2025-11-07: Fireworks, Interrupted
- Log: Fireworks, Interrupted
- Cast: Crossroads Bar, Ann Takamaki, Sojiro Sakura, Maria Sakurai, Hitomi Mandai, Kazusa Motojima, Tamaki Uchida, Umie Akabane, Ren Amamiya, Rain Summers, Makoto Niijima, So-young Park, Myunghon Yeo, Shinobu Shimizu, Suzume Fukura, Katsuko Yoshinaga, Shinjiro Aragaki, Ryuji Sakamoto, Goro Akechi
- Where: Shibuya - Central Street
- OOC Date: 2025-11-07
- IC Date: Tuesday, August 07 2012
- Summary: The Fireworks Festival is going on in Shibuya, and it's PACKED! But when rain interrupts the festival, everyone's forced to find shelter.
<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Bar has posed.
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCF3prd6Dzw P5 OST - Memories of a Summer Day
The Fireworks Festival is a staple of Summer. While it should not be said that Tokyo misses a single chance for a festival, events like the Fireworks Festival really encapsulate that festive spirit: the streets are always packed, tonight, with youth venturing out in their yukata to enjoy the show.
It's a cloyingly, devastatingly hot night, so no one had better have mixed up therir yukata and their kimono -- it's muggy as the rainforest in here, heat clinging to bodies in an almost physical way. Luckily, the sun's gone down... but unluckily, all that heat was absorbed by the black bitumen of the streets, and now it's releasing all that heat from your shoes up.
No matter the heat, though, Central Street is the place to be. Big Bang Burger is packed to the gills with people wanting to get some cheap carbs in before the show -- and hundreds upon hundreds of people, which is to say even more hundreds than normal, can be seen pouring out from the Buchiko Station Exit as commuters make their way into the city. Even the local drug store is getting some insane traffic... because there are plenty of people who came over to watch the show, only to realise that this much crowded noise is giving them a headache.
There are plenty of chances to have fateful meetings, coming out into Central Street; and plenty of chances for them to go awry. One thing there isn't much of in this festival, though, is booth food -- the street has been closed off to let people flood the street and look up to the fireworks, but there are so MANY people here that there simply aren't room for vendors to set up shop. Every square inch is getting packed with bodies... and even sidewalks on adjacent streets are filling up, though concrete dividers haven't been set up to control the crowds there. Policemen with megaphones direct the foot-traffic in an orderly fashion; and of course the foot-traffic is orderly in turn. This is Tokyo!
It also means that the first trial for anyone, here, is to find a good place to watch the show.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren would've loved to have worn a yukata to the Shibuya fireworks festival. Unfortunately, they don't own one--or, more accurately, the one they own is back in Inaba--and for all the part-timing they've been doing lately, with the owner of their attic room still MIA, Ren can't justify the expense of renting a yukata when they might well end up with a lot of sudden major expenses in the near-ish future.
(Sojiro has at least sent further messages via notes left on the inside of Leblanc's door and signed texts from random numbers telling Ren to do his homework and eat real food, but considering he still doesn't respond to anything Ren sends him and has not shown up to speak in person, it still counts as MIA to Ren, even if it seems like Sojiro's less out-of-town than the sign he left behind would have everyone believe. At least Leblanc is clean...)
They thus stick with their usual summer casual outfit: white (unbuttoned) button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black undershirt, jeans, black sneakers, and fashion wristwatch. What they don't wear are their typical non non-prescription glasses that, combined with their frizzy dark hair and eyes, make them look so unassuming. They've been looking forward to seeing the fireworks with their friends, and otherwise lost in a crowd, they feel they can afford to leave them behind. Who's going to notice or care that the 'Shujin delinquent' is here?
They meet up with Ryuji and the others at Shibuya Station, and from there emerge into the packed streets of Shibuya. It's even more packed with their shoulder bag, in which Morgana is riding, because naturally Ren isn't going to leave their kitty companion behind on a friends outing. Still, the heat is ridiculous, even with the sun having set; they're glad they hit the bathhouse earlier.
"These crowds are crazy," they comment, looking around all the people on the streets. They knew it was going to be crowded, but they hadn't expected this. The Triple Seven is open if any of them need to grab drinks; Ren at least ate before they came, and they're glad for it now, seeing the lack of street vendors. They eye the traffic cops warily, then look back over their shoulder at their friends. "You guys doing all right? It's at least a little cooler out in the open air."
"I still feel like I'm melting," Morgana complains, head poked out of Ren's bag. With him well below eye level, no doubt his voice gets lost in the crowd for any nearby Persona-Users not clustered around Ren.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
----EARLIER----
Umie does have friends, as she once told Ren. However, the majority of them are in Sumaru, while the only one in Tokyo is... Toki.
>> im so srryyyy this is so last second
The two of them were going to rent yukatas and enjoy the fireworks together, but life had other plans, specifically for Toki, who went from 'just a sinus thing, it's okay' to full on _it's a cold_ the night before the event.
Sitting cross-legged before her 'craft' table with the fan going full blast, Umie types out a reply to her poor, sniffling, leaking friend.
>> it's okay, get some rest, some chance of rain anyway
A year ago, Umie would have thrown in the towel and decided a festival wasn't to her liking anyway. Too many fellow graduates who'd give her a sideeye after her public walkout from the good-looking, princely Syuusei Honjou during her graduation, too many reminders of what she was valued for as she looked in the mirror with her dark hair, soft eyes and petite figure wrapped in a yukata, and too many thoughts of dread as she spent her 19th year sweating under the weight of of a future with every path available to her being quietly crushed, save one.
----NOW----
Now, Umie is a random person in Tokyo, with blonde hair, no prospects, a yukata rental, and many, many more people she'd love to bother if she sees them in public.
And she's got no qualms about showing off all that freedom she snatched back. (...Though really, it doesn't look like much has changed from the outside...)
Dressed in a yukata and yellow obi, her yukata's red and white checkered print is overlayed with light blue and yellow peonies and black and white stenciled bamboo leaves. (https:'www.okamoto-kimono.comgalleryimagemedia202509mda_1756975308.jpg) She's also changed up her blonde hair, having it done in a loose chignon bun at the nape of her neck, accented with a red peony and a few delicate sprays of baby's breath.
This elegant display is put off slightly by that heavy duty yellow umbrella that may as well double as a blunt weapon. For Umie's purposes, however, it's _insurance_.
_Hell yeah, nothing can step Umie from being pretty tonight_.
"....."
There's just one problem: all Umie can see is a bunch of backs, as she finds herself wedged up against the familiar bright lighting of the Triple 7.
Ah. It must be Umie's time of Joka, despite her attempts to outwit her terrible fate.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"It's SOOOOOOOOOO HOT!!!" Ryuji complains loudly as he tries to circulate through his loose shirt by fanning the colar. Where is his yukata you ask? Man, he doesn't have money for one of those. Neither did his mother if you asked him. Which is why the delinquent is dressed in a yellow sleeveless shirt, shorts, and sandals. His summer best. "Where -are- they?!"
For those who have been around Ryuji waiting and know him, there is something notably different about the blonde today. When he isn't complaining about the heat, he isn't commenting on the girls who pass by. He isn't even really looking at them. Actually, he is actively avoiding looking at the many girls who dressed up for the night's events. It is subtle in places but other times, the punk looks to be forcing it.
It is clear. Ryuji Sakamoto has been replaced by something DIFFERENT.
Or maybe not. But he is behaving tonight for some reason. Curious.
"Maaaaaaaaaaan, can those girls hurry up?! This suuuuuucks." Ryuji complains once more, wondering if he can find a cold drink or something. Gotta be a vending machine somewhere? He cranes his head around and looks for refreshment. He finds nothing but people. Great. The blonde sighs in frustration.
For the moment, he just slouches a little more as others start to arrive. "For real. This crowd is freakin' nuts, dude. At least in the station there aren't so many packed bodies right now."
"If they don't hurry up, I'm gonna go for drinks...You want something, dude?" Ryuji looks over at Ren, tilting his head.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon Yeo doesn't usually... bother... with summer festivals. To wit:
- Summer is still hot, despite how they still feel cold all throughout
- Festivals are muggy and crowded and full of noise and people
- It's in the middle of fuckin' Central Street in Shibuya forget about it
Rather DAMNINGLY, they aren't able to pull off a repeat performance of their Rengedai Hyakumanzeki Festival hit special, Magic River Teleportation, for... for... reasons. One of the principal reasons being THERE ISN'T A RIVER IN THE MIDDLE OF SHIBUYA, CURSES!! Only a sea of people.
Myunghon Yeo weighs their option:
- Stay at home, in the nice AC, in the Cardboard Dragon, like the Funerary creature you are
- Go, anyway, despite everything else, because Living demands it
...
...
...
And that's how they're here, in the midst of the crowd after successfully wedging themself out of Shibuya Station -- the packed nature of the train was already a great hint that it was a mistake, and trying to actually swim out of the station was a further mistake.
They're dressed in a rather lavish gradient-violet yukata with a fancy winter haori ontop which is, indeed, a mistake for a normal person: https:'imgur.comafdEb5R9
Still, Myunghon is always cold at the best of times, and they often feel naked without some kind of coat slung over their shoulders (and, indeed, in defiance of normal rules, the haori is simply slung over their shoulders, tied together with the faux gold string as if they were wearing a cape). But they do seem like they're coping better than expected, if only because... this is strangely nostalgic. This yukata is another piece from their university days, and they're here with different people now, but it feels as if Shibuya hasn't changed a bit, despite how much more gentrified it's become...
"I did book a rooftop lounge seat at MUGNET by the 109 Building, if we ever want to evacuate from the streets..." Myunghon advises, jostled around despite their height. Unfortunately, they didn't get in touch with Umie, so she's somewhere in the crowd beyond their Navigator senses to pick out.
"Still... this scene has not changed one bit, I must admit. Or perhaps it has, yet..."
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
AND SO COMES... THE MANDAI!
Hitomi came up to Tokyo probably because the festival scene on Tatsumi Island is piss-poor. Yeah there's probably *some*thing but you can just get on a train. Someone ought to replace those with dangerous, expensive vehicles, but that someone won't be the Prime Minister!
She could probably go back home, but yeah,
Hitomi has the privilege to own a yukata. What's more, it's actually slightly vintage; or at least, faded. Primarily purple with big fluffy short-petalled flowers, Hitomi has wrapped around an obi in a slightly slack way and has a slightly battered bubblegum-pink plastic purse hanging from a spaghetti-strap and cradled against her body with her hand. She is also wearing sandals... but these are recent ones, if with matching hot-pink straps to go with the all-weather always-fashionable classic black soles.
Hitomi is (not) alone. "Fwah~ I wish I'd brought a fan," she says to her friend and co-student, Suzume Fukura, who is in the same general area as her!
"Still!! We're getting Shibuya Scrambled in this heat!!" Hitomi enthuses. At which point her body suddenly realizes -- having perhaps been fooled by relative placidity, inactivity, maybe even climate-controlled during transit -- that oh yeah, boss, it *is* stupid hot, and sweat beads on her forehead. At which point Hitomi grimaces and unzips the purse to try to start pulling a hankerchief out. She doesn't want to sweat all over the yukata.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Katsuko's yukata was a simple thing at first glance, but a closer inspection of it revealed that it was far more than a simple assemblage of cloth. Painstakingly patterned with seasonal flowers, the yukata used red tones upon a black background to great effect, each shape upon it as distinct and expertly-detailed as the last. Notes of pink only served to underscore this, lending it a simple, yet undeniably sharp and graceful look - one reminiscent of roses, replete with thorns scattered across the stalk. A fitting choice for a woman like her, some might have remarked.
Alas, the whole thing was somewhat marred by her sour expression. Try as she might to hide it, remaining as prim and proper as humanly possible, the glance she gave at her phone with every received message showed just how she truly felt. The messages spoke of someone that was to accompany her there - a peer she had been interested in forming a friendship with, if only to secure a useful contact down the line. But they had found a date, and elected to go with them over her, leaving Katsuko herself alone for the duration of the festival.
"I put the effort in..." She muttered to herself, not caring whether anyone else heard her or not. "I might as well enjoy it." Indeed, she seemed to have put a great deal of effort into appearing presentable. Her hair was tied back into a neat bun, kept away from her eyes and off of her neck so as to allow whatever summer breeze was present the chance to cool her. Her makeup was simple, but deliberate, applied to accentuate the contours of her face. Even her posture - a stiff and straight one, more akin to a soldier's than a student's - was something she put conscious effort into.
Effort that was wasted, she believed.
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Hibari Aoki was, indeed, intending to be here today. She both owns a yukata and intended to wear it.
And she is! Look at her, over there in the distance; a heavyset high schooler with hair past her shoulders, currently dyed in an ombre from her usual brown-black to a vivid red, wearing a flowery yukata. She is, as always, dressed well - not expensively, but neatly, and with a self-confidence that a lot of high schoolers lack.
But she's also *way* over there and the crowd is not going to let up for her. Sorry, Hibari! See you another night!
Over here, instead, there is Suzume.
Suzume Fukura did not dress up in a yukata because, one, she doesn't own one, two, she just blew her clothes budget for the month on emergency purchases (well, 'emergency'; the jeans probably weren't *actually* an emergency), and three, she doesn't think she'd be very comfortable in one for a multitude of reasons, ranging from 'she hasn't worn a yukata beyond a kid's yukata' to 'it's hot enough already thanks'.
So instead she is wearing a pair of knee-length shorts and a nicer light blue top than her usual. This one is boxy rather than baggy; it's loose but it looks like it was designed to be that way rather than she just grabbed something too big for her, which is what a lot of her clothes look like.
Slightly smug, she says, "This is why you wear shorts," even though her shorts are probably actually not much cooler than Hitomi's yukata. "At least you can see more than other people's shoulders - " Suzume, who is five foot zero, is having a bit of difficulty with the crowd.
Oh well, she thinks, at least fireworks are *up*. She can see up.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki's at the festival alone, dressed in a yukata with a white obi and a simple pattern of alternating navy blue and white triangles. She didn't have any plans with anyone else, and there were people she could have asked, but after such a chaotic week, she's needed some downtime to collect her thoughts.
She finds some appeal in staring up at a sky full of fireworks, watching it fill with ephemeral displays of beauty which bloom and fade away and bloom again, each cycle beginning and ending within seconds. The hustle and bustle of the crowd serves as white noise. The comfort of the heat rising up from the pavement. If she happens to run into some familiar faces, she won't mind joining them, but her focus is still going to be on taking in the sights and other sensations of the night.
...
There's just one problem.
No food booths?! And she hadn't thought to bring any food with her! She can only hope that her hunger won't strike sometime during the evening, but ...
She figures that perhaps a quick snack run to the nearby Triple 7 couldn't hurt. It's here where she may happen to run into ...
"Akabane-san? Is that you?"
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Last night Kazusa had a sleepover with a ghost that she is still desperately tryuing to retionalize away as an actress. An actress with really good makeup and prosthetics, and obviously that weird Niko woman had to be in on it because really who carries a knife and if she was in on it then they could've easily set up a prop to let the Kuchisake-onna's hand pass through her shoulder and she wasn't sure about Yukari but she had a gun so obviously she was a plant, too...
... getting dressed in yukata with her friend Wakana was a very welcome distraction from the events of last night.
She's frowning as she takes in the crowds. "... there's way too many people here." She's impeccably dressed in a yukaka covered in pink lotus flowers, with a lavender purple obi. Her black hair is up in an ornate bun wrapped around a pink gem, and her nails are painted a soft pink.
"C'mon, that just means a lot of people are looking to have a good time, right?" says Wakana cheerfully next to her. She's wearing a bright yellow yuaka covered in sunflowers, with an orange obi to match. Her short brown hair has a sunflower clip in it, and her nails are painted orange.
"We won't be enjoying anything if we can't get a good view," Kazusa points out, still frowning. And nearby, she spots someone familiar.
... Well, might as well say hi, just to be polite.
"Yoshinaga-senpai, you look lovely tonight," says Kazusa with an honestly, mostly sincere tone. Even so, she's still smirking a little. "That's a beautiful yuakata you're wearing. Too bad that sour expression of yours ruins it."
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
Last night, she'd had a sleepover with a really neat actress! Also, her grandmother didn't even notice she was out. ...Unfortunately, it was because she'd been out on a 'hot date' again.
But speaking of a more reasonable sort of 'heat', it's... really hot out. Fortunately, Maria has not made a terrible, awful mistake and she's in a yukata, not a kimono! It's a cute-cute blue-teal affair with big pink cherry blossoms (why would they be anything else?). In deference to the heat and holiday, her pink hair is pinned up and accessorized with a (fake) blue camellia flower. With white pearl earrings and a paper fan, she's ready to have a good time with her friends!
Who... aren't... here....
"Eh?? What do you mean, your dad said no??" Maria says into phone, lingering a moment on the crowd's edge. "But what about Yu-chan? What? She's already here? But you tried to call and she's not answering...??"
It's always a tragedy when plans fall through. Truely, this is Maria's time of Joka. Ending the call, she regards the crowd around her as she slips her phone into her equally cute-cute handbag (it matches her yukata!). The weather is awful out, especially standing out here above the asphalt. Maria, fan in hand, does her level best to cool off. Maybe she should quit and go home--
...No, absolutely not. This is her time to shine as a young lady!
"Excuse me! --ah--"
She's not particularly tiny as a girl but trying to wedge her way through the crowd just means that Maria, uh, gets stuck. A little.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro Aragaki has been to festivals before, sure... but never willingly or dressed up. He's not a big fan usually, a waste of time. But there's something about living, about seeing the fireworks with friends, joining a crowd, about wearing a goddamn yukata for the first time and having that Experience. Even if he won't live to remember it forever, the people who care about him will.
That is why Shinjiro, having gotten help from Myunghon to tie it, is wearing a yukata.
His is a simpler black one, with an irregular wave pattern along the length past the left shoulder. Like Myunghon, he also has a haori on, a dark one giving him some warmth. Even then, he still shivers every now and then.
"You didn't need to necessarily do that," he tells Myunghon and their crew about the rooftop, but seems appreciative about it. "Thanks for letting me come with you. Guess it's part of that bucket list... right?"
He feels like he doesn't belong. But he'll do his best to enjoy it.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shibuya Station is packed. It's also muggy as hell and hot from top to bottom. Honestly, it's almost enough to make Shinobu decide to throw in the towel and declare it isn't worth it.
...But, she told other people she'd be here, and that's enough to make her get going. The past few times she's actually decided to go to this festival, it was with one or both of her sisters... today's a change of pace, though. Not a bad one, either.
Today, she accompanies Myunghon and Shinjiro. It's exceedingly rare to see Shinobu in anything that isn't a casual jeans, shirt, and jacket combination - which makes today special, in that following tradition, she's in yukata as well. Her's is a dark green, with a subtle floral pattern in a green just a bit darker, bound with a dark blue obi.
She looks between Myunghon and Shinjiro, with their haori over their yukata...
...God. She feels like she's going to boil alive just looking at both of them dressed like that in this heat.
"Good thinking. We're probably gonna need it... even if it's just to get out of this heat." Shinobu replies, as she similarly tries to make her way through the crowd. Shinjiro's comment gets a good-natured smirk. "Don't mention it. Glad you could make it, really."
His bucket list... She's glad an opportunity came around to address some of those entries already.
She looks toward Myunghon, then, as they reminisce.
"More things change, the more they stay the same, right?" Shinobu replies. "Different time, different people... but the feeling's still the same."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
It has been a few years since Makoto actually went to a festival like this, and even then it was usually with family rather than friends- and never with a group this large, even with several fellow Phantom Thieves unable to attend.
Still, even though she and Ann had met up early to prepare and get the rental yukata, there was more of a wait than even Makoto had expected. Add to that the crowds and making their way through to the meeting point, it's a whole thing that holds them up. And that, Ryuji, is why they're late.
For her part, Makoto is wearing a white yukata with a pattern of large stylized red poppies with brown leaves and leaf outlines, with a yellow obi with a red tie around the center to accentuate, as well as sandals with heels that give her an extra inch to roughly match Ann's height, moving with a touch more decorum and elegance than usual.
Fortunately, the timing means that Makoto only reaches Ren and Ryuji in time to hear about the complaints about heat and drinks.
"Sorry we're late," Makoto opens with, her need for politeness kicking in. "I hope you weren't waiting too long."
They definitely were, weren't they.
"I can't believe there's so many people, we can barely move in this crowd," Makoto says with a sigh. It's honestly a bit noisier than she likes, but she's prepared to put up with that to have fun with friends, a late celebration for dealing with Kaneshiro and joining the group.
"Do we have long before things start?"
Her phone- with her rail pass and some cash- is hidden in the sleeve of her yukata, but she doesn't really want to reach for it in this crowd right now.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie turns at the sound of her last name, her mouth quirking in a half-smirk that makes it extremely clear just who the girl in the yukata is.
Yep, that's Umie.
"Usually you'd find me *inside* the Triple 7," Umie quips, before remembering Tamaki wouldn't know it as just *one* of her side jobs. "But today's your lucky day. They finally let me *outside*. Now I'm everyone's problem."
A pause. "... Though I could say the same about you. So the detective agency occasionally lets you out, huh?"
She regards the crowd. ".... Can you see anything? There was a chance of rain, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's going to hold off."
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
It was either unfathomable willpower or an act of divine intervention that kept Katsuko from looking even worse once she recognised who it was that had addressed her. The stillness of her expression and the silence with which she regarded Kazusa was not reflexive - it was a concerted effort by Katsuko to keep from acting in a way that might be construed as rude. Did she still intend to try and use Kazusa as an ally? Did she simply not wish to show weakness to someone she had an antagonistic relationship with? Whatever her reasons, Katsuko remained tight-lipped about them.
"Motojima-san." She replied flatly. It was about the closest tone to 'friendly' as she could bring herself to adopt in the moment. "The feeling is mutual. Your choice of yukata is exquisite." She said nothing regarding other aspects of Kazusa's appearance. However, she did spare a withering, wordless, glance towards both her hair and her face, letting her gaze linger just long enough that it could be seen in the evening light. "Do you require something of me? I want to make the most of my time here, so I urge haste."
It was about the most diplomatic way that she could phrase 'Hurry up and tell me what you want, I'm trying to enjoy myself and you're not helping.' All throughout, her expression settled, but did not soften. The sourness faded as the seconds ticked by, replaced instead by a vague kind of resentment, held in check only by a desire to maintain a certain image in front of anyone else looking in on them, Wakana included.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Sometimes, information is so monumental it must be repeated, to fully grasp the information of its information...ness.
To wit:
"Wowwww. These crowds are crazy!"
This is the echoed sentiment of one Ann Takamaki, chasing unawares on the heels of Ren's own observation as she arrives at the designated spot for FIREWORKS beside Makoto -- right in the nick of time, because FASHION is worth any sacrifice. She didn't actually hear Ren, but, to be fair: she probably would have still said it even if she did. It's just that daunting.
She's dressed today in a festive, summery yukata; rather than eloquence and formality, the color scheme of hers seems more celebratory and fun, the primarily blue fabric of the breezy summer kimono decorated with paint-like splotches of sky blue, red and pink, with other, more amorphically flowery yellow decorations here and there to give an abstract, floral quality to the whole look.
Cute -- but in a way that fits Ann perfectly, right down to that summery smile of hers as Makoto apologizes.
"It's fine, Makoto!" insists Ann, waving a hand through the air dismissively. "You can't rush fashion! Besides, you look great! Not that some people appreciate that."
Is Ann wielding Ryuji's justified complaints against him, without mercy or any sense of fairness? Yes, because she is a mature lady.
Which is also why she sticks her tongue out at him on the downlow.
"Blehhh."
Very mature.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
That answers that, then.
Ren has noticed that Ryuji hasn't been commenting on cute girls in yukata, or even looking at those that pass by. It's definitely unusual for him, even taking the heat and the crowds into consideration. Even if he doesn't have the energy or the will to hit on girls, he's--yes, he's avoiding looking at them. Huh...
Still, that's not a bad thing--and if Ryuji's got something on his mind, they can talk about it later, somewhere private. For now, Ren opts to encourage the behavior by not making a big deal of it.
"They're probably held up with getting their yukata on. It takes a while," they reply. "Maybe we should've stuck to the station..."
The offer of a drink gets a thoughtful look. They were going to leave it for later, but if Ryuji does end up going anyway... "An Earl Green," they decide, taking a cue from Ryuji and flapping the collar of their unbuttoned shirt to generate a little air on their neck. It's too humid for soda... A refreshing mix of teas feels like it'd hit the spot right now.
...Are those people wearing haori in this weather?? That's mind-boggling to Ren. Before they can get a good look at them and realize they know at least one of them, though, Makoto and Ann walk up through the crowd to join Ren and Ryuji. Ren smiles to see them. "Wait, here they are," they tell Ryuji as they raise a hand to greet the girls. "Hey, you two. Nice choice of yukata--they look cute."
Someone does appreciate fashion here, apparently! Ren laughs quietly when Ann sticks her tongue out at Ryuji over it, but at Makoto's question, they turn that hand to check their wristwatch. "Shouldn't be too much longer, unless there's a delay."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young stays at home, because from her fancy Shibuya apartment she gets a perfect view of the festival and the fireworks without having to even lift her wine glass let alone brave the packed crowds of the streets below. Take that, suckers!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
. . .
Alright, no. So-young would never, ever pass up the chance to immerse herself in the chaos and liveliness of a Shibuya event. She might be a creature of music first and foremost but she is also a creature of life and noise and energy and verve, and this is the perfect opportunity to recharge all of those batteries in one fell swoop.
So of course she isn't staying at home - though she _does_ look annoyingly fresh for someone who is braving the Shibuya streets, thanks to not having had to worry about crowded trains or navigating the mess that is Shibuya Station to actually reach the outside air and instead just walking out her front door. She's already fairly easy to spot amongst the crowd given her height and predominantly white hair, but she also stands out for not being colourful at all. She might be vain, sure, but she's never gotten the hang of kimonos vs. yukata vs. the raw annoyance of actually putting them on, and she's practical enough to stick to something comfortable that she knows will be cool.
So instead she moves through the crowd, her short bolero jacket over a strappy top and capris. Around her neck on a strap hangs a digital camera - not top of the line by any means, but certainly good enough to get some pretty good shots if she does say so herself. She's already taken several just from her balcony alone, and now every so often she's making use of her height to snap a wide angle shot across the heads of the crowd - not to mention pausing to exchange some bright chatter with, and get a picture of, anyone who's particularly dressed up. (She's asking for permission, of course. She's not a creep.)
Thankfully she's not using her phone to take most of the photos, the degree to which she's lighting up both the Cardboard Dragon line group with a repeated sequence of messages that run something like:
> this rules
> no food tho???
> alright wait i see you hang on
> sorry talking to someone where'd you go
> aaaAAA (attached: shiba.png)
This scenario has played out several times as So-young's attention gets grabbed by different things and different people - but she's not too fussed about immediately meeting up with anyone she knows so long as she has an endless string of people to bother and chat with, her mood indefatigable even with the fireworks not having begun yet.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
The fact that Shinjiro came around to request help with his yukata -is- an important final decision in Myunghon following suit with what might not be as immediate a bucket list... but no one had to say you had to be dying to make a bucket list. Because they've been avoiding Shibuya a lot because of nostalgic factors (derogatory), but being back here is like reconnecting to a ward that used to mean a lot, even if not in the ways they'd still think of it.
"No, but it is important to have a plan," Myunghon does point out. "We'll be comfortable, we'll still have views over the fireworks."
They do stop to smile towards Shinobu, though. They're a bit more bashful as they say, "Your yukata is really nice... it matches your eyes," they compliment. How does Myunghon not boil with the furred haori over their shoulder, and the bandages ontop? It's something of a small miracle.
"Yes, I think that's quite true... we were more-- rebellious, back then. We wouldn't be following the rules -- we'd be mixing yukata with street fashion," Myunghon comments. "One time, Shin-kun combined a yukata with bondage pants and a spiked collar..." ... and what, pray tell, was Myunghon wearing then?
Their phone buzzes (it's still on Manner mode from the train), and they pull it out from their messenger bag to look at it. "It appears nuna will be with us shortly... ...if she can avoid being distracted by dogs. ... who brings their dogs to such a crowded event? I should ask her if we can also just go to her place after, if the lounge does not work out."
<Pose Tracker> Rain Summers has posed.
The fireworks festival always brought a lot of activity to Central Street. You would think that a local small business would be thankful for the extra foot traffic. You would think that, wouldn't you, the owner of the movie store Aloha Video thinks to herself as she leans outside the door, standing out from the sea of yukatas with her trademark Hawaiian shirt and starkly dyed hair. Hawaiian shirts were usually floral patterned, it's kinda like a yukata, right?
There was definitely a crowd, alright, and maybe some of them were even noticing the store and thought to come back later. But a summer festival was no time to be picking up imported DVDs. The door to the store opens and a man in his early 20s comes out, clean cut with a polo shirt, khakis, and glasses. "Rain-san, are you sure you don't need me to help you out tonight?" Minoru Kamiya was one of Rain Summers' part-timers at the store, a university student who almost had more business sense than her.
"Minoru-kun, don't start with that again," she replies, pulling a pack of cigarettes out from the pocket of her shirt. "There's not gonna be any business tonight. Take the evening off. Give my regards to Ruriko."
"Thank you, Rain-san. I'll be back in tomorrow!" The young man gives a polite bow and goes off to join his girlfriend.
Heh, young love. Rain pulls a cigarette out of the pack with her mouth, finding her lighter in her back pocket to ignite the end. The truth of the matter is that on a night like this, it was probably costing her more money to keep the lights on than any business she would have lost by just closing. Ah well, that's the life of a small business owner.
~~It doesn't have to be your life.~~
She tenses up as the words crawl into her ear, taking a deep drag of the cigarette to calm her down. Stress was the life of a small business owner as well. It was just stress. She looks out into the crowd, and up into the night sky, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air.
Well, she might as well try to *look* like she cared tonight. She begins waving to people walking by, inviting them into the store. "Good evening, lovely weather for fireworks, isn't it? The night doesn't have to end there! We've got films for any taste, bring the nice lady home for a movie!"
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki blinks in confusion for a moment, but she soon catches Umie's meaning. "Inside ..? -- Oh, so over in Sumaru, you -- yep, got it. Ahaha!"
Utterly oblivious, she smiles brightly. "Why would you be everyone's problem, though, let alone a problem at all?"
At Umie's question about the detective agency letting her outside, Tamaki starts to answer. "I mean, Todoroki's the one who subcontracts out the cases that require legwork out to me. It's pretty common for younger apprentice detectives to be the ones out and about -- "
Tamaki curls her finger on her chin. "You meant 'why am I seemingly off-duty', I take it. It's important to balance out work and recreation! And I've had a lot of work recently, and all of it right after university exams had finished -- "
A shiver runs up her spine and her tone goes a little bit more flat. "I was ... strongly encouraged ... to take some leisure time."
Her stomach growls, startling her momentarily before she looks at Umie sheepishly. "I'm just going in to grab a quick bite, but I'll be right back out if you'd like me to join you."
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
She doesn't remain stuck. After a moment, stumbling forward, Maria presses on!
What follows is a terrible, undignified, and awful series of events as Maria, already feeling overheated on these streets, tries to make her way through the crowd towards something with a better vantage point.
It's hard to see where she's going, though.
"Eep!"
Tumbling from the crush of people, Umie and Tamaki are met with one (1) Maria as she stumbles to land hard against the building but doesn't fall.
"...ow," Maria utters, peeling herself off the wall. "Is my hair okay?" she asks Umie, before turning to Tamaki. "Is my makeup smeared?"
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
"Thank you," says Kazusa at Katsuko's compliment. "I'm quite pleased with how it turned out." She seems immune to that glare, however, but just smiles a little more as Katsuko suggests haste. "... nothing at all, senpai. But I suppose if you're too busy to continue our previous conversation, then I had best leave you to it. Enjoy the festival, senpai."
And with that she turned to leave, her smirk getting a little wider. Wakana, meanwhile, just gives a hesitant smile and a polite bow. "Have a good night, senpai."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro looks through the crowds, being rather Tall, to see if he can spot anyone he recognizes. Shinobu tells him that they were glad he could make it, and he puts on a lopsided smile, brushing a hand through the top of his hair. He didn't wear the beanie. "Glad to be here too."
"You both look great," he tells them as a compliment, before turning to Myunghon, curious as he tilts his head but says nothing. They're still interested in Shinobu, huh... he doesn't blame them. It's good they're able to be more social with her, at least, after the rejection...
(He has zero idea.)
"I can look for her in the crowd," Shinjiro tells Myunghon when they mention So-young. "Tell her to look for me. ...warn I'm not wearing my hat, though." He sighs, shivering again lightly for a moment.
And then, he circles back... "Spiked collar and bondage pants sounds interesting. Did you have any good outfits back then?" YES HE'S ASKING
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"Don't rub it in," Hitomi moans at Suzume as she does make use of her own relative height. "I wonder what that thug looking guy was waiting for... You saw him when we were getting out of the station, right, with the blond hair?" Hitomi scans but she cannot see that dude any more, because there are a lot of dudes, chicks, and everything else in the area.
Hitomi is five foot nine. She is taller than the majority of her teachers. Hopefully, this process has largely run its course and she is not going to become the size of the Odaiba Gundam. You never know.
Hitomi moves through the crowd... it's really more 'she isn't standing still' more than she's going anywhere in particular. She looks up occasionally, as if to try to estimate where the best viewing angle will be. She does pause... but before she can see enough of Shinjiro to get visual confirmation that it is truly him, someone stumbles into her. "Guh!"
Someone is a random NPC. Hitomi straightens herself up afterwards, frowning. More scanning... "I think I see an open spot," she says to Suzume, before Hitomi actually surges forwards slightly -- ending up approximately near...
ALOHA VIDEO. "DO YOU HAVE DRINKS" Hitomi half-pleads with the insouciantly smoking Rain. This also means she can tell what the place actually is, briefly distracted craning her head up to look at a sign.
<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Bar has posed.
The streets are PACKED. The feeling, here, is entirely sardine-esque; someone else's elbow is in your space, and hopefully, it's someone you know, but probably not. Luckily, no one's looking down at the streets around them -- because the real show is up there.
Fireworks sound a little like, spreeeeeeeeeeeeee... BOOM!!!!, but the sound of the explosion isn't what matters, here. It's the lights, the thousand drifting-floating-falling LIGHTS -- they hang in the sky for long, precious moments, expanding out like flowers in full bloom before they slowly fade into the aether below.
(They are aimed, of course, to land on water, because burning scraps of an explosion are something one keeps a firetruck handy to manage. But that isn't relevant to this crowd; the realities of fireworks are kept carefully partitioned from the festival proper.)
Each explosion glitters, gold and orange and blue; perhaps it's even enough to distract from the heat, which is, if anything, becoming more oppressive, like a wave pressing down on the people who dared to brave the streets today.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinjiro says he's glad to be here, and that lopsided smile of his gets a genuine smile back.
Shinobu nods to agree, though, as Myunghon comments on the importance of having a plan. It's true - especially in a big crowd like this. There's a small, earnest smile, though, as Myunghon compliments her outfit.
"Thanks. I like yours, too. Really goes great together." She replies with a nod. And Shinjiro compliments both of theirs. She nods. "Yours too. That's a good fit on you."
Myunghon reminisces again and Shinobu listens. Rebellious, huh? Mixing yukata with street fashion...
"Hah, that would've been a sight to see. How the hell'd he get away with that?" Shinobu replies. Shinjiro asks the important question, and she nods. "Yeah, you've got me curious now, too."
Their phones buzz! Shinobu brings hers out, too, seeing the message from So-young.
"Yeah, must be rough. ...Cute dog, though." Shinobu admits. She sends a thumbs-up emoji into the chat, marking her approval of Dog. "Good idea."
She's about to say something else - until there's the sound of a familiar whistling overhead.
"Hey, look up." Shinobu advises. And she follows her own advice - just in time to see the firework erupts overhead in a bloom of lights!
"...Wow." Shinobu says with an appreciative whistle. "Seems like it's gonna be a good show this year, even if we're packed like this."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Suzume is allowed to be smug. She so rarely is.
Well, no. She does it on a regular basis. It's more a question of 'should she be', and the answer is probably not.
Plus, she's being SHUT OUT by the unfortunate fact that she's kind of short. She's only kind of short compared to most of the other girls and women, but with the men around even standing on tiptoe doesn't help much.
"I'm gonna climb a street light at this rate," Suzume says, and she is only half-joking. If it wouldn't get her scolded by a police officer she might; Shibuya has street lamps that curve outward at the top, if her balance is good (and hers is) she's pretty sure she could sit on one. She just doesn't want to be the one yelled at for it.
She uses Hitomi as an icebreaker, trailing behind in her wake. She thinks she sees a couple people she vaguely recognizes, and tries to get a better look - is that Myunghon?? - but... "There's a Triple Seven," she calls to Hitomi, sort of pointing before she ends up at -
A movie rental place.
Suzume looks up at Rain for a moment. "I don't think this is gonna have it, Mandai," she says, then turns away. Not out of rudeness, but because the fireworks are starting and she actually has a clear field of view, for a split second. Her face brightens up from the scowl.
Who doesn't like decorative explosions? (Don't answer that.)
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Shinjiro asks the incredibly dangerous question.
Myunghon doesn't immediately answer, and instead pages So-young:
> Shinjiro's offering to be a guide
> He doesn't have his beanie on though
> We'll wait here for now
"Well, you don't really have anyone who's into street fashion who's a stickler for the rules..." Myunghon responds, to Shinobu. "There's always a play between bucking the rules and becoming a trend-setter, and then people follow that as it becomes popular and oversaturated, and then that becomes the norm, in time for another rulebreaker to start trending..."
The fireworks do start, though, and there's a quiet smile as she looks to Shinobu gazing at them rather than the fireworks themselves -- then they look up in turn. "Haah... it's certainly a lot grander than a few years ago. I suppose they've bounced back from the recession."
That's such OLD PEOPLE talk, Myunghon.
Still, it looks like So-young is gonna be a bit, so CONFIDENT that So-young won't suddenly appear behind her with a menacing grin:
"Mei was... very into wa-lolita, so that was the style I ran with back then," Myunghon explains. "We were both really big into Metamorphose temps de fille pieces..."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji's eyes pop open when he hears Makoto, mouthing 'oh shit' when she apologizes. He squeezes his eyes shut and immediately gets to trying to remedy the situation. "Nah, It,It's fine. It's just this place is hot and the heat is going to my head. You're good." He rubs the back of his neck, opening his eyes just in time for Ann to use his very poorly thought out actions against him.
Etu, Ann?
He does flick his chin insultingly back at her. He hasn't changed that much. He smirks at Ann, shaking his head to let it be known he isn't pissed or something.
Finally, he just sighs and looks toward the wall of people. "So uh...where we going? Cuz everywhere looks crowded as hell and worse---SWELTERING."
And the fireworks were already going! Ryuji slouches forward, gesturing with his shoulder to street exit. "Let's go!" He grins and starts walking toward the event. He pumps his arm, ready to experience the wonderment of explosions! Those were fun for people of all ages!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie chuckles as Tamaki puts two and two together. "Yep. I'm actually based out of Shibuya, but, there's... certain work that can only be found in Sumaru City." She draws back a blonde bang, tucking it into her hair. "You should see me in uniform here. I look terrible."
The compliment brings a widened grin on Umie's face. "Keep talking like that and you'll ruin the 'disaffected youth' profile I'm trying to project. How else will I be able to keep up with Takkun?" She says this, while 1. wearing a yukata, 2. intentionally going out of her way to look very cute and very nice in one, and 3. stacked up against the windows like a tiny, short sardine. "Yeah, better go in before it starts, Uchida-san."
Speaking of sardines... "Oh!"
"Whoah, hey." Umie reaches slightly up to steady the poor second year. "You're fine," she assures Maria. "Why not stick around? You're just in time, too." She points upwards towards the sky with her left hand, the thumbsleeve peeking out from her yukata sleeve, complete with that everpresent red bracelet, complete with tiny bell charm. "I think it's... yeah."
*BOOM*
No oracle moment here; she just managed to see what the times was on the clock through the window. (ha ha ha wow, it's like she has gotten used to knowing where it is at all times working there)
<Pose Tracker> Rain Summers has posed.
The sign for Aloha Video features a pair of palm trees and a stylized plumeria flower, probably the first things you think of when you imagine Hawaii. The name of the store is written in English script, with a helpful translation in katakana provided, considering the main customer base.
Rain's eyebrows raise as she pulls her cigarette away from her mouth and looks at the two girls. Well, business is business. She taps the ashes off the end of her light and smiles at Hitomi and Suzume, addressing them in pretty good, if clearly American accented, Japanese. "Well, I've got a fridge inside with a few bottles of soda in it, if you're really desperate for some refreshment. 120 yen each. Some candy too."
As the fireworks begin to light up the sky, Rain also looks up to the show. Couldn't complain about the view, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
An old man stands at the edge of the crowd as the fireworks go off but as everyone looks up at the fireworks, the old man is watching the young man he is suppose to be taking care of. He had been neglecting that duty in the obvious sense but from Sojiro's perspective he was absolutely working to fulfill that role.
A cigarette takes it's place in Sojiro's mouth before a light comes out and he lights it. This catches Sojiro plenty of dirty looks as this isn't just a social no-no, if any local police catch him he is gonna get a ticket. Still he watches Ren for another moment or two before he slips away down an alley.
Taking one last look back he thinks to himself that he would make it up to the kid, next time there are fireworks. For now he needed to stop at home and check on other responsibilities.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Katsuko offered a polite bow to Wakana, though it was little more than a curt acknowledgement of her presence. Not impolite, but certainly not something laden with respect. Her attention was elsewhere, after all. She'd thought Kazusa had merely been there to offer a snide remark, but the thought of continuing their conversation... it intrigued her. She'd written it up as something to be returned to at a much later date with a much more solid plan, but there Kazusa was, offering to do so of her own volition. Why? Katsuko could only guess, and none of her theories filled her with confidence. But it was a chance nonetheless.
"Conducting business at a festival?" Katsuko replied, the vaguest hints of a quizzical look creeping into her expression. "I can resp-" Before she could finish the closest thing to a compliment she thought she'd ever (genuinely) give Kazusa, a great whistling streaked through the air. Stern though Katsuko was, even she could not resist the allure of a firework's sudden presence, nor could she resist glancing at the showers of sparks that flashed through the canvas of black above. "...Perhaps we should wait for a quieter moment." She said, waiting for a lull in the skyward bursts. "I'd rather we not spend our time shouting at each other."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
Thankfully, the photo appears to be of a truly Shiba Elemental, the way it is completely unhurried and unruffled by anything around it as it gets carried through the Shibuya streets in the arms of a young woman. It is living the good life, and maybe that's why So-young took a shot of it. (It's because it's a dog. There is no deep introspection to be had here, just 'aaaAAA'.)
It might take So-young even longer to find anyone she knows when the fireworks start up, because she's exactly the sort of person to pause with each one, taking them in with an incandescent grin, shining eyes and her camera set to 'VIDEO'. She's not the best photographer in the world but she at least has a great sense of timing and the ability to know which lens to use, which at least puts her in the upper quadrant if you ask her, and she's bipping back through the screen to check the clarity of one carpet of colored lights when her phone buzzes.
The reply is whip-fast:
> no hat???
> is he gap moe
> hold on i absolutely have to record this for posterity
If anyone in the group had a glass of water it would absolutely be like that moment in Jurassic Park where the ripples get stronger and stronger, but So-young has the cover of the crowds and the fireworks and the confidence to move through a crowd at speed when she needs to, all bright smiles and apologies and greetings as her movement gets a lot less chaotic and a lot more focused. Which is why she manages to get there just in time to hear something truly juicy.
"... now I'm _truly_ sad I never got to meet you during your fashion phase. You'd better have photos or I'll make you recreate it so I can get some," So-young suddenly pipes up from just behind Myunghon, throwing a bright smile towards Shinobu for good measure as she-- alright, so she doesn't just immediately go ruffle Shinjiro's hair, because she has learnt at least a little about boundaries in her time in Sumaru that has managed to stick, but she's definitely taking in his appearance and Shinobu's clothes as well, looking deeply amused as she laughs. "Oh no. I'm the underdressed one for once! What will I do?"
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki nearly points out the effort that Umie's put into her outfit in order to counter her assertion, but thinks better of it. Instead, she remarks, "... Do you really want to 'keep up' with him in that regard? He walks through those doors sometimes looking like he's gone through the wringer."
"You're right, though, I should get in line to -- " Get some food and drink, she almost says, but she's cut off by one of the perils of Shibuya during this festival night.
Maria hits the glass wall, causing Tamaki to wince slightly. "Are you okay?"
At her request, she then leans forward -- with one far eye closed, the other one wiiide open -- to scrutinize Maria's appearance with all of her powers of detection brought to bear. "Hmmm ..."
Her assessment: at the speed and angle of her impact, yes, her hair's mussed in one place and her makeup's smudged just below, but it's minor.
"Just a touch, here and here." She points at the spots. "Do you have a comb? -- I've got a compact mirror in my handbag, here, if that'll help you see where it is."
On one hand, Tamaki, don't most people use the selfie function on their phones for that these days? (On the other hand, the Dark Hour's a thing, and she's become accustomed to carrying around low-tech solutions.)
Then she hears something that demands her full focus and causes her to forget even her own hunger momentarily. The fireworks are starting!
The fireworks are starting ... and she has what might be one of the worst vantage points, backed up against the glass of the Triple 7's exterior as she is. She leans forward to try and see what she can, anyway!
Glancing aside at Umie, Tamaki adds, "Maybe after the display, though. Everyone's eyes are going to be up there for now." Hers included!
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
The complements from Ann and Ren seem to elicit a blush from Makoto- even if she doesn't share Ann's devotion to fashion, Makoto can appreciate the outcomes at least. "Thank you." She responds, with a hint of awkwardness to her smile.
Ryuji counter apologises and rather than get locked into a cycle once Ann takes the opportunity to strike, Makoto just nods. "I don't blame you. I should have brought a fan." It would have even been appropriate to the look!
Fortunately, there's not too long to wait for the fireworks- a little less than Makoto thought, as the first *boom* catches her off guard, and Ryuji decides to start pushing through the crowd to get a better view- from here, Makoto can barely catch the outlines of the fireworks from behind the buildings.
"Ah, hold on, we can't move very quickly like this!" Look, walking in a yukata is hard at the best of times, and in a crowd like this it's way too easy to get separated. As it stands, even when they do get to a better spot, it's still not the best... they were a bit late to the show and it's crowded. She's definitely getting squished up against at least one of her fellow phantoms, if not more...
Still, even if it's not the best view, the loud booms and the exploding lights are still a spectacle as Makoto looks up at the sky, trying not to get her view blocked by someone taller than her.
"It's been so long since I've seen fireworks in person like this," Makoto murmurs, even as the heat gets even more oppressive. A smile crosses her face, thinking about if. Even with the conditions, it's fun. "...what about the rest of you?" She doesn't actually know that much about if anyone else has firework festival traditions, after all...
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"I don't like Triple Seven," insists Hitomi, though this is not clarified on. Because the conversation is...
Interrupted by Fireworks
Hitomi is silent for a couple of seconds, looking straight up. The light reflects off of the lens of her glasses, the first foretastes having commanded her attention. After that opening volley fades, Hitomi unzips her purse and rummages around, fumbling out something like 300 yen in coins and moving to put them in Rain's hand. "Thank you!! I'm keeping this spot, though!!" She grins at the white woman as if to say 'haha sorry', though at least Hitomi isn't looming over *her*.
Hitomi does turn then and raises her yukata-clad arms up to stick her elbows out as far as possible, folding her hands behind her head. This will, hopefully, provide passive discouragement to people horning in, and may give Suzume shelter.
Shelter... and a fixed feature of the landscape.
Hitomi's brow furrows again for a moment as she spots -- no, she decides, it can't be him. Back up to the sky. "You should trust in my luck!" she says, probably mostly to Suzume, but with her eyes turned heavensward.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro does spot Hitomi, but he's with a group, so doesn't go to approach. "Oh, hey, there's Mandai. I wonder if anyone else is with her," he says quietly.
He's standing up taller when Myunghon texts, stepping alongside Shinobu when she indicates to look up. "Dog, huh- oh, damn, it's time."
He watches with attentive eyes. "Nice..." he says, staring for a long moment. "Haven't seen them like this since..."
His expression fades very slightly, sighing, though he tries to put the good mood back on. "Sorry, I..."
And then, So-Young comes in with the steel chair, right as Myunghon is explaining their wa-lolita pasT!!! "Oh, hey, So-young," Shinjiro calls her, which is a Step Up that he assumes is okay because she already doesn't call him Aragaki. He's been yobisuting lately...
"Wa-lolita, huh... sounds cool," he says, before turning back to So-young. "Surprised you didn't wear a yukata to dress up like Myunghon, Shinobu, and I."
Shinjiro is too gap moe in a yukata, it's true, but he also hasn't explained his condition to So-young! Hopefully soon.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Always suspect the Ann Attack.
She has a bonus attribute against Ryujis, she's gotta make use of it!
Still, if there's any question that her calling Ryuji out is anything more than lighthearted squabbling -- they way she smoothly pivots from trading insulting expressions with her old friend to beaming bright at Ren's compliments could break records. She spins a modest little twirl, twintails dancing with the momentum and skin appreciating the scant wind resistance on this relentlessly summer day as she does.
"Hee-hee, I know, right?" enthuses the not-quite-foreign Second Year, hands clasping behind her back obscured by the billow of her blue sleeves.
"It took a bit to find the perfect one for Makoto, but we totally nailed it." Still, for all her enthusiasm, she does grimace when Ryuji points out the crowds. "Ugh. Seriously. This heat is crazy. I'm so going to bake alive if we have to try to wedge ourselves into those crowds--"
fweeeeeeee
- crackle-BOOM*
Sky blue eyes fly wide in perfect sync to Ryuji's exclamation. "Oh crap! It's starting! H-hey -- Ryuji, wait up!!"
And this is Ann, aggressively speedwalking after Ryuji. Her mobility and range are a bit limited, but, well -- she is shockingly, DANGEROUSLY good at moving in a yukata. Still --
"Don't trip don't trip don't trip it's too hot to trippppp waaaah--"
There's limits to everything in the cold (hot) grip of physical reality's cruel laws.
Once they arrive, though? Ann looks as best she can past the cityscape, eyes widening with wonder even despite the heat and exertion flushing her skin with the beginnings of sweat, even despite the poor vantage point--
"Wow..."
It's still gorgeous, to her. When was the last time she's seen fireworks like this?
"Mm," exhales Ann. "A while. There was this thing in America where they celebrated with a bunch of fireworks. ... I think it had to do with them beating up the French, or something."
...
"Oh! I remember! They were celebrating the War of 1812!"
.................
and thus ann returns to blithely enjoying the fireworks
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
Thunk.
Maria, quite literally, has had worse.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she insists, waving her fan-holding hand as if to assuage any concerns on her behalf as Umie moves to help her out. "Thank you, ma'am!"
Tamaki says just here and there. "Eh--? Yes, please, I didn't have room for my mirror, you know!" she says, bobbing her head in a quick approximation of a bow. "But I do have a comb! And a brush! And makeup!" she continues, lifting her matching bag. It looks kind of stuffed, really. "...Just a little makeup," she amends. "I can't bring all of it, it won't fit!" But there is room for a folding comb, her cellphone, a little bit of makeup, a makeup brush... ...it's no wonder it looks overstuffed.
With practiced ease, she'll reapply her face (at least, where it's gotten smudged) before handing the mirror back over to Tamaki. "Thank you very much, ma'am!"
She glances over at Umie as she says that she should stay put at which Maria nods her head. "Yeah, it's too dangerous to go back in there again, and it's hot with all those people, and--"
They're starting. Maria's gaze follows Umie's hand.
"Ah... pretty!" she declares, gazing up at the first flower to bloom in the sky tonight.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Makes sense. Can't very well revolutionize if you make yourself stick to established guidelines." Shinobu replies thoughtfully. "...Never been much for the rules, myself. So. I get it."
What a cycle... From trendsetter, to popular, to the rise of another rulebreaker... At least it never gets boring.
Myunghon comments on the fireworks, though - and the way they phrase it gets a smirk out of her.
"Guess they must've gotten their spark back." Shinobu agrees with a nod. She looks toward Shinjiro, then, as he reacts to the fireworks. ...She can only imagine what drew that reaction out of him, but she shakes her head.
"It's fine. You don't gotta hold back on our account, Shinjiro." Shinobu assures with a shake of her head.
Myunghon explains what their style was. 'Metamorphose temps de fille'... She's not familiar off the top of her head, but 'wa-lolita', that fills in some pieces.
...And then, So-young ambush!! Myunghon must have said or done something to summon her, because suddenly, So-young.
"There you are. Glad you found us." Shinobu greets with a nod, offering her a smile, too. Photos...
...She kind of wants to see them, too.
"...Yeah, that is a surprise." She comments with a smirk, as So-young observes that she's the underdressed one. "Guess that makes it an occasion in its own right."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
"Yeah, but I do, it's cheap enough," is Suzume's somewhat pointless objection to Hitomi. She's already found what she wants, and really, 120 yen isn't as overpriced as she'd expect from a place that probably doesn't usually make a whole lot of business on drinks. She gives Rain another look-over and starts digging in her own pockets for change.
"Shame there's not a food stall around," but alas, those are MIA. Too crowded! Even here Suzume is feeling pressed.
And she feels a little silly using Hitomi as a barricade, but Suzume has to privately admit that her elbows are pretty good at it. Shinjiro might see her stepping forward, *not* in a yukata, to get a better position.
And in turn -
Suzume squints, her attention taken away from the fireworks for a moment. She swears she saw someone else she knows, rising up on her tiptoes again to get a better angle. It's not just Myunghon, it's...
"BEANIE-SAN," Suzume bellows, loud enough that she gets looks from the crowd. And nobody can tell who she's addressing because he doesn't even have the beanie on! She waves to Shinjiro anyway, her crooked grin in place. "We have a spot!"
Sure, it's not much of a spot, but if his crew is looking for one...
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren shakes their head in mild amusement as Ryuji returns Ann's raspberry. Good thing a compliment distracts her from escalating the war, and when she twirls, Ren claps for her appreciatively. Morgana pops up onto their shoulder, blue eyes sparking--but before he can purr some compliments for Ann of his own, Ryuji calls for everyone to hurry.
"Yeah, everywhere's crowded, so let's just go," they say before hurrying after Ryuji. The important thing is to get a view! Sorry not sorry, Morgana.
But--as Makoto calls out, the girls can't move very fast in their outfits. Hearing that, Ren looks over their shoulder at her as she asks for them not to go so fast and Ann as she babbles to not trip to herself, and holds out a hand for one of them to grab so they don't get separated, a real danger in this situation. Of course, that's until the crowd pushes them together, to the sound of Morgana's yelp...
Still, soon enough, they've got the view they've come for. "Not that long for me," Ren tells Makoto--they saw fireworks last summer too. They look at her with a smile. "But I'm with way better company this time around."
And with such an informative fun fact from Ann about American history, too! (ren no don't remember that)
The sound of fireworks whistling up into the air precedes the B(L)OOM of sound and color, and Ren lifts their eyes to the sky in admiration. It really is like blooms of fire, sparkling and sizzling and finally flickering down in rapid succession, one color after another. The skyscrapers of Shibuya do partially block the view, and the heat feels like a weight pressing down on them, but god, at least the sight is beautiful enough to make it worth it.
Morgana hops his front legs up onto Ren's shoulder to likewise enjoy the view, choosing for now to enjoy the good rather than lament the bad. The two of them share a smile, and Morgana looks back up--but Ren catches a scrap of familiar pink in the corner of their eye...
By the time they look, though, Sojiro is already gone. Ren frowns, but ultimately dismisses it as their imagination. They have been worrying about Sojiro a lot lately. They turn their attention back up to the dazzling fireworks display and enjoy it with their friends.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa was in the middle of walking off with Wakana by her side, but they both stop as the fireworks display starts. They stands together to watch them in companiable silence.
"... they're really pretty, aren't they?" says Wakana.
"... yeah," says Kazusa with a rare, uncharacteristic smile. Just a small one.
But Katsuko was saying something, and after a moment of admiring the fireworks Kazusa looks to her. "Oh, but of course it's much too noisy, and I'm sure you had your own plans. Don't let me interrupt your fun."
... she might be messing with Katsuko, now.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Well, yeah, that's because I'm not with him," Umie jokes, grinning, waving a red-nailed finger. "Obviously." Nevermind the two of them likely couldn't keep their schedules aligned between Umie having to work and pay bills and... Tatsuya being Tatsuya.
Ma'am. Ma'am. Maria called her... Ma'am. At least she's not being mistaken as someone still going to high school, but 'ma'am'??
... Eh, it's fine. Tamaki is there with her helpful detective's insight on the State of Maria's Makeup, even offering a makeup mirror. "Oh, I should carry one of those..." Umie remarks idly, thinking about how useful a compact mirror like that would be during the Dark Hour. Why didn't she think of that?!
And still, the flowers bloom in the night sky, wreathed in explosive dust. ".... Wow..."
When was the last time she's done this?
Well, obviously, this is the first time in Tokyo, but... ".... so pretty..." she breathes.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
OF ALL THE LUCK.
Myunghon's face is one of consternation and terror as they turn around and, lo and behold, So-young Park is right there behind them, like she's taken lessons from Umie. "... it isn't like there aren't photos, but you'll barely recognise me from the person you've met," they point out. "And I do echo Shinjiro-ssi's thought. I would've thought you'd want to be the queen of the streets tonight."
There's a moment where they do afford a smile to Shinjiro -- then suddenly snaps a shot as he's transfixed with the fireworks, managing to get at least some of it within the photo frame. "... we'll make tonight memorable, okay? Don't worry. I have backup plans in case of weather, and I'm planning on treating us to dinner as well."
There's a delicate smile for Shinobu, though, as they do say, "I think you could've really been popular with street fashion." It isn't as if they themself chose and dressed everything on their own. They're still in a photo-taking mood, though, and being one of the taller people in their crowd of tol people, they snap a selfie against the fireworks while it's still going.
But then--
BEANIE-SAN
"Hmm?" Myunghon blinks. "But you aren't..." they look quizzically. "Wait, that voice is..."
Suzume. "Ah, Fukura-kun," Myunghon manages to sidle through, which means they're in proximity of Rain and Hitomi as well. "Good evening. To think I'd find you two out here." In front of... Aloha Video?
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji isn't booking it but he is pretty excited to see the sights the night has in store. He isn't even noticing the weather just yet. He looks back to see Ann chasing him with difficulty so he slows down even more. "Right, sorry! But come on! It's gonna be good!" He pumps his arms.
Finally, once it is all settled. The Punk watches the fire works with wonder and awe, whistling in appreciation. "Kick ass!!!"
But the history facts kinda snap him out of it. "Wait, for real?! Why are they celebrating a war?!" Ryuji looks kinda upset for America? That's messed up! What kind of shitty adults do that?"
But the allure of fireworks peels Ryuji's attention back as they get more plentiful and loud. His sudden advocation for the people of the United States is gone as quickly as it appeared.
He looks over to Makoto and grins finally answering her question. "Oh, I try to at least find a spot every now and then. Like they are pretty cool but not always? That make sense?"
Ryuji Sakamoto, the fireworks connoisseur.
<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Bar has posed.
The fireworks are stunning, up there. A glittering blue cloud descends on the crowd, with a drip --
Wait.
That's not a scrap of a star.
THAT'S A RAINDROP!
Drip, drip, drip. One lands on Ann's cheek; one sails down to score Morgana RIGHT on the nose. One lands on Suzume's hand, and another on Shinjiro's elbow, and another taps Kazusa right on the very tippy-top of her head...
And then it isn't drips, any more, but a downpouring. Rain begins to curtain down across the crowd, and for anyone still brave enough to look up, they'll see some remaining fireworks going off against a backdrop of lightning. Quietly, it's the most stunning vista of the night -- nature's fireworks going off right alongside the works of man, the bright orange of the firework contrasted with the electric-blue highlights to those white flashes in the black, rainbearing clouds.
Look down, though, and police whistles are ringing out as the policemen try to manage the crowd, directing festival-goers to shelter in an orderly (always orderly!) fashion to avoid this disappointing result being any more crushing than it needs to be.
"Due to the sudden change in weather," a female voice on loudspeakers announces throughout the street, "a heavy rain and flood warning has been issued nearby. Since the festival cannot continue in this weather, we truly apologise for cancelling today's fireworks show..."
GAME: Shinjiro Aragaki flips a coin! The coin comes up heads!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Katsuko felt a twinge of something on hearing Kazusa's response. She wasn't quite sure what it was. Annoyance? Embarrassment? A combination of the two? She wasn't sure, but pushed it aside before it had a chance to settle in any further than it had. With a curt nod and a curter goodbye, Katsuko made her way into the crowd, seeking the nearest refreshment stall, or somewhere that sold something to eat. It had been a long day - a long few months, even - and she supposed she deserved some small break or reward for her work. Even if she was the only person that could grant it to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki quietly wonders to herself if Umie's presence would make things better or worse for Tatsuya. How much would be willing to gamble on having to keep fewer first aid kits on-hand ... or having to double them. (Might as well make use of that pharmacy discount.)
She also can't help him out for much the same reason; courseload and casework constantly keep her spread thin. Trying to do too much at once is a recipe for burnout, and she had already come perilously close to that threshold over the last week and change. One may not be able to boil the ocean, but they can at least make a cup of tea.
Despite the thoughts swirling in her head, she lets the matter go and amicably replies, "Obviously."
Tamaki smiles back at Maria as she takes her mirror back. "You're welcome. I see you're otherwise quite well-prepared." She covers her smile with a hand as she eyes Maria's overstuffed bag.
She then turns her own eyes back to the sky. There it is, the sight she had come to see. Whistle, BOOM, crackle, sizzle, then silence and smoke. There and gone and there and gone and there and gone again, each wave heralded with a sound loud enough that she can feel it reverberate in her chest.
During one of the momentary breaks of silence, she asks the two young women near her, "What do fireworks make you think of?"
...
Maybe it was bad timing to ask that just before a downpour starts. At least they're already somewhere under shelter from the rain, though Tamaki hadn't brought an umbrella, either ...
Another rumble of her stomach reminds her that she hadn't gotten food either. With a nervous smile to Umie and Maria, she finally heads inside to find something to quickly purchase and tide herself over. "E-excuse me."
<Pose Tracker> Rain Summers has posed.
Rain takes the coins from the two, snuffing out her cigarette on the wall behind her and opening the door. "Just sit there and enjoy the show, I'll be right out." The door's bell jingles under the bellow of the fireworks as she slips back in, taking a second to let the air conditioning wash over her.
She slips over to a fridge by the register, next to a rack of various candy. Sure, it was a pretty hefty expenditure and it wasn't a main driver of business, but what was a movie without snacks? She pulls out two bottles of TaP and slides over the counter to get behind it, ringing the bottles up and getting Hitomi the proper change. Definitely more business than she was expecting tonight.
~~Pocket change will definitely pay the rent, won't it?~~
She takes a deep breath and slides back over the counter and out of the door, handing the bottles to the two girls.
"Here ya go! Thank you, come again! Ah, you've got friends! <Aloha, aloha~!>"
And then the rain. Not Rain, but rain. She steps back under the store's awning, providing barely enough coverage from the elements and giving her guests a sympathetic shrug. "Guess it's pretty cool now, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young barely even blinks at the way Shinjiro addresses her, but then she is about the last person who would ever seem to be a sticker for honorifics. She smiles regardless, her eyes dancing with mirth. "You're not bald! It's a miracle," she adds as she raises the camera and dances two steps backwards to encapsulate the trio in the viewfinder. "Say something embarrassing."
... she pauses as if to wait for a reply to that, but she's actually just giving enough time for Shinjiro and Myunghon to balk out of the way if they want to. (And Shinobu too, of course, but So-young is relatively sure that she wouldn't out of the three of them.) Otherwise, she clicks the button several times rapidly, then immediately pages back through her photos to display it on the camera's little screen, nodding in satisfaction.
"Oh, I could never," she replies quickly enough to Shinjiro's comment. "I'm much too impatient to actually try doing one of those things up properly, let alone figure out where all the pieces of it go, and I'd probably mess it up and make someone mad." She sounds completely unruffled by this, still beaming. "Do you really think I could stick to all the rules and etiquette when I'd rather just stride out however I want?"
"You all look very good, though!" she adds to Shinobu as she beams. "I can at least appreciate the view, and the artistry of it all." The fireworks? The clothes? The people? She doesn't elaborate, though her gaze does at least drift up to take in the next volley. It's times like this that it might be easier to remember that So-young has not been in Japan all that long, and still thinks of herself as something of a tourist passing through and still learning, rather than someone living and breathing the country as part of their life.
"Barely recognizing you is the whole point!" So-young notes towards Myunghon's warning. "I mean, if I want to see you how you normally look I can just go take a train and crash on your couch. The fun is seeing all the other times," she notes with complete confidence as she folds her arms. "I'll make up for it by finding some of my albums from university. I was full bohemian then." She seems even more buoyed as Myunghon snaps that sudden shot of Shinjiro, as if it's a joy to learn that her sibling can have their impulsive moments too.
"BEANIE-SAN!!" calls across the crowd a moment afterwards, and So-young's eyebrows raise as she twists. "Friends of yours?" she says as she follows Myunghon's path towards a trio - just in time for several dangerous raindrops to drip in her hair before she can get under the strip of awning. So-young has the presence of mind to slip her camera into an inner pocket of her jacket before she takes out her rain protection--
--by hinging the pair of sunglasses in her hair down onto her face and doing absolutely nothing else, grinning ridiculously as she continues to watch the fireworks in the rain. It's not really clear whether she's being thoughtful enough to offer those in finer clothes the chance to take some shelter, or if she's just really, completely okay with getting soaked, especially when it means a better view.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinobu and Myunghon try to reassure Shinjiro, even as Myunghon catches a picture of a hatless cryptid. He smiles a bit at that, Myunghon still taking pictures. He pulls out his own phone at that, trying to get a picture of the group, though he can't get a good angle. But So-young's got it!
"So-young Park," he replies when told to say something embarrassing, a tease in his voice as the picture is taken. "I think you only follow rules if you're allowed to break them," he says.
And then Suzume calls out, so he turns. "Fukura!" he calls back, surprised especially at the address. He steps over with the others towards under the awning, a nod to Rain, the shopkeeper and Hitomi, as...
Actual rain comes down.
Instead of getting upset, Shinjiro quickly pivots as a thought enters his head when he hears the next firework. He looks up, raising his camera in a selfie pose...
And captures a shot right as lightning strikes. It's gonna be VERY cool with the others they've taken... something to remember.
"Goddamn it, it's gonna be colder," he says, shivering. He *is* wearing a haori, so it seems weird.
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"That can't be him," Hitomi tells Suzume, "c'mon, it's just--"
Hitomi peers into the crowd. "-- Is that a cat?"
But before it goes much further than that, several more things happen in close succession. One is that the call from Suzume is landing in the ear of MYUNGHON... Hitomi's eyes widen at the sight of them, thunderstruck perhaps.
"I guess that is the luck," Hitomi begins to tell Suzume --
Several things happen. One is that Rain appears, and gives her the drinks. "Thanks," Hitomi says, smiling at her. "Are you really from Hawaii??" And as she shoves the money into her purse, and passes the drinks to offer Suzume first pick...
... Rain appears.
A fat droplet plops on Hitomi's left glasses lens.
"This is bullshit," Hitomi opines, heedless of the fact that she's swearing in front of multiple adults. "We were on a train for like six years to get here -- OOIIII!" Back to Rain, "Can we like, hide in here?" She raises one hand up to make a big semaphore towards ShinjiroMyunghonothers-she-hasn't-met-as-much.
Inwardly, she wonders: Why's he wearing that? Only thing he could get?
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
A memorable night...
"Dinner sounds pretty good." Shinobu considers thoughtfully - and smirks, as Myunghon says she could've been really popular with street fashion. "You think so? Never really saw myself as the fashionable type... But I guess that makes me a pretty good mannequin, if I'm not gonna complain about it."
So-young raises the camera, and Shinobu smirks at her comment - true enough, she doesn't step out of the camera's sight as she takes some pictures.
"Thanks." She replies with a nod, as So-young compliments their outfits. "Yeah, it's something else, isn't it?"
Personally, Shinobu thinks the answer is 'all of the above'. So-young seems the type.
There is a shout of 'Beanie-san'. This isn't immediately significant to Shinobu, who doesn't recognize the nickname - but it turns out the culprit is a friend of Shinjiro's. Shinobu follows Myunghon and the others as they sneak through the crowd, finding themselves close to a video store's awning.
...And just in time, too, as it begins to pour.
"Shit." Shinobu curses under her breath. She's going to be soaked, and washing this is going to be awful. She didn't exactly bring an umbrella with her. Still, she puts that aside for now as she hurries underneath cover. She'll worry about that later.
"Hey there." She greets Suzume, Hitomi, and Rain with a nod. She doesn't really know any of them, but it seems like Myunghon does... and Shinjiro obviously does.
"Shinobu Shimizu." She introduces herself, then nods with her head Shinjiro's way. "Hope you don't mind getting us alongside your 'Beanie-san'."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
"I'm sure we could have just gone with the first one they suggested," Makoto says as Ann comments on the difficulty of finding the perfect yukata. "We really didn't need to go to all that trouble. I guess it does look really good though..." She'll understand fashion one day, Ann. Probably. Possibly. Hopefully.
Okay this brick wall may take a few more sledgehammer hits.
Still, Ann speaks of the War of 1812 celebrations, and Makoto frowns. "...I don't think that's it." ...Admittedly, *American* history is not a big part of the curriculum in Japan.
Meanwhile, in Sumaru City, Eriko Kirishima feels a sense of wrongness she cannot explain. (She will spend the next hour or so hoping it's a ghost, and is sorely disappointed.)
Ren extends a hand back, and Makoto takes the opportunity to take it in the interests of not getting separated. Look, crowds are already kind of hard to deal with, and crowds like this are worse!
It does mean she is squished up against Ren when they get into position, possibly holding hands.
She is definitely not thinking about how this could be read by, say, any other Shujin students, especially those with malevolent intent.
Don't worry, it will occur to her the second anyone points it out. She's just very very dense about some things.
"The company is pretty great, isn't it?" She replies to Ren, before looking to Ryuji. "That makes sense. Sis would take me out to them when I was younger, but it's been a while since I had the chance. Still... it would be nice to do this again some time, don't you think?" She can't help but smile at Morgana poking up, the sudden appearance of cat likely to be a surprise to anyone not part of the group.
...As evidenced by a cry of 'is that a cat'? "...You might need to hide, Morgana." She whispers.
And then she feels something touch her forehead, and Makoto raises her free hand to check and... it's definitely raining, and Makoto lets out a sad sigh. "...really? It wasn't supposed to rain today..." And she doesn't have an umbrella- even if she had thought to bring one, the Yukata doesn't exactly have room.
As the call goes out- then the crash of lightning- that it is time for the show to be cancelled, Makoto sighs. "...we should find somewhere to take cover before it gets too bad."
Thought it might be too late for that, the rain is picking up. The yukata is going to be soaked...
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
"No, it totally is," is Suzume's response to Hitomi. As the group approaches: "See?" Suzume picks whichever drink is fruitier - she really likes Moonkist. In absence of any fruity soda, she takes the *soda*, leaving tea for Hitomi.
She does consider Rain again. "Could be Hawaaian," Suzume decides. Switching to English: "<Hello. Are you actually?>" Suzume's accent is strong but at least she's understandable (when using simple sentences, anyway).
Suzume makes up for her lack of size with an excess of volume, as it turns out. Good lungs. No shame about making a fuss in public.
"Hey, Yeo-san," Suzume says. "I didn't expect to see you here - I thought I saw you earlier but I figured it couldn't be." It is her best guess that Myunghon doesn't get out to festivals much. "But then I saw him, and I figured I'd give it a shot..."
She's still grinning when Shinjiro arrives as well. "See, if I yelled Aragaki-san, you might not realize who I meant; there's probably another one around. But if I called for Beanie-san, you'd notice right away." See? It's a foolproof strategy. "...especially if you don't have it on. Makes it less likely to be a mistake, see."
To So-young, who she recognizes less: "We're in the same dorm," she explains, because she assumes Shinjiro either a) does not tell people he's skipping class, technically, in which case she is covering for him, or b) does, but they know he hangs around and stays at a dorm anyway these days, in which case she's just explaining it completely accurately. "He gives me a hand with physical training sometimes."
She opens her drink... and a splash hits her hand. At first she is confused - she didn't spill - but then another drop hits her shoulder, and one splats on her somewhat shaggy hair...
"Oh, *come on*!" she whines, as the skies open up. In tune with Hitomi: "We had to come all the way from Port Island for this...!" She doesn't even ask - she takes a step back, trying to duck under any awning or entryway there might be. "And this is my nicer shirt!" To say nothing of everyone else in a yukata... She reaches up and tries to wring out the lower hem without messing with the top part at all. It doesn't look flowingly boxy anymore. It's more of a rumpled mess as it gets wetter.
<Pose Tracker> Rain Summers has posed.
Rain chuckles at Hitomi's question and Suzume's English. "<Yes, I am Hawaiian,> but by now, I've spent more time in Tokyo than in Hawaii. You can't take the island out of the girl, though!"
As more and more people join in, there is a tangible risk of jeopardizing the spare space under the awning. A business owner has to be hospitable and give back to the community! "Yeah, let's get you all in for a bit rather than getting soaked, huh?" She reaches towards the handle of the door and opens it up, waving the party into the store to dry off. "And feel free to look around the racks."
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
"What? No way! The color scheme did not complement you at all. This really brings out the color of your eyes which is, like, definitely one of your strongest features! If you went with the first, you would have regretted it forever!"
Ann, dealing in hyperbole on the matters of fashion?
No.
She is DEATHLY SERIOUS about fashion.
She's queued up for a long rant -- but fortunately, urgency to get to a better position waylays her. Still, the kernel of an idea within her continues to grow, chanting its holy name (MAKEOVER! MAKEOVER!! MAKEOVER!!!) ever-louder.
For now, though? For now, she just looks up in wonder at the fireworks, having somehow managed to not get lost despite stubbornly not taking Ren's offered hand. Her blue eyes are wide with wonder, so in awe of it all that she does not notice Makoto ~scandalously squished~ against Ren, or even her (very critical) half-a-correction to Ann's Awesome Americana Lesson.
In fact, Ann is busy trying to position herself to get on the very very tip of her sandal-clad shoes to try to see a teeny, tiny sliver more of that bright spectacle of lights...
when a dollop of something wet splashes on her forehead.
"Huh? D-did someone sweat on me--?" Ann grimaces, prepared to grimace even further -- before she looks up, just in time to see another drop of rain splatter on her pale cheek.
It's warm, summer rain. It's barely refreshing. More to the point--
"Oh no..."
She knows what's coming, before the annoucement is even made; disappointment is writ large on Ann's expressive features as she just hangs there for a moment, as if, if she stood there a tiny bit longer, the rain might suddenly stop, and the fireworks might suddenly come back--
But the rain's just getting heavier, the sky's just getting choked with more clouds, and with Makoto's sigh of resignation--
"... Yeah, I guess," murmurs Ann with a lingering frown. "C'mon -- I think there's a storefront over there that'll work, I really don't want to get soaked today--"
And she had been looking forward to this celebration all week...
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Ah-- <Aloha,>" Myunghon greets Rain in turn. "<What a shame... and the fireworks just started too,>" as they hear the female announcer on loudspeakers. Ah hell, a heavy rain and flood warning? There's a pensive frown at that as they remark to the others, "I didn't quite plan for that level of rain... I wonder if the trains will be cancelled?"
So-young points out that barely recognising them would be the point. "I... well, I suppose. That isn't what I meant. But I also see your point," they mumble, about two notches a little less enthused. They do interrogate for a moment too long how So-young probably would prefer Myorei Yukichi's looks to theirs, before squirreling away that thought deep inside in a box as they flinch at the lightning--
Shinjiro got a shot at that moment? Wow. "... we can retreat to the lounge if you'd like, Shinjiro-ssi," says the other person wearing a ruffed collar with their haori. Aren't they hot? It's still ridiculously warm and muggy out here, and it's only going to be moreso with the rain.
There's a sympathetic smile at Hitomi as she complains they were on a train for so long, though. "It wasn't any less crowded from Sumaru either. And, yes-- this is So-young Park, my sister," since Shinobu's also doing introductions to the Gekkoukan students and the owner of Aloha Video!
Suzume wasn't certain if it *was* them, given how they don't seem the festival-going type. "Any other occasion and you would have guessed correctly, Fukura-san, though... hmm. Well, we're planning on making the best out of tonight nonetheless. We do have dinner booked for later."
Still, now they're in the video store...
"... but a movie night would not be amiss," Myunghon is already churning gears on how to best make use of this situation. Fortunately, Rain's already urging them to all come in rather than stand outside and be soaked. "I have been thinking of it for quite some time now. <What recent movies do you recommend?>" Myunghon's English is just about as impeccable as it could be, someone who was extremely trained to negotiate with corporate yes-men from overseas.
<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Bar has posed.
Anyone who thought the rain might let up after the festival was cancelled is sorely mistaken: it only starts bucketing down worse. Some lucky people manage to get into cars and escape -- like a fair-haired third-year Shujin girl who steps into a dark car, attended by a man with an umbrella and their chauffeur. Most of the festival-goers, though, are going to be stuck with a far more low-key solution: finding shelter. Luckily, Central Street has a dozen shops to duck into, many of which are open late tonight to catch the festival crowds...
... but they're ALL! PACKED!!! The sardine metaphors, they just don't STOP!
There's Big Bang Burger, of course; getting a burger for compensation is definitely on some people's minds. There's the movie theatre on the corner, where ushers are having to have terse conversations with damp visitors about how they can't just loiter in the lobby. There's the gym, if you can fathom using any of that equipment when you're this soaked. Just don't drip on the books in the book store, if that's where you're headed!
And, of course, there's the konbini, the convenience store selling a little bit of everything, including a dry roof over your heads. That, as it happens, is a very popular option for getting out of the rain.
However you get out of the rain, though, one thing's clear...
... you can't stay out here on the streets.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
The fireworks are rather nice, even if the view isn't perfect... then a flicker of blue, and then--
Kazusa blinks, lifting a hand to the top of her head. "Wait, is that--"
Wakana is feeling her ear, looking over to Kazusa. "Did you feel it, too...?"
"It better not be--" Kazusa's frustrated statement is cut off by a downpour, and she looks extremely put-upon for a moment. "This wasn't in the weather report."
"I know," says Wakana, "Let's just... go try to find some cover, okay?"
The two girls make their way through the crowd, trying to stick together, and then suddenly--
"Takamaki-san!" Kazusa actually sounds... pleased to see her, even if that enthusiasm is a bit... dampened, at the moment. But it's definitely friendly. "Your yukata looks beautiful." Kazusa appreciates the efforts of Fashion.
"Nijiima-senpai. Congratulations on your exam scores." Less familiar, more formal. Though she does arch an eyebrow at seeing Makoto holding Ren's hand, and she makes no secret of looking.
"... Amamiya-san. I didn't know you were a cat person." Another arched eyebrow.
"It's a shame about the rain, isn't it?" she says conversationally to Ann as she just... follows along.
Wait who invited her!?
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"... Eh?" Umie looks up, holding out a hand beyond the shelter of the Triple 7's awnings. "I thought I saw rain."
*plink*
A harmless drop of water lands in Umie's outstretched hand, as if in answer.
It's still not enough evidence for Umie, who moves from her from perch, collapsed yellow umbrella in hand--
*KA-CRASH*
WIth a crackle of lightning, a deluge pf water pours down on the unsuspecting Umie, drenching her and her useless umbrella in hand.
".... Damn it...," Umie grumbles, wading quickly back into the safety of the awnings, next to Maria and Tamaki. "... Guess it's my time of Joka after all..." she mutters, attempting to tuck the wet strands of hair back into place.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Ann knows what she's talking about. If she says you would've regretted it, you should trust her," Ren remarks to Makoto, crooking a smile at the both of them. "Those red flowers do look good with your eyes, too."
Ren at least does not keep hold of Makoto's hand; once they and Ryuji and Ann have reached their fireworks-viewing spot and the four of them are no longer in danger of getting separated by the crowds, they let go and slip their hands into their pockets as they admire the fireworks show. They do know how it would look otherwise, but that isn't really what they're concerned about at the moment.
Then two things happen: a raindrop plops on Morgana's nose, prompting him to meow in surprise and shake his head; and someone in the area says 'hey, is that a cat?'
Makoto suggests Morgana hide himself. He doesn't need to be told twice! He's getting out of this sudden shower and ducking fully back into Ren's back.
Ren, for their part, is extra glad they didn't wear their glasses today. It's immediately a downpour, and the soaked lenses would make vision fully impossible. The fireworks going off within the rainclouds that have rushed in are magnificent, but Ren is not in a position to enjoy them as they and their friends have to run to seek shelter as a voice announces that the fireworks festival has been canceled.
Ann suggests a nearby storefront. Ren nods and hurries over there with their friends. The Triple Seven, as it turns out the store in question is, is already IMMEDIATELY packed, so they send Ryuji on in to see if he can buy towels andor drinks for them. Then they lean on the front window, sighing slightly in their own disappointment.
Especially when Kazusa appears seemingly out of nowhere to follow them. Ren frowns at her. They don't stop frowning when she remarks on them being a 'cat person.' They also don't say anything--not to Kazusa, at least. Instead, taking note of her tone to Ann, they look over at their classmate.
"Friend of yours?" they ask Ann, voice and bearing neutral.
Oh no, Kazusa. The infamous delinquent just snubbed you.
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
"Thank you!" she effuses, before the show in the sky steals her attention away from Tamaki. It's frankly a miracle the drawstrings on her bag didn't snap, or something. Maybe even Joka has its limits...?
"Flowers," she answers Tamaki promptly enough. "It's flowers, in the darkness. ...Maybe it's because my mother works at a florist's?" she muses aloud. "What about you?" she asks of Tamaki, looking her over. Another loud crack-boom rips across the sky, another brilliant bloom decorates the black velvet of night.
Something drips onto her nose.
"A leak?" Maria wonders, before she gets the answer in her own way: more droplets of water come falling in a sudden, sharp shower. "Ah, oh no! It's raining!"
Lightning cracks the sky and Maria does something she didn't do against a power outage or a real ghost (it was a ghost, Maria, and not an actress-- not that she's realized it).
Maria cries out at the sound, flattening herself against the glass front. "Ah-- oh, just l-lightning, huh...? Is that why it was so humid and gross? I guess-- it'll feel better now, but, I wanted to see--"
She looks over then and realizes that Umie has gotten completely drenched. "Oh no! Can you get a towel?!" Maria looks hither and thither, but there aren't... towels just lying around out here, are there.
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"That is absolute slander," So-young immediately replies to Shinjiro, but she's still snapping the shots regardless, humming with victory as she straightens up.
Personally, her spirits look completely unbowed by the rain, but she is quick to shoo Shinobu, Shinjiro and Myunghon into the cover offered to them. Sure, So-young has a leather jacket on and she's wearing black, but it's not like she's really dressed for the weather and it's a long, long way from a waterproof trenchcoat. Her apartment is close enough that maybe she's just going to give up and head back home for a quick shower and a change of clothes before heading out for dinner afterwards.
"Oh!--" she adds as the lightning cracks nearby, and her hands raise as if she's still holding her camera, as if it's even realistically possible to respond to the noise with the snap of a shutter.
She makes a little bow as Myunghon introduces her, the rain streaming down her shoulders, before her eyebrows go up into her hair at Fukura's comment. "He has a dorm now?" she blinks theatrically, and immediately continues: "Are you feeding him alright? You have to be careful about domesticating a Shinjiro properly, you know--" this is all pretty damn rich coming from someone who cannot cook or clean nearly as well as Shinjiro can, but the easy grin on her face suggests she's just trying to obliquely reassure the other student that she knows who Shinjiro is and also something of the way he acts.
(Perhaps it's best she doesn't ask anything like 'did you give him his shots'.)
"I live and work just nearby, so I'm a lot more local than Myunghon is. Of course, there's no way I could miss this," the conductor adds her own explanation onto her sibling's. She does take Rain's offer of some cover, though she stays on the street as best she can because now the problem is not wanting to track water over a shop owner's floor. She does coo at some of the cases lined up on the racks, though, pausing to evaluate some of the ones she can see from the entrance. "Oh, I'll have to come back once things are a little more pleasant outside," she decides on raw impulse, nodding her head in approval at the selection.
She frowns outside, her spirits dropping for just a moment as the students lament their trip and Myunghon wonders about how to make the best of the situation. "My condolences," she admits with genuine feeling, before kind of walking that back as she grins wryly. "I think everyone's train home is going to be pretty miserable in this weather. I don't know that my place can exactly support four people without being, uh, extremely cozy, mind you."
So-young you took out your second bedroom so you could put a bunch of instruments in there instead.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Hitomi, Shinjiro is shivering enough that he might as well be sick! He is not, but he could be!
"That's ridiculous, but it did work..." Shinjiro replies to Suzume, before taking the rain in stride. "I don't know... it's an interesting memory, isn't it?" He says cryptically for those who don't know why he's here.
"No rush on my part," he tells Myunghon. He might be the only one okay with this rain, in a weird way. One might expect it to ruin the moment...
So-young, this perpetual rival right now, gets a laugh as she talks about domesticating him to his friend. "I don't know about that. They still have to struggle to get me to actually hang around over there. I'm a lone wolf kind of guy."
He'll peek at the videos for a moment, nodding to Rain. "Nice selection. How long have you been in Japan?" He looks around the shelves for EXCELLENT PET ADVENTURES quietly before turning to Shinobu and Myunghon. "What would you two pick for a movie night, if one of you had to pick?"
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Before she had headed back inside to finally obtain something to placate her stomach, she had replied to Maria: "They do also remind me of flowers, of course! Among some other things. The transient nature of life in general, I suppose ... some older acquaintances of mine, too."
One trip through the aisles and check-out line of this Shibuya Triple 7 later, Tamaki has at least staved off the hunger pangs with a package of convenience store red bean paste daifuku. Sometimes you go for taste, other times you've just gotta go for sustenance, plain and simple. She's barely returned from her excursion and is in the middle of opening her mouth to take a bite before going wide-eyed in surprise at Umie's downpour of misfortune. Oh dear. And Maria's frightened from the thunder, too, it seems ... muffled through her food, she asks, "Awhh oo och-hey?"
She takes her bite, gulps it down, then turns to Maria and Umie and offers, "I did see some towels while I was in there. We can go in there and get you one before the crowd starts to get too bad?" In the time since, though, the store does seem to have gotten pretty full ...
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Suzume explains that she's in the same dorm as Shinjiro, and Shinobu looks his way. So these kids are part of the group he's with now...? Makes sense why they'd know him, then.
"Nice meeting you. Thanks for looking after him." Shinobu offers. ...Sounds like she and Hitomi aren't enjoying this weather any more than she is, so she offers them a sympathetic wince. "Awful timing, huh?"
...A movie night, though...
"...That might be fun." Shinobu considers, and then nods toward Rain. "Sure. I'll try not to get any rain on your merchandise."
As Myunghon directly asks Rain for recommendations, Shinobu moves to browsing the shelves.
"Heh. I don't think we're that desperate yet. Hopefully this all blows over before too long. ...Otherwise we might need to risk it." Shinobu replies to So-young. Shinjiro asks what she'd pick for a movie night.
"Me, I like a good action movie, myself. Something flashy, high-energy..." Shinobu replies, looking toward Shinjiro. "How about you?"
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"I just had Hawaii come up the other day, this is really funny," Hitomi tells Rain parenthetically before --
THE GREAT CALL IS SENT.
"Heh heh," Hitomi echoes when Suzume reads out her read of the situation and why she deployed that tactical tool of revenge. Maybe Hitomi bears a fraction of a grudge. "Yeah," she tells So-young, still with a faint grin on her face.
"I just had Hawaii come up the other day, this is really funny," Hitomi tells Rain parenthetically before --
They're moving in. To Myunghon, Hitomi says, "Oh yeah, I'm nearly done with that adventure, though I'm gonna -- you know what let's like, get out of the RAIN first."
Hitomi is going to be the last one in, possibly in case she has to bodycheck a Shijin amateur sumo team from rushing inside and hogging up every single square centimeter inside of the video store. At the point when she's in, she's been rained on if not Drenched, and she says "Oh hey" to Shinobu on the way inside.
"I don't think we should rent a movie if we're going to carry it all the way back... unless you're gonna be coming back by here sometime before, you know," Hitomi says to Shinjiro, pivoting her bottle of cold beverage at him with something like accusation. After that she finally opens it and takes a swig.
"You should get a horror movie," Hitomi advises. "That's perfect for summer."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
"I mean, you'd know better than I would," Makoto admits to Ann's expertise. "It's not really something I have much of a chance to think about." Ren supports Ann, and complements how the flowers match her eyes and she is forced to admit that maybe Ann has a point, thinking nothing of the fact that Ren lets go w
Her favourite clothes are hand-me-downs from Sae, Ann. The battle ahead of you is uphill. Unless you like women in suits, I guess.
Still, Ann spots a place to duck for cover and with the efficiency of the Phantom Thieves in a palace, she drops into formation behind the leader as they make for cover.
This would be so much easier if she had Johanna, they could just tear through the crowd and clear the path and that would be a very bad idea but weirdly satisfying.
As they take cover under the eaves, Makoto looks across the road as someone is let into a car. "...Is that Haru?" She whispers to her friends, in the moment before the fair haired student is gone. It would have been nice if she could have joined them, but it seems Haru has more restrictions to work with.
What does surprise her is the appearance of Kazusa, complimenting her marks. She fails to notice what made Kazusa raise arch her eyebrow. "Thank you, Motojima-san. You did very well securing the top marks for the second years." She doesn't actually know Kasuza in person, but the reputation of the second year Rhythmic Gymnastic teams ace precedes her. Though, maybe it would be easier if Yoshizawa-san were here to smooth things over with introductions.
Or possibly harder. Who can say.
"...Hopefully Sakamoto-kun can get some umbrellas soon. The lines in there look... intense." The little handkerchief Makoto is using to dab her neck and collar dry isn't doing much right now- it's rather too small to win this battle.
(New BB message (834) posted to 'Daily Spotlight' by Umie Akabane: Out Of Context Theatre)
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
"Can't be that ridiculous if it worked," Suzume points out, while still trying to wring out her shirt while still wearing it.
Spoilers: it ain't working. She's just going to have to be a little soggy for a while. With her kind of shaggy hair and her shirt now sticking to her back and shoulders where she reflexively hunched over, she gives off a bit of wet cat energy... or maybe a soggy bird, given her name. Her irritation doesn't help the matter.
Suzume gives up after a few moments beyond wiping her hands more or less dryer on the sides of her shorts. "Oh, a whole dinner thing," Suzume says. Maybe she shouldn't have called them over - well, technically she only called Shinjiro, who is closer to her own age, so it's fine. Probably? "Hopefully you can GET to it without drowning out there."
She does give So-young a bit of a look. "You know he's older than me, right," she points out. "I'm pretty sure he feeds himself. AND he made fun of my instant ramen." This is not quite true; Shinjiro had actually told her that he hoped she eats things other than that, too, because a dab hand in the kitchen Suzume is not. Lack of practice. She grins, though. "But we keep an eye on him," she jokes, nodding toward Shinobu. "I'm Suzume Fukura. I come by the Cardboard Dragon sometimes but I'm too far away to be a regular. Though Mandai's hooking me into some games..."
She kind of meanders in to look at movies. Suzume, perhaps unsurprisingly if you know her or surprisingly if you don't, meanders towards the action movies... but Hitomi points out that it would be a pain to bring it back. "You're not wrong," she has to grudgingly admit.
"And yeah, Mandai and I - " Suzume tilts her head toward Hitomi. "- were talking about places to visit in America. Hawaii came up. I said Los Angeles or New York, though." Suzume, of course, has never been outside Japan in her life.
Her dampness does not stop her from picking up a movie box (well, case, these days) and looking at the back of it, thoughtfully, before setting it back down. At least she's not actively dripping on it.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
As expected: a few droplets of rain swiftly becomes a deluge, and Ann Takamaki's dismayed cries as she is soaked to the bone is lost to the indifference of summer.
Oh, cruel season...!
The end result sees the blonde irritably wringing out miniature waterfalls of rainwater from the fabric of her yukata's skirts once they all arrive at the safety of the store's overhang.
"Ughh. I'd take fighting a hundred Piggytrons over this--" she grumbles, down-in-the-dumps, by the time she hears Makoto mentioning Haru. Ann blinks. She sweeps forward, seizing suddenly upon Makoto's shoulders as if to use her as some sort of human-shaped dowsing rod to locate Haru.
"For real? Where is she?? Heeeeeeeeeey! Okumura-senpaiiiii! We're over heeeeeeere!!" One hand waving enthusiastically, she tries to flag her down -- but seeing no one, Ann just ultimately relents with a grumble. "Ugh. No fireworks. Summer rain. And we're missing Yusuke and Okumurai-senpai, and Yoshizawa-san! How are we gonna celebrate having to deal with that stupid P--"
Whereupon she hears--
Takamaki-san!
"H-huh?!"
-- a very familiar voice.
Ann, fortunately, has the good grace to cut off any cognitive complaints -right- at the pass. "O-oh, heeeeeeeeeEEEeyyy, Motojima-saaaaan, weeeird weather we're having, right~~??" ... fortunately, her acting ability is -- well, it is what it is.
Yet somehow, despite everything, Ann does look pretty cheerful as she releases her yukata to wave one happy little sweep of a wave Kazusa's way. Like she's -- at least reasonably happy to see her? Someone happy to see Kazusa? Is such a thing possible--??
"It's good to see you! I didn't expect to see you here! Total bummer about the rain, right?"
This, truly, is the power of Ann Takamaki.
Still -- Ann does recognize this is potentially an awkward position, especially with Ren's reaction -- ohhh that's not gonna play well, is it? And so the (part-time) model (hobbyist) decides to take point, hoping to cut off any potential Snipe Wars at the pass by declaring,
"Oh, um, y-yeah! We talked a bit a few weeks ago about fashion and stuff. Motojima-san, this is Ren and Makoto and -- um, Ryuji is somewhere over there, getting us drinks, I think-- AND HOPEFULLY TOWELS," Ann looks back, leeeans back really, as she projects that last idea as loud as she can without shouting (she kinda shouts let's be real she's not a theater kid she doesn't know what projecting is), squinting and frowning.
"Err. Well, anyway. These are my friends!"
These HEINOUS HOOLIGANS?! And also THE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT, MOST POWERFUL OF ALL JAPANESE AUTHORITIES is there?!
(plus a cat ALLEGEDLY!?)
--What kind of friend group is this?!
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
There's definitely no small amount of mortification in Myunghon as they, right after introducing themself as So-young's sibling, proceeds to watch her talk about domesticating Shinjiro in front of two other teens and internally decides that perhaps returning to their funerary state is in some ways *preferrable*.
"Nuna... please... if you could remember that you are--" Myunghon starts, before realising that pointing out that she's an adult ten years older than them isn't going to phase So-young one bit, then stops.
At least Shinjiro's taking it in good cheer, even if he is shivering. And Suzume's only taking it slightlyw eirdly. "Do you want my haori for the time being?" she does inquire to Shinjiro. The topic does soon shift towards what movie they'd pick for a movie night, though. Shinobu says that she'd prefer a high-octane action movie. Myunghon can't help but think that they are thinking about Excellent Pet Adventures because they haven't been emotionally destroyed enough.
"Uhm..." Myunghon thinks a little further, before Hitomi suggests a horror movie and that has Myunghon unwisely fish-eyeing. "N-not a horror movie, definitely!" This is how you expose weakness and get bullied, Myunghon Yeo!
Still, Hitomi says that the Adventure is nearly done, and their expression softens. "Oh, is that so? Do you want to put up a sign for advertising in the store or anything? I have been thinking of putting up a community board. There are enough student-run events that it might be wise."
Suzume and Hitomi have some ideas of where to visit in America. "An overseas trip? Would that be your first time?" Myunghon does inquire, a little intrigued.
<Pose Tracker> Rain Summers has posed.
As Aloha Video starts to finally see a crowd, Rain takes her place behind the sales counter, shaking the rain drops off her shirt. Aloha video isn't a huge store, but it's pretty packed with cinematic goodness. The shelves and walls are lined with VHSes and DVDs for both rent and purchase, organized by genre for handy browsing, and a healthy mix of both domestic and foreign pictures.
"Welcome in, my name's Rain Summers. You can just call me Rain-san." A pause. "The irony isn't lost on me."
She looks over to Myunghon as she asks for a recommendation. Geez, maybe she shouldn't have sent Minoru home for the night. "Ah, <English jouzu! Very good! Let's see... We just got in this one!>" She pulls a DVD off the shelf with a sinster jester on the cover emblazoned with the title "THEY." "<It's based on the horror novel by Kevin Queen. A classic!>"
She leans down on the counter and looks to Shinjiro, switching back to Japanese. "I moved here when I was 14, so about 18 years now. Had the store for about three of them."
"Hawaii is very popular with Japanese people. Even when I lived there, there were Japanese tourists all the time. You'd love it!"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
".... Flowers, in the darkness." There's something poetic about that.
"A florist, huh," Umie says over her shoulder. "A place like Rafflesia, or..." Honestly, that's the only chain she knows here, but she's also new to here.
Maria's reaction to the lightning startles Umie, as she moves underneath the awnings. "... Hey, you okay?" Maybe it was just a natural reaction to loud noises, but there's a part of Umie that can't quite stop herself from checking, even as she starts wringing out her yukata as discreetly as she is able.
Which, well, there are better ways of doing that.
Umie sighs at both Tamaki and Maria's offers of towels, waving a hand like she's completely used to it. "It's too crowded in there now. Just give it a few minutes." She's having to raise her voice over the pouring of the rain and thunder to Tamaki and Maria. "I'm not about to melt."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Ren subs Kazusa in favor of asking Ann about her. Kazusa doesn't say anything, but her eyes narrow just a bit.
- Kazusa will remember that.
"... why don't I try to get us towels or hot drinks?" Wakana suggests quietly to Kazusa. Kazusa just nods back, and presses something into her hand. "Here." Wakana gives everyone else an awkward smile as she tries to make her way into the store. (It's a credit card.)
"Thank you, Niijima-san." She of course wasn't about to brag (she totally would though, just not right now). "I'm sure you worked just as hard for yours."
Her eyes flick over to the store when Makoto mentions 'Sakamoto-kun.' For a brief moment her souring expression looks something like, 'Oh, so he's here, too.'
Her tone lightens as she looks to Anne. "I know, right?" If she notices the bad acting job she doesn't comment on it. Everybody's grumpy right now, she's not going to read into it. "You'd think someone would've checked a weather report or something."
They talked about fashion and stuff! "And I was going to show you my yoga place, don't forget," she says, almost cheerfully. "Oh, I recognize our student council president and... one of our new transfer students. Kazusa Motojima." She introduces herself, since Ann was also making introductions.
"I didn't know all of you hung out together," she comments. "And Sakamoto-san, too..." She's in Ryuji's class, but still.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Makoto whispers about Haru. Ren looks up, scanning the thinning crowd--there. Sure enough, that's Haru in a yukata, getting into a limo. "Looks like it," they murmur back. They consider waving to her to ask if the four of them can get a ride with her, but too late--she's already in, and her company (security detail?) are moving on. Too bad.
This doesn't stop Ann from YELLING and WAVING ANYWAY, and Ren barely holds back a laugh--and does not hold back a smile--at her gung-ho enthusiasm. "She just got in a car. I don't think she can hear you," they tell her, at least. "We'll say hi some other time." Possibly during a Phantom Thieves meeting.
They do grimace faintly in agreement as Ann goes on to also voice how, actually, this outing has ended up a big disappointment. A bunch of their friends aren't here, the fireworks have been canceled, they're all soaked from the summer shower... They look over their shoulder into the Triple Seven. They can't even see Ryuji from out here. "They might end up selling out before he can get any," they observe--whether it's umbrellas, towels, andor drinks. "Hope he doesn't get trampled in there..."
That seems like a distinct danger. At the very least, he's going to be in there for a while.
Huh. So Kazusa actually is a friend of Ann's. That's... unexpected. Ren maintains a deadpan all the same as the latter introduces them all to each other, but at least nods in greeting. They didn't like the way Kazusa had talked to Kasumi--let alone themself--but she's being civil, so they can too.
Of course, they note how Kazusa didn't introduce her friend, only sent her on into the store with a credit card, but Wakana offered to do that so Ren decides it's none of their business.
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
"Transient... huh..."
So Maria utters, becoming that much less animate than she had been moments prior.
But just like that, as Umie talks flowers, it's like someone flipped the Maria switch back on again. "Smaller, smaller!" she says, waving her folded-up hand as if to indicate thus. "It's just a little place. She always says, she just got the job because the owner felt sorry for her, uh-- never mind!" She shakes her head vehemently, clamming up until that moment that thunder rolls.
And Umie gets drenched.
But good news! Tamaki thinks she saw some towels inside the Triple 7.
"Inside? Okay! Wait right here--err??" She pauses, craning her head this way and that, as if to more carefully study the Umie. "Are you sure? I can get some! Wet clothes can feel gross, and it's still humid out, you know!" In other words, air-drying won't feel good.
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young beams as Shinjiro takes her teasing well, but she does also seem genuinely pleased to know that something is happening on the school front in general, given the times she's been concerned about how many children end up caught up in the Dark Hour and its surrounding concerns. She might not have the full story at present, and she's the last person who would ever try to insist someone live in normalcy - but she knows that a little can be good for you.
The conductor has hidden beneath the awning as best she can at this point, because even she wasn't expecting things to get quite this sodden, and she flashes a frown towards Shinobu as she cranes her head to look at the sky. "I hope you are right about that. Summer rain may usually be brief, but in my experience it tends to be malevolent first and foremost. ... hmm, I can't tell from the cloud cover how long it's going to last."
Myunghon starts to call her out on it, but sure enough, So-young Park seems to march entirely to the drum of her own beat when it comes to interacting with other people. "It's not as if I'm flirting with them," she looks theatrically scandalized, but that melts away in a moment to a good-natured smile towards Suzume. "Ah, I'm fairly new to the Cardboard Dragon myself. We only reconnected a couple of months ago," 'reconnected' is a much easier way to sum up the situation, even if it isn't quite correct.
So-young considers the choice with a remarkable degree of thought for her. "Hmm... they're both very good options. If it were, I would probably have to pick New York. Playing something in Carnegie Hall would be a dream, if I'm honest. But then you have the Hollywood Bowl and the Los Angeles Opera. Hmm." ... nope, she's still thinking about it. Music really is her lifeblood.
She moves on from the thought eventually, dislodged by the way Hitomi clearly knows what's up when she recommends horror. So-young's eyes light up at the prospect. "Not to mention it suits the weather, too," she chips in. "Bonus points if you can line up a scare with a thunderbolt, of course." She's about to tease Myunghon, but the conservation makes her pause as she picks up from Myunghon's response: "Oh, you're an author?" is her first guess laced with curiosity, because she really is rather normie without an instrument in her hands.
She cannot help but snort at Eigo Jouzu, but it dissolves quickly into another smile towards Rain as she fishes in her (thankfully, mostly dry) purse. "Oh, I'll take a rental card off you for now at the very least, please."
GAME: Save complete.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Makoto lets out a small yelp as she is suddenly used as a divination device by the great fortune teller Takamaki, but by the time she can just *point* Ann in the right direction, the car is leaving and Ann has missed her. "Ann." She says, quietly, with an almost Queen-like edge to her voice once Ann is done clambering up on her.
She's clearly just flushed cause she's embarrassed.
And then they are exposed to Ann's acting skills again, and Makoto shakes her head with a sigh.
"It does take a lot of studying and effort to maintain grades like that, it's true," Makoto says, totally missing any potential sniping that might be pointed her direction. She *doesn't* glare at her friends despite knowing how their grades sit. But today was a vacation from such things.
She will drag them into the studydome at a later date.
"I did, the rain wasn't supposed to be coming in until after midnight..." Makoto IS of course that sort of responsible person, and definitely not a habitual overplanner when it comes to going out. Definitely not.
"...It wasn't that bad," Makoto says, trying to salvage the day if just out of politeness. Waiting under the eaves of a convenience store while the rain pours, wondering when it will be safe to make for the station afterwards as the rain just worsens. "...Maybe some of the stores will have extra stock?" Makoto says, hopefully and also naively, looking at where... Ryuji might be in the conbini. "I really don't want to have to make a break for it..."
If only *someone* could suggest that a local black cat steal them an umbrella. Not that they can with Kazusa right there- no one here speaks cat to make it subtle and unreadable, either.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki smiles behind a hand again at Maria after she goes still. "Oh -- I meant nothing grim by that. I just treat it as a reminder that it's all the better for us to make the most of the lives we lead now. That's all."
She tilts her head. "I could use some flowers to brighten up my room, I think. Is this smaller florist at least located somewhere closer to home -- er, Sumaru City?"
Tamaki quietly eyes Umie and considers protesting for a few moments ... but then shrugs. "I suppose you would know best out of the three of us. We can wait a few minutes, but then we're getting you towels and a warm drink."
She chuckles lightly. "I'm beginning to sense a pattern with our interactions, Akebane-san." Then she resumes chowing down on her daifuku.
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
Hitomi looks at Suzume with some sympathy. It's not abstract, either. She knows the pain of being damp. (Underneath the fabric of the yukata, Hitomi is wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt, just in case something happened. Those have gotten a little sticky.)
"I didn't know he was a gourmet chef as well as all the other stuff he's done," Hitomi muses after Suzume speaks, before she looks towards Rain. Who is hitting Suzume with the Very Good English!, which Hitomi furrows her brow about it. (She is not quite where she would need to be to see the irony.)
Resting a hand on her hip, she straightens up and muses to herself, "'They'..." Her eyes turn to Myunghon. "No... I haven't had the chance to go out of the country. My dad went to Taiwan a couple of times before I was born, does that count?" She grins a little. obviously not
But even so.
"I think I'd want to go to Las Vegas and see like ultimate America," she says to Myunghon. "But I mean you see it in the background of movies and everything... A lot of it's really beautiful! It just looks dry, but I guess they figure it out?"
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Ultimate... Ultimate America?" Myunghon sounds like they haven't quite heard Hitomi correctly.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
It does take a lot of studying and effort to maintain grades like that, it's true.
ANN TAKAMAKI, STARING INNOCUOUSLY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION:
"Iiii know, right...? Aheh-heh--"
Look. She tried. Pretty hard. For her!
It's not her fault text is the most boring medium alive!
Thankfully, besides a Lingering Aura of Dread in knowing her English scores were the only things saving her entire ass in those exams, Makoto isn't pressing it, on this, the rainiest of all celebration days; Ann gladly takes the distraction from talk of academics when offered in the form of Kazusa mentioning yoga instead, eyes flying wide as she remembers.
"Oh yeah! We so need to do that soon! I can feel myself getting all limber just thinking about it, heh heh!" enthuses Ann, eyes shut and arms swinging with ambient excitement, knowing nothing of the cruel curse of Morning After Full Body Soreness that awaits her.
If there was any doubt, there it is. Of course -- Ann hasn't gotten Kazusa on her bad side, yet. Or seen the way she acts around others save in passing. But more than that, there's just something about her, despite her having a friend here, that feels kind of...
... isolated?
...
Ann isn't sure why she thinks that. It's just... familiar.
"Huh? Oh yeah, it's no big deal or anything," Ann says, dismissing the idea that this VERY WEIRD friend group could POSSIBLY be weird -- close enough that Ann is easily referring to all of them, even Makoto, on a first-name basis, honorific-free. Maybe it's a bit easier to accept from someone as foreign-looking from her (even if she, ironically, hews the most steadfastly to formal address for seniority).
But still...
Anything else Ann might say falls by the wayside as Kazusa, Makoto and Ren all bring up Ryuji one shortly after the other. Ann blinks. Her brows furrow. She frowns.
"... T-trampled??" she wonders, concern writ large on her features. "He's way too hard-headed for that, right? ... Right??"
And, worries about how they're going to make it through the storm are tabled for the moment so Ann can shout directly into the conbini once more,
"RYUJI! DON'T GET TRAMPLED!!"
Ah. Summer.
Friendship.
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
"Well, he's a better cook than *me*." This is not hard. Suzume doesn't cook much; she's not terrible, but she doesn't have much practice. She uses the kitchen but only for simple things. So far.
When Myunghon asks if it would be her first time to America, Suzume has to admit, "I've never been out of the country." She doesn't even travel very far *inside* Japan; Tokyo, Sumaru, Port Island, and she hasn't been too many other places. "I guess I'd need to get a passport, but I'll worry about that if I ever get the chance. My English is okay though."
It's fine as long as she's reading. Speaking it, well... She can manage, to a point. Until she gets frustrated by someone speaking too fast, anyway, or she makes a mistake - online is the place she uses English most of the time, and it's typed. But she *insists* it's fine.
She's still kind of browsing, even though the odds of her renting something are pretty much zero. It's a long way to bring it back, and in any case she's going on one of those rare trips in a couple days, but it brings her back. She used to rent more than she does these days, and it's kind of nostalgic.
(Did you know you can get movies... ONLINE? For FREE? As long as you know where to look...)
Looking over the edge of a movie case (last year's Z-Men) at So-young, Suzume says, "I guess that's why I never heard you mentioned." Sorry, but it's true! "But in the States... I want to watch a Major League game - baseball," she clarifies. "Just wander around one of the big cities, see what's up. Past that... well, I never thought about it much. I don't think any of the games I like happen in Carnagie Hall."
Suzume does not know what Carnegie Hall is. But So-young said play in it, so...
"...Hey, you didn't say anything about Las Vegas yesterday," she adds, to Hitomi. "That's the gambling city, right? With all the casinos? I'd like to do that one... in a couple years. Pretty sure they'd throw us out now!"
She sets the movie case down. "I don't think I can get anything today," she admits. "Is the rain going down yet? Is it safe to go out, or will we get plastered?"
Suzume. Wrong word.
"...you know, like all your clothes stuck on you," she adds, haplessly, the first time she gets looked at strangely for it.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old Time is still a-flying; and this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying," says the faulty oracle, adjusting a blonde bang back behind her ear.
And then, moving on--
"Oh hey, those places are usually the best, though," Umie answers amiably to Maria's description of the place,
Her eyelids lower at Maria's reaction to the thunder.
".... Umie. Umie Akabane," she gives Maria, using her introduction as a means to get her distracted.
.... Though, the pouring rain is probably a better distraction.
'I'm beginning to sense a pattern with our interactions...' Ah. Yes. The Jack Frost rock candy Incident. (She really should give some of those to the SIlk Peacock.)
"Sometimes luck isn't on my side, is all," Umie says, with a shrug, before dipping her head to one side, still finding humor in the experience. ".... Eh, if you want to brave the Triple 7 at the height of its most dangerous time to rescue a towel for me, I'd be in either your debt--"
SPEAKING OF DANGEROUS KONBINIS
'RYUJI! DON'T GET TRAMPLED!!'
Out of the corner of Umie's eye, Umie manages to spot the distinction hair of Ann; but, seeing she's with Ren and Makoto, Umie opts for a small wave, before looking at her yellow umbrella.
"Some help this was."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Ren, is it so hard to believe that Kazusa has friends?
... Don't answer that!
But Kazusa is partly distracted trying to wring extra water out of her yukata, so maybe being civil will ahve to be good enough tonight.
Makoto comments on the effort, and Kazusa nods. "It does," and at least at that she's being sincere. "After midnight... I wonder how they messed up the weather report so badly."
Sorry Kazusa is blocking your crimes, Makoto. Maybe another time you'll have better luck.
Maybe it's a kindness she doesn't comment on the grades of her fellow second-years. ... or maybe she's just too distracted with trying to do something about the damp cloth clinging to her. "... better not be ruined..." she mutters to herself. "This was expensive."
She actually smiles at Ann, though. "Definitely. Summer break's a great time to get started, now that there's some free time."
Her strange friend group... Kazusa looks to Makoto and Ren. "... I see."
.... Theyre definitely not invited to yoga, not that Kzusa says it out loud.
Is she isolated, though? Wakana's almost always with her, but anybody who's seen them interact for long enough... there's definitely an imbalance in that relationship.
Still... "... maybe I'd better check on Wakana-chan." She says that like she's planning to go into the store herself.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
There's a moment where Myunghon winces at the English jouzu and seems to get, at the very least, the faux pas and the message behind it -- especially as Rain explains that she's been here since she was 14, and their assumption that they'd prefer English is probably something they don't quite appreciate. "Ah... er--"
Myunghon is staring at the theythem Nickelwise clown for a moment. "T-that looks a little intense... but I will keep it in mind if people do prefer a horror movie, thank you, Summer-san."
So-young protests that she's not flirting with them. Myunghon's about to argue that there's many more ways to mess up a teenager than just 'don't sexually harrass them', but then relents. "Just... remember your position, nuna," Myunghon weakly sighs, perhaps regressing back to being itchy for the Mementos button, but then that's got them feeling guilty again. You can't just run away from all your problems by going to Mementos, Myunghon.
Hitomi and Suzume both say they've never been out of the country, and Myunghon does nod. "You do need a passport," as Suzume already observes, "and I believe you do need your guardians for that process as your legal representative." America is dry...
"And... very... very large, in many respects," Myunghon admits, thinking about the American Triple 7's Giant Gulp Cup. "But, I think you'll have a wonderful time."
There's another sigh, and then Myunghon says, "I'll see if we can't make it to our reservation if there's a break in the rain... ... no, it rather doesn't look like there will be. Mmm."
They're leaned against the glass, which now has their reflection given the intensity of the rain. Stuck in Shibuya like this, in a yukata of Mei Arisugawa's design, the weather having messed up just about everything, just like that one summer night...
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Suzume challenged the Big Bang Challenge last night. She is not afraid of large.
(She lost to the Gravity Burger. It was not the first time.)
<Pose Tracker> Rain Summers has posed.
Rain certainly wasn't expecting to get a card out today, but she certainly wasn't gonna complain about it, either. "1500 yen for the card, then it's 800 per night per movie." She pulls out a laminated card, emblazoned with a lei and a barcode on one side. She definitey kept to a theme, huh?
"<Ultimate America! Hell yeah!>"
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"Yeah," Hitomi tells Myunghon. "I heard one of the Casinos there is like New York New York, right? So if you went there you'd be in New York *and* Las Vegas at the same time." So-Young's mention of a dream of going to Carnegie hall gets a glance, if only because she isn't familiar.
But it has to be famous, right??
Hitomi goes to sight-read the movies on offer, picking up one - "Oh, Thanksgiving complete version, nice..." She turns it over, perhaps to check special features and extras! Her lips purse for a moment as it seems to mostly be in English, raising it up to squint and see if there are signs of subtitle.
Hitomi, whose hair is a damn ol' mess due to getting wet while being in that weirdly OL-like heap bun mess, looks upwards when Rain whips out the card. "We're not going to America," Hitomi tells Myunghon. "What I was going to say is, I'm nearly done with 'That,' but I don't think I'll be able to run it until we get back... our school's doing a trip pretty soon."
Her eyes turn towards Rain as she moves to solicit Custom. Hitomi looks at the DVD in her hand.
Hitomi's fingers tap.
"This is out of nowhere, but... do any of you have internet phones? Like web browsing?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Okay, Ren won't answer that.
And hey, Ren studied hard (at the last minute) and pulled their grades up to a solid, average, middle of the pack! That's something, right?!
...
Ren will attend the studydome as mandated, ma'am...
"Figures," they murmur of the rain forecast. The four of have some midnight plans, so of course Makoto would have checked the weather not just for today but going into tomorrow. They were all supposed to head there together too, but... maybe it'd be better if they split up and went there separately after all. It's not like they're going to stay here for much longer.
At least Ren doesn't have to worry about Sojiro wondering why he hasn't come home tonight. (Sojiro will have more time to do what he needs to at Leblanc too, so... winwin...??)
"I'll go in after him. Be right back," Ren says to Makoto and Ann, since they're keeping their eyes on the inside to avoid looking at anyone wringing out their yukatas. Regardless of whether Kazusa goes in after her other friend or not, they'll then brave the in-store crowds. They'll return with Ryuji and the goods (whatever those goods are. Schroedinger's goods) soon enough, but it won't be long after that that the four will have to part ways and head home--or at least, somewhere to dry off before taking the train to Sumaru.
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
"Eh? Oh, no, no, no, no," Maria insists, grinning the grin of someone trying to play it cool. She waves a hand in the air dismissively. "It's fine, it's fine! I was just-- thinking. That's all!" Some people might well say that's a first, for a girl who floats through life at blithe remove. And yet, for a moment...
"...gather ye roses..." Maria mumbles under her breath, her face for an instant downright pensive.
"Hey, um... do you ever dream about dying?"
There's no preamble. She just up and says it, like that.
The storm doesn't seem to have put much of a damper on Maria's spirits. "--Akabane-san! Got it! I'm Maria, Maria Sakurai! And what's your name, ma'am?" she says, to Tamaki.
"Oh, yes! It is. It's in Rengedai. It's Ueno's Florals. So you're from Sumaru, too?"
She just nods as Tamaki pushes for doing Umie a kindness. "Well, you helped me with my makeup--" Maria starts to say, before looking between Umie and Tamaki as the realization that she's mixed up who did what sinks in. "Well, you helped me, right? So I can help you back! Just wait a minute!"
Before she turns, then freezes to spot just how many people are in there.
"...Five minutes?" Maria hedges, because even she has her limits and she's smudged her makeup once already due to a tight crowd.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
If that wasn't bad enough, a car pulls up to the Triple 7, and a window slowly lowers in the back seat, to reveal a glimpse of a familiar auburn haired celebrity.
"Bad luck, the timing of this sudden downpour. Don't you think, Niijima-san? Your sister let me take off early for it..." He sighs, "...but it seems like her good will was wasted by a so-called 'act of god.'"
He gives an apologetic smile, "I would offer you and your friend a ride, but I'm afraid we're going the opposite way. But if you'd like..."
Akechi reaches out to offer a certain object... an umbrella. "... I wouldn't mind sparing you this, for the way home."
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
'Gather ye rosebuds...' If Umie hadn't beaten her to it, Tamaki would have definitely quoted it, so she grins upon hearing they're on the same wavelength.
Now in addition to Umie, Tamaki has been on the receiving end of a 'ma'am,' but Tamaki seems to be happy to have received it. It's her turn to be an adult, so maybe she'll do better than the authority figures she had as a kid.
Tamaki's answer about whether she dreams of dying comes instantly: "Constantly." No hesitation, no need to pause for recall, with just as little preamble as Maria had given her question. (Her answer is, however, punctuated by another bite into her last daifuku.)
After having finished her snack entirely now, Tamaki gives Maria a slight bow and smiles widely. "Ueno's Florals in Rengedai. Got it. And I'm Tamaki Uchida, apprentice detective over at the Kuzunoha Detective Agency over in Aoba Ward! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sakurai-san."
She glances at Maria and notices her hesitation. Lacking any such compunctions about her own appearance and feeling re-emboldened after having eaten something, she turns back to the doors of the Triple 7 and rolls up the sleeve of her yukata. "Screw it, I'm going in."
And so she disappears into the crowd to get Umie a towel and whichever hot drink Umie would prefer. (... and misses a sighting of the Detective Prince himself!)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'"Hey, um... do you ever dream about dying?'
Umie's eyes glance briefly towards Maria, giving her a discreet look.
It's not that such talk could be a precursor to someone possibly going towards something supernatural; to Umie's abilities, she senses nothing from Maria, but, as someone like Tamaki would know, Umie herself registers as a walking reason why that is never a clear sign of someone having a Persona... or, perhaps, on the verge of developing one.
No, there's many frightfully mundane reasons for such things.
".... I try not to." IT's the best response Umie can think of, despite it feeling a little too quip-py for the moment. "... If you get more dreams like that, though--"
Tamaki disappears into the Triple 7, leaving Umie distracted just enough to see Akechi out of the corner of her eye, offering an umbrella to Makoto.
Of course he'd be bone-dry, as someone who has had to cultivate such an image. Meanwhile, there is Umie, in a state that could only be comical: dripping wet, but with a fully closed umbrella in her hand.
If Akechi does take a look in Umie's direction, she'll spare a nod of greeting, attempting to maintain her dignity, but also to respect Akechi's time.
After all, it _is_ a nice gesture.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Of all the things Makoto expected tonight, she absolutely did not expect a government vehicle to pull up. Sae generally drives herself, and she wouldn't use a government car for private business but there's a momentary fear that she might have to explain to her sister what she's doing out and about still, or worse, why she's here with three people implicated in the Kamoshida case.
Fortunately, it's not Sae.
Akechi is only almost as bad as her sister appearing.
"Oh, Akechi-kun!" Makoto does, in fact, seem genuinely surprised- even if she fears she may have to step on Ann's foot to encourage her not to act. Or talk-
But she's begging Ryuji not to get trampled for now and Ren's gone in after him so at least she only has to manage Ann. "It's a shame, isn't it," Makoto responds, mostly genuinely. She's already pretty sure that Sis letting Akechi go doesn't mean she'll be home early, but it means she'll have to check her phone as soon as she can without it getting soaked.
"I appreciate the offer at least, Akechi-kun." There's a certain practiced trait to Makoto's polite smile, and her tone kept level- though Ann is maybe the only one who knows her well enough to notice. "We have to return our yukata first, anyway."
And then comes the lifeline of the umbrella, and a bunch of thoughts come into Makoto's mind at once.
He's definitely up to something, like at the mock exams.
Why would he travel all this way just to taunt us with an umbrella?
Is accepting it what he wants, or is he hoping I'll stubbornly refuse and give something away?
And then Makoto takes into account the rain, the circumstances, and decides to react as normally and practically. "...I would appreciate that very much, Akechi-kun. I'll be sure to return it to you as soon as possible.
She rolls up the already partly soaked sleeve of her yukata to reach out and take the offered umbrella, assuming Akechi doesn't yank it away and drive off laughing, but that wouldn't fit the Detective Prince image. And it's not like he needs the umbrella to get her prints, he has ample opportunity from so many things she's had to deliver to Sis.
But when the umbrella is received, Makoto pulls back her arm to under the cover, removes the case and looks for a clear space to open the umbrella with. Once she does she can message the group that they've got one now, which might save Ren and Ryuji some trouble-
So she lets out a gasp of surprise when she opens the umbrella revealing... A panda face on one half, with little ears poking out the top, with the 'back' half of the umbrella showing a stripe of black then a white space with black polkadots orderly arrayed on it. She blinks a few times before staring at Akechi. "A Buchimaru-kun umbrella?"
Despite her trying to look controlled and organized, there's a flash of childlike joy she can't hide from a trained eye- along with a dash of suspicion. Makoto Niijima is, after all, a terrible liar.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"You're quite welcome." He replies to Makoto, "Aha... don't worry about that, feel free to borrow it as long as you like. I'm sure we'll run into each other again before too long."
Akechi smiles and then- his eyes sweep past Umie, then focus back in. He does a small double take. Then, gives her a grave nod of solidarity, like he too is facing this crisis with her. Right before his window thunks back up and the driver takes off.
Right before Makoto ever finds out it was a Buchimaru umbrella to begin with. He'd had that on him for weeks, hoping for the opportunity to troll her with it during a sudden shower.
Sometimes life just presents you with the right opportunity on a silver platter, and who is he to let it slip by?
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
'Constantly', Tamaki answers her.
"You too? Hmmmm," Maria mulls aloud. "Maybe, it's normal, then."
But if she keeps getting dreams like that... "Well, let's see if they come back! Maybe they won't," she tells Umie, all sunshine and roses herself, like she wasn't speaking of such existential matters. "I'm sure it's fine."
To Tamaki, Maria nods. "Uh huh. My mother is Izumi. Izumi Sakurai," she says, like that couldn't just be assumed. "She works part time, so she's not always there." When and if Tamaki does go, there is one thing that she will immediately notice about Maria's mother, if she's there at the time: her mother uses a wheelchair.
Maria balks, but Tamaki is made of sterner stuff.
"Oh, wait--"
But it's too late. Tamaki has BRAVED THE HORRORS of the crowded convenience store. All Maria can do is shrug, smile, and look over at Umie. Her gaze slips past her, to a car close at hand.
Ah-- isn't that...?
Perhaps, for just a moment, their eyes will meet: her, and the Detective Prince. Maria is quick to avert her gaze, the memory of what he'd had to say to her about her ex-boyfriend when they'd last spoken flooding back to her.
Pensive once more, Maria leans against the plate glass of the storefront and toys with the bag in her other hand. The one that has her cellphone inside it.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Just as quick as her initial answer, she replies again: "It's not normal."