2022-03-12: Affection

• Log: Affection
• Cast: Akane Shinjo, Anti
• Where: Tsutsujidai
• Date: 2022-03-12
• Summary: Akane gives Anti a break and some lunch. Anti learns more than what she teaches him.

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<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

It's been a long day. School is reaching 'out,' or at least approaching it; final exams have finished. Akane's scores are great; she's not really challenged by the material. Todo-san has presented her with some more work in 3D modeling, and she's... honestly kind of okay with it, all told. It's different from working with clay -- not as personal, not as exciting -- but there's something about it that's... nice. It's just. Nice.

On the other hand, her personal life is... still really unhappy. She hasn't actually managed to point the other kids in her class in any particular direction. What's more, Renais...

... well. Renais. That's a complete idea unto itself.

On balance, though, this is one of the better stretches for Akane. As much as she's managed to torture herself about how she's getting there -- well! She is, in fact, getting there. Maybe -- soon -- things will finally close up again. All that to say that Akane Shinjo has taken a very long, very circuitous route to 'pretty okay.'

She's heading home from school, and has safely entered the total-nothing period of the next few weeks. Her bag is chock full of empty supply containers and other things she's begged off of the school; sure, she could elect to simply have them, but... part of her likes taking the time to actually get everything.

She's still wearing her hoodie, in spite of the heat... it's definitely getting warmer again. Though she hasn't quite reached 'melting' just yet, it's... close.

 

<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.

        Anti will take a very short route to not being very okay.

        Since Akane rejected him, he's settled on sleeping in the park. People don't tend to feed him there, for some reason. But they throw plenty of food out. The gazebos offer good shelter and only moderate amounts of danger.

        Sometimes it rains.

        But not today.

        He's outside Akane's house, again.

        He's waiting, again.

        Like a bad smell -- both figuratively and literally, the rain is the closest thing to a shower to something like a kaiju -- Anti's always hanging around, out here. He always seems to come back, as if he has nothing else out here for himself. (He has nothing else out here for himself.) He stands outside, and when Akane appears, he orients to her.

        Like now, when he turns from her front door to the sidewalk, when he hears her coming. It's not much of a movement, shifting himself to the side. He's learned the art of motion brevity. He's much more artless about it, stiff as a gargoyle, watching her approach with that self-same quiet intensity.

        He doesn't say 'hello'.

        Kaiju aren't polite like that, after all.

 

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

It's Akane's first reflex, when she sees Anti once again hanging around her house, once again expecting something from her. Orders? No, he demonstrably no longer takes those, if what she told him to do with Asuka was any indication. ... What is she even doing?

"You again?" she asks, tone flat, demanding, a little brassy --

-- and then she gets a handle on herself, actually. Renais was right; the last time she and Anti talked, she was pretty horrible to him. Even Alexis felt the need to move about it, and he moves so rarely. Oh -- right! The... right.

"... Ahahaha, don't worry about it. Graduation ceremony for the third years. It was pretty tedious. Seriously, who thinks all this stuff up? Who has the time to design that kinda thing? Touch grass." Akane does not even for a second consider the implications of Akane Shinjo, sucking and dying in her room inside her own head, also inside her room, telling a 12th century scholar to touch grass.

A moment passes. Two, three. Then: "Actually, I've got something for you! Do you want some food? It's pretty fresh." It... shouldn't be as fresh as it is, in fact; the trick, of course, is that Akane Shinjo's things, in Akane Shinjo's world, only spoil if she lets go of the thought behind them. (Maybe the Venora outright reinstance them.)

What she has, of course, has been sitting in a mini-fridge in her room, waiting for the right moment.

 

<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.

        That's right, it's him again. Anti doesn't insist on it to Akane, though; if there's one person in this world he couldn't fight, she's right here, with him.

        He doesn't wilt, so much, when he hears that tone. It's doubtful he even realises he could. His chin ducks down, a little, but his gaze doesn't waver.

        He thinks: she's upset. Again.

        He does not think it with any joy in his heart. But then, he doesn't have one of those in the first place, since he's a kaiju.

        But there's a shift in her, and he blinks, long and slow, a shade of confusion to his usual pressure. She's... upset with someone else. For several seconds he considers the implications of her tone and her subsequent explanation. It seems unfair she'd be brusque if something else annoyed her. But --

        But, she figured it out. But she explained.

        He doesn't have much time to wonder just how qualifying that consideration really is, though, because she says she has something for him, and his head lifts immediately. Anti is quiet, for a moment -- don't call it stunned, he's clearly not operating on that level -- before he nods, settling back in his stance. "Yeah."

 

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Okay! I'll be right back," Akane says. There's a little bit of actual pep in her step, at this point -- some genuine joy-in-movement that isn't flattened, isn't crushed. Anti might even be able to hear her, a tiny bit, inside; the downstairs windows are open for a bit of air flow, which also means they offer a bit of sound flow.

It takes her about seven minutes to come back -- but even so, she's... communicative. She opens her window a crack, calling, "Ahaha, I stepped in something...!" She considers changing her stockings, but in the end, settles for discarding them.

When she comes back out, there's a modestly-sized paper bag in her hands. Inside are several Starbows protein boxes -- most of them are apple, grape, egg, cheese, and a cookie, but there are a few others. "Eat up! Have as much as you want. Keep the rest." She also has a bottle of tea for herself.

"So I talked with someone and they said I couldn't expect you to go along with what I was planning if you didn't know what the plan was and why, and..." Akane rubs at the back of her head. Don't admit fault, don't apologize, but... "I guess I should tell you what's up with Renais, huh? I just kinda plopped 'we wanted her to lose' in your lap."

 

<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.

        Anti doesn't try to come inside, because apparently kaiju operate on the same principles as vampires.

        Well. It's probably that.

        Even so, the window is open, for once. It's not quite the same as being shut out; she's still talking to him. She seems... happier, now. Maybe it's wishful thinking.

        He's still standing in the same place, when she comes out.

        His eyes go to the bag. His fingers twitch, curl. He reaches out; he takes it. He sits himself down right there on the ground so he can open up those boxes and -- evidently no one's taught him how to eat in the intervening period, because he still just shoves his face in there and chomps.

        He's still listening! He just happens to be eating. The food is even mostly going into his mouth. If some ends up on his face, well -- his scarf's already plenty stained, a little more won't hurt.

        (Kaiju don't understand dry cleaning. But really, does anyone?)

        Anti lifts his head, lowering the corpse of an apple in a box to his lap, just like Renais' loss. He's quiet. He's evaluating what to say.

        "... she wanted to help."

        Gravel-gruff, it's a voice low to the ground, and in some fashion -- it's a defence of Renais, too. Perhaps that explains why he sounds a little lost, to say it. Why he doesn't specify who she was helping is another uncertainty altogether.

        ... he really doesn't understand.

 

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Yeah, she did, but it's... there's something wrong with her," Akane explains. Now it's her turn to dress this up for someone she thinks understands less. ... It's okay. Kaworu said this was a good idea. She can try, this once, to play the teacher. She takes a deep breath in.

Anti is one of the few... well, honesty is on the table between Akane and her kaiju. It's okay. "She's helping because she's -- sick. She went somewhere you aren't supposed to go, and got sick with -- something in her brain. The guys with that robot -- the one with the drill knees?" GaoFighGar. "They can fix her. They're still our enemies, but... I want to use them to help her."

There's a downswing in her tone. It's pretty sharp. "I want her to get better. I think the only reason she's helping me is because of... the assertion that comes with what she's sick with, and I don't want that kind of help." That word, 'assertion' -- it doesn't sit right on her lips, even while relaying a topic this complicated.

"It's a really complicated situation! I guess you're too young to have gotten it without an actual explanation." Akane looks down at him a bit, and asks, "Does that make sense?" She feels like it doesn't, honestly... but it's not like 'normal' or 'sensible' are available to her. These are the cards on the table, and, well, whatever's on the table plays.

 

<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.

        Anti stops eating, and watches Akane. He remembers to blink.

        Something in her brain is sick, and... their enemies can fix her. Anti frowns, discontent, to hear that GaoFighGar has a purpose outside of making his life miserable and ensuring he's going to have a bad time, but he doesn't protest. Akane wouldn't lie to him about something like using the idea of their enemies to help her.

        He notices the word -- yes. That makes sense, and something prior makes sense, too, all a sudden. It comes to his conscious mind. He does not interrupt.

        Even though they're both...

        "... yeah." He confirms, after a long moment. "She's hurt." In his taciturn way he strikes directly on the point; there's no way he couldn't have seen it, during their battle. (Said in all sense of the word.)

        He pauses. He concludes: "All right."

        He doesn't apologise, but he doesn't realise it might help, either.

 

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Noticing the frown and taking the immediate opportunity to read something out of it, Akane says, "Yeah, I don't really like it either. But it's not really the kind of problem a kaiju solves, so... guess it's like that. Even if they're idiots, well..."

She's all smiles, again, but there's a bit of a sharper edge to this one. "We can drag them over the finish line, I guess." She seems content to have conveyed that -- Anti actually seems to follow, and indeed, affirms that he'll follow on this particular point.

Maybe Kaworu was right -- all Anti needed was a little push. "Vessels of Light are still our top priority, though -- especially Gridman," she explains, patiently. She considers telling Anti about her spring break plans, but... he'll get weird and territorial about it again, probably. Best to keep him in the dark.

So naturally, her next thought is a topic pivot entirely. "How're the apples? They're good, right? They're different from outside." There's a whole story to that, but... she doesn't need to tell him. That kind of talk about the 'hows' and 'whys' of the world... kinda beyond him, she thinks, so why bother?

 

<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.

        It's not the kind of problem a kaiju solves... Anti wonders if that's true, since he's a problem-solving kaiju. But Akane would know, wouldn't she?

        Anti feels a little strange, about not being able to solve problems for someone who wanted to help him. He fails to identify the sensation. He wonders if it's hunger.

        "Dragging them... all right." So that's how it's done. Even if they don't want to be saved, sometimes they have to be dragged out across the line anyway.

        He wonders when Akane last felt hunger.

        "I'll crush him," Anti promises, again, with that same intense hatred reserved only for Gridman. He certainly doesn't sound any less territorial. So --

        He's distracted from the topic by Akane pointing out the food in his lap. Anti picks up the box, and gnomphs the rest of the apple into his mouth. It would be easier for him to pick the apple up. He does not do that. He lifts the box, and shoves his face into the box, and chomps at the bottom half of the apple until it disappears down his throat.

        (Anti ate his apple from top to bottom, not from the outside in.)

        "Yeah," he says, except his mouth is still a little full, so it's a tad muffled. Once he manages to swallow, he asks the question known to every youngster: "Why?"

 

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane only gives the briefest of baffled looks about the apple getting eaten top-to-bottom. ... it's probably better than him eating plastic, but she still says, "... It's fine to eat one or two, but don't eat the seeds. You see the cores and stuff in people's trash, right?" She's not actually sure if a kaiju can get poisoned, but... best not to risk it on that one.

She actually seems a little startled, though, when he asks the obvious question. She blinks a few times. "They taste like they did when I was little. Outside doesn't have the kind of apples I liked best anymore." She settles for the most direct explanation. "Here does! So eat up, okay?"

With that said, Akane decides to just... watch Anti eat for a little while. To his heart's content, even. There's a good dozen protein boxes in there -- not individually super substantial, other than the apple, but enough for Anti to eat his fill and... maybe have leftovers?

Then again, he's a growing boy.

 

<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.

        "Oh," Anti says. "I thought humans just didn't like them." He can't entirely blame them for that, since they don't taste very good, but he thinks that has more to do with how long they've been there than the seeds tasting bad. These taste fine?

        Still, Akane tells him not to eat the seeds, so he'll... well, actually, that's something of a quandry, with how he eats. But he's clever! He'll figure something out.

        Maybe.

        He asks a question and gets a direct answer, which -- is informative, really, given what Alexis said about what drove her to come (create) here in the first place. The conflict of the outside world must have poisoned the trees, he thinks.

        "All right," he agrees, and opens up another box to mash his face right into it. GNOMPH gnomph gnomph gnomph, he approaches food with all the fire and fury of a kaiju, even small as he is. The egg disappears, and so do the grapes; interestingly, he's eating all the softer -- quicker to spoil -- foods first.

        This, as it turns out, ends up being so that he can save things like the cheese and the cookies for later, because in the end he leaves those boxes in the paper bag.

        Just what has Anti been learning out there, anyway..?

 

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Huh. Akane spots that, immediately -- that Anti's moving in order of spoilage, rather than treating the boxes as boxes. ... Interesting, she reflects. Outside has really done a number on him. People coming from outside seem okay, but... maybe she's just seeing the pilot's diet. Maybe things out there are even worse than she realized... or got worse while she was in here.

"... Oh, great. Forget what I said about how you should leave what you can't finish with me," she encourages, with a dismissive little wave. "You have this food safety thing nailed all on your own." She grins. Maybe she can believe in him a little more -- he's clearly getting better at this, even without her help. He just needed a few nudges on some key topics.

"Hmmmm..." She considers asking Anti if he wants to take the conversational reins for a moment. But no, she thinks -- he's probably not ready for that yet. Besides... he's smart. If he doesn't know something, he'll ask, or he'll figure it out. He just proved how smart he was, after all!

She smiles. Good talk, she thinks. Maybe she can even put Anti and Kaworu in front of each other without him being intolerably stupid.

 

<Pose Tracker> Anti has posed.

        Food spoils more quickly in the heat.

        Akane doesn't ask, so Anti doesn't tell her.

        It doesn't really matter, anyway; he's never gotten sick from the food he's scrounged up. It just tastes better when it's intended for consumption. Anti only really started paying attention to it after Sousuke told him about saving food; that's when he noticed that some foods saved better than others.

        The fact that Akane realises he's figured it out is... nice. It's been nice to talk to her, without her getting mad at him. It's a little hard to tell it's nice, except -- he's much more relaxed sitting here than he is, when she's angry.

        Maybe, in a situation like this, they can just exist together.

        The reason he's here is...