836/Okay

Okay
Date of Scene:	30 November 2023
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	A shaken Mamoru gets Kazuo to summon Zoisite. Zoisite brings an immensity of fried chicken, a glory of himselfness, and a terrifying question. (Also: the cat helps.)
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Kazuo Saitou, Zoisite

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's early evening after a distressingly busy afternoon for Mamoru Chiba; Himeko made sure that the bakeneko was on Mamoru's lap before she went to do ghost things, and it's now officially Study Time, and Mamoru does not want to study.

He smells a little like burnt hair and he looks a little shaken.

"Here," he says to Kazuo, thunking his head against the wall; he's sitting on his bed and handing his phone over. "Text Zoisite and ask him to bring food. You two haven't met yet and he's shy because he knows I did a shit job of recruiting you on purpose and it's awkward and I hate it and it'll get my mind off of throwing freezing cold liquid dark energy at Sunbreaker after she threw a minivan at me."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Phone is accepted, and Kazuo puts down his books one-handed while eyeing the phone as if he expected it to sprout fangs and sink venom into his palm at any moment. "... did someone try to set you on fire, or was that the minivan impact?" he asks, while he's thumbing numbers in.

There are no contacts in Mamoru's phone. This is apparently irrelevant.

(PHONE) Mamoru Chiba texts to Zoisite: The Master of the Possibly Unreal Emu would like you to bring him food. He's in his dorm room, shaking off some typically bizarre interaction with Sunbreaker, and I would like to know what it is about him that makes people throw vehicles at him every few weeks. Signed, the hot one.

(Apparently Kazuo uses punctuation in texts. At least this text.)

Zoisite has posed:
    There is a knock at the door a moment later.

    Zoisite just teleports into the room without waiting for the door to open, his idea of 'letting himself in', and offers a ridiculous amount of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and assorted other things Zoisite would never be caught dead eating in a million years, all in a Christmas-themed KFC bag and buckets and what not. Seriously, what the fuck does KFC have to do with Christmas? He was BORN IN THIS COUNTRY, and Zoisite still doesn't know what's wrong with the Japanese some days.

    "I understand this is customary. Never did it in my house, but my family were prats, so who's to say. Speaking of, since my relationship with my blood relatives is as dead as your sister, I've decided to legally change my name. Haven't sent in the paperwork yet -- is it even paperwork? Can't we just do it by text? This is 2023. Come on, people! -- but I'm going for Izou Saitou, and since your friend here is also a Saitou, it looks like I'll just have to marry into his family."

    Zoisite finishes crossing the room, sets the food down on Mamoru's desk in front of him, and then backs up to sit on the bed. He offers his hand delicately, "Good evening, Kazuo Saitou. I'm your future spouse apparently. Nice to meet you. Also, my God why does it smell like burnt hair and petroleum in here? Open a window before you invite someone over!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"...it's cold out," Mamoru complains, "I don't want to open the window. Thanks. Sunbreaker tried to set me on fire. After the minivan. Which I threw back in pieces."

The 'thanks' is concurrent with Mamoru leaning delicately over the ghost-monster cat in his lap to rustle out a napkin and a drumstick. If he thinks he's going to be able to just eat that he's deluding himself; the bakeneko is already awake and jumping off him onto the desk to investigate meat-smells.

He lets the rest of Zoisite's nervousness wash over him like a misty ocean breeze and says kindly, "That wasn't your worst attempt. I'm going to do something I'll regret, right now, and ask: how did you get KFC so fast? Did you mug a family?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
There is a moment in which Kazuo might wind up being torn between addressing the offer and addressing the request. Might. ... no, there are definite priorities here. Mamoru's phone is set down on the not-bakeneko side of the now highly occupied desk, and Kazuo crosses to take Zoisite's hand (gentle, careful, gentle and warm) and bow over it solemnly. "Good evening, soon-to-be Izou Saitou. It's a delight to see you without the edge of a rooftop in the way." Or a disguise. He is not going to stare at Zoisite's face to make certain that any bruising from the hit he took while disguised as Sailor V is thoroughly healed. He is not. Well, maybe a tiny bit --

No, no, behaving. He releases Zoisite's hand only slightly reluctantly, and sidesteps to snag off the bed any blanket that Zoisite is not actively sitting on. This is taken with him to the window, which he opens whether Mamoru likes it or not, and then back to the desk, full circle, to be draped over Mamoru's shoulders and adjusted to provide enough room for ravenous chicken consumption. And for Mamoru's eating fried things, too.

Zoisite has posed:
    Zoisite snaps, "Why does it matter where I got it? If you care so much, you can give it back!" He probably mugged a family.

    He gestures at Mamoru, while looking at Kazuo. "Do you see? Do you see this ungratefulness? This is why people keep throwing vehicles at him!" He just shakes his head. He';d probably be folding his arms, and *huff*ing but then Kazuo approaches and he settles down right quick. "A pleasure. Don't underestimate the utility of rooftops. They have a great many uses, including moonlight rendesvous." A bit more calmed down now, and probably only blatantly staring a little bit, or a lot bit, he drags his eyes away long enough to see the chicken becoming cat food.

    "I just assumed you'd lost a fight with Sailor Mars or been burning wigs in the woods behind the school or something as some kind of film student buffoonery." Yes, when Zoisite looks at Mamoru, he thinks 'film student'. That is exactly the image that Mamoru Chiba exudes. Maybe.

    Zoisite crosses one leg over the other, props his elbow on his knee, and his cheek on his palm. Then he reverts from Zoisite to a more civilian form. He's still technically Yoshimitsu Zaibatsu, but the amount of attachment he has to the name that's not rooted in fear, hatred, rejection, and other assorted unpleasantness is enough for him to have good reason to cast it aside.

    He's just much more chill after being in Kazuo's presence. He's now wearing a loose white dress-shirt, and black pants, with shined black shoes on his feet. No, he's not going to change into slippers or something, this isn't his apartment. "So... What brings us here this evening?" Yoshi asks.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru, enfolded in blanket and sharing Rather A Lot of food with apparently just a cat right now, opens a little container of mashed potatoes and another one of roasted corn and just digs in, eyebrows up at Zoisite. Eyebrows up, as if to say 'I'm eating it, aren't I?'

His mouth is not actually full when he says, "You're looming," to Kazuo. It's unfair of him. He pushes out Koji's chair towards Kazuo with one foot, which is very slightly more fair. "You both fuss over me, it's really cute. Why does everyone fuss over me? I'm just as much of an asshole as the rest of you. I don't tangle with Sailor Mars, I really hate being on fire, and people being on fire, and motorcycles and houses and minivans being on fire, I really hate Sunbreaker. Like. I don't actually hate anyone else but I really hate that girl."

Mamoru considers stuffing more food in his mouth, and decides to do so after saying one more thing. "I need some help moving some of my assets into an offshore account or five, for absolutely no reason." Two more things. "But mostly we're just here because I wanted to complain to both of you at the same time, and also brag, because this whole thing happened because Sunbreaker jammed my sister full of dark energy again after I spent M O N T H S weaning her off of it, and because we've got that sort of. Psychic connection? I ended up getting flooded with it and went off the deep end and the former murderghost had to talk me down. So I'm complaining, but bragging about my sister."

A beat. "She's definitely my sister now. She's not even Pyrite anymore. Kazuo likes her!"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Of course I'm looming. You're sitting down and I'm tall, it's not exactly an optional thing." Kazuo does not throw any vehicles at Mamoru. He does ruffle his hair, then nudge the chair back in lightly and opt to sit somewhere that it is less likely that a bakeneko will consider him competition for meat.

Specifically, he settles comfortably seated beside Zoisite, not touching, but close, and angled toward him and Mamoru just a little. Now there is a matched set of white dress shirts and black pants on Mamoru's bed. The fairness of that is debatable.

And that ... is a lot of words, for someone who said he wanted food.

Kazuo lets them flow over him in much the same way Mamoru did with Zoisite's nervousness, settling into a kind of affectionate steadiness, one that doesn't need to answer, or protest, or point out that he's not much help with offshore accounts so that's probably Zoisite. Just soaking in the sounds of voices, and the presence of them both.

Well, mostly.

"Have I even met her since she stopped being a murderghost?" Kazuo wonders aloud. "Though granted, I liked her before that." Maybe the murdery part reminded him of someone. Can't imagine who.

Zoisite has posed:
    Yoshi rolls his eyes at Mamoru after Kunzite sits next to him, as if to say, 'Get a load of this guy.' "So? Are you injured again? You said you were on fire and got hit with a van. That sounds like something that needs to be addressed, to me." He continues to be way more chill (and quieter) than is usual. He also doesn't say anything right away when he hears about Himeko being a peacekeaper and everything... He sighs. "I suppose you were right in the end. I may not have trusted her, but I trusted you. She turned out alright after all." Then he looks up at Kunzite.

    "She used to be a Death Curse. I think her entire purpose was just to kill this soft-hearted fool, and he still wouldn't let us do anything about it. Almost like we aren't supposed to be protecting him." He pauses a moment, blinking a few times, finally processing that he's been thinking of Kazuo as Kunzite, not Kazuo. It was so easy to slip into a familiar groove.

    He looks away again, face a bit flushed, and falls back on just giving sideways glances at Kazuo. Direct eye contact is a bit much right now.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I don't think so," Mamoru tells Kazuo before he finally puts chicken in his mouth. That's with one hand, the other is petting the bakeneko while she eats a piece.

He does actually eat, see. He also does actually look sheepish at the 'needs to be addressed'-- and he considers whether or not now is the right time to ask if Zoi had really been going to kill her. Probably not. He's talking to Kazuo, which is a triumph.

Then he doesn't say anything because 'protecting him'; Mamoru looks steadily at the bakeneko as he pets her and takes a bite of roasted corn, instead. He may also slink embarrassedly lower in his seat.

He finally says, "Sorry. That I always worry you."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo mirrors Yoshi's eye-roll, with a little turn upward at the corner of his mouth at the end of it: 'yeah, that's him all right.'

"There's protecting him," Kazuo says to Yoshi, not news but confirming in words something new to this-him and probably less so to Yoshi, "and then there's protecting him. He gets to pick what risks he wants to take. We get to chew on him about them. He gets to complain about us fussing over him, we get to mock him for complaining." Another glance Mamoru's way. Sorry might be appreciated; that's Zoisite's call. And it's only after Zoisite makes that call or doesn't that Kazuo points out to Mamoru, "If you want me not to loom, getting shorter is not the way to manage that."

Zoisite's been worried about Mamoru.

One of those sideways glances catches Kazuo's head bent a little more toward Yoshi, body leaned an almost imperceptible trifle closer. He's not looking at Yoshi's face - studying the cloth at his shoulder, instead - but that small renewal of warmth is a familiar thing all the same.

Zoisite has posed:
    Yoshi sighs. "The 'addressing' being 'making sure you aren't hiding injuries' and also 'do you want to know whether or not I'm retaliating against Sunbreaker or would you like plausible deniability?' It's not as though you were at fault." Pause. "You weren't at fault, were you? Not that will stay my hand either way, but it's important for insult crafting." He sits up a bit taller, rather than slouching, like he's frequently correcting the others for doing.

    "Protecting you is my job. I mean, technically my job is head of media relations or something, but if I didn't worry about you, then there'd be something wrong with me. You've no cause for guilt in that regard. Though if I ever am not worrying about you, please do be a dear and stab out of me whatever's running my body instead of me." Dancing around delicate matters is always easier when you don't mind stepping on your partner's feet.

    "So... Addressing the unicorn in the room..." The blonde reaches up to make sure his ponytail is still there, or something, while casually asking, "...How are we going to do this? The three of us, I mean. Well, I mean, there are more than three of us, but only three of us present right now--No, wait, there's the cat. Well, I don't think the cat needs to be involved." Yoshi leans back, supporting himself on his hands placed behind him on the mattress, and watching as Mamoru tries to finish an absurdly large family meal by himself.*

    * Bakeneko is helping.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I'm not hiding injuries, you know they just go away with a little time," Mamoru retorts, waving a piece of chicken around. "Like five minutes. I got some cuts and scrapes when the minivan wrapped itself around me with physics. But! I wasn't the one at fault! I think. I mean, I didn't attack her until she admitted that flooding Himeko with dark energy was her operation. Though apparently it was at random, not on purpose. I'm probably going to get yelled at by HR again."

He squints at Kazuo for the sass. Such squinting, such a mouthful of food. Chew and swallow.

"How are we going to do which part?" he asks absolutely guilelessly. "I just wanted you guys to meet before everything goes to hell in a handbasket."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
It is entirely possible that Kazuo is distracted by visions of Yoshi, or Zoisite, taking Sunbreaker to pieces with words alone. Alternatively, it's possible that Kazuo is distracted by trying not to look amused at the image of Zoisite as head of media relations. The media would definitely not know what hit them.

"Is getting yelled at by HR one of your ambitions?" Kazuo inquires of Mamoru. "Should we arrange for a plaque?" Because the last time Kazuo put something on Mamoru's wall made him so happy, clearly. And because he is definitely avoiding thinking about having to stab possessing entities out of Zoisite. Or about the fact that it's a reasonable request.

(Or about the fact that, if it were necessary, he'd probably do it.)

It may also take an act of willpower for Kazuo not to throw anything at Guileless Mamoru.

He takes a breath, then gestures back and forth between himself and Mamoru. "I presume you know we're dating," he says to Zoisite. "Question one. Are you all right with that? Question two. What do you want, that's relevant to the three of us?" Because details about the specific preferred fragrance of difficult-to-obtain hair products are, while potentially useful in other circumstances, not a tangent that he'd like to take off down at this time.

Zoisite has posed:
    "I've no idea why I should think you habitually hide injuries." Yoshi says in monotone and a deadpan expression. "Maybe it's from a past life."

    Then he heaves a long-suffering sigh, as he looks askance at Kazuo. "I don't believe my opinion on his relationships is relevant. I am very possessive, but for him, I would do just about anything. One of the reasons I've kept my distance until now, to be honest." Shaking his head, Yosh--no, Zoisite, sits up and says, "What I want to know, is how we are going to come out on top in the end, and burn down everything around us on the way up." He looks around expectantly, assuming everyone is on the same page as him. "Obsidian, Radiant Heart, the Dark Kingdom, Tokyo itself. Maybe the whole world. We are the only ones I'm concerned about. Us. The Shitennou, and our Prince of Lost & Found." He pauses. "And the cat, I suppose."

    He also says, "Also, we may need to change our name. I've recommended Pyrite be promoted. But that's ultimately up to our leader."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"If we're in charge, there can be five lights," says Mamoru, moving a bunch of chicken onto a paper plate then putting the paper plate on the floor. "If you're going to eat all that," he tells the bakeneko, "you're going to have to get a bit bigger, and I don't want you getting bigger on the desk."

"Rrow," the bakeneko says in concern. Or maybe agreeably. It's a conversational cat sound. But she obligingly jumps off the desk, and gets a bit bigger, yes, and starts just eating pieces of chicken snap snap bones crunch.

Mamoru wipes off his hands on a napkin and puts lids on things, if nobody is going to join him but the cat.

"I was actually planning on finishing high school before delegating ruling the world. I have a lot of plans I can't actually tell either of you, but-- I can tell you for sure I don't want to burn down everything. I like too much of it. But burning down a big chunk, absolutely. I just..."

He tosses the greasy napkins in the trash bin, taking a breath and not looking at either of them for a moment. Then he looks up. "I want you all with me, but I don't want to be the Prince of Ashes."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
There's a little inclination of Kazuo's head to Yoshi's answer to his first question. He may disagree on the relevance issue, but he'll accept it for now. There are other matters to deal with first. Like burning a currently undefined quantity of things down, for instance.

Pyrite would probably be unhappy if they burnt all the ducks, though. Maybe even if she got promoted.

He doesn't say anything out loud. But the faint hint of a frown, the eyes focused on something not entirely there - that's a familiar expression. Working out the webs of interrelated connection and consequence. Where their strengths reinforce each other. Where their targets' weaknesses lay themselves bare.

Not an answer. Just the silent work that precedes one. Maybe he'll orient on it, set up a dozen plans that interlock into bringing everything down. Maybe the opportunity will only show itself in the moment, for an instant that couldn't have been predicted; nothing's ever certain.

He's working, that's all. Whatever else has been lost, at least that remains.

Zoisite has posed:
    Zoisite stares at Mamoru. It's not like a disbelieving stare, or an angry stare, or really anything at all. Just a slightly wide-eyed, unblinking stare. Maybe a bit creepy, but come on, he lives with a cat, cats stare just like Zoisite is doing. Okay, so cats are also kind of creepy.

    Kazuo is formulating plans. Mamoru is stating what is important to him and what needs to be protected or destroyed. Zoisite is emoting nothing at all. Not even in his posture. He just slowly puts his hands in his lap, and says calmly but inflectionlessly, "Okay."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"... are you thinking about the one ring again?" Mamoru asks hesitantly. "Me not telling you plans: that's a plausible deniability thing. Why are you disappointed? Or are you scared?"

He's done getting the grease off his hands now, he can crouch in front of Zoisite and reach up to take his hands. "I don't want to have to stab you."

There should be golden sun-warmth in that touch, there should be bedrock, there should be ancient nations and the weight of mountains and the depths of seas.

There's only Hematite.

Zoisite has posed:
    Zoisite maintains his blank expression a little while longer after Hematite crouches in front of him and takes his hands. Then he gives an easy, impish smile, like usual, and says, "Well, you should do what you think best, of course. I will not dig deeper into what you plan. For plausible deniability purposes. And respect." He looks over to Kazuo, as if to reassure him as well. "I'll figure it out. The best way to support all of us. I think I even have an idea of how to get the Silver Crystal. That plan you proposed, Hematite? Doctor Izono is going to be talking to the news. Right after I finish fabricating credentials."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo glances aside to Zoisite as if startled, and his own mouth crooks up at one side. Only one. Not Kazuo's own easy smile. "The best way to support all of us?" he says. "That's an easier question to answer. The path through - none of us have enough information to see all of that yet. But the best way to support all of us..."

He reaches out to put one hand over Zoisite's and Mamoru's joined; his other hand touches the back of Zoisite's shoulder, briefly, lightly. Then a second time, settling in place. "Trust him. As far as we think we can. Then farther."

You've been doing that already isn't said out loud. It's in his tone, in the way his eyes move, in the angle of his head. So is and that means you've been doing it right.

He should probably not follow that up by letting his eyes sparkle at the words 'fabricating credentials.' He can't quite help it. Even if it's on what he thinks of as the wrong side - he likes watching Zoisite work.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
And to so many people, this boy has said 'I believe in Sailor Moon' -- truly a morality chain for the ages, in days like these.

Mamoru's gaze goes soft at Zoisite's reassurance, even if he thinks it's a mask. "I was hoping you'd say that at some point," he murmurs, and then Kunzite's-- Kazuo's turn to talk makes for a wry look on Mamoru's face. "I'm right here," he says, and the number of things that means is greater than one.

Zoisite has posed:
    Zoisite shudders briefly at the contact. Not out of pleasure or discomfort. Especially not the latter, when Kunzite's hand settles on his shoulder. Zoisite closes his eyes and opens them again, blinking rapidly. Especially when all three of them have overlapping hands, it's like he's shaking himself awake. "Yes." he says distractedly, then more firmly. "Yes. I'll see what I can do. I will always trust... And I will always believe we should all be together. But I need to do my part as well, don't you think? So... I will. Everything I can."

    Somewhere in the back of his head, a tendril of darkness retreats from where it had wormed its way to the front.