2022-08-03: Declaration
- Log: 2022-08-03: Declaration
- Cast: Akane Shinjo, Yuta Hibiki, Alouette Pommier, Renais Cardiff, Nidaime, Sho Utsumi, Rikka Takarada, Yuka Ohta
- Where: Tsutsujidai - Restaurant
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-08-03
- Summary: Akane Shinjo declares war formally.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's invitation is a simple one, delivered by text blast -- and now that Tsutsujidai is in the same reality as everything else, it's a lot easier to reach her. She's invited everyone to a rooftop restaurant at the top of a high-rise in the business district -- a place from which everyone can see the whole shape of her world. The fog is thick at Tsutsujidai's edges, but from up here it's thin enough to see a decent amount of PLANT structure.
The most obvious thing about Akane is that she's finally gotten herself a new outfit for the first time since not long after moving to Tsutsujidai. Gone at last is the standard hoodie and uniform shirt! Instead, she's wearing a lacy purple corset dress with an enormous flower positioned front and center over her chest, long dark stockings, extremely pale purple shoes (almost white), blue-blocker glasses with a single cracked lens, translucent pink gloves, and -- over everything -- a coat the same near-white as her heels. It looks like a labcoat, but it's a little more form-flattering around the shoulders and arms, and the material is clearly a fair bit tougher.
She's reserved a table exactly as big as it needs to be. Each seat includes a note: 'Order whatever you want!' signed by Akane, in Roman script. (The 'Shinjo' in her signature has a long, sweeping h, creating a monster head.)
The real guest of honor, though, isn't Akane Shinjo, to all appearances: it's something about 10 inches tall in the center of the table, sitting under a cloche, like it's a meal.
(And maybe it is, but not for the guests.)
Akane has of course made absolutely certain she's positioned such that her whole new look is visible to everyone as they arrive, before they sit down. It might preserve her mystique a little more to seat herself at the head of the table and wait. Instead, though, she's leaning against the wall near the table, making sure there's a nice, unobstructed view of her.
(She's not confident enough to let the look speak for itself. The performance is the point.
"Oh, hi. Perfect. I wasn't sure how many of you would make it -- I know you're busy. I'll keep this nice and short," Akane starts. "I told Hibiki that the next time I made a kaiju, I'd give him a little warning. I usually don't break my promises!" She sits down at last, getting situated comfortably in her chair.
A beat, before she notes: "Like it says, order whatever you want! I already put in for some tomato juice, and there'll be skewers, spring rolls, and bread in a few minutes. I was going to take Hibiki out to dinner that time to meet Alexis but Alexis kinda left me on read, so I decided I'd go a little upscale from my original plan... No big deal! This way I get to show all of you a good time~"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
When Akane finally replies to his texts, it's certainly not what Yuta has been expecting. A fancy restaurant... He stares at his phone for a moment, as though willing Akane's actions to make sense. It shines up at him, unchanging, and Yuta sighs. It's not like he could miss something like this.
Yuta spends his time before the meeting trying to make himself look presentable. He runs a brush through his hair until it shines, nervously straightening his school uniform. In the end, his efforts are not really noticeable -- he looks the same as he always does. Hopefully bright red sneakers wouldn't look too out of place.
Seeing the shape of their world from so high up... It's more than a little spooky. Yuta rubs at his arm as he continues upwards. Tsutsujidai looks so small...
"H--hi, Shinjo." Yuta gives Akane a smile that's only a bit wobbly. "Thank you for all this." Yuta glances at one of the notes sitting by each place, hoping it was a seating arrangement. Nope. Looks like he has to choose! Being the first one to arrive was so stressful! If he sat away from Akane, would she be offended? If he sat next to her, would it be weird?
In the end, Yuta takes a deep breath. They were going to save her. He should try and be as friendly as possible. Slowly, he walks to the head of the table, taking the seat at Akane's left hand. "Wow, you really went all out!" He says, looking over her outfit. "I feel a little underdressed."
The cloche gets a suspicious glance, but Yuta focuses on ordering for the moment. Once he's decided, he turns back to Akane. "It's kind of you to, um, invite me again. I'm sorry Alexis didn't cooperate last time."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette wasn't too sure what to expect when she received an invitation from Akane Shinjo. After all, the last time they met turned from a friendly luncheon into a long information-dump seemingly designed to provoke her and the rest of 3G against Akane. This time, though, it seems like a much larger-scale outing. That's reassuring... there will probably be other familiar faces and Alouette will not have to feel so singularly emotionally *cornered*.
Alouette arrives at the rooftop of the restaurant- a rather fancy restaurant at that, but it is no longer any surprise that Akane is able to arrange such a thing - a feast is a small task for someone who considers herself a god. What immediately comes to Alouette's attention is Akane's new outfit. The labcoat... it is very BioNet-esque. Alouette decides the look doesn't match her in the slightest. Did Alexis put her up to that...? As for her own outfit, Alouette is wearing her typical formal outfit she wears for non-work occasions. A white blouse and tie paired with a blue skirt. Simple, but elegant.
Aside from Akane herself, the only other person who has arrived is Yuta Hibiki, who she remembers as the titlular member of the Gridman Alliance. Noticing he looks rather shy and awkward, Alouette takes a seat across from him and smiles. "Hello Hibiki! It is very nice to see you again." She turns her attention to Akane. "And hello Miss Shinjo.. it's been quite a while. Thank you for inviting me, this is quite the hospitality." An overwhelming amount of hospitality too, because Alouette doesn't quite feel hungry anymore.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Renais was...
Well, surprised to get a text from Akane was a bit of an understatement. She deliberated a bit on how to respond, but there was only one reasonable conclusion: Show up. Not just to hear Akane out, but... to protect her, as well as whoever else she might have invited.
She gives Yuta a small nod, Alouette a ghost of a smile, as she arrives, and her attention turns to the host. "Akane...." she says quietly upon seeing the girl's new look, the slightest hint of red coloring her cheeks. She studies the girl's hand, looking for burns... then, she steps toward one of the seats and picks up the note, eyes pausing briefly on Akane's signature.
Cute.
She's wary, though. It shows in her eyes as she sits, the way they look over Akane, around the room, half expecting something to happen. A surprise, a trap... if not Akane's, then Alexis'. Her hand tightens in her pocket as she remembers what happened last time...
Her gun to Akane's head.
That's probably going to come out tonight. She looks around the table as the others seat themselves, and resigns herself to the likelihood that she's going to lose friends here.
That's okay. She shoves the emotion down as it starts to rise. A weapon doesn't need friends.
Finally, she speaks, looking over her menu. "... I hope adjusting to the new environment hasn't been too difficult."
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Nidaime hasn't talked to Akane much outside of the two times she talked to her. When she arrives, yeah, she is still dressed like a homeless girl. But there's two differences: First, she is walking around barefoot. This doesn't seem to bother her. Second, her breath has become... 'okay'. Not great! Just... okay.
Nidaime has no idea about Renais pulling a gun on Akane otherwise she certainly would have an earful to say about that. As it stands, she is completely oblivious. What she isn't oblivious about is Alouette to whom she says, "Alouette! Gentille Alouette!" chirpily.
She eventually spots Akane and pulls her hoodie over her head. She seems concerned about the look. Maybe as a kaiju, she worries about extreme wardrobe changes like this.
She doesn't expect Alexis to show up here. The guy's been pretty good at avoiding her and Anopapa. Nevertheless, she can't help but notice that even now, there is still some positive regard for Akane.
That's good to know. Maybe she didn't have to worry so much. She doesn't say much else just yet.
<Pose Tracker> Sho Utsumi has posed.
Utsumi settles in once he arrives not far from Yuta. When he got the text he was suspicious, butt it was definitely Akane.
"Thank you, Shinjo." He says once he's inside, and he'll eat a little, but he's not particularly hungry, though he does blink at her outfit. It's nice!
It's also suspicious. He leans on her words. 'When I reveal a new kaiju'. Does that mean...?
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
It's a shame. If the situation were any different, Rikka would be excited to receive an invitation from Akane to dinner at a fancy restaurant. As it is... they know what she's been up to, and she knows that they know. So what's this about? Well... it wouldn't do to ignore it.
Rikka arrives soon after Yuta and Utsumi do. She thought about dressing up a bit... but she didn't exactly coordinate to figure out what everyone was wearing, and she'd feel weird to dress up if everyone else isn't. So she dresses casually today, in a pink hoodie over a white shirt and black skirt... and immediately regrets it a little, when she arrives to find Akane in an entirely different look than what she's come to expect from her.
Rikka freezes in place for a good moment, taking it all in. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't impactful - and from the way Akane has positioned herself, so they can see her full look, that's probably the intent.
"Hi, Akane... you look nice. Is that a new outfit?" Rikka manages to speak up eventually. She still feels a little awkward, for a number of reasons. She nods, though, when Yuta offers his thanks. "...Yeah, thanks."
Her attention is soon drawn to the table - and most importantly, the covered object displayed in the center. It's clearly meant to draw attention. Soon, she makes her way to the table, taking a seat not too far from Akane.
...She... doesn't feel particularly hungry herself, either, but she does order something to try and order something small alongside some tea to be polite.
"It's... good to see you again, Akane." Rikka says. Her attention is drawn toward Alouette, Renais, and Nidaime as they arrive, offering each of them a smile. So she extended the invitation to them too, huh...? Whatever this is about, Akane must be very serious about it...
And, indeed - Akane starts out by explaining that she'd promised Yuta she'd give him some warning the next time she made a kaiju.
"Then, this is about a kaiju...?" She asks, her eyes drawn again to the covered object.
...And then, next, to the world beyond, stretching out beneath the high-rise. Normally, looking over Tsutsujidai like this filled her with comfort, reminded her of what she was trying to protect... but now, with the new addition of the PLANT structures overhead, it fills her with some amount of trepidation, as well.
<Pose Tracker> Yuka Ohta has posed.
Fate has a funny way of pushing a schedule ahead. Only a few days ago, Yuka had just been doing some prep work to visit Akane. To drop in as a friend and fellow kaiju-fan. And with gifts even! That Akane wound up texting her first was a shock, but one that she thinks at least pleasant. It means she's left a mark on someone's thoughts. So she drops her ongoing projects, a bit hastily, and gets permission to head out for the remainder. She can take a tiny bit of time off, surely. And this is important.
She didn't know exactly what to expect, but it struck her as a semi-professional meeting. So for Yuka, it only makes sense to wear a decently nice dress. A soft, pastel pink, oddly enough. Not particularly expensive or over-the-top. Just comfortable and mildly formal. She's also brought some of her intended gifts with her. Not all of them though. ...She couldn't possibly expect what's going to happen after all. Couldn't possibly know there likely won't be any 'good' time to offer them. They're all held within her usual travel bag. The one adorned with all sorts of kaiju-themed items.
She still feels completely outmatched by Akane when she arrives. And surprised by some of the other people present. A few faces she has passing familiarity with. Many she decidedly doesn't. And they all seem much more... tense, than she does. Did she miss the proper intent of this meeting? Apparently so, given what's quickly mentioned. Well... she reads reports, so of course she's familiar with Tsutsujidai's kaiju cases. Though perhaps not the ENTIRE story, of yet. Truthfully, her first instinct is wanting to know all about the kaiju in question. She pushes it down... slightly. If only because of the mood and tone of the setting they're in. "Making a kaiju...?" Instead she comes off more faintly inquisitive. More neutral. Though Akane of all people probably can see right through it. To how much she would love to just sit down and talk form and function all night. Still. She sits down at the table, bag placed beside her chair carefully.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane looks over the crew as they filter in, one by one. Perfect. She's a little conflicted in how she feels about NERV's presence, and Renais's... and the Second's. She'd put feelers out, but part of her didn't dare expect such a thorough turnout. She doesn't get too settled in her seat, thus; she wants to keep this moving if it really is going to have this many people show up.
She catches Renais's probing stare. It takes her a few moments to fully process it -- but when she does, she lifts up her hand. No scars, no burns. "Sorry!" she says, chipper. "Just in case the rest of you guys were wondering, I grabbed Renais and pushed her arm aside a little bit when she pulled a gun on me. It was like, wow, I don't even know what I was thinking! But it's not a big deal." She laughs a little, turning to Rikka and noting, "I guess I don't melt in the heat after all~."
More fully turning toward Rikka, then, she continues: "Thanks! I don't think I've seen you in that one either... it's a good look for you! I've been committed to hoodie-over-everything usually since..." She cants her head, pursing her lips, and then: "... my secret, actually. Anyway, I figured if we're going to have all our cards on the table from here on out I might as well look the part, right? This thing's actually kinda stiff, but I'll break it in eventually."
Akane does get some thanks from people, and her faux-magnanimous-supervillain act can brook that. "You're welcome!" she answers everyone, lingering on Utsumi and Alouette for a bit.
Alouette's intuition proves simultaneously bang-on and way off. "Anyway, if you didn't already pick up on it," Akane explains, "This is that. I've called you all here to see..." She draws back up to her full height -- oogh this REALLY draws all of her mental attention to how garbage her posture usually is! wow! even with several adjustments for wearability this outfit still kind of sucks!! -- and walks over toward the cloche.
Awkwardly, the appetizers arrive exactly as she's pulling it up, revealing...
... a kaiju? It's similar to Ghoulghilas -- the kaiju seen first in Tsutsujidai, then again on the moon. Where that one still bore some hallmarks of goofy fun TV kaiju, though, this is... well, for one, the sharp angles and panel lines suggest mechanization. It looks...
... well, like a BioNet mechanical monster.
One of the waitresses comments, absently, "Is that yours? The sculpture quality looks professional... I can see why you'd want to present it so dramatically." She then gets back to setting out drinks and appetizers.
Akane manages to avoid missing a beat. "Yeah! I've made a bunch of others, too, but this one is a little different," she says. Once the appetizers are set down and the staff start heading back away, Akane continues talking. "Don't worry. It's not gonna come out tonight. I'm thinking during one of the Tsutsujidai High School Deculture Festival events!"
She sounds as serious as she does about anything else, at least.
She realizes at this point that Yuka... mmmmay not fully be caught up, and clarifies, "Oh, yeah. Just to make sure everyone's on the same page here," returning to her seat, "The kaiju attacks around here? That's me~. I wasn't working with anyone before, but now I'm working with BioNet. When your goal is crushing someone like Gridman, other people... tend not to play ball with you."
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta looks relieved as more people arrive. Alouette in particular gets a smile. "It's good to see you too, Alouette." As Utsumi settles in next to him, Yuta holds out his hand for a fist bump. Maybe the action is a little out of place, here, but -- he could use the moment of connection with his best friend.
His attention is drawn back to Akane when she begins to speak. "She pulled a gun on you?!" Yuta whips his head around to look at Renais. "Why..?" She deserves a chance to explain herself, Yuta tells himself. Don't jump to conclusions yet.
In an effort to recenter himself, Yuta takes an appetizer. "Thank you." He murmurs to a waitress. Akane draws herself up to her full height, making Yuta glance nervously to the other people at the table. She wouldn't do something to hurt them, right? If they needed Gridman, Junk was so far away...
Yuta's heart sinks as Akane dramatically lifts the cloche. "A kaiju..." He manages, his eyebrows drawing together in distress. One of his hands rubs the wristband on his left arm. Yuta finds himself fixating on the details of Akane's sculpture. Each new, upgraded piece, full of ways to hurt Gridman (and himself, though he pushes that thought away).
"The -- Deculture Festival?! Shinjo, you *can't*!" Yuta jumps to his feet, accidentally knocking over his chair. "You'll --" What can he say? You'll hurt people? Akane doesn't seem to mind that. "Everyone has been looking forward to it so much, and working so hard!"
<Pose Tracker> Sho Utsumi has posed.
Utsumi accepts the fistbump, but then he turns to the kaiju diorama. He knows kaiju and tokusatsu. "That's incredible..." He blurts out, but when she mentions the Deculture Festival...
"Does it really anger you that much? There'll be people from the other world, there, too, you're going to hurt them as well?!"
He doesn't get as heated as Yuta, but... "Is this really what you *want* to do?!"
<Pose Tracker> Yuka Ohta has posed.
Yuka's first thought of course, is being polite now. Thanking Akane for inviting her, as she's settling in. Getting her order ready. All those regular things that just kinda... happen, when you're having dinner out somewhere. The BioNet implications only really click fully, now that she mentions it. The idea she's committing to working with them in some capacity. Sometimes you can just miss these things, even when they're right in front of your face, especially if you don't tend toward thinking the worst of people. Besides, she's used to people dressing a little unusually. STORAGE and NERV are full of eccentric personalities.
So there's an obvious question on her mind now. 'Why'. That is, why is she intent on crushing Gridman, beyond the idea of 'The Devil wants him gone.' She's yet to ask it, of course. Really, she's mostly stunned that... Akane's serious about all this. But she's hanging onto every word now. Listening for unspoken reasons. She's not great at reading intent or buried feelings like some people. But she's of a certain opinion. That someone as nice as Akane, who she'd like to call a friend, must be posturing in this overtly villain-esque manner for particular reasons. That she's even giving people forewarning, and setting up this situation. It screams that she wants something more than destruction or chaos, and thinks the people here can provide it, one way or another. So the question she presents instead is... third or fourth down her list. "Why the festival specifically?" She's not in school any more, but given the Open Day she's been working hard on preparing for... she's got the same sentiment toward it. The same pain, and understanding at the idea of everyone's hard work for a joyful event being torn apart.
But also, she really can't help herself now. She reaches out without touching the model, to take in the detail and mentally work through it all. How such a fusion of kaiju and machine would function. How each part might connect. It's so lovingly crafted, of course another Maker would just HAVE TO admire it. Even if it gets her some concerned stares from people. Especially when she starts mumbling her speculations about it in a low tone.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette begins to feel less tense as more familiar faces seat themselves around the table. Noticing Renais, she returns a brief, but regardless, warm smile of her own. She thinks it's childish to feel that way, but she feels a lot safer with her presence. At Nidaime, she responds with a playful "Mademoiselle Nidaime~!" She also offers Rikka a friendly smile back. Among the rest of the turnout she recognizes nearly everyone from the last Gridman Alliance meeting, except for one girl who arrives at the end... a friend of Akane, she guesses.
As for the purpose of the meeting... Akane reveals her next kaiju, announces her partnership with BioNet, and that she plans to unleash the kaiju during the Deculture Festival. Alouette is not surprised Akane is working with BioNet - she already knew that Alexis Kerib is, but she certainly was not expecting her to reveal it like it was nothing. Does she even know about her past with BioNet? Alouette wonders. She doubts it, but would Akane even care if she knew...? The kaiju itself does not fall into Akane's more typical design conventions - it is flawlessly built, as the waitress said it looks professional but... it lacks her soul, another BioNet-esque invention.
Alouette decides to remain calm even if she really isn't *happy* with Akane right now. "If you're telling us about this, it means you think we can't stop you, is that it? Or do you have something else in mind?" she muses. After taking a sip of the black coffee she ordered, she adds, in a much colder tone than usual, "And if you really think BioNet will treat someone like you in any fair capacity... you're wrong." Even if she has to be harsh... she hopes she can talk Akane out of this - for her own sake, although at this stage she doesn't expect Akane to listen.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka looks between Akane and Renais as the former shows the latter her hand. Rikka is confused, at first... and then, Akane explains what happened. Rikka immediately looks toward Renais.
"Wait, you pulled a gun on her...? Why did you... What happened?" She asks. It's... a very distressing thing to hear! She wants to trust Renais so she tries not to jump to any immediate conclusions, but she clearly sounds concerned.
It's because of that it takes her a second to actually respond to Akane, as she compliments her look too.
"Oh, thanks." Rikka replies. ...She can't help but smile a little at that, though it fades again pretty quickly. "Yeah, I wanted something new to wear outside of school..."
They still have time before it starts up again, after all. And since she's a member of the prestigious 'Go Home' club, she doesn't really have any extracurricular activites she needs her uniform for until the Festival...
Akane stands up, then revealing a model of a kaiju. The appetizers arrive... but Rikka doesn't even spare a glance for them, her gaze fixated on the model. She recognizes the form factor - Ghoulghilas, the first kaiju she ever saw, and eventually, the first kaiju she ever fought... But this one, in a very literal sense, looks like a killing machine.
She's already struck silent, but what Akane has to say next leaves her frozen in shock, her attention turning from the kaiju to Akane herself. She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.
"...Why...?" She manages, after a time. ...She feels, too, a small pang of guilt. Is this her fault...? She was the one who ended up responding to initial invitation from the other schools, those months ago. ...Maybe that's a little too self-centered.
And then there's the other concerning bit of news, that Akane is working with BioNet now.
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Nidaime looks at Akane, smiling at her brightly. She kicks her legs back and forth. She looks up happily at the waitress and waves an arm at her before swinging her arm back down. Akane continues to talk about what she's going to do. Nidaime's smile flickers faintly, then falls away entirely as she gives Akane a serious look.
"Akane... If you start killing people now, you could really get in trouble." Nidaime says. While Nidaime might know about Chaos Bringer events she hasn't actually experienced one before. In its current state, if someone dies here, could Akane yet save them?
Akane also mentions that Renais pulled a gun on her and Nidaime's eyes widen. "Renais..! You can't do that! If you do that, Akane's world--"
Nidaime shakes her head. "If you had shot and killed Akane, Tsutsujidai would have almost certainly been destroyed along with her."
She frowns. "Maybe even the people with it."
She looks down at her hands. "...This is why I was trying to be so careful. You're not supposed to hurt her."
Nidaime looks pretty hurt by this revelation and she looks down at her fists. "Maybe... maybe I wasn't careful enough. Akane isn't your enemy."
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Renais' shoulders slump down a little. Akane's words sting. The shocked inquiries of her friends, moreso. She takes in a deep breath, then exhales. She grits her teeth, glaring at the model on the table.
"BioNet," she hisses.
"They're why I'm like this. They took me when I was fourteen... Two years. They tortured me. Tried to turn me into a weapon. Threw me away when I said no."
Hot. It's so hot. I'm going to burn away...
It pours off of her. The unbearable heat. Unending, tortuous pain. Begging them to just let her die. A past, present, and future without relief, a life of nothing but torture and heat.
"I told Akane that Alexis was working with BioNet. She barely cared..." She looks at the girl, staring daggers. "You KNOW what they did to me."
Before she can say more, Nidaime admonishes her. She closes her eyes.
"I know," she murmurs. "If I thought she was, I wouldn't be here."
She opens her eyes, blinking away a thin layer of tears, and stares at her empty plate. Nothing's arrived yet. She hasn't ordered.
Maybe it'd be best if she leaves now.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"It looks great!" Akane enthuses to Rikka, first. She considers a follow-up -- but no, too playful, too fun. Maybe if they were alone... but here?
Hibiki and Utsumi both immediately protest Akane's plan of action, and Akane lets out a small, slightly-too-irritated sigh. "Are you two done? We're in public," Akane says, affect flat. "But -- you guys can't honestly tell me you're excited about this stuff." Sweeping her gaze across the assembled parties, Akane lists off, "Hibiki's got no actual connections here, Utsumi barely has any friends... Rikka might have an okay time at one or two events before she gets exhausted and miserable..." Tapping her chin. "Renais and Yuka are too old..." She looks at Nidaime, noting, "You don't even go to school, and..."
Finally, Alouette. "I'm not sure if you go or not, but I get the feeling you'd be miserable and bored, right? Alexis hunted down your file from BioNet for me -- if you're worried about 'unfair,' trust me, I'm already an expert. Unfair relationships are the kind I'm good at. Seriously, though -- watching a bunch of normal teenagers go about their normal lives..." Evidently telling her BioNet won't treat her fairly struck a nerve, because she's REALLY ready to go for the jugular. "It's got to drive you crazy that you can't be 'normal' and be 'you' at the same time. Can you really watch people do maid cafes and basic algebra competitions without getting miserable and pathetic about it? I'm only barely ace of my class -." Akane almost gives away a little too much there and promptly stops herself.
She loops back to Yuta and Utsumi instead. "If you really hate it that much, you can try and stop me! That's exciting, too... the one where the kaiju attacks the hero at school goes back to Tarabaman 60 at least. I mean, the host was a teacher and not a student, but same deal."
One question from Yuka cuts through the conversation -- and Akane sips at her tomato juice. "Anyway, why for me, though... hmm. It's because I hate it." Direct and to the point.
Nidaime pleads with Renais not to do something she's already done, and Akane seems... pretty cavalier about it. "I'm declaring war. This is my world. Doesn't that make it -- and me -- your enemy? You're kinda overcomplicating this."
When Renais says Akane barely cared, Akane waves it off. "I do! I actually got to read your file too a little later. That's another reason to let me clean up this mess and get my world back where it belongs, though, right?" Smugly, she notes, "The fastest way for me to stop working with BioNet is to get what I want and then be gone. Then again, I guess you're too stubborn for that kinda logic."
Right. Back to proper business. Summation. "Seriously, though, I don't care what you guys do! Try and stop me if you want. That'll be fun. If you aren't Gridman or another Vessel of Light, though... I think this is probably a little out of your weight class." She's all smiles as she says, "It's not even weird and random how you get out of here now so you're really running out of excuses not to ditch."
She kicks her feet under the table, taking another sip. There's a teeny tiny moment, though -- a split second where her eyes meet Rikka's, as she's in the middle of scanning the room again and taking a breath between sips -- where it feels like she's desperate, agonized, to say something she isn't. Her head inclines just a bit, and those eyes seem bright -- and pleading.
It passes.
Food starts arriving for those who decided to order. For good measure, a second round of appetizers shows up for those who didn't. The sun (well, 'sun' -- it's a PLANT; all day-night cycles are artificial, really!) begins to set, painting everything a fading yellow-orange.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
They *are* in public. "Sorry." Yuta mumbles, fixing his chair and sitting down properly once more.
"Just because I don't know very many people... that doesn't mean I want their hard work to get stepped on. I can't remember ever going to a festival. I want to experience it!" Yuta insists, twisting a napkin in his hands. "Utsumi and I could have fun together!"
Yuta looks down at the kaiju as Akane tears into the rest of his companions. It really was impressive, as sculptures go. He imagines it coming to life, stomping around the school. People from the outside world would be there. Maybe Shinji and Kaworu -- which causes a flash of guilt. He never should've pressed Shinji to perform at the festival. Yuta twists the napkin a bit more.
"I... will stop you, if you try this." Yuta says, quietly. "It's not a choice for me. If I don't, people will die. Can this world even go back the way it was, Shinjo? Is that a possibility? Or are you just... scared, like all of us are?"
He takes in a deep breath. "You're not alone. All of us want to help you! Just -- stop sending kaiju to attack, and we can all be friends! We could enjoy the festival all together. It doesn't matter if Renais and Yuka are old. They can come too, and Nidaime with them! All of us, together." He manages another wobbly smile. "Doesn't that sound better?"
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Nidaime sees Renais is crying and she feels pretty bad about that but it is also true that you should not go around pointing guns at people! Especially not highschoolers. She's not sure what to do. She doesn't want Renais to be sad either.
It's hard. She admired Renais's ability to persevere through the torment and still live a good life. Was she wrong about that? Are her standards too stringent?
No, she thinks, Renais knows it was wrong that's why she didn't tell anyone. Maybe it was a heat of the moment thing, and she regrets it--but pulling a gun on someone isn't something you can wave off with a 'sorry' either. Even if they are a God.
Nidaime looks back to Akane. "I didn't go to school because I was trying to be sneaky! Also I don't really look like a highschooler yet." This isn't really arguing about Akane's point but Nidaime, as usual, is...
AGAINST MURDERING AND THREATENING CHILDREN
Which might be an outlier in the grim dark future but if she hadn't, she would've just closed the portal up and everybody would be happy instead of miserable like they are now. Sure, that would also be murder, but it's not like it would've upset the victim.
Akane insists there is no reason to not just bounce.
Akane even says they're definitely enemies.
"Life is overly complicated," Nidaime beams at Akane. "But I believe you can live it. Through your creations, I know you are not an enemy." She pauses.
She kicks her legs back and forth again. "Say, you didn't ask me about him."
She doesn't clarify who 'him' is, glancing over to Renais.
"...."
She doesn't add anything else. Yuta speaks up. She bobs her head in agreement but...
She folds up a napkin and offers it to Renais quietly.
<Pose Tracker> Sho Utsumi has posed.
Utsumi's seething, yet...it's not at Akane. "It doesn't matter! Others were excited!" It's at the situation, as he stands up himself, grabbing his bag, despite Yuta sitting back down. He turns to them, and then back to Akane.
"We're in public, but this is your playground, right? That's what you basically said. Well, I'm not okay with it being a playground. You want to fight, you declare war, fine. But I'm not treating you like the bad guy you want to be, stomping over toys and people. You were nice to me - whether it was manipulation or not, you were that way. And I believe that's the genuine Akane Shinjo, being buried within."
As Utsumi turns to leave..."And if I barely have any friends? That's because *you* made me that way."
He's then gone, without waiting.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta shakes his head, focusing on Renais. "I'm so sorry." He manages. What do you say to a revelation like this? "I -- had no idea about this. Akane, how can you work with monsters like that? If they'd hurt Renais--!" Yuta doesn't finish that thought. The napkin in his lap tears as he twists it just a bit too far.
"I'm glad you're here tonight. I'm thankful you're our ally." As tears form in Renais' eyes, Yuta tries to smile at her, hoping it looks comforting.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Akane's words undoubtedly *sting*. So Alexis showed Akane her file... it feels violating. Alouette hates when she doesn't get to do things on her own terms, so for a moment, rather than viewing Alexis as some world-threatening devil-like being, she felt a more personal grudge against him. This passes though, as Alouette focuses on the rest of Akane's words. She's... honestly sort of right. Alouette went to school to keep up appearances but it was frustrating to an extent - having to hide her coordinator abilities and never truly being able to act as herself. Before she joined 3G, at least. "Tch... that doesn't mean-" No, there is no point to snapping back at Akane. Nidaime is right, anyways. Akane isn't her enemy and she hasn't forgotten her original intent to understand her. "I think you're right that we're similar - that's why I can't be your enemy. But of course, I can't let you do what you want either. You understand that, right, Miss Shinjo?."
Alouette turns to see Renais crying, evidently this conversation isn't easy for her either. And even if she did put a gun to Akane's head, she wonders if Renais could actually pull the trigger. They've only just reunited, but Renais still somehow feels like family to her because of their similar experiences. Not knowing her boundaries though, and to avoid overstepping, Alouette simply gives a pained look of acknowledgement.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Renais explains why, exactly, she pulled a gun on Akane. It's a little shocking.
"...Oh..." Rikka replies, going quiet. She still doesn't think it was right to point a gun at her... but she can understand how much Renais must have been hurt by that, and it doesn't feel right to say anything further - it'd feel like striking at a fresh wound. "...I'm sorry."
She looks up at Akane, then, as she comments on how they're not even excited about the festival.
"It's not about being excited or not..." Rikka replies, with a shake of her head. She can't deny that what she's saying is probably true, but...
And then, there's the matter of what she says next, and how she's been shown BioNet files on Alouette and Renais...
"That's..." Rikka starts, taken aback. She can't really finish that - her feelings on the matter are complicated. She's quiet, though, as Akane suggests that they stop her, that it'll be exciting..
Yuta replies to this and, after a moment, Rikka nods.
"...Yeah. I don't want to see anyone get hurt." It's true, though, it might... be a lot harder for her to actually get away with her usual way of doing things. But still... "If it comes down to it, I'll come up with an excuse - or find some other way to help. But... Akane, I can't... think of you as an enemy." Rikka replies, shaking her head.
She pauses for a moment, and hers and Akane's eyes meet. For a second, she feels like... she feels something. ...Is she just imagining it? She hesitates for a moment. ...Maybe she just wants to think that. But, after a moment she ventures...
"Akane... is this really what you really want...?" Rikka asks.
<Pose Tracker> Yuka Ohta has posed.
There's a lot to process here. Some directly familiar. Some... more indirectly, but close enough that she can feel it anyway. Enough to give the young genius doctor several moments of pause. Thinking back. To a time when she perhaps could have done something a little like this. She didn't attend a high school festival herself. ANY school festivals, actually. For... various reasons. She can understand hatred for a classroom, from a certain angle. Even with her positive outlook, she's had moments where that optimism slipped. Years ago. Times when she might have wanted nothing more than to be away from other people, surrounded by nothing but Kaiju. Now...? Well, she'd still love to be surrounded by friendly kaiju, but most of the straining factors regarding other people have faded into memory. More or less anyway.
She's dragged back from her thoughts by the notion that a gun was pulled... not NOW, but some time ago. That's... not something that would help the situation in the least. Probably. Why would... who DOES THAT?! Renais, apparently, or at least she felt the need to at the time? She gets the vague sense of regret though, or something like it, as she stares over at the woman, unsure of what she can even say to her. She's never personally been experimented on or anything, but obviously the woman's had a particularly rough time, to put it mildly. And has elaborated on the why of it all. It's just, too much to focus heavily on, right now.
Nidaime says a few things that catch Yuka's attention away, thankfully. Things she definitely agrees with. "She's right. I may not have seen ALL your creations, but I remember the things we talked about, and what you did show me before. The passion you have for kaiju. Nobody who holds the amount of love in their heart that I saw, could be an enemy of mine." It's not like she can fight anyway. She could coordinate evacuation of civilians, or offer scanning and analysis. But she's got this burning feeling as her gaze returns to her... friend?, that there's another way to handle this. A way even she can protect people, even if she doesn't know what that might be in the moment. She's determined to find it, somehow.
Assorted declarations ring out around the room, but she's not entirely able to focus on them. She has to wonder... What could Akane's kaiju do as a force for defending the happiness of people everywhere? For advancing the co-existence and cooperation of humans and kaiju even. Maybe some of them, like the model on the table now, are lacking a heart and thoughts of their own... But why does that have to be the case? If she can make those she saw before with so much love and care... There's definitely a heart just waiting to take form. And... in one case, perhaps already has...? If she recalls a certain file she'd read from NERV correctly.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Shit. She shouldn't be crying. It's not...
The blow is... a little softer, now. They don't hate her.
She looks sadly at Nidaime, then to the others, then Akane. "I'm sorry. I'm sure that's not enough, so perhaps I should just prove it." She smiles just a little. "No. You're not my enemy, Akane. As I said... if you were, I wouldn't be here now. And we're all here to stand and defend this place."
Ren takes the napkin from Nidaime, and dabs her eyes dry. She looks at the girl a moment, then tilts her head. "... how is he?" she asks, and after a moment's pause, she adds, "and... can you let me know I'd like to see him?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Yuta picks the goody-two-shoes answer every step of the way. It's something Akane's come to expect from him, of course. It's when he asks if she's scared that she snaps her head up to stare at him directly, glasses glinting in the sunlight, drawing full attention to the cracks within.
"Don't act like we're just a bunch of teenagers and I posted something cringey about Coordinators in the group chat or something." Rubbing at one of her temples, she affirms, "There's nothing you can do about this, anyway. I mean, other than try and stop me."
Utsumi fires back; Akane almost considers leaving it totally alone, but... "... Oh, wow, you guys are a step ahead of where I thought you were! This keeps happening. Neat." She watches him depart with a shrug. "Later, Utsumi."
That frees up a little brainwidth -- and by extension allows Akane to figure out who the 'him' Nidaime expects her to ask about is. Oh, right. "... Alexis's problem now, not mine. I'm a little busy with this," is all she has for Nidaime... besides, there's another mess to clean up.
Alouette picks up on the thing Akane had hoped she hadn't quite given away -- and ends up with nothing smart to say about it. "It'll be easier if you just... actually, you know what, whatever. I don't expect a goody-two-shoes like you to do anything else!"
... One after another, they declare that even if they're going to fight her, they're not going to treat her like an enemy. Yuka gets a cold, "You're a kinda shallow person. I bet there's people out there who'd enjoy that, but still." Akane... can't find the words for Renais, meanwhile. Trying to untangle that is just... too much.
Chewing at her lip, she starts, "... What I really want, huh? I think it's pretty straightforward." Despite that... she doesn't say it.
Indeed, she makes it impossible for herself to! "I think I'm gonna leave you guys to it. Enjoy your dinner! I have a tab open. Don't worry about it." She pops out of her seat, leaving a half-finished cup of tomato juice as she walks off. ... it's slower than her usual retreat, annoyingly, because Akane has almost no experience walking in heels and even kitten heels are enough to throw her.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Utsumi..." Yuta watches his friend go, unsure what to say. "I'm glad you're my friend, at least."
Once more, Akane snaps at each member of the dinner party in turn, leaving Yuta fumbling. He wasn't made for conversational warfare. When Akane gets up to leave, he takes a deep breath. He has to say something!
"Shinjo! Please don't do this!" It's... kinda pathetic, but it's all he has in this moment.
After she leaves, Yuta sighs, leaning back in his chair. What a mess. But, despite everything.. that food looks really good. Trying to look as casual as possible, Yuta begins to eat his meal. If Akane was going to menace them all, he may as well get a decent meal out of it.
Glancing between Nidaime and Renais, Yuta thinks for a moment, asks: "You guys mean Anti, right? I'd like to know how he's doing too."
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
Nidaime doesn't say anything though she does finally give AKANE a frown. "Oh come onnnnn..." She says to Akane. It's not the most mature response but it is the most honest.
She looks to Renais. "I taught him about juice boxes and he is meeting cats. He took a long nap."
She thinks about what else there is to add. She quirks her head to one side, then quirks her head to the other side.
"....And he's free of DG Cells and is healthy. Yup!"
She bounds back quickly, as if the Renais revelation didn't happen but maybe she's just putting it off for a private avenue. IT's pretty clear Renais isn't actually SUPER HAPPY about her choice anyway. "I'll let him know sure...!"
Yuta asks if she means Anti. "Mmhmm. Anti's resting up but he's okay. I'm worried about his eye but he's okay." She wonders if she should share this with Yuta considering
GRIIIIDMAAAAN I HATE YOU
And all that jazz but that seems like a boy thing to her and thus beyond her reach.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Utsumi has a lot to say. Rikka is quiet through it all, and when he gets up to leave... well, she can hardly stop him, after all that.
"...Utsumi." Rikka murmurs. She looks toward Renais, too, who's crying. She wishes she could comfort her somehow, but thinking about it, it's not like she can give her a hug... even just a pat on the shoulder would probably be bad news for her.
Rikka soon looks back at Akane, who says that what she really wants... is pretty straightforward. She doesn't say what it is... but she doesn't say that this, what's happening right now, is what she wants, either. Rikka opens her mouth to say something further, but before she can... Akane stands, deciding that she's leaving.
Rikka's hands bunch up the fabric of her skirt. She should say something - say everything that's been on her mind, before she leaves and she no longer knows when the next time she'll see her will be. ...But she can't, really - not like this, not with everyone here. She can only watch her leave.
"Akane..." Rikka murmurs, gaze dropping. She's quiet for a moment longer.
"...I don't think I have much of an appetite anymore." Rikka admits, looking up at everyone. At least Yuta's eating - he's probably the one who needs it most.
As for Anti...
"Oh, good..." Rikka says, a little relieved, as Nidaime explains that Anti is healthy and resting up. She'd read the report, but it's been a while since then... When she first met him, she never imagined this is how things would turn out.
At least one piece of good news came out of today... even if they still have the spectre of another kaiju looming ahead of them. What are they going to do...?
<Pose Tracker> Yuka Ohta has posed.
Yuka falls completely silent. Wondering if that was actually true, now. She DID up and decide both Akane and Kaworu were her friends after one conversation each. Despite being several years older, and definitely a pretty weird person overall. But... on the other hand, is she really that shallow, if she actually does care about them? Maybe she just trusts in the innate goodness of people. This war rages on inside her mind as she eats silently. Slowly poking through her meal and making sure she consumes everything she ordered. She was always taught to eat everything on her plate after all.
She wants to get up and go after her. To keep reaching out. To try and help her... She's very clearly hurt, in a way that even Yuka can see makes her push people away. But... she can't help but wonder. What grain of truth MIGHT be in those words. In the moment, she's just... frozen, unable to take the action she knows is right. What she knows she wants to do.
If Akane comes back later, the suitcase will be left behind at the table. Filled with the gifts she'd made, a specially squishy Sevenger, and a handwritten note she'd made, before all this. Just in case she lost her words by the time of the meeting.
<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.
"Oh! I forgot." Nidaime says before ordering like 5 things on the menu on Akane's dime.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Renais doesn't order anything. She watches Akane and Utsumi both leave, quietly, a sigh on her lips. "... Utsumi's got a good heart," she murmurs. She's going to absolutely own him with her collection at some point, though.
There's a nod to Nidaime, and not quite a smile. "... good. I'm glad. He's..." She slowly blinks, looking up at nothing in particular. "He's like me."
And I want to give him the help I never got.
"We're going to need to work out defense plans," she concludes. "Things will be safer than they would be otherwise with us on-premises... and I may be able to have my Gernsback hidden on campus..." She pulls out a napkin and a pen, and starts writing things out.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Akane leaves Alouette with nothing more than what feels like a playground insult - "goody two-shoes". It would be petty to hold a grudge about something like that, she thinks. If anything she worries more about the others - some harsh things were said, things she thinks Akane probably didn't fully mean out of frustration. And it's gone dead quiet. Alouette doesn't really have anything to add herself, so she simply lets the situation fester, and silently finishes her coffee, made only more bitter by the mood.
Breaking her silence, she turns to Nidaime. "Thank you for the update about Anti, I'm really glad he's doing better...". She pauses for a moment, before modestly announcing her exit. "I should probably take my leave. It was nice seeing everyone, even if things turned... difficult."
Before exiting the restaurant, she agrees with Renais. "Right... I'll draw out some strategies on my end as well. I don't plan on running away from this after all."