2636/It's in the Konpeito Stars

It's in the Konpeito Stars
Date of Scene:	20 June 2025
Location:	Nounamu Sweets
Synopsis:	Time is running out! In a hurry to finish off some wedding favors, Mina calls upon Ace to assist. They meet at Nounamu Sweets to put things together where they're joined by Masato. A lot of misunderstandings occur, and are cleared up, and Masato proves he really has his head in the stars.
Cast of Characters:	Minako Aino, 222, Nephrite

---

Minako Aino has posed:
Time was sneaking up on Minako for getting a great many things done. Everyone had many things they needed to take care of, and Mina didn't want to tag in those who were already busy with things (like the cake Makoto and Usagi's cousin were baking). She did know people outside of the senshi though so she texts the one person she knew who wouldn't be overly busy at the moment with wedding preparations.

Minako TXT: Hey Ace! I could use some help putting together some party favors for my friend's kind-of-wedding. If you could help I'll be at Nounamu Sweets getting things for it!

Off she goes into the shop to speak to the old man there who was already expecting someone for this very reason.

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
Minako will *barely* be finished telling her order to the old man before the door flies open with a *BANG!* And thus arrives Ace Saijou.

"Mi -- Minako -- !"

Though *not* in the way she would usually see him. The former teen star is *absolutely* out of breath, hair and clothes in disarray, gasping out her name between ragged breaths as he leans against the shop's frame.

"Got here -- fast -- as I could -- !" he huffs, head bowed as he tries to catch his breath -- even as his hand holds up his cellphone as if in triumph, her text message displayed across it.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino jolts a bit in surprise at the bang to the door so suddenly, along with a cry of her name. Looking more than a bit shocked at the slightly disheveled appearance of Ace she blurts out, "Are you okay? You didn't have to rush that much!"

Although, it was nice that it meant she wasn't going to be the only one jamming little candies into party favors.

Ojiisan, the old man behind the counter, gives a little scowl at Ace's appearance. If his hands weren't full of the boxes he was carrying, Ace might be in real trouble. The boxes are dropped on one of the cafe tables in the shop as he grunts in the teens direction. "You break, you buy!" A warning to be careful with the shop before he turns to pace back behind the counter where he resumes his other tasks.

"Thanks for coming, Ace. I probably should have asked for help earlier but everything has been up in the air," she explains with a gesture to the boxes of colorful candy in small plastic bags. "I need to make like, a bunch of these party favors and fill them with candy and..."

Was she being rude? She pauses to look at Ace again with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. You should catch your breath first. Thanks for coming."

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
"It's -- it's fine -- !" Ace sucks in one last big lungful of air before letting it out in a whoosh, getting his breathing a bit more under control. And putting his cellphone away to smooth his hands through his hair and clothes, neatening himself a bit before straightening up.

And bobbing his head in apology to the shop owner before turning to smile warmly at Minako -- as if he *hadn't* just who knows *how* far as soon as he got her message. If it weren't for his hair still sticking up here and there, he'd be back to being his unflappable self (mostly). "I'm happy to help! Although it'll be the first time I've dome something like this," he adds with a blink, leaning over the table as he peers at the boxes. "Seems simple enough."

Famous last words in *any* context. But hopefully it really should be.

Minako Aino has posed:
Inside the boxes were numerous bags of the colorful starburst shaped candy called konpeito that was an older treat by Japanese candy standards. Most of the candy in this shop was traditional however. There were more modern items but at it's core, traditional seemed to be it's style.

"Yeah," Mina agrees while reaching in to pull out one of the bags holding it in hand. Another box is reached into so she can pull out pink and white cardboard tube with one end bent inward. "So we're supposed to put these in here, and crimp the ends down. Masato is going to join us in a bit since he has the car we can transport them in after." A pause and she adds, "Plus more hands."

"He's ah..." her voice drops a little, "He's one of Mamoru's guys." The Shittenou.

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
Ace cocks his head, picking up another of the tubes and peering into it. " ...so does the black powder go into the end of this?" he asks after a moment, blinking at her. "And how do we touch it off?"

Apparently he's thinking of a different kind of party favor. The kind that would turn the konpeito into scattershot, if he thought about it.

Something about how ridiculous the idea must seem apparently makes it through, because he offers an apologetic smile a moment later. "Sorry -- this really *is* the first time I'm doing something like this. Would you believe I've never been asked to help with a wedding before?" Which probably tracks -- Ace lived a celebrity lifestyle, but from what Minako would have seen and probably guessed, one that didn't involve close friends.

Although there *were* professional acquaintances. And one of those is duly mentioned -- just not an acquaintance in the profession most would associate Ace with.

"One of Mamoru's.... ?" Ace repeats, blinking at her. And then the meaning sets in. The conversation he'd had with Mamoru let him know things were different now --but he still can't help but stiffen in his seat, purely out of reflex...

Nephrite has posed:
Into the store walks a man Ojiisan knows, and it's lucky for Masato that the door is treated more gently then before. He nods at the stern old man behind the counter, lifting sunglasses up atop wavy hair of brown.

Sapphire eyes turn to Minako and Ace next, and Masato is all silk shirt and dark trousers as usual, italian leather belt and shoes matching the jingle of keys to a Ferrari. With a pocketed hand he strides in, languid for Summer and the business of late.

"Mina-chan, you can't just call on a dancing pony for running errands. If this wasn't Mamoru's Wedding..." He warns without any real hint of annoyance at all, coming to stand beside her and peer at the collected tubes. He clicks his tongue, and lifts his gaze to the other.

"Saijou-san." He greets, a little clipped. "How have you been?"

Minako Aino has posed:
"Ace, no! Not that kind of tubing!" Minako hisses out aghast at the very suggestion! -- That had already been given the 'no' so far as the idea of the pull-apart favors that would pop open gently like the British Christmas Crackers. Not the type to explode-explode.

"First time for me, too, on this. We're mostly not the 'friends getting married' age but it's--"

Before she can say more or explain more Masato enters. The jingle of the door draws Ojiisan's attention sharply only to give a slow nod toward the tall teen that greets him in turn. He at least wouldn't break anything. He knew that at least.

Masato's arrival earns a grin, and a quick retort of, "Oh please you wanted an excuse to drive it anyway. Besides it's not that much," she assures with a gesture to the boxes that would fit a normal car and not an Italian luxury race car. "We can make it work!"

So saying she starts to fill one of the favors. Konpeito goes in, and a few strays make their way into her mouth leaving her humming happily while the two boys 'catch up' as it were.

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
Ace's previous conversation with Mamoru had forewarned him to the fact that the other Shittenou were here as well, so Minako's warning isn't a total shock. More than that, the conversation with Mamoru itself had forewarned Ace to the tricks his shadowed memory would play on him, jumping suddenly into stark relief.

As it does now. As Ace turns to look at the new arrival, his jaw clenches as a vast chamber appears in his mind's eye. A dark throne, and stone columns. Faithful generals dressed in heartlessly crisp uniforms. Unbidden, a different name comes to his lips than the one Minako spoke shortly before Masato's arrival.

He swallows it down.

As a result, Masato will see that Ace's own manner is somewhat cool as he nods back (though for his part, purely due to effort, rather than offense or discomfort). "Masato... " Yes -- that was the name he remembers Neprhite adopted. "I've been... well, I've been worse," he allows, with a humorless little smile.

Meaning, 'I've been dead.' It doesn't get much worse than that.

"You're looking well. Please, join us," he offers politely, gesturing to an empty chair at their table.

Nephrite has posed:
He can almost see it himself, reflected in Ace's eyes. The vision, and what Masato became-- Memory is a fickle thing, and he is all too aware of having his own fractured, altered, warped and even wiped clear across two lifetimes, now. Steeped as deeply in Dark Energies as they were, as deeply twisted as Masato had been during his time in Obsidian, it's inevitable that there is loss.

But Masato Sanjouin is not a persona adopted, like other aliases. An exaggerated and twisted echo, more like. The deeper secret is and always was, it is the name of boy who came before, now reclaimed and worn genuinely.

But some things never do change.

He gives a small hum of amusement-- maybe a little dark, but not at Ace's expense. "So you have. I'm doing very well, but my looks have never failed me either."

He settles to sit, glancing back at Minako now. "Mina-chan. If you pop every loose star into that black hole in your face, you know, we'll be short a third of them by the end of the day."

Minako Aino has posed:
It was different for Mina. The memories of the past were there, but there was no taint of dark energy that had made it worse for her. The memories alone were perhaps enough to make things awkward all around. She'd had plenty of time at least to get used to Masato to know *him* and not the Dark General or betraying Shittenou he had been.

She could at least understand the tension between them. Which is why her gaze darts between the two uncertainly as she crunches on a few of the candy stars until she's called out on it.

"It's just a few!" A little huffy pout comes though as she buckles down. "Come on then let's get it all together and maybe we can get a snack after?" A hopeful suggestion. "I know, no eating in the Ferrari." Not that the boxes AND she would fit. But one can hope!

"Ace met Mamoru awhile back. He's okay now. Other than his hair being a mess," she adds with a teasing grin.

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
Ace blinks a bit at Masato tosses that comment to Minako, his jaw tensing for a different reason now. And glancing over to the black hole in question only to doubletake as he does so just in time to see her cheerfully pop one of the treats into her mouth. And blinking down as he picks up a couple of the konpeito himself, peering down now as to wonder if they're really *that* good.

Minako's comment brings him back to the here and now though, and he gives a wry smile. "'Okay' is -- a matter of opinion," he notes with a touch of dryness in his voice "But thank you.". And speaking of the here and now, he's supposed to be helping out, right? And so he starts working while he talks moving to take up more of the konpeito and loading them into the party favor. No black powder, alas.

"So... you two have known each other for awhile now, then?" he asks casually.

Nephrite has posed:
"Probably an understatement, in the grander scheme of things," Masato muses bluntly, though distractedly as he set his keys away, "But I was abroad for a long while... California. My father moved over there, Gods only know why. Took a while to settle in again."

He looked up to smirk gently at Minako. "It's been a good few months now, though, hasn't it? I haven't even accused you of seducing anybody else."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino manages to get through another favor without sneaking any. If only because she had convinced herself that there would be treats after the fact! The little candies were simple enough, but every color had a different flavor. Sakura pink, yuzu yellow, lemon white, orange... You get the idea. Some were floral flavors, others were citrusy sweet and light. Though these boxes contained mass quantities there were even some on the counter for sale proving it wasn't just a particular specialty item but one sold regularily here.

By the third though she's palmed at least ONE more star and is about to sneak it. About to when she starts to nod in agreement. "Yes we've known each other- Masato!"

Eyes wide she turns a bit red if only due to the fact that he was saying such a thing in front of, well, ANYONE really.

"I told you that was a misunderstanding and anyway! Yes, we've known each other awhile. Him and Izou his roommate. He set my hairbow on fire but we've gotten along since then."

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
Ace blinks, as the start of what promises to be a foreboding spiral is abruptly stalled by both Masato *and* Minako's answers. Looking back and forth between them and then just sort of sitting back, trying to digest everything and make sense of the picture being painted.

Until finally he turns to Masato, openly curious as he points a finger to Minako, and asks, "Did you set her on fire before or *after* the seducing part... ?"

Nephrite has posed:
Brown brows rose at Ace, and Masato snickered a little bit. Evidently, he enjoyed teasing Minako some, and it was his specialty to simply say such things boldly for a rise. "Oh, no. It wasn't me. It was Izou that set her bow on fire." He made a sympathetic sort of face, though feigned. "There's a hot-head joke in there somewhere... he's a possessive sort."

He refocuses his own effort in working on the favours, and does not go into detail about the cause of the incident, specifically.

"So am I about my own girlfriend, I suppose..."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino makes a little 'ugh' noise at that with her eyes rolling up and to the side. A slightly amused smile tugs at her lips in spite of it. Apparently the issue, as she said, had been long since resolved.

"Izou does the fire, Masato does..." She pauses thinking a moment before declaring, "Sparkly star stuff. I was over visiting Izou and he thought I was trying to seduce him as revenge for something."

"Totally wrong. We were just doing our hair."

Konpeito popped into mouth, she finishes up another favor before scooching her chair back. "I'm going to grab a snack! This is hard work."

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
Masato's comment about pursuing his own girlfriend does make Ace relax a little bit. But just a little. That *might* not mean anything, for someone who may be pursuing a playboy route for all Ace knows (pot, meet kettle). The former idol pursing his lips as Minako excuses herself to get a snack -- the comment about this being 'hard work' he doesn't touch, for the moment. It wouldn't be nice, after all, since he *did* agree to help out. .

"Seduction for revenge? He should have known better. Minako would never do such a thing!" Ace comments. And leaving it at that --

-- just until Minako takes a few steps away, adding so she can still hear him: "For *fun*, on the other hand -- "

He can tease too, flashing a quick grin towards the girl's back, not about to forget her boy-crazy days.

But turning his attention back to the conversation at hand, looking stern for Minako's sake. "I do hope he paid for the replacement? She really does look lovely with her hair in a bow."

Nephrite has posed:
Masato Sanjouin was certainly thought of as something of a notorious playboy, previously-- though, these days, this was really just manipulations and strategic use of his looks and wealth. He'd been well warned by Minako and her friends about continuing any actual heart-breaking behaviour. Not that he intended to.

No, his heart was very firmly set.

"It was a tactic I might've once used, in fairness." He admits to that much, at least. "She's better than me. And the bow was all sorted out... even that little addition, for collateral."

He smirked widely, glancing after Minako and speaking louder so she'd overhear him. "After the wedding is through, I was thinking we should book tickets for a cruise before the season's out," He tempted, "Well, Mina-chan? How's that for Cabana Boys?"

Minako Aino has posed:
"As if I'd go after Izou!" Mina calls back over her shoulder. Her back is still turned though, and there is indeed a bow holding her hair back out of her face. It's a slightly darker red than it used to be and in the center is an jeweled orange pin. The 'addition' that Masato likely spoke of.

The exchange for treats for money occurs swiftly because she wasn't going to leave those two to chatter about her! Even if they were being loud enough she could easily eavesdrop the entire time. Soon enough she whirls around with a snap of her overly long hair behind her clutching a daifuku bun in one hand and a few glossy sugar-coated fruit skewers in the other.

"Ooh a cruise? I missed the last one. Do cruises have cabana boys? Oh! But! Sailors!" Perhaps she was still just a bit boy crazy. Just a bit. "Oh that could be good yes I mean. For the view." A little sniff comes before a mutter of, "No harm in looking."

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
"Ah? Minako still has a taste for eye candy as well as actual candy, looks like," Ace remarks as she rejoins them, flashing her a quick grin.

Oddly enough, it's *not* jealousy that spurs it, as some may be tempted to think. No, the fact that this was someone who was far above his reach, was something he had come to terms with a long time ago. Jealousy implies possessiveness, something he knows he has no right to.

The fact that in this current life she's far more approachable, at least does make her fun to tease. Hopefully, the fact that his hands *are* still busy as he dutifully continues to load the party favors while he talks, will earn him a pass as far as retaliation goes.

Nephrite has posed:
A chuckle sounds from Masato, and he too continues to fill konpeito patiently. He doesn't care for them, or have much of a taste for sweets in general, but what he can appreciate is the handmade quality of good candy. Knowing that Usagi's cousin has helped make all of this, too, is a sweet touch of a different kind.

"I wonder if they'll have tennis courts on deck..." Not a week before, Minako was eyeing him off in Tennis whites before he turned around, but he spared her that anecdote. Still, he glanced at her with a smirk.

"Mamoru won't come, he's still put out with the ocean. But I'm going on a cruise after all this, come hells or high waters--" Well, with any luck, less youma than usual, but he could never not expect a sea-monster, "--In the meantime, I'm booking out a room at the Pearl Pier. I'll have Mako-chan in a swimsuit and sunbathing by the end of the week, eating five star food she can ring a bell for."

He finished another favour, and turned a look to Ace. "You have any plans for the rest of Summer, Saijou-san?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino practically flounces back into her seat with enough balance and skill not to drop any of her treats. Other than a quick bite of one the rest are placed aside so she can double-down and start racing through multiple party favors as if to prove yes, she *could* focus when she needed to!

"Just because nothing has worked out for me so far doesn't mean I'm not still open to finding my own love, you know," she shoots back to the pair teasing her with a very mature tongue-stuck-out in their directions.

"Oh he'll be wanting to spend as much time as he can with Usagi-chan and ChibiUsa once we get them purified, I'm sure. You better let Mako-chan cook if she wants to, though! I bet she'd love trying all those fancy ingredients."

The talk of Summer plans causes her to pause just a moment. Fingers press the latest favor shut, and it's dropped in with the rest as she considers what she ought to do. Curiosity gets the best of her though.

"Yes, Ace, what are you planning?"

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
Ace takes a bit to work on his part of the party favors, since most of what they're saying is between them. That bit about Mamoru being put out about the ocean does catch his attention, but he leaves that for another time -- for some reason, he finds himself entertained with the mental image of dumping a bucket of seawater on the man. A completely random intrusive thought -- his villainous days are done, truly.

But he blinks as he's brought back into the conversation. "Me? I... never really gave it any thought." Blinking again at the realization. "I suppose I *could* go back to Paris for a bit. Take some time to catch up with things over there."

The thought doesn't hold any real appeal for him. Not that he hates the place, far from it. But it's something he associates with an old life, and he's enjoying finding out who he is in this new one.

Nephrite has posed:
Masato's gaze flicks towards Ace from the favour he's filling. Privately, he considers that he might go the rest of his life without ever setting foot in Paris, after what happened there. And that would be excellent, all things considered.

"You know, I thought California would be good change of pace. But in the end, I've only come back to Tokyo again." He acknowledges this with something of an inkling. "And it turned out for the best. Jupiter is about to unite with the sun in Cancer, and it'll square to Saturn in Aries, and Neptune soon after. You should make a new plan and follow your heart. Not everything will be go your way, but if you stick to it, it should lead you to a better place."

Minako Aino has posed:
"I've had my fill of Paris, personally. Though the desserts were really good." That was about all Minako could say about it given her own experiences there. At least she knew what she was getting into while there. Now that she was away from it she was far happier.

"It's not as romantic a place as everyone says."

The blonde raises an eyebrow when Masato begins to go on about Jupiter meeting the sun with a look of obvious confusion contorting her face. "She what? The sun?" More comes though, rattled off and a few more phrases put in. Not just planet names but Cancer, and Aries, and it clicks into place.

"OH not the people! Okay that makes more sense. It's like when Mercury goes into the refrigerator, right? I never understood that but I always did wonder why you never hear anything about Venus."

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
"I do miss 'chocolat pain,'" Ace notes to Minako, his pronunciation making it clear he's talking about bread, not suffering -- although his mournful tone would indicate suffering is involved in doing without. As far as desserts go, here's at least one he can get on board with Minako in pining for.

Even if he has to disagree with her other sentiment about the city. "Oh, I don't know -- I *did* have a reunion with the love of my life there," he notes lightly. "You can't get a whole lot more romantic than that! Even waking up in the Catacombs had a certain romance to it." For whatever reason, the light of the silver crystal brought him back to a place where no light should have been able to reach. But if he ever gets around to explaining what he found down there, that might have things make a little more sense... maybe.

Masato's "forecast" gets a very startled look, clearly not expected astrology here. "You do horroscopes?"

Though distracted again, as Minako's comment on the matter is just too perfect to pass up. "Maybe someone decided trying to predict a sensible course for Venus was a lost cause~."

Nephrite has posed:
"Mercury enters its pre-retrograde shadow on the twenty-ninth, but close enough." Masato corrected blithely, not fully conceptualising that it was a coincidence of butchered speech and that Minako knew even less than was apparent.

"As the sun squares off with Neptune and Saturn in Aries, it's only natural to feel like the past is pulling at us while the future remains uncertain. But that's why the wedding date is so auspicious. It's the perfect time to regroup, and take stock, as a new beginning-- home, family, and emotional foundations-- settles on the twenty fourth, and brings new energy and a new moon with it."

With no shortage of importance in depth of meaning to either of them, at least in regards to healing what was broken in the Silver Millenium. Finally, closing those wounds for good. He had always been, beyond a Knight of Intelligence and Comfort, an Astrologer-- it was what had led his loving eye to Jupiter's Princess in the first place, dancing with the Pleiades.

"If you wanted a Horoscope, I would need your personal birth chart, Saijou-san," he noted, "But the Cazimi is fortuitous for all of us. Venus included." He offered her a small smirk.