1119/The Pizzeria

The Pizzeria
Date of Scene:	28 February 2016
Location:	Mitakihara - Kikoku Street - North
Synopsis:	Ami's first date with Takashi goes surprisingly not-horribly.
Cast of Characters:	Takashi Agera, Ami Mizuno

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Takashi Agera has posed:
It's just around dinner time when Takashi and Ami have agreed to meet - arriving seperately - at The Pizzeria. It's just called that - perhaps the least imaginative name possible. But after asking around both at school and at the winding labs of Eclipse, it's the place that serves pizza most recommended in the city. So, that's where they'll meet. The inside decor is very much of a traditional italian pizzeria (as you might expect) and the whole place smells delicious. The waitstaff is all Japanese, but the cooks themselves are italians, the family that runs the place.

Takashi is there. Waiting. Tensely. He's been there for twenty minutes, but he hasn't ordered things. He's just there early because if he's going to wait on pins and needles he might as well do it at the place. It's only recently, though, that something has 'clicked' and he's gotten a hold on himself. He's no longer fidgiting, he's no longer stressed.

He's sat at the table in a suit he recently got re-tailored; it's about as nice as he could get without going into Outrageous territory, like wearing a tuxedo - who'd wear a tuxedo to anything other than the most fancy balls - and it's black with blue accents and a blue tie - little sapphire cufflinks match the three earrings that make up his Intelligent Device on his ear. Everything is either new or perfectly set.

If there's a failing, it'll be one of personality or communication, not of looks, Takashi has decided. A few minutes before the alotted time, Takashi texts Ami a simple message.

TXT Ami-chan: Hey, I'm inside, sitting at the back right, so you don't have to look for me.

There, that resolved the also-agonizing decision of wether to wait at this table or go outside and try to meet her at the door. Why is this so much harder than their first meeting for food and discussion, anyways?

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami didn't really need the text to find Takashi. She is both good at finding things, and only a minute later than she promised to be. When she enters the pizzeria, all he sees are long legs dressed up in white stockings and a pair of brown loafers, a sliver of flesh so thin it might not even be as wide as a pinky, and his borrowed blue coat.

The text does, however, prevent her even taking a moment to glance around. Ami makes her way towards the back almost immediately, unbuttoning the borrowed coat as she comes. "Hi," she says, only a little nervousness in her tone as she peels the coat away and folds it over her arm. She has on a pleated blue skirt beneath, and a striped blue-and-white halter top. Her hair is pulled back with a white headband--wholly unnecessary as short as her hair is, but it's cute, at least. Coat off, Ami slides into the booth across from Takashi.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi doesn't have to wait long for Ami to arrive - he smiles as she comes into view, and smiles a bit more despite himself when he gets a look at her, though he manages to stop and gesture towards the other side of the booth before his stare grows too long. He doesn't even mention the proper owner of the coat, so as far as he's mentally concerned, he's on a roll!

"Hey. It's good to see you again." he says, keeping most (but not all) of the obvious nervousness out of his voice. But he's not going to let them sit in silence. "You look nice, as usual." he says with a smile. "I hope this place is okay with you. A lot of people really recommended it - despite the basic name it's supposed to be one of the best places to get a slice in town. I think I've passed it a few times and wrote it off..." he says, leaning back just a bit.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami studies Takashi a moment, then rubs gently at her arms. They're a little pinker than usual, aren't they? "I didn't expect you to get so dressed up," she notes quietly. "Now I feel a little underdressed. I've eaten here before," she notes, "so I thought this would be appropriate." She motions to her own outfit, then asks, "Their white sauce is really amazing, though. And they ahve coke on proper CO2 instead of just compressed air."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi waves his hand at her gently. "No, don't worry. I just figured I'd err on the side of caution - and my friend Hannah-chan was really insistent..." he admits. "I wasn't sure how casual to go and... the last thing we needed was for me to text you 'what are you wearing' with the way everything had been coming off wrong." he adds with a laugh. He's truthfully much better at this 'talking in person' thing. "Really, you're fabulous right now. Don't worry about changing a thing."

He leans forward. "Okay, so even if the pizza's not up to everyone's rave reviews, at least we've got the soda." he says with another laugh, before he gets serious and his eyes duck away from looking at her. "Look, I'm really sorry if anything I said upset you, and if my timing was bad on texting... twice..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It's okay," Ami says perhaps a little too quickly. "Just don't text me during class or cram school, okay? I really do need to study, and you're distracting. I don't want to have to turn my phone off in case ..." she trails off, glances around, then mumbles, "You know, Moon." Ami clears her throat a little, then suggests, "The pizza really is good, too."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods a bit. "Alright. I won't text you during class, I think your school day is the same as mine total." he says, calmly. And then adds a comment. "But you can always text me first if there's something going on, or if you do feel the need to talk." There's a half-grin there, but it gets serious again. "I mean it, too. If anything is going on, I want to help you, too." he says.

And with that out of the way, he looks at her. "So, what do you like on your pizza, Ami-chan?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami smiles at Takashi, then nods her head. "I will," she promises. "Although it's not so much a need as a want, most of the time. I love my friends, but they just don't understand things like proving Einstein's last theory with the Gravitational Waves earlier this year. But you do," she says with a grin. "Anyways, the answer to your question is pretty much 'yes'. I'm not a picky eater, and I love pizza, so whatever's on it I'll eat it."

Takashi Agera has posed:
"Well, unless you're going to furnish me a schedule of all your cram school times, maybe I should let you initiate texting. I'm... not as much for it anyways. I think I should probably avoid having big conversations with you over it anyways. Or maybe even small ones, too." he muses.

"Yeah. This is what I love about science, about intelligence, about... thinking your way through problems. Einstein might be long gone, but his theories, his knowledge has made ripples through history that we're still understanding the importance of." he says, a bit dramatically. It's about this time someone comes over to take an order and Takashi orders their supreme for them - and two cokes.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami waits patiently for Takashi to place the orders, then blushes just a little at what he asks for. She rubs her arms, but doesn't explain the blush; just tries to regain the thread of lost conversation. "It's crazy to me that he was just a pulic school teacher. He didn't have a degree, didn't even do much schooling at all. Just enough to do his job. He was such a genius. I wish I could be as influential as he was, but I don't think it's possible."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi watches her blush but doesn't call her on it this time. He's still being a little careful, at least for the moment. "Well, natural talent can carry you a pretty long way." he says with a smug grin. "But I mean... he also spent a lot of time on those equations. Just because he didn't have the rigorous schooling didn't mean he wasn't putting in the effort elsewhere."

Takashi leans back. "I mean, people make the best of themselves in their own way. Some folks don't do as well in a lecture setting - but some really do. I suspect you do, where I don't."

But then he leans forward. "Ami-chan, I'm sure you can make an impact on this world so big that Einstien will just be a footnote in history by comparison. All you have to do is decide that's what you want and reach for it." he says, boldly. And this isn't overdramatic, it's honest.

"If you didn't have that kind of intellectual potential I'm pretty sure I wouldn't find spending time with you so appealing. A lot of why I feel drawn to you is all that. You're not just smart, Ami-chan, you're quick. You can keep up. A lot of people I've seen can understand my ideas, but it doesn't even take you any time. That's the real reason I was surprised about your being in class - I knew you'd connect the dots anybody would try to lay out for you..." he snaps his fingers "like that."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Well," Ami says, a little hesitantly, "I am pretty smart, but I don't see why I should skip class. Besides, I find the lectures enjoyable. That's part of why I attend cram school, honestly," she explains. "Much as it would be interesting to go to college and really challenge myself, I have plenty of time for that. There's no excuse for me to be anything less than absolutely perfect in the grade I'm at. So I make sure I am just that: perfect. I haven't received less than perfect marks on any class in my life. I haven't missed a day of school until this thing with Kunzite ..." she trails off, then clears her throat.

"Speaking of," Ami says softly, thoughtfully, "I sorta came up with an idea to save him. But it's a little insane, and I'm worried about it. Mamoru is really excited for it, and counting on me for it to work ... but I'm nervous. If I'm wrong we won't get a second chance. But I know you don't like Mamoru or Kunzite, so ..." she trails off. "If you don't want to help with it, I'll understand."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods a bit. "I understand that drive. Believe me." he says, laughing a bit at himself and smiling at her. "And I do want to see you do well, which is the other reason I think you should be the one to message me from now on." he says, putting one hand on the table. "Because I don't want to get in the way of your perfection, really."

The other hand comes up and both of them squeeze together a bit at the talk of the thing with Kunzite. "Look, I don't like either of them, you're right as usual, Ami-chan." he says, and squeezes one of his hands with the other. "But I am rather fond of you, and it's obvious it's important to you. So if you want my help, all you have to do is ask - and I'll give you any assistance I can. If it's important to you that MAKES it important to me." he says. Then the cumulative realization of what he just said catches up with him like a bus and he gets quiet and both hands find a spot back in his lap.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami tilts her head at Takashi, jaw dropping just a little at his words. She's too shocked by them to be embarassed by them. Something in the way he said it resonates with her, and she isn't sure how to respond for several moments. When she does, it's with a blink and a shake of her head before she admits, "That's very nice of you, Takashi-kun. Thank you."

Then she draws out that little tablet of hers and places it gently on the table. "Please understand that what I'm about to reveal to you is very sensitive information," Ami says quietly. "Please do not record it with your devices, and don't reproduce it later."

Then, almost reluctantly, Ami slides the tablet towards him. On it, she has revealed the collection of all of her notes about Kunzite in depth. All of them.

"You see," Ami says quietly, "yours is not the worst case of Dark Energy Possession I've ever been introduced to."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi has forgotten in an instant, completly and utterly, all of his shyness or discomfort. This is, after all, in so many ways, his element. He nods. "You have my word." There's an unspoken comment that Takashi has an amazing memory, but he figures that Ami's priority is making sure copies aren't floating around of this data.

He looks at her tablet, and starts to scroll through the information. He's moving through it quickly, processing it as a whole. Then back. It's not that he's misplaced or forgotten, but that he's looking at everything as a whole rather than slowly breaking down each peice.

Then Takashi shakes his head. "No, not contamination. I mean it's obviously there, but that's not your real issue with what I'm seeing here. It's more that his energy's been corrupted too. Think of it like... sending light through a prism. Only instead of breaking it down into colors, it's breaking it down into the more hostile parts of his psyche. Like a prism that only allows certain colors through, and the energy from the other colors gets changed. The creature that you know as Kunzite... it's amazing he's been able to work with you at all. Very much a construct entity."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"His brothers were all more similar to you," Ami points out quietly. "Endymion, Jadeite, Zoisite, and Nephrite. They've all been cleansed, now." All but Zoisite, but that's not sanguine to the discussion. "None of them were born with it, as you are; none of them relied on it. But Kunzite ... his case is far, far worse," she says to him quietly.

"But," she reaches across the table, scrolls the screen against his wishes, and taps a link at the bottom. This unveils her research into Osiris Beds and Kunzite's own resurrection, with all the notes she's gained from Mamoru's additions, and her own thoughts. "I mean to save him, too," Ami notes quietly. "The problem is, to do so I have to kill him. And if I mess up the resurrection, I probably won't get a second chance."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods as Ami explains. "So, no pressure then, huh." he muses."Yeah, from what I'm seeing here there's something special going on. It's actually like..." he stops dead, here. And he looks at Ami. It's not the way he has before, it's a sort of investigative look. Like he's trying to decide if she's worthy or safe to talk to, anew.

He's quiet for a moment and almost mercifully the pizza arrives. Of course, he's got something to share that might be a big help. Sharing it also might be a big threat. But he does want to help her - and so he does the only thing he feels he can do in this circumstance, a thing that he's been doing for so long and yet for the first time really feels a bit disturbed about - he lies.

"So I've got something that might be able to help you." he says, after a moment. A big breath. "It's probably closer than anything I've encountered to your current predicament. It's a kind of youma I've been researching ever since I saw them in the field." And before that, since he put them in the field. He wonders how much she'll press that lie and perhaps force a larger one. He's prepared to, of course.

What he shares is very calculated to give as much information as possible while withholding some of the biggest secrets that don't pertain to an attempt to save Kunzite. "Of course, there's a real person, entity, spirit somewhere. But there's this not-entity roaming around. It's pretty close to the original but it's made with negative energy. And there's actually a formula for that, as near as I can tell. And it's not as straightforward as you'd think..." he says, starting to sketch it out on the tablet. "A lot of the symbolism, the magical effort you're putting in is good. But... this is the difference between finding out your formula is off by a little bit at the wrong time, and success." he says.

"Man, sometimes it's hard not using Mid-math." he says, as the equation just goes and goes. Eventually he finishes and points the back end of it. "this is the tricky bit, though. Make sure you calculate for this when you're working the equation back the other way around to get the person he is on the other end sorted out right. That should give you the numbers you'll need."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
While Takashi is busy doing energetic computations, Ami grabs a plate and begins pulling off a slice of molten pizza from the pie that's been delivered. She barely wastes any time getting her fingers dirty with deliciousness, and then immediately sticks them in her mouth to suck the heat and tasty away.

When he's through, Ami leans over to inspect the euqation, then blinks in surprise. "That's long," she notes. "I'll analyze it a little later, when I've got the time to go over it all. But assume it does what I think it does, that will at least give me some nice peace of mind. Thank you."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi smiles. "I hope so. It's strange, seeing someone so smart so worried about their own ability." he says, taking a peice for himself. "You're... brilliant, Ami Mizuno. That's something I've never said about anyone else. You should take it to heart." he says before he digs into his own peice, making it vanish with alacrity.

Then he gets quiet. He grabs another peice and shifts it onto his plate, but doesn't eat it. There's a drink of the soda, and then he says it. "I really did miss talking like this. I know it's silly. I'd have thought I'd be wanting time away from you, without you, with the time we'd just spent together. But that's not the case at all."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami is a little more delicate in her pizza eating. But then, she didn't have to compete for resources with a greedy fox for the past six months. She nibbles at the overhot pizza carefully, and goes back to lick her fingers often. Takashi's explanation earns a blush, but Ami focuses on the pizza rather than discuss it. It's a few moments before she finishes that first slice, and then she licks her fingers clean and washes it down with a bit of coke before addressing him.

"Well, we should keep to the topics that you missed, then," Ami suggests hesitantly. "Takashi-kun, there's ... it's not that I don't like being with you, but you make me very nervous when you start talking about things like that. So .. for a little while, can we just ... spend time together and not make it weird?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi blinks. "I guess this is where I don't get it, though. I don't see how that's wierd." he says, honestly, a shrug. "but..." he takes another drink of soda. "If it makes you feel wierd then I'll try to avoid it. Just... avoiding things, wether it's information or otherwise, isn't something I do normally. I'm a curious person."

He has to stop for a moment to eat another bite of pizza, and on the other side of it, he's flipped the subject. "So you're going to save him even after what he did to you? Like I said, I'll help however I can... it's just that I'll be honest, saving him wasn't exactly uh... my first reaction. Do you think you can get him to cooperate long enough for this project of yours?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami purses her lips in thought, trying to think of how best to explain it. The question about Kunzite nearly goes unnoticed, so busy is she thinking, until suddenly she blinks and says, "What? Oh." Reaching for another slice, Ami lowers it to her plate, then once more licks her fingers clean.

"Well, cooperation isn't exactly required in Kunzite's case," she notes thoughtfully around having her thumb in her mouth. "Thing is, step one in this plan is to kill him. Which sucks, but it's true. So ... I don't think it matters. I just wish I had a better plan for saving him."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi notices the way she's slow to respond, but he /also/ just said he'not push the issue. He makes a contorted face before going onto the other topic of discussion.

"Well, that makes it easier, in a way. Since step one is to... restrain the subject. In a semi-permanant manner." he muses. "Look, I imagine you want a plan that's less lethal. But it's just not the way things allow you to go. For those of us that work in the world of reality, sometimes, we have to look at the data and make the best choice. It's not everyone who can look at it objectively, and take the calculated risk to do the right thing."

"I mean, going from one of us poisoned to both of us poisoned... and you twice over? I wish I'd had a better way to save you, but I had a way to save you. You're probably not under the same degree of time crunch, but I bet you don't have forever anyways. At some point you just have to trust in your genius and trust you're making the right choice. No attempt is far worse than this. It's risky... but I think the risk is acceptable unless you have forever to come up with something. It's a drastic case, I don't think you're going to find a relaxed and easy way out either. Or you'd have seen it. And if not you, I would've."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I know," Ami says quietly, frowning a little. "It's not the risk that bothers me. I just want to get it right," she notes to Takashi. "So I'm just making sure I've minimized the risk as much as possible, and eliminated all other possible options."

Ami sighs and settles in to eat her second slice, once more taking her time and eating carefully. For a bit she falls silent, then she asks around finger-licking, "You had a girlfriend before, right?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods. "Well, and I'm sure you'll keep checking over it. Probably right up until the time that you actually enact your plan." he says, with a smile. "That's why I'm confident you'll succeed. I mean, I'm not just puffing smoke at you to say that you're a genius. I'm a genius, and you can keep up with me, so you must be one too." he adds, with a grin.

"Yeah, I've had a couple. Didn't work out though." he says, nonchalantly. "In the end it's pretty hard for things to work out if you're not compatible, though. You can put it in a lot of effort, and even get some nice moments out of it, but..." he trails off and into finishing off his soda, which a waiter quickly refills.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I've never had one," Ami notes faintly to Takashi, frowning at him. "Err! Never had a boyfriend, I mean! Although I've never had a girlfriend, either. The only boy or girl I've ever kissed are my parents. So that's why it's weird," she explains. "This may be normal to you, but to me it's really not. I've never been on a date before. Congratulations, this is my first. So ... now do you understand?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi laughs a little bit at her verbal flailing as she tries to clarify her lack of boy-or-girlfriends. But then she talks about things and he very very slowly wakes up and picks up on what's going on. "Well, I'm both... surprised and not surprised." he admits. "I'm not surprised because you're you, but... you must have turned down an awful lot of boys." he says, with a smile. "I mean, I was really surprised you didn't have one."

"That's what I meant by it, actually. I wasn't fishing. I was shocked. And a little out of sorts... so I see now how some of the things I said could've been wierd through that glance." he admits.

"There's a lot of things I want to say, really." he says, looking across the table into her eyes. "I'm just not sure how to say them at all, much less without coming off strange and making you uncomfortable."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I've never even had a boy express interest before," Ami notes with a quiet frown. "Well, maybe one, but I'm not sure if he was expressing interest or not. The point is, Takashi-kun, this is new ground for me. So everything about this is weird. So the more we constrain it to science, magic, and technology, the easier it will be fore me."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods. "Well, we're both in uncharted territory here, really." he says, but he doesn't elaborate immediately there. Instead, he just smiles. "Well, every other boy is stupid for not. Still though..." he shrugs. "I'll do my best to keep it to things you're comfortable with. It's just... you may have noticed that subtlety is not... my strong suit."

"But I'm happy to help you any way that I can, too. And that's not even relating to anything else. I like helping you solve your problems, I like having you help me with mine. No ulterior motives. No conditions."

Takashi looks at her for a good long while after that, though. He eventually catches on to the fact that he's doing that and stops, and suddenly the pizza appears to be REALLY INTERESTING.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami does not immediately notice the staring, because her phone beeps. Wiping her fingers on a napkin, she reaches into the pocket of her oversized blue jacket and pulls it out, skims the message, then sends something in reply before returning her phone to her jacket.

Ami looks up just in time to catch him looking away, and she blushes when she realises he may have been staring. "I know you do," she manages to reply. "And I enjoy solving problems with you. That was on my list," she notes.

Not that Takashi knows about the lists. "So tell me about the Arthra. You've mentioned it a few times. Why is it so important to you?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods. "Well, lets keep solving problems together then. I enjoy that a lot, too." he says, leaning forward a bit more, and returning to look her in the eyes again. "I'm hoping the list is a good thing in some way, since you're here." he notes.

"The Artha is important to me because it's a wealth of knowledge and technology. Just the raw materials have value. Their processes are... maybe centuries ahead of ours, and just fabricating the materials for use in devices takes a tremendous amount of energy in any way I can do it. Even their scrap is valuable to us, basically."

"Plus they're a dimensional starfaring civilization - you can only imagine the amount of information they might have that we don't. They're certainly not any smarter than us, but they've got a lot more time working with higher order things. So I'm happy for anything the debris can teach me. Unfortunantly... it's rather interesting to other people, too."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami's eyes lose focus a moment as she dwells on the idea of a dimensional starfaring civilization. She's only scratched the surface of what's in Eternity MAIN, but she knows it's got notes on the Moon Kingdom of old being described just like that. A small smile plays across her lips, which she covers by going for another slice of pizza--her third! What a pig.
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"That's all a good reason," Ami says faintly. "Were there any survivors from the ship that could give you the dimensional coordiantes to translate to? Maybe you could simply go to th e largest chunk of the debris and investigate from there. That's kinda what I did when I went to the moon," she explains casually.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi shakes his head. And goes for his third slice right after she does. He was, in fact, waiting so he didn't look like a pig, because this pizza is delicious. "The survivors are not... all willing to work with anyone. They guard their secrets pretty jealously." he says, taking a bite, chewing on it, thinking, and swallowing before he finishes. "Closest I can determine though, from someone who was willing to chat a bit and from data, is that... we're kind of in a dimensional, magical sinkhole. Black hole, maybe. It's that power that tore the Artha apart. The ship is trapped in that space and it just kinda phases back in to our dimension at random places and times. Always in Tokyo. Tokyo's some sort of dimensional, magical nexus." he muses.

"I've got a couple theories on that, but I think... Tokyo's special magical strength and the way stuff ends up here, and the way Earth itself seems to be that sinkhole. I can't help but wonder if that's either intentional or the side effects of some great magical catastrophe."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The pizza has cooled considerably by now, so Ami is able to be a little more focused on eating the slice. Of course, she's also eaten plenty enough and so she winds up just picking at it absently as they talk. "I wonder what it is about Tokyo," Ami muses aloud quietly. "I wonder if it's something we've done to our world, or if it's naturally recurring. Or if it's something someone else did to it," she adds at the last, thinking back to Serenity's literally world-changing wish.

"So are the Artha's keepers villainous, or just greedy?" Ami asks curiously. "Or maybe it's some sort of prime directive, like in Star Trek. We have to discover those things for ourselves. Is it anyone I know?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi shrugs. "I'm honestly not sure. I've not gone looking." he admits. "But my feeling is that it's something closer to the prime directive - this technology would change our world. And, frankly, it's not just technology like humans know it - it's magical as much as it is technological. Which means the population here isn't really ready. I'm thinking, as far as data can tell, the Mid-childans accept magic normally, but you've seen how people react. If a Youma played kickball with them they'd be 'convinced' they could see the zipper on that 'fake actor's' suit in the morning." he says, with a laugh. "The rest of the world must think Tokyo's really unlucky with gas mains and power lines."

"Whatever the effect is, it's incredibly powerful and has served to make us kind of an isolated cosmic 'no go' zone." he says, quietly. "The Artha went to test a new way and got torn apart too, as near as the records I've seen say."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Yeah, but people like you and I ..." Ami starts to protest. But of course Takashi's not the one to voice that complaint to. Ami twitches her lips in thought, then lets the issue go. "It does answer several questions for me, though. Almost as many as it raises. I could never figure out why the power required for my teleportation was exponential to distance traveled. Everything in my models suggested it should be a linear scale, but it's very much not."

Ami pauses to contemplate something a moment, then falls to a brief tittering giggle. It passes, then she explains, "I think Gene Roddenberry must have been a magical boy," she whispers conspiratorially. "His calculations for the energy usage of warp drives is not far off of what the curves look like for my subspace traversals, which operate under a similar principal. I did manage to get around that limitation with the other four Senshi, but that was still five times the expenditure of energy just to reach the moon, and it wasn't instantaneous like my portals are."

Takashi Agera has posed:
"Hey. I hear you. But in their defense, there's not many people I share my secrets with either, because I worry what they'll do with the knowledge, either intentionally or just through a lack of foresight." he says, shrugging a bit. "Really, it's actually just you I trust with all of this. Other people know bits, but you're the one I can trust, intellectually."

"Yeah, as far as I can tell it's much worse out there, too. It stops becoming sensible at all and just changes. Something's interfering with it. It's just like... like static here, making the picture fuzzy. But out further from the Earth proper, and in the other dimensions around us... it's like a full on jamming."

He smirks at her conspiratorial idea. "Well, it's possible, maybe." he says with a wink. "Or at least someone aware. I have a few thoughts about other people in history that might've been aware too." he muses.

"So... you went to the moon?" he asks. "There must be something more up there than I think there is, then? I can see you going on a lunar surface adventure for knowledge, but less so the rest. And, well, she is the one called Sailor MOON, is she not."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"In search of an artifact," Ami corrects him gently, grinning. "You read the notes on Kunzite," she motions to her tablet. "About his previous life. There's a lot more to that time that was lost, and I know most of it because I have access to the records. The world doesn't remember, but my computer does."

Ami preens a little at this admission. She has access to knowledge of a time that once never was, and it excites her that no one else can really access that knowledge but her. "We found more than just the knowledge up there, but right now I don't think I can share the story. When the war is over, maybe. But not right now."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi mmms. But his eyes are bright and shining, just on what little he has to go on from the minimal information she shared with him already. "Knowledge from a time before time. The sort of thing that could fundamentally alter understanding. I am immensely jealous." he admits, and that's visible in the way he looks at her and her tablet. There's some part of him that almost wants to try to steal it, but that part is mercilessly stomped down by the rest of his spirit.

"Well, I hope I can help you win that war a little bit sooner by sharing my knowledge to improve yours." he says, smiling. "And maybe then you can share with me before I find some way to go poking up there myself." he says, with a sly grin.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami points a finger at Takashi threateningly. "Don't you dare," she says to him past narrowed eyes. "If you go up there I will know, and I will kick your butt for it. I don't think you want to test whose magic is colder."

Ami smirks at her own threat, obviously not legitimately believing there was any reason to deliver it beyond silliness. "So you asked me about music when all of this started," she notes. It's only been three days, but she's still curious. "Did you listen to anything?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
Inwardly, Takashi is cursing himself for having brought it up. He's denied himself of a potential out in saying that she didn't tell him to! Oh well. It also might be notable he bristles a little bit at her threat before she smirks and breaks character. Takashi doesn't like being threatened, and he doesn't like being told not to do things, and for a moment, that will clearly show even to the bluenette across the pizza from him.

Takashi nods. "I've listened to a little bit here and there when I could break from research to listen - when I wasn't worried about a lack of focus causing problems. I like English for music too, though I'm not against Japanese. It's an interesting set of choices..." he says, leaning back. "To be honest, I've never really listened to music as much but a distraction... so I'm really trying to figure out how I feel about any of it. I liked some of what I found, I think. But not others." he says.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"You could get lost on youtube with all the music on there," Ami notes with a grin. "Or if you're using a VPN to America, you could use a service they've got called spotify. Oh! Or Pandora. Actually you should do that. There's this service," Ami explains, "it's called Pandora, and it's really good because you start with any one song you know you're okay with, and then you can thumb up or down songs as you like them. It'll skip songs you don't like, and remember both your likes and dislikes, and based on certain tags on the songs, it will learn your preferences over time. It's great for muscial discovery. I have twenty stations. But again you'll need a VPN in America, since they don't have service to Japan."

Takashi Agera has posed:
"Yeah, I spent more time listening to music on Youtube than is probably good for my projects." he admits, quietly, laughing a bit. Then he listens to her talk about the services, and nods a bit. "Yeah, I could VPN to America pretty easily." he says, leaning in. "I don't suppose that little station of yours can be like... shared somehow?" he asks.

"I mean, you've got pretty good tastes in most things. Even if you're not spot-on I'm sure you'll be in the right neighborhood."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Uh ... sure," Ami says, tilting her head. "Sure, I can email you my account and you can browse my public lists, there. And then you can follow me to see when I add a new one or something." She shrugs a little, then pauses and squints. "Huh. I have your phone number, but not your email," she notes amusedly. "How did we manage that?" Pulling her phone back out, Ami hastily sends him a text with her pandora information, as well as her email address.

"Fair warning, though, I'm probably going to poke into what you're listening to in response," Ami says with a faint grin. "Just because I have a preference doesn't mean I'm settled on that being my permanent preference. I like to try new things."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods. And he gets the text message from her, and sends another one back with his email back to Ami, shrugging. "Not many people have my email." Of course, this is a secondary email - it does not end in .ecl because that would be a bit too obvious. "Well, you can peek in, that's fine. Just know that I'm going to be... still experimenting with it, I guess. So I take no responsibility for anything that comes up on my stations." he says, firmly, and then laughs.

"But see... this is the sort of thing I was trying to get out over text." he says, smiling. "Not nearly so bad in person over pizza, is it?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Oh, well, then I'll be sure to advertise it to my whole school," Ami teasese with a smile as she skims his address, then tucks her phone away again. She glances up when he brings texting back up, then grimaces a little. "Yeah, well," she says quietly, "You're bad at texting, and I'm bad at not freaking out a little bit about this topic. I'm sorry."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi smiles. "Look, I know I'm not a storybook Prince Charming - and especially not over text!" He adds, and there's a grin, but it leaves quickly - replaced with something less, but also more. "As long as you can keep forgiving me for the mistakes I make - I won't blame you one bit for your freaking out when it's all new and strange to you." he says, and that smile he's giving her is different than the usual. It's not snarky, it's not a half grin. It's something honest, something he's given to very few people.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I can't promise that," Ami says to Takashi honestly. "I just can't promise it. But I can promise to try and tell you when you're freaking me out. But if you're creeping me out, I may not be brave enough to tell you, or realise that's what's happening. So ... I'll do my best? But try to back off if you see me dig my heels in. There's probably a reason."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi smiles. "Well, you'll try. I can take trying. I'll try to pay attention. You know, normally I'm good at reading people." he admits, finishing off the last of his second soda. "But with you, I get... distracted. My guard is down. And I say stupid things." he says, though he sounds almost scientific - just rattling off a list of observed effects.

"I'll try to back off if I notice, but all the same... if I didn't push you a little bit, I don't think we'd be having pizza today, either. And today hasn't been bad at all. So I might have to try to nudge you from time to time."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami falls silent at the response, rubbing her arms in uncertainty. But what can she say? There's no real argument against it; no reason he's wrong. Still, she does not look terribly confident right now. "Okay," is all she says instead, before reaching for her drink. She finishes it, then says, "Anyways, this has been nice. But I think I should probably get going. Mako-chan and Usagi-chan are probably right around the corner desperately watching to see what happens when I leave."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi looks a bit self-satisfied that she admitted it was nice. "Well, if you enjoyed it, we'll have to do it again sometime." Takashi says as he looks across the table at her. "Well, I given that you're so concerned about all of this... dating, talking, etc thing, I won't ask to give them anything to be surprised by then." he says with a smile. "I'll see you soon though?" he says, sounding more like a hopeful request than a question.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Mmm," Ami agrees quietly. "At the very least, we still need a chess match," Ami promises as she slides out of the booth. Picking up that big blue coat, she shrugs back into it and starts to button up. "I'll see you later, Takashi-kun. Good luck in your classes this week."