2025-08-26: Cactus Flower
- Log: Cactus Flower
- Cast: Ichika Kawase, Ren Amamiya
- Where: Underground Mall, Shibuya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: August 26, 2025
- IC Date: July 01, 2012
- Summary: Ichika is out shopping when Ren notices her. They decide to hang out for a bit, and talk over a few things. The cactus doesn't need a name.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Shibuya! A great place for a lot of things, including shopping, and conveniently located for Ichika on the route between Sumaru and Iwatodai. Today, Ichika's come here from the Sumaru side. She's walking through the subterranean facilities in casual attire--not her uniform, this time. A green skirt, a skull tanktop, some boots. She's just coming out of a clothing store with a shopping back, and looking around to see what else is nearby, who's here.
Ichika stands out pretty thoroughly; bleached-blonde hair all the weay down her back, and 180cm tall--and that's before the slight elevation her sneakers give her.
There are ads everywhere, of course, but...
That's convenient, in this case. Ichika is looking for stuff.
Indeed she's very obviously looking for something today.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Earlier today, Ren went to see a matinee movie, ran into Tsubasa Seki, and had an unexpected heart-to-heart with them about gender and sexuality. That was deeply cathartic and affirming... except for the part where they realized that they'd had that conversation right in front of Morgana, so caught up in finding someone like them that they forgot he was there to hear the whole thing.
That was a little awkward afterwards. Fortunately, Tsubasa doting on Morgana for a while afterwards helped. The two of them parted afterwards, and now...
Well, for a while, Ren and Morgana were in the entrance of Mementos where they could have some privacy to talk about it. Now, the Meta-Nav resolves the alternate world, and Ren returns to reality to walk down into the Underground Mall. They don't have anything in particular they want to see or get; it's just a reason to walk around as they and Morgana both process their discussion.
Where they've landed: it's not a bad thing, and Morgana is surprised but not as put out as he thought he would be, and they can resume their deal, because what's changed, actually? (Actually, maybe things will change for Morgana now that Ren has suggested that they don't need to be male to be in love with Ann, but that is another story.)
As they walk in, they pause to see Ichika emerging from one of the clothing stores. Like Tsubasa, she's also very easy to recognize, and this time they're not running into each other first in a dark movie theatre. After that pause, Ren walks up to her.
"Hey there," they say. "You looking for Seki-kun? We were just hanging out not too long ago." Ichika does look like she's looking for something, and she could well actually be looking for someone, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika's day hasn't been so enlightening as all that, but she has picked up a couple of cute articles of clothing--mostly for her 'nice' side, since a lot of this stuff isn't as suited to her delinquent aspects. She can make some work for both, though. And from a little place down the way...
Well, the spiked leather cuff might matter later, but not just yet. After all, she isn't wearing it at the moment.
Ichika has never been to Mementos. But she spots Ren when he walks up her way. "Oh, hey," the tall girl answers. "Oh, really?" Ichika is surprised--but only by part of that. "Cool. Yeah, we came out together. The Princess is watching Lance, and I wanted to get some shopping in." Pause. "Different shopping." 'With actual money', she doesn't say.
"Funny coincidence, though. How about you?"
She considers for a moment, and steps to the side out of the way of someone trying to get out. "...Wanna join me for a bit? We never got to talk, after... you know."
"Sorry about that, again."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Ah, gotcha." The two of them must have come out in the morning and then parted ways. It's fairly well into the afternoon by now. Tsubasa mentioned that Lance is with 'The Princess' too--though Ren doesn't know who that is. They'd guessed it was Ichika, but... based on how she talks about it, clearly not. So: "Who's the Princess?" Ren wonders.
Different shopping. That much Ren didn't hear about. They'd noticed Tsubasa was carrying stuff in their pockets, and while that's odd--why wouldn't you carry that stuff in a proper bag?--it's hardly damning either.
"Just hanging out. I went to see a movie earlier--that's where we ran into each other, actually. Now I'm just walking around." They shrug. No big deal, the gesture seems to say.
She invites them to hang out, and they crook a slight smile. "Thanks. But it's okay. You were trying to look out for your friend." They're not about to explain their whole deal again, but they nod at the invite all the same. They respect Ichika, especially after learning more about Tsubasa. "Sure. I don't mind looking at clothes."
Even if Ichika's probably heading in another direction at this point, and indeed, both of them move out of the way of someone else leaving the clothing store.
"There's jewelry and shoe stores around here too," they add. "I don't know what your price range is, but windowshopping's free."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
The princess! "Oh, Shizuko-chan. She goes to Kasugayama with us. She's..." Ichika thinks of how to describe it. "We don't make her do too much," Ichika settles on. "She's kind of just the princess. She's great, though."
THEFT. It's theft. That's the thing happening there.
"Oh, cool," Ichika says. "I don't usually see movies alone. It's kind of perfect date material, so I usually go with a guy."
A nod back, and while Ichika doesn't smile about it, she does look a little relieved. "Thanks," she says in turn. "Yeah." But clothes! "Cool."
Jewelry and shoe stuff... "If I don't go crazy I can maybe get some more stuff," Ichika says of her price range. Then she hmms. "You know much about makeup?" she wonders. "I was gonna check out that booth over there. But if you'd rather, i wnated to look at the necklaces over that way too."
She's easygoing about it, she means. "...You into shoes?" she wonders, and checks out his shoes to see if they're fancy or anything. Hers are pretty simple, laced, but only a little worn.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Ah." So no one Ren would know, got it. As long as she's reliable enough to take care of a dog, that's good enough, though. "Cool of her to look after Lance while you two take a day trip to Tokyo."
It stands out them that Ichika calls movies perfect date material so she goes with 'a guy' and not 'her boyfriend.' That's none of Ren's business, though, so they don't remark on it.
"Some," they reply of make-up. They'd need to look up a make-up tutorial to do anything more than extremely basic lipstick and maybe some blush, but they've tried it and enjoyed how they look in it. ...It's definitely been a while, though. "My friend Ann would know way more than me, but... she's not here." Another shrug. "Either way's fine by me. I thought I might swing by the music store and the grocery store on the other side of the mall--oh, though come to think, I do need to pick up some fertilizer." Their pet plant could use a bit of extra kindness soon...
Ren's shoes are nice, but not anything that especially stand out--black lace-ups with good soles. His winter shoes are better; they have more of a heel to them, and a nice tan to give his outfit a bit more color. "Not any more than usual, but I don't hate them either." Ren smiles. "They're good accents if you can find the right outfit, though."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Yeah, she's great," Ichika agreees about Shizuko. "It goes both ways," she says, as if it's something pretty obvious. "But today she's looking out for Lance."
It is notable! Ichika doesn't recognize what she said, though. It's normal for her.
Some... Hmm. "That's cool," she says of their knowing makeup--not that Ichika necessarily knows that 'they' is the right pronoun right now. "Hmmm. I'll go with you then," Ichika says. "We'll just check out the makeup on the way--I wanted to see if I could replace this color of shadow I've got..."
Fertilizer! Hmm. "You do plants?" she wonders.
But the shoes. They aren't bad shoes. Black, kind of like hers... "They totally can," she agrees. "You really pay attention to your clothes and stuff, huh?" she asks, but she says it brightly. As if that's a good thing. She leads over to the makeup shop she'd been looking for, first, though she gestures down at her shoes. "Tsubasa-kun suggested these--they helped me out a lot, figuring out a style that would get me taken more seriously at Kasugayama..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's fine, really. Ren really doesn't mind 'he' or 'she' or 'they,' and as acknowledged, Ichika has no way of knowing they even go by any other pronouns than he/him. Maybe one day, they'll experiment with more exotic pronouns! Right now, though, they are vibing 'they'--settling peacefully on their own truth, whether anyone else knows about it or not. Having someone person in their life who knows is enough.
"Sounds good," they reply, and begin to head down the mall hallways (mallways) in the direction of the local Rafflesia branch (no pun intended (though it is a good one)). "A little," they reply. "I have a pet plant at home, and I help a senpai out with gardening at school from time to time. This'd be for the pet. It's sort of." Ren thinks, then raises a hand. "Around this height? And really leafy. I'm not actually sure what it is."
They quirk a smile at her observation. "Yeah. Clothes make the man, as they say--or woman." Or neither. "I'm not a fashionista or anything, but I do like looking stylish." Ah, there's a make-up shop first--they follow her over there. They look down at her shoes, then up at her. "You worry about that, huh?" Their smile fades. "...What's it like, over there?"
They cleared the air with Tsubasa about why they're at Shujin Academy, but... Ren figures they ought to know what the school they'd have ended up at if they didn't have a politician for a dad is like. The little things Tsubasa's mentioned about it already don't seem that promising.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Mallways! Ichika leads along, and that is a good one. Still, "Ohh. Yeah?" Ichika asks. "Nice. I should get a plant for the dorm..." She considers that. "I couldn't have a dog or a cat, but they might be OK with a plant." She considers Ren's plant. "Well, I wouldn't know one from the other, so leafy is good enough for me. Did you name it or anything? Or is it just kind of... hanging out, being alive in its own way?"
It's a nice thought.
A grin back. "Yeah," Ichika agrees. "They do." They like looking stylish. "A lot of guys just put on whatever," Ichika says, "But even in mens' clothes there's so much potential... You just have to kinda, try." But Ren's smile fades, and Ichika nods. "Yeah. I used to dress--you know, more girly girl, like the girls at your school probably. I still do sometimes, but mostly it's stuff more like this." She gestures to her skull tanktop. "It's..."
She considers how to put it. "Violent," she admits. "Like, it's normal to me now, but there's a ton of fights--it's just how things get settled. And sometimes that's better--it's a lot more straightforward, a lot fewer... games."
"But it's only 'better' if you're strong, and I'm only 'strong' because I took some self-defense training and I'm really tall." Well, not only those things--but good enough for now.
"...Generally, there's only a couple teachers who really care. They exist. But most of them just let us do whatever. ...It's not..."
"It's not the kind of place where you really have 'dreams,'" Ichika reflects. "A few people do anyway, though. And I'm... getting there."
"...But when I first started, I tried to just... be left alone. But I date a lot, and I'm tall, so I stand out, and a lot of girls have problems with me. So..."
"I got jumped," she says with a shrug. "Only reason it worked out OK for me is that I talked half the gang into joining me instead. And that's how it came around."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Name a plant? That's a concept. "That," Ren says, of hanging out and being alive. "There's something nice about being able to just exist. I want to let it do that." They smile slightly again. "And some upscale fertilizer and a daily watering helps a lot with that."
Because of course Ren gets it the fancy fertilizer. It's far away from the windows, from any natural light, since their bed and desk take up that entire wall. Giving it that extra advantage is the least they could do.
A lot of guys do just put on whatever. "It's a waste. I don't ever want to wear a tie myself, but I can appreciate a well-cut suit on the right guy," Ren replies. Someone who wears a suit of a school uniform well is Akechi, in fact... He walks the line between 'pristine' and 'hardworking' with precision.
They look down at Ichika's skull tanktop. Their gaze does not linger on her chest, rising right back up to her face. They can see what she's saying about how fights are at least a straightforward way of settling things, and they do enjoy the thrill of a fight in the Metaverse, but...
It's not the kind of place where you really have 'dreams.'
Ren stares off into the distance for a moment and wonders how much they can really have dreams at Shujin. ...It probably doesn't matter. Their dreams are over no matter where they go. They look back at her.
"That's kind of incredible," they say of her talking the gang that jumped her into joining her. "You don't really see violence at Shujin Academy so much, but I kind of feel like that's how I ended up too. I just wanted to be left alone too--" They grin a bit, briefly. "--and now I'm friends with a bunch of the local weirdos."
Haru and Makoto would probably chafe at being called 'weirdos,' but neither of them are really 'normal' either, are they? Even if they can pass as it most days.
"Good for you that you already knew how to defend yourself," they add. "It sounds like it's a really hard school to be in if you don't."
And they already have one assault charge on their record, so getting into fights at school would only compound the problem... It galls them to be grateful to their parents for anything right now, but at least their obsession with image worked out in Ren's favor in that one respect.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika nods along, thinking out the matter of the plant. "Cool," Ichika reflects. "Just existing..." It's kind of a whole mood. She smiles back. "Heh. Guess even just existing is easier with a friend, huh?"
Upscale fertilizer! They must be kind.
"Right?" Ichika asks. Then she pauses, and looks over Ren again. Was that 'appreciate aesthetically' or 'appreciate appreciate'? She suddenly isn't sure, thinking of Shuyo.
It's fine either way, of course. It just updates which 'scripts' Ichika can use with them...
Ichika notices the way Ren looks but doesn't stare, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything other than they're not a creepy jerk. So instead of dwelling on the question she says, "I was... in a place, back then," Ichika says of the gang. "It was like... 'I don't care what they do, because I've felt worse already.'" She looks distant as she relates that, then shakes her head. "...Anyway. That's cool." She actually smiles back. "The local weirdos must be pretty cool then. We've got a lot of local weirdos back there."
"Mm-hm," Ichika says. "It is. Unless you meet up with somebody who can protect you."
"...One of my guys," she says, "...Maybe my boyfriend, offered that to me. That he'd just protect me, and I could do whatever. But I... don't really want to anchor myself like that. Have to rely on a guy for everything. It's riskier to lead, but I feel better, too. And it means I can do the protecting. Like for our princess."
Ichika doesn't have any major charges on her record--but she hasn't had a good experience with the police, either.
Ichika finishes looking over the makeup. "...Hm, didn't have the shade I wanted. I'll have to keep looking. ...Let's get your plant buddy its stuff, yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yeah. It is," Ren replies warmly, thinking of Ryuji and the others. Even without being out to them, they understand and accept them for who they are without buying in to all the rumors. It's definitely much easier to be the terrifying delinquent transfer student when they've got them by their side.
They do not specify what kind of 'appreciate' they mean though. Ichika can speculate.
Their expression softens with sympathy when Ichika explains how she felt back then. They can relate to that, too. When they came to Shujin Academy and everyone already knew about their record, it was so hard to bring themself to care. (Granted, they'd also just had a bizarre experience with Ryuji in Kamoshida's Palace, but even without that...) They laugh at her counter-comment on weirdos. "They are. Actually, when I was talking to Seki-kun earlier, I was thinking they remind me a lot of one of them. His name's Ryuji--he's got a bad reputation, like us, but he was the first person to really welcome me here. He's a good guy."
Pause.
"...Maybe a little girl-crazy, though," they feel obliged to warn her.
Their good humor fades as she continues, talking about protecting and being protected, and how she doesn't want to rely on a guy. They nod slowly, thinking of that--thinking of the woman who begged for his help on the street, because she wasn't in a position to say "no" to that drunken creep. ...They wonder how she's doing now. If she's still getting forced to do what that drunken asshole tells her to do.
They really hope not, for her sake.
"I feel that," they say aloud. They can't really talk about how they're a leader, but... "There's freedom in being able to call the shots for yourself." They stare down at the floor for a moment. "No... getting pushed around by the things that happen to you."
They look at the make-up as Ichika finishes up. "Yeah? That's a little surprising. There's a lot of shades there already." Of course, when they experimented, they stuck with the basics. They don't know what they'd pick if they bought something for themselves now. Ann would have good insight into that... Maybe they could start with her... "But no point in buying something you aren't happy with."
They smile at 'plant buddy' and nod. Together, they can turn the corner and head down to Rafflesia. The florist lady there greets them both with a smile.
"Welcome back!" she says, clearly recognizing them. "Here to buy a bouquet for your lady friend?" she adds, tone teasing.
"Nah, just the usual," Ren replies, unruffled. (Ichika did say "maybe her boyfriend" of that guy who wanted to protect her. Ren is not interested in buying trouble with an angry maybe-boyfriend.) But that does get them to look at their companion. "Kawase-san, do you do plants at all?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
That warm regard for their friends--Ichika likes that in someone. She'll speculate on her own, but instead... How she felt back then. Bringing up their friend, though...
"A little girl-crazy doesn't make someone a bad guy," Ichika muses. "You could say I'm a little boy-crazy the same way." A smile. "But if he welcomed you even though you both had bad reputations, he does sound good."
And of course, anybody who reminds Ren of Tsubasa has a leg up on Ichika's list.
They feel that. "Yeah," Ichika says. "I haven't always... had that freedom." She looks at Ren. "...Yeah." Maybe they haven't, either.
But the shades, "Oh, they're great," Ichika says, "But I already have most of the ones that work for my skin tone that they've got here. I uh, have kind of an extensive makeup collection..." She's not really that embarrassed, but talking about stuff she has isn't something she does a lot at Kasugayama.
Ichika smiles at the lady, but isn't at all bothered by Ren's deferral. She hasn't really thought of them that way too much yet. (Yet. It could still happen!) "Maybe I'll get myself some flowers this time," Ichika opines. "or better yet..."
She looks back at Ren. "You know, I don't, but I liked the sound of it before." She turns back to the lady who recognizes Ren. "Got any living plants that could probably tolerate a hot dorm? We don't have central air at all..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Maybe you two would get along, then," Ren jokes. That's true--if Ichika's boy-crazy herself, maybe she wouldn't mind that so much. Besides which, she's so tall (as she herself points out), they honestly don't know if Ryuji would try to hit on her or if he'd be too intimidated.
For a moment, though, Ren's gaze lingers on Ichika. A lack of freedom... It sounds like that's something they have in common. But then, when they heard she'd come to them out of concern for her friend and not wanting to just ignore potential trouble, they knew the two of them were alike.
"Sounds like you'd also get along with my other friend, Ann," Ren comments of Ichika's make-up collection. So it's not just that they're missing the shade she wants, she already has most of what they've got to offer. "She models sometimes, and her make-up is always on point. Maybe she can give you a hint on where to find that shade you're missing."
It could still happen! But this is only their second meeting, after all. Ren gives her a thoughtful look, but doesn't interrupt; they pay for their fertilizer, which the florist lady hands to them in a bag.
To Ichika, she says, "How about a cactus? They love the heat, they require minimal care, and when they blossom, they're really very pretty!" She gestures to one side towards a terracotta pot with a spiny plant--and brilliantly hot pink blossoms. "We don't stock many of them, but we do have a couple potted cacti for sale right now that are in bloom!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
As far as Ichika's concerned, a little girl craziness is good. ...As long as he's not like Inoue with the student council, who just stares at her. Yugh. Either way, she laughs at Ren's joke. "I'll have to meet him if I get the chance."
Ichika knows there are similarities, but she doesn't know how similar they are in other ways. And for Ann, "Oh?" Ichika wonders. "Oh, that's so great!" Ichika enthuses. "Modeling... You can reach a lot of people that way." A nod. "She'd probably have a thing or two to teach me if she's that good." She can work with some humility. ...Well, more than some. She's not really On her punk behavior as much today; her speech is a little rough, but overall she's being... nice.
"Oh," she says. "It's kind of pretty..."
She considers. "You know, I like thorns, and spines are kinda like thorns..." Roses are more her namesake, but, "Yeah, I'll go for it. But uh--do you have a box or something? I've got a while to get it home and I don't want to stab people on the train..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's interesting to Ren that Ichika has that reaction to modeling--of it being a way to reach people. Ann is good at modeling, but she doesn't seem to have that same enthusiasm for it. Maybe they just haven't seen that side of her yet, though. They smile and nod her on in encouragement either way. Ichika doesn't seem to be competitive with other girls either despite being boy-crazy, and that's always cool.
No harm in being nice, especially when you're just hanging out with someone who's chill when they aren't hangry. (Though Ren is starting to get hungry now that it's getting on in the day...)
"Absolutely," the florist says. "Just one moment!"
After setting up a box-and-bag for the cactus, and accepting money in exchange, she waves them off. She's always a friendly person; Ren isn't super close to her, but they are glad this spot is run by her. A few other customers line up after they and Ichika leave, too. Good for her that she's getting good business. Even if it might start getting busy, too...
"I'm getting hungry," they remark to Ichika as they go. "You wanna grab a bite to eat somewhere, or do you need to start getting back?" It is a ways back to Sumaru, and there is school tomorrow. ...Ren isn't sure how much Ichika cares about her attendance, though.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika's passion lately has been stoked for reporting. A good model can be important to the sort of things she's interested in covering...
"Thanks," Ichika answers. The box and bag, and the money, and that's all taken care of. Ichika starts to leave with Ren. "Take care," she says, looking down at her box. "...You don't need a name, do you?" she muses to her cactus. "You're free."
A pause, and Ren remarks on food...
"Sure," Ichika answers Ren. "That'd be good. I don't want to make the trip back on an empty stomach anyway."
"Lead on, I'll go wherever. As long as they don't mind a boxed cactus, anyway..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's good to have something you're passionate about--something you want to do and keep doing into the future. There's one thing like that for Ren right now, and that's...
But never mind that. They'll all hear about the results of The Phantoms' exploits soon.
They smile at Ichika when she tells her new cactus it's free. It's sweet, honestly. She really is a good person--not that that was in doubt, but still, it makes sense, because Tsubasa's a good person and they follow her lead.
They do consider suggesting the Big Bang Burger... but after what Haru told them recently, maybe not. There's the diner in the area... but that seems like too much of a commitment. Ren doesn't want to sit down to a meal, especially if that might lead to misunderstandings in the future.
"Let's hit the supermarket," they suggest--for the Underground Mall does indeed have a small supermarket straight ahead and slightly to the left of where they are. "I was planning on going there anyway, picking up some snacks. There's this uji matcha cake there that my friend Ann loves..."
Not that that's dinner. Not that snacks are dinner. But still. It's something to take the edge of their hunger before both of them head home!