2943/Yukata New Yukata

Yukata New Yukata
Date of Scene:	16 February 2026
Location:	Cafe BAKE Neko
Synopsis:	Sugata's not even in this scene. It's a social in the cat cafe and Kyubey is spoken of but most of the weird stuff that got talked about was *technically mundane.*
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Usagi Tsukino, Minako Aino, Miho Inada, Amanda Faust

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He'd said he wouldn't show her what he got until they had chocolate, and he's been grinning like a giant dumbass the whole time since he saw Usagi-- and now, red tips back in his hair and curling out from under his cat beanie, he slides a bulky envelope across the table.

It's got give, like there's thick bendy stuff inside; when Usagi opens it, it's a great whack of maybe twenty-five fabric samples and some block printed papers to show various designs.

"Twelve! My ridiculous friendship with Sugata-san..." Mamoru's shaking his head, but he's grinning, and he picks up his hot cocoa and sips it carefully, leaving a whip-cream moustache which is there for like half a second. "Three for you, three for Kazuo, four for me, and two for Chibiusa-chan. Two of mine are obviously going to match one with you and one with Kazuo."

Today he's wearing a deep red long-sleeved undershirt and a black silk short-sleeved buttondown over it, black jeans, and deep red roses on his black combat boots.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Mamoru had been teasing Usagi all day with the news of what he'd gotten, and by the time they have their chocolate and are sitting in the cat cafe, she's practically bouncing with pinned up curiosity. Come on, come on, tell her!

And then the envelope is slid over, and she pokes and prods a moment before carefully unwrapping it to reveal fabric squares. "Huh?"

It seems a little too simple - and normal - for a thank you gift from Sugata, and she fiddles until she finds the papers, yukata designs -

"Twelve?! Twelve - are these - he's seriously gifting you twelve yukata now?" She starts to laugh, but she's genuinely delighted, and flipping through the samples more carefully now, curious as to the options of pattern and design.

"Mamochan, if he weren't so locked down with Takuto-kun and Wako-chan, I'd have to seriously consider being jealous."

She's casually dressed like him - even more so, actually, in bright pink sweatpants and sweatshirt, with a lime-green tank toop underneath, a white bunny print on her back.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Twelve!" repeats Mamoru gleefully, leaning over his cocoa and catching one of Usagi's feet with his own, under the table. He looks wry. "It's for when Riventon beat the snot out of the Star Drivers. All I can think is... I guess it's kind of obvious I like them?"

Then Usagi's prince is laughing too, and he straightens up in his seat. "I don't feel bad accepting, either. It's so out of the realm of reasonable and justified that it feels like a shared joke, and then I get to share it all. But it's so funny. Why would you be jealous, though? I'm not like Wako-chan or Takuto-san, I would commit homicide if I lived with that guy."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mamochan, if Sugata-kun were normal, I'd say these were like, courting gifts," Usagi says dryly, "But he's not normal at all, which is really good for you and Takuto-kun and Wako-chan too, so it all works out."

They laughed together, and the laughter was real, and now that it's done, she hums a little.

"I wouldn't feel bad about it either. I mean - either he knows what he's doing and it's on purpose and it's a joke, or he doesn't, and this is so reasonable and normal to him that it doesn't need explanation, and either way, he offered, right?"

And she's glad, anyway, because Sugata always gives Mamoru a ridiculous gift after he helps him out, and if he hadn't given him one after Riventon, well -

It just means he saw that as totally normal and not at all Mamoru's fault even a little, which is good.

Minako Aino has posed:
No sooner does the cafe door swing open than Minako's entrance is heralded with a cry of, "Usagiiii-chaaaan!"

Mina ignores other customers that may be around, and even the cafe counter that she typically hit up before going to sit. Instead she beelines for Usagi to throw her arms around her seated friend in a dramatic hug.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't at the open modeling call! I heard it was some sus thing? Are you okay? ... Did they hire anyone?" Got to ask all the important questions after all.

"Hi Mamo-kun good to see you too."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Well, its been a few days since the modelling audition. Miho took a hit to her confidence on that one. Though after a little bit of thought, its probably for the best, given what's going on. Still stings a bit. The 16 year old might of had a bit too much confidence lately. And being Mai and her bugs, with the modelling, its been rough. So what does a Miho do when she's feels down. Train, watch club videos, watch festivals, and look at the newest fashions sneaking around. And at the moment, she's doing 3 of the 4 as she heads towards Bake Neko.

    The girl is in a black and blue hoodie that's zipped a little low, while she has the hood up over her head. She has a pair of black sweat pants on. The girl has on a pair of studio style Bluetooth headphones on as she's looking at her phone. She's watching Ultra Buenos Aires footage that's being broadcasted live.

    Miho looks around a little bit, nodding her head to the others. She kinda sits off to the side as she starts to think about what she wants to order. The girl looks around for a kitten to nose her a little bit for attention.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Good thing Usagi doesn't know Mamoru tried to refuse it because he felt guilty about Riventon!!!

At any rate, the high school senior nods emphatically. "He offered!" he agrees, and almost immediately he's leaning awaaaaay from the side of the table Minako superball bounces past. He looks wry and salutes Minako before taking a big swig of hot chocolate. Then going KHAAAA in a wheezing whisper because it's *too hot still*.

He sees Miho come in and go sit by herself... on her phone, with gigantic mf studio headphones over her ears, so she clearly doesn't want to be bothered. Mamoru looks back to Usagi and Minako, slouching a little in his chair and keeping his feet around Usagi's foot.

Suddenly something finishes percolating in his head and he looks alarmed. "Wait, courting gifts? Shit, should I have been getting you courting gifts the whole time?" Wide eyes.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"So, it's alri- Minako-chan!"

The exclamation is cheerful but also alarm, because there goes the Minako-Missile, hitting her with enough force that she cheerfully rocks her back in her seat, the two of them squished together.

"Hii... it's okay, it wasn't too bad?" She's wheezing a little, but only a little, and she quickly hugs Minako back before trying to sit up straight again. "It really wasn't too bad, I mean, I wish it wasn't magic at all, but - we didn't have to fight a monster or anything?"

It's really the best anyone could ask for.

"Kyubey was there, though, and Chibiusa-chan, Rei-chan, and at least one other girl got an invite to the next audition, so... hopefully it's just a coincidence?"

She does not think it was just a coincidence.

"No, you do not need to do that, it's just something that comes up in my period piece romances, and it feels like the kind of thing someone as old-rich as Sugata-kun would do, if he were more normal."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It's been a few days since the audition.

    Amy walks in, in a red tank and black slacks under her jacket, and smiles and waves to Usagi, Mamoru, and Minako, who she sees right away, but as she moves to find a seat she spots Miho off to the side, "Miho-chan!" She strides over to hug the girl -- from behind if she doesn't hear and turn around. "And yeah, Kyubey was there," she comments to the others, "And what's this about period piece romances?"

    Noticing the headphones, Amy waits for an indication Miho can hear before asking, "How's it going?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino lingers just a moment with her cheek pressed up against the top of Usagi's head. It's not that uncomfortable, but for the bun right in her face. This might be good though because she does release Usagi once the hug is returned along with the reassurance that everything was all right.

"Ah, if I was there I could definitely get to the next round and find out what's going on! But I'm glad you're both okay. At least it wasn't the usual date night youma."

Mina releases her grip finally freeing Usagi in favor of reaching for a chair at their table to slip down into it. "I mean, gifts are always good for your girlfriend. Or boyfriend. Or in general. Romances do always go over the top with that sort of thing though," she has to agree with a little nod. "Besides didn't you get her a bunch of candy back then?"

Amy's arrival earns a little lift of her hand in greeting. Then her gaze sweeps to the table taking in the samples of fabric there with a puzzled expression.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho squeaks as she gets hugged from behind! She blinks a little bit, and then moves the headphones down to her neck. The music that's playing is a bit loud, and has a very deep bass. Extremely high energy though with a bit of a Latin beat to it. Miho gives it a second for her hearing to normalize a little bit first.

    "Sorry! Bueno Aires Ultra Live is going on, so figured I would catch it from a few friends who are seeing it live.", she tells. The girl blushes a bit before she pets a kitten that noses her hand. She looks up, and takes a deep breath. "You want to order something? I'm gonna get a large iced caramel protein matcha. And maybe some popcorn.", she tells.

    The girl offers waves to Mamo, Usagi, and Minako. The girl is hoping that one of her friends on the other side of the world is sending the feed to her laptop. And that Miho did things right so it got saved to an SSD, so she can clean it up a little. "And quick question, Amy. How many rats are running around? I thought there was only one?", she asks.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"So I shouldn't buy you a Vespa..?" teases Mamoru. "Hopefully Chibiusa-chan and Rei-san will be able to warn that other girl and anyone else about Kyubey." He finally lets go of Usagi's foot, and can still feel the warmth of it on his ankles, through the soft leather of his boots. He's quiet for a moment, and then Amy comes in, and Mamoru looks up and smiles at her. "Passing reference, I was asking about courting gifts," he explains. And he reaches up to scratch the back of his neck, looking back to Minako. "Did I? I honestly don't remember. A lot of stuff from then is kind of fuzzy."

Minako's looking at the fabric swatches, and -- Miho waves, so he waves back -- Mamoru slides them over toward the other blonde girl. "Yukata fabrics and patterns. Sugata-san is buying me twelve."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I didn't say that," Usagi laughs at Mamoru, before partially turning her attention back to Minako, "But I'd have to learn to ride a Vespa, too... and I don't know, it was weird. There were a lot of people there, but Chibiusa-chan and Rei-chan didn't even do the audition, they just... saw something and decided they liked them?"

It was strange. She doesn't really like it.

"He's giving me three of them," she tells Minako, pleased, "And these are all the fabric swatches! Sugata-kun is really generous with Mamochan, because Mamochan doesn't take payment."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy ohhs at Mamoru's explanation. "But you're already married... Oh, for Kazuo." She nods.

    She looks mildly concerned at how loud the music is when Miho takes off her headphones but doesn't want to comment. "Oh, your friends are there live? Internet friends or...?" she asks.

    As for the order, she smiles, "I guess I'll try a medium and find out if a 'caramel protein matcha' is to my liking or not. I've never had one before."

    She looks a bit more serious as the conversation turns to Kyubey, and she takes off her messenger bag and sets it on the table. "Those bodies are expendible drones. I've never actually seen more than one at once, but it wouldn't surprise me if he can control more than one at a time. I asked if he has a soul gem somewhere, and he just said 'I am not like you.' which could mean anything. Or nothing."

    She shrugs. "He's an alien." She points up. "Like, from space space, apparently. So... a lot of baseline assumptions you might make about humans or fairies don't necessarily apply."

    She sits down, and looks over at Usagi and Mamoru's table. "Ohh! That's cool!" She smiles. "I loved my first yukata! I still have it."

Minako Aino has posed:
"Sounds like a set up then," Minako remarks idly as her hand reaches out to draw the samples of fabric closer. Already she's sorting through them looking over the different patterns with a soft 'ooh' at the quality of the fabric itself.

"Ace did that to me back when I was Sailor V. I just showed up to the audition and got in immediately to be in his show as the love interest." Another fabric is turned over regarding the design which she holds up in front of Usagi with one eye squinted shut. It's a darker pink with soft white-to-yellow Asanoha geometric pattern. "Oh this one would look good on you!"

In spite of the distraction of CLOTHING and FASHION in regards to her friends she picks up where she had been about the audition. "So if they're choosing specific people it's for a reason and probably not a good intentions. It's a trap of some sort. Probably."

Another swatch of fabric is held up, this one dark blue with lither geometric patterns in a basket weave pattern, Kagome. "Ah, and this one for you, Mamo-kun! Plus it's supposed to protect from demons and bad luck so maybe it'll help with your dates."

"Since Rei-chan was picked we can at least get someone on the inside to get a better idea of what's going on. Out of all of us, besides myself of course," Of course, "She's probably one of the best choices for being a spy."

"I need to ask mom to make me a new yukata this year, come to think of it." Distractions!

Miho Inada has posed:
    The girl shakes her head a little bit. "Nah. They live in Peru. They do Ultra festivals down in Argentina, Peru, and Brazil. The group however has gone to Miami, as well as Japan. I met them a year ago when I first...henshined. I was at Ultra Japan when a Youma crowd came to the festival.", she explains. The girl blushes a little bit.

    "It's an iced green tea with caramel and protein powder mixed in.", she explains. Miho nods her head a bit as she listens. Drone rats...Great...

    "A part of me is kinda glad that I wasn't accepted, but another part is kinda...yeah. It stung a little.", she tells Amy. "Also, you probably don't need protein, Amy. Probably would taste nasty to you.", she admits. Miho looks at her phone, and sends a quick text before putting the phone down. She looks over at the fabric. She blushes a bit, but shakes her head.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I *did* promise to teach you, for your Christmas present. Your arms are short enough I can just grab the handlebars around you in an emergency, anyway, until you know how to do it," Mamoru says, reconfiguring the way he's sitting in his seat, grinning, teasing while being serious, again still.

Mamoru blinks at Amy. "What? No, I was just like, oh no, I didn't get her courting gifts while we were courting, I just stole stuff out of her hands instead."

He calls over to them again after a second, head tilting. "We don't have cooties, you can join us if you want!"

He doesn't press the offer; he's done due diligence. He looks back at Minako with his eyebrows up. "Oh those patterns are just exampled. I'm getting two hand-painted, and then one each of one of the things Usagi and Kazuo pick. Matchy matchy."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy ohhhs. Then gives an encouraging smile at the blush. "Hey, nothing to be ashamed of, you were fighting evil!"

    Iced tea with protein powder? ...Well, maybe it's better than it sounds! "Well I'll try it once and then know."

    And she nods to Miho. "Kyubey's appearance kind of soured the mood, maybe I didn't... perform my best?" She shrugs. "I'm not sure."

    She looks down at the table. "I didn't necessarily... like I don't know what I'd have done if I won, but also..." She shrugs. And turns to Minako. "But he was magic, right? Unless the people running this are also magic... Is it that unsuspicious?"

    She laughs at the bit about cooties. "I know! I'm good sitting wherever."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Well I think we should all sit at the same time if we're going to talk about this, because now we're talking across two tables in a cafe," Usagi cuts in, not meanly but with the patient tone of someone who is hoping everyone will agree. "And there's three of us over here and our table is bigger, so maybe you two can join us?"

She looks at the swatches Minako has picked out and hums, because it is pretty.

"This is a really pretty place to start though, maybe all of you can help me pick out the two that won't match with Mamochan?"

A bonding activity for friends! And she can sus out how much Sugata is paying for these, just in case she can see if this is anything close to anything a reasonable person can afford.

"I think it was probably suspicious," Usagi admits, "But I'm hoping it wasn't, just in case, because then we can just have... a normal one? For once? And Chibiusa-chan and Rei-chan could have fun doing something cool and normal!"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino leans slightly across the table at the mention of 'custom' and 'hand painted' with a shocked expression. "Whaaa?! What, are you going to get it painted with like, cats on motorcycles or something?" The talk of Vespas while there was a cat bumping against her ankle was definitely giving her weird ideas. She does lean down to give the roaming cat a scratch though.

"They're right, you two ought to join us. It's kind of rude for us all to be talking across the room like this." Not that it ever stopped Mina in the first place!

"We better get to help you pick them, Usagi-chan! Or at least get to see you try them on."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho nods her head a little bit. "Let's head over there.", she says to Amy. The girl goes over to get the drinks first, and the popcorn. The music is still playing over the headphones. She lowers the volume to where its about a tenth of what it was. She takes a deep breath before handing Amy her drink, and giving her a quick cheek kiss.

    Miho slides her phone into her hoodie's front pockets. She stretches a little bit, and pets the kitten as it follows her over. She looks a little bit at the fabrics. Definitely a lot more expensive then anything she's ever seen.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks. She nods and grabs her bag and sits over with the others, smiling at the kiss and taking her drink, "Thank you!"

    She looks to Usagi, "I mean... if it's just non-magic suspicious, like... how bad to we have to worry about?"

    "A normal adventure would be cool..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru finally starts to look a little embarrassed about the yukata; he says in a lower voice, looking apologetically at Minako, "They are literally all already paid for to the extent of hand-painting, or wax resist dye... you can get things off the rack, but it's a better idea to start with those patterns and use them for inspiration; you can have the artisans design the fabric just for you. This is absurd."

When Miho and Amy start over, the smile Mamoru has for them is easy and real, friendly, hoping that this might be a more normal interaction with Miho. "Good good." He moves his chair around the end of the table and sits next to Usagi that way, moving his cocoa too.

(Anko strolls out from under the table and rubs against Amy's ankle in passing, but has urgent cat business on the other side of the cafe with those two fighting kittens. The current barista on duty gives Anko a grateful look.)

"I kind of hate normal adventure. It usually means bugs and sleeping in uncomfortable places."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Sugata-kun is kind of, extra," Usagi explains for Minako's sake, just in case she has not heard, "And he likes paying Mamochan for his healing work because he thinks he should be compensated. And he's very rich. And I don't think he knows how much anything costs, so he doesn't think he's being all that extra, or at least, it doesn't seem like he thinks he's being extra. From what Wako-chan says, it's not subtle when he's being extra on purpose."

With everyone together, she decides that they can talk about yukata and vestas more later, in private - maybe over the phone - and adds, "I would love a normal time, but I think normal adventures are for like, cops and private detectives? Kyubey stuff is our problem. Modeling industry stuff is a journalist problem."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"...you know, I could always ask my Papa about it, actually? He might be able to tell us something about them, if they are normal and legit." Huh. The thought of her papa being able to help with a magic problem is... weird.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino pauses as they call Sugata 'extra' because quite frankly... She's been called that often as well. In her case not because of money given she really had none. It ticks through her head a moment as she considers the differences, eyes dropping to the fabric samples again, before she clucks her tongue a single time.

"I mean if he wants to pay in custom clothes when someone gets hurt, I'll carry a bunch of band-aids from now on!"

Satisfied for now she leans back into her chair comfortably while giving Miho and Amy a grin as they join the table. Looking back to the conversation at hand she can only shrug a little. "I mean I used to work with the police on cases... But they didn't really believe they were related to magic with the Veil and all. They just thought I was a vigilante. So not all cops get 'normal' either."

"Modeling problems are *always* important though! How else do we get cute outfits? And they're daring to infringe on the industry in the name of being bad!" Hmph.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho shrugs her shoulders a little bit. "I wouldn't mind going up to Mount Fuji for a camp.", she tells. "I used to do that with Dad and the gym quite a bit.", she tells. Of course, it was for a different type of camp. The girl takes a deep breath.

    Miho looks at the fabrics, but shakes her head. She looks at the group for a moment. "Well, given the group they picked, it looked very much like they were looking for people who noticed the drone rats, but didn't know what they were.", she says. The girl sips her tea a little bit. "But I don't know much, cause the only time I met Kyubey was right before I awakened, so I could be wrong about that.", she comments.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"What if they're both?" Mamoru asks, leaning forward and putting his elbow on the table and leaning his head on his hand. He works on his cocoa, stirring the whip cream into the drink. "But no, wait. If they turn out to be badguys, normal OR mundane, or both, do we get to start calling them Mediocre Talent Management?"

He coughs lightly, gaze sliding away like he's looking at a camera and his eyebrows go up, and then he looks back at the table. "Inada-san, you can have all the adventures other people insist I have. I'm a city boy, where you can feel the lifeblood of the planet humming at its pulse-points, shaped by human hands."

Then he blinks. "Drone rats? I guess I missed them, the karaage was amazing."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy sips her drink. "Hmmm." ...It's not as pleasant as just the tea would have been, and the texture's a little weird, but she wouldn't say it tastes bad.

    She looks to Mamoru. "Certainly, I've historically been one to hate camping, but you know... I haven't gotten to try it since this all started, Crystal Tokyo aside? And like, the reasons I hate camping are... Having to be away from the computer I preferred to interact with the world through and all my online friends, I had allergies when I was young, interacting with the world in an uncomfortable physical body is magnified when you get all gross and sweaty, and also mosquitoes always loved me more than anyone else. But like..."

    She smiles, "I could go with friends! I don't hate this body, I actually enjoy rooftop-hoping and leaping around during fights! ...And weirdly, for some reason, mosquitoes aren't drawn to me so much anymore. So, I'd be down for giving it a shot, at least once."

    She looks to Miho. "Yeah, we could go camping together! ...I hated summer camp, but that also was due to... different issues. Camping with friends doesn't include bullies and counselors who take their side."

    She looks back to Mamoru. "Also, If they're evil we should absolutely call them Mediocre Talent Management. It's more of a sass than like... Malevolent Talent Management. Or maybe they'd just be Mid Talent Management?" She hmms.

    "But what kind of nonmagical trouble are we looking out for here. I've read... five mangas, or was it six, whatever, about people training to become idols or being them, but--" she frowns, at the memory of RateMyHenshin's sass. "...I know better than to assume that really tells me about anything."

    Then she suddenly looks to Minako. "..Did you say you worked with the police on cases?" She looks surprised, then lowers her voice. "Oh, as Sailor V? That... makes sense, though I'm surprised they were willing to work with a vigilante..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I really don't think we need to look for any kind of nonmagical trouble, because that's not our responsibility," Usagi adds a little more emphasis to her voice this time, before drinking deeply from her hot chocolate, just to have something to do besides feeling frustrated.

"Mid Talent Management... that sounds right. Though, I guess they could be evil and good at their jobs, that seems like half the entertainment business, according to Papa. But how do I ask him about it without mentioning any of us were there..." hmm... the tangled webs we weave when trying not to get outed as a traitor to one's papa...

"I think the drone rats are Kyubey? And - if we want cute clothes, we can just buy them? Or you can disguise magic them onto you?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino leans over slightly to nudge Usagi with an elbow. "You can just tell him I was there. It's something I would normally have gone to anyway except for having other plans at the time. He knows I like fashion, too!"

The suggestion of the name for the company gets a grin, and nod ofa greement, though she has already allowed her gaze to wander over to the cafe area. Everyone ELSE had snacks. She was starting to feel the urge to get some of her own.

"Hm?" Blinking back to the moment she looks to Amy's question with a nod. "Oh yeah. The police and Interpol. I traveled a lot between countries. I think maybe they were trying to find the best spots for the..." What was the word again? "The Land Lines." Yes that was close enough to Ley Lines.

"I'm hungry," she finallly declares as she pushes her hands down on the table to rise to her feet intent on fixing that situation.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho nods her head. "Yeah, drone rats are Kyubey. I know him as an all white Kyubey, and they weren't.", she tells. The girl looks over to Mamo a moment. "Its not that bad out there. And I'm as much a city girl as...ok, not so much, I do like going up in the mountains. Must be cause of who I am.", she blushes a little bit. The girl takes a moment to sip her tea a little bit.

    "And, Amy, if we go camping, there's this trail I love running on, but its not exactly new person friendly. It tends to go up a bit to thinner air.", she explains. She looks to Mamo a moment. "Yeah, both the directors have Kyubeys on them, and it looked odd how it seemed like the CEOs were talking more directly with people? Normally, it would be agents who would approach, wouldn't it?", she asks. "Why would CEOs get directly involved? Unless I'm overthinking?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"The boys glamped last summer? The summer before that? I forget. Last summer, early, maybe. Bow and Koji and Adrien I think? And Tamaki and Kazuo and-- at any rate, I like having a bed that I own and sleeping in it," laughs Mamoru. He finishes off his hot chocolate, finally, and licks the spoon as he goes from looking at Amy to looking at Miho. "You are. There was only one Kyubey. The other was a cat with a bowtie. Also, it's a small company, it's probably like four actual employees and the rest are models they manage individually as clients."

His hand creeps across the table after he waves to Minako-- "Ley lines!" he calls like it's a normal thing to call out in a cat cafe.

Anyway Mamoru's hand sneaks onto Usagi's, and he's not showing or telling her anything, he's just warmly present and happy, and full of quiet love. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

"You can also distract your dad by telling him I said I'd model if he wanted. I know I could." His phone buzzes, and he sits up from leaning to get it out of his pocket with his other hand.

    Kazuo TXT Mamoru: I saw that glance

Mamoru smiles, then looks up at the camera and winks. He pockets his phone again. "Anyway, it's sus and if it's our problem it'll blow up in our faces later."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    She nods to Mamoru, "Yeah, I know the boys went camping, it was that first summer, uh, 2023, Mio wrapped one of their rooms in cellophane. I was afraid revenge might catch me in the splash damage and put a note under my computer in case they moved it, saying it wasn't me and to please be careful..." She blinks. "Wait, 'glamping'?"

    Amy blinks at Usagi. Not their responsibility? "I guess that's so... but what if it's trouble for any nonmagic folks they invited back...?"

    "Anyway... 'Usagi Tsukino' wasn't an entrant... oh, right, well, not this Usagi Tsukino, at any rate. You coulda just gone to support me an' Hino-san an' Chibiusa.

    The Land Lines. ...That's technically correct, and yet... she has a bit of an :I expression for a moment.

    And then Miho's bringing up Kyubeys. "Wait, he was all-white? When? Like, was he just covered in snow or something...?" She blinks. "No one of the CEOs just had, like, a cat. A regular cat. Everybody saw it. And the two of them interacted with it normally."

    She smiles. "That does sound like it could be a bit much, but... if it turns out to be too much I could henshin and then the trail's probably manageable, right?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Of course we're going to go check it out and make sure Kyubey's not doing something that really is our problem, but if all the rest of it is just... normal, mundane crimes and industry weirdness? I'm just telling my Papa and letting him find a way to help fix it."
R
She is not volunteering for more problems.

"First of all, if he finds out I helped my 'cousin' and friend try out for modeling, he'll be weeping over the betrayal. Second of all, any Tsukino in Tokyo is more than likely a cousin, it's not a common last name, and also me and Chibiusa are already stretching it pretending there are two. And third - Mamochan, you're a genius, I'll throw you at him to distract him from why I'm asking!"

This is great! Her husband is a beauty worthy of modeling, it will be a perfect excuse!

Minako's exit... yeah, she's just giggling at that one.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho takes a moment. "Well, I'm probably remember Kyubey wrong. At the time, I was under meds for headaches before Setsuna had me stop taking the meds cause my headaches were magical, not physical.", she says. The girl rubs the back of her head. "I was pretty distracted at the audition, as I was thinking about how I want to become an idol, and modelling could get me in the door.", she admits. "And the food was good as well...", she admits.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"<Glam camping. Glamorous camping,>" Mamoru says clearly in English, lowering his glasses to squint at Amy. "It was not what Bow was expecting. He brought all this survivalist gear, it was a riot. We had flush toilets and beach showers. And yet! I have absolutely zero interest in doing it again; I got spider bites and did you know that I can't heal poison ivy?"

He gives Miho a little smile, tilting his head slightly. "It's good to know what you want. I believe you'll make it happen."

Then he grins and leans over, waaaay over, and bumps his head against Usagi's shoulder, cat-ear on his hat tickling her ear. "I'll be a *great* model. Maybe Adrien-kun can jump ship to Kenji-papa too."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Glam Camping. "Oh." She giggles, "I think I could definitely stand to try that! But you don't have to." She nods. That, and the comment about a bed earlier... yeah, legit.

    Amy nods to Miho. "It's fine. Stressful moments can... mess with you. I rear-ended somebody as a student driver and afterwards misremembered what color the car was... I was so panicced that they'd treat an accident as like... criminal negligence, or that I'd hurt somebody..." She looks down at the table and shakes her head. "They were okay, fortunately."

    "I still don't remember, was the car white or red? It was one of those but I was sure it was the other one."

    She looks to Usagi. "Uhh... unless 'Usagi Tsukino' was one of the ones that got invited back... would your dad even see the name? There were loads of entrants there..."

    She looks back to Mamoru as he talks about being the best model. "...yeah, I can see it." She smiles.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi does not quite sigh, but explains, with deliberate patience, "Amy-chan, I'm going to ask my papa about these guys, and he's going to know that the only reason I know about them is the event, because they're a small company in his industry and that means I'm going to have to very carefully talk around what I know about the event and not mention that I went or that I took Chibiusa-chan or especially that I let Chibiusa-chan get scouted, because that would be my fault."

She shakes her head at the boys camping trip.

"Yeah, I remember that - absolutely does not make me want to do it. And please don't try to get Adrien-kun murdered, Mamochan, especially because Papa does not have his own line, he'd just have to introduce Adrien to a bunch of his regulars just like he'd do with you, but, like, way less awkwardly..."

Miho Inada has posed:
    The girl pauses a moment, and thinks things a little bit. "Why not just say that a friend asked you to go to the event to help explain things to them? Like a consultant? That it was their first time going to a public audition?", Miho suggests. Maybe it sounded better in her head, but she's trying to come up with something to explain.

    Miho yawns a little bit, and leans over to pet a kitten. "I think I should head back to the school. I was up all night watching the festival online. They had some really good sets there. A lot of artists I've never heard of.", she admits. "And yes its good to know what you want, but getting there is very hard without connections. If I wanted to be a MMA fighter, great. A DJ Idol...Not so much...", she admits. Especially when Miho can't really debut anywhere since she's too young to really get into the clubs that would play her music.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I ... didn't know DJ idols were, uh, a thing, I mean, idols and DJs are very different..." Mamoru says a little helplessly to Miho, straightening up off of Usagi's shoulder, "but I guess you know your stuff."

He pulls his watch from his pocket instead of looking at his phone, and he laughs to Usagi and leans to kiss her. "Bad idea anyway," he says softly, "given who his dad works for. On thinking about it. At any rate, I hunger for real food and I think Kazuo's making dinner."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy shakes her head as Miho suggests alternate ways to get around Usagi-papa issues. "She knows what she's doing, it's her family. I shouldn't have--" She shakes her head. "She's the social expert."

    She smiles as Miho pets a kitten. Oh gosh. Adorable. She wants a picture of this.

    "All night?" She winces. "Good thing it's not a school day... I hope you can get some rest tonight."

    Can't get somewhere without connections. Amy stands and hugs her, tightly. "You have friends. Friends can help with... stuff we're not good at."

    "There's no guaruntee. There's more people who want to be artists in the world than can ever be famous at once. But you'll find a way to try, and... somewhere there must be a path to happiness."

    Beat. She inclines her head slightly.

    "...Okay, yes, I can hear how this is, like... what I should be listening to when everyone else-- when my friends say it. But..."

    Beat.

    "...I'll work on it."