[Same time and stuff. Satoshi is on a subway train! He spent all morning at the ice rink and is heading back home now.] [Start!] [The car, by the way, is "technically" full, but not totally full. I.E. it's not overcramped like Tokyo subways usually are.] * Satoshi didn't manage to get a seat, actually, and is standing in the aisle, holding on to one of the straps. His equipment bag is slung over his shoulder. He doesn't seem to have any trouble keeping his balance as the train moves. [The train comes to a stop. But not Satoshi's stop. A bunch of people get on, including someone Satoshi knows.] * Haruko meanders onto the train. She staggers slightly and her face is a bit flushed. She's wearing jeans and a blouse choosen for attractiveness. She quickly grabs a pole and glances around the train fairly wide eyed with a curious look. * Satoshi waves to her. "Haruko!" * Haruko waves back. "Hii Satoshi!" * Satoshi maneuvers his way over to her. "You okay?" * Haruko nods and smiles. "Dance went well. How are you?" Pretty good. Just finished practice. * Haruko starts when the train moves again. She loses her balance and clings to the pole. * Satoshi puts a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "You don't do this often, do you?" No silly I ride all the time. The train's just moving more than usual. * Haruko 's breath, incidentally, has a definate smell of rice wine. * Satoshi blinks. "Haruko, have you been *drinking*?" he asks quietly. * Haruko waves a hand. "Just ceremonial rice wine. It's a festival after all." She grins. "Bad luck not to drink." * Satoshi quietly says, "I think you would have had sufficient luck with a few less drinks." * Haruko puts a hand on Satoshi's shoulder to further steady herself. "I just had two. Anyways all I have to do for the rest of the day is look after the cat. Nooo date." The cat? * Haruko nods. "One of my vassal duties. I look after Kumaguro." * Satoshi eyes Haruko. "Vassal?" * Haruko blushes a bit more. "Did I say that?" Um, yeah... * Haruko lets go of the pole with her other hand and waves it slightly. "Well... I made an agreement with him. When we were stuck in his apartment. Because I wasn't... well I'm not very effective." * Satoshi continues to give Haruko an odd look. "What kind of agreement?" * Haruko looks down a little and speaks quietly. "He promised to look after me and the people I protect. Even if I screw up. And I agreed to follow him." Weren't you sort of doing that already? Not so much then. And by making the offer I got to set a few terms. ::Haruko smiles with pride:: If you don't mind my asking, like what? Well some ability to say no with fighting. And that he'd call me by name, but he already agreed to that. And! ::Haruko pauses for a moment:: * Satoshi waits for her to finish. * Haruko then adjusts her stance and speaks with considerable pride. "I get to ride his bike!" There's then a jolt and Haruko loses her powerpose and footing and teeters on the brink of falling. * Satoshi reaches out and carefully steadies her. "Careful!" (Hmm.. body roll for my amusement) (Do I need to make a body/SS roll to counter it? ;p) * Haruko still loses her footing and trips grabbing on to Satoshi so she doesn't fall flat on her face. * Satoshi reflexively grabs her with one arm and then blushes as he realizes that there's an attractive female in *very* close proximity. "Maybe we should try to find a seat..." * Haruko blushes slightly. "Maybe I did have a little much." Yes. I think you did. * Satoshi looks around for an empty seat. [There's none!] * Haruko slowly regains her footing but doesn't let go of Satoshi. "And so while he's gone I got his bike. And he mostly gives good instructions anyways." * Satoshi sighs quietly and adjusts his hold on her. "I'll admit that I *was* wondering how you'd managed to convince him to let you take care of his bike." * Haruko grins. "That and looking after his cat." He probably wouldn't be too happy if he found out you were drunk while looking after his cat, though better the cat than the bike. * Haruko also goes into a slightly tired slump against Satoshi. "Oh he'd just be amused. Anyways, I promised I would spend extra time with him this weekend." Promised Kyon or promised Kumaguro? * Haruko thinks. It takes her a few seconds. "Kyon first. But I also told Kumaguro I'd do it." * Haruko also stays fairly slumped. How do you entertain a cat, anyway? [There's another stop, and a bunch of people get off, freeing up some chairs.] Here, let's get a seat. * Haruko nods and quickly moves to grab one. * Satoshi makes sure Haruko isn't going to fall over in the process. If there's another one, then he sits next to her; otherwise, he stands in the aisle. [There is!] * Satoshi sits, then! * Haruko manages to stay standing before she reaches the seat thanks to Satoshi's help. She then slumps again, resting slightly against the window and slightly against him. "Well you play with him some. And I think humans amuse them just by being us. Strange creatures." And some of us stranger than most. * Haruko grins and tilts her head to look at Satoshi and speaks with mock pride. "Well, I'm sure you don't put *me* on that list." Considering the people we encounter... * Haruko keeps the grin. "Go me. Sorta." * Satoshi laughs. Want to come with me? I promise I'll protect you from the cat. I'm not worried about the cat. Should I be worried? * Haruko shakes her head slightly and smiles. "Nope. Just wanted you to know that I'm here to protect you." I shall sleep safer at night knowing that. Good! * Satoshi shifts a little in his seat. "And, of course, watching the cat means you don't have to go home until you've sobered up a little." Ooh. That to! * Satoshi eyes her. "And that wasn't among your original intentions?" Well father knows about the rice wine at the festival of course. Although he might tell me to keep it to a glass... half a glass.. a few sips. * Satoshi shakes his head. "You do this sort of thing a lot." * Haruko looks indignant. "I do not. Nobody is ever willing to drink with me!" Yeah, but every time there's been a chance for you to drink... Well there were only like two times. And a few times with Eriko. ::Haruko giggles:: Eriko got sooo drunk today. Yeah? * Haruko nods from her position on Satoshi's shoulder. "She's a funny drunk. Much happier than you'd think. She even hit on me a little." She what? She said I was cute. ::Haruko giggles more:: But my chest was small for her taste. Which is simpler really. (See, this is the part where I wish it would be perfectly in-character to say that we'll just have to fix Eriko up with Akemi. ;p) Um. Right. So I can see why she'd be into Saki. I wonder if I could set her up with Akemi instead. ::Haruko appears deep in thought:: On the one hand I don't think she's into girls. From the way she behaves... I don't really think so... * Satoshi shifts slightly uncomfortably. Yeah. I don't really see the appeal of girls myself. But on the other hand its easier to understand than the appeal of Kaede. * Haruko looks up to Satoshi. "What do you think?" I don't think I'm the right person to be asking about the appeal of Kaede. * Haruko nods and yawns. "This is true. Well maybe Akemi has a friend." [Haruko falls asleep on Satoshi's shoulder.] * Satoshi lets her rest, figuring he'll wake her when they get to their stop. [Which they do. End!]