2025-08-25: Specialists and Generalists
- Log: Specialists and Generalists
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Tsubasa Seki
- Where: Shibuya - Streets
- OOC Date: 2025-08-25
- IC Date: Sunday, July 01 2012
- Summary: Tsubasa and Ren run into each other at the movies, and realise they have a lot in common -- not only due to their troubles with the law, but regarding their relationships with gender, too. They instantly find community with each other, because it's lonely out there as an 'X'.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
There's something extra-satisfying about, following a Saturday where you put everything on the line with friends and acquaintances and strangers alike to deal with a scummy man who'd ruin all your lives just because he can, having a Sunday where you have absolutely nothing going on. Sure, there were a lot of emotional extremes just yesterday, but now he can just relax and luxuriate in his success.
Probably. Technically Kaneshiro hasn't confessed his sins yet. But Ren is confident that he will--that hateful, mysterious Persona User who tried to gun him down notwithstanding. That's a problem for Future Ren, though. Right now, he and his friends are alive and in one piece, his friends are safe and won't be trafficked, and he's not going to be expelled and thrown out onto the streets.
Right now, he's watching a movie at the theatre on Shibuya Central Street. It's a limited showing of Worst Detective here in Shibuya. For Ren, it's more or less a comedy.
The trailers play and the movie begins, and Ren enjoys them both with a bag of popcorn, a soda (grape Manta, of course), and a companion in the form of the cat in his bag. Ren's been lucky enough to catch a matinee show on a sunny day, and consequently he and Morgana are the only ones in the theatre. He makes short work of his soda and will throw the cup out in the trash on the way out, but the popcorn, he takes his time on while Morgana watches at his time.
"Hah! That's one heck of a comedy!" Morgana crows partway through, tail undulating. "Without his genius nephew and pet cat, that idiot detective will never solve a single mystery!" He leans in close. "You and I are kind of like that winning duo, don't you think?"
Ren nods, popping a kernel of popcorn into his mouth and offering another to Morgana. "Bet it would really annoy Akechi to take him to see this," he comments, smiling.
"You said it!" Morgana elegantly accepts it, at least until he has to gnaw on the salty, oily puff. It does give him a moment of... well, all those little cat noises can't really be called silence, but Ren does lean back and continue to watch.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Hey, why --"
Tsubasa hears someone trying to get their attention, as they slip out of the store in Shibuya, but they don't stop to let them finish their sentence; plausible deniability. They fold into the crowd, their hoodie pulled up over their head despite the heat, board shorts looking exceptionally like they were stitched out of a skirt one day.
Of course, they're not really cold; if they were cold, they'd have more than a tank-top on, under their hoodie. That's not the point of the hoodie.
They dig into their wallet, and pull out a slip of paper, before they swing into the theatre. "Comin' back in," they explain, walking with purpose, as they flash what was a perfectly valid ticket for this theatre at the poor sap checking to make sure no one sneaks in.
Of course, it was a ticket to a different movie, but they're moving too fast to really tell. They must really not want to miss much more of it.
Once they're in the dark of the theatre, they're able to properly slip the makeup they've just jacked from the unhemmed pocket in the sleeve of that hoodie back into their boardshort pockets, where it won't slip out and prove their crimes to the world.
The weirdest thing is, looking down a couple of rows...
"Weird," Tsubasa can't help but comment, seeing a guy talking to his cat in the theatre. (Of course, the cat is just meowing in reply...)
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
One ticket's as good as another, right? It surely helps that it's a beautiful Sunday outside and there's barely anyone in the theatre; the teenage ticket-checker is simply too busy spacing out to really scrutinize Tsubasa's ticket.
It also helps that the screening room for Worst Detective is nigh empty. Ren wouldn't talk during a movie otherwise, but the privilege of being the only person watching a particular movie is that you get to talk as much as you want. Convenient if you have a cat in your bag!
Focused as they are on popcorning and movie-watching and chatting, Ren doesn't register someone slipping into the theatre at first; the sounds of the movie cover them up. However, Tsubasa calls him weird, and Ren turns, eyes wide with startlement.
"Oh, sorry," he murmurs, chagrined. It's too dark for him to recognize them at first, but they do look familiar...
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
It's okay, Ren; Tsubasa doesn't recognise you, either. It's just weird to bring your cat into the theatre and talk to it! ... not, like, bad weird, mind you. They respect the moxie.
Still weird, though. "S'cool," they assure him, and don't speak up past that. They're in a theatre.
They slipped into this theatre as a matter of convenience, so that they'd have the cover to dig the concealer which slipped up the arm of their hoodie out without anyone scrutinising them about it; it's easy to say, 'oh, just dump your haul in your pocket easy-like', but that's harder than it looks! Shoplifting is hard, you guys! But once they've successfully stashed everything on their person, they can settle in and focus on the movie, and...
Man, that detective really sucks, huh. That's hilarious. Tsubasa can be heard snickering, now and then, behind them in the theatre.
When the movie gets out, Tsubasa shrugs their hoodie off; it's always freezing in the theatre, so it makes sense they'd bring one, right? Because of course they were coming out here to watch a movie. They tie it around their waist as they trundle out, casually, as if they haven't just committed a terrible crime.
Now the lights are up, their technicolour hair and deep tan are way more visible, too.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren and Morgana are silent for the rest of the film! Aside from the occasional quiet laughter, but Tsubasa's doing that too, so it's fine.
Eventually, though, the movie ends and the lights go up. Summer is hot, and so movie theatres are cold. For his part, Ren's wearing his usual street clothes: black undershirt, white unbuttoned shirt, jeans, black shoes, wristwatch, and of course his iconic glasses. He shoulders his bag, into which Morgana retreats, and starts to head out...
And pauses when he sees that technicolor hair. Even looking at them from behind, there's no mistaking that wig. Since it is a wig, though, it could potentially be anyone, and so Ren is still a little uncertain when he says, "Seki-kun?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Hey! That's their name! It's way more effective than just going 'HEY YOU', too, because Tsubasa's still tense enough that they might bolt first and ask questions later. Since it's their name, though --
They turn, looking over their shoulder, raising their lack of brow (it's fine, they have striped blue and white makeup over them, that counts). "Amamiya-kun," they greet him, in turn. "Didn't realise that was you with the," shoulder shrug, "y'know." Don't say the C-A-T word while the theatre narcs are listening in!
They pause, to let him catch up, if he wants. "... what'd you think of that one?" They ask, a touch awkwardly, as they continue ambling out. "Thought it was pretty good... dunno if they meant it to be funny."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
The blue-and-white stripes are striking, too, so they're even better than eyebrows. Ren smiles when Tsubasa turns around and confirms it really is them. And they recognize him too! ...Including his companion. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Yeahh," he replies in a you-got-me kind of tone. Having munched on delicious popcorn for the movie, he isn't hangry today, and so ambles forward to join Tsubasa when they wait up for him. His legs are longer than theirs, so he has to slow his pace for them once they are together, but he doesn't mind that.
"The movie's called Worst Detective. Some of the humor had to be on purpose," Ren points out, smiling. "It was dumb, but in a fun way. I enjoyed it." He tips what remains of his popcorn--there's still an inch or so left--towards them. "You want any?"
For the record: Ren still thinks Tsubasa is a short king. Ichika referred to Tsubasa as '-kun' and this is only their second time meeting, and so he's sitting on that misunderstanding.
"Did you come in late?" he adds, whether Tsubasa accepts the popcorn or not. "When the movie started, the theatre was empty, so I didn't realize whenever you showed up... Sorry for talking during the movie."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Sure," Tsubasa reaches over to grab some popcorn. Munch, munch. "Oh, yeah," they say, then, pretending like the title of the movie isn't surprising to them. (They came in in a hurry.) "Fun."
Better they're a short king than a tall... the other thing. Their bandages can be glimpsed under their tanktop -- they still haven't gathered the courage to go visit Tsumugi -- but that doesn't necessarily mean they're not a dude.
"Uh, yeah, bit late," Tsubasa explains, then. "Had to drop Lance off with the Princess," because of course these fancy stores in Shibuya aren't dog friendly, "so, y'know, got caught up... it's whatever." All of those things are mostly true!
"Don't worry 'bout it," they say, grabbing some more popcorn, which is clearly Ren's penance for his crimes. "It's cool you can bring yours in to see the movie. Shit, man, I talk to Lance all the time when no one's around, ain't nothin'." Somehow, that's way sadder when Lance surely can't talk. ... but Tsubasa thinks they're just reassuring another weirdo.
"You got shit to get to?" They ask, casually, as they step out of the theatre.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren does catch a glimpse of those bandages. He doesn't read into them, though--or at least, not in a Gender sort of way. His eyebrows furrow in concern that maybe Tsubasa's nursing an injury--he did hear about that attack on Kasugayama High on the news--but he doesn't ask about it. If it were him, he'd want to avoid discussing something like that, especially with someone he barely knows.
"Ahh. Yeah, I guess I'm pretty lucky I can sneak this guy in most places," Ren replies, reaching up to his bag and readjusting the straps on his shoulder. "I can tell you the parts you missed if you want. When'd you come in?"
He lets them have the rest of the popcorn bag if they want. Tsubasa admitting they talk to their dog gets a smile out of him. Lance probably can't talk back, but he likes that they're going out of their way to make him feel... not alone, basically. And while Ren hasn't realized the two of them are alike, they do appreciate Tsubasa's wild colors and tan. It's just cool.
So: "Nope," he replies. "You wanna hang out somewhere?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Like, right about when the guy turns to the dude who stabbed that bloke and goes 'hey, help me figure out who did this'," Tsubasa fills him in. Luckily, that means they didn't miss that much! There was a whole movie of the guy thinking this clearly guilty man was just an innocent bloody bystander!
Tsubasa will, in fact, steal Ren's popcorn bag and absolutely demolish the rest of his popcorn. Listen, they were stealing cosmetics, not candy, they're snacky.
... and, yeah, maybe they want Ren to feel less like a weirdo. Whatever! Whatever!!!!
Their wild colours are very cool, though, and of course maintaining those are why they had to come out here for some good old fashioned theft today; charity programs might give them bread and rice and butter, but they're not really big on handing out concealer or lipstick or makeup pencils. Tsubasa still needs those to live, though, so here they are.
"That'd be cool," Tsubasa says, as they polish off the last of the popcorn kernels (of course they tip the bag into their mouth to get the last of them out, duh), only to scrunch the bag up and dunk it into the trash. (They're not a foreigner.) "Let's head up this way." In the opposite direction of that fancy store, one might note.
Tsubasa ambles along that way for a while, until they find a brick fence low-hanging enough for them to lay their hands on it and hoist themself up. (Their pockets rattle a little.) It's not really a bench or anything; it's cooler than sitting where you're supposed to sit. "... cool there's no hard feelin's or nothin'," they say, looking over to Ren. "Y'know, back then, we kinda jumped to conclusions... we're really cool with you, though."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Okay, that's pretty early in, so you didn't miss much," Ren confirms. "Basically, it started by talking about the detectives of the world and the best there's ever been, like Holmes, Poirot, Akechi--ah, Kogoro Akechi, not Goro Akechi--and how they're so brilliant they can only take on the most select cases, but for the worst cases, you've got to get the worst detective. Then we cut to the Worst Detective at home with his nephew and his cat, and they talk for a bit to set up later plot points, character development and foreshadowing, until the detective gets a secret message from his boss telling him about a serial stabber..."
Relieved of his popcorn, Ren grabs a napkin from his pocket, wipes the remaining oil from his fingers, and likewise tosses it in the trash along with that now-empty bag. (It's okay if he's a weirdo, really. Especially if it means they and they can be weirdos together.)
"Sounds good," they reply, following Tsubasa. Ren might note it's in the opposite direction of that fancy store, but he has no reason to do that, so he doesn't. He does note their rattling pockets later, but says nothing; they've got a brick fence to climb. Once they're sitting together, he looks out at the city and the people walking by, minding their own business andor too absorbed in themselves to notice anyone else.
"Thanks," he replies. "But it's fine. I get it." He shrugs. "A lot of people are scared of me because of what they've heard, so they assume a lot of things about me that aren't true. It's annoying, but I don't take it personally. Besides, Kawase-san was just trying to look out for her friend." He looks over at them. "How're they doing, by the way?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Heh," Tsubasa snrks, when Ren clarifies that he means Kogoro Akechi and not Goro Akechi. They're quiet as they listen to his recap, though, until he finishes up, and -- "... cool. Thanks."
Once they're up on the fence (a cool place to sit, they're so cool), Tsubasa looks over to Ren, leaning back on a hand, their own fingers still a bit salted. The city's moving... like some kind of living, breathing animal.
"They're cool," Tsubasa confirms, of Ichika's friend. "And it's cool. Like... I get it. Fuckin' A, when Akiyama got toasted, everyone turned around and figured I did it... even got pulled in by the pigs. Wasn't 'til they finally listened to me and pulled footage from 'round here that they figured out I wasn't even fuckin' in Sumaru at the time... but even after the cops cleared me, the girls wouldn't fuckin' shut up about it. Called me a legend 'til they realised what it meant for their exams, then they got pissed."
Tsubasa glowers, as they relate their own bad reputation, leaving one important point unsaid...
... wasn't Akiyama a girls school???
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
In fairness: very easy mistake to make! It's almost like Goro's named after Kogoro or something. That Akechi is clearly gunning to be known as one of the best detectives of all time, but he'll frankly always be overshadowed by his namesake.
...Which is kind of sad, when you think about it.
Up on the bricks, Ren looks over at Tsubasa; their eyes fall to their hands, and remembering that they could probably also use a napkin, he digs in his pocket for another--thankfully, those are free, so he took a few--and offers them one.
He nods once as Tsubasa confirms their Shujin friend is fine--and when they launch into an explanation of some of their own struggles, he listens without interrupting. He's not clear on all their background, but he can put together some of it from context clues--there was a fire, they were expelled from Shujin Academy over it, there was another fire at their new school, they were blamed for it because of what happened before... It's clearly something they're bitter about, and Ren can relate to the frustration of being accused of something they didn't do. "That really sucks. At least the pigs didn't just pin it on you anyway, though."
Something is off, though. His eyes eyebrows furrow. "...But--sorry, I haven't been living around here that long--I thought your school was called Kasugayama?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa takes the napkin, with a firm nod, and wipe their fingers off. Without a bin in sight, they just shove the napkin in their pocket. (Rattle, rattle.) They might be a bad guy, but they're not a litterer.
Ren listens, and Tsubasa nods, again, when Ren makes his conclusions. Except...
"Uh," Tsubasa blinks, a touch stunned, as they realise they just assumed Ren could make a WAY harder knowledge roll than they actually could.
They glance away, a touch embarrassed, rubbing at the back of their neck. "Oh, you're like, new new to the city and shit? Hang on, all right. From the top." Except, ugh, they have to get into that if they're going to really go from the top, aren't they. "So, like -- there's this place called City Hall around here, right," they gesture, vaguely, in the direction it's in. "I used to be a part-timer there, back in '10, 'til one day I go fucking nuts and burn my boss's office down with me in it. Yeah, wild. Don't fuckin' ask me, man." That explains the massive scarring. "So obviously, Shujin can't fuckin' stand me after that. Don't much matter I used to be a model student, junior treasurer for the Student Council, whatever. I'm out... so they send me to Akiyama. Akiyama was this no-hoper girl's school in Konan Ward."
Beat.
"Ch, yeah. Used to be a girl," Tsubasa adds, scowl deepening. "Now I ain't. It's whatever." They pause, for a moment, as if daring Ren to start shit, before they keep going. "Anyway, Akiyama burned down late last year. Instead of botherin' to rebuild it, they just dumped the girls -- and me, they didn't fuckin' know what to do with me, so they didn't kick me out or nothin' -- into Kasugayama. 'Fore then, that was a boys-only school... that's why you still got way more dudes there. You follow?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Are they really a bad guy, though? Ren doesn't have that impression of them at all. They're coarse and rough around the edges, but they have an inherent kindness to them. They remind him of Ryuji, actually.
"Yeah... I moved here last April," Ren replies--a good two and a half months ago, at this point. What a wild ride it's been. He can sense that they're not super-comfortable, but they proceed on their own, so he doesn't try to stop them. If they didn't want to talk about it, they could just... not talk about it--so he listens, briefly looking up in the general direction in which they gesture.
The news of the arson gets a startled, wide-eyed stare. Fortunately, Ren doesn't have to ask, no doubt because Tsubasa's had to make that disclaimer before. It does explain the massive scarring, and he'd already figured there'd been some kind of fire they'd been blamed for--it just went way harder than he'd imagined... The description of it is straight-up bizarre, too, and Ren very much wants to ask, but they literally told him not to, so he doesn't.
When Tsubasa explains that they used to be a girl but no longer are, though, Ren sits up ramrod straight. Tsubasa might glare at him, silently daring him to start something, but that's not why their heart is racing now. He can't find the words, and Tsubasa continues with their story.
"Yeah, I follow," he says quietly, heart pounding. They're not a girl, but they're only in a former boys-only school because the administrators didn't know what to do with them, and looking at them again they have a very aggressively gender-neutral presentation, so-- "So... you're X-gender?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"April, huh..." Tsubasa's gaze grows a bit distant, as they think of the beginning of the school year. Back when they blacked out because they were just that pissed about the boy hurting Ichika... when they got jumped and Ichika had the misfortune of meeting their father, too.
It was a pretty significant month for them in terms of cementing their bond with their Boss. Crazy to think that for all the transfer students, it was just as significant in different ways.
They notice the way Ren straightens up, though, and of course the first thing that stabs through their gaze is suspicion. Of course they expect him to be a little shit about it; what boy wouldn't? Except --
Tsubasa's surprised out of their stony glare, a moment later, when Ren pulls out the language. "Uh, yeah," they say, the unspoken hostility and challenge on their face falling off, because what kind of shitty teenage boy is up on homo-terminology? "I'm FtX," which isn't a term which will be maligned by tech bros for some years yet, safely referring to someone transitioning from female to 'X'. "Fuckin' doctors won't put me down as GID while I'm a minor, so I end up gettin' detention half the time for violatin' the dress code at school or whatever, but I know what I'm about. You, uh... know someone like that, or...?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Funny coincidence, huh? Maybe that's just the nature of being a transfer student.
For right this moment, Ren simply nods, quietly watching Tsubasa with wide eyes. Their own experience with queer terminology is sadly limited on the gender side of things, because they were introduced to and taught about it by a gay cis man, but they at least know that, and enough to follow Tsubasa's explanation. They really do have it rough for a lot of reasons, huh... But they're so unapologetically themselves. Ren can't help but admire that, and they're grateful for Tsubasa's continued honesty... as well as their daring to ask them that in turn.
"Yeah. Me," they say quietly. "I'm not out, though. Not to... not to most folks." Their eyes slide to one side as they rub the back of their neck. "I don't have it as hard as you, though. It doesn't bother me if people see me as a guy. I'm just... not just a guy." They look back at Tsubasa. "I'm futei-sei." Literally indeterminate gender, it refers to someone whose gender identify fluctuates. "I used to know an adult who was gay but also in the closet. He figured me out and taught me about this stuff--helped me figure myself out. What I am and, you know, what I'm attracted to."
They swallow hard. "Uh... what about you...? Do you know other people like us, or..." Tsubasa goes to school in Hirasaka Ward, where the Cardboard Dragon is--is it possible they got mentored by Myunghon? Or is this kind of thing just way more common in the big cities? (Maybe exponentially more common, compared to a country town like Inaba.)
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
'Me,' Ren says, and Tsubasa's blue eyes widen. "Oh, shit." Man, they had it all wrong! Why don't they make a gaydar for gender, huh?!
"W--who you're attracted to, huh," Tsubasa says, and it's lucky they're caked in so many layers of artifice, because they feel their cheeks growing hot as they look directly at the corollary to their statements on gender. Like, does that mean...
"Uh." Tsubasa rubs at their neck, too. "I mean -- there's Yeo-sama, they run the Cardboard Dragon... and, uh, apparently there's this person called Tsumugi Kujaku, too, they run this joint called Peacock Silk, it's gotta be way too fancy for me but Yeo-sama like, got shit together so I could go there and get, uh, a 'binder' or whatever... just... been too much of a coward to fuckin' go," they admit, looking away. "Like... like what if they look at me and figure out I ain't for real? For ages it was just, like, me and whatever the fuck I'd looked up on the net..." So that's a 'no' on the mentoring, apparently.
"... don't reckon you got it easier not bein' out, though," they add, looking back to Ren. "Like -- like, fuck -- my life would be way easier if I just copped it and went 'yeah no I'm a chick' and stopped dressin' like a clown and went back home but -- but I reckon it'd kill me, y'know?" It might do that anyway, given the domestic violence in the Seki household, but of course Tsubasa doesn't bring up that. ... not beyond the implication that they can't come home without being someone they're not, anyway. "Like, it's cool it don't hurt you so much, but... but it ain't like it's nothin' to not be seen, man."
Fuck, what can they even do here..?
"Hey, uh... I ain't gonna 'out' you or nothin', but... y'know, you want me to think of your pronouns some other way or whatever? Ain't like there's much call to use 'em in a one on one conversation, but... y'know." Maybe there's something Ren likes better. They can at least take note of that.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
In all fairness to Tsubasa: Ren being comfortable with being 'male' as well as 'female' (as well as neither, or both) means it's easy for them to not show up on radar. As befits a phantom...
"Yeah," they say of their attraction. And normally, they don't talk about themselves and how they feel much, but Tsubasa inspires them to continue, "Specifically, gender doesn't actually factor into it for me. That was something I didn't work out until I realized I was X-gender, though. Male or female or something else, they've all got attractive qualities to me. So as long as they're good-looking, I'm okay with anyone."
Yeo-sama, they say. Ren smiles briefly, vindicated; so they were right! And... Tsumugi Kujaku, from Peacock Silk? They haven't heard of that place, or them, but they make a mental note to look it up. No mentoring, but... Tsubasa knows themself so well they could work it out enough to look things up on the internet. ...They can relate to that insecurity, though. Ren is confident in a lot of things, but... it's hard to be confident in something only one person even knows you are.
"...Maybe it'd be easier, but I really respect you for refusing to do that. I can get away with it because of what I am, but you'd rather live than get along for other people's convenience," they say quietly. "That's really brave."
There is an implication there, one that Ren catches. They aren't out to their parents either, though, even without fear of physical abuse. They breathe out a long sigh of relief when Tsubasa acknowledges them. "...Yeah. It's... lonely."
For a moment, they fall silent. Truthfully, Tsubasa's already done an enormous amount for Ren just by existing out loud. Maybe... they could try existing out loud more, too. So when Tsubasa prompts them for their pronouns, they smile again, slight but warm. "It's okay if you call me 'he,' but... I'd like it if you also called me 'they' or... maybe even 'she' sometimes?" They laugh a breathy little laugh. "It feels a little weird to ask that last one. Like I'm trying to claim something that isn't mine. But... not that I've gotten to do this outside of a locked bedroom, but... when I put on make-up and dress in cute dresses, it feels right, you know? Just as natural as what I look like right now." Their hand slides down their neck. "I wish I had a chance to do more of that."
Their smile fades. "...but I'm on probation right now." They swallow hard and make up their mind. "I got in between some drunk creep and the woman he was harassing, and he fell over and accused me of assault. The courts agreed with him and, well, now I'm here." His hand drifts down to his thigh. "...Serving out a sentence for something I didn't even do."
He bows his head. "For the record, Principal Kobayakawa didn't want to let me enroll. But he said there were 'certain circumstances' on his end, so... that's why I'm there at all. The second I put a toe out of line, I'm out. And I already got expelled from my old school, so..." They pause; they sit up a little again to look back at Tsubasa. "...I get feeling cowardly. So, uh... if you do decide to go to that Peacock Silk place... maybe we could go together--have each other's backs?"
They rub the back of their neck. "It's okay if you'd rather not, though," they add. Either go or take Ren with them, they let Tsubasa decide.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"... so it can be like that, huh. Cool." Tsubasa just kind of has to sit with that idea for a second. "Uh, kinda figured I was nonke," that is, straight, "since I dated dudes when I was a girl, but... ain't like, since I changed, uh... ain't for a while." Dated, that is. "S-so maybe I like girls too, I dunno. Just 'cuz I opted out of gender don't mean I ain't -- like -- interested, though. Like, yeah, I'm 'musei', but I ain't museiai." They're talking about the paper-thin separation between 'agender' and 'asexual'; they're touchy about it, because it's easy to confuse.
Yeo-sama!! Tsubasa evidently holds them in very high esteem. Tsumugi... they haven't managed to make an evaluation of, yet. (But it's not hard to imagine they'd look up to them, too...)
They're surprised, though, to hear Ren call them brave. "That's... that's cool," they say, without much language to actually communicate how they're hit by a slam-wave of emotion that really feels like it ought to knock them off the fence. "It's... kinda like that." Brave...
Man, they have to be so brave, just, every fucking day, walking around in their yamanto fashion. It means a lot that Ren sees that.
"It is," they agree, when Ren calls it lonely.
But when she comes out with her wishes for her pronouns, Tsubasa just nods. "Sure. You're a cool chick, too, so it ain't hard." It actually did take a bit of thought for them to construct that sentence in a way that let her hear it, but they at least think it shouldn't be hard. "And who's stealin' anythin' from anyone? Ain't like it's like, a dress ration, every skirt you wear is one a full-time girl don't get. You ain't not a worker if you're workin' somewhere part-time... so, like, if Ren's a girl on odd days, she's still bein' a girl. Y'know."
But... her situation's more complicated than that, huh. "... fuckin' A," Tsubasa swears, scowling. "At least there really was a fire, when they ruined my life over it... you had a real shit go, huh? And over somethin' like that, too... it's not fuckin' fair. Tch... look, sorry I misread you, back there at Shujin," when they were so narky about how she got to be there when they got kicked out. "I get it, now, it ain't somethin' to get all jealous about."
They fall silent, for a moment, thinking about the idea of someone coming with them. "Uh... look, that's cool, but... apparently it was seriously the sorta thing Yeo-sama had to bargain to even get me into, and... uh, I... I dunno what I'm gonna need to say in a swank place like that." Their embarrassment doesn't show on their cheeks, but the way they don't meet Ren's eyes does. "... it's... I'm not well off. It's just... embarrassing, so... hey, you think, uh, you can look after Lance when I head out there? I-I mean, there's no way a joint like that is dog friendly, but I don't like lockin' her up for too long, she's already gotta cool her heels when I'm at school... then, uh, I can tell you what they were like, y'know?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yeah." Ren looks briefly thoughtful as Tsubasa makes their separation between 'agender' and 'asexual.' "Yeah. There's a lot of ways to be attracted to other people. I hope you figure out what's true to you."
Tsubasa does call her a 'her,' and Ren breaks out in a broad, bright smile that she rarely ever does outside of the thrill of pulling off a heist--and it fully lacks the wicked edge of those times. It's just the joy of being acknowledged. "Thanks," she says with quiet warmth, followed by a small laugh when Tsubasa points out there isn't a Dress Ration. "Good point. It's a lot easier to accept this stuff about ourselves when someone else sees it too, huh." Both this, and Tsubasa's form of bravery--and their mutual loneliness.
She feels a lot less lonely now. Ren's had the chance to share about their arrest and wrongful conviction, but there's an added dimension to discussing it when Tsubasa knows about them, about her, too. "Yeah. It's okay, apology accepted. There's some people there who're cool--I've made some really good friends there--but god if the teachers aren't a mixed bag."
Tsubasa turns down her offer for some pretty damn understandable reasons. She nods once. "Yeah, no problem. That's a fair deal. I'm not exactly..." She pauses, then averts her eyes with a low, ironic chuckle. "I'm not exactly rich, either." She looks up again. "I've never had a dog before, but I can take her for a long walk somewhere. Just let me know when you go--I do have some things coming up, and the owner of the place where I stay might like cats, but..."
She trails off. Then she looks sharply to one side, where her shoulder bag has been resting on the brick wall.
Morgana stares back out at her unsmiling, blue eyes bright in the shadows inside. The two stare at each other for a moment. Ren ducks her head as she looks away. "...but I should be able to handle an afternoon," she continues, skipping a thought in the middle. "Especially if I get to hear about that place afterwards."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Guess I... gotta think about it." And wow that is just the most confronting thing Tsubasa's ever said. (Today, anyway. Tsubasa says confronting shit constantly.)
They actually smile back to Ren, though, when she breaks out into that bright smile. "Too right."
"Yeah, I bet." It's funny, really -- that not only does Ren know what it's like to be a legal outcast, but they know what it's like to be a they, too. (And, y'know, a she and a he, but she's just got a broader spectrum, Tsubasa thinks. Like they're some kinda... gender specialists and gender generalists.) Perhaps it's no wonder that they'd trust her with their dog, despite having met her all of twice and most of the first meeting was adverserial.
"It's cool, she likes people. I'll, uh, work out a date with ya... don't reckon you'll need to take her back home or nothin'." Tsubasa at least doesn't mean for that to happen. Tsubasa isn't banking on them hesitating in front of the storefront for hours, and certainly doesn't figure any disasters will hit on the way back.
"Even if the place is real ritzy, maybe, uh, Kujaku-san will..." ugh, no, the natural end of that sentence is 'take pity on', Tsubasa hates that, "... y'know, maybe they'll help, uh, folks like us." They were going to say 'dudes', but they're making space for Ren to be a Girl right now, so they pull another word out of the air instead. "Not sure if I believe that, but I didn't reckon I'd even meet people like me, so... y'know, maybe?"
But Tsubasa sees Ren peeking inside her bag, and...
"Hey, handsome fella," Tsubasa calls out, their tone shifting just slightly into their fondness for animals. (Though, at least, they don't call him a cat.) "Good to see you, too."
They will, naturally, devolve into lavishing attention on Morgana forthwith, because just because they're a dog person, that doesn't mean they're not also a cat person.
(You see, it's figurative, but it's also literal...)