Saturday, midday. It's overcast and chilly-- thankfully, Mamoru's not wearing The Ugly Hoodie, he's just got on a leather jacket over skinny jeans and a vintage t-shirt and button-down. His shoes, of course, cost about as much as a decent telescope, but look fairly unremarkable. He's sitting on the low wall across the street from the gates to Seishou Public with his tablet, and he adjusts his glasses as he reads off the screen in English. "'No less than a king's command and a king's army could put me out of my bothy tonight. And I should be obliged to you, were you to tell who it is that wants me to open my bothy door.' 'It is I, Connachar, King of Ulster.'"
He glances sidelong at Kazuo, lips pursed. "I guess setting up dramatic irony by making really explicit conditions that happen to reflect what's about to occur is a thing in fairytales. I already don't want to read this, though."
Jeans and button-downs appear to be a Thing today. Kazuo is not visibly affected by the chill, but that's the opposite of a surprise. He's half-leaned against the low wall, not even properly sitting on it, arms absently folded. "I suppose," he says, "you've already considered the possibility of just not reading it." That's considered for a moment; he amends shortly after, "Or the possibility of making a certain classmate of yours read it for you. Though that might be worse. Tragic romance that ends in the deaths of all concerned? You'd hear more about it from him than if you suffered through reading it yourself in the first place."
And up the path in front of Mamoru and Kazuo comes a third tall bishonen - Takashi Agera. He's not wearing a t-shirt, but a dark blue collared button down - and slacks instead of jeans. It's questionable if Takashi even owns jeans. On the bright side, it's not his school uniform, for once.
There's a black box tucked under his left arm, and eyes looking from behind his glasses find Mamoru and Kazuo. Which means that instead of waiting on the wall - almost right where Mamoru is - like he'd planned, instead he leans up against the wall, a healthy distance away from Kazuo and Mamoru, but not entirely out of earshot. He doesn't -say- anything, but he does regard Kazuo - or Kunzite - with a degree of curiosity he's not doing great at hiding.
"I'm not having anyone else do my assignments for me," Mamoru tells Kazuo indignantly, shoving at his arm. "Especially him. Or the other two! God. What kind of masochist do you think I am?" He shuts off the tablet, grimacing, then reaches back behind him for his satchel to put the thing away. "There were so many others she could have picked. Also, what the hell, when did you have time to read that? What even..."
He trails off mid-rant, because lo, he has spotted Takashi.
Awkward.
Funnily enough, absolutely no one here knows exactly how awkward, though all of them have different pieces of it.
But. He told Ami... well, Mamoru doesn't quite remember what he told Ami, but he's got the impression he gave the impression he'd try to be civil with the guy. 'Civil' in this case is likely best served by ignoring Takashi's presence, but there's also the 'owes him for lethal tanking' aspect, and the prince shifts uncomfortably.
'Take a picture, it'll last longer' is what he does NOT say.
"Yo," is what he DOES say, and it's with a decent attempt at sociable friendliness.
Indignation and shoving are accepted with equanimity, or possibly just as Kazuo's due. "I didn't have to read it. It involves Ireland and a woman. The outcome is already inevitable." Words cover the trailing off, picked up and threaded through to make the moment a little more natural than the awkward drop it is. Only a little.
It's only partway through that his glance follows Mamoru's -- time between to check for any immediate threats that might be primed to take advantage of the distraction -- and then he sees Takashi.
Mamoru's greeting is more verbose. But the white-haired boy's nod in Takashi's direction is deeper than it would be for form's sake.
The 'Yo' requires a response, right? It's an interaction. It'd be rude to ignore it. Takashi knows social mores, and emulates them all the time. It's just usually, there's not a lot of baggage associated. No strange relationship ties requiring him to act one way or another. No history around the end of the world.
So there's an awkward pause, before Takashi looks away from Kunzite's strange not-dark-energy-anymore form, and up to Mamoru. "Afternoon." Not 'hello' or 'how are you' or even 'good afternoon' - just a decidedly neutral greeting. It's progress, though. "Waiting for someone, too?"
Mamoru gives Kazuo a Look that implies that 'involves Ireland and a woman = tragedy' is going to be researched because it sounds too impossible to actually be true. But Takashi actually adds something to the greeting that isn't just the equally neutral acknowledgement of presence, and the third-year blinks.
And gets an absurdly fond expression on his face, which has the possibly unnerving side-effect of transforming his features into the opposite of jerk. With a little half-smile and a tilt of his head, he answers, "Yeah, my girlfriend. Usagi-- you must have met her, she's good friends with Ami." Then he laughs, but there's nothing mean or disparaging in it. "We'll probably be waiting longer, though."
it says something about Takashi's life that the human body -- okay, the more-or-less human body instantiated by way of forgotten magic and dreams, but the result is effectively human -- is the strange one. Which implies that the inhuman corrupting construct created with fragments of stolen lives is normal.
It says something about Kazuo's life that, if he were aware of that, he'd get where Takashi was coming from.
As it is, though, he endures the look the same way as the shove. There's a fraction more of a reaction on his features when Mamoru's own expression changes. The difference is that the hint that Kazuo gives is more toward 'resigned, amused tolerance' than anything else. "What is it, about an hour, usually?" he asks absently of Mamoru. Till Usagi is through falling asleep in detention for falling asleep in class. Unless she just fell asleep, in which case it'll be more like fifteen minutes and a Naru.
"Yeah, I've met Usagi." Takashi responds, after another measured moment. It's these odd pauses in conversation that in large part make it feel so odd - because Takashi is watching himself, tamping down default responses, and trying to keep himself from doing anything he'll regret. Or, more accurately, doing anything he'll regret dealing with Ami-centric consequences of.
"She's... very energetic. We met at the crown. Bought her a milkshake. Don't worry, though, I didn't try to dance with her." he says, letting something out regardless of the patience.
"Ami's in chess club right now, I believe." he adds to Kazuo. "Sometimes they get out early, so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss her."
This time the look Kazuo gets from Mamoru is more amused than anything else, but still suffused with muted affection. "About that," he agrees. "She might just have classroom cleanup today, though. It's possible."
Despite Takashi's awkward pauses, the black-haired upperclassman seems to be warming up to him, getting less wary with everything he says. It could be the topic of conversation, it could be the things Ami's said about Takashi-- he can understand not really Getting social behavior; his best friend suffers the same malady, and the only reason Mamoru doesn't is because of Princess Serenity. Literally. It could be optimism. Too many unknown variables, but Takashi's careful introduction of an known independent variable does seem to be having favorable results.
See: Mamoru actually laughing out loud at Takashi's dig. He lifts his hands, conceding. "Touche. In retrospect, I am sorry about that, by the way. There were better ways I could have dealt with the situation-- not keeping my nose out, unfortunately; Homura's one of my oldest friends. But I definitely could have avoided being a dick about it."
Very energetic. There's a sharp glint in Kazuo's eye, one that's alas not connected to any of the more usual signs of amusement; but his mutter of, "Apt description," might be a sufficient clue.
Chess club receives a little more animation: lifted eyebrows. "I didn't know she enjoyed teaching," he says. It being self-evident that she's not likely to find any actual competition, there. "Though in retrospect, it shouldn't be a surprise."
Many things should not be a surprise. Like Mamoru having still more past melodrama over dances than Kunzite actually knew about. It's probably a good thing that the other boy's looking at Takashi, because if he's actually laughing already, the particular flavor of Kunzite's nonexpression might set him off for quite a while.
Takashi's face softens - though that just means softer, it doesn't on any level imply a lack of sterness. "It took you a long time to apologize. I accept it - but I haven't forgotten it." he adds, crossing his arms. "I've come to expect that sort of thing from you - being a dick. And that doesn't even include Clover Tower." he adds.
"So from my point of view you've gone out of your way to act like a jerk towards me while I was with girls - neither of whom I was even dating at the time- twice. The apology only matters if the behavior stops."
To Kunzite, he opens his mouth and then something else he was going to say is quashed. "She's an excellent teacher." he says, instead. "She certainly has more patience for it than I do, in any case." He's not sure what to feel about Kunzite, but he does decide to put a little pin on an important point. "I'm glad to see her plan went well for you - it's always nice when I can provide help to her."
Mamoru shrugs a shoulder carelessly. "Clover Tower, I'm not responsible for. I'm sorry you got hurt, but that's not the same thing as an apology." It's really lucky he's not looking at Kunzite, actually. It lets him be actually serious for the parts he needs to be. He takes his glasses off and hangs them over the neck of his t-shirt, then leans forward a little with his arms braced on the edge of the wall, still looking more or less around Kunzite, but engaging more.
"I don't have any special interest in being a dick to you unless you hurt Ami, and then I suspect I'll have to get in line," he says matter-of-factly. "I'll make allowances, as I've been doing whenever I hear about you from anyone, for the fact that you're at least as much of a dick as I am-- since she already knows that. And for the record, I did tell her you died saving my life. And that you liked her."
The conversation is, for a moment, split right down the middle: Mamoru discussing one branch with Takashi, Kazuo fielding the other. "Rare enough to find anyone capable of being a help to her," he acknowledges, while also evading making any comment one way or another on something he simply does not know the facts of. "Speaking of which. Thank you for protecting her from me."
That his expression continues not to vary is, at the least, confirmation that he's still unaware of the sheer amount of recursion in that twisting and braided sequence of events.
Takashi's eyes narrow. "Not responsible?" he asks, and for a moment his face shows that incredulousness. It fades after a moment. "I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt because I've reason believe that you're not used to dark energy and that it wasn't your choice to take it. So I suppose..." there's a big breath "it'd be like holding someone's actions against them if they were drugged against their will. But... I'm sure there was some part of you it latched onto. The same part of you that decided to make an ass out of yourself at the dance. That part of you appeared to dislike me personally. And I take exception to that. But if that part's gone, I'll drop the rest."
"And I'll have you understand..." and Takashi gets quite, quite serious here "...that nobody will hurt Ami, and especially not me. I won't allow it. If I wasn't sure I posed no threat to her, I wouldn't be here waiting for her today- I assure you of that." How much of that is truth, bluster, and lies may be unknown even to its speaker.
And that leads into his talk with Kunzite nicely. "I would protect her from anyone or anything that wished her harm. I might not have known it as keenly then as I do now, but it's the truth." he says, but also uncrossing his arms. "It happened to be somewhere I had expertise, and it was important to her. Assissting was easy and required." he adds. And despite his opinion, or just curiosity, of Kunzite's new circumstances, he's glad Ami succeeded, because it was such a concern of hers. "As long as protecting her from you doesn't become habitual."
"It was entirely like being drugged against my will. Among other things," says Mamoru easily, waving a hand. There's something forced about it, though it's hidden almost well enough to be imperceptible. "Obviously something in me remembered how much I dislike you, but hell if I recognised anyone, or even knew who I was." The forced ease turns into something slightly more smilingly pointed. "I'm sure you're well aware that Kunzite was literally made of Dark Energy at the time. We both have an allergy to it, rather like yours to my power, or Moon's-- and if p, then q; you must remember how they affected you. You don't have to worry about any harm coming to her from anyone close to me."
Someone like Kazuo can obviously take care of himself. It's possibly a little odd how much fierceness Mamoru just had to suppress in his jumping to the protection of the taller boy-- or that he felt the need to protect him in the first place. There's not so much dickishness there as clannishness, though, and likewise, there's not so much arrogance as magnanimity in what he finishes with. "And honestly, as far as the dislike goes, I'm open to the possibility of changing my mind. You've proven you can be decent. You're a jerk, but that's not something I can hold against you; it would be hypocritical. I suspect the instant dislike stems from the aforementioned allergy I have."
Someone like Mamoru can also take care of himself. Confirmation that Beryl interfered with his mind is unnecessary, potentially counterproductive, and possibly liable to inspire later trouble if Takashi's own problem ever advances far enough. Kazuo keeps his silence on that front.
"More to the point," he says instead, "I suspect Ami wouldn't allow it." There's an actual twitch upward at the corner of his mouth. He's all too well aware of how terrifying the girl is when she's had even a few seconds to prepare -- and she's had weeks to generate contingency plans, here. "But your willingness to lessen her workload is appreciated. And shared, if for less personal reasons than your own, and a different focus."
A shake of his head, after. "There shouldn't be a recurrence. We've dealt with both the external cause, and the vulnerability that was exploited. It can never be guaranteed, of course. But we've done what we can."
At least one of those instances of 'we' included Takashi. Kazuo didn't blink at it.
Maybe it's the experience with dark energy. Or maybe hanging around with Mamoru -- or himself -- has just habituated him to jerks.
Takashi nods, though an eyebrow raises just a moment at the way he can tell something is off with the way Mamoru talks about it. And, oddly, he doesn't dig into it. "I'm sure there's something more than just personality traits which causes us to react to each other in... interesting ways." he admits. "And I was made aware of that, yes. Sometimes it's... easy to forget other people don't pick up on it the way I do."
"Given the way in which you both... lost yourselves?" he says, asking questioningly as if unsure that's the right term for it. "...I honestly consider that many people are one bad situation, bad moment, bad energy surge from posing a threat to me. Or her." he says, but there's not a lot of malice in the statement, just a strange, perhaps uncaring, calculation. "I can only trust myself."
"I... deal with a lot of jerks. If I refused to tolerate any jerks... I would find myself quite limited. I've also been asked to tolerate you, so I will. And... alergies could be dealt with, perhaps."
And the conversation continues, pointed at Kunzite, he says as he steps closer to the two - maybe a sign, or maybe he just needed to move. "By no means did I mean to insinuate that I do not believe she could resolve a great majority of problems by herself." he says - and it's clear this is a thing he respects about her. "But everyone benefits from a second set of eyes."
"I can't speak to having you precise experiences, and, as I said, it's my nature to treat everyone with a degree of suspicion. It seems as though it might be warranted, based on the past. And, at the least, it mirrors how people seem to treat me." A treatment he's bitter about, despite also knowing better than they do how warranted it might be.
"If it becomes a concern again, you should speak with me - through Ami if you need to for comfort. I have a little bit more experience handling that sort of thing in... controlled conditions, rather than surprise occurances. It comes in handy, especially with the way things seem to be happening at times."
"Could be," Mamoru allows, regarding the theory that every city is three days without power away from turning to riots and cannibalism. He doesn't seem to take offense to the idea, anyway. The 'could be', in fact, is also likely applicable to the 'allergies can be dealt with'; there's an overwhelming neutrality there. As Takashi talks with Kunzite some, the black-haired boy kicks his feet idly against the wall, picking up the toes of his shoes so they don't drag against the concrete sidewalk. He watches as Takashi moves closer.
At the very end, he slides off the wall and edges his satchel closer, so as to avoid forgetting it when it's time to go-- but the motion seems to be more aimed toward putting him in range of a hand on Kazuo's shoulder than anything related to leaving. "I will. Though I'll likely ask Ami to be there to translate," he says somewhat wryly, "instead of for comfort. If there's any hint of that also being for insurance, well-- I've been sold out by people I trusted implicitly, so I tend to share at least a base level of that suspicion. But-- I do consider it something of a miracle we've kept civil for this long, despite our instructions to tolerate each other. So-- if I'm in some sort of distress -- be it anaphylactic shock or dismay at Kazuo being in it -- it would be reasonable to have Ami present to enforce a code of conduct."
Lost themselves. 'Were taken' would be a better phrase. But that's a detail that doesn't need to be clarified. "I could assure you that it took considerably more than one bad moment," Kazuo says, crossing over into Takashi's conversation with Mamoru for a moment. "But that would be pointless twice over; the next person to change might not. We watch for situations that might degenerate, and keep a lookout for each other. A second set of eyes, precisely; or a fourth, or a fifth. It's the best we can do."
And that is as close as Kazuo is about to come to pointing out that Takashi just said himself that he can only trust himself -- and that everyone needs someone to check their work.
Mamoru's 'I will' is echoed by a nod from Kazuo, in turn. But only a nod, no words, and his expression shades toward the thoughtful. Mamoru's assuming that 'that sort of thing' refers to the allergy problems. It's a useful assumption. Is it possible that Takashi might instead be referring to that external cause?
That would be an interesting conversation.
But it's far more likely to be Ami who gets to have the first round of it, because 'pardon me, are you merely referring to run-of-the-mill dark energy problems, or are you referring to world-devouring demons and/or the more mind-control-oriented denizens of the Dusk Zone?' is not a question that he's about to ask at this juncture. Or, likely, anytime in the next several months. Possibly years.
Takashi shrugs a bit. "Fair enough. You're not entirely familiar with me, and I understand offering assistance is a bit different from a lot of the way that we've interacted." he says, hands keeping from being idle by shifting the box from one hand to another. "But I have no problem with Ami being there." That would be an understatement of the years. "If there's a circumstance which requires my attention. I think we'd both agree that wouldn't be the ideal situation anyways."
The idea that someone should maybe provide the overlook for Takashi that he's spoken of goes right over his head - he's still coming around to the idea he might benefit from having Ami look over his work. Much less, anything MORE than that. "The whole business is terribly interesting - at least as interesting as it is concerning for other reasons. I'm glad... at least one major issue has been resolved. And for that, at least, you do all have my thanks. I have incredibly vested interests in keeping everything... in one piece."
"And if something like that was to come again, I think we'd still continue to see each other on the same side." As long as Takashi wasn't the source of the threat, anyways. "So a level of cordiality is somewhat useful."
"Believe me," Mamoru says with no small amount of irony, "I have an incredibly vested interest as well." He smiles, quick and insouciant, and lets his hand drop from Kazuo's shoulder. "And I'd hope we're actually on the same side regardless, despite our conflicts of personality."
The hand that'd been on Kazuo's shoulder makes an abortive movement, then lifts after all, offered as a sign of armistice. "I won't be a dick to you, and you won't be a dick to me, and we can make an effort to get along in front of Ami and work together if we have to. Workable summary?"
He glances past Takashi, toward the gates. "Also, I see them coming out."
Takashi has a whole series of conflicts, concerns, worries, and outright lack of trust in being able to hold true to this agreement in any way. Of not just Mamoru, but of himself - maybe, in fact moreso towards himself. But... Takashi has a long list of opponents, and maybe one less is a good trade. Even if he's not sure it can be a fair trade. Well, this also didn't mean Mamoru wouldn't show up to fight Riventon, so it is... maybe a more fair trade than Mamoru knows.
All of this thinking delays Takashi's response for a moment, and he's curiously looking at him. "That sounds good to me." he says, and meets Mamoru's hand with his. "I'll do you one better, I'll try to get along with you even when Ami's away." he says, with a smile. "It can't hurt, right?"