Scene #2492: The King of Cups and the Ace of Hearts

Owner	Pose
Mamoru Chiba	It's a sunny day (last week), the spring air warming swiftly, and Chiba Mamoru is in the cat cafe on the ground floor of his building, sitting alone near the front windows except for a small sleek calico cat which is loafed on his table. He's got a coffee and a book, but his hand's keeping his place in the book and he's staring blankly out the window, completely preoccupied. He probably looks familiar to Ace, and if Venus told Ace that Hematite frequented this place, he's probably placeable as probably Hematite -- he has the same color eyes, though his hair is remarkably fluffy instead of shaggy and growing out; he's a foot taller than he was when Danburite was active, and he's wearing a Babymetal t-shirt and black skinny jeans under a deep red cardigan, and extremely expensive-looking shoes. His glasses are clean, at least. The timing is just right that he looks at the calico cat on his table as Ace is going by the window, and he's obviously leaning in to listen to her moving mouth, and then he responds, talking to the cat like a human.
Ace Saijou	The first time the resurrected Ace had laid eyes on Mamoru, the latter been transformed, and therefore not easily recognizable -- plus the former's attention really wasn't on the caped figure in that encounter anyway. And so it's going to be a very different reaction when he sees him this time. Dressed in a simple sports jacket and pants along with a pair of dark glasses (the bare minimum for a minor celebrity for going incognito), Ace hadn't had more in mind than taking a look around the town that the object of his affection now calls home. He did remember hearing something about a cat cafe that sounded like a pleasant way to spend the afternoon, and so it's with some pleased surprise that he spots it further down the street as he walks, and makes his way over to it. Pausing though, as he peers through the window at the figure talking to the cat inside, had poised on the knob. Something tickling at the shadows of his memory, and he frowns now as he pushes the door open to step inside for a closer look...
Mamoru Chiba	And that closer look ends up with Mamoru glancing up toward the door and seeing a shock of platinum blond hair over sunglasses-- he freezes for a second, then waves a hand and gestures the extremely blond stranger over with a wave. He has a theory. The little calico cat sits up on the table, stretching, and bright yellow cat eyes regard Ace with faintly judgmental interest. She turns to Mamoru and says, right out where anyone can hear, "Stay or go?" Mamoru tells the cat, "You can stay if you want, or go if you get bored. I mean you're a cat, you do what you want, why are you asking?" The small cat hisses at Mamoru and hops off the table, stalking off. The teenager looks up at the blond again, close as he is to the door, and he shrugs apologetically. "That's Anko. She's a cat. I misstepped, sashimi will fix it later. Can I buy you a coffee? I think you're someone I should have a conversation with." A beat. "Danburite."
Ace Saijou	And like a key turning to click tumblers into place, that one name unlocks a floodgate of memories -- quick flashes each to each, but all in vivid detail. A place of stone and deep darkness. A figure lounging on a throne, cruel and beautiful, Her loyal generals standing ready to carry out her will -- his own self being one of them. But also among them -- "Hematite!" The name falls from his lips in a low hiss, and Ace immeidately drops into a tensed, ready crouch, one hand slipping behind his back. And though out of sight, a playing card slipping out from his sleeve to be caught in two fingers, held poised nd ready. Shadowed as his memory is, he does indeed remember the one who was his comrade once upon a time -- but would now be counted as an enemy. Or so he thinks.
Mamoru Chiba	Well, that answers that question. This guy is definitely the guy he needs to have a conversation with. Ace goes into defense mode immediately on hearing the name, and Mamoru shakes his head. "I'm glad you're alive," he says simply. "I cried over you. I blamed myself, since you technically answered to me. Like-- you died on my watch, under my command, you know?" Then he gestures toward the table with his book, which he closes, and his coffee, which he leaves, and he stands up. "Let me buy you a coffee or hot chocolate or something, and we can catch up, and maybe you can tell me what your intentions are to the girl whose heart you already broke once. My name is Chiba Mamoru." And then with a crooked little smile, head tilting to the side a little bit. "It's also Endymion, since you remember things."
Ace Saijou	"Endymion... ?" That's another name from his memory, and not the shadowed part. This one is easier to touch upon, thanks to Minako herself -- she had mentioned finding the Princess Serenity, so that association is fresh in his mind. The name of that Princess' beloved likewise clicks with him, and -- "You're lying," Ace says flatly. It clicks with him, and immediately rejects against his recollection of the dark general Hematite. Staying in that tensed and ready stance, his weapon still held behind his back. "*You're the one who needs to speak to your intentions here, Hematite. And quickly!" If he gives himself moment to breathe, he'll certainly realize that something about this entire situation seems... off. But for the immediate moment, all the former soldier can see is one very big threat in front of him.
Mamoru Chiba	Not gonna lie -- it's startling for Mamoru to be seen as a threat these days, and he's not... ''not'' enjoying it, from this other kid. "Ugh, don't get kicked out of here by the staff, it and Korma Chameleon are like the only two public places that are definitely neutral territory with mahoujin in residence," he says, and he takes a seat again, hands outstretched on the table, palms down, where Ace can see them. "Minako-san told me you're not a villain anymore, and that is ''great'', especially since we shut down that entire division of Obsidian and the nightmare witch is dead," he says, his voice still calm, and quieter now. His expression is sincere, and there's gentleness in his eyes where before there was thirteen-year-old edgelord. The way he ''holds'' himself is pure Endymion, though, and his eyes are the same the same the same. "I'm slightly disappointed to know that you ''didn't'' know who I was and were keeping it a secret, but... I'm afraid it's true. Beryl didn't know who she had in her grasp until my princess rescued me. Literally just sit down and stop making a scene."
Ace Saijou	And with neither fight nor flight having sway here, reason finally starts to filter in for Ace. He himself was brought back free from the influence of the Dark Kingdom -- is it really that unlikely that others should have done the same? Even if that's not quite the case for Mamoru himself (the other youth's circumstances are a whole separate can of moon worms, aren't they?), it's enough to let Ace actually pause and consider. A fool for love, certainly -- but a just plain fool, he is not. Slowly, he brings his arm around to reveal the card he'd been holding between his fingers, and tucks it back away in his jacket. Moving to take the indicated seat, and giving the other youth a long, searching look, as if not sure quite where to begin. Until: " ...Endymion? Really?" Of course, it's not as if a rank-and-file soldier of Venus would be chummy with the Prince of the Earth, so even if his memory wasn't a patchwork mess he might have a hard time recalling this one, aside from maybe a look from afar and one eons back at that. But something about Mamoru's bearing makes it so he isn't just dismissing the idea out of hand, at least.
Mamoru Chiba	"Really. You worked with Kunzite, didn't you? When the Venusian troops came to Earth to help quell the beginnings of Beryl's rebellion..? Kunzite's back too -- and after you died, I found my other knights. Either way, I'm not Hematite anymore. But I'm still Endymion, and I'm still Mamoru, which you can call me, and I'm also Tuxedo Kamen, who you actually did meet." He turns one of his hands over on top of the table, and it glows a faint gold, making the shadows strange on it and on the table beneath it. "If you still don't believe me, do you remember that Endymion was an empath? I still am, and we can't lie without getting caught if you touch my hand. You can check, is what I'm saying. I just-- I wanted to know if you were-- if you faked your death, or if you came back. Because... I'm gonna be real, if you faked your death, that was both incredibly rude and breathtakingly clever. I almost wish I'd thought of it."
Ace Saijou	"Kunzite." Ace nods slowly, another memory stirring at the name. There was a look from afar, although granted, the figure before him is a bit less... regal than the figure in his memory. Or perhaps that is just the view from the ranks beneath. Either way, it gives further credence to the idea. The idea of faking his death being any kind of clever doesn't put him any more at ease though, and Ace can't help but bristle a bit, glancing down at that hand but not inclined to try taking it. "No, I -- died. For real. And then... " Giving a helpless shrug. "My Princess -- er, Minako -- she told me that Serenity had brought everyone back who was lost. That included me as well apparently, intentional or not." And finally giving a wry smile. "It's... hard to imagine anyone crying for me, if they knew what I was back then. But if you really did...thank you."
Mamoru Chiba	"I really did," says Mamoru honestly, and again it's almost strangely gentle -- he seems very little like he was when he was thirteen, but... many people are. Especially if dark energy was involved. "I may have been a dick, but I did care." There's a brief pause, and Mamoru turns his head slightly in order to give Ace very mild side-eye as he picks up his coffee, withdrawing his hand. "Now, about your intentions toward Minako-san, given you're calling her your princess still..."
Ace Saijou	"Because she is," Ace says simply. "She always will be. And as for my intentions, they're simple enough: I want to see her happy." And now the smile he gives is just a little sad, as he bows his head. "And I never once believed that would happen with me. She's too good for me -- that was true in this life as well as the past one. And the one before that, for that matter. So... I will simply do what I can in this one, to safeguard the happiness she finds."
Mamoru Chiba	"..." Mamoru watches Ace carefully, looking for -- anything, anything that seems like... "Just to see her happy? Even though it sounds like you were mad at her for having a sense of duty? Telling a twelve-year-old she was cursed to always choose duty over love ''does'' seem like the kind of asshole thing someone high on dark energy might do, but -- if that's changed, then, good. No matter what kind of happiness she finds, if you stay in our circle of friends, you'll get to see it." He holds a hand out again, but this time it's not glowing. "I have my walls up," he says firmly, "I won't look. Allies at least? Maybe friends later?"
Ace Saijou	Even back then, twisted as it was, Ace had wished her happiness in his own way. He knows after all, what an awful thing "what if?" can be. To let her chase her foolish, girlish romance only to realize too late what the decision not to stand and fight may cost her -- in that sense, he had hoped to spare her. Perhaps even spare her the grief of watching him perish, by making her resent him. But that was then. That dark fortune, he tore apart with his own hands -- and now leaves the rest for her to tear apart with hers, as she forges her new path. And what if his own path, now? Here then, is another step on it, as he peers down at the hand for a moment. " ...allies for now," he decides, with a little smile. "The rest is to be seen. Chiba Mamoru, was it?" And reaches his hand to clasp and shake the other youth's. "Saijou Ace. Good to meet you -- or, meet you again?" And shakes his head, as a look of real dismay briefly takes his expression. "it's -- complicated, isn't it? Dealing with the past lives."
Mamoru Chiba	The handclasp is firm but not a contest, it's a meeting and an agreement all at once. "Saijou-san," he says with a lopsided smile. "Allies for now. Good to meet you properly, without anything but the past in the way." Mamoru's sharp, with edges behind and beneath the gentleness, so Ace can safely suspect that he'll be having an eye kept on him for a while, but this really does seem like an open door. "It ''is'' complicated," he grants, taking his hand back and picking up his coffee, then finishing it, putting the cup back down. "Especially given people have varying levels of stuff they remember, or don't. I have... continuity, from when I died back then. I remember my whole life. There's more of it to remember than in this one." He sounds wry. He sounds so wry, and he looks it. "Serenity remembers a bunch. Kunzite hardly remembers anything specific. It's interesting fighting mine, the overlaid memories. It's confusing when I have one set of reactions and another that completely counters them. And-- it's ''really'' a pain to have to figure out how to handle having been betrayed by the people you love, when they're around again and you never stopped loving them." As he says this last, the prince watches Ace again, and he's making a point about Minako without pointing it out. "Fortunately for me, I fucked everything up and was a badguy this time around, and they didn't betray me a second time. Not betraying a second time is a real winning strategy."
Ace Saijou	Whether he picked up on the shot being aimed in his direction, Ace can't help but grimace at the mention of betrayal, a reminder that he took up arms against his Princess -- or at least, the things she represented. As for his own life? "My own memories are in shadow. That sounds dramatic, but it's the truth -- I remember everything I've lived in this life," Ace murmurs, absently reaching a hand up to touch on the side of his temple. "But ever since I woke up, when I think back on it now -- the years I spent, the people I met -- everything seems... dim. I remember places and people as if I were looking at them during dusk, or living under an eclipse. Sometimes it feels like a curtain so heavily black, I can't make out any details -- it takes names or reminders to bring them into relief." He sighs and shakes his head. "Maybe it's meant to sow just how long the darkness has had hold of me... how long they spent turning me into their pawn, the manager for their Dark Agency." All those skills didn't come from nowhere, after all. It might seem pedestrian, but everything from stage acting to PR represents years worth of investment and training. Whether it was just nudges in the right direction or an active hand, it took care over time for the Dark Kingdom to cut their Danburite into the shape they wished. "The memories I have before that aren't shadowed, but they're faint." Ace grimaces for a different reason now, as he adds, "Mostly, I remember a lot of training." Boot camp is grueling in any world's military, it seems.
Mamoru Chiba	And then to have some new Dark General, with so much power immediately granted to him by Beryl, put over Danburite? Well-- at least he had had a reasonably strategic mind, and he never micromanaged... ...and now it's turning out so unexpectedly. It's all so unexpected. Mamoru's gaze softens a little, sympathetic. "Oh I understand. Listen, if you want help remembering things-- or help forgetting things-- let me know. I know a lot of methods because of what I had to do to my own head. As far as training goes..." The prince laughs and shakes his head. "My training back then was overseen by Kunzite. My training this life was mostly in fistfights, arm-breaking, and applied negative empathy. I grew up kind of rough." One-shoulder shrug. "But I get having memories it's hard to access." Mamoru stares at his empty coffee cup for a minute, as though a disapproving look could make it refill itself, then reaches to pick it up again, and stand up. "I'm getting some more coffee for ''me'', and then-- if you're interested in talking about it, I'm interested in what your plans are for life after death."
Ace Saijou	Ace nods along, giving a relieved smile as Mamoru shows some understanding of the confusion faced with living a new life. Although he does have to pause -- fistfights? Arm-breaking? "Growing up rough" sounds like an understatement! It's also very different from what he would have expected of Endymion, at least the Endymion he remembers. It makes him wonder if he should have asked Minako a little more about Serenity, and the sort of differences she's encountered. For a brief, amused moment, the idea of a delinquent Princess enters his mind... But the offer to talk makes him brighten a bit -- rough spots aside, this is one of the few people he could really talk to, that has full understanding of his situation and its troubles. Ace is discovering he could use someone like that, as he makes his way. "They probably wont' seem terribly exciting to you -- but sure, I'd like that." And casting a look around as Mamoru goes to get his coffee. One thing he is discovering about his current life that was at least, unchanged by the darkness: he likes cats. And hopes to charm one of this cafe's residents to come along and be spoiled for awhile, while they talk.