[Ciara] Satoshi checks his e-mail once his computer finishes booting and he's reconnected to the campus network. He's a little surprised that there haven't been any followups, but he did just see most of them less than twenty-four hours ago and the most likely followup would have been from Kaede, who gets to things when he gets to things. (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 5, 2004 (it's still the 4th where he is, but the date automatically converts) Subject: Made It Back Safely! To: Katie Andrews, Haruko Kinsha, Kaede Takeuchi, Kyon Sorata My flight from Chicago got delayed, but I'm back in the dorms now and getting myself settled in. Next game's Tuesday so I'll be getting myself back in gear tomorrow, but I'll talk to you guys soon! Satoshi --- [Ciara] Then he sends a second, unencrypted e-mail: Date: January 5, 2004 Subject: Made It Back Safely! To: Taki Shimiru Taki, Hey! Made it back to Maine just fine. Paul's not coming back until closer to when classes start, but I've got Shizaru's present for him on his desk already. Take care, Satoshi --- [Grysar] Haruko shoots an initial reply to Satoshi that he's glad to hear he's safely arrived and the usual pleasantries. Some time later she'll give him a proper reply. --- [RDMgryphon] Date: January 5, 2004 Subject: Re: Made It Back Safely! To: Satoshi Watanabe Satoshi, I’m glad to read that you made it. I hope you had a good flight. I think Shizaru’s already talked to Paul, but I think she’ll be happy to hear her present is waiting for him. Taki --- [Rowyn] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 5, 2004 Subject: To: Katie Andrews, Haruko Kinsha, Satoshi Watanabe, Kyon Sorata Watanabe-san: Glad to see you made it home safely, though with advances in air travel it wasn't really in doubt. Do we want to still talk about Yamada-san? Because our meeting was rather interesting. I believe I've confirmed a few things. Glad to hear he's willing to return the card, Watanabe-san, though I didn't push the connections question. It'd seem weird coming from me as he did not tell me. Anyway: 1. It's all but confirmed that he got through that mess we went through almost entirely unscathed. What's interesting is *where* there are gaps, but I think the gaps are far too glaring to consider it an act. What I found interesting is he knew that Reiji Ozora was Arcana but not Kyoko Ozora. So there's definitely some history there. Why he would know one half of the family is Arcana but not the other half, I'm sure, is an interesting story in its own right. 2. Akemi thinks he's adorable. I'm not sure why this is relevant, but she's telling me to add this. 3. He was fairly limited on knowledge of his own school's involvement with Arcana in its own right. Did not know about Cardinaux-san. His connection with Izumi Motobuchi is pretty much confirmed now and appears fairly strong, as he seemed rather protective of her. 4. Because of the above, we had to tell him about Temperance. He was considering telling Motobuchi-san but I believe we imposed why that was a bad idea. 5. As a courtesy, I did make sure that one of the vending machines worked in the Tower. No reaction. I would suspect someone might be suspicious given knowledge of the Tower and fields in general, but he appeared rather clueless. Either he's unaware of how fields work or does not suspect that of the Tower. The Tower itself is an odd one anyway. 6. He seems to have taken rather a shining to Shiraishi-san, which only confirms that it was right to bring her. She's encouraging me to help with Ozora-san and I still agree that it's a good move. We owe it to Kyoko... Anyway, I do intend to take her with me on future encounters. She does agree that helping him is the best option, but even she can see the naivety in him. If we can break that, he could potentially be a good asset. Takeuchi out. --- [Ardweden] (Encrypted, sent at about the same time as Kaede's above) Date: January 5, 2004 Subject: Re: Made It Back Safely! To: Satoshi Watanabe I'm glad you made it safely! Next game is tomorrow? That's rough. Hope you get rid of jet lag soon. Good luck with your game! Katie --- [Ardweden] That evening, another encrypted e-mail (this time to everyone minus Taki and Wataru): Date: January 5, 2004 Subject: Re: To: Kaede Takeuchi, Haruko Kinsha, Satoshi Watanabe, Kyon Sorata Thanks, Kaede. Good to know re: Wataru. Someone remind me who Izumi Motobuchi is? I feel like I should remember her but there was more than one Izumi. I think it's all messed up in my head. I want to know about the connections still. With the paintbrush & also more standard, with other people. There was too much of that before. Connections used as excuses for people to do things or not do things they say they wouldn't normally. I'm glad Satoshi & Akemi are making friends with him. You too, Kaede? Maybe? Haruko's got a start I think. Even if he ends up hating me or Kyon, he can like some of you guys. We joke that Satoshi is the least scary person, but it's actually Akemi. Katie --- [Ciara] (Unencrypted e-mail) Date: January 6, 2004 (evening of January 5, 2004 IN AMERICA!) Subject: Re: Re: Made It Back Safely! To: Taki Shimiru Taki, I got delayed going from Chicago to Bangor, but otherwise, it was fine. Got right back into practicing today. Fairly exhausted now. How are you doing? Satoshi --- [Ciara] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 6, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: Made It Back Safely! To: Katie Andrews Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooly crud practice was exhausting today. But it felt good to get back into things. This is our only non-weekend game all season unless we get into the playoffs so after this I'll have a much better idea of when I'll be able to schedule calls and video chats. Satoshi --- [Ciara] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 6, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: To: Katie Andrews, Kaede Takeuchi, Haruko Kinsha, Kyon Sorata I don't quite remember an Izumi Motobuchi, but I did remember a Hiroki Motobuchi on the Shunyo hockey team. I think we confirmed that they're siblings? I kind of remember this coming up at the dinner but things are pretty vague now. I may just be exhausted from jet lag and intense hockey practice. I can't really ask about the paintbrush because I think I'm technically not supposed to know, but I can at least try to ask about connections in a sociology context. We've talked about that some. Also, c'mon. I am way less scary than Akemi. ;) Satoshi --- [Ardweden] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 6, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: Re: Made It Back Safely! To: Satoshi Watanabe Okay. Sounds like you're settling in! Eat peanut butter on toast for me if you can stand the stickiness. Don't choke & die please. We'll talk about scheduling stuff later. Katie --- [Ciara] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 6, 2004 (Evening Japan/Morning Eastern US) Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Made It Back Safely! To: Katie Andrews Thanks for the vote of confidence. ;) I'll try my best! Satoshi --- [Ciara] (Unencrypted e-mail) Date: January 6, 2004 (Evening Japan/Morning Eastern US) Subject: Scheduling To: Wataru Yamada Hey! How are you doing? I'm still recovering from the time zone change plus an incredibly intense practice yesterday, but there's a game tonight and I'm really excited about getting back on the ice. Did you want to plan a chat session? If we want to talk about certain things before my roommate gets back, we should probably do it before Sunday my time. I've got my next game after tonight on Saturday afternoon and practices before then, but if you're free say, Sunday morning your time, that would probably work. Otherwise, we'll figure out something. Satoshi --- [Rowyn] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 6, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: To: Katie Andrews, Satoshi Watanabe, Haruko Kinsha, Kyon Sorata Have to confirm with Satoshi here. Shiraishi-san is definitely scarier than anything he can put out. They may be siblings, not sure. It's also vague in my memory as well, but I do know she went to Shunyo and Cardinaux-san talked about her at times. I believe she came over one time upset about Fuyuko, from what I remember. I hadn't thought about that in a long long time... Also what is this deal with the paintbrush? I believe I missed it. --- [RDMgryphon] (Unencrypted e-mail) Date: January 6, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: Re: Made It Back Safely! To: Satoshi Wantanabe I’m doing pretty well, my new years fortune was mixed luck, but it says I’ll do well at work/school this year. They don’t have anything like that in America do they? Did you get Haruko to pull a fortune for you? -Taki --- [Jihatsu] Wataru adjusts his shiny new webcam and thinks a little bit before replying to Satoshi. (Unencrypted e-mail) Date: January 7, 2004 (Morning Japan/January 6 Evening Eastern US) Subject: Re: Scheduling To: Satoshi Watanabe Hey Satoshi! Sunday morning my time is excellent. What do I need to know to connect with you? Do you use AIM or MSN or what? I'm on AIM mostly, and my alias is yamadadenki12 (if you don't have AIM, I'm like_sunny_days on MSN and yamadadada on ICQ, don't laugh, it was my sister's idea). Or is there like a video service you use? Anyway, it must be awesome to be back on the ice! Good luck with the jet lag :) Talk to you soon! Wataru --- [Grysar] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 7, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: To: Katie Andrews, Satoshi Watanabe, Kaede Takeuchi, Kyon Sorata All, I believe I remember Izumi Motobuchi-san, though I'd have to see her again to be sure. Fairly ordinary girl, special in that she was very friendly and even made the effort for someone as reserved as Fuyuko-san. Sadly, again rely on my memory, I think she got mysteriously beaten at one point for her efforts in about the same way as Maki. I seem to recall her talking with Cardinaux-san at one point, but I have know idea if they were close. I don't recall the possible brother. Takeuchi-san: Katie mentioned the paintbrush in her first email. Apparently Yamada-san nicked it via telekinesis from Masaru. Yamada-san apparently mentioned connections to Katie, which does have overtones of traditional magic. If anyone would like appropriate omamori let me know, although I'm a lot more relaxed thanks to Satoshi experience and Yamada- san's willingness to return my card. Satoshi: Sorry for being fairly silent. I'm slow at email, I've been drafting variants for a couple days. Silly question: if Yamada-san were a Revolutionary Girl Utena character, what would he be? I've identified as a wanna be Utena but perhaps a Nanami. Hopefully my willingness to self- deprecate will offset the arrogance of seeing myself the protagonist. Alternately, maybe my aspiration for better things will mitigate against my bullying shojo antagonist traits. I suppose I'll find out on Friday. Sincerely, Haruko p.s. Takeuchi-san, I note and appreciate that you are attentive to objective safety standards for a range of forms of transportation. --- [Rowyn] (Off-screen, Kaede sits at his computer desk and simply stares at Haruko's email, particularly the last line. Akemi may or may not read it over his shoulder, but Kaede doesn't know what to even do with that. So....!) (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 7, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: To: Katie Andrews, Satoshi Watanabe, Haruko Kinsha, Kyon Sorata Ah. Yes. Now I remember. Thank you for clarifying, Kinsha-san. --- [Capfox] Date: January 7, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: To: Haruko Kinsha, Katie Andrews, Satoshi Watanabe, Kaede Takeuchi First: good to hear you had safe travels back to America. Sorry for not responding earlier to that. Regarding Motobuchi: I met up with her before. We went for ramen once. She also came to get my autograph after a game a few months back. Definitely was surprised I remembered her. She's very friendly, outgoing, talkative. Energetic. Her brother was on the hockey team. She's no one to worry about. If she's the best friend, she's probably a stable influence. Regarding making the connections: we should look into the paintbrush. We don't have have to get it back, but we should know more about how it works. Might make sense for Haruko to ask about this when she gets her card back, or Katie could follow up. Can't say how strong it is, or how strong his powers are, but if we have a way for keeping things on us when we deal with him, we should. At least until we know more. Regarding scariness: Who's less scary depends on what you're scared by. Some people get really intimidated by attractive, friendly women, no matter how nice they are. And some people don't like hockey. Regarding this character thing: what are you on about, Haruko? I'll follow up with you soon. Stay safe. Kyon --- [Grysar] 30 minutes later, Haruko sees the email. 7 minutes after that... Date: January 7, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: To: Kyon Sorata, Katie Andrews, Satoshi Watanabe, Kaede Takeuchi Kyon and Satoshi, My apologies! I failed to give important context is that message. ^^; Katie was with me when the initial conversation took place, but I forgot that no one else I am emailing would have seen it. My tarot deck is Utena-themed. The Wheel of Fortune in this instance is the Dueling Arena. Yamada-san recognized it as such and in his text mentioned that I had good taste. Taking him up on the icebreaker, I mentioned that I always fancied myself in the model of the protagonist (Utena) but likely at times take after one of the minor antagonists (Nanami). He then gamely wondered what character he resembled. Silly small talk off an apparent common interest. Also, almost all the characters are young adults bearing some sort of notable psychological burden, so with luck I might actually learn something from it. I figure Katie has the right idea and we should all try our own approaches and see what works best. Hope that was less confusing! Haruko --- [Ciara] (Unencrypted e-mail) Date: January 7, 2004 (Evening Japan/Morning Eastern US) Subject: Re: Re: Scheduling To: Wataru Yamada I'm watanabe9 on AIM and I can sign up for the others as well if those are easier. I've been playing around with Skype some for calls and video; I'm watanabe9 there as well. I'm actually 92 here instead of 9 like I was at Sakuragaoka, but I'm too lazy to remember multiple usernames so I just stuck with watanabe9. ;) Speaking of, we won yesterday! I didn't get any points but it was still great to be out there. Also, you have a sister? What's she like? Is she younger or older? I'm an only child, so I'm kind of curious. By the way, did you ever meet Reiji's sister? She's got something in common with him, and us. But we can talk more about that later. Looking forward to Sunday! Satoshi --- [Jihatsu] Date: January 7, 2004 (Evening Japan/Morning Eastern US) [just about 15 minutes after Satoshi's email] Subject: Re: Re: Re: Scheduling To: Satoshi Watanabe I think I might have met Reiji's sister once or twice - she was a bit younger than us though, right? Yeah, Kaede mentioned the thing we have in common. I was surprised. Actually, it looks like there was a lot going on at my school - maybe we can talk about it Sunday? I never realized this stuff was so pervasive. I guess I was trying so hard not to be seen that I didn't end up looking, either. Anyway, my sister! Younger. Sophie. She's 14 now and she's awesome. Very smart, very fearless, very techy. Much more than me. She's always acted like she feels she should be looking out for me, even though I'm 6 years older than her. She's been like that since she was a baby. Got really protective a few years ago, when all that stuff happened. She's mellowed out since, I think. I make a point of talking with her a lot, let her know that I'm fine. She's still in Seattle. I haven't seen her in over a year... Oh, congrats on your game! Wataru --- [Ardweden] Katie reads the most recent series of e-mails late that night, in a mostly dark apartment and after she finishes her biology homework. She goes to her bed to grab her blanket, bundle herself in it, and walk around her bedroom a few times before returning to her computer. After skimming the e-mails again, she closes her laptop and walks off (still bundled in blanket). She gets a cold soda from the fridge and puts it against her face for a minute before drinking half of it. Then she walks into the living room and pulls a purring Kumaguro under her blanket for maybe twenty minutes of petting on the couch - not turning on the light because that might wake Kyon - and walks back to her room. She sits at her desk and opens her laptop again with shaking hands. It's okay. She's okay. She can do this. Katie clicks reply all. Date: January 8, 2004 (very early morning) Subject: Re: Re: To: Kyon Sorata, Haruko Kinsha, Satoshi Watanabe, Kaede Takeuchi Satoshi: sorry, I didn't mean to make you think you should ask about the paintbrush. You're right. You shouldn't. Haruko: Use your best judgement re: asking Wataru about the paintbrush. I wouldn't if you think it'd risk a good relationship with him. I already know about the paintbrush so I'm safe pushing. I'm thinking of asking Wataru to talk to me again, without Kyon. No elevators this time. He already thinks I'm scary so whatever. Maybe I can use that. Or maybe mutual vulnerability. There's strength in that. I kind of remember Izumi now. She was Fuyuko's friend, right? I remember her. And her brother. I wonder if Wataru was her friend too. Or tried to be. That is the kind of connection I was worried about. It happens. I'll let you know if it becomes a problem. It might but probably just for me. Going to bed now. Good night. Katie --- [Rowyn] January 8, 2004. Late at night, or early in the morning, Kaede Takeuchi is staring at his computer in a similarly dark two-bedroom apartment. It's still fairly dark out and it looks like he's been at it for quite some time. His eyes focused on the lightly glowing screen. A yawn at the door. Akemi rubs her eyes and leans against the doorframe before she wanders in sleepily in a matching pink set of camisole and boyshorts. "Nnngh, Kaede?" She blinks the sleep out of her eyes and still continues to rub it as she looks in the room. When there's no response, "What's wrong?" Kaede doesn't take his eyes off the screen, though it does take him some time to respond. The response betrays little emotion, although it is a little distant sounding. "She's thinking of Yusuke. And Shika." Akemi just stands, equally quiet as the words sink into her tired head. She looks at Kaede for a long silent moment. She doesn't snoop. Just walks over to the computer chair and gives him a tight hug, gradually relieving pressure, then gives him a kiss on the cheek. "...Don't stay up too late, kay? We got an interview in a couple of days. I need you fresh." And with that and a final "Sleep tight," she wanders back to bed. Kaede continues to re-read the e-mail again, probably at least for the fifth or sixth time. He sighs and takes off his glasses, pinching his nose and setting them over on the nightstand. Yes. He'll come back to the e-mails in a little while. He could respond now, but it'd make more sense to come back to them fresh. And when there's a little more meat to them. With that thought, he crawls into bed and turns off the light. --- [Ardweden] Thursday, January 8 - Morning While getting ready for his day, Kyon finds Katie sleeping soundly on the living room couch, wrapped in her blanket from her bedroom. Kumaguro is draped over her neck. (See the Katie/Kyon thread [Couchsleeper]) --- [Ciara] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: Morning of January 8, 2004 Japan/Evening of January 7, 2004 Eastern US Subject: Re: Re: To: Katie Andrews, Haruko Kinsha, Kyon Sorata, Kaede Takeuchi Kyon: Thank you. I appreciate it. Haruko: I've never actually watched Utena. I could ask Paul if he has a copy? If he doesn't, he could probably find one. So I can't really help you figure out your character or Wataru's until after I watch it. I assume I should watch it? Other things: Wataru's apparently got a sister. Six years younger, and not Arcana. She's still back in the US. Also, Liam is insisting we go on a road trip tomorrow, despite the fact that he doesn't have a car and the only person we know who does isn't back at school yet. This could be interesting. Satoshi --- [Ciara] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: Morning of January 8, 2004 Japan/Evening of January 7, 2004 Eastern US Subject: (no subject) To: Katie Andrews Katie, You sound like you could use a hug. And even if I'm misinterpreting things, please have a hug anyway. They may not be as good as Kaede's, but you should have one. Satoshi --- [Ciara] (Unencrypted e-mail) Date: Morning of January 8, 2004 (Japan) / Evening of January 7, 2004 (US) Subject: Re: ... Re: Made It Back Safely! To: Taki Shimiru Taki, Sorry for the delay in replying. For some reason I didn't see this until today. In America they stay up until midnight and watch things going on in New York. Well, it's midnight if you're on the East Coast. I guess if you're in LA or Seattle or places like that, it's 9PM so I'm not entirely sure how that works. I could ask someone if you wanted. Haruko did draw a fortune for me, and it was a fairly generic "you will have good fortune this year" one. So nothing really interesting, but I'm not going to complain. I hope yours holds true and you do have good luck at school (and work?) Satoshi --- [Ciara] (Unencrypted e-mail) Date: Morning of January 8, 2004 Japan/Evening of January 7, 2004 Eastern US Subject: Re: Re: To: Wataru Yamada Yeah, we can talk about it more on Sunday. Given everything that happened, I can't blame you for wanting to stay under the radar. Your sister sounds fun. I'm glad you keep in touch with her. Does that sound weird? I just know that it's hard to keep in touch sometimes. I'm trying to make sure I do the same with all my friends while I'm away. And thanks! We have tomorrow off so Liam's insisting that we go on a road trip. He doesn't have a car, though, and the only person we know who does isn't back yet, so I'm not really sure what he's planning. If you don't hear from me in a couple of days, please find someone to contact the local authorities and send out a search party. ;) Satoshi --- [Grysar] It's not unusual for Haruko to be up past midnight, dorm life and all, but she doesn't see the Katie email until the next day. She sends out two emails in succession, easier one first. Well mostly easier. She repeatedly writes and then removes references in the first email that Taki reminds her of a particular major Utena character. (The first e-mail is in [Re: Cross-Cultural Exchanges!].) Date: Morning of January 8, 2004 Subject: Re: Re: Re: To: Katie Andrews, Kyon Sorata Katie and Kyon, If not too inconvenient, I'll likely stop by to spend a bit more time with Kyon's library once my deck is again complete. It would be useful to practice doing some readings. Since I owe you a braiding Katie, let's pick a day where I could probably see to you hair before or after. We can work the details by text later. Also, Kyon may want us out of his room for that part, on account of rampant girliness. Finally, if you think it could be wise, I can check with Wataru if he'd just mind having you join us in Harajuku. I think we weren't a bad neophyte initiator team back in the day. We can do charming cop - honest cop or maybe more Japanese cop / American cop buddy comedy. Nicely, when we inevitably get handcuffed together, I can easily escape (Kyon: this is in reference to a common movie police comedy trope, not sure if you watch such low class fare). Haruko --- [Capfox] Date: Morning of January 8, 2004 Subject: Follow-up To: Haruko Kinsha, Katie Andrews You can come back and look at the books more. You need me to be here to help? I can deal with rampant girliness. Just don't expect help on that. Katie's passing on meeting with Wataru that time. Once you're more connected, she'll go and work with him. Better to build up to it. Should stay out of it myself for now, unless you need me. And don't handcuff yourself to Katie. It won't end well. Kyon --- [Capfox] (Encrypted e-mail) Date: Morning of January 8, 2004 Japan/Evening of January 7, 2004 Eastern US Subject: Re: Re: To: Katie Andrews, Haruko Kinsha, Satoshi Watanabe, Kaede Takeuchi Just adding here: Talked with Katie, and she's holding off on meeting with Wataru for now. She'll wait until she's in more with Haruko or others. If you get lost in America, we'll hire a private investigator there to find you again. Kyon --- [Ardweden] That same afternoon, while Kyon is in class, Katie finally checks her e- mail. (Encrypted e-mail) Date: January 8, 2004 (Afternoon Japan) Subject: Re: To: Satoshi Watanabe Thanks for the hug. Yours are good. I'm feeling better now. How was the road trip? Where did you go? Katie --- [Ardweden] Date: January 8, 2004 (Afternoon) Subject: Re: Follow-up To: Haruko Kinsha, Kyon Sorata Hair braiding would be fun. Kyon being here is fine. He knows his way around those books better & just admitted he's okay with rampant girliness. We can't disappoint him now. Will talk about Wataru later. Maybe when you're here. Katie --- [Grysar] January 9, 2004 Haruko will be replying to that message and also sending everyone but Taki a summary of her meeting with Wataru. The response to Katie/Kyon would essentially be an amused "Sounds good." The braiding can take place off screen as we've got a lot scheduled, but if anyone wants it on screen I'm happy to run it. Her Wataru somewhere will come out that evening and be ramble a bit, which she'll apologize for, but she prioritized speed rather than brevity. Feel free to consider the broad strokes of the cafe log IC knowledge. It will include an exec summary, roughly as follows: 1) The meeting went well. She did feel that she certainly revealed more than she learned, but he was being quite friendly. She can't eliminate the possibility of a long-con, but she sees no evidence for it. 2) Wataru's rivalry with Kyon appears to be personality-based and nothing we haven't seen before. He was perfectly comfortable with her professed loyalty to Kyon and willingness to operate as an interlocutor when necessary. He was intrigued by mention of Kyon's books in explaining some of the larger phenomenon. 3) Wataru did a reading on helping Reiji. It appears that he, Haruko, and Kaede have the potential to help. She'd cover this in great detail emphasizing the respective Caster/Healer/Designer roles for the ritual. 4) Wataru seems motivating regarding Reiji because he initially rejected Reiji's attempt to identify him as an Arcana. He seemed surprised by various details about Arcana activity at Shunyo, e.g. Reiji and Kyon's alliance. 5) Haruko feels comfortable doing more work with him in the future and giving us mutual chances to prove ourselves by helping Reiji.