<@Grysar> [Date: Saturday, May 15th, 2004. Hiromi arranged a lunchtime meeting with her supporters. She'd hoped to join as well, but her shifts changed.] <@Grysar> [Hiromi informs you that Mitsuru Katou-kun and Chiaki Wakabayashi-chan will be there in person, Yuki Ijima-san will join by phone.] <@Grysar> [The meeting place is a fairly central department store upper level cafe, apparently she uses it a lot because it's near her deli job.] <@Grysar> [As Katie approaches, she hears Mitsuru and Chiaki chatting in the cafe. They've found a pretty isolated corner, but that does not shield them from her ears.] <@Grysar> [Start] * Katie slows her approach, eavesdropping some before she actually gets there. <@Grysar> [Sounds like they've both just arrived Mitsuru is chatting up Chiaki, who apparently is still having a challenging time at nursing school, but she thinks that's basically expected at this point in her education.] <@Grysar> [The table they've chosen at this Takashimaya Department store cafe is a bit away from the windows, though since this is lunch time it's not entirely seperated from other people on break. Mitsuri is wearing a jacket and tie, he's probably a little thinner than healthy, otherwise not bad looking but if not for that wouldn't be especially memorable either.] <@Grysar> [Chiaki has short-cut bleached hair and a face that naturally slides into a frown when she isn't otherwise emoting. Slightly on the stockier side, she drinks her tea with care and precision.] * Katie approaches the table! She's dressed nicely - for her - in clean jeans, a shirt with a flower print pattern on it, and a light yellow scarf. "Hi," she says with a smile and a little bow. "Are you Mitsuru Katou and Chiaki Wakabayashi?" <@Grysar> [They both stand up. Chiaki has nice pants, might be work pants but it's hard to say, and a more casual pink summer top. They both stand and bow.] Andrews-san, I presume? Yeah. Katie Andrews. Pleasure to meet you. Sorry for the inconvenience of the location, my father's pretty strict about lunch hour being an hour. Oh, you're between shifts? I'm sorry if this isn't a good time. * Chiaki shakes her head. "The way they work him, you're not really going to find a better time." Oh, it's not that bad, but she's not wrong. Saturday lunch is when we normally meet if we want to talk to Nekotani. * Katie blinks, then nods. "Okay." She moves to sit down. "Do you mind if I make things a little more private? It won't get in the way of phone calls." <@Grysar> [They both sit down.] * Mitsuru speaks in a hushed tone. "Oooh, magic. Please do." * Chiaki is a little more cautious but nods, and there's some curiosity behind her on edge look. * Katie sits, too, and sets her bag down next to her. She closes her eyes, then takes a deep breath. As she lets it out, all noise around the trio stops, though they can see people walking around, talking, eating, and just going about their business. <@Grysar> [They both glance around, curious.] Huh, so can they see us but not hear us? Any rules we should know about? * Chiaki just observes for a moment. After taking in the spectacle she begins to fiddle with her phone which is lying on the table. * Katie opens her eyes. "Well... It's not a field, so your phones will work." Which Chiaki is probably discovering now. "People outside won't think anything's weird, or at least they never have before. But they can also walk in." But short of that, they can't hear us and we can't hear them. That's super helpful. Should I dial in Ijima-san? * Katie smiles a bit. "Yeah, it's a good trick." She nods to Chiaki. "Sure." * Mitsuru switches between looking at the phone and the outside people, contemplative. Chiaki puts the phone on speaker and cranks it up a bit. After a few rings a female voice answers. "This is Ijima." We're hear at the cafe with Andrews-san. You don't have to worry about being overheard on our end. I've got the apartment to myself, so fine over here too. Hi, Ijima-san. Nice to meet you. <@Grysar> [There's a bit of a rumble from the phone, possibly a train going by. Yuki masked the sound with her hand, but not enough to beat Katie's ears.] * Katie doesn't especially raise her voice, but if it's also quiet on Yuki's end and her volume is up, she may be heard. Or maybe not, given the train. * Ijima waits a momement before replying. "Nice to meet you as well. I think we may have seen each other around Sakuragaoka a few times, but I don't think we'd met directly before. Yeah, maybe. I was going through a rough time, though, and afterwards I really mostly wanted to be left alone while I tried to sort out my life. So I hope you don't mind if I don't remember. That was mostly what I wanted too, so no offense taken. It's a recurring theme. And on that note, Chiaki-chan and I did ask Hiromi to convey our thanks for your part of the rescue. And we're happy to say it again in person. * Chiaki echoes the thanks, bowing slightly. "And we're happy to hear what you have to say." * Katie smiles at Mitsuru. "I'm really glad we were able to help. We were looking for an ally and..." She shakes her head. "It was really... yeah." * Mitsuru nods at that. Neither he nor Chiaki really feel the need to fill in with more words. <@Grysar> [And now that you've had a little time with them, you can recognize both Mitsuru and Chiaki from Osaka. It's been some time, and they've taken different paths in their recovery, but with the context it's not too hard to place them.] * Katie folds her hands on the table and presses on. "I went through some of that," she admits. "Obviously, I wasn't there with you, but I was kidnapped, and... used... and almost sold." * Mitsuru shakes his head quietly closing his eyes. I'm so sorry to hear that. * Chiaki's natural frown deepens at the word used. She asks quietly, "Did you have a chance to get checked out afterwards?" You mean-? No. I'm... no. We can talk about that later. * Katie swallows, a bit pale, but she nods. She tries to steady herself. * Katie blinks, rapidly, and wipes away a couple of tears. "Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just- hard." She takes another breath. "The worst part is I'm not even sure it was the *worst* and-" * Katie shakes her head. * Mitsuru waits for a moment, waiting until Chiaki and Katie are done speaking. "I don't want to say my experience is equivalent, but I'd spent a lot of time in the hospital afterwards. I think it may have been the time they held me. I'm still anemic, Chiaki-chan lectures me that I don't drink enough even now." * Chiaki glances over at Mitsuru, not displeased though her tone is a little sharp. "That's a bit different. And you've passed out at work a few times, so don't make me out to be a nag." * Katie tries to collect herself again while Mitsuru and Chiaki work out... whatever. * Yuki had been quiet for a bit and speaks up only now. "I thought I had it rough before I really met more like us. Tattoos aren't so bad. And some of your friends, uh, I'm not sure about all the names but Takeuchi- san and Yorihisa, and the girls, if they hadn't protected me I would have ended up kidnapped too." Yeah. * Katie bites her lip, then says, "I want to keep it from happening again." There. * Chiaki and Mitsuru nod. Agreed. Nekotani-san has been doing her part there. The Jackals, or whatever they call themselves now, haven't bothered me after I asked her to intervene. Really, what did she do? * Mitsuru looks confused. * Chiaki quietly tells him that he missed that meeting. She said she raised it wih the Council and they'd been warned not to. I don't think they were kidnappers or like the one with the Scythe, but... I want to be left alone. * Katie nods. That's part of it, yeah. What happened to us was partly because people *let* it happen. How do you mean? I've had people try to kill me because it was a convenient solution to a hard problem - because I had no or minimal powers, because I didn't have many powerful friends. I've seen powerful Arcana do whatever they wanted to others, and people close to them wouldn't raise a voice because they were powerful. Even if they had personal misgivings. It was better to keep the powerful on their side, to solve a 'bigger' problem, than to do something about it. * Mitsuru's eyes widen a bit at that. <@Grysar> We didn't really see a lot of the gang stuff. But when Hiromi made her speech about how you weren't all the same, it seemed pretty obvious to us that Kyon's group tried to protect people. * Katie lets out a breath through her nose. "Yeah, well... we tried. We didn't always succeed. And some people did hate us, and I think they still might." I'm still not happy that we were all painted the same colors. Arai-san did say some nice things about you all too. That without all's effort the world would have fallen, but without your group, there would not have been the chance to save it. * Katie's eyebrows go up, slightly. "Bet she says that about all the Arcana." Pause. "I wonder why it took so long for us to get the invites, then..." * Chiaki had dug a packet of tissues out during that exchange and subtly puts it on the table within Katie's reach. "I'm not sure about that. Hiromi was pretty annoyed to have to wait. I think she thought it was Councilmember Murimura's fault." * Yuki sounds like she's about to object but she cuts herself off, with help from another passing train. * Katie tugs the tissues closer and decides to give Yuki another chance. "Think so?" She pulls out a tissue and dabs at her eyes. I don't know. I... * Katie makes a 'go on' noise. When Yorihisa saved me from the boy with the Scythe, we ran but I passed out. When I woke up, Takeuchi-san and the two girls had me at the bicycle shop. Like I think he got interrupted but I don't think it was just luck that Sakuragaoka people found me. Hmm. I've never thought Yorihisa liked me. I mean, I've literally saved his life in the past and he blew me off, told me I got in the way. But maybe he is like that. * Chiaki and Mitsuru both listen with interest. Oh. * Katie then adds, "Or maybe he dislikes me but also doesn't want people around him getting hurt." It's not like everyone has to like me. I'm sure plenty don't. I've only met him once, but he did seem pretty haughty. Councilmember Hiromi often has some choice words about him. Sorry Yuki- senpai. I'm sorry he did that. I guess... We kind of met in a weird way. And I think he protected me from the boy with the Scythe more than once. And he did respect when I said I didn't want to get more involved than being a voter. But, I guess that's all I really know about him. * Katie leans towards the phone and says into it, "I'm really glad he did." Yuki accepts this with a quiet thanks. Her breath is slower and contemplative, though any thinking is probably a little disturbed by the sound of a passing siren, thankfully not at the same time as a train. Mitsuru is watching the phone, waiting to see if Yuki has anything to add. Chiaki has switched her attention from Yuki to you, waiting to see what you'll say next. Katie takes a breath, steadying herself, then looks at Chiaki and Mitsuru. "So, like Nekotani probably told you, I'm running for a seat on the Council. I... don't know any of you, really. What you care about, why you care. So I'd like to, and... see if we agree, and if you'd want to support me at all." Chiaki and Mitsuru both voice their agreement. You can hear Yuki hesitantly nod along, before voicing a quiet "Okay" over the phone. After a few seconds Mitsuru queries, "So, should I guess I could start?" "Sure," Katie says with a small smile. She's regaining some color now that she's not talking about being kidnapped. Mitsuru sits up a little straighter. "Well, father always says that complaining is just giving someone else your misery and doesn't put money in anyone's pocket. And I'm glad the Arcana saved the world and all. I mean, I was in the hospital, and didn't have any powers anyways, so I'm not taking any credit there." He pauses for a moment, taking a drink of tea. So I want to do my part, but my family had a real rough time when I was kidnapped. Insurance had a lot of questions, but they paid. I'm kind of worried this whole Council thing is all fate and responsibility without actually y'know." He shrugs. "So when Councilmember Nekotani spoke up for the people that actually helped me, I knew I was on her side." Katie nods. "And the people she spoke up for weren't actually _there_." She taps the table with her fingertips. "Which still bothers me. I've heard the reasons, but creating this... thing..." Katie gestures, vaguely, with her other hand. "This system without involving us..." She sighs. "Anyway, we're here now, and that's one reason I want to get involved - to make sure the people who did something back then, and also the people who suffered, have some representation." Chiaki nods her head in acknowledgement, listening carefully. Mitsuru smiles a little and bows and gives Katie his formal thanks. After a quiet few moments Yuki speaks through the phone. "Oh, is it my turn now?" Katie leans closer to the phone so Yuki can hear. "Please." "I did not have much trouble telling the difference between gangs. Being an Arcana has already branded me. I do not want to be caught up in yet more against my will. Your group had treated me with respect back then and still does now." "Yeah," Katie agrees, still addressing the phone. "I had that trouble, too. Two years ago, it was often hard to get respect just as... as a human being, I guess. As least, that's my experience. What mattered were your powers, your connections, what the cards said about some nebulous future... if you were expendable." She sighs, putting her elbows on the table, as she keeps talking into the speaker. "And most of the people who created that, um, that culture, they're are still alive, and we have to live with them. It'd be nice to think that they've learned their lesson, but I'm too cynical for that." Chiaki keeps watching and listening. Her focus is a little disconcerting, but Yuki isn't on video phone and Mitsuru is more startled by your words and doesn't seem to notice anything. He and Yuki both respond simultaneously, though she quiet down as he speaks, "How do you mean? Wasn't Sho and his gang most responsible? Oh, sorry to interrupt Yuki- sempai." Yuki then continues, "The Jackals were not aligned with Sho and I think are largely still alive. Although I think Sho was wrapped up in that too. I think the boy with scythe was on his side." "Yeah, he was. And he's dead." Katie sounds certain. "And so is the Chariot. But not everyone is. There's a Chemist - the one who made drugs that could inhibit our powers - who escaped and wasn't found. Ryo, Sho's younger brother who tried to sell me to him, is still around. A lot of the people Sho tricked into going after innocents instead of looking at him... they're still around." She sighs. "And so are most of the people who enabled him... people who stood aside when it came to others' suffering because it wasn't _their_ problem, even people who just used power for their own gain or pleasure and didn't care who they hurt and how, because they knew nobody would or could stop them." Mitsuru nods solemnly at hearing this run down, he's not happy about this answer but he accepts it. Yuki processes what she's just heard, gasping slightly at the mention of the Chemist. Likewise, Chiaki blanches at the speech, the look of someone who thought that lower expectations had steeled them against the state of the world, but found that there was more that they didn't know. Yuki speaks after a few moments. "I think there are those hunting the ones you named, the ones still alive I mean." She thinks for another few moments, "I suppose I'm one of those that stood aside. Or hid. What would you have had me done? Yorihisa said the most important thing was keeping myself out of their reach." "No," Katie says, firmly. "I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about people who were friends or family or allies with those who used their power to abuse and hurt others, and who did nothing when their opinion mattered. Some of them changed their minds, usually after that abuse hit them. And as far as I know, some of them are just carrying on like nothing was or is ever wrong about it." Mitsuru had largely suppressed a look of guilt at Yuki's question which vanishes as he solemnly nods after hearing Katie's elaboration. The Empress makes a quiet mmm of agreement but before she can say more Chiaki speaks up. "Andrews-san. You called yourself a cynic but the sword you carry thirsts for vengence." Mitsuru gently steps on Chiaki''s foot under the table. She continues, "A gift you have already given us." Mitsuru steps on her foot again which does not stop her. "But the peace you've won is fragile, can we trust a wraith to uphold-" "Chiaki-chan, that's enough." Mitsuru interjects. Katie blinks, looking between the two. "A wraith?" Mitsuru explains, "Please excuse Chiaki-chan, her language gets a little, uh, elaborate at times. You should have heard what she said about Councilmember Nekotani's sokutai." He laughs nervously, Yuki pipes up in the gap before Mitsuru can contnue. "Chiaki's ability is to see people and problems at their worst. It's disconcerting. More so when she doesn't resort to metaphor." Chiaki coolly awaits Katie's response, feeling no need to explain herself. Katie tilts her head, considering all of this, then shrugs. She looks fully at Chiaki. "Okay, sure. I feel like a wraith sometimes, or like some kind of monster. I used to think I should be dead, like I was _supposed_ to be dead. Now I'm not really sure." Chiaki nods, unsurprised but not unsympathetic. "You are not alone in that." She replies quietly and waits for Katie to continue. I've killed people, you know?" Katie doesn't smile; there's no smiling to be had here. "Not for vengeance, but because I felt like I had to. Because it was the only way to survive, and to make sure people I cared about survived. Because I felt like we'd tried _everything else_ and anything short of that made them sneakier, angrier, more determined to prey on who they thought was the weakest. Which, yeah, was often me. So?" She looks at Mitsuru, then the phone - not that Yuki's on video - and back to Chiaki. "Sometimes I do feel like a monster, and I _don't_ think that people won't abuse their power given another chance. At least now I can be angry instead of just scared, and now I can try to find a better way." Mitsuru looks stunned. He may have been assuming the kills belonged primarily to Kyon. Yuki is less startled, but is still left speechless. Chiaki inclines her own head in turn. "Fair. And what you say about the living is true. But even George W. Bush claims force is his last resort. If not for Nekotani-chan, we'd have no real idea what the Council was doing half the time. If we give you the power to take on abusers, what protections are there to keep you from misusing it?" Katie shrugs. "I'd like greater transparency in general. As much as is reasonable because I know total transparency is impossible, but honestly, I probably know less about how the Council operates than you do. I don't have somebody on the inside, and the whole thing was founded away from us." She smiles, now, though largely humorless. "I kind of want to blow it open, make its workings obvious. There isn't any other way to hold people in power accountable that I know of." Chiaki nods. "Alright. You'll have our support." Yuki adds her voice in agreement. Mitsuru looks a little more skeptical about transparency and also slightly put out that Chiaki is speaking for him after all this drama, but he nods as well. Katie smiles. "Thanks." And then she looks at Mitsuru, raising her eyebrows. Maybe he wants to say something? Mitsuru pursues his lips for a moment and then speaks. "So, you have our support already, but I guess I have one more request." He then stops to sip his tea and choose his next words. Katie waits. She can totally wait. Mitsuru continued. "We talked a lot about what Councilmember Nekotani should do with her Council seat. And I think all three of her agenda items are worth doing, but that the Benefits Society is especially important." At that Chiaki makes a face, realizing she messed up and quickly tries to cover it by drinking tea. "And in our in initial discussion with the King of Swords, they promised to support it and help find funding." He looks directly at Katie, still anemic but with a confidence that was absent earlier. "Can you promise the same? We know your focus is elsewhere, but Councilmember Nekotani says that Sorata can help with the details. First and foremost, we want to know we can count on your votes, even if raising the money requires doing something unpopular." Chiaki isn't the only one at the table who tends to notice too much, and Katie completely caught that face. [Chiaki is feeling shame at the moment. From her quick recovery, Katie can tell that she's actually pretty good at putting up a facade, even if it's one she's genuinely committed to. Her initial reaction to Mitsuru's comments was one of a realization, followed by a sense that she'd let the other two down. It seems like they may have agreed on a common plan going into the meeting, one that she veered from after her study of Katie.] By all appearances, Katie is focused on Mitsuru. "What is the Benefits Society, exactly? I remember Nekotani mentioning it, but she's mostly been talking to Kyon, and I'd like to know what, exactly, it's supposed to be." Mitsuru smoothly continues. "It's a historical idea, clubs or like groups of people away from home would all chip in to a common pool that could support anyone that was injured, sick, or otherwise unable to work for good reason." Chiaki is back on her game. "The Japanese insurance system is not bad, and we should use it when we can. But it's not set up to recognize or support the sort of challenges that bedevil us. Some are physical injuries, but those aren't the only ones that matter. When I look at any set of Arcana, there's..." She closes her eyes for a moment, after a second or two Yuki speaks up as well. "And I know her proposal that Councilmembers be paid more sounds self serving, and I don't have a lot to contribute. But while I don't want to be involved with Arcana stuff, it's only right that I support those that do. And it's hard for her to be a Councilmember on top of her other two jobs." Mitsuru quickly redirects. "We've found some existing models, and we agree with you that transparency is a must. We're not asking you to support some sort of gold plated nonsense, just to help make sure there's a good safety net in place for us." Katie sits back, considering this for a moment. "Okay." "A safety net's a good idea," she agrees, "and what's happened has hurt people in ways that are hard to explain to standard authorities. But I don't know of any easy way to fund it. Some Arcana are individually wealthy, inherited or otherwise. Kyon, for instance." She nods to Mitusru. "They can promise their own funds. But I'm a college student, and I..." She trails off for a moment, thinking, then continues. "I agree that what we really need is a system, of some sort. I'm just starting to think about this, so I don't know what form's good yet, but I'd like to see the models you've found." And then she straightens, a bit, some steel returning. "As far as voting for something unpopular... I'm not going to make that promise because I don't know how or why it's unpopular. I'm not going to do something I just don't agree with." Mitsuru nods along, quite willing to accept her desire to think about it but frowns a bit as the steel returns. Chiaki then jumps in. "Unpopular but right we mean. We're not asking you to ignore your better judgment, just to promise that once we find a system you believe is right, you'll be willing to make hard votes for it." Mitsuru is listening this and has a slightly dubious expression as to the value of this particular promise, but Chiaki mouths a quick message to 'trust me' when she thinks Katie isn't looking. He loses the dubious expression and watches to see if Katie accepts that proposal. Katie was looking, but it doesn't really matter. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be making hard votes already, because I don't think people like to be checked, in general. So yes, of course. If I think it's right, I will. I just don't want to promise something I won't deliver." Mitsuru glances at his watch quite subtly, he is running out of time here and Yuki is stifling a yawn. "Okay, and we understand it won't be your top priority, but can we count on you to try to get it done in your first year? We appreciate your willingness to take hard votes, but I'm guessing there will be a lot of decent ideas out there, particularly once the Council gets a real budget. Like when you buy a car, there's a lot of worthwhile features out there, but first you should make sure the breaks, seat belts, and airbag work. Health and safety first. We're talking to all the candidates before the election and will do our best to make sure there's a majority." "I'll try," Katie agrees. "Realistically, I won't be able to do it by myself. There's going to be, what, nine of us? But I'll make an effort." She looks between Chiaki and Mitsuru. "You probably have to get going. Um, here." She reaches into her bag and pulls out a couple of business cards - she's made some since meeting Wataru, and they have cute art on them - and hands them out. "If you want to get in contact with me, feel free. Obviously, you can use Shuffle, but still... oh, and send me the models you've found?" Mitsuru seems satisfied with that answer under the circumstance. He exchanges a card with proper formality, he's a sales associate at Katou Automotive. He reaches for his wallet, rejects a wave off from Chiaki, and slips her a few bills and coins to more than cover his lunch before heading off briskly. Chiaki accepts a card with a bow and a little chagrin. She doesn't seem to be in as much of hurry to leave. "Will do, let me send you my info over Shuffle." Yuki yawns again. "Thank you. Please pass on my gratitude to the Tokyo branch of your group. I hope they've all been doing well after graduation." "Yeah, I will," Katie says with a small smile. "Kaede Takeuchi, Haruko Kinsha, and Taki Shimiru in particular, right?" Yuki scribbles something as she listens, perhaps confirming names she only partially remembered. She pauses writing when she hears Taki's name and has surprise in her voice when she replies. "Oh, I thought she..." Yuki then cuts herself off. She's found her new train of thought a moment later. "Sorry, of course the idol didn't go to Sakuragaoka." "Oh, you mean you were found by Akemi Shiraishi instead of Taki?" Katie asks, leaning forward a bit. "That'd make some sense... you were at the bike shop, right? I could pass your thanks on to her, too." Chiaki watches this exchange curiously, sipping what remains of her tea. Yuki continues. "Right. I mean that was the second time. When that pervert girl with the tentacles was chased off, Taki was there. Uh, the hockey captain too." The girl with the tentacles reference causes Chiaki to go into a coughing fit that she quickly tries to cover with a napkin. This is apparently the first she's heard of Akari. Yuki is happy to quickly give answers here, and she'd even prefer talking about the two occasions where her shirt was ripped off rather than revealing how she knew that Taki wasn't in Tokyo. "Satoshi Watanabe," Katie supplies, easily. Apparently knowing about 'Kyon's group' doesn't mean they know much about who's in the group. Yuki writes that down as well. "Thanks." And the big fans know. But for those grateful after a few encounters, it's more like Neil Young and Crazy Horse or Florence and the Machine. Hiromi mostly hypes the front person. "No problem," Katie replies, warmly. "I'll let you go now; you sound tired." Yuki gives a quick grateful goodbye. Chiaki collects her phone and adds, "Ijima has a night shift. Which might be my job in a year or two." Chiaki isn't overjoyed at that prospect, but she'll live. Katie blinks. "Oh, yeah?" She stands and collects her things, but doesn't seem like she's in a huge hurry. Chiaki gathers up her own things, taking out her wallet and frowning with a bit of dismay at Mitsuru's generosity. "Nursing shifts are often long, as shift changes are an opportunity for problems to happen." She then adds in a quieter tone, "I hope you'll consider what I said earlier. I can recommend a clinic if that would help." Katie sighs, now alone with Chiaki. She doesn't drop her silence bubble yet. "What would they even do?" Chiaki lays aside her purse for a moment, setting her wallet atop the bills. She looks up at Katie from her seat and continues in a clinical tone. "I don't know the specifics of what you've faced, so I'm going to speak in generalities and what I've said to some Arcana and others that were drugged. Is that okay?" Katie shifts in her chair and smooths her hands on her pants. She doesn't entirely know, either. "Sure." Chiaki continues. "First, I don't want to over promise. It's probably been more than two years. So if you have any gaps in your memory, there's only so much that will be filled in. But there's also physical and physiological things that you should know about your own body. For what it's worth, the time that's past also means that some of the risks for bad news are a lot lower." Katie nods, slowly. She already knows some of this, but she's totally fine with letting Chiaki fill in whatever she wants. Chiaki continues "So STDs aside, being a young woman can be tough. We only get taught so much about our physiology and almost nothing about trauma, physical or otherwise. And people that have been through something like that are probably even less likely to ask a medical professional questions or even self examine and study things on our own. I don't know what questions you might have, and I'm just a nursing student so there's a lot I couldn't answer. But you should talk to someone that can help and that can tell you about resources you might want going forward." Katie shakes her head. "This isn't something I've talked to anybody about but-" She cuts herself off and switches tracks. "When I- When I was found after a week locked in a closet, I was taken to a hospital, so they checked me out then. But the other time, when I was kidnapped and-" She swallows. "I haven't talked to anybody about it besides some friends." Chiaki nods. Processing the two separate incidents puts a little strain on her professional front but it holds for now. "First, that's horrible. Second, keeping it yourself is not atypical and there's nothing wrong with talking to your friends. They just lack training and expertise that might be important to you." She frowns, "The medical community isn't perfect. Some people say that Japan is worse for some of this stuff, I wouldn't know. But what I can do is send you to people that I know have been some help to others." Katie lets out a breath through her nose. "Okay, yeah. E-mail it to me. I'll think about it." Chiaki looks again at Katie's card and confirms that an email address is present. She resumes packing up her materials and getting out cash to pay for her bill. "Will do." She smiles, slightly. "Thanks." And then, curiously, "You're a Sword, right?" Chiaki gives a faint smile in response to the thanks, possibly the fist time she's smiled this entire time. "The Nine. You too, right?" She puts away her wallet and hangs her purse over her shoulder. "Page," Katie says, with a little nod. On hearing that Chiaki takes a long look at Katie before shaking her head. "The diplomat, right? All this really did a number on you." She sighs and deadpans, "Well, if you do a good job as Councilmember, maybe I'll invite you over and show you my extensive collection of wall-mounted weaponry. Unrivaled. Except by the ten I suppose." "I felt like I've been shattered into a thousand pieces more than once," Katie says, plainly. "And I'd be interested. The only sword I've ever actually held was the Sword, and that's gone now." She pauses for a moment. "I've never met the Ten." Chiaki looks down. "I'm sorry, I was joking. I have a hard enough time finding a roommate who will tolerate the way I cover up bathroom mirrors." She looks back up. "Putting yourself back together is hard. We inevitably make mistakes." She looks back at Katie for another long moment. "And there is something to wabi sabi, but broken things and people deserve an extra level of care." Katie nods and says, quietly, "I guess so. That's kind of what this is all about. If we're going to have some sort of government, I don't want them breaking things even more." She sighs. "But I'm tired of thinking of who I've become as a mistake." She stands, then, and stretches before grabbing her bag. "Thanks for talking to me, and for taking time to help. I'll seriously consider what you've said. And if you want to talk, I mean... I think I'm a pretty good listener, though you've probably already got some of those." Chiaki stands herself, "We try to take care of each other." She ponders what Katie has said to her. "I don't think you're a mistake, and I'd know." She smiles a little, "We could go talk and study museum swords sometime if you like." She gives a quick bow and then turns to go pay the bill. Katie smiles back and bows. "I think I'd like that. Take care." She drops the silence bubble, and the cafe's noise rushes in, suddenly overwhelming given the absolute silence - aside from their voices - from before. [Katie receives notification not long after that Chiaki has requested to link with her on Shuffle and has shared her contact info. Later that day she receives an email with a short list of clinical options and medical professionals to seek out at each. * The first clinic is associated with a women's shelter. It provides a range of health services, and though it's a little more focused on domestic abuse. It on the whole does rather well with victims of trauma. * The second clinic is a discreet specialty practice that bundles in some Western style psychiatric services but even after the government insurance pays 70% of costs it's still a +Barter for a full service session. * The third clinic is made its name treating many of those that fell victim to the Arcana-related drugs. One clinician, Emiri Toshibara, has a few former patients Chiaki knows that sing her praises. That said, Chiaki has also heard a rumor that her daughter is an Arcana, so maybe not someone to see if you want to make sure you never see them in a different context. * The fourth clinic focuses specifically on STDs and sexual health and trauma and is especially sensitive for immigrant patients, but it also sits near a red light district and tends to be understaffed relative to the needs.] [End]