[Day: Friday, April 2nd. Time: 10:30 p.m.] [Weather: A cool, rainy night.] [It's late. You're at Katie's. Saki's still bleeding on her bed. It's gonna be a pain to clean that up.] [Action] [Taki and Kaede and Satoshi are asleep in the living room.] * Haruko wipes her brow as she heads over to Katie. She got back about not so long ago and then focused on finishing healing the sleeping people. "Right, your turn if you like." * Katie has taken up residence in the kitchen, with everyone else snoozing in the living room or her own room. She's thrown some things in the wash and is waiting for it to finish (specifically, bloodstained things), and actually has homework out in front of her. * Haruko changed to her civies for the ride home. She looks slightly odd as she used her robe for some make shift bandages under that. * Katie glances up and at Haruko's eyes briefly before turning her attention back to the trigonometry. "Okay." * Haruko still has dark blue specked eyes, she sits down by Katie. "If you don't mind horribly, I could use two things." (/me incidentally unless Brett objects, called her parents and told them she was on healing duty and would be at Katie's. I'm presuming her dad told her to make sure her homework was done.) (We'll say she handled it while dealing with sleeping people. :P) * Katie peers at this problem. Opposite over hypotenuse... sine. She punches something into her calculator. "Yeah?" * Haruko puts her left arm up on the table, it has a not so good bandaging job down at the wrist. "I'd appreciate it if you could tighten this, it was tricky to do one handed. ::she then smiles:: And I was wondering if I could get one of those beers you had earlier, or sake, or something. * Katie nods, finishing her equation. "Okay, one sec." * Haruko nods. "My, when you say you're clear, you mean it." * Haruko settles in her chair a bit. * Katie lets out an almost indignant huff. "I have to get my homework done *some* time." * Katie sets her pencil down and turns in her chair, looking at Haruko's arm. She works on fixing up the bandages. * Haruko nods. "Father was insistant I handle mine, I managed to get it done on the subway back and then between healing Satoshi and Taki. They weren't really great conversationalists." Yeah, I bet they weren't. Too busy pretending they're dead? (What, I'm not allowed to be tired in peace? ;p) (Nope.) * Haruko nods, she winces slightly while Katie tightens one bandage than smiles. "Yeah. And thanks, that's better." * Katie smiles a little. "You're welcome. Now, beer or sake? Pick one, 'cause you're only getting one." (Who's pretending? z.x) ( About that, Taki's dead, I just stayed by her for a bit because of a tough homework problem. She muttered something about loving you. Or Haiti. Probably wasn't important.) ( Haiti? I KNEW it!) (* Taki gives one last wail from her death bed. "Viva la revolution!") * Haruko thinks. "Uh, specialty of the house I guess." * Haruko returns the smile. * Katie huhs. "I guess... unless you want me to break into the liqour cabinet, beer it is." She shoves her chair back and gets up, crossing the kitchen, digging in the fridge, and popping open a bottle of beer. She returns and sets it in front of Haruko. Katie has such trusting parents. ( Where's mah beer dun gone!?) ( No idea, Daddy.) ( That's mah gurl.) ( ^_^) * Haruko takes a sip. "Not bad." She rests her hand on Katie's side and starts concentrating on healing her. * Katie snickers a little and works on her next problem. "I don't know how you can say 'not bad'. Beer's nasty stuff." * Haruko shurgs. "You acquire a taste for it." * Haruko takes another slightly longer sip. Yeah, well. I'm not in a hurry. Fair enough. Hiroji just always seemed to have one handy when I was over. ::she grins:: Can't imagine why. Hiroji? Mechanic, dated him for a bit. ::Haruko takes another again slightly longer group:: Pretty fun, just didn't know how to be in a relationship with a better mechanic. Oh. * Katie presses a few keys and writes the result down. "He was jealous?" * Haruko shrugs. "Not so much, there was this thing with a napkin where he tried to explain a concept to me. But he got it wrong, and got frustrated cause I kept pointing out his mistake." * Katie lets out a faint hmm. "I don't see why he'd be frustrated. I mean, if you're right and he's wrong, he should be glad, because you're saving trouble later." * Haruko takes another drink. "It was actually kinda funny. Poor napkin got shredded by the diagrams he was drawing." She then looks slightly askance at Katie. "So maybe I should have been more understanding, I tried to be polite about it. He was actually kinda cute when he was really trying to work something out." * Katie grins. "That's important." * Haruko sets down the beer for the moment. Her face has a slightly reddish tone. "Yup. So, how's Ken doing?" Oh, you know when I saw him last. He's a jerk like always. * Katie starts the next one. * Haruko grins slightly. "Ah, well, so much for my you were making out theory." * Haruko has a definate teasing tone in her voic. * Katie grins a little and responds, just as teasingly, "No, that's later." * Haruko smiles. "Good, make him buy you dinner and something nice first for all that time he was a jerk." * Haruko takes another sip of her beer. That's the idea. * Haruko giggles. * Katie stops for a moment, and her eyes almost seem to glaze over. Then she shakes her head and gets back to work. * Haruko looks at Katie again, "You okay? Anything you want to talk about?" * Haruko seems to think that question merits picking up her beer again and taking another drink. I don't know. And if you get drunk off of one beer, you are not hearing the end of it. * Haruko grins. "I'm not that bad. To Hiroji-kun's disappointment I'm sure." Well, anything you want to hear about then? Nah. If he's anything like the type of guy you should go out with, he wouldn't do anything to you if you're drunk, anyway. * Haruko giggles. "You're right, but he might have wanted to make a show of how he wouldn't do anything." She takes another sip, smaller one this time. She is getting a bit redder. * Haruko does manage to keep healing Katie while she's at this though. * Katie snickers. "Yeah. Like you'd remember." * Haruko snorts. "I'm not that bad." She then glances over to Kaede to make sure he's asleep. "You hear our conversation earlier?" Which one? * Haruko looks back and says somewhat conspiratorial. "The one where he was nice." * Katie blinks, then gives up and sets her pencil down. She leans back and looks at Haruko. "He was nice." * Haruko takes another drink. Even a drink for her isn't that big, but she is slowly working her way through. I know! He was freaking me out. But I checked his eyes like three times, one times his eyes were closed, but not the other two, and he hasn't really been alone all night. * Haruko takes another sip. (Katie's a brave woman if she's doing her trig homework in pen @_@) (She does it in pencil.) (I goofed there. ;P) (colored pencil!) (Probably.) (What color?) (RAINBOW.) (^_^) * Katie manages to keep a straight face. "So, he was scaring you because he was nice. I thought you'd be happy if he's nice." * Haruko takes another sip. "It's just so out of character. I mean he's been changing ever since you've been in the hospital, but I didn't know it went this far. He said I had a good idea. An idea that was intended to help him!" * Katie nods and says, with just a tiny hint of teasing, "Maybe it's because you had a good idea." * Haruko rolls her eyes and takes another drink. "Yeah, that'd do it two weeks ago if it was about his life. I don't know, I think his protections have all been broken down. He switches moods and is nicer, but not quite as effective." Takes another sip. "But it's Takeuchi-san, what the heck do I know?" It's not like you know that much about him, Haruko. * Katie picks up her pencil again and turns her text page. * Haruko snorts. "I know more than you'd think, just didn't do any good. But anyways, you're sane again, he's your problem." She takes another sip. * Katie blinks and is silent a moment, working out her problem, before she asks, "What do you mean by my problem?" Well, we can't stand each other, Kyon's away, Taki has issues, Satoshi's helping Taki, Nanami isn't speaking to him, which is making things worse I'm sure, so basically you're all he's got to look after him. Well, there's Akemi, she does good work, but they're distant just cause she was a spy. * Haruko pushes the beer away for now. It's a bit over half empty and she's quite red, about as much as she's going to get. * Katie processes that for a moment. I hope you can learn to stand each other, then. Because he's as much your "problem" as anyone else's. * Haruko shrugs. "Even if we do, not like help from me is what he wants. He's made that quite clear. Except for that time he didn't like it when I said he wouldn't want to hear something from me." She looks over to Katie, her eyes focus after half a second. Anyways, you like him, I don't, he likes you, not me, congratulations you're the one suited to help. * Katie rolls her eyes. "I'm... . Really." She punches a few buttons on her calculator and writes. * Haruko tilts her head. "You're what?" Um... I don't know how to put it. * Haruko nods and takes another sip. She smiles slightly. "Well, doesn't sound too insulting. Anyways, just as well, I had an approach down, but I'd probably have botched it and just made him mad. There just wasn't anyone else." You could try again. Just a different way. Most of the improvement in our relationship came when I stopped trying and learned to keep my mouth shut. I don't feel like going back. ::she grabs the beer:: Although if he decides to get insulting again while we're working on the headband I swear I'll chloroform him and bring in Hirokazu instead. * Haruko takes another drink. You know he probably doesn't mean to be insulting. He has too much on his mind to think about hurting you. * Haruko snorts. "Hell, I could see that. Then just his natural demenor and opinion of me as a mostly worthless, selfish, and uncaring person manage to shine through so brightly that he hurts me worse than anyone else without even trying." ( Which is in itself insulting :P ) (Yes. ;P) * Haruko takes another longer drink. No. He hurts you worse because he's not trying, so you start to believe it. And that hurts. * Katie scribbles out a few numbers and bites her lip as she looks a this problem. "But, if I were to ask him what he really thinks about you, I don't think he'd say any of those things." * Haruko laughs. "Yeah, I'm sure he'd use different words." Very funny. Or maybe: Pfft, like I have time to form an opinion of Haruko. Let me ask you a question, Haruko. * Haruko takes another sip. "Sure." * Katie looks at the other girl. "If everyone you thought cared about you went away, or crazy, or something, without fail. They betray and leave you. Would you want to care enough about people to form an opinion of them?" Because I know I wouldn't. I didn't want to care, and that didn't even happen to me. * Haruko shrugs and puts the beer down. "I can't know. I just know that I can't imagine living like that, and I don't want to be subjected to the treatment he gives me. It's his life, if he wants to shut people out that's his business, and I can see how he got here. I want the best for him, and maybe it makes me a bad person, but I don't want to deal with him." Oh, please. He doesn't give you any treatment. You're just fixated on him because you can't figure him out. * Haruko scowls. "Oh, I've earned his attention before. Made him care even. Shoved me away as hard as he could. And I'm going to respect that." * Katie nods. "Good job." She sounds like she means it. * Haruko nurses her beer. "Well, he didn't walk out infront of a car or something. Though that might have been Taki's work." Maybe, but really, good job. You were there for him when I couldn't be. * Katie lets out a light sigh. "He's not always sad, you know." * Haruko gives a somewhat mean spirited grin and looks like she's going to say something but she bites it down. "Good, I'm glad to hear it." * Haruko does sound like she means that. * Katie nods. And goes back to her work. * Haruko then grins slightly. "So, miss I'd also rather not care, what was on your mind earlier?" How much earlier? * Haruko chuckles slightly. "I was thinking of the start of this conversation, but if there's something more important go with that." * Haruko is nearly done healing Katie for the day by now. * Katie is silent for a while, then she says, "I was thinking about how I might be losing my best friend, and I was thinking about how I'm changing, and I'm wondering if it's worth it. And I was thinking about the twenty or so hours and what they could have done to me in that time." * Haruko sighs and pushes the beer away again. She mostly focuses on Katie. "I'm sorry about Chikako, you don't deserve that, I'll see if I can get anything from Kyon about what she's feeling..." * Haruko pauses a moment before continuing. * Katie 's gaze hardens briefly at that, but she's doing her homework. (Whereas she really just reached a really hard cotangent.) (Evidently. Man, I hate trig.) * Haruko frowns. "You don't deserve how he's treated you either. But he said if it was important to go after Soichirou we should, we should just bring backup." * Haruko has a slightly guilty tone of voice as she says that, she takes another sip from her beer, about a third or so left. * Katie says, with very clear and careful tones, "I don't care what he said." (Matter of fact, why don't we just gather up everyone we don't like, put them in a line, and make a Katie shooting gallery?) (I'd like that.) (Because, I want to kill Tenjirou too!) (Katie could make a list. It's a long list.) (You already did. Remember WNN Taki) (Oh yeah... Carry on!) * Haruko sighs, "Sometimes people don't stop being important even after they betray you and hurt your friends, badly. Childhood can do weird things to people." I know. But if you can feel fine not liking Kaede because of what the past did to him, then I'm allowed to be upset over my... my *friend* deciding someone who'd torture me and laugh is worth his time and effort. * Katie punches in an equation and writes. * Haruko nods. "You're allowed. You have good reason." She takes another drink and then sets the beer down. "If it would help, I'll promise I'll only thwap him with a newspaper if he really pisses me off. Chloroform and tire irons off the table." * Haruko does sounds about half serious with that last bit. Yeah, all right. * Katie doesn't sound like she entirely heard that. * Haruko looks at Katie and doesn't change her tone at all. "Or maybe I'll just tell Hirokazu to teach him to love again." Wouldn't work. Hirokazu's not interested in guys. Naw, but he's interested in me, so he'll do what I tell him. I bet he's at least a little... um... . Afraid of boys liking each other. (...you know? Now I have this image of Hirokazu sitting Kaede down to a nice hentai date sim game at those orders ;P) (Heee!) (HA!) (Not only that, it'd be his latest masterpiece) Oh, probably. Well then maybe he can find some nice magazines or webpages to explain to Kaede exactly why Akemi wouldn't be a waste of his time. Kaede already knows Akemi isn't a waste of his time. * Haruko smiles. "You're right. Guess it shows there's hope for him." In a perfect world, there would be hope for everybody. We'll take what we get. ( Even you, Haruko!) * Haruko takes another drink. "Akemi's not bad at all as hope goes. But I'm getting distracted." She then concentrates a moment, trying to recall what she was talking about earlier. She's not. She's really good for him. And you are. * Haruko finishes her beer in one sip. She scowls and seems to be pondering if she's willing to do something. (One gulp more like it) * Katie is doing something! Homework! * Haruko seems to make her decision. She gestures slightly with the empty bottle as speaks. "Look, our situations aren't the same, you've had it way worse than I have thanks to some wretched twist of fate. And Takeuchi-san never even pined for Shingo or something like that..." * Haruko takes a long breath. * Katie sets the pencil down and just looks at Haruko. (Katie had it way worse than Haruko because people like her and her background's so freaking normal.) (Nah.) (Katie had it way worse than Haruko because she's the main character.) (*snark*) * Haruko puts her beer bottle down. "But if we're going to have to make a lot of hard choices if we're going to like who we end up as if we get out of this alive." * Haruko , who is still red, focuses on Katie again. * Haruko takes a little time to do that. * Katie takes a moment to parse that. This is, after all, Haruko speak. Tipsy Haruko speak. But she nods. * Haruko sighs. "Do what you feel. Maybe wait til we deal with them, because we're going to deal with them, I'm not inclined to forgive. But that's not what I'm trying to say." * Haruko takes another moment to screw up some courage. * Katie waits. I'll listen to what you said, I don't think we'll be real friends, but maybe we can be something better. Just talk to him ::Haruko's voice saddens:: because it hurts, a lot, even knowing he has his reasons. I will. I was going to anyway. But Haruko... * Haruko nods and lets her hand drop. She pauses before she says something more. * Katie takes a breath and thinks for a moment, then lets it out. "You're going to have to deal with it yourself. You can call him my 'problem' all you want, but half of this is coming from you. And I can't fix it for you." * Haruko snorts. "He has way more important things he needs help with than our so-called relationship." She then settles. "I'll do my part." * Katie nods. As for you, I won't bargain with you or badger you. I'll help with Kyon if you want it or stay out if you prefer. Just... they can hurt us, and they can kill us, but they can't decide who we are. Some choices will drive us crazy, some will get us killed, but it's still up to us. * Katie looks puzzled. "They?" * Haruko sees if she can't get any more beer out of the bottle, tapping at the side a little. After a few seconds she sets it down. The enemy, in all their forms, those who've been mostly been concentrating on hurting you, they are won't big mass, and we'll strategize and investigate and all that. But it's not them that matters, it's us. We can't control what other people do to us, or that we have to change, but we do get to decide what form that change takes. * Haruko tries putting a finger in the bottle and seeing if she can reach any on the side. Just, some choices are a lot harder than others. And we don't always find out what the right one is until afterwards. Not always, no. * Katie reaches over and grabs the bottle, gently pulling it from the other girl's hands. "It's empty, Haruko." * Haruko pouts. "I know." She sighs. "So, I have my opinions, but Kyon's your choice, I'll respect that. On the rest, well, I'll support you, and sometimes be a pain in the butt when I think you're going the wrong way. So fair warning." * Katie studies her for a moment, and then she allows herself a soft smile. "I'll trust your judgement about me and Kyon." She sets the bottle on the table, out of Haruko's reach. * Haruko smiles at that, it lasts for a few seconds. Then she looks at the bottle for a moment as if evaluting distance and pouts again before looking back. "Guess I'll ask Takeuchi-san what he'd prefer I call him. Betcha he's just going to say whatever, it doesn't matter to him." She grins at that. Call him? Y'know, I didn't really think I had the right to be so familar as to call him Kaede after I pushed him like I did. ::she gives a half smile-grin:: Or maybe I was retaliating for Haruko-san. Probably both. ::she shrugs::: Oh. * Katie thinks that over. "I guess it couldn't hurt." * Haruko smiles slightly. "Two out of three things I'll probably do are wrong. Guess we'll have to hope the third works out well." She then gets up, initially a tad unsteady, but alright after that. "Mind if I get a shower before I go to bed? I feel like a mess." * Katie shakes her head. "No. I'll get you some towels." She stands, judging Haruko's height. "Do you need clothes?" * Haruko looks at the outfit she changed into. She stands about the same height as Katie. "These aren't too bad, if I could throw them in the wash. Or if you don't mind loaning some..." Nah. And I've got a wash going right now, so I'll just toss those in with them. * Katie leads Haruko off. To make sure she doesn't fall down. Er, to get her towels and clothes. Yeah. Thanks. I'll toss them out, could use a pair of pajamas though. ::she groans slightly:: Enough of the gangs seen me naked at this point, don't think we need any more of that. * Katie rolls her eyes. " Yeah, I can do that. I'll try to find some sleeping bags, too. I'm going to need one, anyway." * Haruko glances at Katie. "What was that? And thanks. I'll help tomorrow with the blood, I'm getting practiced with using my powers to help. Oh... before I forget." * Haruko stops to think for a moment, as what exactly she's trying not to forget eludes her for the time being. * Katie pulls a set of towels out of a hall closet, placing them carefully on Haruko's head. She then darts into her room and, careful not to wake Saki, grabs a clean oversized t-shirt and flannel pants. * Haruko wavers slightly and the towels fall off, but she catches most of them as they fall. "Yeah, Akemi said we can get a discount at massages. I think we've earned it. Maybe tomorrow cause Tenjirou's going to be laying low. Or after that if you prefer." * Katie blinks once, then nods. "Maybe. There's a lot to do." She helps pick the towels off the floor. * Haruko takes them and snickers. "Thanks. Well, the boys don't know how to relax, so they could make sure stuff gets done anyways. Oh.. and about Saki..." * Haruko heads off to the shower, gripping the towels tightly to her as she goes. "She put her arms around my neck and contemplating killing me, cause, you know, I got her shot. So, maybe aside from when she needs healing you should handle diplomacy with her. I'll handle Ryuji... and Eriko." * Katie wrinkles her nose a little. She'll get over it. You take your shower. It's right over there. * Katie points it out, in case Haruko misses it in her not-quite-drunken ramblings. * Haruko nods. "I think so, I'm not worried about it, just don't think I'm our best advocate right now. She takes a moment to figure out where Katie's pointing and then mostly closes the door. She tosses out her dirty clothes from behind the door a few seconds after. * Haruko probably made enough of a splash when she did so that her technique for avoiding tipsy undressing is fairly obvious. * Katie snatches the clothes, then goes to toss them in the wash. And work on homework! She has to finish it sometime. [Minisession End!]