Things have been pretty quiet lately, maybe a little TOO quiet. An, or rather Natsumi, had had minimal luck with her latest cardian alone, and Ail's had fared little better, especially with the mahou girls on the job.
However, she had still managed to preserve one of those space plants from the fiasco a ways back, and had since been experimenting on using various types of energy on it. So far, she hadnt managed to find any suitable candidates among her club members (who had all experienced a strange, inexplicable exhaustive spell, attributing it quite easily to heat stroke).
Now, she's out and about , searching for a suitable park full of people that she can use to seek out a viable candidate in as sneaky a manner as possible..
Daisuke Hansuke stepped out of his dad's doctor's office looking professional. That is, he looks like he's in his school uniform but the jacket is a different color. He walks down the way, past a park and seems to not be in a hurry. He has nowhere to be tonight. It's free!
Then he passes by....Natsumi and blinks.
"Oh....!" he says as he jogs over. "Hey there again." he smiles at Natsumi, best he can.
"Hey um...."
"How you.. been doing? I know we only met once but..." he kind of rubs the back of his head.
Natsumi murmurs softly to her plant, gently tickling it under a leaf, "Dont worry, we'll find some tasty food for you!" peering around, she has yet to find a tasty candidate, but look here! It's that bodyguard of Mamoru's or something! She grins wickedly. Perfect, she'll zap his energy!
"Oh! It's you again.." She frowns briefly, but remembering how she's trying to find tasty morsels, Natsumi forces a smile. "I'm fine..Just trying to figure out how to take care of my plant. And..Er..." her tone's not convincingly friendly enough, she grimaces a bit more. "How are you?"
Daisuke Hansuke isn't a bodyguard, but he is a magical doctor of some sort. He head tilts a bit at her tone, taking note of it as he does not frown, but he does grow more straight faced. This is the closest Daisuke gets to frowning right now probably.
"Good. You ran out suddenly and everyone there was worried and we went looking but no one could find you." he says. "Glad to see you're alright." he says softly with a smile again.
"Take care of a plant?" he asks softly. "What's wrong with it... is it sick and dying?..." he asks.
"Oh, I'm well. Mostly. It's been a hard month or so." he says quietly.
"Everyone's getting better slowly." well. Not everyone. Makoto comes to mind. He really should... say hello. Soon.
"Huh..?" she arches a brow, truly surprised now. People were worried about her..? "Are you kidding me? Mamoru and his friends cant stand me. They think I'm a freak, and are super paranoid any time I'm anywhere near him." she smirks, "Why would they be..Worried?" she shrugs.
Oh wait, that's right. She was having another exhaustion spell. "oh..That. Huh. Forget it. I...Er..Guess I was suffering from heat stroke or something." she laughs nervously, not very good at hiding these things, or telling fake stories.
As for the plant, she nods again, "Yeah, something like that. I cant seem to figure out what to feed this plant.It's already starting to wither.." He mentions his friends, getting better..? Natsumi couldn't really care less, but she is curious. Did it have to do with those energy draining plants..? Or was Ail successful with a Cardian? "Oh? What happened? were your friends sick or something?"
Daisuke Hansuke grins. "Nope. Just a hard month of issues." he says. Not being specific. Just 'issues', whatever those are. Most certainly not issues related to 'Mercury's Boyfriend is Literally Evil Incarnate' or 'Save the World from someone infatuated with Mamoru for the second time in a Row'. Nope. Most certainly not those issues.
He frowns a bit. "Plants really aren't my speciality, but maybe I could take a look at it for you sometimes?" he asks softly. "I'm more.. animals. Or. I can talk to a friend who knows plants well." he smiles. "I'm sure she'd hlove to help an ailing plant." he says. "Though."
"I can't talk for her. I'll need to ask." he nods matter of factly.
"Issues, huh." she states bluntly, but fortunately, Natsumi doesnt chance to pry further than that. She may be pretty blunt and tactless, but she knows when to stop prying eventually. "I see. So I guess Mamoru and his little blonde 'sweetheart' are all lovey lovey'." she makes a bitter face. "I suppose I made a total fool of myself in front of all his friends...Now I probably wont be able to recruit him for my upcoming play.." Natsumi sighs rather dramatically at that.
She does light up however, when he offers to look at her plant, and she holds it up for him to see. "Really? You'll look at it for me? See, I cant figure out what kind of food to feed it. I thought I had a green thumb, or the space botany club might help me but no luck yet.." Natsumi smiles sweetly.
"Oh, but if you have a way with animals, maybe plants arent too far off? As for this friend of yours, are they a plant specialist?"
Daisuke Hansuke head tilts. "Play? Well. If you need help, I'm not much of an actor but I also don't mind making an idiot of myself in front of large amounts of people." he smirks as he places a hand on a hip.
He nods matter of factly. "Yup! She is sort of a plant specialist!" he says matter of factly. "Plants aren't too far off from animals, but they're still very very different. They need sunlight and water. But that's all I basicaly know. Are you giving it plenty of both? Do the leaves show signs of damage as if being eaten by bugs?" he asks concernedly.
A pause.
"Ehehe..." a nervous short laugh. "You think it's from space?" he asks.
Natsumi smirks, "Well..I was really hoping Mamoru-san would be able to join it..But I guess I scared him and that..Blonde...Girl..Away." that'd be Usagi, of course. And she's clearly trying hard not to speak ill of her. Because Daisuke may still be of use to her - for now.
"Oh, I dunno the leaves dont seem to be eaten by bugs, but they do seem to be shrivelling up and the stems are weak and floppy, see?" she attempts to hand the potted plant to him so he can get a better look. "Although I've given it plenty of water and plant food. It seems to prefer meat over fertilizer, so I tried feeding it some bugs and other similar types of..Energy.." no need to say her fellow club members of course!
"Why dont you hold it awhile? I hear some plants respond well to certain people over others.." she smiles sweetly as she sazys that, and nods eagerly when he asks if it might be from space. "Well, that's very likely, considering it fell from the sky when I found it, and since it wasnt a windy day, it certainly didnt get blown around!"
She pauses, "So what's your friend's name? I'd like to meet her.."
Daisuke Hansuke has the potted plant in his hands now and he looks down at it with a blink, and a soft frown..isn't this... one of...
There's a slight look of alarm on his face, though he does his best to keep his cool. He just barely suceeds keeping the surprise off his face but that's it. He clears his throat.
"Her name is Makoto Kino." he says very softly. "I think she goes to your school even." he says softly.
"Yes this plant looks. Very. Sick." he says softly.
Oh god, this thing better not start to drain him or eat him while he's holding it. He kind of wants to drop it. He doesn't.
"Um. Would you mind if I kept it overnight." he asks.
'And away from you so it doesn't hurt you or others' is unsaid of course.
For the briefest of moments, the plant seems to...Wriggle, just the slightest. Or was it the wind? Hard to tell. Afterall, it's just an innocent plant..Right?
Natsumi peers intently at the plant, almost expectantly, then back to Daisuke. But of course, this plant prefers to engage in sneak attacks, siphoning off energy when one's not looking. Only sprouting to its fiercer, stronger form when it's gained enough strength in this sneaky manner.
Natsumi frowns. "Huh, Makoto Kino. Yeah, I've heard the name. She's that big, scary girl who beats up other kids, right?" she grimaces, "Geez, sounds like a bully to me. Is she really gentle enough to take care of plants?"
However, looking back at the plant, Natsumi quickly reaches over to take it back. "No, I'd rather not have anything happen to it. It's so beautiful and rare, I wouldnt want it to get lost or stolen..However, if I find Makoto Kino, I'll ask her if she can help me.."
She pauses, smirking, "Wait, you don't really believe me when I say it's a space plant, do you? Thought you didnt believe in all of that 'nonsense'."
Now /that/ description of Makoto gets the biggest frown Natsumi's ever gotten in her life probably. When Daisuke frowns in dissapointment, it pretty much shows all over his face. "Makoto Kino is a really nice person who cares a lot about everyone and plants." he says matter of factly. "You really should get to know her, and I'm sure she'll look at this plant for you." he says.
Because if he can't get it from her right now---- getting it into someone else's he trusts hands is the next best thing. "So could you take this to her as soon as you can? I'm sure she can. uh. help. I'll talk to her first if you want to, even." he says politely.
He says softly. "Just be careful of it okay? Make sure it gets sun and water." he says. "In the meanwhile. Don't overwater it though. I'm sure that's bad too. Maybe." he smiles nervously.
"I really wish you'd let me keep it overnight but I understand." he says offering it back. Carefully.
"Huh? Well I dunno, really." he fibs a little because he /knows/ it's from space. "I've never seen a plant like it before." also a lie. "But I'm not a botantist." he says weakly with a smile.
Woah. She clearly stepped on a nerve. Natsumi should probably act sympathetic, but she really has no sympathy for these humans. However, they may still prove useful, if they can help her...Although on the other hand, she may be way over her head by now. Attempting to sneak energy from this guy is gonna be harder than she imagined!
"Oh! Hahaha.." She laughs nervously, "I'm sooo sorry! I guess the rumours must have been untrue then!" the strange girl smirks and shrugs, "But I guess I should give her a chance at least?" Well, if this Makoto girl knows about plants, maybe she knows what happened to the rest of those energy draining plants she'd heard rumours about..And of whoever had sent them.
"Suuure, I'll give it plenty of sun and water. But what it really needs is the right kind of food." and again, he insists on keeping it but she shakes her head stubbornly. "I'm so glad you understand. This plant is one of a kind! And if it truly is a space plant, it's exactly what we've been searching for - in the space botany club, of course! Imagine how cool that would be if it really were true!"
She nods, "And you said so yourself, you've never seen one like it before, neither has anyone else.."
As it happens, Makoto's been at the plant nursery. She's on her way home now, carrying a bag with the nursery's logo on it and looking somewhat occupied in thought as she walks.
She's not so distracted that she doesn't notice Daisuke, though, and automatically she shifts her course to head toward him, the hand not occupied with her bag lifting in a wave. "Daisuke-san, hey."
It's a casual, friendly greeting, and the look that the tall girl turns toward Natsumi is equally friendly and casual - at least until Mako gets a look at the pot that the other girl's holding. That causes the expression on her face to freeze, brows drawing together in caution and concern as she studies the plant.
Daisuke Hansuke is dressed in a somewhat 'formalish' affair, dress slacks, suit jacket. Briefcase. This is because he left work at the doctor's office he works the front desk at-- it's his dad's practice, mainly. That briefcase is on the ground though as he picks it back up as he frowns.
"I assure you tha---"
Oh....! It's Makoto!
"Makoto-san." he smiles softly and wide. "Natsumi-chan this is Makoto Kino, the plant expert I talked about." he says with a soft smile.
Then he flashes Makoto this look. And this look says 'Yeah I see it too' when it lays down on her also worried expression- which he hopes Makoto picks up as he looks back to Natsumi.
"Well Natsumi, I don't know one way or the other if it's from space." he lies. Makoto also knows he's lying.
"But Makoto here can take extra good care of it regardless. I'm sure. I'd trust her with it more than myself." he says with a soft smile.
"She knows things about plants. Trust me on this." he says as he runs a hand down his tie a moment to adjust it.
"Makoto. How have you been doing...?" he asks with a little concern.
Natsumi is dressed in her usual school uniform, apparently having just left the botany club not too long ago. As she waits for Daisuke's response, he seems to focus upon the big girl who steps out of the plant nursery. Oh yeah, her. Natsumi's seen her from afar, as they go to the same school and all. Never really made an effort to befriend her or anyone else. No matter what Daisuke says, however, this girl looks dangerous. Definitely dont wanna get HER mad..
That..Strange look she gives her plant however, causes Natsumi to frown, clutching it more tightly. "What is it?" she snaps a bit too abruptly. Something just seems off. Or maybe that wary look is for her. Natsumi tries to remember if they ever had a strange meeting before; More than once, the alien girl has acted..Oddly in class, but..
"Heh, so you're Makoto-san. So you're the plant expert, huh?" she smirks, "Oh yeah, I guess we go to the same school together too.."
Catching Daisuke's look her way reinforces Mako's worries. She tries to school her expression as she looks up to meet Natsumi's eyes, though controlling her facial expressions isn't something she's ever been good at, and the smile she tries to offer comes out kind of crookedly. "Well," she says, reaching up distractedly to rub her hand over the back of her neck, "I wouldn't say I'm an expert, really... but I do know a few things. Mostly I just really like plants."
A beat; she tilts her head in response to Daisuke's question, lifts her shoulders. "I've been okay," she tells him, a little awkwardly. "You know how it is... things haven't really sorted out yet."
Looking back toward Natsumi now, she nods: "And yeah, I go to Seishou too. But listen, if you don't mind my asking - how did you end up with that plant?" The worried look is coming back, furrowing her brow. "It looks a lot like the ones that were everywhere this sping, and they turned out to be really bad news. I had one in my apartment for a while, and it killed some of my other plants and made me really sick."
Daisuke Hansuke let's Makoto ask her questions as he sighs and shakes his head. "We'll talk about that later." he says softly to Makoto softly. Not being specific still as his eyes look back to Natsumi. He still manages a smile.
He softly purses his lips again as he looks over to Natsumi.
"Natsumi, has anyone gotten sick around this plant?" he asks softly.
He head tilts a bit. It doesn't look like it's been eating. It looks sick.
He kind of hopes this is the only one left.
Natsumi bites her lip. Well, so much for sneaking energy from Daisuke. However, maybe she can get some much needed information on where exactly this plant came from. As Makoto and Daisuke exchange...Something between them, Natsumi curiously arches a brow, trying to pick up on whatever it is they're talking about without being too nosy. Unfortunately, subtlety has never been a strength of hers. "Huh, everything okay..?" not that she cares, but she is curious to know what the heck they're talking about anyway.
With a shrug, she looks down at her plant. What is this weird vibe she's picking up from both of them? Like they're wary of the plant..? Do they know what it can do, and is it connected to...?
"Ohh..Those ones that turned up this spring..? I'd heard about that, but this was the only one I managed to grab. They said it was some kinda invasive species, but that's all I heard about it..All I know is that this one seemed to come down right out of the sky." she grins, "So naturally, everyone in my space botany club was excited about it!" Oh yeah, she's just the epitomy of innocence..
However, that smile fades a bit when Mako mentions how it killed other plants and made her sick. "Oh..Really? I just had it in the club room, but with finals, not a lot of people have had a chance to attend the club, so it's been there alone for a few weeks. When I finally remembered it, it was a bit wilted..It hasn't caused allergies or anything though..Why and how would a plant kill other plants anyways, and where'd they come from, do you know?"
Of course, today it's got some growth going on. It's not thriving, but looks like it may have absorbed at least enough energy over the last few days to stay alive. But clearly not enough energy for it to thrive in that small, almost empty little club room..
Finally she glances at Daisuke and shrugs, "Sick, huh? I dont see why it would. No one in the botany club has plant allergies, obviously, or else they wouldn't be able to study plants. I guess a few people were a bit tired from all the recent heat though. What a strange question though, why would you ask that!?"
A small nod to Daisuke, and then Makoto is listening to Natsumi, brows lifting in confusion and faint surprise at that last question from her. "When someone shows up with a plant that's not healthy to have around pretty much anything alive," she points out, mildly, "it's not strange at all to ask where they got it. I don't know exactly where it's native to, but it's definitely an invasive species, and it's not something that should be handled carelessly. They caused a really big problem during the spring, you know?"
Letting out a quiet breath, she turns her gaze downward to regard the plant again. "We're not talking about allergic reactions," she explains. "If people from your club have been tired, that plant is probably the reason, rather than the heat. The longer you spend around it, the more tired you feel, and any plants that are kept around it start to wither. If it was being kept in the club room, though, there might not have been anyone who was around it for long enough to get really sick, so that's good."
When she looks up to meet Natsumi's eyes again, Makoto's face is entirely earnest. "I'm only telling you what I know for a fact is true," she says. "Like I said, I was keeping one for a while before I knew what it was. I got firsthand experience of how they affect everything around them. It's dangerous."
Daisuke Hansuke frowns. "Right. What Makoto just said. That thing makes people and other plants sick, Natsumi-san." he says softly as he softly frowns a bit.
He sighs a bit as he runs a hand through his hair as he sighs a bit.
"It isn't odd to care about people you know." he says with a reaffirming smile at Natsumi. "But I do know that plant is dangerous to other things." he says. "If not properly treated. It hasn't um."
"Tried to spread or anything has it?" he asks.
"It makes people 'sick', huh.." Natsumi stares at the both of them quizzically. Of course, Natsumi knows it's true purposes, but she still doesn't know where it's really from. But if Makoto had one? "Hmm, like I said, it's been mostly left alone, in its little dome. But it was starting to wilt, so I thoguht I'd bring it to this place..What exactly DOES it feed on, then, Plant-Expert-San?" she turns to Makoto, and seems more curious than concerned about her own safetly.
"Hey, we're 'scientists' in our little club, it's our job to investigate strange specimens. But we wont figure out where it came from and what happened to the rest out there, unless we know more about it." she steps nearer, peering intently at her. "If you had one in your home, surely you must know more about them..Where they came from, if there are others? How exactly a plant can make you sick? It didnt seem to produce sporres or anything else, afterall.."
She smiles, "I'm sure if we could find out where it's true home is, we could return it there, and it wouldn't hurt anyone else.."
Finally she looks back at Daisuke blankly, "Caring about strangers?" she smirks, "Yeah, that's odd. Why would you care about the welfare of someone you don't know?" she shakes her head again, "And no, it hasn't tried to spread anything..I'm not even sure what that means, exactly.."
"I said I'm not an expert," Makoto returns quietly. "I'm not a scientist, either, I'm just good at gardening. The plant that was in my apartment sprouted up in the pot of another plant I had, a rosebush. I didn't know what it was, so I repotted it to see what would grow. If I'd known what it was going to do, I wouldn't have - it killed the rosebush, and several other plants I had. It nearly killed me. I can't give you a scientific explanation, but it's the truth."
As she finishes saying this, Mako reaches up to rake her hand back over her hair, breath chuffing out of her in mounting frustration. For a moment she looks torn, trying to decide about something. Before she can come to a decision, though, Natsumi gives Daisuke that blank look at Makoto's eyebrows make a break for her hairline. Why would you care about the welfare of someone you don't know? "...um," Mako says, speaking slowly and carefully. "To start with, because you'd probably want someone to care about what happens to you? It'd be a pretty awful world if nobody cared about anyone but themselves."
In the short time that Makoto has probably known Daisuke, she's probably never seen him truly seem upset or super agitated. At his worst, he usually seems dissapointed or worried. When Natsumi expresses his caring about strangers as 'odd', well....
He frowns. He begins to look a little angry. This passes...
Well mostly fast considering. He doesn't go back to smiling and his tone just gets more polite and pointed than anything at all. "Caring about others is very important to me, Ginga-san." yes. He went from using 'Natsumi-san' to 'Ginga-san'.
"I'm not a scientist either. I just learn all I can to help animals better. Animals make people happy." he says plainly.
Natsumi frowns a bit at Makoto's words, scratching her head in confusion. Caring about others isn't something she's familiar with. Heck, she came from a race of warring aliens who ended up killing each other- all but two..Or was there another one of them out there, somewhere too? However, is that the same caring she feels towards Ail? Or is it simply because he chose to ally with her to protect himself, and because they grew up together?
Well, she certainly doesn't care about these two bozos, and they seem intent on getting rid of her plant or something. "Wow." she chuckles nervously, trying not to appear odd with that statement, but failing miserably, apparently, "So...I guess it's a reciprocal thing then, huh? I scratch your back and you scratch mine, huh?" she blinks, wondering if that sounded even weirder. Ugh, yeah, it probably did.
And then she gasps at her own malais, even going so far to cover her mouth. "Oh...Gee, I'm sorry! It's just that...Well, I come from a country that's very..Well, there's a lot of war and violence in it, and it's a little dangerous so...so...I'm not...Used...To a lot people caring, soo...Um...." Ugh, this is soooo awkward! And now they probably think she's some sort of weirdo...Alien! Which isn't far from the truth but.
Another helpless shrug is offered as she looks down at her plant for a moment in awkward silence. "Um. Well..I suppose I should thank you for...Caring. But, if this plant really is that dangerous, I just need to figure out how to take care of it properly, right? Give it what it really needs. I mean, just because you dont understand something, even if it seems dangerous, doesn't mean you should kill it...Right?"
The change that comes over Daisuke's demeanor just then does not escape Makoto's notice. For a moment she looks toward him with concern... but the moment mostly passes, and he remains polite.
Soon, she's looking back toward Natsumi, and her expression softens a little at the explanation of where she's come from and how it's affected her views. "...I see," Mako says. "I suppose it would seem strange, if that's what you're used to. I'm sorry that you had to go through that, but now that you're here, it doesn't still need to be that way, you know? It's natural for people to try to help and look out for one another... even if sometimes we can lose sight of that, for a while."
A little shake of her head, and Mako draws in a breath. "I don't think you're wrong," she says. "We shouldn't reject or kill something just because we don't understand it. If it would be possible to figure out a way that it could coexist with other living things and not harm people, that'd be fine. But if that's not possible..." Again she hesitates for a moment, this time seeming to come to a decision. "If, let's just say, I encountered something that had already poisoned and completely destroyed the entire world it came from, and every other world it had come to between there and here... if it couldn't possibly coexist with any other living thing, because it exists only to take and take from everything around it until nothing is left... then yes," Makoto says, firm and grave. "For the sake of the world that I live in, and all the other living things in it, I would think something like that should be killed."
Daisuke Hansuke frowns. "Makoto-san speaks the truth." he says softly as he rubs the back of his head. "Look, you two. I need to. Get going." he says, a little sad like it seems they won't be able to talk the plant, unless it's by force and well...
It's not like the thing looks 'turning into godzilla' worthy at the moment. It looks sick and weak.
They also know where it's being kept now.
So they can keep tabs on it. For now maybe that's enough. Maybe they can convience a teacher to let them sneak in and take it while everyone's looking another way. He doesn't know.
"Have a good day, Makoto~" he says with a smile at her. Then to Natsumi. Who get's a straight face. "Have a good day, Ginga-san." he says softly as he turns softly and begins to leave quietly, unless someone stops him.
Natsumi's frown only deepens as Makoto explains the severity of the situation. Waiit..Is she talking about..This plant? She gasps in surprise. "Really? Are you serious? I mean, do you really think that this innocent looking plant could have the power to kill people and destroy entire worlds!?"
She sighs, shaking her head, wondering just how much Makoto knows. Or was it simply a rhetorical question? Even so, it reminds her scarily of the Makaiju tree and the many worlds it visited and destroyed once its people turned against each other.
The mere thought causes her to shiver - visibly. And brings back bad memories. But no..Survival is the key. And if she can figure out how to control this plant, then maybe they can use it to covertly steal energy from other people. If she can figure that out, then...Perhaps Ail and herself can survive on this world, without the interference from the senshi!
She needs to bring it to Ail and ask him about it. Perhaps he will know what to do about it.
"Um..Well, if that were the case with this plant..." she grits her teeth. "But it looks so innocent. Well..Makoto-san. I will consider your words seriously. However, I DO want to do more research on this plant. I mean, that story is pretty dramatic."
It is at that moment that Daisuke leaves, and she frowns, not quite understanding the abrupt change in his tone. He seemed friendlier earlier. Now he just seems..Annoyed. Distant. Well hmph, what a jerk! "Uh, see you around, Daisuke-san..?" she arches a brow, clearly confused by his words and actions, but not quite picking up that he might be feeling unwell. If he is, she doesn't seem particularly concerned.
If Mako is puzzled by Daisuke's departure, it doesn't show; she just nods and makes a mental note to touch base with him soon. "See you, Daisuke-san," she says, waving before she turns her attention fully back to Natsumi.
"Unfortunately," she says, quirking a wry half-smile, "plenty of things that look harmless can be very dangerous. I can understand wanting to do more research... just please, be careful with it, okay?" As before, she looks totally earnest, green eyes wide. "Don't keep it at home with you or anything, or anyplace that somebody would be around it for a lot of time. And if any more sprout up, please give me a call--"
Even as she says it, she's digging out her phone. "Your name's Natsumi-chan, right? I'll give you my phone number."
Wow, is she really that concerned? Natsumi still does not seem to understand the concept of concern for other people. As far as she's concerned, the only thing that matters is survival. In fact, she cant help but sympathize with the plant, inspite of what Makoto says, if that's the case.
"I...See." She forces a smile, and nods. "Then, I'll just have to be extra careful. Makoto Kino-san, right?" she smirks, "Maybe I was wrong about you. You look so big and strong, and kinda scary at school..I had heard rumours that you're some kinda big scary bully, but you dont seem like the type."
It's probably the best she can do as far as compliments. At any rate, the girl offers her a phone number. And she smiles. Not because she's grateful for whatever help Makoto is offering, but because it would be far easier for her to...Lure her, at the right time.
But that may come later rather than sooner. Soon as she figures out how to control this damned plant! Natsumi peers briefly at the number, before slipping it into her pocket. "Hm, I suppose I should thank you then, right?" she smiles, although it's not full of warmth; Rather, it seems blank, uncertain, as if she's not used to showing any sort of..Concern, or kindness, or even friendship towards others.
Mako doesn't seem particularly put off by the blankness of Natsumi's smile. She takes down the number, and once it's programmed into her contacts she texts her own contact information to it. "There we go," she says as she puts the phone away again.
And smiles wryly. "Well," she says, "those rumors aren't really true or anything. But I guess that's kind of how it goes with rumors. Anyway, you're welcome. I should get going, myself, but seriously don't hesitate to contact me if that thing starts doing anything weird. Or just, you know, if you need a hand with something. I don't mind."
Natsumi bites her lip, feeling kinda...Strange. This girl, why's she so nosy about this plant anyway? And why does she want to help so much? Natsumi is certan that there's some ulterior motive surrounding her..concern. Perhaps she's a member of a rival club! Or maybe she wants to play a prank on her. Some other kids had recently played a prank on her at school, and it was extremely annoying.
However, with this whole 'caring' bit, perhaps she is hoping that Natsumi will give her a favor in return some time, and that seems the most logical explanation for this whole 'caring' weirdness. She still doesnt understand the concept, and it's just too plain weird that someone would feel concern and want what's best for a total stranger, out of the goodness of their own heart!
"Um...Alright then, Makoto-san...I guess it was...Nice, meeting you." For the briefest of moments, there's almost warmth in her eyes as she says it.
"Well, incase you're right about it, I'll keep it in the space botany lab, under the dome. It should be safe enough there! I gotta go, see you at school!" and she hurries off, careful not to drop her precious plant.