<@Ciara> [Date: Saturday, May 8th. Time: Afternoon] <@Ciara> [Kyon and Haruko are meeting up to talk about Kyon's meeting with Ken the previous day.] <@Ciara> [They're back at Easy Epoque. Well, Kyon's already a regular. He could probably even have the same table as yesterday if he wants.] <@Ciara> [Does he want? What will they order? Let's find out!] <@Ciara> [Session Start!] * Kyon does indeed want, assuming it's open. It's a good table. But first, there is ordering - he goes to the counter, wearing his baseball cap and sunglasses, dark blue button-down shirt with his jacket over it, and grey pants. He looks over the menu, and orders a vanilla black tea and a chicken and caramelized onion sandwich. * Haruko is trying out a new dress she's been experimenting with, it has a simple blue bottom layer with gossamer secondary layers atop in both darker blue and sea foam. The bottom of the dress is a series of overlapping diamond cuts. Her motorcycle signalled her arrival a minute or so before she walked in. * Kyon leans back against the counter, standing a bit off to the side so as not to block people, and waits for her to come in. He offers a curt wave as she enters. * Haruko gives a curt nod back, intentionally surpressing her smile to see him but not entirely succeeding. She notes his position and puts in her own order for an interesting sound variant on seafood salad with green tea. * Kyon gestures quickly back to the table he'd picked out already. "You set? They'll bring the orders over." I am. * Haruko follows his lead. * Kyon heads back over the table, adjusting his armwarmers, and settling into his seat. He waits a couple of beats to see where she wants to start here. * Haruko gives him half a beat to see if he'll take the lead. When he doesn't, she naturally bubbles over. "No news on the campaign trail I'm afraid." I'm working on some meetings, but it may help to have some agenda items or maybe like a small pamphlet worth of arguments. * Kyon nods quickly, and smirks. "We putting together brochures?" * Haruko looks contemplative in response, she raises one hand in a half shrug. "I don't know. Seems like a better idea than cars driving through Tokyo broadcasting your message. But obviously printed materials can be dangerous. Never liked those sound trucks anyway. Don't say anything useful. If we're making a brochure, then it has to be deniable, if it's got my face on it. But there may be ways around it. * Haruko nods. "I guess think how comfortable you are putting stuff up on Shuffle. Maybe enemy territory, but I've been playing around some and you can post stuff and links, limited to our select group. Or maybe put a poster up in the Tower with your calling card, as it were, but not your face." * Kyon nods quickly. "Or both. It's a small group overall. People know me. We put up the card, they should know where to link it. And if we're doing it, we should get any potential voters we can. Not that large a group either." * Haruko smiles a little, this she can work with. She brings out her phone and opens a locked notebook. "Sounds good boss, so, can you give me three key points? Virtues you want to emphasize, things you want to accomplish, promises you fee safe making, whatever." * Haruko elaborates as Kyon thinks. "Like for the Maki for Motor Club president campaign, she's running on..." Haruko twists her hand, raising a finger with each word. "Diligence, organization, snacks." * Kyon nods back, frowning slightly. "Leadership. Steadiness." The frown flips to a smirk. "Beer." * Haruko pecks each of those into her phone snorting but smiling widely at the last. "Behind you 100%." * Kyon smirks more. "Playing up the family background probably has the effect of running on beer." * Haruko nods. "And depending on the audience, we can go the background or be more direct on the beer. So that should be enough for my meetings with Sumire, Hirokazu, and my suit rep. Matthias should be at the house party, so you may be able to talk to him directly. You see Takeuchi-san's email?" * Kyon nods curtly. "Yeah. Been talking with him more again since all this started. He said he's running because of how shady the setup seems. So he can get in and set an impartial example. Probably better than me for that. And then if we're there, we can work towards reforms." * Haruko nods. "Want me to pass that back to Takeuchi-san?" Her expression turns bemused, "If you ever want to tell him something with a low risk that he'll pay attention to it, I'm your girl." * Kyon smirks, and shakes his head. "I should. Let enough of that stuff go by without replying. That kind of answer shouldn't take long to handle." * Haruko nods and then glances over to the counter, checking on the progress of their tea. "On the getting answers note, I may have a favor to ask." <@Ciara> [As Haruko glances over, the servers are just about to put it on a tray and bring it.] * Kyon raises his eyebrows in reply. * Haruko glances back and frowns. "My other candidate has been a bit elusive of late. Maybe due to my recent adventure in the world." Haruko pointedly flips over her hand as she says that. "I've learned to respect when people need their space from me, but I need at least a little more campaign guidance from her. Just the sort of points we're talking about." * Kyon nods curtly. "I can discuss it with her." He frowns more himself. "We need to work on that. For the future. But I can work as a go-between for now. Keep things rolling." * Haruko relaxes a little. "Yeah. And it can wait for the house party. But I don't want to get there and have her then need a week to start thinking about it." <@Ciara> [The food arrives just then! The server is apologetic about the delay.] * Kyon nods back, and looks up as the tea is arriving. "Right. I'll put it on her plate. And gauge where things are now." He nods curtly to the waiter. * Haruko gives a gracious smile to the waiter and then sips on her tea. "And I believe that concludes the business portion of my agenda." <@Ciara> [The waiter bows and leaves.] * Kyon smirks. "Which is why the tea is here now." * Haruko nods and sips slowly, waiting a beat or two herself. Two can play this game Kyon! * Kyon wraps his hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth through his armwarmers. "So personal agenda time?" Mmmm, yes, please. * Kyon nods back curtly. "So. Brought him here yesterday to talk. Same table." He frowns, and sips his tea. "Better service, but the tea's still good." * Haruko grins a little, "I'm a little amused by the parade of us that you've brought here. How is he holding up?" * Haruko picks up her chopsticks. * Kyon gestures around the space. "No one on staff here cares who I am. Not near my normal spaces. So it's mostly safe to come without running into fans. At least so far." * Kyon sips again. "Suspicious of why I wanted to talk. But fine." * Haruko smiles with a bit of pride at that. "He's not dumb. I forget, did I share my self-diagnosis of my mistakes?" * Kyon twists his lips to the side. "Tell me again. Makes it easier to compare to what he said." * Haruko takes a bite of salad, giving her time to form her thoughts. "I tend to vary between neglect and grand gestures of trust or intimacy. He's more a moderation guy maybe, so neither really work." * Kyon nods back at her, more slowly than usual. "Right. One makes him feel not connected. The other just scares him." * Haruko has a moment of weariness after that. "Let's come back to that." Her tea ripples a little but as she tenses a hand it stops. "So Katie sees why might work. And he does genuinely feel different than guys I've dated before. But most of my friends, and now my parents, think I'm crazy." * Haruko fruwns. "I think there's something I'm missing about us, or maybe myself." She looks up to Kyon, "If you have any thoughts, I'm listening. They aren't going to hurt more than how that dinner ended up." * Kyon stills, and nods again, breaking a piece of bread off his sandwich and popping it in his mouth. "Right. Beyond the relationship, he's scared of what you can do. He was trying to convince himself it was a hallucination. I told him." He sips his tea again. "You always could. Nothing's changed. But it'll take time for him to come to terms with that." * Haruko is quiet and then relieved as Kyon reveals what he did. "Thank you." She then starts to pick up a piece of salad and lays it down. I don't mind time, it's just. I was there, on my bike, arrayed in my monsterous glory. And he called me a water witch. * Haruko gestures down her body, "And, well, guilty. But *all* I felt from him was fear." * Haruko frustratedly tears into that bite of salad she earlier set down. * Kyon snorts. "Poetic." He splays out a hand by his plate. "He is afraid. He never connected with this side of things. Never saw any of us in action in a way he couldn't deny. So he doesn't know it." He frowns deeply. "That's hard for everyone," he says, his voice flatter. * Haruko nods. "I won't drag him into it, that wouldn't be right. But I want him to know who and what I am." * Haruko takes another bite of salad, teeth showing a bit more than usual. * Kyon nods quickly. "Right. But it's hard. You remember how it was when you found out yourself?" * Haruko nods. "The hard part wasn't what I learned about me I think. It was coming to see that the world was more frightening than I allowed for. I knew horror existed, and had, have, my own foolish elemental fears. But..." * Haruko takes a long sip of tea while indulging in a spirited debate with mental model Katie. * Kyon raises his eyebrows and waits a beat on this one. I think I might be horrible for feeling this way. And I think a big part of it is that its easy to be at peace with my, uh, portfolio. But it was hard for at the start but it was also exciting. I feel like maybe I am something special and I can use that to make this world better. And it would be better if we were all normal and the world was that much safer. * Kyon smirks. "I was with you til the us all being normal part." * Haruko just looks at him for a moment, eyes wide, breathing slowly in and out. Conflicting feelings battling in her head. So you understand. I'm not just a heartless freak for liking what we are. For wanting to embrace it, myself, in a way that makes us better instead of leaving us broken down and in pain. * Kyon watches her for a beat, and then blows out a breath. "Right. You are something special. And we are making the world better. Doesn't help to look at yourself and hate who you are and what you can do. Doesn't help anyone. Just have to use it right." * Haruko's face is a little flush. She takes a moment to find her words. * Kyon takes the moment to eat more of his sandwich. I feel silly for saying this. I mean, you know. But... you too. I think you make the world better in a lot of ways. * Kyon smirks. "Definitely win some ballgames." * Haruko snorts, "And looking good doing it. But you know what I meant." * Haruko then blushes slightly and goes back to her fascinating salad. * Kyon smirks more fiercely. "It's the uniform." And then, more seriously, "He may just need more time. But he may also just not fit. Who you are, he can adjust to. Maybe. But if he can't relate the way you want to relate, then he might not be right for you." * Haruko nods. "So I'll take it nice and easy, not try to hide, and let him work out if he can deal." * Kyon nods back quickly. "But you have to decide if you want to meet him in the middle, too. Work out a way to deal that gives him what he needs." He leans back in his seat. "I do that. It takes pushing. But it's on you to decide if he's worth it." * Haruko listens and drinks. "I think I'd like to. Thank you." * Haruko smiles, easily, as she contemplates an idea. * Kyon snags his cup of tea, and takes a big swig, looking around the restaurant. * Haruko slowly finishes her salad. "So, since the world doesn't actually resolve around my relationships and missions, anything else on your mind?" * Kyon shrugs quickly. "Next game. Next trip. Next story deadline. Same things as usual. All the nexts. The contents just change." * Haruko nods. "Whenever I get a bit overwhelmed, I think of all of your nexts." * Kyon snorts a laugh. "That help? * Haruko bites her lip. "Well, perspective is not nothing, you know?" If I can ever help with one of the nexts, let me know. Sometimes just having a person on the right side of town can make things easier. True. Glad to be of service. * Kyon nods back quickly. "Thanks." <@Ciara> [End!]