11/Loose Ends on Weekends

Loose Ends on Weekends
Date of Scene:	02 July 2023
Location:	Dorms
Synopsis:	Not everyone has something to do on a cooling Saturday Night. Not even at such a social hub like Radiant Heart Academy. But hey... the dorms have great A/C and plenty of places to relax. It just means sometimes you meet someone who's just not a friend yet...
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Koji Silvia

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Koji Silvia has posed:
The dorms always need some upkeep, and while in many cases someone does their rotation because they did something to deserve it, occasionally there are students who do the work simply because it's always good to keep your spaces neat. Tonight, it looks like one such student from the boy's dorms is helping to get the opposite lobby cleaned up. Earbuds in and blasting what sounds like a little J-rock, one Koji Silvia is current watering the plants. Dressed in nothing but a school t-shirt, orange sweatpants, and white shoes, he's bobbing his head while measuring out the water carefully per the dorm head's directions, a broom leaning on one of the benches close by a pan, and a bucket for garbage tucked close enough to not get in the way of someone trying to get by... but how many students are watching where they go instead of their phone screens? Especially a this time of night?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
This has not been the worst week of Usagi Tsukino's life. Probably. maybe. Arguably, it actually is the worst week of her life though, because she never had to live in the dorms of a school so far away from home before, and she never got her ice cream stolen by a great big awful jerk who apparently went to her awful new school, and of course, who could forget, she had never been Sailor Moon, before! Stupid Luna, tricking her into being Sailor Moon. Stupid Green Jacket Jerk, teasing her about her tests and stealing her ice cream and following her to school! Stupid Mama, making her live at the dorms! Stupid-

"Ack-!" A cry of surprise, as she promptly stomps her foot right into a bucket, paper and plastic and much worse crunching under her shoes. She's not in her school uniform, still in the clothes she'd worn to her trip to the beach, a swimsuit under her pink t-shirt and pale blue denim jacket, tan mini-shorts cutting off at mid-thigh. Her shoes are *white*, too, cute white and pink sneakers. "Who put a bucket here?! This day is the wooooorst!"

Koji Silvia has posed:
It's the sound of the bucket bonking into the bench that catches the attention of... who from behind looks like one of the other dorm girls doing chores in the evening... Koji. Reaching into his pocket, he taps the stop button for listening to some heavy guitar rock from one of the longer-running bands in Shibuya, and then takes out his earbuds, movements all careful. It's not until he puts them away and turns around to the sound of Usagi's voice, that he realizes what's actually happened.

Immediately, the young-looking guy in the glasses comes over and says in an apologetic tone, "Sorry sorry! I thought it was out of the way!"

Moving to kneel, Koji grips the edges of the bucket, and looks down towards Usagi's shoe, stepping in mostly wrappers and dead leaves, he says, "Here... let me hold it still. Try to point your toe down and pull your ankle up...."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Who would be so irresponsible as to leave a bucket (on the side of the hallway, by a bench, out of the way) in the middle of the floor? Didn't they know people would walk here? Didn't they know how inconvenient this would be?! Usagi was well on her way to building up a head of steam as she whipped about, head turning and looking for her culprit, and when she spots them - someone dressed down casually, earbuds in their ears, enjoying life - she's ready to spill all her complaints about her bad day on them, make them see how awfully unreasonable this whole thing was.

Except, the other student is taller than her (not that hard), and kind of cute, in an easily overlooked nerd sort of way, and also, most importantly, he's *immediately* apologetic, doesn't even blame her at all, even when she knows it was definitely her fault, in her heart of hearts, and - well, she's struck sheepish, still full of complaints but a little embarrassed to spill them out now, in the face of such immediate graciousness. Shingo would have definitely told her this was her fault, and Mama would have too.

"Th-thank you," she squeaks, hands spasming as she tries to figure out what to do with them. "Um - I'll do that - yeah, I've got it -"

With him holding the bucket, it's the work of a few seconds and some hopping to keep her balance to get her foot out, her shoe not much worse for wear. When she's free, she shuffles back a little, looking up - "Sorry! I know it was actually all my fault!"

Koji Silvia has posed:
He's kneeling there like the knight of her (Unknown to HIM...) dreams... a small little smile on his face, the gleam of the soft lightning above him reflecting off part of his glasses, and one of those long bishounen locks swaying just a little before settling. When he speaks, it's still that calm presence as he just gives a shrug and tilts his head to one side, "No one got tripped and no one else saw. So I say we just keep this among ourselves."

Standing up, he picks up the bucket and moves it to where the watering can is, and much FURTHER out of the way. Just in case, the broom and dustpan are picked up and settled close by as well, "It's not the worst thing that happened. If you can believe it, my dad accidentally threw my phone out the window of my dorm on the first day I was here, and it hit another student in the head!"

He even does the thing. The thing where they reach back to rub the back of their neck and rub while they close their eyes and do that kinda-chuckle!

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Aaaaaaah, how could she embarrass herself in front of such a really nice guy? He's cute and caring and kind and... what was with this school anyway, having so many beautiful people here? How's she supposed to concentrate on studying when someone like this is in the dorms, huh? The thought of her bad day flies away, for a moment, at least. The fact that he would even offer to forget about her klutzy mistake, without even a word of teasing.

"I wish more guys were like you," she sighs. The words slip right out, without even meaning to. "I mean - well - I did mean that, I guess..."

But she wasn't planning to say it! Oh maybe her Mama was right, and she really did need to work on separating inside thoughts and outside thoughts. She's grateful that he shares a silly story of his own, even though she winces at the thought of losing her phone in such a way. "Okay, that is pretty bad. Did he get you a new one? Was the um, was the persomn it fell on okay?"

Is it terrible that she can't help but picture herself doing exactly that - dropping something out of a window, right onto the head of some poor bystander? Whoops. Better not think too hard about that!

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji Silvia tilts his head to one side and forward ever so slightly, almost like how a cat notices something finally, and is now curious. But instead of pressing the issue, he moves over to sit down at the bench next to Usagi, and then reaches around behind it to get his backpack and rest it between his legs, "Nah, you don't want more guys like me... we're boring. Trust me. We're all grades, and tests, and then spending my weekend at home being drilled by our moms."

Of course, he doesn't expand on that his mother was training him to use Mid-Childian Magic, knife throwing, and other things that are not QUITE publically savory...

But now he tries to break the ice, having tamed Usagi enough to go for a giggle, "Alright so... this happened last year, so I don't know if you heard about it. My dad was moving me in, he was trying to make sure my phone had his number in it, and then out the window it goes. I look outside, and I see this really tall and handsome guy with like... model quality haircut. I duck back and don't let him see me... but then he spots my Dad. Who just waves at him, and asks for him to bring the phone up! But you know what he does?"

The beat is almost comedic, "The doorhandle jiggles and my dad... Jumps. Out the window. We're on the second story, and he goes right into the bushes, and the door opens... it's the same guy. And apparently... I'm his new roommate!"

A pause and a breath, and he almost blushes a bit, "So I got my phone back, and he even offered to help me get it fixed because there was a crack, but... then he asks me where the old man was. So... I told him. He jumped out the window."

Another shrug comes from him, and he just hangs his head, "I love my Dad, but he is just... he lives like he's in an anime, if you can believe it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Handsome and sweet and modest too, he's just like the boy's next door in her anime! If only this handsome guy was the guy next door, instead of Umino. Life would have been so sweet! But. Ahem. She should actually listen to this guy, right? Not just get carried away by her own daydreams? Right! And when he says grades and tests... well. She can't help the little wrinkle of her nose, the way her thoughts go that Jerk in the ugly green jacket. "Well... sometimes being a little boring is cool. That's the straight-laced type, and some of the heroines in my manga fall in love with them, you know."

She doesn't realize it, but her voice is consoling. Probably not the kind of thing an older student wants to hear from one of the juniors, but at least it's not on purpose, right? That counts for something, doesn't it? Makes him feel a little better about the whole thing, if it makes him feel bad at all? Right? Right!!

And a boring guy who liked tests and studying too much was okay, if he was handsome and sweet. Not that she'll tell him that; what if he thinks she's flirting, after being such a dork? Way too embarrassing.

"Nuh uh, I only moved into the dorms this week. I haven't heard any of the stories." She can tell him this, at least, and maybe it makes some of her earlier behavior make sense, if she's a new student, absolutely unfamiliar with the layout and the rules of the dorms. She's listening to this story though, and she's a great audience, leaning in as he builds tension witht telling, holding her breath in eager impatience - "What does he do?!" - she asks in that beat of silence - and then gasping, eyes wide and jaw dropped, when he tells her what his father did. "Why would he do that?! How did he do that?! My Papa could *never*."

There are papas out there that can jump out of windows? Like movie stars? Just because??? "But. But did your roommate believe you? He couldn't believe you, could he? I mean - who does that?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Taking a deep breath, Koji looks out the doors and takes off his glasses so he can clean them on the hem of his athletic shirt. Blowing on them once, and then getting the rest of the dust in the air off, they're seated back on his nose before he goes on, "Well, I took him to the window, and we both looked down, and my dad was just pulling himself up and out. He just waved at us both and yelled up 'Hey Thanks for getting my son his phone back! Sorry, I gotta run!'. He kind of had to believe me."

Though, Koji's tone goes a little morose after, "I got teased for a couple weeks after. Guys in class called me 'The Phone Guy', and a few of them even threw those candy-holding cellphones you can buy over at the FaM-Marts for kids and yelled 'You got a new message!'. But my roommate? Once he knew it was happening, he made it all stop. He literally just walked into class and caught one... BOOM. Just like that. Popped a candy out like it was nothing, and said 'Next time bring cherry flavor.'. No one was on me after that." But it seems he's gone on enough, and even dodged some of the more sensitive stuff, as he says, "So what's got you down tonight? I mean... oh sorry, where are my manners!"

Standing up, he bows again, almost to excess, and as he comes up, he offers his hand, "I'm Koji. Koji Silvia, Grade 10. I'm in the Gymnastics and Computer club. Pleased to meet you."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
What would she do, if she saw a thing like that? A little smile comes to her lips - honestly? She'd probably laugh, right? It was such a silly thing to imagine, knowing that his father was safe, and didn't even break any part of him doing it. "I guess he did. And it was nice of him, to help you fix your phone, and not even get mad that it fell on his head. Most people would get pretty steamed about that."

Especially a stranger. Usagi's never had trouble with people, she's friendly and nice and she's always, always had people she loved, but she knew she was a crybaby, and a klutz, and always had bad grades, and those were things that could get a little, teeny bit annoying. It was honestly amazing Naru had never held any of it against her.

But she has to blink. In disbelief. And a little upset, on his behalf. "They teased you? But it wasn't even your fault! And your papa did something really cool after, how many people can say their papa can jump right out of a window and be fine?" That was right out of a movie. That was *cool!* "Your roommate... he sounds really nice. It's good, when your roommate is nice, you know? I don't know what I'd do if Naru wasn't my roommate now."

Naru, he very best friend! Someone she loves enough to have accidentally become a soldier for, haha, and she's trying to think of how to even begin explaining about how awful her week has been and why that's why she stomped right onto a bucket, when she realzies she'd told him Naru's name, and not her very own. Whoops!

"Usagi! Usagi Tsukino, grade 9! I'm new to the school and not in any clubs yet. It's really nice to meet you!"

Koji Silvia has posed:
"It's nice to meet you too, Usagi. It's okay if I call you that? I mean... I know I should be saying Tsukino-kohai, but that's just a mouthful." Koji replies, and then moves to sit back with his stuff, opening the bag so he can get inside, "Don't let my dad hear you saying any of that. It'll go to his head. Next thing you know he'll be trying out for Ninja Warrior again or one of those other obstacle gameshows, and he'll up on the couch again with a busted leg for six weeks."

The eyeroll can be heard as much as felt in those words, "Yeah my dad is kinda cool... but he's also such an otaku it's PAINFUL. Not even the new good stuff. It's all this stuff from the 80s, and why he moved here from America. He keeps talking about living... as he calls it... the Protagonist Life."

Straightening, he holds out a small packet with a couple Hanoneko cookies, "And don't let him hear me tell you... I thought it was kinda cool too. Go ahead. I can't have my snack and not share."

As a second packet and a half-drunk bottle of tea comes out, he adds, "Glad you got a nice roommate too. Maybe you can introduce me to Naru too? Believe it or not, I've been here almost a year, and you're well... you're one of the first people I've had this long of a conversation with."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Only if I can call you Koji-senpai," she says cheekily, a little smile coming to her face. Formalities were a buzzkill - she always asked her friends to call her by her name as soon as she could, even if it was a little shameless. Why be so stiff and formal if they didn't have to be? Wasn't the point of being friends to be close to someone? She was Usagi, Usagi-chan, even Usa-chan back when she was little - definitely not Tsukino-san, or Tsukino-kohai, not from someone who wasn't a teacher or like, a class president! She giggles a little when he describes his dad more, feeling a little sympathy well up in her amusement. "I won't, I promise. My Papa can be kind of embarrassing too, so I get it."

He was such a Papa!

And then, as if Koji-senpai wasn't already the nicest person she'd met at school, there he was, cementing his place, by offering snacks. Freely! Of his own will! Without her even having to ask or give him sad eyes!

"Thank you, thank you! This day is really looking up!"

Sometimes, all you need is snacks, and a listening ear. Really! Which is why she can't believe - "Of course I will! But, I can't believe it. You're really nice, and handsome, and you're sharing your snacks. People should be lining up at the door to be your friend. You're *way* better than the other upperclassman I met this week."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji Silvia unwraps his cookies, and takes a bite from one, saying post-swallow, "They all think I'm my roommate Darien's secretary or something. Seriously, most of the time when I get asked anything it's about him. Especially the girls. They all want to know where he goes for his lunch, what he likes to do after school, if he has a girlfriend..."

He then brightens up, "Hey, maybe we can all hang out. After school. Darien's actually a really nice guy once you get to know him, but he's got this whole unintentionally cool thing going on with him."

There's a pause, "But if we do, you have to PROMISE not to laugh at him when you see him Usagi-chan. He's got this old green blazer he just LOVES to wear. I've tried to talk him out of it so many times, but he just refuses to give it up. You can see it from a couple blocks away coming!" There's a brief chuckle, and then he tries to cover that feeling of sudden 'did I just go too far?!' with another bite of cookie.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"What?! No way! Who could think some guy in our school has a secretary, that's not cool!" Usagi, he probably didn't mean it literally - "And those girls should talk to him themselves! Especially if they like him, how's he supposed to get that from you? If you conveyed their feelings, he'd probably just think you liked him." The shamelessness of fellow girls, too chicken to talk to the boy they like...

"That could be nice! I haven't really met anyone outside of my class, and it's summer, so there's not a lot of people in classes right now..." Not very many people were taking remedial classes in the summer, like her. Koji might hear her soul cry out at the unfairness of it.

But then.

Then he says. He says. He.

Green.

Old green blazer.

A blazer was like. A jacket, wasn't it? A jacket you threw over a nice outfit. An old. Green. Jacket.

And Koji-senpai is an upperclassman. And so his roommate. His roommate is an upperclassman. In an old. green. jacket.

...

. . .

"YOUR ROOMMATE IS THAT JERK WHO STOLE MY ICE CREAM?!?!"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Full stop. Cookie bit hard enough to send the catt's butt part of it falling to the floor and bouncing once before it comes to a rest, and all Koji can do is stare and say...

"Huh?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
How could this be? How could this be?! How could the nice guy that Koji-senpai talked about be, be, *him*. The jerk who made fun of her test score! Who called her bunhead! Who stole her ice cream (and yeah okay, the Dippin Dots were an evil plot by a youma that drained everyone of their energy and caused a huge problem, but it's not like he knew that, he stole her ice cream and he liked it and-)

"How could your roommate be him? He can't be him. I must be wrong. I've got to be wrong. There have to be two upperclassmen at this school who wear ugly green jackets and get smug and act like they're way too cool! There are, right? Koji-senpai, you'd know, right, there's another upperclassman who wears an ugly green jacket and acts like that? Because there's no way someone as nice as you would be roommates with a guy who steals ice cream from beautiful girls on hot summer days!"

She really did say all of that in the space of one breath.

Koji Silvia has posed:
There is this three second span of nothingness that just hangs there in the air, and finally... Koji swallows.

Immediately, he bows in his seat, almost bonking his head on a plant as he goes off, "I am so sorry. I really am. I don't know why he did it. I'll talk to him I promise. He's never been that rude the entire time I've known him! Sorry! No really... I promise you that that's like... an outlier."

Each phrase is punctuated with another bow that goes almost as rapid-fire as Usa's tirade, and when he eventually sits up, he's looking like HE was the one who did it all and is trying to make up for it, instead of the culprit himself!

"Give him a chance to ask forgiveness, and I know you'll see that he's not so bad a guy. He's really smart, and has friends in all the groups in school."

Even he has to stop himself, because he sounds like HE has a crush on his roommate, "It's not like I like him... not like that... I mean that is... I envy guys like him. They can walk around with all that attention, and to me... it just seems like a burden."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Oh no, this is a little awkward now, because he's not denying it, which means that there's no chance that his super cool and super nice roommate that he told her all about *isn't* the Big Jerk who stole her ice cream and made fun of her test score and all of that, and how is she supposed to cope with that? How is she supposed to - he was MEAN? to HER? But he's nice to EVERYONE else?

This means he wasn't nice and encouraging to Sailor Moon because she was a hero, he was nice to her because he's nice to everyone, in the whole wide world, except for *Usagi Tsukino*.
Her lip wobbles. Her eyes flame. "It's not your fault, Koji-senpai! You didn't do anything but be perfectly nice about everything, and you even shared your snacks with me. It's not your fault that he was a *jerk*. I can't believe he can stomach being such a jerk when you're so nice, doesn't he know how that makes other people feel?!"

Out go her hands, catching his shoulders when he bows next, pulling him up. "You don't have to bow! Really! It's not your fault. Maybe everyone liking him went to his head, and that's why he decided to be - mean to *me* - and not anyone else in the entire school... apparently..."

Oh, her eye is twitching.

Koji Silvia has posed:
What do you do when you don't know what to do? A Girl. This close to him. Someone who isn't his mom being alternately tough and aloof with him while still also being a caring person. Instead this is someone close to his own age, with honest 100% full speed ahead emotions on her face. Koji seems a little poleaxed for a moment at her response. All that calmness gone and replaced with... well... boy.

He takes a couple shaky breaths, and then ducks his head a bit, shading his eyes as he replies, "I will talk to him for you. I'll ask him to apologize, because he owes it to you. No one should be made to feel like... they were singled out. Not like that." %rMustering all his older-than-his-years shields again, he gets his face back in order, looking once more like the calm and smiling guy she sat down with, he adds, "You are a nice person, Usagi-chan. You remind me of my dad... because you both get people outside themselves... just by being you. That's a gift. Don't let one bad thing make you hide it away from everyone else."

Gulping once, he stands up, and then puts his half-eaten snack away, "I need to finish up my cleaning here. But you sit as long as you want. You can even have this. It's Jasmine Oolong." Leaving his half-drunk tea by her side, "Think of it as a down payment on that apology from... him..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a moment when all that cool calm falls away and Koji-senpai looks as lost and confused as any kid, and Usagi isn't sure why. Is finding out his friend can be a jerk that shocking? Is it because she's talking to him, when he said people didn't do that, because they were all caught up with that *jerk* instead? Maybe it's because she kind of sort of yelled at him, when he's been so nice. Maybe it's even all of that, and if it is, she feels bad, because, as irritable as she is that Darien (what kind of name is Darien anyway, even his *name* sounds jerky) is only ever mean to her, he's been nice. He's been sweet, and generous, and kind, even. So -

But before she can find the words, he's found his calm again, and now she finds herself wondering if that calm is a mask, and he's really nervous and unsure all the time, behind it. Is that weird? Maybe that's weird. But she wonders, because he's nice, and - "You don't have to do that, really. He's - that's his job, not yours, Koji-senpai! He was the jerk, not you. I don't want to cause trouble for you."

From a girl who has always made trouble for everyone, this is kind of a big deal. But the truth is - Usagi never means to make trouble for people. And a little part of her worries that Darien could decide to be a jerk to Koji-senpai, if he confronts him. But she can't express it further, because he's encouraging her, in a way that - in a way that she really doesn't know what to do with. She... gets people outside of themselves? But what does that mean? How does she keep doing it? Koji-senpai!

But he's upset, that's obvious, and he's going back to his cleaning, and, the tea he holds out isn't fruity or sweet, probably, but it's a shared treat, and -

"Thank you," she says. "I really do want to introduce you to Naru-chan, okay? Don't forget!"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji Silvia gets the broom and starts to sweep up around the last of the pots and benches, but the smile from before is back, "You're welcome, and I'll be glad to meet her. Promise. Meantime... if there's anything I can do to help, you let me know. We upperclassmen have to set a good example after all. Radiant Heart is a really good place, honestly. Everything's so new, compared to the schools back where I was. And everyone's from all over Tokyo, so you get to meet a lot of people who you wouldn't otherwise."

The glasses gleam, "Like me meeting you. So score one for school right?"

Lame joke, and he sells it with some half-hearted laughter, "Just watch out for waste buckets next time, okay?"