[Day: Monday, February 10th. Time: 1:00 p.m.] [Weather: Calm and overcast, and a bit chilly.] [Katie heads for the ramen stand to find her date, Taro. As a matter of fact, he's already there! They plan to see Tokyo Tower today. Won't that be fun? Someone shoot me now x.x] [Session Start] (*shoots you*) * Katie walks quickly, holding a battered shoebox in her gloved hands. * Taro wears nice but non-descript clothes. Taro? I'm not late, am I? * Taro looks up and smiles, putting his hand behind his head. "Katie! Uh, no... no, I'm early." * Katie smiles, blushing slightly. "Oh, okay. Um, this is for you." She hands him the shoebox. Eh? * Taro blinks a few times and takes it nervously, because he sure doesn't have anything to give back. I mean, as... okay, it's a present. And I don't expect anything in return, so don't go out of your way, all right? Um.... Okay, but... I was just, um. I was working on it when you called, and I thought you might like it. If you want, think of it as thanks for sticking up for me at the dance, okay? * Taro opens the box. A pie splats him in the face! No, not really, but that'd be pretty funny, wouldn't it? (Yes, it would!) B-but I didn't.... really. * Katie wrings her hands nervously as she waits for him to pull apart the tissue paper to see the polished carving underneath. No, you did. You're the second person who's ever done that for me, and the first... um... * Katie looks away. "Let's just say it wasn't real." * Taro pulls apart the tissue paper and sees the polished carving underneath. He doesn't exist, right? * Katie blinks and looks up at Taro, surprise evident. "How did you know?" * Taro looks up and blinks. "Well, I can see it's quite good." He holds up the carving. * Taro grins. "There's no need to be modest." * Katie blushes a little, then blinks. "You're not one to talk about modesty, Taro," she says, her voice hanging on the edge of suspicion. Eh? I, uh... I just meant... It's very nice, really... * Katie blinks again and peers at Taro more closely. * Taro blinks. "What? It's... nothing. I'm just easily freaked, I think. * Katie smiles. "I'm glad you like it." * Taro puts his hands to his face. "Is there something on my face?" He feels frantically. No, no! ... Oh. * Katie grabs his hand and pulls it away. "Nothing on your face." * Taro chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "Okay." * Katie smiles a little more confidently. "So, it's yours now. There's no point in making those if I can't share them." Well... thanks! Well, shall we be on our way? * Katie nods. "Sure." [And away they go!] [Time: 1:30] [Katie and Taro arrive at the entrance to Tokyo Tower! ... Did it get taller, or is that just your imagination?] * Katie looks up. Did it get taller? Wow. * Taro seems oblivious. "Well, shall we?" He grins and rubs his neck nervously. * Katie smiles nervously at Taro. Tokyo Tower... well, here goes nothing. "I think so." * Taro heads on in, holding the door for Katie. * Katie walks in. "Thanks." ( And then the tower fell on them both. Hey, the Hobo warned you. ) (;_; I never listen to the right advice. ) [Inside, Katie gets an ominous feeling... Or maybe it's just her. Taro doesn't seem to mind. He leads Katie towards the elevator, where several other people are getting on as well.] * Katie grimaces. Oh yeah, elevators. Well, if she has to... * Katie swallows and steps in. She's by the door. She *stays* by the door. This'll be fun. The Tower's taller than any building in this area, you know. * Katie nods. "Yeah, it is," she says absently, trying to keep herself from shaking. ( Make a mind roll, by the way. ) ( Actually, perception roll. ) 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-4) and gets 2. (Done and done.) [Katie happens to notice a distinct lack of a "down" button on this elevator.] * Katie blinks and glances at Taro. "Which enterance are we at?" Um... I wasn't paying attention. Why? Just wondering, is all. [After what seems like a long time (well, it IS a pretty long elevator ride...), the doors open.] * Katie stumbles out and to one side, letting people through. She's shaking and near tears. * Taro follows Katie out. "What's wrong?" * Katie wipes the back of her hand across her eyes and slumps against the wall. "I- I have problems with closed in places." * Taro sympathetically says, "Oh." * Katie nods and hugs herself, taking deep breaths. Well, um... Stairs are off limits, so.... * Taro slumps. "Sorry. If I'd known..." It's... it's okay. * Katie smiles shakily, and she gradually composes herself. "I have to take elevators sometimes." * Taro rubs the back of his head nervously. "Well..." His eyes wander, and come to one of those pay-per-view binoculars. "Hey, why don't you look through there? I'll pay." * Katie nods and heads over there. "Sure." She looks out one of the windows. "It *is* pretty." * Taro stands near one of the binocular-things and waits for Katie to start looking through it before plunking a good five hundred yen in, because he wants to get as much time for his money as possible. :P * Katie looks through the binoculars! She tries spotting Sakuragaoka, for kicks. [Katie searches and searches... She finds it! She gets a nice view of the roof, where Saki is, despite this being a day off. She's wearing her typical biker getup, and talking to someone she doesn't recognize, and... Oh my, he won't be walking away anytime soon after that punch.] * Katie blinks. "Hm, Saki's on the roof. Figures." She tries to get a better look at the boy. * Taro makes a face, but Katie can't see. (I sense a disturbance in the Taro.) [Katie can't see him, as Saki knocked him into the wall at an angle she... well, can't see :P] * Katie sighs slightly, then decides to scope out other places. Her house, the ramen stand, and such. [Katie sees the ramen stand. Two customers are walking up to it now. The ramen guy waves, and Katie can almost read "Hi every-bo-dy!" from his lips.] [As Katie looks for her house, she finds instead a giant owl heading straight for her! Eek!] * Katie yelps and jumps back. * Taro blinks. "What's wrong?" * Katie blinks at the window. "Um, did you see an owl just now?" Huh? * Taro looks around, then up, and points. "Yeah, there's one. Wonder why it's up in the afternoon." [The owl is, of course, a lot smaller now that you're not looking at it through binoculars.] * Katie nods. "Yeah, me too. It's unusual." She looks through the binoculars again. ( If this were MC, Katie would see Kirby :P ) ( But it's not, so... ) [Katie finds her view is centered on a Chinese restaurant some few miles from Sakuragaoka.] [Katie happens to view a small Shinto shrine. And if she didn't know better, she'd say the shrine maiden sweeping the stairs was Haruko.] * Katie tries getting a look at the owl again. [Unfortunately, the owl has flown over Tokyo Tower by now. It was pretty close to begin with, after all.] Mmm. You want a look, Taro? Nah. I'll catch the next one. It's only 500 yen. * Katie smiles slightly. "If you're sure." * Taro meanwhile leers at Katie without her being able to tell! :P ( Kidding :P ) (>.> Down boy.) [Katie comes across something interesting!] * Katie takes a look! [Near a somewhat familiar bridge are two people. One, a long haired man in a trench coat, holding a sheathed katana at his side. The other, a younger- looking boy pointing a broadsword at him threateningly.] * Katie blinks, trying to identify them. ( Not that this is hard to guess, but if you REALLY want to know, roll an awareness check :P ) 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-4) and gets 2. [Katie realizes it's Ryuji and Shingo :P] (I know, but I desire concrete info. ^^) (Heh.) * Katie frowns slightly. Figures. Only a matter of time before the field goes up. [Ryuji's back is towards you, so you can't tell if he's speaking or not.] [In fact, a field doesn't seem to go up. Shingo makes a single charge. Ryuji draws his blade and disarms Shingo in a single motion.] ( I will call an eastern wind. Hey!) [Ryuji turns, sheathing his blade as he does so. He looks back at the stunned Shingo and says something, then walks off.] * Katie whistles. "You were right, Taro. Ryuji is good." ( "Katie, get over here!" :P ) ( One eastern wind comin' right up!) Yeah, he's really... Wait, what do you mean? ( This is so not fair. ;_;) Someone was just... well, I just saw him disarm someone with one strike. Nobody was hurt. * Taro blinks. "Huh. Well, who was it? Shin? He's pretty enthusiastic. Or Hiroshi? ... Nah, he wouldn't waste a day off...." I think I know who it is, but I'm not sure if you would. Hm? Why? Who was it? * Katie pulls her eyes from the binoculars and looks at Taro. "Shingo Ryuuzaki." Oh.... You're right. * Taro shrugs. "Maybe he's a friend of the captain?" * Katie shrugs, too. "I don't know. I didn't think they were." Really? I'll have to ask Ryuji tomorrow.... You don't think he's in some kind of trouble, do you? I don't know. * Katie runs a hand through her hair. "But from what I just saw, I think that if the trouble is Shingo, he can handle it." * Taro nods. "Yeah, you're probably right." He doesn't sound all that convinced, though. * Katie smiles a little. "But maybe it's best if you check on him, anyway. Even if we can handle things, that doesn't mean we don't need to be careful, right?" * Taro nods. "I will." You're a good friend, Taro. Ryuji's lucky to have you around. * Katie checks the binoculars. Has her time run out yet? * Taro blinks. He rubs the back of his neck and looks away. "I... Wouldn't say that, really..." [Not quite! ^_^] * Katie speaks as she keeps people/building/bird gazing. "Now who's being modest?" [Katie spots... the mall, a newspaper office (it's so cool!), the Sushi bar...] ( Thinks.... ) [But nothing else of interest. Then the meter runs out :P] * Katie sighs and she takes her eyes from the binoculars. "Your turn," she says, making a sweeping gesture towards them. Ok. * Taro drops some money in and peers. [Meanwhile, Katie hears, "C'mon, Ken-kun! Let's look through the binoculars!"] * Katie idly looks outside as Taro does so. Then she hears that and turns to look. [Sure enough, Ken is coming out of the elevators, his latest floozie tugging on his arm.] * Ken says as he's dragged. "Bah. I still don't see why we had to come here." Hey, I can see my house from here! * Katie grins. "That's great, Taro. Where do you live, anyway?" * Taro points. "Over there." For all the use that is. [As fate would have it, Ken is dragged in your direction.] [He hasn't quite noticed you yet. Nope, not yet.] * Katie doesn't seem to have any desire for Ken to notice her and looks at where Taro's house is. Well, the general direction, in any case. "I see," she says, even though she clearly doesn't. [Unfortunately for Katie, Ken notices her.] Hmph. I knew we shouldn't have come here. * Katie sighs and looks over at Ken. She folds her arms. "What are you doing, stalking me?" Excuse me? I'm not the one who wanted to come here. It's Aiko's idea. [The floozy huffs and loosens her grip on his arm. "It's Akiko."] * Ken disregards her with "Whatever." He turns his attention back at Katie. "So what are you doing here, Andrews?" * Taro turns around about now. "Huh?" * Katie smiles slightly, amused that Ken could remember her name, but not his floozy's. "Admiring the view. Spending time with Taro." * Taro scowls. * Ken scowls too. "You're still going out with this guy? Thought you were brighter than that, Andrews." Hey, back off. * Ken stands to his full height, about a head higher than Taro. "Yeah, why don't you make me?" * Taro clenches his fists. "Maybe I will." * Ken puts up his fists, too. "Yeah, bring it on, wimp." * Katie glances at Akiko. [Ken's floozy lets go of his arm and steps away. She pretends to look horrified, but her grin gives her away. Meanwhile, a crowd starts to gather around the impending fight.] * Taro turns to Katie. "You'd better move away." * Katie doesn't bother hiding her disgust with the floozy. She picks the shoebox off the floor. "But I don't... you don't need to fight for me, Taro." I don't mind... I want to. I hate guys like him. Oh, please. * Ken glances to Katie slightly. "This guy's a jerk, Andrews. You'll thank me for knocking his teeth out later, even if you don't admit it." * Katie narrows her eyes. "You're not one to talk, Ken. You made my life hell ever since I set foot in this country." * Taro growls. * Ken looks over at Katie. "I never-" Boy, does it cost him when Taro slugs him in the face. * Ken turns his attention back to Taro. "Okay, now you're gonna get it!" And throws his own punch. * Taro is better with a sword than with fists fights, unfortunately, and takes this head on. * Katie watches with a certain amount of resignation. An inner part of her seethes, wishing she could just intervine and force them to stop. * Taro throws his own punch, but now that Ken's paying attention, he doesn't have as much luck. Ken guards like a boxer, then hits him in the stomach. When he doubles over, Ken comes up with an uppercut right below his chin, knocking him back into the binoculars, where he slumps to the ground, holding his chin. * Katie runs over and stands between Ken and Taro. "Okay, that's enough." * Ken cracks his knuckles. "Hmph. That'll teach you." He looks to Andrews. "If you're bright, you'll get away from this loser as soon as possible." * Ken turns to leave. "Come on, Akane." [Ken's floozie follows. "It's Akiko."] * Katie snorts and turns, kneeling by Taro. "Are you all right?" [A bunch of onlookers ask the same question.] * Taro moans and staggers to his feet. "Y-Yeah, I'll be... fine." * Taro doesn't look like it, though. I guess I lost. Sorry... * Katie helps Taro up. "No, it's all right. Like I said, you didn't need to fight for me. Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" * Taro nods. Sorry this date didn't work out. [The crowd loses interest, since he's not dying, or anything :P] * Katie smiles slightly. "It worked well enough for me." Oh? I'll have to get beaten up more often, then. * Taro gives a weak grin. * Katie tweaks Taro's nose. "Not that part, silly." She leads him to the bathroom. ( Is she going in with him? :P ) (No! It's the guy's bathroom. :P) ( Well, you COULD lead him to the girls' bathroom instead... :P ) * Taro heads in, promising to be out soon. * Taro pops back out and hands Katie 500 yen. "Here, this might take a little bit... Go ahead and look through the binoculars again, if you like." * Katie chuckles. "Thanks, I think." She shrugs and goes to do that. It's a way to spend idle time. [Katie looks around again! Looking for anything in particular?] * Katie isn't, really! Sakuragaoka might be interesting. Maybe Saki's done. [Katie looks... Saki's still there! She's talking to someone. A different boy this time.] * Katie tries to get a look at that one! :P [His back is to Katie, but he's wearing black jeans and a navy-blue sweatshirt. He's pretty well built, too.] (What about hair?) [Brown, and a bit spiky, but not so much that it stands straight up.] [Saki is talking to him, arms folded. She looks annoyed.] [Suddenly, the boy turns and looks right in your direction! It's Jiro!] ['Cept he looks less puzzled and more menacing.] * Katie 's eyes widen in surprise. She suddenly wishes she learned how to lip read, even though it wouldn't do her any good from this far away. [Of course, his suddenly turning around seems to make Saki angry. She steps forwards and sweeps a hand out in front of herself, before bringing it back into a clenched fist.] [Jiro turns back. You can't tell whether he said anything or not, but Saki rushes at him.] [Suddenly, Katie finds she shifts her gaze to the right to look at a cute little lark in a tree nearby Sakuragaoka.] * Katie blinks and smiles despite herself. That's adorable. She shifts the binoculars, adjusting its focus. One of the first birds out of winter, too. [Sure is cute.] * Taro comes back. "Hey." * Katie tears her vision from the bird and looks at Taro. "Hi. Are you feeling better?" * Taro nods. He's not bleeding, but one eye is swelling up. I guess we'd better call it a day. Sorry it didn't go so well. * Katie walks over and peers at his eye. "Yeah, maybe you're right. And it's not your fault, Taro." * Katie picks up the shoebox and leads him to the (argh) elevator. [Session End]