[December 27th, 2003 in the afternoon.] [The appointed hour has arrived, Satoshi let his friends know they could all get together at Ueno park before finding a place to eat once it got colder and dark.] [There is snow on the ground and hanging in the boughs of the cherry blossom trees. There's a thin layer of ice on the pond, although signs warn against skating. The park is relatively quiet as many of the museums are closed, although others have season special attractions.] [Satoshi had not set a firm start time, giving instead a location and a range, and the expectation is that people would straggle in.] [Start!] 06* Satoshi is hanging out near the entrance across from the train station. He has a large bag slung over his shoulder, and is wearing a University of Maine jacket. Interestingly enough, he's not dressed quite as heavily as a lot of the people walking by. Maine, man. It toughens you up when it comes to cold. Every so often he checks his phone just to see if he's got any messages before resuming 06* Satoshi scanning the crowd. 06* Taki comes walking through the crowd herself as teleporting in tends to lead to bad ends. She's gained a few centimeters in height so the coat that was too large a few years ago... is still too large for her, but closer to fitting now. Another returning article of clothing is her backpack, but it doesn't seem to be weighed down by much of anything at the moment. She looks a bit lost, but that's normal for her. 06* Satoshi spots her and calls out. "Taki! Hey!" 06* Taki stops and looks around, it doesn't take much time to spot the tallest guy there, and she waves and starts walking to him. When she gets closer she says. "Hello, is anybody else here yet?" 06* Satoshi has, for the record, probably gained an extra inch, making him *almost* the same height as Kyon, but not quite. American food, man. All that crazy stuff has apparently given him one last growth spurt. "Just you so far. Haruko said she'd be a little bit late. And she's bringing Kaede. This is going to be interesting." 06* Taki smiles a bit. "It's kinda hard to imagine those two staying in the same car long enough to get anywhere. People really do change." 06* Taki is at a loss for word for a bit. "Uhm, it's good to see you again. How was the flight?" Not too bad. I slept through a lot of it. It almost seemed weird when I landed and heard mostly Japanese again. I'd gotten... not exactly used to English, but enough that it almost threw me for a minute. Oh, before I forget... 06* Satoshi reaches into the gigantic bag (most people would have trouble carrying it; yay everyday applications of powers) and pulls out a small wrapped box. "This is for Shizaru-san, from Paul." He holds it out to her. (Hm, more a medium wrapped box.) 06* Taki nods. "Just a moment." She swings her backpack around when she opens it up there's nothing in there but rat-eared notebook and a small, flat, wrapped box. "And this one's from Shizaru to Paul-san." She holds it out for the exchange. [The entrance near the train station is a broad plaza with buildings on each side and trees off in the distance. Even when the park is mostly empty, there's still a steady stream of pedestrians entering and leaving Ueno station.] 06* Satoshi takes the package. "Thank you." Then he reaches into his bag again and pulls out a brightly colored gift bag. "And this is for you. I brought stuff from Maine for everyone." 06* Taki blushes and takes them. "There were going to be cookies, but I got distracted and forgot to buy ingredients and then Shizaru called and asked if I thought Paul would like a show and I hadn't seen it, so she made me watch, and I forgot again. I'm really sorry." 06* Satoshi smiles warmly. "No worries! I'm just glad you made it." 06* Taki puts bag and the box into her bag and zips it up. "Thanks." So how have things been lately? [The show, for the record, is Someday's Dreamers. Shizaru was a little worried that the magical realism might seem a little silly for Paul, but she felt it might give him a better feel for actual Japanese day-to-day life than the other stuff he'd been watching without being too Shoujo-y.] 06* Taki swings her bag back into place. "Ah, pretty normal. I've been hanging out with friends, most of my grades aren’t bad or good. I've, ah, today will be the first time I've seen most of everybody else in a while." Yeah? Well, I guess not being in the same school makes it harder... It's been, a little more deliberate than that, and I'm only a little worried it wasn't the right decision. 06* Taki jiggles her bag. "Finding out about Paul's been making me think I've been not seeing obvious stuff again." I'm going to believe in coincidences this time. 06* Taki takes a deep breath and then lets it out. "I hope you're right. I like being able to wake up and not have to worry about my friends getting kidnapped, or if today I'm finally going to lose a fight. It'll be nice to be around people I don't have to make excuses about why elevators creep me out though." 06* Satoshi sighs. "Elevators are at least a pretty normal fear." He stretches his arms above his head for a moment, revealing the dark blue button-down shirt underneath his jacket. "As for the rest... I've tried not to think about it too much. Occasionally I almost feel like I left just to get away... but this was the plan I had before everything started." 06* Taki nods. "I'm glad you found the place you want to be, and I'll be cheering you on, when I see your games on the TV." 06* Satoshi smiles again. "Might be kind of hard getting them here right now. They actually do show games on the local networks in New England. Kaede might be able to rig something, but I don't want to pester him. It was nice enough of him to alter my phone so I didn't have to get a new one for the US." 06* Taki nods. "I was really surprised when I found out that you still had the same number, I think I told you that." Yeah, it didn't even occur to me at the time, to be honest. But it's been nice to just be able to keep everything in one place. 06* Taki pulls out her flip phone and looks at it and then shoves it hard back into the pocket of her jacket. "Think I'll just leave it as is." Hmm? If I need a new phone, I'll just save up and buy one. I don't want to impose on him. 06* Satoshi nods. "That's fair." He checks his watch briefly. "Hopefully Haruko and Kaede haven't killed each other en route. I'm not sure about Katie and Kyon, either. I'd guess they'd be coming together, but you never know. Kyon... has a schedule, apparently. Many schedules." Eh? Are classes and baseball keeping him that busy? I thought college students were supposed to have more free time. 06* Satoshi bites his lip for a second, like he's maybe said a bit too much. "It's an impression that I got." 06* Taki looks like she's going to say something and then sighs. "As long as Katie's ha... actually, I don't have a right to complain either way." 06* Haruko rushes out from the station area. She got there quick, to be sure, but in Tokyo even parking a motorcycle can be a bit of work. 06* Satoshi just nods to Taki. 06* Haruko is hustling up the stairs and looks around, not yet spotting Satoshi or Taki she's panting a bit and continues to grip her bag tightly. She has a moment of fear that she blew this and missed them. 06* Taki looks away from Satoshi to try and clear her head a bit, and sees a familiar figure instead. "Oi! Haruko!" 06* Satoshi follows the direction of Taki's gaze and spots her. He starts waving. "Haruko!" 06* Haruko waves back and walks up a bit before laying down her bag for a moment on a nearby bench. "Hey Taki! Hey Satoshi! Fair warning!" 06* Taki blinks. "About what?" You didn't let Kaede fall off your bike somewhere, did you? 06* Kaede comes up from the tunnel entrance, dusting his coat before putting his hands in his pockets, breathing against the cold. He's got one hand out of his pockets, on the phone, as usual these days. He's probably calling to check up on Akemi. 06* Kyon starts stalking up from the hill by the side of the station, alongside Katie. He's in an ash grey duffle coat, with dark blue jeans, and a winter hat and sunglasses. One hand's tucked in a pocket, and he's scanning to see where the people might be. 06* Haruko runs up to the boy as he asks the question, jumping to throw her arms around the taller boy. She squees, "It's so good to see you." 06* Satoshi laughs and hugs her back. Carefully, because strength. Haruko might notice that he's a bit taller and somewhat broader in the shoulders than the last time she hugged him. "It's good to see you too." 06* Kaede pauses at the "squee" and looks up from his phone up the hill and raises an eyebrow. Really, Haruko? Really? Akemi, please answer soon and distract him. 06* Haruko actually kicks her legs up for a moment. "You're taller than I remember." Supposedly I've grown an inch since I left. I didn't realize our workouts involved a rack. 06* Katie is tagging along with Kyon, a little skip in her step which basically always happens when she's trying to keep up with Kyon. She spots the group first (what a surprise) and tugs at his arm lightly, pointing them out. 06* Satoshi is still smiling, though. 06* Kaede calls out. "Watanabe-san! You know if you drop her, you forfeit the warentee, right? 06* Haruko whispers. "Spin?" 06* Satoshi is startled and almost does so, before bursting out laughing. "She's tougher than that." And he spins her a little, while carefully making sure not to hit Taki, Kaede, or anyone else. He may have used people as weapons before, but this is *not* the time or place, or person, for that matter. 06* Taki takes a step back so she doesn't get clotheslined by her queen. 06* Katie is wearing her light gray wool overcoat that she's had on basically all winter, along with jeans under that, and matching blue hat and gloves and scarf. A messenger bag is over one shoulder. She is ready for cold! So ready. 06* Katie 's hat has a white puff on the top. This is somehow important to her player. 06* Kyon glances along where she's pointing, and nods curtly, walking up that way. 06* Satoshi sets Haruko back down, then looks over at Kaede. "I don't think you want a spinning hug, do you?" 06* Kaede frowns a little as the phone goes to message and then his expression turns a tad worried. "Oi. Akemi. We're meeting up with Watanabe-san now. Call me when you get this." He clicks it off and then plunks his phone back in his pocket. Brown overcoat for him. And the usual glasses affair along with jeans. No hat though. Hats are just silly. 06* Haruko grins and squees again at the dance than eases up and retrieves her bag. 06* Taki suppresses a laugh as she imagines Satoshi giving Kaede that hug. 06* Kaede stops at the phone, making sure it gets within his pocket and he's still stopped at the bottom of the hill. No words, Satoshi. He's just stopping and staring at you. The *longest* of stares. 06* Satoshi grins at Kaede. He's in too good of a mood for stares to stop him. 06* Haruko bounces on her feet as she retrieves her bag. "You should consider Takeuchi-san, he gives great hugs." 06* Katie finally reaches the others, along with Kyon, and chooses to deliberately misunderstand Haruko's statement. "Kaede does give great hugs." She looks at Satoshi. "Do I get a spinning hug?" 06* Haruko then waves eagerly at the remaining arrivals. "Hi Kyon and Katie." 06* Kyon stops a few steps off, and watches, head cocked slightly to the side, and waves curtly to Haruko. 06* Kaede gives a light breath, rubbing his forehead and mutters, "I'm surrounded by idiots..." He does have a *bit* of a smile there if you look closer and then looks grateful at Katie for the interjection. Then confused. "...wait, what?" 06* Taki looks at Katie and gets completely tongue tied, she remembers to wave to her and Kyon eventually. 01 You give great hugs. 06* Satoshi smiles warmly at Katie. "I wouldn't doubt it." And then he picks her up and spins her, again carefully. 06* Katie yelps at the pick up and spin, and she starts laughing. 06* Katie hugs back! Yay! 06* Haruko then gives Taki a big hug while she's distracted. "It's good to see you too. It's practically been as long as since I last saw Satoshi." 06* Kaede finally goes up the hill and tries to ignore what he's heard and then gives Satoshi a long, silent look for a moment before giving him a bow of respect. "It's good to see you again, Watanabe-san." 06* Satoshi sets Katie down gently. "Hi." 06* Taki yelps in surprise at Haruko suddenly hugs her and regains enough controll to hug her back. "Aheh, uhm, yeah. sorry. It's good to see you again?" (the "hi" is directed at Katie.) 06* Haruko grins and gives Taki a chiding look. "That sounded like a question." 06* Katie smiles back. "Hi." She hugs him again, then backs off Satoshi so he and Kaede can talk about, uh, whatever it is they talk about. [A few passerbys do note and avoid the weirdos.] 06* Taki blushes and looks down. "I can't help but be reminded of how bad things used to be." 06* Katie has always been a weirdo. Fuck you, passerbys. 06* Satoshi bows back to Kaede after exchanging another hug with Katie. No MANLY!hugs for him. He's grinning as he straightens up. "Good to see you too. It's been too long since our last phone call. Sorry, end of year got crazy for me." He also gives Kyon a polite bow and wave. 01 Finals, right? What did you end up getting for Intro to Chemistry? 06* Kaede scoffs and waves it off as he raises himself. "It happens." And then he gives Taki an odd look. Again, a silent one. 06* Kyon bows back quickly, and takes a couple of steps closer in. He is part of this, after all. 06* Haruko lets go. "That's fair." She leaves a hand on Taki's shoulder as she actually isn't completely shameless and does not the scorn of the passersby. "I don't mind that, so long as you remember the good times too, alright? They should be a much bigger proportion now." 06* Satoshi smiles at Katie. "A B, thanks to your help. And at least I didn't have to worry about finals and games." 06* Taki nods. "I'm trying, I thought I was doing better at it, but..." 06* Kaede then turns to Katie suddenly, a fateful distraction from the Taki inspection force. "You're helping him with *Chemistry*?" 06* Katie blinks at Kaede. "Yes? It's not like it's that much easier than Trig 2." 06* Kyon turns his look on Kaede, curious about what prompted that. 06* Kaede sighs and rubs his head, looking down. "Not what I meant...I mean...you're *already* double majoring and taking on a lot...do you really have time for all that?" This coming from *him* really. Meanwhile... A somewhat stocky young man in a long grey coat, loose-fit jeans and a burgundy Waseda hooded sweatshirt is standing near the entrance to the park. He has shaggy brown hair and large oval glasses, and he's peering down at a printed map... 06* Haruko nods and gives her a serious look and speaking quietly for appearance sake, even if everyone knows that's a bit of a farce. "C'mon, we can talk about normal stuff. I've had an exciting month or so. Turns outs my dating life was based on a bunch of pleasing illusions." She then switches to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's even gotten to the point where I'm considering, well..." 06* Satoshi looks at Kaede. "It was kind of an emergency. Don't worry; I'll get things straight this semester." 06* Kyon shrugs quickly. "If Katie thinks she can handle it, she probably can." He looks down at Haruko, and smirks. "Considering what?" 06* Katie smiles at Kyon, then says to Kaede, "He was having trouble with a test coming up. It's not like I've been tutoring Satoshi all semester. Besides, I don't have a job or anything." 06* Haruko looks over to Kyon, suddenly turning beat red. She knew Katie would hear that. She didn't expect Kyon to. "Uh..." 06* Kaede scoffs and pulls himself up to chiding mode, pushing up his glasses. "You'd better, Watanabe-san. Or I'll be travelling all the way across the *ocean* to put you in your place." He pauses, then relents, more seriously...rubbing the back of his head. "...I may be going over there soon enough anyways, after all." 06* Katie doesn't seem to have heard anything from Haruko. 06* Satoshi chuckles. "Really? Where?" Ah? You have travel plans? 06* Haruko does not make eye contact and turns to the group for a moment. "So let's go in to the park proper, eh? It's pretty there I'm sure." She then walks a bit ahead, motioning for Kyon and Taki to keep up. 06* Kyon looks at Haruko, bemused, and stalks up to her side. "What?" 06* Taki blinks at Haruko and then moves off before Kaede can answer. 06* Katie 's hand goes to her mouth as she tries to keep a straight face, but man. She looks around. 06* Wataru looks for motorcycles. Or anything noteworthy.... Slowly making his way into the park, senses on the alert... 06* Haruko takes a deep breath. "Well I'd never asked, but if he did ask, and I wanted a good time for three weeks until he dropped me for someone new--" She can't quite bring herself to say it. [Haruko's motorcycle was parked on the street not far from here. Wataru could have easily seen it to verify he's in the right place.] Excellent! Encouraged, he carefully heads deeper into the park 06* Kaede nods slightly and then glances at Haruko, raising an eyebrow, then follows up next to Satoshi. "She's avoiding?" 06* Katie lags behind Kyon and Haruko and stretches her arms behind her back. She already knows this news. At this rate, she may be lagging behind everyone, but she's looking pretty happy. Uhm... are you trying to ask me for dating advice? Because that's a terrible idea. I mean, I could ask Mikake to push you into something like she did for me, but that's probably not what you ment. 06* Kyon looks down at her, keeping easy pace. "Just finish your sentence, Kinsha." 06* Satoshi looks at Kaede. "I don't know. I missed that part of the conversation. But you were saying you might be in the US?" 06* Satoshi is hanging with Kaede and Katie at the moment, behind the other three. He still hasn't noticed Wataru yet. 06* Haruko shakes her head at Taki's comment. "No, it's just." She straightens slightly at Kyon's comment. "Hibiki-san. He's in the motor club. He's actually not bad at all, could be among our best if he wasn't always distracted by football." 06* Katie 's eyes sparkle with amusement. There it is. She puts her hand down to her bag, as if checking to make sure its contents are there. [Haruko is wearing, for the record, a fairly bright red cotton coat with a bright white interior, sewn at the edges and stuffed to provide warmth. It looks like it may have been made from repurposed miko fabric and is quite distinctive. Wataru can probably notice it at a distance and easily tell that it's her. She's also got on a dark blue scarf that doesn't particularly match the rest of her outfit, but whatever, it's cold. 06* Kyon nods curtly, and smirks. "And? So you're interested?" Hibiki Ken? I don't know, maybe. 06* Katie pipes up from in back, unable to resist anymore: "She's interested." 06* Haruko looks at Taki, eyes pleading for respect. 06* Wataru notices a splash of red in the grey of the winter park. It catches his eye... and seems to hook into him, somehow, the tug of a thread. He takes out the card, and looks at it. Well, might as well start somewhere. 06* Wataru heads towards the coat, at no great speed. Strolling. 06* Kaede looks at Haruko for a moment, just staring at the display. Right. Of course. Responding to Satoshi. Less whatever. "Ah..yes...uh...didn't...I think Akemi's going to be needing to go there near the end of the semester..." He sighs and rubs his forehead. "I'll have to make preparations with the school officials here..." I... have no idea what you or Katie saw in him, but there has to be something there. 06* Haruko notices the look but doesn't even blush at this point. Curses, is everyone taking lessons from Katie now? Well, if you happen to be in New England, let me know. I can get a train to Boston reasonably easily. It'll depend on classes and games, but I can try. 06* Katie likes instructing people in her evil ways. 06* Kyon looks down at Haruko, considering. "Why him? Fresh start'd be good for you." 06* Kaede then snorts at Taki's comment and fiddles his fingers in the air, deadpanning. "Well, that's not a thing, Shimiru-san. I mean...look at me. I mean even Ken has to find someone if it's possible for me to..." He then grumbles and adds, rubbing his head. "...several someones at any rate. How did that even happen anyway?" 01 You're good at giving hugs. 06* Katie is *full* of this stuff today. She is in such a good mood! 06* Kaede keeps rubbing. "...I don't think that's what Akemi's looking for..." 06* Haruko frowns. "Well, it would be nice to have someone I can openly talk to about... things. Also the guys I was dating, were great." She scowls for a moment. "Or at least seemed great, but they'd never really been through real tough times. I mean that will change, sadly. But I feel like on some level we just don't connect. Maybe Hibiki-san...." 06* Satoshi just laughs, enjoying the banter and the company of his friends. "I missed you guys so much," he says quietly. Katie would likely hear, maybe Kaede as well. 06* Wataru is nearly close enough to start overhearing snippets of conversation... He keeps his hands in his pockets, the left one holding the card. His nerves are acting up a bit, so he tries to breathe calmly, like they taught him in yoga class. 06* Taki nods. "If you think he'll make you happy go for it. If he doesn't dump a bucket of water on him. He'll probably have done something to deserve it." 06* Katie smiles at Satoshi, and she takes his hand, squeezing it lightly before letting it go. 06* Haruko looks over to Kaede, feeling notably unjudged. "Well, she's a great person. So it says good things about you that she picked you." She then looks to Taki. "Thanks, will do." 06* Wataru slows down before he gets *too* close, and pretends to check his phone. 06* Kyon snorts a laugh at that. "Right. But you're choosing him because you can talk to him? Or because you actually like him?" 06* Satoshi smiles back at Katie before attempting to follow the conversation in front of him. 06* Kaede sighs and adds to Watanabe, shoulders relaxing somewhat. "...it's good to have you back as well." He then looks at Haruko and blinks, confused. Yet again. He's about to say something when his eyes shift over in the direction of the sudden phone. Not fully. Subtle enough. Because why not, Wataru texts Izumi. /How's your coffee date going? Let me know if you need an out!/ 01 [The text goes off without a hitch! There's no response yet, but hey, she's on a coffee date.] 06* Haruko shrugs. "Racing with him is fun and feels different somehow, real. Like I'm with you guys." She gives a nod to Taki and Satoshi in particular. I don't know, Haruko. You'd kick my butt in a race, unless it were on skates. 06* Taki nods slowly. "I can understand wanting to feel like that." 06* Haruko shrugs. "It's not just who wins, it's the dance of it really." That might be more of a figuring skating thing, I'm not sure it translates to hockey. 06* Kaede 's lips tick slightly as he looks at the air, then he glances at Satoshi oddly. Coincidence? Maybe. Have you ever skated? 06* Haruko thinks back. "Like a couple times in gym. I think they just wanted to make sure everyone got out on the rink. I fell down a lot, but it was kind of fun." It's a lot of fun! 06* Kyon shrugs quickly, and smirks down at her. "Frozen water wasn't agreeing with you?" 06* Kaede gestures with his head, pointedly, further in the park. "I think we should head further inside." It's pretty directive. 06* Satoshi glances at Kaede and frowns briefly before following his lead. 06* Katie glances at Kaede. 06* Haruko nods. "Yeah, I can see that. I mean if I could do the gliding without the falling down that'd be great." She then glances to Kaede with a nod and does just that, picking up the pace. She gives Kyon a shrug. It's a thin, glossy black flip-phone with a frosted abstract motif on the front and a dangling charm, which is a string of ten tiny glass hot peppers with a little ceramic turtle attached. 06* Taki follows Haruko. "Satoshi's pretty good at teaching people to skate." (It's pretty nice, fairly new and expensive, even surfs the Net!) 06* Kyon heads further in! "Should impress football guy, the skating." 06* Satoshi looks at Haruko. "If you're free sometime over the next few days, we could go." 06* Katie tags along without complaint. Her expression's gone from cheerful and relaxed to... less so, though. 06* Haruko smiles still glancing at Kaede every so often. "That sounds great. It's... uh, not too expensive is it?" 06* Kaede starts walking that direction too, hands going in his pockets. With or without you. Nah, with. People are going! 06* Wataru waits a few beats before folding up his phone and following. He hangs back, trying to keep his distance... Nah, there's some public outdoor rinks this time of year. If you buy your own skates it's kinda scary expensive, but renting them is pretty cheap. 06* Katie starts looking around again, much more alertly this time. That reminds me, though; I want to bring my figure skates to school with me. Assuming they still fit. I should check that first. 06* Haruko nods and whispers at a level not even meant to be heard by Satoshi or Taki. "I have an update from Christmas eve. I got a copy of the upcoming book but I think he knew me. Is that him? 06* Kaede keeps walking after a bit and then sighs as he stops, hands going into his pockets as he calls, to no one in particular. "Alright. You can come out now." 06* Katie tenses visibly at Haruko's words to her, then tries to relax. She looks behind her, scanning... who would have been consistently following them... 06* Satoshi pings Kaede. ~What's going on?~ 06* Taki stops and looks around, she needs to stop missing things. [For just a moment as she scans, Katie's eyes fall on Wataru. She recognizes him from that cafe last year and in the moment it takes for her to place him their eyes lock and both are sure the other noticed.] 06* Wataru manages not to break the gaze. 06* Kaede is still stopped, responding back to Satoshi. ~Same sim card's been following us for a bit.~ He stops, and straightens, trying not to look confrontational, still. 06* Haruko glances around, trying to see if she recognizes anyone. 06* Taki thinks about this logically and looks for where Katie and Kaede are looking. 06* Kyon stops as well, and lowers his sunglasses slightly, turning back towards Katie, and looking around a bit, seeing who's around. 06* Kaede looks at the stationary block and then sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "If you wanted to speak with us, all you needed to do was ask." 06* Taki starts moving closer to Katie incase something's about to go really wrong. 06* Katie has since stopped. 06* Katie is staring at this guy with the phone in his hand. 06* Satoshi pings Kaede. ~What direction now?~ 06* Wataru takes in this group, and wonders which one of them he's looking for... He takes his hand out of his pocket, showing them the card, face-out. The Wheel of Fortune. From Haruko's deck. "You dropped something," he says, without being sure which of them exactly he's directing this at... or if it's them at all. 06* Haruko recognizes the style and walks up. "Ah, yes. I recall we passed you there." She looks at the guy taking the card, taking out her deck, and shuffling it. "I don't know what I'd do without these." She then holds it out to him. "Pick a card?" 06* Kaede looks at the guy for a moment and it's clear from his gaze which direction. But he bites his tongue. Oh does he bite his tongue. 06* Satoshi turns to look at the guy, which means the guy can, if he wants, get a clear look at him. 06* Haruko is an average to short height Japanese girl with black braided hair and slight blue highlights. She has the subtle remains of burn marks on her face. She carries herself with confidence generally speaking, but is obviously more than a little anxious at the moment. 06* Kyon follows the gaze of the other people, and then lowers his sunglasses and raises his eyebrows. 06* Katie is still staring at Wataru, stock still and completely tense. God, does she even blink? 06* Wataru stares at the deck. This again...... Well. He did want answers. Still on guard, he glances quickly around the others as he reaches towards the deck - *man*, this is a big group to face on his own, they better not be hostile - and notices, first, a weird blue-and-red hairstyle that looks REALLY familiar, even if he can't quite place it, and then, to his complete discombobulation, his stupid hopeless high school crush, the breathtaking center from Sakuragaoka hockey. His hand stops in midair. What. 06* Haruko then continues in a quieter voice. "I don't know who you are or why you're following us. But now would be a terrific time to explain. And don't worry, we're used to weirdness." But right now, you're scaring people a bit. 06* Kyon answers Haruko. "I know who he is. Worked on a project together before." 06* Katie blinks, relaxing slightly. That wasn't directed at her, but well... She looks at Kyon. "You what?" 06* Wataru manages to tear his eyes from Satoshi to suddenly look at - ok, no, seriously, WHAT. Fucking Sorata Kyon???!? 06* Taki blinks and looks at Kyon, mouthing "What did you do to him?" 06* Haruko looks back at Kyon and then back to Wataru. "Wait, what?" She tenses in case this is about to turn into a fight and the puddles on the ground ripple. "You aren't explaining." 06* Kaede relaxes as well and then blows out a breath, hands in his pockets. "Do you carry those around with you everywhere you go?" So much for holding his tongue. Entirely. 06* Wataru tries to make sense of what he's seeing - that's the girlfriend, too, the Sakuragaoka one... Right, of course, that must have been the connection, with Watanabe too, and the girl with the hair...... 06* Kyon nods quickly. "That project on contested islands. He was my partner." He shrugs quickly in response to what he did. He didn't do anything worth remembering. 06* Kaede breathes and holds his hands out, pressing them down slightly. He squints, seeming to get a bit of a headache. "You *realize* he's barely said a word thus far, right? Let him speak." 06* Wataru puts his hands down. "My name is Yamada Wataru. I... You really did drop this. And the map. I had to... I wanted to know. It seemed like something you'd want back. And..." He looks around them all again. "It seemed like too much of a coincidence to leave aside." 06* Haruko nods and bows. "Kinsha Haruko." She then looks to Katie. "If you could." 06* Haruko returns her gaze to Wataru afterwards. 06* Katie steps closer to Wataru and speaks up, her voice gentle, soft, and a little raspy: "What did you want to know?" Any intensity from before is completely gone. 06* Satoshi pings Kaede. ~Should I try to read him?~ 06* Taki doesn't relax completely. "Sorry, I've been jumpy for the past week or so." 06* Kyon stays where he is, watching Katie more than Wataru now. But the surprise is gone. 06* Kaede mentally waves his hand at Satoshi. Or at least gives that general feeling. It's weird. ~Probably not the time to be intrusive just yet.~ He pushes up his glasses and regards Yamada Wataru-san. [The ambient noise of the park, birds chirping, people walking, cars driving by in the distance, suddenly fades away. And yet the voices of those in the immediate area can be heard, clear as a bell.] 06* Taki looks worried for a moment and pulls her phone out of her pocket. 06* Wataru feels like a bug in a jar - even more so after the ambient noise drops - but tries to remember his yoga. "Answers," he says, working at keeping his own tone even, too. "Pieces of the puzzle. Things I've been seeking for the past three years." 06* Haruko nods. "And what were you doing where you found that card?" 06* Kaede pulls out his own phone for a moment and then curses mildly. "Figures." "Uh," slightly derailed. "Walking down the street." Yes, why there? 06* Kyon doesn't seem fazed by the sound change. That's living with Katie for you. 06* Taki puts hers away, whatever just happened clearly wasn't her field going up accidentally. [People can still be seen walking in the distance, just not heard.] 06* Kaede waves his hands lightly as he puts his phone back in his pockets. "You know. We probably should slow down with the twenty thousand questions. One at a time. Yamada-san, I'm sorry. Can I borrow your phone?" He gives him a faint glance. "Why there? My aunt lives nearby. - My phone? Why?" He narrows his eyes, slightly. 06* Kaede holds up his phone slightly. "Ran out of batteries. Must have forgotten to charge it. I've been trying to get a hold of someone. Please." He looks at Wataru pleadingly. 06* Haruko steps back and smiles, sounding slightly exasperated. "You have the funniest things happen with your phone sometimes." 06* Haruko makes eye contact with Kaede as she does that. 06* Wataru doesn't really want to give his phone away, and definitely doesn't trust these people. But they haven't attacked him or tried to make slippery promises yet... He bides his time, trying to make some sense of the group dynamic here. 06* Haruko just looks at Kaede for a moment, yielding the floor to him but trying to buck him up a bit because that request sort of came out of nowhere in a tense situation and so he might need to try a bit harder to entice. 06* Satoshi bides his time, keeping an eye on Kaede and Wataru. He's frowning slightly. 06* Wataru looks around, then has a long exhale. "Fine. Here, gesture of goodwill. I would ask you please not to mess with it, though. It was a present." He hands the phone to him, without completely letting his guard down. "I'm also okay with answering questions," he says to the group. "But only if it's a two-way street." 06* Kaede looks at Wataru oddly. "Of course," he agrees. It *sounds* genuine. He inspects the phone carefully, as if figuring out the way to dial on this one, and then starts dialing Akemi's number. 06* Katie looks at the phone as it's passed over. "I like the charm," she comments, homing in on the one thing that makes it unique. 06* Wataru sort of can't help but smile a little... "Yeah, that was a present too." 06* Kaede noticed the charm too! He's not going to comment on it though. Silly little thing. 06* Kyon flicks his gaze to Kaede, eyebrows raising slightly. 06* Haruko relaxes a bit. "Thank you. And that's fair. Your turn with a question." 06* Katie smiles back at Wataru, relaxing some more. She seems friendly enough. "All right." He feels his stomach untensing slightly, and releases a breath. "The tarot deck thing. Is it... Is it all of you? Do you all have one?" 06* Kaede isn't answering. Too busy on the phone! Busy ringing up Akemi. Doot doot doo. 06* Haruko shuffles hers and then draws, showing the Queen of Cups. "In short, yes. Though not everyone carries one." She gestures her head back in Kaede's direction. "Hence the chiding earlier, I may be a bit reckless keeping it with me." 06* Kyon tugs his out of his jacket pocket, and holds it in his non- pitching hand. 01 [Yup, that's a tarot deck Kyon has in his hand.] 06* Wataru nods. "Okay." Without really turning his eyes away from this pretty scary group, Wataru reaches into his pocket and shows them his deck, which he keeps in a small pocket case which looks suspiciously like a sleek and subdued bento box. "So we're gonna say we're all on the same page, here." 06* Haruko nods. "So if that was your neighborhood, did you go to Shunyo? We may have some friends in common." 06* Wataru nods. "I take it you all went to Sakuragaoka," he says, because they shouldn't think they have *all* the edge, here. 06* Taki nods. Yep. 06* Haruko grins. "Yup. We're known for our many clubs." 06* Kyon swears under his breath in Mandarin, and tucks his cards back. He glances sidewise at Kaede, and listens. 06* Kaede sighs slightly as he, again, doesn't get anyone. "Sorry, Shiraishi-san. I guess you can't pick up. Listen. I'll need you to call me later. My phone ran out of charge. Or I'll call you." He then clicks on the phone and sighs. "Still no answer." 06* Wataru can't help but look a little timid when he glances at Satoshi again. "Yeah -- I uh... Actually, I... I mean, there was, ah... You had a hockey club. I saw - I like hockey. I saw your games when you came to Shunyo." 06* Haruko grins. "Oooh... a fan." 06* Satoshi blinks. "Really? You did?" He smiles warmly at Wataru. "That's really great." 06* Kyon looks over from Kaede to Wataru, and then sidewise at Satoshi. Then he just smirks slightly. 06* Kaede gets back on track with the conversation as he holds the phone out to Wataru, expression totally neutral. Guy blanks the stoic Japanese face better than Kyon. I hope they were the ones we won. 06* Katie watches the conversation go around her, then says, softly, "Since we're on the same page... can we go somewhere else?" 06* Haruko looks to Katie. "Dinner? Maybe a place where we can get a seperate room? Or like that park bench off to the side." She points one out. 06* Wataru feels a shiver at that smile hits him again - right where it hurts, right where it feels the best. He smiles, slowly, crookedly, right back. If Watanabe Satoshi is involved, how can he do anything but trust them? "You were amazing," he says, simply and honestly, to Satoshi. 06* Kaede nods to Katie. "Seems like a good idea. I don't believe full introductions have even taken place yet." 06* Katie nods. She turns to Haruko. "Separate room or trees." She's been scoping the park out, yup. 06* Satoshi has a fan! How awesome is that? "Aww, thanks," he says, still grinning. "Shunyo was a good team. They matched us pretty well." 06* Haruko pulls out her phone, she did have a few places picked out for that. "Oh, didn't we know a guy on their team... The one with the exuberent sister?" 06* Katie shrugs. She doesn't really remember. 06* Haruko then names a few options. Noodle, Sushi, Teriyaki, slightly oddball Italian, and Korean BBQ. I'm not the best person to ask. 06* Haruko nods and glances at Wataru. "You know who I'm talking about?" She also then shares dinner options with the group. 06* Wataru takes back his phone, pocketing it and making a mental note to check it out later for any tampering or whatever. "Exuberant Sister might be someone I know," he chuckles. 06* Kyon looks back towards the station. "That yakiniku place. Been there a few times. It'd work." 06* Haruko smiles. "She did seem like the type that knew everyone." 06* Taki checks her wallet. [It's okay, Wataru. Kaede just installed a secret microscoping tracking device on your phone, don't worry. Or Wataru will find no visible tampering later. Either way.] Yakiniku sounds good. 06* Katie just nods. Sure! 06* Katie also glances at Kyon. 06* Haruko fishes for a name. "I-something?" The fishing is all the more credible because she actually doesn't remember the name. 06* Haruko looks at Wataru when she says that. 06* Wataru holds the phone in his hand, charm against his palm. "Something like that," he says. Iriya. Should be able to get a room. [And the group does indeed head off to the yakiniku place. There's a side room that just fits everyone. The table is low but there's cushions to sit or kneel on.] 06* Kaede rubs his nose and tries, helpfully, to add for Haruko. "Izumi Motobuchi-san? I...kind of remember her." No you don't, Kaede. You barely recalled she existed before you looked at that phone. "You didn't happen to know Cardinaux-san, did you?" 06* Wataru feels MEGA WEIRD now, that the initial tension is past but second-wave tension is still all everywhere, and he realizes he's clearly ended up crashing a party, here. But, they invited him with, and the cards promised answers, and man, he gets to have DINNER with WATANABE SATOSHI so whatever, it'll be a (heavily edited) story to tell Izumi at the least! "Cardinaux? I don't think so..." [ http://uds.gnst.jp/rest/img/5whds0np0000/t_00b9.jpg ] [There's a main room and two side rooms, each with a window in the back.] [The quarters are a little tight, but there's booth seating for more than this number.] 06* Katie judges the room, decides the window is too difficult to open, and opts for a seat by the door. Right by the door. You can't stop her. [There are larger windows in the main room. Katie also notes an emergency exit sign back by the kitchen.] 06* Wataru on the other hand looks for a seat with his back to the wall, ideally a corner. 06* Taki will take the adjacent corner, getting wedged in isn't much of a problem for her, she's small. 06* Kyon settles in next to Katie, tucking his legs under the table. 06* Haruko pulls in to the center. She suggests Satoshi next to Wataru, hoping to keep him at ease. "Right, Motobuchi-san. She was awesome. Really defied that unfair stereotype about Shunyo. She *might* remember me, but don't worry, I won't be offended if she doesn't." 06* Satoshi sits in between Wataru and Haruko. 06* Katie grabs Kyon's hand once he's seated and she can safely manage without Wataru seeing. It's not hard; Wataru's nowhere near her really. 06* Kaede hrrms and rubs his nose, his voice going a little quieter in reminiscence. "...I haven't thought of Cardinaux-san in a while. We'd have to think to visit her if we ever go to France..." Because, like the United States, France is a country the size of everything within easy visiting distance of each other. 06* Kaede 's not sure he agrees with "challenging the unfair Shunyo stereotype." That was more Soleil. But no one asked *him* did they? 06* Wataru tries to still his beating heart, mere inches away from Satoshi, and for the next like hour, no less. When did this become less about finding out what happened three years ago and more about his hockey crush? Or ... were those the answers the cards were hinting about? 06* Kyon squeezes Katie's hand after a beat, and lets her hold on. Shouldn't be very obvious. He grabs a menu off the table to set in front of them. 06* Haruko looks over to Wataru with a smile. "Satoshi actually got me going to hockey games. I'll confess I couldn't really follow the action, but man could those boys move on the ice." 06* Katie does, though above the table, she looks fine. A little thoughtful, turning her teacup with her free hand. "Tell me about it," Wataru half-blurts. 06* Katie watches Wataru's reaction. Hmm. 06* Haruko nods and giggles. "I mean, I'm sure you were paying attention to the puck thing and not their posteriors, but..." 06* Kyon looks at Wataru, and tucks his sunglasses and hat away. He runs a hand through his hair now that it's free, and watches for that reaction, too. 06* Taki sits back and ponders. 06* Haruko does actually believe what she's saying. She's just terrible about talking about sports. Wataru's eyebrows go up. "Of course the puck," he says. I mean, with all that padding, meh. Not like baseball uniforms..... "Anyway, it's mostly about the plays, for me. Hockey's got some amazing strategy." 06* Kaede will sip his tea when it comes and takes more of his time glancing at Katie and Kyon then looking at Wataru at this point. Plenty able to hear Wataru talk as is. Also, he goes through the cursory gestures of finding if there's a place to charge his phone. 06* Wataru totally notices Sorata, but this is not about him. Sure, he saw him at games too. Whatever. 06* Katie idly listens for anyone within hearing range while watching Wataru. [There's a few other people in the restaurant, but nobody too close. The walls are pretty thick, Kyon probably had that in mind when he suggested the place.] 06* Satoshi looks at Haruko. "You weren't..." Then he drops it. "Anyhow, I've learned a lot of new plays lately. It's been a lot of fun, but really hard." I probably should be hitting the rink while I'm over here. New plays? I pity the opposing goalies. 06* Kyon nods quickly. "Could get you into the one at Waseda." "Cool, you're still playing?" Wataru actually grins! Not just that. I was watching the plays. Don't really get the strategy though, mostly it's just fun to see people racing down the ice or Taki making an awesome block. 06* Satoshi looks at Kyon. "Thank you. I'd appreciate that." Then he looks at Wataru. "Yeah, I play for the University of Maine." He motions to his jacket. 06* Kaede snorts at that and looks down at the table. "You should learn to relax a little, Watanabe-san." Yes. This coming from him. 06* Taki nods. "Unfortunately I've had to give it up, it got too easy to cheat." 06* Satoshi looks at Kaede and just snerks. "Right." 06* Wataru looks a little wilted, suddenly. "Maine? Like, in America, Maine?" 06* Satoshi nods. "Orono, Maine. I'm back on break for a little bit." 06* Haruko nods. "But you were really quick out there, even on your own. Even without... help. I know it'd take more than just a bunch of Satoshi training sessions to get me there. Also the pucks flying at you have to be scary." 06* Kyon smirks slightly, and looks down at the menu again. 06* Taki nods. "The pucks stopped being scary quick, the padding's really good." 06* Katie chimes in, "You also have really great reflexes, Taki. Don't sell yourself short." 06* Kaede nods and then gets back to the matter at hand. He glances at Kyon for a moment out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't you say this Yamada-san went to your school earlier?" Yeah, you did a great job. 06* Wataru can't hide his disappointment. But he does perk up again shortly, even if it's a little less giddily. "That's really amazing, Watanabe-san. There can't be that many Japanese players playing in American college teams! Are you thinking of going pro?" 06* Kyon nods curtly. "Worked together last year on a project." 06* Taki blushes. "Thanks, I'm putting all my effort into my cooking now, so if anybody wants a sample, I'll be happy to provide!" 06* Satoshi nods again. "I'd love to be in the NHL someday. That would be completely awesome. It's kind of a crazy dream, but I figure if I can get myself established in North America, I've got a better chance... a couple of the older guys on our team have been drafted already, actually." 06* Haruko claps her hands together. "Ooh, that's even better than hockey." She then looks at Satoshi and Wataru sheepishly. "No offense." 06* Wataru is at least able to be legitimately happy for him, and it shows. "Man. Amazing. I hope it works out! I'll be glued to my TV." 06* Kaede nods, keeping one ear open on the conversation. "How was it?" He side-glances at Taki and then hunches his shoulders slightly. "...better not let my sister hear you say that. She'll make us have a cook-off..." 01 I nominate myself for judge. We're *not* having a cook-off, Katie Andrews. 06* Haruko looks at Katie. "That's ridiculous. You need a panel." 06* Satoshi smiles at him. "Thanks! It's a long ways to go, and I hope I'm going in the right direction..." He looks over at the others, "...wait, what's this about a cook-off?" 06* Taki laughs. 01 Haruko's right. She can help me judge. 06* Katie says this all semi-jokingly while maintaining an unusually tight grip on Kyon's hand. But look. She's fine. 06* Kyon listens along, too. He shrugs curtly. "Fine. Nothing out of the ordinary." 06* Wataru just listens for a while, although he can't help but glance in Satoshi's direction every now and then because *omg* he's literally right there. 01 Do we need someone on the floor? Satoshi, you can be on the floor, right? 01 And report on what they're making. Like Iron Chef announcer duty? 01 Yes! Yeah, I could do that. 06* Kaede looks at Wataru slightly and bites his tongue. Yes. Absolutely Nothing out of the ordinary, this guy. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. That's why they're here, right? Do I get to taste stuff after it's over, though? 01 Obviously. 06* Taki starts going over the menu looking for ingredients. "Of course you'll be on the judging panel too." 06* Satoshi tenses up just a tiny, tiny bit at the word "judging." It's probably barely perceptible. "Announcing first, panel second." 01 Okay, good. Let's see. Haruko and I are too easy to please. Kyon can be the judge who gives really severe scores. Or the host. 06* Katie looks at Wataru. "Do you want to be on the panel?" 06* Kyon can't help but roll his eyes as he pushes the menu more in front of Katie. He's worked out his part. 06* Haruko watches Katie for a moment. She's at ease but isn't sure that's true of Katie despite the show. Also, Katie might be pulling that thing she does with people that Haruko wants to understand better. 06* Kaede stands up slightly and straightens his coat, bowing apologetically. "Katie Andrews. I think I'd like to get a breath of fresh air for a moment. Would you like to join me for a bit?" He then glances at the menu push and gestures with his hand. "After you've decided what to order, of course." 06* Katie gets menu'd! Shit! She lets go of Kyon's hand to grab it. "Um, I..." And now I'm being invited to more things. Is this some kind of test? "I guess? Sure!" 06* Haruko looks over to Kaede and gives a quick smile of approval. 06* Katie smiles at Wataru, then looks at the menu. "Sure, Kaede," she says without looking up. Hm. Meat for grilling. 06* Taki is currently looking over veggies and spices. 06* Haruko looks up to Satoshi with a smile. "Oh, Satoshi." She comments, tapping her forehead. "I've been thinking. Will you want your gift sometime after we order or do you just want to save it until later?" She taps her forehead again. 06* Taki gives Satoshi a guilty look for a moment and then buries it. Oh, um... we can wait. ~What's up?~ 06* Wataru finds a spare menu and looks it over. Hm... 06* Katie lowers the menu before long and gets to her feet, grabbing her coat. "Get me the short ribs if I'm not back in time, okay?" she says to Kyon. 06* Kyon nods, and closes up the menu. "Yeah. Don't be long." 06* Kaede makes sure he infers to the others that he'd like the beef sukiyaki. Because though it is using both beef and vegetables, the flavor is quite different. ~He's dazzled by you.~ ~Oh did Taki not get a gift? It's okay, wait for his birthday.~ ~Maybe encourage him to talk about what he wants answers about~ ~Wait when is Satoshi's birthday?~ ~He seems okay, but, it'd be nice to be know more~ ~Also he might be gay... or maybe that's a sport things... I've been wrong before.~ ~Oh, right I have his birthday in my phone, I can check later.~ 06* Katie nods. She pulls her coat on, zipping it up. Kaede may notice a little wooden guardian lion charm attached to her zipper, which wasn't there last time they met. 06* Kaede zips up his coat as well and if he notices, doesn't make any indicators. He's Mr. Stoic here as he makes his way towards the outside for a breath of crisp air. 06* Katie heads out, too. If prompted at all, Wataru will express interest in calbee and in the mixed veggies, for a bit of variety. 06* Kyon turns slightly to watch her go, and then looks back at Haruko. "We good?" He hovers his hand over the call button. 06* Haruko nods. 06* Kyon pushes the button, then, and calls for the waiter! 06* Satoshi is so out of practice at reading Haruko's mind and her rushing stream of thoughts. He sits back heavily in his seat, looking slightly overwhelmed. About the only thing he can manage to send back is ~August.~ 06* Wataru notices that Satoshi seems suddenly exhausted. But he doesn't feel he knows him - or anyone here - well enough to comment. Hm hm hm... "What about drinks?" He asks everyone there. ~Mine's April 23rd.~ ~I think Taki's is before mine. We're going to...~ ~Sudden topic shift! Uh... how about those sports teams.~ ~Wait can I shift topics in my own brain? I mean aren't I thinking that I don't want to tell Satoshi that I'm planning to take Taki to~ ~Satoshi please stop reading me now.~ 06* Satoshi looks decidedly unfocused now. "Uh. Water?" 06* Kyon glances at the menu cursorily, and then up at Wataru. "Got some good beers here. And sake." 06* Taki still has her nose buried in the menue. "Tea, and some of us are still too young to drink." 06* Haruko starts her order as Taki's speaking. "Sake-- for tea, tea for me I mean." 06* Wataru smiles a bit at Taki. "Hey, be thankful you're not in America. You get a one year head start here." He then looks at Kyon. "You recommend something?" Wait? Americans don't get to drink until they're 21? That's barbaric! No offense Katie. 06* Satoshi blinks. "Yeah, that surprised me when guys were talking about needing fake IDs." 06* Taki blinks at Wataru. "Really?" She then turns to Satoshi for confirmation. I apparently made a lot of people want to come to Japan that night. 06* Haruko seems to act instinctively as if Katie can hear her pretty much anywhere. 06* Katie isn't there to be offended? 06* Haruko looks over and notices Katie's absence. "Oh, right, she's outside." Huh. 06* Wataru is nodding too! Good work on tourism promotion! 06* Satoshi looks at Wataru. "So, you've been in the US some, then?" "I g... I grew up there!" He smiles. "Seattle, though. Far from Maine. Moved here in high school." 06* Kyon shoots Haruko a look, and then looks at Wataru sidewise, after reconsulting the menu. "Beer or sake? For beer, Hitachino. Got some Otokoyama for sake. Or Arisugawa." Really? ...so, I have to ask, then. Canucks fan? 06* Haruko looks sheepish and shuts up after the look from Kyon. 06* Katie walks in right about now, so it's completely feasible for her to just have heard what Wataru said. "" she asks, her accent comfortably Midwestern American. 06* Wataru actually has a very real, honest-to-goodness laugh to what Satoshi said. "Yeah, totally. Sorry! Although there's a lot of other good teams out there, that's kind of the one I cheered on as a kid, you know?" 06* Katie removes her coat, hanging it back up, and reclaims her old seat. 06* Kyon glances up at her as she sits down, trying to get a quick read on her. 06* Wataru adds, to Katie, "" 06* Satoshi shakes his head and gives Wataru a look of mock disappointment. "I'm surrounded by Canucks fans. I have a teammate from Victoria and another one who's from Detroit but really loves the Canucks. I'm a Kings fan myself." 06* Katie nods to Wataru. She's not smiling, but her voice is warm enough. "" 06* Taki rubs her head. "Thaaats... one of the Canadian teams Calgary? No." 06* Wataru suddenly remembers the water bottle he has on his Shelf of Stuff. LA Kings, right... "Ah, they're pretty good! You get this rivalry with the Canucks, though, so, you know. How do you be from Detroit but love the Canucks, when you've got the Red Wings?" 06* Wataru seems to be having multiple conversations. In multiple languages. "" 06* Haruko leans back and focuses on the English. It's probably more important, and she can't follow North American hockey talk anyways. That said she just catches every third word. 06* Satoshi glances over at Taki. "Vancouver." Then he looks back at Wataru and shrugs. "His favorite player growing up played for the Canucks, so he just latched onto them." 06* Wataru orders a beer, by the way. The one Kyon recommends. 06* Taki nods. 06* Kaede heads back in with Katie and plunks down at the table. *Now* he has his tea. Which he sips. He seems to just be biding his time right now. [And the food and drink orders have gone in and the drinks been returned. The servers are discrete and quickly out of your way.] 06* Kyon ends up with a Hitachino, as well. He looks critically at the stocky owl on the label. 06* Haruko has tea. She's getting looks from Kyon sober. Best not to see what happens when she drinks. She did still have a tone of profound disappointment when she ordered that part though. 06* Katie looks sympathetic. "" She lets the orders go through and drinks arrive before she gets to the next part: "" 06* Haruko catches that and looks down. 06* Wataru nods a bit, more quietly.... "" He leans back, beer still untouched. "" 06* Kaede frowns a little. Just a tad. He remembers the days when *he* used to call Katie gaijin. Oh lord, did that stop quickly... 06* Satoshi listens in at this point. It's a lot easier to swap over to understanding English than it used to be. 06* Taki snorts. Her accent strongly Japanese, but still understandable. 06* Kyon reaches across the table to pour Wataru's beer for him. 06* Katie shrugs at Taki, then says to Wataru, "" 06* Kaede sighs and adds, "" It's less of a struggle for him than before, but still. Strong accent. "Lot happened over the school year really..." 06* Haruko looks down at her tea and sips it slowly. 06* Wataru looks at Kyon. Oh, right, the beer thing. Wataru returns the favour or whatever. "" Now that everyone is speaking English for some reason, Wataru feels self-conscious. "I'm... I mean, Japanese is fine." 06* Katie nods and switches to Japanese. [Any appetizers or miso arrive now, spread around the table. The room is a little crowded and the servers trust you to work it out amongst yourselves, but do present with a bit of panache.] 06* Haruko looks up at Wataru with gratitude. 06* Katie falls silent when the servers get too close, waits for them to be far away for them not to hear, then continues. All of her smiles are gone; she's instead speaking with gentle seriousness. 01 You're not the only one who felt like things fell into place. A lot of Arcana did. A lot of others fought it with everything they had. I'm one of them. 06* Wataru frowns at the word Arcana. There are no good memories, there. 06* Kyon did order some appetizers for people. Mostly riceballs and pickle things. 06* Taki silenty chews. 01 You recognize it? 06* Wataru loves him some pickle things. 06* Katie doesn't grab any food. She's pretty intent on this conversation. "...It just... brings back some bad memories. It's not important." 06* Satoshi eats slowly, glancing at Wataru every so often to see his reaction. 06* Kaede can multitask! That's practically what he's built for. He grabs the ball and chews. "It *is* important, though." 06* Katie nods at Kaede, then says to Wataru, her voice more gentle, "If you want answers, we need to know where to start." 06* Wataru glances at him. "There was this show," he shrugs. "It... Yeah. I dunno. The band, they were called that. But I doubt that's what you're talking about, anyway." 06* Katie snorts. "The Band. Yeah." 06* Kyon scowls. "Part of what we're talking about." 01 They are... were... *all* Arcana. They thought the name was funny. "So what's Arcana?" 06* Kaede tenses at the thought of the Band, fingers digging into his rice ball and then leans back in his chair, going back to chewing. 01 An, uh, of a card in a tarot deck. You carry around those cards. You know there's something to them, at least for you. The card you draw is the one associated with you. Like how I drew the Queen of Cups. 06* Kyon nods curtly. "Got a connection. To the cards, to yourself." Still into scowling, is Kyon. 06* Taki is clearly remembering bad things and she eats. 06* Kaede sighs and adds, "Kind of surprising you have the deck and never asked." He frowns and adds, "Worse you were never told..." 06* Satoshi looks at Wataru. "You didn't know? Like, you *really* didn't know?" "An ?" Wataru frowns thoughtfully, then takes out his deck. Slowly, he takes the cards out from the case, and starts shuffling them. "I was never explained anything. But... Things happened, sometimes." He slides out a card, face down, on the table. 06* Katie reaches across the table, puts her hand on the card, and looks at Wataru. "Can I?" 06* Wataru closes his eyes, puts his hands flat on the table, and takes a deep breath. Then he nods. Then he opens his eyes again. 06* Katie flips over the card. 06* Kaede looks at Satoshi, gaze harsh. "Not *every* one of us had the benefit of getting trapped in a classroom." 06* Kyon smirks. "Most of them got stuck in the tower. Not better." 06* Satoshi looks back at Kaede evenly. "I'm surprised he managed to get through everything if he didn't know." 06* Katie holds up The Hanged Man. "Well," she says, a tiny amount of humor in her voice, "At least I know you're an African Gray." In past generations, as I understand it, there were adults who were in charge of new briefings. But in WWII, most of the prior generation of Arcana died around the same time. That meant that we had to figure out things for ourselves and unfortunately a really important person who figured it out first, the Magician, was a really bad guy. That's a bit of an oversimplification, but that's the basic reason why we don't know much unless we're briefed by a friendly Englishman. 06* Kaede barks out a laugh at Katie's statement and then settles back, relieved. 06* Wataru doesn't really understand what Katie's talking about - parrots? - but then brightens at the mention of Mr. Connery! "Mr. Connery," Wataru says! "He - you know him? He *told* you stuff?" He looks between them. 06* Kaede breathes at that and rubs his forehead. "Sometimes too much..." You met him, then? 06* Katie hands Wataru the card back while everyone gets into this conversation. 06* Taki head tilts. "Did you ever visit the other Tokyo Tower?" 06* Haruko looks briefly confused by the African grey thing and then figures that Katie has a bird tarot deck. She smiles. "Yeah... it's all really complicated and a bit too much for tonight. But yeah. We've talked to him a few times." "Once. He didn't tell me anything, though. Except to save his grandson." He rubs the back of his neck. "And then like, we shook hands, and he left. It --" Wataru looks at them. "It was a busy night." He looks at Taki then. "'Other'....?" 06* Kyon just watches and sips at his beer for now. And eats some pickles. 01 If you go in and look, there's a down button on the elevator. Not everyone can see it. 06* Satoshi lets out a breath. "Jin. That was you?" Did he ask for chicken? [Yes, that's deadpanned.] 06* Haruko nods. "It's also not always there. It's really capricious that way. Oh, and thanks for saving Jin! He's cool." 06* Wataru looks at Satoshi sharply. "Jin. Yeah. That was him. With the staff," Wataru nods, throat dry, remembering. "....... You were there." It's half a question. I remember a little of that. Thanks for helping him. 06* Katie looks around. "What day was this? Describe it?" 06* Wataru tries to figure out if this was directed at him. 06* Satoshi doesn't actually answer Wataru's question. Instead, he asks, "Can somebody loan me a deck?" 06* Haruko hands over hers. 06* Katie is directing it to him, sure. "It was the end of the goddamned world," he says, "quite simply put." 06* Kaede rubs the bridge of his nose, squinting a little. "Part of a war without even knowing who you are. Kyon, I think I finally understand your stance on 'fledglings.'" 06* Satoshi starts shuffling. "We were there." 06* Wataru exhales, relaxing, almost all at once, but still holding back, waiting for confirmation. "On the roof. When the Magician fell. Was that you? The... I saw you celebrating..." 06* Haruko aahs at the explanation. She then leans back and comments quietly to herself. "I hope Norishige-san is alright somewhere. I haven't found him again since then." 06* Kyon snorts a laugh at that, but keeps his gaze on Wataru. 01 I put the Sword in the keeper's heart, yeah. Given that I was pretty sure we weren't surviving that night, we damn well celebrated. 06* Katie gestures to Taki. "She got me up there." 06* Satoshi pulls a card out of the deck and hands the rest back to Haruko. 06* Haruko retrieves the deck, storing it with care. 06* Taki nods. "One the things I'm absolutly certain I did right." 06* Wataru has a sort of broken, almost trembling laugh. "Oh God," he says. "This is crazy. I can't believe I found you." His body's shaking, relief, exhilaration. 06* Kaede blinks slightly and his eyes suddenly focus on Wataru like a hawk. "Found us?" 06* Katie watches Wataru's reaction, and she smiles a little. That's enough. She sits down and grabs one of the remaining riceballs. 06* Haruko nods at Taki's comment. "We all made a lot of mistakes. Big ones. Some people paid dearly for that victory and we still haven't been able to help them. And not everyone survived. But I'm always glad to have new friends, even if you've got bad memories in the past too." 06* Kyon takes one, too. And another sip of beer. "I never thought I'd ever see anyone from that night ever again. But understanding what happened - what all this is, what I am, how it all fits together - well, I mean, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I suppose I should stop being so floored by Fate and coincidences, but really, I mean, Christ. I didn't think - the cards said I'd find answers tonight, but - I didn't expect this. I didn't expect any of this." 06* Katie starts eating her riceball with her fingers, breaking it into smaller pieces, rolling those pieces into balls, and popping them into her mouth. Barbaric, perhaps, but fun. 06* Taki drinks her tea, and then makes a face and sighs. 06* Haruko looks at Katie and judges her! And then shakes her head and smiles with a bit of relief at the apparent relaxation. 06* Kyon shakes his head at Katie, and goes about eating his riceball like a normal person. 06* Satoshi is totally non-judging! Which is somewhat ironic, really. He plays a bit with the card in his hands. 06* Taki then looks around to see if there's any of the waitstaff around before fishing the chunk of ice out of her cup. 06* Satoshi holds the card out to Wataru. "Here. If you didn't know much about Arcana before tonight, then you probably didn't hear any of the terrible rumors about me, but you should know." 06* Kaede pauses as he eyes Wataru carefully and half suspiciously. "Really." It's not fully a question. "It's not like no one in your school wasn't involved too." 06* Haruko looks at Wataru. "Yeah. It's the Wheel of Fortune is like that. I got used to but, well, I'm used to think that the Kami are guiding me." 06* Wataru takes the card, and looks at it. Judgment. It doesn't mean anything special to him.... He frowns a bit at Satoshi, almost apologetic. In fact... "I'm sorry, but I don't think I know what this means," he says. A bit gentle, because he could tell it took some effort for Satoshi to show him, so it must have been important... 01 The Wheel's an asshole. "And... Yeah, I know," he says to Kaede. "Reiji Ozora, right?" He frowns, regret passing across his features. 06* Satoshi takes it back, then returns it to Haruko. He looks relieved. "That's okay." 06* Taki nods. 06* Kyon definitely pays attention at that one, looking up at Wataru directly for the first time in a while. 06* Haruko puts it away as well. 06* Katie glances at Kyon. He knew Reiji much better than she did. 06* Taki stares down into her tea. That was where we met him, outside Ozora-san's apartment. 06* Wataru glances up at her. "That's where he lives?" There's a bit of urgency in his voice. "So... He's okay?" 06* Haruko loses any trace of a smile. "No, he's not." 06* Kaede 's lips thin. "'Okay' is relative with a lot of us really..." 06* Katie winces slightly. She moves her fingers away from the riceball and picks up her tea. 06* Kaede reflexively reaches under the table to pat Katie on the knee. He... That's not a story to be told while trying to enjoy a meal. 06* Kyon has a whole lot of scowl going on now. "Yeah. Different time, different place." 06* Satoshi gives Katie a sympathetic look as he's too far away to reach her. Wataru-san should know the truth. Reiji's heroics in finding the Pentacle cost him dearly. We haven't found a way to help him. I was going to try a reading tomorrow but it's not like any of our past efforts worked. Maybe it'll be easier with time. 06* Haruko 's tone doesn't betray a lot of hope. 06* Wataru nods, and swallows, dryly. "I... I knew him. Not well, but... Enough. If..." He looks around them. "If there's any way I can... help, or... I mean, I would." 06* Katie jumps a little at the knee-pat from Kaede, and she looks at him. 06* Kaede 's lips thin even further. "No one said he shouldn't know the truth, Kinsha-san..." He then jumps at Katie's jump and looks back, suddenly alarmed. 06* Katie stands suddenly. "I'm fine. I'm getting air." And she turns, walking quickly out. No coat. 06* Haruko looks to Wataru with a slight smile. "We can try together." Haruko looks back at Kaede. "Sorry, I..." She looks down after Katie's departure. [And the meals arrive, coming in just as Katie is leaving.] 06* Kyon looks at Haruko sidewise, and then at Wataru. "Not much hope of that. He was a good man. Did something big, and it cost him. Probably, there's no coming back." Kyon is right. The best we may be able to do is give comfort and help his sister. But that isn't nothing. 06* Wataru nods. He's silent for a good while, but then says, very quietly and without looking at anyone, "I'm still willing to try." 06* Kaede breathes and waves his hand. "Later." He looks up at the server. "Can we get this to go?" It *just* arrived, how rude. 06* Haruko does look at the void left by Katie and then carefully digs out a package and hands it to Kyon. "Katie asked me to grab this. We can talk about it later." It's basically a paper bag filled with what looks like a short book full of photocopies. [Final poses?] 06* Kaede glances at the bag and then back at Haruko. "What is it?" 06* Haruko looks back. "The second in a series of novels that drew inspiration from us." She gives the name of the first book. "It's available in bookstores already." 06* Kyon takes it and looks inside, and then nods curtly. "Right." The second I got from Uehara's brother, the author. He seemed to recognize me but I've never seen him before. 06* Taki blinks and suddenly seems alert again. "I, wait how does that even work? I thought Temperance was keeping anything like that from happening." 06* Kaede frowns. "And She didn't..." He cuts himself off and then glances around before shaking his head. "Not imp--" He then gives Taki a *very steady* look. 06* Haruko waves her hand. "It's fictionalized, a lot. I'm joining a book club to try to figure out what some regular people think about it." 06* Haruko looks to Wataru. "Sorry, you might want to skip the book for now, it's confusing enough to keep track of what actually happened. "Yeah... I... Yeah." 06* Wataru glances over at Satoshi, the dazzling center from the Sakuragaoka hockey team, now heading for the big leagues back in America of all places, sitting right next to him, tall and strong and vulnerable and honest and smiling. And like him. Good god, all of these people are like him. Kyon Fucking Sorata, on top of all the rest of the stuff, is also like him. And it sounds like they were 06* Wataru all on the same side..... He sighs. He's gonna invest in this, at least for a while. Answers are here in spades, he can tell already. And maybe, if he's got the hubris to believe himself so lucky... He glances at Satoshi again. Maybe even something more. 06* Kaede keeps a half a glance between Wataru and Haruko, though most of his gaze is still *very* firmly on Taki. Then it slowly turns halfway back towards Haruko. "Yes...of course..." He sighs and deflates. "I should probably read it..." [And End!]