[Grysar] [Date: May 22, 2004] [The weather has been temperate, but intermittent showers have kept the number of customers at the Pao Pao cafe down, and those that are present are mostly sticking to the inside and sometimes sticking around a little longer than there food and drink consumption would typically suggest.] [Kyoko has been on duty and Taro is just starting his shift. He's a little late, but the after school college crowd hasn't started arriving yet, so that only made your life just a little harder.] [Start!] --- [Ardweden] Kyoko glanced over at Taro when he came in and tried to keep her expression neutral. She was busy dealing with a customer at the time, but if she wasn't, she'd have told him off, but instead she went back to smiling politely and finishing with their order like the professional service grunt she is. She might feel like shit after her last shift (Takuya Kira's return was supposed to make things *easier*, and why did the day have to be so damn busy and who screwed up those orders), but she's been doing this for years and one more customer doesn't matter. When she passes Taro afterwards, though, all customers taken care of and his apron finally on, she hisses, "Nishizaka, where were you?" --- [Grysar] [Taro looks a bit weary himself. Some sweat glistens in his hair. "Training went long." He checks his watch, "But it's not.. um." He glances around. "It's not rush yet, right?" His tone is chagrined but that's close enough to baseline Taro that it doesn't really stand out as an apology.] --- [Ardweden] Kyoko shakes her head. "Get those tables bussed," she says with a wave. "I'll wipe down the counters." --- [Grysar] [Taro gives a small grateful smile and gets to work. You're only half finished with the counter when the first group of students arrives. A fairly raucous group of not unfriendly regulars, quick with a smile but sometimes stingy on orders.] --- [Ardweden] Kyoko responds with equal friendliness, as she doesn't particularly care if they order a lot or not. She moves on autopilot, getting their orders down and drinks ready (a couple of them always get the same thing, so that's a bit easier). --- [Grysar] [And more customers arrive and the work day continues. Taro doing a decent job but is not really going above and beyond and as a since there's not a lot of slack, things that weren't done are staying undone. As you rush to get a bill to a slightly impatient customer, an unusual new arrival catches your eye. Not to tall, brown hair, grey eyes, maybe even handsome though few bandages, including his left cheek and a larger one on his right arm mar his looks. He's wearing a long, light overshirt that comes down to his knees, atop a pair of blue jeans and a mono-color mauve t-shirt. He looks at you with recognition for a half second and seems about to say something before he glances around the busy cafe and turns to leave. This action slightly startles the next people to enter behind him, a pair of young professional women, as there are still at table or two available and some counter space.] --- [Ardweden] Kyoko glances at the guy, then does a double take because he obviously recognizes her, and oh shit - they know each other from something, don't they? The customer snaps irritably, bringing her back to earth, and then Kyoko's stuck apologizing over the bill. She grabs his card and goes to run it, already trying to figure out who the hell this guy is. He's kinda unremarkable, but there are bandages... bandages... China? There was a guy with like a billion band aids in China, when she was worse than useless and had to be saved by Kyon. _Again_. They were fighting over the Sword... He was a Sword, or something... Yeah. He fought like one, with the knives and the cutting himself on purpose. She glances up at him again to see him nearly run into the girls behind him. --- [Grysar] [Sword bandage guy gives an easy apologetic bow. "My timing is off today ladies." And begins to maneuver around them, in less of a rush. Mercifully, the card runs quickly and prints out a receipt. Kyoko's manager glances out from the kitchen. She looks askance at the counter- top work still to be done, the signs of at least one impatient customer, and raises an eyebrow, looking over at Kyoko. Taro is presently taking an order from a recently arrived table.] --- [Ardweden] Kyoko groans inwardly but she doesn't have time to deal with the manager directly, instead returning to the customer with his receipt and card. Soon there will be one (1) fewer impatient customers. That done, she glances up to see the guy practically out the door. What was he even doing here? Just getting food? Not for the first time, Kyoko wishes her field could take people out of time as well as out of place. But then she'd probably be like a year older or something... whatever. --- [Grysar] [He takes one quick glance back and sees her look. He gives a small waves and mouths something, maybe "catch you later" maybe something about blades, hard to say. He heads off and she can see scratch at his other cheek as he walks down the street. The hustle and bustle remain typical and over the course of a few hours Kyoko and Taro get matters back in order and she has a time for a quiet word to her manager if she anything she wants to say.] --- [Ardweden] Kyoko's so damn tired at this point that she's really not sure she wants to deal with said manager. At least she's caught everything up to where it should have been in the first place when Taro came in (late). She's not even sure if she's angry at him. She's just sort of... angry in general. And he's included as a part of "general". Along with herself. And life. This happens a lot. Ugh, their manager's going want to talk to her at _some_ point before her shift is over. May as well get it over with before Kyoko manages to fuck up something else. She finishes bussing a table, then returns to find said manager adjusting the pastries in their case. Nishizaka's off doing who knows what. Some supervisor she is. "Fujita-san," Kyoko greets, with a little bow. --- [Grysar] Fujita looks up to give her a quick nod before taking another half a minute to finish the pastry placement. She's oft told Kyoko that with pastry sales, more than half is looks and half of that is arrangement to show their best side. She stands up, a bit shorter than Kyoko and a well spring of energy despite being older than her two subordinate's combined. "Ozora-san, your tiredness is showing. Is there something wrong?" Fujita is not an unsympathetic boss, but her idea of problem solving involve only small sacrifices on her own part and almost none of the Cafe's. --- [Ardweden] Ha, because she's always tired. Kyoko sees what you did there, Fujita. "Nothing more than usual, I guess. Today's rush was more taxing than expected. Nishizaka barely made it." --- [Grysar] Fujita nods. "Handle table four then head back. I can help with makeup. When Nishizaka makes a mess, it shouldn't add to your workload." She goes over to have a quick quiet word with Taro who blanches and rubs at the back of his neck before bowing apologetically. He steps up his pace, though when passing Kyoko he gives her a dirty look and mutters under his breath, "What side are you on? They don't pay us enough for this." --- [Ardweden] "I'm tired," Kyoko points out as she puts some touches on a coffee that she proceeds to hand to Taro. "And it's not like you're going to lose your job." That apparently he's not being paid enough for. Maybe he should find one of those jobs. Not like he needs it. --- [Grysar] Taro takes the coffee and looks directly at her for a moment and his expression softens a little. "What weight are you carrying, Ozora?" --- [Ardweden] "Nothing new." Kyoko really wanted to say, 'None of your business,' because it isn't any of his business, but it's not like he knows what's going on in her life because it's _none of his business_. "Table three," she says, indicating the coffee in his hand. --- [Grysar] "Oh... right." Taro stammers out. He looks confused but slips back into serving mode as he delivers the coffee and then is immediately pulled in to taking orders from a different table. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko sighs, allowing herself to take a break for a few moments, before pulling herself together and getting back to work. She just has to finish this shift and then she can go home to her brother. With any luck he'll have eaten what she made him for dinner and be asleep, so then she can go to sleep. Blissful, uninterrupted sleep. Oh and she has to eat something in there. Damnit. Whatever, she'll make it work. --- [Grysar] Seeing that Kyoko has dealt with her current task, Fujita, makeup bag in hand, interrupts Kyoko before she gets to work again to suggest she wing into the back for a moment so that Fujita can tend to her for a moment. "Won't be perfect, but sometimes how we look can change how we feel." Fujita isn't giving orders here. In general she's a deft and quick hand with such things and uses a light touch on herself, though her sense of style is really about matching the feel of the cafe rather than any sort of personal style. --- [Ardweden] "All right," Kyoko relents, and follows her boss into the back. --- [Grysar] Fujita leads Kyoko to a sink and mirror and works quickly. The bags under Kyoko's eyes are downplayed, color is given to her cheeks. The waitress looking back at Kyoko in the mirror is both more refined but unfamiliar. Fujita pauses for the moment, with an appraising look. Her own make up is a bit more fancy than Kyoko's present state, but she seems uncertain whether to continue. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko looks at herself in the mirror and mumbles something complimentary. Now that she's not out front anymore and both Fujita and Nishizaka acknowledged it, her exhaustion is more obvious in behavior, if not in looks (thanks, make up). The only people she needs to front for at this point is the customers. Reiji really needs to be calm tonight. But that's the silent prayer she sends up every day. Fujita goes back to work on Kyoko's appearance, dispensing bits of wisdom about running a successful business and pushing on in the face of busy days and overwork. Kyoko only half pays attention, letting the older woman's words wash over her, but she's pretty thankful anyway. It's annoying when people pity her, but this isn't pity, really; all Fujita really cares about is whether or not her cafe is successful, and Kyoko's a part of that. Kyoko's hung on to this job for longer than basically anyone else (it's why she's in charge when Fujita isn't around, even though she's part time), but she knows she's nothing that special. Still, this is nice. Maybe it's like having a mom. She really wouldn't know. Too soon, it's over, with Fujita nudging her slightly to get back to work. Kyoko opens her eyes. She barely recognizes herself in the mirror - too polished, too fancy, definitely not herself - but she can always fix it later and she's feeling way more relaxed than she did before. "I feel a lot better. Thanks, Fujita-san," she says to her boss' reflection. --- [Grysar] Fujita is obviously pleased with her handiwork, but waves off the thanks. The next few hours pass without incident and with mercifully with less commentary from the clientele about her wellness. People also treat elegant Kyoko (or Fujita the younger) differently, in multiple ways. With the end of shift in sight, China Sword guy returns. Now sporting a few new bandages, including on the other one cheek, and with two women in tow. His skin tone is the lightest of the three, but still indicates some time spent outside. One of them ia tall with a figure that would be called gorgeous as fourteen but for a woman that's likely a year or two past her coming of age day looks almost a bit boyish. She's well coiffed with her red hair in shaped into a spiral on the right side of her head. She wears a white chemise, pale capris, open toed shoes, and a light open shirt with stripes in multiple hues of orange. Her finger nails and toenails are both painted in a matching set of colors. None of the pieces are things Kyoko hasn't seen on the discount racks, but the ensemble is striking. She takes in the scene with curious eyes, paying attention to some of the less conventional meal, wardrobe, and hair choices of the customers. Kyoko recognizes these first two from the big fight. They were the cavalry. They almost sparkled in Kyoko's memory but much of the battle was a blur. Her side might have won without those reinforcements, but it would have been real ugly. Even as it was, she thinks one of sword guy's group didn't make. The other woman is of a young but indeterminate age. She's wearing a business suit that isn't out of place in the cafe, but is an odd contrast to her two companions. She's of medium height and her bearing is athletic. Her hair tips are bright red and naturally curl up slightly and her nails are a matching color. She has a bag that could also be a student's backpack, but it's by a side handle that makes it look more like a messenger's. There's a octagonal shaft with plastic cap jutting out of one corner of the bag. Her attention is directed at Kyoko and her look is appraising. She might have been to the cafe once before in the last week or so, but Kyoko doesn't recall ever seeing her before that. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko looks up to see the trio coming over to the counter. "Good evening," she says, with a lot more professionalism than if this had happened earlier in the day. "What can I get for you?" --- [Grysar] Blade guy looks slightly confused. "We were hoping to speak with Ozora- san." Recognition then dawns, perhaps aided by an elbow in the side from the all-business lady. "That is if you are available. We'd be happy to put in an order first or wait until your off shift." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko almost laughs and cries at the same time. Someone not recognizing her because of Fujita's whole makeover thing is so fucking _weird_. "Yeah, it's me," she says, once she gets her expression in order. "My shift ends in twenty." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki grins and lays down a 2000 yen note. "Three pastries to go please, whatever's best. We'll stay out you hair till you're off." After finishing the transaction, they go to eat outside and wait for Kyoko to emerge, chatting about some computer thing. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko grabs them a pumpkin spice muffin, a chocolate croissant, and a fruit tart, rings up the total and hands over the change, and sends them on their way. After that, it's back to the grind with only fifteen minutes to go. --- [Grysar] The shift wraps up without further incident. Taro seems like he may have something he wants to say, but can't quite come out with it. She gets a few surprised looks and a compliment from the next crew and this duty for the day is over. --- [Ardweden] Finally! Kyoko cashes out and grabs a couple of muffins that have been sitting out too long to sell. Coworkers arrive for the next shift, along with looks and compliments because of the makeover (and that's just weird, but it's less weird than getting them for looking like herself). No wonder Fujita wanted to do that; Kyoko wonders if it improved sales somehow. Meanwhile, Nishizaka's hovering around her with a *look* on his face. What the hell is that supposed to even mean? --- [Grysar] [Taro is a confused cauldron of feels. He's noticing her in ways he doesn't usually, but also feels a bit disloyal because of that, both because he's wondering if he's a bad colleague for her and because he has someone that he gets wistful looks about every now and again. Piece of evidence on Kyoko's speculation on sales. He's also still smarting at the scolding he received from Fujita-san, and her dolling up Kyoko certainly isn't lessening his tool sentiment. That said, he's got at least two different martial arts he regularly trains in, Kyoko's got enough to worry about without tracking that sort of thing, and he's not unused to the authority of demanding senseis. He's in a place where if given a face saving opportunity he might apologize but if pushed the wrong way he might have some further accusatory self-justification to spew out.] --- [Ardweden] Kyoko eyes him long enough to figure that it's a combination almost- crush-and-borderline-jealous-and-defensive look, which explains why it's so damn complicated. At least the makeover explains the first part, and she just can't deal with this right now. She shoves the muffins in a bag and waves bye to Taro before heading into the back. There, Kyoko washes up (or washes a lot of the make up off - if her own brother gets confused by Fujita's makeover, that will be the actual stupidest), redoes her ponytail, and packs her apron and muffins into her backpack. That done, Kyoko heads out the back door into the early evening! --- [Grysar] [The young woman in the business suit is sitting on a bench by a bus stop at one end of the back alley. She had claimed the chocolate croissant and gives a wave to Kyoko when the waitress emerges from the back.] --- [Ardweden] Kyoko waves back, walking over to her. "Hey." --- [Grysar] [The woman stands up and walks over and gives a quick bow. "So thanks for talking with us. You seem like you're a sort that is busy all the time, so I'll skip the lead in. I'm the King of Swords, and I'd like to earn your vote for Council."] --- [Ardweden] "Okay?" Kyoko tries, a little too confused to bow back. She looks around to see if she can spot the other two somewhere around here. --- [Grysar] [The other two appear, walking over from the front side of the cafe. As they round the corner, the woman with the colorful nails grins and comments to Tomoyuki. "Oh no, the woman at the counter has been replaced. How does this keep happening?" He blushes and scratches at his arm. "Hey Ozora-san. Would you like to talk here? Are you on your way somewhere?"] --- [Ardweden] "Here's fine if it's short," Kyoko says, her mind still stuttering over this 'vote' and 'Council' business. There was Kinsha and Winston, and then Kyon mentioned elections recently, right? He's running, and so is his girlfriend. That's probably it. "I was just going to head home. I, uh..." She shifts a little. "I don't remember your name. Sorry." --- [Grysar] The blade guy drew a small knife from his pocket, only to have the tall woman rest her hand on his for a moment. He chuckles at the apologies. "Don't be sorry. I probably should have had a cool catchphrase or something. But it's Tomoyuki. This is Miyabi." He nods over to the woman next to him. "And Akane." He slips the knife back into his pocket and gestures to the businesswoman, who sighs. "Our group mostly stuck to itself. So Ak-- The King of Swords suggested that maybe I should introduce our candidates to some of the people I'd worked with." Miyabi bows. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm running for the Cup seat." --- [Ardweden] Now Kyoko bows back. "Kyoko Ozora. I'm not running at all." She looks at Tomoyuki. "Did you guys talk to Kyon Sorata already? He'd be interested." --- [Grysar] "He's on the list. Though he's a busy one too." The businesswoman pipes up. "Candidate to candidate talks are fine, but I'm worried the Council is already too much like student government with super powers. To serve our fellow Arcana, we need to know the challenges they face." Miyabi walks closer, content to let Akane do the talking but a bit bemused at a pitch she's likely heard before. This gives Tomoyuki a chance to draw a blade again, looks like an exacto knife or something. --- [Ardweden] "Uh, okay?" What does that have to do with anything? Kyoko shoves her hands in her jacket pockets. --- [Grysar] Akane looks like she might be ready to launch into a longer explanation when Miyabi speaks up. "So, with the war and the secrets and all that, life for a lot of Arcana is kind of terrible. If we work together and listen to each other, maybe we can make it a little better. That's what the council should be. And there's only like three dozen voters or something. So if you decide who you think is worth trusting with the job and vote, that might decide who wins one of the races." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko nods. And shifts again. "Sorry, but do you mind walking while we talk? I really have to start heading home." --- [Grysar] Akane nods. "Of course. Mind if Mibi puts up a field? Makes it easier to talk freely." Miyabi, or Mibi for short apparently, twitches slightly at the use of the word "easy" in close proximity to "field" but doesn't object. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko shakes her head. "Go ahead, if you guys want." Huh, she should have thought of that. Probably would have if she was the one going to talk to people about stuff. --- [Grysar] Mibi stands on her toes and does a quick spin, and the distant sounds of traffic and people at either end of the alley stops. Perhaps it's just the way the dusk light frames her, but her outlines seems to twinkle as she does that. A bit past her Tomoyuki has made a small cut in his palm drawing a disappointed look from the spinner who quietly says to him, "Trust us, we can manage this." Akane nods in support of Mibi's statement and then relaxes slightly, "Lead on at your own pace. We'll keep up and answer any questions you have." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko nods and starts walking. "Why did you have to spin to make a field?" she asks Miyabi, curiously. She doesn't have to do that. --- [Grysar] Akane chuckles, a surprisingly lilting sound for her professional demeanor. "Yes Mibi, Ozora-san asks an excellent question." Mibi rolls her eyes at Akane's comment. "Just as Akane stretches to prepare her body for the exertion of a big match, I spin to prepare my state of mind to step into the flow of magic." Tomoyuki is low key hanging back as you all get moving, scratching at his leg as he does so. --- [Ardweden] "A big match?" Kyoko leads the way home. It's not a short walk by any means, but she figures she'll take it until this talk is over and then hop a train the rest of the way there. --- [Grysar] "Tennis." Akane answers. "I wish you all could see her on the court some time." Mibi chimes in. --- [Ardweden] "Oh." Curiosity satisfied, Kyoko continues her walk. Miyabi's right - it's not like she has any time to watch a tennis match. --- [Grysar] "Champion or no, I don't expect you to care about my game of choice." Akane's tone does make clear she thinks of herself in the former category, but that the second part of her sentence is no surprise or disappointment. "What do you care about Ozora-san? What could I, what could we, strive for on Council that would make us worthy of your support?" --- [Ardweden] Kyoko blinks, almost asking why they're asking her, but they just explained that. This is definitely the same election stuff, though. "I'm going to vote for Sorata," she tells them. "Nothing's really going to change that." --- [Grysar] Akane's turn to twitch slightly, but Miyabi is quick to jump in. "We wouldn't ask you to do otherwise. Tomoyuki has told us Sorata-san is like an action star in China. But you get to choose one candidate per suit. Sorata-san is a Wand. I'm a Cup. Akane is a Sword. Voting for us is not at the expense of voting for him." You can hear Tomoyuki's laugh from behind you at the description of his characterization of Kyon. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko looks back at Tomoyuki, wary for a moment before she realizes that his laughter isn't at her; it's at the description. She relaxes again (as much as she's able, anyway), and re-engages the conversation. "That's... a lot of people." Kyoko pauses, thinking it over, and gets essentially nothing. Except- "That means you're running against Andrews," she says to Akane. "Unless there's more than one person who can be voted in for Swords, too." --- [Grysar] Akane nods. "Right." She considers her words before launching into an explanation. "The situation is ridiculous. There's already five council members and they're mostly dead weight. But under the current rules, there's no way of papering it over, only one of us can win, I'd like your vote to help me be that winner." --- [Ardweden] "She's going to be tough," Kyoko tells her. 'Tough' is a great word for Andrews. Also 'smart' and maybe 'vicious'. No wonder she and Kyon are dating. --- [Grysar] Akane considers that for a moment. "Good. Nothing forces growth like competition." She thinks for another moment. "It's a secret vote. You're free to choose who you like. But in this moment, you hold the power to shape things. What would you want from a Councilmember that Andrews-san might not provide? I'm not asking for your faith, I just want a chance to prove myself." --- [Ardweden] "What would I want?" Kyoko frowns, at that, thinking. What would she want? That Andrews couldn't give her? In this job that is so far removed from her daily life that it may as well not matter? "I... don't know." --- [Grysar] Akane snorts. "It's a miracle anyone knows what they want from the Council. Near as I can tell, the whole thing was set up centuries ago to be a ruling club and obscure accountability." Akane fishes through her bag to draw out a handbill card that she hands to Kyoko. The front looks like a scaled down poster with bold colors. It depicts a young person in something like the downward facing dog yoga pose being used as a bench by an authoritative and proper woman facing away from the viewer. There's a snazzy logo with a K made by four swords, all meeting at the middle point of the K. The text says "RISE UP. " There a small signature in one corner, but you'd have to look closer to make it out. On the back it just shows the logo again and "Vote at the Tower" and lists the two date of the election. There's not much detail there and it wouldn't be especially meaningful to you if you hadn't just had this conversation. "So there are three things I'd try to do as your representative that you might care about. Want to hear them?" Miyabi meanwhile is sort of listening, sort of looking at the scenery. The slight twinkling is still there, but subtle. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko peers at the card for a moment. Why the K? It's not like Akane's name begins with K. Maybe it's her last name- oh, King of Swords. Right. Kyoko flips the card, checking out the back, before tucking it into her jacket pocket and looking back up to Akane. "Sure, why not." She glances at Miyabi, then briefly back to see how Tomoyuki's doing. She knows he's still with them, at least. Fields tend to make that sort of thing obvious. --- [Grysar] Peering closer, the art apparently was created by Naoki Arai there's also a design signature by Rosa Díaz. Tomoyuki keeps hanging further back and looks like he may be ghosting out if you turn a corner or otherwise give him a chance. Miyabi does glance back every now and then, and while he's got an itch or two, he doesn't have a knife in hand at the moment. Akane speaks quickly but precisely. "First, you'll always know what I'm fighting for and I'll fight hard. No weasel words. No hiding behind Fate or other arbitrary authority or oppressive rules. No asking someone else to take a risk I won't myself." Miyabi nods at this, but there's some sadness or pain in her expression. She rests her eyes on the blossoms in a nearby park. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko nods. "Okay." She doesn't really blame Tomoyuki for wanting to bail. He was just there to introduce them to each other, it looks like. --- [Grysar] "Second, we need to cut the elected Council in half. How many of the existing Council or candidates can you even name?" She pauses for a second and continues, trust that her point is made. "Then we can have people who focus on health needs or starting a community bank and the policies the Council agrees on. There are some good proposals out there, but it needs to be someone's job, even if it's only part time, to get it done." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko sort of blinks. Really, the answer was 'zero', but she gets the feeling it's not for the reason Akane thinks. Akane, who's plowing ahead and Kyoko holds up her hand. "Wait, was the part about health and banks the third thing or the second thing?" --- [Grysar] Akane veers off her pitch to calibrate in response to Kyoko's question "Third. We don't have much money. If we put those stipends towards fewer debaters and more doers, then we can have people marshaling our considerable resources to help one another." Tomoyoki does smile at the back and forth, ceasing his itching for the moment. --- [Ardweden] "Oh." Kyoko pauses. "Yeah, it's not like I'm paying taxes to some sort of Arcana government. ... I can't afford to do that, by the way." --- [Gryar] Akane nods and Miyabi steps in. "Your abilities are good for fighting, but not much help in normal life, right?" --- [Ardweden] Kyoko frowns. "Who told you that?" --- [Grysar] Miyabi's eyes flit over to her companions for a second, eyes resting on Akane before looking back at Tomoyuki as he steps up after making a sideways wound on his arm, leading to a line of blood and a gasp from Miyabi. "You looked like crap, but you were at the front against the Reversed and you held your own." He walks a bit closer. "Look, the things I can do don't just help in combat, but I'm not super-employable, you know." He sighs, "And you did spot that trap in the cave. I sure didn't see it." Miyabi rushes over taking a bandage from her purse and dressing the wound. "So maybe Mibi's wrong and you're the next Iron Chef with your spear work and eye for detail. But you and me, I think we have a harder time afterward." Tomoyuki lets out a long breath, looking like Kyoko felt earlier today. "We were made into weapons. That's why our group held back until weapons were truly what was needed. That's why there's no shame in having a hard time with other stuff." --- [Ardweden] Tomoyuki stepping closer, with the knife and the blood and looking so much like Kyoko herself triggers something, and without thought a spear appears in her hand and she points it firmly at him, forcing him to keep his distance. She blinks and relaxes before anyone can do anything much about it, standing it on its end and leaning on it, almost casually. A casual chick with a spear in a death field. Kyoko almost snorts to herself. "Someone else is going to do the Iron Chef thing," she points out. "She's a good fighter, too." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki stops and steps back, letting that particular knife clatter to the ground. Akane casually unzips her bag, removing her racket. "Ah, yes. Shimiru- san." She snorts. "Talented. Head full of dreams. Makes high school festivals a gourmand experience." She shakes her head. "But in the grand scheme of things, the dreams she fuels aren't her own." She stops spinning the racket, holding it in her left hand. "Same as you. At least until you or she choose otherwise." --- [Ardweden] Akane's casualness is an awful lot like Tomoyuki's casualness, or Kyoko's herself, and Kyoko reacts accordingly - by tensing up in a not at all casual way. "Nice to know you think so highly of us, Akane-san," she says in her best 'I'm here for the pay so fuck you' voice. Her eyes flick around, taking in the trio and their positions, the environment and various ways out. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki and Akane are both fighters and you don't know the extent of their abilities. Tomoyuki can throw knives. Akane probably has tennis balls or something, so they're both good at range and pick their positions well. The hard part here isn't so much getting away, but leaving with pride intact. The only one here that doesn't actually seem that dangerous is slightly sparkly Miyabi, who conveniently is close enough to make an easy hostage before either of them would be in a position to act. Alternately, Tomoyuki is hard to get a read on but Akane has her pride too. Call her out and she would be loathe to let anyone else intervene. Finally, if you just straight fled onto nearby garbage can and up a fire escape, you could run away to safety before they could get a hit in, but that's not gonna be so great in the pride department unless luck is on your side. "I challenge people because I believe in their potential." Akane looks like she may have a further argument but Miyabi then holds up her hand. Akane bites her tongue for now, though your potential hostage hasn't yet pulled her own words together. Tomoyuki keeps his hands where you can see them. --- [Ardweden] "Then why do it at all?" Kyoko asks, still tense. "Don't you want me to support *your* dream?" --- [Grysar] Akane gives a feral grin. "You've been listening! Yes! That's the right question." Her tone is oddly enthusiastic, not sarcastic. "Why do it?" She gives another lilting laugh. "I know Sorata-san and Andrews-san are close. I know I'm behind and that I'm only a second year. I have to chase every vote. But I don't give up easy. Ever since I've come to this country I've seen so many people socialized to accept their lot in life when they could have something better and I'm tired of it." "I want a seat on Council, but I want to achieve our dreams together. You have real power here. Power you don't at your work places, that you didn't in school, and power that does not require sacrificing your independence." --- [Ardweden] Akane's looking a little crazy, and Kyoko glances at Tomoyuki and Miyabi for... assistance? Reassurance? She has no idea what. But she knows she likes Tomoyuki more than this King of Swords. He makes way more sense - and made way more sense, from what she can remember about the trip to China. "Second year in high school?" Kyoko guesses. Where would she be if she stayed in school? Graduated maybe. Huh. --- [Grysar] Akane nods in response to Kyoko's question and Miyabi speaks up. "Akane gets passionate sometimes. But what's important is that the choices are yours. You can walk away. You can tell us to walk away. You can talk to us what you care about and we can talk about our ideas." Tomoyuki kneels down to pick up the knife he dropped, glancing up for Kyoko's approval before laying his hand on it. "I get it. Look up my card sometime. Two of swords. Protection by not letting things in or out. I don't apologize for our neutrality and you shouldn't for whatever it took you to survive. But what works in one situation can mean missing out in another." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko nods to Tomoyuki when he reaches for his knife, and she keeps focusing on him. "Mistakes are still mistakes, even if I'd make them again. And I don't get what your card has to do with anything. I'm awful at being mine. It's supposed to be pretty good, and instead I got fucked up and dropped out of school." She thinks for a little bit, sweeping her gaze over Akane and Miyabi, before pointing at Tomoyuki (with her pointer finger, not the spear). "I'll talk to him." To Tomoyuki: "If you want?" --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki nods as he stands up. Miyabi walks over to Akane, resting a hand on her arm. "You've made your best case." They both give quick bow. Miyabi gives a significant look to Tomoyuki who gives her a winning smile and gently shoos her away. Her look stays significant and she raises her hand to the side of her face, extending thumb and pinky finger like an old style phone headset. That draws a nod and another shoo gesture. As they leave you can hear Miyabi say to Akane, "I told you that you could get through this one without dueling." The girl retorts, "It might have helped." Tomoyuki stands still for a moment as they walk away. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko relaxes a bit more. She watches them go, waiting for Miyabi's field to drop before she raises her own. --- [Grysar] As she's waiting Tomoyuki closes his eyes and slackens slightly before opening them again and quickly staggering over to rest his weight against the wall. He makes it just in time, as activity returns to the alley with an older man hauling a mix of folded cardboard boxes on a dolly. About half a block further down there's a few kids, neighborhood regulars, practicing skateboard tricks that fail more than half the time. --- [Ardweden] "Shit!" Kyoko drops her spear - it disappears once it's no longer touching her fingers - and is at Tomoyuki's side. She reaches out to steady him. "Are you okay?" --- [Grysar] "Well enough." He rubs at his left shoulder with his right hand. "Over exerted myself a little." He makes to stand up and then swiftly realizes that was a mistake. "We could perhaps talk here. No, you have other duties." The old man glances over concerned and gently settles down his dolly. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko grabs Tomoyuki by the arm so he doesn't fall over. "It's okay," she tells him as she raises a field of her own. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki gives a wan smile and then looks over Kyoko's shoulder, down the alley in the direction you were headed, past where the now-vanished skater kids were. His eyes widen. "No, not now." He fumbles for a knife with his free hand. "We need to go. Now. Back, sideways, doesn't matter. But he can't see me like this." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko glances back over her shoulder to try to see whoever or whatever it is. "Can you jump the dumpster to the fire escape?" --- [Grysar] Judging by the size, probably a guy in what looks like the bright blue of a police cadet's uniform. Somewhat tall. At least two blocks away, you can't even really see a face. Either Tomoyuki has rather good eyes or he knows something you don't. Tomoyuki looks it over. "I can get on the dumpster, I'll need help with the escape." --- [Ardweden] "You got it." Kyoko runs for the dumpster, hauling herself up easily. She doesn't look back at Tomoyuki before jumping for the fire escape overhead, clearing more height than really should be possible. She pulls herself up and turns, lying on her stomach to reach over the edge and grab his hand. --- [Grysar] Two small leg cuts later Tomoyuki scrambles atop the dumpster. His eyes widen again as he sees Kyoko make that leap and scoffs quietly to himself, "Can you jump to the fire escape she asks." Nonetheless he comes closer and gives her one hand, stretching to reach the escape itself with the other. She hauls him up with more ease than expected. He's light. No heavier than her brother and while not cold, cooler to the touch than he should be. Kyoko has put in her time as an unpaid orderly and a warehouse worker, but she hadn't fully internalized the degree to which she'd trained her body, so the ease with which she can lift Tomoyuki comes as a bit of a surprise. Her strength is not without limit, she doesn't think that dumpster would be anything less than backbreaking , but when his other hand loses its grip, she's able to do the rest of the work of pulling him up until they are both crouched on the fire escape and he is safely in her arms. His weight is an encumbrance to her, but only one that limits her to the speed and leaps of an ordinary person. Turns out a cooperative subject makes a pretty big difference when hauling someone around. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko breathes for a few seconds, looking towards the guy. There's a lot of stairs to go and she's not sure if Tomoyuki can make it in reasonable time, as alarmingly cold and light and bleeding as he is. What the fuck. "Can I carry you?" --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki glances down the street. The still distant figure has stopped but seems to be facing your direction. He drops the bravado, "That might be best." --- [Ardweden] "Okay." Kyoko sets him on his feet, and stands. Before long and with his help, she gets him into a fireman's carry. And then they're off, with Kyoko racing up the stairs and jumping that last bit to the roof. From there, it's a question of putting distance between them, and Kyoko's spent an alarming amount of time unintentionally exploring the World Reversed thanks to her brother. She's pretty sure she can find somewhere safe and away, especially if she doesn't have to hold up for someone else. --- [Grysar] He is a compliant passenger, only distracting her a bit as he maneuvers to bandage himself. "Wouldn't want to get blood on your outfit." You made good times and the buildings are close enough here to give some options. It would not be too hard to get a safe look at the one behind you, to quickly find an easier space to talk, or even to get to a place where it would be easier to reunite with Tomoyuki's people, or something else. That said you'd only be able to do one of things easily. What do you do? --- [Ardweden] Kyoko grimaces when Tomoyuki gets wriggly, reaching for whatever it is in his pockets with his free hand once they're on the roof, and at his explanation, she jostles him in such a way that he has to stop. "Don't care," she tells him, taking stock of where they ended up. The area's vaguely familiar to her, and she's already spotted a handful of possible escape routes, so... she just goes for the one that feels right and is rewarded soon enough when they land on the roof of a small hotel, a couple of buildings away, They've been drying linens on the roof and left them up for the night, which is just about perfect. Kyoko sets Tomoyuki down behind a wall of sheets and, in a sudden bout of inspiration, drops her field. She creeps over towards the edge and looks out and down at where they left Officer Asshole. --- [Grysar] Not long after Kyoko settles in, Hachioji Senshiro jogs down the street. He doesn't give you the pleasure of hearing him curse when the field goes down, but he does slow briefly before deciding to break into an all out run. Kyoko's seen Senshiro in battle before, back in the early days as opponents and on the same side against the Reversed. If anything he looks stronger now than he did then and he has not skipped leg day once in the intervening years. Which brings to mind Taro and his various overzealous training regimes. What must it be like to have that sort of free time? Your instincts don't give you a sense for police hierarchies, as is typical for Japanese police officers you can tell that while he's not carrying gun, but he holds himself like someone that has made it out of the academy, with all the tools and privileges of your starting cop on the beat. --- [Ardweden] Fuck, he decided to become a police officer? What the hell? Kyoko trusts cops even less now. "What did you do to piss *him* off?" she hisses at Tomoyuki while she watches. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki gets an almost wistful look. "Back in the day, I led up lessons for some a few different Arcana on the meaning of neutrality." He lets out a breath. "He's been on much better behavior since then, but, well, you've met Akane-chan now." Tomoyuki attends to his own bandages. "So he's not going to come after me, no, but..." Senshiro stops his jog when his walkytalky buzzes. He stops and answers and seems to behaving a disagreement with whomever is on the other side. A few exchanges into the conversation he stands stiff and then turns around, back in the direction he came. --- [Ardweden] "But he'll try to get the information out of you?" Kyoko guesses, not taking her eyes off of Senshiro. "And now he's wearing a uniform." --- [Grysar] "He won't have to. He can smell weakness and I'm in no state to hide it." He closes his eyes. "It's okay to breeze over the politics nerd stuff, but there's one thing you need to understand." He opens his eyes again and watches Kyoko intently, as he does so he notices her attention is elsewhere and waits. Senshiro walks back to the side street from from whence he came, no longer in any hurry. Neither the old man nor the skateboarders are that close and he lets out some of his frustrations while speaking in an even, conversational tone. "A missed opportunity, Lt. Sagara. I pray in the future, your detecting will justify her confidence." Senshiro has always held his cards freakishly close to her chest, but somehow, watching him in unobserved while he had been in a field, Kyoko gains new insight into him. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko pulls back, now certain Senshiro won't find them. "Yeah?" she asks as she settles on the ground next to Tomoyuki, swinging her backpack over to land in front of her. There's blood on her skirt, but whatever. She opens it and looks inside while he probably talks. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki's tone is matter-of-fact. "Akane's ability to get in Senshiro's face safely. Our ability to credibly field two candidates. It's because people think we're strong." He shugs, "After the election, who knows. Maybe I take that last journey to the west. But not yet." --- [Ardweden] "So what?" It's not that Kyoko's being dismissive; she just doesn't know why whatever he's saying is important. She extracts the barely-not-stale muffins and a bottle of Pocari Sweat from her backpack, both of which she shoves into Tomoyuki's hands. "Eat this. You've got bandages, right?" --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki nods towards his legs, he bandaged his latest cuts while Kyoko was watching Senshiro. "We're a team, we each have our roles." He takes the pocari first and takes a drink. "Even if we're not fighting now, if everyone thinks I can, then it's easier for the rest of the team to do their part." --- [Ardweden] "So... you don't want me to tell anyone about this?" Kyoko makes a sweeping gesture at Tomoyuki. --- [Grysar] "Yeah. No outsiders, I would ask you to give me that promise." Tomoyuki thinks a moment. "If and when Sorata needs to know, so be it. But please ask the same of him before you tell him." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko shrugs. "Fine." She wasn't planning on telling anyone, anyway. Why would she? "Eat the muffins." --- [Grysar] "Yes ma'am." He takes a bite of the muffin and then drinks a bit more. He takes his time trading off, as some life returns to his cheeks. "What do I owe you?" --- [Ardweden] Kyoko blinks. "What, for the muffins? Nothing; they were gonna get thrown out." She shifts her position, a bit. --- [Grysar] Yeah I figured you probably weren't going to charge me for the rescue. But I'm grateful." "Still. Let me get us both some hot food once we get to the station." He takes another bite of the muffin. "It can be to go, you've got better ways to spend your evening. I respect that." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko shakes her head. "It's not really about it being 'better', so much as 'necessary'. Oh, right." She digs out her phone and sends Reiji a quick text, letting him know she's running late. Chances are he won't notice or won't care, but who knows, really. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki sits up a bit more, pulling up his knees and taking another drink. "You flatter me." He scratches at his side for a moment before flexing his knuckles and carefully closing his fingers. "Can you afford to stay with me? I'd guess I need another five minutes if I'm to make to the station on my own power. But he's gone, right? I welcome your company, but don't let me get in the way of what's necessary." --- [Ardweden] "I figured," Kyoko says to her phone, hitting send. She tucks her phone away and looks back at Tomoyuji. "Why'd you almost kill yourself, anyway?" --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki scoffs. "I've been through worse." He does take another drink. "My abilities have their costs. It can really help against an enemy, their attacks can leave me more capable." He finishes the muffin, chewing for a bit. "Mibi has her theories." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko nods. "So you thought I might attack your friends?" --- [Grysar] "Sorta." He takes a drink. "I could see things seemed to be going in a bad direction. Maybe I'm sentimental. They're my friends. I like you. And I don't think life works like comic book crossovers." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko laughs. "So like, we all fight and then we get along afterwards? That'd be cool, though." She stretches her legs out in front of her, boots ending up near Tomoyuki's hip. They don't really go with the rest of her outfit. "It'd probably make me more likable." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki glances down at the legs and the boots and then up at her. "Akane says the same thing. Maybe I'm wrong on this and should stay out of the way." Another drink. "The way I see it, likable just means easy to like. That's not the same as worth liking." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko shrugs. "I'm also not really that." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki is finding Kyoko's legs slightly distracting and takes another drink. "You think I'd bother with this campaigning crap if I didn't think you were worth knowing? I'm capable of saying no to Akane-chan." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko rolls her eyes. "She said that she's chasing every vote. That's all this is, to her. And I have no idea what she thinks she can get for me that Andrews wouldn't." Pause. "But thanks, I guess." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki extends his legs in parallel to Kyoko. "I wasn't speaking for her, there." He then hmms. "You're right, but you're missing something. Politics is like everything else. There's only so much of us to go around." Speaking of, time for more hydration and calories. "I don't know that much about Andrews-san, aside from the body count and uh, her campaign slogan was.. something about no more impunity? Anyhow, she has one set of priorities and Akane has a different set. But at best they can do like one, maybe two things each. It's not like a fight where most everyone has the same core priorities: survive." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko watches Tomoyuki as he speaks. She shrugs in response to whatever Katie Andrews is or isn't running on - heck if she knows - and then frowns a little at the core priorities bit. "Okay," she says, slowly. "Then it's really unlikely she'll actually be able to help us. What I care about is too small for her." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki scratches his nose and then pulls his hand away. "If it's healthcare or like a loan, she might be able to help. She wants there to be people with a part time job of helping. So they can do a lot of little things, but only in that domain." He looks to her. "Do you want to share it?" --- [Ardweden] "I'm okay with talking to you about it," Kyoko tells him, then looks away, folding her arms. "Not them. I don't know them." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki thinks. "Okay. I promise it will stay between us unless you say otherwise. I'm not clever about these sort of problems, but I don't think that's what you're looking for." --- [Ardweden] "I'm not looking for anything," Kyoko snaps. And then she immediately says, "Sorry. It's just... hard. I guess." She looks at Tomoyuki, the setting sun casting long shadows over him thanks to the hotel's laundry. "Ever hear of my brother?" --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki thinks rubbing at a larger bandage on his arm, a bloodstain there does spread slightly, but still seems contained by the bandage. "Part of Sorata's gang. You mentioned in China you were looking for him. Sorata mentioned that he handled one of the wrong artifacts, which must have been the Cup or the Pentacle." He squeezes his arm a little tighter, "Ri-" --- [Ardweden] Kyoko reaches out, trying to pull Tomoyuki out of another bout of self harm. "You okay?" --- [Grysar] He lets her pull him back, letting go of his own arm and intertwining her hand in his. "Sorry. You both told me something of him. And I didn't want to forget. No, not Ri. Reiji-san." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko's eyes go wide, and she half pulls away, half doesn't - she doesn't know what to do. What's even happening? "I uh- yeah. Reiji." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki gently lowers his hands so the pair are resting between their two legs. She can pull back more easily, if she wants. "I'm listening." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko looks down at their hands, her brain stuttering, then takes in a breath and focuses on Reiji. Right. "So, he used the Pentacle- well he didn't really use it- I don't know. It's complicated. I don't really understand it. But he basically swapped some of his powers with it, or something? The point is, he did it, which meant the Magician couldn't use it to basically fuck everyone over even more. And that-" She swallows. "That... basically drove him insane." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki's turn for his eyes to go wide. "Shit." He processes that for a moment, but finds his initial exclamation aptly captured the situation. --- [Ardweden] "Yeah," Kyoko half whispers. She clears her throat and, without thinking, pulls her hand back and legs up so she can wrap her arms around her knees. "Anyway, I- uh, he disappeared, and I went looking for him, and a lot of stuff happened-" a lot of bad stuff- "and after everything was over and we stopped the oni and everything, he was still crazy. So." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki's hand naturally drifts to the floor by Kyoko's feet. He shakes his head. "That's not a small problem. It's hard and hidden." "It's fucked up. Fighting a war with kids. Afterwards no support for the casualties, their families. I wish--" He cuts himself off. "Thank you for telling me." --- [Ardweden] "Yeah," Kyoko says at Tomoyuki's hand, which isn't quite 'you're welcome'. "Sure." --- [Grysar] The shadows grow longer, though some remnant of light catches of the sheets two rows away, giving a golden tint to the fading light. "Ozora-san. I know you don't want anything from me. But could you take something anyways? It's hard. You've given me escape, food, and shared your heart." He grips his knee with one hand and seems to be willing the other to stay on the ground. "It's not fair." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko blinks and looks up at Tomoyuki. "You saved my life," she points out. "You gave a shit when you didn't have to... You didn't think I was worthless because I didn't help against that guy in China or stupid because I didn't get what Akane was talking about. It's pretty fair." --- [Grysar] "Turnabout, eh?" He smiles, "Well, hard to argue with that." He sits still for a little while, hands less agitated and face more wistful. --- [Ardweden] A smile just touches Kyoko's face. She watches Tomoyuki settle. --- [Grysar] After a long minute or two pass a bit more of his energy returns. Tomoyuki moves to stand up and then thinks better of it, scooting along the ground so that he sits beside her. His back to the edge of the roof. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko turns her head to follow what Tomoyuki's doing, but otherwise she doesn't move. --- [Grysar] "It's okay to raise your expectations sometimes. When you're with someone you trust." He again lays his hand between their legs, in this case, resting on their knees. "They will disappoint you sometimes. But sometimes they're ready for it. And every now and then, you might even help them become better." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko looks down at Tomoyuki's open hand, then up into his eyes. "What-" She licks her lips. "Who do you mean? I don't... helping people become better isn't really..." --- [Grysar] "Who is up to you." He looks over at her too. "And I've got people helping look after me. My cumulative sacrifices are catching up with me, but I think you've seen I'm at least a little better on control than I used to be. I'm not asking for healing." "Let's put all the Arcana nonsense, the heroics, the family, the groups, the debts aside for a minute, OK?" He takes a long slow breath as he prepares his words. "You deserve to be grateful to people for more than not being a dick to you." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko stares at Tomoyuki in the rapidly dying light - but fortunately, it's Tokyo, so barring a field, light never gets anywhere close to completely dying. "I do?" she asks, and then, "It's not that people are dicks - or some of them are, maybe a lot of them, but - it's just that I'm- me. And I screw up a lot. So of course..." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki looks at her briefly with incomprehension and then there is glistening in his eyes as he processes. "Bullshit. You discovered you were a weapon in what," His eyes flit over her, resting for a moment on her legs again before looking back at her eyes and leaning his face closer to hers. "High school? Thrown into a gang war with no legitimate adult authority to turn to. You have friends and allies but that also means even more responsibilities you were untrained for. I don't doubt Arcana when they say they've screwed up, even terribly so. But..." --- [Ardweden] "Junior high," Kyoko corrects without thinking. "And it doesn't matter. The point is I'd do it again. That's my point. That's all of this. All of me." Kyoko gestures to herself, then sighs, looking away. "I don't know why I'm telling you this." --- [Grysar] "That asshole we fled. He's happy with who is he is. If he had a do-over he may train harder and refine his tactics, but he'd just be a more effective asshole." He sighs. "Losing isn't the same as not learning. Please look at me Kyoko-san. The girl I met in China, the woman before me now, may have given up on a better life, but she still strives to do her best when all she gets in return is a kick in the gut. And she deserves to be treated better." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko's arms tighten around herself. "You don't even know me," she protests, weakly. --- [Grysar] "I'd like to." --- [Ardweden] "Okay," Kyoko says, after a few beats. "Okay." She slowly untangles her arms from herself, stretching her legs out again and smoothing her skirt. Without looking at Tomoyuki, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, unlocking it and selecting to add a contact - a new one to a list that barely scrolls past the screen. She hands her phone to him, still not meeting his eyes. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki puts in his information and sending a quick message to himself. He waits a moment for his own phone to acknowledge it before muttering "Must be on silent." He hands Kyoko her phonee back and digs out his own phone. If Kyoko looks down at all, she'll see that it's silenced and he's got a few texts from Miyabi, seemingly reminders to let her know when he gets home safely with declining levels of chill in their tone. The latest message from her own number is now at the top of the queue and he goes about adding it to contacts. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko does look, not really deliberately, but it's away from Tomoyuki's eyes and all. "Is she freaking out? I guess we were up here for a while." --- [Grysar] "Maybe a little." He sends a quick text back. "Still out. Safe w/ Kyoko." And adds three bandage icons after that. "She set rather severe conditions before I was _allowed to consider_ campaigning for her." --- [Ardweden] "Oh, yeah?" Kyoko stands and stretches before reaching a hand down to help Tomoyuki up. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki stands up with Kyoko's help. He stays still for a moment. "Little light headed." And then smiles. "And it's faded, thanks again for the grub." Incidentally if Kyoko is watching he gets a response. "[bandaid][bandaid][bandaid]>0 :|" In response he sends an emoji of a pig and a piano keyboard. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko watches, vaguely fascinated. Looks like Tomoyuki's phone has tiny pictures in addition to text. Hers isn't that fancy. Then she realizes Tomoyuki was talking to her. "Sure," she says, looking up at him. Finally, she meets his eyes! "You needed it more than we did." --- [Grysar] He gets another response, his contact for her is incidentally Mibi followed by sparkles. Her new contact got a little spear. The text response comes back. "! Thank Ozora for me!" His eyes flit down to see that and look back to her. "Miyabi says thanks. She's making certain not incorrect assumptions about your role. And my offer for hot food to go still stands." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko smiles at the transferred thanks. "Yeah? If you don't mind, that'd be great." She picks up her backpack and then looks around, just realizing (again) where they are. "Are you okay to get down from here?" --- [Grysar] He replies with a quick thumbs up and puts away his phone. "My plan would be to walk down the stairs and out the front door and rely on the fact that nobody wants to get too involved with me." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko laughs. "I can put up a field if you want to risk it." --- [Grysar] "I think Senshiro is long gone. Field would make it easy for me, but I don't want to wear you out." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko shakes her head. "It's no big deal." She makes her way to the door and concentrates, and the noise and lights of Tokyo vanish in an instant. She reaches into her backpack and pulls out a couple of glow sticks, silently thanks Kinsha, and tosses one to Tomoyuki before snapping one for herself. "Stay close to me, okay? I'm not extending it too far out, just in case." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki catches it with a grin. "I'll bet you say that to all the boys you rescue." He does stay close to her though. Then he something clicks in his head and he looks closer at the glow stick. "These work in fields? Rad! We just always relied on Mibi for light." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko grins back, looking a bit alien in the blue light of her glow stick. "Yeah, it's a trick I picked up from Kinsha in the World Reversed. They're cheap, too." The door sticks a bit, so she shoves it open and heads into the dark hotel. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki cracks his own. Red will not help him avoid mummy jokes. "Oh man, that place." --- [Ardweden] "You've been there much?" She heads down the hallway for the stairwell. --- [Grysar] "Naw. Handful of times and they were all some sort of disaster." --- [Ardweden] "Yeah, it's that kind of place," Kyoko agrees, her voice echoing a bit in the stairwell they just entered She starts taking the stairs down, one hand on the railing; the stairwell is DARK and it's a very good thing she brought glow sticks. "I end up there at least once a month." --- [Grysar] "Oh man, what?' Tomoyuki's response is both concerned and impressed. He walks down next to her gently waving the light stick as he goes. "Getting out of that place always leaves Mibi messed up for like a couple days." --- [Ardweden] "I get headaches," Kyoko agrees. "But water or Pocari Sweat helps. Last time I got out, I brought some people with me and ended up with a bloody nose." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki gets out his phone to make a note of that, realizes his mistake, and puts it away. "Pocari Sweat. Makes sense." "It could be extra hard for her, as we relied on her to get around and her powers sort of depend on emotion." He laughs. "Though one time it was just like half of us, and we were wiped out after a fight, and Izami- senpai hauled us from Ueno Park to Tokyo Tower in a rickshaw she found." --- [Ardweden] "Oh, wow." Kyoko laughs, too. "That couldn'tve been fun, even if you are weirdly light." She takes the last few stairs and pushes the door open to the hotel lobby. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki nods. "I had a little more meat on the old bones then." He shakes his head. "She tried to do it in full dress at first. But at a certain point, pride gives way to the limitations of the human body." He shakes his head. "Thankfully, Akane had the sense to keep her mouth shut the whole ride." --- [Ardweden] "Full dress?" Kyoko asks. Seriously, what's that supposed to mean? She stops at the water dispenser - one of the fancy ones, with lime and mint and stuff - and grabs a cup of the stuff, which she drains quickly before refilling it. --- [Grysar] "Skirt, puffy shoulders, gloves. The whole deal." Tomoyuki follows over to the water dispenser and grabs his own cup, waiting his turn. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko steps aside so Tomoyuki can have at it. "Fancy." --- [Grysar] "She was. Less so that day of course. She leveled a few fences, walls, and at least one building so that she didn't have to detour any more than absolutely necessary." Tomoyuki has a couple glasses of water, a brief coughing fit, and then pours one more to take with him. --- [Ardweden] "Fancy and badass," Kyoko amends. She tosses her empty cup and leads the way outside! --- [Grysar] "Yeah..." Tomoyuki walks along, sipping from his glass. "Once a month? Man. Anything we should know about it if we ever get sucked in the World Reversed again?" --- [Ardweden] "It's kind of falling apart." Kyoko turns, heading towards the train station. "I was there a few weeks ago and there was this chasm where a road should be. I couldn't see the bottom." --- [Grysar] "Whoa." Tomoyuki blinks and false a step behind before hustling a little to catch up. "I don't know what that means, but it sounds bad. Is that a thing I can share?" --- [Ardweden] Kyoko nods to him. "Sure." She watches where she's going again and scowls. "Something about Arcana dying off, like we're not gonna be reborn or anything, so that's making the world reversed fall apart, too." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki takes another drink. "Ah." He thinks a little bit. "I guess that means the foundation of this stuff isn't the world reversed. It's us." --- [Ardweden] "Maybe." Kyoko makes a face, trying to really wrap her mind around that. "Guess it doesn't matter." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki scratches his head. "Huh..." He ponders as he walks, "Wait, are you going to be okay? If it's getting more dangerous and you keep ending up there..." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko sighs. "Yeah, should be. I just have to watch my step. I mean, I'm pretty sure Reiji wouldn't send me if it was actually dangerous." She pauses. "Probably. I'll try to talk to him about it." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki processes that and finishes drinking, pitching the cup into a can a few meters away. "Makes sense." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko nods, then looks at her companion. "Ready for the field to come down?" --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki is still processing the discussion. "You have to deal with a lot of shit after the war." He then absentmindedly nods, "Yeah, we should get everyone some food." --- [Ardweden] "Okay, here goes." Kyoko takes a moment, and the field comes down. She stands there, giving her eyes some time to adjust to influx of artificial light. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki glances around. "Convenience store, subway stand, burgers, or curry place?" --- [Ardweden] Kyoko grins. "Curry." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki heads over to the curry place and gets in line at counter. It's a small establishment with a some pictures of Myanmar posted on the walls. There's two individual tables and one long shared table. He passes over a menu and after looking at for a moment decides on a dish with dark meat chicken chunks, hot peppers, and a tomato based-curry. "So pick two entrees; single big one and an appetizer, whatever you want." --- [Ardweden] "Thanks." She turns to the cashier. "Samosas and seafood curry, please." She's about as polite as Tomoyuki's ever seen her, but she does work in the service industry, so that might have something to do with it. "And can I make another order after you ring this one up?" --- [Grysar] The clerk nods. Tomoyuki then snaps his fingers. "Drinks." He then grabs a chilled mango drink out of a cooler with a mix of ones prepared at the restaurant and the most common cans and bottles. "These will be on the first order." He then turns to Kyoko, "Grab one for your brother too if you like." --- [Ardweden] Kyoko nods and picks out another mango drink and a watermelon one. "Thanks." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki pays up and then goes over to on the unoccupied end of the long table while waiting for his order, deploying a straw and sipping from his drink. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko puts in another order, this one for chicken katsu curry, pays, and heads over to wait with Tomoyuki. --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki gets out his phone, which is working again, and looks up when Kyoko joins him. "You recovery advice was Pocari Sweat, right?" --- [Ardweden] "Yeah." Kyoko leans on the table. "I'm usually really dehydrated when I get back." --- [Grysar] Tomoyuki sends a quick text on that, the glow sticks, and the need to update on bigger picture changes. --- [Ardweden] Kyoko hangs out! She doesn't really have anything to say, so she checks her phone. No response from Reiji. Hopefully he's asleep and not flipping out or anything. --- [Grysar] Before too long the curry is ready and the new friends head to the subway and go their separate ways. Reiji is indeed a bit agitated on Kyoko's return, though the food does help. Unfortunately, she has little confidence any request not to be sent into the growing dangers of the World Reversed truly got through to him, at least this time.] [End!]