2025-09-12: Sweet Ramen
- Log: Sweet Ramen
- Cast: Ryuji Sakamoto, Ichika Kawase
- Where: Izakaya Shiraishi, Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: September 12, 2025
- IC Date: July 10, 2012
- Summary: Ichika and Ryuji meet up for ramen, and find a few more things in common than the food.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
The infamous Kameya Alley is somewhere that Ryuji hasn't had the opportunity to go to. With his new friends from Kasugayama, the blonde decides to use his money to take the train to Sumaru and check things out. Dressed in his Shujin uniform, the blonde makes his way to where he say he'd meet Ichika, slouching as he makes his way down the path.
He yawns as he looks around, grinning as he takes in the sights. "Man, this place is kinda my vibe," He says to himself as he approaches to the place called 'Ma'am's'.
He also takes a moment to fix his hair in a reflection he spots. I mean he was meeting a girl so he might as well look good doing it.
He enters the establishment, stopping in the doorway to look for Ichika, spotting the person referred to as 'Ma'am' and blinking. She seemed tough and colorful. Definitely not something you'd see in Tokyo. "Yo, uh Looking for someone. Sorry!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
This is one of the better places to hang out in Hirasaka--but on that list is 'an actual former prison', so there's something to be made of that. Ichika was glad enough to meet Ryuji, and sugested this izakaya, Shiraishi, run by... Ichika's pretty sure she's a retired spy. Pretty sure. It only makes her cooler.
Ma'am looks to Ryuji with some amusement. "Far from home," she points out when he apologizes.
But Ichika hears the commontion and stands up from her seat over by the corner. "Oh, Ryuji-kun!"
She waves. She's dressed in uniform, too--white blouse with sailor collar (tied off under her bust) and ankle-length skirt both. Kasugayama's uniform.
"C'mere," she suggests, and Ma'am looks from Ryuji to Ichika for a moment. "Hm hm. Just tell me what you're after," she advises, and goes back to her work.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji smiles a little nervously as Ma'am reads him. He is more amused if anything. "Yes uh...ma'am." He nods before he sees Ichika, whistling as he catches her in her uniformed best. "Yo! Ichika!" He makes his way over, grinning as he passes the retired spy.
"Interesting place. Tokyo seems a little bland in comparison." Ryuji sits down, eyeing the menu quickly.
"Oh is this the place with the---it is! Banana Ramen!" His grin widens as he looks up at Ichika. "That sounds so...interesting? I don't think anywhere in Tokyo has something like it but I heard a couple of guys talking about it once or twice."
Ryuji quickly orders the infamous Banana Ramen dish before turning his focus back to Ichika again, letting his eyes take her figure in before she can notice. "Sooo how ya been? Anything cool happen lately?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Hirasaka's really colorful," Ichika agrees pleasantly. "A lot of people think that's just a nice way of saying run-down... But I like it."
This is the place with it. "You've heard of it!" She seems pleased about that. "Yeah, like--I have no idea why it's as good as it is. You hear it and you go 'what?' but she does something great with it."
Adventure! Ichika also orders tha Banana Ramen.
There's definitely figure to take in; Ichika in her dark makeup and sukeban-style uniform gets a lot of looks, some she notices and some she doesn't. ...This seems to be one she doesn't.
"Rough weekend," she admits. "But that's why I was happy you texted me."
She thinks about how much, and whether to say anything at all, before, "I ran into this guy I used to know. Really bad scene. But I think I made a new friend yesterday, so I'm kinda looking forward, you know?"
"How about you? How's it going?"
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Eh. I prefer places like this. They feel lived in. Better than some of the squeeky clean stuff you see in the big city. Everything can feel fake." Ryuji says, looking around more. "I mean trendy can be nice for some things but like not for food. You want the hole in the wall places....You know I think I was telling Tsubasa that when we meet up."
"Oh yeah. In addition, I like to think of myself of a little bit of an expert when it comes to Ramen places so it's been on my radar." He cups a hand under his chin, trying to brag just a little.
When she orders it too, he gets fired up. "Guess we're both going to try something new." He is about to dig in when she gets to her weekend.
Ryuji raises a brow and nods. "I'm sorry to hear that. Must be some kind of jerk to get you down in the dumps." Ryuji offers, nodding slowly. "Well don't worry. I'm here to cheer you up with ...uhhh my winning personality? Yeah lets go with that! Trademark Ryuji Sakamoto charm." He laughs at his corny joke, wondering if it helps at all.
"Me? Oh you know..." He thinks to his meetings with the Phantoms. "Uhh just school I guess? Nothing too big other than my terrible grades."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"True," Ichika says. "Especially once you see the other side, it's hard to look at places that are too clean the same way again." A beat, "Yeah! I want 'nice' for my clothes, but not everything. And even then, sometimes you find good stuff..." A pause. "Oh, yeah? That's cool." Talking about Tsubasa, even a little, always brightens Ichika up a bit.
"Oh yeah? I guess that makes sense, since you were talking tot hem about them." On the radar. Ichika is willing to let Ryuji prove his ramen cred if he can.
"Mm!"
The ramen, as promised: is amazing. The sweetness of the banana somehow goes with the saltiness of the broth...
"Thanks," Ichika says. "He really is." Cheer her up, huh? Ichika laughs. "Trademark, huh? So you say that to all the girls, I bet." She does seem in good spirits, anyway.
Just school, grades... "Ugh, grades. I think I failed that last test," she sighs. "But I hear it's more important what your extracurriculars are than your grades, for some places. So maybe I'm not totally hopeless."
Katsuya Suou has arrived from Rengedai - Main.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Yeah I see what you're saying...though guys shop for clothes a little differently than girls. But yeah you can find good stuff anywhere I guess." Ryuji notices her brighten up on Tsubasa's name. He guesses that Ichika and they are close.
He finally digs into the Banana Ramen, blinking as the flavor hits him. He isn't sure if he likes it yet but he doesn't hate it. He slurps up some noodles, moving the broth around his mouth. "Hmmm..."
"Eh. Most girls usually respond with 'get real loser' or 'not in a million years' or 'thanks but no' so this is new territory I'm afraid." He laughs nervously, feeling pretty at ease even as the butt of the joke.
Then she mentions extracurriculars and Ryuji's mood dips a little. "Yeah...I don't really have those anymore...I was on the track team but...that didn't end so good. So I just go home and try to help my mom with the house. Read Manga. Watch movies. The whole package."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"True," Ichika says, though she thinks of Yuusei and is briefly amused. But, "But even guys can find really good stuff some places--like your friend Amamiya-san."
Ichika has had it before, and digs in pretty eagerly; she's not too messy about it, but she doesn't pretend not to like food.
But most girls? "Their loss," Ichika says confidently. "I think you're pretty cool."
It's not like Ichika hasn't given a 'get lost' or two in her own time, but she doesn't have those for Ryuji. Instead she notices his mood dip, and says, "Ohh, yeah. I don't have clubs or anything," she admits, "But I met this... reporter lady, and she might be able to hook me up with some more information about how to get into it. She's really cool. Works for Coolest."
A pause. "But I think that's pretty admirable. A lot of guys just take their moms for granted... I like a guy who knows to help out."
She considers trying to get onto a better topic, so, "The ramen--it's good, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Oh, Ren-ren? Yeah he's kinda his own thing though." Ryuji nods as he eats more Ramen, still getting used to it's unique flavor. He watches her eat and smiles some. "You really know how to put it away. A woman after my own heart." He says this without thinking, blinking when the words catch up this his brain. "I mean...uhh."
"Oh yeah...It's not like I'm hitting on every girl I see. Just..I don't really end up with many girls. I think I had a small thing in middle school? No that doesn't really count. Yeah I guess girls don't go for the blonde punkish guy usually. No they want cool guys usually."
Ryuji perks up upon hearing about the reporter. "Oh yeah. I think I've heard of Coolest. Not a magazine I really read much but I know it. So you into journalism? That's sick."
He perks up when the subject of his mom comes up, grinning. "Oh yeah. I'm all my mom has so...I try not to get into too much trouble. Kinda bad at that so she worries a lot. So I make it up by making things easy a home." He eats more Ramen, slurping the noodles loudly.
"Hmm. It's different for sure. Like I think this is something I like but it isn't very much like any other ramen I've had. But like I'd give it a solid B+ plus on the Ryuji scale. Very competitive scale too."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Cool," Ichika says of Ren. But when he calls her out for enjoying food, it's Ichika's turn to blush a little. "Oh, uh," she says, but he seems to approve, so, "...I figure, when you diet you diet, but when you eat you should eat, you know?" It's not quite the same confidence as she's put into everything else, so it might be the first time he's seen her off-balance.
"Of course," Ichika says, nobody hits on everybody. ...Well, nobody she's happy to know. "Hmm. That makes sense. When I was at Sevens, it was the clean-cut type for me. But now, like, I find I kinda like guys who are a little off the average? It makes them more interesting." A pause. "...Of course, I guess I'd scare off 'regular' guys now anyway..."
She smiles about the reporter. "Yeah. I mean, I'm still getting into it, but... it's the first time in a long time I've felt like I could do something, you know? Like... maybe that's something I could go down."
All she has. Ichika nods. "That's cool," she says. "i've got both parents, but I worry them, too. Kinda hard not to out here. So I try not to cause too much trouble at home when I get back there."
Different! "Oooh. If this is a B+, I'd have to try what you'd call an A sometime."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji blushes too when he sees Ichika off balance. "Uh..Yeah that makes sense. Sorry..I sometimes just talk and it gets me in trouble, ya know?" Ryuji just eats to try to appear less awkward.
"For Real?! You went to Seven Sisters. Didn't know that about you. You seem too wild for a place like that...But I guess I wasn't always like this either. I used to be just kinda a jock. People change so I get it." Ryuji blinks when she mentions the kind of guys she likes. "Huh. A little off average, eh? Well I'm pretty average so I guess I'm out....Definitely not clean cut either."
"I mean that's cool. Everything starts somewhere. But it is super cool you know where you want to go I mean. I dunno what I want to do yet. Track is kind of out due to...yeah. I guess you can tell but my leg got messed up due to--" He thinks about how much he should say. Ryuji weighs the options, knowing that Ichika was tough but he doesn't want to appear psycho either. "I got into some trouble and it got broken. Kinda a long story."
"Heh. I can take you sometime! It's a little Ramen Stall. Old man makes everything from scratch daily...you can really taste the blood sweat and tears...I mean not literally. That would be kinda unsanitary but you know what I mean."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"It's okay," Ichika answers, and takes a moment to busy herself with noodles, too.
Then--for real!! Ichika nods. "Yep. My hair was black, back then. I was... quieter. Kind of more of a background girl." She smiles then. "You think so?" she wonders of Ryuji being average. "Oh, clean-cut's just how it used to be. Now... I kinda like bleached hair, you know? I like guys who're willing to be themselves, is what it comes down to."
But everybody starts somewhere. "If I hadn't met a few people, I wouldn't have bothered--but... I got to thinking about dreams. Kasu High isn't the kind of place where people think about having those. But after I met Amano-san, I just... I started thinking maybe I could."
"It's normal not to know," she says. "But I'm a third year so I kinda have to get in gear..." A pause. "Oh, yeah?" she asks. "That sucks. Injuries..." She shakes her head. "I had a pretty bad time last year, myself. So I get medical stuff."
But. He can take her sometime! Ichika smiles at that. "Cool," Ichika says. "I'll look forward to it." Then she listens to what it is. "Wow..."
Ichika laughs, too. "Yeah, you want to go for the metaphor on that one..." Pause. "is it a metaphor? Or is that a simile? I never remember which is which. Whatever, you want the feeling, not the real blood."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"You with black hair would be different. Used to seeing you like this honestly." Ryuji slurps his noodles, drinking some of the broth. He isn't going to get used to something sweet instead of salty from a ramen dish. "I also can't see you as a background person. You seem too dynamic."
Ryuji pauses at the mention of liking guys with bleached hair. He ponders for a moment, leaving it there for the moment. Not yet, young Sakamoto.
"I guess but you should have some idea. I got nothing. Plus there aren't a lot of options for guys like me." Ryuji sighs, leaning on the table. "Yeah but track was really my chance to get my mom some relief you know...Then it got taken from me. So now I got nothing. Maybe I can find some kind of part time job until I'm sure."
"Uhhh yeah I think that is a metaphor? I always get them mixed up. Language isn't one of my strongest points." Ryuji leans on the table more. "Honestly you get what I mean though. Thats what matters. Not like I'm trying to write a book....I could maybe do one on Ramen some day."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"That means I'm making an impression," Ichika muses. She smiles. "...I'm..." The smile wavers a little. "I'm really different from how I was back then."
But she doesn't slow down for too long. Instead, "Mm, that's fair. Back then, I thought... I thought I'd just get married, you know? But now I kind of want to have my own career, at least for a while. Just so I can say I know I can do it, right?" But track... "I see. I'm sorry," Ichika says. "It's rough, when something important to you is... taken." A part-time job. "Yeah. Maybe. I get it, though. Before I got on this path... Like i said, Kasu isn't the kind of place where you expect to have dreams."
Metaphor! Ichika laughs. "Yeah," she says. "That's what counts. But hey, there's something. You do seem to know a lot about it."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji grins and nods. "Yeah I guess you are." He watches her noticing the past doesn't seem to be her favorite thing in the world. So they were the same in that. "Yeah I have trouble picturing it based on you now."
Ryuji almost spit takes on the subject of marriage. "FOR REAL?! Right out of High School? Man, yeah I guess some people do that but I always thought you did that in your 20s or something...Huh" He thinks about it for a moment, realizing he is 16 and his 20's are so close. Suddenly, the joys of youth seem to be so fleeting. He gets a odd distance expression on his face. Suddenly he downs his Ramen broth and loudly sets it down on the table with a loud expel of air. "Whew...Yeah I get it. Kasu seems kinda hardcore but I bet every person in there has a dream. They might not talk about it but like...even when the world is against you, you still have something you hold dear. Even if it's just used to curse the world. Just how I see it anyway."
"Yeah I do...I'd need to figure out what to write? But I could try. Maybe one of the--oh my gang know some tips or something."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I'm glad to hear that," Ichika says. "I want to be... the new 'me'. Not the one from before."
Still, Ryuji is surprised, and Ichika has to laugh a little awkwardly. "Ahah, yeah..." But some people do that. "That's how it was back then, anyway. Now, I'm not ready to settle down or anything. But back then, it was different. ...That's why I want to be the new 'me'. The me that belongs to myself."
That's pretty heavy though, but so is 'dreams'. "You think?" Ichika wonders. "...That's a really cool way to look at it. I hope it's true."
The gang! "Oh, yeah. You've got a lot of cool friends, huh? That's lucky. It's great when you can lean on people."
"I've been leaning on my gang, too. Like, Tsubasa-kun's my best friend, but the others are good friends too."
"I guess they wouldn't have to be," she admits. "Some Bosses would rather just have people who'll do what they say. But I'm not interested in that kind of flunky."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Thats cool. I'm glad you're you. You're pretty cool" Ryuji gives a thumbs up with a wink, looking in his empty bowl. He awkwardly laughs. "Guess I was hungry huh?"
"Yeah. I guess I haven't thought that far ahead is all." He looks up at her. "A you that belongs to you, eh? Pretty cool saying. I might add that to my vibe. You mind?" Ryuji smiles again, meeting eyes with her for a moment before they dart back down to the menu.
"Yeah my gang is a little unorthodox but they are good people. We do some pretty cool things like---" He suddenly realizes he is in a tough spot. What do the Phantom Thieves do that he can talk about. His eyes dart to the side as he thinks for a moment. "You know I guess we just do our own thing. Hard to explain. You get it, right?"
"Tsubasa seems cool. Wasn't sure when I met them but they are good people."
"I honestly wouldn't know what to do with subordinates as a Boss. I barely can keep a look out for myself."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Thanks," Ichika says, and laughs--she shows off her own bowl, which is also empty at this point. "Guess so!"
But when he meets her eyes, Ichika is surprised by his statement--since hers was a little improvised. She hesitates, but then smiles, more confident after a moment. "That's cool," she says when he looks back down. There's plenty of other things to get! ...But Ma'am won't serve them alcohol.
Like? Ichika tilts her head a little. "Oh." A pause. "I don't mind if you do stuff that's... against the rules," she says. "My gang does." A beat, "But I think I get it either way."
"Oh, Tsubasa's really cool. They're who helped me get my new style," she explains. "So you wouldn't see the Ichika of today if not for them."
A laugh, then. "Yeah... I was pretty surprised too," she admits. "It happened kind of by accident. I just wanted to be left alone, but this girl set her gang on me..."
"I got so mad about it that i just sort of--talked Tsubasa-kun into staying out, and then went and headbutted the leader. It was the first time I'd been in that kind of fight..."
"But I won, right? That counts for something."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji scratches the back of his head nervously. "Yeah so many choices." He looks up at her, smiling with a slight blush on his face. "Hmm Maybe getting something else would be too much. Usually I'd say lets go for something sweet but that ramen kind fit that so I dunno."
He laughs nervously. "Yeah I guess what we do is against the rules." He isn't going to drop the secret if he can help it. Plus while Ichika seemed cool, Ryuji wasn't sure what she'd say to what they were doing. Oh well.
"I should thank them then. I really like this Ichika for sure!" Ryuji grins again, blushing a little more.
He listens to her origin story and nods. "Huh...Yeah. That does count for a lot...Since we're sharing I guess I gotta." He takes a deep breath and paces himself. "So my leg. A teacher broke it when I tried to punch him out....He said something about my mother and I couldn't let it stand...So like the track team--while it was taken away, it was also my fault for losing my cool."
He sighs and tries to keep his smile but it falters some. "Yeah...I don't tell many people that but that's why I'm how I am."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I like sweets," Ichika says. "...Maybe not as much as some girls," she says, thinking of Ann, "But good enough to go for it." Desserts! What do they even have here? Probably something fried. Ichika might have to think about a diet again after all...
Or maybe not.
Ichika flushes a little at his simple, direct phrasing, and smiles as a result. "You should," she agrees. "If that's how you feel."
But, sharing! Ichika waits for it--and she frowns in concern about the matter of a teacher breaking it. "That's so fucked up," Ichika says. "...But I see." A pause. Losing his cool...
"...As reasons to lose your cool goes... I can respect that one." A pause. "I'm sorry. That's really terrible. ...It must be harder," she says. "But..."
Was it that Kamoshida? Ichika wonders.
"Thanks for telling me. It's hard to tell a story that makes you look bad, huh? I... kind of get it," Ichika says, and looks distant. "I did something like that recently--not as bad, but... I put some people in trouble, because I couldn't keep my cool. They turned out fine, but still."
She looks back to Ryuji. "Thanks for telling me, anyway. It makes me feel like I know you a little better."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Yeah. It kinda messed a lot of things up for me." Ryuji leans back in his chair, trying to relax but he seems tense despite feeling a little freer after revealing that part of himself. He sees her face when she mentions he lost his cool and while she seems ok with his reasons...
"Yeah I have a little bit of a temper sometimes. Like I'm not usually violent but I'll punch out someone for messing with my people. Just how I'm wired. Like I wasn't kidding when I said I'd deal with that person giving you a hard time. I care...about you I mean." He smiles awkwardly. "I mean...nothing too...we just met but I mean you seem really cool."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I get it. Sometimes you want to control yourself but something in you just has to correct a wrong that's done against someone you care about and it just doesn't work out. Just something to think about. Also that some people need a good punch to set them straight. Probably how it works at Kasu anyway."
Ryuji blushes. "Yeah I guess. I'm glad you know me."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
A lot of things. "Yeah," Ichika answers. A lot went wrong for Ryuji...
Ichika nods, when Ryuji mentions his temper. "I see..." She does have to think about it; after all...
"Hm. So it's about right and wrong, huh?" Ichika asks, and she considers that. "...OK. That's cool. I admit; I was a little nervous... I've..." She bites her lip. "I've had guys get... like that, before. These days I can look after myself, but it's still something that gives me pause."
"But none of them did it to protect someone else, or to make something 'right'. They just did it for themselves."
"...That's totally how it works at Kasu though," she says with a wry look. "We get a lot of that."
A pause. "...Well," she says, "I like what I'm seeing so far. So..."
"Keep it up, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Tch. For real? I'm not like that. Yeah...I don't think so anyway." Ryuji nods as he thinks about. "Like what kind of jerk does that to a lady...Even if you can take care of yourself, it isn't right. It is especially wrong if you can't take care of yourself. That's kinda the problem with a lot of people."
Ryuji looks up at Ichika and smiles sadly. "Yeah. Well I'd do a lot for others. Especially my mom."
"Heh. Guess I'm Kasu material after all. Still think I'm too nice though." He makes himself grin to try to pick up the mood.
When she mentions about liking what she's seeing, Ryuji lets out a nervous cough, doubling over on the table. He looks up at her with wide eyes, bright red. "Well I'm glad! Uhhh it's nice to hear that."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"A real bad one," Ichika says. "Yeah. People who push people around like that..." She shakes her head. "It's a big problem."
A lot for others. "Good," Ichika says. "That's a good way to be."
A laugh. "Maybe. I haven't actually seen you clock anybody yet, after all."
But that nervous cough cheers Ichika up, too. He's bright red, and she's smiling.
"Cool," Ichika says, and then taps the table. "...So." A beat, "Dessert, or no dessert? I don't have to get going just yet."
Ichika will keep to lighter topics for a while. But she doesn't exactly regret that part of the conversation, either. It's good to know that stuff.