2025-12-31: Figuring Out the Future
- Log: Figuring Out the Future
- Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Shinobu Shimizu
- Where: Hirasaka Ward
- OOC Date: 2025-12-31
- IC Date: Mon Sep 03 2012
- Summary: Hyousuke and Shinobu grab drinks after a successful hunt, and commiserate with each other over the future.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
It had been a surprise for both of them. It's not uncommon for two people pursuing the same target to run into each other at the same time. It's a bit more surprising, though, when it's someone familiar - at least distantly, from across the same battlefield, and during the same investigations.
With familiarity, comes a flash of intention - just enough to cut through the initial tension and make it clear that this isn't immediately going to turn into a fight to see who actually takes the bounty home the moment the target goes down. That lets them both focus on the fight at hand, and with that, it isn't long before the target is felled.
And now, after sending word back... comes the boring part of the job - waiting to receive confirmation and payment from the client. They've been given the address of a place to wait that is, mercifully, open this hour - a place selling drinks, much needed after a good day's work of fighting supernatural threats.
Shinobu sits in seat, sipping at her chosen beverage and leaning back such that her chair tips back somewhat dangerously. She's been quiet - until, after some idle thought, she breaks that silence.
"Not bad back there. You handle yourself pretty well in a fight." Shinobu comments.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Running into someone else on a job wasn't a surprise. There were only so many rumours to go around at anyone time, after all, and Hyousuke was inclined to believe there were more than enough bounty chasers to handle whatever was thrown them all. What had given him pause - though not quite long enough to exchange pleasantries - was that it was someone he knew. Not particularly well, given that both of them only knew each other from fighting the same foes, but their resonance and their appearance was enough to tip him off that it wasn't the first time they'd met.
At the very least, it made working with Shinobu a little less awkward. It was hard to suspect someone of being an accomplice of Eiji when they'd fought against him on two separate occasions.
It also made processing paperwork and the like a far less onerous task. There were no quibbles over who got what, nor any underhanded tactics used to wring a few more yen out of the other person. It was just a simple split, and some drinks while they waited for everything to be processed. Despite evidently being used to staying up late to deal with rumours and demons and suchlike, Hyousuke was glad that he didn't have to deal with it at such a late hour. Sitting down and decompressing after the fight was a far more attractive prospect.
"Thanks, I've had plenty of practice." Hyousuke responded, flashing a polite smile before taking a long, slow, sip from the steaming mug of green tea. Alcohol was not an option - not a legal one, at least - so he had to content himself with that, even if stronger options were on the menu. He'd long since thrown a t-shirt and jacket over his fighting gear, itself thin enough that he could keep it hidden as long as nobody examined him up close. "You're pretty good too. Guessing you've been doing this for a while?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
For Shinobu, it's coffee - something to help give her a boost of energy back while she waits. Not that she's in any danger of falling asleep, but she certainly doesn't want to risk it, either. She isn't in the habit of drinking alcohol around teenagers, either.
"It shows." Shinobu replies with a nod - and then a smirk, as he returns the compliment. "Thanks. Do my best, anyway."
She considers the question for a moment.
"Little while now, yeah. Not as long as some others, but... Been about... a year and a half, at this point?" Shinobu replies with a shrug. "Just enough to get used to it."
She considers him for a moment, then, over the top of her cup.
"...How 'bout you? How long you been at it?" She asks.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"Chasing rumours, or just the whole 'Persona' thing?" Hyousuke's voice lowered a little as he spoke specifically about Personas, clearly hesitant to talk openly about and other supernatural phenomena out in the open. It was hardly as though the place was bustling, and he doubted that the staff cared much about listening in on their conversation - even if they made for an odd pair of customers - but he didn't much care to take the risk. "Because I've had mine for a few months now, but I only just got into the whole rumours business."
Another long sip of tea. It burnt a little, but he'd be damned if he was going to let a perfectly good mug of tea go colder than it had to.
"It's tough, but it sure as hell beats working some of the other jobs I've seen some guys doing." Hyousuke frowned and furrowed his brow a little as a memory flashed into his head. "I think I'd rather fight those things every night than put up with some of the assholes you gotta put up with when you're working with the public."
GAME: Save complete.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu notes the way he lowers his voice. Maybe not necessary... but it probably is good to be at least a little subtle about it.
"Both." Shinobu replies. "First thing I fought - the thing that drew me into... all of this, turned out to have been connected to a rumor. So when folks found out it was me that took it down, I ended up getting other requests shoved my way. One thing lead to another and... here I am."
She shrugs, then listens to what he has to say.
"A few months, huh? You seem off to a better start than I was. Figuring out how to work with others is half the job." She considers.
It's tough, but better than some of the other jobs... Shinobu cracks a smirk.
"Well... some of those jobs aren't that bad, but it is nice knowing where you stand. Least in this line of work you know the thing on the other end wants you dead." She comments.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"You can thank Ogre for getting me into it. I wouldn't have made it close to this far if it wasn't for her." He had no idea how much Shinobu did or didn't know about Ichika, but given that they'd all stormed the Palace together - twice, as a matter of fact - he was willing to bet that she at least know Ogre. "As for the other jobs? Doesn't seem like you can ever be too sure, if the stories the guys tell me are true." He evidently had few of his own, but his various acquaintances' had certainly left their mark.
"I just wish I'd Awakened like you did. I could've used the cash, and the practice wouldn't have hurt either." Hyousuke paused for a moment, considered what he'd said, then hastened to correct himself. "Apart from the whole thing with someone's life being in danger." He hoped that specifying had been unnecessary, but felt compelled to regardless. "Dunno how I'd explain that to the teachers though. Fighting ghosts for a living doesn't sound like something they'd take. Kasu teachers don't care, but I think even *they'd* say something."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Ogre, huh? That's good company to be in." Shinobu replies with a thoughtful nod. She's fought on her side more than once, and she knows they have a friend in common... but she doesn't know about her connection to Ichika Kawase any further than that she had requested her help(at Tsubasa's suggestion) looking into Eiji's Palace for her sake.
"It's... Well, you just have to have a good eye for people. Most folks, they just want to get in and get out. But some are spoiling for a fight, and those are the ones you want to be on the look out for." Shinobu replies. "...It isn't all bad, though. You can meet some good people that way."
He wishes he Awakened like she did, and she offers him a sympathetic smile - and a good-natured laugh, at his clarification.
"We don't get to pick and choose, I guess. We just have to play with the hand we're dealt. Maybe it's better you had more time." She replies, then smirks. "...Yeah. That's gonna raise some eyebrows."
She shakes her head.
"It's good to have somethin' you can put out there, though. It'll save you some trouble down the road if you've got somethin' you can point to and say 'this is what I do for a living'." She comments. "Helps avoid some tough questions."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke said nothing in regards to meeting people, simply nodding and offering silent acknowledgement of Shinobu's experience and wisdom. It wasn't that he wasn't listening - far from it, in fact. Despite the steam and the mug serving to obscure his face a little, he seemed focussed, wanting to take in the advice he was given. However, when she mentioned people spoiling for a fight, he paused. It was only for a moment, and could very easily have been confused for him letting information sink in rather than offering even a nonverbal response. But the way his fingers tightened around the cup, the slight flicker of his eyes away from her, the twitching of his mouth as it tried to form a frown about the rim of the cup... It spoke to something he wanted to hide.
"I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing." Hyousuke lamented, once the topic of cover jobs came up. "Ain't like I'm making it into college." He laughed a little, hoping to lighten the situation, but even he - experienced as he was at masking whatever was inside - couldn't stop a twinge of bitterness from tainting it. "Guess I could always do stuff at warehouses or whatever, but I..." He trailed off, wondering how best to phrase it. Then he simply decided not to. The thought remained unfinished, and was waved away like a bad smell. "It's whatever. I'll figure something out."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
If Shinobu notices that body language - subtle, trying to hide something, she doesn't call it out. If he wants to hide something, it's not her place to pry... not when they haven't really spoken to each other before.
But he does lament, though, that he doesn't know what he's supposed to be doing. She hears that laugh - but she catches that tinge of bitterness, too. It's a familiar feeling. Her expression softens, a hint of sympathy creeping.
"I've been there. ...Still am, in fact, so I get it." She replies with a shake of her head. "If anyone's told you you gotta have everything figured out and squared away, they don't know what they're talking about. It's, uh. A constant work in progress."
She shrugs.
"So if that's what it takes for you to get by, you do what you gotta do. Gettin' through the now's what's important."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke's first reaction was to look at Shinobu with a blank expression, blinking slowly as he tried to process what she'd told him. He'd heard the words - that much was made clear by him looking in her general direction. They'd sunk in, if the fact that he'd reacted to them was an indication. But even then, there seemed to be something that caused his mind to stall, and keep him from giving a proper reaction. That state only lasted a few seconds, but given how he'd had a reaction or a retort for pretty much everything up until that point, the difference was a rather stark one.
Eventually, Hyousuke managed to force his brain back into gear, and break the silence that he'd been too stunned to realise had even happened at first.
"Getting through it's about all I've been doing." The statement gave little in the way of details, and he was disinclined to give more. It was a topic he'd not discussed at length with his closest friends, after all. What could possibly compel him to spill everything to Shinobu? She wasn't a complete stranger, granted. They'd fought at each other's sides, and he was inclined to believe she wasn't a bad person, given how two of those times had been in the Palace. But he didn't know her like he knew Ichika or Tsubasa.
Yet something stirred in him when he considered that she seemed to understand. Perhaps not the true extent of it, but at the very least, the essence of his issue.
"It's just... I'm supposed to be graduating soon. It feels like everyone's expecting me to figure out my whole life before then, and I don't even know if-" And, just like that, what little vulnerability he'd been willing to display faded as quickly as it had appeared. Whatever he'd been inclined to tell her in that unguarded moment sank back into the recesses of his mind, confined once more to suppression and silence. "...It's not important. I got some months. I'll work *something* out by then."
The words left his lips as easily as breath, but whether he believed them or not was another question entirely.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu watches that blank expression cross his face in reaction. It seems like her words struck something... though whether that was a nerve or something else is hard to say. It's a brief silence, but notable, before he finally breaks it.
"...Yeah, that's how it goes, sometimes." Shinobu comments, as he mentions that getting through it is all he's been doing. There's definitely a story there.
He's graduating soon, huh... She considers him for a moment.
"Yeah... they make it sound real easy, don't they?" She replies with a shrug. "But the reality is... 'Your whole life', best case scenario, is a pretty damn long amount of time. A lotta things can change or go wrong in that amount of time. That's life for you."
She shakes her head.
"Not saying making a plan is a bad idea. Just... don't feel like you've gotta map everything out." She concludes.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Another silence hung in the air, but it was a different one, marked by a different look. Hyousuke looked thoughtful, glancing down not out of an inability to look Shinobu in the eye, but as a instinctive action - one that marked him mulling over her words. He didn't seem to do it for long, and his expression returned to a fairly neutral one when he reached some sort of conclusion, but he seemed to have taken at least some of what she'd said to heart. He even managed to look her in the eye again when he responded.
"'They' don't know a goddamn thing about figuring out a future." A slight hint of mournfulness tinged Hyousuke's words. Restrained though it was, he was a little tired, and felt a little vulnerable. Solid though the dam holding the truth back was, even it had a few cracks. "But I guess that's just life." He cracked a smile as he echoed her sentiments. Weak, yes, and perhaps a little forced, but there all the same. "I don't know what I'm gonna be doing a year from now, but I think... I think for now, I'm gonna keep chasing bounties. You want in?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Further silence. Hyousuke looks thoughtful, and Shinobu's not about to interrupt thtat train of thought. He meets her eyes again, and his response gets a wry smirk out of her.
"...Damn right." She agrees. She doesn't know who 'they' is for him... but that's something she knows all too well, too. She nods, though.
He doesn't know wat he'll be doing a year for now, but he'll keep chasing bounties...
Something's better than nothing, she supposes. Shinobu nods.
"Sure thing. You ever need a hand, let me know, alright? I'll be right there." She agrees.