There are advantages to the uppermost apartment during the daytime on a weekday.
It is finally, blissfully, quiet. And not liable to have Situations evolve in rooms one isn't looking in.
This means that the living room is clean and in good order, the shelves and cabinets have been restocked, the kitchen is clean and smells of coffee and spices and, more faintly, of lemon and roses and nuts, and the bright orange book in English that Kunzite has been slowly working his way through for weeks at this point is laid aside abandoned on the coffee table.
He is not getting anything useful done. He is pacing his way through the apartments for the fifth time this morning, scowling at odd corners of ceilings and checking the undersides of furniture and examining the intricacies of the clock Mercury gave them months ago as a housewarming present.
Kyouko's arrival is quiet- not atypically so, but perhaps expecting to find the apartment largely empty, or perhaps lacking any particular reason to announce herself, she enters from the balcony without an exuberant greeting or energetic slamming of door. She can be very quiet when she's trying to be, or, it appears, sometimes when she isn't- her typically boisterous personality concealing a penchant for stealthy movement honed by years of staying alive in difficult circumstances.
So it is that fate affords her the rare opportunity to observe Kunzite for several moments as he paces around the living room, examining things with undue care. He may notice her, or he may not, but she does speak up after only those few moments. "You look like a lion in a cage, nii-chan." There's a hint of amusement in her tone, along with a touch of familial pride- Kyouko, of course, being a fan of fierce animals.
She steps further into the room, then. "Do you have some kinda notion we're bein' spied on, or somethin'?" She's deduced he seems to be searching for bugs or cameras.
Perhaps he does notice her, and simply doesn't turn his head, and the pause before he speaks is only a consideration of whether the walls count as bars. Perhaps he doesn't notice her at all in her silence -- she was able to slip behind him once before -- and the pause before he speaks is a conscious interruption of the urge to change and lash out with whoever's power he's holding to himself these days.
Either way, after a moment's pause, Kunzite straightens up and glances back at her. "Of course we're being spied on. I trust Luna and Mercury would let us know if they caught anyone else doing it. Still -- I don't know." Those last three words come surprisingly easily. "Something's wrong; Zoisite and I've both been on edge for days, at this point. Mamoru hasn't mentioned anything, though, and he's usually the first to notice. I should talk to Nephrite; maybe he can find us a target."
Kyouko's expression shifts from amused and curious to mildly concerned in a short moment at Kunzite's words, her brows drawing together as she continues to cross the room, coming to a halt a few feet away from where the much-taller occupant of the room stands. "I haven't noticed anything." The significance of this needs no further explanation- Kyouko is often as paranoid as Kunzite, even if less consciously.
She knows better than to dismiss his feelings, though- 'I haven't noticed' isn't the same as 'nothing is wrong', although the fact that the disparity exists is mildly worrying in and of itself. After a moment, she adds, "Why is this the first I'm hearing about it?" Mild accusation in her tone. Not for lack of trust- more for suspicion that someone might be trying to shield her from concern.
"Because nebulous problems are worse than useless to discuss. I haven't talked about it with the others, either. Mamoru, a couple of words, this weekend; other than that, you're the first." Which raises the question of how he knows Zoisite's reaction, but -- the way the more delicate Shitennou behaves around the eldest, he might very well be picking it up from something else. How long Zoisite spends leaning against him at a time, maybe, or how often he hears a smoke detector start complaining.
Kunzite shakes his head a moment after. "Nothing new for you since the exorcism, then?"
"I trust your insincts, nii-chan." Kyouko says quietly, looking up at him with an expression of serious consideration. "Almost as much as I trust mine. And I hate being surprised. 'I have a bad feeling' is more than enough discussion, and I'd prefer to know about it before it becomes more concrete if only because being prepared for something- even if it's 'anything'- suits me far better than having no idea it's coming."
She holds his gaze a moment later, then looks away with a shrug. "Eh, nothin' major. Y'know, same every-day stuff we always deal with." She walks towards one of the couches, but can't help turning her head to peer this way and that, as if now wondering why she hasn't felt something 'off' if there is something to be felt.
The curve at the corner of his mouth is more pronounced than usual, and quite sudden, and it comes as she's still holding his gaze. "You're already prepared," he says, simple enough.
There's a bowl of fruit on the end of the coffee table, left from a study session the night before. Pears, mostly, but it's fall, and apples are settling into their season too. In reach from the couch if she wants it.
He doesn't say anything at all to her looking away; the shadow of another topic breathes over the conversation for an instant, but he chooses a third altogether. "What do you think about Virtue?" he says instead. "The group, not the ideal."
"I never feel prepared." Kyouko mutters, as she turns and flops down on the couch, one jean-clad leg lifting to cross over the other at the knee, sneaker-shod foot bouncing restlessly in the air as she regards Kunzite across the short distance between them. An apple is claimed because it's within reach.
At Kunzite's question, a brow is quirked. A moment of consideration before she speaks, an indication that she takes such inquiries from Kunzite a bit more seriously than she might from others, to whom an off-handed and flippant response would likely be offered. "I think, in general, they do good work." She says, after a moment. "But I don't like the idea of anybody judging me for doin' what I think needs to be done." She doesn't go into details, but the implication should be clear to Kunzite from previous conversations they have had. Kyouko is not the type to shy away from making difficult decisions if it seems the most practical solution to a problem.
"I know Mamoru has been working with them for a long time." She adds, indicating that this means they can't really be that bad in her mind.
"Good," Kunzite answers to Kyouko's statement about never feeling prepared. Probably because it's another thing they have in common.
He takes one of the chairs across the way from the couch, rather than loom. The last time he used an actual chair in here was because both couches were occupied by invalids. Having a solid arm of furniture on both sides of him rather than just one looks faintly unnatural. It doesn't keep him from studying Kyouko's expression during that moment of quiet, and while she speaks.
"He has," Kunzite agrees. "And we've lent them support where we can, because of that." Because where Mamoru goes, they go, one way or another.
He's quiet for a moment, considering. "Back in May," he says, "I'd made a request to speak to the young king," is he ever going to use Tadase's name?, "about whether they might consider letting us join, and under what conditions. There'd been silence for a long time; I'd presumed that to be a no, at least for now. Understandable. We hurt many of them badly, and even now it hasn't been that long since someone stopped by to visit Mamoru and presumed we were here to attack him.
"This week, they got back to us."
Kunzite studies Kyouko for another moment. "We hadn't discussed the matter; I wasn't about to speak for you. But you could have joined at any point this year, if you'd been inclined. That suggested to me that you weren't, and it sounds from what you're saying now that that's still the case. Is it? And, if it is, do you have any concerns about the rest of us working with them a little more closely?"
Kyouko absorbs this information in silence, pensively biting into her apple, leaving distinct fang-marks in the torn fruit as she withdraws her bite and chews on it. Her expression is not exactly displeased or upset, more.. considering, though to call it positive would also be a misnomer.
"I don't like," She says after a moment, her tone deliberate and even, and honest, "Being the odd one out. You know I ain't historically been good at the whole 'team' thing. I'm tryin' to be a valuable member of this one. It means a lot to me. But I can't escape some obvious ways I'm different from the rest of you."
"I'm the only girl. I'm the only one who's new to the group, in this life. I have a different source of power. I'm younger. I'm the only one who doesn't live in this apartment." She chews on her lower lip for a moment. "I realize that I'll always be the late addition. There ain't no escapin' that, s'just reality. But I want you.. all of you, not just you-you, to think of me as one of you, not as some half-assed tacked-on addition that gets to play Shitennou because Mamoru and Kunzite are fond of her."
Another bite of apple, and she shifts in her seat. "I'm not.. don't take that the wrong way. I don't feel like you guys treat me that way now. But I worry that the more ways I stand apart from the group, the more that becomes a possibility." She meets Kunzite's gaze. "This whole thing was a new beginning for me, and I really want for it to continue to be as wonderful as it has so far."
"That's my concern. Virtue, as an organization.. well. See above, what I said about teams. I don't play well with others. I know you guys and you know me. I know you won't try and make me act in ways I don't believe. But I dunno if I can trust Virtue to be the same, that's all."
Kyouko considering is a near-frightening thing on its own, or would be to most people. She's terrifying enough moving on instincts. If she ever learns to really /plan/...
Kunzite, though, only listens. To the points she's right about. To the points she's only sometimes right about, or the ones that aren't right at all. She might be younger, but she's closer in age to the others than he is; she has a different source of power than some of them, but this time around, she and he are both predators, even if he's reduced more to scavenging than the hunt.
The facts aren't, this time, what's important. What's important is her perception of them.
"First -- no matter what choice you make," he says, "or whether you make one now at all, you won't be alone in it. Jadeite opted out."
It's after that's said that he pauses to consider, much the same way she did. Studying the book left off to the side, rather than watching her directly. Frowning, just a little.
"I don't have the clear idea I'd like to have of Virtue's priorities. I know that Cure Gull left them, or was asked to leave, perhaps over her relationship. I know that Sky Jack is still a member, after he mistakenly targeted a part of an Eclipse-affiliated building where innocents were at work -- but that mistake hasn't been repeated, and he's been much more careful since."
His eyes lift to her again, steady and gray. "And I know that the young king was there when Mamoru and Moon killed Melanite. That was the only time I have ever heard someone in Virtue give an order, instead of make a request for voluntary assistance. He didn't tell them to stop. He told them to keep moving, while he drew fire, and to kill Beryl, too."
Luckily for a variety of reasons, Kyouko being considering during a serious conversation is not the same as Kyouko being considering during a fight. Maybe she'll get there someday, especially if she keeps hanging around with Kunzite and Mamoru, but that day is a long way off still.
There's an instant look of mild relief and a slight relaxation of Kyouko's posture as Kunzite reveals that Jadeite opted out of becoming an official member of Virtue. There's the question of why, but that can wait for another time. Just knowing that, regardless of what she decides, she won't be perceived as standing apart goes a long way towards allaying the worst of her worries about this topic.
His information about Tadase's behavior during the attack on the North Pole is also new to her- unsurprisingly. Many people do not like to dwell on that series of events, herself included. Knowing this, that the 'young king', at least, has the strength (as she sees it) to do what needs to be done when the cards are all on the table also goes a long way towards increasing her respect for the group at large and him in particular. Kunzite likely knew this would be the case which is why he said it.
"Trust ain't somethin' that comes easy to me." She says after a few moments, shifting and taking another bite of her apple, chewing and swallowing before continuing. "But I've made a commitment to trust you, and Mamoru and the others. I mean to keep to that. As for anyone else.." A slight shrug. "I dunno if I'm ready."
"Do you think it would be okay if I waited a while? To see.. how it works out. If it's somethin' worth doin' than I'll do it but.. well, I just ain't sure yet. And if Jadeite ain't joining right away either I don't feel as worried about the other stuff."
It's possible that Jadeite might have opted out to make sure Kyouko felt she had all options safely available. It's also possible that Jadeite might have opted out to avoid the pressure of feeling obligated to be available to everyone in the city. Or that he might have opted out without noticing while thinking about experiments with a new kind of clay. There are many possibilities. Someday maybe someone will ask; Kunzite was careful not to.
And Tadase --
Not even Tadase knows that Kunzite saw that. That anyone but Mamoru and Usagi and a traumatized little unicorn girl did.
He doesn't need to know for Kunzite to respect him.
"Yes," he says to Kyouko's question. "You can watch how they deal with me and with Zoisite, for a while. If it goes bad, then likely most or all of us will step away anyhow. We've been managing cooperation on our own for a while now; we have a solid foundation to work from if we need to. Virtue's network would be better. But it's not necessary."
Another moment passes in silence, other than the deliberate chewing of apple flesh, and then Kyouko nods her head. "Alright." And then she smiles, favoring Kunzite with an expression that shows that this particular set of worries has been assuaged for the time being.
"Then for now, I guess I'll just keep goin' as I am.. and we'll see what happens. I ain't rulin' anything out, but.. well. I can't say I don't like to leap into things cause you'd know me for a liar, but things like this anyway. I'd prefer to wait a while and see."
A brief shrug of her shoulders. "You seem to know what you're talkin' about most of the time, nii-chan, so if you think its valuable than it probably will end up bein' valuable."
"You commit on your own terms and at your own time," Kunzite agrees. "That's what we're looking for. Besides. That way, if anyone manages to break into Virtue's network and send a message to all members with a paralyzing or mind-control spell as a payload, you'll have us covered."
Someday, some lab minion at Eclipse is going to invent a mind-reading device, and try to use it on Kunzite and Kyouko. Even odds whether they then blanch and try to flee the company.
Kunzite's expression shifts after a few moments, the return of that absent little frown. "Mn. One more topic I don't want you blindsided on. I met with Gull privately a few days ago. One -- she's come into the possible potential for a wish, though through a different route, and wants to talk with Puella about theirs, to minimize the chance of misusing it. So she may contact you. If she does, as far as I'm concerned, that's personal between you and her.
"Two -- She asked us to consider helping watch over Hannah's parents, if Hannah ever breaks from Eclipse. I told her yes, she could call on us. Are you all right with that?"
A wry smile tugs at Kyouko's mouth as she quirks a brow at Kunzite. "I'm not sure I wanna know how you think I'll 'have you covered' in that sort of situation, nii-chan." He remains the only person she's ever stabbed who's thanked her for it afterwards.
At the mention of Gull and a wish, her brows draw together. "Not from Kyubey, right? I thought you couldn't Wish if you already had some other source of power.. somethin' about your soul being spoken for, or somethin'." Either way, a brief shrug of her shoulders. "I dunno if I owe her anything, and that's not something I like to talk about. But thanks for the heads up."
As for the latter.. Kyouko falls silent for a moment, then says, "I ain't ever gonna forget what Hannah did to me, no matter the reasons she had for it. Y'know, I fight a lotta people and all's fair in war, but there's a difference between fighting and.. torture."
After a moment though, a sigh. "But that was a long time ago, and since then.. well, she helped Momo out. And honestly if all that hadn't happened I can't be sure I'd be sitting here today, as winding a path as it's been. On top of that, her parents ain't responsible for what she's done. I got no beef with them, and it ain't my style to go after the loved ones of my enemies, either way. I got no problem with lookin' out for them if they're in trouble. No matter what she's done, they're innocent, at least as far as I'm concerned."
Kunzite's expression almost parallels Kyouko's, at that wry smile. "You'll think of something."
There's a shake of his head, afterward. "Apparently there's something that some Pretty Cures can access, under certain conditions. I don't particularly understand." And doesn't entirely want to. There are many things he's better able to deal with now than he was a year ago. The mooncats. Shrines. Rei Hino. But Pretty Cures still average far enough out of his usual emotional range for him to keep at a distance where he can.
And then there's the real topic.
She's not ever going to forget, Kyouko says, and Kunzite gives a bleak, sharp nod. What Hannah did to Kyouko and what Beryl did to the rest of them wasn't the same. But there are places it's close enough.
"And it is Eclipse's style to go after innocents," he says, quiet and flat. "We've watched over Usagi's family. We can watch over one more, if we need to. The more so if it might take down a division of theirs entirely."
"Well, thanks for the warning either way." Kyouko says, with regards to Wishes and questions therein. "All I can say to her is the same thing I say to everybody. Be careful what you wish for, cuz a lotta times the universe don't care what you meant, only what you said, and a lotta times you don't even see the difference 'till it's too late."
"Yeah," She nods in affirmation of his words concerning Eclipse. "I wouldn't do it to help Hannah, and I wouldn't want her thanks for it, but I would do it to fight against Eclipse and I would do it to protect some people who don't deserve to be hurt. Don't worry, I got no conflict of interest there."
Her apple now consumed, she bites the core in half and eats that too. Old habits die hard, and apple cores count as food, even if most don't see it that way. No wasting.
More than ninety percent of the time, Kunzite sees Kyouko as what she is: a veteran Puella Magi, experienced, competent in general, exquisitely competent in her chosen fields, tricky and clever and sly and dangerous in ways both overt and subtle. Possessed of her own sense of integrity and honor. A sister in arms, above all, and in some ways more akin to him than the ones he's called brother in more than one life.
Every time he sees her eat an apple core, that perception skews sideways, and the knowledge that she's broken his defenses twice fades a little before the momentary irrational urge to see to it that she never has to fight again.
Momentary, always. She'd kick his ass if he ever translated that into words, let alone actions. Mamoru would advise her to kick it twice.
"The two of you coming by for dinner?" he asks instead. "Or do one or both of you have a work shift this evening?"
Both other topics dropped. But only because sometimes, silence is how he agrees.
Indeed, anyone trying to stop Kyouko from fighting would paradoxically find themselves starting a fight with her. Luckily, Kunzite knows her well enough to realize that. Plus, she likes fighting. Just because it hurts sometimes is no reason to avoid the thing you're most passionate about, now is it?
But, should Kunzite ever articulate that feeling, as unlikely as that is, at least from him Kyouko would know it was genuine sympathy from one who has experienced hardship and not misplaced pity. The former is infinitely easier to bear than the latter.
At the question of dinner, she pauses a moment, eyes turning up as she mentally reviews the schedule for the evening. Then she smiles. "Sure. We'd love to come by for dinner." She says, her tone pleased.
Because while old habits die hard, and the feeling of what it's like to always be hungry never quite goes away, dinner with family fills more than just your stomach, and Kyouko is learning that she needs those other things to live just as much as food.