2025-09-07: Some Friendly Advice
- Log: Some Friendly Advice
- Cast: Remi Ryuuja, Shinjiro Aragaki
- Where: Cardboard Dragon, Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: September 07, 2025
- IC Date: Saturday, July 07, 2012 (Evening)
- Summary: After his run-in with Ken at the SEES dorm, Shinjiro comes to the Cardboard Dragon to check on the shop. There he finds Remi minding the store, and the two get to chatting. Remi's cover of 'Ariel' is figured out, and the two chat about the supernatural and supporting Myunghon.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
It's been a few days since the encounter with Ishiba, but the effects of that incident are still being felt. Sometimes in very literal senses of the word.
It's early evening in Sumaru, and the Cardboard Dragon is still open for business... though most of the store's clientelle have left to make their way home for dinner. Remi is here minding the store. The half-French woman sticks out, taller than the average Japanese woman, with wavy honey blonde hair, brown eyes with green flecks, and exotic features.
She's often seen layered up, with a cardigan over a turtleneck, though today her green cardigan is draped over the back of a chair behind the counter. She herself is dressed in a black beret, a black turtleneck and skirt, dark gray thermal tights, and dark sea green boots. Her left sleeve, however, is rolled back to the elbow, and an ice pack is strapped to her arm. She's shivering a little, though it's not hard to guess why.
She's seated at the counter, a bento open in front of her--shopkeepers need dinner, too. She's slowly picking through some rice as she reads through a novel, and there's a little egg dish in the box that doesn't quite look Japanese.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro's had a pretty awful day. Ken Amada... why do you have to suffer further because of him? He ruminated on the train, and knew he'd have to make a decision tonight.
Therefore, when he enters the Cardboard Dragon to check on the shop, he's grimacing. His coat is still torn at the shoulder, and his beanie is still the one Myunghon got him.
"Hey," Shinjiro calls out as he steps inside and spots Remi. He's shivering, just a little himself, since they can't max the heater while the store's open for customers.
He steps over to the counter, and spots the ice pack. That ice pack is in a conspiciously familiar location... and she's shivering, though ice packs can do that.
He files away that thought in his head. He has a hunch but he'd have to keep investigating to confirm it.
"How are you doing? Must be a nasty bruise, hope it heals well." A pause. "Seen Myunghon lately?"
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi's face, at rest, is mostly neutral as she reads her book and eats her dinner, though she has an ear on the door, of course. She looks up, as Shinjiro enters, and regards him silently for a moment before offering a warm smile. "Good evening, Aragaki-san."
Remi has never seemed to make herself involved in supernatural affairs. Ariel, on the other hand, has shown up any time supernatural contexts are involved. Surely there's no relation between the two...
"I'm doing well, thank you." She looks to her arm and is silent again for a few seconds. "... yes, quite. I hope so as well, thanks."
But Myunghon... Remi sighs deeply. "Yeo-san isn't in the store, if you're looking for them. I invited them to stay in my apartment to recuperate, though whether they are doing so..." Well, Myunghon went out to a Palace last night, didn't they?
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro watches as Remi seems to stare silently at her arm. In the end, curiosity gets the better of him. "Something happen? Looks like you got struck or something from here." He lets that sit, letting his hunch stand.
Though, then, as Remi reads and eats dinner, he responds about Myunghon. "They're doing okay. We... went out last night, me, Myunghon, and Shimizu. We made sure they didn't over-exert themselves, so don't worry about that."
He glances over around the store. Customers are basically gone... "How much do you know about their dealings, anyways, if you're offering them recuperation space?"
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
'Did something happen.' Remi's lips quirk just a bit, ever so imperceptibly. "Well, yes, I took a rather nasty spill." She shivers again. "Speaking of... I believe it is about time I took this off... would you be a dear, and watch the store when I go put this in the freezer?"
She puts the novel down on the counter--the title reads Carmilla, in English. "Mmm... I am certainly glad Yeo-san has you and Shimizu-san to look out for them. I am still... concerned that they did not choose to recuperate, but it is far better for them to have trusted friends with them than not."
Remi starts to unwrap the bandages she's using the hold the ice pack in place on her arm. There is a frown as Shinjiro asks about Myunghon's dealings. "Well I understand that they were recently accosted by a rather unsavory police officer, if that is to which you are referring. As for offering them space to recuperate..."
There is a softer smile at that. "Myunghon and I go back to high school, dear. They have been of great help to me, so... it was only natural for me to want to return the favor, non?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Sure," Shinjiro says when asked to watch the store. He doesn't quite believe 'nasty spill', but as she shivers, he nods. "Cold, huh?" He's shivering a bit himself.
Carmilla... "Fan of vampires?" He does not know the QUEER SUBTEXT, he's never actually read it.
Though, as they talk about the dealings and going to high school... "Ah, yeah. Goddamn bastard... hopefully we can keep them safe. Some people got injured that night besides Myunghon..."
Friends from high school, though... "I see. You, Ooshiro, and Myunghon must have all run together, huh?" Wait, he knows Yua? "It's good they still have old friends to rely on, so I get it."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"Just a bit," she says of the cold. She unwraps the last compression bandages and pauses for a moment. "If you're squeamish, you may wish to look away."
Warning given, she lifts off the ice pack. The top of her forearm has a large, nasty purple-black bruise on it, taking up a rather significant amount of space.
Weirdly enough, it seems to be centered right about where one might expect someone to block a baton hit with. Funny how that works.
She sets the ice pack on the counter and quickly begins to rewrap the compression bandages around her arm. "I wouldn't say a fan, but... I was inspired to revisit a few classics. They do have their own charms, though."
She absolutely knows about the queer subtext. It may or may not have influenced her decision to read it. (It did.)
"So I have heard," Remi says of the injuries. "How someone so foul can operate under the color of law I shall never understand."
Remi just nods. "Indeed, dear." She doesn't flinch at the mention of Ooshiro. "They were... quite different times, let's just say that."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Nah," Shinjiro says, and indeed, looks long enough to catch the bruise. That more or less confirms it for him, unless they had fallen at exactly the right location.
"Yeah? I was recommended... Maupassant? By Ooshiro. It's apparently pretty good true crime." Oh, Shinjiro. His pronunciation of the French is poor, but not mangling.
The question of the law gets a grimace. "I think the good cops are the exception, actually. People in power want to stay in power, and staying in power requires pushing down those who'd get in the way of that."
Though about different times... he finally decides to lunge.
"I won't pry on that, that's not my business. But that's a combat bruise, not a fall bruise. If you took a nasty spill, why is in the same place that someone took a baton that night? Either it'd be closer to your hands from catching yourself, or somewhere that makes sense to fall on."
A pause.
"If you're keeping secrets, I respect that. We all have them. But I'm curious why this one. If it's just not wanting to fight, valid. Not everyone's cut out for it."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
It's rather easy for someone to spot who was there. Remi doesn't comment on it, though.
"Oooh, Maupassant is an excellent recommendation. I could see if we have that in stock, if you wish?" Her French pronunciation is, of course, flawless, though she doesn't comment on Shinjiro's.
She nods slowly as Shinjiro points out the good cops are the exception. "I am rather afraid you are correct, as unpleasant as it is to contemplate."
But, well... she's part of 'bigger things' herself. These things shouldn't surprise her anymore, but they can still dismay her.
Shinjiro lunges, and Remi doesn't flinch as she continues wrapping her arm. "N'est ce pas? Is that so, dear?" She pauses and looks Shinjiro in the eyes. She is taller than the average Japanese woman, at 5'6", though nowhere near as tall as Shinjiro. Nevertheless, she doesn't doesn't shirk away from his gaze. "You claim to know an awful lot about wounds and injuries."
She does the last wrap and secures the bandage, and then rolls her sleeve down over it before getting up to slip her cardigan back on.
She's always really bundled up, even on the warmest summer days, isn't she? She sits back down, one leg crossed over the other. "It rather sounds as if you are accusing me of something."
She knows the game is up. But she's curious to see how Shinjiro will react to a little pushback.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"I'd appreciate that," Shinjiro says about Maupassant.
But when they go into the wounds... Remi says he claims to know an awful lot. He looks aside for a second, before turning back. "I've dealt and received my fair share. Plus some... other stuff." Medical googling teaches you a lot when you fall down the rabbit hole.
But as she says he's accusing her of something... he sighs, lowering his voice. He doesn't want to look weak here, like he's going to completely back off at pushback.
"Look, I know you're Ariel, you know you're Ariel. The shivering, bundled up on a summer day. She was the same. The bruise is in the exact same location as she got hit. You're both dearly close to Myunghon. It's *not a problem*. But if you're going to lie about it, learn to hide it better. People will take any ammunition you give them and fire."
A pause.
"Besides. You're a friend of Myunghon's, so you're good in my book. Just call it some friendly advice from someone who knows how hard it is to keep a secret."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi will, indeed, go check for Maupssant in a bit, as soon as a certain matter is cleared up...
Shinjiro offers an explanation. "I see." Shinjiro does seem the rather rough and tumble type, doesn't he? She doesn't doubt that for a moment.
And then Shinjiro comes right out and says it. And he lays out some rather convincing evidence. She chuckles, a slow smile spreading across her lips. "Reckless, but not inobservant, I see."
She sighs theatrically. "To thy strong bidding," she announces. "Task Ariel and all her quality."
"I shall certainly keep that in mind, Aragaki-san. But this was rather inevitable, I fear. You work more closely with Myunghon than most, so you were bound to put it together sooner or later."
She leans forward. "Though I would rather ask that you not spread this around, hmm? Promise me that, and I shall explain myself."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Remi gives it up, as Shinjiro lays the evidence out. Her theatrical sigh and statement gives it away even more, as she accepts that it was inevitable.
"Sure," Shinjiro says. "I promisee I won't say anything. It's not my business, not my place. But if it lets us work together better to help Myunghon, that's all I care about."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi nods, as Shinjiro says he'll keep the secret. "Very well, then. I too, only wish to help my dear friend Myunghon. The reason I put forth the facade of 'Ariel' is mostly for my own benefit. I do rather value my privacy, and to let it be known that I am aware of the Supernatural would be a complication I would rather do without."
She leans back, arms crossed, fingers tapping at her upper arm. "... and my Persona is rather not suited to fighting, I'm afraid. That is why I prefer to lend my support in other ways."
She says that, but then she just went and took a baton hit for So-young.
"... I do appreciate what you did for Tsubasa-san the other night," she adds on a more somber note. "I... I had to make Myunghon my priority, though it pained me to do so."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"That's fair," Shinjiro says about privacy. "We're in an age it's hard to have that without keeping secrets, so..."
But as she taps and says her Persona isn't suited for fighting, he nods again. "So you *can't* fight. That's fine. We can do the fighting while you support in other ways."
Though, when the appreciation comes, he turns his head again. "It's nothing. I'm just glad you got Myunghon out of there. Seki- Tsubasa Seki- should be fine, I'll check on them after I... deal with some stuff myself." He still needs to decide on SEES and deal with the fallout of that.
"Once you check for that book and put the ice pack away, I should be heading back to the safehouse, anyway."
All channels have been gagged.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"Yes, that is a rather unfortunate truth of our world today..." Even being out of the world for just 3 and a half years has seen a rather large number of rapid changes.
Remi nods. "I appreciate that. Like you, all I want is for Myunghon to be supported. Unfortunately, that means I must rely on others for the things I cannot do."
"I wouldn't call it nothing, Aragaki-san. You sought to protect someone important to Myunghon. I will remember that."
"Of course," she says with a nod. "I shall be right back." It's a quick jaunt upstairs to put the ice pack away, and then she comes back downstairs to check the bookshelves.
"And since you know... Myunghon, of course, is aware, but so is Shimizu-san." She pulls a book from the shelf and brings it back to the counter, then rings it up and names the price.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro said something appreciated! That's fine. But then, he looks away again as Remi says she'll remember that positively. "Tch..."
Though, once the price is named, he grabs his wallet, takes a breath at the expense, and decides to buy it. It'll let him know more about the kinds of things Myunghon likes, so it's worth his pill money... especially since Mitsuru's likely to help him with that from now on. "Thanks. I need to run. We'll talk again soon."
And then, once he has his book, Shinjiro heads off.
For now... it was time to ruminate until he got back to the safehouse.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi grins, just a little, as she sees Shinjiro look away from what she says. Mmhmm, she thinks to herself.
She'd considered making a gift of the book, but... she suspected Shinjiro wouldn't appreciate that. She handles ringing up the book swiftly. "I'll look forward to it. Take care, Aragaki-san."
She leans forward on her elbows, watching Shinjiro as he leaves. So this is the person Yua suspects... interesting. She'll have to keep an eye on him.
But for now she picks up Carmilla again and keeps picking at her dinner.