2025-12-29: Etsuko Convinced Him
- Log: Etsuko Convinced Him
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase, Ichika's gangmate Shuyo Hayama
- Where: Iwatodai - Kawase Household
- OOC Date: 2025-12-29
- IC Date: Sun, Sep 02 2012
- Summary: Shuyo comes to Ichika and a rather paranoid Tsubasa with a report about their present housing situation... and a 'gift' which was delivered to them while they were gone. They learn from the card inside that it was apparently Etsuko's influence which convinced Hanzou to quell his anger about them and let her reach out... though they have their doubts it's that simple. (And Ichika has worries about how easily she could have been a woman like that.) Shuyo insists that Tsubasa stay with them -- and so they hatch a plan to haul their stuff out in the dead of night.
- Content warning: Themes of child abuse, transphobia
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Shuyo contacts Ichika, this afternoon, saying he's got news; he says it's probably something better dealt with in private, too. And that means --
-- well, that means grabbing Tsubasa from the study, first, where they've sequestered themself ever since getting back from walking Lance (and seeing Hyousuke!) to work on... something. It's another of those things which look a lot like shipping charts except it's definitely not a shipping chart; the boring adult word for those, as it happens, is 'concept map'. (And it's spread over, like, four A4 pages.) There are some really boring reports open on Kimpara Electronics, on the monitor, too.
And once she's dragged them away from whatever that is, she can receive Shuyo, who may or may not have visited here before, given Ichika's attitude towards bringing boys home, but who at least looks halfway respectable in a polo shirt and slacks. (Hair's still full of gel, though. ... at least it's black.) He's in disguise, you see. As officially the most Normal Looking Guy, he's frequently the one they send out to do direct recon!
(He's already reported back to Hibari, we presume. He's good about that.)
"Hey, guys," he says, as he takes a seat on the chair at Ichika's desk; they can sit on the bed together, that's less weird. (Yeah, he heard about it. His first words to Tsubasa were 'wow, man, took her going that far for you to get it?'. ... apparently he'd figured it out two months ago.) He's not in a joking mood for once, judging by the grim set of his lips.
"There's a cop casing your joint in an unmarked car," they tell it straight, looking to Tsubasa, whose arms are folded as they perch on the edge of the bed. "I asked around the neighbours, and they've been sniffing around for a few days... plus, one of them said you got this shit in the mail." He pulls a package out of the bag slung over his shoulder. "... it's from your folks."
And he just kind of looks over to Ichika, like, 'okay but what do i do with this god damn bomb', because of course as soon as Tsubasa hears that they lock down.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
News, in private. Ichika's glad to see Shuyo again anyway, even if they won't be having their old kinds of fun today. Ichika managed to drag Tsubasa from the concept maps (whatever that means) eventually, and now...
It is less weird, indeed. But Ichika notices his mood. It means things are serious. ...But then, they should be, considering, so that doesn't worry her more than she's already worried.
"I see..."
Tsubasa locks down, and Ichika takes the bombbag in both hands, setting it on her lap. "We can look at this when you're ready, or toss it," Ichika says to Tsubasa. "Up to you."
"...Anything else?" she asks Shuyo. "Cops, package... we know Tsubasa's parents were sniffing around, too. Ran into their mom before..."
It sucked, not to put too fine a point on it.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
What it means, Ichika, is that everything is connected and their father keeps gaining power and they don't know where it's coming from and who's on his side and it might actually be everyone and hey do these blinds close?
"... I oughta know," Tsubasa says, when Ichika leaves it up to them. "Might... factor in."
How a gift would factor into anything is... well, no, Tsubasa probably could give a pretty good justification why.
But they have a real need-to-know problem. (The problem is that they need to know.)
"... yeah," Shuyo scowls, though he hesitated to share this, because he knows Tsubasa, too. "Seems like... the neighbourhood don't cope well with cops comin' by like that."
"They wouldn't," Tsubasa's own scowl deepens, though unlike Shuyo, that's also just their normal face. "Those guys got... good reasons not to trust th' pigs. If they lookin' for me..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
They need to know. And Ichika can respect that. She does worry about it, that paranoia. But... What can she do about that?
"OK," Ichika says, and hands over the package when Tsubasa is ready to take it. It might matter. But Shuyo...
"Ah, yeah," Ichika says. "So that's a problem."
She sighs. Unfortunately, Tsubasa can't just stay in her study forever--certainly not while commuting to Kasugayama.
...But even without that...
"OK. Then... I guess we look at what this is, and then..."
Then what?
She frowns in thought. It's on her to help figure something out; she's the Boss.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Well, they can't commute to Kasugayama every day from Iwatodai AND get Lance all the walkies she needs, certainly. Pick one, and they're not picking the one that isn't their dog.
"Aight." Tsubasa nods -- a touch grim -- and opens up the shipping box.
Inside is a card, which they put aside on the bed, and...
Well, by all accounts it's a beautiful yukata; well-made, with vibrant, synergistic colours. But the Japanese camellia splayed across it...
The word they'd use to refer to that is 'Tsubaki'. It's a little lost in translation for the narrative, but not for Tsubasa, who hurls it across the room as soon as they figure out what it is. "Dick!"
They fume about that, for a second, before they remember the card; they grab it and open it up, reading numbly.
"To -- uh, me --" that's not the word written there, "happy eighteenth birthday. I know we weren't able to afford nice things like this when you were growing up, but things have really gotten better... the first thing I wanted to get you was a real yukata. I even convinced your father to put his anger aside... you're our, uh, kid," again, not what she wrote, "after all. With all the love in the world... okaasan." They sound the whole word out; it must have been the way they pronounced it back when they thought they were a girl, given kaasan is a distinctly more boyish phrase.
Tsubasa's still just staring down at the card, which is splayed with those same flowers.
"... mom convinced him, huh. Can't be th' whole story..." But they can't know how much of the story it is.
And it's harder than just blaming him.
"I'll find a buyer for the thing," Shuyo assures them -- he's the gang's fence, this is what he's best at. "Someone who isn't likely to show up. You don't need to keep something like that."
"... sure," Tsubasa says, though that's numb, too.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It would be beautiful. If the context were different. Ichika frowns at it, when Tsubasa opens it. She frowns still, when Tsubasa throws it across the room. "Seriously," Ichika agrees. But the note...
"..."
Ichika wishes she could straightforwardly hate Etsuko, for a moment. It would be so, so much simpler. But she can't. She can see how she could've gotten there, with just a little more cowardice, just a little more pressure.
"...Can't tell," Ichika admits of the story.
"Thanks, Shuyo-kun," Ichika says. "I'll leave it to you."
She reaches out for Tsubasa's hand. "...We gotta figure out a solution, though."
"If the cops are sniffing around that much, one way or another staying there's gonna be a problem." She looks down. "...But you can't go back where you were..."
"And they don't want you at home with them--not if you aren't going to toe the line, which, you aren't."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
She's the one who wanted them.
Apparently, that's still true, even though she tried to have them killed.
Tsubasa realises, a few beats after the motion, that Ichika's reaching for them; that's when they reach out to grasp her hand. "Mm."
But... "... what if they do?" Tsubasa asks, their voice small. "They mighta really changed their mind..."
"C'mon, man," Shuyo cuts in, clapping his hands to his knees. "Cut that shit out, I heard some of those stories from the Princess. They kicked you out after your boyfriend attacked you, you really think they're gonna do any better if you give them another shot? Fuck that! Come back with me, there's a room free at my place my dad's been nagging me to fill for ages anyway!"
(His roommate moved back home to Sendai for good, you see. ... yeah, Shuyo's a country boy, too. Usually that makes him pretty easygoing...)
"Uh." Tsubasa blinks, looking up. "Would that... work?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika squeezes Tsubasa's hand. "Shuyo-kun's right," Ichika agrees. "They're assholes. And you know..."
She thinks about it. "That could work. I mean, it's not like you love seeing your parents either, and they'd get off your back if you had a roommate." She remembers last time Shuyo brought her to his parents' place; his dad might as well have tried to high-five him on the spot. Shuyo's parents could be worse, but they could be a lot better, too. Especially for a bi guy...
"Yeah," Ichika says, "I think it'd work. There's some arrangements to figure out, but..."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa remembers, in turn, that they're holding Ichika's hand, and squeezes back.
"Then we better get on it," they say. "Like... school's tomorrow, man. What're we gonna do, haul ya van out in th' middle a th' night an' shove me stuff in?"
"Wait hold up you have a van?" Shuyo didn't hear THAT part. "So did you -- y'know what, not important," he's absolutely asking Ichika if she's already broken the van in later when the vibes aren't this chilly, "we're totally hitting your old place at midnight to haul your shit out. Right, Boss?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika grins at Shuyo. "Sure do. It's new. Gonna be real helpful." Ichika will totally answer him later. When the vibes are less awful. But for now, "That's just right. We're gonna do exactly that."
"So I hope you got some comfy shoes because this is gonna be a pain in the ass."
She grins. "...But I got you covered. I promised."