[Day: Friday April 22nd. Time: In the afternoon. Taki and Haruko are walking down the street in front of their school, and for once Taki seems to be leading.] [Start!] * Haruko follows quietly. It probably won't last long if Taki doesn't say anything. * Taki glances at Haruko, and then down, and then at Haruko again. She starts to say something and then stops and takes a deep breath. "I... Haruko?" * Haruko makes eye contact with Taki whenever she looks up. "Yes?" Has... did... did Satoshi... say or ... do I mean... he just... * Taki looks like she really doesn't want to say what she's trying to say. * Haruko takes a moment to process that. "I'm sorry, but yes. He broke up with you. It wasn't a dream or a fake." * Taki slumps like she's going to fall over on the spot, but catches herself and balls her hands into fists. "I.... I was afraid you'd say that." * Haruko rushes up to catch Taki. She eases up a bit when Taki asserts herself. "Yeah, smart of you to check. But, it's real." * Taki gives Haruko a crooked smile. "That's... sort of... most of why I needed someone to come with me." * Haruko smiles and looks a bit impressed. "Good call." * Taki reaches up and tugs on her ponytail. "It's... something right out of a bad romance... but... I I'm ... going to get this cut off." * Haruko looks thoughtful a moment. "Are you sure? I mean, it's not a tattoo, but if you change your mind it will take a while to grow back." * Taki nods. "I... I need to change myself more, I tried... just before I met Katie and Shi- Meimi's Shingo, but... It... It's like none of that was real... Satoshi and I... This's another new beginning." * Haruko nods. "I understand. How did you try to change yourself then? I hadn't joined up yet. * Taki speaks softly. "I... used to dye my hair black... and just be as plain and ordinary and and just hide from everything. Then... one night... I looked at a mirror, and realized... That ...that... the girl there was nothing... and I hated her." * Haruko nods and listens. * Taki continues. "I wanted...needed to be me. But... I didn't... don't know who I am, just who I'm not... who I don't want to be. I washed out my hair because it wasn't me... and I ... I went looking for people... who were different... and didn't fit in." People who knew who they were. * Taki nods and her voice drops farther. "... I found Shingo... who wasn't real...and Katie... who ... isn't... who she used to be anymore." * Haruko bites her lip as she listens. "The original Katie was real. But who she was changed. Knowing who you are doesn't guarantee stability." I... don't need stability... Just a ... a way to remind myself real is now, and ... now isn't the way I want it to be. * Haruko nods. "So cutting your hair reminds you of what’s real." It... it divides now from then. I'm not dating Satoshi anymore and... and I have to move on. So what do you want when this is over? * Taki looks at Haruko and says steadily, for once. "I don't care anymore. For now I just want to be me. And I'm not dating Satoshi." * Haruko nods in acknowledgment. "Well, if you want to remember that now isn't the way you want it to be, you're going to have to figure out at least one thing you do want." * Taki looks at her feet. "I... can't have what I want right now... so ... I'm going to make sure I don't ... I know what I don't want, so I'll start there." What don't you want? I... that's.... * Taki points up ahead. "There it is." She hurries off. * Haruko keeps up. She gets out a piece of paper as she goes and jots something down. "Just so you know, I'll ask again later." * Taki nods slightly as she ducks in the door. * Haruko follows Taki in and finds a seat and glances through the magazines for hotties. * Taki spends several minutes talking to the barber about what to do with her hair, eventually settling on a cut that spirals in length between her uneven bangs. She grips the arms of the chair tightly as he starts to cut off many years worth of hair. * Haruko skims her Pretty Boy mag until the actual cutting starts. Then she lowers the magazine and watches as Taki gets shorter hair than the boys she was just looking at. * Taki is trembling slightly, and occasionally her fingers go white from clutching the chair. * Haruko puts down the magazine and walks up to the barber. She waits until he's not doing any blade and says quietly, "This might be easier for her if I hold her hand. Is that okay?" [The barber nods and Taki pries one her hands free. "Th.thanks." * Haruko kneels by the chair to keep out of the way and takes Taki's hand. She looks up at Taki and smiles. "You're doing well. It's a good look." I.. I'll be in trouble if it doesn't. Don't worry about that. You look more like an adult, it suits you. Session Time: Wed Nov 08 00:00:00 2006 I... don't feel like one. We've all had to act like ones for a while. Holding down a job is nothing next to what we've seen. * Haruko figures the barber will write that one off as teenage hubris. She does say it quietly though. I... haven't done a very good job of it. We're still here. It's a good start. * Taki resists the urge to nod and instead says softly, "yeah." I still want more. If you do too, I'll keep trying to help you however I can. (Wow, I parsed that badly.) * Taki doesn't say anything in response to that. If you want, tomorrow we can go cruising for... people. No! ... No... I... * Taki tries to indicate the barber with her eyes. Right... later. For the ride tonight, ice cream. Sound good? ... Yeah. * Haruko smiles at that. She then stays quiet for now. Only so much to say whie the barber is listening. * Taki finishes getting her hair cut some time later and rather gingerly looks into a mirror. "It's... so short." She reaches up to feel it with the hand Haruko isn't holding. * Haruko nods and stands up. She tries to stay out of the way of the barber who holds up a second mirror to show Taki the back of her hair. "I like it." I... thanks. * Haruko waits a bit to see if Taki can afford this. She looks ready to pay if Taki can't. * Taki does pay for her haircut, and her purse contains more money than is usually in there, it's like she planned it. * Haruko smiles but doesn't comment on this outcome. "Shall we head to the station?" * Taki nods. "Yeah... thanks. I ... needed somebody there more than... more than I thought." * Haruko nods and smiles. As they leave the shop she sticks a hand in her pocket and notices the note she deposited earlier. She quickly refreshes her memory. "So..." * Taki looks at Haruko nervously. "... So... I'm going to be a nicer person... who tries to do more." * Haruko nods. "You don't really need to worry about nicer." * Taki starts to say something and then quickly looks away. What? Nothing. Uh huh. * Taki looks at her watch. "... My apartment's not far from here... I'll see you at the train station." * Haruko nods. "I have some calls to make. I don't have time to hit home, so I'll probably catch up with you again before you get there. * Taki waves and then runs off. [End!]