2024-11-27: Float On, People of Kamogawa

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  • Log: 2024-11-27: Float On, People of Kamogawa
  • Cast: Madoka Kyouno, Shinji Ikari
  • Where: BWH, Kamogawa, Japan
  • OOC - IC Date: 28 Nov UC0099
  • Summary: A last-minute delivery reroute brings two social hedgehogs together. Common ground, common thoughts, and the prickly nature of words trying to describe things that people can't properly conceptualize. The nature of friendship.


<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

Fall had come to Kamogawa like every other seaon at every other time; The world kept turning, the sun kept shining, and the slowly encroaching cold winds came down, even if the ocean nearby helped stunt the majority of the chill. Still, it was Sweater Weather time, a time to start preparing for the most hallowed celebration of all: Christmas.

And with Christmas came requests, ones that necessetated deliveries from outside Kamogawa; Nothing too unusual: A few things imported from elsewhere, a few proper supplies needing to be transferred, Christmas trees, ornaments, the goods of decoration being shipped about here and there.

And for one of those deliveries, Madoka silently tapped her foot away, awaiting the next delivery. A slightly thicker jersey as a mainstay of her 'working' outfit, topped off with a similarly pale-green beanie for the light chill seeping in. To wait for the delivery in front of BWH, taking a small reclination on the patio while checking over the items in store. Home and restaraunt, and silently appreciating the calm moment.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Fall, and soon the chill bite of winter--but there's still a few weeks left on that. Japan has always been a country of seasons, traditionally speaking, and it has in particular embraced the winter tradition of Christmas. Even if its understanding of Christmas is a bit different than those countries that practice it religiously, that doesn't diminish the enthusiasm for it any.
        
        Shinji... has mixed feelings about Christmas. Having grown up alone and having broken up with his first and only girlfriend, it has neither family appeal nor romantic appeal. Yet... there was that Christmas a couple years ago where he performed on stage with his fellow Children. The circumstances were extraordinary and deeply stressful, but the experience was magical. It's something he remembers fondly even now.
        
        So when he comes down from Magallanica with a delivery from Eight to an associate of hers in Kamogawa, maybe it's that Christmas spirit that prompts them to ask him if he can't deliver a second package as a favor to them--not too far, just to a certain restaurant elsewhere in town. It's a special order that needs to be hand-delivered, but they're just so wrapped up in things they forgot, so could he please?
        
        "Huh? Uh--I guess," he utters, accepting the new package with an air of bafflement.
        
        It's not that he can't say 'no.' His 'no' just tends not to get respected. Besides, it's a friend of Eight's, so what's the harm?
        
        So after getting directions to his new destination, Shinji saddles up on his delivery scooter (he's old enough for a license now, even if he still looks like he's barely on the verge of graduating middle school) and drives off. Before long, he makes it to BWH where Madoka awaits, tapping her foot. Shinji brings his scooter to a stop out front; he carefully picks up the package from the back basket, marked DELICATE; then he carries it slowly towards the front.
        
        "Um... Excuse me, do you work here? I have a delivery for the owner of 'Be With Hiroshi'?" he asks, looking up from under the brim of his baseball cap at her. He's eschewed a windbreaker for a thicker, warmer coat, but he's still got a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers on otherwise.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

Madoka's own thoughts about Christmas are comparatively brighter: The further away the years push from the major incidents in life, the brighter her mood around this time had come to be. Sure, it was a bit tumultuous; Knowing that an event that happened in the apex of the year was always a reminder at the 6-month mark, a slowly encroaching chill of the mind that she managed to weather year after year with increasingly successful results. A bit of work, a bit of talk, and slowly working through life.

...She could say that despite it all, this year had been good to her.

Keeping her gaze cast towards the ocean, it barely takes any noise for her to catch the sound of that delivery scooter. To watch it putter along, sitting up on instinct at the package box. She's already standing up from her seat, setting the clipboard down and extracing her wallet.

"Oh, that's sooner than expected. They said it'd be later this afternoon." An offhand quip as she pulls out a card; One of the many security cards for NERV, a clear assignment of "off-site contractor/partner" along with the usual markings for ID verification. "Uncle Hiroshi's taking care of the food stock, so he's dealing with the fish in the back."

"Just set it down on the table. Haa, what's he thinking, trying to get some out-of-season stuff this time of year..."

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        "It turns out the person who was supposed to bring it is busy with a bunch of things, so they asked me to bring it instead," Shinji tells Madoka. The details seem to him to be a bit more complicated than that, but that's the important thing, isn't it? He pauses to look at the card Madoka presents to him for ID; his face goes pale when he sees the familiar style of the card itself. "You're with NERV?" he asks, far too quickly to be idle curiosity.
        
        But she bids him set the package down, and Shinji does so. He can feel whatever's inside shifting around a bit; he's glad he kept his speed low on the road. If something were broken--
        
        (Something's always broken, isn't it? But that's neither here nor there. It's got nothing to do with him. He did what he was asked to do, and now he's leaving.)
        
        Now he's leaving. In a hurry, unless Madoka stops him.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

"Ah, really? That sucks, doesn't it." There's a sympathetic smile, already adjusting the beanie on her head. A sight of paleness doesn't dissuade her from the obvious conclusion, crooking an eyebrow upwards at the question afterwards.

"In a sense, yeah. But not employed by them." Information offered so easily; Considering NERV's practices, having them be a Known Element of the Japanese Workforce was piece and parcel. As much as their secrets bubbled under the surface, it's hard to not be employed by them in some capacity...Though, Madoka wouldn't know any of that.

Still, she better make sure. "Ah, wait a moment." The fateful request to stop while stepping over...and swinging around to the package at hand. Plunging a finger, thumbing against the tape, the sounds of a girl peeling off the container to open the box proper.

And...Inside, everything was well-packaged, as expected. Sets of various ornaments packaged neatly into the box, not a hair out of place. "Haaaa...It got here safely." There's a satisfied smile at that, nodding to herself as she checked off a line on the clipboard. "Sorry about that, I didn't want to have to chase you down if something happened on the way here."

But with that statement, there's a flicker of an idea. "You had to come out here on short notice, right? Let me get you something for the road." There's barely any room to respond, the girl giving a glance over before moving in, entering the dark depths of the restaraunt proper. In other words: She headed inside BWH and went behind the counter.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        "It does kind of suck," Shinji admits. Something about Madoka's sympathetic smile makes him inclined to open up a little more than he normally otherwise might. "I was just here to do a delivery for someone else, but then I got roped into this... At least it's the same area, so I didn't have to go that much farther, but delivering a package marked 'DELICATE' is so nerve-wracking." He pauses, then rubs the back of his neck. "Uh, sorry for babbling..."
        
        Not employed by them... Shinji looks back at Madoka's ID--looks back at Madoka herself. There is a conclusion to be made that he really doesn't like. He moves to make his escape--but then she asks him to wait, and he cautiously does so, looking over his shoulder. When he realizes it's just to make sure everything's in order and he's not on the hook for anything broken, he breathes a sigh of relief. Right, he'd been just thinking about that himself, too. He just panicked.
        
        "No, it's okay," he reassures her. "I'm glad you thought of it. I wouldn't want to turn back, either." It seems like everything is fine, so he moves to leave again, this time somewhat more relaxed--
        
        You had to come out here on short notice, right? Let me get you something for the road.
        
        "Huh? No, it's fine, you don't--" Aaaand she's already gone inside. Shinji watches her go, feeling awkward.
        
        ...A hot drink would help. Even with a thick coat on, it's awfully chilly. He looks back and forth as if being watched, then creeps into the restaurant. "Pardon the intrusion..." he murmurs, as if entering a stranger's home and not a place of business open to the public.
        
        He stays near the entrance, though, trying to spot Madoka again and--there she is, behind the counter. What's she getting?

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

"It is, isn't it?" There's only the bright smile offered at the consimmeration of package management. "Don't worry, these packages are sturdier than they look." The tone of experience wafting through.

Still, she's made her way inside, scanning through the back of the bar and checking over their contents. "No, no, no..." Slowly moving through the bar, the kitchen, checking shelf by shelf. Temporarily disappearing for a moment before finding the proper can, pulling up-

And bumping her head on the bottom. "Owowowow..." A few moments to process the pain of shock, setting the found treasure on the counter: A lightly steaming, definitely heated canned coffee. "I knew we had one left. We'll have more soon enough so." A quick doublecheck to make sure it's still nice and warm before holding it out.

"Here. You're not from around here, are you?" One question brings forth the next. "...Why'd they send you, anyways? We could've waited for the package. Something special going down for the holidays?"

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        "That's good..." As long as nothing's broken, all's well that ends well. Shinji casts a sidelong glance towards the opened package, then heads inside after Madoka.
        
        He's silent for a moment as she searches; when she bumps her head, though, he leans in a little. "Are you okay? It really is fine..." But she's already seized the treasure, and hands it out to him: a nice hot can of coffee.
        
        So: "Thank you," he says, accepting it. He breathes out a little sigh, the edges of his lips curling up, as he clutches it between both hands. Ahh, that's nice and warm... He really should've worn gloves, but this helps a lot.
        
        "Not from around here, but... I grew up in the Hakone area," he replies. "This place is a little too close to Tokyo-1." He shrugs at the question. "I don't know. I was just doing a delivery for a friend to one of their friends, and when I showed up, they asked me to bring that package here. I don't know exactly what they were doing, but I got the impression they couldn't pull their hands away. Maybe they were worried about it not getting here on time."
        
        He pauses as he presses the canned coffee to the backs of his ears. He starts regaining feelings in them.
        
        "...Are you a NERV pilot?" he wonders quietly, looking back at Madoka. Surely not for an Evangelion. Kaworu would've mentioned that. Right? ...No, he wouldn't. They don't talk about NERV things in general. It's the unspoken agreement between them.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

The package will be fine. There's a chill breeze, the wind rustling at the box flaps for a bit, but the actual contents are heavy enough to ensure that it's set in place. At least, that's what Madoka's banking on.

Rubbing the back of her head, her own treasure of the moment is pulled out: One half-empty bottle of Kamogawa Energy, the dark brown liquid swirling inside as usual. "Don't worry about it. You can't go anywhere with a freezing body." A confident smile at that, spinning a circle in the air with a rotation of her wrist. "Maru." A subdued victory, but one nonetheless.

"Hakone? Ah, I grew up around here all my life. Chiba, born and raised in this town." There's a small puff of pride at that. "Though, I only moved to this home around...A few years back?" How long had it been, really? ...A small while.

"They're just playing it safe, huh...I heard things were going on around the world, maybe that's related." Spoken like someone vaguely aware of the state of the world, but not entrenched in it. "They probably want people to have their happy christmases. Call it a hunch." It's hard not to ignore what's going on, considering the visibility of everything.

And the question itself. "Me? Yes." NERV Pilot? She was part of Novumundus, which was allying with NERV, which...made that designation correct? SO was the conclusion. "Not under them specifically, but I am a pilot for them when they need help."

"...Why?" The next obvious question. Even for the bullheadedness of Madoka's psyche leading to light obliviousness, the swig of Kamogawa Energy was bringing her back to an internal warmth. Or it may be the energy drink speaking.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        So Madoka says, but she pulls out a (seemingly) chilled energy drink for herself! But then, maybe the energy it builds up gets her hot enough that it doesn't matter if the drink is cold? Shinji switches ears. "That's true," he admits.
        
        "Oh? It's nice to have a place you grow up in, I guess," Shinji replies. Even if Madoka immediately contradicts him on that. But at least it's just "house" and not "hometown." ...wait, isn't this a restaurant? (Didn't you walk in like it was house and not a restaurant, Shinji?) He looks up and around at the place again. "Wait, you live here?"
        
        He looks back at her as she muses on the reason for the convoluted delivery. "I could see that... For a lot of people, they're probably looking desperately for something to be cheerful about. I can't fault them for that."
        
        He stills when she admits to her pilot status. But... if it's not under them specifically... "Not an Eva pilot, then," he murmurs along with a breath of relief. It's meant to be under his breath, but it's just the two of them in here.
        
        "Oh, uh, no reason," he adds quickly, then cracks open the canned coffee to take a drink. Despite his own attempt to deflect, though, when he pulls it away, he finds he can't help but add, "I just... have to wonder why someone as young as you is piloting, that's all. But that's just my own dumb way of thinking, isn't it?" he adds gloomily. "There's people who start piloting even younger than us. It's not even rare."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

"Both restauraunt and home. I live on the second floor with a few others." Another swig of the liquid. Good stuff. Her own minute mental walls are quickly dissolving, heated by conversation and by the camraderie. "BWH makes enough to support us. As much as Uncle Hiroshi's about some things, he's a hard worker." Pride in her voice at the family she has.

"Considering the other things...Yeah." A momentary pause before jostling herself back up. "The Jersey Club's helping around town, so if they're going to send you about for other last-minute deliveries, we might see each other again. I know that the school's hoping for some last minute fabrics for Santa costume changes." A tap of her own chin. "And that the local grannies are hoping to do another hotpot, so maybe another round of food...Ah, you don't have to worry about that."

Still. "An Eva pilot?" ...Ah. "Oh, like Asuka and Kaworu. No no no, I'm not in those at all." She brushes them off so casually. She hasn't seen what they can do.

"Me?" Another swig. And another. Allowing her thoughts to
ferment for a moment before releasing the long-held swig.
"Phaa...I want to help people however I can. I could do it. So I'm doing it." There's a slow nod at that bit of understanding. "I think...If I can do it, I'll do it. And I'm the only one that can, and I want to do it."

The most simplistic reason in the world.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        "Oh... Huh," Shinji utters. He can think of a few reasons why Madoka might be living on the second floor of her 'uncle's' restaurant, and none of them are pleasant, and 'a few years ago' could mean so many things, so he doesn't ask about her parents. "Sounds like you're happy here. That's good," he offers instead.
        
        Jersey Club? Is that a school club? Confusion crosses Shinji's expression, but he shrugs. "I grew up in the Hakone region, but I live in Magallanica right now. I only come down to Earth when I'm running errands for Eight-san," he says, then adds, "Ah, that's my friend who I did the delivery for to the person who gave me your package. But because of that, I don't think I'm gonna be in the area much longer." He might show up again at some point in the future for something else, but there's no guarantee of that. After all, he didn't expect to end up doing a delivery here, either.
        
        "Ah--" he utters, mentally scrambling when he realizes Madoka heard him after all. But she takes it in stride, mentioning Asuka and Kaworu, and brushes off the matter. He blinks wide, staring at her.
        
        But that's not where her easygoing but straightforward personality stops. She lists her reason for piloting, and it's just like the rest of her. Shinji stares for a moment longer. I'm the only one that can, and I want to do it...
        
        "......"
        
        He cradles his canned coffee between his hands and squeezes.
        
        "You're the opposite of me, huh."
        
        Shinji has not meaningfully talked about his experience as an Evangelion pilot since he left NERV. Eight and her crew have done a lot to welcome him and give him a place to be, and he's grateful to that, but it hasn't been the same. Even with Kaworu... they always avoided talking about it. There was that one time with him and Mari, where Shinji finally lost his temper and said he had a right to know--but they still didn't say, even if they also lit a fire under him to find out. And so he didn't say either.
        
        "I didn't want to do it," he murmurs. Because it's the most simplistic reason in the world, and it's the opposite of him. The yang to his yin. A reason for him to say it. "I didn't even want to help 'people.' It's just that there was a girl in front of me who was suffering, and they were going to make her do it instead if I didn't... so I did it. Even though I didn't want to." He looks away. "You probably think I'm a coward."
        
        You'd be right to, he doesn't add.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

"Better than ever." Her own thoughts on that matter are soon glossed over, deflecting that train of thought elsewhere. She's lived them. Better to not ruminate on everything.

"Magallanica, huh..." Her eyes cast skywards. "Space is a bit amazing, if you think about it." An absentminded mutter. Space. The sea. Are they so different, to feel yourself among the vast expanse of 'something'? Bringing herself back down to earth, she can only nod in understanding. "If you need another bite, there's a good ramen place around the middle of the city. Third alley from the clothing shop, tripletap the sign and ask for Nobunaga's Final Moments." A gift of a to-be-unearthed precious memory of Something Unique to Kamogawa.

As she keeps her smile, she can only calm down at that response. Stopping in place, feeling that sort of heavy mood. Madoka only listens, not stopping the minor bit of Shinji's outpouring as the wind blows, the chill seemingly worse than before, even when the temperature of that breeze had barely changed.

She never gave it much thought about why she could do it. She could, so she did. Sure, she had heard about the Legend of the Vox, about how they're meant to be demons and whatnot...It didn't take much to connect two and two together, but still.

And yet.

If not her, then who?

"I think that's reason enough." The words are mildly firm; An attempt to reach out with words, even as she tries to choose them carefully. To fight or to flee. The question: Obvious. The answer: Obvious. The reason why the viewpoint of cowardice was there...Unfortunately, also obvious.

"The girl...If you don't mind me asking. Did you. Stop the suffering, whatever it was, even if it was for only a moment?" There's no attempt to try and dig deeper about the circumstances. There's no need to.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Better than ever, she says, which mostly but does not quite follow what he said. He leaves it be. If there's something painful hiding behind those words, he doesn't want to pick that wound open. He understands how it must feel.%
        "It really is. It's a lot different from how it looks from Earth. But the people living there... they're still just people. I couldn't really wrap my head around it for a long time, but now that I actually live there, they're just... normal. It's no different from people living in different countries on Earth."
        
        Which doesn't stop rampant racism and nationalism, so it's no wonder there's still violent divisions between Earthnoids and Spacenoids. Shinji leaves that part unsaid, though. Instead, he looks thoughtful at her suggestion. "Nobunaga's Final Moments...? All right. I'll give it a try." It may or may not be as good as Boss's ramen, but it'll be good to have another point of reference for his own future ramen efforts.
        
        But that's before the talk turns heavy. Madoka listens to him, and she gives a decisive answer. That's reason enough. It reminds him a little of Kaworu, if with a very different (Kamogawa) energy. He looks back at her.
        
        ...Back then, Rei had been bleeding on a gurney, gasping with pain. He doesn't know if he stopped her suffering, but... over time, they got a lot closer. Close enough that he's confident enough to muse, "Knowing her... she'd probably say yes."
        
        Even if, as far as Shinji knows, she doesn't remember it now.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

"People are people." It's such a simple sentence with the weight of understanding how difficult that truly was to parse. To glance upwards at the ceiling, the faint recollections of this and that. "I'd like to think we could be better than what we are right now, but we just have to keep dragging people along." A slow twist of the mouth before releasing a sigh. Too heavy to think about.

Luckily, Nobunaga's Final Moments was the mildly spicy version that should sate anyone's palette. Nobunaga's Scorching Moments was not for the ones unaccustomed to spices. "Just tell them that I'm calling on that favor they owe me." Tit for tat.

But Madoka's staring back. Those brown eyes awash in the aura of a confident answer, meeting his gaze headon. There's no hesitation in that answer and her body language. Decisiveness.

"Then, you managed to help someone." Her lips perk upwards; A relaxed smile for a reassuring sentence. "No one can call you a coward for that. Doing things when you want to is easy, I think...Doing it when you don't want to, but you can't stand to see others lying down and suffering..."

The smile flourishes. "That's not something a coward would do."

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Too heavy indeed. Shinji takes another long drink of his canned coffee. At least it's warming him up nicely.
        
        "Are you really sure you want to use up a favor on me? We only just met," he points out, dubious.
        
        He isn't dubious for much longer, though. The look in her eyes--the way she stands--it isn't exactly like Kaworu. Kaworu's more relaxed, more languid. But there's something the two of them have in common, and it's their unbreakable confidence. The way they talk like they completely believe in him, even though (when) they'd just met. Shinji blinks rapidly at Madoka, before finally ducking his head, a smile flashing onto his lips.
        
        "I was thinking a minute ago you remind me a bit of Kaworu-kun... That sounds like something he'd say, too. You're both so strong of heart. I can't help but admire it," he murmurs.
        
        It does make him feel better, though. Kaworu's so kind and laidback that it feels sometimes like he'd forgive him no matter what he did. That means a lot to Shinji, to have a friend whom he's certain will never abandon him, but it doesn't always help with how he feels about himself. (The pit of depression is bottomless and voracious, and it can be easy to start to wonder if he really deserves a friend like him.) The second opinion matters.
        
        "Oh, sorry. I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Shinji Ikari. You can call me Shinji, though. I used to be the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01." He offers his hand out to shake. "It's nice meeting you, Kyouno-san."

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

"Don't worry about it. It's only fair to give someone a reason to come back to a place they're visiting for the first time, right?" Said with zero malice; It's just a favor to call in, and this might as well be the best place for it. Indeed, she breaks her gaze soon after, resting her eyes on the windows outside, towards the ocean itself. The waves lapping along the beach, the tumultuous waves brought by the wind allowing the mind some form of peace.

"Kaworu-kun? Mmmmh, I can see it." Granted, her view of him was more...laid-back? The sights of his Eva Unit was fearsome, but his demeanor felt...ambivalent. Serious, motivated, moving forward on his own pace, but distant all the same. "...I don't think I've ever seen him without a smile." An absentminded mutter of notice. Not derisive nor admirable, but just a note of her own recollections.

"Of course. It took a while to get to here, but...Not alone. Definitely not alone." Settling down for a small bit, nodding to herself. Her own memories tug at her, the shoves and porods and motivation to climb those mental walls, to ascend from those depths she thought she could never push up from. ...Maybe the way was a bit tumultuous, but she's here all the same, in this body, in this self.

"Madoka Kyouno. Pilot of Vox Aura, Novumundus company." The handshake's taken and accepted, the firm grip of a confident girl at that. "So that's why you asked about NERV...It's a pleasure to meet you too. I'm not holding you up or anything, am I?"

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        No malice whatsoever, so plain that even Shinji can hear it. It also just makes sense, even to him. "I'll give it a try, then," he replies, smiling slightly. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to have a reason to come back to this area again in the future. He managed to force himself back to Tokyo-3 for Asuka and Rei, but Kamogawa isn't Tokyo-3. There are things to actually enjoy here.
        
        ...Though maybe sometime he'll return to Tokyo-3 to settle things with Misato. Much like how he's come to realize Unit-01 was a comfort when faced against things far too huge to handle as a person on foot, he's come to realize that he did her dirty when he left the way he did. One day... one day, he'll have the courage to talk to her honestly. Maybe having the courage to visit a place close to Tokyo-3 is the first step.
        
        "It's a rare sight," he says of Kaworu and a lack of smile. Seeing him not smiling is honestly a little unnerving as a result...
        
        "Not alone... huh," he murmurs thoughtfully. There's something there, a feeling like: you are (not) alone. But it passes, and the two of them are sharing self-introductions.
        
        "Yeah. I left for... Well, it's a long and unhappy story." He can't match her grip, but he manages to accept it all the same. "I probably should get going soon, but..." He holds up the canned coffee. "It'd be a waste to throw this out before I was done drinking, anyway." He can't very well take a half-full can on a drive, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kyouno has posed.

<poem> A rare sight to not see Kaworu smiles. She takes two seconds to try and imagine him without a smile. It fails miserably. "I don't think I can even imagine him without one." The obvious conclusion.

Not alone at all.

"On the house. It's supposed to turn a bit chillier tonight, so drink up." There's the shuffle away from the counter; Bringing both clipboard and package inside, setting them both on an inside table. "Uncle Hiroshi'll be a bit if you need a signature for it, but take your time, all the same."

It's the small things in life that keep people going.