So do you have what it takes?

[waterfell]

Colorful dresses swirl by. Laughter makes the air come alive. Cooking smells compete with one another to entice passers-by with their aromas. A festival atmosphere pervades this spot, which has somehow been connected to the nexus

Comments

[venusian_thief]

Beauty contest? Here's one girl who is absolutely up for it! There's a big grin on her face as she completely ignores the protest that seems to be coming, inexplicably, from a white cat upon her shoulder, then she's bouncing towards the registration table. The form she quickly fills out reads 'Aino Minako' at the top, and then she's standing in line and whispering to the cat.

"Oh hush, Artemis. It won't hurt anything, I'll just have a bit of fun!"

[waterfell]

Sometimes it seems like the nexus is sentient, connecting worlds when interference is least wanted. Ami masks her annoyance with some effort once it's Minako's turn, and forces that bland public smile to her face while the other judges welcome the new contestant.

"Please introduce yourself to us and tell us anything you think we should know about you." This is Minako's chance to shine and get their attention.

[venusian_thief]

With another bright grin, Minako nods enthusiastically to the judges before taking a confident stance and waving one arm wildly above her head at the audience- and ignoring the flailing cat who seems to be struggling to stay atop her shoulder as she does so.

"I'm Aino Minako, age 13! I love volleyball and ramen, and I hate school and annoying pets!" If anyone hears what sounds like a disgruntled yowl coming from the cat, it's quickly drowned out by the rest of her introduction, taking another pose with her feet shoulder-width apart and the fingers on her right hand held out before her in a 'V'. "And I'm going to be the winner of this contest!"

[waterfell]

Her smile tightens and wants to crack at something about that enthusiasm, that energy, that happiness. Ami hides it with a quick nod of her head that looks the same as the appreciative chuckles making their way through the audience and spectators.

"What talent have you prepared for us today?" the next judge asks once the laughter has died down enough to move on.

[venusian_thief]

"For your entertainment, I introduce to you Artemis, the amazing talking cat!" she beams, winking and grabbing the white cat in both her hands, holding him out to the crowd. If there's an almost human sounding sound of surprise and protest, it should only be taken as part of the act. "Don't be shy, Artemis! Tell everyone hello!"

...

The cat is glaring at her, once again with an almost human shine in its eyes. The blonde blinks, repeating her last sentence, before something like a smirk crosses its face and it tosses its head to one side with attitude.

"Nyaaaaaaaa!"

[waterfell]

Ami, who knows exactly how much Artemis can talk - and exactly what he's doing to get his revenge - is the first to have to hide a smile behind her hand.

"Ah-" The judge tries to salvage the situation. "Maybe he's in a bad mood right now. Try again." He gives Minako a smile meant to be encouraging. A few titters break out among the people watching.

[venusian_thief]

Blink. Blink. Staaaaare...

"Artemis!" He never makes cat noises! In fact, he hates them, as much as he hates being treated like a normal cat! Eyes wide, glancing from the ticked off Mau, to the crowd, then back, she quickly shakes him, hissing, "Come on, play along!" He seems to be smirking still, even as his head is tossed back and forth as he's shaken. Oh no!

"Nyaa-aaa-aa-aaa!" he yowls louder, and something like panic flashes across Minako's face. She has to save this! Stilling him suddenly, she leans down and hisses into his ear, her words inaudible to the crowd. After a moment, it seems like stars shine in his eyes, and when she turns him to face the crowd once more... "A- hem. Sorry about that. I'm just a bit nervous."

[waterfell]

There's stunned disbelief for just a second before the crowd erupts in cheerful applause, encouraging 'Artemis' whether he's a talking cat or, as most adults probably suspect, ventriloquism. Ami, too, smiles more openly now, although she privately wonders just what the bribe must have been.

[venusian_thief]

What she bribed him with is for Minako to know and Artemis to enjoy later! The look on said blonde's face is rather triumphant and she pulls the cat close once more, settling him up on her shoulder to let him talk easily to the crowd.

"So, Artemis! I'm the goddess of love and beauty aren't I? A royal choice for this crown!"

"More like a royal pain," he mutters, almost rolling his eyes, wincing when she quickly baps him on the head. "I mean, right, right. Minako-chan is very lovely!"

[waterfell]

She can't help it; she snickers. Ami quite naturally seems to take charge again, which can only mean one thing:

"The intelligence portion is next." Smile smile. She knows just how well Minako is likely to do at that. "Will your pet be answering for you?"

[venusian_thief]

"It might-"

A dirty look at Artemis cuts off whatever he'd been about to say, and he shrugs and settles down to wait it out as Minako herself shakes her head.

"No way. I got it! This'll be a piece of pudding!"

No. That's not a puzzled look at her own words, just a confident look.

[waterfell]

A piece... of pudding?

Sigh. Ami resists the urge to slap her palm to her face (and quite possibly staple it there since she doubts this will get any easier), and nods with that slightly tight public smile.

"There was a robbery where a lot of goods were stolen, so the thieves used a van to carry it away." It's entirely intentional, as she's fully aware of Sailor V's work catching jewel thieves in her own world.

"A, B, and C are the only suspects. B cannot drive. C never commits a crime unless A is his partner."

"Is A guilty or innocent?"

[venusian_thief]

Catching jewel thieves? Who's catching jewel thieves? More like being the jewel thief! Of course, that's not what's really on her mind at the moment; instead, you can see the thoughts running across her face, as she silently mouths the letters to herself, going almost cross-eyed as she watches her own wiggling fingers. For some reason, Artemis looks mildly terrified at the question, but Minako's too busy trying to come up with an answer to notice. It takes a moment, but, finally...

"Was 'A' caught? Why were they stealing things?"

It seems unrelated to the question, but...

[waterfell]

There's an awkward silence and a pause at the odd question, but Ami answers it somewhat hesitantly before she gets back into the swing of her judge's enthusiasm.

"They were each caught, but we need to figure out which is the thief. No one has questioned them yet since it hasn't been proven until we figure out the answer from their story and know who to ask."

[venusian_thief]

Artemis seems anxious still, but Minako only looks thoughtful. One hand raises to her chin, tapping it slowly, before she looks back at the judge.

"Was anyone hurt in the robbery?"

[waterfell]

She barely suppresses a groan.

"That doesn't matter to the question. We're not sentencing them yet; we only need to know who's guilty," Ami explains with strained patience.

"Please try to focus hard and figure out the answer." Or, as it could be re-phrased, stop distracting the issue with irrelevant details.