<@Grysar> [Date: Saturday May 1st. Midday. The day has been a little cool, with on and off rain, but the noonday sun is out. At the Sorata manor, by the edge of the mountains, the temperature is in the mid teens celsius.] <@Grysar> [Kyon had a game in the early afternoon Friday, and then he and Katie caught the train north, arriving last evening. This morning, Kyon was spending doing a bit of catch up at the neighboring brewery while Katie went off to explore an Aomori point of interest. She was planning on being out long enough to get lunch are her own.] <@Grysar> [Meanwhile, Tomoe invited her son home after the morning's business for a homecooked meal, ganmodoki. Kyon, being a reasonably astute individual, knows that there may be some gently probing questions as part of the meal, but some things don't change even once you are officially an adult.] <@Grysar> [As we open, the fine feast is spread, and the initial pleasantries are out of the way. <@Grysar> [Start!] * Kyon looks over the spread, wearing a cream-colored button down shirt, charcoal trousers, and a pair of blue house slippers. He settles in at the table. "You're sure there's nothing I can do to help?" "Sit," Tomoe says. She smiles. "Let your mother be a mother. You can tell me about your last game," she suggests, serving steaming white rice into small blue bowls. * Kyon settles into his seat, then, tucking his feet under the chair. "Went fine. We won 5-2. 2 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, seven strikeouts in 7 innings. Going to try to work in more sliders next time." * Tomoe places the rice bowls on the table. "Well done. Did some of your friends attend the game?" * Kyon shakes his head, and then smirks. "Just fans, no friends. Signed a couple of t-shirts after they took me out of the game." "Oh, that's nice," she says. She puts some salad on plates. "That's happening more and more, isn't it." * Kyon nods curtly. "Been a good season thus far. And some of them have been following me since Koshien. One of them even had bleached their hair orange." * Tomoe blinks, then rolls her eyes. "That seems like a lot of work," she smirks. * Kyon shrugs curtly. "Can't convince people not to do it. I wouldn't ask." He reaches over to pour her some water. "But then they want pictures together. They like matching." "So this wasn't the first one?" She lovingly places three big pieces of ganmodoki - freshly fried and drained - on Kyon's plate, and serves herself two as well. * Kyon nods quickly. "Yeah, a couple of times now. Usually it's just t- shirts, though. Kids can't go to school like that usually." "I bet their mothers had some words for them." Her lips are pressed together in what Kyon surely recognizes as her holding back a smile. She brings the plates to the table! * Kyon looks down, pleased, and offers her a small, open smile. "Thanks. This looks great. And yeah, they probably did." * Tomoe seems pleased as well. She takes her own seat! Soy sauce and mustard are already out on the table, for easy condimenting. * Kyon settles in and tries the food. He just takes a regular piece and some rice and tries it, looks happy, and then tries some pickles. Hard to go wrong with pickles. * Tomoe takes some pickles as well! Pickles are delightful. "How's school going?" * Kyon takes up some rice, and shrugs curtly. "Pretty well. Learning some useful techniques in the business classes. Getting feedback in the writing ones. Making connections. Keeping as low a profile as I can manage." "That must pose a challenge, sometimes." * Kyon nods back, and then gestures a flat hand out over his rice equanimically. "Easier once we're further into the term, though. People get the gawking out of the way earlier on. It's just a challenge for group work sometimes." "Does your coach give you any advice on these things?" She takes a bite of the hot crunchy patty. * Kyon snorts. "Not about school stuff. It's not his place." "I would think that many young players have this problem," she says, brow creasing with a short frown. "Your sempai from the team, then?" * Kyon frowns. "For general life stuff, yeah. But most players don't try going to school and playing in the big leagues at the same time. Just a lot to juggle." * Tomoe smiles a bit. "I'm sure someone's done it before. Didn't we look into this a few years ago?" * Kyon nods quickly. "But there's no real way through. I just have to try talking with them like I'm any other student." "That sounds smart. And they'll get used to it. Do your professors treat you appropriately?" * Kyon nods, and then smirks a little as he breaks open on of his ganmodoki. "Except the one who asked for tickets, but I took care of that." * Tomoe gasps, mock scandalized. "The nerve of some people!" She quirks a smile. * Kyon nods, still smirking. "A violation of the code of ethics of the university." "I would think so." She chomps into her ganmodoki! * Kyon nods back, and takes a big bite of his own. "And then that never happened again." "Good." She has a bit of rice! "And how is Katie-chan?" * Kyon takes up one of the pickles. "She's all right. Doing well with school. Looking forward to this trip." "It'll be nice to spend some time with her again. What do you two have planned, besides her visits today?" * Kyon taps his chopsticks against his bowl. "Visit with you, of course. Hiking and birdwatching, going out to the lake. Touring the brewery, checking out the Nebuta and the archeology museums when the weather's worse. It's a full trip. Might need to save some for next time." * Tomoe tries not to look too beamish. "Oh, all that sounds lovely. I might join you at the brewery, if you like, it's been a while since I actually visited." She pauses, looking thoughtful. "You know, we could also stop by the Sakurano and pick her up a nice yukata. The new ones for the summer have just arrived." * Kyon cocks his head. "Going to the brewery should be fine. You'd have to ask Katie about the yukata. But there could be some good patterns for her in the summer." "It's a shame you both can't make it for the matsuri." * Kyon shrugs quickly. "Maybe some year where it fits better with the team schedule. Or if there's a team closer to work from as a base." * Tomoe nods! Mm! * Kyon looks wistful. "Haven't gotten to see the Nebuta in years." "I know," she says, almost like it's fine. "Oh, and you used to like it so much." * Kyon looks down at his dumplings, and resets the chopsticks against his armwarmer. "Some good festivals around the Tokyo area, too." "Oh, yes. Do you have a favourite?" She has a bit of salad! * Kyon shrugs dismissively, and finishes off the first of the ganmodoki. "The neighborhood one where we are is good. Otherwise, nothing really special." "It's nice to have one in your neighbourhood. I've always loved the little local ones. Nebuta is wonderful, of course, but it's so overwhelming, although I suppose that is the charm." She dabs at the corner of her lips with a napkin. "I'll always remain fond of the neighbourhood ones we used to have growing up, though. It's nice that you and Katie can make those kinds of memories." * Kyon nods back to her curtly. "Yeah, I've heard about those. I think these are like that. Nothing huge. Just people getting together to put on a little celebration." "It feels so sincere." * Kyon nods curtly. "If we stay in the area, we'll try to get involved more. At least help plan. Offer to put in an appearance, or some drinks." "Is Katie-chan on good terms with the neighbours?" * Kyon shrugs quickly, and takes up some more pickles. "She isn't on bad terms with them. Mostly she's busy with school. So she doesn't see them too much." "I can't remember if there are many other young couples in the building." * Kyon pops a pickle in his mouth. "Some. Got another one on our floor. Katie talks about them with me pretty often." "Oh? Is she friends with them?" * Kyon shrugs and picks out another piece of his ganmodoki. "Not that close. But you live close by, you can't help but interact with the neighbors." * Tomoe nods, picking up some pickle. "Hopefully they're not any trouble. Especially if they have small children." No one on our floor does. Keeps things quieter. "Oh, I can imagine, yes. Children certainly make things more interesting." She offers a small smile. * Kyon smirks. "They do. They take up a lot of time, too. I hear about it from some of the older men on the team." "You can take it from your mother that they're not wrong." She pops the pickle into her mouth! * Kyon snorts a laugh and takes up a pickle. "I never got in the way at all." "You? Certainly not. Your father never once found you jammed between two kegs at the brewery, and my memories of small fingers swiping carrots from the counter before I could cook them are, doubtless, the meanderings of an ageing mind." * Kyon picks up some pickles, and says diplomatically, "At least there were no carrots left between the kegs." "Parents thank heaven for small mercies every day." She unflappably takes a bite of ganmodoki. * Kyon smirks. "So what small mercies are you thanking the gods for today?" "Oh, today is easy. You're here, aren't you?" * Tomoe has a momentary shyness, busying herself with her rice. * Kyon barks a laugh, and shakes his head. "It has been a while." "I should try to go down to Tokyo more often, really," she muses. "I'm sure Nozomu can look after himself for a day or two." She doesn't actually seem all that sure. Just have someone bring him meals, and he should be fine for a couple of days. * Tomoe emits her own sudden bark of laughter! "Oh no, you're right, I would hate to just have him eating yakisoba sandwiches and One Cup sake for two days. I'll have to talk to Ishii-san." * Kyon nods back to her. "Good. Yakisoba sandwiches are a bad life." He takes one more ganmodoki from the plate. * Tomoe sort of cannot even with her son's stellar sense of humour. She keeps her cool, but it's a struggle. "Do you think Katie-chan would be very against me visiting?" * Kyon nods curtly. "If you stay in the old apartment, she'd be fine for sure. And we could clear schedules." "Maybe I could aim for that festival you were mentioning. Unless that's a special time you'd rather just spend with Katie-chan," she suggests. * Kyon shrugs quickly. "Can check with her, but it should be fine. At least as long as we get some of the time to ourselves, as well." "Of course." She breaks off a piece of ganmodoki. "She cares about you very much, you know." * Kyon nods back, and looks down at the serving plate. "I know." "She's a very strong woman. That strength has carried her a long time, and now she's offering it to you. I just don't want you to underestimate what that means." * Kyon flicks his gaze up towards her from the plate, not raising his head. "I know exactly how much it means. And I wouldn't waste it." * Tomoe nods, once. "Some things, I have found, can be a challenge for even the best of men to see." She inhales softly. "But choosing to take up the challenge, even with stumbles along the way, might be the truest form of love." * Kyon leans back in the chair slightly. "I'll keep that in mind." He smirks a little. "I've read all of your books, you know." * Tomoe smiles, warmly. "And I've read all of yours." * Kyon snorts. "You're still winning that side of the trade. I've got a long way to go." "You're young. Not to mentioning juggling careers in a way that would make most people wilt. I'm just a housewife," she says, demurely. * Kyon definitely smirks at that one. "That's the interview line." "Drat, seen right through me." <@Ciara> [End!]