2025-11-26: Wife... or Vassal?
- Log: Wife... or Vassal?
- Cast: Yua Ooshiro, Goro Akechi
- Where: Studio Chura, Aoba
- OOC Date: 2025-11-26
- IC Date: Thu, Aug 16 2012
- Summary: During another of Akechi's secret dance lessons, he points out what's obvious to him: Yua's recent sickness is pregnancy. They have a conversation about the duties of a mother which leads into the qualities of her husband... though Yua doesn't realise that Akechi's already tortured Kimitake's true feelings out of him. Yua doesn't realise the warnings he's trying to give her, either, even though he is able to successfully make her nervous over whether a nationalistic man like that will really respect her culture. With the effort made, Akechi leaves her with his card... but they never call.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Studio Chura, as it happens, is also open by appointment...
... which is helpful for the one boy who prefers his appointments be at six in the morning.
Goro Akechi hasn't been neglecting his dance training, even now the holidays are out -- indeed, it was Yua who had to enforce a holiday on him when she left for London! Ever since she's gotten back, she's been more conservative in her own dancing, less like to push herself with feats of strength and grace... and that's fine, really, because she's just in a guiding position here.
"You have really made remarkable progress," Yua praises him, at the end of a successful rise unto his toes. "I do not think I have ever seen a student quite as gifted as you! Particularly with your efforts en pointe... it is dancing on the head of a pin, and yet you balance on such a small surface as if you have dwelt there for years!"
It could be a metaphor; don't look too closely. Yua, for her part, is still entirely capable of going en pointe... though Akechi may have noted the addition of compression socks to her pointe shoes, while she's teaching him. There are a few other subtle hints, too. For instance --
"Oh --"
Yua looking a touch ill, as she scrambles off for the curtain separating the half-wall separating the studio from the changing rooms and watercloset with a strangled, "excuse me --"
Clearly breakfast simply wasn't sitting well with her! Again. Again.
"Ahem..." Yua mumbles, when she returns, a few minutes later, looking a touch pale. "Do excuse me," she smiles, anyway. "Where were we...?"
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
Oh yes he's come along quite well. He even has his own pair of Tights and pointe shoes now. Though he still sweeps for bugs and surveillance equipment... every time he comes here, without letting Yua know that he's doing that.
It's for her own good too! Not just a selfish motivation.
"That's quite the compliment... aha-" He chuckles, "-I'm certainly glad you think so." And he has been quite diligent with practice.
If there's one think Goro Akechi is good at it, it's grinding away at learning new skills in his every day life.
"I admit it was rather awkward at first, I don't have the bone structure and muscle memory of years- but I do believe-"
Then Yua looks ill, and scrambles off, as he watches her, and when she returns-
'Where were we'
"Personally I recommend eating a few rice cakes with a light dash of salt, as the first thing you do each morning, before you even fully rise from bed."
Wha-
-how is that where they were?
"It will help settle the morning sickness. You'd be about... nine weeks now, if I'm not mistaken?"
This is the most annoying trait about Detectives. They see and know everything.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
It's the funniest thing, too...
... because those sweeps aren't always paranoia. Sometimes, Chura is bugged. Yua doesn't ever seem to notice; she seems far too sweet to even realise that bugs can be anything other than cute little guys who don't know what's going on.
And Yua, bless her soul, just kind of looks at Akechi with her fingers veiling her lips. "Er..."
Nope: she can't do it. She has to sit down on that bench running along the front of the studio, the one where parents would wait for their younger children to be done or groups of dancers might rest their feet a moment. "Goodness," she smiles, a little pained, as her hand comes to rest at her stomach. "That's..."
That's her brain cycling through to figure out if there is any plausible lie she can spin, here.
"... w-well, it's more like seven weeks," she admits, instead, her smile growing softer. "He has a heartbeat now..." ... and he doesn't have a sex, but apparently that's not going to stop Yua from deciding one. "I've been eating bland things, but I still get sick an awful lot... though I guess mama had that same problem, when she was having us."
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
Akechi walks up to her as she settles down on the bench, remaining standing, "Ah my mistake. I suppose I overestimated since I can only speculate on... certain facets."
He's not going to say that he doesn't know when her last cycle was out loud. That would scandalize most women that a man even is thinking about their cycles.
But to him it's mostly just a normal bodily function.
"Well then. Perhaps I'm the first to offer you congratulations on the matter." He says, even smiling, "Really? They've managed to determine that so early in an ultrasound? I can't imagine they can sample amniotic fluid so early..."
HOW DOES HE KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT THIS?
"Either way... that does sound rather difficult to deal with. Hopefully it isn't hyperemesis... I do recall reading that it can run in families..."
He says, speculative of that- how does he know!?
... Look he's had a lot of pregnancy related cases. It's a pretty frequent thing that comes up in his field.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
It would certainly be an inappropriate thing for her student to be keeping an eye on!!!
"You're certainly the first to guess," Yua laughs, still a touch off-balance by Akechi's keen insight. "Though I did end up telling some of my friends, to explain why I wasn't having anything to drink to celebrate... it's bad for the baby, you know?"
Yua pauses, and adds: "Though, it really does sound like you know! Are you hoping to have your own, when you get a little older...?" Well, with a wife, presumably.
(There's a ring on Yua's finger, too.)
"They told me it would be around now," Yua says, "and we have an appointment soon to go and be sure... oh, maybe I ought to ask about hyperemesis while I'm there...? Mama did tell me it starts early, not like some of those things..."
Yua smiles, to Akechi. "It is very early, though," she admits. "We're still a little nervous... mama lost some of hers, too, so I need to be very careful... you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
"Of course. Honestly I'm glad that's the case. It's quite responsible of you - to abstain for your child's welfare."
It's a fascinating subject for him, always, what women give up in order to bring life into the world... his mother gave up any opportunity at a happy life, for him.
He truly is a cursed child.
Then she asks the question, and he manages a thin smile, "If I met the right woman, perhaps so." It's a difficult question for him to truly smile at.
It's a charged topic for him to speak on, in so many ways, "It's something I'd rather not rush into. I'd want to be certain we were compatible... and had a healthy relationship. I'd owe it to any future children to make certain of this."
If he sounds a little clinical about it, it's not because he's not a romantic, it's because he is being careful with his language.
"I think that'd be wise. The earlier the management, the better for a positive outcome."
And then he crosses his arms, as his smile becomes rather... pinched, "Well. It's understandable that you'd be nervous. Though, one can do everything right... and it could still happen."
He says quietly, "I feel it's best to prepare yourself not to blame yourself if it did come to pass... losing a child that way can be just as natural as having one."
It is... good advice, in a sense, but it almost certainly makes Yua more anxious, because he's speaking to his worries based on... trauma from his Mother, rather than what Yua is looking for.
"Has the Father been... supportive and involved?" At least he's not gauche enough to call her out on him being a beard. There's no reason to bring that up.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"It's important," Yua insists, shaking her head. "It's only nine months for me, but it's the rest of Hiroki's life," which means she's already decided on a name, too. "And it really isn't that out of my way to avoid... really, it was more difficult to pause some of my medications until we could confirm everything."
She pauses, and adds: "Oh, but I'm fine -- I was able to take them once the implantation was secure! It was just a little, um... it was an, endo... endochronological issue?"
... Akechi knows more about those medical terms than she does, huh.
Still, Akechi looks a little strained, when he looks to his own future. "Oh," Yua says, gently, "you're a very responsible thinker, too, aren't you, Akechi-kun?" Making certain... she's a little worried about him, hearing that, but perhaps he's just heard a lot of sad stories in his line of work.
"I'm seeing my doctor a lot," Yua assures him. "And I have a nurse who comes to my house, too! Plus, all these machines at home... they make me a little nervous, but apparently it's all just monitoring."
Why would a blood pressure cuff make Yua nervous? Well, there are probably plenty of normal reasons.
"Ah..." She starts, her hands coming down to guard her belly again. "I know that sometimes there's really nothing you can do, just... in my situation... well, it's a little complicated..."
... she's worried that if she loses Miho's baby, she'll have to give Kimitake an heir before she's allowed to try again.
"Um -- Kimi-san has been very kind," Yua smiles, though her nervousness can't entirely leave her, when she reassures him. "He's been very gentle with me... and he's assured me that I don't need to worry about the wedding at all. He's taking care of everything... really, with the school holidays in session, I've been startlingly idle! But I mustn't exercise too heavily, either..."
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
Already a name, and already decided it's a boy-
-but implantation. "Ah so, it was not done by the traditional method- so to speak. I wasn't aware."
He actually was, but he's not gonna say, especially since Yua scolded him on 'investigating his teachers'. "I believe the word you're looking for is an 'endocrinological' issue. It's a body system relating to the hormones."
He corrects, though not unkindly. "My... that is quite a lot of care, and resources. Though I'm glad it's so readily available. Especially with how nervous you are about the outcome."
He tips his head forward in a nod of acknowledgement, at it being a little complicated, "I understand, well, far be it from me to pry further into a woman's health than they're willing to share themselves."
Yes, he's quite aware of that pressure too. "Really? He's planning the wedding as well?" He says, looking startled, "Goodness... how devoted of him." He says, like he hasn't already questioned the man's Shadow in depth on the matter.
"Most men are rather uninterested in such things, I've found..." Before he nods, "Yes I do understand, low impact exercise is quite good and well, but you certainly can't do the sort of dance you're used to, I imagine. Fortunately, as a teacher, such instruction doesn't require anything too strenuous when it comes to teaching."
He puts a hand to his chin, "Though... is this a situation that's desirable to you? You always struck me as a woman who wouldn't leave such things to someone else."
He asks, quietly, because well... meeting someone's Shadow is always a revealing thing.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Ah -- yes, it was IVF..." Yua starts, and almost starts talking about how it had to be IVF, the topic written on her face before she opens her mouth -- until her brain catches up and she remembers that she can't mention something like that.
For one thing, it's a little bit... well, in a grey area, legally.
"Oh! Oh, yes, that," Yua nods, when Akechi reminds her how to say the word. "But I'm being very well taken care of, so please don't worry at all, all right...?"
Akechi has more than enough reasons to worry -- having spoken to Kimitake Ijuuin's unvarnished self.
'A vessel and a vassal,' he'd said, unrepentant in his ambition. To him --
"It was quite a sho-- ah, a -- a shift, in, my daily life..." Because of course as far as the world knows -- as far as she thinks Akechi knows -- Kimitake and Yua have been planning their wedding in secret for some time, and it wasn't just sprung on her a mere week ago. "Well, since it was hard to deal with all those extra things, he was kind enough to take over! Even though I know it really ought to be my duty..."
Yua sighs, looking down at her feet in their feet prisons, which are not, in fact, the pointe shoes destroying her bones, at least according to her. "That's been one of the hardest parts, really... restraining myself from dancing like I ought to. I'll be a little deconditioned, I fear, but... but you're right, of course! I am at least still glad I can teach you and the others like this."
Yua fiddles with her fine ring, looking down at her hands. "Mm..." She hums, one ankle crossing over the other. "It was arranged," she admits, her smile a touch thinner. "Which might sound a little tragically outdated, in this day and age... but I was very happy to be offered a chance to join Mimi's family." Because she's her best friend, obviously. You know, how girls are friends, and live in the same house, and how she makes lunch for her friend when she goes to work and prepares dinner when she comes home, like friends do? "But he'd like a traditional wedding, and they're not quite like my traditions, so I'd just be getting in the way even if I got involved..."
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
"I see..." Akechi says, with a hand to his chin, "If it was IVF, I can only deduce... Though - it's not polite of me to speculate."
He does smile when she tells him not to worry, "Very well, then I won't. So long as you're well taken care of."
A vessel and a vassal.
He let it slide. He has to let it slide. Giving the man a Mental Shutdown would only turn uncomfortable questions his way.
You can only say 'He was disloyal to the Gold Lion' so many times before people wonder if you're killing arbitrarily.
"I can certainly imagine. Quite the shift indeed..." He says as he papers over the slip. "... Well, I would say that a man that can't take over certain duties for their wife to be when they're in the middle of a high risk pregnancy is no man at all."
He says, smoothly, "So there's no worry for me thinking less of you, for that. If anything I believe men should take more responsibility for the happiness of their wives."
She then reveals...
"Not really. I see it working out all the time, as a business arrangement- really. So long as you both went into it with clear expectations, I see no reason to look down on it."
He does smile at being able to join 'Mimi's family'. "Ah yes, your best friend..." Truly the most galpals ever. "... that is one clear upside."
Though...
"Hmm. Getting in the way... there was no way to incorporate your cultural traditions into the wedding arrangements?" He asks, with a slight frown.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Ah--!" Yua gasps, wondering, for a moment, whether her secret is so obvious that detectives can just tell. Does he have... some kind of... Mimi-vision?!
NOTE: Yua has not even thought about male infertility. That entire implication sailed merrily over her head, sailing far into the ocean. Goodbye, implication! Yua is too gay to comprehend you!
Luckily, Akechi is willing to back off, and Yua breathes a sigh of relief. Safe...
Even if Yua is as defenceless as she makes herself out to be, though -- there's someone else by her side. Perhaps there are more options available, here, than brute force murder... at least, on his part.
... sadly, the Gold Lion at least isn't primarily the one Kimitake is disloyal to, though Akechi was certainly able to beat a grudge out of him.
"That's very true!" Yua agrees, when Akechi speaks on the goodness of taking pressure off of her. "He really is a noble man..." Well, he's from an ancient clan, that much is true.
"And he is a kind man," she says, again. "I'm sure... we'll come to appreciate each other very much." Not 'love'? Well -- if it's a business arrangement -- perhaps that's not necessarily expected.
This whole conversation began with tempering expectations, after all.
Still... Yua looks down, at her ring, again. "Oh..." she starts, with a small frown of her own. "Well, our traditions... they're the dances we hold at the wedding... you know? Like the eisa dance... but Kimi-san's friends definitely wouldn't know something like that, so... mm, and it's important for them that I wear their shiromuku and iro-uchikake, so there isn't really room for mama's ryuso..." The previous two are wedding kimonos, traditionally worn during the ceremony and the reception, respectively -- and likewise, the ryuso is the wedding garment of choice on Okinawa.
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
Akechi does in fact have Mimi-vision. You see... he actually has one quality that many people lack.
... He uses his eyes.
"He certainly is of 'good stock'... in the traditional sense of the word."
Indeed, if he were cattle, he'd be Wagyu. He wishes he were, at least then his corpse would add value to the world.
"Well... learning to appreciate each other is certainly a worthy goal. I do wish the two of you well." He says, with a smile, thinking of his Mother being misled by Shido. At least Yua has one advantage his Mother did not have.
She'd super gay and has a very deadly partner who loves her very much.
"The Shiromuku... symbolic within Shinto of feminine submission as the younger woman the 'girl' dies - in order to make room for a rebirth into a new identity as the bride. In essence, it means that a woman sheds their former self - to take on the colors of the groom's family, under their new role as the wife."
Akechi murmurs, with a hand upon his chin. He is of course, just musing about it's meaning, he isn't trying to make any statements here.
"It is quite traditional, I admit that certainly has a great appeal to the groom..."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
No fair, Yua only has the one eye!
(Well, only one which is functional... in a space like this.)
"It's a little intimidating," Yua admits, "even though my family is important to our community, too... but it's not quite the same, you know? Our women were considered spiritually gifted, so some of us took on roles as priestesses, but... it's not like there weren't plenty of us who were normal, too? Like... my mama was too sensitive, so she became a teacher, instead... and Grandmother always said I'd be no good as a shrine attendant, since I was too close to the other world, too... though it's funny," she adds, tilting her head as she looks out into the middle distance. "She forgave Mimi for her last name when she realised she was gifted by the Gods, too... even though she was Japanese, I guess Grandmother was satisfied we were going through the same kind of thing."
Yua's gayness is a superpower, though. So is her grace, as she smiles, and says, "Thank you, Akechi-kun."
But...
The meaning is a statement, and Yua fiddles with her ring, again, nervously. "Kimi-san is a very traditional man," she says, quietly. "He told me a lot about the Ijuuin's history that Mimi never dwelled on... it's clearly very important to him. When I asked... um..." Yua gets that deer-in-the-headlights look for a moment, again, before she shakes her head. "T-that is, I'm the one who wished to be -- a wife," surely that's not too honest, even if she can't talk about how she asked to be Miho's wife -- "so it's reasonable I'd take on the traditions of his family...? Besides," she adds, smiling to him again. "Mimi's always observed my traditions at home, so I'm sure he'll be just as considerate!"
He won't.
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
Akechi's brow furrows in that way people's usually do when someone talks about the supernatural - the spiritual in front of a skeptic. However, it smooths out before long. It's not like he doubts that supernatural ties such as that exist, obviously he doesn't.
It's just he prefers to quantify it in rational, psientific ways.
"She said that about your best friend as well..." He says, musing with a hand to his chin. It could simply be Personas- but, is that all there is? After all, Yua is an Artificial Persona User, and Miho came into her powers more naturally...
... but with the Mark, is being 'natural' truly a gift, or a curse?"
Either way, he nods, "I don't blame your Grandmother for being skeptical. The Japanese Mainlanders have allowed truly atrocious things to happen to your culture for quite some time... though, that is interesting." He murmurs, "'Too close'..." To the 'Other Side'? No, he doubts that's it... "... That does seem like a rather a rational fear, of growing too close to the divine that you can no longer be a part of this world. Still, it's a shame that if one has gifts like that, that you must distance yourself from them."
Perhaps he was never actually skeptical, in the agnostic sense. He knows Gods and Demons exist out there. One... invited him... for his 'reintegration'.
"You're quite welcome." He says, with a smile holding more cheer. Before...
... "Well so long as it's your decision, I can hardly complain. As a young man of this era, I find some traditions- such as the 'three submissions' so to speak hold us back from true progress. But that is the prerogative of youth, I suppose, to criticize that which has withstood the test of time."
Women have come a long way, than they were in past eras, and yet... his Mother was still discarded, abandoned by her family, forced into sex work just to make ends meet. He despises this sort of society, that would do that to anyone.
"Well I certainly expect it of your best friend..." He says, with a smile that seems a touch pinched, "... I do hope your husband to be respects her place in your life."
He adds, because he knows exactly what he thinks of Miho. And he knows he will not.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
The difference is in the capitalisation! Subtle, but important.
"They took over," Yua says, quietly. "There are a lot of people back home that don't really like inviting Japanese people in because of that... but Grandmother married a man from the mainland, too, so I guess she understands."
She shakes her head, with a delicate smile. "She said that I was taken to the world of spirits when I disappeared... in a way, she isn't even wrong...? But that's what she was always worried about..."
Yua looks down, at her ring, her gaze growing contemplative. "I... well, I understand it's important in Japan," she settles on, regarding the Three Submissions. "A man would expect that of his wife." It was never him she agreed to submit to, though, a decision which took her some time to make.
It's a little uncomfortable... maybe because she has to act like she's really going to be his wife?
"Kimi-san is very respectful of that," she smiles, though, looking up to Akechi a moment later. "He's fine with me visiting her all the time, even...! Mimi saved me... he knows how important we are to each other."
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
"Ah I see. Then it's perfect sense that your family would be more... inclined towards acceptance."
Was Yua 'Spirited Away'? Akechi does look her way, "Do you not... remember your time away?" He asks, knowing perfectly well she does. But he wants to know the story. "That is quite unusual... though there are certainly alternate explanations to being Spirited Away, traumatic amnesia, for example."
Leave it to a Detective to go right to the nail and hit it on that head.
"Most men would, yes." Akechi agrees, "I just don't think it's a particularly healthy expectation. Treating your significant other as your 'lesser'."
Even though he knows full well that he likely would, if he were ever in a relationship. Part of why he's so scared of the thought of it.
'Mimi saved me... he knows how important we are to each other.'
His smile dims subtly, as the words 'Useless woman' ring in his ears, "Yes... I suppose he must." He definitely does know that, which is why he intends to do everything in his power to deconstruct it.
"... Forgive me if I'm being too forward. As a Detective I can't help but make certain connections... but, I admit I'm surprised that a man from an old family who adheres to those traditions is so... accepting of your heritage. It's... rather unusual, given practices in families such as his..."
He places a hand upon his chin, "... but it sounds to me as if he's trying to minimize that, sweep it under the rug... so to speak. Though... ah. I suppose it's rather rude of me to bring it up when I've never even met the man. Still, I can't help but wonder, how extensively have you... discussed it?"
Far be it from him to rudely put such doubts in her head. No, he's just making observations.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua grows a touch more unsettled -- her legs crossing a touch more tightly under the bench -- as Akechi asks if she forgot.
"No," she says, softly.
"I remember everything."
She thinks -- and thinks better of saying -- that it is a little like he's her better; he is a nobleman, after all. But of course that isn't what Akechi means, so she just smiles. "You're right, you know? It's an unfair expectation... genders roles oughtn't be so rigid. Mimi's a businesswoman and an Olympian, after all!"
(Miho also has very nice suits. Yua thinks she's beautiful in them!)
When Akechi apologises for being forward, though, Yua tilts her head. "Ah...?" Akechi can't rudely put the thought in her head, as it happens, because it was already there; she looks uncomfortable, as she shifts on the bench. "Mm... he told me how the, um... domain of Satsuma they were serving made the Ryukyus into a foreign vassal state... he said it was striking how, how much Mimi liked me because of that. And... and he thought it might upset people if I said I was Okinawan on TV, he thought it would be better if I said I was from Okinawa... he didn't insist on me calling it a prefecture or anything, though."
Yua sighs, her hands folding together. "I don't want to say anything bad, but... a lot of Mimi's family are... kind of nationalists, you know...? A-and it's not like they're bad people, or anything -- no one's been unkind to me! -- but it's just... well, not something you speak of at the dinner table...? Of course I wish they didn't have such an uncritical view of Japan, but... that doesn't mean I don't love them."
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
"... I see. Well, I won't ask you to speak on it, unless you desire to."
Indeed, he doubts Yua can tell her most things during her time of 'Spirited Away'- and if she was that loose-lipped, it wouldn't be long before Shido would be asking him to take care of it.
"... Yes, quite so. Quite the talented woman, Ijuuin-san from what I've read of her."
Look Akechi would very much enjoy a woman in a suit... just he knows better in this case.
That it was already there is well- good. It means he's nudging something that already exists... "Ah. The kind of family where the Empire is spoken of fondly..."
He says, bluntly, as if he ruminates upon it. "... And well. Perhaps so but- it's hardly off limits for them to espouse views that comfort women were 'fortunate' in their positions, or that the 'Japanese-Language Schools' during the Meiji Restoration were quite warranted at the dinner table..."
He knows because he's heard it all before, from so many people espousing the 'Pure World without Sin' to come.
"... forgive me for saying so, but they seem like the sort of people who would consider you a vassal, more than a wife."
Not that he's going to say he heard it straight from the horse's mouth... it's enough that Yua said it, of the Okinawans to Mainland Japanese...
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua's head shakes, just slightly, from side to side. "I'm sorry," she says, softly. "It's difficult for me to say more than I've said to the cameras... I don't wish to speak of it at all."
Her story about how she was trafficked by organised crime, that is. Perhaps even foreign organised crime. It's a convenient cover story to take attention away from the truth, and that might be the only reason Akechi isn't paying her a very different kind of visit.
She lights back up, though, as she thinks of Miho again. "Mimi's so talented!" She smiles, her shoulders straightening out as she straightens up. "And so thoughtful, and so strong, and so sturdy, and -- and she's so kind to me, you know?" Yua does not, notably, claim Miho is kind without qualifiers.
She knows that she's killed people.
(... even if she doesn't always know.)
Still... Yua bites at her crimson lip, when Akechi presses further into the imperialism. Her hands ball in her lap as he invokes those 'comfort women', the schools which destroyed her language...
"That's not true," she insists, though her voice is soft. "Onee-san," that must be Ritsuko, since Yua's sister is younger than her and warrants being called her name, "really accepted me when she learned I wished to have a child... she was pleased that I would be her sister. She would treat me much worse if she thought I was just... mm... like that," she doesn't want to say the word, and that, in itself, is telling.
Of course Yua would resist the truth, though.
The truth hurts.
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
"I understand." And he does, saying nothing more about it. This isn't an interrogation after all. that'd be silly.
"You are quite lucky to have her." He says, and if he's not saying 'as a best friend' it's because he's not.
And so... he listens, as Yua resists the truth. "Ah. A single one of them has?"
It may sound as if he's being sarcastic- but obviously that's not true, as he immediately follows it by saying, "Well- I suppose that I'm worried about nothing then."
Foolish Woman
To be so blind after all you went through
Is the worst sin of all
Ordinarily, people who lose an eye trade it for wisdom- he sees that is definitely not always the case.
He does move sideways to his bag, and brings a small card out, holding it out to her with a small bow...
... "Well, just in case- one of the services I do offer at my Agency is... vetting various In-Laws to be. I know you're rather not taken by the idea of a student meddling with the affairs of their teachers but..."
He looks her right in the eye, "... all the same, if you'd like peace of mind... my rates are rather reasonable."
She won't call
They never do
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"I'm the luckiest woman alive," Yua smiles, and of course she assumes that Akechi is still speaking in terms of a best friend, because when has she ever said otherwise?
"Not just her!" Yua protests, and protests too quickly. "Mother adores me, and Father's been very kind to me, and... so... so there really is nothing to worry about, you know?"
(If she really believed that, would she end that assurance with that kind of rising tone?)
She reaches out, taking the card, glancing down at it for a moment -- before she finds herself looking right into Akechi's eyes as she looks back up. "Ah... t-that's very kind of you,"
and very unkind of her, scrutinising miho's precious family,
"but..."
With that one word -- and the sinking of her shoulders -- it might become clear that Yua is in no place to defy the way of things.
"Thank you," she says, instead, smiling to him. "Ah... but I'm very sorry... I've grown quite tired, it must be my recent condition... shall we end here for today? I'll be ready for you next time, I promise!"
<Pose Tracker> Prince-kun has posed.
To call yourself that when Fortune itself has cursed you
At least I know what I am
A cursed child- and an accursed woman, stand in the same room. One learns to dance- the other dances.
'but...'
"... Forget I said anything, then." He says it in a tone that sounds so full of cheer, so apologetic, that one wouldn't think he's upset.
Surely not.
"Just keep it with you, in case something comes up."
He's done all he can.
There's nothing else to be done.
"Of course, please, take care of yourself and rest up. I rather need my dance instructor to be at her best, don't you think? And so too, does your child."
...
"Thank you for the lesson, Sensei." He says, with a bow- that's a little stiffer than he'd like.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUFOdRYhDEg Yuki Kajiura - It's Only The Fairy Tale
Yua dances to so many tunes -- are any her own?
"Thank you," Yua says, clutching the card to her chest. "I will." And perhaps, with body language like that, she even will...
... though Akechi would know very well that it isn't safe to bring something like that into her husband's home.
He will see how true Miho is, perhaps.
Yua doesn't know why her heart is so anxious; why she feels so out of sorts. Perhaps she is still ill... but she has a terrible feeling, as if she's not. Does she have reservations...? ... but she can't.
For her baby, she...
"You're very kind," she smiles, to Akechi, and perhaps she's simply a terrible judge of character. "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully out there today..."
Yua's always been so damn supportive of him, even as she insists he not hurt himself while he's training. Really -- being a little stern is just another kind of supportiveness.
After Akechi leaves, though, she'll stay in Studio Chura a while longer...
... because there are some things she can express through dance, despite having no words to speak them.