2022-03-07: I Didn't Come All This Way Just To Sell You Something
- Log: 2022-03-07: I Didn't Come All This Way Just To Sell You Something
- Cast: Renais Cardiff, Akane Shinjo
- Where: Tsutsujidai - Starbows
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-03-06
- Summary: Akane and Renais have coffee.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Yesterday, Renais was looking out over the world from atop the Tenchu space elevator. She spends a lot of time going places to think--and be accosted, apparently.
But, as annoying (infuriating) as such things tend to be, they can yield useful information. Intelligence is, after all, a pillar of covert operations--it's just a shame she's so bad at that part of the job.
And yet, here she is, following up on a lead as she steps off the train into Nouvelle Tokyo's nonexistent Tsutsujidai ward. Making her way toward Starbows, she pulls out her cell phone and sends Akane Shinjo a text message in Japanese:
> decided to come in for coffee, want to join me?
She's not happy. --she's rarely happy, granted. But there's a distinct timbre of *annoyance* to her thoughts, today, as she sits down at a table and sips from her piping-hot Americano.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane isn't much better herself. Even with every leg up in the world, when it comes to Tsutsujidai, she's somehow still always the one pursuing and never actually getting to the stage of assessing the information she has on the table.
> Oh, sure.
Akane heads to Starbows. Today, they *do* have tomato juice in, so she picks that over more coffee; she saunters over to Renais's table, shoulders carrying more tension than she fully realizes. It's hard to say if she's picking up on subtle cues in Renais's posture or genuinely picking up more of a broadcast, but...
"What's up?" she asks, wearing a big smile anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Renais is leaned back in her chair, watching out the glass storefront. She gives a little wave and nudges the other chair out with her foot as Akane approaches.
But, how to approach this? Probably not a good idea to open with it. Same reason she didn't text with 'we need to talk'. Ease into it, right?
"Well, first... sorry about what happened last time. It all sort of went to shit, didn't it?" She leans forward, settling her chin in her hand. "You weren't too rough on Anti about it, were you?" She furrows her brow just a little, but doesn't mention what Alexis said, yet.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
An apology. That's a good start. "Hey, it's not a big deal. It's mostly Anti's fault, anyway," Akane says, with a disinterested shrug. There's not even a wince. There's a lot of feelings behind it... but as the two of them are right now, they're not the right shape to roll off of Akane and into Renais. She pulls out her cell phone, and swipes. It certainly doesn't look like Alexis was lying -- that phone is cracked, and there's still a bit of mud residue on it. "He's supposed to figure this stuff out."
She takes a sip at her drink, switching to a one-handed grip on her phone. "That all you wanted to say?" she asks, mostly intelligible -- albeit with the faint lisp-like effect of, well, trying to say 'say' with a straw in your mouth. "I'm working on the next one... I'm still working on coming up with something for you to do, too. Hope you're not bored or anything, with no leads."
So she doesn't know what Alexis told Renais, either.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
"Of course not," replies Renais to the first, taking a drink. She crosses her legs, staring down at Akane's phone for a moment. "And I've got leads. I..."
An aggressive urge rises up in her, like water pushing through a hose before it comes out the other end--
"... why the hell did you throw your phone at him?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
... why *does* she keep doing that? "It's not like he's a real person," Akane says, continuing to sound utterly disengaged. "He's just a kaiju. Kaiju don't think for themselves." ... but Anti does -- that's the point of why she made him in the first place. He's a kaiju who eats breakfast with her.
Akane bangs the mental record player a few times and it stops skipping. She remains disengaged. "Kaiju don't consider others and they don't need people to consider them. They just exist, and whatever happens to them just kinda happens!" She sips at her tomato juice again. "How'd you hear about that, anyway?" she asks, curious.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
"From Alexis," replies Renais.
The pot starts to bubble, and the mental space around her tints slightly toward red. "But Anti does! He thinks for himself, and he considers *you*. Because you *made* him to consider you, but--"
She stumbles over her words. "--but the fact that he thinks for himself means that he deserves at least the same respect as a Super-AI. He isn't the same as the other ones you create!"
She stops herself. Both fists are balled tight in her lap. She takes a deep breath, and *tries* to move on. "Alexis also gave me a lead," she explains, "Certain visitors to this place he called 'vessels of light'--if we remove them, you can seal up the space properly." She takes a *long* sip out of her coffee to keep from talking more about Anti.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"I *made* him to defeat Gridman," Akane says, sipping her tomato juice again. Renais can hear her finish it up, but she keeps it between herself and Renais. (She keeps 'from Alexis' to herself.) Her other hand brings her bag up into her lap, meanwhile, after setting her phone down on the table.
With the emotions already running so hot, in a space already so strange... Renais gets a tiny flash of something. It's small -- and it feels a lot like pain. More than that, though -- shape, context... that doesn't really come out. Or at least, not in a way either of them can parse.
"That's possible," is all Akane ultimately offers, and her tone is just a little too level as she says it. ... they move on. "Oh, yeah, he's mentioned that to me too," Akane says, with a nod. "Stuff like Gridman and Ultraman." It makes sense to her. The problems started with Gridman showing up... the problems will end when he's shown the door.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
That flash pings off of her and gives her pause. She knows her feelings--that... wasn't one of them? Was it? It leaves her a bit confused. Was that her...?
She nods to Akane. "Yes. Exactly--Ultraman, Gridman, and... Betterman. Not that I'd imagine that name really makes much sense, but a being called a Somnium has apparently been interfering here. It's-- I have neither the patience nor the knowledge to explain, right now."
There's a sigh. A feeling of vague dread. "I was *also* paid a visit by a woman by the name of Sayla Mass, yesterday. I'm told she knows you."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
... a Somnium is a Vessel of Light? *That* is new on Akane. "... I met him," Akane says. "Leather jacket and freaky eyes, right? I thought it was kind of weird. 'Som' -- that's 'dream,' right?" Not *exactly* right, but she's at least paying attention to how words work in non-Japanese languages, which is something. "I... kinda invited him to stay. Guess that one's on me." But wait, if he's a monster fighting against the Aura of Dawn, then... that's...
Ugh. This sucks bad.
She moves along. "Oh yeah. I met Sayla when she was hanging out with Rikka. She seems nice," comes her answer to the final question. It's... a little nervewracking. All these ways she has to disappoint Renais.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
"Sleep, I think," replies Renais. "She was trying to..."
Ren closes her eyes, and prepares herself mentally, then leans in to look Akane in the eyes. Her emotions are heavy--a sort of conflicted feeling, a raw hurt with a touch of appreciation for good intentions. The first nearly drowns out the second. Calmly, almost matter-of-factly, she simply states:
"I do not need *help*, Akane."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Oh, yeah... Sommeil, insomnia..." Akane nods along a bit. "I get it now."
Now that Akane's a little more engaged... the things Renais is feeling start to trickle into her line of sight, bit by bit. She takes a deep breath herself, and leans forward a bit. Her lips quirk up in a smile. "... she brought that to *you*?" Akane... doesn't necessarily feel *great* about what she's about to say, but... it's her only idea for keeping Renais on her leash.
"I can't tell Sayla or Guy that I'm *working with you*. But it's not like I can pretend I don't know you if you're around here all the time." With a lean back, Akane wraps her arm into the strap of her bag. "Is this really your first time dealing with someone undercover? Wow, Chasseur sucks." A beat. "I mean, I knew that already, but the confirmation's kinda funny."
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Renais' eyebrows drop, and she sits back, taking a second to process this. She's not happy with the insult--and she's having obvious difficulty believing Akane's explanation. "This is an entire ward, Akane. It would be *easy* for us not to encounter each other. We never would have *met* if I hadn't come to this coffee shop!"
The sense of hurt grows. She's keeping from raising her voice, but, by tone and by feeling, she's upset. "But you told her I was your friend, and that you were very worried about me. She knew I care, and she knew *you* knew about my mission. If you wanted operational security, you would have minimized our connection."
She grips the table with her metal hand, and leans in again. Her voice quivers, just slightly. "Tell me the truth."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
If Renais is going to press... ngnhg. Akane can't actually come up with a good enough lie or misrepresentation to carve through this one, she doesn't think. ... then again -- maybe that's...
... it's going to hurt her and it's probably going to wreck their relationship, but that's fine. Their relationship was never going to last once Renais got purified anyway. This just speeds up the inevitable. Better to rip off the bandaid.
"Okay! Honest answer it is. I *guess* at least one AEU cop can find their butt with two hands and a GPS." Full recline. Don't look weak, Akane reminds herself -- if you look weak, she'll try to kick the struts out from the rest of your relationships. If you look *strong*, she'll just start fighting. Way easier. "I've been trying to play you and NERV against each other from the get-go," she concedes, all smiles. "'The Aura of Dawn' -- an 'assertion about worlds like mine,' right?" The grin is positively shit-eating. "I'm not dumb. I ask around. I know that if we play ball with each other it ends with you and me going at it until one of us is dead and I know the only reason you stick around is 'cuz this is a low priority target."
Leaning back in her seat, she says, "Don't get it twisted, I'm totally hoping you lose. It'd be a drag if I didn't make it to third year." Akane brings her juice box to her lips again. Starts nudging the straw around with her tongue. Eventually, she can feel it hit that last little reservoir of tomato juice living in the corner, once she tilts the whole thing just right. She doesn't drink it quite yet though.
"So here's the deal," she finishes. "You want a professional relationship? Fine. We work together on crushing Vessels of Light. You don't tell anyone about me, and I don't switch from dropping kaiju on Gridman to dropping kaiju on you guys. You know that *one* of my failed creations keeps pace with about as many current NERV weapons as you do, so do you really want me to have Alexis drop four or five of them on you? You can have fun with a God... oooor you can become my new priority target and see how many Ls you can rack up."
Ssssssllllllllurrrrrrrrrrrrpppppp.
"Your choice!"
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Renais feels like she's been stabbed in the heart.
Even now, she thinks what Sayla told her was the truth--that Akane was genuinely concerned, and going behind her back to try and 'help' her. Because what she has to do--the thing she *must* do--is still insane to anyone who hasn't seen what she has. Of course she'd be worried, of course she'd be concerned. Of course she'd be *scared*.
She also knows herself enough to see this as a cover. In this moment, she understands Akane better.
But none of that helps ease the pain.
Ren's expression darkens. Her grip tightens on the table, prying a chunk of wood free with a loud *CRACK*. She stands.
Taking two steps around the table, she stops beside Akane. Quietly, her voice shaking, she says, "I'm here because I care about you."
And then she leaves.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
That loud crack hits. Akane's whole body tenses up. No matter how many times she sees her anger and resentment and frustration rampage across Tsutsujidai's streets in physical form, physicalized anger...
... it's fine. Renais won't cause a scene here. By the time Renais finishes walking around the table toward Akane, she's back to that shit-eating expression.
She looks up toward Renais. By the time she figures out what she wants to say, Renais has retreated enough that Akane would have to shout it... and she can't, so she doesn't.
Akane orders twelve protein boxes and her usual absolutely disgusting coffee (sugar sludge). She'll give them to Anti next time he stops by. Maybe.
<Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
Renais gets about five steps out of the door when the tears hit. She chokes back a sob, tears streaming down her face as she looks at the mangled hunk of wood in her hand.
Maybe it'd be better to stop pretending, she thinks. She's not human anymore--if she even was before she saw the Dawn. Maybe she really is just a weapon--something with no purpose except to harm. Trying to make connections will just cause them more pain when the time comes. Pushing her away was the right thing for Akane to do.
Her grip finally relaxes, and she drops the chunk of table onto the sidewalk before trudging back toward the station. The tears roll down her cheeks in a stream.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane gives Renais a little time to get away; there's absolutely no way she wants to see Renais again after that. It'd be stupid and pointless, wouldn't it?
Besides -- she has a lot of questions for *Alexis*, after that conversation. She shoves the full brace of protein boxes into her bag, takes a breath, takes a sip of her coffee, and starts heading home.
She sees the chunk of table. Ehn, she thinks. It'll be fixed tomorrow. Everyone'll forget. She can forget it, too.
"Akane-kun! You look like you're having a nice day... did something happen?" comes Alexis's voice as Akane settles in at her desk.
Akane nods. "You could say that. So, hey -- why did you mention the phone to Renais?" She sips calmly, asking, "Seems like what I do with Anti isn't any of her business, to me."
"Oh, you'll have to forgive me," Alexis says. "I thought she was in a good position to help both of you, given her circumstances... was that inappropriate?"
Akane squints. "... No, it's fine. So -- Renais told me a few other interesting things, too..."
... If she occupies her brain with the practicals, she can avoid confronting anything else.