Welcome to Gaia! ::

Itsuki couldn't help but notice a fellow and potential friend out on a walk! Up on a stone fence, munching away on a sushi dinner he'd begged from a restaurant, the lilac point had to say hello. "Uwah, Nya-san~" he called down to Tama, swishing his tail to and fro happily. "Konbanwa! Watashi wa Itsuki desu~ Are you hungry tonight, Nya-san? I have extra sushi, if you're interested!"

A few salmon rolls, one with shrimp, two with tuna and four with bits of various vegetables, all spread out on a paper plate. The sushi chefs were kind enough to give Itsuki all this food on a plate (much easier for safer storage into subspace for retrieval later!). He wouldn't mind at all sharing some of the bounty with a friend. "Are you looking for a star tonight, Nya-san~?"

"Tomodachi~?!"

Itsuki couldn't help himself, and in his excitement, deposited the sushi into subspace and jumped down from the fence. Landing on the ground, the lilac point immediately rushed to Tama's side, bouncing from foot to foot to foot. "Tomodachi~! You know Japanese! I'm not fluent yet, but I'm taking lessons! Anata no onamae wa~?"

Within moments, the plate of sushi was pulled from subspace, with Itsuki's teeth on the plate, dragging it to Tama's feet in offering.

"Are you new in town, Nya-san? I don't think I've seen you before. Do you have any senshi, Nya-san? I'm sure you've been to Headquarters!"

"Hoshi-no-Tama? Tama of the Stars~" repeated the lilac Mau. Itsuki seemed incredibly impressed that Tama had a name of Japanese origin, like himself. That made them extra friends as far as Itsuki was concerned. Pushing the sushi plate towards Tama, Itsuki had to stop and think about the next question.

How did Ayako-chan write his name? Being that Maus lacked thumbs, Itsuki never really thought about it.

Poking around in the dirt with a claw, the Mau took stock of his memories of Ayako-chan picking the name for him as a kitten. "Hmm, well... Let's see... Ayako-chan picked it for me when she adopted me, and she said that it was a name for boys or for girls, which makes sense if you're not sure if your kitten is a boy or a girl! I think it looks like this?"

Scratching out some very crude symbology in the dirt, Itsuki pointed them out to Tama. 伊月 "Ayako-chan said it means that moon. She loved to watch the moon at night!"

"Ayako-chan is very smart, even if neither one of us knew I wasn't just a regular cat!" Itsuki heaped on the praise, loving Ayako despite their distance with his new Mauvian duties. Tama probably felt the same way about his family. "Ayako-chan was the little girl who adopted me. She was in middle school, last time I was with her. She and her family own The Golden Crane downtown. It's a Japanese restaurant. Unfortunately, the Negaverse attacked during the dinner rush one night, and I haven't been back since. I did find out the family is fine, and insurance covered the damage, but when you awaken to your duty..."

Itsuki's ears dropped. Surely, Tama would understand as well. "Duty is hard sometimes, isn't it, Tama-san? You know what I mean. But we have to try our best for the city, it's just sad sometimes. Do you have a senshi you look after, Tama-san~? If you need a place to stay, Headquarters is a great place!" Lifting his paws, Itsuki sat on his hind legs to gesture about while he spoke. "It's heated and has the database computer, and plenty of food and blankets!"

"Uwah, you have a Knight, Tama-san~? Who are they, and how did you meet~? I don't have any Knights of my own, but I have some senshi~!"

Itsuki's furry chest puffed with pride. Sure, he didn't have very many senshi under his direct guidance, but two was better than none. The fact that Tama didn't have any senshi under him at the time wasn't a huge cause for concern, and could be easily remedied. "Have you been to Headquarters, Tama-san? There's a giant computer there with all sorts of information about the senshi in the city. Maybe you could find someone else who needs help there! I can show you when we're done with dinner~?"

"Tama-san, he sounds amazing!! I'd love to meet him someday~"

The thought of a Mau guiding a Knight seemed extra special! Tama must've been providing lots of guidance to help a Knight like that. "Hai! That sounds great, Tama-san~ Would you like to go to Headquarters after we're done with dinner? We've got all sorts of information you can search through! There are databases full of senshi and knight information, a Negaverse database... Oh! And maybe Liryn-san is there! He gave me a Kitty Communication Device so your knight can call you! Isn't that sugoi???"