One thing that Kyouko Sakura is always alert for is an ambush.
Admittedly, ambushes don't usually take the form of white-haired boys waiting in plain view outside her apartment after one of her shifts at the conbenie. And they definitely don't usually use insulated bags of takeout curry as a weapon.
Much less two of them, because Kunzite knows how the Sakura sisters eat.
Granted, it's not that effective a weapon. Puella are probably immune to heart disease anyway.
It's fair to say that, given recent events and threats made, Kyouko is even more alert for an ambush than usual these days.
That does not make coming home to find Kunzite waiting outside of her door to be any less of a shock. Seeing him at Mamoru's place is run-of-the-mill. Hardly anybody ever visits her here, outside of occasionally Sayaka.
She actually pauses when she comes up the stairs of the apartment building and sees him outside of her room, her eyes blinking a few times before her brows draw together. Hurrying her pace down the hallway, she looks up at the taller figure. "Nii-chan.. what's wrong? Did something happen?"
There's a real tone of worry in her voice. She jumps to the conclusion that the only reason Kunzite would come to see her is if something awful had occured.
There's a slow, level blink given in Kyouko's direction at the question and the hurrying. "No crises," Kunzite tells her. "I wanted to make certain those burns were healing up all right, that's all."
Any excuses regarding making certain the fridge is full and the rent is paid can be blithely ignored. Some things one can only get away with if it's not done so often as to call attention to itself.
Kyouko gives Kunzite a rather weird look. This is clearly out of the ordinary and she doesn't buy his excuse about wanting to make sure she's healing alright- she's been hurt worse than this before and hasn't gotten a visit, although she doesn't think this is because he's uncaring; rather it fits with this generally pragmatic attitude, which she appreciates. She's not the type to want people fussing over her.
That said, she doesn't protest further right now.. simply giving that look, then turning to unlock the door. "Um.. alright. Well, c'mon in." Is her response as she steps inside the apartment.
Kyouko's apartment is, as ever, tiny, consisting of just a single living room/kitchen area and a closet-sized bedroom. Although it's never been a total mess, it's actually quite neat now- Momo's handiwork, one suspects, even to the fact that the furniture, mostly old, worn, and obviously second-hand but generally intact, looks freshly dusted.
A portion of the room in the living room area has been cordoned off by strategically moving a bookcase and hanging a sheet between it and the wall- this is Momo's 'bedroom'. As they enter, Dog gets up from where he had been laying on the couch and pads over to sniff and lick, tail wagging, and Kyouko smiles and rubs behind his ears.
The door is shut and locked, and Kyouko takes a moment to remove shoes and walk over into the kitchen. "You want a drink or somethin'?" She asks, looking over her shoulder. "We got all the water you can drink.. and, I guess a few cans of diet cola." Bought with her conbenie employee discount, no doubt.
"I'm not the one you have to ask about that smell," Kunzite informs Dog, but he doesn't chase off the interest either. Of course it smells like meat. Therefore of course there is interest. (There may also be containers in those bags that are labeled as Dog-safe. Because Kunzite is resigned to knowing how these things go.)
He works his way out of shoes as well, and carries the bags kitchenward behind Kyouko. It's not impossible that the bags alone might eat available counter space. "Water would be welcome," he agrees.
Why in the world do these two of all people have diet cola?
Why is he even thinking about questions he probably does not want answers to?
He settles for analyzing the way she's moving, instead, reading into the way her clothes interact with the burned spots. Nine chances in ten they're fine. But it's a genuine question.
Never use a pretext that isn't sufficient in itself, after all. Sufficient now that he can actually leave Mamoru alone for more than a couple of hours anyway.
Kyouko fetches some reasonably-clean-looking glasses and fills them with water. They actually have a Brita filter! More a statement about the local water quality than about their desire for affluent luxuries. And the reason they have diet cola is because it doesn't sell as well and they put it on sale for cheap after the sellby date passes!
After putting the glasses of water down within reach on the admittedly limited counter, Kyouko walks over to the window and opens it. Dog hops out onto the metal fire escape and happily clambers down to take care of his doggy business in the nearby park- Kyouko and Momo have managed to rig said fire escape so he can get back in and so far nobody has noticed.
As for her burns, they seem fine. Her assumption that they would heal when the Dark Energy was cleansed seems to have held true- she shows no sign of being injured now, a few days later, which is what one would expect for a Puella.
She then turns, putting her hands on her hips, and regarding Kunzite. "So, nii-chan. C'mon now- why'd you really come over here? You're always welcome of course, but I know you got better things to do and my place ain't exactly conducive to hangin' out in." At least Momo isn't here- two people is about the maximum this apartment can contain without feeling uncomfortably crowded.
There's a faint tug at the corner of Kunzite's mouth. "Mamoru doesn't need twenty-four-hour watch this week," he says. "I have some time on my hands." And now and then people want to see for themselves. And maybe find a way to sneak people something despite a schedule that doesn't leave much time for being taken out for ice cream.
Besides, it's harder to do that with Momo around. Kyouko doesn't have as much luxury for being the younger one anymore.
"You're right, though. It's a good enough reason, but not the only one. I wanted to see for myself how you were doing." As if that were something separate from the burns.
Which, given the way they both react to dark energy, it might be.
Kyouko seems to accept this, by and large, tilting her head slightly and giving a faint, lopsided smile. "I'm glad Mamoru is doing better." She says, with genuine happiness in her voice. "I didn't like seein' him as hard up as he was before. Hopefully we'll find time to hang out again like in the old days soon."
She walks over to the counter, fetching out some plates and starting to help unbag the takeout. "Thanks.. for the food, I mean. I appreciate it. Conbenie bentos are really somethin' these days but they do get tiresome after a while.."
At the question of how she's doing, she gives a shrug, while still working on getting the food out. "Eh, y'know. Hangin' in there. If this is about the other day, I'm fine. No residual effects, at least so far as I can tell."
"I won't be ashamed of getting a variety, then. Didn't know what the two of you liked better." Shrimp-clam-cuttlefish curry is not so much a standard ingredient of conbenie bentos. "Well. Besides 'anything at least half sugar,' in Momo's case."
(There may be a box of pastries buried quietly in the bag. From a certain bakery that Momo has spent time staring in the windows of. Kunzite may never admit that it exists or that he knows anything about it.)
No residual effects? "Good to hear. Too bad you didn't get anything for it, but that's the risk you take in someone's home territory." He shifts out of the way of one of her elbows. "Mercury was interested in the possibility he might've been working the problem through himself, somehow, rather than through technology. Or through that thing he made. She doesn't know, either, but her speculations have a good chance of being better than what other people think are facts."
Kyouko gets the curry plated up, and hands one to Kunzite before taking the other over to the couch, which is a bit ratty (especially since Dog likes laying on it) but comfortable enough, setting it on the low coffeetable in front of it. She, true to herself, shows no preference in the type of Curry- both are given equally pleased treatment. Kyouko learned long ago that all food is delicious when you're used to starving.
Chewing a few mouthfuls as she listens to Kunzite talk, she shrugs her shoulders. "Wasn't a total waste of time. Nicked two unused Grief Seeds off of 'em." She hadn't mentioned that before, but it's true. "Even with these Cube things doin' the job, Seeds are better. Quicker, better for use in-combat, so findin' two of 'em is pretty nice."
She scowls slightly at the mention of Mercury's theories, shrugging. "Well, he had a big map with blinking lights all over it, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. That and a huge room full of creepy, twitching mannequins. Nothin' I could use though. 'Cept the Seeds."
There are some parts of both their histories that they don't talk about very much. Kunzite stays in the kitchen area, part so that if Dog returns there isn't competition for the couch, part because he's just as comfortable standing, part because it's not as if it's too far to talk. Even odds he could kick the coffee table from there. Not that he would; she just put food on it.
Two unused Grief Seeds? That doesn't win an actual smile, but the glance he gives her might have been one. The expression slips and he closes his eyes when she mentions the mannequins. "More of those things? Jupiter wrecked a batch of them on her way out. Must've put a dent in his reserves to remake them that quickly."
It's only a momentary flicker. "The seeds set you even for that Witch he interfered with, though," he says. Technically one seed would be even. Except that he pulled that then, when the Puella needed them so badly. So. Two counts. "Good enough for now? Or was he stupid enough to make it personal?"
Kyouko doesn't comment on Kunzite remaining in the kitchen- as he said, it's not very far away, and they can easily talk over the low counter which serves as both the food preperation area and the divider between the kitchen and living room parts of the apartment. She takes another bite, shrugging at his concern about the 'mannequins'. "Dunno how many he had before vs. how many he has now. There were plenty of 'em but the room was far from full. Could be they're just what he has left over."
She shrugs again at his comment about being 'even' for the Seed Takashi took earlier. "It helps, but it's hardly a permenant solution." At the question of 'did he make it persona', her expression darkens.
"Well, he did say he 'knew where I worked', asked if I 'was really that eager to die' and then said if he couldn't get back at me he'd take it out on Momo." She doesn't sound angry, but the tightness in her voice betrays that this is only because she's forcing herself not to be.
She sighs after a moment, though. "I told him if he wants to fight me and Momo, to bring it, cuz frankly I think we can take 'em, but. I have been waitin' for the other shoe to drop since then." She shrugs. "So far nothin', though."
"Most solutions aren't permanent. We just keep patching them when the seams come apart." When, not if. Kunzite studies his plate with a brief frown, listening ...
... and the plate is, very carefully, set down on one of the last spare bits of counter for a few moments.
Sometimes he's more startled than usual that nobody has torn Riventon into shreds and buried the pieces on separate continents, yet.
"He told Mercury," he says, "he'd let it be. But that Lacrima, the girl in the bat-dress, might not. He told Mercury he'd try to stop her, and he might even have meant it; he's a little saner than usual this month.
"If she does go after you -- shadow powers and dark energy. And a drain, but that requires contact, as far as I know. As long as she doesn't catch either of you alone, you should be fine. Even if she does -- Momo has trouble with close-in fighting, but Dog would probably be able to keep her from keeping contact. And anyone trying to put their hands on you deserves all the bleeding they'll be doing."
Kyouko looks across at Kunzite, quirking a brow slightly as she chews another mouthful of food. "She was there. Her and Riventon both tried to stop me. She don't scare me, but thanks for the heads up." Kyouko clearly doesn't view Lacrima as a serious threat, whether she should or not- in truth, though, the bigger danger is probably extended contact with any Dark Energy the girl might throw at her.
She's quiet for a few moments, then she lifts her fork and points it at Kunzite. "Look, nii-chan, he can say whatever he wants to Mercury, but the truth is I don't trust him one tiny bit, no matter what she wants to say or believe. By my experience, he's probably just tellin' her what she wants to hear."
The fork is lowered, and she shrugs her shoulders. "Here's how it stands, from my point of view. I went in there lookin' for somethin' I thought he had that would help me an' my sister survive. I didn't find it. I'm done with him. If he wants to let it lie, so be it. I got no reason to go after him again."
"If he comes after me, he'll regret it. I'll beat his ass and I won't feel bad about it. I broke into his lab, true enough, and if he wants to get back at me and he comes after me, then I'll stick up for myself. S'how it works."
Her brows lower, and a knife-edge enters her voice as she says, "But if he goes after Momo, directly or indirectly, there ain't no fucking place on this planet far enough for him to run to. I will gut him and burn everything he's built to the ground. He might not be scared o' me, but lemme tell you somethin'.. that guy ain't even begun to see what I'm capable of."
Then she shrugs, leaning back and taking another forkful. "So, really.. s'up to him. We'll have to see how stupid he's feelin'."
If Kyouko were scared by Lacrima, Kunzite would start checking to see whether he was asleep. And in someone else's nightmare, because there's no possibility that that came from his subconscious. Kyouko doesn't do scared.
And Kyouko is, in fact, not doing scared. It's always good to be reassured that reality is real.
She knows the way he's watching her. Approving. Proud. She's got a good sense of which fights are worth having, sometimes, and right now their evaluations of this one match; their evaluations of what Takashi's likely actually doing are also the same.
And that knife-edge in her voice --
No smile about his mouth. But that quiet, feral approximation of one around and in his eyes. That's his sister. That's her sister. Mercury plays chess, and expects things to happen in neatly defined terms, in straight lines. Kunzite plays Go, and studies action and reaction, territory and support, connection and isolation. But Kyouko doesn't play games at all.
"Thought so," he says, and reaches for his plate again. Safe to hold it now. The anger that woke when Kyouko told him of Takashi's threat against Momo is back where it belongs. "Glad someone in this mess has her head on straight."
Kyouko shrugs, and, perhaps sensing the approval from Kunzite, knowing better than most how to read his moods, she flashes a one-fanged smile as she scoops up the last of the curry and rice on her dish and ferries it into her mouth.
"Dunno about that, but at least as straight as normal. Revenge is all well an' good, but at the end of the day, nothin's more important than family. I bust into his lab, he gives me a black eye over it, that's life. But anybody starts threatening my family," and the significant pause here, the look she gives to Kunzite, conveys better than any words that she includes him, Mamoru, Sayaka, and probably even Usagi in that list, "they're gonna find out just why I used to be called the Terror of Kazamino."
She stands up, smiling again, carrying the dirty dish over to put in the sink. Family is probably the most sacred thing to Kyouko- she knows what it feels like to have it torn away. She doesn't care about money, or power (except as a means to protect what's important to her), or even doing what's right for some nebulous moral authority. What she cares about is her family. And keeping them safe.
"Hopefully it don't come to that. Believe me.. I'll be as pleased as punch if I don't hear anything else about this."
"Same. We'll see if he's smart." Hoping he's smart, granted. Who knows? It's not impossible that Takashi might be.
Lacrima Kunzite doesn't have as high a hope for. But if she isn't smart -- maybe they can keep the two separated, after a fashion.
That's less important. What's more important is freeing up a hand to give Kyouko a brief one-armed hug as she turns away from the sink. (He will never eat as quickly as she does, but one hand he can free). "While we're on the topic," he says. "How much of a headache is Momo still giving you? I see she hasn't managed to scrub her way through your sink yet..."
There's a big difference between 'smart' and smart. Kyouko knows this, even if self-styled geniuses don't always seem to. It's unlikely Kyouko would go as far against Lacrima as she would against Takashi, unless the girl really does something dumb. Kyouko knows she's essentially just following orders.
Kyouko returns the hug she's given, in similar casual one-armed fashion, and flashes a little smile.
In reference to Momo, she just laughs, although it has a tired edge to it.. "I dunno if headache is the right word.. maybe the kind you get from eating too much sugar. I love having her around, honest, it just.. makes some things a lot harder." Providing for two instead of one, in a very practical sense, when she never had much to work with to begin with.