[Tuesday, March 9th, evening.] [Rowyn] Kaede gets home from the incident at Pao Pao Cafe late afternoon, exhausted. Akemi greets him at the door and talks minorly about work calls, a new gig, her classes, what's for dinner, and some new clothes she would like to try out for the summer. She has pictures. Of course she already has pictures. Because she wouldn't be Akemi if she didn't pose in a scandalously skin-exposing bikini in the beginning of March. The usual Kaede response is to awkwardly point out how odd that is, which leads to getting a kiss on the cheek. And a hug. She does hint at needing to go out and buy new clothes and encourages him to come with. After all, knowing the latest fashion is important in her line of work. Sadly, Kaede has other plans and Akemi heads off by herself, somewhat disappointed. He sighs. Haruko first gets the text. It's a quick one. "We need to talk. Rather. Wataru and one of us need to talk." He looks at it for a moment, frowning as if other words should appear. It just seems like it's far too short and doesn't convey the need. --- [Grysar] Haruko's initial response would let Kaede know that "Agree. We spoke, but not about Pao Pao Cafe. Yamada-san had gotten troubling news. Didn't seem ready to do anything, but preferred to talk about it 1-on-1." "Given his news I decided this wasn't the time. But important before we next work with Kyoko or go into a tense situation." "With my methods, he's most likely to listen to me if he's not actively fretting about something else. If you feel the time is right for your methods, I trust your judgment." "From you might get more respect. After our talk, I suspect he feels I'm soft. Please let me know if I can reinforce aid in reinforcing your message." --- [Rowyn] Kaede doesn't respond overtly, though he does snort at "too soft." Even the newblood saw it then. Though context....it didn't really matter at this point, did it? Settling down for a quick dinner of soba, he settles down at his computer. He needed to be called. He also needed to work. And complete this assignment. Clearly, that meant all three at once, though one was more a matter of survival than others. Right. Work emails set. He put on...huh. Did he even need earphones? He puts them on anyway. It's weird without them. Mike adjusted and set, he goes to call Wataru while engaged in pretty much everything else. --- [Jihatsu] Wataru's just getting home from running a few errands post-Haruko, when his phone rings. He puts down his bags, key in hand, and answers. "Hello?" --- [Rowyn] Kaede, of course, can't see any of this, working on his computer in the background. "We need to talk." The tone isn't scolding, but it is very direct. Headsets are a godsent, even if they're unnecessary. Helps to focus the background noise. --- [Jihatsu] "Yes we do," Wataru agrees, somewhat emphatically. "Hold on, let me get my door open. One sec." He reaches for his keys! --- [Rowyn] The response from the other end of the line is "Take your time" in an obvious tone of one who's not used to saying that phrase. Clacking of keys on computer keys echo in the receiver on the other end. Other emails need to be attended to, Shuffle needs to be looked in on, business needs to be coordinated. And the next 10 websites of prospective designers need to be researched. A flowchart on the computer desk depicts various coordinations that need to take place and by when, the Auto Club Photo Shoot being a definite thing "on the list" at this point. --- [Jihatsu] It doesn't take much time at all, unlocking and dumping his stuff on the floor before shoving the door back closed with his butt. "Okay," he says, walking over to the couch. "You first or me first? Actually," he says, "before you say anything, let me tell you - I know I messed up today. I was stupid, and I reacted badly, and I very nearly screwed all of us over. The reason things turned out fairly okay is not me. I know that. So, let's talk, but I just... I wanted that out there." He flops down on the couch, shoes still on. --- [Rowyn] There's a pause of silence on the other end. Even the typing stops. There's a small, disarming sigh before he adjusts his glasses, looking over the latest e-mail. Multitasker extraordinaire. "Well, that's a start. Where exactly did you screw up then?" --- [Jihatsu] Wataru opens his mouth to answer, but then frowns. "Well, I think my biggest screwup is probably obvious, but...." He rubs his forehead with his knuckles. "I think... Honestly.... ...Going in there without enough information. If I'd had a better idea what to expect..." He shakes his head. "Which is at least equally my responsibility, so." --- [Rowyn] Kaede rubs his forehead a bit, thinking of how best to respond to this. There's another sigh. "Not everything is as obvious or as clear as you might think, I might find. As for going in without enough information..." The tone is somber as he adds, "Welcome to your new life as Arcana." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru has a bitter chuckle. "Thanks. But I really *could* have known more, and from now on I'm going to be more careful. I mean - a *spear*? Like, I didn't even -" He shakes his head. "There's so much I don't know. But there's stuff I *could* have known, and that would have changed a lot about how this morning went down." He has a heavy sigh, not quite into the phone, so it may or may not be audible. It's ridiculous that that was this morning. It's ridiculous that last night was last night. --- [Rowyn] Kaede's voice is calm and controlled. "I *did* mention to watch out for her stabbing you, I'll note..." Though maybe the context was missing a bit. His voice doesn't put out there that it's entirely a joke. A bit of a deflation though. "No. The main difficulty is two fold. There's a lack of trust going on here. By acting on it as you did..." There's a couple of taps of keys again in the background. "We stated we have dealt with Ozora-san before. That...should have been enough. But I get the impression you didn't trust us enough to act in time...Yamada-san, was it? Yamada-san?" --- [Jihatsu] Wataru shrugs, although obviously Kaede can't see it. "I don't like 'watch out, we've dealt with her before and she's stabby' when that actually means 'she can manifest a spear out of freaking nowhere and has a hair trigger, but follow our lead and she probably won't actually hurt you'. It's.. Like... I *know* I'm new to all this. And I know you know it. But I feel maybe you all underestimate how little I actually know - like - I had no idea that manifesting spears was even an option, and I *still* barely grasp fields. I'm not blaming anybody, and a lot of the responsibility's definitely on me, but that trust thing's gotta go both ways. I can try not to be jumpy about sudden movements, but..." He sighs again, his train of thought unraveling. He rubs his eyes under his glasses. --- [Rowyn] Kaede pinches his eyes closed as he rubs the bridge of his nose. Right. Here we go. "So you think we would have drawn you into a potential trap? Should I have prepared a manual?" He scowls into the microphone, edging forward with a sharpness to his voice. "Yes, manifesting spears is an option. Anything is a potential option. So think for a moment. How do you feel that we might have reacted to someone muttering incantations out of nowhere of unknown origin? Or did you forget that you neglected to tell us of this power as well? Do you think we react well to something we don't know about?" There's a long sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose yet again. "Trust goes both ways, Yamada-san. If we are going to continue to work together, that needs to get out of the way early on. Your option to go it alone is always on the table..." --- "Oh wow, okay, take a step back, man. I fucked up, jeez, I get it! You don't need to fly off the handle all the way to 'going it alone is always an option'. I said trust goes both ways, didn't I?" Wataru sits up straighter."And why would I think you were drawing me into a trap? How did you get *there* from me wishing I'd known more and could have been better prepared, which, like, I'm sorry, but that's on both of us. I'm telling you I'm willing to put myself out there more, to lay more out on the table and take more risks for all of you, but if I'm gonna do that I really don't think it's reasonable for you to treat me like I'm some tricksy third party. Trust is hard. For me, and obviously for you too. I get it. It makes sense, I'm not even questioning that. But seriously? I'm trying my damndest to be a member of this team, even if I'm not always the best at it. But it's ... You gotta meet me halfway, man." * Kaede rubs the bridge of his nose. "I *got* there from you being reactive and not trusting us to handle the situation, Yamada-san. I was *almost* getting to the point where you felt workable. I wonder if you even hear yourself excusing your own behavior..." He takes in a deep breath. "It's difficult, yes. You know most peoples first real experience meeting new Arcana? Threatening to be eaten. Or locked in a field and locked up in a room. Yours has been practically *amenable* comparatively." He sighs. "Are you truly willing to work harder?" "Yes, Takeuchi-san." He sighs, closing his eyes as he flops back onto the couch. Man, what an asshole. * Kaede takes a sigh as he leans back in his seat as well. Yes. What an asshole. "Tell me something, Yamada-san. Why *this* team?" * Wataru thinks about this for a moment. "You seem to be on the side of things that I feel most comfortable with. And you've been welcoming, without it being, I dunno, shady. I feel I've made some real connections with some of you." * Kaede nods and leans back further in the chair, taking off his glasses for now and rubbing the inner corners of his eyes. "Me not being one of them?" It doesn't sound accusatory. Sounds rather matter of fact, in fact. "It's not like we got off on the right foot," Wataru admits. * Kaede nods. "Perhaps not." He speaks slowly. "Let me be perfectly honest with you, Yamada-san. I am willing to work with you because other people wish for me to work with you. And, to your credit, you have handled many things better than most in your shoes..." * Wataru waits for the 'but'... But you do not really care to know me. That's fine. I can work with that. But that makes this more of a business relationship than a partnership. Which, incidently, I don't exactly care for... "Mh, I said we got off on the wrong foot, and I can do business if we gotta do business. You really assume a lot about people, though, don't you. Why do you think I don't care to know you?" * Kaede takes in a deep breath and then he leans forward. "What efforts have you made thus far?" "We emailed a couple times. I approached you about that internet stuff. Agreed to work on the Ozora project with you. I'm a - a pretty introverted, solitary guy, Takeuchi-san. I've made like *infinitely* more efforts with you, than with, like, 100% of my classmates. Just for comparison." * Kaede nods. "The other though is that you seem to have made a lot of assumptions about me already as well. You seem to want this magical preparation kit for dealing with Arcana. It does not exist. And as a result, you almost cost us an ally through brash actions..." Groaning, he rubs the bridge of his nose. "It would not be the first time..." So. Honesty, Yamada-san. I'm going to help you prepare best I can. But for me to *do* that...I need to know exactly what you can do... Not a magical preparation kit. Just a bit more than two sentences when meeting someone new, you know, if at all possible. * Wataru sighs. "I'll tell all of you more about what I can do, yeah. The... Today, I was just... I can prevent people from inflicting physical harm. I don't think it hurts them. It just keeps them from hurting others. So that's a thing I can do. I thought she was going to - whatever. Anyway." * Kaede sighs. "She might have tried. She is usually easier to stop when she is not feeling threatened... Most people are." * Haruko, meanwhile, has changed out of her Miko garb and slouches in her chair back in her dorm room, resuming an exchange started before this conversation, she painfully rewrites a few time to avoid her usual brevity in messages. Before I pass out into sleep, I wanted to say you did well with Kyoko-san. You helped get through when I wasn't. We made a good team when things got tense. * Kaede almost jumps at the sudden vibration, nevermind Mimi shouting in his ear that he GOT A MESSAGE! There's a clatter on the other end of the headsets as he scrambles to grab his phone. .....Takeuchi-san? * Kaede flicks up the phone slightly and scowls, more from the scrambling than looking at the text. To Wataru, he replies "Just a message from Haruko." * Wataru worries what this might mean. Hm. "Okay. Well..." This mention of Haruko reminds Wataru of what he wanted to talk to Kaede about in the first place, and his mood darkens even more. Right. That. * Kaede then pauses, turning back. "Prevention of physical harm?" His voice is more curious. "How does it work?" * Haruko looks at her phone with no small amount of trepidation. She types out a bit more but doesn't send yet. Not sure if Mimi provides that level of detail on what Haruko is doing with Uhura. I'm... not sure. It binds them. I've only ever actually used it once, and I didn't really see the effects. But it worked. They weren't able to hurt anyone. * Kaede nods, then turns to the headphones. "And what if you had accidently hit one of us with it?" Just asked casually. Then you wouldn't be able to physically hurt anyone. But I'm not sure how that works? I don't think I can *accidentally* do that to somebody. It is all about intent, after all. * Wataru sighs and runs a hand through his hair, mussing it up. Bleh, what a day. * Kaede sighs in response. "But you don't know. And you didn't tell us what it would do. So we would naturally react. Which would have meant one less of us to defend you against Ozora-san if worse came to worse..." He rubs his nose again. "Perhaps it works as you intended, but you can see how it could have went far south very quickly...even if it seemed harmless..." * Haruko makes a face, formalizes the text a bit more and hits send on the follow-up to Kaede. I don't mean to abdicate my role in what remains, but I could use some guidance. When you're ready, please let me know how I can aid you in the design. Much of what you said to Kyoko-chan were things I was already feeling. I trust you in your role, but don't know what you need. * Wataru frowns, hand on his head. "You're right," he says. "No, you're right. I'll do my best not to let something like that happen again." He tangles his hand in his hair... "So, listen, this is kind of a change of topic but it's related. Something happened yesterday that really hit me hard, and that's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. I would probably have called you if you hadn't first." * Kaede gives a small nod, not that Wataru can see it. And waits. He is flicking through the phone and frowning a little at Haruko's text. This is...odd. * Wataru exhales. "So, an owl visited me at work." * Kaede pauses at the response, only hesitating for a few moments before he replies with "...Norishige?" "Apparently. But... it gets worse. The owl had a scroll; the scroll had a seal on it, with a figure of the Hanged Man." He takes a deep breath, working at not freaking out. "Inside the scroll was an invitation. To Shuffle." * Kaede's voice gets fairly distant as he replies, "Keep going..." * Wataru takes a breath before continuing. "I don't think they know I'm connected with you guys at all. The letter was weirdly deferential and also smug. I..." he pulls off his glasses, rubs his eyes. "They know where I work, but probably not where I live. And they're not tracking my communications, as far as Katie and I could figure. She came over last night; we... talked about this for a long time." * Kaede closes his eyes. "I had no idea." He pauses. "Katie Andrews is a good one to talk to." He gives a small pause. "...although I did encourage a *healthy* does of paranoia..." * Wataru nods... "I... I'm trying to figure out what to do." He lets that hang there. * Kaede pauses. "What do you *want* to do?" Honestly? Run away and hide in a hole for the rest of my life. * Wataru has a brittle chuckle. "But that's not gonna happen." * Kaede shrugs. "As I said, your choice. The matter of fact is, Yamada-san, we existed before you. We will continue to exist after you. So joining with us is entirely up to you." * Kaede types on the computer for a moment. "I do not mean that in an insulting way. It's fully truthful. If you wish to leave, that is your option. And I am simply reminding you of that fact..." * Kaede closes his eyes though. "However, if you *do* wish to help us...it might help to have someone without the connections *we* do on the inside." * Wataru rubs his eyebrow with a knuckle. "It kinda sounds worse when you say it," he admits. "But that's where my thoughts have been ending up lately, too." * Haruko changes to her nightwear and sends off one final message. "The advice you gave in your store long ago, to be gracious in my interpretation of your words, has helped a lot. Things might have been different if I'd consistently followed it and not forgotten it." She writes a bit more beyond it, tries a few seperate wordings, and then gives up adding only a "Thank you and goodnight." She then silences her phone and plugs it in to charge. * Kaede takes a pause, then there's a slight smirk. "Welcome to Arcana. Everything is worse if you actively think about it." He takes a breath. "I will need to know more about you. More about what you can do. If I'm to be the designer, I will need to know *everything*. Otherwise, I can't properly decide what we should do..." He pauses. "May wish to get Kinsha-san in on that..." For Shuffle, or for Ozora? * Wataru continues without waiting for an answer, "Either way, once I have a better idea of what I'm gonna do here, I think it might not be a bad idea for all of us to meet. Then I can tell you all what I can do, and you can, I dunno, give me some pointers and advice not to be murdered by Satoshi's mom." * Wataru presses the ball of his free hand against his eye. Christ, what am I getting myself into. * Kaede pauses, then states, more seriously, "Ah... Honestly. That is entirely new territory for *all* of us..." * Wataru nods, sighing. "I haven't told Satoshi yet. About Shuffle, I mean." He pauses. "Do... do you mind letting me break it to him? I've got to figure out the right thing to say." * Kaede pauses. Confused. Then responds with an odd questioning tone, "Why would *that* matter...?" * Wataru is confused by his confusion. "What, how I say it...? I just don't want him to freak out, you know? I mean, it's hard enough on him that she's back. I know he won't like this." God, he won't like it at all. "I've got to find a way to break it to him. But I promise I'll do it within the next few days. Couple days." * Kaede blinks. Seriously confused. "He...break what to him? I'm not sure why it would matter to Watanabe-san. If you're helping, you're helping..." * Wataru shakes his head. "Never mind." He can't even figure out why Kaede's confused, and he's *way* too tired to deal with it now. "Is it just okay with you if you leave it to me?" * Kaede sighs. "I suppose. Though I'm not even certain why I would tell him in the first place. He doesn't need to know every detail of what is going on Arcana-wise. Watanabe-san has his own life..." Yeah, but this is his -- anyway. Thanks, I really appreciate it. * Kaede takes in a small breath. "Yes. Well...I can see how that would be confusing. With the owl as well. But I assure you. It makes a sick amount of sense if you understand Arcana." He closes his eyes. "...I know it is not easy to take criticism. So I thank you for at least listening." * Wataru shrugs, but it's amiable. "Sure thing." [And the call ends amiably.]