2525/Handful of Nephrite

Handful of Nephrite
Date of Scene:	12 May 2025
Location:	Plot Room 3
Synopsis:	After bringing in the rest of the refugees, Minako seeks out Makoto to check on her friend. This leads to a conversation in the garden. As usual, though serious matters are discussed, Mina eventually ensures the conversation fails the Beschdel Test.
Cast of Characters:	Makoto Kino, Minako Aino

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Makoto Kino has posed:
By the time Minako looks into the palace kitchen in search of Makoto, Mako is no longer there - though the amount of food that's been prepared and portioned out for easy distribution to newly-arrived survivors makes it plain she's been there, and probably for a good while.

A little bit of investigating is enough for Minako to learn that she can most likely find her fellow senshi in "the garden."

'Garden' might be a bit of an understatement, as it turns out. It's expansive enough that a casual look around can't easily judge the size of it; ornamental plants, trees, and more practical sections of vegetables and herbs are laid out to look as though they've grown into place naturally. Only the obvious signs that the edible plants have been heavily plundered in recent days spoils the illusion.

Makoto isn't hard to find. A short ways down the path from the entrance, she's sitting against the base of a mikan tree, her head tipped back against the trunk to look upwards into branches whose fruit is still green.

Minako Aino has posed:
It's not really a huge surprise to find out Makoto was in a garden; that seemed very much like her. What was a surprise was the garden itself. Minako wasn't exactly sure what to expect to be honest, but when she thought 'garden' associated with someone's home (even one as grand as this), it wasn't a veritable park in it's own right.

The blonde makes her way along glancing here and there at familiar and unfamiliar plants alike as she moves clutching a few bottles of vending machine scavenged iced tea to her chest. It's only once she spots Mako that her attention focuses on her ultimate goal.

Quietly she walks up to her friend and pauses to hold one of the bottles out to her in offering. "Looks like you've been busy. How are you holding up?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto accepts the bottle with a grateful smile. "Thanks," she says. "I'm all right. There didn't seem to be a lot else I could do to contribute, so I thought I could at least make sure people had hot meals ready."

She busies herself opening the bottle and takes a swallow of tea before she looks to Minako again. "How about you? I think I kind of conked out for a bit there... did I miss anything important?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino steps to the side so she can plop down beside Makoto sitting with legs crossed rather than in a more feminine manner. Right now she was too tired to care how she might look. Her own bottle of tea is twisted open.

"We brought the rest of the refugees here. It took a bit, but they're all inside the castle walls now."

"Met Naru and her grandson who is apparently Nephrite reincarnated as far as I can tell. Oh and Kunzite's reincarnation too."

Her gaze sliiides to the side to Makoto, and she nervously remarks in a rush, "I may have carried him to the castle to save on time I didn't realize who he was when I offered to carry him until it was too late and then I wouldn't have done it if I knew who it was I swear!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"That's good," Makoto comments at Minako's news about getting the rest of the survivors to shelter in the palace. Other than that, she listens. And slides an amused look over at that last rush of unsolicited explanations.

"What are you all worked up for, V-chan?" Mako asks with a little laugh. "I have my hands full with one Nephrite." Turning her gaze downward, she tilts the bottle of tea absently to watch the liquid swirl inside it. "It's really weird to think of this world's Nephrite as Naru-chan's grandson, though."

She lifts the tea to her lips for another swallow. "--It's good that you found the other Kunzite," she says after a moment. "The guys were worried he might've been reborn on Nemesis, which... would've been a problem."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino drums her fingers against the sides of her tea bottle while waiting with breath held. Right up until Minako assures her it's all right. "I know. I know it's not the one you're used to just--It felt wrong flirting with him, you know? I mean once I knew. He had a mask on before." Better she explain calmly than not.

The mention of Kunzite possibly being reborn on Nemesis earns a shudder. "Those Boule Brothers did look and sound a lot like him. I can see how that'd be a worry. He's here though, and real. We confirmed he's not a robot."

With a bit of pride she adds, "I tested him myself! He couldn't provide a pancake recipe like those AI Bots we have in our time."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto's brows go up, and she hastily smothers a laugh. She can only assume there is some patented Minako Logic at work there, but if Sailor Venus is satisfied that this other Kunzite is not a droid, then Sailor Jupiter can be satisfied as well.

"Well," she says, "that's a relief. One or two less things to worry about is always a step up. Although... if we're here much longer, I want to take a few of us out and bring back some more stuff from out there. Dry goods and such. The kitchen has enough for now, but it's not like it'll last forever."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino always had logic. It was just sometimes logic that she alone would understand. When that near laugh occurs she takes it in stride, and with just a bit of relief at knowing Makoto was relaxing enough she could laugh. So much was going on that made it hard to keep the spirits up.

"That's a good idea. Even before..." Mina tapers off with a slight frown. "I think we should do that before we end up going to face them, to begin with. We should set everyone up here as best as we can, since our future selves can't leave their stations."

'Just in case we don't win' is left unsaid. They had to give everyone as much a fighting chance as they could.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I agree." No hesitation from Makoto on that point. "Even in the best case, it'll take a while for them to start getting things back in order again. Whatever we can do to make it easier... it's safer for us to go out there than people without magic, anyway."

Letting out a breath, she leans back against the tree again. "At least this garden survived, and there's more edible plants than you'd think, for as long as they last. It wasn't meant to feed so many people, though."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino looks out over the garden. So few plants were recognizable to her other than the few she was used to seeing on her own plate, or in the parks. There were more though she couldn't point out. She had no idea what a root vegetable plant looked like for instance. Just the root veggie itself!

"Yeah. Given how things are out there, it'll probably be easier to try and find canned foods, right? Or dried? Fresh is fantastic but that'll have to be a treat for awhile."

Mina shudders. "Veggies as treats. Euugh. This is what the world has come to."

She settles back to enjoy her tea for now, growing quiet in thought. At least until she glances at Makoto again with a grin. "So how *are* things going with your 'handful of Nephrite'?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"There's no sense in letting the fresh produce go bad, either, but... yeah, they'll need to stretch it out a lot with whatever preserved stuff we can stock up from out there." Makoto is musing to herself as much as anything, like she's planning out menus in the back of her head even while they're talking about this.

At least until Minako asks her about Nephrite. With a jolt, Makoto abruptly turns very pink in the face. "Minako-chan! Do me a favor and forget I even said that!"

She puts off answering by chugging down another healthy gulp from her tea, which doesn't really do a lot to quench her embarrassment. "Things are fine," she says, a little defensively. "It's not like this is the time or place for anything to be happening anyway. He just... helped me out in the kitchen for a while." That last comes out almost in a mumble.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino continues to grin at her friend even as she has the reaction she'd expected. She doesn't even try to hide the little giggle that comes along with her broad grin. "Oh reeeeally?"

It's drawn out in a teasing tone which might suggest she'd take it further than she really ought to. Instead her expression softens after a moment. There's no denying that Makoto had a point after all.

"I know the timing isn't perfect, but..." She trails off with a slight shake of her head only to pick it up again. "We can enjoy the times we get to catch our breath, and allow ourselves to be reminded of what's worth fighting for. This is one of those times, I think." With that she tips back her tea to finish it off with a few quick gulps.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto had just started aiming a poke at Minako's ribs, but when the blonde relents, she stops short.

Instead, she looks down, staring into the plastic bottle again. "I mean..." she admits, after a long moment, "you're not wrong. We can't get too distracted from what we need to do, either, but--"

She breaks off, makes to take another drink, and then stops and lets out a sigh. "Maybe I'm making too many excuses, after all."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino reaches out to give Makoto's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You both make excuses a lot. I mean... go at your own pace and all, just actually go. I'm very sure you're both on the same stage." Page. Same page. That had to be it.

With that Mina rolls back up to her feet to stretch her arms overhead, rising up on her tiptoes to get a full body cat-like stretch. "Anyway, I already warned him I'd do awful things to him if he screws up! So at least take his help and enjoy the company." With a wink she flounces off.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto is left sitting there, clutching her tea, watching Minako stroll away.

She blinks. Once, twice. The blush that had just started to fade comes rushing back in a fresh flood of bright pink to her cheeks.

"Y--Minako-chan!" With a yelp, she scrambles onto her feet, barely managing not to spill what's left of her tea in her haste to chase after her friend.