2023-06-09: Preferred Customer
- Log: 2023-06-09- Preferred Customer
- Cast: Akane Shinjo, Sheryl Nome
- Where: Tsutsujidai - Junk Shop "Aya"
- OOC - IC Date: 0097-06-09
- Summary: Now that she's got downtime while on hiatus, Sheryl Nome stops by Aya, looking for Akane and Rikka. She finally gets the explanation she was looking for in Dakar.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Aya's a pretty sleepy shop. That Akane is minding it hasn't actually affected her studies that much, because she can attend remotely; she's spent big chunks of the day at the counter with her laptop, watching for customers but not really doing much. (Getting those accommodations has been a bit of a fight, but Sayla and 3G were both very helpful.)
Rikka and her mother are out right now for whatever reason; Akane has the shop to herself. Virtual instruction is just finishing for the day, and with it, Akane focuses on her other task: making soup. It's simple; restaurants need most of the ingredients anyway; Akane's need to do something has led to a surfeit of dashi.
As a fun bonus, because today's experiment has been shiitake dashi, she also has rehydrated mushrooms for the soup, which she's just finishing making.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl Nome is a busy woman--even now that she's on hiatus, she's got her studies and her practice flights. She's kiiiind of grounded from the latter right now, literally, after following Alto into a battlefield. She can't even be mad about it. It was objectively a bad idea. Just because she didn't know that flying in a fighter pilot would automatically make her a target on a battlefield doesn't change that. Even Sheryl acknowledges that.
But knowing that doesn't make her feel any better. That conversation with Alto did turn up at the end when they agreed to find the Nadesico and find out what was going on, but by the time that happened, it turned out everything was resolved. Which on the one hand is good, but on the other hand only underscores that this was outside Sheryl's sphere of influence. It started without her knowing anything about it, and it ended the same way, too. (Technically it hasn't even ended yet--just the part that involved her friends.)
All of which is to explain Sheryl's presence at the door of Aya, pushing through, entering, looking around, all while dressed in her Mihoshi Academy school uniform. A white felt cap keeps most of her blonde hair in check, though two thick tendrils stream down her cheeks. Spotting Akane, she strides up to the counter and seats herself.
"You have a lot of nerve, Akane Shinjo," Sheryl states, frowning as she folds her arms and legs both. Her tone is at least stern rather than upset or aggravated--Grace has been more of an influence on this matter than Sheryl would actively consider.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane sees Sheryl as she turns around from the soup -- and when she approaches, Akane just freezes. What is she even supposed to say to a woman she almost got killed -- by Akane's own girlfriend, no less?
(Intellectually, she knows the culpability chain for that is so far beyond her -- but just the same, it's easiest to default to the parts of the situation that are her fault.)
That doesn't clear up when Sheryl tells her she has a lot of nerve; she takes a breath in, trying to steady herself, but doesn't yet meet Sheryl's eyes. "... Yeah," is all she says at first. "Do you want some soup? This isn't -- diner soup; this is mine. Other stuff I'm still gonna have to charge for, though." It's hard to shake the urge to appease with food.
... but she can do better than that. "I have something to say to you, but it kinda sounds like I should let you talk first." So she indeed does just that -- it gives her time to start in on her miso soup anyway.
... Hmmm. "This isn't bad, but shiitake dashi is a little rich for me, even cut this much," she murmurs to herself. ... it's something to keep in the arsenal to break up monotony, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It isn't really Akane's fault, no. But we all have the way we feel. In Sheryl's case, the thing she's unhappy about is that all of this happened and if not for that chance encounter over Dakar, she'd have never known any of it happened. Not a great feeling coming from a couple of girls who she considers her friends--something Sheryl Nome can't say about a lot of people.
Sheryl purses her lips when Akane offers her soup, taking a moment to assess. "Yes," she decides, because she wants an explanation first and foremost, and it may as well be over soup.
However, Akane invites her to say her piece first. Sheryl shakes her head. "I'd just chew you out, and I've had enough of that coming my way recently. I know you and Rikka and Alouette are okay--I heard a follow-up from the Nadesico crew--but that's literally all I know. So. You'd better explain what all was going on there, Akane, and it had better be good."
She doesn't comment on the shiitake dashi. Sheryl honestly doesn't know enough about cooking to be able to do so meaningfully. It does occur to her that learning about Eastern cuisine might be a good way to get an advantage on Ranka on a certain matter of the heart...
But she tables that thought for now. It really isn't important at the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane grabs another bowl and gets Sheryl some soup; it gives her a little time to sort out her own thoughts. How does she even explain this? What possible thing makes this... intelligible?
Well, may as well just... tell the honest truth and let the rest sort itself out. "Okay." That's all she starts with. "Rikka and I went on a road trip, except the day we got started we got picked up by the Vist Foundation. At first I thought they might want me -- and I mean, they kind of did, but... what they really wanted was Rikka."
After a few seconds, she gets Sheryl some water. "They did a bunch of experiments on her. Seeing how she'd respond to different types of -- if I say 'reconditioning' is that going to mean anything to you? Brainwashing? Mind control." ... really, throwing all three successively less euphemistic options obviates the question entirely, but that's neither here nor there. "I managed to get an hour to help her work against it by acting like I gave up on getting away. But that meant having to play along with everything, and I couldn't stop them from throwing her out there."
Looking off to the side, she says, "I was pretty scared when you showed up, but..." It takes her a few seconds to build up the nerve to say what she means. Akane has never been a great communicator, even outside of a situation that puts her under a lot of strain.
"... You helped save Rikka, just like you helped save me."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It's a challenge, isn't it?
There is of course a block right away: Sheryl has never heard of the Vist Foundation before. Getting 'picked up' by them sounds to her no different from if they were a talent agency. Obviously, given what little context she has, it's not like that, but she doesn't really know what it is like, either.
Still: "Uh huh," she prompts, not interrupting beyond that. Her eyes narrow when Akane jumps from there to the actual hard stuff. "Oh. So they're that kind of group," she says, voice clipped. Now there's someone to be angry at that isn't her friends. Now she's getting a better idea of what was going on... though not really why. Akane would make sense; she was at the heart of that whole ordeal. But Rikka? Sure, Rikka's great, but... she's so normal. Why her?
Her anger breaks when Akane makes that final statement, though, blue eyes falling as she puffs out a little sigh. "Are you joking? I couldn't do a thing. I barely managed to get away with my life. If I hadn't happened to be there that way, things would have ended without me ever knowing about it."
It might be telling that despite Akane saying 'just like you helped save me,' Sheryl still doesn't understand what she's trying to convey.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Yeah," Akane affirms, at 'that kind of group.' "On paper they're an art broker that deals in the real insanely spendy stuff, but they're actually... well, that kinda group." She can tell Sheryl's kind of lost -- which makes sense, since she doesn't have to contend with this kind of stuff. She's an idol -- she's been targeted by attacks before, Akane remembers that much, but...
"They had this guy on their payroll who was interested in seeing how people from this city respond to psychic stuff," Akane explains, going over 'that kind of group,' and accidentally tripping over Sheryl's wondering in the process. "I don't know if they wanted us for some actual strategic objective or if they just, like -- figured, 'might as well!' but..." God, it all sounds so cruel when she lays it out. Wanting Rikka just because she happens to be an accessible way to fast-track from 'normal Repli-Compoid' to 'effective brainwashed pilot,' because she happens to have experience...
... well, Akane needs a few moments to eat and clear her head out. It gives Sheryl time to comment a little more, and Akane shakes her head. "Oh, uh -- Iiiiiiii didn't mean it like that." She gives Sheryl a smile, here, though her eyebrows make it obvious that it comes at strain.
"We got a break in the middle of testing at one point, and... like, after every test they'd blast her with this gas that made it hard to remember anything. I couldn't figure out what would help her, so I tried everything I could think of, you know?"
She almost meets Sheryl's eyes as she says, "Obelisk did a lot more to help than you flailing around in a loaner VF."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Should Sheryl be grateful that she's never heard about this insane high-roller group? From the sounds of it, they're probably the type that doesn't have any interest in 'popular' culture--that would look down on her for that very reason. It's actually a little aggravating for that very reason, though. She has been targeted before, but even those hijackers were only using her as a cover for their attempt to steal... something else. Looking back, she never did figure out what was going on.
But again, that's not important. As Akane continues to explain, Sheryl grimaces. "That sounds unbelievably awful. No wonder Rikka wasn't acting like herself... She literally wasn't. Or at least, that's what those slimeballs were trying to make her." She huffs another small sigh. "That explains why you were acting like you'd backslid all the way back to your old ways, too. I know you had to, so I'll forgive you this time!" Her tone rises and heats just enough to let Akane know that Sheryl's just putting on a show. It's made more clear when she deflates a second later. "But... god, you and Rikka really gave me a scare."
She pauses when Akane corrects her. It still takes her a second or two to realize what she means, but it is only a second or two. She's still Sheryl Nome. Color rises in her cheeks as her eyes widen. "Oh," she utters.
Then she breaks into a smile, ducking her head as she brushes one of her hair tendrils back. "Oh," she repeats. "So that's it."
It's not really a smiling matter. Even so, it's genuinely touching. Only a few months ago, she would have taken it as a matter of course, but after her failures with her flight course studies--with Alto wondering out loud if she just wasn't cut out for it--it seems she forgot for a moment she was Sheryl Nome.
"I'm glad you two got more mileage out of it, then," she continues, and while it might sound flippant, she's quite sincere. Because: "Any artist likes to know her work has lasting power."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Every now and then a high-ticket item from 'common' culture does pass through Vist's auction houses and brokerages, but pre-Universal Century antiquities are more their speed. (Akane only knew them before this incident due to an offhand mention in the provenance of an old Taraba suit.)
Akane flinches a little at the raised voice -- she can't quite stop it. She does her best to remain at stride, though. "Our options were pretty closed. I spent most of that buying room for us to move... Rikka's still not okay. She has treatment a few days a week at the big ship clamped up at the central pillar. Personality reinforcement stuff. ... helping her 'be Rikka' again, basically."
Another few moments to eat soup. It's still a little powerful a flavor for Akane, but the more she eats it the more she gets used to it; maybe her expectations were just calibrated wrong at first.
"Yeah," Akane says, and when Sheryl smiles at her, she can't quite stop herself from mirroring that smile, though hers is a bit more subdued. "I guess there's a whole big thing about music and memory and how the brain works... but I think that's kinda a boring way to think about it. I think it's more like... you made a big beacon she could walk back to."
A moment passes, as she adds, "That's what it was like for me, and for her it was probably the same kinda deal."
That gets her thinking about her own relationship with Sheryl, and with her music. "... all this stuff could have gone a lot of different ways. I think you were pretty important in making it go the kind of way where Rikka and I get to keep going, so -- thanks for that."
'Thanks for that.'
It gets easier to say every time.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl's not a fan of the way Akane flinches. It makes her feel bad, and she's certain it makes Akane feel bad. For a second, she considers apologizing, but Akane brushes past it, so Sheryl decides to match her speed and do the same. Better not to make things awkward. Especially as Akane goes on to say that Rikka's still recovering.
"Poor Rikka... She's strong, so I'm sure she'll be fine in the end, but..." Sheryl's fingers curl into her palms. Her tone remains even--she's very careful about that--but there's no masking her simmering anger as she continues, "I know how painful the road to 'being fine in the end' can be. I've never been brainwashed, thank god, but I know a lot about powerful people who don't care about who they trample."
Silence follows for a time. Soup, thankfully, fills it up. Sheryl doesn't like to talk about her past, but she doesn't lie about it, either. As awful as it was to grow up homeless and without a family on Galaxy, those experiences made her the woman she is today. For now, the hot mushroom broth helps calm her down; it's something she has to take care with, to slow down and blow on. Hiatus or no hiatus, she can't be careless with her throat--especially since that's still her greatest weapon.
It's good to see Akane smile back too, even if it's quiet. God knows she's not going to be enthusiastic right after an experience like that. Even so... it truly feels good to be told that her friends made it through a horrific trauma because her songs helped support their hearts.
'Maybe you aren't cut out for this,' Alto had said of her as a pilot. And isn't she the Galactic Fairy?
...Well, it's not like she's going to give up on avenging Galaxy because of one flight mission gone wrong. But it's good to know how much power she still has as a songstress. Who knows? Maybe she could follow in Lynn Minmay and more specifically Fire Bomber's steps for real. She's already sang on a couple of battlefields already. Maybe she should take it to the next level. Take something she's a newbie at and add the flair of her expertise.
"You know, I think you've helped me figure something out, too," Sheryl replies. "So you're welcome--and thank you too."
She pauses. Her smile dims into concern. "...You said that Rikka's still recovering... Is she taking visitors? If she's not, could you pass along a message to her for me?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"She's doing better than she thinks she is, I think... but that's kinda extra miserable, too." Akane can tell that Sheryl's nursing a big feeling of her own, there, and elects not to pry. Right now, it'd be a little difficult to add more concerns about other people's histories to her plate.
What she does add to her plate -- or, well, bowl -- is more soup. She makes a couple of small adjustments to it, not thinking too hard about it; it's a chance to experiment, right? She doesn't need to get it right, or even make particularly great soup.
The conversation eventually comes back -- and Akane's ready for it when it is. "Some days, yeah. The window's kinda tight, though... some days are just time with me and her mom, some days are just treatment stuff and then vegging on the couch. If you want it to get to her soon, I can take a message. Just... try to schedule with her a little bit in advance, maybe, if you wanna see her."
Without thinking about it too hard, Akane reaches under the counter and snags a pen and paper. Rikka needs clear communication now more than ever, especially when she probably can't muster it herself -- Akane doesn't want to risk a miscommunication that spirals out.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Doing better than she thinks... Sheryl thinks she understands. Sometimes you need someone watching you from the outside to really know how you're doing. For her, that's been Grace for the longest time (or so she believes). Just as Akane doesn't pry into her feelings, Sheryl leaves that one be.
The soup isn't as bad as Akane tries to frame it, either. It's not amazing but it's warm and hearty--maybe that 'too rich' that Akane talked about. Sheryl doesn't mind it, even if it might be hard to have more than a single serving.
"I don't need to hurry it up. Just knowing she's okay and on the mend is enough for me," Sheryl says. "I can pay her a visit when she's up for it--and I hope she can get all the way better at the pace she wants. God knows I hate hospitals."
Still, Akane brings out a pen and a piece of paper for her. Sheryl might be willing to wait to see Rikka in person, but there's no reason to wait in sending her a letter. A genuine paper one, too--how retro! She accepts them both, setting aside the soup bowl, and takes a moment to think about her message. Then she writes it down in her looping, stylish handwriting, capping it off with a flourish of an autograph. (She didn't think about signing as if it were an autograph. She's just used to doing it that way.)
That done, she pushes it over to Akane. "Thanks," she says simply. She won't stop Akane from reading it if she chooses to, either.
"Dear Rikka,
"Good news! I know I told you you owed me an explanation for that fiasco at Dakar, but Akane just let me know what happened, so you're off the hook. I'm glad the two of you made it out of that awful place. The Rikka I know is strong in a different way!
Still, I know you had a rough time. I don't even want to imagine how rough. I know you're still recovering, so I won't push you for a visit right away, but when you're up for it, we should get together and do something fun, maybe with Akane and Alouette too. Until then, take care of yourself. I want to see you back at your best!
"Love,
Sheryl"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"I'm glad. I think it'll be good for her to hear that you're rooting for her -- and that you don't mind if she takes it at her own pace," Akane answers her. Why is it so much easier to talk about this kind of thing with Rikka than for herself? Maybe she hasn't come as far as she'd like...
Akane accepts the letter, and -- well, she can't help herself from stealing a look at it. ... it turns out it involves her, too, so maybe it's good that she did. "I definitely wouldn't mind that. Something like that might actually help her a lot." Thinking about it a little, she reflects, "Let's try to keep it pretty chill, though? Like, that's a good upper limit on how many people to invite, and if we go to eat, maybe something easy to pick up and go with if we get caught in a lunch rush or something."
Providing this kind of care... has an almost 'puzzle-like' quality to it, and that's something Akane doesn't entirely mind. As she turns it over in her head, she adds, "I'm really glad I got to see you again. There were a lot of worse ways that could've gone."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Maybe. But at least Akane can have that thought to herself. Sheryl knows objectively that Akane must have had an awful time of it too, but with the conversation as wrapped up in Rikka as it is, it doesn't occur to her to ask if she wants to talk about it. Then again, maybe that's because Akane is giving off 'I don't actually want to talk about it' vibes. Focusing on Rikka might well make it easier for her.
"Great! I haven't had a lot of time to just hang out with friends, so it sounds like a good opportunity--for all three of you. Even if Alouette didn't get the... full treatment," and Sheryl wrinkles her nose in distaste at the very concept, "it can't have been fun for her either." She nods at the follow-up. "Sure, that's fine by me. It'll make it easier for all of us." After all, once again: she's still Sheryl Nome. Going out in public always carries a risk of being recognized and mobbed. She doesn't actually mind the risk, but she can take it easy once in a while too.
She smiles anew. "Likewise. It all turned out okay, so let's focus on making the future brighter, instead of letting the past drag us down. All right?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Yeah. There was too much going on, so they just... kept making her think they were doing stuff to her when really they were just knocking her out for like ten minutes at a go," Akane explains, at the mention of Alouette. "The idea was that by the time they actually got around to her, she'd think it had already been going on for ages and she'd just roll over and let them do it."
... that thought is really bleak, and it doesn't make Akane feel good about writing it off as a lower priority than other moves, even if it probably was. "... yeah. I'm gonna be real with you, I think this did kinda end up getting Rikka and I to think a lot more about the future. We talked about stuff like apartments for the first time last night."
That at last gets her out of the place where she seems like she might spiral -- mostly because she's looking a little dreamy about it. "It kinda feels like we're still young for that, but at the same time, graduation's pretty close, right...?"
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"Oh my god," Sheryl utters, physically recoiling in horror and disgust. Hearing what they were doing to Alouette is genuinely worse than she could have imagined. "Who are these monsters, and why haven't they been put down yet?!"
But that's a rhetorical question, and as such it's better to move on. Besides: the next topic is very much so a nicer one, and Sheryl smiles as she leans her chin on one hand. "Hmmm... Already talking about moving in together, huh? That's serious, all right. But what's youth for if not for being in love and making stupid decisions?"
That's right. Even if it was incredibly foolish, Sheryl feels less and less bad about following Alto into the battlefield. If she doesn't want to risk them both like that again, then she'd better get better at flying in a hurry, right?
"So is that why you're working on your soup? Want to feed Rikka your home cooking?" Sheryl teases, winking.
That's also a rhetorical question.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Yeah! It'd be after graduation and university placement exams," Akane enthuses -- and that thought is a lot less gloomy or frustrating than the one they were on a moment ago. 'Being in love and making stupid decisions,' though -- Akane's thoughts linger there.
... and then she gets nudged even more pointedly in that direction, and after some thought about it... decides to respond to the teasing with what she thinks might be a stupid decision.
After all, she's very much young and in love.
"If you don't crack at least A-tier with your cooking, the whole 'dinner, a bath, or me' thing falls kinda flat," Akane answers, with a little laugh -- and then she realizes that yeah, she actually did just go for that, and starts burning up.
Fortunately, the inexorable march of time gives her an offramp. "I need to get a few things ready before we close up for the night. I'm not gonna just kick you out, but this is kind of a heads-up," she says. "I'll pass your letter along, okay?"