[Date: December 24th, 7PM.  A crowd is gathered for the highly-anticipated 
new release from author Yukio Akatsuki (the pen name of Aka Uehara).  While 
the author himself has yet to arrive, there's a lot of eager conversation 
among his fans - the crowd is primarily high school and college-aged 
women.  Already there's been a few minor kerfuffles, most notably one eager 
young lady's attempt to smuggle in a bucket of KFC to share with the man of 
the hour.]
[The security guards enjoyed it, though!  Anyhow, there's a few spots left 
towards the back of the room, perfect for listening without being noticed.]
[Session Start!]
* Haruko slips in to the back. She's dressed down in an outfit she borrowed 
from Maki. Her request was for something "low key" insufficiently disguised 
that she was looking for frumpy, but it worked anyways.
[ Haruko ends up behind a trio of girls in cute dresses.  They converse 
among themselves.  "I was hoping Sorazawa-san would be reading again this 
year."  "Yeah, me too, but Akatsuki-san is pretty good."  "Pretty good?  
He's awesome!  Forget Sorazawa."  If Haruko is aware of Kyon's pen name, 
she may feel a bit miffed at that last statement.]
* Haruko is wearing a sweater that's a baggier her usual tops, although 
it's also a little higher quality than many of her pieces. The pants are 
even nicer though not as flattering a cut as she prefers.
[Haruko is far enough in the back that she can't really see the covers of 
the books all that well.  There's an enlarged picture of the cover art on 
an easel beside the front table, though, and she can make out that Tokyo 
Tower features prominently.  If she wants, she can try to slip forward to 
get a better look, or she can wait.]
* Haruko is indeed a bit miffed. She gives a quick glance around to verify 
that it is just women here and not authors. "So have you read Akatsuki-san 
before? I'm excited to hear him speak but I haven't read him yet and I have 
a hard time imagining he'll top Sorazawa's reading last year."
[The three girls turn around.  The one who had expressed enthusiasm for 
Aka...tsuki speaks up.  "Oh, yeah!  I devoured his last book in a day.  It 
was sooo good.  I'm super-excited about hearing him actually read it."  
"But you've never actually *seen* him, Tsubame," replies the one who 
expressed disappointment that Sorazawa wouldn't be reading.  "Not that many 
people have seen him!" Tsubame retorts.  "That's part of why this is so 
exciting!"]
* Haruko nods. "Oh.. that does sound interesting. So what's the book like? 
When I first heard about it I thought it was just another take on X, but 
the buzz is that it has something more."
["He's totally ripping off X," the first girl says before getting poked in 
the arm by Tsubame.  "He is not, Suzume!" she says.  "It's much, much 
better.  More intrigue, less needless gore and plot holes!"]
* Haruko smirks slightly at the first comment but hides it as quickly as 
she can. "More intrigue and fewer plot holes? That's hard to pull off. 
Anyway it will be fun to see him." She looks off in the distance, "Although 
man, even without the element of surprise I wouldn't mind seeing 
Sorazawa-san again. Smoldering and cosmopolitan doesn't get old on repeat 
viewing."
<Haruko> (And that's Haruko wingmaning Tsubame)
[Tsubame looks unconvinced.  "I think I'm ready for something new."  
Meanwhile, the one young lady who's been mostly quiet this whole time takes 
a quick look at the front of the room.  "Shh!  I think he's coming!"  
"Really, Chidori?" Suzume asks.]
* Haruko hushes up and looks around.
[Chidori nods and her two flock-mates turn their attention back to the 
front of the room.  There's an anticipatory murmur, and then Yukio 
Akatsuki, a young man in his early 20's, walks in. He's dressed in, of all 
things, what appears to be a late 1700's style Western waistcoat, breeches, 
and buckled shoes.  His reddish-brown (likely dyed) hair is pulled back in 
a queue at the nape of his neck and is slightly curled.  He has a red scarf 
around his neck as well.  It's hard to tell if he's decided to dress this 
way for the reading or if it's the sort of thing he wears all the time.  
Haruko is familiar with the eccentricity of the Uehara family.]
["Merry Christmas!" he says in heavily-accented English.  "Merry 
Christmas!" much of the crowd yells back.]
* Haruko hmms quietly while fixing her eyes on the guy. For once staring is 
a good way to blend into the crowd. She tries to get a measure for the guy 
before joining in the cheer, because cheering is fun.
* Haruko giggles quietly. "Cute, but a very vintage something new."
* Haruko had been given a recorder by Katie earlier. When she has a moment, 
she reaches into her purse and switches it to record now.
["Thank you all so much for coming tonight!" he says with a huge smile.  He 
may be hamming it up, but the crowd's liking it, and hey, he's cute.  "I'm 
so glad everyone's been enjoying my story.  I'd like to start off by 
reading one of my favorite parts."  He takes a seat at the table and picks 
up one of the books, thumbing through to a part in the middle before 
beginning to read.]
* Haruko smiles at the warmth and continues to watch him like a hawk.
[The scene takes place in a high school and features a conversation between 
two students: Yukiko and Shigure.  Yukiko seems to be denying that she has 
any sort of special abilities.  Shigure is insistent that she does - not in 
a rough way, but more encouraging, telling her that there's nothing to 
worry about from him, that she has something important to do, that there's 
a great destiny waiting in store for her.  They continue to debate for a 
bit until Yukiko suddenly notices that everyone else in the hallway seems 
to have disappeared... except for a shadowy figure down the end of the hall 
that's slowly advancing towards them and seems to be carrying a sword.]
* Haruko bites her lip at this. She was prepared in a way, but it's still a 
bit too familiar.
[As the figure advances, Yukiko starts panicking... until she manages to 
fire several shards of ice in its direction.  The figure rears back, 
surprised, and then disappears, at the same moment that everyone else in 
the hallway reappears.  When she turns to talk to Shigure, he's gone... but 
there's a note sticking out of her bag.  She reads it, and he wants her to 
meet him at Tokyo Tower later.]
* Haruko gives Suzume a knowing look at the mention of Tokyo Tower. It's 
always Tokyo Tower, right?
[Suzume nods.  It always is.]
[Akatsuki skips ahead in the book to when Yukiko gets to Tokyo Tower. 
Shigure is waiting for her there and leads her to a room where four of her 
classmates - two male and two female.  He greets her.  "Welcome to the 
Council of Mysteries."]
[Akatsuki stops reading, and the crowd applauds enthusiastically.]
["Only six," Suzume says quietly to Haruko.  "That's way easier to keep 
track of than fourteen... though I guess there's probably an opposing six, 
so never mind.  Still, twelve's a bit better."]
* Haruko nods and whispers in return. "That is nice. It's way too hard to 
keep track of them when there's more than a dozen."
* Haruko does applaud along though.
* Haruko continues to whisper back. "That was one reason I preferred Utena, 
really. It was crazy, but I didn't need to take notes."
[Akatsuki bows, Western-style, sweeping an arm in front of him as he does 
so.  "Thank you, thank you.  You all are too kind to this humble writer.  
I'm happy to announce that Book Two of The Council of Mysteries will be 
available next month... but one lucky person will be receiving an advance 
copy tonight!  When you came in, everyone received a ticket.  I'm going to 
call on my assistant to draw a number, and whoever's ticket has that number 
receives the book!"
* Haruko digs out her ticket. She never wins these things anyways.
["I know, right?" Suzume whispers back before getting nudged by Tsubame.  
Meanwhile, the assistant reaches in and draws a number.  Akatsuki takes it 
with a dramatic flourish and reads it off.]
[Guess whose number it is, Haruko?]
* Haruko pales and leans forward slightly. "Tsubame... I won... I'm a mess, 
I'm not dressed for it. Do you want to meet him? I mean I'd like the book 
but... I can't talk to him."
[Tsubame's eyes widen.  "Omigod, omigod, really?  You're sure?  Really?"]
* Haruko nods and smiles pressing the ticket into her hand. "Maybe just ask 
him if he was inspired by any real people. I'm always curious with these 
things but I'd never have the courage to ask."
[Tsubame hesitates.  "I don't know, now I'm super-nervous.  Oh!  Maybe you 
can come up with me?  You don't have to say anything, just come with me?"]
* Haruko looks to Chidori and Suzume. "We can all go, right?"
* Haruko is wearing her hair with bangs tonight, the better to hide her 
burn marks.
["Absolutely!" Tsubame grabs Chidori by one arm and Suzume by the other.  
Suzume has a "hey, what can you do?" expression, but she reaches out and 
takes Haruko's arm, carrying her along with them.]
* Haruko follows along with the flock, trying her best to be the plain one.
[The flock of girls reaches the front of the room.  Haruko can hide behind 
Chidori if she wants, as Chidori is fairly tall.  Tsubame proudly hands her 
ticket to Akatsuki, who takes it and compares the number.  "We have a 
winner!" he exclaims.]
* Haruko does indeed want to hide behind Chidori.
[Tsubame is beaming, Chidori looks amused, and Suzume looks bemused.  
Akatsuki reaches down into a briefcase sitting next to him on the floor and 
withdraws a bound manuscript before picking up a pen.  "Shall I sign it to 
you and all of your friends?" he asks.  Tsubame looks at the others for 
their opinions.  Chidori nods, Suzume shrugs, and Haruko gets to make the 
deciding vote.]
* Haruko nods while looking away shyly, keeping the unmarked side of her 
face to Aka.
[Suzume whispers to Haruko. "What's your name?"]
* Haruko whispers back quickly. "Aki."
[Suzume relays this to Tsubame, who relays this to Akatsuki.  In beautiful 
handwriting, he signs the manuscript to Tsubame, Chidori, Suzume, and Aki.  
Despite the fact that Haruko is hiding behind Chidori, when he writes "Aki" 
he somehow manages to stare straight at her, and Haruko swears his eyes 
narrow just a little bit even though his smile doesn't change at all.]
* Haruko shivers and wraps her arms around herself while not making eye 
contact. She's just that awed really.
[Tsubame takes the manuscript reverently.  "Thank you, thank you, thank 
you!"  She squeals and hugs Chidori.  Akatsuki laughs.  "You're quite 
welcome," he says.  "What a lovely group of names," he adds.  "Three ladies 
of the air and one girl of the seasons... though I think spring would suit 
better than autumn."]
* Haruko is at a loss for a word for a moment.
["It's just coincidence," Tsubame says, "but we think it's pretty cool." 
She grins broadly.  Chidori makes an amused sound.  "C'mon, Tsubame, let's 
let Akatsuki-san get on with things."  She does smile warmly at him, 
though.  Suzume's kept a polite smile this whole time.  None of the three 
seems to have noticed Haruko's stunned reaction.]
* Haruko then regains her composure saying quietly. "I'm happy being Aki 
Wakabayashi, sir." She then nudges Suzume. "Don't you have a question?"
[Suzume looks confused.  "I do?"  "Oh, yeah!" Tsubame chimes in.  "Were 
these books inspired by anyone you know?"]
["No one I know personally, though I've done some research.  Talked with 
people.  You know how stories float around - urban legends, high school 
mythos of a sort."  He fixes Haruko with another glance.  "Sometimes 
inspiration just shows up when you're least expecting it."]
[Haruko's not entirely sure that he's telling the truth when he says it's 
not anyone he knows personally, but the rest of it seems true.]
* Haruko makes eye contact at this point as she appraises those comments. 
No point in hiding now.
* Haruko looks at Aka and his ensemble, trying to judge what she should be 
on the lookout for.
[One of Aka's assistants has a camera; if they want to take a picture, she 
should either hide or possibly try to get the group out of there before the 
opportunity arises.]
* Haruko nods. "Inspiration is funny that way." She then looks to Chidori. 
"You're right, we should let Akatsuki-san continue." And she heads back to 
her seat without waiting for consensus.
[One of the assistants holds out four postcards with the cover art; Chidori 
takes them and follows Haruko (and Suzume, who decided also to head off).  
Tsubame bows to Akatsuki once more, then follows the rest of the group.  
When they get back to their spot, Chidori hands out the postcards to the 
group.  They have the cover art for the first book on them: the silhouettes 
of a boy with short hair and a girl with a ponytail, dressed in school 
uniforms, standing in front of Tokyo Tower.  It's raining, and reflected in 
the puddle at the base of the tower is... well, the tower.  Reversed.]
[Meanwhile, Akatsuki opens up the floor for questions.  Thankfully most of 
them aren't too probing in respect to Arcana matters.  Mostly they're along 
the lines of favorite food, favorite color, what he looks for in a 
girlfriend, and the like.]
* Haruko makes sure the recorder is still going for this. She whispers 
quietly, "Tsubame-san, would it be okay if I read the book first? I'll get 
a copy of the first one tonight and should be through them in three days, 
tops. Then the three of you can keep it."
[Tsubame considers it.  "Well, I was going to invite you to our book club 
so we could talk about it.  But, since you had the winning ticket, you 
reading it first is totally cool by me.   Here's my number; we can meet up 
in a few days and trade."  She writes a number on a piece of paper and 
hands it to Haruko.]
["It's been fun talking with you," Suzume adds.  "I'd like it if you joined 
book club too."]
* Haruko smiles and takes it. "Oh? Thank you. And that sounds fun. I never 
really have anyone to talk to about Sorazawa-san and stuff... My 
roommate... doesn't want to. And my friends, well."
[Tsubame hands Haruko the manuscript.  "Here you go!  Take good care of 
it."  She looks at Suzume.  "Since it'll be a little bit before we've all 
read that one, we can do Sorazawa's newest one next."  Suzume looks pleased.]
* Haruko then checks her watch. "His second one is great. I've read it 
again after I got dum... But speaking of my friends, I'd be letting one of 
them down if I stayed." She glances up at the author and his assistant, the 
fear briefly showing. "It's been a lot of fun meeting you Tsubame-san, 
Suzume-san, and Chidori-san."
* Haruko then bows and jets. And she totally forgot to give them her number 
in return. Oops!
["It was nice meeting you too, Aki-san!" Tsubame calls out after her.  
Suzume and Chidori wave merrily.]
[Akatsuki and his assistants are busy fielding questions and don't seem to 
be paying attention to the people at the back of the room.]
* Haruko heads off to her bike while muttering bitterly to herself. "Right, 
so off to the library to copy this. Because what else would I be doing on 
Christmas Eve."
* Haruko then remembers to turn off the recorder. "And doing all that 
without breaking the binding."
<Ciara> [Session End!]