1468/Tea Party at the Greenhouse

Tea Party at the Greenhouse
Date of Scene:	11 May 2016
Location:	Pikarigaoka - Seiyou Public School
Synopsis:	Kunzite looks for someone to pass a message off to Tadase and finds Nagihiko. Temari is smitten. Then she's crushed. Then Nagihiko's running after Kunzite with a pointy stick and cursing like a drunk sailor. Amu has to save them.
Cast of Characters:	Nadeshiko Fujisaki, Kunzite, Amu Hinamori

---

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko Fujisaki is a new student at Seiyou Public. His sister, Nadeshiko, had been going for years before she went off to more private studies. (Okay, so Nagihiko is Nadeshiko, but that's not exactly common knowledge.)

Sometimes its a bit stressful, talking to students and pretending you don't know them when a month ago they were snubbing you for being too close to The Prince.

Still, it's far more relaxing not having to worry about cracking voices and skirts.

It's after school. The other guardians are either at home, shopping, or in the hospital because they're dumbasses. He's sitting with a pot of tea and a pile of papers. It's not guardian paperwork, he finished that a little bit ago. He's meticulously copying his notes for one of the aforementioned dumbasses. (He'd do it there, but the soccer player is...distracting at the best of times.)

Temari is keeping herself occupied with her own little tea set. (It's for a dollhouse, but its genuine porcelin, and well, Nagihiko likes to occasionally spoil his sweet girl.)

Kunzite has posed:
Kazuo Takeba is not a student at Seiyou Public at all. He does, however, have a cultivated skill of behaving as if he belonged somewhere, and that's often enough to make him virtually invisible even when his variation of monochrome doesn't blend in with the students nearest his age. White and black isn't the same as all black. But it's good enough; it often is.

Besides. Knowing where you're going, and moving purposefully, is more than enough to avoid most trouble.

Entering the greenhouse itself is not going to go as unnoticed. After all, those who frequent it most are already gone; Nagihiko has no reason to be expecting anyone. But Nagihiko also saw Kazuo at the dance a few weeks back -- although, granted, his hair was vastly more notable at the time -- and he must have been here before, too. He knows where to look, to find Nagihiko at the table. Bows toward him, slight and grave, and then again toward Temari. Though given which dance he was at, it's not so much of a surprise that he might be polite to Temari, too.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko is really quite proud that he doesn't jump at the sudden arrival of a veritable stranger. It takes a moment to place him, but after he's stood and returned the bow he remembers.

Oh dear. Is he here about that comment he made at the dance? It was an apology! Not a threat!

"Please, sit down." It's easy to get another cup for tea, and Temari helps by bringing over some more tea cakes. Her cheeks are pink and there are hearts in her eyes as she gazes at the new comer. So polite, so refined!

Nagihiko pours tea for them both, his own having dwindled without his realizing. Using his freehand as though he were holding back a long sleeve is a habit ingrained through time and repetition.

When in doubt, Nadeshiko is a good place to go, even if his uniform is blue.

"If you're here about the dance, it really was an apology. I'm sorry if it came across as a threat."

Kunzite has posed:
"Thank you." Kazuo crosses the distance to the table, keeping half an eye on Temari's whereabouts and on tiny tiny teacups. Neither chara nor chara's things should be crushed or bruised. When he takes the offered seat, there's something about how he holds his head -- whenever all that hair was shorn off, it must have been very recent.

The opening comment about the dance prompts a minute shift of expression, and a shake of the older teenager's head. "Not at all. It was both understandable and understood. Rather, my own apologies for intruding on the pair of you." Also for having prompted the desire to punch Mamoru in the first place. Maybe he can get away with not explaining that. Though that will probably result in someone else explaining it; he makes a mental note to be aware of the likely repercussions later. "I was hoping I might find either the young king, or someone who might be willing to give him a message."

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
If Kazuo is looking to dissuade the hearts growing in Temari's eyes, he's doing a piss poor job of it. She pours tea from her tiny, tiny teapot into a tiny, tiny teacup. It's barely more than a drop or two. Placing it on a tiny, tiny sauce, she floats over and sets it beside the much larger one. Then she darts away and hides in Nagihiko's hair, peeking out and very much uncharacteristically shy.

For his part, Nagihiko arcs an amused brow. "You did better than I would have. I probably would have tried to rip your head off if our roles were reversed." His eyes flit in the direction of Temari, who is doing her best to look demure and innocent. "Yeah, I'm talking about you."

A giggle is the only answer. Nagihiko rolls his eyes.

"Anyway. The best person for that job is probably on a date with him right now. The second best was a dumbass and got himself hospitalized. I would have been first or a close second a few months ago, but, well, dynamics shift." He shrugs. He hasn't had much of a chance to talk to Tadase after the whole messy aftermath of the aforementioned dance.

"But you're in luck, I'm at least willing."

Kunzite has posed:
There's a great deal of hair to hide in. It's very effective. Kazuo pretends not to see the peeking out, letting Temari hide (mostly) while his focus turns to Nagihiko. There's no real change in his expression, but there's a slight echo of that amusement in his tone. "I don't know about that. I'm reasonably sure we both know people who genuinely invite getting their faces punched in on a regular basis. Someone who not only gives warning but puts it in the past tense and then apologizes is more likely to warrant praise than violence."

Even if it's still more his fault than Mamoru's. Stiiiilll not going into that. Yet.

The mention of what happened to the second best prompts a twitch of Kazuo's own eyebrows; he reaches for his teacup. (The larger one. Absently careful not to tip the smaller one in the process.) Dynamics shift. Yes. Yes, they do. "Souma-san's offered to be a go-between," he admits, "but under the circumstances? Someone else seemed better, yes. Someone who isn't going to be out from bed rest and immediately trying to pour himself back into catching up on a half-dozen projects." Not that Kazuo has any high ground, there.

He pauses for a moment; tilts his head a fraction. "Mn. And there was so much going on at that dance, I can't recall whether Chiba-san made introductions in time for you to hear them. Kazuo Takeba."

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko considers that for a moment. "True. I guess if it had been present tense, there likely would have been...disagreement."

There's a noticeable bloom of pink on his cheeks as Kukai is mentioned, and there's a brief moment where he fights off an affectionate smile. "I appreciate it. I've already had to threaten to break his legs at least once for getting out of bed." He taps his chin in thought. "Though come to think of it, this was after he made his face incredibly punchable to someone else." There's a twinkle in his eye at that, and a good deal of affection. "He's incredibly dense at times."

He inclines his head. "Nagihiko Fujisaki. Better known in most circles as Nadeshiko's brother. Though if you haven't heard of either of us, we were..." He looks at Temari for a bit, who hugs his wrist tightly and refuses to let go. "Pretty much useless for awhile."

Kunzite has posed:
-- is that why that little one was --

-- perhaps that's something Kazuo had better not take time to speculate on now.

"A pleasure, Fujisaki-san. I'm new to most circles at best, myself; I've only really been in residence for a few weeks. I trust you'll forgive my ignorance." And yet he knows where the greenhouse is, knows Kukai enough to know how busy he is, has an idea who Tadase's contacts are, was familiar enough with people to be unconcerned about being at the Virtue dance -- which was itself only a few weeks ago. "You seem to be doing better now, at least."

The pinkness goes carefully without comment. So very carefully.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
It's also easily explained why said little one woke up when Kukai got hurt.

And better now? Yes. Technically, yes.

His jaw works a bit. It's still not enough for people to come to him when they need help, though. Or even just ask him along. All he does is work on the Guardian paperwork so no one else has to, but its not enough.

The little chara's eyes glint, and a split second later so do Nagihiko's. He stands and pounds his fists on the table, rattling dishes. "If he doesn't start coming to me when he needs help, I'll strangle him in his sleep!"

The glint is gone and when he's sitting back down, his cheeks are red and he's pinching the bridge of his nose. "Temari, I was doing fine."

Temari harrumphs. "You'll give yourself ulcers."

"You could have at least waited until we didn't have company."

Kunzite has posed:
The entire reaction of the company in question to this is to sit calmly, teacup in hand, eyebrows slightly lifted, and then to reach over and right the tiny teacup Temari left for him and set it back in its saucer. "If you strangle him in his sleep," he says thoughtfully, "he won't learn anything from it. Strangling him when he's awake seems much more productive."

He pauses for a moment, then sets the other cup back down, too. "Chiba-san might have warned me about words not to use in front of the young king," Kazuo adds. Which explains, perhaps, a good part of why that reaction didn't get his chair shoved back in startlement, or a sudden realization that he had an appointment anywhere else.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko sighs as Temari flits over and refills the tiny cup. Her small hands pat Kazuo's in apology, then she eeps and dashes back to the hair. "But if I strangle him while he's awake, he has good distraction skills." He considers this a moment. Yep, that works. "Although if nothing else..."

He...doesn't finish that thought out loud.

Nagihiko bites back a grin from behind his teacup. "Yes, without the right contingency plans in place, that would just lead to chaos and a very embarassed Tadase afterward."

Kunzite has posed:
"And unlike some people, I don't come with a convenient instant top hat." Kunzite nods gravely to Temari again, and goes so far as to check the rest of her tea set and make sure all's in place and nothing went flying off the table. Tiny cups. Not to be crushed underfoot by accident.

(Most of the time, the experience taking care of a three-year-old doesn't show.)

"So it's best I not embarrass him in the first place," he says whils his attention's aside on making sure Temari's possessions stay intact. "Particularly since I'd like to talk with him about Virtue. That doesn't need to be any more difficult than it already is."

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Once again, Kazuo is doing a horrible, horrible job at making the stars and hearts leave a young chara's eyes.

"Well, sometimes you just have to make due with what's available."

His brows furrow in confusion as he tops off his tea and stands to do the same for Kazuo. "How is it already difficult?"

Kunzite has posed:
The other thing that paying attention to the table's contents did was let Kazuo consider various angles. Nagihiko's standing throws some of them off, but on the other hand, it also makes it reasonable for him to stand for a moment, to glance off to one side and take a half-step that direction. Maybe there's just an interesting flower. Right?

No jokes are made about having buckets on hand. "The young king has good reason not to be fond of me. That fight up north." This time the glance is to Temari. Apology for mentioning it, perhaps. "The group they were fighting, the Dark Kingdom. Its queen gained most of her lieutenants by tricking them into bargains that gave her power over their minds. I was one of them. Among other things, I was the one she used to kidnap Chiba-san."

He's prepared to say something else -- but given that Nagihiko spent a while tempted to punch Mamoru in the face for having been kidnapped at all, he's not counting on getting there.

Which is why he moved so that, if a sudden and violent assault ensues, the fragile items and the paperwork on the table are unlikely to become collateral damage.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Okay, that may or may not destroy the chara's crush. Or at least it will put a pause on it.

See, it's better for Nagihiko to get bad news and revelations like this second hand. He has a buffer then, with the person in question not around. Or, at the very least, Temari does.

And maybe Temari reacts the way she does because she goes from crushing to crushed in two-point-four seconds.

"Oh. I see." This is all Nagihiko gets out, along with a twitch of the eye. He's not exactly expecting, well.

"Chin, Ton, Shan!"

Oh crap, he thinks as cherry blossoms surround him.

Later, when he's back to himself, he'll thank Kazuo for moving. For now, he wields a naginata and lunges for the older boy.

"Rah! Hold still so I can slice ya to fuckin' ribbons! I'll carve yer heart out!"

Which, were he in his right mind, would translate to 'please do move, Temari is rather quite displeased with you.'

Kunzite has posed:
Better depends on better from whose perspective. On the one hand -- secondhand, Temari has a buffer. On the other hand -- Nagihiko mentioned that he and Tadase were already not doing as well as they had been. Avoiding putting more stress on that is desirable.

Also, given the kind of week Kunzite has been having, it's entirely possible that he invited a small fight on purpose in the superstitious and irrational hope it would avoid any more potentially world-ending disasters falling on him.

Also ... something that Nagihiko might find interesting, if he ever gets the chance to think about it: Kazuo marks those three syllables. Knows what they mean. And he's already anticipating that naginata even as it manifests in Nagihiko's hand -- leaping back out of range for that first lunge, flinging himself to one side to avoid the next.

Problem. Right now, he's a nineteen-year-old boy. An athletic one, yes, but he's still entirely human. And Nagihiko is suddenly very damned fast. And, as a bonus, they're on the territory of a group whose property he'd like not to be responsible for destroying; it limits his moves.

Light crackles over him, not as bright or flashy as most -- a glow that burns away the image of the boy, leaves him in a gray uniform. He's still nearly drained from the last few days. But he can at least move faster, and the white and brown cape tricks the eye a little, makes the outlines of his body a little harder to be sure of, might throw off the aim.

Somehow he suspects that the answer to dealing with this problem does not involve a bucket over the head. Or a top hat.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
He's not unlocked, so while he is faster and stronger, he's also sloppy. It's more of an angry wild swing of a blade, aimed in the general direction, chasing and leaping. Furniture is turned over, papers fly everywhere, but somehow, the table they were just sitting at remains untouched.

"Can't face one girl on yer own, eh?" To be fair, normally he's chara changed as Nadeshiko. "You gotta cheat?! Get back here, you rotten piece of scumburger! I'll tear out them pretty eyes of yours!"

Amu Hinamori has posed:
"HONEY BUBBLES!"

Where did that call come from!? It's Amu Hinamori's voice--or more specifically, Amulet Clover's. The green-garbed maid-changed Guardian seems to practically appear from nowhere, a wide smile on her face as she waves a bubble wand through the air. From it, massive golden bubbles flow out and begin flooding the garden. They're sticky, they're distracting, and most of all: they're a great way to trap raging sohei and former dark generals alike!

Amulet Clover makes her way towards the pair of warring boys confusedly. "Do I even want to know why you're attacking Tadase-kun's senpai's best friend?" she asks the Temari-infused Nagihiko curiously. "Because none of my charas sense any dark energy at work, which implies this is rather personal. In which case, would you mind taking it out of the garden? Su is very upset that her pretty plants might get crushed with all this fighting."

Kunzite has posed:
Furniture can be righted. Papers can be picked up. Everything's fixable. All he has to do is figure out how to talk a raging Chara Bearer down while not losing anything permanent --

-- there are enormous bubbles.

There's a brief instant of struggle, half reflex and half still trying to avoid becoming the victim of impromptu surgery, before he realizes that they're affecting Nagihiko and naginata as well, and stops. Stopping doesn't actually restore any missing dignity, granted. But it's a lot more effective than pointless failed attempts at thrashing.

"My apologies." Kunzite can't actually bow toward Amulet Clover, but he can at least bend his head. Mostly. This may be the one time that his currently much shorter hair is an advantage. "It was my own fault; I should have been more careful." There is the faintest of hitches between 'have' and 'been' as he substitutes in a phrasing that doesn't require using an actual pronoun for Nagihiko. Just in case.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
The bubbles are effective for two things. One being that the attacks do stop. The second being that, trapped, Temari lets go of Nagihiko and lunges for Kunzite. "You wooed us under false pretences!"

Holy dear sweet what the actual hell.

"He wasn't trying to woo us!" He wonders if it's possible to pull himself into the bubble and drown in it. "You weren't this much trouble with Nadeshiko!"

"That's because you didn't know what you wanted as Nadeshi--oops." Temari eeps and flies to Amulet Clover, effectively stopping her assault on Kunzite's ear.

Nagihiko makes a sound in the back of his throat as he decides to test out the theory of drowning in the bubble.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Unfortunately for Nagihiko, the bubble pops before he can drown himself effectively. Amulet Clover reaches up to grab Temari gently out of the air, holding the little Chara in her hands. "Temari," she says slightly exasperatedly, "I am very glad to see you again. It's been way too long. But dear heart, Kunzite is a good guy, now. Sortof. I think. We forgive people who actually fix their mistakes, right?"

The bubbles vanish as Su and Amu separate into two. Ran flies swiftly towards Nagihiko to try and help him. Miki, on the other hand, is all about flying to inspect Kunzite, curiosity in the blue chara's eyes. "Did you really try to woo them?" Miki asks curiously.
f
Amu snuggles Temari close, then looks to Nagihiko curiously while Su begins inspecting the plants. "What happened?"

Kunzite has posed:
So long as Temari does not actually have a bladed weapon, Kunzite does not actually try to fend her off much; just enough ducking of his head to make sure she can't carry through with her threatened plastic surgery by dint of tiny fingernails. The 'oops' still comes as a significant relief. And he's just going to try to live in a universe where obviously Temari said absolutely nothing before it. He and Nagihiko will probably both be happier that way.

Bubbles vanish. Amu reappears as herself. And Kunzite drops back down from uniform to Kazuo's white shirt and black dress slacks, even more monochrome than when Amu came in. It takes him just a moment to figure out what in the world Miki has on her head. "No," he says to her as he picks himself up carefully, and goes to start trying to right tumbled furniture. "Certainly not on purpose. We were only talking. I suppose that can be confusing, sometimes." It certainly confuses the hell out of him.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko would actually be happy if they lived in a universe where the past, oh, five minutes hadn't happened. But he'll take what he can get.

"No! Augh! He wasn't trying to woo us! Temari just has a thing for polite people!"

Which means, on some level, so does he. Best not look too closely at that right now.

Amu asks what happened and he stands, taking a deep breath through the nose as he pulls his sticky hair into a ponytail. There's no ribbon, but it has a nice placebo effect.

His voice is probably a touch higher, but that comes with the territory. "Takeba-san has a message he'd like to deliver. For some reason, I don't know what it is yet."

Temari ignores the death glare. Instead, she hugs Amu's wrist.

"I'm sorry for that, Temari can be a bit...temperamental at times."

As he says this, of course, he's very much not looking at Kunzite.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu gently pets Tamari on her back with her other hand, then sighs and shakes her head. "Sorry," she apologizes to Kunsite as well. "Having a Shugo Chara is ... sometimes an adventure," she explains as she moves to take a seat at the newly righted table.

Amu is still in her cheerleading outfit; fresh from practic, apparently. "Ran and Miki are both a handful," she says. "And Temari is sometimes harder to manage than they are. But they really do mean the best for us," she explains.

Then she smiles and hugs Temari again, before sitting back at eaze. "So what's the message? I'm sure between the two of us, one of us will get word to Tadase-kun for you."

Kunzite has posed:
There is even a table with tea things! It is not the one Kazuo just put back upright, granted, but it's nigh-miraculously undisturbed. "It was entirely my fault," he assures Nagihiko again, and drops down to one knee to collect some of that flurry of stray papers. "And I apologize for upsetting you, Temari."

Miki has not been shooed away. Hopefully she won't decide to decorate whatever it is he's picking up.

... and then the conversation focuses down on the problem at hand, and it's Kazuo's turn not to look at either of the Guardians for a moment. "I'd like to talk with him," he says. "About Virtue. Normally we expect to hear through Mamoru-kun if there's a problem we can help with. But he's going to be... necessarily out of contact for a good part of each day, for a while. If the young king's amenable, I want to try to work out another arrangement. One hospital stay is enough for a while."

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
He has to resist the urge to roll his eyes very much. It's very much not Kunzite's fault one-hundred percent.

Temari tilts her nose up and hides her face behind her fan. "You should be more careful with a girl's heart."

Nagihiko clears his throat. "I'm surprised we don't have our own wing at the hospital with how often we stay there."

He looks at Amu, and his smile is soft. "Think you can deliver the message? I'm not sure I'm the best person to at the moment."

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu glances between Temari and Nagihiko, then back to Kunzite and sighs. "Do I need to make you two kiss and make up?" she asks curiously. She's more looking through Kunzite, really. "Because whatever it is that makes you think you're not the best person to talk to Tadase-kun is dumb. You're both of our best friend. You've been his longer than I've known either of you. I'm tired of whatever it is that's got us all wary of each other these days."

Beat, frown, and then to Kunzite, "Sorry. Anyways, he'll get the message, one way or another. Have you considered just joining Virtue?"

Kunzite has posed:
White eyebrows twitch up sharply in the moment before Amu makes it clear that that 'you two' is Nagihiko and Tadase. At least, Kazuo hopes it is. Neither tempting nor taunting Temari sounds like a good idea, right now.

Amu's question specifically to him, though, prompts him to straighten up for a moment with his handful of papers. "Yes," he says, straightforward. "I'd prefer that. But it may not be the right time for it; that's his decision, not mine. Some things take time and effort to repair." Or they wind up with angry people with naginatas.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Kunzite is...not the only one who reacts to the first comment. However, he doesn't exactly relax as Amu continues speaking and his smiles goes a bit brittle. "We tried that once already, remember? I think we've pretty much figured you and I should have swapped kissing partners that night."

He turns his attention back to Kunzite. Actually looks at him. That's...probably how much Amu's comment...affected him. "You seem well enough on your way. I do recommend not going into the extremes. Someone who goes around and cleans up every park and and helps all the little old ladies cross the street has got to be hiding something."

When in doubt, turn to snark.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
"... that's also stupid," Amu says with an irritated grumble. "I'll talk to him," she assures Kunzite." And it's not entirely clear whether 'talk' will involve words or fists. She smiles, then, and turns to Nagihiko.

"I still don't see why it has to be done in pairs," she tells the purple-haired boy. "But you know Tadase. Either way, I'm not going to let him keep sulking and putting you off. If I can forgive you for January, he can forgive you for the dance. And if he can't, he's going to find himself a very lonely boy."

Kunzite has posed:
"You're mistaking me for Asclepius," Kazuo assures Nagihiko, deadpan. "His hair's more like yours."

He rises with the reclaimed papers, then, and paces to set the stack down on Amu's table. Hideously out of order, but at least they should be all there. "Thank you."

Not one word about the dance. Not one.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
"I'm sorry, but that's impossible." He flips his hair, and even in the ponytail it flies nicely, floating for a moment. Sparkles surround him, because yes, he's Tadase's friend. "There is no hair like this hair."

Vain? Hell yes. But oh so true.

But he can't really avoid the other topic, alas. "I thought we had, but I haven't seen much of him since." He shrugs a bit. "And I'm more partial to a Royal Flush than a pair, but that's not everyone's favorite hand."

His cheeks are definitely burning now.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amu eyes the papers and pushes up out of her chair again. "I'll walk you out," she says to Kunzite, but she pauses long enough to drop Temari very gently on Nagihiko's shoulder, and then give the boy a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"She's part of you," Amu whispers very quietly in Nagihiko's ear. Then she rises, and turns to do exactly as she's said: walk Kunzite out.