2022-08-22: An Invitation I Don't Recognize
- Log: 2022-08-22- An Invitation I Don't Recognize
- Cast: Leina Ashta, Akane Shinjo, Akane Shinjo's friend Ramo Marusa
- Where: Tsutsujidai - MacDaniel's
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-08-22
- Summary: Leina Ashta meddles in Ramo Marusa's life, inviting her friend over for a meal. She learns a lot about Akane Shinjo in the process.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It's about ten after two in the afternoon. The ideal time to hit up McDaniel's when it's not crowded, especially this one that's a little out of the way. The lunch rush is over, and there's only a few scattered people in the booths taking advantage of the Wi-Fi like it's a low cost Starbows's as a few people nurse their fast food coffee and fries.
Leina has the same idea for the most part. She's currently tapping on a datapad, making notes about the office and what it needs, with earbuds in her ears.
Which is why she invited Marusan over right now, and told her it was fine to bring a particular friend. There's a suspicion perhaps that said friend is the one who doesn't like crowded places, which is why she chose this off-time for it.
Her earbuds are playing some Fire Bomber, the tracklist is right now on Planet Dance, while she taps right away. She looks like a fairly normal teenager, wearing a faded T-Shirt of an old Magical Girl anime known as Wonderful Persimmon. She's got on a pair of Denim Shorts, Grey Sneakers, and in her short curly brown hair there's a shooting star barrette worn on the left side.
It perhaps appears a touch childish for her age, but she doesn't seem the least bit insecure about it.
She has a still wrapped up and boxed chicken sandwich ready and waiting to go, though she hasn't started eating yet. It may be fast food, but she's still waiting...
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Marusan has been busy with her end of the Yumi Foundation's work, but not nearly as busy as she usually kept herself, over summer break; as a result she feels like she has nothing but time, and she's honestly delighted to get an invite from Leina. It's certainly better than watching trashy TV!
When she arrives, though -- it's not alone. Marusan is dressed in the same general range of looks as she usually favors -- short-sleeved blouse, dress, sweater tied around her midsection. She looks a little less tired than she did last time; while she always looks a little like that, the bags under her eyes aren't as obvious. It's a comfy, casual day. Her friend, however, seems to be...
... certainly going to a lot of effort... in some kind of direction.
Despite the heat, she's wearing what looks to be a weirdly-heavy labcoat (white, with just the faintest tinge of purple) over a full-purple corset dress with an eyecatching fake rose front and center, providing what might generously be called an excuse to look (and probably more accurately an invitation). She's also wearing long black thigh-high stockings and kitten heels in the same off-white as her coat.
"Are you sure you don't want to swap shoes?" she asks, giving a nudge. "You are... not, confident, in those."
Akane waves it off. "I'm not that much slower than normal," she replies, as they go up and order. Marusan goes first -- because she also has to spot Leina. "Oh -- she's over there," Marusan notes for Akane, once the latter finishes ordering; before too much longer, the two make their way over...
Akane really is moving just disastrously slowly in those things.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina can feel Marusan's approach, that's simple enough with her intent upon their coming meet up. However, she doesn't look up from her datapad until she's close enough that it wouldn't seem weird. With a wave, Leina pauses her playlist, pulls out her earbuds, and closes up the datapad.
Leina blinks though as she sees her friend. In some sort of Cosplay? Maybe? What's stranger is how she feels... certain suspicions of hers seem instantly confirmed, though she's trying not to prejudge tooooo much.
Marusan isn't acting like how she's dressed it's... particularly strange, more just concerned for her balance. Thus, Leina decides not to treat it as strange either.
However, she does try to examine whether the other people around think it's strange or not. They might be mere background noise psychically, but if they're actually looking her way, staring... that's telling.
"Hey Marusan...!" Leina calls out from afar, as she starts unwrapping her chicken sandwich... waiting for them both to order.
Once the two are over to her, Leina smiles at Marusan, exuding this casual air, "Honestly, she's doing much better in those heels than I would." Leina winks playfully, "I'm years out of practice."
She hasn't touched anything even remotely resembling a heel since that party in Dakar.
"Glad we could get together for this." A beat, as she looks Akane's way, "Leina by the way, Leina Ashta. I'm new in town."
Marusan might notice that unlike before, Leina doesn't offer a hand to shake to Akane. There's multiple reasons for that, trying not to make her feel uncomfortable about reciprocating, and trying not to risk a certain psychic reaction if the two touched like that.
Akane, if she hadn't already been told that name by Marusan - may wonder if she hasn't heard that name before...
... from someone, in her life.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
It's hard to miss Marusan and Akane in a place like this, but... it's getting a little easier, in some senses. The city still doesn't feel fully-realized, but there's a little bit more of an underthrum to it than there used to be -- a little bit of something beginning to sprout.
And, in turn: Akane's look does get reacted to as if it's a little bit weird. While Marusan seems fine-enough with it, people do give it, if nothing else, the sort of 'wait, what?' stares you might give a cosplayer.
Akane's only ordered coffee, and Marusan tends to eat light herself. Accordingly, their orders are up fast. "I'll get those," Marusan says, slipping away for a moment and giving Leina and Akane a chance to get acquainted.
"Akane Shinjo," she replies, to the introduction. "You're... the girl Sayla takes care of, right?"
Her expression remains carefully neutral -- but there's a stab of something there, in Akane's thoughts. A monster's cry -- but it doesn't feel hostile. If anything, it's the kind of whimper that might presage a retreat. "So Marusan's mysterious new employer is the Yumi Foundation, huh? Neat." At least she doesn't seem to miss a conversational beat.
Marusan is already back en route with their orders, but...
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina watches Marusan go, before nodding Akane's way, "Nice to meet you."
She does sound sincere about that, before blinking in surprise...
...she didn't actually expect Sayla to talk about her to Akane. It's actually interesting that she did to her, "Yep. That's me."
Leina confirms... and she feels that strange monster's cry. That whimper of desperation before one might retreat, "And yeah. We're opening a branch office here in Tsutsujidai. She's been a great help with that."
Leina actually holds up a hand, trying to look non-threatening to her. "Cards on the table before Marusan gets back? I don't know anything about you. Sayla hasn't talked about you much other than the you know - general warning to 'be careful' - and that warning wasn't even about you. It was..." Leina shrugs, "...someone else. Your own Guardian?"
Leina folds her hands right beside her chicken sandwich, "I get the impression you're involved in a lot here, but I don't know any of what that is - and I won't ask you to talk about it in front of her at all."
Leina pauses before adding to her, "Whatever it is, I've just been sent here to open a branch of her charity. It's important to me."
She is being honest about all of this, if Akane can actually pick up any sense of intentionality through the weird language barrier that exists psychically. There's just perhaps more to it too.
Just because she doesn't know anything about her, doesn't mean she has no intention of finding out about her, she's just putting it together one piece at a time.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Leina lays everything out -- and Akane, to perhaps her credit, listens. "Kinda surprised she stuck to it. Anyway, I think she only mentioned you the one time. The only things I know about you are that your brother used to work in the Jupiter Energy Fleet, that Sayla takes care of you..." Looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully for just a moment, she adds, "... and you like some apple candies that you can't really get anywhere but here now."
There's something about that that sees Akane's gaze turn down just slightly -- it's only for a moment, though. "You don't need to worry about that. Alexis is very good to me." She doesn't add anything else -- not how he might react to Leina, or to Sayla. It's something that needs to be true, so she'll lay it out as if it is.
Marusan sets down her tray. "Are you sure you don't want anything? I know you usually eat pretty light, but..."
Akane gives a slightly strained, nervous smile-and-laugh. "It's fine," she says, shaking her head. She accepts her coffee. taking a sip. "Hmmm... kinda bitter. They must be on the tail end of this batch."
She doesn't do anything about it. Instead, Marusan cuts in, "I think our permit situation is okay, and the school took the internship argument just fine. We should be good to go before too much longer. So! What do we need for... people?"
Akane sips at her coffee again. For now, she, too, commits to fact-finding, one piece at a time.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina's listens in return about what Sayla told her. She nods on the first two points of what Sayla told her, but on the third she actually grins, "So she got it from here? Wow. And here I thought she'd gone rooting through some old abandoned factory or something? She wouldn't say how she managed." She actually laughs lightly, "Mystery solved~ We bicker a lot on little things like that. Our preferences are just so different."
Leina also notes to go swing by some candy shops later because??? God, she needs to stock up.
Leina does see Akane's gaze turn away, and she just nods. She doesn't have enough information to gainsay it. Not really. Sayla indicated her Guardian is some kind of supernatural being without specifics, and Nidaime told her that Akane's heart was 'twisted'... though that can mean a lot of things.
"Alright." As she just accepts it for now.
Leina takes a bite of her chicken sandwich, smiling with her mouth full as Marusan gets back.
"Was thinking of grabbing some coffee myself..." She says as Akane after she swallows, catching at least the nervous tenor of that laugh. "... but maybe I'll wait then." Marusan cuts in and Leina feels relieved, because switching topics can only perhaps assist in cutting the tension. "Oh hey! Glad the school did. I know you were worried about whether they'd interpret it as a part time job or not." Leina hums lightly, "Well, I've been thinking about the scale of our operations here a lot, and right now we're starting small until we can better assess what we're going to need."
The nature of Tsutsujidai ensures that... there are only so many people that think they need help at all. Thus... most of the people they're trying to aid are the employees themselves, "So a few close friends of yours that you'd want to bring on board should be enough to get started? I know you mentioned Hass for advertising and video editing. And maybe Ako- now that the school accepted the internship argument, maybe her parents would be fine with it?"
Leina winks at her, as she steadily tries to convince her, "Might be an easier sell than you think, since you said her parents were having fits about her dying her hair. Her interning at a charity might be something they consider a step in the right direction, could clear the air in her household."
She then looks sidelong at Akane, trying to draw her into the conversation, "What do you think Akane? Any friends of yours that you think might be interested? Particularly... well, anyone you know that charity work might be a breath of fresh air for?"
She's trying not to indicate that it's for people who might be in bad situations, like Marusan was, as she doesn't want to out her like that. However, it's definitely what she's implying.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Ahaha, yeah. She does keep a lot of secrets," Akane remarks. "It kinda seems like she doesn't wanna share anything if she can avoid it. Yeah, they're from around here."
The conversation doesn't stay on Sayla long. "Hmmm..." Marusan takes point on this side of things, of course. Akane remains curious -- but cautious, too. "Well -- I know there's a couple of second years... Akko -- that is, Kagari, not Ako -- might be an okay fit but she's probably too busy. She's class rep, and on top of that, she's..." She glances up here, and eventually settles on, "... kind of a lot. Namiko's definitely busy..."
She seems to be taking this seriously. Unwrapping her own sandwich -- a Pendragon Burger (the red wine sauce is killer!) with extra lettuce -- she takes a bite, buying herself some time to think -- or Akane a chance to cut in.
"Utsumi might not mind the challenge, though I think he's already met Sayla so he can probably make his own call there," Akane offers, while Marusan thinks (and eats!). ... Maybe it's a surprise that she's willing to play along with this slice of the conversation and maybe it isn't, but... "Rikka..." She thinks hard on that. "... she'd probably find it an okay challenge, but again, I'm not gonna volunteer her."
There's a long silence, there. Akane and Marusan look to each other, both trying to find a follow-up to that. Akane takes a long drink.
After swallowing, Marusan asks, "What about you, Akane? Or Nagisa?"
Akane grimaces a bit. "... I'm not cut out for that kinda thing. Besides -- Sayla knows that I'm busy with... other stuff."
There's a moment where Marusan thinks about pressing her; she's never had a great sense of what Akane does with her time. ... she doesn't, though -- not just yet.
Akane looks to Leina, instead. "Why here, anyway? I'm sure there's a lot of places with decent office space. Do you guys just want to be close to the PLANTs without all the red tape?"
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina actually grins at Akane, and nods - as that's Sayla alright. However, it's still interesting to her, as protective as Sayla is of her... she still shared her existence to Akane. That says a lot, perhaps.
Leina opens back up her datapad as Marusan starts talking, and makes notes. "Akko Kagari... I'll put her down as a distant 'maybe'." As she definitely caught that tone on 'kind of a lot'. Another bite of her sandwich. She's pacing herself on it.
"Huh. Sayla knows him? I'll have to at least introduce myself then sometime." Though, if Sayla didn't already bring him in, that's telling to her on what he's up to... same as Rikka.
"Actually kind of soft offered it to her... Rikka that is. She's pretty busy, but she's willing to lend a hand." Leina smiles warmly, "I like her, so I'd love to bring her in, just gotta wait and see if her schedule allows it."
Though again, she's another person Sayla didn't bring in... and Leina now knows why, even if she didn't use the words 'Shuffle Alliance' - she's about 95% sure about this point.
Leina pauses, and looks Akane's way as she says she's not cut out for that kinda thing. And that she's busy with other stuff... Leina too decides to let it go, for now. There'll be plenty of opportunities to draw her in, she just needs to wait for the right hookset and bait.
Seeming unfazed outwardly, she just notes to her, "Well if you ever want to swing by and see what we're about. We're not going to be strict about that kind of thing if you just want to hang out." For now she just starts off with the casual, no commitment.
Then Akane asks her why here? And Leina just hums, "That's part of it. A number of PLANT citizens just don't trust Naturals, no matter what kind of help they're offering. They'll just think we're there for espionage or sabotage if we showed up with relief."
Leina gives Akane perhaps a pointed look on this, "And can you blame them for their distrust? I sure can't. However - that might change if they're the ones transporting it from a neutral location on a smaller scale." A pause, "The rest of it is just that, there are people in Tsutsujidai who need our help too. This place is pretty peaceful, but that doesn't mean nobody needs what we can offer."
Now, however, she does ask Akane, "Which is why I was hoping to ask - do you know anyone in town who might need our help?" If Akane has ample opportunity to feel guilty as Leina suspects she does, this might pinpoint whether she feels guilty enough to... hand that off to someone else to handle, even if she doesn't feel capable of doing so herself. A small test perhaps, to see where her head is at.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
There's a genuine, human feeling as Akane hears that Rikka is willing to lend a hand; for a moment, it's like the clouds part. There's a little bit of relief -- and some contentment, too. "Rikka gets worn out kind of fast, but she's a good person," Akane enthuses. "She's really easy to like. Sounds like you two hit it off."
Leina slides her a no-commitment invitation, and Akane meets it with a long sip of her drink. She settles back into her usual stance. "Well, I guess I can take a peek. If nothing else I should know what you guys are getting up to." Why would that be a concern for her? Isn't she just another normal teenager?
Marusan seems curious about what Akane has to say about the PLANTs and their tensions with the rest of the Earth Sphere; when the topic turns that way, Akane considers just how much she ought to say. "Yeah, actually, that makes sense. They really don't have any reason to trust the Federation -- even a charity with Federation ties is a little much." After a little more thought, she says, "I think you might have the wrong idea about this place, though. Everyone here..." is safe? That's patently ridiculous, at this point. Akane knows it.
She shrinks back from whatever it was she was going to say, and that earlier moment of relief gives way to the usual muddle of feelings. "... well, though. We haven't seen a lot of fighting, but... there's some folks who lost their kids in an accident when I was in middle school. I guess you guys probably don't have as much to do with parents, but there's a couple little brothers and sisters who could use your help, I guess."
She takes another sip, and then says, "Excuse me a sec? I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
Marusan gives her a nod, and then turns her attention to Leina. Once Akane's gone, she explains, "... Yeah, I have no idea either," she says, rubbing at the back of her head. She takes a sip of her water, thinking aloud. "That's kind of typical Akane, though. If you can get her attention she's obviously at least as smart as I am, but weird stuff makes her pull out of whole conversations fast. It seems pretty random."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Perhaps picking up on Akane's good mood towards Rikka, Leina confirms it. "We did! I've actually been texting back and forth with her a lot for coordination you know? Though I've been trying not to blow up her phone."
Hmmm... hmmmm... that does get Leina thinking though, and a small smile appears upon her expression.
"Sure. That's fine by me." She says of Akane dropping by for a peek. Though she sure does catch that she wants to know what they're getting up to. My, my, that does say quite a bit...
Akane's consideration over the topic causes Leina to nod slowly, her general emotional tenor a bit... well strangely world-weary? "Sayla and me are pretty... anti-Federation to put it mildly, but that's not gonna convince the PLANT citizens since we're forced to operate within the structure of the Federation just to exist."
Though when she says that she has the wrong idea of this place, Leina just sounds, "Oh?" Leina offers a sympathetic smile, "We mostly work with children sure, but there's no reason we couldn't look into propping up their parents a little too. If you've got names and an address - I'll see what we can do."
Akane though, flees to the restroom, and Leina looks sidelong at Marusan, and nods quietly at her assessment, "I get the feeling she's pretty down on herself, like maybe she feels bad about something? I don't want to pry on what but... maybe charity work would be good for her if we could find the right angle for her to give it a try?"
Leina knows from personal experience working in charity, a lot of people do charity work just because they feel guilty about something, and think giving back might help with it. A lot of old War Veterans work for the Yumi Foundation for that reason.
"No reason we can't help her while helping everyone else too right?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Texting back and forth with her... that's not bad, Akane thinks, as she takes a second to sit alone. Leina doesn't strike her as Rikka's type, but at least that's someone who she can use as a lifeline. After all -- their little bus ride did confirm one thing to Akane:
Rikka can leave. Sooner or later, she'll figure out she needs to, so so much the better.
"Anti-Federation, huh? That's kinda bold, but not in a bad way? I guess when you think about it, the Federation's started as many wars as it's been on the back foot in..." Marusan doesn't actually have much in the way of her own political opinions yet, but she's... had bits and pieces, here and there.
The topic of being down on herself... "... Her little brother, maybe," Marusan says. This is butting up against the edges of what she ought to say, but surely acknowledging that yes, Akane has a little brother is just a fact of life. "I don't know what their home life is actually like? But I get the vibe that there's -- stuff there." Marusan doesn't want to give Leina too much ammunition to speculate, but... maybe the person the Foundation really ought to be helping in Tsutsujidai is right at hand.
"Akane's pretty private," Marusan says, instead of dwelling too much on that. "It's actually kinda how our friendship started -- both of us were like, 'pass,' about talking about home, so then we started talking about... anything else." That's a fond memory, even if it's... kinda dire to think about. "If she thinks this is a pity party, she's going to bolt. ... really, there's a lot of stuff that'll get her to bolt. We're lucky she only went to the bathroom."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Little does Akane know that Leina's put it together that Rikka probably has a crush on her? Like she's not 100% sure, more like 70%, but she's getting there. So as Akane plans a Rikka escape route, Leina starts planning how to get Akane to a healthier place so...
Leina also senses when someone isn't the most politically minded, when she's a bit of a firebrand herself. "It's, complicated on my end. You could say maybe it's a bit of a grudge? Something I got caught up in as a kid." As she just decides to leave it at that. To let them know it's personal...
... though the door is open for her to talk about it later, when it'd be less awkward.
Marusan though mentions her little brother, and Leina gives her a questioning look. And slowly another piece clicks into place. Maybe Marusan is trying not to give her ammunition, but what she's doing is perhaps giving her a path.
Leina though mulls it over, nodding slowly, "If that's the case, then let's play it cool and not get too personal. If we can get her to show up? That's enough to get started. No need to complicate things by playing armchair psychologist or something."
Leina picks up her phone and starts to text something over to them, "Oh also~ Got a new one for you."
As she texts it over, Marusan gets a ping, and on her phone there's a wide angle picture of a red Abyssinian sitting watchfully over... well, it's hard to say, it's someone sleeping, with white hair, but they're facing away from the camera. It has the caption: she protecc
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Marusan isn't the type to pry too hard... but she's got a good memory, and she does notice things. "I can get that." When Leina suggests that they keep it chill rather than pressing super hard, Marusan agrees, "That's probably for the best."
... it is a little nervewracking, though. Much like Ako finding Akane's little brother shuffling around the train station like a homeless person, it suggests some things, and Marusan doesn't really feel like she can help without making it worse.
So instead, Leina shows Ramo a cat picture! She looks it over, murmuring, "Oh, that's a cute shot. But..." Her brow furrows a bit. On the one hand, white hair isn't much to go off of. On the other hand... that's a very...
She forwards the picture on to Ako; this isn't particularly abnormal with their cat picture trading. She gets an almost immediate text back.
"... Uhhhh... huh. You... probably know more about Akane's little brother than I do, then!"
It's about now that Akane finally returns from the bathroom. "Sorry," she says, fluffing out her hair a bit and settling back in. "Are you two having fun?"
Ramo hastily tabs over to a different cat picture. "Yeah, just talking about her cat," she answers.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina isn't actually trying to press on the little brother situation. She figures that can come out in time, but when she sends the cat picture, Marusan's general emotional tenor just sorta causes her to give her a curious look. "Hm?" Blinking owlishly, genuinely confused as she texts someone then mentions that she maybe knows more about Akane's little brother than she does?
Leina stares at Marusan in confusion, then looks at her phone, then back at Marusan...
Oh.
... that genuinely startles her, Anti as far as she knows is a Kaiju. She didn't realize there was a connection to...
Leina just deletes the picture outright, before shifting it over as she shows Akane a picture of Foras, a blue Maine Coon, gnawing on Giovanni (Her Blue-Violet Haro) paws gripping him.
"Kind of a fanatic about cat pictures given my home life." She winks Akane's way, "If you come across any, please forward any and all of them to me immediately."
Marusan will of course note, that it's definitely not that picture, and that while Leina was surprised at her initial reaction - she's not letting it outwardly show. Apparently she's pretty good at thinking on the fly.
"Anyhow, I actually bought the office a bunch of second hand appliances and furniture recently. Delivery's simple enough, but might need a hand for getting some of the bigger ones in the office? So I was thinking of recruiting a few folks. Then maybe a pizza... watch party after for some anime? Or maybe something live action, I'll have to poll whoever's there."
She glances sideways at Akane, "If we find a day you're not busy, think you could lend a hand too?" Leina gets the impression that Akane's not that into physical labor so she adds a disclaimer, "Though don't worry, we'd use a dolly, so might just need an extra hand to keep it stable while we roll it in."
... if she can get Akane there, then inviting Rikka seems like the next logical step...
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane takes a peek. "Oh, that's a good cat. I wanted a Haro Mini when they came out, but then I found out how hard they were to mess with and I kinda thought better of it," she says. This is the sort of noncommittal conversation she's pretty good at.
Then Leina asks for help. This... could get complicated. Akane chews on it in her own head for a little while; it's Ramo's turn to scheme a little bit. "Weren't you saying it'd be good to get together with me and Ako again before summer ends? Like, outside of the Deculture Festival."
... if anyone even survives 'outside of the Deculture Festival,' Akane thinks to herself. Still, it's actually weirder if she doesn't agree to it, at that point? Like she has some hidden knowledge that...
Mrgh. Being the bad guy is complicated. "... Sure," she says, with a small glance down at her rapidly dwindling coffee. "I guess I'll have to go back to wearing what I usually wear, though. I have the feeling it'd be hard to do that in something like this."
Marusan giggles, saying, "You can barely walk in that. And don't think I don't notice how much your breathing sucks, too."
"Ahahaha, it's that obvious...? Yeah, I guess you're supposed to like, train for these? But, uh..." Akane gives a grimace-smile. "Anyway, yeah, I can do that." This is gonna suck, but if it makes it easier for Rikka, Ako, and Marusan to get themselves out of the blast zone...
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"Oh yeah? I'm kinda sentimental. I've never upgraded from, Giovanni, my Mark II. Didn't have the heart."
Things get complicated though, it's written on Akane's face, and she senses that her feelings are decidedly mixed when it comes to her intent. The Deculture Festival though reminds her that she needs to warn Ramos and have her pass it along to her friends what Rikka told her...
Ramos though comes to the rescue...
"It'd sure be a big help to us too." Leina adds in, simply.
Akane though agrees? And a smile blooms on her face, "Well it'll be great having you. So see you there. Honestly even if we're a charity for a serious cause, I'm hoping to keep things casual around here."
Though when she mentions that she'll have to go back to what she usually wears, Leina lets Marusan tease Akane a bit, only giggling lightly, but not piling it on. They're new acquaintances, and she gets the feeling it'd make Akane uncomfortable.
"Yep. You are." Leina confirms when it comes to training for a corset, and is THANKFUL she was too young for Glemy to get those kinds of ideas for her. "Do you like wearing all that?" Leina asks out of curiosity, trying not to get too personal here, "I wouldn't be able to stand it myself, had to train for a high society debut when I was a kid. But hey, if you enjoy it... then corset and heels? That's pretty hot."
Leina doesn't sound like she's hitting on her, definitely not. The oversized lab coat kind of isn't the most flattering thing for her to wear, it all puts together this image of a...
...Oh.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Thanks, Akane. I know you keep yourself pretty busy -- that art piece you showed us the other day took a lot of effort, that was super obvious." There's no way that's all she fills her time with, but... "We definitely need the help."
"I can definitely make the time," Akane says, before getting back to the topic of her current outfit. "It's more... I'm going for a certain kinda look," she says. "Lately, things haven't been going my way at all, and I thought I could get things back on track with a wardrobe change. The way you dress does a lot for how people see you, you know?" One wonders just what she's trying to accomplish with her current look, then.
"Uhh... huh." Ramo looks Akane over again, brow furrowing a bit. Just what could she be expecting people to see in her? It's a little too fully-realized to be cosplay -- it looks more like, well... something right out of that crime wave in Nouvelle Tokyo. She wonders if Akane needs a little corrective nudge on her fashion sense, but -- nah, she'll figure it out on her own, right?
Akane does seem to take 'that's pretty hot' in stride, though. "Yeah, I thought so, too. It made a pretty big impression on people the first time I wore it!" In all this, she still hasn't answered the basic question of whether she likes wearing it..
And indeed, doesn't seem to intend to. She reaches down, snags her cup, and takes a last sip. "Let me know when you get closer to a date on the big office furniture move," Akane says -- to both of them. "I should get going, though. Thanks for the invite!"
Ramo nods, saying, "It was good to see you, Akane," before turning her attention back to Leina -- and taking another bite of her sandwich.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina makes a mental note that Akane's interested art - the arts. Little things, where she tries to paint a full picture. "Yeah for real. Can't thank you enough for lending a hand." Though as Akane talks about her wardrobe, Leina starts to get more and more of a picture. It reminds her of the villains in some of her Magical Girl anime, or Tokusatsu shows... as sort of a femme fatale scientist kind of way.
She does remember Marusan saying though not to start a pity party, so she doesn't comment on things not going her way at all. "Yeah I could see that. Just depends on what kind of image you're going for right? How you want the world to see you? I went through that kind of time period of changing myself too."
Though it's VERY different when Akane is dressed like that, and Leina's just in a T-shirt, denim shorts, and sneakers.
Grinning at her as she says it made a pretty big impression on people the first time she wore it. Though, it doesn't actually answer the question, it feels real uncomfortable. However, it makes sense. People wear uncomfortable things all the time in service of their image.
"Sure! I'll let Marusan know when it's time to pass the word. It's really cool of you to help us out like that!"
Leina waves at her as she goes, "Good to meet you again."
Leina waits until Akane is gone, as she takes another big bite of her chicken sandwich - looking Marusan's way. It's once she's certain Akane is very gone that...
"I'm sorry. Didn't realize he was... related. Thought he was just someone Sayla took in as part of our charity work." Leina says this quietly, before indicating, "It won't come up again, promise."
She realizes now, given Anti's behavior, given that he's a Kaiju... what a fraught subject it is to connect all of this to Akane Shinjo.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane doesn't offer too much more comment -- though Leina's words do make her curious about a lot of things... it feels like it'd be intruding to ask about them. "Sure," she says, on the topic of helping them out -- and then she's gone. She's fast, too -- empty coffee tossed and out the door.
... not as fast as she'd like to be, though. She can take a lot of those shuffling little steps quickly, but she's 4'10" and terrified of --
She lands wrong, and promptly rolls her ankle a little, as soon as she gets outside. She doesn't cry out, and does a great job recovering with the MacDaniel's wall -- but the spike of annoyance and self-loathing is still present, outside.
Marusan doesn't notice; she's not attuned in that way. Instead, she says, "No, it's, uh -- it's fine. If you're taking care of him, that's... probably a good thing. Ako said he didn't have any other clothes and looked like he was living on the street, so, uh..." She looks down. Just what is going on in that house? Why is Akane so defensive of her guardian every time he comes up, if her little brother was living out on the street until he got a lucky break? And why wouldn't Akane have thought to bring that up when it came to people in town who could use their help?
"I'm glad he's got someone helping him, but... it kinda makes me wonder if her guardian's gonna start treating her the way it seemed like they were treating him." 'They' -- not 'her guardian,' not 'him.' With a slightly strained smile, she finishes, "... You're right, though. It doesn't need to come up again."
Marusan glances down at her food. "... Kinda not feeling this," she says, starting to wrap it back up.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina ALMOST gets up when she sees Akane does that small stumble, but that sudden emotional spike makes her second guess whether it'd be wise. She got the impression that Akane just feels... uncomfortable, all the time. She retreats and retreats and retreats from things that make her uncomfortable, and she wonders if kindness is one of those things.
That doesn't mean she won't be - she just has to disguise it a bit better to push Akane in the right direction.
"He's getting better, slowly. I promise. He doesn't talk about it much, which is why I didn't know. He's got... some habits, that made me wonder what his life was like before. Like, he never stops eating, and hides food - even when it's clear he's going to keep getting fed."
As she does at least talk to Marusan about that, because she's been Anti's primary caregiver when she's home.
Leina slowly nods at Marusan, "That's what I'm afraid of too. To be honest I brought up her Guardian while you were getting the food? And she just said he treats her well... but she couldn't look me in the eye."
She can see how Marusan isn't feeling eating - or feeling many things, and she says to her quietly, "When I said it doesn't need to come up again... I meant that I don't want to get you in trouble with your friend. Or get her little brother in trouble either."
There's a thoughtful pause and she decides to at least show her hand a little - even though Marusan obviously has seen some of it, "Situations like this are complicated, so we should be careful... but I want to help her, and I know Sayla does too."
Leina's tries to be supportive, understanding, though her smile is subdued from just what a messed up situation this is turning out to be, "If you're willing to keep helping me out with just... little things, we'll get there. Even if it's one step at a time."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"I try not to gossip, but I think Ako's going to be happy to hear that. She worries a lot about him, so hearing he's doing okay is..." She smiles -- though it's a feeling that's not entirely for herself. The reassurance goes a long way.
"You're a lot like Miss Mass," Marusan reflects. "She's a small-steps kind of person, too. ... and she's a little sneaky, but you're sneaky in a different kinda way?" She's not sure how to phrase it, but... the gut feeling is obvious, and it's clear it's not one she minds going along with.
Hiding food, though... it'd be rude for Marusan to hazard too many guesses, but one thought bubbles to the fore. "I think... right now all I can do is work with you guys, and be Akane's friend. If we try to make her a Yumi Foundation case herself, she's... gonna freak out. Trust me. I've known her since she moved here." Threading that needle, though...
Marusan's lips quirk. "Maybe a kaiju movie? That's the art project she showed me..."
... it evokes the stone-still kaiju outside, too, though Marusan is blissfully unaware of that much. "Thanks for this, though. I think this was good for Akane, even if she's a little..." She gropes for words that aren't kinda mid-key condemnatory, and eventually settles for, "... weird right now."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"Definitely let her know for me then. And if I can, I'll try to give you two the occasional updates?"
Leina gets this almost smug smile at being told she's a lot like Sayla, but in a different way, "You've got me pegged alright. I got most of that from her, but not all of it. Some of it came from 'managing' my older brother before I came into her care. Promise I'll only be sneaky for a good cause though."
As Marusan says she'll freak out at being made a Yumi foundation case, Leina puts a finger to her lips, and winks at her, "Sometimes being a Yumi foundation case isn't always something that needs to be 'official'. I definitely don't intend to treat her like a charity case, promise."
Perhaps she's risking Marusan figuring out that she is one too by that - or maybe she's already realized it in part, but Leina's definitely not treating her like a charity case.
"Either way, being her friend and working with us? That's all I ask."
There's a pause, as she considers, "Hmmm. Kaiju movie. Great idea..." Leina taps her chin, "... there's gotta be a few Kaiju movies out there she hasn't seen yet, as they haven't been released in Tsutsjidai. I can grab a few - and that might entice her to keep coming over."
Leina smiles at her again, "No problem, and thanks for bringing her here, and backing me up." Leina's lip quirks as the look in her eyes is amused, "Luckily, I'm pretty good at navigating weird situations. That's..." She gesticulates with a hand, "... basically half my life living with Sayla. Though it was also my life before that?"
Thanks Judau. Thanks Glemy. Thanks Elpeo.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Marusan's canny enough to know she is one, a little bit. They met in a place that was just a little too sketchy for Ramo Marusa to be working, and Sayla offered her an alternative. It'd be hard to miss.
Still... "Hm, yeah. We have a theater but Akane definitely hasn't seen anything theatrical since she moved here, either way, and that's like... 18 months now?" She finishes wrapping her half-sandwich, then wrapping the wrapped half-sandwich in turn. She starts to stand up, here, agreeing, "I can tell... you've got an eye for this. I'll do another round of poking around at school and see if anyone wants to get involved. No promises."
With that, she seems to be getting ready to go; if she's left to her own devices, she'll probably be out in another minute or so.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Taking the social cue, she just lets her know as she stands up, "That's more than enough. Thanks. See you later Marusan, I'll text you."
Leina then actually gets up and leans forward close to her, as she lowers her voice.
"I got a tip there's going to be a Kaiju attack on the first day of the Deculture festival, hitting the festival specifically. If the school evacuates before it happens, then it'll become unpredictable when it does- and then noone is safe."
Her head turns slightly to look her in the eyes, "So let your friends know to meet up with you that day, and be someplace where you all can evacuate safely. Don't tell them it's a Kaiju attack though, because if one of them panics and tells everyone? Then there's no way to predict it."
If Akane finds out that this is spreading... then...
"There's going to be other people there for defense and to evacuate everyone else. So stay safe, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
A -- kaiju attack? That kind of thing never happens here, does it? Marusan looks shocked -- but she takes it very seriously. "... I won't ask how you found out," she says, "but I think I know what I can do."
Somewhere they can cleanly and quickly evacuate, on school grounds... that's got to be the athletic fields. Getting people over there during the culture festival is going to be a bit of an undertaking, and it's going to require some engineering -- but that's why she's got days to think about it.
"Thanks," she says, giving a small nod. "You too -- I know bringing that kinda stuff up is risky."
Now she begins heading out properly. ... It's a lot to take in -- and having to conceal something that dangerous for everyone else's good feels... weird to her. Still, though...