It's not too long after Seishou has let its students escape for the day, on a slightly cool afternoon - enough to justify longer sleeves and heavier clothes, but not require them.
As Ami and Naru walk towards the gates that lead out of the schoolgrounds, there's an extra someone waiting for them, in addition to the usual presence of Kunzite - Takashi, who's made it over just in time, flying a bit lazily out of a Dusk Zone jump, overhead, quietly landing and breaking into a walk on the opposite side of Ami from Naru - which has the appearance of him just suddenly showing up from behind.
"Hi Ami-chan~." he begins with, voice a little uplifted compared to usual. "Hello, Osaka-san." he adds politely.
The school day is over, and while there is inevitably homework to face at some point this evening, for a few precious hours, there is freedom!
Naru slides her phone away, the quick flurry of post-school texts overwith as she walks along with Ami out into the world beyond school. "I am pretty sure confident that I am going to miss the algebra unit now that we've moved onto geometry. It /seems/ like it should be logical, and isn't yet." She comments upon their last class of the day with a little wrinkle of her nose.
Naru spots Kazuo, giving him a little wave and a quirk of a brow, curious. Takashi's arrival prompts her to turn that direction. "Hello Agera-san. I didn't expect to see you here."
Ami walks along next to Naru with a sleepy expression. While Naru sees freedom, for Ami it is test preparation that dominates her thoughts. Entrance exams are only two months away, and she will never be satisfied with her level of readiness.
"Don't worry," Ami promises absently, "I can thelp you with algebra if you're concerned. It's not too hard, and you've got a good foundation already. I think you just need some help with memorizing the formulas. We can do flash cards, mayb--"
Ami cuts off with a yelp of surprise at the sound of Takashi's voice. She glances to her left, then back to Naru, then back to Takashi, then back to Naru, before asking, "Did he really just randomly appear on my arm right in front of the school?!"
Kazuo apparently disdains heavier clothes. Either that, or he hasn't gotten around to actually acquiring them yet. The latter is probably more likely. Across the street, gray eyes flicker to the opening overhead of the entrance to (rather, exit from) the Dusk Zone ... then, on Takashi's sudden appearance, lift briefly heavenward. Even for someone who isn't much on the entire deity thing, there's just something about the skies that makes them the appropriate direction to appeal to.
Naru's wave draws his attention a moment later, and he straightens a little from his lean. Usually, he keeps his place over there, outside the school, a comfortable distance from the gates. Nonintrusive. This time? A glance for traffic and he's crossing the road, angling to meet up with the trio.
Takashi grins. "I like surprising you. You have the cutest reactions." He's being a little bit uncharacteristically positive and warm, and wether it's genuine or not is possibly up for a little bit of debate. Kazuo's presence gets a curt little nod directed its way as he walks forward, but Takashi is here for Ami, and it shows.
"Besides, I didn't want to talk about this over text, I might not get everything across right." Takashi waves a hand. He's been leery about texting Ami ever since the first time they seemed to have talked past each other, though wether it's because he's bad at it, or if when texting he just doesn't have his personal charm and magnetism to offset his abrasiveness... well, both are a little true.
He also does a good job of not just getting right to the point, but he does manage to close what little space he left between himself and Ami.
"Algebra isn't the problem, geometry is." Naru corrects slightly and then there's a quirk of a smile at Ami's question. "He totally just randomly appeared on your arm in front of school." She confirms with a little nod.
Naru quirks her head as she looks over to watch Kazuo approach them, curious on the change. It rarely means anyhing /good/. She doesn't ask, per se, at least not outloud, but Kazuo isn't alone in his ability to send over silent questions. Naru steps a little away from Takashi and Ami, giving them a touch of space as she moves towards where Kazuo is coming over to meet them.
The idea of geometry being more challenging than algebra seems utterly foreign to Ami, and for a moment she stares at Naru confusedly. Lucky for Naru, there's a Takashi there to distract Ami from the conversation, so she merely says, "I can help with geometry, too," before turning to regard Takashi directly.
"H..hi," she says, confusedly. Then she smiles just a little, though with a quirk of uncertainty to the expression, before asking, "Talk about ...? What are we talking about again? I was just discussing geometry with Naru-chan."
On the other hand, Kazuo changing habits doesn't always mean something /bad/, either. ... not that it's got that good a track record lately, granted, but there's nothing actually ominous. He returns the nod to Takashi, a little deeper than the curt one Takashi gave him, and shifts course to meet up with Naru.
(He can imagine the ongoing gossip inflation. Fortunately at this point it's likely to be getting too strange for most people to follow.)
"Good afternoon," he says to Naru. "It seemed more efficient to come and meet you, this time." So that, if it proved necessary for Ami to stop dead and stare at Takashi, there were no social forces nudging her away from that course of action.
The idea of people having trouble in school is foreign to Takashi, but at least today he has the common sense not to mention that. "Well we're not talking about it yet - that's why I'm here!" Takashi suddenly puts an arm around Ami's shoulders.
"But..." he gets a lot more serious even as that arm's around her, at least until she knocks it off or wriggles away. "...I'm going to be going to South America for a while."
"There's an Eclipse Lab there buried under who-knows how much debris and probably also a bunch of youma, and..." and it's here that Takashi's voice gets a lot smaller, a different sort of excited, a serious personal sort. "my mother did some work there. And by all I can tell they ran in a hurry and left useful information behind. As well as the effects of whatever they were tinkering with. Not good effects, and nobody has gone to deal with it."
"It wasn't even /that/ good of Questions, I didn't think." Naru points out with a smile for Kazuo as he comments coming to meet with her. "Although there's potential there, I think."
There's a glance over to Takashi as he explains the what of the talking. And now with bonus touching! Naru doesn't stare, she really doesn't. She's listening though. It's clear in her expression at the mention of South America, although it gets more neutral again at the mention of 'not good' and 'no one has gone to deal with it'.
For most of Japan, public affection is just not a thing that is done. Sure, once in a while, especially among teenagers, it happens; but Ami is definitely not one of those teenagers. Thus, when Takashi puts his arm around her so casually and directly, her expression goes from confused to alarmed, and her face turns a very bright shade of red. If her eyes got any bigger they might just pop out of her skull!
"S-s-south America?" Ami asks, clearly uncomfortable but either uncertain how or unwilling to deal with it herself. "T..that's a long way. What about school? How long will you be there? Still ... a chance to find out something about your mother ... I can't blame you wanting to go."
(Gossip network status: likely now exploding. Naru and the tall older boy are suddenly not even going to register.)
"There's always potential. And it's an interesting situation to examine, from a safe distance. Regrettable, but interesting." Kazuo's voice is kept largely down; it's more a pretext for sounding as if they're having a separate conversation, keeping the one that Ami and Takashi are having from looking even more interesting than it is. A little bit of cover. Still, the corners of his mouth tug downward for a moment at the words 'Eclipse lab.' South America isn't somewhere any of his people looked at closely ...
... but it's Takashi's mother. And that makes him glance sidelong at the other pair.
Takashi picks up on the fact that Naru is listening, and he flat-out expects Kazuo to be, but... priorities. Which means Ami. And upcoming trips to another continent. Without her actually getting away the grip on her shoulder tightens a bit.
"I'm not sure. Maybe a week, maybe a month. Depends on what's there, how long it takes. I've done a little recon but it's kind of a mess. Leave it to Eclipse to do who-knows-what in the deepest part of the jungle."
"I've got school taken care of - digital coursework - but the important question here is..." he stops and takes a breath. Talking to people isn't hard. Talking to Ami sometimes still is. And he doesn't expect a positive reaction here, but damned if he's going to show defeat before he's been denied.
"Can you find a way to manage your schoolwork? Because I want you to come with me." Then he coughs. Damnit. "I mean, I would really like it if you would come with me." he clarifies, obviously (though given the social skills of the group perhaps obvious only to Naru) falling back to something at least somewhat rehearsed.
An excellent pretext, to have a quiet conversation that somehow manages to pause at properly relevant points, but yet clearly makes Kazuo and Naru having their own conversation. Clearly. Not involved in Ami and Taka's.
"Fascinating, really. I'm hoping to do a bit of research, but I think you've done some already, so I didn't feel obliged to reinvent the wheel, so to speak." Naru comments to Kazuo quietly.
The pretense of not listening is shattered when Takashi asks Ami to go with him and Naru turns to look at Ami's reaction, as if any /other/ reactions can get through the physical contact freak out.
Caught even tighter, Ami's cheeks redden still further (as if that was possible). How Takashi expects her to think about such a difficult decision when she is also being physically overwhelmed is is a mystery, because she obviously fails miserably. Then again, maybe that was his plan: distract her into saying yes while she's too overwhelmed to think straight.
Yeah, he would do that.
Ami turns to glance at Naru and Kunzite, almost as if pleading for help. Her mouth opens--it's like she's going to reply--but only a small squeak comes out.
Clearly not involved in Ami and Takashi's. Sufficiently uninvolved that when Ami turns toward the pair of them, Kazuo says without a break -- just lifting his voice just enough to be clearly addressing the other pair rather than Naru, the tone of his words not changing from the chat with Naru about research -- "Long-term results demonstrably improve when one doesn't intentionally compound short-term pressures, Agera-san. You might consider letting her have enough oxygen to process your request and the opportunity."
Whether or not that translates into 'back off for a minute or I will try to add to the people-who-have-punched-you list' is a good question, but if it does, it's at least phrased relatively nicely.
"Hmmm?" Takashi says to Kunzite first, before turning to Ami. Apparently it quickly crosses his mind that, yes, the way she is acting, while he finds it endearing, might not be condusive to proper thought... or he's realized that they might see him as pressuring her. So he - reluctantly - lets go and gives her some space.
"I mean you don't have to decide now but the sooner the better. When I sent someone over to check they reported it appeared to be somewhat literally sinking, so..." he trails off.
"And thank you for your concern..." he says, turning to Kazuo "...ah, I don't think the name I know is the right name for you anymore, is it?"
"Deep breath." Naru advises Ami as Kazuo covers the 'please let her go a moment' side of it. She watches Ami, to confirm that the whole breathing thing is coming back, and ideally with it, some form of higher thought processing.
Naru glances to Takashi briefly at the mention of sinking before her attention resettles upon Ami to check on her. "Better?"
Ami does indeed take a deep breath at Naru's advice, but she doesn't put any additional space between her and Takashi. Her eyes slowly return to a more normal size, but the redness doesn't fade. "Better," she says quietly, then squeezes her eyes shut before she turns to look at Takashi again.
There's a long moment where she tries hard to control her heartbeat, her breathing, but she's still so very embarassed. At least it's over. Right? Quietly, she asks him, "When do you plan to leave?"
Sinking. That compounds Kazuo's frown for a moment, but it's targeted at somewhere midair, not at Takashi, and it lessens again when he glances back to Takashi at his question. Which he answers without a blink. "Kazuo Takeba."
(Never bother withholding information that someone would find it trivial to obtain.)
He doesn't say anything other than that, for now. Ami asked a question.
Takashi makes a bit of an overexaggerated bow. "Takeba-san it is, then." Then he looks at where he would have a watch - he doesn't, at least not at first, before his Device projects a virtual one into space around his wrist.
"Bout' eight hours from now? We're gonna need some equipment, and something to carry said equipment, so I comandeered some stuff from my job for a bit. It is technically related, though truth be told, I don't intend to provide them with anything of real value."
"They can't be trusted with it." he says, as though this does not also likely apply to him in the eyes of many, many people. "Plus, as far as I can tell, it's been phasing in and out of the Dusk Zone which is why nobody magic has picked up on it, and I need to get there before it shifts again to stablize it. That's my running theory, anyways."
"I'll explain all the details on the way when you come." Another brief stop. "I mean if." It's hard not being demanding and direct sometimes when you're used to ordering everyone around.
"Wow, that's quick." Naru comments, abandoning any sort of pretense at not listening in, her expression one of mild surprise. "Is it potentially just the two of you going?"
Naru merely files away any details from Takashi's explination into the files in her thoughts that are already full of many tiny details acquired by simply listening. Although the whole 'phasing in and out of the Dusk Zone' is disconcerting at best.
The stated amount of time is sufficiently short for Ami to forget entirely her discomfort, take a step back, and stare at Takashi as if he's grown a third head. "Eight Hours!?" she asks him, frustratedly.
"That's not even enough time to talk to all of my professors, let alone pack my bags, convince my mom it's okay, handle airfare and accomodations, buy anything else I might need, and inform my friends!"
At least it seems like she's interested?
"If you really want me to come," Ami wags her finger at him, "at best you have to give me until after school on Friday. I can't commit to leaving before then, so you can decide how much you really want me to go." Pause. "Damnit, I'm going to miss the swim season."
"There's always the summer," Kazuo says aside to Ami. "And you'll be back well before March; if you can find a way to keep in practice..." She'll still have a shot at some of the major tournaments.
If the lab is sinking, water is unlikely to be a problem. Safe water might be. But Mercury of all people is in a good place to take care of that problem.
... wait, did he just encourage her?
Takashi turns to Naru. "Anybody else is really just going to be a strain on the expedition - I'm bringing security, of course, but..." but they don't eat because Security equals Nullhearts and the like.
Ami starts in, and Takashi puts a hand behind his head - the nervous gesture half real, and half doing a job of hiding his excitement at her interest. "Yeah I wasn't planning this so soon either... I didn't exactly set the timetable for this, though. It's a rather sudden development, or I'd have talked to you about it all sooner. Really, it's a stroke of luck."
Takashi looks back at her as she finishes, with almost exactly the same look on his face. "Of course I really want you to come. You're the only person I trust to check my work! And I don't want to be away from y-" caught. Kazuo and Naru are here too and they're out in public. Why does he feel the need to censor words but not actions?
"I'd much rather have company." he states firmly. Then he thinks about it. "I can go and get things set up and stablized and come back on Friday, if you would rather. I can probably rig one more flight. Or steal it, sometimes it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission, or claim exigent circumstances."
"I'm going to get cell and internet service up for us so it's not like you'll be isolated, either." he adds, trying to tamp down any worries. "Guess your classes don't get cast on the net, though. But yeah, I can arrange for something on Friday." There's a tone that indicates it's inconvinent, but not so much that he'd bring it up directly.
The commentary by Kazuo is not what he'd expected and it almost causes him to re-evaluate both the older boy and his own thoughts, but instead says nothing to him. He does, however, regard him more clearly now.
Naru merely nods at the confirmation that it's just the two of them and security, with no real expression of surprise at that.
Naru muses on the reality of a very fast turn around time for travel. "Packing doesn't take /that/ long, and if you'll have cell and internet, then you'll still be in contact with friends and you can contact the school." She quirks her head and then grins. "Bet you could manage to spin it as an extra credit assignment, from afar too." She pauses. "Convincing your Mom might be harder. Everything else is doable, if kinda crazy tight timeline. But possible, if you decide to make it happen."
Ami's mouth opens, just a little, then slowly closes, then opens again. Seriously? Kunzite and Naru both are encouraging this?!
The bluenette looks back to Takashi, then towards Kunzite, then offers a meager protest of, "But I've got placement exams in January." Placement exams? "I'm trying to get into Tokyo University's undergrad program next year. I can't just ... leave and ignore that." Except she could absolutely study for those exams in South America--and probably with less distraction.
Kazuo inclines his head gravely to Ami, this time, turning to speak to her directly; his phrasing shades a little more toward the polite and respectful. "If you choose to go," he agrees, "you will have to find a way to make arrangements with school, and continue studying for exams that you have already been studying for months, and keep yourself in shape, and soothe your mother's worries, and reassure your friends," who may be correct in their panic if this is a trap, "and keep your place in line for various challenges and championships, and soothe your own worries about problems here occurring and being addressed without your input -- without your ability to study them properly, or do proper research, or guide others' efforts. None of these are small disadvantages. If you choose to stay -- all of those things will be much easier, and you will lose on the one hand only the remaining fragmentary information contained in one lab. But, for a week or a month, you will only be able to speak with Agera-san remotely."
He pauses for a moment before finishing, somewhat more quietly, "And it's his mother."
Whether Ami can read everything contained in those last four words, Kazuo doesn't know. But there are a dozen potential gains to be made and dangers to be mitigated in that alone.
Takashi does a very poor job of staying entirely away from Ami, bumping his hand against hers at least a little bit. "I'm sure I can pull some administrative strings somewhere if you need me to, too. Have somebody in the chain of command for the district nudge somewhere." Blatantly wielding Eclipse's political power for personal reasons? He'd be more out of place in the group if he didn't.
"Ami, you could ace your placement exams right now even if you had to put your answers down in the form of binary strings." There's no small amount of vicarious pride for her in his voice when he says that. "If you're worried... I did mention the internet, phone? You'll bring your tablet, so you can study there too. I'll promise to make sure there's time set aside for it."
Takashi understands all of the concerns Kunzite brings, but in a perhaps Takashi-like sense, and with how much he heaps onto Ami for the sole fact that she is His Girlfriend and therefore more capable than all of the other humans on the planet excepting possibly himself, he considers, and has considered, her capable of resolving them simply.
But at the comment of his mother, whatever Takashi was going to say gets cut off and instead there's that subconscious shift of his other hand - the one not reaching instinctively for Ami's - closer to the locket he wears underneath his uniform.
"It's a crazy cool opportunity, and while I'm super not delighted that it's just the two of you, security or not, I'm pretty sure you can study anyhwere, Ami." Naru points out plainly enough, and in an entirely different tack from Kazuo. "Like, I'm fairly confident that you've exam notes on the back of your eyelids for when you're sleeping, or that you attend classes in your dreams." There's a pause, as if Naru is freshly considering sleep based learning thanks to recent dream experiences.
"If you decide to go, I can keep you updated on whats going on in our classes, although that's the least of the challenges really." Naru adds, with a glance to Kazuo and then back to Ami. "Either decision, I'll help as I can."
At each new reminder of why she shouldn't go, Ami's excitement seems to dwindle. Every phrase from Kunzite is just another justification for why this is an awful idea.
Except that last one justifies pretty much all of it. If this really is Takashi's mother, then he's going to need someone there to help him put into context what he finds. If it really is her, a lot of Ami's theories regarding Takashi stand to be resolved, or at least reinforced. If it is his mother, if her theories prove right, Takashi may be completely unpreared for what he will find there ... and he may very well need someone to guide him out of that discovery back to functional. Better a Senshi--especially one who cares about him--than some Eclipse drone.
And that means Ami is the only one who can possibly do this.
That's if it is her. If it isn't, then there are so many other possibilities, all of which are made less terrifying by having a Senshi who can call in the team to Sailor Teleport to back her up. Again, better a Senshi than some Eclipse drone.
But the costs are so high. If this doesn't go well, Ami risks ... what? Being confined to three years of high school just like a normal student, whereupon she will be able to retake her college exams just like everyone else?
Naru's offer to help earns her a very patient and appreciative smile, then Ami lowers her expression towards the ground. "Twenty four hours," she tells him. "There's no sense making two trips, but eight hours is ridiculous. I need twenty four hours." She looks back up to Takashi, hopeful that he'll accept the compromise. "And then ... then I just have to convince my mom. Can you give me that much time?"
Kazuo inclines his head to Ami again, straightforward. Not so much as a blink at Takashi's offer. That's Ami's to accept or slap down -- but it's Ami. They already have a habit of rewriting policy for her. One more is not going to be too much to swallow.
In the back of his mind, he's already listing pieces of information they might need access to in Ami's absence, things to check with Luna to make sure she can reach if need be -- things to be sure Ami gives Naru access to, in a capacity none of them particularly want to discuss in front of Takashi. "We'll do what we can," he says instead.
That may, granted, mean 'the boys are available to distract Usagi if necessary.'
Takashi's eyes narrow a bit at Naru's 'super not delighted' comment, but he at least has learned that letting himself fly off the handle at Ami's friends has some degree of consequence, and she's been more a help than a hindrance.
A pause, and he's running through ideas in his head - and the occasional glowing of the jewels in his ear indicate it's not just his head.
"Logistically I think I can do 24 hours. Still going to have to shift things around but it's wo- it's doable." he catches himself mid-sentance with less of a stop this time.
"I'd really rather have your eyes on this with me more than anyone else. I'll make the changes." A short, sharp Device ping. "Axion and I will make the changes." he corrects, rolling his eyes.
"This is sudden, I know. I don't like leaving my lab, my projects, but this is... very important. I hope you understand that." he says, but oddly, he looks at Kazuo for just a moment while saying it.
In spite of any reservations Naru might have, the confirmation that Ami is going, and Takashi accepting the 24 hr request makes her smile. "How exciting, and do you need help packing while you deal with your mother?" A more concrete offer on top of the whole 'help as she might' that came from Naru.
There's plenty to be done in the next twenty four hours, seems likely Ami is going to sleep on the trip down rather than before.
Kazuo doesn't say anything in response to Takashi. He doesn't even look in his direction -- or Naru's, or Ami's. That doesn't keep him from nodding his head toward the other boy.
Whether or not that happens to be the moment when Takashi is looking.
Ami didn't quite realise she was holding her breath, but she was. When he agrees, she allows herself to smile, then turns to Naru and nods emphatically. "Actually, I'm going to need both of your help, if you're willing," she says, including Kunzite in the request as well. "There's more than just packing I need to do, and you two are literally ideal for this."
She glances towards Takashi, then says, "Go away so I can get ready. Figure out what changes need making. And ... email me the coordinates so I can figure out what to plan for in terms of climate and environment. Pick me up here after school tomorrow and we can leave from there." Provided her mother doesn't put the stop on this whole thing. She is probably going to have to lie to her. Ugh.
"Makoto's going to kill me," Ami notes quietly. "Then she's going to kill both of you for encouraging this." But she's smiling, just a little. "I'm going to South America tomorrow." Yeah, it just hit home.