2026-01-10: Just Figure It Out as You Go
- Log: Just Figure It Out as You Go
- Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Shinobu Shimizu
- Where: Konan - Main
- OOC Date: 2026-01-10
- IC Date: Sat Jan 10
- Summary: Hyousuke and Shinobu take a few minutes to relax at the train station after a successful hunt. Shinobu's woodworking catches his attention, and Hyousuke begins to take an interest in a new hobby.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Another day, another job. Following rumors of trouble, Shinobu came out to Konan Ward to investigate - and she wasn't the only one. Following the leads leads them to the target and, after a fight that would have been difficult with only one of them, they receive payment.
Fast-forward to now - the sun is beginning to set, but there's still a little while until the next train to Hirasaka Ward arrives. There's not much to do for now but kill some time, and so Shinobu sits back on a train station bench facing the tracks. She has a small knife in one hand and a block of wood in the other, idly carving away bits of material at a time as her eyes drift from it to the direction she expects the next train to arrive from. A towel in her lap catches (most) of the fallen debris.
A shape is slowly starting to take form out of the block of wood. A pair of big, tall ears, a round face... She's mostly let idle whims guide her knife, and the end result seems to be the beginnings of some kind of rabbit.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The fight had been a difficult one. Hyousuke was in no hurry to admit it, but alone, his prospects would have been grim. He'd taken the licks to prove it too - bruises and marks that, while ultimately minor and easily treatable, would no doubt hurt like nobody's business once he'd had a chance to shower and sleep. However, with Shinobu's help, they'd both prevailed and found themselves slightly richer for it. It was a strange thing, to fight in such a manner and be paid for it like it was a job, rather than just looting whatever monsters and treasure chests could be found, but Hyousuke was hardly going to complain about it.
He did, however, think to stare quizzically at Shinobu's work. It was an idle glance or two at first, stolen in an attempt at appearing subtle. He failed to, of course, being about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face, but the attempt was made. Eventually, he decided to abandon the attempt upon realising it was futile, and simply observed quietly. Head canted, green eyes blinking and glinting in the station's light, there were those that might have likened the sight to a hound watching someone go about their business, observant but uncomprehending.
"A rabbit?" Hyousuke eventually said, looking up to meet her gaze, rather than the carving itself. "You're pretty handy with that."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu finds herself glad for the back-up, too. Fights are easier when you have someone to watch your back - it means a greater chance of everyone involved walking away. They might still feel the fight in the morning, but at least they can still feel it.
Shinobu has noticed Hyousuke's eyes on her work, as much as he tried, at first, to watch it subtly. She hasn't said a word, though - and it's only when he eventually breaks the silence with a question that her knife starts to slow and she looks up and to the side at him.
"Yeah." Shinobu confirms. "At least, that's what it feels like now. Who knows if it's gonna stay that way."
She shrugs idly, then pauses as her comments on her skill.
"Thanks. It's just something I do to kill time. Keep the mind busy, that sort of thing." She replies.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"It changes?" His head canted a little to the other side. Free of the visor that obscured his face, Hyousuke's curious gaze had been left unfiltered and unobstructed. "Didn't think wood was the kinda thing that did that." The creative process seemed to be largely unknown to him. Unknown enough that Shinobu's display entranced him, at least. He remained quiet for a little while longer, watching eagerly and taking notes in the back of his mind, before speaking again. "Could use something like that myself. It's good to focus on something."
The words came out a little awkwardly, and he was not deaf to it either. Hyousuke broke his gaze on the emerging rabbit and instead leaned back on the bench, looking up afterwards as if doing so would let him observe the stars above. He considered his next words for a few moments, but even with that brief break, he still didn't seem to be able to find the words he needed easily.
"Being able to clear your head and just think about what's in front of you... I get that. Just wish I had something like that outside of hiking or training. Can't exactly carry dumbells around everywhere, and hiking's a pain when you're in the middle of the city..."
Shinobu Shimizu has reconnected.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Yeah. It's kinda..." Shinobu pauses, thinking about how to put it. "Right now I'm feeling 'rabbit', but it's not too late if I decide I wanna make it into something else. ...'Course, if I change my mind too late, it might end up looking more like something in-between..."
She considers him for a moment as he comments that it's good to focus on something. She follows his gaze up briefly for a moment as his eyes track toward the sky.
"Yeah. You can kind of just let everything else go around while you focus on what's in front of you." She agrees with a nod. "And if somethin's got you pissed off, you can just take your feelings out on the wood until something comes out of it. It's, y'know... meditative."
She nods, though.
"Yeah, can't do that all the time... and those are a pain to lug around." She replies sympathetic. "It's a cheap and light-weight hobby, at least. You only need to put as much into it as you want."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
It had been just a simple block of wood before. Then she had taken her knife to it, and with care, had begun to carve into it. Every piece chipped away gave way to a new idea, and to a new form - and yet there was still time to change it, and let it become something else entire. Hyousuke wasn't sure why the thought of that lingered on his mind like it did, and paid it no attention. There would be time to figure it out later, he supposed. For now, he had to engage in a conversation.
"Meditative? Is that the word for it?" It wasn't a jab at her wording. It was a genuine question, asked with genuine curiosity. The feeling was familiar to him, but the word itself seemed to roll around on his tongue like a new flavour or foodstuff, tested a little so he could decide how it felt in his mouth. "'Cause I get that way when I'm working the punching bag. I just kinda... lose myself in the moment. I don't have to think about school, or jobs, or Personas... It's just me and the bag."
He smiled a little. It was a small and weak one, but no less genuine for it.
"Kinda hard to drag one of those around wherever I go though. Maybe I should take up carving too?" He only sounded as though he was half-joking. There was real, unabashed interest in the way he looked at her work.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Yeah. Think so, anyway." Shinobu replies with a nod to his question. She doesn't push, as he rolls the idea around. Working the punching bag, huh... Losing himself in the moment. Shinobu nods. "Yeah. That's it exactly. I know the feeling. Feels nice to get away from it all, even for a moment."
She cracks a smile of her own, though, at his comment.
"...Yeah, just a lil'." She agrees, then pauses consideringly as he half-jokes about taking it up himself. "You think so? ...Just a second."
She leans forward, picking up her duffel bag from where she's laid it at her feet. She reaches into one of the pockets, drawing out another block of wood. She sets the bag down, turning the knife around in her hand before offering him both the block and the knife handle-first.
"Wanna give it a go, then? See how it feels?" She offers.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"Really? You don't mind me trying it?" Hyousuke certainly wasn't unhappy about the offer. The widened eyes, the raised brow, the slight twinge of hopefulness to his voice when he confirmed what he'd heard - it all spoke to someone that had been offered a chance to try something they were completely invested in. But, even so, he seemed a little hesitant to take her up on it. He waited a moment, letting silence hang in the air between them, as if expecting her to mention something else or pass on some crucial information, but took the wood and the knife before long regardless.
His first cut was a hesitant one. Though the length of it was short, and though he moved along the grain, shaving a corner off of the block seemed to take an age. Stuck halfway between hesitant and methodical, the cut was clearly one done by a rank amateur, its purpose simply to get a feel for what the process was like rather than to make any meaningful incision. He even looked to her with expectant eyes, silently asking her if he'd done it right, before returning to shave shave off another corner just as hesitantly.
"It's... weird." Hyousuke said eventually, having shaven away a few more pieces. Each cut had been made imprecisely, the surface jagged and the path uneven. It was a mess of a piece of wood, but only a few slivers had been taken off, themselves sitting idly in Hyousuke's lap. "But it's good-weird. I don't know what I'm doing with it, but I feel like if I just keep hacking at it, I might figure it out. Or I might just get a bunch of wood dust in my jeans."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Nah. Go ahead." Shinobu assures with a nod. Silence hangs in the air for a moment - but there's no catch, nor any follow-up information. Maybe there's nothing to say, or maybe she just wants to see what he does. Either way, once he takes the wood and the knife from her she sits back again and watches.
There's no judgment as he takes his first, hesitant cut - it's amateurish, but it'd be more surprising if it wasn't. Everyone has to start somewhere. He looks at her expectantly - and it doesn't look like she's about to jump to correct him.
'It's weird', he says after a moment. Shinobu inclines her head in interest - and then, she cracks a grin.
"Well, that last part was gonna happen anyway." She points out. "That's why I always bring a towel or somethin'."
She nods, though.
"...But, yeah. It's just a matter of feeling it out. Figuring things out as you go, finding what works for you. There's no wrong way to do it." She says... and pauses for a moment to add. "...Well, long as you don't miss the wood, anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke looked up to her quizzically, canting his head again. The motion sent tufts of blonde hair tumbling to one side like stalks of wheat, buffeted by a sudden gust of wind. He blinked once, then spoke in a tone that matched his look to a T.
"It's a pretty big chunk of wood, how am I gonna-" He missed it. The grain winding in a way he'd not expected, combined with him being distracted and looking away from her, caused him to let out a sudden hiss of shock as the blade's tip jabbed at his finger.
In terms of severity, the cut he'd received ranked somewhere between 'small splinter' and 'modestly-sized papercut.' It was hardly hardly worth a plaster, let alone any kind of attention, but Hyousuke set the knife down on his lap regardless, and pressed a tissue - crumpled, but still clean - onto the offending area before it had a chance to bleed all over his shirt.
"Don't say a word." Hyousuke told her, his pout exaggerated just enough to show he wasn't genuinely offended, or in pain. "...I can see why you do it though. It's nice."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Hyousuke starts to ask a question - but he answers it for himself before she can even open her mouth. She winces sympathetically - but thankfully, it doesn't look like it's as serious as it could've been.
"I wasn't gonna say nothin'." Shinobu assures, raising her hands placatingly - though with a slight, though non-judgmental, smirk. "...Yeah. Feels good, don't it? ...The part with the actual wood, I mean."
She looks up. They can hear their train in the distance, now - it won't be long before it arrives and it's time for them to board. She nods to the knife and the wood block he's holding.
"You wanna take those with you? I've got more where that came from, so I'm not gonna miss it." She offers. As a rule, she leaves her nice woodworking set at home. "All's I'll ask is that you show me if you ever end up making anything out of it."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"Wait, I can-" Hyousuke looked down at the wood, and then at the knife. It might not have been one of her good tools, but it was still *a* tool. It was a valuable piece of equipment, given freely to him, and he could only glance between her and it for a few seconds, before finally clutching his palm around the handle. The one that wasn't at risk of bleeding all over it, anyway. It seemed that her naming a price, however inconsequential, had either assuaged some unspoken doubts, or steeled his resolve enough to take the favour.
"Guess I'd better start working on making more than a mess. Shouldn't be hard to find something to practice with - I don't think anyone's using Kasu's shop class supplies for anything." The statement might have been a little sad to make, but the implications appeared to be lost on Hyousuke. He was absorbed in observing the gift entrusted to him, and envisioning what he could carve out with it.