2022-02-22: Giant, Enemy, Crab
- Log: 2022-02-22- Giant, Enemy, Crab
- Cast: Riku Asakura, Akane Shinjo
- Where: Tsutsujidai Markets
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-02-22
- Summary: Riku makes a stop at the market in Tsutsujidai to pick up a few things. Someone says hello!
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku was walking from a bike shop, walking a bike with a large basket.
Earlier today
Riku is making the same walk, in a much more jovial tone.
Later that same day.
He's walking it back, with a slightly down expression. This likely was running into Yuuta. And a reminder that the Bike was for groceries and that probably got yelled at by someone with Yuuta about not getting the right bike and being reminded.
Now again.
At least he didn't get a video game consul with this purchase and JUST got the bike this time. This is why Riku should never purchase things alone. He's walking it across the street and towards nearby food stalls and markets to start picking up groceries. Though obviously he's got money and a real paying job, Riku still shops frugally for things like food.
Just...not a great head for things that aren't everyday products. Or looking into local shops for his favorite merchandise to put into his room, when he shouldn't be doing that. Which he is not doing that now...
Except that he actually is, and has walked by the food stalls, for now, to check out the outdoor merchandise he thinks he can get away with looking over.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Some people just don't have great impulse control!
Unrelatedly, Akane Shinjo is here. Her mood isn't great -- school things -- so she's looking for... *something* to do with herself. Really, anything to do with herself besides sit in it and stew, though let's be real: she'll be doing that anyway, just, later.
Most people in Tsutsujidai just kinda trudge through their daily lives. When someone *isn't* -- when someone seems like they're having a legitimately okay time going about their daily business -- that gets Akane's attention, if only a little bit.
"Hey there," she says, with a small smile on her face. "Are you new in town?" It's become a bit of a go-to question for Akane, at this point, when she sees someone she doesn't recognize; it's not that she's *super* great at recognizing out-of-towners, but it helps her... calibrate. "Whatcha lookin' for?"
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku noticed that 'people just doing their normal grind thing' but at the same time...Riku was from A) Japan and B) Tokyo, so that's not super unusual, though only slightly. When Akane speaks, he was actually looking at a Tarabaman clock, and his head looks around, broken out of his concentration.
"Ah...hello!" he says, with a polite greeting, "Oh, yeah. I'm moving in temporarily to help out a friend while his parents are out of town. I should be finishing up the shopping, but I got distracted by this display." Riku looks at the clock again, and then back towards Akane.
With a smile, Riku introduces himself, "Sorry about that, the clock is just nostalgic looking. I had one similar to it, but it was done with a Donshine design and not Tarabaman. Anyway, my name's Riku Asakura! Sorry for the rambling there," he says a bit bashfully. "Or was I staring too long?" he asks, almost in a whisper to her. He's trying his best to fit in.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
A friend whose parents are out of town... and he's an outsider. Hmmm. Akane notes that down in her head. Her gaze tracks briefly to the clock, then back to Riku. ... of the two topics, the easier is the casual conversation, so she decides to start there and lead into the grilling later.
"Ooh, you've got good taste. I had the same kind before I moved," Akane notes, with a smile. Already this is a better conversation than anything that happened at school today -- even if it ultimately goes nowhere, it could be just fine. "Donshine, huh... that's kinda obscure. Like, seen it, but most people haven't. Satanzorg is a really good design... the Nusttoria are kinda lame, though. They feel like they'd have been cooler looking with any budget."
Riku Asakura... Akane makes a note of that, too. "Akane Shinjo," she says, calmly, after a couple moments. "Who's your friend, then? If he needs a buddy while his parents are out of town, I'm guessing he's about my age..."
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku winces at the comment about the budget comment. Both reminded that he should focus on acquiring food, and not hanging here...but also the knowledge that this universe had harmed his favorite series of all time. "Well, Satanzorg was a good design, that's true. The..." a sigh, "I watched a different version, and they were so much better than the one passed along here. I don't have it right now, but I'll have to spread this one around.."
Riku, please...someone is likely saying.
"Where I come from it's Tarabaman that's obscure...though I have to say, the shows I've watched here are better than what I saw where I'm from," Riku admits. Dimensional travel is weird.
Somewhere Sayla is likely getting another headache.
"It's nice to meet you, Shinjo-san!" he says brightly, it's like this guy is just a sunny guy by default. "Huh? Oh uh...Yuta Hibiki. His parents are out of town, and I'm new to the area period. This was a good arrangement, because...well Tokyo apartment prices are murder, you know? And this place is such a nice place."
"Calmer, quieter. Full of Kaiju.." he probably shouldn't have said that. But it DOES make him nostalgic for home.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Well! 'Different version' of Donshine... That suggests this Riku guy is an outsider even by outsider standards. Akane looks him over a little more closely, now, lips quirking up a bit into more of a smirk than a smile. "If you can get the originals, I'd be happy to see them," she says. "Though there's kinda some charm to Donshine as it is, too... it feels more like a 60s show." Most people would take that as a slam, but Akane seems not to mean it as one.
Thought so, Akane thinks, when Riku mentions Yuta. ... it's good that he has someone who'll take care of him while his parents are away, Akane thinks. Riku's probably better suited to the task than she is. The comment about 'full of kaiju' has her attention, too. "Oh? You see them, too? And you know Hibiki...?" she asks, giving a big, innocent ingenue blink.
"Huh. I guess my class is the weirdness magnet," she concedes, with just a hair more nonchalance than maybe she ought.
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku smiles at that, actually. "Haha...well, yes, that was part of the charm, I think. The sixties feel, but with some more modern parts and action scenes. Trust me, the moment I can show those off here, I will. I know someone who has OPINIONS about Donshine, though I feel maybe Tarabaman has melted his brain."
"It's also what the show tries to convey, I think. There is a message I think sometimes gets missed. It's not just about being a hero and fighting for justice, but showing care to even those who might not deserve it. That even the person who's hurt a lot of people can be reached out to, ya know?"
"Oh...right, that isn't something everyone can see.." he says, with a realization that he might have opened his mouth too much. Though the comment about their class being the weird one gets his attention. "Oh, you go to school with Yuta? And you can see them? Huh.." he says, not sure what to think about that.
"I'm surprised you're so calm about the situation, most people are very afraid of Kaiju! I imagine there might be more panic if they could see them," he says, giving her a smile. The ingenue innocence is either being missed or ignored. "So how long have you been able to see them?" because he knows that the kids had only been able to see them only a short time ago.
"Also.." he says with a serious voice. Has he caught on? Has he figured it all out? "Are you a Kaiju lover?" he asked innocently, "I can't say I've liked everyone I've ever met, but I've met some cute ones in my time."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Huh? I never got that vibe at all! Not from Tarabaman and not from Donshine, either," Akane admits, with a vague wobble of her hand. "I'm really watching more for the kaiju, though. There aren't a lot of genuine monsters in Donshine, so, like, less interesting. Episodes with only the humans and the talky human aliens are kinda weird."
She's all smiles as she continues, "Kaiju are the stars of every episode they're in! The whole world bends around them. Put an electricity-eating kaiju in the show and suddenly we care about the power grid! Put a mermaid in the show and now it's all about water. The attention goes where they exist, and they don't even really need to want it. It's just kinda there because it has to be, you know?"
That's certainly an answer to the question of being a kaiju lover, at least. "Eeh... a while? I thought it was weird when people were talking about them in class, but now I just kinda go with it," Akane says, which is technically a series of completely true statements, it's just that their order is nonsense. "But nah. These ones just stand here, right? I know about the fights the last few weeks, too, but if I spend all my time thinking about that stuff it'll just get weird. I have end of year exams coming up." Talk about priorities...
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku really wonders how bad this version of Donshine is, or if he maybe saw way too much into it because it was Donshine. On the other hand, the alien episodes were weird, but in a good way! "Well, that's the point right? Things that are alien to us ARE alien, right? It's about bridging that gap. Reaching out to others, and not just shunning them because they are different from you."
Though when she gets into Kaiju, he can see WHY she thinks this way, focusing on the Kaiju instead of the heroes in the story is weird, but...well, her point of view is an interesting and valid one! "I can get what you're saying, though sometimes heavy-handed the Kaiju can be considered a danger or threat. Though at the same time, not all Kaiju are threats or dangers."
One might consider her thoughts about exams being more important than Kaiju roaming, but well...Riku understands that once they get normalized, and once there is a hero to stop them then fears to start turning back towards the normal lives again. "Haha...have the fights become so common here?"
"I suppose with Gridman and Ultraman protecting people, it'll let you focus on your future, huh?" He says, with an easy smile. "I thought it was strange you'd be so easygoing after seeing something like that, but I suppose loving Kaiju so much, makes them seem less scary."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, Taraba Q has a bunch of kaiju that help humans or whatever, but they're kinda just going through the motions, right? The one they didn't name -- the one whose suit got reused for Krukasu." Okay, she's deep in the lore.
She's trying to find a way to articulate it -- it takes a bit. "Humans reached out to it, and it died fighting for them, but it was gonna do that either way, 'cuz the other kaiju was its enemy! If you fight your natural enemy and that just *happens* to help humans, there's no gap being bridged or anything. It's just more convenient for everyone." ... it's a pretty cynical take, but she delivers it so comfortably and casually. "Anyway, some kaiju live and some kaiju die! It's just like that, I guess." She has more on that in her head but she's about hit the limit of (however disguised, however unknowing) fairly intimate details about her brain landscape.
As for 'thinking about her future'... is that what she's doing? ... She'll think about that later. So the other Giant of Light -- Vessel of Light, Alexis had called them -- is indeed Ultraman... that has her a little more interested. "Oh, so that's what they're called, huh? Sounds like you're paying a lot of attention to this stuff. You should tell me about the new ones -- the ones that don't have armor like the first one. Those are the 'Ultraman,' right?" She gives careful delivery on that word -- U-ru-to-ra-ma-n. She scoots just a *bit* too close to Riku's personal space. "I heard about 'Gridman' before the other ones, so it makes sense that they'd be in that order... anyway, why are they protecting this place? It just resets every time... it seems like it'd be a lot of effort to put out for no reason."
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
"Well, suit reuse isn't exactly uncommon...though I can see your point on this one a little," He admits, it does take the oomph out of the connection, if you just recycle it. Though Akane is in deep lore stuff, even he's not that deep on Tarabaman. Though he should, he imagines. It got the idealized setting here.
Riku listens to Akane's take on the kaiju and the reaching out to it. It's so...cynical, and it causes Riku to frown for the first time in this conversation. "That might be true, but I think the connection is important. Rather than its intention to fight its enemy or not would happen, the feelings shared between humans and it was important."
He wants to ask if she's okay, but...it'd be a little weird. Some people are just like that, even if they act happy. Riku struggles with the right way to approach this for a moment, though interrupted by her other questions. "Well, yeah. He looks like that Ultraman Z on the other side, right? Too close to be not the same, you know besides the eyes right?"
Though the close personal space invasion was a bit embarrassing, Riku holds his cool. Though her next question is a pointed one, and he is so sure it was obvious. "Well...I imagine Gridman lives here, so it makes sense that he'd want to protect his home, right? The Kaiju seem to do damage to people, even if the place is restored by the big ones, right?"
"I imagine that the Ultraman Geed feels the same as Gridman, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
So they're Ultraman Z and Ultraman Geed... Akane notes that down in the back of her mind. She can loop around to that. "Huh? I don't think Gridman lives here... I only heard about him the same time I started seeing him and the kaiju fighting. I mean, I guess he could've just been hiding here the whole time..." ... she doesn't think that's it, though. That shooting star she saw... it broke into five, and then Gridman started showing up. A ship, maybe?
She shouldn't chew on that too loudly in front of Riku, though. Instead, she offers a, "That's possible," about the kaiju hurting people, before moving on. "I guess if you assume that giants show up when people cry for help, it makes sense, but... If the world changes back afterward, it just... doesn't add up."
Akane can tell Riku knows more than he's letting on. A suspicious outsider, friends with Hibiki (who Akane suspects is Gridman), has some pointed speculation about how an Ultraman feels... She scoots a little closer still. She moves her knee up a bit, sliding her stocking-clad leg against Riku's a bit. "You sound like you're the expert," she murmurs.
"You should tell me a little more about giants of light." The whole... situation, the whole affect, is just a little off. The motions are... purposeful, and obvious in their purpose, but the *tone* isn't quite right -- it's about half on target for what she thinks she's doing, but about half like she's trying to coax a particularly intransigent puppy. The vibes are: weird.
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
"No..? What makes you think he doesn't live here? That's just the assumption I had from hearing he's only ever appeared here.." he was sure that was common knowledge, but then again...if Akane has never left this place...shoot, maybe he said too much? She knows more too, he's sure, then she's letting on but only because he has a gut feeling.
"It doesn't? If people don't know it goes back to normal...then it would make sense that they show up if people call for help. Even if things return to normal, it doesn't mean people don't need help then, right?"
At this point, Riku is very uncomfortable by this touch, the feeling he's getting here is causing him to feel uncomfortable, and not just her attempts to 'persuade' him. He can't pinpoint the feeling, but he knows it's Not Right somehow.
However, he does something perhaps unexpected. He places his hands on her shoulders. He doesn't shove her away, or anything like that, but moves with a firm motion a step back, both enforcing his personal space, but also attempting to show concern. This isn't how someone is supposed to act.
"Are you okay?" he asks finally. "I didn't mention anything about giants of light," he says firmly. "You know about the Kaiju, and have a love for them. But..." he says, calmly and concerned. This is like an older brother's kind of vibe as he leans down to make sure they are face to face.
"I can't describe it, but I feel you're worried about something. I won't judge or anything, but...I can't do anything if we're not more honest with each other. If there is something you need, or you're in trouble then I need you to be honest with me about this, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
There's something small, something telling, that Akane does as Riku fully turns to face her, places his hands on her shoulders, and moves back: she flinches. It's one of the few times she has, in Tsutsujidai; there's a line of best fit for them, but drawing the line would require anyone but her to remember the incidents.
She opens her mouth to apologize -- but chokes on her own tongue for a second about it, instead. ... Riku seems like a good person, Akane thinks. If he's a Vessel of Light, that's... really, really unfortunate for him. "... I'm okay," Akane says, instead of voicing anything. "Sorry, I -- it seemed like the obvious thing to call them, right?" She steps back, and says, "Since it's -- you know. Light. Like this." She does the kousen pose -- single-armed, like Gridman, rather than double. "And they're big -- bigger than mobile suits, even! So..."
Taking a breath in, then out, she tries again. Riku's trying to level with her. It's... no, this is her world. Riku would open it up. He says he can't do anything if they're not honest with each other?
Perfect.
"... A friend of mine keeps skipping class, and it's always after kaiju attacks," Akane answers, hesitantly. "I know she's been getting really close with Hibiki lately, too... her name's Rikka Takarada." A pause, before she adds, "I miss a lot of class after attacks too, but lately our schedules just haven't lined up... I just want to know she's okay, that's all."
When Akane Shinjo lies, it's usually not a falsehood. She's very good at presenting the truth out of order, though.
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku is perhaps too good for his own good, this is something likely people have said about him. Repeatedly. Fortunately, he's someone who can take it too, or else he'd likely not be here as he is today. Riku is concerned, the flinching and there was the choked apology. Riku keeps his hands firmly there, as both an indication of bounds, but also a show of support.
He only let's go when she's recovered and opens up to him a little. Though the pose gets a grin out of him. "Ah, that's true I guess," it'd be silly to think she'd know about the land of light. With a breath, he stands up again. "Yeah, they are pretty big."
Then she lets out what's actually bothering her, or rather, something he believes. Rikka? He remembers her, she's brisk, but Riku can tell she cares a lot about people but holds them a bit off from her. Are they friends? Well, they'd be in the same class, right?
"Well, she's one of Hibiki's friends, and I've seen them lately. She's a bit...mmm...brisk, I think. Though I also feel she's nicer than she lets on, but I didn't say that" he says in a more conspiratorial tone. "Well...I can try and reach out to her when I see her next and let her know you're worried about her."
"I should start shopping, though if you can stomach through that, you're invited over for dinner if you want? I'm not a great cook, but I do know a few good recipes!"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Oh god. This has instantly spiraled out of Akane's control in so many ways. She's so, so screwed. It's a nicer flavor of wildly out of control than the things that keep happening at school, but it's still out of control and that's still bad.
Once they're no longer touching, she's at least a little more comfortable. "I -- it's fine," Akane says, with a nervous laugh. "It's kinda silly for me to be this worried... she doesn't need to know. ... Tell her I said hi, though." She smiles, though it's -- tired, thin. And then food comes up.
Oh boy. That's a real one.
"Aah -- sorry, I don't think I can do dinner. My guardian is kind of fussy about what I eat, especially on school nights," comes her answer, safely ejecting her from the possibility of being fed. (Truly the ultimate nightmare.)
After a little bit, though, she brightens. "But I can help you pick out some stuff Hibiki will like!" ... No matter what she has to do about Riku -- about Hibiki -- about the Vessels of Light, later, she's *delighted* to be able to provide some food for them. "I've been trying to get him to eat a little better ever since he lost his memory..." She elaborates, "You should try some radish sprouts. They go fine in easy stuff, and the school uses them in the special hot dogs. I used to chop them up and put them in scrambled eggs and omurice, too -- the heat really adds something."
Eating? Horrible. Trying to feed someone else? *Great.* Activates *all* the neurons.
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
"I understand! I'll just pass that along to her then when I see her, it's fine! I bet the moment I pass the message she'll remember something other than her schoolwork for a moment, and all the stress of the kaiju stuff. People get like that sometimes, you know?"
"Ahhh...dietary issues, I understand. That stinks...but well, if you ever feel like cheating and it won't hurt you let me know..." he says with a wink. Big brothers also sometimes spoil. Especially when it's bad for you.
Though she does offer to help pick out some things, and healthy things at that. "Well, I'd like that a lot!" a pause, "Oh you knew about the memory thing? Okay, well that's a load off my shoulders...it's part of why I decided to stay with him too, you know? If he recovers, then that's good, but if he has any more episodes and nobody is around it might be bad for him."
There is a pause, "So...were you two a couple before he lost his memory?" he asks, in the conspiratory sense. "You know all his favorite foods, after all."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
... this would've been nice, a few years ago, Akane thinks. Now it's actually kind of sickly-sweet, cloying. Like rot. "... If I get the chance, I'll keep it in mind," is all she says -- it's a little bit of obliging nervousness now. She forms up with Riku to go pick out food, without too much further fuss.
"Yeah, it came up in class," Akane answers, without much hesitation. "It's kinda weird, right? His memory gets weird, then all this weird stuff starts happening..." She shakes her head, and shrugs, before --
"... you've got the wrong idea," she says, glancing off. It's -- flat, cold. It doesn't last too long, though; Akane's getting steadily better at recovering. "Until I started missing too much class, I was class representative... and it's not like I forgot all that stuff just 'cuz I wasn't class rep anymore. I know what people like to eat."
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku laughs a little, feeling that air of nervousness. He'll back off, for now, there is probably more going on, and maybe revealing her concern for Rikka has pushed things too far. He'll ease off for now, as he takes the bike to the market.
It came up in class? He only told the others in that diner, before then they didn't know. He doesn't say anything, maybe she's trying to play down her concern for the boy. He'll...have to ask when he sees Yuta again.
Though that tone is not easily missed, it's likely he misinterprets it when she explains herself. "Ahhh...I'm sorry, it was a bit mean. I was more teasing, though that explains you're knowledge of his preferences. Though I'm glad for any help in this regard...my knowledge of cooking is...well...Omurice and stuff from a campfire."
"Where I am from had a lot of kaiju attacks. Sometimes living off the land was the only way to live, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
... It sounds like Riku's had a hard go of it. That's a fact that gets Akane to move forward from the teasing pretty fast. "It's fine," comes her answer, shortly before she starts leading Riku down the aisles. "So if you're cooking for Hibiki, and it's omurice... you can skip the usual onions and carrots, probably. You'll get the heat *and* the fiber from the radish sprouts... peas are pretty traditional for omurice, and I like them, and I don't think he'll complain about that."
Meat... is harder. "Oh!" she says, suddenly. "I know!" She's at a jog, now, a bit. "You could do tenshinhan!" Omurice with crab meat and a sweet-salty-sour sauce made from chicken stock, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and ketchup. The sauce is a little involved, but the flavor's first rate. "You can probably look up a recipe for the sauce on your phone -- I know what goes into it, but not how much... we'll want to pick up some crab, onions, and chicken stock... Hibiki probably already has everything else at home."
That's... probably as many good ideas as she ought to give. More and she'll come off as weirdly micromanaging the whole thing. (Which is absolutely her natural urge, of course. But she can't let *other people* know that.) "I -- oops, it's a little late for me to be shopping, actually... I should probably let you finish up the rest on your own. This was nice, Riku! I hope Hibiki likes the tenshinhan!"
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku listens as Akane makes suggestions, he follows behind, having placed the bike somewhere and locked it up. Though she's quickly on the move, and he's pretty quick to keep up. He didn't even THINK of that recipe. He'll have to look that up, that's for sure.
"Alright...that's a good list. I have a few other things to pick up because they weren't at home, so...haha.." he says, but keeps up. This actually is getting interesting, and it's actually nice to see the young lady, distressed a moment ago a bit more energetic, though it was fated to not last forever.
"Alright! I really appreciate the help, and I think I can take it from here with that suggestion...if not I guess I'll have to ask for help later on. Oh uh..." he says, getting his phone out. He gives his number. "In case you run into trouble, or just need an ear to listen to...or don't mind helping with recipes!"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Oh -- she's being asked for her phone number. "... Ssssure," Akane answers, a little more hesitantly. She pulls out her phone, and snaps off a quick text once she has Riku's number -- both to make sure she has the right number, and to implicitly give him hers. It makes her a little nervous, but the circumstances are such that it's difficult to say no...
Once they're both squared away on that front, at least, she shoves her phone back into her bag and starts to move away again. She'll have to keep an eye on this one... or maybe ask Alexis. He does handle the outside world, after all.