2023-04-24: Two Sunsets
- Log: 2023-04-24- Two Sunsets
- Cast: Akane Shinjo, Gai Kurenai
- Where: Junk Shop Aya
- OOC - IC Date: 0097-04-24
- Summary: Gai Kurenai finally meets the girl who's been at the center of an enormous maelstrom. They confirm some practicals, and then have a nice talk.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's back in Tsutsujidai again, having stayed the night at the Wadatsumi; there are things that occasionally draw her back here, even if she's careful to avoid falling into any of her usual old routines. (... they are tempting, though.)
She has a few things she'd like to do before she heads out of Tsutsujidai again, but... right now, she needs breakfast. She also needs some advice on having a good road trip, which has brought her -- yet again -- to Aya, where she's been talking with Mrs. Takarada. Her phone sits next to a Western-style breakfast; she taps at it, finishing taking down the tail end of Rikka's mom's advice before finally remembering to eat something.
Akane normally wouldn't be up so early at all, but... it does mean breakfast...
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
'Aya' is a comfortable place for wanderers and iconoclasts, so Gai Kurenai is a frequent presence here, even apart from helping Orie run the cafe. With morning patrol on the Rescue Team finished up, he's checking in at the junk shop, hanging his coat and hat up next to the doorway.
The Presence here is unmistakable - after all, this world was shaped out of the heart of the girl sitting at the counter, so to someone with the senses of an Ultraman, Akane is instantly recognisable, whether lilac-haired or brunette.
Gai considers his approach for a moment, then heads up the counter, leaning his head around the back. "Mrs. Takarada, it's Gai. I'm starting my shift now." He grabs an apron, the white garment a stark contrast to his black longsleeve tee, and washes his hands before taking up position behind the counter. "Can I get you anything else?" He asks Akane, noting she has food in front of her already.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
The swap in who's handling the counter startles Akane a bit -- she'd finished getting trip advice, so that's fine, but... still, Akane tends toward continuity of things and people! It takes her a second.
"Hmmm... could I get another drink?" Akane asks, before taking another bite of her eggs. ... these are really good, she thinks -- usually she's more fond of omurice or other more complex dishes, but sometimes you just want scrambled eggs. ... after a little thought about what she wants to drink, she says, "Let's go with yogurt drink next."
She has to think for a moment if she can place Gai; she definitely gets a vibe from him, but what that vibe is is a little harder for her to place. "I'm not sure I've seen you around here before..." she muses. "You do seem kinda familiar, though."
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
The dark-haired man with deep, dark eyes smiles, offering her a hand. "Gai Kurenai. I've been helping on miss Takarada's Rescue Team for a while now - since the 'blackout'." It's a euphemistic way to describe the PLANT vanishing into an emotional nadir, but it's an accurate one. "We've never met before, but I know who you are, miss Shinjo."
He starts to work on Akane's order, giving her time to process the implications of his statement before handing her the drink.
"I was watching you and Namiko fight to save your friend," he explains. "You did a good job." He starts polishing a glass, thinking. "What makes you say I seem 'familiar'?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane sits up a little straighter when she's approached euphemistically and then told Gai knows who she is. ... she'll still take a box of yogurt drink though. It's what she asked for! "Oh," she says -- and at first that's all she says, trying to sort out how she feels about someone she doesn't know nevertheless knowing plenty about her.
... It's a bit of relief when she hears that he saw her fight for Hass's sake, too, though. "Well that saves us a few steps!" Akane says, with a nod -- though there's a little strain in her voice. "As for familiar... hrrmm. At first it was just a vibe, but there's something familiar about your body language too, actually..."
She chews on that for a bit. Akane knows she's reminded of someone, but... "Wait -- there was something I was going to ask you about, now that you mention Namiko, but..." Hm. Something else to think about. "... Rikka's great, isn't she?" Yeah -- she can't stop herself, try as she might to get moody or focus on something else.
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
'Oh'.
Gai responds to that with an "Mmm," and in that exchange of simple sounds perhaps much is communicated.
"I learned a lot from watching that fight," he continues. "It was... familiar to me, to be faced with that situation. Different, but uncomfortably familiar."
His deep eyes seem to be looking at something far-away, for a moment, before he recovers himself. "You wanted to ask something about Namiko? And... yes. Miss Takarada certainly is a force of nature." He chuckles. "You care about her a lot, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Starting to rub at the back of her head, Akane tries to figure out what she even wants to say. There's -- a lot of floating topics. "Familiar? Huh," Akane starts, brow furrowing a little. "I'm still kinda figuring out how I feel about the whole thing myself..."
Akane pauses, pulling out her phone. "Can you account for Namiko on any of these dates?" she asks, sliding it over. "No rush. Just check if you know where she was on any of them, that's all."
... aaaaand back to it -- and most importantly, back to Rikka. "Yeah. I... she's great. Sometimes I'm surprised Gridman didn't dwell in her, because she's just... I feel like every new thing I learn about her is the new most incredible thing about her, you know?" It's hard for Akane to be honest all the time, but when it comes to things she likes about Rikka... it's hard to be quiet.
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
"It's okay to have complicated feelings about a fight like that," Gai says with a frown. "But, yes. A dangerous machine took a friend of mine to use as its voice and made her its pilot, and I hurt her badly getting her out. I wanted to see if that kind of problem could be handled... 'better', I suppose."
He takes the phone, skimming down the list. "Yes, I was training with her on each of these dates. She wanted to know how to handle her machine better so she could save Hass. I'm glad it paid off."
There's something up here, he suspects, but he lets his answer stand on its own. "Mmm. I'm wondering what the circumstances of Gridman's bonding are, myself." He smiles. "Love is like that, though - it makes everything about them so much more special, even if it's a 'flaw', because it's theirs."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's eyes widen as it becomes clear that Gai's background isn't just helping dig people out of rubble. "... Sounds like the same kinda stuff keeps happening all over," Akane muses, though there's not a lot of mirth in it. "And, I mean... at least she didn't seem that hurt, so that part's fine."
Akane doesn't mention the part where she got hurt in the equation, but it doesn't seem to matter that much to her.
Akane takes back her phone, nodding to Gai and affirming, "Thanks." That's one more name off the list, at least...
"I've been kinda wondering about that too. Hibiki, I mean..." He was always easy to get along with, but... She trails off. "Anyway, uh -- huh. Are you a pilot, then?" Gai sounds like he has some experience in circumstances that she keeps facing now... it might be worth it to pick his brain about it a little.
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
"Mm. It was a long time ago. To see it keep happening here was... troubling."
Gai gives Akane a look when she glosses over how she got hurt instead, but... It's the kind of trade-off he'd accept, too, so he doesn't press the matter.
"Not a pilot, no. I don't think I could handle one of those machines." He chuckles self-deprecatingly. "No, I fight in a... different way."
There's no reason to beat around the bush here - Akane of all people has the right to know, even if he prefers to not be overt about his nature. It's not like he's good at hiding it, anyway. "When I fight, I do so as Ultraman Orb."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
'Ultraman Orb' gets Akane to sit bolt upright. "Ultraman Orb?" She repeats, as if inviting him to continue -- except she continues, then, instead. "Jugglus Juggler's been looking for you, if he hasn't already found you. He was one of the first people to show up around here, actually, back when it was still pretty closed off..."
Tapping her fork at her plate a little as she thinks, she adds, "Now that you say that, though, I can kinda tell what I was getting? You two are... it's not that you're alike alike, but it's kinda like you're two parts of a whole thing." She sounds confident, despite having no conscious sense of what she means; she's just going on vibes.
... and when she realizes what it means that Gai is Ultraman Orb, she thinks to add, "I was sorta... half aware of you fighting on the other end of town when things went crazy, during the 'blackout.'" Her gaze tracks off to one side. "... Thanks." It's a word that still comes with difficulty.
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
"He found me. He's why I've been keeping an eye on this place, actually - since he's gone all 'respectable' and has 'a job'." He chuckles. "The butler uniform suited him much better than those overalls do, but then, he's always looked good in black."
He smiles when Akane puts it together. "Yes. We're..." He pauses to think about it. "... It's been a rough ride, but in the end I'm proud to call him my partner. We've both learned a lot from each other, and he's... very important to me."
Oh no, he's on the verge of gushing, just like Akane was about Rikka.
He clears his throat and bows his head in acknowledgment of Akane's thanks. "I did what I could. That power that holds Gridman Sigma and the others... It is a terrible force, and I don't have the right tools to deal with it... yet."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
This is... a completely different energy to the way Juggler talks about his Ultraman Orb. ... but then, 'someone I've sworn to overcome' is its own sort of...
Akane starts drawing some lines in her head. She doesn't get everywhere yet, but the ones she does draw are enough to start her giggling. "Oh my God. I completely misread both of you," she admits, and there's almost a relief in it; she'd been worried that she was going to have to mediate -- or at least address -- a very messy thing for a second, there.
... maybe it's still messy, but that's less her particular concern, now.
She breezes along to the topic of Gridman Sigma, the relief still visible on her face even after finishing up her eggs. "I dunno if any of us have the right tools to deal with it on our own... that's part of the thing. It seems like it always takes two people. Alexis could help, but... I think it's best if he doesn't get involved again." A beat. "Wait, if you know Juggler, do you know him, too?"
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
It is funny, in its own way, how inseparable the two of them are even when they're at odds. Gai chuckles in turn with Akane's giggles. "He is very intense - and very bad at saying what he means. He always has to be so dramatic about it." There is a deep fondness in his tone, however.
"Mm. That's my understanding about it... And, yes. I... I suppose the right word to use is 'knew', for Alexis. I recognised him, but..." He sighs. "He is very different here."
He returns his attention to his glass. "I am not sure what to make of him now beyond 'dangerous'."
He offers the girl a wry little smile. "I suppose you're fishing for intelligence."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane watches Gai. ... he's probably a mess of a person, too, she realizes, the way he talks -- that's another way they're probably alike. Whatever disaster is going on there isn't really her business, though, even if there is something compelling about their apparent high-intensity cycle of separation and re-finding, of surpassing one another and yet still being tied up with one another...
Drinking her yogurt drink, Akane considers whether she does want that intelligence about Alexis. It's... a thing she has to chew on for a bit. A finger absently comes up to her dark hair, twisting in it.
"... I think it might be better if I don't know that part. I'm still kinda working through..." Here, she stops and gestures. "... anyway, man. You Ultraman guys really get around." Despite herself, she doesn't notice that she didn't say 'Vessel of Light' this time. "I guess Tarabaman's kinda like that too, a lot of seasons... it's not really the same, but still."
She pauses.
"... You probably have no idea what I'm talking about."
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
"... 'everything'?" He finishes her sentence for her and nods. "Yeah. It's probably a bad idea to add more stuff to your plate while you're still healing."
He blinks. "Tarabaman... Is that some kind of TV show maybe?" He shrugs. "I know about streaming and stuff, some old friends of mine ran a cryptid-hunting blog from... a place a lot like this, actually. I prefer more tangible leisures, to be honest - a good bath-house, yakisoba made by an earnest chef... That kind of thing."
"... I'm something of an unusual example - I'm a traveller by nature, but even then, yes, we do get around quite a bit." He grins.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"... yeah. Especially with him still out there," Akane has to admit. She's kind of cornered herself on that one. Tarabaman's an easier topic. "Yeah. It's a long-runner here!" She has to specify 'here,' she realizes, given the way people like Alexis and Juggler -- and, she supposes, now Gai -- move. "We've gotten a good fifty years of it or so?" Still, tangible leisures... "... I think I need to try figuring out a few of those 'tangible leisures' myself. Rikka and I are gonna try a road trip soon!" She's thinking about it...
After finishing her bread, Akane muses, "Maybe I should get way out of my comfort zone. There's a ton of mountain climbing options along most of the routes we're looking at..."
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
"Huh. It sounds... interesting, and from the sound of it, you know a lot about it. If you ever met Shin, I'm sure the two of you could have talked for years just in one conversation."
How strange, that this Earth should have such a show - but he's no stranger to peculiarities of that nature. Still: Maybe file it away for later.
"I should check it out. Any recommendations?"
Akane talks idly about mountain climbing, and Gai's face goes blank all of a sudden, accompanied by a full-body freeze. After a moment, he gathers himself and proceeds with "I suppose that would be quite a physical challenge, but... I'm not sure I can recommend it. Climbing a mountain can be... irrevocably life-changing."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"I dunno about years, but... I'm guessing he's kind of a weird otaku too, if he's into cryptids," Akane muses. The thought of someone she could've related to, had they the chance to meet, actually does feel pretty nice.
"Hmmm... well, my favorites are probably X4 and Eclatant, and the latter's a lot more traditional? It might be a good entry point. It's short, too, so you don't blow more than a couple movies' worth of time on it..." Akane definitely has favorite entry points. "Hammer's good, too, though I can't recommend the movie. Or I mean, I can, but then I have to forward you to my blog, and..."
She cuts herself off there. She's about to get too deep into the inside baseball, and she knows it.
Akane instantly spots the freeze-up and the blank expression. ... she causes a lot of those, she realizes, and it gets her to rub at the back of her head. "... Maybe too much for now," she agrees, with a slightly strained laugh. "You okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
Gai nods blankly - he is actually taking in Akane's recommendations through the freeze. Checking them out is going on his to-do list, at least.
When Akane asks if he's okay, he clears his throat and offers her a weak little smile. "Juggler and I climbed a very important mountain together - he got to the top first, but that's how I became Ultraman."
He sighs. "Like I said - life-changing."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"... oh, ahahaha... well, I at least don't think there's much of a risk of that," Akane concedes, though it's with a little bit of strain on her face. "But maybe best not to go for that kinda thing... maybe we'll just see the sights?" Akane considers volunteering some other options, but... who knows what she might step in.
"Hmmm... I should probably get going. I have some stuff with 3G to do, and then I gotta get back to Earth before too long," Akane says, carefully gathering up her flatware and chopsticks for easy bussing. She downs the rest of her yogurt drink, saying, "If you're working on the Aura of Dawn thing, we're probably gonna run into each other again. ... Do you have VERTEX?" May as well.
<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.
"No Earth I've ever seen has mountains like Crusader's Peak," Gai agrees with a wry grin. "But you're already planning a big trip, yeah. Best to keep it simple."
"VERTEX... oh, the messenger app. Yes. Juggler insisted I carry a phone since I'm technically a consultant for STORAGE." He laughs. "Look up 'sunset.seeker'."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Oh, huh. We'll probably be working together sometimes," Akane acknowledges, adding Gai to her contacts immediately.
Something clicks, but she decides to keep it under her hat for now, as she heads out.