2025-07-16: Universal Language
- Log: Universal Language
- Cast: Ririka Kawase, Koh Katsuhiro, Tyler Gould, Yukari Takeba
- Where: Iwatodai Dorm, Iwatodai
- OOC Date: July 16, 2025
- IC Date: Sunday, June 10, 2012 (Early Evening)
- Summary: Ririka is sitting out behind the SEES dorm playing her guitar, when several of her fellow dorm mates come to check out what she's playing. The conversation ends with an impromptu performance wtih... a telling performance.
(|============================ Iwatodai Dormitory ============================|)
-================================================== Iwatodai City/Iwatodai ====-
A large four-story dormitory used by the Specialized Extracurricular Execution
Squad, only five minutes from Iwatodai Station. Upon entering, one passes a desk
with a sign-in book for guests to find a large carpeted common room that's well
appointed for co-ed gatherings.
A TV is usually on with the local news or a movie that's been loaded into the
DVD player for a student to enjoy. A table for shared dinners, or more often
study sessions, takes up the other half of the dorm, as well as a kitchen should
one dare to show off their skills to their fellow students.
There are two winding staircases on either side. The one on the left simply says
'Boys' while the other on the right states 'No Boys Except By Invitation.' The
implicit threat of execution need not be written down for those who violate
these rules. The second and third stories are living spaces divided by gender
with common spaces that have study areas and bookshelves available.
The fourth story is the command center with surveillance capabilities for not
just different parts of the city but each room within the dorms. The Chairman
has assured all who live here that this capability is strictly necessary.
BGM - Dormitory Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj-FrFI0qnM
(|============================================================================|)
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
It's evening time, long after school and clubs have finished for the day, but far before it's time to go to bed (or to avoid a certain, mysterious Extra Hour.) And while residents might play music in their dorms from time to time, the arrival of a certain musician last week has also meant music being played in a completely different sense of the verb.
Out around the back of the SEES Dorm sits Ririka, dressed in shorts, t-shirt, and a hoodie for the chill. She's tall--about 5'10", with long, straight brown-black hair and red eyes. She is, most times, polite to a fault, and is still settling in and feeling her place in this new environment.
And right now, in her lap, she has an acoustic guitar. She isn't playing anything in particular, per se--she's been doing a lot of repeated phrases with small tweaks, or idle experimentation, and besides her she has several sheets of music scores that she's been making notes on.
She's also, if one listens to the scuttlebutt around school, the leader of a band named Polychord, comprised of other Gekkokan studnets. (And those who are into classical might well recognize her name as an enormously gifted pianist. She does have a keyboard in her room, too.)
Her playing and strumming might well have drifted its way into the dorm via an open door or window, providing an easy musical cue for one wishing to investigate. (Thankfully, you will not get lost in the woods if you guess wrong trying to follow this particular tune.)
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
The only reason Koh is probably going to be making it regularly back to the dorms at a reasonable time of night is to avoid the aforementioned extra hour. Which is why he catches the sound on the wind not from inside but on the way home instead.
He's dressed as light as the weather will allow: cream colored jacket, loose shirt, jeans, and he's got a bag full of take-out he grabbed for dinner on the way back from a stroll around the area. He hasn't found time to eat yet but it releases the smell of meat and onion in his wake.
And he's going to keep putting it off! Music means someone to bother instead of sitting in his room, so soon he's exiting out the back door to see what's going. And, as Ririka is a person he now recognizes, he heads on over to observe.
"Yo, Kawase-san." He greets when there's enough pause to get it in. "Nice guitar."
<Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
Evening time. Time for all the good boys and girls to be safe in their dorms, and the creatures of the night... to also be safe in his dorm because he's dreadfully unawakened to the existence of said extra hour. Another recent addition to the SEES Dorm (though, he's unaware of the reason *why*), Tyler has been a haunting presence in the building for a little while now. For the most part, he's avoided socializing with the skills of a practiced cat burglar, mainly being spotted in passing with little more than a polite nod as he retreats into the shadows en route to his room.
Maybe he *is* a shadow? A ghost? This is how rumors get started...
Tonight, however... it would seem that the boy has opted for venturing beyond the safety? Solitude? Comfort of his room. Making his way down the boys' stairs with purpose, if these are the type of stairs that creak sometimes when they are stepped on? They most certainly do now.
He's still wearing his school uniform -- the normal white shirt swapped out for the black that's a clear preference. He tends to be the sort that sticks out like a sore thumb, beyond just his demeanor and clothing, the boy has a willowy sort of frame that needs to watch out for lower ceilings in some Japanese buildings, and facial features that clearly mark him as Not From Around Here.
He's walking out the back door shortly after Koh's own appearance, quiet for a couple moments before adding, "You play?" The spoken Japanese is monotone but also very, very careful pronounciation. Layered with the clear addition of a Bostonian accent.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari hasn't made herself too overt a presence since the meeting. Sure sometimes you'd catch her in the common room, but she'd be sitting apart...
... so as not to force anyone to make any awkward choices. Mostly, she'd come home from school, do her homework in her room.
Occasionally you'd find her in the common room doing her nails, or scrolling on her phone... tonight, she was doing neither of those things.
She was up in her room, avoiding homework by stretching out on her bed with an issue of 'Coolest'. "Hmm. Amano-san actually does write pretty good articles. ... Now I kinda feel bad."
It's the sound of the guitar that causes her to look up, head tilted to the side as she tries to deduce the location of the sound.
She'd suspect Junpei playing loud music or something... except, he's not on this floor, he's across the dorm, and it's not on her floor.
Curious, she slides on her house slippers, and leaves her room, heading down the stairs. In the common room, she's still dressed in her school uniform, as she listens to Ririka play a few chords, and then...
..."Huh, not bad."
Those are at least her first words, her second is looking at Koh, and nodding, "Hey, you're Katsuhiro-san right? I'm Yukari Takeba, it's nice to meet you."
Then at Tyler, she immediately double takes upon sight of him, because first glance 'GHOST!' second look, 'Oh wait no, he's a white guy', "Whoa, they weren't kidding. You really are from Amerika! Aha..."
As she drops down to a sotto voce, "...he's so pale I almost wondered if he was really a ghost."
Her stance shifts, as she tries to look him over.
"Uhhh... wow this is a little awkward. Your Japanese has to be, pretty good to go to school here right?"
Like she's... trying to assess, before saying more on the topic.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka has her head down pretty deep into her music, focused and intent, yuet her hands move casually along the strings. Still, she does have to pause to make notes, and when Koh speaks she jumps a bit, head snapping up. "Ahh! --Oh." She relaxes quickly after. "Katsuhiro-san, right?"
But the compliment to her guitar makes her smile. "Thank you." She picks her way rapidly through a couple of scales, upwards and downwards. It's a guitar she's clearly had for a few years now, worn-in but lovingly cared for.
After a moment drumming her fingers on the guitar she looks up to Koh. "How have you been settling in...?"
She's less caught of guard, this time, when Tyler makes his appearance. Ririka shares his pain about being tall in Japanese spaces. She's not quite as tall as he is, but she misses the mark on hitting his height far less than she misses the mark on being closer to an average height.
She nods, doing a different run of scales up and down (and, again, with a different scale each way--that's four scales in the same key, though the distinction might be subtle for a non-musician.) "I'm Ririka Kawase," she introduces herself. She barely knows Tyler so she tries an easy conversation starter. "... how about you? Do you play?"
She looks over to Yukari, next, offering a small smile. "Thanks. I was just working on some new song ideas, and it helps me clear my head a little, too."
But Yukari identifies Tyler as being from America. "Oh, really? That's really cool, and your Japanese sounds pretty good." That would explain the accent, at least. She does frown at Yukari's next comment, glancing between her and Tyler. Equally quietly, she says, "Takeba-san..."
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"Sorry, hope I didn't interrupt something important." Koh offers a bright smile toward the guitarist before giving a small roll of his shoulder. "Ah, not too bad. I'm putting off unpacking. i didn't bring much, I gotta figure out how I want to decorate."
He cast a wary glance back at the looming dorm and the threat of the work to come.
"Anyway, I used--" And then his eyes slide over to the next person to speak. And it's a foreigner!
"Whoa. What's up, man?" Koh says this, of course, in English. Which he's not good at, but he listens to a lot of foreign music and he's seen some commercials with Nicholas Cage in them.
And then there's someone else to greet. "Oh, yeah, that's me." He replies to Yukari warmly. "Takeba-san? Nice to meet you."
He waits patiently to see if Tyler plays, and how good his Japanese actually is. But he does offer: "Koh Katsuhiro." Since the other boy is the only one who doesn't know his full name yet.
<Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
Yukari's reaction isn't one that Tyler's exactly... unaccustomed to. It's a reaction that he's elicited to some degree or another for the majority of his young life, between the strange (to most people) interests to the behaviours that would follow in time, and that was in his *home* country.
Here, it's a far more regular occurence. So he doesn't flinch, though his attention is definitely drawn in that direction, now.
"America, yes." he confirms first, letting her take the time to stare -- and returning the favor in kind. Studying for a couple of moments and taking his time to answer, the corners of his lips curving just a bit further down.
"It is not as good as it should be, no." His word choices probably back that up as he speaks, the words are technically right, but not always *situationally* right. "...but this school has excellent teachers." Plus, like a lot of exchange students, he'd taken an intense course to prepare him for moments like these.
Time will only improve his usage; there's no better way to learn than total immersion (maybe a reason he kept to himself for so long?). Which will make it easier for him to express himself.
...which might lead to an entirely different bit of awkward as the darkness truly starts to drip into and flavor his language.
Turning next back towards Ririka, he offers a shake of his head. "Not guitar, no." he answers, "Saxophone. Not nearly well enough to be a professional, but..." he pauses for a moment, hand dipping into his pocket to pull out a small book -- the title? 'JAPANESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY'. There's a moment to flip through before he adds, "I won't make your ears bleed."
With a meaningful pause he adds, "Much."
Then the book is put away for the moment; it's a tool, yes, but it's also a crutch. He'd rather walk without it when he can, but sometimes a particular word feels necessary to convey the context. Although sometimes the American idioms don't always translate perfectly along cultural boundaries, even when the right words are used.
Ririka's comment on his Japanese, though, earns her a couple moments of study. Head tilting downwards and blue eyes gazing over the rims of his glasses almost as if he's trying to peer into her very soul. "It really doesn't. Not yet." he argues dispassionately. "...but I suppose I appreciate the encouragement."
For a foreigner, he really doesn't sound terrible. No one would mistake him for a native even by voice alone, though. He holds himself to the higher standard, though, not satisfied with good when he could have great.
Especially if it affects his grades.
Then Koh's greeting makes his eyes widen a bit -- he wasn't expecting English, but it isn't a total surprise. Switching languages easily, he replies, "Me, for one. When the sun retreats is my favorite time to stir." Alas, school won't let him be entirely nocturnal, no matter how much he'd like to be!
Then back to Japanese, and looking back to try widen his focus between the three, "It's good to meet you, Ririka, Koh," His gaze pauses on Yukari for a moemnt, "you." Who didn't introduce herself yet! "My name is Tyler. Tyler Gould."
Anyone watching him closely might notice the slightest tensing of muscles. Bracing for potential recognition of the name.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"All finished settling in?" She asks of Koh, "It can be kinda daunting living here until you do."
If Ririka is trying to warn Yukari, certainly she hears it. But there's absolutely no sign she's going to heed it.
Then she listens to Tyler speak, it's halting, but not all that bad to be honest. Indeed, it's like she's following along to try and figure out how good he is at it...
"... Must be, if you're already speaking like that." As to the quality of the teachers. She doesn't say much about the Saxophone, other than, "Huh. Pretty impressive actually that you do."
Her full assessment? "Well... guess I won't have to worry about whether you can understand what we're saying in a... frantic moment."
Then she listens to Koh's greeting, and- "...Thattttt was pretty unexpected." She says of his English, as she tries to work through the tortured grammar of the American slang. "I think somehow you picked up on exactly the only phrase in English Junpei-kun knows." She comments on softly, "Hopefully just a coincidence."
And then, 'You'. Well... "Gould-san." Yukari repeats, with the honorific, "I'm Yukari Takeba, a Second Year at Gekkoukan."
She does not recognize Tyler Gould, mainly because she doesn't watch Ghost Shows! Not because she's afraid of ghosts or anything! Nope! Definitely not!
"So uh, transferred straight in and now you're here..." She drifts off, "... must be pretty difficult." She notes sympathetically, "It's your first time living in Japan right?"
Well Ririka DEFINITELY nothing to be worried about... YET! It's fine, it's fine - it's definitely fine.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Oh, no, it's okay," Ririka says to Koh. "Oh, don't worry, this wasn't for my band or anything. It's just something I've been playing around with for myself. I just... wanted to get out of my room for a bit, you know?"
"I got unpcked right away. I couldn't stand not knowing where all my stuff was..." Ririka frowns a bit. "Though I guess I still don't, since the layout is different. I keep being afraid I'll forget something when I head for class..."
Not guitar, that's fine, but--she noticeably perks up when Tyler says Saxaphone instead. "Oh, cool! Did you bring your saxophone with you? We should jam sometime!" There's a tense pause as she waits for the translation.
Ririka blinks. Won't make your ears bleed. that's... good, right? Right. "Oh-- well, yeah, I'm sure you're really good. Let's play sometime, okay?"
That intense look... Ririka smiles uneasily, but then Tyler disagrees about his proficiency. "It really is good though, and I'm sure you'll keep improving," she says with a polite smile.
"When the sun retreats..." Ririka repeats back to herself in English, quietly. She scribbles that line on her sheet music. But there's an awkward glance up, as she's addressed by her first name. "Oh, yes... IT's good to meet you too, Gould-san."
She's actually tripping more on her first name being used, rather than his last name.
But Yukari is evaluating Tyler's proficiency... and then she lets slip why. There's a silent, concerned, glance to Yukari as she weighs that. Frantic moments... (She also writes this down, as well.)
Definitely nothing to be worried about. Ririka tinkers with a few more lines as she listens to the flow of conversation, mostly to keep her hands busy.
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"Right on." Koh agrees like he understood what Tyler said perfectly. Internally he's screaming.
He switches back to Japanese, to hit the foreign boy with the classic: "Your Japanese is pretty good!" A nod follows. "Welcome to Port Tatsumi. I'd show you around but I'm still trying to remember all of it myself."
When Yukari asks about his dorm status he gives another affirmative. "Yeah, it's not too bad. Still unpacking a little but everyone's been nice so far. I was, ah, feeling a little sick when I got in. So I might have missed some stuff but I'm catching up."
He smiles sheepishly at her assessment of his slang. "I don't think I've met him," He notes of Junpei, "But I watch a lot of movies. I know some other lines if you don't like that one."
When Ririka admits wanting to get out he gives an emphatic dip of his head. "Yeah, I totally know. All the time."
Like her he's interesting in the saxophone. More than frantic moments. "My dad had a bunch of old jazz records," He informs Tyler. "They had all the big saxophones on the cover. I always thought they looked pretty cool."
<Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
"Yukari." Tyler repeats, comitting her name to memory along with the others', without the honorific. The other-ness of the gaijin shows in that choice, and it is, indeed, a choice.
Although it's one made more out of a lack of that situational knowledge than malicious disrespect. Better to appear the abnormal than the clearly uninformed!
"Yes. First time out of America, really." Tyler replies, opening his mouth for a bit to say something else... and then closing it, before opening again to add, "Honestly, though..." a glance between the three. That spark of recognition seemed absent, and that visibly satisfies and relaxes him. "...I think it's a little easier here, so far." Pause. "Quieter."
Won't he be surprised...
"Fire. Earthquake. Tsunami. Typhoon." These words in particular? *These* have special clarity in pronunciation. "Disasters were at the top of my study list."
So that he won't have trouble understanding in a frantic moment, right? That's what they're both talking about, right?
To Ririka, a nod, "Yes, and I'd like that." Jamming sometime! Music, after all, is a common language to those who can surmount the barrier to entry! "I haven't played with a guitarist before, but, we'll figure it out, right?"
As far as the language that's less in common? Well, he doesn't smile so much as frowns a bit less. "I'm determined. If I don't, I might as well sleep my life away in a box." That *would* have been something along the lines of 'spend my life in a coffin' with a better grasp of the language. Instead, he substitutes and improvises.
"I appreciate the intention," to Koh, along with a nod. "I would say we should explore one of these nights, but... the dorm rules don't exactly encourage a nightlife, do they?"
It makes sense. They want students to study before sleeping and going to school well rested. Definitely no other reason.
The mention of jazz definitely catches his interest, the genre definitely a 'home' for the American's instrument. "There are a lot of talented musicians, they..." he pauses here, making a face briefly, before switching back to English to complete his thought. "...speak directly to the darkness in your soul. A hallowed echo of the turmoils of daylight." Then back to Japanese, "I have some CDs I could share, if you're interested."
Then, adding for the three, "And please. Just Tyler's fine." His surname feels like it belongs to someone else sometimes, these days.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari locks into one part of Koh's statement, "Sick? Well, alright. You sure you're not pushing yourself right now? If you're still under the weather..." It doesn't seem like insincere concern at least, but...
... there's another smile at his offer to give her more lines, "That's alright. A guy saying he's going to offer me 'some other lines' is a little awkward... It sounds like you'd be trying to hit on me or something."
Her face kind of squirms a little at the lack of honorific on her name, he is a foreigner, so she lets it slide ultimately, but it's embarrassing... a guy calling her Yukari without an honorific like that. Well, she hopes everyone just sees him the same way, as not knowing the rules.
"Huh... Maybe." She offers as a response to the idea that it may be 'quieter'. Though as he lists off natural disasters, Yukari blinks, and double takes, "Wha-huh?"
...
Then there's a long pause, and Tyler will see that surprise, become disbelief, then a long sighhhhhh as Yukari comes to her own conclusion on what that means. "Greatttttt."
Because she just decided that the Dark Hour might be off limits as a topic of discussion in the SEES dorm... for a bit. Maybe not, but it's not worth the risk. But then 'spend my life away in a box' makes her second guess that. Then explore one of these nights makes her double second guess it.
Until she's not so sure WHAT to think here.
The switch to English on the Darkness in your soul, and hallowed echo of the turmoils of daylight, "Uh-huh..." Like she only caught about, half of that at most, and suddenly believes Tyler may have a weird taste in music.
'Just Tyler's fine.'
"Uh... okay. Tyler-kun?" She says, as she tests the waters on that one, as informally as she'll go, because saying it as JUST Tyler would be too embarrassing.
"Soooo, has anyone given you the full... orientation around here? Like you know... how to sort your trash." Which most Japanese people believe is too complicated for foreigners to understand, "Or rules about the fourth floor?"
The command center during the Dark Hour, that's what she means, but she's not gonna SAY that. Instead she's sorta trying to figure that out... so she doesn't say too much.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Showing Tyler around. Ririka looks up. "If you'd like, maybe I could show you both around sometime?" She offers Yukari a polite, but hopeful smile. "Maybe you could help me? I think you know the area right around the dorm better..." To Koh she says, "I hope you're feeling better."
"Jazz is really cool. I always love listening to people improvise, sometimes they can really catch you by surprise." Seemingly spontaneously, she starts lightly strumming something in a bluesscale, riffing along to herself lightly as she keeps listening.
"Diasters? Really? ... How come?" She switches back from the blues scale to the melodies she was tinkering with before.
She does smile at the acceptance of jamming. "Oh, would it be easier if I played piano instead? That's actually my first instrument, and I've got a keyboard in my room. I could bring it out sometime."
Well look who has two instruments in their dorm.
When Tyler switches back to English again, though, Ririka makes a few more notes.
But Tyler is fine. Ririka glances, notably, to Koh and Yukari. She gets the 'he's a foreigner' thing too, but she wants to be accommodating...
Instead she opts for more tinkering with her guitar... or maybe she just got distracted. Because where before she was slowly tinkering with melody lines she suddenly starts to play. And in motion, it is a dark almost disharmonic piece. It starts off with a lingering, suspenseful tone, but then really rockets into gear at a fast clip, conveying a scrambling, frantic fear. Ririka hums along--it seems she hasn't written most of the lyrics yet. But suddenly, when she reaches a chorus, she actually starts singing.
It starts out low and foreboding but picks up in intensity and pitch as it builds towards the end.
When the stars retreat from the sky
And the moon looks on like an angry eye
When you've lost all sense of control
And the shadows grasp for your very soul
When the light goes out and you just can't cope
When a coffin seems like your only hope
Don a mask with fire and glass
Hold on tight and you just might laaaaast...
Ohhh...
She starts in on the second verse, but she very quickly catches herself and stops. Her face turns red with embarrassment as she looks up to everyone. "Ahh, I just... w-wanted to see how that sounded." She bows her head deeply. "S-sorry. I'm still working on it."
<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
"Those are the big ones." The big disasters is what Koh's talking about. There are others, but-- "You probably want to not stay out too late. To avoid trouble. But a little late is probably okay..." Anyway there are moment important things to worry about:
"Yeah!" He agrees to the offer of sharing music. And possibly by proxy something about the darkness of the soul and all that, Koh isn't really sure.
A hand is raised in a good-natured gesture of apology at Yukari's assessment. "Don't worry about me," He assures both her and Ririka with a quiet laugh. And then: "Heh heh. Sorry, Takeba-san, I didn't mean it like that. We should get to know each other before I practice my English on you." A deferential--but still casual--dip of his head is given.
"And I'd appreciate it." Koh responds to Ririka's offer of being shown around.
When the girl starts to jam he falls respectfully silent until she finishes. His head remains at an awkward tilt for a second, digesting longer than one might expect. He's examining Ririka a but closer than he did before. The gears are turning.
"Kinda dark, huh?" Back to normal. Koh's pleasant demeanor doesn't betray how familiar the scenario she's describing is. At least not to a casual observer. "I liked it."
A low grumble from his stomach reminds him of the plastic bag dangling in one hand. "Oh. Right. I should eat and probably finish the last of my unpacking. But, tour later, yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.
*When* he realizes the Truth behind it all? Tyler's likely to be very amused by how closely it parallels with some of the truths he grew up with. Maybe even happy!
That time hasn't arrived yet, though, so those secrets continue to hide just out of sight, like the Dark Hour itself.
'Tyler-kun' doesn't get an adverse reaction, instead more a nod of acknowledgement. Compromise!
As for the 'orientation', there's a shake of his head. "I don't think so, no. I'm guessing, don't jump off the roof and cans and bottles go in the blue bin?" The former probably doesn't need to be made a rule. Probably.
"They're important." Disasters, as Ririka spoke of! "They have the power to change your life in an instant. It's..." he trails off, shaking his head a bit as a particular disaster not-spoken comes to mind. "It's just important that we're prepared for dangers, you know?"
Moving along, though, music returns as a topic like a beckoning siren. "You're right. The heart speaks clearest when you improvise. It's pure, you know? It's a direct line to *truth.*"
That particular sentence? That actually showed some emotion. It's clearly an important topic to him.
Then Ririka's opting to perform a spur of the moment concert, and Tyler grows silent to listen, blue eyes closing to fully focus his attention on the performance. There's even a little swaying.
The spooky one approves. "That was..." To English. "...profound. Bravo." And he quietly makes a note; heavy practice will be required to get to this girl's musical level.
Back to Japanese, "If you're willing, sure. Maps can only teach so much. Like learning an instrument without sheet music." Universal language! Maybe not in the way he was thinking of it at first...
"If you want to practice English, Koh, I'm willing to help too." Granted, it might lean more towards a waxing poetic than 'normal' talk, but still!
Of course, then the topic of food comes up, as well as the thought of not staying out *too* late, and...
"Right, and we'll have to sleep soon enough anyways." he agrees with the logic of it, even if not the *spirit* behind the words. "...so I guess we should say good night, then?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Despite the hopeful look Ririka gives her, Yukari seems pretty unfazed by the offer, "Sure, I don't mind." It comes up automatically, because while the tension comes from the supernatural elements they're involved in... she can be perfectly pleasant in the day to day.
Whereas Koh, well, at least he takes that all pretty gracefully, "Iiii think that'd be for the best. And that way, you won't ever get to hear how tortured my English is."
Whew, Tyler-kun is a go, great. Calling him Tyler would probably cause people around school to speculate they're dating, given how these things go.
"Uhhh..." Re: Orientation, "It's a little more complicated than that. We'll have to get someone to show you properly, about the trash. Especially when it comes to things like oils and grease... And... we kinda assume... well Americans don't jump off the fourth floor right?"
RIGHT? She hopes they have more sense than that. But it also confirms that 'Maybe don't talk about the Dark Hour' until they know for sure.
It's what he says next on disasters though, that causes her to, freeze for a moment, like he accidentally hit a sore spot, before replying mildly, "Yeah sure, just... you know, some things you can't actually be prepared for. Not all disasters are... ones you can predict pretty readily."
Like Ten Years Ago.
She does listen to Ririka's song though and... her face sours a little at the lyrics. "A little on the nose, I think..." She says, without any further criticism. However, it's really just that Yukari actually hates the supernatural... even if she's committed to it.
Music is where she goes for something else.
"Yeah I think I'm gonna head back up to my room... I only came down as kind of a break before I got stir crazy. Was nice meeting you two though. Guess our boy-girl balance is kinda evening out again."
It may have been a brief, casual chat but... well, definitely she's wondering about these two. When it's not someone you saved yourself...
... you just can't really know if there's something else to it.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Tyler espouses on disasters, how it's important to be ready for them. "Yeah," she agrees quietly. "You never know... things can change in an instant."
But improvising! "Yeah!" Ririka agrees with much more enthusiasm. "Sometimes, it's easier to convey something through music than it is through words... or, at least for me it is."
Ririka might miss some of Koh's scrutiny. She's kind of trying to avoid eye contact for the moment. Koh comments on how it's kind of dark. Ririka tries to shrug it off casually. (Keyword: tries.) "Yeah, but... sometimes the dark stuff is good." She idly plucks at a few strings--it's distinctly the melody line for the chorus.
But Koh says he likes it, and Ririka offers him a shy glance up and a small smile. "Thanks."
But the spooky one approves, and Ririka respnods back in English. "((Thank you.))" Luckily for Tyler, she doesn't demand everyone she plays with to be at her level.
A little on the nose. Ririka winces a little, while nodding. "... They're a rough draft," she says quickly. "Just... to fill out the structure, you know? I'll change them."
But she smiles to Koh about thye tour and nods. "Sure." Like learning an instrument without sheet music, Tyler says. There is, perhaps, just a moment too long of a pause before Ririka, nods, "Oh, yeah. But I'd be happy to." But Yukari doesn't mind either. "Gret."
Food, sleep, study, and... embarrassment are all good reasons to go their separate ways. "I was just taking a break with this, too," she mumbles as she quickly stands up. She gives a brief bow to Tyler. "It was nice meeting you." And then she heads up to her room.
Maybe for her next study break she'll work on a new version of that chorus.