708/A Learning Process

A Learning Process
Date of Scene:	30 October 2023
Location:	Rooftops
Synopsis:	After 'Ramen and Couches', after a meeting with Queen Beryl, Mamoru hides on the roof and Kazuo finds him.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Kazuo Saitou
Tinyplot:	Lost & Found

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's chilly out, past sunset in late October, but there are scattered drying colorful leaves out on the rooftops nearest the treeline. Mamoru's there in one of his more common 'time alone' haunts, alternating between looking out at campus and crumpling up the dried leaves that have lost their color. The sounds of night birds are sparse tonight, but the voices of students excitedly walking across campus discussing their plans for the Cultural Festival make up for the general lack of birdsong. An owl hoots. The cold autumn breeze blows skittering leaves around in miniature vortices on the rooftop. Mamoru shoves his hands in his hoodie pockets, underneath the green jacket, giving up on making leaf confetti for now.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
And of course Kazuo is there in the background, seated on the cold rooftop, back against the parapet. Leaves skitter over his shoes as if they had always been there, though the little mound only beginning to build up against his side hints otherwise.

When he came up is a good question. He made no noise in the process, no disturbance to Mamoru's mood. Not that Mamoru's unaware he's there. It was simply such a quiet transition, from should-be-there to is-there, that the moment was unnecessary to pin down.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Eventually, when the breeze stops and the leaves still, Mamoru says into the dead acoustics of an otherwise-- but for the two of them-- empty rooftop, "It's too much."

His voice sounds strange, on the edge between two deep wells of oppositional emotions, so tired and too full of energy all at once.

"She called me in to attend her today, right after I'd gotten out of the shower after gym. And she fucking accidentally posted my silver crystal search video from out of my clock app drafts after only saying she'd consider the plan. And it's already been reposted, unpublishing it would do nothing. Zoisite has to deal with another one of my fuckups," he says, still with that undecided brimming of strong feelings.

"I'm worried about Himeko, she's still split in two, and she says it's coming to an end soon, and she's sad about it. There are youkai marching, not just the bakeneko, and it's because whatever part of Himeko is still in that shrine wants to take over as goddess of the dead," he continues. His hands ball up into fists in his pockets. "They're all over Juuban. Be careful. Koji made ramen for me, and Adrien and Takashi stopped in to eat with us, and I told them all I threw Adrien under the boss bus-- she wanted to know if I'd met anyone princely in school, and I didn't want to say you, ever, to her, so I said Adrien. So I told him if anyone asks him if he's a prince to say no. And then I had to leave because even though I invited them in to eat, it was too fucking much."

Mamoru finally looks down and aside at the white-haired boy sitting with his back to the parapet. "She wants a prince, Kazuo."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"She was always going to," Kazuo says. His voice is the counterpart to Mamoru's. One single steadiness, unswayed by dread or exhaustion.

He draws a breath. Exhales. "If you have to - better me than you, I think. I can buy some time." For what: not stated. For Mamoru to rally assistance. For ... something.

He lifts a hand, reaches out and up toward Mamoru. "But we'll still do what we can to keep it from being either of us."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru answers the hand before he answers any of the words; he takes it in his own, then lean-slides down the wall to sit next to Kazuo. "Not better you. I mean, first off, she'll know you're Kunzite, and then she might remember there was never a Hematite. Second, the other three have that thing behind their eyes, and I have nightmares about seeing it behind yours. In over two years it hasn't gotten me. It hasn't even tried lately, even since I remembered. I don't think it can."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo's other hand comes over Mamoru's, a light presence breathing warmth back into his fingers. He doesn't speak for the first moment. Not about Mamoru's nightmares. Not about his own.

Eventually: "I hope you're right."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Involuntary shiver -- or maybe a shudder, it's hard to tell -- and Mamoru leans closer, leans in against Kazuo's side. He looks down at his hand in between Kazuo's, and he says after a moment, "You don't want me to protect you. But I don't want to drag you down with me, like I already dragged them."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The nearer hand slips out from under Mamoru's, and Kazuo puts that arm around his shoulders, anchoring him to the warmth of Kazuo's side. "I want," he says quietly, "to protect you. But not so far as to try to stop you making your own choices. I can say 'I want' or 'I think' or even 'I think you're looking at this wrong.' But you're the one the decision belongs to."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's not challenging at all when Mamoru asks, it's not braced for anything, it's not really anything but the same tired as there was already in his voice, with maybe a little curiosity added. "How am I looking at it wrong? She took you all from me once. I don't want to lose you again..."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
There's a shake of Kazuo's head, quick enough that the little breeze from his hair moving stirs the dead leaves beside him. "I could say that. If I thought it. With this one, I don't. Except that ... I hope these are contingency plans. And we're still looking for a way that it doesn't have to be any of us."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru leans a little more relaxedly into Kazuo's side, which makes him heavier. He's a little warmer than he was. "These are contingency plans. Neph already said he's the one to start with getting them out. He said it, he knows it. I want to believe the Silver Crystal is real and can help, and -- I believe in Sailor Moon, that she can find a way. I also-- I also asked this guy down the hall, Chrono, who has no chill--"

He lifts his head and turns it a little, to look at Kazuo's face, but it's an awkward angle for both of them and he puts his head back down. "I asked him about figuring out contract magic, since he seemed to know a lot of technical stuff. And I think that's part of what it is. That there's some kind of deal they made that I didn't, that I need to get them out of."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Confirmation means Kazuo relaxes in turn, which just gives Mamoru a better leaning target. "Something affecting them, that isn't affecting you or me," he says. "If anybody can get a read on us and two of them, somehow, maybe they can filter for it. Or maybe there are hints about it buried in my head someplace. I don't know. But that's something to hang on to. Something we might be able to do."

He exhales, long and slow, and his head starts to tip toward Mamoru's. Then he lifts it again and tosses it a little to get white hair to stop creeping into Mamoru's face. "If I come up with anything that might help. Do you want to know? Or do you want plausible deniability?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Silent for a moment, the black-haired boy brings up his other hand from its pocket, and he holds that one of Kazuo's in both of his now, leeching its warmth. He thinks about the question. Finally, "I want to know. And... I do think it might be whatever deal it was they made after leaving my side, when I brought them in. Because... I never made a deal. I could definitely be wrong, but... it's the easy explanation, isn't it? She initially-- she made me forget I didn't agree to anything."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"And she may," Kazuo says quietly, "have made them forget what they did agree to. Just to stretch things a little farther. Believing you've given in is almost as good as actually having given in."

He exhales again, long and soft and thoughtful. "I'm looking at some of their plans, where I can. Trying to get a feel for them. Because going on the attack means coming out of your defenses. Exposing yourself a little. And that might give us another opening, somewhere."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"... I don't think... I don't think they're telling me their plans. Jadeite got really upset, REALLY upset, when I said I thought he was keeping secrets from me-- I shouldn't have gotten angry with him but I was so afraid. And then it turned out Nephrite was up to bullshit, and I never did find Zoisite, at the ball," Mamoru says, trying to disappear into Kazuo's side. "And Jadeite figured out somehow that I wanted to give the Silver Crystal to Sailor Moon, and I had to-- I wasn't lying, exactly, but I had to mislead him, and like, that was when I was being angry... he was having a good time for once, and I ruined it by being paranoid, by getting angry at him, I feel like that was part of the problem in the first place and I have such a hard time keeping my temper... it's not an excuse but it's, I do, and I want to blame the dark energy but that feels so cheap."

It's Mamoru's turn to exhale as a statement, to make himself un-tense again, to stop trying to curl up into a pocket-sized dark general. "I want to help you guys. But how can I help when I don't even know what's going on? I feel like I'm being protected from making decisions, which is less than ideal."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo listens. Fortunately his ribcage is intact, and not about to become Mamoru's new dorm room. He listens, and he half-shelters, and he listens.

And when Mamoru winds down, what he says has nothing to do with dark energy, not directly.

"You gave me guidelines before on how much to tell you. Do you want to revisit those? Do you want me to start telling you everything?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"... I forgot," says Mamoru, and it's half sheepish and half ironic; he's well aware of the troubles he was having at the time. "I mean. I want you to tell me things. But there's a line when it comes to other people's secrets, right?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"There is. And at the time, you thought there were some things you didn't want or need to know, that weren't other people's secrets. Some of them are getting bigger over time." There's a gentle squeeze around Mamoru's shoulders. "That might be contributing. Do you want those now?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"... yes please." Mamoru's voice is slightly smaller, but he also hastens to add, "I meant that I want to help you and Usagi and Naru and everybody, but I don't know a lot of details about the guys' plans. Not that I thought you were keeping me from making decisions. Just in case you misunderstood. But still, yes please."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Okay. What I'm helping Naru with right now is trying to figure things out about the shrine thing. It looks like they're doing prep work for something, and she's working on trying to figure out more about it. I'm thinking - I haven't said this out loud to her - that if we somehow figure out enough fast enough, there's a possibility we might find a way to turn it around - instead of their using it to do something to or with the system it's part of, maybe the system can be used to help them. That's a big maybe, though. It's a long way from where we are to being able to pull something like that off." Kazuo tilts his head back, looking up into the autumn sky. "But it's something to work on till we find something better."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's quiet for a little while, leaning. "That would be awesome," he finally murmurs, maybe a little wistfully. "Maybe if purification magic got shoved through the network instead of dark energy. I don't know what they're doing to the shrines, though. Or what Jadeite did to the power station. But I know it's to mirror at least parts of Tokyo in the Dusk Zone, and I know that part of the plan involves drilling in the Dusk Zone, which I'm pretty sure Naru already knows about. But I know it's a network. And... just... just warn me, if you're going to do the purification thing?"

He lifts his head and cranes his neck, half-sits up a little, shifting himself so he can look at Kazuo. "I don't know which shrines are left to hit. But if Himeko's shrine is one of them, please don't purify it yet? I need more time to get the rest of her out of there." He pauses, and realizes exactly what he's asking, and reddens and rubs at his eyes, sighing. "Sorry. I'll work faster. On getting her out."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"It's different things that they're doing," Kazuo answers Mamoru. "I didn't find any long-term change at the power station. Either I missed it, or he was doing something else. At at least one shrine, something was embedded inside a piece of the architecture, something not presently active but designed to do something to the energy flow in the associated leyline - what, I'm not sure yet. I'm not even sure whether purification can reach it there. As for what people are going to do... I'm not in charge, and not necessarily in the loop. I may not know if people plan it."

That holds for Himeko's shrine, too. Kazuo squeezes him around the shoulders again, then carefully unwinds his arm. "I have another piece of news, if you're all right with me standing up for a moment. If you're not, it'll wait. There's no hurry."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Was that-- was that the shrine Pyrite was at? Inai asked me if I had more than one ghost, and I didn't know where Py-tan was at the time..." Mamoru asks, but he takes the knowledge with grace-- that Kazuo won't know, necessarily, when or if purification might happen. There's a lot of not knowing, for both of them.

That's probably why Mamoru straightens up when Kazuo unwinds his arm after that squeeze, watching the white-haired boy in motion. "I like news as long as it's not bad," he says with a little laugh. "And I think you wouldn't be standing up. Have you learned to cartwheel?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"I don't know," Kazuo admits. "The one I'm sure about is Asakusa Shrine; I know there was a primary combat nearby, but not who was involved in that." There are too many shrines, and too many places where Pyrite might be. Have been. Be approaching being.

Kazuo sets that aside and stretches, then unfolds slowly, coming to his feet. "Maybe not on the roof. Leaves are slippery." He takes a couple of steps, then pauses a moment, looking out across rooftops. A little up toward the empty sky. Then he turns to flash a smile at Mamoru -

- and the crystal of his earring catches some odd ray of moonlight or starlight partway, flashes startlingly bright for an instant in a way that seems to echo itself over the long lines of Kazuo's body, light and shadow chasing one another -

- leaving white behind. Crisp and excessively formal. The sort of thing one would wear after issuing a mocking challenge in the form of a calling card. Black-masked, Kazuo bows to Mamoru solemnly.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's eyes widen, and they slowly get wider over the course of like six seconds. Then he makes a tiny little sound like he's about to say something and it gets stuck in his throat.

It's like he remembers how to talk, but he's holding his breath still, leaning forward a little. "Is that the wonderful thing that happened that night," he exhales, wide eyes gradually turning into a wide smile. "I knew something happened-- and Jadeite knew something happened because I changed too. I can't do it on purpose, though. You can-- what do you do? This is fantastic!"

All of a sudden Mamoru is scrambling to his feet, dislodging leaves from where the breeze skittered them to catch on him, and he half-lunges, half trips and falls to crash into the transformed Kazuo. "I knew I didn't have to worry anymore-- you're safer now--"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The question is probably about to be answered. Except that then there is a half-lunge, and Kazuo shifts without thinking to catch Mamoru, lifting him up against Kazuo's chest and hugging him close. It is probably initially to keep him from falling back over. It takes about point five seconds to turn into an actual hug.

"Safer is about right," Kazuo answers, and there's laughter in his voice, of course there is. "I'm not superpowerful, or anything. But you don't have a monopoly on defensive capes anymore, and I can get around a lot faster now. I don't know everything I can do yet. It's a learning process."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
In hug, giving hug, existing in state of hug; Mamoru tips his head back to look that little bit up at Kazuo, and-- there's a split percentage of a breath where he's just meeting the eyes behind the mask, and then he laughs a little bit too, and then just thuds his head against that chest once more. "Good. You can hide me behind your cape the next time I do something embarrassing, like invite people into my room then run away and hide from them. But..." Breathe. Mamoru breathes. "All of this is a learning process. I'm just so glad you match what I wish I were, instead of what I am."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo lets go of half the hug for a moment, but only to sweep that side of his cape around, draping it over Mamoru's shoulder and back, and settle right back in to holding him. "I'm keeping your seat warm for you, that's all," he murmurs back. "And laying a cane across a couple more for the others."