2026-01-04: Weird Or Not
- Log: Weird Or Not
- Cast: Ryuji Sakamoto, Ichika Kawase
- Where: Sakamoto Residence, Sumida Ward, Tokyo
- OOC Date: January 04, 2026
- IC Date: Wed, September 05, 2012
- Summary: Ryuji brings Ichika over to meet his mother. Thanks to Ryuji having to go get the fried chicken, the two get a chance to talk--and when Ryuji comes back, there's at least a bit of an understanding there.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Today is a special day for any relationship. Ryuji knew this well from cultural osmosis. The blonde smiles nervously as he puts his key in the lock and turned...before stopping. "So uh...I don't want to get your hopes up...my place isn't very...fancy?" Ryuji forces a smile before pushing open the door to reveal...
A modest Japanese apartment with nothing out of the ordinary. The vibe of the decor is somewhat old, hand me down with furniture looking scuffed in places. Appliances appear to be the same way, giving all parts of the house a lived in quality. There are pictures of a woman and a much younger Ryuji with dark hair in stages of life. Not so mysteriously, there is no sign of a father in any pictures with some photos even looking like they have been cropped. As far as cleaniness....the place looks a little too clean for Ryuji's place, meaning that ol Sakamoto has been scrambling to deal with clutter, dust, and other things you'd expect a guy like him to neglect.
"So Mom said she took off on her second job so she'll be here soon..."
"Actually, I'm already here, Ryu-kun...Nice of you to clean up for once" A woman who looked remarkably young for her age steps out into the main room, ruffling the boy's hair as her tired brown eyes drift to Ichika, looking her over briefly. "And who is this?" Her face remains neutral, giving no sign of what she thought of what she saw.
Atsuko Sakamoto is a woman in her mid thirties with brown hair styled into a bob cut. She looks tired thanks to her frantic work schedule, having large bags under her mostly tired half open eyes. She is currently dressed in her work attire from her first job, standing in a similar slouched way to Ryuji. For a moment, she smiles exactly like Ryuji, ruffling the boy's hair.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
A very special day, and Ichika is nervous. She spent a significant portion of the afternoon at her dorm going over outfits, and her bed is currently a mess of discarded clothes. Should she go cleaner-cut, or be more honest? Should she dress up, or stay casual? It was a lot of pressure. In the end...
She settled for casual but nice, and opted for a middle ground between the full delinquent and otherwise; she doesn't wnat to hide who she is, but maybe showing up in a sukeban uniform isn't ideal. So she's in a black dress, skirt around mid-thigh, with low boots and a few chunky bracelets. The dress has thick straps and no sleeves. She has dangly earrings, and her bleached-blonde hair is down. She has her usual dark makeup--shadow, black lipstick, and so on--and her height remains significant, as tall as Ryuji even, which is a lot for a girl.
"I'm not with you for 'fancy' all the time," Ichika points out for Ryuji, and smiles. But then inside...
Old, sure. But it's nice; there's life here, old photos... And yes, it's clean. Maybe too clean.
Second job... "Oh. OK--"
She's here. She does look young, and Ichika turns to her in some surprise. "OH..."
She catches herself a moment later, and then bows. "Sakamoto-san," she says. "I'm uh. Ichika Kawase. I'm Ryuji-kun's girlfriend."
Pause. "Um, third year. At Kasugayama."
Nailed it.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Atsuko scans Ichika again with her eyes, smiling confidently as she gets more of a read on the girl. After a moment, she smiles with as much energy as fatigue can allow. "So you are the infamous 'Ichika-chan'...I didn't think my son could attract such a pretty young woman and he made an effort so I can tell he likes you..." She nudges the boy with her elbow.
Ryuji to his credit hasn't lost his cool yet. He mostly stares with wide eyes as his mom seems to be going over drive tonight. Hitting all the buttons to make this awkward for him. Finally he let out a very distressed. "Mom! Please don't call me Ryu-kun in front of my girlfriend...It's not very manly!" He looks to Ichika with a nervous smile, gesturing for her to follow into living room. "Hey Mom, did you decide on what we should have for dinner?"
"You're the man of the house, I thought you'd handle that too." Atsuko smirks at her son. She doesn't follow too closely, finding a place near the kitchen to lean. "Lucky for you, I remembered tonight so I saved some money for some fried chicken for the three of us. Is that ok, Kawase-san?" The mother tilts her head to look at Ichika.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika's obviously nervous, but half her defaults are 'nice uptown girl' and half of them are 'rough delinquent' so between the two of them she finds herself feeling very nervous. It's not too hard to get a read on her, though; she cares about how this interaction goes.
"Thanks," Ichika says, "But he charmed me pretty quick, even if he didn't say so."
But overdrive! Ichika smiles at Ryuji, with a little nerves, but--she does follow! Dinner...
Ichika follows, but sticks close to Ryuji for the moment. "Oh!"
"Yeah, that'd be great," Ichika agrees of fried chicken. "Thank you!"
She feels like she should say something else, but isn't entirley sure at the moment what it is. So she smiles again.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji smiles over to Ichika, giving her a wink as he offers his hand to reassure her. He can definitely tell she isn't having the best time yet...even if he has trouble picturing his mom as intimidating. She was just so...mom?
He leads her to the dining table, getting her a chair before siting down himself. After a moment, he leans close to her and whispers. "Hey you're doing great. Don't worry. She likes you I'm sure." Ryuji nods, basing this off of the fact she is mostly teasing them. That was a good thing right?
Atsuko doesn't follow the kids to the table. Instead she watches them from afar before heading to her room to get into her home clothes. "You two get comfortable while I change....Ryuji, check and see if Kawase-san wants something to drink."
"Crap...I forgot..uhh you want something to drink?" Ryuji smiles awkwardly before sighing. "Guess you're not the only one whose nervous. Haha"
"Oh right...we have water, juice, and I think a few diet sodas...I'm trying to get back into running shape so no big sugary drinks." Ryuji laughs nervously, sighing again.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika takes Ryuji's hand and squeezes it. And that reminds her--
"Oh," she says, "I like your apartment, too!" she speaks up. "Having so many pictures of family... it's really nice."
Then she looks back at Ryuji and nods. "Hopefully," she says.
But she can try to get comfortable. Ichika takes a seat, and--"Oh, juice is cool," she says. "I think that's a good idea. I shouldn't have too many sugary sodas all the time anyway. Bad for the diet."
She smiles. "But really? That's great. Getting in shape..."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Thanks. It's home I guess...Just wish it was a little bigger sometimes." Ryuji squeezes her hand back.
He grins at her, shaking his head. "You really like family, huh? I knew you wanted kids but I didn't know how big of a family person you are."
"I mean she's getting us fried chicken. That isn't an everyday thing in this house. Usually I'd have to convince her to cook or do it myself...which I did have a plan if I needed to." He was planning on Pork Cutlets if he had been forced to cook. Luckily he could save those for another day when his less than stellar presentation wouldn't matter as much.
"One juice coming up." Ryuji stands up and heads to the chicken to get the drink. After a few moments, Atsuko appears in the dining area in light colored sweats and no make up. She looks even more tired now as she takes her seat at the table. After a moment, she looks over at Ichika. "So how did you and Ryu-kun meet? He has been too embarrassed to tell his mom the gruesome details." She removes a cigarette from a pack, letting it hang from the corner of her mouth.
"Mom, can you not smoke in the house?" Ryuji appears from the kitchen, presenting a glass of juice to Ichika before he sits next to her again.
"Tch, now you are the parent, Ryu-kun? I'll go on the balcony when you go for the chicken." Atsuko says before looking at Ichika and then Ryuji.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Bigger... Well, Ichika can't say much about that; her parents have a pretty big place. Instead, she notes the grin. "Yeah," Ichika says. "It's really important to me. I think it matters a lot."
But fried chicken!! "I do like fried chicken," Ichika says. It's not even Christmas! But, hm? Ichika tilts her head. "A plan, huh...?"
Ryuji goes to get the juice, and Atsuko arrives. Ichika looks to her at the question. "Gruesome, huh?" She lifts an eyebrow at Ryuji--but then, cigarette! Frankly, if Ichika weren't at Kasu High, she might have her own. But the Death Boss doesn't tolerate smoking on campus, so she's not really in the habit...
"Thanks," she says to Ryuji, and doesn't touch the smoking question. Instead she settles on, "I actually ended up going to his school a couple times because I had a friend there, and I heard there was big trouble... This hardened criminal type. Turned out to be wrong, but while I was looking for that friend to check in on her, I ran into Ryuji. We talked, and..."
"Well, it took him a while to ask me out, but I remember being open to it pretty quick."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Ah...I don't really have much of it so I guess it's never been a thing for me." Ryuji thinks about it. It's just him and his mom so family was two people. He couldn't really picture himself in anything more at the moment.
"Yeah...I had a meal set up since I knew mom was too tired to cook." Ryuji says confidently.
"Oh ho...then maybe I better let my son cook if thats the case." Atsuko grinned before shaking her head. "Nah, it's already ordered so Ryu can get it in a moment."
"Checking for a hardened criminal. Hmmm..." Atsuko says, cracking her neck as she sighs. "I'm not shocked it took him awhile...Ryu never was good at talking to girls."
"MOM!"
Atsuko snickers. "Oh ho...He's blushing. Heh, so you were open to it quickly, eh? What was it about him that made you interested so fast?" She finally lights her cigarette, getting a look from Ryuji before he sighs. "Ryu-kun, could you go pick up the chicken...It's at the place down the street. I want to have a talk with Kawase-san, woman to woman."
Ryuji opens his mouth before he looks to Ichika. "Uh...yeah...Umm" He looks at her to make sure she's ok but he really can't think of something to get her out of this.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I guess that makes sense. I've had a big family most of my life... My little sister was born not long after me."
But a meal! Atsuko almost makes him go for it--and Ichika laughs a little. "OK, cool."
"Yeah. A little trouble's normal where I go, but... Not so much at a nicer school, right?"
But she grins at Ryuji's blush. "At the time," Ichika admits, "I was just looking for a fun date or two. And he was cute, seemed sincere... bold enough to give me a compliment but a little shy. I like shy boys; it makes it fun to learn more about them." A beat, "And his friend had put in a good word for him, so that helped."
She pauses. "I mean, I'm obviously in for more than just a date or two now, since... I'm his girlfriend," she's quick to add.
It's hard switching between smooth and more nervous. It's stressful!
But... Ichika straightens her shoulders. Woman to woman, is it?
"OK," she says, and puts on her coolest look. "See you soon, Ryuji-kun."
...She's very nervous. But showing it less now! Doom is here...
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
After a moment to confirm again that Ichika will be ok, Ryuji stands up and begins to head toward the door. "I'll see you two soon." He gives Ichika a wink before he open the door...only to turn to look at Atsuko. "Be good, Mom. Please."
"Oho, your girlfriend will be fine Ryu-kun. We're just going to talk about somethings."
"Riiiiiight...just don't scare her off. Please." Ryuji sighs and leaves.
There is a solid moment of silence from Atsuko once Ryuji is gone. The woman takes a drag of her cigarette and it almost seems like she transforms. She slouches somewhat in her chair, letting the cigarette hang from her lips. Her eyes, which still appear tired, have adopted a slight piercing quality. Atsuko tilts her head, looking Ichika directly in her eyes for the first time. "So Kawase-san, which gang do you run with? Does my son know?" There was no malice in her tone. It was more neutral like an interview question.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Be good! That doesn't make her nerves worse or anything. Ichika just smiles at Ryuji, now that she's accepted doom. "I'm fine," she assures him.
But a good moment of silence. Ichika notices the transformation; she tilts her head. "...?" She knows that kind of look, and she recognizes--
"I'm the Thorn Boss," Ichika answers, looking right back without flinching. This, at least, is more familiar.
"My crew's small, but it's big enough to get by at Kasu High." Pause. "He knows."
"But I'm not involving him in that stuff. It's mostly fighting at school, though."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Atsuko softens a little at the answer, nodding as she takes another drag. "A boss...Heh, didn't know the little knucklehead was that charming." She takes another drag, rotating her head to try to loosen her neck muscles. Finally she sighs with relief as she looks to Ichika again.
"Thank you for keeping him out of it. After what happened with him at school, I just want him to keep out of trouble." She sighs, looking at the table as she contemplates.
"Fighting at school...huh that takes me back." She says to herself, smiling as she remembers how her gang used to cause hell. She idly wonders what happened to those girls.
After another drag, she looks at Ichika again and grins. "Oh calm down. I'm not going to get in the way of you and Ryu. He'd never listen to me if I forbade it...I wouldn't either." She yawns and shakes her head. "But please understand that Ryuji's future is very important to me. I don't want him to struggle like I have.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"He is," Ichika says. But--she hears that relief, and she nods. "Yeah... he's had a rough go."
A pause. Takes her back? "So you were...?" She seems like it. She's got that manner about her. But now--
"Whew," Ichika sighs in relief this time. "i was worried..." But she seems to take her word for it. "Guess that's true. But I'd understand if you had trouble. ...Glad you don't, though."
"I do," Ichika says. "...And I don't want that for him, either. Our crew's trying to go legit, as much as we can, and..."
"I'm hoping things go long-haul with Ryuji-kun, you know? I can't say they will, I haven't known him that long, but..."
"I just have a good feeling about him."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Atsuko smiles at the question of her past. For a moment, she just lets it sit there. I mean she just met this girl and they were on her past? Still, whats the harm?
The woman takes another drag and smiles devilishly. "Don't tell, Ryu but I ran with gang called Pink Riot...But I met Ryu's father so I sold my bike and..." She lets the ending just die off. She was certain Ichika knew that much.
After a moment, she looks Ichika in the eyes again. "It's good you're going legit...This world isn't kind to those who stick out. And if you aren't careful, you can end up in some pretty dark places."
"The long haul? How old are you, Kawase-san?" Atsuko says, smiling softly. "You're a third year in high school. Still one more year to be young and free. Don't rush into things if it gets in the way of your future. I think even Ryu would say that to you if it came down to it." She takes out another cigarette and lights it quickly.
"Ryuji is a nice boy." Atsuko says with pride before adding. "If he isn't, tell me and I'll whip him into shape."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I won't," Ichika assures Atsuko. "...That's cool. I guess it shows you really can have a 'future' even with all this, huh?" She does know that much. But the world? "...Yeah,"s he says, remembering the dark places she's been--that she expected to go.
"Ah ha, yeah, sorry... Ryuji-kun's trying to remind me to be young, you know? ...It's good. I have... kind of a history," she explains. "I kinda grew up faster than most girls my age. But I don't want to rush him, so I'm trying to keep it down to a dull roar."
She smiles back. "But I do feel free. ...Freer than I was before. I kinda... He's the first guy I've been seeing seriously in a while. He's... different."
"But he is," Ichika says. "Haha. No, no, he really is. He could stand to be a little more confident, I think. But I really like him."
BBS: New BB message (5/30) posted to 'Cutscenes and Logs' by Goro Akechi: A Suffocating Shadow
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"A future?" Atsuko laughs, shaking her head as she drags her cigarette. "I'm what happens when you go too deep into that life, hun. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime when Ryuji isn't just down the street."
"He isn't wrong. You should be focused building a future for yourself before ANY guy or girl...And then each other if thats in the cards." She listens to Ichika explain her past rather candidly. She isn't about to shame a girl for her choices but..."I'm sure you will both find a time to be adults when you're ready."
"He is different...That's why he gets into trouble." Atsuko says, sighing to herself. "But if you really like my son and you can even make him clean up around here, then please take care of him." She smiles just as the door opens.
The door opens as Ryuji stumbles through the threshold with a large bucket of chicken and several boxes of sides. "I hurried back as quickly as I could so the chicken wouldn't get cold and well..." He looks toward Ichika and smiles, trying to see if she's not at her last wits end. "Uh...so I hope you guys didn't get into my baby stories or something weird...right?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"...Mm. I see."
But, youth. "I'm working on that, too. Coming up with ideas... stuff I want to do. For a while I thought I was stuck, but... I'm not so sure of that."
"Thanks."
Innto trouble. 'Take care of him'. Ichika hesitates briefly, before she decides... It's not at all like it was, when Eiji's dad said that. It's different. But she doesn't have time to answer before Ryuji comes in--and she smiles when he does.
"It's cool," Ichika says. She's not! She's thinking. "Nah, nothing weird," Ichika says. "Smells great though. And welcome back!"
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Atsuko smirks when Ryuji as he comes through the room. "Oh, I was just getting to those, Ryu."
"MOM!"
"Ohohoho, alright. I'll save that for the next time she's over." She puts out her cigarette and straightens up in her chair.
Ryuji is quickly rushing between the kitchen and the table, first putting down the food, followed by plates and utensils. Once everything is set up, Ryuji sits back down next to Ichika, placing his hand back in hers for a moment. "Soooo what did you all talk about?" Ryuji raises a brow and looks first to Ichika before slowly turning to look at his mom. How screwed was he now?