209/Catching Up, Catching On

Catching Up, Catching On
Date of Scene:	24 July 2023
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	Sometime after Kokytos, Usagi and Wako meet to exchange information, tease each other about romance, and have a treat. Also? Luna and Vice President are Watching Each Other.
Cast of Characters:	Wako Agemaki, Usagi Tsukino

---

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Summer break continues, and mercifully it's not all nonstop bad guys. A few days after the Very Bad Day in Juuban, they've had some time to recover, and Wako and Usagi - or rather, Ginga Otome and Sailor Moon - have agreed they should probably talk about things.

They could probably have just met up in the dorms, but it's summer break! In her ongoing mission to check out as many places to eat around Tokyo as she can, Wako has found a cute little cafe and staked out an outdoor table where nobody will pay that much attention to the chitchat of two teenage schoolgirls. It's a pleasant day, if hot; beads of condensation collect on the outside of her cup of peach soda while Wako occupies herself in waving the paper sleeve from her straw back and forth for Vice President to bat at.

When Usagi arrives, she drops the strip of paper (the fox immediately pounces on it) and lifts her hand to wave. "Over here, Usagi-chan!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
After that Very Bad Day in Juuban, Usagi had laid low, in typical Usagi fashion - a picnic with as many new friends as she could find, texting with Naru about this and that, thinking about when she, Darien, Koji, Naru, Chiyo, and Kazuo would get to have their summer fun together - just little things, you know? But duty called, eventually, as did nightmares, and as did the desire to get to know someone better.

And Ginga Otome - Wako-chan - was definitely someone Usagi wanted to get to know better.

She arrives at the cafe with Luna, the cat half poking out of the strappy little drawstring backpack she'd thrown on, a concession aimed at keeping the heat from singing Luna's paws. She'd wanted to come alone, but Luna would have none of it; she'd missed the fight, and the enemy, and now she wanted to miss none of the aftermath. At least she wasn't heavy.

"Hey Wako-chan!" She's quick to rush over, taking a seat at the outdoor table. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako shakes her head at the apology, smiling. "No, no, you're fine! It hasn't been that long. I was just trying to decide what I want to get to eat. Cold udon would be really good, but I kind of feel like something sweet would be nice, too..."

The little yellow fox is still rolling around her feet, wrestling with the straw-paper, as Usagi approaches the table. At the sight of Luna riding along in her little pack, though, Vice President shoots upright, darting quickly up the side of Wako's chair to perch on the top of her head. Apparently used to this kind of treatment, Wako glances up and sighs before looking back to Usagi. "Oh? That's your cat? It was at the construction site too, right?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oh good, I'll look at the menu too!" Usagi's quick to swing the pack off her back, setting it and Luna down on the corner of the table; Luna promptly climbs out of the bag and onto the table, doing a big stretch in that perfectly adorable cat fashion. She stares at vice president, her red eyes fixed on his, obviously inspecting the creature.

Usagi rolls her eyes a little at the cat, shooting Wako a little smile. "Yeah, that's Luna. She likes to follow me around wherever I go. I'm guessing that's your -"

She squints a little at Vice President, suddenly uncertain.

"Little dog thing?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
It's a mascot staredown! Vice President stays very still in the face of Luna's scrutiny, ears pricked straight up and black eyes bright. "He's a fox," Wako explains. "Come on, Vice President, it's too hot out for you to be on my head."

Vice President continues to stare at Luna while Wako gently removes him from the top of her head and sets him into her lap. "Behave yourself," she tells him.

Completely unaware of any tension between cat and fox (who are both definitely not aliens from beyond the solar system, why would you ask), she offers a hand that stops well short of trying to pet. "Nice to meet you, Luna," she says. "And thanks for coming today, Usagi-chan. I've been hoping to talk more with you for a while, even before... you know."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Luna is certainly not going to be the first to look away. There's something off about Vice President, something her instincts recognize as wrong - he's clearly no more the average fox than she is the average cat. She can reluctantly admit to being impressed - even when lifted and jostled by his human, the other creature doesn't break their staring contest.

The issue is decided by Usagi, who drops her hand to the top of Luna's head, blindfolding her with her fingers for a second. "Come on Luna, don't just stare the poor little thing down! You're the one who made me bring you, be nice."

Luna considers biting Usagi just to know how nice she was presently being. Instead, she sniffed, wriggled herself free, and sniffed Wako's hand, taking in what details of her scent she could.

Usagi relaxes at the sight, hoping it means Luna won't cause trouble. She'll explain that Luna's a talking cat later, when someone might not overhear them talking in public.

"Of course! I mean - I wanted to talk to you about, you know, but it's always good to make new friends. Sometimes I feel like that's all I do at school; those are the good days."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
With the staring match broken by act of Usagi, Vice President takes the better part of valor and curls up in Wako's lap. A truce, of sorts, or just the fox deciding to avoid the issue entirely. Wako keeps still to let Luna sniff, then settles back into her seat.

"It's the best part of coming here, for me," Wako agrees with a nod. "At my last school, it was mostly people I'd known since we were all in the first grade together, but at Radiant Heart I'm meeting so many new people."

She pauses for a sip from her peach soda, then smiles. "It seems like you have a lot of really good friends. Like Naru-chan. It'd be nice if making new friends was the most we needed to worry about at school..." She hesitates a moment, smile slipping into a more worried expression. "But it's looking like it won't be that simple here either."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Luna sniffs discreetly, then withdraws, sitting in a loaf on the table next to one of Usagi's elbows, planted on the table. She looks at Wako now, studying her. Vice President is peaceably ignored.

With the animals settled down, there's a lot less to distract from the elephant in the room, the important matter at hand. Usagi smiles a little, but the expression wavers, knowing exactly where things are leading. "I've always been pretty good at making friends. It's probably my number one talent - and Naru-chan's the first of them all. She's my best friend. We've always been together; it's... one reason I'm really glad she's at Radiant Heart too, even if..."

And then Usagi grimaces, lacing her fingers together, fingertips tracing over her knuckles. "Nothing's been simple for me since I came to this school. Wako-chan - did Ginga Otome happen before or after you came here?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Something shifts a little in Wako's expression as she regards Usagi. A silent understanding of something that she hadn't quite realized, in her prior encounters with Sailor Moon... and a sense of sympathy that follows. Oh.

"Before," she says, more quietly. Her fingers absently stroke the soft fur behind Vice President's ears as they talk. "Being able to fight like this myself is still pretty new. And so are these kinds of enemies, but... some of it, at least, I've known about for a long time. I don't know for sure, but I think it's probably why I got the invitation to transfer here."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi grimaces, a pang of envy that's swiftly swallowed by her own sympathy, once Wako admits that the fighting at least is pretty new. "...It's been a month. Since I transferred, I mean. Maybe... three weeks since the, the fighting started."

And it sucks, but she isn't going to say that, not when it isn't the point.

"Kyouka-sensei... she says the school gets people like us together on purpose. So... probably? But, Naru-chan, she's not like us. I mean, I don't think she is, she'd have to be trying really hard to hide it... so I don't think it's just people like us."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Inai-sensei told me that there's more of us now than there were when she was our age." Wako tilts her soda thoughtfully and watches the ice shift and clink inside the cup. "Even with that, though, I'm sure you're right. It can't be all of the students at Radiant Heart, especially not the younger kids."

Abruptly she sets the cup down and focuses on Usagi again, brows drawing together. "I didn't even ask, but are you okay? It seemed like you got hit pretty hard." She grimaces a little with the memory. "That lightning stuff really sucked. I can heal, a bit, if you're still hurt at all."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"She told me the same thing. There used to be like, twelve, for all of Tokyo." She grimaces. Twelve! Twelve magical kids, all fighting in Tokyo... "Pretty sure I've met that many of us in this month."

The offer is kind, the memory is awful - but Usagi giggles a little at the question. "Sorry, sorry, it's just - I'm okay, really. You're the third person to offer to help me heal up. Well, second, I guess - one of them did it on accident, I think. I'm all good now!" She raises both arms triumphantly, an exaggerated power pose. "...it wasn't great. But you got hit too, didn't you? Are you okay? He went after your shield thing too, didn't he?"

Zero Time, which had shattered around them...

Wako Agemaki has posed:
The worry mostly clears from Wako's face when Usagi demonstrates her good health - she laughs a little, herself, at being told how many people have offered healing. "You really do have a lot of good friends," she observes, seeming pleased. "I'm glad."

The reminder of how Zero Time was attacked is less pleasing. "It really wasn't great," she agrees ruefully. "I didn't even know that was possible. But I'm fine." She spreads her arms outward, demonstrating that she's also fully healed. "Takuto-kun patched me up, and once I had the chance to rest and get back some energy, I was able to heal myself."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I know. I don't know where I'd be without them."

Darien, Koji, even little Hotaru-chan...

"It sounds like you have a good friend too. I'd like to meet your Takuto-kun sometime. Is he... like us?" Maybe it's rude to ask, but given the situation, and the fact that Wako-chan had shared the name at all, it feels like a fair question.

"You really saved the day, you know? Even if it came down, when you put that starry sky up, all the people just - vanished. Everyone who couldn't find back, out of danger."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"He is," Wako confirms with no hesitation, no hint of a sign that she's bothered by being asked. Her smile turns rueful, but it's self-directed. "And way more experienced with this stuff than me. He's a very dependable person; I'd be glad to introduce the two of you."

There's a warmth to her voice as she talks about Takuto, a sense that the smile lingering on her lips comes automatically along with the topic. "Actually," she admits, "when Naru-chan talked about you before you and I met, I thought you must be somebody like Takuto-kun, too. And now that I'm getting to know you, I'm sure of it."

She leans forward, resting her forearms on the table to regard Usagi earnestly. "You were amazing out there yourself, Usagi-chan. Zero Time ended up being most of what I could really do - and I'm glad I was there to do that much, especially with so many monsters, but it wouldn't have counted for a lot if I'd been there alone."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'd be glad to be introduced." Not just because meeting someone dependable sounded pretty nice right now - Usagi has met many nice people since this all started, but dependable? Experienced? That seems to be a pretty rare set of qualities. She certainly doesn't have them.

Which is why she gapes like a fish at Wako's next comment, eyes wide with surprise. "Me? You think I'm someone like your Takuto-kun?"

Wako-chan, please explain your reasoning!

Despite that thought, she's still not prepared for Wako to lean forward, to regard her with such genuine eyes. "None of us would have counted if we'd been alone," Usagi says, flushing a little. "That guy - he was way too tough. We all had to work together to stop him. And - I don't know if I could do that again."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"You're right about that... he was way too strong." Wako pulls a face and sighs a little. "We've been lucky so far that there's been enough people showing up when things happen, but we'll definitely need to work together in the future, to make sure nobody ends up having to fight alone."

No more putting it all on one person. In the gentle but decided tone of one whose mind is firmly made up, Wako adds, "If anything happens, you can call me, okay?"

Then, sitting back, she smiles again. "And... yeah. A shining person, who can bring smiles to people's faces - that's the kind of power Takuto-kun has. And I get the feeling that's the kind of person you are as well, Usagi-chan, even though we haven't known each other for very long yet."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Yeah... I think, Inai-sensei is going to keep offering those lessons - you were there, right? I was busy with Ms. Trager-chan, but I remember seeing you! - and I think next time, we should try to swap phone numbers with everyone. I mean, even if we don't all know each other, we can be back up."

She has Rei-chan's number, and they can back each other up in an emergency - but even the two of them together wouldn't be enough to fight another guy like that. They'd need more numbers - more friends to rely on.

And she's glad Wako-chan is offering to be one. Usagi can't help but smile, and her nod is firm and determined. "You take my number today, and you call me too. Any time, okay? The worst that will happen is I'll have to tell a friend that I forgot something important. They'll believe it."

It's a very believeable excuse, coming from Usagi Tsukino, nothing anyone would question - ah? Eh? "A - shining person?" She can feel herself flushing red. "I mean! That's too nice, isn't it? Ahaha, come on, who isn't able to make people smile?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"You might be surprised." Unable to resist teasing just a little bit, Wako gives the other girl a friendly wink and a wag of her finger. "Anyway, it doesn't mean much now, but I am still the South Maiden of Southern Cross Island. My intuition is pretty good, you know?"

Looking amused with herself, she fishes out her cell phone. "That's a good idea, exchanging numbers with the others at self defense. You should take mine now anyway, but I'm going to keep going to the classes - there's lots I still need to learn."A few swipes, and she passes the phone over for Usagi to enter her number. The background is a photo booth shot of Wako and a red haired boy holding onions and making exaggerated crying faces for the apparent benefit of another boy who's only visible from behind. Sticker text reads This is your penalty for making an innocent man cry...onions!

"Takuto-kun comes to the self-defense classes with me, so you can meet him then if we don't have the chance before," Wako says cheerfully.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"The South Maiden?" Usagi cocks her head, baffled. She can recognize when something must be important... but she doesn't know this reference in the slightest, so she's Puzzled. But Southern Cross Island - she thinks she might have seen that place on a map, once or twice. Wako-chan's far from home, that's for sure. Still, what does being a maiden have to do with it?

"At the very least, everyone at the self defense class is someone Inai-sensei talked too. She'll tell us if she thinks it's a good idea or not." The conversation about Darien flashes to mind, and she grimaces. "Especially if it's not. But taking yours now is a good idea - and I'll text you, so you'll have mine."

She considers for a moment, then says - "Next time, see if you can practice with Ms. Tragar-chan. She's really enthusiastic, but she knows her stuff. She loves all this fighting and battle, and she might have ideas for you. She gave me some."

And that had come in handy.

And then Usagi sees the screen and she - giggles. A little. Then a lot. A lot. "What's happening in this picture?! Is this Takuto? Who are you - giving the onions too?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako just kind of shakes her head when Usagi asks about the South Maiden thing, as though it isn't really all that important. "Ms. Tragar-chan?" she echoes instead, sounding out the unfamiliar syllables. "I'll keep an eye out of her, then, and see what she thinks... oh!"

She straightens a little as something occurs to her. "About Inai-sensei, she gave you one of her cards, right? Did she tell you, you can use it to summon her? Like, out of nowhere. She didn't tell me about it at all, but I called her office phone after the thing with the plant monster and she popped in right behind me in the hall. She said if you just hold the card and think you need help, she can do that." A very wry, awkward face. "Maybe she already told you about that part. She totally forgot to mention it when she gave the card to me, though."

Then Usagi's asking about the picture on her phone. Wako has to bring a hand up to her mouth to try to smother a gigglefit. "Ahaha... that was my birthday last year. Takuto-kun and Sugata-kun made curry, and Sugata-kun had trouble with the onions. He wasn't happy with us for teasing him." Her voice is warm and inexpressibly fond.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Maybe she ought to warn Wako about Ms. Tragar, but can anyone really be prepared? Usagi honestly doesn't think so. Ms. Tragar is an experience as much as a person. But then, Wako-chan remembers something, and Usagi frowns, remembering. "She told me to keep the card on me - what?"

Summon? It would summon her? "You mean like in Final Fantasy? I thought she meant she'd come help."

Usagi cannot believe this. "I would have tried to get her to fight that guy for us," she laments. "She told me she can't fight anymore, even if she wanted to, but she can, you know, defend us, kind of?"

She is going to ask Inai-sensei to spell out her magic secrets next time, hmph.

At least Wako-chan has something - nicer, to talk about. "Onions really do make you cry a lot. Is Sugata-kun not the type to cry a lot?" That's the only explanation she can think of for why this particular form of teasing. "Takuto-kun and Sugata-kun... are they your best friends? Teammates?" Usagi cocks her head, a teasing smile crossing her face. "The handsome guys fighting for your heart?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"I thought so." This declaration is punctuated by Wako settling heavily back in her seat. "She kind of fussed at me for not calling her in before. It was like, 'you never mentioned that!' So I thought maybe she didn't explain it properly to you either. But now we know, and we can keep the cards with us just in case."

Kyouka's ears are probably burning right now.

Fortunately, Wako is also perfectly happy to devote her attention to a subject closer to her heart. Usagi's guess about Sugata gets a nod of confirmation and return of the fond look to Wako's face. "Yeah, Sugata-kun is that kind of person. We've known each other a really long time, but I'm not sure I'd ever seen him cry before. It was a rare moment."

A beat; a faint pink flush rises in her cheeks at the teasing. "Fighting for my.... it's not like that!" Her head ducks a little and Wako bites her lip, trying to decide how much to say. "Takuto-kun and Sugata-kun are both..."

("Which one are you going to choose?")

("I'm not like you and my aunt.")

Her voice softening, she says, "...They're both very precious to me."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"That's an adult for you - always thinking they told you something they definitely didn't say." Usagi huffs a little, rolling her eyes, but they'd made it through, so it's not like her annoyance is very strong. Wako's right - the important thing is that now they know.

"Oh, I get it now," Usagi says with that same mischievous smile. "That's me with Naru-chan - she's my best friend, but if I ever saw her do something different like that, I'd have to tease her a little too." It was the natural instinct! Love friend, tease friend.

Except, maybe it's not just friendship? Wako flusters, but not the way someone who was in denial did. Usagi has seen plenty of that - girls in her classes, sometimes girls she tried to help set up with boys they liked - there was an effusiveness to the denial when you liked someone but couldn't admit it. This was different. Is different. Takuto-kun and Sugata-kun are both... what?

Are they good enough friends for Usagi to ask if she likes both boys, torn between two important people? Maybe not. Instead, she nods, thinking she might get it. "That's nice, Wako-chan. I'm glad! You smile a lot when you talk about them, so they've got to be special."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Usagi's observation gives Wako a moment's pause. "Do I smile that much...?" She gives it a moment of consideration before inclining her head. "It's true, though. If it weren't for the two of them, I wouldn't be here now. If I can give them as many reasons to smile as they give me, I'd be happy."

There's a somewhat longer pause - and then Wako props her chin on both hands and narrows her eyes at Usagi, playfully sly. "What about you, though, Usagi-chan? Is there anyone who's really, reeeeally precious to you~?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You do! I mean, I don't know you well yet, but when you mentioned Takuto-kun you smiled, and again with Sugata-kun, and even more when it was about both of them." She wriggles her eyebrows teasingly, before softening into a proper smile. "It must be nice, being in l-o-v-e."

Maybe that tease is why she's immediately revenged upon, Wako immediately turning the situation around on her. "No! I mean - no, definitely not!" Hematite absolutely doesn't cross her mind at all.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako does not, actually, object at all to Usagi saying that she's in love... although that could be because she's busy teasing Usagi instead. Turnabout is fair play?

"Hmmmm~" She draws the sound out, long and lilting and musical. "That's an awfully strong reaction. Are you sure there isn't anybody?"

She can't really keep this up for too long before she's having to hold back a case of the giggles. Vice President, his attempt to nap in her lap disturbed by all of this, pokes his head up past the edge of the tabletop with his big fox ears canted grumpily back.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I think lots of people are cute, but, I don't - I don't like anyone -" her cheeks are fluuuuushed. She can dish it but not take it! Especially when she thinks about Hematite's earnest eyes as he promised her -

Luna, having entirely too much of an idea of where Usagi's mind is, gives the table a good hard thump with her tail, meowing grumpily. Usagi jumps guiltily, then huffs.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Okay, okay." Wako relents, waving her hands apologetically. "I'll stop picking on you." At least for now, anyway.

Moving on from this subject and the one before it, she picks up a laminated menu that was laying on the table. "Have you figured out what you want to eat yet? I think I'll get cold udon and a fruit parfait."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Face still burning, Usagi picks up her menu, ducking down to both hide and examine the menu... "I think I want the karaage basket and the ice cream parfait."

That would be good, and she'd get some icecream, and on a day like today... "Cold udon does sound really good though..."