<@Ciara> [Date: Evening of Monday, May 17.] <@Ciara> [A few days ago, Haruko sent an e-mail to Kaede requesting a meeting to talk about various matters.] <@Ciara> [The stars aligned in such a manner as that this particular Monday evening was a time that worked out for both of them to have this meeting.] <@Ciara> [Now Haruko is at Kaede's apartment, Akemi being out for the evening.] <@Ciara> [Session Start!] * @Haruko arrives a little early but waits to knock on the door until the right time. She's wearing a grey slacks and a white blouse, She put her hair up in a pony tail after dismounting her motorcycle and skipped the makeup and jewelry today, aside from a shinto charm on a bracelet. * Kaede answers the door in a simple button down and nice jeans, glancing at the door and perhaps past Haruko with a polite greeting bow. "Kinsha- san..." After mulling over it a little, he glances down one of the paths to the nearby park. "Care to take a walk?" * @Haruko bows at the same time and nods in response to the question. Stepping to the side to let him take the lead. "Thank you for hearing me out." * Kaede does take it out, settling to a sidewalk down the path, waiting for a moment before adding with a sigh. "We'll see.." It feels like a heavy sigh, but he continues on, before asking, "Why did you want Katie to join us...?" That's the part he was still unsure on. * @Haruko bites her lip for a moment and then takes a breath, speaking a little too quickly, trying not to overly guard her feelings. "She was the first one I talked about this with in some time. She suggested it and you're close friends." * @Haruko walks along side Kaede, matching her pace to his, so she doesn't have to speak to loudly. But...you're the one who has the issue.... <@Haruko> I sometimes get in my own way with you. * @Haruko looks ahead to the park for a moment. She doesn't know this area that well. * Kaede heads on down. It's a quiet enough park and a good sight in spring. Flowering trees abound. His hands slip into his pockets as he looks on ahead. To that, he doesn't give any commentary. Giving Haruko her space to start. This is *her* meeting after all. * @Haruko doesn't realize she's being given the space for a few quiet, perhaps awkward, seconds. "So... I don't really remember how much I told people about what happened after you and I seperated." <@Haruko> I assume Ryuji didn't say anything. * @Haruko fiddles with her omamori as she speaks. "I don't think I even know your side. That night was such a mess." * Kaede looks at her with a funny look, a raise of an eyebrow. "When we separated when?" Which time might be more appropriate. It's not like it was that simple. <@Haruko> So Katie and Taki battled Yusuke. My protection wasn't enough. He marked Katie with pentacles and claimed he could kill her remotely with them. Taki evacuated her. <@Haruko> I met you and and Ryuji when Yusuke was escorting me way back to their apartment. * @Haruko's voice is more level than it had been early. Focused on recall rather than her feelings. * Kaede settles a bit into listening mode, though his face is still full of a bit of confusion. Out of context, this is all a bit obscure. * @Haruko continues. "I think you went off to help Katie. Ryuji stuck with me. Yusuke said he'd..." She lowers her voice. "He said he'd kill her if I didn't heal Tenjirou. I don't think any of that part is news." She stops at the curb, waiting for the traffic light to change so they can cross over to the park. * Kaede pauses for a moment, his face full of stone. After a moment, he responds with a calm "So all of this meeting is for you to convince me that Fuyuken is a bad person...?" He's not *blaming* her, but... * @Haruko snorts, still tense but a little more at ease than she has been all night. "No, it's. It's about the specific kind of bad person he was. And that I'm afraid he still is." * Kaede turns to Haruko for a moment. "So you want me to purposefully sabotage his campaign as a result...?" It's *mostly* a neutral question, but also slightly loaded. The light changes and he starts to step that way out. * @Haruko walks along. She takes a moment to consider that. <@Haruko> That isn't my call. No. It's not. * Kaede gets to the other side and releases a heavy sigh himself, shoulders slackening to the point where he looks less starch, turning to Haruko on the sidewalk. "I'm at an impasse, Kinsha-san. I hope you understand that..." * @Haruko looks back. "I don't think I do. Not yet. But I'm willing to listen." * @Haruko stops playing with her bracelt as she sees him slacken. She reaches out slightly but stops well short of touching him. * Kaede goes to sit on a bench, fingers closing together as he tries. "Akemi...has been friends with the Fuyukens for a lot longer than I've ever been in her life. If it were up to me, we'd never have even had the meeting in the *first* place. In fact, that was his attempt at first. *Clearly* exploitable. And Akemi was...uncomfortable with the whole lot of it. But if I just pull rank with her as a manager, what kind of person does that make *me*?" * @Haruko sits down by him and thinks, taking in what he says. * Kaede closes his lips, folding his hands in front of him, then looks back up. "My apologies. I cut off your story far too soon. But I figured...that should be out there before we go too far and you suspect what may have went down there was with my blessing..." * @Haruko waves. "No that makes sense to me. You think he's a bad guy too. But you don't want your personal history to affect your job as a manager. You want to be worthy of her trust. Am I getting that right?" Not just that, as...her friend. I'm not her guardian angel, Kinsha-san. It's not right suspecting that she needs to be rescued... * @Haruko listens and nods, "Oh... I think... Yes. Let me get back to my story. But thank you for elaborating Takeuchi-san." <@Haruko> My first concern is not for her. Not directly. It's first that Fuyuken Yusuke is quite comfortable lying and unconcerned with how defiled others felt by his demands. More the fool, I, for believing him, but... <@Haruko> When he has the upper hand in negotiation, he showed no scrupples. Shiraishi-chan is his peer and I think he respects her in a way he didn't respect me. So I do not think it is she that may need rescuing. * @Haruko holds her hands together, trying to think what to say next, trying to stick to Katie's advice. * Kaede is listening at least, though he doesn't seem ready to counter her just yet. <@Haruko> So the other part was in the apartment. That's what I'm not sure I told you about yet. * Kaede presses his lips together in a small thin line before looking at her. "Not much I can recall..." <@Haruko> I went in, Ryuji stayed in the hall. Shika was there. She was different than later. Not angry. Not acting righteous. But I tried to convince her not to do this. Not to protect Tenjirou. To take something in exchange other than healing. * @Haruko rests her chin on her hands. "And about two sentences into the conversation, she slips behind me and puts a hand on my breast." * Kaede tenses at that. Fingers grip the arm of the bench. *Now* he's looking at Haruko with...he's not sure what. But she definitely caught his attention. * @Haruko thinks. "Maybe four sentences. Though none of them were 'want to make out.'" She scowls, "I've had boys say my smile is very inviting. But that's bull. And the thing is, Yusuke's only objection is that she's forgetting that I'm a 'wannabe murderess." * Kaede groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses with a deflated look. "The brother and sister certainly are grotesque, aren't they...?" * @Haruko sighs. "Yeah. So, I could go on if you want. And I don't want to claim to be some sort of hero or innocent that night. I wasn't." She shakes her head. * Kaede pinches his nose again as he settles back. "It doesn't matter. It *really* doesn't. But...would you rather I allow Akemi to face the wolves alone...?" * Kaede's lips thin, yet again, as he settles. "I figure my presence there that night was the only thing to keep Akemi from being taken advantage of entirely..." * @Haruko listens with a confused look. "No, of course not. Shiraishi- chan is no lamb, but she knows the way her good nature leaves her vulnerable and arms herself with a manager." * Kaede snorts in response, then calms to look at her. "Then I admit, I'm at somewhat of a loss of what you wish of me..." <@Haruko> So, let me talk it out. I do not want you to set aside your role as a manager. And if I might be a way through your impasse, I confess to being a little scared to being a bit intimidated to talk to her directly, but if you think it is right I will not hesitate. * @Haruko turns to face Kaede, lifting her chin from her hands and then sitting up. "So, men like Yusuke might be, or might become, aren't that uncommon. My mother has had to deal with them some on conference gigs. There's things you can do to protect yourself, but if you don't know in advance, and they catch you vulnerable, things can go really bad." * @Haruko finishes. "I guess I really want is for us to find a way that nobody else will have to go through what I did at his hands. And I'm afraid that people will think that they can be safe with a friend of Shiraishi-chan like they can be safe with her." * Kaede sighs, then settles back into his bench. "Isn't that the problem?" * @Haruko lifts a leg and folds it over the other. "But it's also the answer to the question you ask me earlier." <@Haruko> What kind of person would you be? The kind of person that helps her see the costs of her worst instincts. One that works with Shiraishi- chan to protect those that rely on her. * Kaede shakes his head, continuing. "People get so tied in with loyalties. Friendships. They make associations along with it and don't treat people's ideas as their own merits. I've had a hard enough time not having people see me as part of the gang of my classmates. Yusuke defends his sister to death. Akemi...it will be hard. It's stupid..." His hand tenses and releases on that. * Kaede rubs his forehead, trying to put it into words. "I've tried...so hard to be separated from that. It just blinds you to what's going on in front of you...so long as Yusuke sees Shika as his sister...so long as Shika refuses to acknowledge her past behaviors...she..." <@Haruko> What kind of person does Shiraishi-chan think that Yusuke is? * Kaede takes in a deep breath, then looks at Haruko. "That's something you'll have to ask her. Childhood friend I think. Fellow in her acting career..." His lips purse a little. "If you wish to speak with her, I can let her know..." * @Haruko watches Kaede as he says this, trying to listen to him and how he's saying it. "Friendship sometimes means pushing people you care about to become better. I was dumped by Ryuji in the hallway at the end of the night, but I don't think anyone that Yusuke cared about told him he needs to be better. I can tell her my story, but I'm just a engineer and a mediocre campaign manager. She's an idol. I need your advice if I'm going to have a shot." * Kaede thins his lips again and then mutters, in a lower voice, "Can you believe *Shika* of all people was the one who told him he was an idiot for running for Council...?" * @Haruko ponders this revelation. * @Haruko thinks for a moment. "Katie is campaigning on 'no going back' and no more exploitation. I think I can see why Shika might think the Council was a real bad idea." * Kaede snorts. "Was that sarcasm?" Cause no. She's not against the idea of the Council, from what I could gather. She's against *Yusuke* her *brother* being a part of it. * @Haruko looks confused. "No, not sarcasm. Surprise. I would have thought her fear would be that his loyalties would be split. Not that she actually saw his weaknesses." She sighs. "I don't understand her sometimes. The woman I first met. The one that worked with us while shaming us. I'm not sure what her core is." * Kaede rubs his forehead. "Let's not mix things here. Yusuke is complacent, but Shika has been active. She's been sheltered and powerful and probably thinks she's too much for anyone to stand up to her. I don't know how much of that's bled into her brother or how much of it he legitimately sees no wrong, but let's not delude ourselves into treating it as if there is one faulty party in that relationship..." * Kaede lets out a heavy breath. "If you would like my best advice, it would be not to treat them as separate entities. They are a pair that work off of each other in ways I haven't yet grasped. And where Akemi fits into that picture, I'm still not fully aware..." * @Haruko nods. "I blame him more than her for what happened back there. And maybe she would have thrown Tenjirou out if I'd..." Haruko shakes her head. "But you're right. It is both of them. Shiraishi-chan shouldn't be doing public appearances with either." * Kaede frowns. "That, you shall have to talk to Shiraishi-san about." He lets out a deep breath, relenting. "Possibly best that I'm not there during it. To give you your space. But I hope you don't mind us possibly discussing it after..." * @Haruko eases back into the bench and nods. "Right. Yes. That makes sense." She looks out into the distance, eye catching on a chipmunk racing between trees. * Kaede watches her, shifting forward with his hands together. "If it helps, small as it may be, I feel there was already a little traction there..." * @Haruko looks over, curious but not too hopeful. "Oh?" * Kaede glances at Haruko. "Our meeting may have ended with a compromise, but I managed to avert it from being a blatant empty promotion at least. I doubt Akemi saw any differences and Yusuke may have been assuaged that it was still going on, but I think Yusuke got the message. 'You are not going to steamroll Shiraishi-san into something she doesn't wish to do while I am around...'" If you do manage to garner more of Akemi's support, I think I can push harder on that... * @Haruko nods, showing a bit more resolve. "Good. Thank you." She smiles a bit. "That means less of a burden for me to lift, and I hope the same for you afterwards." * Kaede gives a shy grin in the direction of Haruko at that. "What are you talking about? I'm the eternal protector. It's my job to jump into freight trains to make sure other people have the blow softened..." He groans, reaching over to roll his shoulder. "I'm not sure I'd know how to do anything else..." * @Haruko grins back a little. "Well I'm an engineer. If I see a problem a few miles away, I can try to slow a train down the easy way. Besides, we're not so old in calendar years. We can still learn new things." * Kaede nods a little, then wheezes out. "Either way, we can only hope the Council sees through his tricks. Popularity is a dangerous thing. Especially when wielded like a weapon..." * @Haruko nods. "On that topic, should I avoid any mention of Matthias- san in discussion with her? Keep away from the politics?" * Kaede grins at that. "You want me to decide Akemi's mind up for her as to whether she should be sheltered or not?" * @Haruko processes that for a moment and nods. "Right. Honor the friendship Akemi=chan has offered me and follow her lead on the secondary stuff." She stands up. "Thank you for your time, Takeuchi-san." * Kaede starts to protest, then figures that's probably just standard politeness, standing up and giving a small bow. "Of course. I always prefer when things are out in the open. Would you need me to walk back with you or...?" He can go on ahead if you need time to process. * @Haruko looks around the park one more time and notices a swing. She reciprocates the bow, "No thank you, this is a lovely place you've brought me. Perhaps I should explore it a little more." He can tell she appreciates that he's giving her the time and space. * Kaede nods and heads on back. <@Ciara> [Session End!]