<@Grysar> [Date: April 15th. You're back at the hotel after a busy day that ended in a Broadway show. Akemi is presently leaning out the apartment window and singing over an alleyway. You've got a small room in midtown that's mostly a bathroom and bed, but the bathroom is in the unit and seperated by a door, so that's not really so bad is, it?] <@Grysar> [You took the time to get a repair kit today, there was some comparison shopping and opening a few packages to make sure you'd have everything you need. Akemi set off on her own for about an hour, with an intent to explore some of the shopping districts. However, meeting up again proved harder than either of you expected and you had to hoof it to your show.] <@Grysar> [She's still on a show tune buzz for now, but is notably unadorned by any purchases and hasn't been expressive about what she'll want to do on your last full day. Meanwhile...] <@Grysar> [The laptop is running again, a bit laggy and crash prone but still running. And you've gotten a notice that Hirokazu Okui has a system message. What do you do?] <@Grysar> [Start.] Roathing. Unadulterated roathing! o/~ Kaede is laying on the bed, laptop propped up against his lap as he takes out his tool kit, tools strewn about all over the bed. There's a couple of taps as he goes over the BIOS, trying to survey the damage, both in his head and over the screen. There is a bit of a sigh as he glances at Akemi out on the balcony. His attention is so split. * Akemi has been going on like this for a while, refering more to the lyrics book on the soundtrack CD as her memory fades. <@Grysar> [You're not sure you'll be able to trust the battery, but with some bios fiddling you shouldn't have to deal with anymore crashes tonight.] * Kaede can probably subvert the battery with his own charge. At least for now. There is a bit of a tsssh though. Should have bought another battery. He lets out a long sigh and just falls back on the pillow for a moment, closing his eyes to just...not do anything. A rarity for Kaede. <@Grysar> [It's a few minutes more before Akemi comes to bed, she worked her way through the song, trying a different register for each of the two different registers. She grabs a drink of water and yawns before brushing her teeth and laying out her nightware. * Kaede is just going to let it sit there until Akemi comes back. It was probably a dumb idea to work on it with only a few days left. Not like he has much else to think about in the down time though. <@Grysar> [Akemi is actually quite attentive in her dental care, part of the job. But before too long she emerges. You don't actually recognize the nightie, a turquise chiffon robe with a coral pattern on the sleeves above the cff and the midsection. It shows a lot of leg, but not more than the short short she sometimes wears to bed does. That said, she hasn't really secure the robe's belt, making it more revealing than it would be otherwise. She walks back past the open window and enters the bed with a bounce.] <@Grysar> [A few tools slide off the bed when she does so. Any organization to the strewn tools is certianly lost.] * Kaede curses, ever so slightly, jumping to collect the tools before they fall. He just got those! But after he's caught them, he hazards a glance at Akemi, looking her over. Mostly looking at her face. "That's new..." * Akemi smiles sleepily, head on the pillow. "What do you think?" * Kaede gives a bit of a slight smile as he looks her over. "Special America wear? It doesn't *look* Broadway inspired..." Though he has to admit, it was a good show. Even if he didn't fully understand all of what was going on. * Akemi giggles, "That's because I went shopping before the show, silly." She then stands up atop the bed. She disconnects a small table lamp and holds it in her right hand which she extends upwards at about a 75 degree angle. "More familiar now?" * Kaede gets the image and his eyes blink before he's snorting, covering his mouth before he goes too far. "Oh god. That's too much. Do we need to get you a tiara now to match?" Or did she already get it? Now he's not sure *what* he's supposed to feel about "Sexy Statue of Liberty." * Akemi grins. "I found one, but I'd have to be way angrier with you too buy it." She then glances down. "Oh, the coral is on the outside. Oops. It's reversible to not have a pattern." She starts disrobing to better capture the effect, which incidentally may delight anyone in the neighboring building that is voyeuristically inclined. * Kaede blinks at that. "Way angrier at me?" Is it because it's expensive? Is this how Akemi rages? Through massive binge shopping? He watches for a bit, then frowns, poking at the message with a sigh. "Sorry. Hard to concentrate..." <@Grysar> [The message is a notification that Shuffle is looking to test out some new online voting features. They hope you'll consider participating and think that this is an important opportunity to shape the future of the network. For reasons of poll sampling, you'll have to draw a card twice through friend-finder before being assigned a polling group.] * Akemi slips off the robe and then spins it with a flourish before donning it once again, unpatterned side out. She's actually more photoshoot workmanlike than salacious in the swap. She frowns slightly at the question. * Kaede frowns at the response, muttering. "Again with the cards..." Then he looks up at Akemi's frown. "What?" * Akemi ponders the question for a moment, "It just looked really good and I was frustrated." She pouts, "There's things in New York I can't really get elsewhere, and for the right piece it really would be worth it. But I remembered seeing a few metalworking shops in the tourbook. Those would actually fit better than gems." * Akemi's right arm is shaking a little bit. She stabilizes herself by lefting one bare leg and planting it on Kaede's shoulder. That's better. * Kaede stops what he's doing as he watches Akemi, putting his hand on her foot. "Hey. You doing okay?" * Akemi yawns and murmurs that she's fine. The jetlag seems to be catching up with her some, particularly after a long and busy night out. She'd likely benefit from actually going to sleep and would probably stay out like a light while Kaede worked. That said, she went to some trouble for this particular display and does seem to want to celebrate a night in New York City, to celebrate it with Kaede. <@Grysar> [She'd probably prefer a slightly less frentic day tomorrow. But for that to really work, particularly given the number of things she has on her list, some hard choices about priorities would have to be made and someone with better English skills would have to figure out logistics.] * Kaede sighs as he looks up at her, then looks back at his computer. He's an idiot. "You want me to put this away, don't you...?" * Akemi gently pushes with her foot, maneuvering Kaede to lie flat down on the bed if he doesn't resist. She smiles, "I just want tonight to be about you and me. But it's such a small place, if you'd prefer to leave it on the bed and be uncomfortable..." * Kaede sucks in a breath, putting his fingers to his forehead before taking off his glasses, setting them on the nightstand as well as setting his laptop aside. "I know. It's just..." He looks exhausted. "Things don't stop. Not for us....I wish they did..." * Akemi shrugs ever so slightly and the fold of the fabric changes, flattering her decolletage. Her hair waves, caught slightly in the night breeze. "Things never will stop, will they?" * Akemi wants two contradictory things right now. She'd like assurance that it will get better, that things could be normal. But she also wants honesty, lies do her no good. "And if they don't, where are the boundaries? When do I get to win?" She seems to regret that question and the selfish impulse behind it. But she genuinely doesn't want to fight and would prefer to know what she's entitled to and when she should lower her expectations. * Kaede's lips thin as he considers how best to handle this. Come on, Kaede. You're the two of pentacles, right? Juggling is supposed to be your *strong* suit. He chews on his lip before answering, "Probably not. There will be lulls, here and there, but people will still be people..." A bit of him winces at the question she poses. "...you already won though..." He sounds hurt. * Akemi lets the lamp fall gently to an unused corner of the bed before kneeling down, sitting atop her manager. "I know I did. But the game didn't end when we picked each other. I know you're a master at this but it's exhausting going..." She reaches over to pluck Kaede's glasses off the table and put them on, "My partner is engaged in important work. I should expect 40% of his attention to be elsewhere attending to events back home. In addition, he has received a group email from Andrews so I should expect no more than surface level conversation for the next three hours." * Kaede can't fully look at her, even if she *is* a blur at that. A flinch. She's right on that. And at the same time. "...I don't like it any more than you do..." He lets out a long sigh, pushing aside the tools, then puts his hands around her waist, pulling her forward. "Come here." <@Grysar> [Akemi leans into kiss him. It's actually a little awkward with the glasses and she has to stop for to giggle for a moment before slipping the glasses off again. That time she doesn't stop.] * Kaede takes the kiss and tries to speak. A couple of times really, but she's *eager* when she's eager. He ends up falling backwards, clunking his head lightly against the headboard but his arms are still around her. He does draw back. "It's the Shuffle thing. The Council thing. I mean...people are trying to *rule* us. It's stupid..." He frowns a little. "I'm worried about you too in this, you know?" * Akemi nods. "I know my rights." She frowns a bit in response to his frown and kisses him on the cheek. "I memorized articles 20 to 29 of the constitution for a video in middle school." She then pauses for a moment, suspended above him, notably buxom in a manner not typically associated with the statue of liberty. "What are you afraid will happen to me?" * Kaede sighs. "That you get drawn into all of this too. That they start..." He frowns. "We don't need to be *governed*. That's just ridiculous. And the laws they come up with...I mean..." He takes in a deep breath. "Nanami was involved. You remember. What if they start making rules that none of that matter? That we can't go after anyone who treats non-Arcana like that. What then?" * Akemi begins unbuttoning Kaede's shirt. "You think I don't worry about you when you talk about 'going after people?' What if the rules make sense, like 'don't commit crimes?'" * Akemi looks a bit proud at that rule. It's simple, straightforward, would solve a lot of problems. * Kaede frowns at that, looking aside. "Yes. That would be more believeable if they weren't actively excluding people..." He looks worried for a moment, then sighs, lifting up to brush his hair. "This is stupid, I know. But what can I do to let you know that you're part of the team too? An important part..." He looks at her best he can with that. * Akemi finishes with the shirt buttons and then undoes Kaede's belt, one handed, with a somehow dainty grunt. "So, I don't want to go after anyone. And if they try to make me do anything I don't want, I can just tell Yusuke- kun and Shika-chan that I'm unhappy about it. I try to stay away from politics, but..." She runs her hand down Kaede's chest. "After this, you can sign me up. I'll tell you if the rules are dumb." * Akemi's voice is light and airy as she speaks, but there's a hint of steel in her eyes as she cavalier mentions her options for expressing her disappointment. She doesn't seem to think Kaede's concerns are dumb, but she's not really scared about anything Kaede's raised. * Kaede takes in a small breath. He doesn't think it's necessarily that easy to stay so care free about this. But he's not going to suffer an argument over it here. He reaches over for her. "You don't need to sign yourself up. I didn't mean that, I'm sorry. Let's just forget about it, alright?" * Akemi puffs her cheeks out and sits up, playing with the button on Kaede's pants. "I know I don't need to. But I'd rather be there by your side than spend my nights alone because you're trying to solve all of our problems for us. I don't like to fight, but I'm not helpless, you know?" * Kaede smiles and looks at her. "I'd like us to be more a team, yes..." * Akemi finishes with the button and then whips off Kaede's belt, letting it drop by the side of the bed with a flair. She then puts slips her hands under his shirt, spreading it at she puts her palms on his shoulders and then leans in. "So let's do it. Promote me on Shuffle. Figure out the rules we need to use it safely." She continues, each word interrupted with a kiss, "Combine. Our. Forces." * Kaede kisses her back, then looks her in the eyes, suddenly smiling. "I like the sound of that." But for now, she was right. He had to let her win sometimes. This was one of those times. <@Grysar> [Later that evening, or, judging by the clock, early the morning of the 16th, Akemi lounges in bed, somehow the robe is more lavacious than if she wasn't wearing anything at all.] * Akemi yawns. "Alright, let's do it. Sign me up tonight. Tomorrow, your electronics stay in the drawer." * Kaede is used to that effect. Akemi is a *master* of that effect. He reaches over to touch her hair. "Get some rest..." He's got the laptop back, though he's got a half-uncertain look. "...so long as they don't try talking to me." They always try talking to you. <@Grysar> [The laptop is still a little slow, but it's booted up and Kaede's got browser windows, network monitors, and debugging tools all at the ready.] * Kaede can't *help* if his electronics are chatty. A wry grin pops up as he turns to her. "I won't talk back, alright." It's not a question. Alright. Back to business. Let's see what we've got. <@Grysar> [Same state. Kaede has access to one other person's email. He also has the Hirokazu account that has accessed special features, but it's asking for a card draw before showing him more. He's been passed spare codes by Taki via Haruko, so creating an account is easy. Finally he could just explore more with his talents and powers, although Yorihisa has obviously been beefing security so there are risks there.] * Akemi stretches, "Alright." * Kaede opens the other account first. Let's go with the easier one. The fake is more of a smoke screen. It worked while it lasted. And at least he's been doing the standard of not keeping a static IP. <@Grysar> [Done, the account is seeing some use, but not at the moment. The user has tried out friend finder before and has access to some voting features, but all that's on display for this ordinary person are some survey tools with banal questions about site layout.] <@Grysar> [That said, in exploring even an ordinary account and its features, you do get the sense that if you put your mind to it, you could probably figure out what is off about the system and what countermeasures might be available.] * Akemi has been dropping in and out of sleep. That said, she has decreed that it "Need more options, like for photos. What if you want a big photo at the top that's wide and not like a rectangle. Well, I guess still a rectangle, but a different sort..." And she's dozing again. * Kaede does a couple of reviews of features as he goes through, checks on forum posts, that sort of thing. All that social networking has to offer. <@Grysar> [Kaede actually finds a great deal of information. The service actually offers APIs that a few different developers have played around with. As with most social media sites, you can share a great deal, more than you intended. That said, there are clear demarcations between users you are linked to and those you are not. Similarly, it's much easier to do something carefully if it's one-on-one rather than involving multiple people. Similarly it may be possible to fool the people you're interacting with and the network administrators and others that can get backstage, however it's hard to fool them both at once.] <@Grysar> [All that said, it's also increasingly obvious that the card draw is part of a two-factor authentication system. This has been rather puzzling to some of the more traditional network security experts who tend to either dismiss it as superstitious nonsense or figure it's part of some sort viral marketing alternate reality game that they just haven't solved yet.] * Akemi drifts awake again briefly, eyes a bit out of focus, staring at the screen. She makes a few cute sounds that are somewhere on the border between English and Japanese but don't really make sense in either language. <@Grysar> [And Kaede, with a bit of finesse, is able to convince the system that while it's not sure which Arcana he is, he actually is some sort of Arcana. That bit mystically flipped, Yusuke's account activity is unlocked.] <@Grysar> [Akemi intently studies his page as Kaede notes that he's downloaded the guide to election document; a biography on the first seated Pentacle Council Memeber, Yorihisa Murimura; and the guide to declaring yourself a candidate. The documents themselves aren't directly available, but the filenames were descriptive enough to clue Kaede in.] <@Grysar> [And with that done, even Kaede needs his sleep.] <@Grysar> [End!]