2219/The Littlest Things Matter

The Littlest Things Matter
Date of Scene:	08 January 2025
Location:	Mamoru's Apartment
Synopsis:	After 2215/Rabbit_Hunt,_Take_Two Chibiusa tells Mamoru who she is, and then meets Kazuo for the first time despite his actually living there.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Chibiusa Tsukino, Kazuo Saitou
Tinyplot:	Black Moon Clan

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
So much emotion floods through Mamoru as they make that run, including laughter still for a little while, but then it's so much more. A blinding, brilliant, gut-deep hope, protectiveness grown even more fierce, and the recognition the feeling bubbling up as--

Tuxedo Kamen stops in a different alley, somewhere in the city that's utterly unfamiliar, for the three seconds necessary to teleport back to his apartment. Koan is tough and terrifying, and he doesn't want them lead anywhere important.

Family. Family.

She has to be. She is. She has to be. Someone alive who shares his--

There's laughter again as Mamoru sniffs and puts Chibiusa down, dropping his henshin in the living room, still carrying the backpack and first aid kit. It's the crying kind of laugh, but it was such a happy warmth he had as he set her down.

Family. He's known it since she first fell from the ceiling, something about her so familiar to his heart. But this? Someone who shares his blood, maybe-- not that blood is important, and even if it was, the concept of bad blood is so absurd, so awful, and Mamoru still has to check himself on it-- but someone alive and real and breathing and warm and real, someone who's his-- no, can't load up all those heavy hopes and dreams on this little girl. What if it's not the case? He can't be horribly disappointed. That would be too cruel to Chibiusa. And he'll love her anyway. But what if--?

"First, that was amazing, Chibiusa-chan," Mamoru says, and it's SUCH a big affectionate smile and it turns into a delighted grin, and he gets down to one knee and shrugs out of all the straps from backpacks and bags, and he holds out his arms to enfold Chibiusa in the biggest hug.

"Second," he says more quietly, "we have a lot to talk about, and we will. And it's all very important and Usako needs to hear the part about the bad future, and I need you to know we'll help you. But third, that sounded like a really bad fight, so let's put the plastic sheets on the couches, all right? Just in case anyone's bleeding."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa is scared, and angry, and scared again but for different reasons, and shocked, and everything is happening so fast.

    This was supposed to be a quick trick to the past. Show up, take the Silver Crystal, go home, fix everything, then go back and give Moon her soul back, then... Try to figure out how to explain this all to Pluto, maybe.

    She has broken a pretty severe taboo just by time travelling. Maybe problems like this is exactly why.

    Yet Mamoru is bringing up some good points. Usagi should know about it too, but...

    "I think that bad lady already told her," she admits. Chibiusa doesn't really know the full extent what Koan said, but she wouldn't put it past the Black Moon Clan to tell on her to her parents. Even if they were parents from the wrong timeline.

    "Y-yeah... let's...let's do that."

    She looks around. Her feet are on the ground now. They're at Mamoru's place. Chibs is relatively safe now. A part of her is worried about Shingo's friend but... no, Koan doesn't know about him right? They wouldn't be dumb enough to...

    Every time Chibiusa has assumed that her enemies weren't stupid enough to do something, she has been proven wrong.

    The future princess pushes concerning thoughts out of her mind. This isn't going to be a quick in and out anymore. It's going to be a whole campaign. She thinks about this as she starts heading to the nearest couch and gets on her hands and knees to pull out some of the sheets, pulling them out and sorting them into 'plastic' and 'cloth' piles.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Something to do, something helpful to do, might help. It usually helps Mamoru, he reasons, so maybe it'll help Chibiusa too. He stoops to pick up one of the plastic sheets and then unfolds it partway, putting it on the middle of the couch so he can unfold the rest into place. "Once I get them on, can you tuck the edges in? That's so it doesn't just get dragged off when someone gets up."

It's also helpful to be told why to do a thing, sometimes.

Unfold, unfold. He goes to scoop another plastic sheet off Chibiusa's pile and glances at the pink-haired child, and her face looks so much like Usagi's from the baby pictures that Ikuko showed him...

"What thoughts are you stewing in right now, Chibiusa-chan?" he asks with gentle humor. "You said you wanted to fix what you messed up, so you're probably dwelling on the disaster. Do you want to talk about it, or do you want to be distracted?"

He unfolds the second one like he did with the first one, except this time he shakes it out until it billows, and then holds it while it floats down onto the couch. "And," he starts, and now he's not looking at Chibiusa, he's looking at the couch. "And anything else you want to--"

"Mamorrrrrrrrrrrru," comes Anko's purry voice from the direction of the kitchen, and they can see her on the counter from here. "I am starve, Mamorrrru. Bottom of dish is SHINING between bites, it is empty."

She doesn't sound distressed yet, just pointed. She also jumps off the counter with a huffing purr-thud and minces her way over, roughly Luna-sized. Mamoru waits until she's in range and then scoops her up, holding her upside down in his arms like a baby. "Hush you're fine," he tells the cat. "I'll put more food in your dish later."

Anko grmbls but doesn't object any more, and her feet 'hang' comedically upwards, and her 'hands' hug his wrist while he scritches under her chin.

"If you met a copy of someone who mattered to you in another world," he says really softly to Chibiusa, "even if their personality and experiences are different, you said there'd still be a bond there. There is. You said there'd be love. There is."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa isn't really used to doing things that matter. Things are done for her, often as not, and she generally allows it to go that way because, well... being like mom seems kinda hard. Bearing the weight of the world, when all you wanted was to be a housewife...

    At least the senshi aren't alone in this world.

    Yet she's used to listening to King Endymion, and his voice sounds a lot like Mamoru's, and so she tucks the sheets in so that they're secure. Anko comes, and she glances in the talking cat's direction. She smiles, softly, at its antics but she's not actually... happy. A kind smile, not a glad one.

    Then Mamoru reminds her of a previous conversation they had, and her tiny little heart aches a bit. Surely he knows by now. Surely he knows that there was a reason she asked that question. He's not asking, but... does he really need to?

    After a pregnant pause she says, "... It is, from me too. I just... I wasn't supposed to be here that long. I was supposed to just grab this Usagi's Silver Crystal, beat the bad guys, then drop it off back here and go home. If you one day recognized my face later, you wouldn't be able to yell at me yet because I wouldn't know what I did..."

    She keeps dealing with the sheets, kindof on automatic. Tucking them or sorting them or tugging them into place as needed. She's not tall enough to spread the sheets, but she can take care of the small details, make sure that everything is just right.

    "Right now I'm thinking about what the bad people want to do. I'm thinking about how they hurt mama and papa and the rest of my world. I'm thinking about what they'll want to do now and what they're thinking when they aren't hunting me. The way I came here, only someone really dumb or crazy would follow me. I don't know what they want, but they're wrong about momma. She's not a bad queen! She's nice and she tries hard and without her everyone would..."

    Chibiusa realizes that she's crying. Tears are going down her face. Her nose is running. She wipes her eyes quickly so that she can focus, but they remain bleary. It's too much. There's too much to say, all at once.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Surely he knows by now, and she's crying, and Mamoru crouches again, this time to pick Chibiusa up and hug her. Hug her lots. And then he wobbles over with her to sit on one of the big comfy chairs with her on his lap, still hugging her to him--

--and something in him stops crying for his parents.

There's the warm golden feeling of that familiar power welling up, washing over Chibiusa with the sense of home in it, with all those connections they share: he shows Chibiusa the connections she shares, to him and Usagi and the other Senshi and the moon cats, golden threads of light that echo back with the feelings of the essences of them.

There's the connection to the planet she has -- Earth is Earth -- and to the Prayer Tower on the moon; there are the secrets that hide in the ground, there's how old and resilient the ground itself is, when you get far enough down. His power is like a weighted blanket, warm and grounding.

"Your mama must be a wonderful queen, even if-- I bet she never wanted to be queen, either, huh?" Mamoru murmurs, his voice reverberating through his chest, with his heartbeat steady and as solid as bedrock.

"I could see her as a queen, though." He's silent for a little, just holding on to the baby, baby, baby. "You're so brave. You're such a brave girl. Your mother is brave, too, and strong and lovely and so, so kind. I'm so proud of you. Is that okay? I'm not your papa, but someday I'd like to be worthy of that."

He knows he should be addressing the very real problems she's talking about, but baby. She's crying. That won't do.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    She's crying, and she's being held, and she didn't really expect to be held but it's what he would do, what her papa would do. Her tiny arms aren't long enough to really embrace him back, but she clutches the cloth of his shoulders instead as she bawls. Chibiusa can't really do anything but let it all out.

    The warmth she feels, familiar yet different. The world she feels from Mamoru is younger, less damaged, an echo from a past that Chibiusa was barely old enough to remember.

    "She just wanted to be a housewife. Your housewife, the other you whose my papa. But things got bad. They got so bad." Her voice goes quiet, and her sobbing slows down at least a bit. "I was only two when it happened, so I don't really remember how things used to be. I don't remember the 1990s hardly at all. When 2000 hit a lot of people died and my parents were the only one who could do anything. That's when she started calling herself Neo Queen Serenity, and my papa became King Endymion... and then I was Usagi Small Lady Serenity."

    She goes quiet for a bit, leaning against Mamoru and burying her face against him. He knows, now. He knows who he is to her, who she is to him, and it won't be long before Usagi also knows and...

    "I shouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't even be here, but I can't stop things from getting worse and I don't know what else to do."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I'm so glad you said," Mamoru says against Chibiusa's hair, head bowed over hers, enveloping arms loving and protective. "I'm so glad. I'm so glad you're ours. The 'not really' doesn't matter at all, to me. I know it has to matter to you and that's important! But you're ours. And..."

He leans back in the chair, holding Chibiusa a little less tightly, but arms still around her, still supporting her lean and her burying her face in his shirt. One arm lifts to stroke the back of her head gently, but pigtails, so he goes to rubbing her back instead. Just baby comfort things. Human comfort things.

"And you don't know anybody but us," the black-haired teenager says, voice still low. "They didn't have all the friends we have-- Koan didn't even know who the Shitennou are. They were the only ones who could do anything..."

Mamoru's voice trails off, and he squishes the smol pink again briefly. "Ohhh... Chibiusa-chan, we'll definitely help you and it'll be okay. We'll figure out how to fix this. Don't worry about them ruining our future: there are too many of us for that to happen. We'll fight them here, and we'll fight them there..." In his touch, in English, the silly phrase floats, 'we'll fight them, fight them anywhere!'

Then his voice is apologetic as his thoughts focus sharply again. "But you really do need Sailor Moon using the crystal. Or your Mama..." He goes back to rubbing her back. "Do you want to tell me why you're saying this is your fault?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa thinks. Does the 'not really' matter to her? Well... no. If it was a master of custody, she'd prefer to be in her home universe, but as a matter of love... as a matter of caring about another person... Well, they already talked about that, didn't they?

    "You'll have your own, one day. One day there will be a smaller version of me I bet. This universe's version. I shouldn't stay around long enough to meet her, but... she'll still be me, just like you're still Endymion."

    She shakes her head. Her cheeks still have tiny streaks of wetness, but she's not sobbing now. Yet when he mentions the Silver Crystal, she gives him a dirty look, crosses her arms and turns away from him. The pout is obvious in her voice when she says, "I'm a Serenity, too! I should be just as able to say it as she is! Queen Serenity could. Neo Queen Serenity could! So Small Lady Serenity... should..."

    She reaches again for her collar, feeling the Silver Crystal through her shirt. "... but I can't. I wanted to prove that I could use it, but I couldn't, and that's when..."

    She still can't say it. Still can't say what she did, but... fortunately, unlike the Black Moon Clan, Mamoru can take a hint. She pulls out her necklace, showing the Silver Crystal and the Time Key. Ot doesn't look exactly like Pluto's Time Keys, but if it kinda does. The color is wrong.

    "This is why they're after me... Because I have this... They showed up at the exact moment I took this, and momma..."

    Chibiusa freezes up. Nope, still can't say it. The words refuse to leave her throat. She tucks it back under her collar, then looks away from him.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Will she?" Mamoru says wistfully, but it's not doubt in his head -- he's apparently close enough even after a thousand years and such a horrible start... "I'll still miss you, but I'll try not to compare," he says with a little laugh.

The problem is, then he makes her cranky immediately after the little bit of cheering-up; he tries very hard not to look like he's trying not to laugh, but she can tell, and she can tell it's because he thinks she's cute when she's pouting. Oh dear.

Nevertheless, his gaze goes to the crystal she has when first her hand grasps it through fabric, and then when she brings it out with the time key. His eyes widen, and then ocean blue meets candy-apple red as he looks back up at Chibiusa's face. "You..." he starts, but he doesn't have to finish saying it.

Unlike the Black Moon Clan, Mamoru can take a hint.

When Chibiusa trails off again, Mamoru's face is stricken, and he wants to hug her again. He does! But more lightly, less squish, since she's sitting up.

He's about to say something else when his phone buzzes in his pocket, so he lets go one arm entirely to dig it out and look at the screen. "Nobody's worse off and the only--" he starts, and then he starts laughing.

"Hey, we do need to talk more, but they're almost here, and Kazuo is making cocoa," Mamoru says to Chibiusa, repocketing the phone and hauling the both of them up out of the comfy chair. He doesn't use magic, just physics and teenaged athleticism, and then he's suddenly carrying the pink smol.

They walk across shiny hardwood floor and no-slip grip rugs, out the stained-glass-window living room door, down the hall, and do the first bedroom on the left. Mamoru knocks, then says to Chibiusa, "Kazuo's my boyfriend and my best friend. He lives here."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The door opens into darkness and a ghost --

Well, okay, no.

The door opens on a black-painted little cavern of a room, but it's a comfortable one; it's dim, but the flickering lights from over a dozen screens arrayed along a wall are more than enough to show a desk currently occupied by a tray holding an electric kettle, a couple of cups, and a little bowl draped with a washcloth. Also a long, comfortable-looking couch, with blankets folded at one end.

The person who opens the door might be a ghost. He's probably human, except for the fact that he's even taller than Mamoru, which obviously can't be allowed. Long white hair almost blends with a white shirt, sleeves rolled up; black trousers make a faintly dubious pairing with fuzzy slippers; crystal earrings glitter with the changing lights.

"Hello," he says to Chibiusa as he lets the pair of them in. "I apologize for not having come to meet you before."

Apparently he's been sitting in here instead. Watching ... one of those screens shows the roof. Another a stairwell; the entryway; a street outside; the cat cafe downstairs. Watching for anyone coming too close.

... Mamoru's apartment has a security station all its very own, if a much less ornate (and rather more cozy) version than back home's.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa holds the crystal and time key in her hand for a few fleeting contemplative moments before tucking them back under her collar. She doesn't mind Mamoru knowing, but she doesn't want to announce their existence to the entire world. Still though, she gave him a clear enough view to know that they weren't just candy.

    Naturally, she let's Mamoru carry her around. It's one of the benefits of being as small as she is. Why grow up if it means she can't get carried? Tis nonsense.

    Though... when that door opens, Chibiusa... blinks. Wow. He's tall. Tall and... a lot of white against a black background. That has to be a deliberate design choice, right?

    "Kazuo-san. Mamoru's boyfriend. They told me about you."

    There's something odd about this guy. Something that reminds her of dad's rock collection, but for a reason she can't quite understand. Tamaki, too... one of dad's stones was Jadeite.

    It's different to see Mamoru date anyone Usagi. Not in a bad way, but in a way that makes it very clear that she is not in her home timeline. Which, honestly, is better than how things could have turned out. She's actually just glad that King Endymion wasn't hiding some kind of secret boyfriend from her back home.

    Though it does make her wonder where her dad's boyfriends went.

    Chibiusa has been crying, and she still feels it on her cheeks, but she takes a moment to wipe her face before saying with a polite smile, "Hello! I'm Usagi Tsukino, but people in this timeline call me Chibiusa." She glances at Mamoru for a moment before saying, "I'm from an alternate universe where Mamo-chan is my papa."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Um, older, though. I mean, Usagi and I were obviously older. I mean, when she was born. Will be born," Mamoru adds awkwardly, hastily, and utterly unnecessarily. Then he clears his throat and hoists Chibiusa up a little, shifting the way he's carrying her. "What I meant to say was, Chibiusa-chan this is also Kunzite, the leader of my Shitennou, my knights. And Kazuo-kun, this is Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity, my future daughter."

He glances sidelong at Chibiusa, then goes over to where there's the tray on that desk and gets down on one knee to set Chibiusa down. Then he reaches for the washcloth with a brief glance at Kazuo, and dips it in the warm water and wrings it out.

He just sort of-- automatically just-- moves to wash the tear tracks from her face. "Did you pick 'Tsukino' instead of 'Chiba' to grief Usako, Chib-- hey would you like us to call you Small Lady instead? And goodness, what did they tell you about Kazuo-kun?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo's nod in answer to Mamoru's brief glance is almost imperceptible: yes, that is what it's for. He collects one of the cups off the desk and, without spilling it, folds himself down till he's sitting on the floor by Chibiusa. Finding a spot that is by Chibiusa and not in Mamoru's way is apparently second nature, not requiring a glance or a thought. It means that he can hold the cup of cocoa in both hands, and offer chocolate warmth to her directly as soon as Mamoru finishes helping her clean up.

"Hello, princess," Kazuo says solemnly to her. Kunzite. Another one of her father's stones. And it's hard to tell in this light, but the earrings he wears ... the crystals seem to be the same color as that one. Not the same shape, though. "I'm glad to be able to meet you early."

There's a hint of quick motion in one of the screens; Kazuo glances that way, resolves it as an inter-cat tiff in the cafe and not an incoming attack or casualties, returns his attention to Chibiusa; there's a little tilt of his head that suggests he's listening for her answer about what she'd like to be called with particular interest.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Kunzite. Jadeite. "Are both of your boyfriends named after your favorite rocks?" she asks, all too innocently. "There isn't a Zoisite and a Nephrite too, right?"

    Alt-u papa is wiping her tears away, because of course he is. Even if he's not really from the same timeline, he's still gentle, sensitive Mamoru. She smiles at him as she stands still.

    There are questions, several at once, and she answers them one at a time. "If I called myself Usagi Chiba, you'd all have known right away. I'd rather keep 'Small Lady' and 'Princess' just between us right now. I don't mind being called that when we're all by ourselves but as far as the school people are concerned I'm still Usagi Tsukino. As for what they told me about Kazuo... not much other than Mamo-chan has two boyfriends. We were more focused on Tamaki's hairstyle."

    After a while, her tears are dried, and she's standing still with her hands behind her back. "... but... when it's just us... when we're around people we trust, I don't mind being called Small Lady once in a while."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"There's a Zoisite and a Nephrite too," Kazuo confirms gently to Chibiusa, the hot chocolate still held up and a little out in offering. He props his elbows against his knees, the better to keep it there for however long it takes for her to decide she wants it, or decide she doesn't need her hands behind her back. "To make four of us, for your papa's four Shitennou. Nephrite is about as tall as your papa or I are, and his hair is bigger than he is, and very brown - and sometimes his voice is bigger than his hair is, but he's almost never really yelling, he just likes being very dramatic. Zoisite is small and slender and beautiful and quick, and he wears his hair tied back in a ponytail so it looks almost like he has a little bit of fire chasing him, and the rest of him is a little like fire too, especially his laugh. I don't know what happened to them in your history. But if he has rocks named after them, then maybe he still has them with him, just in a way other people can't see."

He pauses, and then adds, "If there's a fight going on, they'll be wearing the same uniform as Jadeite. So will I, except with a cape. The cape works like your papa's. So if there's a fight and your papa isn't there yet, you can run to me, and I can keep things from hurting you; I'm not as strong as he is, but there are things I can do that he can't, too."

He doesn't use a name. Because Chibiusa invited one, and his isn't the tongue that should speak it to her first.

(Tamaki's hairstyle. It is probably too much to hope for pictures.)

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
That's a gutpunch of a question, and it takes Mamoru all the way through Kazuo talking about the capes to recover from it and the answer that Kazuo gives. He remembers a small rock in his hand, or in his pocket under the armor, close to his heart. He remembers blood and worse.

Mamoru's face is a little pinched and a little pale, but they're all pale in the blue light from the monitors, aren't they? And the hand that comes back from putting the cloth in the dish, it closes into a fist, heel of his hand digging into his thigh for a moment before he takes a measured breath.

Then he's almost normal. "We should get you a practice cape. I have no doubt you'll need to know how to use one someday, the two of us can teach you the moves. Lob stuffies at you, maybe." That's a grin, he's ha ha only serious, honestly; he has to be really careful not to go overboard! And then he's okay.

"But for now, Small Lady, have your cocoa," the prince says, his expression softening. "We'll all keep you safe until we can help you solve your problems. Nobody should fight alone if they don't have to."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa notices the hot chocolate that, really, she probably would've noticed sooner if she hadn't been so overwhelmed. Today has been... intense, and the offer of a warm treat in this cold weather is quite appreciated. She cups the hot cocoa in both hands and says, "Thank you," before starting to sip it.

    The explanation she received... she... she promises not to cry again. She clenches her eyes shut. She wont cry again. She wont. She...

    Chibiusa clears her throat, and looks down into the warm drink. "A... a lot of people died. Maybe... I was just too young to remember." She takes a sip again. She still has no idea why they're gone, but at least she has a pretty good idea of where they went.

    If the Silver Crystal is Sailor Moon's soul...

    ... then it only makes sense...

    ... others might have stones for souls, too.

    "He must care about you. A whole lot. Even a really long time after you're gone." A pause, then she clarifies even though she doesn't need to. "I mean, the other him, and the other you. Obviously."

    She's still not crying. She isn't! But maybe Chibiusa has the slightest shake in her voice.

    "Sorry, you've met me on kindof a bad day."

    Then she looks up to Mamoru and Kazuo, mouth a wide circle as if she's been promised a present or told she'd get to meet a good friend. "Really? You'll teach me how to use a cape? You promise?" She tugs on the leg of Mamoru's pants. "You gotta teach the other me, too. If she shows up here... she'll wanna learn that too, I bet."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"And I care about him, a whole lot," Kazuo agrees to Chibiusa - after she's had the chance to clarify, because he doesn't know her reactions yet, but that one he's seen in less-pink eyes. "And that means I care about you, a whole lot. And sometimes when it's a bad day, knowing that more people care about you can help ease the bad a little bit." ... or maybe that's the warm liquid doing that. But either way.

He leans back, propping himself on his hands as he looks up to Mamoru as well from his seat on the ground. "Well, of course," he says, and it's still an attempt at solemnity, but Chibiusa's excitement is abruptly just a touch contagious, and his mouth is tugging insistently toward a grin. "If capes are good for gentlemen, then capes are also good for Ladies. How else are you going to learn to be dashing in style?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's a little startlement, and then delight that Chibiusa's so excited about a cape. "Wait, do they not allow you a cape? Does that make us the cool parents?" asks Mamoru, starting to laugh. "I can't promise because what if the world explodes tomorrow and there aren't any high-end costume shops anymore? BUT, I can tell you beyond the reasonable shadow of a doubt that yes, we'll teach you."

Then he processes something and doubletakes at Chibiusa. "If she shows up here? What do you mean, if? She better. And if you're still here in two years, you should be the flower girl at our moon wedding."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa smiles brightly at Kazuo, and it really is a bright and happy smile. In spite of everything else. A lot has been found out and revealed today that... isn't exactly happy, but there's love here and kindness. She looks up at Kazuo and tries not to think about why this is the first time they've met. "I look forward to getting to know you. If you matter to Mamochan, then you matter to me, too."

    She considers the cape situation for a moment, but says, "I don't think it's ever come up? Despite how things started, and also how they are now, mama and papa kept the peace pretty well for a real long time. They'd probably have given me a cape if I asked for one, but the idea of needing to protect myself wasn't really... a big deal."

    She holds her arms up in a Y pattern, as if she's pretending to be holding up a cape behind her. "But if you were to teach me how to use it like you do, I'd probably feel a lot safer. Especially when I get real powers!"

    Because she will, one day. She has decided this. She wants to be a Senshi and she's not too picky about how that manifests.

    Chibiusa giggles and adds, "If I'm around then you bet I'll wanna go to your wedding. Gotta look out for other me after all."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"When I was your height," Kazuo confides to Chibiusa, "I used to try to use towels for capes sometimes. When my mother wasn't around, anyway." Lest he be teased within an inch of his tiny life. He does not look up to catch the standing tall person's expression this time, as he adds, "Drink your cocoa, Mamoru."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Yes, sir, Kazuo-sama," Mamoru says with his eyebrows up -- the logical progression from 'you're not the boss of me' in terms of silly answers -- and picks up his cocoa, then sits down on the floor after eyeing the comfy rolly chair for a longing half-second.

He takes a sip first, and gives Kazuo the satisfaction of seeing his expression on taking it. Cocoa well-made. (There are so many things he's picking up, so many conclusions he's got tentatively penciled in. There are so many things he's not saying, for now.)

"You should get to have a cape no matter what," Mamoru says firmly. "I wonder if... hmm. I know you have a lot of..."

He trails off but is CLEARLY THINKING of something that will no doubt make Kazuo crazy.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa giggles at the mental image of tiny Kazuo in a cape. "I bet you looked really dashing then, too!"

    She doesn't fully catch the complexity of Mamoru and Kazuo's interaction, or the irony in the '-sama', but she recognizes when two boys are ribbing each other.

    She also realizes, on some level, that she hasn't told them how old she really is... but that bombshell can be dropped some other day. Right now they're talking about getting her a cool cape like papa's and that's clearly the most important thing in the world right now. That and the hot cocoa.

    "Can it be pink? That's kind of my color," she explains, reaching up to tug on one of her pigtails.

    "Huh? A lot of what?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Pink makes sense," Kazuo says, firmly pretending not to hear the '-sama' and possibly the 'sir'. "Mamoru's cape matches his hair, too, doesn't it? And it can be two colors. Outside and inside." Though given who Chibiusa's mother is, perhaps they should start looking at bow-related combat options as well. Do any of the senshi do that? Hm. Well. Mars, but that's an entirely different kind of bow.

... hm. This may require developing bow-related combat options, so that some will be available for training if Chibiusa winds up wanting that later. This may require Kazuo to stash his dignity in a safe deposit box. Won't be the first t--

"That's a very good question," Kazuo says to Chibiusa's, and eyes Mamoru flagrantly suspiciously, much the way Usagi might eye him when wondering if he's holding out chocolate on her.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"..." Mamoru looks at the two of them, red eyes sparkling and curious and grey eyes utterly unfairly suspicious and terrible, and he holds his cocoa away a little bit like he's afraid someone'll take it from him or spill it, and he's grinning like he's getting away with something.

"Wellllll... you have a lot of power, Small Lady. An awful lot. To the point at which-- if I'm carrying you and we're running away and you do that thing again, I'm going to try and combine our power for an attack."

And then he takes a power chug of the cocoa for fortitude, and says, "And I was thinking, hmm, how could we make a magical cape for our Chibiusa-chan, and I remembered that the armor the Belkan Knights wear is called knightcloth, and then I thought--"

He looks directly at Kazuo, "--why not ask Rashmi if a five-year-old can be a Devicer?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    The idea of Chibiusa using a bow or ribbon as a weapon is something that might get her thinking, if it was mentioned to her. As it is, most of her attention is focused on Mamoru right now.

    The idea that Chibiusa has a lot of power is... news to her. Completely. "Huh? Me? But..."

    She remembers getting upset... no, getting terrified, and wishing that everything would stop. Terrified for her life, and for those around her... She remembers an incredible feeling, and a burning tingle on her forehead, but... was it really that powerful?

    Small Lady pushes her doubts aside for the moment at the thought of doing a team attack with Mamoru. She smiles widely and... then gets confused. Alt-papa is talking about more magic that she doesn't know about. That doesn't exist in her world.

    "Knightcloth? Belkan? Devicer?"

    She looks at Kazuo, then Mamoru, confused. "Oh! Is that like what Charon has? Rashmi has one, too?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo, when Chibiusa looks at him (and as Mamoru is looking directly at him), has the slow, slightly disbelievingly relieved blink of someone rescued at the last moment from a fate worse than anything except imagination. "It couldn't hurt to ask," Kazuo agrees to Mamoru. "I don't know if she'd want to be - I don't know what sort of mindset it needs - but asking if it's possible ..."

And Kazuo takes a deep breath, and considers then how to reply to a princess asking questions when he's not really sure of the answers. 'Belkan' he's not so sure about himself. "Devices are a little like ... computers that do magic? In a way."

... and that is how Kazuo finds out about Luna-P, which, along with the expressions he makes, keeps the three of them occupied till the others make it home.