2025-08-14: Yo, Big Sis
- Log: Yo, Big Sis
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Shinobu Shimizu
- Where: The Hot Streets of Hirasaka
- OOC Date: 2025-08-14
- IC Date: Monday, June 25 2012
- Summary: Tsubasa runs into their new role model, Shinobu Shimizu, who does her best to support them... though the way they're (not quite) understanding the supernatural does cause a few little hitches. Also, Tsubasa learns how to bribe a cop.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa... well, kind of technically skipped the last half of school, but they were hiding in the guidance counsellor's office, so it's sanctioned. That, of course, doesn't matter to Lance, who only knows that Tsubasa has been gone ALL DAY and that is a CRIME because Tsubasa spent ALL OF LAST WEEK WITH HER and now they're ABANDONING HER AGAIN????
Tsubasa, quit going to school and spend all your time with your dog. It's the only sane option. (This line of meta was very definitely absolutely not written by a dog. Ruff.)
They're in their Kasugayama uniform now, though, as they stroll down the streets of Hirasaka with Lance in tow. (It is, of course, the boy's uniform, with the bottom half unbuttoned and tied around their waist, pants worn a touch too low for decorum and sleeves rolled up to their shoulders.) Lance isn't on any kind of leash -- Tsubasa would never tie their dog down like that -- but she's perfectly well-behaved as she trots along behind them, anyway.
Unfortunately, this afternoon is staggeringly hot; fortunately, Tsubasa's come prepared. Why would they keep books in their book bag when they can stash an extra bowl in there? They put it down on the sidewalk, in the shade of a shopfront, and pull out their bottle of water. They pour some of it out into the bowl so Lance can stop and have a drink, before draining the rest themself.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
It's a hot summer afternoon. At this point, Shinobu wants nothing more to head straight home and camp out in front of the fan with a cold drink. She has no plans to stop for anything - but since she isn't the planning type, the plan to make no plans immediately falls by the wayside as she spots someone worth stopping for. ...Multiple someones, actually, given the dog drinking up water.
Tsubasa... She hasn't seen them since the fight at Kasugayama. If they're up walking their dog then they're probably okay physically, at least... but she still finds herself diverting toward the shade of the storefront, offering Tsubasa a casual wave as she approaches.
"Hey there, Seki. How've you been?" Shinobu asks. It's a casual enough question... but she has been worried. Her eyes are drawn downward toward Lance, then. "Who's your friend?"
She saw her the night she first ran into Tsubasa... but the two of them ran in different directions, and naturally she was going to follow the person, first.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Shinobu calls out, and Tsubasa lowers their empty water bottle, stashing it in their bag so they can wave. "Yo, big sis." Ane-san, they call her, like she's some kind of mobster. Terrible!!
... it seems friendly enough, though.
"That's Lance," Tsubasa introduces the dog who is, at this very moment, lifting her head from her water bowl to come sniff at Shinobu and wag her tail mightily. "It's cool, she's friendly," Tsubasa adds, as Lance offers a friendly boof.
(Their dog is bass boosted. Obviously.)
"I'm... y'know... I'm cool," Tsubasa rubs at the back of their neck, which is almost certainly at least a creative telling of the truth, given they were taken to hospital when the ambulances arrived. "You?"
It's a super-casual question, but Tsubasa's gaze darts to her with a touch of anxiety that betrays how worried they were.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
'Ane-san'. Shinobu smirks a little, at that. ...It's kind of nostalgic from her own delinquent days, really. She doesn't mind it.
"Nice meetin' you, Lance." Shinobu greets. She kneels down to her level, a genuine smile crossing her face at that bass-boosted boof. She presents her hand for Lance to sniff - and if she accepts, will give her a scratch behind the ears before looking back up at Tsubasa.
"...Cool, huh." Shinobu repeats. She's heard this before, and while she was a little distracted trying to get out before she got picked up by someone else, she did hear about them, too. "Actually cool, or just trying to act cool? ...I won't press you if you don't wanna talk about it. But that's on the table, if you do."
"As for me..." Shinobu starts, standing back up to her full height. ...She can tell they're worried. "I'm alright, now. I heal up quick, so I was back on my feet before long."
...She had some help with that, of course, but she doesn't say that much.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Lance sniff, sniffs, and licks Shinobu's hand. But not her face! Tsubasa made sure to train her not to do that; their makeup is way too complex.
(They had to put it on again this afternoon, too, but that's fine. They always carry their makeup with them.)
"Cool," Tsubasa says. "Glad you got out alright. Turns out you really do kick a lot of ass, huh." Which might explain why they're going around telling mysterious Ogres that Shinobu's legit.
"I'm, uh..." They sigh, cheeks puffing up and blowing out. "Kinda... the second one. Not like I ain't been in a fight or two," actually, their knuckles are scraped as they speak, so that might be the count of fights they've gotten into today, "but that shit was seriously out of our league, man, I ain't never actually cut nobody..."
(Threatening to cut them is different.)
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Lance sniffs her hand, and then licks. Shinobu looks pleased.
"You're a good dog, aren't you?" She praises. Shinobu can tell Tsubasa has her trained well - in that way, at least.
Shinobu nods, then, and laughs just slightly.
"Damn right I do." She confirms. It's a little bit bravado, but she feels like showing it would be better than not. Her expression goes seriously, though, as they admit that it's the latter. She nods.
She'd noticed their knuckles. She doesn't pry - who they fight is their business. But what happened that day is out of their league...
"...Yeah. It's the kind of thing you hear about but never expect to see." Shinobu agrees with a nod. "...Nothing really prepares you for it, does it."
She folds her arms in front of her.
"...It's messed up. You guys should've never had to see something like that."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
'Bork!' Lance replies, overjoyed, when Shinobu declares she's a good dog. This is amazing?!
... don't worry, the people they jumped really had it coming. Jerks.
"Dr. Inoue tried to tell me there weren't no Joker Killer, when I was in hospital," Tsubasa frowns, foliding their own arms. (Are they mirroring Shinobu? Surely not.) "Like it was just... my 'condition' flarin' up again. But I was talkin' to someone else there, and she said there was. The guidance counsellor up at school, uh, Marlowe-sensei, he didn't say nothin' 'bout it directly, but... he did say he believed me, so..."
Of course, the media hasn't breathed a word of the Joker Killer. According to them, it was just gang violence. Hirasaka's becoming a dangerous place; oughtn't you vote in people who will protect you?
Luckily, Tsubasa's layers of artifice cover up the way they pale, as they think back to the fight. "Ain't never seen so much blood," they admit, quietly. "And all that fire... shit, why'd he have to be throwin' fuckin' Molotovs...?"
... is that how Tsubasa remembers it?
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
This is amazing. Shinobu's always loved animals - dogs especially. She's never been in a good position to keep one, though. ...Especially these days.
She focuses, though, as Tsubasa starts to explain. Dr. Inoue... Shinobu's brow furrows.
"...Yeah, that's bullshit." Shinobu says flat-out, a frown crossing his face. "That was him, alright. I didn't fight him myself, but I could tell he was something else. Maybe your doc just doesn't believe in the rumor, but they should at least be in your corner."
Someone did believe them, though - someone else there, and a Marlowe-sensei.
Shinobu knows what the media says - or doesn't say. If the rumor is real, you don't want to be spreading it... but pretending it didn't happen to someone who's already suffered from it?
It's frustrating, but she tries to keep it off of her face - which becomes easier a moment later, as that frustration is replaced with sympathy. And, molotovs...
They were able to recommend her to Ogre, but they don't know enough to be able to recognise Fire spells... Still, she noticed how much it terrified them.
"...Yeah. Hard to get out of your head, huh?" Shinobu replies about the blood, shaking her head. "Still see it myself, sometimes."
As for the fire...
"...I dunno. Maybe it's a fear thing. Scare people, and make 'em easier to hurt..." She shakes her head. "...He's a rotten bastard for it, if it is."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa isn't exactly in a good position to keep a dog... but they're at least in a better position than Ichika is, when her dorm doesn't allow pets.
"That's... kinda his thing," Tsubasa admits, glancing away. "Dr. Inoue spent a long time... treatin' me after... uh, I turned out like this. See, I... kinda did it to myself, uh, or at least that's... it's what people say, anyway."
They're relieved, at least, to hear that all that blood gets to Shinobu too. (They think they're being subtle about letting that breath go; they're not.) "The thing I keep thinkin' of is... it's... it's his eyes, right? 'Cause he wasn't all the way conked out, but he sure as hell weren't home, either, like... like he'd taken a shitload of tranquilisers, or somethin'." And why Tsubasa knows what that looks like is an alarming revelation they just breeze right past, because they don't entirely realise the warning bells they've just set off.
"He's a dick," Tsubasa agrees, scowling. "Fuckin' stupid, too. What was he gonna do if a fire caught in the basement and the people he was tryin' to kill were blockin' the exit?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
A frown crosses Shinobu's face as Tsubasa explains that's Dr. Inoue's thing. He treated them - and people say they did it to themself.
"But you don't believe it." She comments - or at least that's the implication she reads into it, if they put the clarifier onto it.
But, the boy's face...
"...Yeah. It's haunting." She agrees... and pauses, briefly, as they breeze past a very specific description. Her eyes go wide in surprise, a 'what the hell?' look on her face - though not directed at them.
...They shouldn't know what that looks like.
She frowns, though, and shrugs briefly.
"...Don't think he cared. I bet be would've brought the whole place down on himself, if it meant getting his target too." Shinobu replies. "...That's the worst kind. No talking sense into 'em."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
They used to. Shinobu listens as they explain. They were the only person in the office, but they don't remember a thing... and there's people who can make you do things you never would. She frowns thoughtfully. So they've heard about that much, too...
"...Yeah. There's an idea. If you think that could've happened, then I trust you." She replies with a nod. Someone might as well be in their corner. She'll make it her, if she has to.
They agree with her that it was haunting, and about the people who attacked.
"Seriously." She agrees, shaking her head - and then nods, about Chidori. "...Yeah. Not once - even with three people trying to hold her off. Scary as hell."
Tatsuya, though - she remembers what she saw, but it seems like they remember it differently... Not that she can confirm or deny it.
"...Really? He didn't seem like that kinda guy - not when I met him, at least." She replies. "...But, I couldn't see what happened."
She tried to go help - but her body was giving out on her after the fight.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"It's just... it don't make no sense?" Tsubasa asks, their voice growing smaller with the rising tone. "I ruined my life, everyone's lives, for no reason... like, shit, I was a part-timer at City Hall, it was gonna be my easy 'in' to politics, man. And, like, they said it was embezzlement, but the money was comin' in, not goin' out..."
Which tells Shinobu a few interesting things:
1) Tsubasa wanted(?) to get into politics before they were burned, and
2) That's assuredly enough details to place the crime as it was reported in the media.
(The Arsonist of City Hall was never named, per se, because they were a minor; but the details will all line up.)
"Mom said she'd seen chicks in gothic lolita runnin' around, too... it's freaky, even though I know it can't be the same girl, like, everyone there was in a stupid costume, did you see the girl dressed up like a fucking cat? Who fuckin' wanted to claw my eyes out, shit." There was no girl dressed up like a fucking cat; Tsubasa was attacked by the Demon, Nekomata on the way to the basement. ... they just mentally inserted the headband for her cat ears afterwards.
Tsubasa shakes their head, and insists: "It happened! I mean," they double back to doubt themself, a second later, just a little too quickly for comfort, "I was, uh, fuckin', cryin' a lot, and it's not like I could fix that with my hands full, so it was kinda... hard to see who it was...? But I know he was attackin' him, he was screamin' like he was dyin', man! And it just -- it was just the same guy," they insist, voice a touch more high and whining, because interrogating their assumptions feels like a stab of cold ice right through their heart.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Tsubasa explains the situation. A part-timer at City Hall... Yeah, Shinobu remembers the news now. She didn't think much of it at the time, but... It clicks. But she thinks about how many times she saw the story and didn't think anything of it... And she grimaces internally, a little. It's so easy to manipulate information, huh...? And hearing about their ambitions, their interest in politics that was dashed... It hurts. But how they describe it... It's too much of a coincidence.
"...Yeah. Don't see what that'd get you." She agrees with a nod. "Sounds like you stumbled onto something someone didn't want seen... That sucks. That shouldn't have happened to you."
"Not there, but... I've seen girls like that before. So it don't surprise me a bit one was there, too." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head. She knows they must be referring to a Demon, but it's hard to talk around their existence without outright lying. "...Glad you made it out okay, at least."
And then - Tatsuya. Tsubasa insists, and -
Shame crosses Shinobu's face, as she hears the tone of their voice. ...Of course. She should've- She should've thought before she opened her stupid mouth. Of course they'd feel betrayed, after what they already told her. And after she told herself she'd try to back them up... She's bad at this.
"Alright." She replies with a nod. "I'll keep a lookout for him, too."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"I'll figure it out," Tsubasa promises, bitterly. "I gotta."
There's just too much riding on it -- for it to stay a mystery. ... he'll never forgive them if they can't explain it.
Tsubasa's arms fold a touch tighter, hearing their own whining. What if they're wrong? Why is the idea they might be so frightening? ... they don't realise, entirely, that their perfectly logical explanation is just another way for them to stop examining it.
If only their explanation weren't so hostile to Tatsuya!
"S--sure," they nod, and they're lucky that their tan and concealer hides the way their face flushes with embarrassment, feeling a lump in their throat. "Cool."
Though, it's really... they kinda want to bolt, but...
"Uh, I, ran into your sister the other week," Tsubasa casts around to latch on anything else they can say that might be a little more grounded in reality, despite the track record they're playing back in their head. "'Cuz -- 'cuz the hospital wanted to send me back with my father, uh -- so I got 'em to ring Officer Shimizu, so -- uh, I told her the shit what was happenin', with my father and shit, so..."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Tsubasa says they'll figure it out, and Shinobu nods.
"Here's hoping you do. ...Just be careful, alright? You get in trouble, you've got my number." Shinobu replies. Someone must've cared enough to frame them the first time. If they start digging again... Well, she's worried.
...And then it's straight toward the awkward zone for her. She massages the side of her neck and nods when they reply - and wouldn't blame they if they bolted... but she appreciates that they don't.
"Oh yeah?" Shinobu starts. She's about to ask 'which one', but they explain, and Shinobu grimaces. "...Glad they were able to get a hold of her."
But they told her what was happening... Shinobu nods.
"...Good. I'm proud of you. Couldn't have been easy." Shinobu replies. "What'd she say?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah," Tsubasa says. "I might." Get in trouble? Need to call her? Probably all of those things, expressed economically.
They didn't even mention how much money was coming into City Hall without a tag...
Lance whines, feeling the aura of Awkwardness roiling off of the meeting. 'Arooooooooo??', and Tsubasa unfolds their arms (there may be some creaking SFX) to pet her. "It's cool, Lance," they assure her.
"Yeah, she's like... I got her card," Tsubasa shrugs. (It might be a generic station card with her name and number hand-written on the back, but it still counts.) "And I guess they were cool with it, since she was a cop." Well, that and the nurses' concerns over potential domestic violence, which were filed into the system and subsequently mysteriously buried. ... but at least at that moment, the people taking care of them made the call to involve Reiko. It helped that their father was more than happy to palm things off to her.
Shinobu's proud of them, though, and Tsubasa... is weirdly happy about that, scratching at their cheek. "Yeah," they nod. "She said, uh... things'll get better, and... I oughta call her the next time my father's tryin' to hurt me, 'cause, I oughta have backup. Or, uh, she could come with me if I had to see him, or whatever... and, uh, she'd help me out with stuff."
Woops, in relating what Reiko said Tsubasa accidentally related Hanzou's crimes. No one could have guessed their dad was a jerk.
Tsubasa pauses, then, looking back to Shinobu. "Uh, but I mentioned you were there at Kasugayama, and she kinda freaked out a sec... sorry if I set you up for an awkward convo, big sis."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu nods. She would not be surprised at an 'all of the above'.
Tsubasa has Reiko's card, though, and that seemed to be good enough. She's glad about that.
"Yeah, Reiko-chan's easy for people to trust..." Shinobu says, relieved that it wasn't too difficult. And then she listens to what Reiko's answer was, nodding along.
...She's proud of her sister now, too.
"Good. If she told you that, you can be sure she means it. She'll be there when you need her, right on the dot." Shinobu replies with a fond smile. As much as she'd like to help them with their father, Reiko's better suited to it... If only because she has the authority to try and do something about it.
...If Shinobu went she'd probably try and start a fight, and that'd make things worse for everyone.
...But Tsubasa did also mention to Reiko that she was at Kasugayama too. Shinobu winces briefly - but only briefly.
"...Nah. It'll be fine, I think. But thanks for the heads-up." She replies. ...It'd be mighty cruel of her to make a big deal about it, when she'd already told them to tell things to people they trust.
...Her big concern, really, is that Reiko tells Ayame, and she puts two and two together that she was lying about the injury Ikkaku noticed...
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah," Tsubasa nods. "She... she's a cop, so there's shit I can't really say without makin' her life hard, but she ain't never let me down with the shit I did say, y'know?" The fact that Reiko has always been so supportive does not at all strike Tsubasa as a reason doing crimes might be wrong, though.
(Those windows had it coming, and it's not like anyone lives there any more anyway. And it's not like they're ruining the structural integrity of a wall with their spray paint or nothing. They're not hurting anyone! ... except for those times they do hurt people. But they hurt people who deserve it! ... mostly. Anyway, they all knew what they were in for, you don't run in a gang in Kasugayama without being willing to eat the dirt now and then.)
... starting a fight with Hanzou would, in fact, be very bad. He's important, now.
But as it happens, Tsubasa is great at unintentionally causing strife. They might even be better at that than doing it on purpose! "You sure?" They ask, having actually noticed the wince that time. "Okay..."
They don't want to cause her problems. After all, she's cool. She's LEGIT.
(If they knew she was worried about Ayame, they'd probably just point out that a mom like that would probably be hella chill with her showing up to defend a high school. Tragically, Tsubasa has no sense for the metatextual dimension whatsoever.)
Their phone chimes, though, and they pull it out of their pocket -- a few years out of date, but still perfectly serviceable. "Oh, the Princess wants to go hit up Shibuya," Tsubasa says, looking down at the text. "Hey, I'd better beat it... but I'm glad you're okay, y'know? It was real cool of you to, like, run towards the explosion or whatever."
Is that a logical explanation for why Shinobu was there at the school? Sure, why not.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Yeah, I get it." Shinobu replies with a nod. That is one of the problems with being a cop. She nods, though, with a smile. "...Yeah. That's her."
She nods, though, when they ask if she's sure.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Maybe I'll bribe her with sweets or something." She replies with a small laugh - mostly to ease the tension a little, because she can see they're a little worried about it.
Their phone rings, though, and it's the 'Princess'. Shinobu doesn't know who that is, but she assumes that's one of their gang.
"Yeah, probably shouldn't keep her waiting." Shinobu replies - but she nods, gratefully, as they say they're glad she's okay, too.
"Thanks. ...And, yeah. Couldn't just stand around, yeah?" She replies. She may have already known something was about to go down... but she still made a conscious choice to keep going when there were actual explosives being used, so she's willing to accept it. She sends them a smirk, too. "But, hey. You were real cool, yourself. All of that was going on, but you still wanted to help that kid. You and Kashihara."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"What? Does that work?" Tsubasa has learned: how to bribe a cop!
Oh no, Shinobu's corrupting the youth...
"She'll let me know if I do," Tsubasa assures Shinobu, suggesting perhaps that Princess is a title suggesting a particular personality style.
But... Shinobu couldn't just stand around. "Yeah," Tsubasa agrees. "Cool." Oh, no, she's cool with the kids. But Shinobu says that they and Jun were cool, too, and they take great pains to look down and type out a reply on their phone. "You think?" They ask, without looking at her. "I--I kinda figured I was dead weight, screamin' and carryin' on, and that chick just straight cut the chair I threw in half... uh, but I mean, I couldn't really do nothin', but, I guess I did wanna help. Uh, went to see him in hospital yesterday, mom gave me some flowers to bring out to him... he was pretty fucked, but they said he'd be okay?"
They're really caught between wanting to be happy Shinobu noticed their efforts and feeling powerless in that situation, huh.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"There's probably an upper limit... But it'd make her day, at least." Shinobu replies with a shrug.
She laughs, just a little, when Tsubasa says that the Princess will let them know.
"Alright, cool." She replies.
But - oh no, she's cool...
She listens as they continue, as they explain how they felt. Dead weight... She shakes her head.
"Nah, it's fine. ...I mean, well, maybe try not to antagonize the axe murderer next time, but... you focused up when it mattered." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head. ...She can't blame them for feeling powerless, though. Even she did, at the end. Still, they went to see that kid yesterday, huh... A small, relieved smile crosses her face.
"...Good. I'm glad to hear that. That was good of you, too." She replies.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Oh, uh, yeah," Tsubasa laughs, nervously, as if it's totally obvious not to antagonise axe murderers.
(It is not clear in the slightest, and Tsubasa is at significant danger of doing something just as dumb or worse going forward. ... that's probably just the kind of guy they are, though.)
"Yeah," Tsubasa nods, and even manages to smile briefly when Shinobu praises them for visiting the unfortunate Atsushi Kazama. It's easier to feel good about that part. "Uh, Jun-kun was there, too," and Shinobu might note that they've upgraded their address with him since the fight, so evidently they were at least both affected enough by their experiences to grow a bit closer. ... which is probably a good sign, because, like, Tsubasa really seems like the kind of kid who needs more friends. "Said he'd come with next time I went, too..."
They look down at their phone, again, as it chimes. "Yeah, there it is," they say, with a mixture of fondness and sardony which at least goes pretty hard towards suggesting Princess is one of their gangmates. "I better run -- catch ya later!"
And, in fact, they do start running down the street to duck down into the underground and hop on the nearest train, Lance loping along behind them.
...
...
...
does that mean they trained their dog to take the train
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu just gives them a look, at that... But ultimately, their choices are up to them.
And Jun was visiting, too - she does notice the shift in address, this time, and that's something to feel good about.
"Oh yeah? Cool - probably good for both of you." She replies. Both because it's probably easier to handle doing something like that with someone else there... and because they really do seem like that.
And finally, there's the message. Shinobu nods.
"Yeah, take care out there. Have fun." Shinobu replies, offering them a wave as they run off. She watches Lance follow them too -
- and she does, in fact, temporarily contemplate the idea of a dog riding a train, at least until she realises it's way too hot to be standing around here doing nothing and sets herself back on the path home.