1436/This Cat is One Life Down: Usagi is Going to Kill Ikuto!

This Cat is One Life Down: Usagi is Going to Kill Ikuto!
Date of Scene:	21 April 2024
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	Ikuto made a grave mistake at prom, and Usagi Tsukino has come to collect. Of course, it turns out Ikuto has made other grave mistakes since then... will his shins ever recover?
Cast of Characters:	Ikuto Tsukiyomi, Usagi Tsukino

---

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto was having a pretty good day. He'd recently had his first real outing with Yuki Hoshino along with some friends and even an enemy, and it had gone well despite his worries. His mind was wandering a bit as he roamed around, having failed once again to get the figure he wanted from one of the arcade's UFO catcher machines. "I'll get Loid-san from that machine one of these days...so cool..."

Yoru's ears perked up as he rested on Ikuto's shoulder and a shiver went down the little Chara's spine, all the way to the tip of his tail. He turned to the human, a look of dread on his face. "I-Ikuto, do you feel that?" Ikuto stopped, and nodded. "Easter again..? No, this feels worse. Sunbreaker, maybe? But she would just announce herself. She's not subtle." Both Chara and Bearer looked around, certain someone or something was watching them.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Someone is indeed watching Ikuto, and there is, indeed, a sense of malice in the air, emanating from said someone. After all, Usagi Tsukino has many reasons to be angry with Ikuto Tsukiyomi (and some of them, she hasn't yet found out!), and now, here he is, practically in her own backyard, casually wandering the Ward of Tokyo she knows like the back of her hand.

And what do you know, there are no friends around to stop her or to save poor Ikuto's life.

Which is perhaps why as soon as the light changes, she storms across the street, shopping bag flung over her shoulder like an emblem of war.

"I-ku-to-kun," she practically sings out, and her smile is more of a grimace, "How are you? Break any girl's hearts lately?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto freezes. He isn't quite sure who the girl talking to him is, but her anger isn't just noticeable; it's practically infecting the air around her! Yoru is tugging on his ear now. "Ikuto, we should run, we should run now nya!"

The catboy is trying to will himself to run. He really is. Even without Yoru's help he'd be able to tell that he's in a lot of trouble. Who, who is this though? Why is she so mad? He tried to make up for his mistakes, didn't he?

Ikuto looked around frantically, and finally turned back to the girl with the shopping bags. "I-is this about Chiyo-chan? Is it about me telling Madoka-chan who Hinoiri-chan really is? Did the karaoke place send you because I forgot to unblock the roof access?! Who -are- you?!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The little fairy is getting the stink-eye too; Yoru hadn't stopped Ikuto from stomping on her cousin's heart, so as far as Usagi is concerned, he's on her shit list too. The fact that the boy is just staring at her, eyes wide and terrified, like he's never imagined someone would be angry about him over the whole ordeal -

And then he starts spilling the beans, and there are more beans than she thought.

A hand rises, palm flat against his face, and Usagi's face turns somehow harder, fire practically burning in her eyes.

"You did what with Hinoiri-chan?" Her voice is a hiss. "I'm going to get back to that. Oh, I'm going to get back to that. But for now, this is about Chiyo-chan, you complete and utter jerk! How dare you ruin my cousin's prom? How dare you two-time her! What were you thinking, huh? You think it's okay to go to a dance with one girl and spend the rest of it with another?!"

And she kicks him in the shin. Just outright kicks him in the shin.

"Chiyo-chan was trying to have a good time because Kukai was such a spineless loser, and you go and do that?!"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Slap. Ow. At least he didn't go flying like when Sunbreaker did it. This was about Chiyo, then. Mainly, though he also seems to have accidentally dug his hole a bit deeper in trying to figure out who this was.

Kick. Yoru winces. That looked pretty hard. "Ow, frickin'...ack, you have a hell of a kick! Okay I deserved that too! I..probably deserve more, I know. You must be Chiyo-chan's cousin. Usagi-san, right? You uh...told me my suit made me look like a yakuza. But you looked different at prom. One of your friends called you Usagi though, and Chiyo mentioned that you were her cousin. So that must be you." The catboy looks down, not trying to get away or even protect himself.

"I..messed up. Bad. Prom was supposed to be a chance for Chiyo to forget about the other incident. Instead I just made another bad memory for her, I know. I'm trying to make it up to her in some way. We're even..friends now, after she caught me following her around trying to make sure she always had someone to help if there was trouble. I'm doing what I can to help keep her safe because, well. She's already been hurt twice. I can't let it happen ever again. Not by me or anyone else."

There's a surprisingly regretful expression on the catboy's face. "I didn't mean to hurt Chiyo-chan like that. Someone I had protected before showed up without a date, and Chiyo-chan was away helping with the refreshment supplies. We danced, and...I lost track of time. It was stupid. Inconsiderate. Yuki-chan didn't even know because I misunderstood when she'd asked if I was with someone."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
That kick had kind of hurt her foot too, but Usagi sure isn't going to let it show. Her hands are clenched tight into fists, her shopping bags straining under her grip. "Yes, you deserved that! And yes, I'm Usagi Tsukino, grade 10, Chiyo-chan's cousin, and I sure did say you looked like a yakuza! I should have known that was a sign!"

It really wasn't though!

"You were following her around?! Did you read a book on bad ideas or something?! Why would you do that? Why would you think that would make anything better?!"

Her free hand covers her face. Her shoulders tremble. For some girls, this might be as sign of rage. For Usagi? A sign that she's livid.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths, Usagi-chan! She didn't tell Suna-san that she was going to kill him, so the plan to hide the body isn't ready, and also, they're on the middle of a public street, and some people are staring. She probably shouldn't kill him openly, publically, and in the middle of the street, especially when he looks like he actually regrets what he did.

"Yeah, but you did. You hurt her, and you ignored her, and Chiyo-chan's great, so she's probably being nice and good to you, even though you did that. You... you need to get it in your head, that when you decide to do something nice for someone you, you focus on them? You get that? I don't care if someone else didn't have a date - Chiyo-chan had a date."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Sensing that Usagi is angry with him too, Yoru speaks up. "I couldn't stop him from being dumb. And it wouldn't be right to even if I had that kind of influence over him! Part of my purpose as a Guardian Character is to help Ikuto grow into the person he desires to become, and that includes letting him make stupid mistakes so he can learn from them. Though I would have thought he'd know better than to forget about his own date, nya. Did you know he's never been on a date before, Usagi-san? His father had already disappeared by the time he was at the age that dating would be normal, and his sister kinda chased away any girls who liked him when they were younger, nya! In -fact- Ikuto has barely ever had friends at all! His only real friend was Tadase-kun, and until recently Ikuto was pushing him away to keep Easter from noticing him."

The catboy is practically shrinking in size as Yoru so casually exposes him to this girl he's just meeting for the first time.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Yoru starts speaking, and Usagi's hostile glare doesn't seem to stop him from doing it.

And honestly?

The more he talks - it's not that Usagi gets less angry. She's plenty angry, a firework popping off sparks. But the anger is joined by bafflement, and then a bit of horror, and then a reluctant, sympathetic secondhand embarrassment.

Begrudgingly, she shakes her head, looking Yoru dead in the eye.

"You saying all that probably hurt more than my kick did, and that really makes me want to kick him again," she huffs. "I was ready to rip him to shreds and then sprinkle the shreds around, but here you are, tearing his ego to ribbons. I hope Guardian Chara aren't all like you, because that's just awkward."

How is she supposed to tear into him now? Friendless, fatherless, being chased by some holiday for Jesus-san-

Wait, no, Easter is also a company! She remembers this, and that makes all of this just a little less baffling.

"Well, you made your choice for Ikuto's sake, and I'm making mine for Chiyo-chan," she says stubbornly, "You let my cousin get hurt for his sake, and now you can feel as bad as he does about it."

Turning her glare on Ikuto, she adds, "Here's a professional tip: you don't make friends by forgetting about them the second you're not sharing a room. It's like, object permeance. Even babies have that. If Chiyo-chan's decided to let you be her friend, then you'd better do a lot better with her, going forward. Do you understand me?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Yoru quiets down, and Ikuto nods. It's true, his ego is in tatters right now. Yoru picked his moment to truly express his disappointment in the boy, and made sure it hurt. If Ikuto were younger it'd actually have been a bit too far, but Yoru knew that his Bearer was resilient enough to handle this, and that he needed to hear it.

"...I care about her. She's been kind even though I've been nothing to her but the bad luck cat I've always felt like. I'm going to do better for her, and for myself too. And for all my friends who believe in me even though I screw up a lot."

There's something there in his eyes when he says he cares about Chiyo. A brief flash of truly deep regret that goes beyond teenage mistakes. A seed left uncared for, drying out in the earth even as another grows nearby. It wanted to be more. It dreams of a day when it could grow like the others, though for now will remain hidden away. Wishing.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You'd better do better," Usagi scowls. She takes a deep breath - tries to draw it in, tries to decide how she feels about all this, because Chiyo-chan probably would be really unhappy if she beat Ikuto too badly for hurting her when she's decided to be his friend -

"Chiyo-chan made her choice to be your friend. I don't know if that means she forgives you, or if she just thinks you deserve a second chance... but I'll let that be her choice."

It's a mature moment, a strong decision - and then she kicks him in the shins again. Somehow, even harder! He'll have a bruise for sure.

"But next time you even think of doing something that might hurt Chiyo-chan, I want you to remember this! I want you to remember how this feels, you hear me? Because Chiyo-chan deserves the very best, and you had the chance to be that, and you weren't."

What hurts more? The emotional blow, or the physical?

A deepn breath, and Usagi reaches up, brushes her hair back, makes sure her odango are still perfectly in place.

"Now, about what you said about Hinoiri-chan... what exactly did you tell Madoka-chan?!"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto finally does stumble and fall with the second shin kick. "Gah!" He slowly gets up, wincing but not complaining. He -did- deserve this. "I get you. You're right, she deserves the best. Better than I can give, at least right now."

"Er...well..." Ikuto thinks back to that day. "Hinoiri-chan had Yoru stuffed in a coffee mug or something...she wasn't transformed like usual, but it was real obvious who she was with the way she was acting. Like she didn't even care about hiding who she was from me, you know? Same old Hinoiri-chan. Or you know...wait, do -you- know who she is? I'm gathering that this was a mistake, so I'd rather not accidentally expose her a second time. No, you must know or you would have been more confused. Same old Sunbreaker, though. Rude. Dismissive. Overconfident."

"So, Madoka-chan showed up when she saw the two of us facing off, but she clearly didn't know who Hinoiri-chan really was, or how dangerous she was. She got pretty close, and I could see that Hinoiri-chan was barely restraining herself. I didn't want Madoka-chan getting hurt if she decided to attack right then, so I said...'You know she's Sunbreaker, right?'"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The story comes out, and Usagi facepalms, exhaling slooooooowly so she doesn't - no, wait. He's on the ground, so kicking him while he's literally down should be beneath her... but Usagi Tsukino is a short girl and there's very little that's actually beneath her.

"You are one of the dumbest boys I know," she says slowly, hand still on her face, "And I'm resisting the urge to literally kick you while you're down. You know know that. Because you are so dumb."

Face. In hand. Face. In hand.

Hand, now in fist, no longer on face.

"Before I even get into how stupid it was to be the first idiot to blow someone else's secret, what made you think that telling Madoka-chan the truth was going to put her in less danger?! All that did was make it so Hinoiri-chan'd feel justified if she did make things more violent! You outed her! You took away her only reason not to go nuclear!"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto blinks. "Oh. Shoot. I uh. Didn't think about that. Honestly, what happened after that was even more...bizarre, than anything I've ever seen in this weird life we lead."

Ikuto shakes his head, remembering. "Hinoiri-chan got pretty mad at me, and then uh. Madoka-chan got really mad at -her-. And slapped her pretty hard. Then Hinoiri-chan jumped her and they started like...brawling. No transformations or anything. Just...full-on UFC style on the street near...right over there actually." The catboy motions towards the spot where the two girls had gone at it, maybe ten feet away from where they were standing now.

"I was hoping Hinoiri-chan would focus on me rather than Madoka-chan, but then they started just...fighting." Yoru chimes in, "And then we all had to run because the fuzz showed up, nya! It was like a scene from one of those delinquent movies where the police come running with their whistles, going 'BWEEE, BWEEEEEEEEE! NE, CHOTO MATTE KISAMA! BWEEEE!' "

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'm getting the feeling you don't think about a lot," which is a mean thing to say, but especially coming from a student historically known for her D average in school. When Usagi is calling you an idiot? You're a real idiot.

"That's because you got in the middle of something you don't know anything about," Usagi says tiredly, "Hinoiri-chan used to date Madoka-chan's best friend, and finding out Hinoiri-chan's other identity probably, you know, pissed her off enough that she didn't care about doing something crazy. And Hinoiri-chan might be a villain, but she's got enough principles that she wouldn't just start burning Madoka-chan unless they were both transformed."

Of course it turned into a slap fight. At least that's all it turned into.

"Secret identities are the only thing that keeps this whole thing from turning into an all out war. You revealed Sunbreaker's identity - what would you do if she revealed someone else's? To someone who doesn't have principles? Are you going to go whoopsy I didn't think if someone loses their house, or their family, or their life?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto shakes his head. "You're right. I never really you know..thought about any of that. When your 'identity' floats around you all day and is just kinda out there all the time, it can be easy to forget that most people are a lot more secretive, and for good reasons."

"You know, Hinoiri-chan showed up for the karaoke date Yuki and I had..and didn't do anything evil. She was a bit rude as usual, but...she didn't try to set anyone or anything on fire. She sang with us like we were just regular friends. Well, if regular friends threatened to turn Bow's life into 'tartar sauce' if they hurt Sayaka, whatever that means. I should apologize to her, huh?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Yes," Usagi says flatly, "You should apologize to her, and make sure she knows you'll never do it again, and that you're sorry, because you're an idiot."

Harsh!

"It's not like I don't... get it. I've wanted someone's identity before too, and I didn't like not getting it - but the truth is, look, you might have blown it. She might not forgive you, and she'll probably hit you even harder than I did... but yeah, she has her rules, you know? She tries to keep them. I'm not going to say you're a bigger jerk than her - I'm her friend, but I'm not like, blind to her faults. She's hurt people. She values her plans and her dreams more than people's peace. But she's not stupid, and she doesn't try to make her life worse. And going after someone out of henshin? She knows we'd all come down on her like, I dunno, the wrath of a god. She might think she's way stronger than all of us, but that doesn't mean she wants to make her life hard."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"Hm..I should get her a gift. Girls like gifts right..? Yoru, help me pick out something nice for her later. We'll use Nikaidou-sensei's money again. Uh. Usagi-san, you didn't hear that..."

Ikuto shrugs. "You know I..used to be er. Bad, too right? I worked for Easter for a few years, helping them with their plans. My sister still does. I..know what it's like to think you're doing what's best for yourself, or someone you care for. And what it's like to think you're on top of the world with a bit of strength. I guess what I mean is, well."

Yoru floats up again. "If there comes a time when Hinoiri-chan can be helped to get out of the bad guy life, we want to help her too, nya!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I think you should buy Chiyo-chan a gift, before you buy Hinoiri-chan one," Usagi says with a huff, "I know all about embezzlement, I used to help Hemachan do it."

He was in Obsidian, so he might recognize that Hemachan could be referring to Hematite.

"If you want to steal from bad guys to do nice things for my friends, that's fine. Just don't do anything even a little romantic for Chiyo-chan, because you don't mean it."

And even if he did, he's not good enough for Chiyo-chan. Not anymore.

"If you want to help Hinoiri-chan get out... it would probably be good for her to have friends who know what she's been through." A brief pause to give Ikuto the stinkeye. "Even if you'll have to do a bit of groveling first."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Yoru nods very matter-of-factly. "Yeah, IKUTO. No doing anything romantic for Chiyo-chan or I'll snitch to Yuki-chan and then you'll be in a lot more trouble. nya!" Ikuto glares at Yoru. "Benyadict Arnold."

"What should I even get Chi-chan? I mean...agh. You're her cousin. What stuff does she like? I can't just go stalking her to figure out her hobbies. And..it's not embezzlement! It's just theft! As for Hinoiri-chan...do you think she'd even want to be friends?" Yoru smugly chimes in, "I bit her last time when she catnapped me, nya! That's why I got put in the mug."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A sharp nod. Maybe snitching to that other girl would make him back off her Chiyo-chan!

"Aren't they the same thing? It's stealing either way." She flaps a hand. "She hates getting food gifts, because people always think someone who makes candy must like food a lot. She likes manga, and if you don't know anything about manga, you could get her something popular and not romantic, at all. You can look up ratings online."

She pauses and considers.

"Don't get her any clothes, or gift cards for clothes, or candles, or flowers, either. All of those are like, boyfriend-y gifts. She doesn't like idols, so don't get her anything with idols. And she already has a phone charm, so not one of those either."

Ikuto seems like the kind of guy who needs to be told what not to get in plenty of detail.

And then finally his words catch up to her -

"CHI-CHAN?!"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto blinks. Again. "Eh? Did I say something strange? That's what I've called her sometimes for a while. Why would I get her candles though? She doesn't seem like the occult type. Manga...hm. I read a ton, but...I do read a lot of cute manga. I mean uh. No I don't, I read stuff like um. Fist of The North Star! And uh...the last time I had anything idol-related that wasn't of my sister, it ended up in a watery grave..."

Yoru raises a paw. "Is Chiyo-chan actually a ninja, nya? Maybe Ikuto should get her a cool set of knives or some climbing claws...or a grappling hook nya!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Of course Chiyo-chan is a ninja," Usagi says without skipping a beat. Anything to boost Chiyo's reputation and just distract from anything that would make Chiyo's other identity a problem. Especially since Ikuto and Yoru seem kind of... dumb. Disrespectfully.

"Sometimes a nice scented candle makes a great gift, but not from dumb boys who break your heart, so don't worry about it." She's scrubbing her face.

"It's just a really friendly nickname from a guy who's so clueless. If she didn't stop you...." A face is made. "Cute manga is fine, as long as it's not romantic."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto nods. "Manga, then. Cute, not romantic. Thanks, Usagi-san."

Yoru meanwhile looks to be over the moon. "She's REALLY A NINJA NYA?! SO COOOOOL! Hopefully her clan doesn't really try to kill Ikuto, 'cause he still really cares. He's just never gonna admit it because he likes Yuki-chan a whole lot, but Chiyo is spe-NYA!"

With a fast, near-frantic motion Yoru is stuffed in Ikuto's pocket. "We should get going! I appreciate the advice...and I also appreciate you delivering the reprisal Chi-chan wouldn't do herself. Here. I'll give you my number. If she's ever in danger, let me know and I'll be there. I'm glad she has family like you looking out for her."

The catboy hastily scribbles a phone number on a scrap of paper, offering it.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You're welcome," Usagi sighs a little, because she doesn't know how on Earth this ended up with her being thanked... "Just do better, alright?"

She accepts his number, inputting it into her phone and, after a moment, texts him back, with her number. "Here. This is my number, alright? If you think you're going to do something stupid, call me maybe, and I'll try and talk you out of it."

She probably shouldn't take that upon herself, but hey. Someone has to, right?

"I have to get back to shopping too, so... just... remember Chiyo-chan's totally a ninja, and she and her clan could kick your butt if you're a jerk again."