2026-02-06: Investigating Dr. Kawase
- Log: Investigating Dr. Kawase
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase
- Where: Kasugayama Girls' Dorms
- OOC Date: 2026-02-06
- IC Date: Fri, Sep 21 2012
- Summary: Tsubasa comes to Ichika with their initial investigation into Dr. Kawase, who they believe is involved with the New World Order. Ichika realises just why they'd be scared enough to make those connections, though -- and promises to find proof of what the Order's really up to alongside them. Tsubasa leapt right into action to find her an explanation, after all... and Ichika affirms their closeness in a way even Tsubasa can't question.
- Content warning: References to sexuality
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika's dorm is much as usual; most of the girls are out and about at this hour, or else holed up in their rooms with whatever; the common areas, thus, are not very crowded. That makes it fairly easy for Tsubasa to sneak in. Ichika's been back for a little while already; she went right back to her dorm after school today, still feeling a little raw over everything...
But she's feeling a little better right now. In uniform, she's on her bed going through some papers and such, her phone in one place for texts and some stuff for the school paper about. She thinks she has a lot together...
But it's just as well she's inside because it's RAINING. So there's that!
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa said they'd visit today, but they don't actually get in until the evening.
First, there's a matter of...
Subject: PhD seeking research team!
To: Yasasuna Mazaki
From: Saneomi Niibori
Date: 2012-09-21
Time: 0741
Hello Mazaki-san,
My name is Saneomi Niibori, a postgraduate student studying hba1c sensitivity. I've heard amazing things about Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, and I'd love the opportunity to join one of your research teams! Can you tell me a little about what you're studying and who's on the teams?
Kind regards,
S. Niibori
And then, there's a matter of...
"Hello, thanks for taking my call. This is Dr. Satou," which effectively is a name to the effect of Dr. Smith, "I'm finishing up a registrar in Mikage Hospital. I was hoping to apply, I had a few questions... can I ask who is responsible for Tatsumi Memorial? Ah, excuse my voice, just a bit of a cold..."
And then, of course, there's a matter of collecting the information -- and making time to see Tamaki. (Would she approve of their sick information-gathering skills? Maybe, but this is sensitive information, man.) And walking Lance! They'd never forget about Lance!!
Luckily, they did have an umbrella in the bag slung over their shoulder. "It's me," they announce, with the knock on the door, before they slip in; they just kind of chuck that umbrella off to the side along with their shoes, and grab a notebook out of their bag before they go over to sit on Ichika's bed. (Today's outfit is their military tank over day-glo orange board shorts; today's hair is cyan, white, and pink.)
"Hey," they say, as they get over there. "Sorry I'm late -- did some diggin'... how you feelin', babe?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
By the time Tsubasa actually arrives, Ichika's put away most of those papers. She's got a laptop out and is going over some other stuff--stuff that isn't important enough for Ichika to bother with after Tsubasa knocks, because she folds the screen down and sets it on the bedside table. "Tsubasa!" she greets, and there's warmth in her voice. She does sound a little subdued, but only a little by now. She notices the notebook... Hmmm.
"It's cool," Ichika says. "I got a lot done about that paper. I think things are ready for the next step."
A beat, "I'm... better," she says. "I guess I just need a little time. But I'm feeling..." she thinks about it. "Well, I'm happy to see you," she settles on.
"What kind of digging?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"That's great," Tsubasa smiles, to her, placing a hand on the bed to lean over and give her a big ol' smooch on the cheek. "You're workin' real hard, huh?"
(Tsubasa makes a big show of never working hard, but one might illustrate the lie of that laziness just by the things they do devote themself to...)
"Uh. It's about ya shit," they add, looking down at their notebook. "But if you don't wanna think 'bout it right now... uh, shoulda checked." They launched right into finding answers, huh?
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika smiles. "Doing what I can," she says.
Tsubasa totally works hard! Ichika sees it. But about all that...
"Mmm," Ichika says. "What I want is to lock the door and keep you here with me for a while," she says, her voice a little lower. "But..."
"Nah, I'll be thinking about whatever it was you dug up instead. So let me have it!"
"I appreciate you working at it already, too."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"So," Tsubasa opens the notebook up, handing it over.
Their handwriting is actually remarkably neat, for a punk, as it describes the Kirijo Group: an international corporation with close ties to the Nanjo Group, and a (suspicious, judging by the amount of ?s) lack of ties to corporations with suspected associations to the New World Order. (? Global power? ? Insufficiently Japanese? ? Impact on power spread to Port Island - owns Gekkoukan?)
They're explaining over the top of it, of course. "I haven't been able to figure out why they'd want ya dad yet," and they say it apologetically. "Did some cold-callin', pretended to be some guys, his hospital was sayin' they're owned by th' Kirijo Group, seems like they're clean even if that makes no fuckin' sense. But ya dad weren't tied to any of th' research I dug up, so unless he's workin' on somethin' in secret, I dunno why they'd send him that kinda message... could look through his computer if we went over, tho'. Could be somethin' there..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Hmm..." Ichika looks it over; the Kirijo Group. She's familiar with the name, of course. Everybody in Iwatodai knows Kirijo.
"Hmm... Yeah," she says. "Though..."
Cold calling. "Oh, that's smart," she says. "Yeah? Kirijo always seemed fine. I mean, except for the whole 'why does a big corpo like that own a school?' kinda thing."
"So... you don't know why they'd want my dad, but they obviously did want him for something..."
"Not sure how comfy I am going through Daddy's files," she admits. "But I guess it's OK. If we know why they're after him, we can protect him--and us."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah, like..." Tsubasa scowls, considering their notebook, with the typical intensity they wear when they're suspicious. "He didn't have th' connections to say 'no', tells me they didn't have their claws in him big time yet. Weren't at th' stage he could have opinions. But there's a reason they'd kill his son an' not him," they insist. "They need him for somethin'."
Their knee bounces, on the edge of the bed, the balls of one foot pressed to the floor as the other's curled in front of them on the bed. "Jus' tryin' to think," they add, a hand grasping at the side of their head. "Never tried to get inta his account when I was stayin' there, didn't have no reason to go pryin'... but he had STATO on his box, that's for goin' through datasets... but fuck, man, that don't tell me nothin', anyone dealin' with any kinda data more'n casually ain't gon' be usin' normal spreadsheets. Was there somethin' in... ugh, I wasn't lookin'..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Suspiucious... Yes, Ichika recognizes that. 'Yet', she also recognizes. "Wait, you think Daddy's involved in that?" she asks, blinking once. She thinks about it--not that she thinks it's actually possible, but where Tsubasa might get the idea...
"I'm sure he's not," she settles on. "There's got to be some other reason. But if they did go after Toshiaki..."
"He's in danger. Maybe Mom and Ririka-chan, too." She obviously is, but she knows that. "What if..."
"What if they want stuff he knows? Then, they can't get it by killing him. They'd have to try to 'convince' him to tell them."
"Either way, we gotta look into it. I'm sure he's innocent, but..."
"He doesn't have the power to fight those guys like we do."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah," Tsubasa nods. "You reckoned he told me 'bout Toshiaki-san when I asked 'bout his room, right? But that ain't it." Their knee starts bouncing a touch more rapidly. "He told me 'bout him when I was susipicious a him. Back when he came to bail me out at Kasugayama... strict guy like that, I started thinkin' you weren't sayin' everythin' 'bout how things were at home. So he tells me th' whole story 'bout how he reckons him dyin' let to you trustin' fuckin' Eiji, how he don't wanna lose access to his kid... even invites me over to see for meself. Ain't that suspicious? It ain't the way it shoulda gone. Shoulda been he told me when I saw th' room. Why was he so keen to get me on side?"
It's a leap, of course; Tsubasa can't see the benefit of the doubt under doubt's benediction. "Easiest answer is he got inducted inta th' Order -- an' got cold feet," they draw their conclusions, tense. "But -- might be he knows shit. Might be. He weren't part a any a them projects, tho'..." Not any of the ones relating to diabetes, certainly. Listen, it was the smartest health thing Tsubasa could look up in five minutes, they haven't been a rubber duck for their brother for years. And they're sure they remembered Ichika's father talking about diabetes at the dinner table at one point! (And why would he talk about something he wasn't deeply involved in?) "But that don't mean he ain't doin' nothin'. Doctors're expected to do research, y'know? Part a -- part a th' job. Gotta be somethin'." There has to be a satisfying answer.
"Tch... you really reckon he's innocent?" Tsubasa scowls, examining their notebook again. "You sure that ain't jus' 'cuz you his kid? Like, I get it. Sucks when ya dad doin' fucked up shit. You don't wanna be thinkin' 'bout that." ... they've already had to go through this process, haven't they? "But why do you punish someone who ain't on ya team, Ichika? How -- how that make sense? He really wanted me to trust him, man... if I trust th' wrong guy... it's you that'll go under. You -- you ain't safe neither." They can play with their own life as much as they like, but Ichika...
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika listens, and she notices how agitated Tsubasa is getting about it. She doesn't see the logic of how it 'should' have gone there--but she does understand, after all, that Tsubasa's own father is... bad. Really bad. So why should they assume someone else's is good? They already had to deal with that, still have to deal with that...
"That's an easy answer," she says. "...But I do. I'm sure he's innocent."
"It's because I know him. Because his whole job is helping people, and he does it above and beyond what he has to do. But..."
"But I know you're trying to look out for me. So..."
"Let's prove it," she says. "You'll see, when we look into it--you'll see that it's not me who needs protecting from him. That it's him who needs protecting from them."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
It must be difficult, not being able to trust your own father. But Tsubasa doesn't say a word of that directly; it's all written in the margins, like their interrogations of Tatsumi Memorial.
Ichika insists she's sure, though; Tsubasa bites their lip. They trust her, don't they? She's never screwed them on anything. (Well, not in a bad way.) They don't see it, but... she's saying she's seeing something else in all those character references or whatever...
Tsubasa reaches out, a touch haltingly, for Ichika's hand. "You're sure?" They ask, grasping it tightly. "If we get proof... if we get proof, an' it ain't like that... can't let it rock either way, worried 'bout you guys? So -- so if he ain't involved in all that -- if he ain't, it'll come up, right? Fuck, man," their teeth grit, behind their cyan lips. "If it's you, too... 'course I don't want that, but I can't jus' be stickin' me head in th' sand an' hopin'..."
They take a breath, and shake their head. "But -- but -- you ain't fuckin' blind, you... ain't never led me down an alley on this shit. I. Uh." They swallow; all a sudden, their throat feels dry. "I think... I'm gettin' kinda worked up 'bout this, uh... ain't got no proof yet, don't know if it's... we'll figure it out. We'll figure it out," they repeat, again, more for their own benefit than hers. "Yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It's hard. It must be hard. But...
Ichika gives Tsubasa her hand again, curling her fingers under theirs. "Right," she says. "If I'm wrong, we'll find out, but... I don't think I'm wrong."
Can't just stick their head in the sand and hope.
"That's OK," Ichika says. "...Knowing what I do about you, your family... it makes sense that you'd at least think about it. I appreciate you trying to look out for me, right?" Ichika says, more than really asks. "I love that about you. So we'll definitely figure it out."
"Maybe we can go to that private detective," she suggests. "She might know where to go from here."
"It's OK," she says. "You're with me."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
So... there's something Ichika's seeing that Tsubasa's not seeing. That much they can believe; they know she's not stupid, if she believes it this much, it can't just be filial piety.
After all, she knows about Tsubasa's family; she knows that sometimes the peace is a lie.
They nod, when she points out that they're looking out for her, though they don't really interrupt. "Maybe," they say. "Saw her today, actually, asked 'bout joinin' up more official-like... uh, didn't tell her 'bout what I was investigatin' here, tho', thought you oughta hear 'bout it first."
But they're with her, Ichika assures them, and so Tsubasa shoves the notebook back, on Ichika's bed. It frees up the space to let them scooch themself beside her, instead, leaning against her side.
"... it's stupid, right?" They ask, glancing aside. "I was tryin' to help you out, but now I'm jus'... ugh, meant to walk in here with somethin' that could make sense of it."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Something. Ichika does know sometimes it is, but...
She's sure it's not. Not this time.
"Oh, yeah?" Ichika asks. "That'd be cool. Glad you brought this to me first, but... That'd be cool."
Ichika puts an arm around Tsubasa, hugs them close. "It's not," Ichika says. "You gotta start somewhere, and you did. if I were doing it alone, I'd just... have sat here doing nothing. Couldn't figure out where to go."
"But you knew. You knew what to start looking into."
"It's a good start. We just gotta keep going."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"She's gotta take it to th' Chief first," Tsubasa says, "but I reckoned I could like... transcribe stuff from th' tip line an' shit? Can't do too much 'til I get me licence, but... she sounded like she'd be cool with teachin' me some shit."
They sigh, and Ichika can feel the tension they're holding in their body release as they slip an arm around her and lean into her. "You weren't doin' nothin'," they insist. "You been workin' on ya paper all day... bet it woulda made ya think a this shit eventually. It's how it works when shit rhymes... sometimes you're doin' somethin' what don't seem related at all, an' you jus' realise, man, it's really all connected."
... if Tsubasa's mind is constantly working in the background to connect details like that, that might explain a few things about some of their stranger ideas.
"I jus'... couldn't leave it alone. Was thinkin' 'bout it last night. An' in th' mornin'... that's why I had to hop on th' computer." Because of course they did, around seven thirty. They 'had an idea' which they promised to tell her all about after school. It's why Ichika got to walk Lance that morning! "Least it's a start... an' we ain't th' kinda people what back down easy."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Oh, yeah? Cool! That'd get you in the door, anyway. Then you could learn a lot."
Tsubasa tells her she wasn't doing 'nothing', but... "True," she allows. She meant nothing about this, but--it's not like she wants to discount the idea that the paper's important either! "Thanks," she says. "Yeah, it would've. Rhymes, huh...?" Hmmm. It's all connected. That does explain a few things from Tsubasa, but..
Are they wrong? Things are connected.
"I see," she says. "Well, thanks. For not letting it go. We're sure not. ...It's gonna work out."
A smile. "Happy you're here, too."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa is kind of a sponge for new information, alongside matching it up to the information they already know. It makes them more vulnerable to that suspicion which grips them, but...
"Yeah," Tsubasa nods. "Like you hear two things, an' realise they're like, synonymous -- like, two ways to say th' same thing," they explain the complicated literary term without missing a beat. "Or like somethin' you're seein' on th' street's the same kinda pattern as somethin' ya see on one a Shuyo-kun's reality shows. Or, like... realisin' there's a reason you don't know nothin' 'bout the guy who sits by th' window." You know the one; the guy who keeps to himself and doesn't share much about his life, who isn't in a gang or even friends with most people. One might assume that's because he wants to keep his head down in Kasugayama and move onto better things later in life. Tsubasa, of course, knows that it's because he's a plant from the cops sent to keep an eye on the youth crime there.
Which is a pretty normal thing to think, according to them.
Luckily, they're not thinking too deeply about the guy who is clearly sent by the cops right now. And that's because of the way they lift their head, to nuzzle the side of Ichika's face. "Ain't got nothin' else on tonight," they assure her. "I can stick around long as ya like."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Oh..." Ichika learns a new word! And... some more about how Tsubasa thinks. "Huh." Well, it's fine. It's probably fine.
Ichika is distracted anyway, holding Tsubasa closer. "Oh yeah?" she asks. "Well..."
As long as she likes?
"...Did you lock the door on the way in?" she wonders.
"I could show you my work from earlier," she offers, "But..."
"I'd rather show you 'me', if you're up for it."
She smiles. "I wasn't kidding about feeling better."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah," Tsubasa says. "Always do." She offers to show them her work, but...
They tilt their head, rubbing at her arm. "... an' you really want that? You ain't jus'... thinkin' you gotta pay me back or nothin'?" Tsubasa still remembers their promise not to let Ichika get taken advantage of, even though they'd be lying if they said they weren't interested.
"I'd be cool jus' hangin' with you," Tsubasa says, looking to her. "I don't wanna jus' be distractin' you or nothin'...?" And this, perhaps, is the greatest sign of their colossal self-restraint.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Cool."
Ichika likes the door locked, even for innocent reasons. But the reasons this time are, well. Privacy-oriented.
"Mm-hm," Ichika answers. "It's something I want for me."
She smiles at Tsubasa, deeper warmth in her eyes. "You're really sweet," Ichika says. "Wanting to make sure I'm really into it, and all."
"And trust me. I intend to pay total attention to what we're doing. I won't be distracted at all."
She squeezes Tsubasa. "Promise."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa smiles, too, when Ichika calls them sweet. She assures them she is into it, though, and their hand slips up to her head, fingers smoothing through her hair. "Yeah?" They ask, and there's something quite engaged to that word; there's a lot of different ways Tsubasa can show intensity in their eyes, as it happens. "Real glad to hear that... real glad."
They tilt forward, and, gently, urge her face towards them just the same.
"C'mere..."
... and amongst the things she'll learn tonight, Ichika may note the way that Tsubasa's even more ravenous than usual.