2025-08-12: An Exchange
- Log: An Exchange
- Cast: Ichika Kawase, Shinobu Shimizu
- Where: Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru City (Near the Cardboard Dragon)
- OOC Date: August 12, 2025
- IC Date: June 24, 2012
- Summary: Ichika reaches out to Shinobu, told she's reliable, about a job offer. Shinobu meets the Ogre, and learns of her plans. The Ogre learns some things, too.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika Kawase is looking for people to help her with something important. And Tsubasa, at least, said that Shinobu was reliable. Her own experience with her said the same. But finding her? That was another matter. Making a hunt of it, though, Ichika uncovered a number...
And it's attached to her last name. It's probably the right one.
So Ichika pulls her phone--the separate phone she got for doing stuff like this--and dials Shinobu's number. If she reaches her...
"...Shinobu Shimizu?" she confirms. When asked who she is, "...The Ogre."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
For someone who makes a living through various odd-jobs, it's important to have a number out there people can reach her through if they want to hire her for something. So, receiving a call from an odd number out of the blue isn't that strange. So when her phone rings... Shinobu picks it up.
"That's right. And you are...?" She replies.
...The Ogre. It's not too hard to figure out who that might be referring to. The costume stands out. She left a good impression on her in the fights they've been in, so that's enough to get her to take the conversation seriously.
"Can't say I expected to get a call from you. ...Something up? Don't think you'd go hunting this number down just for kicks." Shinobu asks.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika isn't sure what she'd have done if Shinobu hadn't picked up. Stake out the Cardboard Dragon, maybe? She'd probably have to reveal herself, though. And that... she'd rather not. If she's hiding it from her sister, she should probably hide it from a stranger too.
But the call connects, and Shinobu answers. "Yeah," Ichika answers. she sounds less threatening on the phone--more like an ordinary girl. But then, a mask does a lot for you. "And... yeah, actually. I've got a job offer. For something like the kinds of things we've gotten up to. But... It might be awkward to give all the details on the phone. Can we meet somewhere? ...Hirasaka's best for me. Maybe... during 'that' hour."
All channels have been gagged.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
A job offer. For 'the kinds of things we've gotten up to'. ...This is serious, then. She sounds like an ordinary girl... but, Shinobu's seen what Yukari Takeba can do. She knows not to discount an ordinary girl. It's a good reminder that there's a person under that Ogre mask, though, and not the demon she appears to be on the surface.
"...A job offer, huh. Alright." Shinobu replies. Not over the phone, though - it might be awkward. "Fair enough. You familiar with the Cardboard Dragon? We can meet at the entrance to the alleyway. Sound good to you?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It's very serious. But Ichika has never hired someone before... It seems like the best way to get Shinobu on-sides though, and she needs all the help she can get. So, she listens when Shinobu answers and--
"Heard of it," Ichika says. "Been meaning to visit. Maybe another day. ...That sounds good for now. Tonight, then. After midnight."
"...Thanks."
She'll drop the call after that, and get herself ready. And that night...
The world is green.
At the alley outside the cardbaord dragon, in the dead city, the Ogre waits. She is dressed in her habitual armor and horned mask, leaning on a wall. There's a puddle of blood near her--but not from any particular creature that can be seen.
She waits. She hasn't been here that long, though...
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"I recommend it. There's a lot there people in our hobby would be interested in." Shinobu replies. Tonight, after midnight. "No problem. See you then."
Ogre hangs up - and Shinobu goes to get herself ready, too. Hours pass, and the clock strikes midnight. Shinobu is already on the move when it happens - as the world is bathed in green and a deathly silence falls over Sumaru City and beyond.
She arrives at the alleyway... and sure enough, there is the Ogre. Shinobu doesn't spare a glance toward the puddle. By this point, she's gotten used to mysterious pools of blood and the coffins lining the streets. It's one of the costs of their 'hobby', as she put it.
"Sure enough, here you are... Evening, Ogre." Shinobu greets with a nod as she approaches. "Find the place alright?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Their 'hobby'. That's a good way to keep the secret. ...And Ichika has a feeling that secret should be kept. If nothing else, it'd scare people. They couldn't handle the Joker Killer at Kasugayama, after all...
Ogre isn't holding her shield at the moment. Maybe she's got it on her back, though it's not plainly visible. She remains extremely tall, even without the boots.
"Hey," the Ogre answers. "Yeah, I did. Thanks for coming."
"...You seem reliable," she says. "And my friend, Tsubasa-kun, they say you are too. So this job..."
"I figure there's a lot of valuables there I can pay you out of, but I can get out real money too if you'd rather. Point is..."
"There's a... supernatural place, I want to go. For someone. There's a guy there--I'm not sure he's really who he is, or just... a weird copy, somehow."
"But he runs this 'venue' in Sumaru that only appears to people like us. ...He's..."
"He's bad. He hurt someone I know, really badly. And I want to go there, and see if I can dig out something that'll prove it."
"That's the job. It's pretty dangerous. I barely got out the last time I was there. But I figure if I go in with a group, we have a better shot."
"What do you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"No problem." Shinobu replies with a nod as the Ogre thanks her. She has to look up, a little - she has a fair of height on her. Despite this, Shinobu carries herself casually... but it's easy enough for someone with Ogre's experience to see how watchful she is - ready to move at the sign of danger.
It's not directed toward her, at least - especially after she mentions that Tsubasa said she was reliable.
"They did, huh..." Shinobu murmur. ...That's pretty high praise. She's a little flattered, really. She listens as the Ogre explains further, about the job and the 'venue' with a guy who may or may not be himself.
But he hurt someone she knows really badly... Shinobu frowns, at that. So it's personal, then - to get justice for that person.
"...Sounds like it." She considers, when she mentions it's dangerous. Going it alone... Yeah, it's hard without anyone having your back.
As for what she thinks...
"...I think I can help you." Shinobu replies. "...But I gotta know who the guy is. And anything you remember from your last shot at the 'venue' would be helpful, too. Just wanna know what I'm getting myself into, is all."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Cool." The Ogre isn't even slouching; she's not overly self-conscious about her height. Especially not in the Ogre outfit, maybe. But Ichika can see that casual bearing, that watchful demeanor. She knows if this were trouble instead of how it is, it wouldn't be simple.
"Yeah. ...Don't go telling them I told you that, I guess. But they did."
Ichika has never heard of a 'Palace'. She doesn't know that what she's after is a Shadow. But she's not going to stand by, any longer, when she knows where to go.
"Great," the Ogre answers, and then--hesitates just briefly. It's visible in the press of her lips together, the slight curve of her mouth. "...OK."
"His name's Eiji Kamiya. But she'll get in trouble if you spread around the stuff he did to her. What you're getting into..."
"He's a woman-beater, and... And more than that." She can't quite bring herself to say all of it, even now. "And the venue is like, a hotel? It's setting up for a wedding. There's a bunch of monsters there that look kinda like people, but different too."
"There'd be you, me, and a few others."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
The Ogre's comment gets a slight smirk out of Shinobu. She shakes her head.
"Don't worry. I won't." She replies. But as she asks for more information, she can see that hesitation. Shinobu straightens up, her expression becoming a little more focused.
Eiji Kamiya. She makes a mental note of the name. She assumes the 'she' is the person she was referring to earlier, and Shinobu shakes her head.
"...Don't worry. Nothing you say here leaves this meeting." She assures. The Ogre elaborates - he's a woman-beater... and more than that. It sounds difficult to talk about Shinobu grimaces, massaging the side of her neck. It's enough for her to draw conclusions. "...Shit. Sorry. You don't gotta say any more than that."
The venue, though - Shinobu considers that for a moment, then nods. A hotel, setting up for a wedding... With monsters that look like people, but different. She nods thoughtfully.
"So you've got others, too. Good. Then... I'll help you. Just give me a time and a place." She replies.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika knows she should be able to talk about the details if she's going to do something about it--but it's not that simple, either.
So she elaborates, and... "Good," the Ogre answers about nothing here. "Thanks," she says when Shinobu says she doesn't have to say more.
"Cool," she says. "I appreciate it. ...So will she."
"July 6th," Ichika says. "That's when i'm putting it together. I need to get a couple more people together..."
"It's an address here in Sumaru. In Rengedai." She gives the address of a house there. "...I'll give you where to meet nearby closer to. We don't want to get too close--but once we get there, we're going... Out of the normal world, I guess you'd say. It kind of overlaps, but..."
She gestures. "It's hard to explain."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu nods. She's fine with leaving it at that, for now, and focusing on the practicals.
"July 6th... Yeah. I'll keep that in mind." She nods. It's good to make sure they're as prepared as they can be, if it was difficult enough for her to face last time.
"Rengedai... Got it. Yeah, probably don't wanna all show up right there..." Shinobu considers. And then... going out of the normal world. It kind of overlaps... She 'hm's to herself. Combined with what she said earlier about the place...
"...I think I might know what kind of place you're talking about. If it's what I'm thinking, I've been in one before already." Shinobu replies.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Cool." Ogre doesn't want to have to go twice if she can help it--but in any case, she aims to be ready to bust her way back out again. Being trapped isn't an option.
"...You do?" the Ogre wonders. "I've only seen that one place like it. There's more than one?"
"..."
"If you can tell me what you know, I'd appreciate it. I don't... really know about this stuff. So if you can tell me, or point me to someone who can..."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu considers the Ogre for a moment. She doesn't know... It's a little surprising, considering the fight's she's gotten wrapped up in. And having already been in one of them...
...It doesn't feel right, letting her go into this blind. She nods to herself.
"Alright. Uh, I'm not the expert, but..." She moves to lean against the nearby wall. She might as well get comfortable.
"Yeah. There's more than one. We call 'em 'Palaces'. I don't know how it happens, but it sounds like... these places pop up that kind of act like a representation of the way the person it's formed around sees the world, in a place significant to them. You can't get in unless you know the person's name, where it is, and how they see it. Then, you need some weird app called the Meta-Nav, or to spread a rumor about it." Shinobu explains. She shrugs, briefly. "...If you've already been there, then that saves us the hard part of hunting all that info down, at least."
She watches the Ogre to make sure she's still following, the continues.
"The 'him' you saw... unless he's got powers himself, that's probably his Shadow running the joint. ...Which means, we probably really don't want to run into him if we can help it." She says... and then, finally, she steps away from the wall.
"...And with that, you know as much as I do. If you need to know more, I've got a web address I can give you. 'The Dark Side of Sumaru'... it's kind of a gathering place for information on the supernatural. There's a lot of junk from people who don't know any better and some shady people there... but if you're willing to look, plenty of it's legit." She explains. "Otherwise... talk to the owner of the Cardboard Dragon. Let them know Shinobu sent you. They might be able to give you better advice."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
The Ogre has been wrapped up in a lot, but mostly by coincidence and accident. This is the first time she's really diving in on purpose.
Ogre watches Shinobu's explanation, and nods. "I see..." Name, location, and... how they see it. "I think I've got that app," she says. "Dunno how I got there, though. I didn't do any special things, I just sort of... wandered in."
But she is following. "I see... a 'Shadow'. Like the little wriggly guys?" Pause. "...You don't have to answer that. I'll look it up on that site you mentioned."
"Thanks, Shimizu-san." It might be strange to get a polite address from an Ogre, but so be it. "Will do. I'll check the site, and the Cardboard Dragon."
"That's all I needed, so... I won't take up more of your time. But thanks."
"It's important. This world... it doesn't always see 'justice'. But maybe I can make it happen this time."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Really?" Shinobu asks, surprised. "Didn't know that could happen."
If she didn't know that... then what else does she not know about Palaces...? ...Well, hopefully they have enough to go on for now.
The Ogre comments on Shadows but says she doesn't have to answer it, so she nods as she offers her thanks.
"No problem. Hope it helps." She replies with a nod - then listens as she continues with more thanks... and a desire to make justice happen.
"...Yeah. Here's hoping. I'll do what I can to help you reach it, too." She agrees.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Part of why I'm so serious about preparing, this time."
There's a lot she doesn't know--but now she might find out ahead of time, at least some of them. "Cool," the Ogre answers, and then when Shinobu agrees, the Ogre actually grins. "...Good. Then between us we've got that much better a shot." She pushes off the wall. "...See you around. There's..."
She considers. "There's this girl who's read in on this. I might have her ask some questions places I can't get to with the mask so easy. I'll mention you."
"...For now, take care. Later."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"...Yeah. Don't blame you, there." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head. She had a rough time of it when she knew what she was getting into. Just finding yourself inside one unprepared...
...She's probably lucky she got out at all, though she doesn't say that out loud.
She gets a grin, and Shinobu smirks back.
"Yeah, see you." She replies, though pauses when she starts to say something. A girl, huh? Shinobu considers that. She won't pry into that too deeply. "Alright."
She tells her to take care, and Shinobu nods.
"Yeah, later. You take care, too." She replies. "Anything comes up, my line's always open, alright? ...Don't have to be about this, either."
And with that she turns to leave, herself, offering a casual wave behind her.