<@Grysar> [Date: Evening of May 15th. Today has been the hottest day of summer thus far, and more than a little humid, though night brings some relief.] <@Grysar> [The tattoo parlor is on a side alley, two steps removed from the main road. If not for the last strains of dusk, the place would be uncomfortably dim, though pedestrian traffic can be seen just half a block away. There's a faint scent from a garbage can a bit further down the road, apparently left unemptied for too long.] <@Grysar> [The parlor itself is a small thin shopfront, but the interior is well lit. You can see Yuki behind the counter, past the chair in front, doing a bit of shelving. In a change from her high school days, her arms are bare and tattoos exposed by the tank top she's wearing. She doesn't seem to have noticed you approach the store.] <@Grysar> [Start.] <@Grysar> [The interior is lit by parallel neon bars of various bright shades that along the walls and ceiling, reinforced by mirrors, that with a bit of imagination or more often some inebriation might appear to be some sort of tunnel through space or time. The sign out front leads "Light Speed Tattoo" with three parallel glowing bars behind it giving a sense of speed.] * Taki, by contrast, still keeps her arms covered. Maybe if she were more stylish she'd do something asymetical and keep just her left arm covered, but she never puts in that much effort. So instead she's gone with a purple hoodie and a skirt + leggings combo. Said hood is down because Taki is bad at being intentionally mysterious. * Taki spends a moment looking at the store, takes a deep breath and enters. "Pardon the intrusion..." * @Yuki gives a rote welcome before turning around and seeing Taki. Her eyes widen for moment and she's quiet for half a beat. "Shimiru-san?" She looks strikingly like the woman in your dream, in different attire. Perhaps just matching memory, but just matching the memory of that carefully covered girl that went to your high school. * Taki nods. "And you're Ijima-san right? I can come back later if this is a bad time." * @Yuki gets a half smile and raises a hand gesturing to empty main chair and the other empty chairs along the wall. Now that you're in you can a hear a slightly low industrial sound with a bit of modulation, like a some strange power plant. Might just be a recording played at low volume. * Taki nods again. "I have no idea what times people come to get tattoos. I hope it isn't usually like this for you." * @Yuki looks bemused at Taki's concerns. "Varies. It's often not a steady flow but quiet for an hour or two and then a group." * Taki nods and smiles. "I'm glad you're doing well then. I, meanwhile, have found myself in a bit of trouble and have come to both warn you off and have been asked to invite you into it. Because it seems that I can only stay out of it for so long." * @Yuki takes that all in and folds her arms over her chest. "You and your friends have helped me in the past. Say what you must." Her tone isn't angry so much as tired. * Taki grimaces. "Sorry. You probably remember the group that called themselves the Jackals? Two of them, Kashiwaga Kei and Toshiki, have moved down here, and somehow learned that both of us are here. They've asked me to ask you for help because for some reason they don't think showing up themselves would go well." I'm going to say feel free to not, because they're still jerks. * @Yuki looks unsurprised, and raises her eyebrows slightly at 'probably.' Her look softens a little as she listens. "Oh... Andrews-san didn't tell you?" * Taki tries not to flinch. "I... kinda completly embarased myself and can't face her right now." * @Yuki takes a slow breath in and out, thinking. "Take a seat Shimiru- chan. I have good news and bad, and I think you've had a rough time on my account." She does gesture in the direction of elevated chair, which presently has back upright and is the only cushioned one in the room. * Taki gingerly sits down where people probably get worked on. "I'm pretty sure it was all self-inflicted, but please enlighten me." * @Yuki walks over and sits next to Taki on an adjacent stool, hands in her lap. "They've already came directly. They are still jerks. Or at least the formal one was. The other actually looked through the catalog." She shakes her head. "That doesn't matter, the point is afterwards I called Councilmember Nekotani." * Taki facepalms. "That was probably smarter than what I did." * @Yuki's tattoos, now that Taki gets a closer look, seem exclusively to depict cards, much as Taki recalls from that day a few years back. There is one that looks faded, perhaps by a removal attempt, that depicts an elaborate cart of some sort. <@Yuki> Are you always this hard on yourself? * Taki sits up. "Yep! Sometimes it's good motivation that I can use to channel more effort into my cooking, sometimes I just wallow, and most of the time I don't even notice I'm doing it until people point it out." * @Yuki shakes her head and thinks for a moment. "I think going to the Council was a lot more natural for me. Based on what Andrews-san said, you all don't really trust most of them. Not even Arai-san. It's different for me." * Taki nods again. "We felt very isolated, and while I try to keep my previous life seperate from this one, being against the council was part of the one opinion she had, so there's just a bit of a shiver every time it comes up." <@Yuki> Oh? Do you know why she was? * Taki nods. "Hideo Watanabe's pet yojimbo." * @Yuki processes the name for a moment. "He was, one of the majors, right?" Judgment, and I'm probably exaggerating a tiny bit when I say he was at least a third of the reason there was council back then. * @Yuki shakes her head again. "There's so much of the past that was lost." Her tone is regretful, but not as tired as her earlier statement. * Taki nods. "Both the good and the bad, it needs to be remembered so we don't make the same mistakes again." * @Yuki nods and leans in for a moment before catching herself. "So, now that you have more context, what would you have me do?" I would have you do what you want to, and nothing out of a sense of obligation to me, and especialy not out of one to my friends because they're not the ones here asking. But I will tell you what I know. * @Yuki nods. There is a man who calls himself the Chemist, and he used to work for Sho. He's the one who the kidnapped people were taken to and he made drugs out of them. I don't know if he's actually one of reversed, or a black card, or a real mad scientest. I thought he'd been arrested, but that may have been wishful thinking. Kashiwaga-san says he's found him down here and wants our help to deal with him. * @Yuki listens and nods along. None of this seems like shocking news to her, but hearing another reinforce this is not what she'd ideally be hearing. "Our help?" He wants me to help with the actual fighting... and I don't actually know what he wants from you because he was being annoyingly vague, but he's got it in his head that you can. * @Yuki mmms at that last bit before shifting the topic. "And you'd be okay with that? To go fighting?" * Taki grimaces. "No. Even though I'm good at it, I don't enjoy fighting. I'd much rather be good at cooking, but, at the same time, if it's really him, and he's doing the same sort of things again, and hurting more people; I don't think I could forgive myself if I didn't help. I offered to just drop the two of them on him, but they want more." * @Yuki mmms at that as well. "And what if he wasn't doing the same things, but was still guilty of everything you say?" Then... I dunno. I've already beaten him up for it once, maybe he's changed for the better. Maybe we point the police at him. I don't like the idea of him not getting punished for his crimes, but I'm not very good at making big important decisions and if we invent an Arcana jail an... sorry, I'm rambling. * @Yuki looks bemused again. "I follow you but..." She shakes her head. "You're very brave, the way you keep inserting yourself into things to try to keep people safe. But there's so many unknowns." * Taki nods. "I don't even know if it's really him, and if those two are trying to beat up an innocent old man, I'm going to drop them as far out to sea as I can manage." * @Yuki laughs at that. "That seems like a rather useful ability." She then mms once more. "To be honest, I try to stay out of things. Back then, Yorihisa said keeping myself safe was all I needed to focus on. Andrews-san said that wasn't really being a bystander, but I don't know if she really respected my choice or if she just didn't think my choice mattered much at all." I'm a little envious that you felt like you had a choice. Katie didn't, and I hope you can stick with the more generous reading of what she thinks. Personally, I think it's important that people can make their own decisions, even if I don't agree with them. Well, I mean, deciding to kidnap somebody is completly bad. * @Yuki shrugs. "I'm voting for her. But with my eyes open." She looks at Taki quietly for a few moments, perhaps a little too intently after saying that. * @Yuki then shifts topics again. "What I want to do is stay out. But if I do, I feel like I'm leaving you as yojimbo bouncing between masters in Tokyo and here." She shakes her head once again. "There are ways I could help you. And I appreciate that you're not calling in debts." She sits up straight and her tone has a bit more steel, steel it's perhaps often needed sitting on this stool talking to someone in your chair. "I feel I can trust your word. But if you want my help, you have to ask for it, and there will be terms. I'm not brave the way you are." That's perfectly fine. May I ask what your conditions are? <@Yuki> First, you promise to keep me safe. * Taki looks down and puts her hands in her lap. "I've failed at that often enough to say that I'll do my best, but I can't be everywhere at the same time." * @Yuki frowns and takes a moment to reconsider. "Then let's put this differently. If I help you, in turn you're my yojimbo until we're through. That means if it's the mission, helping them, or keeping me safe, you pick me. And if the Jackals withhold information again, you press until you find out for both of us what's really going on." That, I think I can do. I still haven't agreed to help them more than asking if you're willing to help, and without more information, neither one of us will. * @Yuki nods. "And that may be it, anything more depends on what you ask for." She smiles a little, "And a promise will suffice, no tattoo to show your allegiance unless you want one." * @Yuki's tone is light, but also clear that 'I think I can do' does not yet qualify as a promise. * Taki shakes her head and pulls up her sleave to show some of the scars there. "I don't need any more perminant marks. And I'll give you your promise after I've made my decision to help them fight. Is there anything else past my protection and a lot more information?" * @Yuki shakes her head. "Not based on what you've said so far." * Taki pulls her sleave back down and lets herself slump in the chair. "Pfew! I was worried you were going to be a lot more unreasonable. I'll let you know what they have to say, and... I dunno if this counts as asking for your help or not, but if I miss something that seems obvious to you, or I should push more about, lemmie know?" * @Yuki nods. "So I'm no good for the actual fighting, and once this Chemist knows I'm helping you, I may need a hiding place. But I've seen him in my dreams. He wasn't that old, but I think he's the man you're talking about. You could try to find out more with some afternoon naps, or." Yuki lets out a long breath and her cheeks redden. "Or I guess you could try to read me. Nothing you haven't seen once. But I don't really even know if that works. So I think dreams are better." * Taki blinks. "Wh... Oh! uh yeah. Uncomfortable nudity is the last resort. I can agree to that." <@Yuki> [And there is the sound of some loud conversations, possibly lubricated with alcohol, from down the street but headed to the store. Not familiar voices nor hostile ones.] * @Yuki smiles and looks more than a little relieved. "Good. It's hard enough to show my arms when I'm on the job." * Taki slides out of the chair, so she can reach into her pocket and pull out a buisness card. "They're kinda pretty, but I can't imagine how much trouble they've caused. Here's most of my contact info, I've got a Shuffle account, but I don't pay much attention to it so it's a bad way to try and reach me." * @Yuki graciously accepts the card and gives one in return, which is a card for the store with some personal information written cleanly in pen on the back. "I'm glad you think so." <@Yuki> [Her hours are also listed on the back and are uniformly evening or otherwise undesirable shifts.] * Taki puts it away. "Good luck customers tonight, I'll email you when I learn somehing." * @Yuki nods and puts Taki's card away and heads back to behind the counter. "I'll watch out for it. Oh, and please don't tell people about the nature of my power. Yorihisa knows. I think Scyther knew. And I'm afraid the Chemist may figure it out. But that may be it." <@Yuki> [And at this point a group of people not quite well dressed enough to be salary men but not quite threatening enough to likely be yakuza begin heading in the door, cutting off conversation with their noise alone.] <@Yuki> [End!]