2411/Parts Of The Problem

Parts Of The Problem
Date of Scene:	26 January 2017
Location:	Earth Court Frat House
Synopsis:	Nagihiko and Nadeshiko are having a certain problem. Like that there's an "and." Talking with Kunzite about it provides perspective, though not necessarily help.
Cast of Characters:	Kunzite, Nadeshiko Fujisaki

---

Kunzite has posed:
    TXT from Naru: There are people I don't know. :)
    TXT from Kazuo: Twelve of them?
    TXT from Naru: Have you spoken to Kukai?
    TXT from Naru: In all of Tokyo? Perhaps.
    TXT from Kazuo: I haven't had time.
    TXT from Naru: I have.

"Of course you have," Kazuo says aloud, setting the phone down for a moment to resort to his coffee. Fifteen minutes. He wanted fifteen minutes of break. He should have stayed with trying to fine down his perceptions to the point at which they could pick up what they used to. Another three hours of that would be preferable to another problem. But he had to take a break from trying to analyze the kitchen for Mercury-traces, and make himself coffee, and sit down. And check the text he'd gotten.

Of couse he glances back.

    TXT from Naru: Only by texts, granted. It's getting complicated, but it always does. Do you want details now or later?

It's a serious question.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
"Come on. You're the one who--" The smaller girl cuts herself off, biting her tongue. "He can probably help."

The taller boy bites his tongue but his displeasure is evident on his face. Fortunately they're alone in the elevator. He's still recovering from the collision with a shopping mother who had yelled at him -- while she had been the one distracted.

"He barely even knows us. Why would he even bother?" He's slumped against the elevator wall, trying to compose himself.

The girl rolls her eyes. "Why not? Besides. Odds are he'll end up knowing anyway." She's quiet for a moment. The elevator door dings and she steps out onto the penthouse floor. "Even if he says no, so what? What's the worse that will happen?"

The boy stared at her as though she were crazy. "He'd see me like this?"

The girl rolls her eyes and knocks on the door before leaning against the wall. "Trust me. You've heard the rumors. He's probably the best person to deal with this."

She gestures up and down.

He gives her the stink eye. "Yeah, because his prince and some boy he barely knows. Totally the same thing."

Kunzite has posed:
    TXT from Kazuo: Later, if you want responsiveness. Or you can let it pile up and I can read it later. Someone's at the door.
    TXT from Naru: I'll hope it's social.

Kunzite exhales, gets to his feet -- coffee still in one hand -- and slips the phone into a pocket as he's crossing the room toward the entryway. The room, mural walls and mosaic floor and the best view of the evening lights of any of them. He comes to the door, opens it, steps back, reflexively noting aloud, "For the record, the door is generally unlocked; feel free to --"

He stops.

After a moment, he blinks, and says, "-- to enter." And steps out of the way. The temptation to keep glancing back and forth between the two of them is strong. He resists largely because this invokes a different kind of willpower.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nadeshiko leans against the door frame and gives the startled Kunzite (hey, in her book, a pause-and-blink from him is startled) a sly little grin. "Hey, Gorgeous."

Nagihiko's face flames a bright red as he looks at her in horror. "God, could...could you not?!"

Nadeshiko snorts and strolls in, replacing cute sandals with guest slippers. "He's a smart guy, Nagihiko. He's likely figured it out. He probably also realizes whatever it is is harmless, otherwise Temari would be--"

As if on cue, the tiny chara floats to Kunzite and perches on his shoulder. An equally sullen Rhythm follows suit.

"Kunzite-sama..."

"Well, she wouldn't be adorable about it. Now get in here, you're being rude."

Horror marks Nagihiko's features before he scowls, realizing he's been played. "You're a bitch, Nadeshiko."

Still, he kicks off his shoes and slips on guest slippers. His ears are burning and he refuses to look Kunzite in the eye as he mumbles. "Thank you for letting us into your home."

Kunzite has posed:
Nadeshiko's evaluation is precisely accurate. Kazuo holds the door for the charas and the pair of the full-sized individuals -- emphasis on the 'dual' part -- before closing it behind them. "Hello, Temari, Rhythm. All of you are always welcome. Would any of you like anything? We can arrange tea. There might be cookies."

As if there were nothing, nothing in the world, out of the ordinary with any of this.

As if there were no extant urge in all the world to sneak his phone back out and text Naru with some horrified and blasphemous contextless observation.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko relaxes at Kunzite's outward reaction. He knows better than most people that what's on the surface is not always what's beneath but he appreciates the calm. (Its one reason part of him likes the older boy. The world could be exploding and he'd give barely an 'Oh dear' before going about trying to fix things.)

His ears perk at the sound of tea. "May I? I'll go make it. Can I? I'm...going to go do that."

He scurries off and into the same kitchen where he'd offered a tall girl his father's closet. He busies himself by puttering around, finding the familiar actions calming.

Nadeshiko's eyes widen. "Wow. I'm impressed. That's the most forceful he's been since this happened." She pauses a beat. "Well, except when he tries to kick my ass."

She stretches on her toes, still getting used to unfamiliar muscle movement.

Kunzite has posed:
('Dear' is, admittedly, not the monosyllable he'd choose there. But close enough.)

There is tea, and Nagihiko probably even knows where to find the various necessities for it; and there are cookies, as promised, and more unusual sweets here and there. "Feel free," Kazuo repeats in Nagihiko's wake -- Nagihiko is not one of the people banned from the use of the kitchen. He draws a breath; turns, careful not to discomfit the charas in the process. Regards Nadeshiko for a moment without taking any overt notice of her stretch.

"This is why Naru was just asking me whether I'd talked with Kukai yet, isn't it."

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Everything is still a jumble and a mess, but at least there's tea. He also cleans up a little -- needlessly -- while he waits for the water to heat and the cookies are spread out.

Nadeshiko pauses in her stretch at the mention of Kukai. Her arms lower and she looks infinitely curious. There's even a dash of worry and longing. After all, Kukai is of the few things Nagihiko and Nadeshiko both agree on. "He did? Do you know if he's okay?"

She comes down on her heals and rubs her arm. "I think so. He was pretty...I mean, when he left..."

She raises on her toes a bit as though she could peek at a phone he isn't holding. "Can...can you ask her if he sounded okay?"

And then she rolls her eyes at how pathetic she sounds. "Anyway. Yes. Apparently waking up beside yourself with twin clowns at the foot of your bed isn't as common as you'd think."

Kunzite has posed:
"He posted on HeartNET earlier," Kazuo says. "It sounded coherent, at least. If you'll pardon, I'll inquire." And the phone is taken back out.

    TXT from Kazuo: Nadeshiko would like to know whether Kukai sounded okay when you were in touch with him.
    TXT from Naru: My ability to judge by text message isn't great, but he was fairly coherent, which I'll take as 'alright enough'. Translate as needed.
    TXT from Naru: Clearly I don't need to tell you about the twins. I'll cross that off the list. In very short order, I am going to finally sleep like I haven't since Monday night. Time zones suck.
    TXT from Kazuo: Twin clowns.
    TXT from Kazuo: Twin CLOWNS.
    TXT from Kazuo: I need to apologize to Nephrite for doubting his lifestyle.

Texts are thumbed out, read, and answered, in fairly short order; Kazuo lowers the phone again to address Nadeshiko more properly. "Naru confirms that he was coherent in his text messages to her, which she takes as 'alright enough.' My suspicion is that he's worried about you, but that his life could be worse than having too much of a good thing for right now."

The phone chimes for attention, twice more, but Kunzite leaves it alone momentarily.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nadeshiko is, apparently, not very patient. She fidgets in a chair while he texts, foot tapping along. There may even be a sigh or two of boredom.

When he lowers the phone she sits upright, maybe a bit too far forward in the chair. She relaxes visibley and graces him with a blush for what she takes as a compliment. "Good."

A relieved sigh comes from the kitchen. Apparently, they have an eavesdropper.

Nagihiko puts on the finishing touches to the tea and comes out. He's quiet as he sets the tray down and pours the cups.

"That's too much sugar."

Nagihiko looks up, shaken. "What? But--"

Nadeshiko rolls her eyes. "I'm messing with you. Sheesh."

Nagihiko scowls and shakes his head. When the tea and cookies are passed around, he slumps in his seat, hiding behind the teacup.

Nadeshiko takes a sip of her tea before setting it down. She waves off Nagihiko's curious look. Seriously, the tea is fine.

"Another reason we're here, Kun-zite-sa-ma. Do you know if there's a way you can help...well..." She waves to Nagihiko.

Who just scrunches up into a smaller ball.

Kunzite has posed:
Kunzite glances to Temari, inquisitive, as the tea is poured, and takes one of the smaller cookies to offer solemnly to the sullen Rhythm. If either of the charas want anything they haven't actually taken action to acquire for themselves, he will provide; otherwise or after, he takes a cup for himself.

And studies Nadeshiko and Nagihiko alternately.

"If you mean a way I can help with the most evident problem," he says, "I would normally refer you to Sailor Mercury, but that's not possible just at the moment. Hopefully, she will be back soon. Or do you mean something else?"

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Rhythm looks up at Kunzite and offers him a large, albiet watery, smile as he accepts the cookie. He floats next to Temari to share, who takes a crumb and holds it in her hands.

Nagihiko sighs and his voice is small. "She means me specifically. Because you don't need a..." His own hand waves at his doppleganger. "A Nadeshiko to...you're just really good at being calm even when you're not."

Kunzite has posed:
Oh. That.

Kunzite considers that for a moment. "It's a matter of perspective," he says to Nagihiko. "And priorities. For a long time, I had the choice of either taking the time to be upset, or accomplishing -- anything important at all. Not both. And there was no-one else who could take over for me if I failed."

He draws a breath; lets it out; glances to Nadeshiko, frowns at his tea, then returns to Nagihiko again. "If it had only been myself," he says, "I wouldn't have cared enough to bother, I think. But there were people I cared about, who had no-one else to speak or act for them. Sometimes it's easier to be brave for someone else's sake."

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
"Soooo basically it took you years."

"Nadeshiko!" Nagihiko glares at her as he hisses. "You're being rude!"

The girl blinks and looks confused. "I wasn't meaning to be." She looks over at Kunzite and the confusion grows.

"So you have...tethers. But what if...you'd hurt someone while trying to figure it out?"

He looks at Kunzite in the eye for the first time. He's quick to look away again.

Nadeshiko sighs. "Nagihiko, you're not gonna do anything stupid."

The boy snorts. "Not stupid, smart."

Kunzite has posed:
"It took me about five minutes," Kazuo says to Nadeshiko. "Maybe ten. But we both have a vested interest in not making him deal with it the way I did."

Then he shifts to regard Nagihiko, thoughtful. "What are you afraid of doing?" He does not actually ask if it involves a naginata. That seems more likely to be Nadeshiko's kind of problem.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Nagihiko shifts in his seat at the question.

"My money's on the loss of family or a significant other."

"Nadeshiko! Jeeze, shut up!"

"What? He brought it up!"

"No, we did!"

And for a moment the girl looks confused again. Then irritated. Then her face is in a perfect mask of idly happy. "Well. I'm going down stairs to the shops. I need some new underwear, anyway."

She shifts as she stands. "These boxer briefs just sit weird."

"Nadeshiko!!"

"I'm going! Sheesh!"

A few seconds later the front door closes again. Nagihiko still looks about twenty shades of mortified. "I'm just...I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with her. She's supposed to be the...collected one."

He settles and shifts. Now that Nadeshiko's gone, there's no real reason not to say it. So he refills his teacup, Kunzite's if required, and hides behind the porcelin. "I just...he takes on so much. For people he hardly even knows. This could...eat him up."

Kunzite has posed:
That exhange between the pair is not interrupted. Kazuo simply listens; then glances to Temari once more, checking on her, then on Rhythm. The poor charas.

"The dream of her part of you," Kazuo says, "is to be very much a lady. Knowing that she holds to that dream -- her behavior doesn't surprise me at all. One dreams of what one wants, but doesn't have."

And Nagihiko dreams of being openly, unabashedly himself, of being unafraid of people, of contact, of what other people think.

Kunzite does not spell that out.

"He does," Kazuo says. "But he's strong, and you make him stronger. If you can hold to him without holding him back, I think he'll be all right. Still. Can you be brave for him, do you think? Find it in yourself, when something needs to be done, to see it done for his sake?"

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
Rhythm is now asleep on Kunzite's shoulder, leaning against Temari with a bit of cookie still in his mouth. It will fall eventually, and he'll chew up the remainder in his sleep. Temari lets him sleep, holding onto him and looking rather quite tired herself. It's been a long day, and its not even over.

"Yeah, but...ladies usually think before they speak. Don't they?"

He listens to Kunzite's words and the teacup slowly goes from hiding his face to resting on his knees. Which, since they're pulled up in front of him, it's not much of a change, but its a start. He made Kukai stronger. Now, he's not so sure.

He thinks. Can he? If something needs to change, if all of this is too much for Kukai, could Nagihiko do it?

Finally he nods. "I think so. I hope so."

Kunzite has posed:
Something tugs at the corner of Kunzite's mouth. "The definition of a goal," he says, "includes that you haven't reached it yet."

The later answer prompts Kunzite to incline his head. "Good," he says. "If you can push yourself enough to be yourself for his sake, to show yourself for his sake -- to keep Rhythm in good health and decent spirits -- then that will go a long way to making this easier for him. What's hardest on him is to see people he cares about hurting, and not be able to help them. He loves you very much; your being afraid of breathing too loudly must worry him. But from the way he phrased things, I think, he trusts that you're strong enough to get past that, and he and Nadeshiko are strong enough to carry you until you can get there."

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
His own mouth twitches at the trill of amusement he felt.

It doesn't last long though. His eyebrows furrow together. Show himself? Isn't that part of the problem? He'd been doing so well in recent months, since Kukai and then Rhythm. But he's still so far away. He looks toward the door where Nadeshiko had left. "She's been a part of me for so long..."

That too was part of the problem. Even when he'd tried to be himself, he'd had her to fall on when things got rough. Even when he didn't realize it.

He unfolds his legs off the couch until they're flat on the floor. He's still hunched over his thighs, thumbnails clinking against the cup.

He catches sight of his charas -- both are still his even if they're both still hers -- and a genuine grin flashes. They're both asleep, Temari using Rhythm's head as a pillow.

"Thank you. For, well...helping. And letting them nap on you. They've had a rough day."

Kunzite has posed:
"She still is a part of you," Kazuo answers. "The two of you are parts of each other. This --" He nods toward the door, careful of the sleepers. "If you choose to be this way, that's one thing. If not, then this is temporary. Don't worry too much."

A moment's pause. "And certainly don't worry about Kukai. If he has a tenth the brain he's shown so far, the worst that having two of you to deal with would cause him is a little scheduling problem."

The sleepers, though? Those are another question. Kazuo eyes them for a moment. "Do you want to stay for a bit?" he inquires of Nagihiko. "It might be easier than trying to transport them." Now there's an image. Bringing Kunzite home with him -- with them -- as a walking chara bed.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki has posed:
It isn't exactly a laugh he gives at that. "This isn't...no. Even if it's what I want, living with half a soul doesn't sound...pleasant."

There's a flash of anger on his face because of course Kukai's that smart. And the anger turns to self annoyance because he knows that's not what Kunzite meant. And then there's a blush at the implication. All of this in a span of a few seconds. No wonder he's tired. "He'll probably suggest a nap schedule." He shrugs a little. "It's easier to sleep..."

He trails off because he can hardly hear himself through the burn on his cheeks.

He takes a deep breath and latches onto the change of subject. At first he thinks to object, he's taken up too much time already. But the charas? Yes. They look so comfortable. "If it's not an imposition. I may fall asleep. I hope you don't think I'm rude for it."

He studies the charas. "You're a good person, Kunzite. I don't know if--but yeah. I don't think many people would care about interupting them." He blinks. "But if they slip off, they do tend to sleep float. At most, they'll float to the ground."