2025-08-27: Sharing the Burden
- Log: Sharing The Burden
- Cast: Remi Ryuuja, Miho Ijuuin
- Where: Remi's Apartment, Aoba Ward, Sumaru
- OOC Date: August 27, 2025
- IC Date: Monday, July 02, 2012 (Evening)
- Summary: Remi has been acting skittish lately, and Miho decides to check up on her. She brings wine and persistence, and Remi lets her in to talk. Remi finally opens up, discussing her difficulties with the lab, Kaneshiro, and a personal admission about her sexuality. In turn, Miho shares something about herself, and the two pledge to support each other better.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi's never really been quite the same since she got out of the lab. Oh, certainly at first she was much worse, but most days she at least seems... okay.
But the last few days, however, she's been... a bit evasive. Less willing to engage in pleasantries, not stopping by for social visits, claiming to simply not feel well (while denying the need to visit a doctor.)
And it all started when she returned from the trip into Kaneshiro's palace. She hadn't said a word about it, had gone straight to her apartment and, as much as she could, holed herself up in there.
This particular evening, Remi has yet to emerge. She hasn't picked up her phone, and if someone were to approach the apartment, it's easy to tell the lights are on, and some ballet music is playing.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
There are those (largely at her workplace) who might claim that Miho Ijuuin is heartless. That she cares for nothing--or, if not nothing, nothing but her precious Yua.
This is not true.
She has experienced concern for Remi, who was captured while trying to help... but especially in the last few days. She knows there's something wrong, and she doesn't have to be a brilliant Olympian for that to be true.
...So it is that:
Knock knock.
"Remi Ryuuja," Miho's voice comes from the door.
"Please come to the door."
It is evening already, but Miho is off work; she is dressed still in her suit, cut to flatter and to be sure it doesn't look quite like a men's suit, though her short hair could be a man's haircut.
She waits.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
It might take a few knocks. But finally someone--presumably Remi--stirs, calling out. "Just a moment." Her voice is flat, tired, nearly emotionless.
The music stops, someone shuffles around inside and then finally... the door opens. "May I--"
Her hair is a bit disheveled, matted on one side like she had been sleeping or laying down. She's dressed in a robe (it is Nice but not Luxurious), and one might think she'd be too cold wearing nothing but that... until heat comes rolling out through the apartment door.
She has the temperature up--way up.
She stares at Miho blankly for a moment, at a loss for words... until she tries to force a smile on her face. "Miho, darling, it's-- it's so nice to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho is both patient and persistent. Friendship is not a hunter unbeknownst to its prey...
Miho's hair and suit are perfect. But she sees Remi, and the heat comes rolling out. Miho decides that she will shed her jacket, once she's inside.
"Remi," Miho answers. "I'm concerned for you. You haven't been visiting, and you've been out of sorts."
She holds up a bottle in a large bowl of ice. "I brought chilled wine."
"I would like to spend time with you."
"...It is acceptable if you do not smile," Miho says, and quirks a smile of her own. A very serious one.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi tries to keep up the forced smile for a moment longer. "I assure you darling, there is nothing wrong, why I... must have undercooked something, is all."
She looks at the bottle of wine. It will undoubtedly be nicer than anything she can afford on her own these days. "Well, I appreciate the gesture, but..."
But then Miho says she wants to spend time with her, and... that ti's okay if she does not smile. Remi's smile slowly crumbles under its own weight, leaving her expression blank. She lets out a long, tired sigh then steps back and opens the door wider. "Who am I to deny a request from a friend?"
"If you would give me but a moment to make myself presentable, I... well I wasn't expecting guests." Once Miho is in she'll close the door, and then she'll turn the thermostat down a considerable amount. Next she'll open up a window--shivering as she lets in the cool night air. In front of the windowsill are three small succulent plants.
Remi disappears into her bedroom. The apartment itself is nice--tastefully appointed, with a style Miho might easily be able to recognize as Yua's. But as for her portion of it... there is a bookshelf with a scattering of books, a few CDs and DVDs, and even, oddly enough, a manga volume or two.
Remi comes out a moment later, her hair held back with a barette, dressed in a turtleneck sweater, skirt, cardigan, and thermal tights. "Let me fetch us some glasses."
On her way to the kitchen she discretely picks up a mostly empty wine glass and a partially full bottle of cheap wine.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
It would be perhaps kinder to allow Remi to keep her illusions--but Miho, while she does care, is not always kind. She prefers directness, and thinks that will be for the best for this. Besides...
It seems to work. "Good," Miho answers. She would not force the matter, but she'd come damn close with pressure if she had to.
"Certainly." A pause. "You need not cool the apartment too much. I can remove my jacket."
Indeed, as Remi asks a moment to be made presentable, Miho removes the jacket, leaving her in a dress blouse and tailored slacks. She hangs her jacket over a chair, and waits. She looks to the succlent plants, and to the nice apartment. Oh, it's not Miho's apartment, but Miho makes no such comparisons; she enjoys seeing what her friend has chosen. ...And what Yua has chosen for her friend.
Manga, though. Interesting!
"Thank you," Miho says, and has set the bottle down on the table in the ice... which hasn't melted yet, despite the heat of the apartment. There's a lot of it, after all.
"I would like to know what is on your mind," Miho prepares Remi--and requests.
Because it is a request.
"For my part," she says, when Remi returns, "I am well enough, if as usual tired of my co-workers."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Even Remi can tell it would be a losing battle to try and avoid Miho... if it wasn't tonight, it would certainly bery soon before she had to give up the game. And besides...
Well, the deed is done.
There might be a story to the manga.
But what Miho does ask about... "Mmm. I see." She finds the cork and puts her own bottle of wine away, sets the glass in the sink, and then fetches two fresh wine glasses. "I believe I may have some cheese, if you would like...?"
Whether Miho would like or not, once the table is finished being set Remi sits down with a heavy sigh. "I suppose co-workers can be like that," she says a bit absently.
She looks down at the table. "... I am uncertain where to start." Now that she's no longer trying to put up that illusion, she looks... very tired.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Cheese would be lovely."
It's civilized, even. Miho waits, and she considers. "Then let's sit, and decide where," she suggests, and once that is handled, she will be seated and wait. She is patient, as stated, and she is willing to wait for Remi to decide where to start. But as the moments stretch on into minutes, she decides...
"Then let's start with something easier." A pause. "The manga. I'm interested in it; I rarely have the time for comics these days. What are you reading?"
It isn't the topic she came for... But Miho knows ways of making someone talk.
Specifically, if they're already talking it gets a little easier.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Miho opts for cheese, and Remi gets some from the fridge, along with a small plate for each of them before sitting down.
Even in this state Remi would be scandalizaed to be called an ungracious host.
"Oh yes, that." Remi glances towards the manga. "It is this... 'Vampire Baker' thing. It is one of the games we sell at the store. There were some promotional materials that came with the cards. It is..." She considers. "... quite inventive, though I feel s if I do not understand the general milieu of the setting."
She reaches to open up the bottle next, to pour a glass for each of them. "Have you seen the news?" she asks, abruptly.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho would not call Remi ungracious.
Instead, she listens. "Vampire Baker... To combine a vampire with pastries is inventive itself," she says. "I'm fond of vampire stories." It's small talk. It's not particularly taxing. But it does, apparently, get the conversation going, because:
"Yes," Miho says. "I have. To which story are you referring?"
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"Oh, quite inventive, and there are no end to the number of puns they can seemingly invent..." But she looks at Miho with curiosity as she says she likes vampire stores. "N'est ce pas? I had no idea." Remi hands Miho a glass, and she already has her plate.
She stares into her glass, swilling it around a little out of habit before holding it up to the light. There is a low, bitter chuckle. "Why, the only story anyone will be talking about for days." She looks at Miho for a moment, a dark tone creeping into her voice. "Kaneshiro."
And then she takes a long sip of her wine.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Puns! Miho nods along. "I see. And oh, yes. A dangerous love can be quite interesting. The vampire is a romantic figure. ...Though the horror aspects are interesting as well."
But Miho swirls the wine in her glass, allows herself to inhale the bouquet. And then... Then, there is that statement.
"Mm," Miho answers. "Yes."
"How do you feel about that?"
"Of course, our mutual acquaintances will be displeased..."
"But I suspect you are not. I am not."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"Mmm... romantic, indeed... a dark, dangerous, forbidden love, one that can literally consume you with its intensity..." Sip. "Yes, they do make a decent break from swashbuckling tales, I suppose."
But Remi falls silent as Miho asks her how she feels. She stares into her glass. "... Unsatisfied. He will surely rot, a singularly disgusting and wretched sac à merde, a man with no redeeming values. He will wallow in whatever anguish this 'Change of Heart' causes, and for that, I am grateful. However..."
Another slow sip. "... I was unable to stand against him, in the end."
"Our mutual acquaintances..." Remi slowly looks to Miho. "You knew, then." It is slightly accusatory.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Yes," Miho agrees with Remi. "I'm allowed a bit of romance, I think. ...My story with Yua demands it." A pause. "Sometimes you can combine them."
Miho waits. She sips her wine, and then waits. Remi was unable to stand against him...
"I knew," Miho answers. "I knew that he wished to drive the Cardboard Dragon out of Hirasaka. I knew that there was this 'Palace' to which he was attuned. ...And I knew that he is, ultimately, replaceable, a man who grasped beyond his own means and suffered for it."
She looks to Remi. "No, we couldn't stand against him directly without consequence. But I judged that Myunghon, their friends, and these... Phantom Thieves, could handle it."
"It is not satisfying, no. But we must carefully choose our satisfactions in this way of life."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi raises an eyebrow as Miho mentions combining them. "Mm. Well, I wouldn't know anything about that, I'm sure. But you two are... very lucky, to have each other."
She does her best to keep her voice netural as she says that.
"That is not what I meant," snaps Remi suddenly. "Did you know he was connected to our 'mutual acquaintances'? Because I had to find out the hard way that he was." There is something angry in Remi's eyes. "I was there when he threatened Myunghon. When he said these vile, despicable things about them. The... the casual disregard he had for everyone around him. I nearly punched him."
Her hand trembles and she forces herself to set the glass down. "I barely held myself back, because... because I knew it would harm Myunghon more than it would help. His men were with him..."
She leans forward, over the table. "I-- I--" She's getting worked up, and she leans back, slouching in her seat, pinching the bridge of her nose. "No," she says to herself. "It is better I do not burden you further."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"We are. But it is more than luck. It is destiny... and hard-won, besides."
She wonders if Remi will pursue such a love, in time. But for now--Remi snaps. And--
"...Not at first," Miho admits. "I had to look into him to learn that, and that I didn't do until after he threatened Myunghon and their shop."
"You were right to hold back. ...But I am not sorry that he is 'changed' in this way."
"Though this 'Change of Heart' concerns me," she admits.
"...As to that," Miho says, "I request that you burden me further. As your friend, I wish to help."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"As you say," Remi agrees of hard-won.
Will Remi pursue such a love? She certainly hasn't made any public-facing attempts since getting out of the lab...
But Miho didn't know, at first, and Remi seems to calm down at that. But then she also asks to be burdened. Remi actually laughs a little, bitterly. "Very well then, mon amie, if you wish to know..." She leans forward again, lowering her voice. "I visited the Palace. I had intended to help My7unghon, to help everyone that salopard had threatened. And instead, what do I find?"
"Why, that he was an associate of 'our acquaintances.' Sifting through the secrets of his mind I spied it-- and once I saw it..." She starts to laugh again, a bit helplessly. "The hound had its leash yanked by a man who did not even know he held it. Ahhah... ahahaha..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
No, but that doesn't mean she won't ever. ...Besides; Miho is focused on 'now' more than on 'the future' at the moment. So when Remi laughs, Miho sips her wine. She waits, and listens. She is told the story...
"I see," Miho answers. "...Yes. I understand. I have had... similar experiences."
A pause. "There are ways we can work around that. There are ways I can find to suborn and subvert the plans of those 'aqcuaintances'. But we cannot do it apart."
"I'll have to involve myself more directly, next time. That you had to do it alone... it makes it worse."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
She laughs herself out in fairly short order, at least, slumping over onto the table, arms folded beneath her chin. "How you? Hmm... I suppose it must have, then."
Bui after that laughing fit she just seems utterly drained. "... I fear you are in a much better position for subversion than I am, Miho. There are days my understanding of the world, of... of even my friends feels wholly... inadequate."
Doing it alone... "Yes, well... I was hoping to spare you, should our 'aquaintances' come asking about 'Tsurugi', but..." She closes her eyes for a moment. "It seems you ave found me out anyway. My apologies."
She's quiet for a moment, and then lifts her head just enough to take a nibble of cheese. "Anyway, I set the room with his files ablaze, to keep the others from discovering it and then..." She shudders. "I had to fight the impulse to go protect that disgusting creature. To have my instincts jerked about... is a horridly unpleasant experience."
There was that fight, when Remi was first released from the lab, where she attacked Miho in an attempt to protect Yua, and when she had stopped, realized what she had nearly done... she had been all but sick then too.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Yes. If I could simply kill my way to the top," Miho admits, "I would have by now. But instead I must choose my targets carefully, and vent my frustrations only when absolutely necessary. ...You and Yua are more precious to me than my pride, and so I will continue in this way for now."
But.... "I do not mind," Miho says. "They will hold me responsible regardless."
Still, Remi explains... and hmm. The impulse...
Miho frowns. "I hate that they have done this to you," Miho says. "And if I find a way to work against that conditioning I will present it to you."
"...But I see. It will... be something to keep in mind, in the future."
"I am sorry, Remi."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
There is a very faint smile as Miho calls her precious. "That is... heartening to hear." But then the smile fades. "... Though I fear I have not been... entirely fair to you. Or to Yua or Myunghon."
A heavy sigh. "They would, wouldn't they? I suppose you are right."
"I am no great fan of it either..." Remi admits. "They have twisted my instincts and impulses, made my mood and emotions ont my own..." She closes her eyes. "Somedays it is all I can do to put up the facade of normalcy."
"I appreciate it Miho... and thank you. But that is why I have been so out of sorts these past few days. I have been restraining myself to allow Myunghon and these... Phantom Thieves time to work." She picks up her glass. "And it seems they have."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Good," Miho says, "Because it is true. You are my friend. ...I have precious few of those who matter much these days. Even if you hadn't also been lost trying to save Yua..." She shakes her head. "is that so?" she asks. "I don't really expect fairness in this situation," she admits. "You're still in a very bad place."
But, they would. And Miho nods.
Still, "...I see," Miho says. "I can only guess at how it felt to undergo the horrors they put you both through. ...I am... displeased, that I could not stop them."
"But you're welcome. And thank you in turn, for confiding that in me. In that case..."
"I don't see a need to tell the others about that unless you feel it is best. I will follow your lead in this."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi takes another long sip of her wine. She's sipping a long, she's almost ready for a second (or third, counting the empty one from earlier?) glass. "Mm... this is excellent wine." She shakes her head. "Oh, this situation is atrocious, but that is not the way in which I have been unfair. This... goes back to Sevens."
She finishes off her glass and then sets it down. "There is something about myself I have not been honest about. And it is because you all are such precious friends... that I wish to set this right."
"Mmm... Suffice it to say, I shan't discuss them here... I do quite understand your displeasure. I do rather share it, you see..."
But for telling the others... Remi shrugs a little. "I don't know. I... part of me wants to pretend everything is fine, to not... burden the others." She sighs. "I do not know if this is vanity on my part, or some misguided means of... protecting those I hold dear. But it would be simpler, wouldn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho takes another slow drink as well. "I am glad it pleases you," Miho says. "I thought it would be to your taste."
But this goes back to Sevens? Miho's expression is difficult to read in the moment. "Then I will listen to whatever you have to say, whenever you are ready to say it."
Then, of course... "Very well."
A pause. "A friendship goes in two directions," Miho explains. "You say you wish to protect them. However..."
"Have you considered that they wish to share your burdens? That they wish to protect you in turn?"
"It is up to you. But I think the 'simplest' solution is to share."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi sits upright again, crossing her legs at the knee as she nibbles on a piece of cheese. "Yes, well... that's just it. They made it so that I would protect the people I'm told to protect, but it doesn't just... it..." She's being far more candid than she might otherwise be. It's either the wine or her exhaustion, or both.
"... it sometimes just... goes off, whether I'm prepred for it or not. I... I second guess myself, try to decipher what is real or... compulsory. That and..." She sighs. "It does feel difficult to share..."
But a two-way street... "Mm. Yes. I suppose if I cannot lean on you, then... I cast myself adrift." She drums her fingers on the tahble for a moment. "I am sorry I did not... share what was bothering me, before."
"And in that spirit..." Remi fills her glass and takes a long sip before glancing aside a little. "... I also happen to enjoy the company of women." She still feels... mixed about saying it out loud, but the deed is done, now.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Cheese! Miho has also been enjoying the cheese. As it happens, it's a good sselection with the wine.
The wine or the exhaustion, Miho appreciates that Remi will say it. "...Yes," she says. "it must be difficult, when you have to second-guess your own feelings. ...To be out of control of one's mind and body... It is a terrible thing."
She wrinkles her nose. She can empathize with Remi, and she doesn't like that feeling.
Still, adrift. "It's all right."
A pause. In that spirit...
"Ah," Miho says. "...Like I and Yua do, you mean?" she has to confirm.
She doesn't want to assume, or speak over Remi's feelings.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi is very fortunate she had a suitable cheese on hand.
"Yes, well..." Remi swirls her wine around in her glass, distractedly. She thinks back to when she offered Yua help in sharing something with Miho... what an embarrassing misfire that was... but Yua seemed to take it in stride, didn't she?
"Yes, it is," she says softly before taking a long sip of her wine.
"... yes, in that way." says Remi, finding the strength to sit up just a little more elegantly. "... as well as men. I realized recently... I was dissatisfied with holding myself apart from my closest friends. So... now you know."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho listens. She waits. It's important that Remi be able to say something like this in her own time, in her own way. That's what matters most.
...Because hearing her friend confide something so near to her heart to her is good, for Miho. She's glad.
"Then we're the same," Miho says to Remi. "...When I was looking for Yua, I found comfort with a number of men. I still have affection for them... Though it's not necessary to act on it, with Yua in my life."
A smile, and she raises her glass. "To your satisfaction then, Remi."
"I hope that this is the first of many steps towards it. ...Thank you, for telling me."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi's eyes widen very slightly as Miho says they're the same, and she looks to her friend. "Is that so..." She listens, in turn, as Miho explains that she enjoyed the company of men when she was apart from Yua. "... I see. And I don't suppose you would feel the need to, with her in your life."
But she finds herself smiling a little--and feeling it this time, s well. She raises her glass. "Santé."
"I do as well... though I do rather fear we have a long road ahead of us..." She sips, and then considers. "Miho, thank you. I am feeling... calmer, I think. I still wish... I could have done more to help Myunghon, but at least... at least I was able to stay out of their way."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho inclines her head in return. "Yes," Miho confirms. "No. I am a one-partner woman." A smile, then. Because Remi is also smiling, this time.
She drinks to what she said.
"We do," Miho admits of a long road. "And you are... welcome. I am glad I was able to help you. That was my desire."
A pause. "Next time," she says, "We will not stay apart. We will strategize together. And if we cannot find a way, it will not be because we didn't work together."
"...But I suspect we will. We are formidable, both of us."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
A one-partner woman. "Miho, I have no doubt of that." But Remi says that with a small smile.
She takes a deep breath, filling her lungs with fresh air. "You have succeeded admirably. And I promise I will be... less stubborn in seeking help."
"Working together would be best, yes..." She raises her glass. "At least I shall not share the burden alone next time, hmm?"
She sets her glass down and goes to her fridge, looking through it. "I fear if I do not get some more food in me my hangover will be formidable." She pulls out a container of soup. "I would offer you some but... I imagine Yua-chan had dinner waiting for you."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"I do not precisely hide it," Miho agrees with a smile in return.
But Remi makes a promise, and Miho nods. "Together," she agrees.
And then she considers. "That is fine," Miho says. "But..."
"I must insist that you allow us to offer you dinner," Miho says. "Yua would look very sadly at me if I told her I let you go without a proper meal."
"I'll call ahead, to have the heat turned up."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi pauses... and then slowly nods. "If you insist, I would be happy to accept. And it is no bother about the heat... I can always bundle up more, and I would hate to inconvenience Yua-chan."
She puts the soup away, and cleans up the cheese and wine (the glasse will get washed later.) "Then... shall we?"