2022-10-07: Combo
- Log: 2022-10-07- Combo
- Cast: Alexis Kerib, Rikka Takarada
- Where: Tsutsujidai - Junk Shop Aya
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-10-07
- Summary: A very polite customer tries a toast combo!
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Junk Shop Aya. It's at the very least some sort of meal time. It's probably dinner, though if the inherent weirdness of multiple new students is enough to prompt a half-day, it could be lunch!
"Well, even if it's incomprehensible to me why you'd choose to run two completely divergent establishments under one roof like this," Alexis says, struggling to fit his enormous heft onto a single barstool at Aya's diner counter, "I must say the ambience is excellent. There is something about this little slice of things that makes it easy to justify living in trash, isn't there?"
... Is the 7'8" alien giant making -- small talk? It's not any weirder than Max doing it, except for all the ways in which it's much, much weirder.
He hasn't actually touched his toast combo and cake set, though he's at least made himself a paying customer.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
It's dinner time! An ordinary diner would probably be bustling around this exact time. But the Junk Shop Aya is not an ordinary diner, as the name implies. It is also a Junk Shop, making it exceptional in that regard... but so, too, is the establishment's single current customer exceptional.
The ower currently stands behind the counter, tidying up her work station. Orie does not react at all to the strangeness of the situation - to Alexis's sheer size and presence, nor to the fact that the meal he has ordered has gone completely untouched, despite purchasing it. His comment, meanwhile, merely gets an amused smirk.
"Hey now - it's only the finest of trash for me." She replies. "I always run a quality joint."
It's about this time that the Aya's side door opens - the one that leads into the Takarada residence proper, rather than the store entrance - as Rikka returns home.
"Mama, I'm back..." Rikka announces herself, poking her head into the store... and then, freezing immediately as she sees who, exactly, has come to visit. Orie offers her a smile - the briefest glances passing from Alexis over to Rikka.
"Welcome home. Do you mind taking this over for me?" Orie asks. It's a convenient way to distract her away from her current state of surprise, and a convenient way to get Rikka right next to her if only for a moment. Rikka hesitates for a moment, and then nods.
"U-uh... yeah, sure..." Rikka replies. Orie steps aside to let her in to take her place, as she moves to grab an apron and put it on and get to work finishing tidying up.
...Though, her attention is noticeably divided between her work and Alexis.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Of course, of course!" Alexis enthuses, at Orie's protest. "Far be it from me to imply you weren't." He glances down at the food, noting, "My, my, though. If creators express through their creations, you've become quite articulate indeed!"
When Rikka arrives, Alexis's posture shifts slightly; he makes himself just a little more personable -- a little more of a person, going from a fairly rigid sit to one with an elbow on the counter and looking toward her. (Elbows: he's got 'em!)
"Oh -- is this your daughter?" he asks, the teal panels on his face blinking in and out in a comfortable, conversational rhythm. "She seems lovely. I can't help but feel like I've seen her around town now and again..."
He seems perfectly relaxed and patient, here. "Please -- take your time. I have plenty on my plate," he remarks.
He still hasn't eaten any of his combo.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Well, I've had a lot of time to practice." Orie replaces with a nonchalant shrug, and then another grin. "...But between you and me, I am pretty good."
Rikka is there. Orie takes a moment to gauge the way the two react to each other... and, for a moment, she seems satisfied. Maybe she's just pleased by the compliment.
"She is - and I'm very proud of her." Orie replies, taking a moment to reach over and ruffle Rikka's hair.
"Mama..." Rikka protests, a little embarrassed. ...But, she takes some solace in the fact that he doesn't seem to recognize her... or at the very least, won't do so in front of her mother.
The latter won't be an issue for much longer, however, as once Rikka has situated herself by the counter, Orie takes a step closer toward the hallway, slipping away into the house itself.
...And so, that just leaves the two of them. Rikka diligently cleans the stovetop. By this point, it's clean enough that it'd pass any health and safety inspection.
She keeps at it. Dividing her attention, ironically, helps her stay focused, keeps her mind off the fact that Alexis Kerib is in her house at this very moment. ...But, it'd be weird if she didn't say anything, so after a moment she decides to ask...
"You're... Akane's guardian, right?" She asks. It seems like a reasonable question to ask. "I'm Rikka. I'm... one of her friends from school."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Alexis loves to play along with polite fictions -- and create them! He gives Orie plenty of time and space to get both herself and Rikka situated. When she slips away into the house proper, he considers opening a conversation --
-- and Rikka does it for him! Perfect.
"Ah -- yes, that's correct," Alexis answers, pleasantly; now that his having limbs is in play, he picks up a piece of his toast combo. "Hm -- oh, the crumb is very impressive. Is this store-bought, or baked here?"
... He doesn't stick to food for very long, though, because he seems interested in following up on this slice of the conversation. "How has she been doing lately? With school, I mean. I know she often isn't feeling well enough to go, but she's seemed to have a newfound enthusiasm of late!"
After a moment, though, he thinks to add... "You know -- I really do feel like we've met somewhere else. Weren't you there to provide first aid to the woman from Chasseur, after that unpleasant situation? I knew I recognized you from somewhere. She's in town again, you know."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka listens as Alexis confirms that he's Akane's guardian. That puts them on the same page for that, at least... He comments on the bread, then.
"We bake it here... so, it's fresh!" Rikka replies. Food would have been an easier topic... but, it shifts to Akane for a moment. Rikka's expression falls, just a little. She tries not to let him see it.
"...I don't know. We haven't really... had much of a chance to talk lately." Rikka admits. After France... she may be keeping her distance a bit, and she's had another matter to take care of too that's kept her away from Tsutsujidai. ...Except... Alexis says that Akane has a newfound enthusiasm for school...? Rikka pauses, for a moment. That's... not really what she expected. Was she just projecting her own feelings on her...? But, that still feels strange, after what happened, and how she left them...
"O-oh. Well... I'm glad to hear that!" Rikka replies, managing a smile. "I'm glad she's feeling more up to it..."
And then, Alexis brings up the time they met... the time with Renais, and everything that happened around here. ...Well, he'd probably see right through her if she lied...
"...Yeah. I was there." She confirms... and then pauses. "...Wait, she is? I haven't seen her yet..."
And she didn't send a message or anything...?
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"You do an excellent job. The crumb is splendid -- airy without being crumbly. I can see the pride in the work," Alexis says. (The more pleasant he is about half of the conversation, the more uncomfortable he can make Rikka on the other end of it.)
"Oh yes. Apparently there's been an influx of new classmates...? After she vacated class representative I wouldn't have expected her to be so enthused about getting new students situated, but I suppose some habits do stick around," he continues, nodding to her, the bright red 'sunglasses' of his mask glinting in the light. "Come to think, she always did enjoy being the one to fuss... I think if having Ms. Pommier and Ms. Nagisa in class gets her back into that rhythm, so much the better!"
Alexis hunches over a bit, looking down at the little cup of strawberries in strawberry sauce. "Hm. I suppose I ought to be applying this to the toast," he muses -- before getting back on topic.
"Oh yes. Apparently she's looking at moving in; her fighting days may well be over! Perhaps seeing Akane give up on her kaiju attack strategy was enough to make people reassess their own situations..." He stares directly at Rikka as he says it.
Then he breezes along. "I wonder why none of them told you these things in advance, though. You seem quite..." here he picks his words carefully, "... connected."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Yeah... Mama's recipe is the best." Rikka replies with a nod. She doesn't quite have it down yet, but she's getting there - good enough to serve to customers, at least, which is still pretty good.
Rikka has moved to a different part of the counter now, tidying up that which doesn't really need any more tidying up... but then, Alexis mentions
...She hadn't heard about this.
"That's Akane for you, I guess... She's always been good at making friends." Rikka comments, staring at the faint of her own reflection in the countertop. ...But then, he says names - two particular names. Pretend is forgotten as Rikka whirls around to face him.
"Pommier and Nagisa...?" Rikka repeats. ...No way. There's no way that's a coincidence. If it was just 'Nagisa' she could maybe excuse it, she always knows two people with that last name, but 'Pommier'? ...It's unnerving. Not just Renais, but Alouette, too...
...And again, neither of them told her anything.
"W-well... I hope they don't have too difficult a time of adjusting..." Rikka says, trying not to let on how unnerved by this news she is. She pauses for a moment, as Alexis hunches over. "...Y-yeah. I mean, if you want..."
Alouette is joining the class, and Renais is... looking at moving in?
"That..." Rikka starts. That... doesn't seem like her. Not the same Renais that gave her a talking to when she tried to downplay her own contributions to the Gridman Alliance and Tsutsujidai, thinking that she needed to do way more than she already was... "That's her choice to make, I guess... I hope she manages to find a good place."
...This doesn't seem right. None of this seems right... And Alexis points out how none of them told her about it.
"M-Maybe they were just... Busy, and wanted to wait until it was a sure thing..." Rikka decides. That's the part that really gets her. If it is true, why didn't they tell her anything?
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Oh? Is that how you see her...?" Alexis seems legitimately surprised at the idea that Akane's good at making friends -- but then, it's natural for him to have a different lens on her, one supposes. Certainly Orie doesn't see the same side of Rikka that everyone else does.
Alexis drizzles strawberry spread on his toast. He still hasn't done anything with it; it's getting cold. His drizzle, such as it is, is quite lopsided and inconsistent.
"Ah, agreed! If this place is going to remain attached to the rest of the universe, it really would be nice to have more people around." He really does sound so affable about the whole thing...
As Rikka starts to get nervous about the direction of the conversation, all the teal panels on Alexis's face light up for a moment; he says nothing, admiring the food he's stubbornly not actually engaging with.
"I'm sure," he agrees. "It really is a shame for them to take you for granted like that, though. And thoughtless from Akane, given she was quite ready to help them move in! You would really imagine they'd be kinder to someone who -- ah, I'm assuming the one with the water jets is yours."
Wryly, he notes, "The socks are a giveaway, you know. Now where was I -- oh yes! Kinder to someone who they've struggled alongside for months now. ... then again, I suppose in France you two admitted that you don't really 'get' each other, so perhaps it's not surprising from Akane. She struggles so much with shallow understanding."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"When I first met her here, she was always surrounded by friends..." Rikka comments. ...But then, she supposes that's because she literally made friends. ...She didn't know that at the time. And because of that, she...
...The thought brings up memories of feelings she isn't proud of. She decides to leave it there, instead focusing her attention on Alexis and his toast. Still untouched, except for the steadily growing puddle of strawberry spread.
...It does bother her a little. She wonders if he's doing it on purpose, but on the other hand she's not sure how he'd eat with that mask on.
"...I guess so." Rikka comments, on how it'd be nice to have more people around. But as for them taking her for granted, she frowns.
"...There has to be a reason. They wouldn't just... do that. I don't know Nagisa, but... Alouette and Renais aren't the type to just drop everyone without a good reason..." She says... and then startles a little, when he comments on Synchrotank, and her socks. Her face goes a little red, as she suddenly feels a little self-conscious. And then, in France...
...Was he listening the whole time? Of course he was - either that, or Akane told him about it after ward. Either way...
"That's... It's not like that..." Rikka insists, folding her arms in front of the counter. She's not quite able to look him in the visor.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"I suppose such things would be easy for her to achieve, given the circumstances," is all Alexis offers on the idea that Akane had always been surrounded by friends when she first moved to Tsutsujidai. Of course he knows about that.
Rikka fails to look him in the eyes as she processes what he's saying, and Alexis can't quite help letting his face literally light up again. Oh, to be sure, this isn't nearly as fun as doing it to Akane -- it takes genuine effort to spin Rikka around, and her belief in the people she cares about seems much more ironclad.
That doesn't mean there isn't joy in the work, though.
"Perhaps they aren't the only ones in need of a change of scenery! Ah, it can feel quite crowded inside a heart, once you're dealing with the presence of so many other people in it. Perhaps even crowded out." He wonders if he isn't overplaying, at this point -- but at the same time, having gotten this far there's no bad outcomes on the table, as far as Alexis is concerned. He drums his fingers on the counter, looking down at the coffee that came with his combo.
The flames at the back of Alexis's head flicker a little. (How do they not... set things on fire? It's a mystery.) "Now, forgive me the intrusion -- as long as I'm helping Akane with her wondrous creations, I suppose we are enemies -- but I really do want to know if you have a next move planned~. You're usually the ones reacting to her, so it's okay for you to tell me, don't you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka... doesn't really have a good response to that. That much is true enough. And then he continues and she flinches a little. Does he know...? No, it's probably a coincidence, but more importantly... The way he says it feels pointed. Those three... they aren't going to be the last ones, aren't they?
...Who was going to be next, and how? It's a worrying thought. If he's saying that much, then does he know something...?
"I guess that means you're expecting more visitors." Rikka replies with a shake of her head. She takes a breath, slowly trying to regain her composure. "...Do you feel that way, though?"
Her attention is briefly drawn to the coffee - and then the fire flickering on Alexis's head. ...And then, he asks her a question. This time, her eyes manages to meet his visor, unfolding her arms.
"...I don't see how that makes it okay." Rikka replies. "I'm not sure why you think I'd tell you, either. ...Sorry."
...The truth is, they're completely in the dark. They have no idea what to do next except wait and watch. But she isn't going to tell him that.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Hm? Oh, you misconstrue me! I'm wondering if you aren't looking for a change of scenery. But I suppose if that wasn't your first thought, you probably aren't," Alexis answers, starting to finally correct back from his increasingly slouchy posture to something a little straighter.
When Rikka rebuffs his request, Alexis is almost surprised; he's gotten used to easier prey, he supposes, which is ultimately on him for spending so much time on tenderizing and then getting into a loop of taking easy wins.
... he does owe her an answer to the question. "Oh, no -- I'm quite aware of my place in Akane's heart and perfectly secure in it," he says. "We're remarkably open with each other! I'm the first person she tells when something bad happens, or when she's thinking about giving voice and form to some unexpressed feeling."
Finally moving to stand up, Alexis concedes, "... Pardon me, though -- I fear I've overstayed my welcome. I wouldn't want to be rude, after you and your mother have been such gracious hosts." His hand goes into his cloak for a moment -- and then he retrieves several bills and coins.
(... He's shortchanged Rikka 37 luke. ... though at least he isn't actively moving to leave...)
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"My mistake, then." Rikka replies, and then nods. "...But, you're right. I like it here."
Alexis gives her an explanation, then. ...And honestly, she wasn't expecting that. ...But, it explains a lot. He's the first person she tells when something bad happens or when she has an unexpressed feeling. ...But, he's also the person who helps her make her kaiju.
...Well. Given what else she knows about him, that certainly puts a whole lot into perspective, doesn't it? It helps her pick up steam a little, to find a little more of that courage she lost.
"I see... I'm glad Akane has a guardian she's so comfortable with." Rikka replies with a smile, studying his visor intently. This is a lie, of course. The idea on its face is something she wants for Akane... but not when that person is Alexis.
Alexis stands up, and says that he's overstayed his welcome.
"I see... Well, it's been nice talking you..." Rikka says, as he brings out the money. ...Honestly, a part of her wants to just hurry him out the door, but she ignores that in favor of going over the amount he sets on the counter. "...Oh, but I'm sorry, you've come up a little short."
She lets that hang in the air for just a second before clarifying.
"I just need 37 more luke from you. Sorry for the trouble..." Rikka says.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
It's not what Rikka says, but how she says it.
Alexis has to make the conscious decision to remain closed off; he's used to having precise control of how much poison is in the conversation, and having Rikka very carefully counterplay him -- multiple times -- is...
... well, he's certainly standing straighter by the time she asks him for the rest of the money.
"Oh -- do forgive me, I'm used to counting in base sixteen... it's terribly easy for me to miscount, and I understand even the implication of a tip can be quite rude here! So it's easier to slightly undercount and accept the correction," Alexis explains, a hand snaking out of his cloak containing more coins -- and then the other, to painstakingly, individually count them.
Only once he's managed that does he finally turn and say, "Tell your mother the service was exceptional -- from both of you," before starting to translate out the door.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Of course. I appreciate the consideration." Rikka replies. Alexis begins to slowly, carefully, count out the rest of the coins. She doesn't mind this, because he's the one who actually has to do it. Maybe it's a little petty, but she feels a bit better having gotten that much out of him. She doesn't mind being petty, sometimes.
"Of course, I'll be sure to let her know. Take care!" Rikka replies with a wave. She doesn't stop him from leaving... and only once she's certain he's gone does she let out a breath, make her way around to the sofa opposite the counter and let herself collapse into it, her legs feeling like jelly.
That... was terrifying. She's proud of herself, but she's probably going to have to close up for the night after that.