2293/This One Has Some Backstory

This One Has Some Backstory
Date of Scene:	06 January 2017
Location:	Earth Court Frat House
Synopsis:	Hannah was about the last person Kunzite expected a birthday present from.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Kunzite, Mamoru Chiba

---

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah did a bit of snooping prior to the new years! Though sadly her family (and Gull!) kept her very occupied so she couldn't get to the party, she's not going to forget a certain bishie-rock's birthday! Thus it is that there's the sound of cane tapping along stairs, and then she's at the front door. WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP!

Distinctive Hannah knock! And not the 'Angry Hannah About To Tear Down Door' knock! Given the cold, she's bundled up in a nice warm sweater, a blue scarf, and wearing a combination skirt and black fuzzy leg warmers. No Boris today!

Instead there's a package she's not trying /too/ hard to hide. Worst of all?

She's smiling as though she's won a million dollars.

Kunzite has posed:
Gull cheated! She got to do both. That, or the guys cheated by stealing just her and not Hannah --

Nah. Blame Corvus. Corvus is always the best to blame.

The door is answered promptly, as befits those who know Hannah is outside and wish to keep their door in shuttable condition. "Good evening," Kazuo says, and studies the package for a moment. "If you're looking for Naru, she's not in just at the moment. Celebrating having finished the mural and thus being unchained, I imagine. Would you like to come in anyhow?"

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Always. Corvus! He's a true feathered terror!

"Kunz-kun! Evening! Huh? Oh, don't you worry, Naru's on my victim list! Buuuut guess who else is~!" Cue a half smug, half wolfish grin. There's even a half-evil little chuckle. Nope, sorry Kunzite, that gaze is directed riiiiight at you. Already, she's twirling the package a bit. Dangle dangle. A now spinning little tag very clearly reads 'Kunzite'!

"But yeah, it's freezing. Southern girls don't do freezing! In we go, oh tall, dark, and multi-faceted!" She stops to give Kunzite a hard, friendly double-armed hug-slash-backslap! As usual, she seems to disdane the concept of restraint through her sheer existance.

Once inside, she's tapping about with her cane, working half on memory at first. She very nearly forgets the shoes. Again. One slooow step, and then back. Off go shoes, then socks, then gloves and the like! Finally the scarf. Pausing, and a grin. "Happy birthday Kunzite. Good job surviving being a guardian for the smartest idiot in this town. I'm glad things turned out the way they did. Be a gentleman? Don't quite remember where the kitchen is, and I could use something warm. Then presents time!" Heh heh heh! Smirk! She offers her arm.

Kunzite has posed:
Hugging someone with both arms while also carrying a cane and a package, and backslapping on top of it, is liable to be remarkably painful; solid objects and kidney-vicinities don't get along too well. Kunzite flinches from neither the prospect nor any actuality, though the return of it is limited to an awkward pat. Still, he takes her arm and guides her kitchenward with a firm welcome, even if the expression of it is somewhat more restrained. "Tea? Chocolate, coffee, soup? Have you eaten, for that matter?" The definition of 'something warm' is broad, after all. "I'd hoped to see you a few days ago, when your young lady came by with the news of her opening, but you were busy at the time; we're pleased to see you here now. Even if you have somehow uncovered my darkest remaining secret."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"By 'we'," comes another voice, from the kitchen's back door, "he's not, by the way, indicating he's accepted his stomach brain as an independent intelligence. Hi, Hannah-banana!"

Mamoru pretty much instantly sidesteps away from the door and circles around to Kunzite's other side, bumping his hip in passing. "I'm glad you're in one piece, it's been a while and I hadn't heard anything."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
A guilty little sigh escapes the young woman. "Yeah, sorry about that. I have no idea how Haruna actually managed to sneak out. Seriously, don't underestimate her, she scares even me sometimes! Of course it helped that me and Dad into a wrestling match."

~Previously, at the Sharpe Household~

The two warriors face off! And a great clash ensues! Hands grip one another, bodies shove and push, shoulders slam against each other! But finally the great titan goes down! SMASH! A table gets flattened!

Hannah grrrr's as she bites on her father's shoulder while she's pinned! In a referee's shirt, Momma Sharpe gets to the ground! A three count!

"Aaaaand the winner is Big Honey ya'll! Whooooooo!"

"N...next time Big Honey! Neeext tiiiime!"

~Now~

"I almost had 'im!" Grrrrr!

Ahh, such a gentleman! Led off towards the kitchen, Hannah smiles. "Thanks. Hmm. Ya know what, it's a hot chocolate kinda weather outside. Got any peppermint?"

It's a Mamoru! "Oh, hey, speak of the devil in a tophat! Man, you gotta work on that! The sooner he accepts his gastric ghost-in-the-shell, the better off he'll be. Hi Mamo. Yeah, I've been...uhh, kinda busy between Work, Gull's new shop, and school. I'll visit more often, especially if Naru's over as often as she is. How've ya been? Text me some time, we'll see a movie or something. Double date, maybe! Been wanting to spar with you again some time anyway. I need to be in top form." A shrug, almost ominously.

She's already hunting for warm cocoa supplies. "Still full from the leftovers! Mom made fried steak and biscuits! Maybe I should make you guys some, give Makoto the recipie. She might appreciate it."

Kunzite has posed:
"Late this month," Kazuo tells Hannah, "we'll all return to normal social lives. As it is, after New Year's exist only people in various stages of panic over entrance exams." He pauses briefly. "Mamoru's stage is 'hah, I did my frantic studying last month,' which means that he stands to be pressed into service as emergency tutor at any moment."

Fortunately, Hannah cannot see Kazuo's reaction to the concept of fried steak, and her Device might not tell on him. Only Mamoru can catch that momentary expression.

There are many forms of cocoa supplies, ranging from 'open packet, dump in mug, add water, heat' to 'begin with heating milk in saucepan' and elaborating steadily from there. Kazuo starts to lend a hand to the look, particularly around the reaching down cups part, but there's this Mamoru actually at his side and he gives up and puts his arm around the other boy. Well. That still leaves a hand to help with. "I think we have some kind of extract, at the least. I lost track of what was and was not in the kitchen when Makoto took up residence for a week."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Gyukatsu and cookies?" Mamoru asks hesitantly, more than content to weld himself to Kunzite's side for the moment, leaning in a little bit. "And yeah, I mean, I will cram-review the night before, but I'm pretty sure I've got my own exams handled." A beat. "Also, your wrestling matches with your dad are scary. As far as sparring goes-- we never did do kendo versus kickboxing, did we? I think I feel better about the idea of sparring with you while not using powers or sharp objects..."

He pauses for a moment, then, and his hand rests on Kunzite's arm on his waist. "See a movie? --why don't you and Haruna-chan just come over and we'll have movie night here? Less having to behave in public, less chance of jobber youma soda jerks."

Kunzite's talking about 'some kind of extract' and it involves chocolate and peppermint and his gaze automatically slides over to a specific cabinet. Then he SIGHS. "There's actual legit peppermint cocoa in the third cabinet to the left of the fridge, top shelf."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah shoots Kunzite a wolfish grin again! "Scary, huh? I guess I'm the lucky one. My grades are on the right side of a four-oh, and a certain little magical calculator friend sister AI pocket tutor makes studying for entrance exams a...ok, not a breeze, but a whole lot easier!"

Hannah's pocket suddenly gives off a very annoyed series of beeps and sounds that vaguely offer flashbacks of 56k modems.

"Yeah yeah, look me in the eyes and tell me I'm wrong R.T.!"

The modem-sound somehow manages to be a sigh as well.

Beep. Hannah pauses. "...Ok, yeah, I could brush up on some of the earlier parts of japanese history. I'll cook, you tutor Mamoru."

This is Hannah. She's already managed to acquire milk. With some help, she has a sauce pan and already has the burner going. With a small whistle, she'll snatch up a stirring wooden spoon and flick it between her hands a few times. She even spins it between fingers like a coin. Showoff.

Every now and then she'll waft a hand over the pot, then sniffs. A pause for a second, a tilt of the head, and she listens carefully. Then, her attention drifts back to the boys.

"Extract will do. ...Tell me the fridge has more than frozen meals and stuff. I don't want to harp, but good people need good food!" Complains the kickboxer.

"You say scary, I say 'fun and hilarious'!" Wink at Mamoru! "I'm up for either! Got a few new spells I want to test, but I still want to see what you can do with a sword. Or glorified stick. It's all good to me! Magic, sword, fists...not much different. It all depends on who's using them at the end of the day."

M...movie night! "Mamoru Chiba, you are a genius! I'll ring up Haruna tomorrow! Let's do a scary one! ...You know Usagi'll go 'eeeek' and then cling right to you!" Devious Hannah look!

Hannah is pretty much a blurr towards said cocoa. Yoink! And just in time, as the milk heats up. She pours everything in, starts stirring, and does her wafting trick a few times. Even leans dangerously close in. Hannah Sharpe is a weird cook.

Then she moves away, and leans slightly nearby. Her attention is right back to Kunzite. "Alright, enough stalling! Open it."

Kunzite has posed:
"Makoto took up residence for a week," Kazuo repeats patiently. "We have actual food." Also systems in place to patch through between Makovisits, but that's more than he's about to try to go into. Standard operating procedure with Hannah: insert short sentences into her occasional pauses for breath. Though the fact that he knew which saucepan and precisely where to find it might be a little of a tell.

Mostly, through the flow of her words, he's quiet; he makes sound when he moves, so she can track his location, but when he's stable in one place, there's relatively little chatter. Granted, that's true for most people; Hannah is hard to keep up with. But movie night plans ... nope. Usagi and scary movies is a side of Mamoru's life he's careful to leave wholly Usagi's own. Except for, maybe, occasional glances in to see whether she's actually crawled into his lap yet.

Speaking of such problems. He considers Hannah's demand that he open the package. He considers Mamoru, currently occupying his arm. This problem is solved primarily by maneuvering Mamoru between him and the package. There, both hands available without actually letting go. It also means Mamoru has the first view of what's inside: a wooden case with the U.S. Marines logo on it.

(Kazuo does not make the opening an agonizingly long process, this time. That one was all for Kyouko.)

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Maybe I'll just re-start the study group," Mamoru muses. "I wouldn't get between Mako and the kitchen, Hannah. And a glorified stick is all you're getting, the sword only shows up when I'm super pissed off. That is not an invitation to piss me off." He listens; he listens a lot. He does that pretty often when Hannah's around, mostly just letting her flow uninterrupted and caching the things he should probably address for when she stops or is waiting for Kunzite to say something else. "Up to Usagi if she wants a scary movie. I'm opting out if it's Disney. I took her to Disneyland Tokyo, dammit, that's my quota for a whole year."

Bemused for a second, Mamoru finds himself moved between Kunzite and the table holding the present. "Hey, Hannah!" he calls cheerfully back over Kunzite's shoulder, head leaning on it, "he trusts you!" And then he glances down. "Oh, it's a box. In a box."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
There's a brief frown Kunzite's way! "And Usagi hasn't rampaged through it all, followed by everyone else?" Squint! /Squint/! Huff.

"I'll believe you, Kunzite." Her voice all but drips 'FOR NOW' and carries the horrible edge of potential bombardment of southern cuisine to visit this Earth Court Frathouse later.

"Fine, fine! Tell her to come fight me for it some time though. Nice girl, somehow I don't think she punches jerks enough. And I'm a huge jerk that wants it. Guilt free violence is good for a growing young woman! ...That's what mom says anyway." Is it any real wonder why Hannah is the person she is now?

No sharp objects? "Tease! Ok, ok, I'll be good...ish. Just Smoking Bomber me some time again and we'll call it even." Vague wave. Off comes the chocolate onto a non-lit burner, she cuts the heat, and lets it sit a bit. Then, she's gathering cups. First herself greedily, then both Mamoru and Kunzite are pretty much being foisted a cup at.

"Cold night. Warm up, both of you." Demands the Hannah once more. At least it's good natured force this time.

Pause. There's this slow turn to Mamoru. "You took her to Disneyland Tok...braver man than I, Mamoru. I'm surprised you don't have bunny fluff still stuck in your hair."

Mamoru, then Kunzite, gets an honest smile. "Glad to hear it. I'm pretty screwed up, but I try to be honest at least. Right! Not enough box opening sounds! C'mon! Don't leave yourself and Mamoru in suspense Kunzite!" Hannah sounds super-excited tonight. God help everyone.

"So this one has some back story, I'll try to keep it short. Mamoru, you already know, but Dad was...heh, /is/ a U.S. Marine. Three tours in 'Nam, two in Desert Storm. Would've probably gone to Iraq if he didn't get that bad knee. He's been trying to give me that thing for years now. But he's a hero. I'm not. I'm...different than that. So we made a compromise. I'll hang onto it until I find somebody worthy."

A sip of cocoa, and then, she puts down the cup. She points at Kunzite, her face grows part respectful, part utterly serious.

"Kunzite. You guys and me have our issues, our differences, but every one of you has my respect. And you're on top of that list. I know a loyal man when I see one. You protect the people you care for. You fight for Mamoru, the boys, the Senshi. You're a knight. And a knight should have a good blade."

"It saved my Dad's life a few times. I wouldn't be here without it. So I'm giving it to you. Hope it'll serve you just as well." Finally, Hannah nods to Kunzite with approval.

Kunzite has posed:
"Hannah," Kazuo says in a remarkably reasonable tone to meet her dubiousness, "permit me to remind you that technically, we have four kitchens to store food in." Granted, only two are fully equipped. But the amount of food that was stashed for that party -- and for the next several days -- was outright terrifying.

So is the possibility that Hannah has been hit by Smoking Bomber often enough that she's actively and intentionally using it as a benchmark. Okay, no, that's not terrifying. That's interesting and a remarkably good idea, really.

The cup Kunzite was handed is set down, because there's a box in a box that needs to be taken out of the box and then become an open box. Inside what appears to be a knife in a sheath, with an asymmetrical guard. Well. It would look like a knife to most people.

The low sound he makes in his throat even before Hannah's story begins to take shape suggests that he recognizes something of what it is.

He leaves the box there for a moment, and his left arm settles a little more tightly around Mamoru.

After a few moments, he lifts his head to regard Hannah in turn, and his expression is likewise serious. "If you're looking for a hero to give this to," he says quietly, "I'm not that. No more nor less than you are. If you choose to make the gift knowing that -- then I am honored beyond what I have words for. And I will do my best to disappoint neither you nor it --"

His focus shifts, head tilting, looking down to Mamoru. "-- if you approve," he says to his prince directly. As if gifts of weapons followed other rules, older rules. As if it mattered, sometimes, whether those older rules were observed.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's eyes are wide as the story goes on, and he's close enough to Kunzite that the taller man can feel his heart speeding up. And he sees the gift as he listens, and he doesn't know how Kunzite is going to react-- it's a relief when that arm tightens around him and he hears the words of acceptance. A relief to the point that a tension he hadn't noticed was beginning in his shoulders is dropped suddenly.

When Kunzite asks him if he approves, all he can do for a second is let out a breathless little laugh, and then he's hugging Kunzite's arm to him with one hand and digging in his pocket with the other. He just nods, craning his neck to look up at Kunzite with something fiercely proud behind his eyes, and then his hand comes out of his pocket and presses Kunzite's blade-holding hand down to place the gift momentarily back in the box, and then he lets go Kunzite's arm in order to open the man's fingers and press a five-yen coin into it. "Give that to her."

His eyes are suspiciously shiny, and he's holding his breath.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Arms cross. Hannah is met with the /force of multiple kitchens/! Slowly, she nods. Is she sniffling? No way. Definitely not. There is no sniffling here.

"...You're all off the hook for now. But if I walk in one day and find more than a single cup-noodle package in the trashcan per person I'm gonna have /WORDS/! Got it?" Tch!

Really, a Smoking Bomber is one of Hannah's favorites that she's been hit in the face with. Efficiency and power together, it's definitely made an impression on the fighty CEO. Enough so that she considers it a mark of honor to be blasted with.

Hannah Sharpe is a very strange person.

There's a long pause from Hannah, and then, she claps her hands. "That's the kind of answer I'd expect from a knight. You don't dissappoint Kunz-kun! Please, if you started to fall short you have a whole lot of people who'd tip you right back up. And if you ever feel out of shape, call me. I'll give you a workout to remember!" A grin, and she makes a show of shadow-boxing with a laugh.

After devouring half a mug of peppermint-chocolate, she sets it down and then walks over. Both Mamoru and Kunzite will get a hard smack on the back if they're not wary!

"I'm lucky to call you guys friends. No matter what, all of you have my love, okay?"

Mamoru conspires with a coin! The American in the room is back off to devour more delicious drink. "...Eh?" She utterly sounds confused, poor thing!

Kunzite has posed:
"If all five of us wind up in university simultaneously, I make no promises," Kazuo says gravely to Hannah. "Short of that, there is actual cooking in the household on a regular basis. Not only of slightly more complicatedly boxed noodles. Occasionally we actually put noodles together from separate boxes."

There's a gleam in his eye, at the shadow-boxing. "We should, sometime when neither of us has too many projects running." The fifth of never? Maybe. Maybe not. "It would be interesting to see what happened, on a level playing field."

The hard smack on the back results in Hannah's shoulder being squeezed, and then the coin presented to her, solemn. Kunzite does not provide the explanation. Kunzite lets Mamoru do that.

(Because he does not want to explain aloud the other reason: so that accepting a weapon is not a silent promise to wage war for the giver. Much as they value her, there are certain things one does not tempt Hannah with.)

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"It's just five yen," Mamoru says, his voice starting out a little wavery, but then strong and kind and full of love, even as he's rubbing his shoulder where Hannah smacked him, since his back was still leaned against Kunzite. It's not now, since he takes a step forward to wrap his arms around Hannah and hug her really tight. "It's a custom, for the gift of a knife -- a symbolic purchase, so that the blade doesn't cut our friendship. It's important. It's as important as that knife is, and as important as you giving it to him, and his accepting it."

He lets go a little, hands settling on Hannah's shoulders, and he bends his head to kiss her lightly on the cheek -- and there's only warmth from his tightly leashed power, the warmth of sunlight breaking through an overcast sky in a windy meadow. "We are both honored by your gift, Hannah." His voice is unsteady at the very last, but it sounds as though it's through a smile, and then he steps away.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Eyes close, Hannah sighs, and she waves a single hand. "Pack of heathens, all of you. And I don't just mean that in the catholic sense! ...Or the food sense! Shut up, I swear I was going somewhere with this!" Huff. This is a tired Hanners right here.

Eclipse might just overwork any and all vaguely bright employees.

Hannah Sharpe licks her lips without reserve. "Oh don't get coy with me. Sooner than that. I'll hold you to it. Like I said, spells to test out. And you're the exact person I'd trust to not kill me if I messed up." Her eyes narrow just a bit, and then all that tension weaves away.

Hannah laughs just a bit as she's squeezed. Her mirth is warm and natural for a second. The girl underneath all that world-devouring-and-saving ambition.

Suddenly a coin in the hand. Hannah actually blinks in confusion. She holds up the coin. Pause. She feels, and then, she flicks it into the air.

And then, Mamoru. He catches her in a hug. For once, Hannah goes utterly still in surprise. Caught right off guard. The young man explains the custom, the gift in turn. Catch.

Double hug. She doesn't bother to hide the tears rolling down her cheeks, good and natural. She relaxes into the young man's hug, and then in turn bumps towards Kunzite. She's more or less helpless in the arms of a friend and a brother, so she's shoulder-bump a guardian in turn.

A soft sigh, a single kiss, and she's smiling like a dork. All at once, Hannah appreciates that wind upon a meadow. Mamoru steps away. There's this vague flick of two fingers to the back of his head teasingly.

The coin rolls between knuckles, and then she sends it between her hands. There's a blurr of coinage as it's tossed between two dextrous appendages, one natural, one artificial. Both tuned together, thanks to magical technology.

Another flick, and she catches that five yen coin. She blows on it, and lets out a breath. Her other hand has a far more complicated coin. Raging Tempest shines as much as the single five yen coin.

"I get it. Mamoru. Kunzite. I'm the one that's honored." And then she breaks the mood by yawning horrifically.

"You're both friends and family! Hey. Guess what? Both have dibs on couches." WHUMP!

Down goes the Hannah, and with a swift text to family and Gull, she's managed to take up all of the local couch like a proper Eclipse member. Greedy and somehow taking up more space than should be physically possible!