2025-07-04: The Power of Rumors
- Log: The Power of Rumors
- Cast: Jun Kashihara, Shinjiro Aragaki
- Where: Izakaya Shiraishi
- OOC Date: July 04, 2025
- IC Date: June 05, 2012
- Summary: Jun and Shinjiro share a discussion about rumors and serial killers while waiting for lunch at Izakaya Shiraishi.
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
It's a pleasant enough Monday afternoon in Sumaru City. There are some clouds on the horizon coming in from Tokyo, where there's been some heavy rain, so there might be a storm later, but right now the skies are blue.
School has let out for the day. Jun spends a bit of time chatting with his classmates before he gathers his things and heads out; it's not his turn to clean the classroom, so best not to get in the way. He doesn't have any tutoring today either--not that many students at "Cuss High" would bother with tutoring--so he can simply spend the afternoon how he pleases.
Today, that's at Izakaya Shiraishi. When Jun was a child, it was a ramen place--and there's still ramen here today, albeit only the bravest and/or the most taste-dead people would dare try Ma'am's banana ramen--but now it's an izakaya that serves alcoholic drinks. Obviously Jun isn't getting one of those--he picks up a canned tea from the drinks fridge, nodding affably to the homeless man next to it--and takes up a seat at the counter, setting his school briefcase to one side of his seat as he folds his slender legs.
"Good afternoon, Ma'am," he says courteously to the restaurant's owner and head chef as he sets down his canned drink. "An order of yakitori today, please."
"Hey there, Jun-kun," Ma'am replies, a middle-aged woman who nonetheless hasn't lost her good looks. She has an especially knowing look in her eyes these days--it's almost like she actually is the ex-spy she jokes about being, especially with that man in the suit in the back. But Jun pays no attention to those silly rumors. "Comin' right up."
As she moves to cook up his order, Jun settles in, folding his hands under his chin as he relaxes, but also thinks. He has the afternoon free, but his mother has work well into the evening tonight. Maybe he ought to bring her something to keep her stamina up before the rain really hits. What time is it now? He pulls back his sleeve to check his wristwa--
He does not have a wristwatch.
He has never had a wristwatch.
Jun frowns, somewhat flustered. He's been doing this a lot lately. He sighs a bit and shakes his head, and reaches down to his schoolbag to check the time on his flip-phone instead.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro Aragaki isn't dressed for the weather or venue, wearing a thick red coat, long pants, and a beanie. As the tall young man steps inside Izakaya Shiraishi, clearly the age of a student yet not in a uniform, he nods to the owner before grabbing a canned coffee from the fridge, another nod to the homeless man, clearly being more in 'his world' than the world of the civilized Hagakure was too crowded today, so he decided to just come to Sumaru directly for his investigation and eat now.
This means he's famished.
Taking a seat next to Jun at the counter, he sets down his own drink, tapping the counter. He waits for Ma'am to get started with Jun's order, so he has time to consider what he wants.
He does not want Banana Ramen. His sensibilities as a person who cooks would declare that Evil. He instead pieces through the menu, before deciding on something, tapping the menu once Ma'am is not busy.
"Sesame chicken, and the edamame too, thanks."
He takes a moment to peer over the room, but it's Jun his eyes settle on. A Cuss student, but not one he knows. He doesn't know many, but he's met a Boss and his lackeys before, so he has some manner of knowledge of how the school runs.
And you don't say please usually if you're a Kasu student. Interesting.
"School just get out?" Isn't this guy a student...? Shinjiro continues making small talk regardless, his brusque manner perhaps offputting at contact. "That's a Kasugayama uniform." He notes, as if letting it linger to see how, exactly, Jun responds.
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
That's very fair. Jun never gets the banana ramen either. He's genuinely not sure why Ma'am keeps it on the menu. But she's always been a bit strange like that--and Jun likes that about her.
By modern society's standards, he's a bit strange himself.
He doesn't pay any mind to the other teenager coming into the restaurant. He does glance at him when he takes the counter seat next to him, but it takes a second glance before he registers... this is quite a handsome young man, however unseasonably he's dressed. Jun himself just recently changed to the summer uniform along with the rest of Japan's students--another reason why it's silly for him to try to push a sleeve back to check a wristwatch--so while this young man has the air of a student of Kasugayama, he doesn't know of any who'd dress like that. And for all that Jun doesn't involve himself with the politics of the gangs, he does know his fellow students fairly well.
"That's right," he replies, unfolding and refolding his legs and leaning his cheek on one hand as he smiles at Shinjiro. The gruffness doesn't put him off at all; combined with his looks, it's actually a bit charming. (Could the strong, silent type be Jun's type...? (yes (but that's not what's
going on here))) "But I see you're not wearing any uniform at all. Is there a reason for that?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro ceases tapping the counter when he gets a response back, considering how to respond. The answer is none of Jun's business, but he has to tell him something, after all, he does want to see if this guy has any information.
"I haven't been going," he admits casually, though he doesn't lower his voice. He doesn't think anyone here would narc on him and get him in an altercation with the cops, and after what Akechi said earlier about them being on the take, he really doesn't want to meet the cops in Sumaru. "Gekkoukan's too stuffy as it is. Not that Kasugayama's much better. Stuffy in a different way."
That's an hour away... he's in Sumaru during a school day, huh?
"I hear Sumaru's a city of rumors. Things coming real, mysterious encounters, demons and other monsters. Any truth to it, as a local?"
Shinjiro knows there is, having already explored Cuss at night. He's gauging reactions before asking about the man he's looking for.
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
"Oh...?" Jun's smile fades into a concerned look as Shinjiro admits to his truancy. It's true Jun isn't going to sell him out, but as someone who wants to be a teacher in the future, it's not something he feels he can overlook. The mention of which school turns his expression thoughtful. "Gekkoukan... Isn't that in Port Island?"
If this were a Sevens student, that would be one thing. But as has been acknowledged, Port Island is about an hour away by train. Why would he be all the way out here?
The answer is unexpected. Under different circumstances, Jun would laugh it off as ridiculous. He still thinks it's ridiculous--the occult is fun to play around with, but it isn't real--but in front of him is a peer who clearly takes it seriously enough to come all the way out here instead of attending school.
...Well, if he's anything like his own classmates, he might be looking for any excuse he can get to cut class. But it's still an awfully long ways to go. Maybe he's too recognizable in his own city?
"Stuffy in a different way... I never would have thought to describe it like that, but I can't disagree with you, either," Jun says aloud. "Gekkoukan High School's facilities are cutting edge, and Kasugayama's are... the opposite. That creates its own set of expectations."
As for the truth--he shakes his head, smile turning rueful. "I'm afraid rumors are just rumors. Really, you could call this entire country a land of rumors and superstitions. It would be exciting if they were real, but..." He rests a hand on his chin, studying Shinjiro anew. "What's your interest in such things, if I may ask?"
He really is more polite than the average Cuss High student, huh?
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
The concerned look on Jun's face gets Shinjiro to sigh. "Don't look at me like that, it's fine." Why exactly it is fine, though, he won't be telling a stranger.
A pause, as he nods about the location. "Yeah."
Jun doesn't believe in rumors, though he does agree about Kasugayama, which causes Shinjiro to smirk. "Expectations exist in every school these days." He considers how to relay his interest: he has two angles he can go to, either the mask or the identity, but he can't combine them without solid proof or he'll seem like too much of a crank, someone pointing fingers at shadows, especially with Jun's lack of belief in rumors.
"The Joker Killer. Some of my buddies are worried about him, think he might come to our side of the tracks, which doesn't scare me, but, you know how it is. Told them I'd learn more."
"You hear anything about that one? You seem chill for a student from there, so I doubt you've got anything to worry about." Shinjiro seems genuine about that, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
"Yes, I'm sure you'd say that," Jun tells Shinjiro, who does not look any less concerned. But he doesn't press the matter, either. He's still worried, but he knows well from his classmates that pushing on something like that will only push them further away. Best to meet him where he lives, so to speak.
"Good and bad," he agrees, nodding once, of expectations. He leaves it unspoken what the expectation of Kasu High students is: that they'll never amount to anything. Very, very different from the expectations set on Gekkoukan students.
"The Joker Killer?" he echoes, eyebrows furrowing. Something about it sounds familiar... Familiar in a way that makes him feel... deeply uneasy... like it's something that appeared in one of his recent nightmares...
Not that he can remember them afterwards. But feelings don't care about little things like logic.
"Ah--is that that serial killer on the news lately?" Jun frowns, his handsome lips pursing. "I can see why your friends would be worried. I understand some of his victims were... unrecognizable, afterwards. I'm not into true crime, so I'm afraid I don't know much more than that, though."
It's an odd thing to ask another student, in Jun's opinion, even if it doesn't seem strange to him that Shinjiro wouldn't be eager to ask an actual cop about it.
He smiles again as Shinjiro compliments him, even if he imagines it's probably just a statement of fact in his mind. "I doubt a serial killer would care if I'm 'chill' or not, but I understand what you mean." His smile fades. "It's certainly cause for anyone to worry."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro tchs as Jun responds, but doesn't push it either. Instead, he moves on to the Joker Killer discussion, nodding along. Jun doesn't know much, huh... "Don't blame you. There's too much bullshit going on to focus on stuff like that.
A pause, as Jun indicates a serial killer might not care. "That's one of the rumors, actually. The Joker Killer only strikes if you call your own number and say a name," Shinjiro doesn't care about saying that much, since, it's public rumor. "Creepy ass shit. At least you don't have to worry if you don't have enemies."
He glances to see if the food is almost ready. He's starving.
"Aragaki, by the way." Shinjiro decides to give his name. It's only polite.
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
Of course not. Jun is a completely normal boy, after all.
He chuckles at Shinjiro's response--but when he clarifies about how and why the Joker Killer might strike, his brown eyes widen slightly. "Oh, really? How occult," Jun says, and he looks intrigued this time. "I wonder how that's supposed to work in real life? Is it even possible for a call like that to connect?" He chuckles again. "It's fascinating to think of how strange little rumors like that start, isn't it?"
As Shinjiro checks on the food, Jun reaches for his canned tea and pulls the tab. "I suppose not," he says of enemies. "In that case, you'd only have to worry about someone's errant curiosity. I truly doubt something like that could be true, but if it were, someone not believing and trying anyway might name any name that comes to mind."
Kind of disturbing to think about! Fortunately for both of them, Jun is clearly treating it like a thought experiment.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Aragaki-san," he replies, smiling anew. "I'm Kashihara. Jun Kashihara."
Ma'am sets down a trio of plates before them then--yakitori for Jun, and sesame chicken with a side of edamame for Shinjiro. "Sorry for the wait. There you boys go," she states, giving each of them a nod.
Think of it and it will appear...!
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Yeah. And if they did become real, it's kinda a chicken and the egg thing. Which came first, the action or the rumor?" Shinjiro muses his own thought experiment, though when Jun talks about how 'you could just say the first name to come to mind', he grimaces a little. That's dangerous...
As the food arrives, this TOO is the power of rumors. (No, it's not.)
"Thanks for chattin'. Enjoy your meal," he says, before digging in. Not the most fruitful discussion... but at least he has more contacts at Kasu, however budding. He'll consider it a win.