1586/Guardian Knight of Mixed Metaphors and Also Great Hugs

Guardian Knight of Mixed Metaphors and Also Great Hugs
Date of Scene:	25 May 2024
Location:	Mitakihara General Hospital
Synopsis:	Kazuo and Usagi share a quiet moment at the hospital, discussing the problem of Sunbreaker.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Kazuo Saitou

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Mitakihara General Hospital. Usagi Tsukino doesn't hate the place, especially given that the doctors here are giving Mamoru the best possible care, but she's definitely seen more than enough of it. Once he's out, she hopes they don't have to come back for a long, long time.

She hopes the next time they come back, it's for something good. Maybe someone's mama will be having a baby, or something.

Technically, it's Nephrite's shift with Mamochan, but she's still planning to be at the hospital for a while, and for now, so is Kazuo, so Usagi's gone and got them coffee (okay, she's got coffee for him, hot chocolate for her) and she's got donuts, and she generously offers him a donut, when she finds him again.

"Kazuo-kun, how are you holding up?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Maybe it will be. Let everyone pray that it's not Kazuo's mom, because otherwise seeing Kazuo being absolutely befuddled about what to do with this small squirming thing he's ostensibly related to might make several people injure themselves laughing badly enough to be admitted too.

Just at the moment, Kazuo is letting Nephrite have alone time with Mamo, not least because a bandage change just happened and that means Mamoru is a little befuddled himself when faced with too much input. This means that Kazuo is in the little waiting room down the hall, charging his phone. He lifts his head at Usagi's entrance, and blinks at the donut, setting phone aside to accept donut, break it in half, and offer the other half back to Usagi with a tilt of his head. "Fine," he says, reflexive answer. And then: "Relatively, anyway. Trying to think through an idea Amy gave me, but I don't have enough information. Story of this month. How are you doing?"

No direct address, but at least that means no Tsukino-san.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The coffee is set on the little table beside him, and the half of donut is accepted back, and promptly popped into Usagi's mouth. Yes, whole. Yes, it's astonishing it all fits without making a mess. Yes, she is like this. She chews with some difficulty as she listens, and she kind of wonders what idea Amy-chan gave him, but figures he'll share when the idea has legs.

"Still really, really pissed off," she shrugs once she's swallowed the donut, lifting hot chocolate to her mouth for a long sip. "There's a girl here named Molly-chan; she's a Device user, and it sounds like she's pretty new and... Sunbreaker did the same thing to her, and she's pretty scared because this is all new to her, and if you wouldn't mind maybe stopping by sometimes, just to let her know that she's not alone..."

It's a bit of a plea, a bit of a ramble, and she siiiiiighs, looking sad, "I think she's worried she'll come back."

Which is reasonable, unfortunately.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo breaks off a bite-sized portion of donut and consumes it as he listens. He is unsurprised that the half-donut fits. He would be only slightly more surprised if an entire donut fit. He's met Usagi. There is a reason Naru makes muffins primarily; they are big enough to be more than a single bite.

"Molly-chan," he repeats. "Did Sunbreaker steal her Device, too? Or does she still have it? I'm not certain which would be worse, granted."

A slow exhale, and he adds, "In the worst case ... if Sunbreaker did come back, one, the hospital has fire-suppression systems, and two, we'd certainly be able to hear from Mamoru's room." He doesn't need to know where Molly's room is to know that one.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"No, but apparently it's in like, sleep mode I guess? Because she doesn't have any magic. His name is Starcrash and he turned grey when she Sunbreaker drained her," she grimaces, "Rashmi-chan is going to see if a friend of ours can fix her; she's good with Devices, so we're hoping it won't be too hard to fix..."

So at least Hinoiri shouldn't be able to use all her Device math, or however they did the spells. She'd have the energy, but not the tool.

"I don't think she'll come back," Usagi admits, "It seems like she's attacking and draining people, like - she just left Mamochan there, and apparently she just dumped Molly-chan too, so I don't think she cares."

Which means there's probably no threat, but...

"I gave her my number so she could call me, if she wants company. I'll still be with Mamochan a lot too, but, she's really scared..."

A long, long pause.

"When La Crima kidnapped Naru-chan and Hinoiri-chan, me and Mamochan talked about killing her, maybe."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo snags the coffee and shifts over on the couch, making clear room for Usagi beside him. (Not that there wasn't space before, but that side comes with the little table to put her hot chocolate on. Besides, the invitation being made openly is different from an open invitation.) "She didn't even go after Mamoru on purpose," he agrees. "I don't think there's thought going on there. She's like an angry little kid, just grabbing what she sees." Another slow exhale. "If you get a call from her and can't go right then, call out to me, or to the rest of us? We'll find somebody to make it over to her."

And then there's the long quiet. And what Usagi says afterward.

The arm that is put around her shoulders is different from the way Mamoru would do it. Gentle, yes, and offering a shoulder to lean on, yes, but that's about the extent of the similarities.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She didn't even target Mamoru. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and Hinoiri-chan hadn't cared. It burns her up inside, if she thinks about it too long, and since she's got to do other things - think about plenty of other things - she tries not to, too often.

But that Kazuo offers to help so easily?

She nods, quiet, and then leans into the arm slung over her shoulders, the arm that's like Mamoru's but not, the comforting touch.

"I'm glad we didn't have to," she says quietly, "But... I know we're going to have to with Beryl. And I'm worried that with Sunbreaker -"

Is she going to give them a choice?

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
She is their princess, too, now. That means different things to each one of them. But from Kazuo, it means support, unjudging and unflinching. And Usagi needs contact perhaps even more than Mamoru does.

"I'm worried, too," he admits. Less that they might have to than that Usagi might have to. She doesn't deserve that. "Do you need to talk about it? Or do you want to talk about ways we might try to make it less likely?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Both, maybe?" She's nestled up against him in a way that's decidedly non-romantic. She wants to be cuddling Mamoru, but his injuries make it hard to curl up around him or sit in his lap, which is a crime against love in and of itself. "I just... I don't want to have to - and no one wants me too - I'm angry at her, you know? She - what she did to Mamochan - he could have died -"

Her voice breaks. Grief and frustration.

"But I don't know if she'll stop, and I don't know if - he has to get his power back. Beating her mentor is all she's ever wanted, and I don't know if she'll give that power back, for Mamochan's sake, because - because she took it from him in the first place -"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"The way she is now," Kazuo says quietly, "you're right. The way she is now, the part of her that's in charge is just taking. Like a mad little kid, who only wants, and doesn't care about the consequences." He pauses to take a swallow of coffee, mulling over the next words for a moment.

"But Mamoru said - before she took his empathy, he could feel her. He could feel her fighting against what she was doing. Begging for people to stop her. Like that mad little kid, who knows what she's doing is wrong, and doesn't want to be doing it, but can't figure out how not to. Which only makes it worse, doesn't it, because that part of her is trying. That part of her deserves rescue ... deserves being mad at, too, but doesn't deserve worse. Deserves the chance to try to set things right."

He squeezes her shoulders, gently, like a promise that those sentences might be the worst of this. "She stole the connections Mamoru has to people when she stole his empathy, right? You know her a hundred times better than I do. If we could use those connections to strengthen that part of her - do you think that part of her could help get her to stop?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A mad little kid, doing anything she wants, not caring about the consequences... yeah, that sounds right. And she hates that too, because if someone as childish as her - and she knows that about herself! - can avoid taking it out on other people, why can't she?

...because she's a big idiot who drowned herself in dark energy because she's scared.

There is the urge to stifle a scream in her hands. She swallows it instead.

"Yeah," she says quietly, "She's still fighting it. She's losing the fight, but she's trying, and that's why - I really, really want this to end with everyone with their magic and her apologizing, and - and some way to fix this, because..."

Because she's going to have nightmares about this for years. Because she's going to remember the feeling of Mamoru disappearing, their connection snapping, the desperate hunt for him, the finding of him -

Because things might become normal again, someday, but it won't be able to be exactly like it was, will it?

"I think so," she says quietly, "I'm hoping so. I can feel her, you know? I don't know if you can - she stole those connections from all of us, but I'm the only one of us who was her friend, so I don't know if any of you can feel her too but I can. I could find her right now, but I don't know what to say."

A pause.

"And I don't know what eating my magic would do, because it would really, really suck to kill her because she ate me."

She has no idea if she's even strong enough to do it, on her own, but she knows the Silver Crystal has a lot of power.

"But it's worth trying. I know that. I just - I'm worried I'll like... yell at her and make it worse."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
She thinks she might be able to reach Sunbreaker. That ... is an order of magnitude beyond anything Kazuo was expecting. "I was only thinking we might be able to find a way to boost her while you and the others are fighting her," he admits. "To make it more likely for you to be able to purify her a little more safely." He breathes in slowly. Breathes out. "Is there anything I can do to support you if you try? Maybe stay with you, so maybe the double connection will help, or so maybe if she tries to do something to you someone can startle you out of the contact?"

He does not make any guarantees about not yelling at Sunbreaker. Yelling at Sunbreaker is practically a natural consequence of being in a conversation with Sunbreaker, as far as he can tell.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mamochan and I... we've shared dreams before. So I think - maybe - there's a chance I could... do the same thing. With her. But like." She pauses, and considers her words, "But definitely not as cute and sweet."

There will be no sweet dream make outs, when she confronts Hinoiri. "I was thinking... of doing it maybe here? In the hospital? Just in case? I don't think I can like, get hurt in a dream? But what if I can?"

Magic is kind of, a little bullshit, as they all know entirely too well.

"So if you stayed with me, maybe... the connection is through Mamochan, not us, so you probably can't break into the dreams or anything, but, maybe you could wake me up, if it looks like it's going bad?"

A lot to throw on poor Kazuo's shoulders.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Yes," Kazuo says, again without hesitation. "And if we get someone else to keep an eye on the door -" so he can transform - "then I can watch your energy, too, and get an idea sooner if it's looking like it's going bad. If we've got enough space, maybe we can even get Naru to help; she knows your expressions best." More advance warning, in case things go bad in a different way.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A little smile touches her face, at the immediate agreement, and at the suggestion. "Good idea. Between you and Naru-chan, that should be enough to keep an eye on things. And then -"

She pauses.

"And then hopefully, we'll know. Because in your dreams you can't really hide things, you know? So if I can get Hinoiri-chan to - fight - maybe she won't..."

Maybe she won't keep this up.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"And if there's anything we can do from outside to help her," Kazuo says gently, "maybe we can find out." He's thinking of Zoisite; he must be thinking of Zoisite, with that tone of voice. "Even if all we can do is keep her head above water, that might be enough."

Guardian Knight of Mixed Metaphors, given Sunbreaker's powerset.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"She's got to be the luckiest dumb genius in the whole world," Usagi grumbles, "To have me make friends with her before she went nuts on us. Not that - not that we'd like... want to kill just anyone, but -"

A little sigh.

"But... thank you, Kazuo-kun. At least, maybe we can give her a chance. Like, I know we won't go in looking to kill her, or anything, but maybe it won't even come to looking like that, if we can reach her..."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
There's another shoulder-squeeze. "You do everything you can," Kazuo says, and it's not an instruction, it's not a wistful hope, it's just a description. As if that were just who Usagi is. "And we back you. And we hope it's enough." A beat. "She's definitely not the luckiest genius, though. That's Ami." Says he, ignoring the extra adjective for Sunbreaker.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She leans in and kisses Kazuo on the cheek after that shoulder squeeze, after that description. She smiles lopsidedly at him, both reassured andd settled. "I don't think Ami-chan needs luck, but you're probably not wrong. She's got more luck than Sunbreaker for sure."

Just another way poor Sunbreaker loses out to Ami without Ami even trying.