Ami and Rei did thier homework. It was easy enough to get ahold of Tsukasa Amakawa. So thusly, the team and/or person representing the Senshi were invited into the Guardians Greenhouse Tea Garden on the Seiyou campus. It's just a little past twilight, and the horizon is just a little red as the night sky comes more proper into view.
There is of course, a tea kettle. Cups. and a plate of tea biscuits on the table in the center of the tea garden.
Tsukasa Amakawa, himself, is busy making sure everything is just perfect. Just because you're magical isn't an excuse to throw a really poor tea party. Nono. Tea parties must be /100%/ more proper when magic is involved. Virtue has weird priorities sometimes.
Luckily, everything seems to be perfect.
He is waiting for the Senshi to arrive. He also doesn't have his telescope with him. He's not particularly expecting trouble. Though. There is a cattail (the plant!) sticking out of his back right pocket. Insurance.
Sailor Mars enters the tea garden, as invited. She's not alone, thankfully, but she is prepared. Their mission is too important to jeopardize it by getting mixed up with the wrong kind of group, but Virtue seems to be on the up and up.
Mars sees a familiar face, and pleasantly places her hands behind her back and smiles. "Amakawa-san, right? It's a pleasure to see you again. Thanks for meeting us like this."
Walking out behind Sailor Mars, Mercury is being very super diligent in making sure NO ONE can sneak up on them (with the exception of Tuxedo Kamen, but he's a special case). She looks all about, holding her computer to her chest as she looks about.
Once she is quite positive the coast is clear, except for Amakawa, Mercury's attention THEN turns to him.....and bows. "Pardon my caution, Amakawa-san, but circumstances have dictated that we use extra caution lately. We shall explain at length."
"Circumstances have dictated that we use extra caution lately."
The pretty soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon, is like a flash rushing out from behind Mars and Mercury, her eyes already growing large at the lovely tea set placed out! There's biscuits, and tea in a beautiful tea garden.
"IT'S SO CUTE! All the little biscuits and tea! Fit for a princess, or royalty!" Sailor Moon is already laughing and smiling warmly to the headmaster, showing neither caution nor a single unkind bone in her body. There's no suspicion here, as she beams a bright smile. Somehow, she's already pilfered a biscuit for herself.
"The Pretty Soldier of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon! It's nice to meet you Amakawa-san!" Then she's bowing to the man. The biscuit lasts less than a second, already devoured.
There's sneaking up on people, and then there's tricks of shadows and glass and silence and a little bit of heart's desire.
Tuxedo Kamen, minus his hat due to being indoors, is suddenly apparent inside the tea garden already, examining a rose. He straightens, his cape falling back as silently and smoothly as hot tea from a perfect spout, and he offers the faintest of smiles with a perfectly social bow. "Sailor Senshi," he greets politely, "Amakawa-san."
He should say something else. He could. But they're not in the heat of battle, there are a lot of them, he's out of his depth, and Sailor Moon is here and she just inhaled a biscuit and he's already decided it's better to remain silent and be thought cool than to speak up and remove all clout.
Approaching is easy. Simple. Nothing particularly evil here. In fact. None of it is. Tsukasa himself really doesn't bleed evil much as friendly kindness. He manages to be flamboyant and passionate while being serious at the same time. He smiles and motions to the table. "Have a seat. Though. You can stand if you wish." he says. He sits down. He chooses to sit down and picks up the kettle. "Tea?" he asks.
There's a large plate of tea biscuits there. He won't be surprised if Sailor Moon finishes them all this night- with how she immediatly gravitated towards them. He doesn't seem particularly concerned about this.
Though.. words like caution and certain circumstances give him a slightly concerned expression. "Then, by all means. Before we talk, please let me know what troubles you all so?" he asks.
He gives Tuxedo a polite nod. "It's good to see you again." he says. "Tea?" he asks at Tuxedo Kamen's just slightly later arrival. "Also, please, by all means, help yourself to the biscuits. That's what they're there for." he smiles.
Mars takes a seat. It's only proper to. She may as well try to make a good impression! "Tea? Yes, please."
Mars takes a biscuit and takes a bite out of it. She's not as much of an enthusiastic eater as Moon is, but she wants to try at least one. At the mention of trouble, Mars eyes betray a bit of sadness. She momentarily glances over to Mercury before turning back to Tsukasa and saying, "Well... we've had a betrayal recently. Not one of our team, but someone we thought of as a friend. Someone calling herself The Princess, and a couple of her friends. I think Mercury knows her better than I do..."
Mars sees Tuxedo Kamen, and gives him a friendly wave. She's perfectly happy and non-threatening, very much unlike the time she showed up at Mamoru's apartment. She wonders how he managed to get in here.
"Kamen-san! How've you been?"
Mercury smiles brightly to Tuxedo Kamen and waves a cute little wave to him. Despite all of the times she's run into him, she felt a LITTLE comfortable around him. She might not know if he's an ally or not but.....she was going by her gut feeling....and following Sailor Moon's lead on him.
When Mars mentions the betrayal, Mercury taps her computer and brings up the recording she did at the fight. it was sorta jumbly, but there were no scans because she was taken completely off guard. She's able to pause it a couple of times to get blurry visions of their faces though. "The main one is called the 'Princess', and she allowed me to call her 'ma'am' for a time. Even her guardians seemed friendly until that incident." She says as she lets it play until the team up attack, and Tuxedo kamen throwing himself in front of the attack to save Sailor Moon. "If it wasn't for Tuzedo Kamen here." She gestures with her head to him. "Sailor Moon would probably still be in the hospital." She says before she turns the computer towards herself again. "What's odd though....." She says going to another file. "Is that, according to a scan I did in a dark labyrinth a couple of days ago....she's not completely dark energy.....but she just has 'pockets' of it on her. And it only shows up in a dark dimension." She then shrugs. "but, this meeting isn't about them."
Surprisingly, the biscuits aren't immediately demolished as a whole. This is likely due to Sailor Moon giving a little gasp of surprise.
"Tuxedo Kamen! You're really okay!" She puts down the tea, forgets the food, and is over to him quickly as he examines that rose.
"I'm so glad, I..." Her lips purse, and there's this brief look of guilt on her face. Then, it fades into determination.
"Next time I'll get stronger, so you don't have to get hurt for my sake. Thank you." She whispers to the man, suddenly serious. Then she runs back over to the seats.
"Uhm, yes! Thank you for inviting us." She finally adds as an afterthought. Then she seems content to let Mercury handle the details as she shows the man what happened.
She frowns here, troubled.
"...That girl didn't like what she was doing." She comments quietly, and perhaps meaningfully.
But then she nods with Mars and Mercury.
"We want to find out about Virtue."
Tsukasa's offered the ghost of a smile and a slight shaking of his head in response to the offer of tea. He had tea with him before -- he's not even comfortable sitting down in the presence of the Senshi, it seems. Rei gets, from him, a look that's amused, but oddly aloof, somehow. He tips his imaginary hat to her and to Mercury.
And then there's Sailor Moon.
Startled, Tuxedo Mask freezes when she runs over to him; there's an abortive little motion of his hands as he starts to lift them, perhaps to stop her from crashing into him and then doesn't need to. Perhaps. It's probably a trick of the light that his face colors slightly, and it's fortunate indeed that she flits back to her seat immediately afterwards.
He steps closer, at least, so that he's not hovering or invading their space, but doesn't take a seat. A light clearing of his throat. "Ah. I'd thought you were going to talk about her," he says, tone pleasant and distant, despite the fading flush to his face. He almost says something else, and then, once more, snaps his mouth shut.
Tsukasa listens to Sailor Mars, and looks over to Sailor Mercury's computer. He watches the footage. He frowns a little. "Your handsomely dressed friend here..." he motions to Tuxedo Mask. "Already made me aware of this specific problem. Though. Seeing this footage answers a few questions that have been in the back of my head for a bit. I have some people investigating it, but This Princess isn't targeting masses of people like Scorn did. It makes it harder to track things." he says.
He pours tea for those that accept. He moves on, as the Senshi seem to not want to talk at length about the Princess situation. He's more than happy to change the subject.
"I invited you to talk, because. Quite frankly. I am very impressed and humbled by you all." he smiles. "It takes a specific kind of person, to reach out to somebody like 'Scorn'. To understand why they're doing the horrible things they're doing, and to find a better way." he asides. "Virtue tries it's best to help people. Not just misunderstood people with power, everyone we can." he asides. "I'm not very... magical, you could say, nowadays. Once, a long time ago- I was. I founded a group called The Guardians. It's been persistent though the years since. Primarily, it was Chara Bearers. But then as others started appearing- and wanting to help, it didn't feel proper to just call ourselves that. I do my best to provide guidance." he says. "We really don't have. Leaders, or anything offical like that. We don't help each other because we have power over someone else, we help because it's the right thing to do." he says as he takes a sip of his tea cup. "To be there to support one another."
Impressed? Humbled? Mars's ego is stroked. That may have been a bad idea. She chuckles a bit, and the way she sits and holds her tea she seems to be... preening? Thankfully she doesn't say anything too obnoxious. She's listening at the moment.
Scorn is mentioned, and her mood changes to one more serious and quiet. She remembers that girl, feeling her sadness and lonliness. When the truth came out, it didn't make things seem any better.
"We did what we thought was right. She was being taken advantage of. Sure, she attacked a lot of people. She even attacked us a few times... You remember, Mercury, behind the mall that one time? That was the first time we saw just how powerful she was."
The way she says the phrase 'taken advantage of' sounds like an accusation, though it's probably clear from context that the phrase is leveled at Corvus.
"Honestly the distraction provided by yourself and your... kingly friend gave us an important opening. I wasn't sure how exactly we were going to pull it off until we saw that Scorn was already busy."
She takes a sip of her tea before responding further, holding the teacup in one hand and saucer in the other. "So... a leaderless group. I suppose if we were to join we would be... allies and friends, instead of subordinates? I think that can mesh well with our own ends. We want to help people too."
Mercury listened quietly to Tsukasa, then to Mercury and nodded. "We did what we thought was right." She says in reply to Mars' comment of the same. "I will admit though.....at the tower.....I actually tried to kill her." She then lets out a breath. "She was attacking children and nothing I did seemed to work. As much as I wanted to help her out, when she turned the spell on those children....." She then closes her eyes and closes her visor. "....Something in me snapped, and I tried to kill her." Mercury then looks to Tsukasa. "WHile I'm glad I didn't and didn't have to, it was the only option I thought I had....until she said Corvus' name. THEN we had a lead we could work with." She then gestures to Mars. "mars was the one who opened up the avenue to help Scorn out." She then smiles a bit. "No leaders? No Hierarchy? Just a group of friends that help each other out? That....sounds like the Senshi to me." She then giggles as she nudges Sailor Moon. "Though I'm sure all of us are united under Sailor Moon here."
Tea. Tuxedo Kamen. Mars. Mercury. And one very nice headmaster.
Tea is supplied, and she's trying to sip with dignity. It amounts to one good day, despite the circumstances.
She looks from the headmaster to Mars.
She takes it in, and finally nods.
"Friends and allies are good! I mean, even without all of the dangers!" Then she's staring at Rei. Preening Rei. Never a good sign. She chuckles, leans over, and throws an arm around Mars in a friendly way!
Huuuug!
"Mars-chan is great! She's strong and cares a lot about other people!"
Then when Ami closes her eyes, a hand sneaks out. She'll take Ami's quietly, squeezing. She stares into her friend's eyes, concern and love lurking there.
She looks to the headmaster, and smiles.
"Having friends and allies means we can save more people, and help more people. Maybe if everyone were friends, then we wouldn't have to do things like fight." She frowns, looking into her teacup.
"I don't like it when people fight."
So very many things conflict in Tuxedo Kamen's heart and mind. One would think it would be so very easy to just sit down, participate in this conversation, participate in this... this community, this group, these friends. To belong, to contribute, to be a part of it. All the masked boy has to do is decide to-- right?
But there are compliments, there is notice being taken; even Tsukasa called him 'handsomely dressed'-- they're drinking tea and eating cookies and discussing doing good because it's what one does, good is, good's the done thing in this circle; they're powerful soldiers, they're girls and an old man, they're mysteries and magic, they're more than he is and they outnumber him, and it would be rude to steal away into the shadows.
He's tired and he doesn't know what to do with this 'having been invited' thing. Mars is collected and sure of herself, Tsukasa is kindly and proposes an egalitarian arrangement of allegiance, Mercury is--
Tuxedo Kamen stares at Mercury, eyes widening behind his mask.
Mercury bears watching, after all.
Watching and waiting is what he does best, not joining, not belonging. He has no practice. He talks big and believes the things he says when people need to hear it, but despite the growing number of people who know he's a person and who care about what happens to him, he has trouble believing any of it really applies to him, even when friendship is staring him in the face.
Except for her.
Abruptly, the boy in the mask and cape is smiling crookedly at Sailor Moon, and he takes a swift step forward to pull out the remaining chair and sit down, graceful and fluid. "One of the things allies do," he says like it's the setup for a joke on him, "is share information. So when you are all ready to talk about the princess who isn't *our* Princess, I do have more for you. In the meantime-- sir, what does someone need to do in order to join? What more besides saying that we are allies?"
Tsukasa smiles. "That's the idea." he says. "I'm merely a mentor and a mediator. I may ask you to do things. But I never force." he looks over to Mercury and frowns a bit. It's a sad frown, probably less at Mercury's actions and more of the idea of Mercury's actions. "We're only human, Mercury, in the end. When I heard about the Tower incident, my heart sank." he says sadly. "It caused me to wonder if she /could/ be saved. But I had to try anyways." he admits. Tsukasa never claimed to be perfect. It shows.
He looks over to Tuxedo Kamen, and merely answers with one word. "Trust." he says with a smile. "There's no contracts or papers to sign. There's no demand for you to tell us who you are behind the masks and beautiful outfits. The only mandatory policy we have, is that, you always do your best." he asides.
"Think of it less like joining a formal organization, and instead, joining a network of those you would hopefully be proud to call friends." he says.
"Of course. If you want formal.." he frowns just a little. "I'll begrudingly give you the contact information of a similar organization to ours. Thier view on how matters are handled are much different. They were trying to hunt, and kill Scorn. We're very lucky we got to her before they did." he says with a suddenly more cold demeanor.
*sip*
Mars studies Kamen meaningfully at the mention of the Traitor Princess. Mars feels a little guilty thinking of her in that way, as Runealy did save them once, but the shoe fits...
"I think we'd like to hear about that, when we get the chance to speak about her later."
Mars still isn't completely sure what to make of Tuxedo Kamen, so aloof and mysterious as he is, but he's never been an enemy. Quite the opposite: he protected Sailor Moon by body-blocking magical spells on multiple occasions. He's not just an ally, but an important one. She's happier to have him sitting down with them.
"It would be nice if we could also talk about *our* princess, too, but we're actually still lost on that front."
Mars raises an eyebrow. "Similar? Well... I can understand the desire to hunt her down. After all... she was attacking a lot of people, children included..." Her tone turns sad. "... but even then I don't think I could have just gunned her down. Not after feeling what she felt. Not after what my readings told me."
Mars wags a finger, playfully, brightening up a bit. "... but I'm happy with the way things turned out. I think the Scorn incident shows that we work together pretty well. We didn't even know each other, yet we managed to work together and achieve our goals!"
Mars spares a sad glance towards Mercury, saying, "I know that's how you felt at the time, but in the end we found a way, didn't we? It was the research of both of us that found the way. We never would've known Corvus's importance without you. We never would've learned about the tablets, either. You saved her just as much as the rest of us did."
"I know Mars." Mercury says with a sigh. "Doesn't make me feel any less guilty though." She then chuckles to Mars. 'Yeah. In the end we saved her...and that's what counts. Doesn't mean the end justifies the means though." She says squeezing Sailor Moon's hand. it's like she's the center for everyone else there."
It's then she blinks at Tsukasa's suddenly cold tone and tilts her head. "'Similar' Organization?" She then seems to process the rest and and takes a deep breath. "Let me guess. Remove the threat in the most expedient way possible?" She then makes a face. "The quickest way isn't always the best." She says sipping on the tea....and brightens immediately at the taste....
Amidst it all, there's a single force that makes all this normal. A singular, constant thing.
Sailor Moon is devouring those biscuits like a machine. It's somewhat like watching a rabid wolf combined with a wood chipper. It's advisable to not get too near that mouth.
She's mid-biscuit, however, as Tsukasa speaks of trust. There's a nomf to her biscuit, and she nods.
"No one's perfect! Mars is right, Mercury-chan!"
She smiles. "It all worked out in the end! And if everyone works together then we can make sure anyone else who's that desperate can come to their senses!"
A thoughtful chomp.
Then, a hand reaches out to her friends, and she gives everyone a meaningful glance.
"You're all my friends. And we've already helped her! And other people too! I think if we all stand by each other, then we'll be okay in the end!" Comes Sailor Moon with absolute certainty.
"Because I believe in all of you." All of the senshi, Tuxedo Kamen included, get a look. They're all friends to her. No one's excluded.
Then she stands, and moves up to the headmaster. Peeeeer! She leans in. Way, way too close. Peeeeeer!
Then she leans up and laughs.
"I think Tsukasa-san is trustworthy too! He's nice, and looks like it! I trust you! Let's all be friends, okay?" Asserts Sailor Moon, laughing warmly, a beam of light in all the gloomy talk.
"I don't," says Tuxedo Kamen mildly in response to Tsukasa, reserved in his motion and pleasant in tone, "think that that sort of mindset is particularly conducive to any of the goals stated here tonight, or that any of us is looking for someone to work for. I'd like the contact information, though I have no intention of joining forces with them."
Continuing to forego the tea for a moment longer, he nods to Mars-- and then clearly decides that tea in social situations is actually designed as a method of being subtle about fidgeting, because he shifts in his seat and then leans forward to pour tea into the last remaining cup. "I'm willing to talk," he says firmly, "because I believe our wishes and goals are aligned." Most of them, anyway. But who's counting?
Now with a teacup to hold so his hands aren't in his lap or straightening his mask or tugging down his waistcoat front like Captain Picard, and it's a REALLY GOOD THING because it means that he can, in fact, sip his tea while Sailor Moon talks with her mouth full, and close his eyes and swear up and down (if asked) that it was just because the tea tasted so good. And the teacup in his hand, covering his mouth, means no one can see the desperate attempt to keep from laughing and pay attention to what the pretty soldier of love and justice is actually saying.
Let's all be friends, okay?
Suddenly he's thinking of Mars threatening him out of henshin on his balcony while Storm Knight defended him, and of Sailor V telling him they needed to kill Mamoru Chiba; he's thinking of what Mercury just said about planning to kill Scorn; he's thinking of Makoto treating him with such suspicion and anger. And all of these things were in the interest of protecting friends dear to them.
What Sailor Moon is offering-- it's the chance to be one of those friends, instead of a potential target. But if he thinks of it like that--
--he thinks of Runealy telling him that risk/gain analysis is a terrible way to look at things, that it's measuring how much evil is 'okay' or acceptable. If he thinks of it like that, is he even good enough to be their friend?
He thinks of Miss White telling him that she thinks he's mad for wanting to spend effort on her when he has his own mission, a mission that won't be accomplished if he's not there. He thinks of Homura's quiet, iron desperation and the losses that are so clear on her face sometimes; of Madoka and their talk on the roof about miracles, wishes, payment, and self-sacrifice.
Suddenly he realizes he's been hiding behind his teacup for a noticeable length of time after Sailor Moon said 'let's all be friends, okay?' and it's actually gotten to the point that it's awkward and probably there might be some staring going on here, and he clears his throat. "I've always been," he says a little helplessly. "I've always been on your side."
Tsukasa smiles. "I've been having regular talks with her spirit friend. Procyon. She's doing a lot better, for what it's worth." he looks back to Mercury and frowns. "Yes. They were going to hunt her down and just try to end it there and end the threat. Which would had been really worse. The energy she drained would had stayed locked in that tablet. She'd had been the only one capable of releasing it. Otherwise, no one would had woken up." he says.
He looks to Sailor Moon and smiles. He might sweatdrop when Moon leans dooooown and closer. But only for a moment. "I do my best." is all he can say to her. Also. His shoulder may be covered in cookie crumbs. This doesn't seem to be potentially bothering him. Though a thought comes to his mind as the talk continues.
"You are all trying to find someone?" he asks. When Tuxedo Kamen mentions wanting contact info. He pulls a simple card out from his pocket. Takes a pen from his other pocket and writes something down. He hands the card over to Tuxedo Kamen. "You'll want to ask for a Chrono Harlaown. I don't like him very much. But circumstances force us to work together sometimes. Our mindsets are completely opposite of one another." he does notice Tuxedo Kamen's general awkwardness. He feels bad for keeping him here. This may not be the first time he's dealt with someone like Tuxedo Kamen.
Mars giggles at Moon's friendliness. "I believe in you too, Sailor Moon. No matter how clumsy you are."
On the subject of Tsukasa, Mars nods in agreement, saying, "You give off good vibes, and your actions speak for themselves. I trust you, and I'd be happy to be your friend."
Tuxedo Mask says he's always been on their side, and Mars would be hard pressed to find a reason to disbelieve him. It feels right.
"Alright, Kamen-san." She feels a little strange being formal when he's already done so much for them, so she adds, "Or maybe Kamen-kun would be more appropriate?"
Tsukasa asks about who they're looking for, and Mars considers him for a moment. "Well, it's a bit of a secret, but since we're all friends here..."
Mars clears her throat before starting. "We're looking for someone known to us only as the Moon Princess. She's... she's someone very important to us as Sailor Senshi. Our job is to protect her. We don't really know that much about her, other than that. We don't have much to go on, but I guess we'll have to figure it out as we go along."
She doesn't sound distressed as she says that, but her helpless shrug seems to apologize for not being very useful.
Sailor Moon, completely oblivious to biscuit-crumbs, clenches both fists. Notably, she's still devouring the last biscuit at the same time. Usagi Tsukino is nearly without peer when it comes to eating.
Never get her and Kyouko Sakura in the same room together.
"I'm glad that she's doing okay!" Comes Sailor Moon warmly. She's truly relieved.
And then she frowns.
"Killing someone doesn't solve anything. That will just end in sadness for people who care! There's no one without people who care about them!" Asserts Sailor Moon strongly.
mars' words are quickly latched on to.
"Kamen-kun!" Offers Sailor Moon, nodding several times. She's blushing too. And giggling. Not a good sign.
Sailor Moon, too, looks to the Headmaster.
"If you know anything..." She offers, a little weakly. That particular search has shown them little success, discouraging to the young senshi.
"She sounds wonderful! I want to meet her and become friends!" Pause.
"I'll bet she knows plenty of Royalty Food!" Then she's laughing, a little awkwardly! One track mind, this magical girl.
Tuxedo Kamen really-- is completely at a loss. He sort of was keeping his footing a litle bit, and then Kamen-kun was just a thing that happened and Sailor Moon is blushing, and then he can't focus on anything else.
There's even conversation he could contribute to! But she has a crumb on her cheek and now all he can think about is brushing it off. So he turns a little red and glances down at his tea, trying not to scowl. Or blush. Or scowl. Either way, odds are pretty good he even forgot everything everyone else just said.
He finishes his tea and wishes he could teleport. But she's smiling, and pretty much everyone there at the table is undoubtedly able to read him like a book: he's watching her with unguarded affection.
Mercury smiled to Sailor Moon. She had been with her the longest, so she was used to her being clumsy....much more than Mars. "I agree with Sailor Moon, except in extreme circumstances." She says softly before looking to Tuxedo kamen and smiles. "Yes, I do believe we can consider him a friend." She then looks to Tsukasa, but Mars beats her to the punch. She listens and smiles. "Well yes, that would be true, but since we don't have any data on her, we can only go by word of mouth." She then tilts her head. "I guess you can count us as....part of your.....group? Since we can't exactly call it an organization due to it's lack of structure." She then giggles a bit and puts her computer away. "I'm sorry i was so......guarded, when I got here." She then watches Tuxedo kamen and chuckles, before she sips more of her tea.....
The tea was good.
Tsukawa takes in what Mars says about a Moon Princess. His eyes seem to scan left and right as he seems to think. "I'm sorry, this is a new one to me, it seems." he asides. "If I come across any kind of information- or leads to something of that effect, I'll make sure you're the first to know." he smiles.
He nods to Sailor Moon. "No, it does not." he says to Sailor Moon. "Killing someone... anyone isn't something you can take back. You can't apologize for it. Nothing you can do, can fill the void of that person easily." he says a little more stern face.
He looks to Tuxedo Kamen. Yeah... Yeah he's going to end this now, for his sake. Tsukawa isn't a sadist.
He smiles to Mercury. "I will talk more about this with you another day. I'll make sure that you have access to the Virtue-Net. That may intrest you more than this silly discussion, given your penchant for that computer and data." he says with a smile.
"For now, as much as this pains me, I have others I need to meet with, too. It was an honor to meet you all today." he says with a genuine smile.