2025-11-16: Blocked Communication
- Log: Blocked Communication
- Cast: Ichika Kawase, Hyousuke Suzuki
- Where: Hagakure Ramen, Iwatodai City
- OOC Date: November 16, 2025
- IC Date: August 11, 2012 (Evening)
- Summary: After a hard day at Eiji's Palace, Ichika isn't ready to stay home yet. She heads out, and invites Hyousuke to dinner. ...He's still downplaying his own needs, but Ichika is willing to bide her time. They both enjoy great ramen!
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika has had a long day so far. But she isn't quite ready to stay home yet, either; she wants to be out, even if she's tired. So she's reapplied her makeup, changed her clothes, and headed back out, with a text to one of her friends who's suddenly on her mind thanks to Tsubasa: Hyousuke.
> Hey you want ramen?
> On me. Iwatodai.
Now, she's waiting at a table in Hagakure Ramen, letting out a breath as she tries to relax a little while she waits. She's dressed in cargo pants and tanktop, her long hair down, her makeup... fine, though her eyes are a little red if you look closely; she couldn't entirely do away with that.
But it's a nice evening, warm, and full of energy.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke's response was a short one - little more than 'sounds good' followed by an 'omw' not long before he was due there. It was hardly the most comprehensive of responses, but it got the message across, he hoped. When he finally did arrive, he looked to have come there straight after training. His hair still held the faintest hint of dampness from the showers, and came with the rather distinct scent of a local supermarket's own-brand shampoo. His clothes looked more like they'd been thrown onto him than worn with purpose, with creased jeans and a crumpled t-shirt arranged loosely over his form, while a thin jacket was draped across his shoulders.
At the very least, his appearance was messy, but not as dishevelled as it had been the other day - likely a result of him rushing to make it to the train station after finishing his regimen. That was not to say he looked to be back at full health, though. Bloodshot eyes and darkened bags still plagued him, and though ice packs and rest had worked to hide the worst of the injuries he'd sustained, they had yet to fade completely from his skin. Nevertheless, he entered the shop with a beaming grin and short wave.
"Sorry for making you wait." He said, inviting himself to take a seat next to her. "Had to finish a few sets, and I lost track of time." He shuffled a little on his seat, trying to get more comfortable, before looking over to her properly. "Doing alright?" Despite it being phrased as a pleasantry, it was a genuine question. He'd not noticed the red to her eyes, but with everything that had happened - to both her and Tsubasa - he couldn't help but be concerned.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Sounding good is good enough. And Ichika looks over Hyousuke as he comes in. She regards his clothes, his appearance, the fact that it's not quite so bad as the other day... But he still seems pretty rough.
He's grinning, though. That's a change.
"It's cool," Ichika says of waiting, and smiles back. "Not a problem. I wanted to sit for a while anyway."
A beat, "I'm good. Just kinda tired. Long day."
"Glad to be here! I'm not ready to be at home for the night yet, you know?"
"...How about you?" she asks, and she wonders what kind of answer she'll get.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
She'd not started to question the state he was in. That was good. It was enough to help him relax a little, at least. The last thing that he wanted to do was be given questions that he had no good answers for. He only hoped that she didn't notice how the smile never reached his eyes. It wasn't as though he wasn't pleased to be there - he'd made the journey over, and the had been quite eager to sit down and chat. But in the quiet moments of their conversation, when it grew to a lull and there was nothing for him to focus on, he blinked, and seemed a thousand miles away for a moment or two.
"Aching." He said to her question, rolling his shoulder a little to accentuate the point. "Working out in this heat's always a pain." It was ultimately a benign problem to have. Nothing that anyone needed to be concerned about - just a simple grip that wasn't worth sparing more than a fleeting thought for. "Sounds to me like we've both earnt some good food. Speaking of which, any recommendations?" Deflect and distract. Hopefully it'd work this time.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika knows what happened last time she directly questioned it--she can guess what happened when Tsubasa questioned it, given what they'd said to her. So rather than drive Hyousuke off, she plays it subtle for the moment. ...She absolutely notices, though.
She notices that thousand-mile-stare.
"Oh, yeah?" Ichika asks. "I guess that's fair. Still, it's good to keep it up, I guess."
"We have!" Ichika agrees. "Go for the house ramen--it's really good. Supposed to be good for your skin, too. Might not be bad for the muscles, either."
They can take care of that order in a moment, and then get back to talking.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The thought of it being good for his muscles - true or not - was enough to close the deal. Brow raised at merely the prospect, he nodded firmly, and made his decision then and there.
"Then it's gotta be the house ramen." He said, with the same degree of firmness that someone might have defended their most deeply-held personal values. "The banana stuff's good, but I gotta have some variety sometimes." Neverteheless, he glanced over a menu to see what other options were available, even if for no other reason than curiosity. He stayed quiet for a little while, unsure of what precisely he wanted to say to her, before speaking on something else.
"You see the fireworks?" Hyousuke asked, canting his head a little as he tried to start the conversation again. "Heard that one got cut short 'cause of rain."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
There's other broths--bone broth, especially--but the house ramen is a good choice. Ichika actually smiles at how Certain Hyousuke sounds about it. "Right?" she asks. "...I kinda miss it, but I haven't been out to see Ma'am in a while..." She hasn't made it back to Hirasaka lately. But soon, she will.
Ichika doesn't force the matter of conversation first; she's content to just sit with a friend in parallel for a while.
"Nah," Ichika says. "I didn't make it out there. Just as well, since I heard it got rained out, too."
"Doing anything interesting with the break so far?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
'Repeatedly going out into the Dark Hour with no insurance policy or backup' was certainly not an answer he intended to give. It was certainly interesting, and it was definitely something he'd been doing during the break, but he'd already caused himself - and others - more trouble than he cared to admit. Outright stating what he'd done would have just burdened them with more things that they didn't need - not at a time when they were supposed to be resting, or preparing for the fight of their lives. So, rather than speak that truth, he chose another one. One more suited to casual conversation. One that, since it wasn't technically a lie, absolved him of all guilt.
"Been looking around for more places to hike or get some tea." He said, strategically leaving out the part where the last time he'd attempted to find a nice cafe, he ended up arguing with Tsubasa. "There's some good stuff if you go digging, but you *really* gotta go digging. You were right - it's not really the kinda area you find those places in." That part, at least, he didn't disguise his feelings on. The disappointment was palpable. "What about you? Apart from going back home for a while, I mean."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Hmmm." So he's definitely not going to mention where he got those bruises, Ichika is pretty sure. Or why he's so tired. "Yeah," Ichika says. "Port Island especially is--well, it's artificial. You're not going to find a lot of nature there. Iwatodai's area has a little more..."
"But still."
"Hmm. Well, I..."
She thinks of what to say. She doesn't want to mention where she went; he'd worry, and probably insist on getting involved before she was ready. So...
"Relaxing some. Saw Ririka-chan off on her trip. Some school thing, I'm not sure the entire deal, but they're going out to the beach, so that's nice?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke detected nothing. His gaze lingered on her eyes for a moment, but it was not because he'd noticed anything out of place - it was more that it was part of him giving her a once-over. A check to make sure she was alright, and there wasn't anything he could help with in the here and now. Her hesitation gave him pause, but it did not linger, with him believing it to be her simply organising her thoughts. He was none the wiser... though that didn't stop him from being at least a little worried for her wellbeing.
"Guess I was lucky to catch her before she left." He mused idly, not sounding like he'd have been too shaken up if he'd not spoken to her before that point. "Her concert's soon, isn't it?" Hyousuke's glance flickered to her eyes again. He wondered why - was there something about them he should've noticed?
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika's eyes are a little red, but there's no other sign of active distress; she's lucid, her eyes aren't at all glassy, and she's generally if anything just... tired, as she mentioned. She has some things on her mind, but it's harder to read that.
"Yeah," Ichika says. "You talk to her much?" she wonders. A beat, "Mm-hm. About a week and a half. Should be good. I know she's looking forward to it, and a last-minute trip threw her off a little."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
He saw the red. He remembered her mentioning she was tired. He wondered if it was alright to ask about it, but ultimately, decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she wanted him to know, she'd tell him, right?
"Not as much as I'd like." Hyousuke said, a twinge of ruefulness in his words. "We don't get a lot of chances to speak, but she seems alright." His reaction was a muted one, but at the very least, he seemed to see Ririka in a positive light. "Maybe I'll catch her after the concert. Gotta say, I'm looking forward to that one too."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"She's cool," Ichika says of her sister. "Tends to take things on herself, though--you should look out for that, if you get to be friends."
Ichika says this without needling it in any more than having said the words. Instead, shec ontinues, "It should be fun. She works really hard at it."
Ramen!! their order is up. "I'll get it," Ichika says then, and soon, returns with both of their bowls, setting them down. They also have drinks.
"Smells great, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke took on the faintest hint of consternation in his features when he heard Ichika's comments on Ririka. Was that a comment on the person herself? A hint for him? A mixture of both? Frustration plagued him, for he could not say for certain. Eventually, he decided to just push the matter to the back of his mind and think on it later. There were more important matters to attend to - matter such as a piping-hot bowl of ramen. He leaned over it a little, breathing in softly to let the savoury-scented air bathe his lungs, and his face immediately lit up.
"If it tastes as good as it smells, I've gotta come back here more often." Hyousuke remarked, looking at the bowl with the same expression an eager hound might a slab of meat. "Thanks for the meal!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It's both! It's definitely both. Ichika can play the 'subtle' game, and she's discovered that being direct with Hyousuke only seems to make him feel uncomfortable. So she'll hint for now.
It's nice to see him light up, though.
"Definitely," Ichika agrees with a smile. "Thanks for the meal!"
She goes for her ramen, too; it's going to be a few before she has anything more to say, because as it happens, she is super hungry.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke said nothing as he ate, though he was far from silent. He knew it was rude to make much noise when eating, but he simply couldn't help himself. The ramen there was something that made him take leave of his senses and focus entirely on eating, his manners a mere after thought. That, and he was exceptionally hungry after a particularly brutal routine. By the time he thought to look up, the bowl was half-empty, and that was with him attempting to restrain himself a little so that he could spend more time with his friend.
"You should've told me about this place sooner." Hyousuke said, mock hurt tinging his words."I've been missing out!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Isn't it more polite with ramen especially to make a little noise? ...Well, whether that's true or not, a pair of delinquents can enjoy ramen however they feel like.
Ichika's bowl is more than half empty by the time Hyousuk speaks up. She grins. "Now you've got another excuse to come and visit me in Iwatodai," she points out. "So I think I win."
A small laugh. "...It's kind of a great place, huh?"
She wants to hammer the point...
But she restrains herself.
"And even better when you get it while it's still hot..."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke wasn't a smart man. That much could not be disputed. Consciously or not, he had gone to great lengths to prove that he was - at the very least - not blessed with an overabundance of booksmarts. Yet, despite such limitations, he could not help but feel like there was something he was missing. A pensive look crossed his face, and he let the ramen rest for a moment as he fixed his eye son her.
"You sure you're alright?" He asked, as blunt as ever. He let the question hang in the air, refusing to say a word or make a move until he got his answer.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
There is something missing, isn't there? Ichika weighs the matter for a moment when Hyousuke bluntly asks her if she's all right. "I am," she confirms. "Rough day, but... It's done, and I feel... calm."
She pauses. "But I'm worried about you," she admits. "You still look like hell, and I don't think it's just working out."
"I'm not gonna push right now. I decided that's not the angle I want to take. But you should know that I see it."
"...That's all. For me..."
"Well, I just need some time to unwind."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
She knew. Of course she'd known. Why wouldn't she? She wasn't as dumb or imperceptive as him. Hyousuke glanced away slowly, unable to look her in the eye after she told him flat-out that she knew. He poked at his food a little, unsure of what to tell her in response. He'd already gone through the usual ones, telling her not to worry or just outright ignoring that the problem existed in the first place. What else was there left to say? He wracked his brain, desperate for something good to tell her, hoping against hope that there was anything he could do to make the situation easier to bear. Eventually, he settled on something he hoped was comforting. It was all he could think to do.
"Just tell me if you you need me. I'll come running." The Palace, the Dark Hour, anything - he'd left it vague on purpose. He didn't know how he could help, but he wanted to regardless.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Hyousuke, to Ichika, looks very uncomfortable. She isn't sure that she made the right call laying it out. But, when he does answer...
"I'll remember that," Ichika says. "And you'd better believe I will, one of these days. I've got a plan... but I think I'll need your help later, too."
She pauses. "Just remember that it goes both ways. My Persona heals; I'm at my best when I've got somebody to back up. So keep that in mind, OK?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke nodded slowly, but firmly. He heard her, and he understood - or thought he understood - what she was saying.
"Then I'll be waiting." Again, his voice was soft, yet carried an edge to it that could not be ignored. There was a quiet resolve to him that steeled his nerves and lent him a stony countenance - a stark contrast to the beaming individual that had stumbled in through the doors complaining of muscle pains. Just don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing." With that, he returned to his meal. He ate again - slowly, this time. Thoughtfully, almost.
The shifting of his arms was just enough to reveal a fresh mark beneath the cuff.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
There is an edge there. And Ichika can see his resolve--he at least... intends to be able to do it himself. Whether that can happen or not...
"I will," she admits. "But I won't stop you, either. And I'll still call you."
"That's the best I can offer. Take it or leave it."
Ichika smiles, but it's not a warm, happy kind of smile so much as a lopsided, bittersweet kind.
Because she sees that mark, as she goes back to her own ramen.
"For now..."
"You feel any difference in your skin yet?"
She'll stick to small talk until they leave.