2025-08-06: Midnight Meeting
- Log: Midnight Meeting
- Cast: Ririka Kawase, Ichika Kawase
- Where: The Moonlight Bridge, Tatsumi Port Island
- OOC Date: August 06, 2025
- IC Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012 (Dark Hour)
- Summary: During their discussion the day before, Ichika asked Ririka to meet with a friend of hers by the name of 'Ogre' to discuss an important matter. Ririka and Ogre meet on the Moonlight Bridge during Dark Hour the following night, where Ogre tells Ririka about an opportunity to get Justice.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
The last few days have been... kind of intense. Awakening in the middle of an attack on Sumaru TV, finding out her sister is Supernatural, taking part in another battle at Kasugayama...
... finding out her sister ran into that bastard ex-boyfriend of hers...
She's still upset about that one. She's trying to support her sister, but... she's afraid there just might be some things about her situation she'll never understand. She wants to keep trying, but... it feels so much harder, when she doesn't know what the 'right' thing to do is.
But Ichika's made a request of her, and it's one she's all too happy to fulfill. To meet with someone going by the name Ogre who's been helping her... and she'd gotten the details. Dark Hour, on the bridge.
Like something out of a movie.
She'd kept herself busy, finding a few excuses to stay out late rather than to try and sneak out of the dorm at a late hour. Hopefully it would mean less excuses she'd have to make.
The clock ticks midnight, and the world suddenly stops. The moon turns bright yellow, and everything is cast in a pallor of green. Around the bridge it's chilly, cold night air blowing off of the water. Everything on the bridge stops, cars suspended in an eerie silence.
Ririka can't help but shiver a little as she feels the Dark Hour manifest. It's still creepy, but at least now... she can hear the Shadows properly. And the Evoker in her backpack means she doesn't have to fear them as much anymore.
The air is deathly quiet save for the echoing, distorted rolling of polyurethane wheels on concrete. Ririka is rolling slowly down the walkway, dressed in bright clothing, helpmet, and pads.
She'll stop at approximately the center of the bridge and wait.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika is still having issues with that one. It was comforting, talking to her best friend, to her sister, and eventually to one of her current boyfriends about it... As well as talking to her counselor at school. There are other ways she copes. She's working on it.
But now, she has a different kind of task ahead of her; collecting allies for something very difficult, and very important. And since it might be shady...
Well.
The clock ticks midnight, and a very tall girl emerges from the shadows. She is dressed in armor--tactical armor, over the baggy clothes of a samurai, with high-tech shoes and spike-backed fingerless gloves. Her mask is that of an oni, covering her eyes and forehead. There's a large crack in it--but also long horns.
She walks right up to Ririka as she's rolling down. "Ririka Kawase," she says, and she doesn't sound like Ichika. The disguise is supernaturally backed.
...Maybe lying to her sister is wrong, but maybe it'll be what protects her, too.
"Glad you could make it."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka would be glad to know she helped in some way, at least.
But soon a girl dressed in tactical armor and an ogre mask appears, and Ririka effortlessly ollies and snatches her board out from under her, landing on her feet.
She looks Ogre up and down and then nods. "That's me. And I'm guessing you're Ogre, then." Beat. "Cool mask."
If only she knew the half of it.
She nods again. "Of course." She gives Ogre another look, this one more appraising of Ogre herself as she tires to get a feel for her.
Deep breath. "So. What's this all about?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
She did! And not just by being cool about Yuusei coming over--she helped in her own right. The tea was nice, too.
Ogre doesn't have a skateboard, or apparently any form of transit. ...Ichika's working on her license, but getting a car is another matter.
"That's right," Ogre answers. "Thanks. It scares demons."
A beat, and Ogre makes no move to shy away from scrutiny; she looks over Ririka thoughtfully. "...I've got a lead," she says. "On something that would help your sister."
"...There's a place in Sumaru where Eiji Kamiya stays. I'm not entirely sure it's the 'real' him, but I'm not sure it's not, either. Sumaru's... strange, like that."
"I know that if there's going to be anything to find that can bring him down, though, it'll be there. So I'm gathering up people to bust in and find it."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
She's honestly kind of used to Yuusei coming over at this point.
And the car wouldn't work in the Dark Hour, anyuway. Though... apparently there's a motorcycle that does.
Scares demons. Which apparently are a real thing. She sensed some the other day at Kasugayama. Ririka nods to that.
Ririka is standing a little bit taller than she might. She's projecting a little bit of her show energy for this meeting. Not all of it, just... enough to look confident. "I'm listening."
"Not the 'real' him? What do you mean?" Sumaru's strange. "... You're telling me."
Ririka looks a bit startled at the reveal of the plan. "Wait wait wait. Look, I definitely don't have any love for the guy but we can't just... bust into someone's house! That's just going to make more trouble for my sister."
Ririka hasn't heard about Palaces yet. That might be important context.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Mahiro might be a farther bridge...
Ichika notices Ririka's confidence; it reassures her in this matter. Someone who is shy or retiring about the supernatural would be a risk to bring along--a risk to Ririka herself. But...
"He's got weird powers," Ogre says. "And a bunch of like... demon minions. And he looks weird."
"It's not his 'house'. It's some kind of... supernatural world. In the 'real world' it's his house, but in that world it's some kind of... like, hotel."
Ogre doesn't know enough about Palaces to explain them fully.
"But it's linked to the real world. So there might be some evidence or something there we can dig out. Some clue that can bring him down in the real world."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
She's barely met the guy, but the one time she did he seemed nice enough, at least...
This is serious business. She's trying to be serious. And, well... her stage persona helps her out, sometimes.
"Weird powers...?" She frowns thoughtfully at that. "Is he supernatural, too...?"
For some reason, she hasn't been too keen to run into him lately.
"A sueprnatural world...? That's like a hotel...?" Okay, that is weird. "Is... is it something that only shows up in the Dark Hour?" She might be thinking of Tartarus. Though that's more like a tower... but a hotel could be towerish, right?
"Okay, so this... weird hotel thing is what you want to bust into..." Her fingers are drumming lightly on her thight as she thinks. "Okay, then what else can you tell me?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I'm not sure," she admits. "...Your sister doesn't know whether he is, and I don't either. But we have to assume he might be--and avoid going after him in the 'real world'. Like you said, that'll only make things worse."
It is pretty weird. "No," Ogre says. "There's this... app, you need, to access it. I can take us there--but we need to assemble a group first. Last time I was there, I barely got out."
It could be towerish. They'll have to see.
"That's about it," she says. "There's some other people I want to invite, so we have a crew that can rumble about it. I know there's Demons or Shadows or whatever they are there. And I know where it is. ...And I know it's dangeorus."
"No joke--if you don't think it's safe to go, that's fine. ...But that's why I'm getting more people."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Okay, assume he's real... yeah, that makes sense. There's way more supernatural stuff going on than I would've thought, so..." Ririka nods slowly in agreement.
"An app...?" Ririka stares at Ogre. "Like... a phone app...?" She frowns. "Why would there be..." she mutters to herself.
Then again, she has a magic gun sitting in her backpack right now. Who is she to judge? Why can't there be a magic app?
"... Okaaaay. We use an app to get in." She nods. Safety in numbers. Another nod, as well as for demons or shadows or whatever.
"How many people are you thinking of?" She, conveniently, knows a whole group full of people with supernatural powers... but she's not about to invite them.
She'd have to explain about her sister, and... that's not her story to tell.
She shakes her head. "No, I'm in. Whatever I can do to help take that bastard down, I'm in. Besides, my powers might be really useful."
She does frown for a moment as she keeps thinking. "If that is the real guy, though... he'll recognize me if he sees me." She looks down for a moment, fingertips tapping at her thigh rhythmically. "... might wanna get my own mask..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Yeah. There's a lot."
A phone app. "Yep," Ogre answers. "No idea. I don't know where it comes from, I don't know who made it, and if I delete it it just comes back. But it lets me go into places like that. ...I tested it again. Still works."
"Depends how many I can get. I can think of a few more i'd like to bring, though. Too big and it's hard to keep everybody together, but too small and we don't have enough firepower."
Ogre doesn't know much about them anyway; she might not appreciate a big crew taking over. Besides... This might be very illegal.
"Good," Ogre says. "I'll count on you, then."
A pause. "...Not a bad idea," she says. "It might not be exactly legal, what we're doing. You should protect yourself."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka frowns. "It comes back if you delete it...? Doesn't that kind of sound like a virus or something?" She nods when Ogre says she tested it. "Well, I guess if it actually does something useful..."
She'd ask who else, but... she doubts she's likely to know them anyway. "Unless you get a really big group, I think I can help with keeping everyone together."
She nods as Ogre says she'll count on her.
"I mean, are there laws about supernatural places...? Supernatural cops...?"
Ririka, you are the supernatural cops.
"But yeah, I'll think of something. You probably shouldn't call me by name, either..." She nods to herself, as if making a mental note. "Alright. You gonna pass messages through my sister, or how are we staying in touch?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Kinda yeah," Ogre says. "But it lets me do stuff I couldn't otherwise do... so I'll keep it. If I can do something about this, that's worth it."
"Yeah?" Ogre asks on Ririka's powers. "Good. That's handy. ...I'm a healer, myself. I can fight pretty well, too."
Laws? "No idea," Ogre answers. "But breaking and entering isn't exactly legal no matter where you are, so..." She gestures, vaguely.
"Think up a code name then," Ogre says. "And... No."
"Give me your number," she suggests. "We can chat over text. It won't work during the Dark Hour or whatever, but that's fine."
"It's better that way, I think."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Yeah, if that app makes this possible..." Then wherever it came from...
"My powers let me... hmm." She wants to go into an overly-detailed explanation and stops herself. "... I can sense my surroundings and keep people in touch. I can fight a little but I'm mostly support."
Party composition is serious business.
"That's true..." Ririka says of breaking and entering. "Can we get in and out of this... hotel or whatever it is without being spotted from his house?"
"I will," she says of the codename.
"Yeah, sure." Ririka pulls her phone out of her pocket and then pauses. "... right." She puts it away and looks to Ogre. "You gonna remember it if I tell you? Or should I write it down?" Either way, she can say or write it down and give Ogre the number.
Better this way... Ririka thinks about that for a long moment. "Well, if she's asking you to do this instead of doing it herself... maybe."
She'll ask her sister later, if thats okay with her, just to make sure.
She looks to Ogre again, watching her silently. "So... what's your interest in all this? Not that I'm complaining about someone wanting to make that bastard pay but... You already know why I'm doing this."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Yeah?" Ogre asks. "That's handy. I'm more direct, like I said. Looks like we need some bruisers. ...That's fine. That's who I have in mind. You'll see."
But, "Yeah. But we can't be stupid about it; we'll want to approach quietly, not draw attention."
She nods. "I'll write it down." And soon, she has the number! While...
"Yeah. ...I have... more power," she says. "I can do this."
But that question?
"Justice," Ogre says seriously, looking right at Ririka. "...Justice. That matters."
"A justice that makes the world better than it was before. That's how it 'ought to be'."
"That's what I want."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Bruisers... sounds good." In her mind she's thinking: DPS. "That works out then."
"I can do quiet. I mean, I don't think that's part of my powerset but... I'll be careful."
Ririka nods and rattles off her number.
Having a cell phone that works in the Dark Hour isn't exactly disproving her Tartarus conjecture.
More power... not quite the reason Ririka would have suspected, but... she'll accept it.
Justice. Justice that matters. It's a good answer. She's too keenly aware of how the system let her sister down, how Eiji or his father used their influence to wreck Ichika's prospects...
So it's a very good answer.
But it's not the one she wants.
"I mean why are you helping my sister? I agree that that bastard deserves any kind of justice but... is 'justice' all you want? Or do you care about my sister, too? I need to know what kind of person I'm working with."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ogre, it seems, is not as much a gamer, because she doesn't use that terminology. "Don't have to have powers to be quiet," Ogre points out. "Just have to be careful."
Still...
It's not an answer that Ririka is satisfied with. "I do care. I won't get my 'justice' at her expense."
"But that's all the detail I'm giving. The sort of person you're working with keeps secrets. If that's a problem..."
"Then I won't use that number."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"I can be careful." You want someone around who can enable your minimap, anyway.
There's another long silence as Ririka studies Ogre... and then slowly nods. "That's fine. You can have secrets. It's not like I don't have my own, anyway. The fact that my sister trusts you with this says a lot already. And she asked me to work with you, so... I'm in."
"I just... wanted to know for myself. But if you say this 'justice' won't be at her expense, then... I'm willing to take your word on it. So I'll be waiting to hear from you."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Good."
Ogre waits for it--and it's an important moment. She needs Ririka to be able to deal with that if she can work with her on this... In part to avoid exposing her to more risk. "Right," the Ogre answers of secrets. "Cool."
A pause. "Then that's fine. ...I'll see you around," she says.
"I'll message you when I'm ready to move."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Speaking of secrets... there's already a pretty big one, iosn't there? Not that Ririka has any clue, of course.
But the matter of secrets is settled for now, at least.
When she's ready to move... "Okay. I'll be waiting to hear from you, then." She sets her skateboard down, pointed the way she came. "Stay safe out there."
If Ogre doesn't have anything else to add, Ririka will step on her board and skate her way back across the bridge.