2024-05-30: Marking Dates
- Log: 2024-05-30- Marking Dates
- Cast: Akane Shinjo, Rikka Takarada
- Where: Nouvelle Tokyo - Expensive Sushi Bar
- OOC - IC Date: 0099-05-30
- Summary: After finishing midterms for their current courseload, Akane and Rikka treat themselves to Michelin-star sushi. They talk a little about their relationship and the future ahead of them, and Akane asks a couple of probing questions.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Authentic Edomae sushi is hard to come by in the modern era; Japan's comparatively light touch by the One Year War compared to areas like central Britannia and Oceania almost certainly plays a role in that. It does exist, though, in a handful of places -- and it commands a price some 25,000 yen per plate.
Great post-midterms food, if you're working two solidly upper-middle-class jobs and have the bills of poor college students.
The place is small, but gorgeously-decorated; it's clearly a post-war construction; the interior is wood-paneled, but outside you can see the e-carbon construction designed to stand up to modest urban warfare. (Some of that cost gets passed on, of course, to the customer.)
Places like this serve omakase sushi -- 'chef's choice only.' As May turns to June -- and a warm May, at that -- horse mackerel comes into season, which means it's mostly that with some eel. Every fish comes fresh each morning -- again, a cost that gets passed onto the customer, but worth every yen.
Akane takes a small piece between her chopsticks, tilts it on its side, inverts it, and rests it in the soy sauce for a moment. Bringing it to her lips, she takes it into her mouth, chews thoughtfully, and swallows.
"Oh this is so good," she says, once she's swallowed. "You know, I've never actually had horse mackerel before..." She sets her chopsticks down to discreetly give Rikka's hand a squeeze. "How's the eel, Rikka?"
Her gaze turns to the side, noting the minimal decorations. While the walls behind the bar bear Japanese-style wall scrolls featuring traditional art, a few photos of meaningful events in the restaurant's extremely long history sit on walls behind the bar. Akane looks thoughtfully at one featuring a pre-UC emperor's proposal to the woman who became his empress.
She doesn't say anything else yet, and indeed it's hard to tell if she's looking at the photo or half-past it.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka went very pale when she first saw the prices. But... she came around to it. It's easy to forget, even after so long, that she's no longer living off the salary of a part-time job at the family junk shop. With how frugally they live, they can afford to treat themselves every once in a while. It's worth it - and they deserve it, after how busy everything's been lately.
While Akane tries the horse mackerel... Rikka busies herself with the eel, and it's hard to miss the look of barely-restrained joy. She swallows - and then offers Akane a smile as she gives her hand a squeeze. She gently runs a thumb across her hand.
"It's incredible." Rikka replies. "It's so soft, it practically melts in your mouth... The flavors are so rich, I'm amazed that the chef was able to bring them out so vibrantly."
She follows Akane's gaze to the side, then, to the walls. The attention to detail really is incredible. A photo of a proposal... She looks briefly toward Akane.
"This place really is lovely, isn't it?" Rikka remarks.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
That thumb across Akane's hand prompts a bit of a blush. No matter how long they're together, she still feels that little thrill at every intimate touch; sometimes it's hard to believe that this is happening.
"Oooo, I'm definitely excited now. The Rikka Seal of Approval is a big deal," Akane enthuses as Rikka tells her not just that the eel is good but how good the eel is. "The horse mackerel's got a really subtle flavor... it's not like store-bought stuff at all. You can really taste how fresh it is..." Akane's palate may be a little... childish, to put it gently, but she's also a home cook. She can appreciate subtlety.
As she stares, Rikka snaps her out of it a bit, and she lets out a slightly awkward laugh. "Yeah... they really put a lot of thought into the decoration. You can tell they've kept this tradition going for a really long time," she eventually answers, still staring a bit.
"I read that after that," Akane inclines her head slightly to indicate the photo, "proposing here was a thing for like... 30 years with rich guys."
The chef -- a man who looks like he's in his late fifties, with a burn scar trailing down the right side of his face -- interjects to laugh a little. "30 years? It has never stopped," he offers. "Though it has shifted from energy magnates to history professors."
Akane takes a moment to breathe -- she's annoyed at the interruption, but she's not physicalizing it... nearly as much as she used to, at least. She keeps it mostly confined to her feet, which do that twitch-twitch-twitch under the bar stool... but after a moment, she offers a, "Thank you for sharing that, chef," before getting back to it.
"I think something like that would feel kinda stuffy and old now! It's neat to see a photo from all the way back then, though..." Rubbing at the back of her head, she concedes, "It's kinda crazy to think about, right? Pick a spot and the memory lasts, like, hundreds of years..." Is this sort of thing, too, 'the power of a life that is finite'?
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Akane blushes, and Rikka smiles back. It's nice that they still have this, even this far into the relationship. She chuckles as Akane enthuses, but nods.
"I think you'll like it." Rikka replies with a nod, and listens intently as she then describes the horse mackerel. Rikka can appreciate subtlety, too - she does like Big Flavors from time to time, of course, but she especially appreciates something more reserved. She takes her own horse mackerel, treating it carefully with the sauce before taking a bite.
It doesn't disappoint.
"They have. No space is wasted - everything has a purpose." Rikka agrees. Akane inclines her head toward the photo and Rikka looks that way again.
"I guess that would set a trend..." She considers - and then, the chef interrupts. She offers him a smile - and an encouraging smile for Akane, too, because she can tell it must bother her.
"Yeah, I think so too." Rikka admits. "Maybe if it was, like... the first place you went on a date or something, I could see it..."
Still... Akane's right.
"It is." She agrees. "Being able to touch the lives of others, even after so much time... It's awe-inspiring."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
The chef returns to his work, giving Rikka a smile back. Akane and Rikka aren't the only patrons, after all, though it's still a pretty light-traffic day. When you're the only chef, no day's traffic is especially light, after all.
Akane takes her time with the eel -- but it's clear that as soon as she puts it in her mouth she's hooked. This is the sort of thing that could get dangerous if she got used to it... best to keep it as a once-a-year-or-so thing.
Rikka offers her opinion on picking a place, and Akane nods. ... She makes a few mental notes. "Yeah -- it'd be different if it was sentimental or something," she agrees. "If you're just doing it because you thought it was cool, it's kinda..." Here, she gestures vaguely with her chopsticks. "You know," she finishes, with a shake of her head.
Tilt the piece, pick it up on its side, invert it, give it a little soy sauce, pop it in. She takes her time with it, using that time to contemplate a little bit.
"Are you still okay with work?" she asks, after a second's thought. "I'm kind of dying in abnormal psych, to be honest... I had to ask Asami-san to take over the Huffman stuff for a couple weeks." One of the many new personnel from other agencies allocated to 3G Red by the Japanese government. "Now that midterms are over I think I'm ready to pick back up, but it's still..." Here she wobbles a hand.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
There it is. Rikka can see that look on Akane's face - it looks like her assessment was right on the money. She looks pleased with herself.
"Mm-hm. Exactly." Rikka agrees. "A proposal is a big step in your lives together... It should be about you and the person you love. If you're just following the crowd..."
She shakes her head.
"...Well, I guess I shouldn't judge too much." She says with a shrug. "Ultimately, what matters is if you're happy."
Rikka returns to her sushi, then, savoring every bite. Her attention returns back to Akane as she breaks the silence to ask about work. Rikka winces sympathetically.
"That sounds rough... Yeah, you've got a lot of work on your shoulders right now. And with school too..." She frowns. "I hope things lighten up."
She considers herself for a moment, then.
"I'm still doing okay. Honestly, I think my workload decreased since becoming Chief? Or... maybe it just feels that way since I'm doing less directly myself." Rikka considers. "Most of the time, it's making decisions and allocating people to where they'd be most useful..."
It's mostly when something big happens, like the arrival of Galactron, that she needs to take action herself.
"So, things are going alright on my end... My classwork has been a little heavy, but it's easier to deal with now that I have more time on my hands." She replies. And with midterms over, it'll be a while before she gets anything extra on her plate.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane nods. It's... a simple reminder, and one she kind of needed here. It's her natural inclination to overengineer things, after all.
As Rikka talks, Akane takes a sip of her green tea. She seems a little surprised at Rikka's workload decreasing, at first -- but no, that makes sense. It's a position that's more about oversight than constant direct action, and she's got a competent team of people under her who can handle even more of that.
... Rikka really is someone who brings people together, Akane reflects, with a small smile on her face about it.
"I can see that," Akane eventually says, with a nod. "It's definitely gotten a little easier with more government support, too. It's a little wild to realize I'm senior staff. I don't... feel like senior staff, hahaha..." She rubs at the back of her head, saying, "I think you're a pretty good boss, too."
Giving a little wink, she adds, "Though there are times every now and again when I'd like a little more... guidance~." Here, her foot moves over just a bit, giving Rikka's a nudge to indicate exactly what she's implying.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Government support... that's been the biggest change for Rikka. After spending so long as a small group, supported only by whatever friends and allies they managed to make on the way, it still doesn't feel real that she's so well-connected now.
"Yeah, I imagine." Rikka agrees... and then smiles. "If it helps, I think it suits you. There are few people I can think of more dedicated to the position."
Akane thinks she's a good boss...
"...I'm glad. I'm doing my best, anyway. I want to be someone everyone feels they can rely on." She says. She starts to take a sip of her tea before Akane, with a wink, continues...
...And Rikka nearly sputters into her tea, instead swallowing quickly before quickly regathering her composure and offering Akane a knowing smile.
"Is that so...? Well, I'll have to do something about then, then..." She considers.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Ehehe... it's like the one job where you're kinda encouraged to overthink it," Akane says, rubbing at the back of her head with a smile. "People don't act like I'm making a big deal about nothing. That's... still taking some getting used to." Even more than two years on, good communication is an ongoing battle.
Akane scoots her stool a couple inches closer to Rikka's as she sees that sputter. ... Yeah, that's still satisfying. It's been fun watching Rikka's confidence and self-assurance grow -- but that doesn't mean she doesn't still like to see her react as if she's being teased, a bit.
Pulling the conversation back to a more neutral area from there, Akane adds, "... we should try making this a regular thing -- uh, hitting up new restaurants, I mean. Like I know we were doing it for a bit first year when we moved in, but it kinda got away from us this year... maybe once a week, somewhere new. There's enough just in this part of Nouvelle Tokyo that we'll be at it for a couple years even if we stick to it perfectly..."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka laughs a little too, good-naturedly, and offers her a fond smile.
"I'm glad. It really seems like you found a place that's perfect for you." Rikka replies. "I'm sure you'll get used to it... it's good that you feel like you can share your thoughts."
Akane scoots a couple inches closer. Rikka certainly doesn't mind that. She scoots just a bit closer, too, and listens intently as Akane offers a suggestion. Making a habit of this... Rikka thinks that over.
"It's true... We did kind of get caught up in so much stuff that it was hard to even think about breaking out of our routine..." She admits with a bit of a shrug.
"...That's a good idea. We should. It's nice, doing this together." Rikka agrees.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Leaning toward Rikka a bit, Akane goes back to the horse mackerel. As she takes another bite, it prompts her to think a little about how much more fish she's been eating since she got together with Rikka. It's not that she avoided it -- it would be hard for a Japanese girl to do so -- but her diet has definitely shifted to match Rikka's palate preferences, at least a little bit.
"I'll add it to the schedule," she agrees. "It'll probably be easier if we keep it at, like, the same meal every week -- oh, but then we miss doing breakfast menus..." She looks pensive, then shakes her head and says, "We'll figure it out."
Eating food that's this much of a quality jump is sort of... an almost contemplative exercise. Akane's definitely taking more time to savor it than usual; this, too, is new for her in the last couple of years. This, too, is nice.
"Any picks for next week?" she asks, before taking another long sip of green tea. It's not bad as a palate cleanser for something like this, even... "I know someone in my stats class mentioned a fusion French place that was pretty good for the price," Nouvelle Tokyo continues a long tradition of exceptional Japanese-French fusion cuisine, "but I can't remember where it was..."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Akane returns to the horse mackerel, and Rikka to the eel. She takes her time with it, simply enjoying and experiencing the flavors - and using the time to contemplate Akane's words.
"Hmm... It might be okay if we plan it out far enough advance." Rikka considers after a moment. "I know there are some places that specialize in breakfast foods that I wouldn't want to miss out on..."
Rikka's tastes have always been a bit more... upscale, but this is something special for her, too. And even moreso that she's here with Akane - if she had gone on her own, she's not sure that she would be enjoying the food as much.
Akane asks about next week, and Rikka gives it some thought - listening intently as she brings up a place a classmate mentioned.
"Really?" Rikka considers. "That sounds pretty good, actually... We'll have to do a little research once we get back home to see if we can find it."
...That might be pretty fun too, in fact.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane usually eats one flavor segment at a time -- but she's been switching back and forth between the two catches of the day a little more, today. It helps make them pop a bit if she goes back and forth between the flavors.
"Oh yeah. I'm still trying to get better at cooking breakfast, so trying some different stuff might be smart..." Her cooking -- already pretty decent -- certainly has improved in the time they've been together. It's not just that she's incorporated the secret to diner food (oil, salt, sugar!) either; she's gotten better at multi-step dishes and more interested in creating balanced meals, too.
"I already know one place I want to go, though it's kind of a ways off... for Coming of Age Day," and here Akane sets down her chopsticks, raises both hands, and does -- for the first time in a long while -- her little 'snip snip' hand gesture. (It's a pun, of course; 'seijin,' adult, is a homophone for 'seijin,' alien (star-person).)
... she does have something besides the pun, though. "I want to go do mini cakes with you. I figure you'll be better picking the place than I am, but... it'd be nice to have a chance to eat something nice day-of."
And speaking of holidays where you dress up...
Akane adjusts her long, somewhat-high-slit blue dress a little before getting back to eating. "You look incredible tonight, by the way."
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Well, I *do* have a personal interest in helping you do food research..." Rikka comments with a smirk. Akane getting better at cooking means better meals for her, and that's definitely a win for both of them.
Akane, though, has a place in mind. Rikka listens with interest - and laughs, as she makes her 'snip snip' gesture. It feels like it's been so long since she's seen it - and now, having been thoroughly dragged into the Tarabaman swamp, she actually gets the pun.
For Coming of Age Day... that's very significant. Rikka nods quietly, and smiles.
"That sounds great. If it's mini cakes... yeah, I should be able to find us someplace great. I'll make it a day to remember." She replies. Rikka knows her cakes - and for something as big as Coming of Age Day, nothing but the best will do.
Rikka chuckles, then, running a hand through her hair and sliding some behind her ear as Akane compliments her.
"Thank you. It's been so long since we've both really had a chance to dress up... I've kind of missed it." Rikka says. "That dress really suits you, Akane. You look lovely."
It really is astounding. The first time she saw her outfit, it took her breath away - she needed a short time to recover.
For Rikka... today was a dress day - she'd gone with a backless dress with a long, flowing skirt, a reddish-purple that almost seems to move between the two colors depending on how the light hits it. It's accompanied by a long ribbon of translucent material, worn around her shoulders.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane is a big fan of dress days and a big fan of suit days. Underlining it makes her realize that, yeah, it makes sense Rikka would favor a dress for this type of special occasion; she's already having businesswear days for actual professional reasons, so breaking up the monotony is an obvious winner.
"Thanks! I kinda splurged a bit... all the bad guy toys for the last couple Tarabaman seasons reviewed kind of bad, so I had extra in the budget." ... This is definitely one she's going to come back to; it's a good 'occasion, but not occasion' kind of dress.
"The colors on your dress are just amazing... I didn't really need an excuse to look at you from lots of different angles, but I don't mind having one, either." She brings a hand to her mouth to cover a bit of a giggle.
She scoots her stool a bit closer, eyes lidding just a bit. "I'm out of eel pieces, but I want just a bit more of the taste..." she notes, with a wink. ... It's not the first time she's used this sort of language to test the waters for whether Rikka's up for a kiss while they're out of the house.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
It's a very Akane explanation. Rikka smiles fondly.
"I think it was well worth it. I love it." Rikka replies. Akane compliments her dress - and her - and Rikka laughs, just a little.
"Thanks. I saw it and fell in love with it immediately... I started saving up right away." Rikka replies. It feels... really good! She's glad it turned out to be such a hit.
Akane scoots closer then, with a wink. Rikka looks her way, considering her for a moment - and her choice of words.
"You do? Well... I think I can help you." Rikka says. She takes Akane's free hand with her own and leans into her, her eyes closing as their lips draw close and press together. For a moment... she just appreciates her. And then she pulls back, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"How was that?" She asks, offering Akane a soft smile.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Worth every yen," Akane affirms, when Rikka talks about how she found her own dress. It's amazing to hear the enthusiasm there -- that sense of style is something Akane's always liked about Rikka, even as it's changed and developed.
Leaning in, Akane takes the time to appreciate Rikka, too, in the press of her lips. She's not too aggressive -- they are at an upscale sushi place, not at home -- but it's clear she's enthused.
"My favorite," Akane answers, with a smile that seems like a soundless little giggle. Finishing the rest of her sushi, she looks thoughtful for a moment.
"Do we want to find somewhere to get dessert, or just go home?" she asks, once she's finished -- and after making sure Rikka's close to that, too.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka smiles as Akane confirms that it was worth every yen - and she seems pleased, too, at the end result of their kiss.
"I'm glad. It's my favorite, too." Rikka replies, her eyes lingering on Akane for just a moment longer before returning to her own sushi. And as the meal draws to a close... a thoughtful look crosses Rikka's face as she finishes off the last of her horse mackerel.
"I could go for dessert. There's this nice little sorbet shop on the way home I've had my eye on..." Rikka considers.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Ooo, that sounds great," Akane says, moving to settle up. Once everything's paid for and she's had a few moments to collect herself and her things, she says, "Whenever you're ready!"
A little lower as they start to move, she adds, "Thanks for a really incredible night." It feels good to make time to do something a little special.