2026-02-03: Tsubasa's Shelter
- Log: Tsubasa's Shelter
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase
- Where: Third-Floor Apartment - Hirasaka
- OOC Date: 2026-02-03
- IC Date: Thu, Sep 20 2012
- Summary: Ichika comes over to Tsubasa's house, after visiting Maya at Coolest, and they get to talking about Hanzou's visit, Ryuji and Tsubasa's conversation about their own relationship status, and Toshiaki's death. Tsubasa invites Ichika to sleep over, but not like 'that'; with how much her brother's death is weighing on her, they're far more apt to advise dogs and hugs. Ichika finally gets a nap in. Zzz...
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
After their afternoon appointment to Coolest, Tsubasa and Ichika jumped back on the train line to head back to Hirasaka. Up three flights of stairs is Tsubasa's apartment -- Shuyo's still out walking Lance right now, evidently. (He volunteered to take Dog Duty so they could make it to Maya's!)
Tsubasa heads into the kitchen to grab them some sodas, and then ambles out to sling themself onto the couch, fwomp. "Man," they breathe out. "Weird how media's talkin' 'bout this shit now. Bet me father'll be pissed... serves him right."
Ch-ksssssssh, they open that soda up. Glug, glug...
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Train! Ichika still takes the train a lot, despite having a car now; there's a lot of places where it's just not worth the gas and the parking. This was one of those times. But back up the stairs, up up up...
Ichika accepts a soda and was already seated net to where Tsubasa flumps. "Yeah," Ichika agrees. "Like, why now? But I'm glad Amano-san is working on it."
She smiles. "Yeah. Whatever on him. It's good to talk about."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Prolly cuz a Kurosu-san's shit," Tsubasa gestures, vaguely, to the TV. (It's pretty big, but it's also one of those old clunky ones; flat-screen TVs are all the rage these days, but there are still plenty of these models kicking around.) "Y'know. Jun-kun's mom."
"He reckons I'm fuckin' everyone now, I guess," Tsubasa shrugs. "Since I guess mom told him 'bout you an' Ryuji-san. Real pissed 'bout you... whatever. Reckons Shuyo-kun's gon' sort me out an' I'm gon' teach him how to be less a dandy. Fat fuckin' luck."
Glug.
"Talked to him 'bout that, by th' way." Beat. "Ryuji-san. How it weren't like we weren't in this shit together even if it weren't like us an' you... so it ain't like how you were with a coupla guys before, neither. No worries. It was cool."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Oh, yeah." Junko Kurosu. "It was really cool how she went out like that..." Jun's mom! "Yeah."
But, what he reckons makes Ichika scowl. "Asshole," she says. "But I guess she would've told him." Shuyo and Tsubasa... Ichika rolls her eyes. "Yeah, that's going to happen, for sure."
She drinks some of hers next, too--it was already open. But they talked...?
"Oh!" Ichika smiles. "...So, yeah?" she asks. "That's cool. Yeah, like... Gotou-san and Seikun like, didn't even meet really. It's totally different."
"But it was cool? You wanna tell me any more?"
SHe is dying to know.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah. Uh. He wanted me to know we were on th' same team. Guess he hadn't considered no romantic side or nothin', but I can't bothered by that... was kinda late on th' draw realisin' he was worried I'd kick his ass for sayin' I was gay or whatever." You know. Like boys do.
"But it's cool. We figurin' it out. He reckoned you'd only been with Eijis 'fore this, tho', so I had to set him straight on that shit... hm, prolly scared him a bit." Tsubasa pauses, a moment. "I ain't no good at that kinda talk. Eh, gave it a go."
They shake their head. "But, like... told him how I thought it was cool he gave a shit. An'... told him a bit a how I was worried I was like me father, when he figured you were kinda th' central element a this shit. Like, he was sayin' how we needed you to balance shit out with us, so I told him how you were doin' that... guess he's right, if it was jus' us two we'd go off th' deep end inside a week."
"Bothered me a bit, lookin' back, thinkin' how that's a lot a pressure on ya... but you said you liked doin' that shit with us, too, so I dunno."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Oh." She thinks about that. So not romantic with them, but... "Oh. Yeah, I guess he'd be real worried about the idea that you'd be worried about that." Boys do that. Ichika wishes they wouldn't. ...But then, it's not like girls are always better.
"Oh, yeah?" Figuring it out. "Oh... Yeah, no, not at all. I'm glad you could clear that up. Like... Some of the guys I was with were pretty great." She makes sure Shuyo doesn't show up as soon as he's being talked about. But, nah.
"Hm..."
"It is," Ichika admits. "...I worry a little. But at the same time..."
"I like doing it. Like... I don't want to be... some guy's everything. Some guy's heart, just, his whole reason for being."
"But if I can help my guys out? You, and him?"
"...Then yeah. It makes me feel good."
"Since... you actually appreciate me. It's not like when I was planning parties and all for Eiji's friends. You actually... value me. And I think he does, too."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
It would be REALLY funny if Shuyo opened the door right then, but he's currently trapped in a park throwing a stick for Lance. She keeps insisting he throw it without giving it back and then getting SO confused why he won't throw the stick.
"Yeah. He didn't sound worried, tho'. Said it was awkward, but, like, it was, that ain't nothin'." Tsubasa was also awkward, and they're half gay on their mother's side.
They nod, to the idea of some of those guys being pretty great. "Yeah. Spike Boss was solid." They knew him!
Ichika says she worries a little, though, and Tsubasa puts their can aside so that they can reach out and take her hand as she goes through the other hand.
"Good," they nod, when she works through it all. "So long's it's good. Cool. Don't reckon that'll happen anytime soon. We both got other shit goin' on."
They gesture, with their free hand. "You, too. I walked into that office an' coulda jus' walked right back out, but you lit way th' fuck up. It's good, actually."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It would be funny. But, awkward, "Well, he's good at awkward. You're not bad at it either. I mean, he needs to get some more confidence, you know? He'll get there though."
Mahiro... Ichika grins. "Heheh. Solid." Yeah he was. "I mean, uh, yeah. Good guy."
But Tsubasa takes her hand, and Ichika curls her fingers under theirs. "Yeah," she says. "...Wouldn't be so bad, having extra pressure from you," she says. "I just don't want it from somebody I didn't sign up for, right?"
She smiles back. "Yeah, it was really great. Enough to make a highlight. ...They were all so passionate. You could really tell they were into the work."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah," Tsubasa nods. But Mahiro is solid, and so -- "mmhmm," Tsubasa hums, raising a brow, when Ichika plays off her snickering as Mahiro just being a good guy.
They can still give her a little shit.
Still, they're more serious when it comes to her feelings. "Right," they nod, firmly.
"Real into it," they agree. "You'll see more 'bout it editing that article, I bet. Excited for ya." They are! They're just not very good at emoting about it.
Still, they don't let her hand go.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika laughs a little more at Tsubasa's hum. She just likes dick jokes.
It didn't even have to be a good one.
But her feelings...
"Yeah. I think I will. Being able to make a difference in something like that is really nice." She keeps her hand in Tsubasa's, not aiming to pull back in any case. "I..."
"It's nice, to have... good things, to fill this time up with."
"It's been a little rough," she admits, understating.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Reckon ya will," they affirm, about her aspirations. But she starts into something else, and they watch her, carefully.
"Yeah?" Tsubasa asks, when she finally admits it, running their thumb along the outside of her own. They know why; it's the same reason why they declined to finish showing Ren what was in their closet, after their father left.
Rather: "Tell me 'bout it."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika might really not realize she hasn't been subtle. She's been doing her best to keep it under wraps, after all. But Tsubasa pays attention to her, so...
"Mm," she says. "...Tuesday," she says. "It's the anniversary of when my brother died... two years ago."
"...When I..."
"When I watched him fall, right in front of me."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Yeah. Tsubasa remembers Ichika's father telling them about Toshiaki, when they were staying with them. Almost two years ago... so, two years, now.
"Rough." Tsubasa shifts their other hand to the back of the couch, squeezes her hand with the other in a silent invitation; they know she's big on contact, when she's relating stuff like this.
"... ya dad told me a little 'bout it," they explain why they're not more shocked, softly. "So..." So, she doesn't have to recount the details to get them up to speed.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika hesitates a moment--but when Tsubasa shifts their hand, invites her like that, she curls up under their arm, tucking her legs up underneath herself on the couch. She stays near Tsubasa; it's a little easier, not worrying about... faces, for the moment. "So he did..."
"That makes sense," she says. "You'd wanna know why you couldn't use the bedroom left over."
Pause. "...Yeah," she says. "So... I saw it. And..."
"...It's hard," she says. "I don't... I mean, Eiji helped me get through it, before. But now I know he was just using it to get close to me. ...He had everybody fooled, you know? We all thought..."
Ichika shakes her head. "Anyway, I'm helping Ririka-chan through it too, obviously. But it... kinda weighs."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa curls their arm around Ichika, in turn, tucking her in against them.
It's okay. They don't have to see what her expression is doing. They can still hear.
"Mm," they hum, a rumble at their chest as they rub at her arm. Technically, he told them before that -- when he was inviting them to stay in the first place -- but they're little locational details which don't seem to matter all that much to Tsubasa, in the moment. Whether Dr. Ichika's Dad was telling them because they were confused about the room or because they were suspicious of him is something they can hash out when Ichika's not this hurt.
"Yeah." They affirm, as she trails off. And she's helping Ririka through it, but... "... are ya dealin' with it on ya own, so you don't get done like Eiji did again?"
They frown, looking out at the window. "It'll weigh on ya. Guy I saw weighs on me... I didn't even know him. Can't imagine how much worse it is... like that." When it's her brother.
"... how ya sleepin'?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
For such a tall girl, Ichika's not bad at making herself smaller. But in this case, not having to puff up about it may be the sign of trust.
"..Yeah," Ichika says. "I didn't think of it like that... but I guess I am. And I can't... I mean, she took it really hard," Ichika says. "They shared everything, it seems like. And he and I... we'd finally gotten somewhere good."
"...Thought it was my fault for a while," she says. "That I should've done something different. But it wasn't."
She closes her eyes. "...Not great," she admits. "Better, when... y'know, we tire me out a little first. But..."
"Even then, I wake up later, and just..."
She sighs into Tsubasa.
"Just... this whole time of year is hard, is all."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa's pretty good at hiding things. They can hide Ichika, too.
"Yeah," they affirm, at that same low rumble she might feel as much as hear. (And she might smell that things are a bit different, too, though it's pretty subtle right now. It's fine.) "I get it. Can't be puttin' that on her when she's havin' a hard time. ... so I don't mind listenin'." They can't really promise to make anything better -- wouldn't, anyway, given the context -- but it doesn't escape Tsubasa that Ichika is indicating she trusts them, here.
They give her a little squeeze, with their arm, when she admits that she's not sleeping great. Waking up, thinking about it... "It is hard. You got a lot a shit goin' on right now. Hn... you wanna sleep over tonight? Don't mind talkin' at two in th' mornin', neither." A light pause. "Or you can jus' hug Lance. She good at that."
Dogs are very therapeutic.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika does hear it, and she's not noticed the change consciously--but it's nice. She'll notice it all at once, sooner or later. But that, "Yeah," she says. "She's not good at sorting out her feelings. Tries to take it all on herself and act like nothing's wrong. And like, to a point you gotta just keep on going, but..." Only to a point.
She does trust them, though. And that squeezes helps her.
"...Yeah," she says. "I'd like that."
"Mm..."
"Doesn't have to just be sleep," she says. "...But if I know when I wake up again later we can talk... I'll feel better."
She pauses. "Gonna hug Lance too, though. That's a good idea."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Makes it hard to talk it out," Tsubasa affirms, softly.
They frown, thoughtfully, when Ichika advances the idea of it not being just sleep. "Reckon sleep's better right now," they point out, though they're gentle about it. "You could use some more of it... an' I don't wanna be makin' you feel like you gotta perform right now. I don't wanna be th' kinda guy what uses you when you're vulnerable."
Tsubasa rubs at Ichika's arm, again. "It's okay," they add. "We can do more a that shit later. Promise." Just because they're inviting her over to sleep tonight doesn't mean they won't invite her over to not get much sleep another night. "Jus' right now, I reckon hugs an' dogs. An' I'll make you this pasta I been workin' on. Yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It does make it harder.
But... Ichika thinks about it, when Tsubasa points it out. "...Yeah," she says. "Guess I got used to it being like that... Figure most guys would want it that way. I don't mind, but..." She nods. "I'm kinda glad you mind."
It does help her sleep, but... it's definitely also that other thing.
"Okay," she says. "Cool. I like hugs, and dogs... and pasta."
"Sounds good."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Hey," and Tsubasa's smile might have to be carried through their tone, as they look down to Ichika, but it's still there. "Promised I'd look out for ya, yeah?"
Even if what they're looking out for is just the way Ichika's always done it!
"Cool," they give her another squeeze. "We can talk more now, or... reckon they got some shit on TV by now. Buncha soaps. Sappy shit, you'd like it."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika catches it. She smiles, too. "You did."
She nestles in a little more against Tsubasa, and sighs. "Mm..."
"I love sappy shit," she admits. "I think I wanna just... turn off, for a bit. Watch something, maybe."
Or maybe she'll end up napping against Tsubasa. Either's possible.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa reaches over, with a hand, to snag the remote from the end table beside them. "Got th' feelin," they say, as they switch the TV on. "Aight, lessee..."
They find something suitably romance-driven, and, like, it's not their thing, but that doesn't actually bother them all that much, because they're more occupied with soothing Ichika than what's actually on the screen.
And if she ends up falling asleep, well...
... Tsubasa's real happy they can keep her safe enough that she can do that.