The Tuxedo that Flaps in the Night

It's afternoon, maybe fifteen, twenty minutes after the last bell's rung and the students have begun their clubs or gone home or to waste time at arcades and things like total delinquents. The sky's overcast and grey, and shadows are indistinct and the light soft and more or less uniform.

Tuxedo Kamen came in through the window, picking the lock like a proper gentleman thief if it was locked, and considered making himself at home to the point of sitting in the headmaster's chair for a proper dramatic chair-swivel at the right moment, but realized in time that that's a fairly standard villain behavior, not hero, and suppressed the impulse.

Instead, when the doors open, there's an incredibly tall and graceful youth in formalwear, a mask, and a cape -- sans hat; he's INDOORS, he's not a savage -- perusing the older gentleman's bookshelves. Well. He had been perusing them. At the moment, he has a book out in his white-gloved hands, holding it with the reverence of a book-lover, reading it in profile to the view from the doors.

It looks to be a collection of essays on ancient Babylonian fragmentary texts.

Tsukasa Amakawa is the flamboyant headmaster of Seiyou. Right now, he's walking along with Tadase, to most likely talk about the states of affair. The current magical state of the city, and all that kind of things. He doesn't have a telescope under his arm right now. That's mounted on a stand in the office. It ordinary. Nothing special.

He opens the door to the office and----!

There's a boy in formal wear and a mask reading one of his books. It does catch him by surprise- but not the kind of surprise like it's the first time it's ever happened. Though, the window /was/ locked. He does recognize the boy though, from the night with Scorn. "Ahhh. Ancient Babylonia. Not my favorite in my shelf there. But useful, nothingless." he asides with a short smile. He walks past the boy and sits down into that really nice desk seat. "I assume you're not here to check books out my library." Playful, acting tone aside.

"Would you like some tea?" he asks genuinely politely.

Tadase leans in the door. He looks a bit confused, at first. He might've seen Tuxedo Kamen - or might not - but in either case, the sight of someone wearing a tuxedo /in the daytime/ in the school office is a little odd. He looks at Tsukasa. Since Kamen's head is in a book, he can't quite see the mask, so he figures maybe it's some sort of... eccentirc business visitor? Maybe someone who donates to the school? In any case, he takes a bow quickly. "My apologies, Tsukasa-Sensei. I didn't realize you had a guest."

The older boy in the mask turns around and smiles slightly, then closes the book, replaces it, and bows in greeting. The bow is only a little bit stiff, and from his manner, it's not due to awkwardness. "I don't want to put you out, but if you're making some anyway, that would be lovely," he says equally politely. A beat. "My apologies for not introducing myself the other week, after the incident at the library. I am Tuxedo Kamen."

Coming around from the bookshelves, mask clearly in evidence now and hands disappearing in the folds of his cape as it settles around him, the young gentleman glances to Tadase, then figures if the headmaster's not ushering him out, he must be all right. "I /would/ like to speak with you at some point about potentially finding a magic-focused linguistics expert. That's not, however, what I came to speak with you about. It concerns your organization, and something I believe may be a threat you should be aware of."

Rocky Road smiles and motions at the boy to Tadase. "Don't you remember him? From the other night? With the others?" he asks curiously. "I did not expect this meeting. But it's nice, regardless." he says as he walks over to a hotplate in the office, and puts the kettle on it. Tea is important!

"Tuxedo Kamen, then!" he says. "As I've introduced myself before, I am Tsukasa Amakawa, Headmaster of this school." he motions. "This is Tadase. He's with The Guardians." he says.

He tsks. "Well, I am most certainly able to help with that, but I'm more intrested to hear about this threat." he states.

The tea begins to steam a little. Kettle isn't whistling yet however.

He places his hands up in front of him a bit, fingers touching. Not clasping as he listens.

Tadase looks him up and down a bit. Kiseki, helpfully, tugs on a bit of his hair. "You know, the one from the fight with Scorn? I saw him!" the little chibi king says. "Oh... Right. My apologies." Tadase says with another short bow. "To be honest, I don't even think you gave me your name... but thank you for fighting alongside us." He turns around and closes the door, lest they be interrupted again.

"But, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Tadase Hotori, King's Chair, and also I work with Tsukasa-Sensei as a member of virtue." Tadase says, smiling but staying a respectful distance away from the two of them.

"Hotori-san," the masked youth says politely, offering another bow. "Likewise, it's a pleasure. I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the Guardians or the King's chair, but I have no doubt I will learn."

With a certain amount of regality, as uninvited as the action is, Tuxedo Kamen takes a seat in a chair on the student side of the headmaster's desk. "There's a magical girl in the city who calls herself the Princess, and she has two guardians, or knights, that fight alongside her. Dark pink hair, a tiara, attacks that involve explosive glitter-- she's been an ally on the side of good for a couple of months, fighting alongside many different allies of justice against those who would do harm to the people of Tokyo."

He takes a breath, leaning back in the chair a little and curling his white-gloved hands around the armrests, and his gaze slides away; his face is unhappy. "The night before last, she contacted someone she'd befriended, setting up an ambush. When the person she befriended took the contact as indicative of trouble, she called her teammates in to come with her, and once they were all there, she attacked. She said there was no other way, she was very upset and called herself a traitor and trash, and said she knew what she was doing was wrong but that it was the only way she'd been able to find to solve whatever problem it is that she had; she said if she explained her problem it would ruin everything. From there, her guardians leapt in and engaged the team. She's very strong, and in combining her power with those of her allies, she's very strong indeed. As she didn't manage to catch, defeat, or permanently harm any of the people who fought her, I can only conclude she did not achieve her objective, and will be hunting out more targets."

Tsukasa gets up as the kettle whistles. He pours tea. Returns with cups and saucers. He smiles. He listens to Tuxedo Kamen, talk about a princess. And Knights. He purses his lips a little, looking a little somber. "People are... sometimes. Hard to understand. If this person is doing bad things, but doesn't sound, or feel, like it's what they want-- then there's something more going on. Any number of things. They could be being blackmailed. They could be being tricked, or maybe they are so desperate that they don't belive anyone can relate. They most certainly shouldn't be allowed to continue to hurt people, of course. But--- It's important to find out the why." he takes a sip of his tea.

"It isn't going to happen quickly. But it's worth trying to get through to these people." he says.

He hrmmms. "Tadase, have you encountered this Princess before?" he asks.

Tsukawa is super relived that this is not talk of a prince instead right now.

Tadase thinks on it - and so does the tiny king beside him, hand on chin in a perfect miming of the bigger one - only for both of them to shake their heads at the same time. "I'm sorry, Tsukasa-sensei. No. I haven't heard about her from anyone else yet, either." he adds. "But, I have to agree with your observations, based on the information our new friend in the tuxedo has given us. She sounds like she's troubled, more than hostile. It sounds a lot like what we heard from that Scorn girl... I wonder if you think the two might be related?" he asks both of the gentlemen in the chairs.

"There's a lot of strange things going on right now, which is why I want to make sure I'm involved with more than just the Guardians... it can't all be just coincidental, I don't think - we have a lot of new faces on both ends of the spectrum coming around, but I still think... I think we can use our strengths to save people like Scorn, and like your princess you just mentioned."

"--she's not my Princess," Tuxedo Kamen corrects hastily, then looks somewhat sheepish, taking his cup of tea. "Sorry. I know that's not what you meant to imply." He arranges himself so he's carefully holding it, saucer and all, and waits calmly for it to cool off a bit while he continues the discussion.

"That's why I brought this to you, sir," he tells Tsukasa gravely, then inclines his head toward Tadase. "Or rather, to Virtue. The way you dealt with Scorn, the compassion you showed, they speak well of your ability to dissociate deeds from probable motivations, and your willingness to attempt to salve the wound rather than punish the actions which result from its infliction. She seems frightened and desperate above all. It's just that..."

Tuxedo Kamen looks somewhat rueful. "She is quite powerful."

Finally, tea-sip.

"The plus side is that she deliberately staged the ambush in such a manner as to prevent civilian casualties: there is at least less of a risk of danger to those who can't defend themselves. I'm also not certain what exactly it is she hopes to gain from the people who attack..."

Finally, the older boy turns to look specifically at Tadase, considering him. "I don't think they're related. Scorn attacked civilians and had grief over her sister as her personal motivation. This girl seems to be on a mission with compatriots, and exhibiting the sort of desperation that usually stems from an approaching deadline. It's possible, but their powers are also different enough that I don't think there's some kind of being corrupting her. At least not in comparison." Then he offers a very slight smile, warm around the edges instead of aloof. "And yes: that's why I felt it important to bring to your attention. We all have personal objectives, battles we fight which take priority, but a group of people dedicated to reaching out that way can cover for each other. I sincerely hope you'll be able to find a way to help her."

Tsukawa frowns, it's very light. "They fact they're doing it with a clear head isn't boding well. It's one thing to be tricked, to be mislead. But it's another to know exactly what you're doing." he says with a nod.

"Your Princess?" he asks. He grabs a bucket from under the desk and asks. "Are you some sort of prince?" he asks. Then he just puts the bucket over Tadase's head like this is a casual thing he's used to.

Then he turns back. "I'm sorry if I'm asking too personal questions. You can choose not to answer them." he asks.

He thinks, and nods. "It's easy to hurt people. It's easy to kill people. That's wrong. Even-- the most evil heart needs to be given a chance to understand. We're not the only ... organization out there. So it's always a race to get to these people first. I'm very glad you, and your apparent friends arrived to help Scorn- despite all she did." he smiles.