2356/A Good Step Forward

A Good Step Forward
Date of Scene:	23 February 2025
Location:	Game Crown Arcade
Synopsis:	Kazuo and Minako meet up at the Crown to discuss the Be Late Valentine incident and its follow-up. There is a lot of mutual apologizing, and then a lot of very carefully drawing clearer lines... followed by Minako completely trouncing Kazuo at video games. Completely. Absolutely. Trouncing.
Cast of Characters:	Kazuo Saitou, Minako Aino
Tinyplot:	The Demise of Bow-chan

---

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The text agreed to meet at the back-mostly-in-service Crown, specifically upstairs in the attached cafe, where conversations can be had that don't involve yelling over game and crowd noise. It's a reasonable place - it's the girls' primary hangout, so Minako is on home ground, but Motoki is also a good friend of Mamoru's. Kazuo arrived early, partly to check and make sure Motoki's still doing all right after the ... incident ... and partly to make sure that Minako didn't have to pay for any food or sugar she felt like fortifying herself with.

He is, as usual, not difficult to find; he's tucked his chair back from the table so that his knees don't risk oversetting it, and he's cradling something that involves a slightly odd-looking combination of coffee, ice cream, and sliced fruit. Possibly the kitchen's experimenting again.

Minako Aino has posed:
A text to meet had Minako feeling... She wasn't sure, honestly. At first it was excited. Then nervous. Deep down belly nervous after the last several encounters. The aftermath of the fight they'd both been a part of was just work. It was work and nothing else and the fact that Zoisite had lingered near him the whole time, and that Mamoru had French kissed him-- PURELY WORK not at all embarassing.

God it was embarassing.

With all the confusing emotions warring in her she decided she was going to go with the one that mattered most: Slightly excited that he reached out to her, slightly nervous, and maybe just a hint hopeful that things weren't completely ruined. Somehow. Whatever 'things' may be. If she could at least face him normally then perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.

That doesn't stop her from getting a rootbeer float on her way up to meet Kazuo. Something that Motoki actually says was paid for already much to her giggling delight (As if she wasn't going to flirt with Motoki on her way up.) Thoroughly fortified, in better spirits, she comes up to the cafe sweeping in with her usual confidence and a swish of her skirt.

No red dress this time, just her usual attire, with leggings for warmth and knee-high boots. There's even a new bow on her head.

"Hi, Kazuo," she greets just a bit muted instead of hyperactive like last time.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Unsure is an excellent way of putting everything. So is embarrassing; the entire situation is. Kazuo unfolds to stand as Minako approaches, setting his drink down to let him bow properly in polite greeting. His jacket is left behind on the back of his chair; there's something pale and folded sticking out of an inner pocket. "Hello, Minako," he says. This may be a plus. He called Usagi Tsukino-san until she threatened to cry on him. "Which would you like first? Apologies, news, or ice cream and let the rest wait till after?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino clutches her root beer float in front of her as if it's a shield of some sort. It didn't do much but it's something she can at least grip around tightly so that she doesn't fidget. The polite bow is met with a little forward dip of her own head in response as she tries to formulate something more to say.

Only she doesn't get that far because the question has her standing up straight looking a mixture of surprised, confused, and curious. "News? What news?" Of course this causes her to finally set the drink down as she gestures toward the table with a sweep of her hand.

"I owe you an apology too. I was teasing a bit and I went too far. Like I usually do," she has to admit knowing that she could be that way. Her old classmates always had called her a coarse girl that was 'too much.'

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"And I made the mistake of presuming you did that on purpose," Kazuo admits back. "Instead of realizing that talking about a thing once doesn't necessarily explain everything in a way that sinks in. I try not to fly off the handle in a way that does damage - but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. I apologize."

He folds himself back into his seat, and reaches for that thing in the pocket. "Mamoru and I have been working with Zoisite, to understand more about what happened - how it happened in the first place, what problems were underlying it, what we can help him work on, what he needs to do himself. Mamoru held a group meeting last night to lay down some rules. His versions were considerably more eloquent - and Zoisite's notes on them were considerably more complete - but I thought you might appreciate the gist. Well. Excepting the last two, which are just household items, like 'don't wake up Chibiusa.'" He unfolds the paper and puts it down on the table facing her. Knifeblade-sharp calligraphy in Sharpie:

    NO STABBING ALLIES

    TELL MAMORU THE THINGS

    YES, ESPECIALLY THOSE

    DON'T DIE

    WE ARE NOT THE BOSS OF MAMORU

    ANKO HAS BEEN FED

    RESPECT THE SLEEP

Minako Aino has posed:
"No, I just thought it would be something we could joke about now." Minako admits, though she does add, "But I also don't always think about what I say." It's admitted quietly as she reaches out to take the offered paper. It's unfolded, read, and an eyebrow quirks a bit.

"Anko is the cat. That makes sense. Artemis is always whining about food and he can talk, even." Usually it was about her diet of course and not just wanting food for himself (although there were times that was true too.)

"What *did* cause it? I didn't think we could access our powers outside of henshin--" She trails off a long moment considering that. While she wasn't Ami level smart, on occasion she could put tw and two together. Abruptly she looks over to Kazuo with an eyebrow lofting high in silent question. "He *wasn't* was he?"

That explained that.

The paper is slid back toward him with shoulders drooping just a bit. "I should still apologize. I *usually* am better at picking up on clues about how people feel and I just wasn't paying attention. I should have realized Zoisite was into you." A pause. "I mean I knew Mamoru and you are but I didn't really pay attention otherwise."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"It's not something I can joke about so much," Kazuo admits. "When it's just the two of us, maybe, but ... Minako, I thought I was kissing someone who was getting married to somebody else. Once I could think about it? That was about as nonconsensual as - as why girls group up on the trains. I'm glad you can joke about it ... but I didn't know that at the time, or for a while after."

Anko. Thank heavens. He nearly leaps on the change of topic. "Anko has a habit of trying to get more food. Or tastier food. We have a treaty on the subject of salmon paste, and since she already tried to evade Mamoru's limits on it by playing pathetic at me, it seemed like a good idea to get in ahead of her on the others. Sashimi is strictly limited to individual occasions of negotiation." His mouth quirks up at the corner. "Artemis might be easier to live with, if you can figure out how to tune out the insults."

And then there's a long exhalation. "Nope. Zoisite is doing a lot of making up for things right now, to a lot of people. The story's not mine to tell. But - I'm sorry about your bow, and about the rest of it - but I'm a little guiltily glad we found out about it then instead of by his passing out in the middle of an attack, or something."

At the last, Kazuo finds himself reddening. He busies himself with refolding the paper and tucking it away for a moment. "I think all of us got surprises. Mamoru and I are straightforward. Zoisite and I are - complicated. Maybe getting less so. I don't know. I'm not used to this kind of thing in the first place. Everything about it seems complicated."

Minako Aino has posed:
That does cause Minako some pause to consider as she recalls back then. That had been something she was told, she remembers, but at the time it hadn't really mattered to her. Even after it hadn't mattered. It's only now that he brings up that particular detail that she remembers.

Minako's face flushes red and she hangs her head a bit. "I ... I forgot that," she admits quietly. "So much was going on at the time for me. All the fighting, learning how to fight, trying to solve who was with the Dark Company and who wasn't. The others hadn't awakened yet." In fact she hadn't know there were others that would awaken at all. Another deep breath is taken and exhaled shakily. "I really am sorry, Kazuo. I only considered it from my perspective, and that I wasn't the one you were wanting to kiss. ...I'll make sure not to bring it up again."

As guilty as she feels she just opts to take hold of her root beer and sip on it for awhile. Just listening to the rest with a nod here and there. She almost misses the blush he has growing, but glances up just in time to see it which earns a twitch of her lips. He did look cute when smiling, and when blushing it was even better. A rare sight to behold! It was at least a sight she could remember fondly later. There was no guarantee she would ever see it again after all.

Her fingers drum against the side of her drink. "... Complicated. Yeah, I get that."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"You didn't have a reason to remember it," Kazuo answers Minako. "I mentioned it to you, but I didn't do anything to underline it, or explain to you why it felt like a problem. So your forgetting it absolutely made sense, as soon as I stopped to think about it." His expression goes rueful. "I mentioned flying off the handle, didn't I? I get mad too easily, but I try to step on the reaction till I can take time to think, and usually when I have time to think I get un-mad." A beat. "I get mad at Mamoru like that a lot. Fortunately he's figured out how my head works, and doesn't take it seriously."

And at her 'I get that,' there's a brief laugh, and Kazuo reaches for his own - drink? float? something. "You would. The senshi are a lot more stable, but you're still figuring out how you all work together, too, and how you can back Usagi. Just with fewer little explosions getting touched off by overreactions to perfectly normal things."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino pffts quietly. "That's what you think. You ought to see Rei-chan and I go at it sometime. Rei's got a temper too! And we dated a bit, so I can understand that." An admission that might not have been known at all, really. "It didn't work, but we're good at getting along when we need to put up a united front." That was true for ALL the senshi.

"Plus," she adds wagging a finger in Kazuo's direction. "Most of your group has a lot of issues to get over. Even so, you all have each others backs too when you need it. That's a good step forward."

The straw of her drink is grasped to swirl it around mixing up the melting icecream and the soda. It's a distraction while she gathers her thoughts. Only to blurt out, "Did you like your candy?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
... is that a grin? That's a grin. "You're giving me a hard test for White Day," he replies. "Where did you get the cookies? Or is that a state secret?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino grins proudly at that with a quick stab of the straw back into the drirnk. "My mom helped me make them. I thought of asking Makoto for help, but my mom always helped me with Valentine gifts before so it was kind of expected." Hang on, how often does she give out Valentine candy? Hmmm.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"I might have to ask Makoto for help." Kazuo looks amused, brighter-eyed. "I have some ideas, but they might be a little beyond my capacity. Still, I'll try on my own first. If it fails disastrously, I can probably get Masato to eat it anyway." ... not the sort of having people's backs that Minako was probably thinking of, but ...

He glances down at his drink, then, and then up again to Minako, a little more seriously. "My problem is - most of us have a lot of issues to get over. And I don't know you well enough to guess how serious you were being, or what you were hoping for."

Minako Aino has posed:
He was talking about making her something for White Day! This was a good sign perhaps. Quite good. Minako happily sips on her drink feeling more confident all the while allowing her mind to start wandering to various things, right up until he gets serious again. Aw. Daydream go byebye. It was probably a good thing it had because her foot was starting to shift beneath the table with nefarious intention.

It's her turn to flush a little. Sitting up straighter, chin lifted, she meets Kazuo's expression across the table. "I don't joke about love!" It's blurted out without really thinking about it. That was probably 'too much' again. "I mean, I'm not saying I love you, but I LIKE you and I was being serious about trying to express that I just always have done things for Valentines Day and I thought I made it clear I was being serious and..."

Somewhere in there she pauses for a breath to cool off some of the steam rising from her burning cheeks. A good thing, because it lets her actually have a moment to THINK about what she was saying instead of just blurting it out.

"... I can't say what I was hoping for. Of course we all hope for the best outcome possible, that doesn't mean it's going to happen. Not trying or sharing how you're feeling though, that's a pretty awful way to live."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"It is," Kazuo says, and his mouth turns up at the corner again; he recognizes this speech. He pauses, though, and thinks through his answer before saying anything out loud.

"What I would like," he says, "is to get to know you. Things are complicated right now, you know that - and I don't want to risk you getting -" burned? "- caught in any social crossfire you weren't expecting again. Mamoru means a lot to me. Zoisite means a lot to me. Maybe it'll turn out that we like each other enough to deal with that. Maybe it'll turn out that we should stick to working together. But all of that means getting to know each other as people first, without expectations ... and because we are who we are, getting to where we can deal with whatever happens without causing any trouble for Mamoru and Usagi. Does all of that make sense? Does any of that make sense?"

Minako Aino has posed:
"Of course it does," Minako huffs just a little bit but at least she doesn't pout, or cry, or storm off or anything of the sort. "I'm very mature for my age, you know." Really. "I'm also aware of you and Mamoru and Usagi. Impossible not to know being a senshi. I just didn't know about *Zoisite* until the other day."

Minako sits back again growing serious herself. "No matter what happens, I'm a Senshi first and protecting the Moon Princess has always been my main priority. Personal goals are just for down time."

"I know I'm a flirt though. I like pretty boys. And girls sometimes. So that you know that about me. I guess you'll just have to find out the rest yourself."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"In that case," Kazuo replies, "alongside 'no expectations' - I'm going to add: if you want to flirt for the fun of it, that's fine; if you flirt without warning, I'm going to figure it's for the fun of it, and the flirting back will also be for the fun of it. If that changes, I'll tell you flat out, so you're not guessing." ... a moment's pause. "Still probably a good idea not to flirt in front of Zoisite, though, on the theme of telling you things you're already aware of."

Minako Aino has posed:
Don't swing your legs in excitement, don't swing your legs like a little kid that found out they can have a cookie now and then as a treat. Minako does smile brightly though with a quick nod. "Okay! I mean, all our situations are unique as it is. We're not exactly civilians." Business first. The rest though she nods along with considering. Her gaze drops down to the table.

"I know I can be 'a lot' at times but I did already talk to Usagi-chan and decide I'll watch myself around Zoisite. Probably Mamoru too given he was very pointedly showing off the other night."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo finds something absolutely fascinating on the ceiling. Why yes, that is two blushes in one talk, Minako. He must trust that you don't have a secret camera recording this. "Most of that was just his checking in on people, making sure they were okay. It's a lot faster for him to do that by touch, especially when he's getting tired and starting to lose his words." ... most. Ahem.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino gets a sly little grin as she leans across the table a bit so that her voice can't be overheard by others. One hand lifts to cover the side of her mouth further hiding what she was saying.

"Oh I'm not complaining too much. Seeing two cute guys kiss? Verrrry nice." A pause before she adds, "Do not tell Usagi I called Mamoru hot though she would murder me."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Possibly," Kazuo agrees, bringing his attention back down. Minako's grin? That's returned. "But she might only murder you by enthusiastically agreeing with you, out loud, at length, till your body decided that it would take an aneurysm to save you."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino flaps her hand dismissively at that particular thought. "Oh she does that already. That's like half our conversations, especially before the whole Paris thing. I'm *so* glad I'm back from that. It was getting kind of..."

She trails off with what she was saying. No need to bring up such topics right now when they finally seemed to be getting on the same page, and just enjoying each others company a bit. "Gross mostly. Catacombs, yugh." With that she turns her attention back to her drink to finish it off quickly.