2024-07-18 - A Thousand Greetings
- Log: 2024-07-18 - A Thousand Greetings
- Cast: Leila Misakiyama, Yuta Hibiki
- Where: Nouvelle Tokyo
- OOC - IC Date: July 18 UC0099
- Summary: A girl surveys the environmental carnage wrought on the land, and a boy tries to understand the 'why'. Connections are never truly perfect, especially on first attempts.
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
Evening. The solitude of the evening sun was slowly dipping into the horizon once more, streetlights beginning to flicker on as the city continued to move as it always had. Even with the trials and tribulations of every day, it soldiered on.
Leila walked down one of the many streets, bounding down the main veins of the metropolis, down, away from the train station. A quick detour during her nightly return from the studio, basking in the humidity of a July dusk. ONwards through the concrete jungle, turning a corner and...
...There it was. One of many long scores along the flesh of the city proper, trucks, cranes, and construction already having halted for the day. The ruined buildings themselves stickered with demolition or other such notices, including the one Leila walked up to, to stare through the turned off lights and the destroyed interiors, the now-bare shelves bearing advertisements for food, specials, and other hot deals of weeks prior.
"...Serves him right." It's the faintest sense of superiority, relishing in the aftermath. All her emotions culminating in the condemnation of a simple store.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta Hibiki walked along the sight of tragedy in Nouvelle Tokyo. While most if not all of the loss was purely material, it was still prime opportunity for a freelancer such as themself to get work. Cleaning, searching for lost items, discussing insurance payments, the red-haired youngster had been busy for nearly a week.
Of course, that was only part of the reason - though they hadn't been able to arrive in time for the confrontation itself, the score of information they've been collecting afterward has proved itself as insightful as it was intriguing. Yuta Hibiki knew for sure that Alexis Kerib was 'safe and sound'. Or at least as safe and sound as its current prison would be.
Crisis Alexis, however.... was interesting in itself. There was no mention from such a threat in Gridman's criminal files, was there? Besides, this place was much less of a toy garden as Tsutsujidai had been. Scoring along the road, their office lady outfit - white blouse, pencil laden grey skirt, low heels, fake rimmed glasses just for the look - didn't particularly look out of place in the sunset and the throng of people ending their shifts.
"Isn't that...." Leila Misakiyama - high target profile. If there was someone who knew anything about the current situation, it was..... probably her, at least to a degree. Now, how should they approach this.... "Hey, you over there! Be careful, I nearly slipped on that piece of rubble earlier!"
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
Leila's pretty lackdastical about herself right now: simple skirt, simple shirt, headphones around the neck, something nice and quick for commuting home and getting to a proper place to rest. She isn't trying to appear as any thing special: Only good enough for Point A to Point B, with Point A.5 in the middle on a minor whim.
The sound of someone shouting out their warning brought a frown to her face; One second to determine who was being yelled at (her), for what she was being yelled at (the obvious), and who was yelling it (some damn stranger). A scowl while facing the window before clearing her throat, spinning around on her heel.
"Yeeees. This is only the outskirts of it, there's no real harm to look inside some abandoned store, right? It's already vacated." A series of justifications while stepping away from the window all the same, sizing up just who exactly wanted to warn her. A good samaritan? Probably.
"Or are you looking for something inside? Could you be trying to steal something before it all goes boom~?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Ha ha, funny that you say that - I've been working around this area all week since this region is a mess! Mostly recovering other people's belongings or fighting against the insurance companies saying they don't cover 'Kaiju Attack' as valid damage claim." They stifle a laugh and a smile, honest down to the facial muscles if not to the thoughts inside.
Stepping closer so the gal in question could take a look at them too, those long, red locks swaying with a gentle breeze. "It's nice to meet you, Leila Misakiyama, rising star that de-throned the infamous Asciel Colette in the latest of Sheryl Nome's songwriting competition." That much Yuta said in a whisper, figuring the girl wouldn't want to attract attention.
"I'm Yuta Hibiki, freelancer and only agent of SSSS Yuta." Handing over a business card - in typical fashion. So far so good, though the bomb is dropped unannounced. "So, how does it feel to look at your handwork like this? Liberating?"
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
"They don't!?" News to her, someone who has never had to deal with insurance claiming that "Kaiju Attacks" weren't covered in policies. "...You'd think they know better by now." Already shifting the blame onto the people trying to claim them, rather than the company's failings. It's their fault for not looking, so was the hasty conclusion.
That being said, the move did afford them a better look at the person before them. Brushing her hair back and straightening up in the way of manners, the mental acknowledgement of an adult. The whisper of acknowledgement forced a blush upwards; Acknowledgement. Someone who knew who she was. A good thing, all things considered. One victory that she could sieze today in some capacity.
"A fan...?" A whisper right back, face twisting in the surprise one faces on a New Encounter that was fantasized but never truly realized. "Ahem. Yes, it's me~!" Smart enough to keep her voice down, even if the high-pitch of that intonation was still thick with glee.
Taking the business card in her hand, flipping it over, and back, and over again. SSSS Yuta. Freelancer. Well, useful if she ever had a bit of spare cash. Keep it in mind. "...Mhm? My handiwork?" ... "My song? Yeah, I'm proud of it. Still stand by what I said there; It's great, but it's not how I'd like to sing it."
That was what they meant, right? Right? ...Right?
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Well, like any other insurance - the companies try to word it as vaguely as possible to find a way to excuse themselves out of as much liability claims as they can. But alas, this also means that now these poor people have to pay even more to wrestle for the money they're owed. But they weren't here to discuss the woes and intricacies of such and such services and products, were they? No, not really. They were here to talk about songs and kaiju.
"Honestly, I could resonate with your anger... at least part of it. Unfortunately I didn't catch the show in question live, I was busy with work at the time, and I found it a little funny that the famous Galaxy Fairy I've only heard about not even two years ago managed to misread the lyrics that much. But hey, a win is a win, right?" They were saying as much with a smile, of course. Placing hands together with a small clasp of fingers touching together.
...before shaking their head in denial. "That wasn't what I was talking about this time, though. I meant your handwork right here. " Their voice was still smooth and low in a whisper. "Has unleashing a kaiju in the city helped release that... frustration in your song?" Tapping their chin before a thoughtful nod, Yuta added. "Though perhaps this is not the best place for such a talk, would you like to join me in a caf nearby? I just got off work and I'm a tad hungry. My treat, of course."
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
Kaiju were kaiju. Surely kaiju of a different sense were still kaiju. That was what Kaiju were all about. Kaiju.
"A win is a win, no matter what, but..." Misreading lyrics? No, that wasn't it. "She read the lyrics just fine. Just not how I'd sing them. Too hopeful. Too much optimism." Glancing away at that innocent smile, the hair at the back of neck bristling. Something about this felt off. Increasingly off. Crossing arms, taking a single step back.
Ah. "..." Her eyes flick over to the konbini. To the trail of destruction behind it, a single straight line of crushed buildings and wrecked infrastructure, one of many inflicted scars on the land that was slowly healing with time and purpose. The skin was scored, but the societal flesh would heal. "...Has anyone felt satisfied about things after doing them only once?" An evasive question. Another step back.
There's no escaping it. That step back would be the last one. "...Sure." No one was home, anyways; another night alone. Who'd care, anyways? "Yuta, was it? What's your reason for it?" Already mentally trying to find a cafe nearby. One had to be. One with at least something to calm the nerves while looking up at an adult, someone who had a purpose-
Someone who definitely had something in mind. Tch.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Isn't that exactly what misreading means?" Yuta Hibiki, on the other hand, did not, in fact have anything particular in mind..... was something that was not exactly true. It's not like they had planned to meet Leila here, and it was true that they've been busy for the past week thanks to the aftermath of the attack. Including the part about insurance companies. They do, in fact, suck.
Since they have been brought together, however, there were various things that they'd like to talk about, on top of making their acquaintance. "I'm not here to preach to you or anything, don't worry about that. But as you might have heard, this is not the first time an Alexis shows up, and, in a way, my predecessor was related to your predecessor." Yuta did have a singular purpose in mind at all times. Existing.
Even though this wasn't exactly their hometown, the red-haired youngster knew enough of it to guide them to the nearest place that would suit the mood. A cozy little coffee shop - empty enough that they wouldn't be overheard, public enough that it could likely ease Leila's nerves a bit. Plus the manager and barista was a bit on the deaf side.
Making sure the girl was following them, Yuta guided along while making small talk. "If I had to put it to words somehow.... I guess I want to hear what you do or don't have to say, as a flight of fancy and coincidence that had us meet at this time?" They said while pulling the door open. As intended - a cozy little coffee shop, unremarkable for any other reason. Not too modern, not too chic, not too antique either.
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
"Even you should know that she can read." Sheryl Nome, illiterate!? No, not at all. The verbal bite had no teeth to it, grumbling to herself at the futility of that argument. Best to drop it and move on. They looked, for all appearances, to just be capitalizing on two people in the same moment.
The encroaching wariness of such a person was suspicious; Perhaps too much so, opting to keep a slight distance away while heading for the cafe. "Ah, that so? What, he's got a second cousin removed that was born out of wedlock?" ...Typical soap opera drama. It's a shame she can't dramatically cut every step to forecast her importance. Mind keeping on the ball, but flicking every so often elsewhere; It was how to keep sane when dealing with existentialism about life.
Into the cafe, casting an eye over the surroundings as she took a seat; A chair across from a table, clear line of sight through the windows and to the door, if need be. Call it...The touch of being on edge. She's already taking the initiative of thumbing through the menu, sliding finger along the many styles of coffee for choices.
"So? How're you related? You're not going to pull out a birth certificate and say my mother owes another round of psych debt, right?" Americano? Espresso? Red Eye? ...Were these people making things up?
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Now, how to proceed with this, the red-haired office lady thought as they took a seat across Leila, watching the gal three years younger look through the menu. Her confusion giving them some time to think this through. Since they did mention their relation as bait, Yuta needed to follow up on that, at least a bit.
Maybe a bit of a shock, just to probe what kind of girl Leila was, a bit. "Well, I'm told that the main party responsible for foiling Kerib's plans used my body to do it. Not with my consent, mind you." Psych debt? Something to ask about later - she might not have had the most comfortable life so far either. "I'm from Tsutsujidai, if you ever heard about it."
"Guess I'll have a French pressed coffee and some banana bread, with a mint-choco cookie...." They said while looking at the menu. "Don't hold back, by the way. I may be a nineteen years old high school dropout, but I make enough money, haha."
Signing for the poor waiter on the clock, they turned their attention back to Leila. "What about you, though? What's your story here? It's just my gut feeling but I don't feel you have as much of a god complex as the girl who ended up a victim of Kerib."
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
The varieties of coffee, thankfully, had a line of explanation each: The usual ratios and ingredients of coffee. Such was the style for coffee shops in urban areas. There's a bit of time between looking over the menu and a decision on what food, especially with the amount of pastries on order.
"You got...What's it called again. Brainjacked? Possessed? Like those Ultras but worse." The vague gesture of a fist up in the air, the prototypical 'growth' pose, so to speak. One quickly made before returning to the menu...Strawberry looked nice. "Tsutsujidai? Huh..." That place, up in the sky. "I'm from Fujiyokidai." An answer demands a response. The copy of the place, and the place itself.
...Interesting.
"Then, a vanilla affogato and a blueberry muffin..." That sounded appetizing. "This was your idea, don't stiff me with the bill." Already planning in case they dipped!?
One order later, reclining back on the chair. A mental note to be thankful for not planning anything tonight; It'd be awkward to try and cancel such things when one's watching closely. "My story? About my life?" A scoff. "What makes you think I'm going to dump my life story off the bat? Just because there's something 'connected'-" Air quotes made for emphasis. "-means jack squat."
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Of course not, I'm literally telling you to not hold back." Yuta said while placing the order. A small wave to the barista - one never knows when it pays off to know someone else. With beverage and pastries on the way, and now a bit more... undisturbed. The office lady in question noticed, however, that Leila seemed very prone to half listen to people and jump immediately to conclusions.
"If you want to talk about your life story, I promise to lend you an ear and listen, but no, not what I meant this time." A tap on the table, they don't seem really perturbed by Leila's indignance. Was it a sign of maturity? No, not really. It stood for something else. "Mostly talking about you and the kaiju, this time around. You see, most people here will tell you how Kaijus are bad, and how you're being used - and maybe you are, maybe you're not."
"Now, I might sound a bit selfish, but I'm on the camp that says tools are tools and if you can use something, you should use it." And they were in the business of being prepared as they should. Was Leila a new threat they'd have to take in consideration? A new ally in a time of distress? A potential client? Time would tell. "I can tell you something though, being able to threat a whole town does bring you to the big stage."
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
"Yeah, yeah." The admonishment's brushed off, a light furrow of her brow as she glanced over at the barista. How did they get to this point? The waiter? The barista? Did they aim for this? Did they want something more?
...Was this all there was for them?
Her attention is redirected back, staring straightforward at the office lady. A minute scowl, more bristling than outright hostility. Deigning to listen, finger tapping against her arm...Where's the coffee? Come on, it's free food. Technically.
"Haa..." Tools, huh. Her gazes shifts toward the ceiling in recollection. "Anything on the big stage is a tool. You think that's the only stage people are stepping on?" The thought of stepping onto bigger, bigger, and bigger stages. Idol stages. Stages with kaiju. Stages of...the world.
"And? Are you going to warn me off of it, saying it's not worth it?" The immediate assumption. "What do you have to do with it? Are you one too? Using kaiju against kaiju for Kerib?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Now, it seemed Leila really had a tendency to only half listen to people. That and interpret anything against her. "Not really? Maybe someday, maybe never, but definitely not right now. Why would I do that? Use what's available to you, Leila, as long as I can do my thing, I don't particularly mind either way.
Yuta was, however, one of the prime and likely candidates that knew how exactly Alexis Kerib was imprisoned, so if that was Crisis' objective, they were bound to cross path sooner or later. As if on cue for a needed break and slight damp in the bristly animosity, the waiter returns with the pair's order. "Hmm, hmm. This does happen to be a nice place, whenever when I'm around. The Master is getting there in the years, but their coffee is great." ...not that they've been around for that long, but it made it no less true.
A sip of the coffee placed before them, taking time to collect their thoughts before the waiter took their leave. "As for your question, I'm not using kaiju, no-" Though that was an interesting idea. Nothing would likely come from it and spreading their efforts too thin was bound to make them have no results to show, but it was something to keep in mind. Alexis Kerib could help making kaiju, after all. "I do know how to pilot a robot or two, or three." They also had the Accepter - but it wasn't working yet, so there's no lie there.
Cup down. And no, Yuta hadn't used any sugar. It was their turn to ask, so to say. "I'm half interested as a fan, half interested as a freelancer, half interested as someone who had been put in a coma and had their body hijacked." And half interested in Leila as an acquaintance and connection. Which made it four halves, anyway. "Some people want to shine, some people want to play support. But anyway, what's your stage, then? As you said yourself, 'doing it only once isn't enough to satisfy anyone'."
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
"Haa...And what's your thing." Stated so plainly, both as a musing and a direct question. Whichever interpretation served them better.
There's a nod of acknowledgement towards the waiter, muttering a word of thanks in response to the light meal before her. "You know this place? I've seen it a few times, but I never decided to try it." Too out of her way. Too impassible. Yet...She brought the cup to her lips, taking a sip. "Geh- Ow ow ow ow..." Hot hot hoooot... "I'm fine." The quick reassurance before blowing on the coffee-ice cream combo, taking another sip. Better.
"A few suits." ...She's not dismissing them out of hand. They're too prevalent now. Too ingrained. Sure, the police only used them on special occasions, but she couldn't imagine a world without those suits taking up some aspect of life as it was today. The thoughts in her head ping-ponged, gazing down at that coffee for a few too-long moments...
...Another sip. The time to poke back on that had passed, reaching over to try the muffin. Fluffy. Good. Just what she expected, wanted, and was now coveted.
Three halves is more than one. The rebuttal died in her throat, barely stopping her indulgence of a free meal. "My stage?" A pause, mid-sip. "...Don't be silly." Finishing that sip. "I need to choose a single stage for myself? Hah, fat chance. Every stage I can be on, how about that? Kaiju, idol, world, stage, universe, fate, the people above me, the ones below you, everywhere and everything. I don't think of being set on any particular one."
A particularly hungering chomp of the muffin- Aaaah, hot hot hot. Why was it freshly baked!?
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta blinks at the multitude of reactions, barely stifling a chuckle as Leila goes from too hot, to too cold, to too hot once again. Neatly cutting a slice of their banana bread, taking a moderate bite of it before using the sugary treat to sweeten the coffee in their mouth. "Well, some of the older models are surprisingly not that hard to obtain, and you never know when you'll need to defend yourself from a giant enemy attack. Tsutsujidai had them happen basically daily - not that I'd seen it personally, given the circumstances."
"Hmm.. What's my deal, hmm." Another swig of coffee, closing those blue eyes for a moment and taking a short breath. Opening them again, and their smile, their emotions, didn't reach their gaze. Though it wasn't directed to Leila herself, there was no denying their factual indignance and their noncompliant resolve. "Well, if your thing is making a stage out of everything you can see, mine is carving my existence in any place that I am."
A swig of coffee. How would this pink haired teenager interpret that, they wondered. Last time they tried to talk to someone in a more transparent manner, it was half disastrous - and with Leila's penchant to interpreting everything as nastily as possible, Yuta wasn't very hopeful. Still... "Not so different, you and I, in that sense, are we?"
Leaning back, the office lady sighing contently as they appreciated the taste of another slice of banana bread. Freshly baked was just their favorite.
<Pose Tracker> Leila Misakiyama has posed.
"Figures." How expensive are they? ...Not that she'd ever want to sit in one of those deathtraps again. A shudder instinctually passes through her body at the memory. No. Hell no. Not on her damn life. "Daily attacks..." ...Anywhere and everywhere, they kept happening. The news, daily, somewhere, someplace, clashing.
Idiots. Everyone at the top. All of them idiots.
There's still a vague sense of uneasiness. All the practice of smiling failed to hide the lack of Yuta's own, crooking an eyebrow upwards. Another bite of the muffin. Listening, humming to herself as she tried to process it. One minute. Two. Three. Munching in silence as she worked those words over.
"...Then. Thanks for the meal. Pushing yourself to exist..." Che. The audible click of the tongue. "You're already fortunate to have something to use, you know. Leave spots for the rest of us." There's a shift as she pulls her handbook out, pulling out the pen and scribbling something on one of the blank pages. A rip to liberate the sheet, placing it down and sliding it over to the office lady.
"My VERTEX info. Go carve your name somewhere where I can't see for now." Words carrying the thick weight of understanding something she won't say, the chair screeching as she stood up. "After all, you're the one that managed to oh-so-handily capture Kerib, right? Don't do it when I don't have any other tools."
And she stepped off without a reply, the cafe bell jingling as she left the cafe. Ridiculous. Carving they existence? Absolutely ridiculous. Can't they see the privilege they have, working on the assumption that there'd be a place that'd allow it in the first place?
Tch.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
As Leila bounces and steps off out of the coffee shop and into the distance, Yuta is left to enjoy their last swig of coffee.... and asking for another one, a sigh escaping those lips. "Figures. For someone who had only been half listening to me from start to end.... No, considering she stopped to leave me her VERTEX info, perhaps it wasn't so bad?"
But really, the red-haired youngster pondered. They made sure they were not looking into capturing Alexis. Hell, they made sure to say they weren't even the one who apprehended Kerib in the first place. Sure, it had been this body, but still. No matter, one step at a time.
"Well, want you or not, Leila." They mentioned to no one in particular. "Your stage and my existence are very likely to cross paths again." A final swig of their mug of coffee as the next one arrives, carefully inputting the pink haired teenager's info on their phone.