behave even more now!)<br /><br />She ''does'' use the question to tap her chin in thought. A smooth transition, even if done on purpose! Ahahaha! "I've known him...a billion trillion zillion years? But also for a little over a year." How much does this guy ''know?'' "I measure time in how much I adore people."<br /><br />''Smoooooooooooth.''

:'''{{#var:109|Kunzite| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Somewhere in all that flurry of words and handshake, Hiroshi (who did, in fact, bow politely to Usagi) glances in Kazuo's direction himself. Which may explain why the first thing that Kazuo says when Usagi finally comes to a temporary halt is, "Perhaps I should have also said 'permit me to introduce Mamoru Chiba's girlfriend.'"<br /><br />There is an instant in which Hiroshi's expression is simultaneously relieved and disappointed, but he recovers and adds another small, polite bow. In case the first one was washed away in the flood, perhaps. "I am pleased he's made such a positive impression on you." It's a pleasant offering, or it would be if it weren't for the faint suspicious twitch of Hiroshi's eyes in Kauzo's direction at the word 'positive.'<br /><br />At least, Kazuo reflects, he didn't seize on the 'billion trillian zillion' part. "Usagi, might I perhaps take a closer look at your test later on? I'd like to see which parts your teacher thinks are most important." Besides Inuyasha, apparently.<br /><br />This does not bode entirely well for Hiroshi Knowing Things, but on the other hand, suspicious look was ''not'' had at billion trillion zillion...

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Unfortunately for her, Usagi's not as stupid as some people would think. (Seriously, Hiroshi? Ouch. She's almost cool enough for someone like Kunzite. And she managed to get Mamoru who is biasedly better, as her and Kunzite would agree on. So what's that look for? UNLESS IT'S BECAUSE SHE ''ISN'T'' KAZUO'S GIRLFRIEND in which case, alas, he's concerned about jailbait.)<br /><br />Usagi turns to look up at Kunzite. Her eyebrows are, of course, knitted together. Whether in annoyance or concentration is really anyone's guess until it's acted on. "Of course. There may have been some subtle nuances I wasn't smart enough to catch."<br /><br />Still, there ''is'' one she's ''more'' than smart enough to catch on. Because, well, it's her jam. And that jam is reading people when the reading isn't directly linked to herself. Which, despite outward appearance, she knew this wasn't. "Of course he has been. Always. Even when he didn't think so, he did more good than he should have been able to for me."<br /><br />Her eyes squint as she leans closer. "Why do you think he'd be anything other than positive, Takeba-san?"

:'''{{#var:109|Kunzite| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hiroshi's smile is polite, and also at least partly real; 'partly' would be enough for most people not to be able to tell the difference. "My son has always been selective about whom he chose to make a good impression on," he says. "I'm only pleased to see how much better the choices he's been making have been in the last few years."<br /><br />... Kazuo's attempt at diversion isn't working all that well. Where are the other Shitennou when he needs -- no, Nephrite already terrified his father once and Zoisite might ''actually stab him.'' Jadeite probably wouldn't, but the potential of reflexively generating a bizarre people-trap subcorporation between the two of them? That's real enough that Kazuo shies away from that thought a little, too. "Thank you," he says to Usagi, instead. "If your teacher has any particular quirks, it's best to know early on." Like that one at Infinity whose lesson plans varied suddenly and directly with how well her dates the night before had gone.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Usagi's eyebrows draw together. "Kazuo has tried to act the best he could, even when it was hard. And it's never been him ''choosing'' to make a good impression. He just ''has.''" Usagi is...utterly confused by this person. "You're son is a good man, even when it was near impossible for him to be so."<br /><br />She just...how could he not...I mean, he's right there and...<br /><br />But then Kunzite's talking again and she looks up at him, suddenly eager. "Oh, yes! I think she's already willing to accept my weird! I mean, she could have marked off ''all'' the Inuyasha points but she didn't!" And she's mildly lampreyed on his arm again. "And even if she's not that much, could you help me figure out how to be more ''subtle'' about it? Because there's this section in the next part that just ''screams'' Fruits Basket."

:'''{{#var:109|Kunzite| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It is, for once, not the clinging to Kazuo's arm that has him confused. (Everyone here is confused, let's face it. Hiroshi included.) He'll take confusion over the alternative topic of the moment, though. "-- is your teacher fascinated by agriculture?"<br /><br />Hiroshi eyes Kazuo sidelong for a moment. "It's a girls' manga story from ten or fifteen years back," he says.<br /><br />Kazuo pauses for a moment. "How is it that I am outnumbered in knowing this?"<br /><br />"There was a girl in one of your classes who had decided that you were clearly just like one of the characters except that instead of prayer beads keeping you from transforming into a monster, you had that earring." He manages not to describe the earring as 'ridiculous.' Barely. Hiroshi shakes his head. "I heard about it every couple of weeks for a school year."

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Usagi, too, is momentarily confused. An adult who knows about Fruits Basket? Wait, no, scratch that, a ''Hiroshi'' that knows about Fruits Basket?<br /><br />But the comparison makes her eyes widen and soon...<br /><br />"Actually I hold to the belief that there's a second story to that just like there was for the myth of the zodiac, and that Kyo-kun's 'true form' wasn't a monster but a warrior because he was the one who knew that what they had couldn't last forever. The story just degenerated over time to 'monster' because of fear and prejudice. Also, if we're gonna be technical I'd say his personality is more Hattori on the ''outside'' but really, he's more huggable than that. ''However,'' if you wanna go with 'monster,' then that's okay, too, because the 'monster' really looks like Toothless from the How To Train Your Dragon movies but with bunny ears, and Toothless is really a big cuddly scaley kitty. Not that I've put any thought into this, of course." So much thought...<br /><br />She bounces a little on her heals as she looks up at Kunzite with those large bunny-doe eyes again. "It's a really good story, if you're ever curious about it, you can read my set of it."<br /><br />She stands back a bit. "Actually, if we're going by personality, Mamo-chan would be more Kyo-kun because he was a jerk at first but then he wasn't, but..."<br /><br />And then she realizes she's around people again! Haha! She waves her hands. "But, I mean, hah, history homework, yay..."

:'''{{#var:109|Kunzite| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Oh. Oh wait. Oh no. Oh ''don't get her started'' no she's started already and it's honestly Kazuo's own fault. Which means that his eyes glaze over only a ''little'', as she's talking, and he certainly comes away from that with the conviction that he does not ever want to know who this Hattori is.<br /><br />Hiroshi's expression when Usagi describes Kazuo as 'huggable' is priceless.<br /><br />"I'll ... be interested to see how this relates to history," Kazuo says after a moment. The possibility that it might become a consistently useful metaphor for explaining various social problems is considered and filed for the moment. Mostly because Mamoru has ''already assigned him to read shoujo manga once'' and ''might actually do it again.''

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Oh yes. It got started, and it got done, and everything that Usagi said made perfect sense even when it didn't.<br /><br />Except for the part where she calls Kunzite huggable because that legit makes total sense. Because he is.<br /><br />At ''least'' the distraction is enough to make her momentarily forget to be confused by Hiroshi.<br /><br />"It's a bit about mythology. I figured the Selene and Endymion one would have just gotten me too worked up." ''BECAUSE OF HOW STUPIDLY WRONG IT IS LIKE OMG!!!!''<br /><br />But no, deep breaths.<br /><br />There's a Hiroshi about.<br /><br />Who does something. That involves hearing a schoolgirl talk about his son and prayer earrings.<br /><br />But she isn't sure how to ask that part!<br /><br />So, discrete as she can, she tips up on her toes. "Psst. Kazu-kun. What does your Papa do?"
}}