[IC][Story] There's Nothing Better!

[robkelk]

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
September 15th, 2016
8:10am

Mii's cellphone rang.

As she excused herself from the table, Mikoto said, "Finally!"

"They're not calling to arrange a duel, Misaka-san." Rob sighed. "They don't even know you exist here, unless Mizuno-san accessed the Internet, looked up Konori-san, and found your Wikipedia article."

"Which she probably could do with the Mercury Computer," added Kazari. "Why are you back to being on a last-name basis with us?"

Rob cocked his head and raised one eyebrow. "I'm sorry about that. Sometimes I remember that your standards on names are different than mine, and sometimes I don't. But we should make an effort to be reasonably formal when, or if, we go to meet the Sailor Senshi."

"I'm not calling oneesan 'Misaka-san'."

"I wouldn't mind you making the effort, Shirai-san."

"Oneesama!"

Mii gestured to Rob from the hallway. Once he had joined her there, she handed him her phone. "It's Tsukino-san."

He nodded. "Donaldson speaking. What can I do for you?"

"Donaldson-san, my name is Tsukino Usagi. I read the two manga that you left with Ami ... with Mizuno-san."

"I assume you found them to be something of a shock, Tsukino-san."

"More of a surprise, Donaldson-san. They had the general story right, but the details were all wrong."

So she wasn't from the manga continuity or the live-action version, and probably not from Crystal. "I have some bad news for you, then. Your life story was made into an anime - a very popular anime."

"Just a moment, please."

After a half-minute, Rob heard, "This is Mizuno. Usa... Tsukino-san asked me to speak with you while she went to sit down somewhere."

"I'm afraid that I told her something that she needed to know but wasn't ready to hear. I apologize for that."

"I understand. We called because we wanted to ask for your help." Rob heard a voice say "I don't!" in the background, but Ami kept talking. "We won't be able to stay here tonight."

"How many people are in your group?"

"There are five of us."

"Mizuno-san, I just happen to have five empty one-bedroom apartments available here. Each has a small kitchen and its own bathroom. None of them have very much in the way of furniture, though."

"We would prefer sleeping on the floor to sleeping in an alleyway, Donaldson-san."

"I thought that might be the case, Mizuno-san. I cannot come downtown immediately, because of rush-hour traffic. Shall I meet you at the tea shop at 10:00?"

"We will meet you there, Donaldson-san. Good day."

"Good day." After the call ended, Rob returned Mii's phone to her. "Considering Ami ordered water at the tea shop yesterday and Minako was busking for change, I suspect they have nothing in the way of funds. Mizuno-san very carefully did not tell me that they've been in a homeless shelter for a few days, and that they have to move on. They probably need a proper meal, a decent bath, and a change of clothes."

"How can we help?" asked Kazari, who had joined Mii and Rob in the hallway.

"First, I don't have enough spare towels, soap, and shampoo for all of them."

"I'll go to the mall as soon as it's open."

"Thank you, Uiharu-san. Second, they'll need clothes. I have no business knowing their sizes."

"I'll ask them, then go shopping."

"Come with me and ask on the way back, Konori-san. Uiharu-san, while you're shopping, could you get a pair of jeans, a shirt, a change of underwear, and a pair of socks for each of them, please? We'll call you with the sizes." Rob handed Kazari twelve $50 bills. "That should cover the bill. We'll take them shopping for clothes that they want to wear once they've had a chance to decide whether to stay. Third, they'd probably appreciate something to eat that they recognize."

"I think Saten-san could help there," suggested Mii.

"I'll ask her," Kazari added before going back into the common apartment that they were using as a dining room.

"Finally, we need to keep Railgun from challenging Sailor Jupiter as soon as she arrives."

"Don't worry," Mikoto said from inside the dining room. "I won't challenge her to a fight until she's at her best."

Rob grinned. "Then I suppose we should go back downtown," he said to Mii. "Shall we?"

They stepped out of the apartment building to discover a limousine parked out front, with Sebastian standing beside it. "You weren't planning on trying to fit seven people into that five-seater of yours, were you?"

"I was going to flag down a taxi and tell him to follow me here."

"That would mean splitting the girls up between two cars."

Rob nodded. "Good point."

---

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
September 15th, 2016
8:40am

Mii looked around the interior of the limo. Again. "It's convenient having your own car. Could we get one large enough to hold everyone?"

Rob thought about Mii's question for a moment. "I think something with eleven seats needs more than just a general driver's licence to operate in Ontario. It might be better to get a six-seat car to go along with my Mazda 3, but then we'd need a second driver in the building."

Sebastian laughed. "No, your current licence lets you drive a minivan that carries eleven people. You can't drive a twelve-person bus."

"How much can the budget be stretched?"

"Don't worry about the money. You're going to need something that big."

Rob thought for a moment. "In that case, we should look at having two vehicles - the big one for everybody, and my Mazda. We'll still need a second driver in the building if we do that."

Mii looked like she wanted to say something.

Rob waited, then said, "You're old enough to learn how to drive here, Mii-san."

"Could I? Really?"

"It's a long-term project, but yes."

Rob quickly discovered that Mii had a very pretty smile.

---

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
September 15th, 2016
9:45am

"Five hundred grams of Ceylon, one hundred grams of Darjeeling, one hundred grams of Assam, two hundred grams of Earl Grey, one hundred grams of Jasmine, five hundred grams of Sencha, one hundred grams of Chamomile, and one hundred grams of Labrador tea, please."

"Five Ceylon, one Darjeeling, one Assam, two Earl Grey, one Jasmine, five Sencha, one Chamomile, and one Labrador. Right away, sir," replied the clerk.

Rob turned to Mii. "I do like the service here."

"Do we really need that much?"

"If it was just the six of us, probably not. However," Rob stopped as the tea shop's door opened. "I hope we'll be doubling our numbers today."

Five girls entered the shop. They looked like they were cosplaying as the Sailor Team just finishing a long ordeal. Only Rob and Mii knew that they weren't cosplaying.

Rob turned back to the store clerk. "Also, a cup of Irish Breakfast, and whatever those five ladies want, brewed to go. And I'll pay for this young lady's tea as well," he finished, motioning to Mii.

"One Masala chai, please."

"Right away, miss and sir." The clerk walked over to the Sailor Senshi, asked what they wanted to drink, and made his way back to the tea selection.

"I hope we didn't keep you waiting long, Donaldson-san," Ami said as she sat down at a table.

"We just got here ourselves, Mizuno-san. I barely had time to place an order before you arrived."

It was pretty easy to tell who was who - their hairstyles were distinctive. Usagi was the next to speak. "We appreciate you being wiling to help us, Donaldson-san. We're curious why you would want to help us, though."

Rob nodded. "That's a perfectly reasonable concern. Knowing who you are, and what you can do, and that nobody knows that you are here, it would be extremely easy for somebody to force you to do things you would prefer not doing. I give you my word that I am not one of those people."

"And those books you left with Ami show you know exactly who and what we are."

Rob nodded again. "That's correct, Hino-san."

"And what do you get out of this arrangement?"

"The satisfaction of knowing that I'm helping somebody who needs help, a warm and secure place to live, food on the table, and a paycheck."

"What do you expect us to do in return?"

"Go to school, learn, make friends, discover what life is like here, and don't draw attention to yourselves unless you need to save somebody else's life. Oh, and keep your own apartments clean, and help with the household chores."

Mii added, "That's the same deal Donaldson-san made with me and my friends."

"I don't trust you."

"You shouldn't trust me, Hino-san. I could be lying to you all."

"No," Usagi said with conviction. "You aren't lying to us."

"Thank you for trusting me, Tsukino-san."

"You're welcome, Donaldson-san."

As the store clerk came over with the leaf and brewed tea, Rob stood up. "I need to pay for all of this. On my credit card, so there's a record of me being here now. Konori-san, would you show the girls where our ride is waiting, please?"

The store clerk watched as the girls left. "You're making a big deal about making sure they know you've been seen here with them."

"Yeah, but it's the only way to get them to trust me enough to get them off the streets."

"Do you want to leave your address with us, too?"

"Only if you deliver."