84/Melonpan Meeting

Melonpan Meeting
Date of Scene:	14 July 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	The rabbit trap is baited and sprung! Kazuo and Usagi finally meet, and an understanding is formed.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Kazuo Saitou

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Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Hallways after classes. Students rushing. Students chatting. Students rushing into students chatting. And every once in a while, one student trying to intercept another one before the other one can flee to free time.

Kazuo's caught glimpses of ALL THE BLONDE HAIR IN THE WORLD a few times in the last two weeks, but he has yet to actually catch his quarry. Chasing her down seems impossible. Tagging her from a distance unwise. So this time he's trying his own favorite tactic: seeing if he can get her to do the work.

This time, the tall, white-haired figure leaned against the wall in a hallway corner, just out of the flow of traffic, has ... melonpan.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
In Usagi's defense - of which there are many! - it's been a busy few weeks for her, settling into her new school, her new life, her new friends, and being roped into romcom shenanigans by friends who don't love her enough to not rope her into romcom shenanigans. (Obviously, she will never tell them that she and Darien had a good time.) She doesn't even know anyone is looking for her!

But she's not entirely oblivious. She's seen the tall, white haired boy in the halls on occasion, though of course with no idea he was rabbit hunting. Usually he seems a little intense, focused and busy. Today, when she sees, he's... relaxed. Or maybe it's just that she can't imagine anyone being stressed with melonpan on hand.

Has she ever seen that boy eat? Or do anything casual, for that matter? She's not sure! But the last very tall (and rather pretty) person she had met had given her a snack, and well, Usagi is not going to crash right into a stranger in hopes of getting a snack, but she will give his melonpan a mournful look, realize she's drifted *very* close to someone who very much is a stranger, and start to back off with a cheerful, "Morning!" thrown out just in case he saw her and thought she was being weird.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
One of these two people is being weird, and it's not Usagi. (This time.) At least he knows about it? Tall boy glances her way, and the smile is quick and relatively nonthreatening, as if entirely unaware that baked goods might be at risk. "Hey," he says, then tilts his head a little. White hair fluffs a bit at his shoulder, disarmingly. "Oh, hey," he adds, as if the nonword took on a whole different meaning. "Aren't you Osaka's roommate?"

(He is clearly unaware of recent romcom shenanigans, or no words would have passed his lips that might risk anyone getting any more into their heads.)

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The boy smiles and it's kind of cute (is there anything, from puppies to sharks, that Usagi has not found cute, though?) and her smile widens, becomes that littlest bit more lively, and she's going to go when he continues and -

Naru-chan's met a 'boy'? A cute one? And she didn't mention it? Usagi feels a pang at that, a record scratch of confusion because Naru tells her everything and she tells Naru everything, but. Well. That's not entirely true, is it? There's an entire cat who can talk in their dorm and a broach and pen with pretty fantastical abilities, and she's never mentioned them.

The confusion, surprise, pang of sadness, and swiftly rising good cheer is all easily visible on her face, every expression painted vivid, like spilled watercolors spreading over white paper.

"I am! Usagi Tsukino, grade 9! And you are...?"

Maybe she'll use this to tease Naru about her treachery. If it's a joke, it won't have that tiniest pang.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Kazuo Saitou, grade 11." The tall older boy does not appear to have a cat. Or a pen. Or jewelry. He is clearly missing out.

He does, however, have melonpan. Which he gestures with, just a little, just enough to tug attention of those wide eyes back to it. "Trade you this for the answer to a question," he offers. "And the answer can be 'I'm not telling you' if you think the question's too nosy."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Well that's a little suspicious. But on the other hand, that's definitely a tasty melonpan, which is much better than the toast she'd snatched on her way to class this morning and barely tasted...

"Deal!" Hunger cannot lead her astray. She squints. "Is the question about Naru-chan?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"The question is," and Kazuo's face loses all trace of the smile in favor of a serious concern, "has anyone been bothering her, or you, or the both of you? The last three weeks or so?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Eh?"

And Usagi stares at him, puzzled but not, confused but not, stricken, yes, because -

No, no one has bullied either of them or bothered them. Yes, someone had tried to kill Naru-chan, and Usagi too, and nearly succeeded. Yes, there have been fights since then - less in the last week, but many in the week before, and every one of them had been scary and awful. Yes, Usagi has watched Naru very, very carefully, even though Luna said she wouldn't remember and would think she fell and wouldn't be scared and -

"No," she answers, abrupt. "But things are getting weird, in town."

Chiyo-chan had said it, and Inai-senpai too, and one of them knew what she was talking about. She thinks - guesses - that Kazuo-senpai is probably more like Chiyo-chan, and will think she means the fights in the park.

Technically, she does.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"People are upset," Kazuo agrees. So at least he's not surprised. He may or may not mean the same thing she thought he would - but at least he's not surprised. "I'm just worried one of them might -" Thankfully, it's his empty hand that flicks up to loosely indicate his neck. The streams are not crossed. "Go after her again."

Melonpan is offered after that moment. No direct contamination allowed.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I don't know why people are being this way," she says and she means she doesn't know why monsters are here, pretending to be people, attacking people. "But -"

And Usagi is flighty and flaky and a crybaby and a coward and loves the easy life. But her eyes flash with a brittle hardness as she says, "If anyone comes after Naru-chan I'll beat them up myself."

Doesn't matter if she's tiny and blond and has all the obvious strength of wet pool noodle. She means it.

The melonpan is accepted, but the mood is more somber. She takes a little bite, almost perfunctory.

"Are you - looking out for Naru-chan?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
That brittle hardness meets a steady one, granite-solid. It's just a nod back that Kazuo gives Usagi. But it's one that accepts without an instant's doubt that Usagi is capable of wreaking vengeance on anyone coming after Naru, and will use that capability. Wet pool noodle filled with concrete.

And then there's a blink at Usagi's return question, and Kazuo's smile returns, along with a half-startled laugh. "Does she need more looking out for?" he asks. "All that glass, and there wasn't another scratch on her." Other than. You know. The claws.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Everyone could use more looking out for," Usagi says firmly, and her smile softens again, gaining more of that quintessential Usagi energy. "Including you! Everyone's got to look out for everyone, you know? Otherwise we could get in over our heads."

He nodded back. He just accepted her conviction, without a joke or thinking her incapable. Honestly? The last person who just accepted she could do something was... Hematite. And it's been a little while, hasn't it?

"You're a nice guy, Kazuo-senpai," yes she is just going to call him that now. "I feel better knowing you're at school with us!"