668/Weird, But Not Forgotten

Weird, But Not Forgotten
Date of Scene:	09 October 2023
Location:	Tsukino-Osaka Dorm
Synopsis:	Shortly after her encounter with Sunbreaker, Makoto Kino tries to sneak back to her dorm, only to be (mildly) abducted by Naru Osaka and Usagi Tsukino, who have few answers and much sympathy.
Cast of Characters:	Makoto Kino, Usagi Tsukino, Naru Osaka

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Makoto Kino has posed:
It's a lovely October afternoon! Most students are at club meetings or helping set up for the culture festival, so the girls' dorm is relatively quiet.

All the better for Makoto, peering self-consciously around a corner before she starts down the hall toward her room. She's moving just a little more gingerly than normal, though it's not really out of necessity. Whatever Yellow Pearl Voice did helped with the burns and bruises, and she's altogether not in bad shape.

Her uniform, on the other hand, is ruined, scorched and blackened in several places. She picks woefully at the charred cuff of her sleeve as she walks, and breathes out a sigh. There will not be any fixing this.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's a lovely October afternoon! Usagi should probably be helping her class with the culture festival, but she's not. She has no excuse; she just didn't feel like it, so she didn't! Instead, she'd made the brave choice to put her self first and get snacks, which is why she's armed with a caramel-and-cream filled taiyaki and a paper cup of hot chocolate, made in the dorm lounge microwave.

She's heading back to her dorm now, ready to kick back with an episode of her favorite drama, when she spies the totally wrecked uniform and gasps. Loudly. Especially when she realizes she recognizes the owner. "Makoto-chan?! Are you okay?"

Woe for Makoto, Usagi be upon ye!

Naru Osaka has posed:
It IS a lovely October afternoon. Like Usagi, Naru has skipped out on other places she probably should be, and based on the take out coffee cup, she went off campus to find herself coffee. She too is returning back to the dorm, just a little behind Usagi and Makoto.

Naru blinks as she spots a roughed up Mako and a worried Usagi. "You both alright?" She comes closer, giving both of them a good once over. No blood, that's a feature.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Busted. Makoto freezes where she stands, with the wide-eyed and faintly guilty expression of someone who's been caught doing something she shouldn't. "Ah?"

There's definitely no blood, at least. In the face of Usagi's fussing and Naru's close inspection, Mako laughs awkwardly, bringing a hand to the back of her neck. "Yeah, I'm fine. Promise. Things got, uh, really weird out where we were setting up booths for the culture festival, so I came back to change clothes... since my uniform's trashed."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'm okay, but Makoto-chan is clearly not!" Usagi would put her hand on her hip but she has something in both hands. She considers this conundrum, then shoves her hot chocolate at Makoto. "Drink this, because you are very busted!"

An explanation is offered, and she frowns even more. "Things got.... weird?"

Usagi leans around Makoto to look at Naru, her face clearly saying WEIRD? Like THAT weird?

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Define for us 'really weird." Naru prompts as she loiters there and then gestures.. "How about we do this in our room, rather than in the hallway. You can at least get cleaned up a bit and chill on the couch."

Fortunately they are just outside Usagi and Naru's room, so it really is conveniently located for further conversation as Naru opens up the door and invites everyone in.

"And if is weird like 'they will never believe me' weird.. just try us." Naru advises as she moves to put the kettle on. She might have a hot cup of coffee, and Mako now has hot cocoa, but clearly such a moment requires freshly hot beverages. Apparently Naru is just a little bit British, somewhere in there.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto never stood a chance, honestly. The combined power of Usagi and Naru together sweeps her neatly along; she's ensconced in their room and holding the cup of hot chocolate before she's fully processed what's even happening.

"Well..." She hesitates a bit, frowning down into the cocoa. "There was this, like, pillar of dark fire? And one of the tarps from the booth setup came to life and ate a kid and spit him back out. Anyway it all seemed really bad so I kinda punched the girl who seemed like she was doing it. One of the girls who showed up to deal with the tarp monster called her Sunbreaker."

Her frown deepens, more perplexed than upset. "They said I probably wouldn't remember any of it. I don't get how, but once you forget something it's not like you can tell you forgot, so how would I know?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Bundled into their dorm, Usagi is crossing the room, digging into the closet even as Naru makes a hot drink. Makoto is muuuuch taller than her, so her clothes probably won't fit, but - oh, there! She comes out of the closet bearing an enormous pink bathrobe; it alwaus dragged when Usagi wore it, so it would probably be a reasonable amount of short on Makoto. "You can wear this over your uniform when you head back to your room! Wearing a robe in the hall is way less concerning than a damaged uniform. But sit, sit! You look like you need a break."

The couch in their room is only a touch messy, a fact that can be attributed more to Naru's efforts than anything else. Just a throw blanket, thrown over one side. It's as comfy as the chairs in every other dorm, and perfect for Makoto to set herself down! Luna is resting on one end, red eyes closed. She pricks her ears in Makoto's direction.

"Sunbreaker? You punched her?!" Usagi gawks, looking at Makoto with the kind of admiration usually reserved for superheroes. "No wonder your uniform is a mess! But - you remember everything..."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"If you're explaining it to us, you haven't forgotten." Naru points out quietly as she leans on the bar fridge that acts as the table for their kettle and hot beverage station. "Brains are weird. Not quite as weird as everything else that goes on around here, but brains are weird.. especially about remembering the weird."

"Sunbreaker .. " Naru sighs softly. "We'll, it feels like progress at least. Was the kid alright? The one that the tarp ate?" She mms softly as she considers Makato. "Clearly there was a healer along too.. lemme guess.. singer who is very fond of yellow?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I mean," says Makoto, "it just happened. Like a few minutes ago. But you're right, I still remember everything so far. Or I think I do."

She settles carefully down onto the couch, and tries a sip of the hot chocolate - it'd be a waste to let it go cold, after Usagi was generous enough to give it to her. "Mm. Yeah, he was passed out, but he seemed okay. And, yeah." She nods confirmation to Naru's guess. "Yellow Pearl... Something, and Mou Fubuki, and... I don't think the girl with the rocket launcher gave her name. She's the one who told me I wouldn't remember."

She looks at the bathrobe Usagi pulled out for her - for now draped onto the arm and a bit across the back of the couch - and smiles, more than a little touched by the consideration. Then she looks up again. "It didn't seem like that Sunbreaker girl was paying a lot of attention to me, until I hit her. Then she kind of threw me. It wasn't a throw throw, really, though. More like a shove, and her form was terrible. So I floored her, and then she left. Is she like an alien? She said something about going back to the dimension she came from."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Yeah, but it just happened and you don't think someone just knocked a burner over or a tent fell on them or whatever, so... Huh."

That means there's magic in Makoto, right? A little at least, like how Naru had just enough to remember - or maybe more. It was - exciting. She grabs her desk chair and drags it over, sitting close to Makoto. "Have you ever seen anything else like that?"

Her eyes are shining as Makoto mentions hitting Sunbreaker and flooring her. "That was dangerous, you know? She's on fire! But super cool of you. Naru-chan hit her with a mop, once. Totally saved my life!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Brains are weird about the Weird." Naru is apparently making Usagi another hot chocolate, based on the mug she's pulled out and the cocoa mix she's scooping while waiting on the kettle. "If you were going to remember it, you'd have already come up with a reasonable excuse as to why something outrageous wasn't quite so outrageous."

"Yeah, totally an alien." Naru confirms easily enough, as if she just confirmed she was from another country or something. "Sunbreaker tends towards passionate rather than good form, and yeah.. as Usagi says.. she's really crazy dangerous. Especially when she's hyped up about something or in a bad mood."

Dark energy. Bad Mood. Close enough.

Naru goes digging in the little fidge for some milk to cool the cocoa a bit, and make it more creamy, before she brings it over to ensure that Usagi also has a hot beverage for this little confab.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Has she ever seen anything else like that? Makoto opens her mouth, hesitates, and puts off answering in favor of more cocoa.

"...actually, yeah," she says at last, sounding a little surprised at herself. "There was a big statue dude who came to life at the museum, with the weird white lady I threw a toy at. That was months ago. I'd put it completely out of my mind somehow." She flicks a wry brow-lifted look toward Naru. "That's what you meant by brains being weird, huh?"

She sits back a bit, still seeming vaguely overwhelmed, and laughs. "She sure was on fire, yeah. I guess trying to pick a fight with her wasn't the smartest, I just... Somebody had to stop her. And the other girls were busy with the monster and the fire pillar thing. I don't know, I wasn't really thinking." Abruptly she's sitting up straight again, fully focused and looking between Usagi and Naru with visible concern. "Does this kind of thing happen to you two a lot?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Luna is looking at Makoto, standing up to stretch herself out, a classic biiiiiig cat stretch before she pads her way closer, sniffing daintily. Before Usagi can open her mouth to warn Makoto, Luna has padded her way across the couch, across Makoto's lap, and settled herself loaf-style on the armrest nearest Makoto. She's staring with wine-red eyes, the moon mark on her forehead bright against her dark fur.

"Luna," Usagi hisses quietly, then shakes her head, deciding to focus on Makoto instead. She's been offered new hot chocolate and accepts it with a quiet thanks, letting it warm one hand. Her taiyaki is not forgotten, but not being eaten anymore either. It's going to go soft, the poor thing. "I've never really experienced the brain weird, because I only saw once I was in the weird. And -"

She pauses. "It maybe wasn't the safest, but it sounds like the smartest to me. I mean! You did it! And it was dangerous, but if you hit her, you hit her. That means you were tough enough to try it." Just like Naru was tough enough to hit her with a mop. "Ahahaha... a fews times a week sound right to you, Naru-chan?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"That is exactly what I mean about brains are weird about the Weird. You just sort of forget, even if at the time you don't know how you could possibly forget." Naru agrees with a nod and then claims the chair at her desk to sit down.

"It happens often enough to be just part of life, yeah." Naru agrees with a nod. "And you're not alone in just jumping on someone on fire because it needed doing." Naru at least has the grace to look vaguely sheepish about that.

"The cat who has decided that she should shed near you is Luna, by the way." Naru explains Usagi's hissed attempts to get a cat not to do just exactly as she pleases.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Oh? Big stretch!" They were having an important conversation, but unfortunately Makoto has been thoroughly distracted because kitty. She lifts the cup of hot chocolate out of the way and sits very still as Luna traverses her lap.

Naru answers the question on her lips before she can ask it. "Hi, Luna. Am I in your spot?" She offers a hand, not yet reaching to pet, just an introduction.

Belatedly she remembers that they were, in fact, talking about important things, and she looks back to the other two girls, though the hand she held out to Luna remains patiently extended. "That's... wow. It's hard to imagine dealing with stuff like this all the time, on top of school and everything." She's regarding the pair of them with fresh admiration and lingering concern. "And I had no idea, this whole time."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Luna purrs a little, encouraging Makoto to reach out, and sniffs her hand once she does. What a polite girl. And clearly some form of magical, to remember as Naru and Usagi did. She's tempted - very much so - to try what Usagi's suggested and just shove the Jupiter pen into her hand and see where it goes. She doesn't though, because she has common sense and can't assume every girl with good manners and the ability to remember what the veil hides is their missing senshi.

It would be nice if she was, though.

Usagi frowns a little, puzzled, but shakes it off. "We're getting used to it. There's kind of a lot of us at this school, and... I mean, it has been a while. You said, since the other thing you saw? Once Naru-chan started being able to see them, she saw them all the time, so... I'm kinda worried that you'll start seeing them all the time too..."

This whole thing is not really a one and done experience...

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Sometimes its fine.. just another thing, sometimes its a lot." Naru acknowledges and then she glances over to Usagi and back to Makoto. "And I don't even really get into the fights."

Which is not wholly accurate, but certainly by comparison she's a non combatant. Ish.

"I mean.. there is some degree of once you start noticing yellow cars.. say.. you notice them /everywhere/." Naru points out. "So when you first start realizing how much magic and weird is in the world, you notice it everywhere. Most people try not to talk about it with people who won't remember, so there's a lot of talking around the point one is trying to make sometimes. Unless you know you're talking with someone who knows."

Naru considers a moment and then shrugs. "Hopefully you aren't a youma magnet like I am. Most people don't seem to be."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"What a pretty kitty." Makoto is paying attention, honest. Encouraged by Luna's purring, she dares a little petting - a scritch behind an ear, a light rub of her thumb against Luna's cheekbone. "That's an unusual marking, isn't it? Like a crescent moon."

Right, important things. A touch guiltily, Makoto refocuses her attention and makes the effort to recover the brain cells that deserted her at the presence of a cat. "I guess all I can do is wait and see, huh? Maybe in a week or two, one of you could ask me and see if I still remember decking Sunbreaker today. But - if it happens to you guys that often, aren't you in a lot of danger? I might not really understand most of what's going on, but... I'm strong, at least. And I know some aikido. If you need help..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mhm," Usagi says, looking at Luna and wondering what she's thinking, "I think - I mean, it's where her name comes from." She has no idea about that, actually, but it was a good excuse, since her research had told her that Luna referred to the moon, just like own name did. "She's usually not so friendly..."

But Luna is being decidedly friendly, allowing Makoto to pet her and scratch behind her ears for a few moments before getting to her feet and hopping down from the couch, casually climbing Usagi and then Naru to reach Naru's bed and curl up there, still watching. She'll be following after Makoto Kino for a while, she thinks.

Children who can remember magic are important.

After all, so far there have been Naru-chan, with her quicker than human healing and clever mind, Usagi, her first Senshi found, Ikiko-san the werechild, Rei-chan, who had turned out to be Sailor Mars, Ami-chan, who had turned out to be Sailor Mercury, Chiyo-san, who was Guardian Daifuku -

The likelihood that Makoto Kino will not be like one of them is very low.

Usagi nods, quick. "You've got our phone numbers, right? If not, I'll give them to you, and if you see anything, let us know! And we'll make sure to ask you, see if you remember. If you don't... well, I'll still check in, in case Sunbreaker wants to get even. But if you do... that's cool too. And aha, yeah, but I mean, it's kind of life now?" Terrible answer, Usagi. Bad at reassurance. "I... wouldn't want you to put yourself in danger, Mako-chan. But if you want to help, I'm not gonna turn you away, either."

Naru Osaka has posed:
There is a certain acceptance of being kitty furniture when one lives with a cat. Even if that cat is Luna and Naru doesn't even blink at being part of the feline highway to the comfy spot on her bed.

"It can be dangerous, yes." Naru is pretty straightforward on that point. "But most of us try to be careful as much as we can. " Which is only mostly a lie. 'as much as they can' sometimes is 'really not very much at all'.

"Do text if you see something weird, or if you have questions or if you just want to hang out." Naru flashes a bright smile. "It's not all danger and awful and weird. We're a community, with some quirky folks and some really really quirky folks, but when you're up to your eyes in weird, it's really nice to be able to talk about it with people who won't think you're crazy."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto is quiet for a bit, thinking, but soon enough she nods. "We should definitely make sure we've traded numbers," she agrees. "And I will. Whether it's dangerous or not... if I see something happening, I can't just look the other way and pretend I didn't see it, you know?" Her smile is very rueful. "It's gotten me into trouble before, and maybe it will again, but I can't help it. I'd rather at least be someone else you can talk to."

A beat. "I mean," she adds with a laugh, "assume I haven't forgotten the whole thing by next week. But I hope I won't."