599/Of A Feather, Etc.

Of A Feather, Etc.
Date of Scene:	14 October 2023
Location:	Game Crown Arcade
Synopsis:	After coping with emu youma (Birds Are Real), Kazuo and Makoto duck into the Crown for questions, some answers, and tradition, by which we mean Kazuo buying Mako ice cream. Some 'sorry about that's come with more sugar than others.
Cast of Characters:	Kazuo Saitou, Makoto Kino

---

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The choice of havens after the Emucident is "where can they step into that's both out of the Cranky Feather Zone and unlikely to get them noticed?", and the answer to that is "where are there already a lot of school-age people in the area?", which is why Kazuo (shopping bag neatly folded over under an arm) escorts Mako into the Crown and its accompanying reassuring non-avian noise, suitable for covering conversations.

Also, you know, available desserts, in case Mako decides to demand tradition be upheld.

"You're okay?" is the first thing Kazuo asks. Not entirely asking. Double-checking.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Yeah, totally fine." Makoto's reply is an offhand one, distracted as she is by looking around the now-familiar environment of the arcade. After a moment of deliberation, she starts past the rows of game cabinets toward the stairs up to the cafe where there's options by way of seating. As she goes, she finally looks alongside toward Kazuo: "You?" Also not entirely asking. Neither of them tried to bronc-ride the monster bird.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Cranky, but it got distracted before it could head my way, so all good." Kazuo lets out a breath, and adds, "And we got a sample. Probably not one that's useful for anything, but I'll take what we can get."

Coffee. He is determined that what he can get will include coffee.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto pauses in vague surprise midway through the act of setting down her empty tote back. "Oh, that's why you were picking up feathers? For a sample?" The realization prompts a thoughtful look at his folded-over shopping back, before she remembers what she was doing and actually sits down. "What will you do with them?"

A beat. "Uh. Hi, by the way. It's been a while." She smiles, lopsided and rueful. "I was pretty surprised when I heard you were going to Radiant Heart too."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The bag is stowed on the inside of the seat, where passersby can't brush it - the feathers don't seem to be dangerous anymore, but either Kazuo isn't taking chances or he doesn't want to have to clean them up again. "There're a couple of people who've been trying to figure some of the weird stuff out. I'll see if they want a look at them. Probably burn them if they don't, if I can figure out how to weight them down so they don't turn into a flying fire hazard."

Hopefully he means burning the feathers, not the people. Well, probably.

Kazuo settles down across from her, folding himself awkwardly in, legs angled to the side so their knees don't collide. His grin flicks into existence in answer to her smile. "And hi. Wait, you're going where now? I hope you got a more normal introduction. And yeah, I live local to it."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto laughs at his question, nodding. "I transferred this past summer, a few months ago," she confirms. "I've been trying to stay out of trouble, or maybe I'd have crossed paths with you sooner. It seems like you've been busy, anyway."

She props both elbows on the table and leans forward. "So did I actually hear you say this isn't even the first time someone let a giant monster ostrich loose on Tokyo? Or did I misunderstand something?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"A little. Morning runs take the fun out of late nights, I'm finding." Kazuo gives her his best exaggeratedly tragic look; then his eyes spark with laughter again, and he settles back against the seat. Well, flank against the seat, anyway. It's easier to settle an arm along the back and get that out of the way. "And not loose on Tokyo. There might, or it might just have been a joke, have been an actual emu loose in a set of offices that our stand-on-rooftop acquaintances today report to. I don't work there, I can't say for sure."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Blink. Blink. "Okay," Makoto says slowly, "so that's a whole other question. Who were those guys? Was there an actual reason to do... all of that, or was it just some big weird prank? Because it kind of seemed from how they were acting like... I don't even know. But like, what would have happened if those two girls hadn't turned up to fight it? Or was that the point?"

She catches herself then, and makes an apologetic face. "I'm asking like you know, and maybe you don't have any more of an idea than I do. But at least, it seems like you know those guys, a little."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo exhales, rueful, and manages somehow to lose a significant fraction of an inch of apparent height along with it. Trying to sigh out a little of his spine. "I know one of them," he says. There's a little flicker of his eyes back and forth, confirming that nobody's listening in, before he continues. "I know about the other two, a little. The one I know calls himself Hematite. The other two - the heckling guy was Zoisite, the confused girl was Pyrite. If you're seeing a theme here, you're not wrong. They are ... both trouble and in trouble. Hematite's trying to get out of it. What he was doing was something to fulfill some order or other from his boss. Who works for a literal demon. But if he's got a choice, he'll try to make sure it doesn't hurt anybody. Which ... uh. You see the bird kick that girl? Normal birds like that have giant claws on their feet; if they kick something, it needs a blood transfusion. This one, nothing. So it was a threat. But it was a threat with safety gear on, so he could try to keep from really hurting anybody. I don't know the answer to the what-if. ... no, I take that back, if nobody turned up to fight it he'd've heckled Zoisite into fighting it, Zoisite was too loopy not to fall for it."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto listens... and is quiet for a space after Kazuo's explanation has finished, digesting what she's just heard.

"That... sounds like a lot."

And then she's quiet again for a bit, frowning faintly in intense thought. "So... how did you get mixed up in it, Saitou-kun? Does... does this kind of thing happen a lot? Because a week ago I kind of got a little bit set on fire by a girl who turned a tarp into a monster and said she was trying to go back to her own dimension, and I'm starting to get the feeling that maybe I should've been paying more attention these past few months, you know?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Everything is a lot," Kazuo half-grumbles, thus summing up teenagerhood in four words.

At her question after the pause, he half laughs, and shakes his head. "How I got mixed up in it depends on who you ask. If you ask me, I ran across a girl who was sort of limp-staggering determinedly on her way to school after her mom's store got attacked by a monster, because she would be damned if she let something that weird affect her grades. If you ask the guys on the rooftops? They think I've always been supposed to be mixed up in it. With an -ite name. Me, I do not want to have a demon for a grandboss, particularly not if it's a corporate gig where they can switch up your managers anytime they want." He shrugs, utterly rueful. "So I sort of hang around the edges and give that Determinator I ran into a hand when I can, and when she wants one. For this happening a lot? It hasn't happened to me that much. It doesn't seem to happen to a lot of people at all. But there's a couple people it seems to happen to every week. Or every couple of days. You don't look charred; did it heal up okay?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
To that, Mako nods, not seeming much bothered. "Oh, yeah. My uniform was ruined, but it wasn't even like she was trying to set me on fire. She was just on fire, and I punched her so she tried to throw me, and I had better leverage so she ate some dirt. You know." A shrug. "Anyway, my uniform was ruined, but at least we were already in long sleeves. The girls who showed up to fight the tarp creature said I'd probably forget about it, but I haven't, and it doesn't seem like you have any trouble remembering either?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Most people forget, if they don't have some kind of magic themselves," Kazuo agrees. "A handful don't."

A pause. And his grin reappears. And widens. "You punched somebody on fire. Because of course you did."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto makes a very wry face. "Well," she says, "someone needed to stop what she was doing to people. And the other girls were all busy with the monster."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"I'm just saying," Kazuo replies cheerfully, "that I am entirely not surprised if your punches are magic."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"You're still the only person I know who was happy that I tried to deck them, you know," Makoto responds with an amiable roll of her eyes. Before long, though, her humor fades into a sigh. "People really deal with this stuff every week? Without the rest of the school even knowing? Geez... for a while I was starting to think things were looking up. I should've realized it was too good to be true."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"I wasn't happy you tried to, I was happy you managed to." Gray eyes sparkle, sunshine on autumn rain. "I mean, there's a self-defense class at RHA, so it's better now, but it'd been way too long since anybody was a challenge." He pauses for a moment, and then adds more seriously, "And it is better. I mean, that it's happening isn't, but ... there are other people, you know? We don't have to deal with it alone. Have you met Osaka yet?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
At the mention of the name, Makoto perks up visibly. "Naru-chan? Yeah. She and Usagi-chan caught me on my way back to my room after that whole thing. I didn't want to make anyone worry, but it was nice to talk to both of them about what had happened. They were pretty great about it." She sits up, straightening away from leaning on the table and absent-mindedly bringing a hand up to rub at the back of her neck. "I'm going to be showing up at the self-defense classes, too, so maybe we'll find out soon if I can still give you a challenge. Chi--uh, Darien-kun suggested it, and Inai-sensei said it'd be okay for me to come. Though with everything that's been going on, I might need to find a dojo after all..."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Osaka's who I grabbed the feathers for. She's the one I met on her way back to school after the attack on her mother's store. She can't fight back directly, so she's fighting by trying to learn things about the weirdness, and make contacts with people. So she and her roommate are good people to know." Kazuo pauses, then asks, "If you're going to be at the self-defense classes too, want to help me out with Osaka there? She was interested in learning how to hit things with sticks, so I've been helping with that, but my center of gravity's wrong for her."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I can do that no problem, as long as Naru-chan is okay with it. We didn't really get as far as talking about self-defense the other day... oh, but," Makoto's green eyes brighten, amused and impressed in equal measure, "Usagi-chan did mention how she hit the fire girl with a mop. Was that before or after you started working with her on hitting things with sticks?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"I think technically aft-- wait, you punched Sunbreaker?!?" ... that is not a pleased expression. That is an expression of outright vengeful glee. Kazuo's volume doesn't increase for the interjection, at least. Presumably he's talking about a video game. Or something.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Um. Yeah?" Her head ducks slightly in sudden self-consciousness. "That was what the Yellow Pearl girl called her, anyway. Are there a lot of people who can be on fire like that?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo's response is absolutely honest, and absolutely not reassuring. "I have no idea."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Ugh!" Makoto promptly flumps forward, arms folding atop the table so that she can bury her face in them. "What the heck..."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Apparently there used to only be a handful of weirdness in the whole city," Kazuo says resignedly. "We just got lucky. A surfeit of miracles." A brief pause. "Speaking of surfeits. I hear food helps. Do you want anything?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto rallies enough to peek up over the line of her folded arms. "That emu thing didn't look anything like a miracle to me," she points out. "I would like a milkshake. And--" She stops, thinks, and moves her head in what passes for a headshake of negation in her current posture. "No, just a strawberry milkshake is fine."

This is too awkward. Faintly abashed, she gathers herself and sits back up. "Seriously, though."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"That emu thing was a minor and ridiculous anti-miracle," Kazuo agrees. "Give me a minute, okay? Let me get your milkshake." And he unfolds, slides out of the seat - comes back in reasonably quick time with one strawberry milkshake and one emotional support coffee. The latter being for him, the former being passed to Makoto. "There are things that are a lot better. And not as weird as monkey girl. I didn't know we had a monkey girl."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Thank you." Makoto receives the milkshake gratefully, and sets about drowning her concerns in ice cream for at least the next few seconds or so. The cold, creamy sweetness does seem to restore some of her equilibrium; soon enough, she offers him a smile across the table. "Thanks. It's nice to know that at least some of this stuff is new to you, too. Makes me feel a little less behind."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"All of it's new to me," Kazuo admits. "It's only been the last couple of months. So if you want to, you'll catch up quick. If you don't want to ... maybe you can duck, I don't know. But it's --"

He stops. Frowns down at his coffee for a moment. Not smiling at all, not laughing.

"-- no matter how bad it gets, sometimes," he says quietly, "I wouldn't trade it for anything. The world didn't feel like it meant anything, before."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto's expression softens, as she studies Kazuo over her milkshake. "And it does, now?" It's a question, but not really a question, not when the answer was implied by his saying it at all.

She sips at her milkshake, collecting thoughts. "I think I understand. Sort of. That is... I can't say I've ever felt like that, like the world didn't feel like it mattered. But I haven't." She looks down, unable to say it out loud and still hold eye contact at the same time. "Mattered, I mean."

Staring into the melting pink, she lets out a slow breath. "When I got the invitation to Radiant Heart, and I transferred, I had a feeling like... like the wind had guided me. Like I was meant to be here. And it has been better, even though I've had trouble settling in. So... I don't know, maybe all of this is part of why? I don't know."

She finally manages to look up again, and smiles, though it's self-deprecating. "It's all just a lot to take in," she says. "But I know one thing for sure - once I see something, I can't just turn a blind eye to it."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"You always mattered." The words are straightforward, simple. Kazuo pauses for only the briefest of moments after them, just a fraction of a syllable's worth. "But if you're not in the right place, if you're not with people who matter to you, then it doesn't feel like it, does it?" Likewise not really a question. "So I'm glad for the wind guiding you. And I hope it guides you to more people who can appreciate you, and the things you can't turn a blind eye to. And the things you do."

His mouth tugs up at the corner again.

He does not say out loud 'not just the punching.'

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto goes still, the straw of her milkshake between her fingers. Her eyes widen - and then she's looking down again, an embarrassed flush rising pink in her face. "I hope so, too," she says, once she's sure she can speak evenly. "Thank you, again. Not just for the milkshake."

A bracing swallow of which later, she manages to meet his eyes and smile back brightly. "And, hey. If those corporate weirdos ever decide to stop taking no for an answer and you need any help convincing them to back off, I'll be around. Okay?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Deal," Kazuo agrees solemnly, with no sign of seeing that extra pink. "Hematite's good about taking no for an answer on that one, but if his boss and grandboss get pushy... well, let's hope that doesn't happen." He considers the oceans of complexity around Hematite's identity. No. No, she knows Usagi. She'll find out soon enough. "... there's more to say about him, but it's not all mine to say, so I think it's break time for that topic for a while." Maybe that'll be enough to keep Makoto from wreaking justified revenge on him when she finds out. Maybe.