01<Katie> [March 7, 4:30ish p.m.]
<Jihatsu> Apologies if I was too slow, only that my own parental unit was on the 
phone...
<Hirameku> (Dude, All I remember about Katie's dad is that he's American and 
Brett gave him a cowboy hat.)
 01<Katie> [After one high school graduation followed shortly by an impromptu 
Arcana reunion, Katie and Kyon finally managed to finish saying their goodbyes 
and make their way back to Sakuragaoka High School.  The ceremony's well and 
over, though signs are still hanging outside and a few stragglers mill about 
nearby.]
 01<Katie> (Yeah, about that, never give Brett the freedom of random choice when 
it comes to your background NPCs.  You'll probably regret it!)
 01<Katie> [Where are they going?  Probably Kyon's bike, parked somewhere 
nearby.  They might even make it without being attacked!  Chances are decently 
likely, given the lack of said attacks over the past year.]
 01<Katie> [Session Start.]
<Rowyn> (Case and point: Keiko mom.)
<Hirameku> (You're telling the person who's current character had an NPC named 
Dr. Doctor Shumacher.)
 01<Katie> (Yeah, I think Doctor Doctor beat Keiko's mom.)
 01<Katie> (Also, feel free to bring up an NPC and attack us, you two.  I dare 
you.)
<Rowyn> (Doctor Doctor does lose more, yes.)
 06* Kyon stalks off back from the restaurant, trying not to go too fast, 
heading for his motorcycle. "Took a while. Think your parents're getting 
impatient?"
 06* Katie walks along, a bit of a skip to her step, trailing behind Kyon as he 
goes too fast even when he tries not to. "A little, maybe. They can wait."
 06* Kyon nods curtly. "Yeah. Graduations bring out all sorts of old 
connections. They probably know."
 01<Katie> They should... well...
 06* Katie slows to a more normal walk, falling behind Kyon even more. "We were 
pretty good at keeping parents out of things. I don't know how much they do 
know. There's you and Kaede, at least."
 06* Kyon slows and turns. "They met most of the others, though. Right?"
 06* Katie keeps walking at the same pace, clearly thinking about that and 
catching up before long. "Maybe? I think they might've met... Satoshi? while I 
was in the hospital. I don't remember that well."
 06* Kyon nods, and starts striding again. "Yeah. Shouldn't matter, though. So 
you have friends you want to see before they split off. That's natural."
 01<Katie> Yeah.  It's just kind of funny, when you think about it.
 06* Kyon shrugs quickly. "Not really. Not like my parents have met any of you."
 06* Katie snorts a little. "You'd might as well not have parents."
 01<Katie> Seriously.  They just shipped you off to a city far away, they never 
visit, and I bet they never call.  Do they even know about me?
 06* Kyon looks at her sidewise as he walks, bemused. "They're there. And they 
know about you. You'll meet them some time."
 01<Katie> Right.  No offense, but until I meet them, I'm going to assume 
they're cardboard cutouts put there by Sho because he thought it was convenient.
<Hirameku> (*snickers from the peanut gallery)
 06* Kyon snorts. "Phone calls not good enough for you, then?"
 06* Katie grins a little. "They could be talking cutouts."
 06* Kyon barks out a laugh. "Right. Can tell them you're concerned about their 
continued existence."
 01<Katie> Sure.  Cardboard cutouts are fun.
 06* Kyon shakes his head, amused. "They'll come." He pauses a beat, then adds, 
"Or now that you're done, we could go up."
 06* Katie looks at Kyon, then blinks. "I'd... like that." And then she looks 
suddenly nervous. "Do you think they'd like me?"
 06* Kyon smirks. "Should. They like spirit, talent. You've got both."
 06* Katie smiles a touch, then darts in and gives Kyon a hug.
<Hirameku> (*Kyon doesn't reflexivly set her on fire! They're so cute together!)
 06* Kyon lets out a breath, and tenses up, then relaxes halfway again, hugging 
her lightly back. "Probably like that you try winding me up, too."
 06* Katie 'pffts'. "Everybody likes that."
 01<Katie> I am *so glad* I didn't let Chikako keep you.
 01<Katie> (*sets Gryph on fire*)
 06* Kyon gives her a light pat on the back. "Me too."
<Hirameku> (*is currently made of future metals and is only scorched a little.)
 01<Katie> (Curses!)
 06* Katie pulls away and smiles up at her boyfriend. "So... now what? My place 
or stay out some more?"
 06* Kyon looks back down at her, then towards the bike, in sight now. "Yeah. 
Can take the bike, go somewhere in between. Away from here. Won't keep them 
waiting too long." He smirks. "Don't want to make them regret inviting me."
 06* Katie laughs. "Okay." She starts walking again, the skip back in her step, 
and if Kyon doesn't move with her he's going to get tugged once she steps too 
far.
 06* Kyon picks up his pace smoothly. "Mom comes through sometimes. Book tours. 
She wanted you to meet them both at the same time, though."
 01<Katie> Your mother's an author?
 06* Kyon glances over at her. "Yeah. Under her maiden name."
 06* Katie nods.
 01<Katie> What does she write?
<Kyon> Mysteries. Historical fiction. Goes back and forth.
 01<Katie> That sounds fun.  I don't read a lot of either, but maybe I should 
look sometime.  What's her name?
<Kyon> Kashiwara. Kashiwara Tomoe.
 06* Katie nods again, making a mental note of it.
 06* Kyon adjusts his sunglasses. "Got some of her books around my place, if you 
want a look."
 06* Katie laughs. "Sure, why not." They finally reach the bike, and she looks 
at Kyon expectantly.
 06* Kyon unhooks a helmet for her, and passes it over, before putting on his 
own and straddling the bike, waiting for her to get on, too.
 06* Katie adjusts the helmet as she digs earplugs out of her coat pocket with 
one hand, then quickly puts them in her ears. She's long discovered, after all, 
that motorcycles are LOUD. This is followed by putting the helmet on and getting 
on the bike herself, holding on to Kyon.
 06* Kyon waits until she has a good grip, seizing up only for a moment before 
relaxing on the bike, and then starts the ignition and kicks off!
 01<Katie> (Want to cutscene to wherever they may be going? ^^)
<Kyon> (Sure!)
<Kyon> (I am thinking somewhere small and cafe-ish, not too many people, is 
where he'd choose.)
 01<Katie> (Okay.  I remember there being a Pao Pao Cafe, but that's all Arcana-
y.  There was also that cake parloer from one of the minis that he took her to 
once.)
 01<Katie> (Or could go somewhere entirely different.)
 01<Katie> (They are having cake later, after all. ;P)
<Kyon> (Any of those anywhere near her house?)
<Kyon> (Yeah, he won't be doubling up on the cake.)
 01<Katie> (I don't recall establishing anything near Katie's house.)
<Kyon> (Willing to stipulate he found a quiet, relaxed place somewhere near her 
place within the past year? =P)
 01<Katie> (Yes!)
 03* Grysar (Android@131.sub-75-198-224.myvzw.com) has joined #arcana
<Grysar> (goes to play wii fit while lurking)
<Kyon> [Kyon's destination is a small cafe near her parents' place called Easy 
Epoque. It's a strange mix of French cafe fixings and classic British punk 
posters on the wall. But it's got the best coffee anywhere nearby, and nice 
little sweets and sandwiches!]
<Kyon> (Sure, feel free! And hi. ^_^)
 06* Kyon parks his bike in front, looking in through the window. Good, it's not 
too busy.
 06* Katie also looks through the window. She doesn't show any apprehension, but 
Kyon probably knows from experience that some is there.
 06* Katie removes the helmet and hands it back to him before also removing her 
earplugs.
 06* Kyon takes the helmet and stows it, along with his own, locking down the 
bike. "This good?"
 06* Katie nods. She gets off the bike and heads on in, holding the door open 
for Kyon.
 06* Kyon follows in along behind her. Inside, there's faint, soft covers of 
punk classics mixed in with accordions playing, but the tables are all little 
circles covered in white tableclothes, with firm light wooden chairs. There's 
one open by the window!
 01<Katie> (Accordians and punk.  This place is awesome!)
<Kyon> (It also really feels to me like somewhere you'd find randomly in Japan.)
 06* Katie so completely claims that table. Score!
 01<Katie> (Japan frightens yet intrigues me.)
<Kyon> (My favorite little cafe in Yamagata was Swiss looking, except with 
Springsteen. And lots of manga free to read.)
<Kyon> (These things happen.)
 06* Kyon slides into the seats opposite. "You want anything? Just coffee?"
 06* Katie shakes her head. "Just coffee."
 01<Katie> I'm still full.
 06* Kyon nods, and catches the eye of the waiter, a young man wearing a prim 
black and white uniform matched to an bright red faux-hawk. He holds up two 
fingers, and the man nods back and heads to the counter.
 06* Kyon looks back at her, and there are a few signs of discomfort on his cool 
expression, his eyes a little tighter than usual, his mouth slightly turned 
down. "Shouldn't be long. This place's got good service."
 06* Katie scans the room. "I remember." She looks to Kyon for a moment, noting 
the tension. "Are you okay?"
 06* Kyon blinks a couple of times, and forces his face smooth. "Yeah, fine."
 06* Katie eyes Kyon suspiciously a little longer, then breaks contact, going 
back to idly scanning the room.
<Kyon> [There are lots of interesting little punk decor bits around the room - 
smashed guitar bits, a bottle signed by Johnny Rotten, and the like. And also 
some classic French ads and a little red windmill on a bookshelf.]
 06* Katie idly wonders why the people who put this place together thought that 
this was a good combination. Japan continues to slightly baffle her.
<Kyon> [Not too many other customers in here at the moment. The waiter comes 
back with two allonges in little yellow and white cups, setting them down with 
long sugar packets and a small pitcher of milk. He nods quietly, and walks back 
towards the bar.]
 06* Kyon nods a curt thanks, and then takes his coffee and starts stirring some 
sugar into it, not looking up. "So. You got a place lined up yet for college 
life?"
 01<Katie> No.  Haven't even picked a school yet.  I should do that...
 06* Katie slides her cup closer and starts applying sugar and milk to coffee. 
Seems she likes quite a bit of both.
 06* Kyon nods quickly. "Deadline should be soon, right?"
 06* Katie wrinkles her nose. "Yeah."
 01<Katie> I'm so behind.  Even *Satoshi's* ahead of me on this stuff.
 06* Katie stirs her coffee.
 01<Katie> (Is there something with which to stir my coffee?  I shall assume 
there is!)
<Kyon> (Yeah, let's assume he brought spoons, too?)
 01<Katie> (Good plan.)
<Kyon> [There are small spoons on the saucer with the pitcher!]
 06* Kyon looks up at her, his eyes a little pinched again. "He's got farther to 
go than you have."
 01<Katie> Maybe in distance.  I do figure I'll stay in Japan.
 06* Katie also looks up from her coffee and gives Kyon a tiny smirk that might 
remind him of his own. "I can't just leave you behind, you know?"
 01<Katie> (Alternately, it could be a Kaede smirk, in which case OH MY GOD 
RUN.)
 06* Kyon gives a little wider smirk back, and nods. "Yeah. I figured."
<Kyon> (Well, Kyon'd figure he rubs off on her more by now, anyway.)
 01<Katie> See?  You're already making assumptions and everything.
 06* Katie sips her coffee, sets it down, and adds another splash of milk. Now 
it's practically coffee-flavored milk!
 06* Kyon sticks with just a small amount of sugar, and sips at his own. "Yeah, 
I know. And I shouldn't." He smirks a bit more, but the tension's still there 
around his eyes. "Just how I am."
 01<Katie> I put up with it so far.
 06* Katie sips her coffee again, and she must like it this time, because she 
doesn't add anything else.
 06* Kyon sets his cup down, looking down at the saucer. "Yeah. Yeah, you have." 
He pauses a couple of beats, and then looks up at her. "Going to introduce 
another factor to your decision."
 06* Katie looks back at Kyon. She doesn't say anything this time, just sipping 
her coffee.
 03* Grysar is now known as Grydle
<Grydle> (Heading to bed, let's see if the phone can keep connected well enough 
to give me good logs.)
 06* Kyon fixes one of his armwarmers, and then lays his arm flat on the table. 
"You could move in with me. Now that you've graduated."
<Kyon> (Good luck!)
 01<Katie> (We'll see! :D)
 06* Katie freezes mid-sip, stares at Kyon for a moment, then finishes her sip 
and sets her cup down. "I... could."
<Grydle> (Have fun)
 01<Katie> [Kyon may note that the room's gone quiet.  Well, quieter than 
normal.  Silent, really.]
<Hirameku> (Here's me hoping once again that that burns EP slower than Taki's 
field did.)
 01<Katie> (It doesn't burn any EP at all.)
<Hirameku> ( *Shakes a fist at Katie)
 01<Katie> (XD)
 06* Kyon glances to his side into the restaurant. All the accordions seem to be 
gone. He looks back at her, meeting her eyes. "<Yeah?>"
 06* Katie switches English as well and starts speaking rapidly: "<I don't know. 
This is very sudden. We hadn't talked about it at all before.>"
 01<Katie> <And if I moved in, you'd have to put up with a lot of my ticks and 
habits.  I mean, you do short term, but what about every day and every night?  
You know I don't sleep well.>
 06* Kyon shrugs quickly. "<Got room, if you need it. And it took me a while to 
see that I wanted that. And more to bring it up.>"
 01<Katie> <I...>
 06* Katie pauses, then picks up her coffee again. "<Well, okay.>" She sips.
 06* Kyon raises his eyebrows, looking surprised. "<That's it?>"
 06* Katie laughs. "<I love that look on you.>" She reaches over and grabs 
Kyon's sunglasses, pulling them off his face.
 06* Kyon blinks a couple of times, his eyes looking slightly redder than usual 
before they adjust. He's still a bit too surprised to deal with taking the 
sunglasses back. "<And that's why you put it that way?>"
 01<Katie> <Partially.>
<Kyon> <So what's the rest?>
 06* Katie puts the sunglasses on. "<How do I look?>"
 06* Kyon gives her a crooked smile. "<Like you're wearing my sunglasses.>"
 06* Katie giggles. "<Awesome. Maybe I'll keep them.>"
 01<Katie> <Anyway, I think I'd rather live with you than my parents, and I 
don't want to live by myself.  So if you think you can put up with me, then we 
can try.  At least Kumaguro likes me.>
 01<Katie> <They're still really... I mean, they keep an eye on me a lot, when 
I'm at home.  I think they're scared.  I can't blame them, but it's getting kind 
of old.>
 06* Kyon shakes his head, disbelieving, as he listens, but he looks pleased. 
"<Yeah. Well. Not going to be scared of you.>"
 06* Katie raises an eyebrow. "<You never were? Not even a little bit?>"
 06* Kyon snorts. "<Nah. Because I knew you weren't coming for me.>"
<Kyon> <If I was on the other side, might have been different.>
 06* Katie shakes her head and sips her coffee. "<Well, Mom and Dad don't know 
that much. They're scared for me. I hear them talk about it, still. They're 
afraid I'll get kidnapped again or something.>"
<Hirameku> (You can't see it, but I've giving Kyon an incredious look through 
the screen.)
 01<Katie> (Rowyn's been telling me that he's basically doing the same!)
<Kyon> (Kyon may or may not be telling the whole truth there?)
<Kyon> (He probably is, though.)
 01<Katie> (wait, back up.  what are you giving the look over, Gryph?)
<Hirameku> (Kyon not once being scared of Katie.)
<Kyon> (Actually, that probably is the truth, with a pick-your-own-spin on it.)
<Kyon> (I don't think Kyon ever doubted that he had enough control over Katie to 
keep her from turning on him, at a point where it would have mattered.)
<Kyon> (But that sure doesn't sound like the sentence he said.)
 01<Katie> (Kyon was also very conveniently away most times when she was closest 
to the edge of stabbing/shooting a teammate.)
<Hirameku> (True that.)
<Rowyn> (We were trying to stop her?)
<Rowyn> (Shoot, I knew I was doing something wrong.)
 06* Kyon nods quickly. "<So maybe staying with me will help. Someone close by 
that cares. That's an easy sell.>"
<Kyon> (Yep. So, all in all, I think Kyon is being truthful when he says that. 
It's just a careful way of saying it.)
 06* Katie nods. "<Plus, I love you and enjoy your company. Bonus, right?>"
 06* Kyon pinks a little high on his cheekbones, and nods firmly. "<Right.>" He 
pauses a beat. "<For me, definitely. For them, I hope.>"
 06* Katie smiles. "<It might take some convincing, but they'll come around.>" 
And now she glances at the other customers in the cafe, says, "<Oh,>" and the 
punk rock accordian starts playing again.
 06* Kyon gives a short blink, and then smirks. "<Thought I'd have to sell you 
on it being close to your school. Or a quieter neighborhood.>"
 01<Katie> <I haven't picked my school yet, so you can't sell me on that one.  
And I know your neighborhood is pretty quiet.>
 06* Kyon waves one hand dismissively. "<Yeah, but you could pick one nearby. 
Then it'd be close. And maybe you'd need a reminder.>" He looks at his cup, 
stirring it idly. "<Beyond living with me could be fun.>"
 01<Katie> <Oh, I guess it *could*...  I'll have to pick out what I want to take 
and leave behind.>
 06* Katie continues, flippantly and in a completely direction, "<Maybe I could 
go to your school. I could meet all of your cool college friends.>"
 06* Kyon takes a sip of the coffee, and looks across at her. "<Could meet them 
without going to my school. Wouldn't fit your interests well.>"
 01<Katie> <What, all they care about is baseball?>
 06* Kyon shakes his head quickly, smirking. "<Not those interests. Your 
classes. What you're going for. Stronger faculties for those in other places. 
Some of those're near the apartment, too.>"
 06* Katie hmphs. "<I take it you've done research on this already.>"
 06* Kyon smirks a bit wider. "<Figured it'd help convince you to move in that 
way.>"
 01<Katie> <You're unbelievable.>
 06* Katie takes off the sunglasses and hands them to Kyon. "<Here. We can go 
over options after cake.>"
 06* Kyon takes the sunglasses and puts them back on. "<Works for me.>"
 01<Katie> <Is there anything else you wanted to bring up?>
<Rowyn> (By the way, I already wired the money from your account to the best 
college nearby to pay for the registration fee.)
 01<Katie> (HA.)
 01<Katie> (THAT would probably get him punched.)
<Kyon> <Nah. Nothing that can't wait till later.>
 06* Kyon glances out the window. "<Don't want to keep your parents waiting too 
long.>"
 06* Katie gives Kyon a curious look at the wait for later remark, but she 
doesn't press. "<Nope.>" She has another sip of her coffee, then glances at her 
watch. "<We should get going, I think.>"
 06* Kyon nods back, and sips at his coffee again. "<Yeah. Might as well finish 
up the coffee quickly, though.>"
 06* Katie nods in agreement.
 01<Katie> (And shall we end hereish?  Speed sipping!)
<Kyon> (Sure, it'll save me the embarrassment of trying to decide whether 
Kyon'll say he loves her or anything. Plus, I need to go to bed soon. =P)
 01<Katie> [Session End before Kyon gets even more embarrassed.]