2025-10-19: Izakaya Relief
- Log: Izakaya Relief
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Hyousuke Suzuki
- Where: Hirasaka - Kameya Alley
- OOC Date: 2025-10-19
- IC Date: Sun Jul 29 2012
- Summary: Hyousuke invites Tsubasa out to eat at Ma'am's, relieved that his exams, at least, are over. The two get to know each other a little better... and, naturally, bond a little more over devouring lunch.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke had no idea how he had performed on his tests. In truth, the bright and beaming smile he wore as he strode into the Izakaya was more an indication of his mood towards the end of the exams, rather than his performance during.
"Order whatever you like." He said, turning to Tsubasa with that same joyful expression writ clear into his features. "It's my treat today." Not that the budget was an extravagant one - he was a student at Kasugayama high school, and his options were rather limited. But the gesture was made all the same.
He strode in without waiting for much of an answer, taking a seat near the back and settling in before looking back to Tsubasa.
"I'm gonna get some ramen. Do you think they still do the banana one? Or have they swapped that out?" He blinked once, the hamster wheel turning as he tried to dredge up a memory, before blinking again and casting his eyes back down to the menu and seeing for himself. "Or maybe I'll get something new... How about you? Anything look good?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa doesn't know how they did in their exams because they're starting tomorrow, on account of the attempted murder and everything. They are, of course, woefully unprepared.
This counts as preparing, if only because after that whole attempted murder thing they really want to get into a more normal existence. Like, y'know. Hanging out with this quiet guy who's made himself known here and there while they're hanging out being scary youth gang criminals*.
*Loitering is technically a crime.
"Chyeah, 'course Ma'am's still got banana ramen, c'mon," Tsubasa says, as Lance tucks herself in under the table at their feet. (It's cool, Ma'am lets her come in so long as she stays unobtrusive. ... Tsubasa doesn't realise that she's evaluating Lance much like someone might a service dog whose job is protecting their feelings.) "She does some mean kaarage, too," which is of course a particular type of fried chicken, "an' some wicked yuzu tiramisu. Reckon that's my bet."
Tsubasa rubs at the back of their neck, because of course they don't want to reach up far enough to disturb the neon blue wig on their head. (Their fake tan is deep enough to be orange, and doesn't quite hide the texture of much older burn scars, all over their right side, though they've slathered concealer over them to make them less obtrusive; tragically, they can't put makeup on over the dressings they're still wearing to compensate for what must be newer burns.) "Grats on the freedom, by the way. You doin' anythin' big over Summer, or just hangin' out?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"Tiramisu... That DOES sound good"
Much like the circus, the mere mention of good food was enough to have Hyousuke perk up. Perhaps not to the degree that he had before, with his reaction limited to a simple blink and a more focussed look, but there was no denying that the thought of fried chicken and sweets had sent his imagination running wild. The only thing that managed to distract him for more than a split second was Lance, but that much was a given. Lance was a very good dog, and to ignore her presence was nigh-impossible for the retriever-adjacent man.
Tsubasa's question was enough to draw his attention completely away from the menu though, and towards them instead. His eyes fell briefly on the wig, though it was more a result of the bright colour than any other factor. His gaze didn't linger, and no thoughts about it drifted into his mind, his focus instead on answering the question with a nonchalant shrug.
"I'm gonna hang out with Ichika some, but I got no plans otherwise. Might go hiking somewhere new, if I can afford the train ticket. How about you? Got anything planned once you're out?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Lance loves Hyousuke. Now, granted, Lance loves everyone, but this in no way makes her love of Hyousuke any less precious.
(She is very good at minding her manners in Ma'am's place, though. She has filed herself beneath the table. She won't even whine for snacks!)
Tsubasa can of course appreciate a guy who focuses up around food; they're pretty food-motivated, too. (It's not that they're ever starving, really: they're just constantly ravenous, on account of being a teenager.)
"Cool," they nod, and they're not smiling, but the expression isn't unfriendly as much as just their gruff default. (The fact that they sound like they've been smoking a six pack a day since they were six probably has more to do with smoke inhalation than a habit Eikichi would never let slide, though.) "I'm gonna be hangin' with the Boss all Summer... her folks invited me to go stay with 'em when she goes back to Iwatodai. Uh, 'cept for the first week, maybe, might be easier to stay closer while I'm doin' my exams." They pause, briefly, and explain: "School let me sit 'em later since I ain't got back there 'til Thursday."
A touch of a longer pause, and they suggest: "Ya can jus' jump the turnstiles, y'know. I ain't even sure they got those out in the country stations. Ain't some of those, like, ya jus' walk right onto th' station?" Don't encourage the youth to do fare evasion, Tsubasa! That's a crime!!
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The hamster wheel turned again once Tsubasa mentioned committing fare evasion. If one listened closely, they might have been able to hear it squeaking away in Hyousuke's head, desperately attempting to churn out a single coherent thought. He was quite obviously considering it, but whether or not he would actually follow through with it was another question entirely. Eventually, the hamster wheel came to a slow and creaking halt, and Hyousuke shook his head a little, evidently coming to something resembling a conclusion.
"Nah, I'm gonna pay it." He said, sounding resigned, but at least a little firmer than usual. "Sensei'd kill me if he found out I was doing crime."
He cut himself off at the last word, almost literally biting down on his tongue to keep from adding 'again' to his response. He cursed internally, silently reminding himself that he'd been hanging around with Ichika for too long - not everybody knew, and not everybody had a right to know. he failed to notice the irony in him thinking that, and then immediately moving onto another of his questions.
"Speaking of that... What happened in that week you were out? You just vanished." Granted, he was not as close to Tsubasa as he was to Ichika - not to mention Ichika and Tsubasa's closeness - so he had no illusions about having a right to be clued in. But, as casual and curious as he tried to sound, there was still a lilt of concern to his voice.
"Sorry if it's something you don't want to talk about. I'll keep out your business if it's not something you want me asking about."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Oh, yeah, uh... Mutou-sensei, right?" Tsubasa asks, sounding a touch uncertain over whether he's really talking about Eiji Mutou. "Man, our PE teachers are all such hardasses... guess he's cool, though."
(Somehow, they've always managed to escape The Dance Class Specifically Designed To Target Truants. Do they do this through truanting even harder? Maybe.)
Tsubasa's kind of a cagey guy; though they might just give the impression that they let the Boss do the talking, most of the time. (Being fair, that's even generally true.) So at first they just kind of grunt, shrugging a shoulder...
... at least, until he apologises, at which point Tsubasa sighs. "Nah, man," they shake their head, "it's cool. Like, you were there, you'd be worried 'n shit. Uh, after that Phoenix guy dragged me out I chucked a runner, but they came back 'round with the Ogre to find me," and they're not just explaining the situation in order to give Hyousuke an explanation for what he saw, really. Given the way he was raging out, they're not entirely sure he'd remember the end of the fight. "After that, Aragaki-kun and Big Sis helped me get outta there 'fore the cops showed up... uh, they patched me up good as they could, put me up in a safehouse while everyone were lookin' for me. 'Cept... the pigs found me, few days later. Dragged me out, but... they ain't had much luck lockin' me up, since the burns got infected, turns out just slappin' a bandage on that shit ain't great." Don't ask Tsubasa about sterile fields, they can't tell you anything. They do pause to grimace, though, because the memory isn't great.
"... so," they go on, a moment later, "they had to just keep me locked down in hospital. Sergeant Suou and Akechi-san were tryin' to help, but... up 'til Tuesday they got nowhere, y'know, when they got done with those antibiotics an' sent me back to lockup. Well, guess I coulda went in Wednesday, but... nah, fuck that. So it was Thursday 'til I gave enough of a shit to try, an'... well, it worked out." They're skipping over Dr. Kawase having to threaten to involve his lawyers, but anyway.
"It's whatever," Tsubasa hastens to assure him, with a shrug. "I ain't bothered none. Jus' a pain in the ass it's eatin' my Summer. Ain't the first time th' cops told me to watch my back when I was the fuckin' victim the whole time, tho'. And anyone who believes what they see on TV's a moron."
Though, of course, the reporters kept talking about the Arsonist of City Hall who had supposedly struck again...
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke was mildly surprised that Tsubasa was willing to talk at length about the situation, if the very slight arch of his brow was anything to go by. What surprised him a great deal less was the fact that the police had, to put it kindly, proven to be less than helpful. His expression hardened the more that Tsubasa talked about their treatment at the force's hands, and though he tried to maintain as calm and neutral an air as possible, anyone with at least a single working eye and enough time to look at him for more than a moment could tell Hyousuke didn't think much of the police either.
"Got that right." He said, in reference to the mention of news reports and their truthfulness - or, rather their lack thereof. "It's all a load of crap sometimes. I'm surprised anyone believes what they pump out." There was a brief pause as he stopped to consider what particular parts of the media he had issue with, as well as law enforcement and the overall treatment of people ensnared in the system, but it was a lot of thinking for day when he didn't want to think much at all. He'd just finished his exams - his limited brainpower had been spent on that.
"And haven't those assholes got anything better to do than chase after kids? Don't they have murders to solve or something?" He sounded frustrated, more than anything, but it dissipated with a short shake of his head. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to make whatever summer you've got left better. If you're fine with Ichika, you're fine with me."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
It's not like Tsubasa is the sort of person who wants to get into stuff like this... but they feel like they owe Hyousuke that much, after he stuck his neck out to try and save them from the Joker Killer.
They huff out a chuckle, though, when they hear how he wraps his thoughts up. "Heh. Y'know that's my line, dude." Ichika being the arbiter of who's cool, that is. One can imagine a great deal of people who managed to be fine with Tsubasa only because Ichika advised them they could stand to step down. And following that thought -- "You sure you don't wanna run with us? Bet she'd take ya."
Into her gang, that is.
"Nothin' else, we all know how bullshit the gossip is." What is the rumour mill, after all, but television gossip for teenagers? Tsubasa, at least, localises gossip as the problem rather than the entire conceit of the news... though, of course, they have their own reasons not to malign all journalists with the same brush.
Tsubasa shakes their head, though, looking over to Hyousuke. "... anyway, thanks, man. Yer cool. Let's go catch a movie sometime. You like action shit?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"I'm not joining any gangs."
Hyousuke's tone hardened for a moment, along with his gaze. His expression remained as unremarkable as it had before, but there was a firmness to his response that could leave no room for doubt, save for in the minds of the extremely persistent or foolish. "Ichika's alright, and I've seen how she treats her crew. But that's not something I do." Again, he was a hair's breadth away from adding 'again' to the end of his sentence, only managing to cut himself a split second before the word passed his throat.
"I'll take you to a movie though. Action shit's the best." And he didn't just say that because it was about the only genre he had the ability to follow the plot of. "Dunno if anything good's showing at the moment, so it's your call. 13 Ninjas looks pretty good though. I heard the director did a load of old samurai movies people liked, so maybe this one'll be good too. I got nothing going on for now except for whatever Ichika drags me into, so I'll go whenever you're free."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"... sure, dude." Tsubasa's a little taken-aback -- considers getting offended, for a few moments, before they remember the whole saved their life thing and remind themself to give him some more grace -- but they do seem surprised to hear that someone would shut it down so thoroughly.
Especially a guy like him.
Tsubasa wonders -- though doesn't ask -- whether he might have history. Maybe a Boss who didn't treat him right, back in the day. ... they might feel differently about banding together for protection with their fellow youth if they were still under Kyoko's banner, after all.
(At least he doesn't speak a bad word against Ichika; if nothing else, that stands them down.)
Anyway. Different topic! "Ain't seen that one yet," Tsubasa admits. "But I heard it's good. Went to check out Like A Dragon a bit back, tho', that shit was great. Cool, man, I'll hit you up."
At that moment, the heavens open and a choir sings... because their food is ready. "Fuck yeah, kaarage!" Tsubasa exclaims, and they say very little more for some time.
Can't talk, busy eating, it's lunchtime and they could already eat a horse. (Tsubasa's never seen a real horse once in their life.) Luckily, these two taciturn guys...
... are likely to view time spent silently cramming food into their mouths as social link time well spent.
o/`