1694/Cake, Cheese Penguins, and Corruption

Cake, Cheese Penguins, and Corruption
Date of Scene:	04 July 2016
Location:	Earth Court Frat House
Synopsis:	Makoto is making cake for Usagi. Naru and Kunzite are helping! The ensuing conversation goes interesting places, most of them hving to do with Takashi Agera.
Cast of Characters:	Makoto Kino, Naru Osaka, Kunzite

---

Makoto Kino has posed:
After all the recent upheavals of various kinds, life goes on - which means that, among other things, Makoto has taken over Mamoru's kitchen again, and the air already smells of baking.

There's already a tube pan in the oven, and three more loaf pans lined up and waiting on the counter for another batch of batter to be made to go into them. Mako has one of those capacious aprons on, one arm curled around a mixing bowl to anchor it while she vigorously wields a whisk in a brisk circular motion.

Mamoru almost certainly owns a fully-functional mixer, and even if he doesn't, it wouldn't be the first time Makoto had brought over her own appliances from home, which means there's no earthly reason it should be necessary for her to be whipping egg whites into foam by hand for the second time today. But that's exactly what she's doing.

"I found a chocolate pudding recipe to use up the egg yolks on," she comments as she whisks. "It'll be a lot of pudding, but between Mamoru-niisan and Usagi-chan and everybody else, I think we'll go through it."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"There is no such thing as too much pudding." Naru opines as she straightens from leaning into the fussy little cutting that she's doing out of sliced cheese.

Because they clearly can't have boring cheese and crackers to go with the sweets, oh no, there needs to be a small scene of silly creatures playing on the beach for the savory course. She leans back a little, to consider the pudgy penguin body that has been rendered in dairy product before she lays it carefully into place on the plate and considers what she's going to cut out next from the bits she has left. "I never thought of myself as a light eater, until I started visiting here."

Kunzite has posed:
There are some things that it is extraordinarily unwise to do. One of those is query the mistress of the kitchen on why exactly she looks like she's taking out stress on egg whites. Especially when she's had some of the best reasons in the world to have stress to take out.

"If the refrigerators overflow, there's always the Sakura sisters," Kunzite observes instead. "Momo's knows enough not to feed it to the dog." He's doing a good deal of observing, when there isn't scutwork to unload on him; there is an order of skill in this kitchen, and he is not at the top or in the middle of it.

Approaches are considered, and one selected. "Speaking of that plural." He tips his head toward Makoto. "You heard Mamoru talking with the other Puella about renovations. I doubt we need four full kitchens in this place, but keeping a second properly equipped would be a good idea anyhow. Would you mind, later, taking a look around and seeing if there's one you'd prefer?"

Because small differences in arrangement can sometimes make unexpectedly large differences in utility. And because it might not be a terrible idea to let Makoto know that she's one of the people they want to build their plans around and for, as much as the residents are.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto cracks a lopsided smile at Naru's comment, and her head dips in a rueful nod of acknowledgement. "I wonder if it's a magic thing," she muses vaguely. "Or maybe we just burn up a lot of calories running around in a panic so often."

Kunzite's 'would you mind' has her eyebrows lifting, curious and faintly surprised: "Ah? --Sure." A moment to parse, and Mako nods again. "I'll do that."

She falls quiet for a short space, focused on what she's doing, but after a moment the breath goes out of her in a reluctant sigh and the movement of the whisk falters briefly, then resumes. "Kunzite. I don't know if now's the right time or not..." a momentary apologetic glance to Naru accompanies those words, "but there's some stuff you and the other guys should know about."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I should make cookies for Dog too. He and I are mirror buddies after all." Naru comments with a little laugh as she gets out some thinly sliced roast beast to continue her creation. "My vote is magic, actually, but it's only a theory based on entirely not enough evidence."

Naru gestures lightly with the hand not holding the knife for the pair of them to talk, she has no qualms about settling quiet as she cuts out accent bits for penguins.

Kunzite has posed:
"'Both' is also a strong possibility." Nothing wrong with that word. Kunzite is not otherwise inclined to disturb Makoto's space of quiet, or Naru's penguin-based concentration. (So long as it doesn't inspire her to paint the living room in Happy Feet.)

When the moment comes, it's not Makoto's sigh that draws his attention back to her so much as that shift in the whisk's rhythm. The slight nod comes first, this time. "Go ahead," he says. "If you're ready."

Makoto Kino has posed:
'Ready.' Makoto grimaces, bends her outward attention to the bowl and the whisk. "Agera," she says, and her voice is flat and tight. "That copy he made of me wasn't just some one-off thing. He had a whole room full of them. Blank like mannequins, waiting to be shaped. There were dozens of them at least.

Whisk-whisk-whisk-whisk. "I destroyed those, and any lab equipment I could find on my way out. It'd be stupid to think he couldn't make more, though. To have that many, he must have some kind of plan for them."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Penguin domination is being restricted to locations where one can nomnomnom upon the invaders. Naru calmly arranges meat upon the cheese, reaching for a red pepper to ensure that at least one of them has the required red scarf that appears in all penguin scenes.

Her knifetip pauses at the comment from Makoto about a room full of clones and then she slices a little tiny sliver of the red, not so narrow that it curls but small nonetheless to be arranged upon the penguin. "What do you mean by shaped?" Naru asks, gently curious, but just as calm, if lacking in the teasing.

Kunzite has posed:
"Given individual features of their own, presumably," Kunzite says to Naru. "Or of someone else's."

His tone is usually nearly the same no matter how distressing the topic might be to others. There's a fractional shading of it this time, though, a hint of bleakness that both of the girls have enough experience to catch. Something hit home, somewhere. It may be as simple as that it happened to Makoto. Or as that they didn't figure it out earlier.

Kunzite's attention is let to go distant, for a moment, looking off toward the living room and the missing balcony. There's a wall in the way. He doesn't seem to care. "We haven't heard tell of any major energy-collection schemes since that incident," he says. "Four possibilities come to mind. One, he didn't have an immediate plan for the other -- mannequins, either in general or because it was somehow disrupted. Two, he wanted to wait until after the invasion was dealt with. Three, he had enough stored energy to begin reconstruction without needing to resupply. Four, he's creating them for some third party, who is supplying him. I mention four particularly because Mamoru and I had a run-in with him a couple of months ago in which he indicated he was acting as a diversion."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto nods in response to Kunzite's attempted clarification of her meaning, a short downward jerk of her head in confirmation. She doesn't look up from the bowl of egg white foam. "The other me--" she says, then catches herself. "The copy he made of me looked just like me. Even Ami-chan couldn't tell it wasn't, at first. It didn't know it wasn't."

She stops whisking, lifts the whisk out of the foam to test the consistency of it, what kind of peaks it makes. "The ones I destroyed didn't look like anyone. They were person-shaped, but like... if you made the basic shape, but you hadn't added any of the details yet. Just generic."

Mouth tightening, she picks back up whisking again.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru has more questions, that is abundantly clear by every bit of her manner, but she leaves them off for the moment. Another penguin gets their accent meat instead.

Another little red scarf, apparently there is to be many little red scarves on penguins upon this cheese and meat tray.

"Did the copy have your memories?" Naru didn't even manage to get through a single penguin without breaking into another question, no matter that she was /trying/ not to inturrupt.

Kunzite has posed:
-- not a question Kunzite is about to answer, not given Makoto's presence. Bad enough that Agera took away her ability to act usefully for days on end. The last thing she needs is someone else doing that for her -- even if it's well-meant; even if the topic hurts.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"It must have." Makoto's whisking picks up speed - a little too vigorous, for a moment or two, until she realizes and forces herself back into a steadier rhythm. "For it to act like it did, and not know it wasn't the real thing... It had a lot of my energy in it, but it must've had my memories, too."

She tests the egg white foam again, and this time she turns back to the counter where more ingredients have been measured and lined up. The bowl is set down on a clear space, and she gently taps some of the clinging foam off the whisk into it. "I still don't know what he was even trying to prove."

Naru Osaka has posed:
A little nip on Naru's bottom lip with her teeth, as much considering the penguin scene as Makoto's words.

The egg whites are on their own, really.

"To prove that he could, perhaps? To see how much energy it took, how well it worked, how effective? I don't know, but those would be my guesses. Why you? That's way above my pay scale to know all those intricacies." Naru comments quietly and then gestures for Kunzite to come nearer. "I need three hands for cutting out clouds. You want to hold, or you want to cut?" Apparently the penguins get weather of some sort.

Kunzite has posed:
"To show you what you'd have been like, if you'd been born the way he was."

Kunzite takes his own turn to exhale afterward, not quite a sigh. "Speculation, of course. And not the only reason." There's never only one. "But that's the one he told us."

"Anything she picked up was just your heart mixed with the dark energy. It wouldn't have been nearly as useful if I wasn't sure of that."

Kunzite's hands are already clean, haven't touched anything since he finished with the last round of dishes. "You're the artist," he answers Naru, and comes around to hold things in place, appearing casually certain that she's not about to sever anything important.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"He doesn't like me," Makoto states as she begins using a spatula to get more of the clinging foam off of the whisk, in a tone that makes it clear the feeling is very much mutual. "He blames me for Ami-chan breaking up with him - well, not just me, her other friends too. Nothing's his fault." Those last three words have a razor edge of sarcasm. "It's everyone else that's the problem."

The whisk, as clean as she can get it, goes into the sink with a slightly too energetic clatter. "Before he made the copy, he took me - he called it the Dusk Zone. Had a whole rant about how he's the only one who understands the danger. The only one who can stop it. The rest of us just don't understand." Picking up a bowl of pre-measured dry ingredients, she glowers at it like it's somehow personally offended her.

Naru Osaka has posed:
The roll of Naru's eyes at the 'nothing is his fault' is 100% teen girl, complete with the little snort of derision that comes with it. "Of /course/ it isn't /his/ fault. Sheesh. Yeah, when I was chatting with him, he was giving off pretty solid stalker vibes, but apparently it was only the tip of the iceburg."

"Oh! I should totally do an iceburg out of cheese." Naru comments as she directs Kunzite where she needs him to hold things so she can do some three dimensional carving of vegetables. It is just a paring knife, thank goodness, there's not quite so much damage one can do with one of those. Right?

"What's the Dusk Zone?" Naru asks, her contribution to the conversation largely that of a toddler asking 'why?' eternally.

Kunzite has posed:
Kunzite's attention is down upon vegetables, and fingers, and angles of the blade. Steadily so. He volunteers nothing to Makoto's edged words; does not look up at her; does not, at the same time, shift body language in any way that would make it a pointed silence. Only a silence, not one aimed at her.

Till Naru asks her question, anyhow.

"Do you remember when I told you about the hobby I used to have? Exploring?" Hell after hell, lethal laws of nature. Well. Of what, as he put it, passed for nature. "The Dusk Zone is the place that interconnects them. Unpleasant. Hostile. Vast."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto glances up now for a moment, over to where Kunzite is assisting Naru as she works. Nods, once, before she lowers her head again. "Full of big scary things that could eat the world if they ever got the idea to."

She shifts the bowl into one hand; the other reaches for a sifter that's been set out. Very carefully, Makoto taps a little of the flour mixture into the sifter over the bowl of egg white foam. "To hear Agera talk, he's the only thing standing between them and the rest of us."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Just a little.. " Naru nudges how Kunzite's holding a radish just /so/ and then nods. "Perfect, thank you." She returns to somehow turning root vegetables into cartoons and then mmms softly.

"Is he really so insecure in his own abilities that he has to play the meglomania game to ensure that he gets enough praise? Is that some of what's driving it?" She mmms softly, leaning her head back a little to consider it and then settles back to carving radish. "So he's raising an army of clones, who might or might not be all modeled on one person or not, but might also all have magic or not.. where's he getting that much magic from? Or does it not work that way? It must not work that way."

Kunzite has posed:
Radish, turned, and held still. "Not precisely." Kunzite does not lift his head. "My understanding -- which may be incorrect -- is that he believes that we are sufficiently outnumbered and outgunned, and that there is sufficient randomness and emotional instability in those who use other methods, and that they are sufficiently unpredictable and insufficiently reproducible, that turning the Dusk Zone's own weapons against it is the only method, in the long term, of keeping this planet safe.

"Agera believes that he has been infected with dark energy from birth, and that he is capable of keeping his balance stable in the long term. He further believes that someone died to give him that, and through him to give the world a chance of survival. He does not understand what it is like not to be so infected; he does not believe he could survive it. He does not understand the degree to which his perceptions and reasoning are corrupt. He does not understand that, while he has had certain successes, he is shaping himself into a weapon against this world rather than for it."

He falls silent for a few seconds while he studies Naru's knifework. No criticism is offered. Possibly because he enjoys having fingers.

"He is wrong in most ways," he says. "Disastrously wrong in many; he's dangerous when he's stable, explosive when he's not, and a breath from the wrong angle might set him off for good. But he's trying, in a warped way. And he's still holding on, if only barely. He's survived fifteen years, and he's still capable of something resembling caring. I almost lost myself in five."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"He compared himself to you," Makoto tells Kunzite quietly, not looking up. She sets down the sifter, begins methodically folding the dusting of dry ingredients into the foam. "Neph, too. Like he doesn't see any difference, and we're all hypocrites for not treating him the same as we treat you guys."

Once the contents of the bowl are mixed, she picks up the bowl of remaining flour and the sifter and begins repeating the process. Incremental additions. "He won't listen to anything that doesn't go along with how he's built things up in his head. He's so convinced he's right, he'll find any kind of reason he can that anyone who disagrees with him is wrong."

No comments offered on Naru's speculation, nor on Kunzite's assessment. Sift. Fold. Repeat.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Was he?" Naru asks as she crouches to get a better angle on things for the final touch on radish cloud the first before she offers Kunzite the next one for radish cloud the second. "Infected at birth that is. Or just as a baby? Like.. if he /did/ get rid of the corruption, would his body know how to cope? He thinks no.. but is he right? Or is this just like watching someone really slowly degenerate?"

Naru pauses there, thinking about that a few more moments, and then a few moments longer still.

Kunzite has posed:
That prompts Kunzite to risk a glance away, up at Makoto, eyebrows arched. But she's not looking back to see it. "Giving assistance when we have goals in common and we were willing to give evidence we wouldn't endanger you in the process," he says thoughtfully. "Arguing forcefully under other circumstances. Reacting with appropriate violence when we were doing something damaging. Encouraging signs of progress while keeping appropriate wariness. It seems to me that you're collectively treating him exactly the same way you treated us."

Radish swap means that eyes go back down to his own work. "Agera claims he was born with it. Whether he's correct, I don't know. It's possible that removing the corruption abruptly might kill him, yes. It's also possible that there may be ways to avoid that. Zoisite spent a great deal of time in a halfway state; but he prepared for the possibility of transition by using up a great deal of the dark energy he'd collected, and Endymion knew when it was likeliest to happen and arranged to be on hand to help heal the rest of the damage. And it's not as if this is the first time Mercury's done that kind of analysis.

"It is certainly true that, at best, Agera is slowly degenerating. At worst, quickly so. That certainty, that defensive pride beyond reason -- that's not a good sign."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Again Makoto glances over, just for a moment before she's shaking her head emphatically. "Like we treated you then," she corrects. "He thinks we should be treating him like we treat you now. But he doesn't think he should have to change or give up anything, or go through any of what you guys went through to come back from what you'd been turned into."

Kunzite has posed:
"And you are, indeed, treating him as you'd be treating us now if we were behaving that way. At least, I hope and trust that you'd think enough of us to punch us into a wall." Or through one.

Kunzite is silent for a moment, then adds, more serious, "He thinks that he's in the same status that we are. Stable, or reasonably so. Working toward a better understanding. Justified in his position, and not, in his opinion, using an unwarranted amount of corruption or causing an unnecessary amount of pain. He's wrong. But he can't see that he's wrong. If he could see what he is actually doing, what he actually is -- his reaction then would tell us a great deal. Though possibly break him permanently, if we weren't prepared to take immediate steps. You saw how it affected Nephrite to break through his delusions; and he hadn't gone as far as Agera."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru is silent as she extracts clouds from radishes and just listens to Makoto and Kunzite discuss things that she wasn't conscious, on some level, of knowing. She's silent even as she gives Kunzite's finger a nudge with the tip of her finger, to get to a slightly different spot to hold and consider how she wants to proceeed.

There is no doubt at all that she is listening, and listening keenly, even if she's not actively commenting.

Because what every conversation about degenerating corruption needs are radish clouds and cheese penguins.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I don't even know how you'd get through to him enough to make him see it," Makoto begins - 'you,' not 'we,' but perhaps it's a hypothetical general you? In any case, the oven timer goes off before she can add anything to that thought, and she sets down what she was working on to grab for a pair of potholders and turn to the oven.

Out comes the tube pan and a rush of hot, sweet-scented air. The cake in the pan has risen beautifully, forming a golden-brown crust across the top where the batter was exposed to the air. Nudging the oven door shut with a foot, Makoto carries the pan to the waiting cooling rack.

Kunzite has posed:
"Neither do I." There's enough time in Mako's rush to the oven for those three syllables; then Kunzite falls silent as well in favor of radish and blade, and the rush of the cake's smell across the room.

Nothing else is said till the baking is tended to. They have their priorities firmly in order.

"The pattern I've seen repeat," he says, finally, when it's safe to talk again, "is that the conflict between the false mindset and reality causes stress to build below the visible surface. It may not start to show at all; it may show a little when it's near to breaking. When it breaks -- there's a moment in which the ..." Target? Subject? Victim? "... the affected person can't see clearly any direction to go; every path seems unacceptable. In that moment, there's a chance to pull him out. If not -- things get worse, one way or another."

He draws a breath, exhales. "But that may not be the only pattern. And Agera is very good at lying to himself."

Naru Osaka has posed:
A deep inhale lets Naru enjoy the scent of that perfectly timed retrieve from the oven, when things smell just /right/. "Is that one getting a glaze?" She asks, nodding towards it as Makoto sets it on the cooling rack. Priorities here.

Naru mmmms, almost as if she's going to say something and then shakes her head a little, and takes the radish from Kunzite's fingers before offering him the last one to be turned into a cloud.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Maybe Ami-chan could get through." Makoto's voice isn't much more than a murmur, as she picks up a skewer laid out next to the cooling rack and slides it carefully into the cake, halfway between the outer and inner walls. It comes out clean, though any satisfaction she feels is rather muted. "She feels more responsibility for him than she should already, though. He could use that against her, and swear up and down the whole time that he'd never hurt her."

Sighing, she sets the skewer back down, and looking over toward Naru she smiles a little. "Whipped cream icing," she says, with a little shake of her head. "It really doesn't need it, not on angel food, but there's something specific I want to do. If I can make it work the way I'm picturing it."

Kunzite has posed:
"Maybe. His concern for her opinion of him is still keeping him somewhat in check. Not nearly enough. But somewhat. So the question is how we can support her." Gray eyes flicker aside to Makoto. "And those he's hurt."

Back down to the Last Radish, and he lets Naru slide into the conversation. Proper cake treatments. Whipped cream icing. Art. All the things that are far better for people than the subjects he knows best.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"She probably could, but it would be pretty awful, I think." Naru comments quietly. "Or she'd have the best luck at least, which isn't quite the same." She settles her attention back on the radish. "Does it need any fussy little decorations while I'm carving things out of food? Angel food doesn't /need/ a glaze, but a light caramel sauce soaked in that squooshes out when you cut it with a fork.. that doesn't suck either."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"...you're right," Makoto acknowledges, after a moment's pause. "It's not quite the same thing. It'll probably get ugly no matter what, so we should at least try to figure out a way that doesn't put it all on her. And doesn't let her put it all on herself, either."

She doesn't sound entirely confident about the possibility.

After a beat, though, she cracks a smile again. "You're right about the caramel sauce, too. Something to keep in mind for next time. Now that you mention it, though, Naru-chan... do you have any ideas for how to do the stamens of a flower? So that they could stand up? Not cheese, probably," for a moment there's actually a flash of humor in Mako's green eyes, "but, I don't know... I might be able to do something with fondant, but it wouldn't take very much and then I'd have to figure out how to use the leftover. Marshmallows and colored sugar, maybe? Or... I wish there'd been more time to work on it, candles might've been an option but not on such short notice."

Kunzite has posed:
"Sugar paste?" Kunzite suggests. "Chocolate?" Given the birthday girl. Though perhaps not the best match with the cake. It's the girls who are competent to make that decision, though.

Definitely not cheese.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Cream cheese?" Naru offers with a grin and a wink. "Not good at standing up. Fondant was my first thought, or just little spikes of royal icing should stand, depending on how tall you want them. I think marshmallows wouldn't work on their own, but if you want big and structural, rice crispie squares not as squares works great for structural, especially with fondant over it." She gives a little waggle of her knife hand. "Fondant keeps. I have faith that you'd come up with /something/ for the left over at some point." She wrinkles her nose at Kunzite. "Not chocolate. Not with this cake."

Makoto Kino has posed:
At this, Makoto finally relaxes enough to let out a little laugh. "Chocolate would make Mamoru-niisan happy," she notes. "You're probably right, though, it seems like fondant might be the best bet. Maybe shaped around toothpicks, to help stick them into the cake and keep them standing. We'll have the pudding for niisan's chocolate addiction, anyway."

Seeming in somewhat better humor than earlier, she begins the task of separating the cake out of its pan so that it can rest upside-down on the rack to fully cool.

Kunzite has posed:
Retreat from that area of the conversation, perhaps wise. For Kunzite, at least. "Mamoru will be happy to begin with," he says instead. Given whose cake it is, and who's making it.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Around toothpicks would work well." Naru agrees as she claims the last radish and notes to her helper. "You are free of playing radish stand, thank you." She considers her own little scene of penguins and a sunny day, with a little bunny just peeking around a tree. "I'm not sure I've ever made pudding from scratch." She notes thoughtfully. "It's harder to cut shapes out of."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"You say that," Mako notes wryly in Kunzite's direction, "but for a little while I was thinking of trying to make a Silver Crystal out of sugar candy. Then I realized what a terrible idea that was. Mamoru-niisan and Rei-chan probably both would've tried to strangle me." This time her laughter is a sighing sort of sound, before she looks to Naru. "I think it'll be good. There's just only so many things you can do with that many egg yolks."

The yolks in question have been sealed up in plastic and stored in the fridge, awaiting conversion into chocolate pudding. With the cake set out to cool, Makoto goes back to the almost-finished bowl of batter she's been working on.

Kunzite has posed:
"In his defense," Kunzite observes back to Makoto, "Mamoru is still too glad you're all right to try to strangle you much. Which would admittedly just clear the way." Of those two, Rei is definitely the one to be more concerned about in the first place. He avoids glancing over his shoulder to see whether she's suddenly manifested to hear that, and goes to wash radish off his hands instead. In a kitchen primarily oriented on delicate sweet flavors right now, one can't be too careful.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"That sounds SO COOL!" Naru exclaims at the idea of a sugar candy silver crystal, her eyes bright and delighted at the idea. "Molded? It would have to be, although molten sugar is crazy hot." Naru oohs softly as she considers the possibilities. "Chocolate's easier, but so much less amazing. Build up in layers? That might work."

The cheese bits from cutting out penguins are hiding in a bowl and Naru washes her own hands as well before starting to use her fingers to crumble the cheese into smaller bits. "I .. don't know Rei very well. Not like.. socially."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I didn't really get as far as planning it through," Mako admits, as she finishes mixing up the batter. Kunzite's remark gets a brief, faintly grateful look, though she doesn't say anything about it in particular, just goes on talking about candy gems. "It'd definitely have to be molded, and I'd have to get a mold in the right shape... I think I could do it, I'm just not sure it'd be a good idea, considering."

She carries the bowl of batter to the waiting loaf pans, begins carefully portioning it out. "To tell the truth, I can't make up my mind if this whole cake idea is a good one or a bad one. I just felt like it was something I should do. Hopefully it'll come across right."

Brief pause for contemplation, as she guides the batter into a pan with careful application of the spatula. "Rei-chan can be a bit difficult to get to know," she acknowledges, "especially since the shrine keeps her busy so much of the time. She's a good friend, though. It'd be nice if you could get to know her better, now that we don't have to keep trying to hide things from you about what's going on."

Kunzite has posed:
"If it's a bad idea, the evidence will be destroyed in short order." Kunzite steps back out of the way, keeping clear of the girls for a few moments; he'll retrieve the bowl only when it's emptied of batter. Rei's not a topic he can offer commentary on. He's met her socially all of once, spent quite a while unaware of who else she was, and ... somehow, he suspects that 'she was the only one of the senshi who made us more nervous in her civilian identity than when she was lobbing magical attacks' might perhaps not be useful to the conversation just now.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I wonder if I can build moulds." Naru muses thoughtfully, and one can practically envision the googling that is likely to happen later. "I mean, they can't be /that/ hard to make, right?" She hunhs softly and then moves over to find more savoury bits, spices and cream cheese to make into a cheeseball iceburg for penguins to play on.

"Would she welcome me visiting the shrine, or is that weird?" Naru asks as she closes the fridge again, making sure not to bump Makoto as she pours batter. "No hiding, well.. less hiding.. but a whole lot of stupid questions."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Naru's wondering has Makoto looking thoughtful as well. "I don't know," she says. "About making a mold, I mean - I've never thought about that. The material would have to be food-safe, and stand up to heat... Hmm."

Carefully, she scrapes the last bits of batter out of the mixing bowl, regards the pans to make sure they're roughly equally-filled. "I don't think it'd be weird at all for you to visit the shrine," she adds as she looks up. "It's not like you'd be doing anything disrespectful. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm sure the internet will have something." Naru grins at the idea, delighted by a silly quest to make weird food moulds. It could work! Or it could be a glorious creative mess.

Naru retrieves a spatula of her own to fold cheese into cheese with spices and get it smoother than her fingers might. "I suppose I just didn't want it to be like visiting someone who is supposed to be focusing on other things, and its awkward when someone turns up socially. I should, perhaps. I'll try and find a good time to go" She nods, making that decision.

Naru is quiet a moment and then notes. "I'm glad you're alright, I'm sorry I couldn't help do anything about it."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Usagi-chan and the rest of us go over there pretty often," Mako assures. "It's fine. Oh, and don't let Grandpa Hino put you off, either - he's a bit of a lech, but he's harmless, really. Rei-chan keeps him in line."

Mako is quiet herself for a little, busy moving the loaded loaf pans into the oven and setting the timer. Finally, with everything set, she turns and leans back against the warm oven, hands behind her. "...It's all right," she says, quietly. "You're helping now, you know. Having company helps."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Unless he's a demon, I should be alright. I don't seem to have much luck with demons." Naru doesn't even sound as if she's joking, which is probably disconcertingly accurate. She moves over to get a spoon to start mounding up cheese to make a slope for penguins on the plate.

"I am pretty good at company." Naru smiles a little. "Not much else, but I can manage company. And dishes, although I think Kunzite is keeping both of us clear of dishes."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"He's definitely not a demon," Makoto laughs. "He's just a dirty old man. You'll be totally safe."

She glances over towards Kunzite, who is currently doing a very convincing impression of someone who can't hear them talking about him while he washes the bowl and utensils she was using shortly before. "It does look that way," she agrees, smile turning affectionate. "I suppose I should see about making up that fondant... it's too soon to make the whipped cream frosting, I don't want to have to leave that sitting long. Let's see... Ugh, I really wish I'd had more time to plan this. Maybe a marshmallow fondant. Do we have marshmallows?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Unless you bought some today, I will go and get marshmallows. Anything sweet and edible .. really anything edible.. got inhaled at some point before the asteroid fight before and during the degradation into take out." Naru does go up on tip toes and then just surrenders and climbs on the counter to be able to peer into a top cupboard and confirm the lack of marshmallows.

There are some hazards in only being 5'1".

"There's some dried soy beans up here." Naru comments. "And an unlabelled can that could be anything from peas to peaches to soup."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto just sighs. "They ate them straight out of the bag, didn't they," she says with the resignation of one who would like to pretend it's not a rhetorical question, but knows that she already knows the answer. "Mamoru-niisan does that with chocolate chips. At least he usually buys a replacement bag when he goes through one."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I didn't witness anyone eating them straight out of the bag." Naru laughs and hops down easily enough, closing the cupboard upon that lonely can and the bag of beans. "But when I came over to cook because I figured even if I couldn't do anything else, I could at least feed people here, the fridge was take out and condiments and I didn't even pretend anyone had been grocery shopping. They were a smidge distracted."

Naru puts her penguin scene into the fridge and then nods. "So what else am I getting at the store?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I guess they were," Mako says ruefully. "Thanks for making sure to feed them. Let's see..." A quick check of the ingredients she brought over ensues. "I think we're mostly good, but maybe another package of powdered sugar? I don't want to come up short. Oh, and I didn't bring any food coloring... although I hate to have you get a whole thing of yellow just for this when I've got some at home. Drat." She frowns in a burst of serious thought. "I wonder if it would be more inconvenient to give you my apartment key and have you pick it up from there... ugh, and we can't both go while there's cake in the oven."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"You should write up a guide to the care and feeding of the Shitennou." Naru giggles softly, teasing as she nods about the need for more powdered sugar. "I can stop by your apartment if you dont mind me doing so. I don't mind going." She offers and moves over to wash her hands again. "I want the cheese-burg to set up anyhow, it's warm enough in here that it's a bit goopy, and I think more crackers would go well with it. So yellow from your place, powdered sugar, marshmallows and anything I want." She nods and then grins. "Text me if you think of something else."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Right? I swear it's like we can't leave these guys alone for more than a couple days." With a faintly relieved look coming voer her face, Makoto moves to fish out her key and hand it over to Naru.

"Thanks, Naru-chan," she says again. "I will. The food colors should be in the cabinet to the left side of the oven - let me know if you have any trouble finding them, okay?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Will do." Naru nods with a smile as she takes the keys and then a quick offered hug, easily dodged should Makoto not wish to be all touchy feeley. "Back in a flash. Possibly a couple, depending on lines at the store." She waves and heads off, snagging her satchel as she does.

Kunzite has posed:
"We did get behind on errands toward the end," Kunzite notes, matter-of-fact. "And since then, well. Even after coming back, we had another focus." First recovery. Then the dance. Then recovery from the dance. And yet, somehow, the kitchen still looked in reasonable shape when Makoto saw it again. As if someone had been keeping on top of the dishes.

For some reason.

All of which reminds him. There are things that they can talk about in front of Naru. And then there are things that are awkward for reasons that have nothing, or little, to do with magic.

"I didn't have the chance to tell you the other night," he says. "Though I'm sure Nephrite took care of it. You looked beautiful."

Makoto Kino has posed:
It is with a somewhat sheepish smile that Mako looks toward Kunzite, nods. "It couldn't be helped," she says, "with so much going on. Especially once Nephrite was hurt, too. We'll get everything back in proper order."

She is idly beginning to putter her way through assembling the things she will need for fondant, in preparation for Naru coming back with marshmallows and powdered sugar and food coloring - butter set out to soften, measuring cups and spoons. When Kunzite speaks up again, though, it's unexpected enough to bring her to a complete stop, head coming up to blink at him in wide-eyed surprise. It takes her a moment to find a response.

"...he did," Mako manages at last, turning an interesting shade of pink. "Thank you, though." Some things, she just does not expect to hear out of Kunzite.

(Or any guy, really. But especially not Kunzite.)

"I feel like I should apologize for not seeing you there," she adds a moment later, after re-collecting her thoughts. "I was a bit caught up, I guess."

Kunzite has posed:
"Not a surprise. I spent most of the time outside, one way or another." Talking with Kyouko and Sakura on a rooftop. Watching Mamoru attempt to delete the internet. "Besides. Nephrite arrived before I did."

And if Nephrite hadn't been making Makoto his first priority, under the circumstances ... one could say there would have been a line of people ready to explain to him why that was a bad plan, possibly with fists; but it's more likely that they would have been checking him for having been replaced.

"It seems to me that getting your life back in proper order should be a higher priority than this place, though. If there's anything we can do to help." The half-sentence doesn't trail off the way it might in anyone else's hands. It's just there, blunt, calm. Not as if nothing had happened. Only as if, in the balance of things, they were the ones who owed her.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto does not respond to this right away. She spends a small amount of time busying herself with rearranging the assembled implements on the counter, cleaning up a small amount of spilled flour.

"It's easier to focus on the problems I know how to fix," she admits eventually. "Keeping you guys fed is no problem. The other things, like Agera and all the stuff the other me said... I don't know what to do about that."

Kunzite has posed:
There are always tasks. There's the drying rack, for instance; there are things from earlier in the baking, that can now be put away safely. Things to rearrange in those higher cabinets, so that Naru doesn't wind up climbing on the counters again.

"Agera," Kunzite says, when Makoto speaks again, "is a long-term problem. The things that thing said are a problem to the extent they upset you. Doubts, hurts -- everyone has them. If they trouble you, then say something, and we'll see if we can settle them."

He considers a knife for a moment, decides against using any imagined dullness as an excuse to keep his hands busy, puts it back in its place. "I'm more interested in what it did. And what it didn't do. For all that it said -- when it was faced with one of its targets, it didn't move to hurt her. It gathered itself to try to target Mamoru ... but it never made the attack. It lashed out in words. It lost control of its energy; but it didn't attack with intent until he attuned it to himself instead of you.

"He made a parody of you. Drowned it in dark energy. Let it fester for two weeks, driving itself into a frenzy. Did everything he could to try to break it. And even with all of that -- what little it had of you was still strong enough to hold the darkness back."

He turns to look at her, whether or not she's looking at him. "That says much more about you than anything it said out loud."

Naru Osaka has posed:
It's an advantage of living in an apartment with a concierge that there's warning when someone who had been sent out to go shopping and food colouring fetching is returning. With grocery bags even!

Makoto Kino has posed:
She does look at him, although not for very long, and a small and fleeting smile passes across her face for a moment. "That's something," Makoto murmurs, looking down at the countertop in front of her again.

"It could have been worse, after all. It could have been me he filled up with dark energy and turned loose, instead of a copy. You all would've brought me back - Usagi-chan, Nephrite, and everyone. But it still would've been worse." Mako draws in a breath, finds it in her to look over to Kunzite again. "It's not like words don't hurt anything, though."

She hesitates a little, seems to be trying to pull some of her thoughts together. "One of the things the other me said... I realized, it was something I'd been trying not to think about. I'll need to talk to you about that, sometime."

She's forestalled from saying more just then by the concierge's call up to let the residents know of Naru's return. "Not right now, though." Mako cracks a lopsided smile, before she goes to open the door for Naru just in case her hands are full with shopping. "I still don't really want to think about it, for a little longer."

Kunzite has posed:
That it would have been worse -- for all of them -- is not disputed. Not by him. Not ever. But the rest ...

"Whenever you're ready." That simple -- not the problem itself, but that when the time comes, she will be the priority. And then, the matter set aside for the moment, Kunzite stands ready to help relieve Naru of any necessary grocery burden. Tiniest baker somehow wound up carrying All The Things.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Little cook, and the one without superhuman strength or stamina. Naru does, indeed, have All The Things. She had a look in those cupboards, and decided to do a bit of stocking up, at least with some boring basics such that people at all hours of day and night can find snacks. And food. And nibbles. And powdered sugar and crackers and marshmallows and All the Things.

Even yellow food colouring.

"I may have gone a bit overboard, but a bag of soy beans was just sad." Naru comments with a smile and she steps through the door that Makoto is holding. She looks between the two of them. "Am I inturrupting? Should I have taken longer?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
The assurance from Kunzite gets a brief nod of thanks from Mako - that's all, for the time being. "Nope," she tells Naru brightly as she moves to take a grocery bag. "Your timing is just fine. Sorry to have made you run the errand all by yourself."

Kunzite has posed:
Naru is in general relieved of edibles -- and yellow food colouring -- and Kunzite embarks on the great project of the Putting Away. Yes, he still remembers where Makoto prefers to have things arranged. "Nothing to interrupt." At least he doesn't assure Naru explicitly that they aren't carrying on some torrid affair behind Nephrite's back. He does learn. If slowly. Ami's reactions are sometimes an excellent teacher. Safer topic: "I trust you kept receipts." Because if she didn't, Mamoru may attempt to ambush her with attempts at reimbursement, and that manages to get even more awkward.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"You looked like you could use a moment." Naru comments with a gentle smile for Makoto on the topic of why, exactly, Naru was calmly willing to go alone. Not that she isn't generally fairly confident working solo anyhow.

"Receipts?" Naru turns to Kunzite at that question and blinks. "Uh. In the bags? I guess?" She clearly didn't think about that as she offers Makoto back her keys.

There is, of course, instant noodles.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I suppose I did," Mako allows, her smile turning a little bit self-deprecating. "That was kind of you. But it's all good now. Time for--"

Time for the oven timer to go off, apparently. Laughing and shaking her head, Makoto goes for the potholders.

Kunzite has posed:
The instant noodles warrant a pause, and a glance back at Naru with eyebrows raised and a packet in hand. Then they are neatly stacked in the place ordained for them. Whether that glance indicated some commentary on Jadeite's or Nephrite's eating habits when not sufficiently watched -- or, in the latter case, not willing to fling himself out to a certain restaurant or crepe stand -- or whether it indicated something more ominous? Well. That Naru will just have to find out.

Maybe she'd better hope the receipts are indeed in the bag.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There is just a serene little smile from Naru to Kunzite at the raised brow at the packet of noodles. "Do you want me to try colouring the fondant, Makoto? Is that the next step for the cake, to get some of the fussy bits done?" She takes a quiet breath, let out in a careful little sigh.

"Is Frost Knight actually a real thing or is it a made up thing?" Naru asks, apparently /entirely/ out of nowhere.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Fussy bits while the cake cools," Makoto agrees, moving the loaf pans to the cooling rack in a cloud of hot sugar-scented air. "Then trimming the cake into shape, and then I can make the icing and get it decorated. Also pudding, somewhere in there." Someone else might say that in a tone implying some degree of 'God, what have I let myself in for,' but Makoto sounds energized.

She does pause and blink for a moment at the following question. "--Actually," she says after a moment of thought, "I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

Kunzite has posed:
"Both," Kunzite supplies. Presumably he does not mean 'Makoto can both simultaneously decorate the cake and make the pudding.' "Frost Knight was what Takashi Agera called himself when he was fighting alongside the Senshi and others. He displayed a different set of powers at the time, and he took genuine risks on behalf of people he didn't particularly personally like. So it was both a fictional identity, in that it hid his actual self and powers and corruption, and a real one."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Er." Naru has the grace to look a touch sheepish as she has to admit to why she asked. "On the internet. There was this fan fic.. and well.." She starts to answer Makoto and then turns to blink at Kunzite and hunhs softly. "Takashi? Well then. That's interesting, and kinda weird and creepy." She gives a little shrug and then turns back to cake decorating.

"When you're getting the cake iced, I can do the pudding." Naru offers, holding faith in her ability to follow a recipe. Hopefully.

Makoto Kino has posed:
The startled laugh that escapes Makoto is almost a yelp. "Wait," she says, "someone wrote a Frost Knight fanfic? That's... kind of bizarre."

She leans against the counter for a moment, contemplating this for a brief interval before she shakes her head and goes back to extricating loaves of angel food cake from the pans to properly cool. "--it would be great if you could handle the pudding," she adds presently. "It should be pretty simple, although there'll be a lot of it. We can go in batches, like the cake."

Kunzite has posed:
Frost Knight ... fanfic. Saying anything about this at all would require admitting to knowing that fanfic exists. Either Kunzite doesn't know in the first place, or he's refusing to allow it to be part of his world; he doesn't say anything, he doesn't ask. That can be just between the girls, there.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It's kinda bizarre." Naru agrees with a soft giggle. "And about 90 million times more so knowing it's Takashi. I'm going to have to go read it again now."

Naru is still giggling as she starts to gather up the items she'll need for the pudding. "I think it should work alright in the big pan." She reaches for the recipe to read it more closely now that she's the one who is going to be stirring. And stirring. And stirring. And stirring. "Mmmm. Maybe two batches. Just in case."