2025-08-25: Crepes and Conciliation
- Log: Crepes and Conciliation
- Cast: Ann Takamaki, Makoto Niijima
- Where: Off the corner of Million Sweets, Shibuya Central Street, Tokyo
- OOC Date: August 25, 2025
- IC Date: July 1, 2012
- Summary: Ann has something important she has to tell Makoto. And so she invites the Third Year to her home turf: the crepe shop.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
MILLION SWEETS
all for yours
Though just one in a neon chorus of gas-illuminated signage providing Shibuya Central Street's evening skies with its signature halation, it's the only one that matters to Ann Takamaki today.
After all, it's her favorite crepe shop in all of Tokyo! That's not even hyperbole! Proximity may play a factor!
And...
She's resolved herself to do something very important here today.
It was by text that she invited Makoto Nijima to join her here. The message was pretty simple:
> hey, you free? i have something important i need to talk to you about.
> how about the crepe shop off shibuya? my treat! they're sooooooooooo goooooooood
followed by a string of heart emojis surrounding two crepe emojis.
Yes: Ann has custom crepe emojis.
That was the simple part. School didn't seem like the right place for this. And she wanted at least a bit of privacy. And, well. The crepes will give her strength of will...!
When Makoto arrives, it's to the enthusiastic and beckoning wave of a cheerful Ann Takamaki, dressed - down? up? - in a breezy white button-up short-sleeve, tied off just above her midsection, with the loosest of all loose neckties dangling off her collar in a checkerboard red style that matches the color of her skirt perfectly, black knee-high stockings and shoes finishing off the ensemble. It's a very...
'Casual, but with effort!'
that a fashion-forward person like Ann knows how to employ as naturally as breathing.
Initial discussion about what to order - one each, or split one? - leads inevitably to the simple suggestion of: why not both? And so it was decreed by Ann, Queen of Crepes, that they would get two crepes, and split both between them. The best of all worlds!
It's here now that Ann has settled, in the alley off the corner of Million Sweets at that little corner nook leading from its cyan neon glories to the shady green haze of Iwai's airsoft shop just beyond. Back resting against the wall, one leg lifted at the knee and shoed heel pressed to that sturdy surface behind her, she beams as she holds up her crepe - chocolate and creme filled, of course - with a bright grin.
"The crepes here are sooooooooooo goooooooood," she declares.
Yes: it's a perfect reflection of exactly how long she extended this declaration in text earlier. You can count it out! No, she doesn't know this.
She's just that powerful.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Makoto Niijima, once again, has no specific plans on her weekend. The regular routine hasn't really appealed lately. She keeps the apartment clean enough for inspections, and she's managed to get through her rather easy homework, she's had a light lunch. What else is she going to do, while waiting for a Change of Heart to occur?
So when a message comes on her phone, she practically leaps for it, picking it up and seeing a... message from Ann? She's a little surprised, but...
> That sounds nice. I'll see you soon!
Making sure she has the right address before she leaves, Makoto makes it into Shibuya in decent time. She's... wearing basically the same outfit she usually wears on weekend outings. A white tunic length blouse, leggings, loafers. Simple, efficient, kind of adult.
Ann's fashion emergency senses may be tingling, however.
Seeing Ann waving, Makoto waves back, if with much smaller motions. But she is in the Queen of Crepes domain now, and the Ambassador from the Republic of Healthy Homecooked Meals is out of her depth. After Ann makes her firm decision of two crepes, Makoto eventually goes for the strawberry cream crepe, before getting dragged down a side alley.
For a dingy side alley, it's not that dingy or dark. Makoto is a bit stunned by Ann's perfect ability to replicate text and perhaps even pronounce emoji. "They certainly look nice," Makoto says, looking over the enormous crepe she has to hold with two hands. It's a bigger dessert than she usually has in her week, but... well. The Metaverse is one hell of a workout, after all, she's probably earned the extra calories.
Still, Ann did call this Important Crepe Conference, and she's waiting to be permitted to eat. (And maybe a little guidance on how. No Ann, she has not had the hip crepe cones before. She is dangerously uncool out of the Metaverse.)
"So, what did you want to talk about, Takamaki-san?" Yes, Ann, she's still business first and foremost, even when it comes to fun.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
In the distant depths of Ann Takamaki's psych, she hears a desperate plea in the dark, ringing ever louder with every step closer Makoto makes in her very adult, very efficient, very 'I definitely have seen that at EXACT ensemble least thrice during our Palace planning' outfit:
MAKEOVER!
MAKEOVER!!
MAKEOVER!!!
She does not answer the call. Not yet. But its destiny is writ in stone with stellar passion its ink. The day... shall come.
She will not ignore this plight...!
For now? For now, Ann looks pretty comfortable and -very- pleased. And why shouldn't she? Great sweets! Great company! Who could ask for anything more?? She wiggles a bit in place; if they were free, her arms would be swinging too, but Million Sweets' crepes are a challenge that must be respected with full, two-handed attentiveness.
"I know, right?" she enthuses to Makoto. "And I can stop by and pick some up on the way home from school or when I'm finished with a shoot! It's a -such- a great pick-me-up."
She's about to dig in, when she notices Makoto still, perhaps, Contemplating the Crepe. Her head cocks with the bob-and-dangle of platinum twintails, before she comes to a realization: "Oh! Is this your first time?"
Perhaps Makoto is unacquainted with the way of the crepe?
And so, Crepetrix Supreme (the titles are endless) in her boundless mercy guides her newest charge on her maiden voyage into this fantastical, carbo-loaded realm of sugar and creme:
"So, like, me? I like to dig in, but take my time to savor it, y'know? But there's no -wrong- way to eat a crepe. You just have to find the one that lets you enjoy the sweetness to -maximum- efficiency! It took me a bit until I found my comfort zone, so. Experiment!"
How is she so knowledgeable on crepe eating, and yet so bad with her studies? The World May Never Know.
And so, tilting her head, Ann takes her first bite of creamy chocolatey pan-fried goodness when--
So, what did you want to talk about, Takamaki-san?
Sky blue eyes flutter out a brief blink.
"Oh! Right. ... Um."
Her gaze hoods. She wipes stray creme from the corner of her mouth with her thumb and strips it clean a second later as she looks aside, a frown settling on her lips.
"Err. Right. I'm actually kind of nervous..."
Great sweets. Great company. But it wasn't always that way, right?
Ann shuts her eyes. Draws in a deep, steadying breath. You can do this, Ann, is her mantra. No -- you need to do this.
"... Okay."
So, she pushes off her wall lean. Faces Makoto with a cocktail expression of guilt and determination. And...
"Nijima-senpai... I'm -so- sorry."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Makoto has no idea of the powerful forces she has attracted in this moment. She is oblivious to the powers than Ann has at her beck and call. May she never know what dark deity has cast it's eye over her.
For now, she's a little worried about eating the crepe, as Ann sees through her wall. "Yes, actually. I've walked by here occasionally, but never tried them." Makoto does, indeed, feel a bit awkward. "There's a lot of things like this I've never tried, admittedly. My focus has always been elsewhere, I suppose."
She watches as Ann initiates the expert crepe devouring technique of the Takamaki Dojo.
Her eyes a little much on Ann's face as she eats. I mean. If Ann's the expert, she should watch how she does it, and try to emulate it.
So Makoto takes an experimental, cautious bite into the very nice crepe, with fresh fruit and whipped cream and oh this is a sugary nightmare but on a day you've worked out hard, it might be just what you need.
She looks at Ann as she mentions she's nervous, and is slightly concerned. But she waits, to hear what Ann needs to say.
"Takamaki-san?" Makoto seems caught by surprise by it. She's... sorry? But... Makoto's the one who put them through hell, and got them all in Kaneshiro's sight. "What are you apologizing for? You haven't done anything wrong..."
At least, nothing that Makoto can think of.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Makoto is staring; Ann doesn't seem to mind.
Visual learning is important for some people!
Ann, spontaneous as she is, has always just been the type to learn by doing.
So when Makoto takes that tentative bite, Ann is all grins and expectations. The first delve into the sweet apocalypse that is the cone crepe is the most sacred, after all--!
It's just too bad it also comes with a bit of ugly necessity. But, well. This, too, is just the natural consequence of Ann Takamaki's impulsive nature.
So, she steels herself. She offers her apology. And when Makoto, surprise writ large on her expression, tries to absolve her of whatever wrongdoing Ann may think she has committed? The shake of Ann's head is immediate and without hesitation.
"Mm-mm," she noises that denial, firm in resolve if not in wordiness. Still, resolved as she is, the bright blue of her stare still drops down to the bite mark carved through her crepe after, as she pulls the fried confection a bit closer towards her abdomen like a protective, inward draw to steady herself.
"You're wrong. I've got so much to apologize to you for. Blaming you for what Kamoshida did, accusing you of only caring about yourself and your future... all those awful things I said and called you..." Her hands curl a little tighter around her treat, chocolate rising up past the cusp of crepe from the pressure.
"I was totally wrong about you. I just... I've wanted to apologize for a while now, but it was hard finding the right moment. Or... convincing myself it was the right moment." She chews the inside of her cheek briefly out of nervous habit, gaze turning towards Iwai's shop in the distance.
"You know? Shiho really needed my help, and I didn't even notice until it was too late. I'm a terrible friend. I think it was just easier to blame you, than face that. So... I'm really, so sorry, Nijima-senpai."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
The sour moments of life make the sweet moments sweeter. So too with crepes, presumably.
What Makoto didn't expect was for Ann to push back against her confusion. She's already preparing to try and absolve Ann again, but Ann continues forward, explaining why she feels that her apology is so important. And to give her credit, Makoto lets Ann say what she needs to say about it.
"Takamaki-san..."
Makoto shakes her head, lowering her crepe out of the way of them. "I'm sorry too." She says, after a moment. "I was more focused on my recommendation and doing what the adults told me to instead of what I thought was right. When you called me what you did it hurt, but it's because you were right." Makoto frowns. "...After Suzui-san..." Makoto shakes her head. "I can't pretend I didn't have an idea that Kamoshida caused it. But I did nothing, I didn't feel like I could do anything against him. Not without risking my position, my recommendation. Everything you said then was right, and I just lashed out at you." Maybe Ann's not blameless, but it would be the height of falsehood to claim that Makoto was wrong either.
And maybe that's the problem. Maybe they'd just keep going in circles, over who did the most harm, the most wrong, the most hurt. And that doesn't solve anything, does it?
"Takamaki-san... we both made mistakes. Mistakes that put people in danger, hurt the people we're supposed to protect or care about. We can't undo that... but we can keep moving forward, right?" It's hopeful, certainly. It also feels like she's letting herself easy. Maybe she is. But... Takamaki-san changed. She kept pushing, and changed herself. Maybe Makoto can do the same, if she tries? She remembers the reminder that Yusuke gave her in the battle, when fear consumed her. "Never again, right? That's the promise I made to myself. You did it too, didn't you?"
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
She doesn't want things to be left unsaid.
She can't just ignore the mistakes she made, the feelings she hurt. She needs to get it off her chest. Even if Makoto doesn't agree with her --
Ann needs her to know how genuinely regretful she is, for everything.
She stands stock still, ready for any blowback -- prepared for the worst. She deserves it, after all. That crepe lowers; her shoulders rise like a preparatory emotional brace echoed out into physical reflex.
I'm sorry too.
"H-huh?"
Only to find she was preparing all the wrong defenses.
"Nijima-senpai, no--" she starts -- but this time, it's her denials and absolutions that are cut off at the pass. Her brows furrow gently as she stops fighting back, and instead just listens -- just lets Makoto get off her chest what she feels -she- has to. That confused expression lapses towards something else, fair features tempering towards the pensive in the hood of sky blue eyes and the thinning of pink lips. Her gaze drops to her crepe once again.
They both made mistakes.
But they can keep moving forward.
Never again, right?
"..."
That thinned line turns towards the tiniest smile.
"Mm. ... Yeah. I did." A second passes. That smile grows. "We did." They both made mistakes. If that's the case, then...
"So, let's just call it even, right?"
... why not just start over from square one?
She falls silent again. And then, with the flutter of that checkerboard skirt, she pivots smoothly to settle back against the wall once more, arms folding under her chest and crepe settled on the crook of her arm.
"... You know... ever since I came to Shujin, people in school always had these ideas about me just because of how I looked. They never even tried to get to know me before making assumptions. It seriously frustrated me, you know?" She shakes her head. "... Eventually I just stopped caring -what- they thought, but getting there was -such- a struggle. I didn't want to put anyone else through that. ... And it turns out I did it anyway." Maybe she was right about some things she said about Makoto. But--
"I was wrong. You're not useless, Nijima-senpai. You got the power to change people's hearts, all on your own. And if it weren't for you, we might've never found a way into Kaneshiro's Palace -- we probably wouldn't have even known it was a thing to begin with!" She rolls her head leftwards to glance at Makoto sincerely.
"That was all you," she asserts, firmly. "... Though you were kiiiiinda reckless about it. I really didn't expect that from you, either!"
But it's definitely not a bad thing.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Maybe, in some ways, they're more similar than they are different.
Still, Makoto can't help but hope she's said the right thing. It was earnest- and that's why she thinks it might have been the wrong choice. So rarely does she make the right choice when it came from the heart...
Or maybe it's because she doubted it that it went wrong. She's watching Ann intently, waiting for her response- and only notices that she was holding her breath when that faint smile comes to Ann's lips. "I'd like that. Even it is." Makoto can't help the smile of her own that creeps to her lips.
She's about to go for a second bite of her crepe, but then it seems Ann has something else to say, so she stops to listen again. To hear a bit more about Ann's own past. Mostly, Makoto's been telling everyone else about her, and not hearing what they went through.
So she isn't suspecting one more admission, especially not this. On paper, it's just three words. Nothing much.
But for Makoto right now, it catches her in the heart.
You're not useless.
It's... so strange to just hear it. Something she's wanted to hear from the people in her life for... far far longer than she should have to.
It's... really hard to hide the little tears forming in her eyes at that, and Makoto tries to look away. For a moment, like she's going to push back on that little thing. Indeed, it's her instinct.
Which is why she stops herself. Ann means it. That's one of the things she's worked out recently, at least. Ann really doesn't say things she doesn't mean, does she?
"...Thank you, Takamaki-san." Makoto says, a little quiet, but.... honest. Truthful. "That means a lot."
The next comment, however, gets a laugh out of Makoto. "'Kinda'? That was one of the dumbest things I've done in my life." Still, she's not kicking herself about, just... acknowledging it. "Still... it did pay off. But... only cause you were all there with me. If I were on my own, I would have never found out about that world, or myself, or any of this." It's time for her own earnestness. "So... I'm really glad you all came after me. You saved me from Kaneshiro and helped me find out what my justice is. I wouldn't be here without you." There's a little smile coming from her there. "It's... kind of like I've found where I belong, for the first time ever."
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
For better or worse, Ann Takamaki always says exactly what's on her mind. She's given up trying to meet people's expectations; she doesn't want to be the person others see her as.
She'll just be her; the people who can't accept that? Can go to hell. And, well, the people who can? ...
They're the ones who she knows are worth having in her life.
Like Makoto.
Of course, Ann can't ever know the consequences of the things she says (and honestly she rarely thinks that far ahead -anyway-) so sometimes they can take her -completely off guard-. Take, for example, the little beads of moisture welling up discreetly but noticeably at the corners of Makoto's eyes. Expressive blue eyes blink and widen, even as Makoto turns to try and hide them -- which, ironically, just calls even -more- attention to them.
"H-hey," she begins. Oh no -- did she say the wrong thing? Shiho's right, she's always putting her foot in her mouth--! She leans in, concern writ large on fair features. "Are you okay?? I-I'm sorry, Ni--"
...Thank you, Takamaki-san. That means a lot."
"--Oh!"
Surprise. That's what's left when the worry is blindsided by gratitude. The forward tilt she gained is lost as she leans back.
It's a rare thing for Ann to blush; but the pale cast of her skin makes the steady bloom of pink ruddy pink at her cheeks all the more obvious when she does.
Her eyes swiftly cast towards the neon-haze of Shibuya's evening skies.
"... I'm glad."
Still; Makoto laughs. And rather than argue, Ann just laughs too, eyes squeezing shut with her mirth. "Okay, fine, maybe I downplayed it a little," she decides. "But it was the cool kinda dumb! Like... when the protagonist in a movie gets finally gets fed up and shows off what a total badass they really are!" But it's the rest of what Makoto says that makes sure that warmth in Ann Takamaki's expression.
It's... kind of like I've found where I belong, for the first time ever.
Because it's always nice to find people who understand you.
People you belong with.
"... Yeah. Me too." She's glad Makoto barged into their life; she's glad they came after her; she's glad they saved her, and she saved them.
She's glad Makoto is one of them.
She takes a bite of her crepe, finally, and grins as she tips her head back Makoto's way with the sway of platinum locks.
"Welcome to our island of misfit toys, Nijima-senpai."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Ann leans in, and that means Makoto is nice and close to see that blush up close.
It's... really cute. Honestly... Makoto feels almost... jealous? Right. Jealous that Ann can be that cute. Definitely... jealousy.
Still, it's only a second before Ann's looking up and Makoto stops staring. You know. She's pretty sure.
"Oh come on," Makoto responds, with a blush. "It wasn't anything like that, I must have looked ridiculous." She tries to play it down, trying to ignore that same revelation that Ann says what she means, and she definitely means it. It's a compliment. "...It was definitely a thrill, though, once it all came together."
Still, she's caught by the way Ann looks at her, and while she doesn't realize the reference Ann is making, she can feel the warmth in it.
And there's no place else in the world she'd rather be than that island with the other phantoms.
"You don't have to call me senpai, Takamaki-san. Just Makoto is fine." It's been a long time since she's been on a first name basis with her peers. Years, at least... maybe longer...? "And... if it's okay, can I call you Ann?"
She may have forgotten about the crepe in this moment, but well... crepes are momentary. Friends- especially for Makoto, who hasn't had any for so long- are forever, ideally.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
"Ridiculously awesome. Oh! Oh!! Like the main character of that Baestation III game, Stiletta! So cool, so dangerous, just radiating all that casual charisma...! She's -totally- one of my idols."
Yes. Ann's a big fan of Stiletta, from the hit Baestation III game, Stiletta.
It's perhaps fortunate that Makoto manages to distract Ann from any further praise because, like the Energizer Bunny, once she gets going she will never stop. That heartfelt honesty, however, is enough to redirect the Unstoppable Force and replace her enthusing with gentle, heartfelt joy. And what happens after--
You don't have to call me senpai, Takamaki-san. Just Makoto is fine.
"R-really??"
Well that just completely throws her off the rails.
Blue eyes fly wide. Ann took to yobisute with Ren and Yusuke fairly easily. And well -- she's known Ryuji since they were barely teenagers. She's not really sure why she's been so insistent on referring to Makoto as senpai -- is it just a seniority thing--?
"H-huh? Um!" distracted by the prospect, it takes Ann a second to register Makoto's follow up; and as is the way of Ann Takamakis, she verbally spills over herself trying to make up for it: "Yeah! Of course! Um -- okay, and then, since you said you're okay with it, then it's fine, and I'll totally do the same! It's great to have you with us, M... M-m,"
That blush returns like a great and perfect firestorm setting Ann's cheek ablaze as she fidgets with her crepe.
"Mmmmakoto--! H-hey, I did it!"
Why did that feel so embarrassing--!
Ann huffs; she tucks a few stray locks of blonde hair behind her ear, finding great interest in the clumsy hill of poorly arranged bikes shoved into the corner of Iwai's storefront. It takes a while for her stare to slowly stray back Makoto's way--
"Oh!"
--whereupon she finds distraction in an unfinished crepe.
"Did you not like your crepe? Here -- try this one!"
And so, with flourish and twintails all a-flutter, Ann spins to face Makoto,
"It's seriously great!"
to raise that crepe to the Third Year's face.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
"Stiletta?" Makoto says, presumably setting off another of the many many tripwires that set off the many many alarms inside Ann Takamaki's soul. (Makoto has never played a Baestation. Or even a Gamekid!!)
She's a little surprised by how thrown Ann is by this offer. She was sure she was right- except, then, Ann says she's on board.
And. Blushing bright red and remaining cute as hell. Uh, wow. That's a lot.
"You did, Ann." She smils, though. So long she's been Niijima, or President, never Makoto. It's... nice. "Thank you."
She doesn't get to say much more, because *CREPE AMBUSH*
"Oh, no, it's fine, I just got distracted-"
Nope. Like it or not, Makoto is getting fed a delicious chocolate crepe, by another girl, who seems practically unstoppable.
But, you know... It feels about right, getting swept away by Ann's energy. She doesn't mind it. Not even a little.