2026-03-12: Tomoki's Silver Medal
- Log: Tomoki's Silver Medal
- Cast: Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, and her boyfriend Tomoki Hasegawa
- Where: Aoba - Penthouse
- OOC Date: 2026-03-12
- IC Date: Mon, Oct 08 2012
- Summary: Yua gives Tomoki a piece of her mind and dresses him down over the pushiness she's realised he's been doing to Miho where she can't see. Once he sincerely apologises for that, though, she explains her deal. Like, all of it... or at least MOST of it. He expresses his desire to secure second place, and with Miho underlining how she does quite like him, Yua slowly comes around to letting him in... so long as he has his own room and doesn't try to invade theirs. She even invites him to dinner the next night, and gives them the space to spend a long time together...
- Content warning: Discussion of sexuality - safe sex/coercion/STIs, discussion of trafficking
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAx6mYeC6pY Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor
On Monday evening, Miho came home early; according to her work she had business with her boyfriend, and in some respects, that's true. First, though, she has to discuss things with Yua... because she's bringing him home to meet her. And Yua, at first, is resistant; she doesn't want him in her home, she doesn't want to have to be nice to him, she's mad at him! But Miho manages to convince her that she'd feel better if she said it to his face rather than building up the threat of him in her mind; and even if Yua's a little resistant to telling him more about her to help him understand, she at least comes around to entertaining the idea. (If Miho thinks it's a good idea.)
Yua's already cooked dinner for the two of them; she didn't want to feed him, she insisted, huffily, though of course Miho had already anticipated those needs and told him to come afterwards. Having been assured that she's allowed to be mad at him, and he's not going to steal her away tonight, or sleep in their bed for that matter, Yua is properly braced... for the door to ring.
This is a proper penthouse, with an express elevator ten floors up Pyramid Plaza to the top; there's a landing hallway, out here, with a place for packages, and one primary residence. Miho Ijuuin, in neat calligraphic script on the nameplate, is entirely predictable; what might be more surprising, beneath it, is * @ <3 Yua Ijuuin <3 @ *, her name surrounded by hearts and roses and sparkly stars.
Doesn't that woman live with her husband...?
Their blue-haired maid, Eiko, receives him; her offers of guest slippers and may-I-take-your-coat?s pale, though, against the dark-skinned woman who greets him first. That it is Yua who first approaches him is deliberate; this is her domain as much as Miho's, judging by the indoor plants alongside the severe decoration scheme. "Hasegawa," she greets him, and she at least manages to be cooly cordial, even if the lack of honorific is no accident, "you are welcome in our home." He's not welcome to their home, notably. "Come and sit. Would you like something to drink." It should, by all hospitable rights, have a rising tone of a question; and she proves she can use it, when she looks to her maid, a moment later, her voice warming at once. "Eiko-san, could you fetch that for us? I'll have my milk, too. Oh, bring it to the lounge, I think..." And that is the one concession she makes to his comfort -- quite deliberately, when men are received in the dining room, by Kimitake's example.
She sits him in the loungeroom, as she promised -- though she's the one who takes a seat on their luxurious leather lounge, leaving one of those comfortable chairs for Tomoki instead. Eiko brings out their drinks -- Yua has something like powdered milk, herself, trying to add a few more nutrients to what she managed at dinner. She's even got a cute straw!
It's only once Yua is safely tucked in against Miho's side that she turns her attention to him, again. "Mimi says she likes you," Yua starts, her tone tense, "and it's been getting serious... well, I don't like you!" She stomps a foot -- the foot opposite Miho, at least -- and scowls. "You're super inconsiderate! And you've been taking advantage of her, too! Ane-ue told me how it was just a myth that it feels better without protection... and I looked it up!" That's right: Yua can use the internet.
"Besides," Yua glowers. "I'm pregnant. I trust Mimi, but you're a movie star... if I catch anything, it could really hurt Hiroki, you know!" She's still mad about that. "Besides, besides, how do think I felt when she was too busy to even reply to me until bedtime that Friday?! Mimi wouldn't have forgotten if stuff wasn't on her mind! It's you! You're stuff!!!" Yua's glare deepens, as she says: "I had to do a terrible horrible no good thing on Saturday, and not only did you take her from me, you kept her from coming back! Insisting on being awake and-- and--!"
She even points at him -- the height of rudeness -- before she leans forward to offer Miho her drink and take hers up in a hand, too. "I don't trust you one bitty bit!" She concludes, glowering. "You're a big jerk! You'd better explain yourself, or -- or -- or I'll keep yelling at you!"
Even when she's furious, she's still kind of cute... look at her sipping on that straw and glaring.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho has done her best to get this all set up and ready, but Ritsuko was clear: if she was going to continue in this way, Miho needed Yua and Tomoki to talk. ...Admittedly, part of Miho thought it might be better to just Not, but Ritsuko reminded her she'd have to find someone if not Tomoki...
But Miho does now think it's a good idea.
He is pretty surprised by the cute nameplate. He schools his features after he notices that though, when the door opens--and Tomoki sees first, Eiko. "Sure--"
Yua approaches. She greets! He blinks in surprise. "...Thank you," he says, though it's not the welcome he quite expected. Miho mentioned she was upset, but...
"Some tea, if you would."
He walks along, sitting in a chair. Miho for her part greets him too, but with a nod rather than by name, and comes to sit with Yua. And then--
Yua speaks!!!!
"Eh...?" He's surprised at first, and blinks accordingly--but Yua explains further, and his surprise gives way to concern and some chagrin. But the rest...
"...I see," he says.
"Well, I'll explain." Tomoki changes his body language; he places his hands on his thighs, instead of closing himself off, and straightens. "...I think we have a big misunderstanding here," he says. "But first: I'll apologize for being inconsiderate. I am sorry for that. ...My understanding of your situation seems not to match up to reality."
"I thought you were pulling away from her," he says. "That with your new husband, she was getting less of your time. So I thought it was easy enough to start asking for more of it in turn."
"As for the protection... Well, it is more convenient without it," he admits, and Miho glances at Yua--she doesn't seem to disagree, "But, with your baby in mind especially... Sure. And not only that, but I'll get tested--Miho-san's the only one I'm seeing right now, but I'm sure it'd make you feel better to know for sure, right?"
"...I can see you must've felt pretty bad, actually. Assuming there is a next time... I'll keep our phones closer, in case you need to get in contact with her sooner."
"...I like Miho-san a lot," he says. "I'd like to keep seeing her," he says with a nod to Miho.
"...So if you've got things that need to happen for that, by all means. I'll answer whatever questions you have."
"But I do have one of my own. If you're not pulling away to be with your new husband, uh..."
"What is going on there?"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
The tea is really quite nice, when Eiko sets it out for him; it's the same kind Miho has, which Eiko fetches for her without any prompting. (Let no one say she's without any autonomy to suggest anything for the mistresses.)
"Hmph!" Yua scowls, leaning closer to Miho when he suggests she was pulling away.
"He's wrong," she issues, sharply, to Miho, when she looks at her so permissively at that comment of convenience. "Firstly," she says, scowling, looking back to him once he's spoken more, "why didn't you get tested before pressuring her into that, knowing she was with me? And didn't she ask you to use protection? You won't sit before me and tell me you ignored her." Her upper lip curls up; her teeth are grit. Will there be a next time...?
She pulls out her phone, and scrolls through it, before handing it to Miho. "This is what he threatened to make you do to our baby," she says, her voice cool. Those deformities... "... those are the ones who survived. It never concerned us, but the nonke women," the straight women, she means, "on those forums... they had very bad stories about men like him. He wears a rubber, Mimi, or you do -- they do make them for us."
(It's important for her to specify nonke women, as it happens; the term more often describes cis, straight men.)
There's something Yua said, there, though...
'Our' baby.
"I'm Mimi's wife," Yua explains, her tone still hot. "I don't care what the ceremony said... I already told her Gods we were lying! There are -- things I have to do -- but I'm faithful to Mimi, just Mimi! You don't know the first thing about what it's really like!"
Yua is still on red alert... but when she was talking to Miho, she was at least open to the idea of explaining things to him.
... she might just need a reminder of that, when she's too busy thinking about their safety in the home.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
It is nice tea. In other circumstances, he'd compliment it. Maybe later.
"I know I don't have anything," Tomoki says simply. "i'm offering to get tested to prove it." He pauses. "Well, we discussed it. She asked," he nods to Miho, "But when I said I'd rather not, she didn't really argue the point." A pause. "...Was it that important to you, Miho-san?"
"Well..." Miho starts, but then she gets Yua's phone, and looks at... the deformities. Her eyes widen. "That's..."
Tomoki decides that negotiating the finer details is less important than 'our baby'. He looks thoughtful, rather than bothered at that.
Miho says, "We'll use protection." She pauses. "It's not a problem. I don't think he's lying," she says, "But you and Hiroki are most important to me."
Tomoki nods. "Right. If that's what you want, then that's what I'll do. I can promise you that. ...Miho-san, if it was so important, I'll just have to make sure to be more careful. I apologize for pushing." He didn't think it was a big deal... but obviously it's a big deal to them. Though there's definitely something here he doesn't understand yet. He's seeing that much.
Yua's tone is still hot, but Tomoki is starting to understand the kind of situation he's in. "That's right," he says. "I don't know. I assumed a few things; I've clearly got the wrong idea."
Miho chimes in, "You do. I couldn't explain everything..."
She looks to Yua. "Because it wasn't all mine to explain. But that's up to you, if you're willing, Yua. You did tell me you were willing to explain your part, at least."
"I'd really appreciate that," Tomoki says.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"You should feel able to answer him if he asks you something like that," Yua says, when Miho trails off, though her voice gentles as she points it out, her free hand resting at her arm. "If you can't speak, he's stolen your voice. I don't want that for you, okay?"
She smiles, rubbing at her arm. "I know," she says. "And you tried to protect me. That man just pushed you into being risky... I'll protect you too, Mimi."
Her scowl returns when she looks to Tomoki, though. "... you sound like you're genuine," she starts, suspiciously. "But your actions had better match up! If Mimi tells me you haven't treated her right, I'm going to glue lego to the inside of your shoe and make you wear them."
Believe it or not, that's a nice version of all the horrible things that have run through her head.
She sighs, looking down at her meal replacement drink, leaning forward to put that glass half empty back on the coffee table. "... all right. I'll tell you my deal, since I promised Mimi I would... but don't interrupt until I'm done!"
She takes a breath, settling back. "I'm Okinawan. I was born in Kukojima Island. Back then, there were less than two hundred people on the island... tourism's made it way bigger, now, but there were a lot of things you take for granted in the city that we didn't have back then. There's not even a highschool... just a combined elementary and junior high schoolhouse. My mother works there," she adds, her tone growing less hostile as she reflects on her history, though it helps that she's looking at Miho and not him, now. "She did back then, too... but mostly, my father supported us. He was a fisherman... he still used our people's methods, not like the commercial trawlers that ruined our fishing grounds." Yua frowns, remembering them, and adds sullenly: "Not like the Americans were good for the fish, either... all their naval drills..."
Yua sighs, grasping at Miho's side. "But when I was in middle school, someone wrecked my dad's boat. Even though Grandmother was our noro priestess, my father's household wasn't popular, because when there were all those big protests in the nineties he kept our heads down so we wouldn't get hurt... they were mad at him, not my mother or us, but they still weren't eager to give him other work even if he was doing it for us. So... he had to join the Self Defence Force," she says, quietly. "We moved a lot, after that, following his postings... I lost my chance to be professional, because every time I'd need to find a new ballet school, and I was never able to just focus on it. If I'd gone through like normal, I might have been able to join a troupe... even be prima... I can perform thirty-two Fouette turns, you know?" She frowns, looking down at her rounded belly. "Well... maybe not now..." But if he knows ballet at all, he might realise how much of a boast that is; the thirty-two Fouettes of Swan Lake are a prima ballerina's foremost display of power and control.
Yua shakes her head, looking back up to Miho. "... well, by the second year of high school, my father got a stable posting at Narumi Ward, so I was able to join Seven Sisters that year. Just like all the other mainland schools, people thought I was weird, they were mean to me..." Yua scowls. "... but there was a dance club, so I made some friends." Warmth and passion creeps into her voice, despite herself, as she goes on: "I started noticing a girl kept showing up to watch me... they said she was the star of fencing club, la Sabreuse Souveraine, so of course I went to see her. And the way she performed was so... so soulful, so intense, so purposeful... of course I had to speak with her!" And here, Yua even giggles, nudging at Miho's side. "They weren't happy about that, remember? They were so mad someone like me dared to approach you!"
Hey, look, Yua can smile.
"Mimi and me became best friends," Yua relates, her tone warmer. "But it was only when another friend asked me about kissing girls that... I thought maybe I could. There wasn't any chance I could do that with Mimi, though, I thought... she was seeing a boy, so there was no way I really could... except as soon as I said something, she broke up with him? It was a big surprise... I was going over with consolation cookies, and she said she really did want to kiss me, for real!" Yua still looks shocked, relating it now, though she's looking at Miho. "We got serious really fast, but... no one at school was happy," Yua sighs, fingers curling into Miho's shirt, as if to hold onto her for support. "He said awful things about Mimi, and everyone said awful things about me. They said how Mimi was just practicing, and she'd dump me as soon as she felt confident with a boy... they said I was just trying to get close to her for her money, too. How I was corrupting her, since she'd been a normal, boy-liking girl before I ruined her... how my people have loose morals, so I was just teaching her how to be degenerate like the Americans like it. They put a dissected frog in my bag after science class... they knocked me over in the halls, and stole my journal, and made fun of my dream to get married to her and be there for her when she got home in the evening with a nice delicious dinner... they even threw my pointe shoes in the toilet, and, and those things are expensive, you know? My family couldn't afford to just buy a new pair, so I spent all afternoon trying to get them clean..." Yua is terribly downcast, speaking of all the ways being out only hurt her.
"I... didn't do good in my final exams," she says, with a light pause. "None of the performing arts programs would take me... I don't know if they even looked at my portfolio. I decided to join the Self Defence Force, too, since... I didn't want to make Mimi support me all on her own. They said I was a gold digger, but I wasn't!" Yua insists it, hotly, scowling again. "I thought that once Mimi was done with university, I'd have a stable posting, so then we could be together... mm, but I never made it though basic training." She manages to shrink a little closer to Miho, somehow. "I was... taken. Trafficked away. They were using me as a, a guinea pig, it was... something like rich people wanted things tested on me first? Cutting edge medicine, or something like that... they liked seeing me dance, so I didn't fall out of practice, but I lost the use of my eye, my own health got very bad. Very bad, um... they don't quite know if I have six months or six years, but... I'm dying, Hasegawa." She's still not looking at him. "That's that sort of person I was dealing with... to improve their lives, they doomed mine."
Yua buries her face against Miho's shoulder, for a moment; she, at least, can hear her gulp. "I'm okay," she says, but it's just for Miho, before she lifts her voice audible again. "... Mimi never gave up searching for me. For a long time... years... but she found me. She saved me... I was not very coherent, for a while. She had to take time off work, caring for me... I was a burden," she insists, gloomy. "Mimi would never say that, but I know it's true... even now I'm more normal, I'm a lot of work, I'm, high maintenance, that's the nice way they say it." And just who is telling Yua that? Questions for later. "And Mimi's working really hard to find a way to save me... I even have my very own nurse? She comes by every day to check on me... mm, but I don't wanna leave Mimi alone. What if I really die...? I wanted to get married to her, I wanted to give her a baby, since she doesn't want the body she worked so hard on to change like that... I had a whole plan? I'd get Father to adopt me, so I was on her register, and we'd use money to get around the rules... but we couldn't do it." Yua sighs, looking down, to Miho's lap. "We managed to get pregnant, we just paid an Okinawan man to donate, so I could carry her egg inside me... but my plan didn't work. I had to really get married. Father told me to wed his nephew, for appearances, so I could enter the branch family that way... and Kimi-san wanted a, a son of his own, at least, when I was done with Mimi's baby, too. Since she was going to adopt Hiroki, later... but then, money didn't fix that, either, she had to get married if she wanted claim over her son. So she started dating, too... but Kimi-san agreed not to touch me like that in private, you know? Even with his baby, he promised we could use IVF again... so it wasn't the same, when Mimi started disappearing to see you. Mimi likes men too, but I only like Mimi... if Kimi-san made me go to bed with him, he wouldn't just be pushing me."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho says, "I'm used to backing down on that one." It's an admission, and when she says it that way, even Tomoki frowns about it. He answers, "Ah. ...Guess that benefited me, and made you feel worse. Sorry then, Miho-san. I'll try to listen better next time." He does at least seem genuinely chagrined about that one. It's 'normal' to him, but seeing Miho have difficulty right in front of him is another matter.
Yua says he sounds genuine... He opens his mouth and closes it at the threat. "Understood," he says. This woman is adorable.
He doesn't usually have to argue with the cute ones...
Okinawan, she says. Not 'from Okinawa'. He is paying close attention. And he is surprised to hear that her father was a fisherman.
Miho holds onto Yua, putting an arm around her.
Tomoki does know ballet enough to look impressed. But he stays silent, since he said he wouldn't interrupt.
Miho, though, does remember. She smiles at Yua. "I remember," she says.
It's quite the story, though, and Tomoki listens, showing sympathy, concern, surprise, and a lot of other things.
"You're not a burden," Miho insists first. "You're not. ...And those people shouldn't say such things."
Tomoki is thinking, though. And eventually, "So your baby is also Miho-san's baby..."
"I really misjudged you, Ijuuin-san," he admits. "Your background is totally different from what I assumed. And the two of you... Well, I knew you were close--that you were together--but I thought Miho-san was the one on the outs, while you got married to someone else." He makes a face. "I definitely didn't realize all you were facing. So you guys were 'out' in high school, huh?" he looks between them. "I'm impressed. I know a lot of 'gay' folks, but almost all of them keep it hidden, and for good reason."
"...Sorry about what happened to you. But I see now why Miho-san would want to call you so much, even when we were... being together." A euphemism. "I thought you might be playing her, but you weren't at all."
"Quite the opposite... You're trying to look out for her, even though you're ill. And you're doing so at a significant cost to you." He sees that, anyway.
"...All right," he says. "I understand now. I'll respect what you have."
Pause. "...Miho-san," he says. "I won't try to take you away from Ijuuin-san; I'd like to keep seeing you, though."
He looks to both of them, "It sounds like a man who understands would be good in this situation... And I might be able to be that for you. But..."
"I can't take a deal quite like your cousin," he finishes. "I'm willing to come in second. You've got a classic love story; how can I try to get in the way of that? ...But I do want to be 'on the podium', so to speak. I'm glad to help provide you two a cover; I'm glad to help legitimize your son. ...But I don't want to be just a beard."
"...And..."
"Well. There's some stuff we'll have to work out, if we continue," he says. 'If' is important.
"...So ask me any questions you've got, too. I know your life story, now; you can ask me about mine, if you want."
"I want you to be able to accept me as a partner for Miho-san--" He looks to Miho. "Not to replace you, like I thought might be needed..."
"But to work out something else."
Miho has had less to say so far, worrying mostly about how Yua feels. But, "I love Yua more than anything," Miho says. "...Though when Hiroki is here, I have a feeling he'll start competing." She squeezes Yua's hand, with a small smile. "But..."
"You need to make the most of your time with her," he says to Miho. "If that's how it is... I'm sorry, Ijuuin-san. For that, and for misunderstanding you."
But dying... that's different, too. It's...
Well, it definitely is serious.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mmnnnnnn," Yua hums, concerned, hearing that Miho is used to backing down. "That's no good, Mimi!" But... he does seem remorseful, hearing her reflect on it.
"Mmm," she hums, again. "Mimi, remember when we started doing bedroom stuff again? How I was telling you how I felt about it when we'd be going to sleep and stuff? Like, not when we were 'doing it'... you should talk with him about what you're okay with when it's not passionate, because it's harder to think it through when you want -- um -- him."
She pauses, lightly.
"And don't do it when you've been drinking a lot first, either," she adds, gently. "That's bad for making good decisions, too."
... she did hear that Miho wasn't sober, back then.
Yua might not have gotten through that whole story without Miho's arm around her; it's a particularly sad one. "Mm," she hums, curling a bit closer to her, when she insists she's not a burden. "I feel like it's true a lot... but I know you'd never think that, Mimi."
She turns back to Tomoki, finally, and nods to him, when he confirms that her baby is Miho's baby. "He's growing inside me," she explains, "but his egg comes from Mimi. So he has two moms, see?"
She blinks that one good eye of her, surprised, when he suggests that Miho was the vulnerable one. "Huh? So you were worried about Mimi?" She asks, surprised.
(Yeah, Yua! Miho wouldn't like him so much if he was only a jerk!!!!)
"... mm, in high school, yeah," Yua nods, when he comments on them being out. "But not any more... I... had a bad experience while I was missing. I thought we'd be able to stop hiding it if I got married to Mimi, so people would know it wasn't just something perverted, but... it didn't work out."
Yua shakes her head. "I'd never play Mimi," she insists, and then pauses. "Well... I mean, I'd never be using her to get ahead!" Sometimes Yua plays Miho like a drum. No one can fault her for that, but it does technically count as playing Miho.
It's also, just, really cute, especially when she ruffles her hairdo bapping it.
"Mm-hm," she nods, when he recognises the costs, and... she's at least looking at him, now, though she keeps holding onto Miho.
She listens to him, then, just as he listened to her (because she figuratively held him down at gunpoint and made him, but, well, maybe her hostility makes a little more sense in context).
Firstly, though, she looks to Miho, squeezing her hand and smiling to her in turn. "Don't worry," she assures her. "You'll love Hiroki different to me. Mm... but I guess... it's different with Hasegawa, too, right?" Yua pauses, and heaves a deep sigh. "Sorry... I should say Hasegawa-san," she shakes her head, looking back to him. "I meant to be rude, since I was mad at you, but I guess I'm not so mad at you now you apologised and stuff."
She rubs her fingers over the side of Miho's, thoughtfully. "... I think Mimi does really like you," she starts, tentatively. "If she didn't, she wouldn't have asked me to talk to you and stuff... Mimi's always protected me from stuff that made me mad or upset." It's not just that, of course; Miho has a Plan. But even Yua, who is blabbing about everything, knows that she shouldn't talk about Miho having a plan. "I was scared you didn't respect my place at all... and you wanted to replace me. It made me really jealous... I cried a whole lot. But... I want Mimi to be happy, too, and... maybe Mimi gets some happiness out of seeing a man. Mm?" She hums, seeking confirmation, looking to Miho, shifting the focus of her conversation for a moment. "You've always been in charge... I don't think I'd be very good at that. So long as he's not hurting you, maybe it's okay if you explore that more with him...? Mm..."
Yua bites her lip, delicately, when she looks back to Tomoki. "Kimi-san's situation is unique... he's okay with not being intimate with his wife, but I know most men aren't like that. I... I'll allow it, okay? I, um..." She squeezes Miho's hand, again. "I don't want to die," she starts, quietly. "And I don't think Mimi will fail me. But... b-but I guess I would feel better if... if there was someone who could still be here if it happened. And it's not fair to tell Mimi to only find someone who can help with that after I die... what if she has problems, like the one I just saw with you two, and I'm not there to help her any more? So -- so -- so it's better if she sees you now." Yua still looks terribly reluctant coming to that conclusion, but she drags herself over the finish line, anyway. "It's -- it's good if she can build that relationship now, actually."
She looks to Miho, then. "... sorry," she says, smiling to her. "I know I just started thinking about that today, so you haven't had much time to sit with it, and now I'm just talking past you saying it..." One might get the impression, here, that Yua isn't normally the one doing all the talking.
"But... if you thought Mimi was the one on the outsides," that's not quite what he said, Yua, but good try, "does that mean you thought we were both, um, had way too much money? Does that mean you're rich, too? So I guess you would have grown up in the city... right?" Not all rich people live in the big city, Yua! ... just, you know, a lot of them. "You don't have one of those wild lifestyles like the movie stars on television, right? All that... injecting drugs, and going to sex parties, and not sleeping for a week, and getting speeding tickets, and always being photographed for magazines!" Oh no... Yua's been watching DAYTIME television. No wonder Tomoki wasn't able to get off on the right foot.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
It's no good. Miho glances away for a moment. But only a moment--because Yua addresses her again. "I remember," she says. "...That sounds like a good idea."
Tomoki, that ridiculously handsome man, nods once. "Sure. That way I know what you want. I prefer to give you what you want, not what you don't." A beat, "I admit I was a little worried about the drinking... Made me wonder a little."
"I felt bad," she says. "I'll... Tell you about it." But first, Yua has a story to tell. An important story, and Miho stays close to Yua. "I love you," she says of how she feels it's true a lot.
Tomoki nods. "I see! Science is pretty amazing, huh?" He actually smiles. But then her surprsise--Yes," Tomoki confirms. "I see a woman who's in a relationship with someone who just got married, and her sister recommends I take her out... Well, nobody told me all that, but I just assumed. I was trying to be supportive, but I figured sooner or later after the wedding..." He gestures.
But Yua explains further about high school. "I see. ...Sorry about that. It's not right that they won't let you." Around the world it's starting to change... but change might come to Japan too late for Yua, it seems.
he actually laughs for a moment at 'never be using her'. "Sorry, sorry. Just the way you said that. I believe you."
He speaks, and when Miho gets a smile from Yua, Miho smiles back. "...I will," she says. "And... yes."
Yua keeps explaining; Miho is glad not to mention the Plan just yet, though... she will. But first, Yua keeps on talking. And that's for the best. When she asks for Miho's confirmation, she nods. "...I do, but... Well, I can tell you more about it."
She does, but she wouldn't even be giving him a chance if not for their situation; she isn't ordinarily the sort of person who wants two partners.
But Kimitake's situation is unique, and...
"..." That's Tomoki; the matter of Yua dying puts things in stark relief. "...I'll try to justify that faith," he says. "But I'd rather you live, too."
Getting a girl because her girl died is... kind of extra messed-up.
But Miho speaks up, "It's OK," she says. "We'll think about it. I don't know what I want in a few years yet... other than that I want you still with me."
"Yeah. We've been going out a month... We've got some things to talk about."
"Yep," Tomoki says then, when Yua continues. "I assumed you were either also rich or a social climber or something like that. Obviously I see now you're not."
Pause. "Well, I wouldn't say rich, not compared to the Ijuuins. But definitely not poor. I grew up out in the country, but my parents could afford to send me to a fancy arts school later. University's where I met Miho-san's sister."
Then he pauses. "But uh..."
"That stuff's... just on TV," he says. "I don't do drugs--if I did and got found out, I'd lose my agency contracts. I do sleep pretty regularly... My license record is spotless, and--" Pause. "Well, not always, but I do get photographed sometimes."
Miho chimes in, "Yua..."
Tomoki adds, "I appreciate it, too. What you said."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"I love you too, Mimi," Yua says, because the first thing she's concerned with is her... even if she does feel a little less cold to Tomoki hearing that he was worried about her drinking, too. "You can tell me if you want... but it's okay if you just want to talk about it with him, too."
Yua shakes her head. "I have a room I can sleep in when I have to stay at Kimi-san's house," she says, "but that's not where Mimi lives... so it's not where I live, either! Anyway, since Mimi's not there, it's lonely at his place..." 'Alienating' mgiht be a more accurate word, but it's not the one Yua thinks of, exactly.
"It's not your fault," Yua sighs, assuring him. "Society's just the biggest jerk."
She does look a little confused, though, when he laughs. "Huh?" She asks, and looks to Miho, to check with her: "Did I say something weird?" Yua doesn't realise how cute she's being sometimes. That just makes her more powerful...
Yua smiles, hearing that Miho will love both her and Hiroki. When she offers to explain about the itch Tomoki's scratching, Yua tilts her head. "Mm... okay! Um, but you don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to..." Maybe it's too hard for her, she thinks, to have a conversation like that with two people here?
"I'll do my best," Yua promises, when Tomoki says he'd rather she live, though her smile is a little thin and fragile. "And I won't be expecting anything less... Mimi has to date a boy, but I decided it has to be done right! I don't want Mimi to have to put up with a relationship! And that means I'm going to be okay with Mimi caring about someone else... even if I have a lot of jealous feelings!"
She sighs, leaning against Miho. "Though... I guess I don't feel as jealous now you know more about it all... and I was able to do the talking until all my feelings came out." Miho might normally be the one to take charge, but Yua can recognise when she's being given the reins to let her take up space.
"I want to be here with you, too," Yua insists, smiling. "Being here makes me happy..."
Yua giggles, though, looking up to Miho. "Hey, um... is it really weird to have an intense conversation like this after a month? When we'd been dating for a month, we'd already decided we were getting married because we were soulmates and stuff... so I don't really get it." She thought it was getting serious! They had BEDROOM TIME!
Yua may, in fact, have her own bizarre ideas about relationships after her sample size of one.
"No, I'm not very good at climbing," Yua says, looking back to Tomoki. "I don't have very good grip strength in my right hand, because of what happened while I was gone. Oh, but... I guess Mimi's family really has too much money... Mimi told me once that the trick was having money for centuries and getting interest on it, but I don't really understand that stuff, I just ask Mimi if I need anything that costs more than my salary gives me." Normal! Probably normal? Mostly normal. It's fine. "Oh, but where in the country?" She adds, perking up. "City people just call it the country, but the country's the country!" ... she means that 'the country' is 'most of Japan'. It's okay, it might take a minute.
He corrects her daytime television, though, and Yua tilts her head... and pouts, to Miho. "Performing can be full of vice, Mimi! Vice and sin! And -- and stimulants! Everyone in dance club having three cups of coffee is only the tippiest tip of it! Buuuut," she sighs, again, looking back to Tomoki, "if you say you're not that wild, I guess I believe you... but if the paparazzi bothers you while you're on a date, you need to make them stop photographing you for Mimi's sake, okay? That's really important for her wellbeing! Secret photos stress women out!"
You know, on account of the paranoia and all. Yua isn't going to say that part, though. She'll just insist that all women hate it.
Look, her sample size might be two, but that's basically universal.
"I'm not... all the way sure I trust you," Yua qualifies, delicately. "But Mimi trusts you enough to try... and I trust Mimi. And... and maybe you're not as bad as I thought before. Both Mimi and ane-ue think you're okay... and you've said a lot of understanding things here... and you're trying to work things out. So... so I think I can maybe make a place for you, if you're the one Mimi wants to be there. Maybe... we can be friends?" She pauses. "Just normal friends," she insists, sternly. "Not bedroom friends."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"I can tell both of you," Miho says, "If you don't think it will distract from what you're saying, Yua." Tomoki wants to know, too--but he's not taking the lead on that front. Instead...
"I see," Tomoki says of where Yua stays. "That's no good... I definitely wouldn't want to try to push you out, then."
But he gets an assurance, and he nods. "...Yeah," he agrees, "It can be. My industry's actually really conservative... I know a few people who can't live the way they want to."
But while Yua is confused, Miho smiles, and Tomoki says, "I just was surprised by how you put it. Playing, instead of... playing. It's not weird."
She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to, but Miho says, "...I wouldn't be giving Tomoki-san a chance, if not for our situation; I'd just be with you. But since I have... yes, I really like him." She smiles at Tomoki. "I hope that doesn't sound strange." The usually severe Miho has to put on a smile in a situation like this, and Yua at least will know it took some effort to reassure him like that.
"No, it makes sense," he says. And then Yua, who will do her best, says he ought to do his best, too. "Hmm. Well, i don't wnat to be 'put up with', so that works for me. I can appreciate your jealousy--I'll try not to provoke it too much." Where's his?
Well...
That's a mystery for now!
Miho squeezes Yua's hand. "It makes me happy, too."
"...Oh, yeah?" Tomoki asks, and laughs. "If that's what you did in one month, I'd better shape up!" Miho shakes her head, but she's smiling.
"Inaba," Tomoki explains rather than talking money. "I'm used to people not knowing where that is, though..." He sighs lightly, but isn't too upset.
Miho looks to Yua and nods twice. "It can be," she says.
"Welll," Tomoki says, "I do like coffee. But that's it." She believes him! "Sure," he says. "I'll protect Miho-san."
Miho actually doesn't contest this one; instead, she lets it move on. But Yua qualifies...
"That's fine," Tomoki says of trust, his eyes on Yua. "That's supposed to be earned. I appreciate it..."
Pause. Just regular friends. "Right," he says. That's a little awkward to have to clarify, but it's definitely best to be super clear. "I'd like to be friends," he settles on instead. "Normal friends."
Miho sighs, and it's obviously in relief. "I... would like that, for both of you," she says. "I'm..." she considers. "I'm not accustomed to being so open about things like this... But it's best that we do." Ritsuko said so. And Yua is feeling better. So--
"...It's nice, though," Tomoki says. "Knowing your kid's going to have two loving mothers. ...My parents were always kind of distant... So seeing a child who's going to do better is nice."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua shakes her head. "I want to hear!" She says, encouragingly.
"I don't want you guys doing things in our bedroom," Yua insists, reflecting on this space. "It's weird... that's my bed too, you know! But..." She looks over at the hall, where it disappears into the private areas of the home. "Maybe we can make the guest bedroom beside the big bathroom Hasegawa-san's room?" She wonders, looking back to Miho. "So if he comes here, you've got a space together, too, and I won't go in there either, so it's fair... plus, if you use that one, you don't have to walk far to get to the spa bath."
what do you MEAN they have a spa bath
... Yua's at least trying to make a little space for him, though.
Tomoki says his industry is conservative, though, and Yua looks surprised. "Oh... are you one of those people?"
Yua smiles, though, when he assures her that it's not weird. Look! He got a smile!!
She listens to Miho, though, when she talks about the chance she's given Tomoki. "Okay," she smiles, to her. "I'll do my best, Mimi." And then...
"Ahhh," Yua sighs, when Tomoki bunny-quotes 'put up with'. "I was rude again...! I'm sorry... this is tough on me, but I'm really trying. I don't want to lie to you, because lying about being happy about it was what made me cry the most, but I don't want to be too too hard on you... um, one of the things they broke back then, it was how I regulate my emotions and, and reactions and stuff," she offers, in an attempt to explain. "So... I really do want to give you a chance, but I'm still kind of cautious, and... and sometimes it all pours out one way, and sometimes the other? I don't know if that makes any sense..."
At least he's still able to laugh..!
Yua brightens, when he mentions Inaba. "My grandpa was from Inaba!" She volunteers, cheerfully. "Um, though they say he ran away... that's why he went as far as Kukojima. But I know Inaba!"
Yua nods, in turn, to Miho. And to Tomoki, she says, "I actually can't stand coffee... I don't like anything that's bitter. I like sweet tea! And energy drinks, but Mimi says that if I have too many of them I might vibrate off this plane of existence..." He says he'll protect Miho, though, and Yua nods firmly. "Good!"
It's awkward, but Yua has to be sure. She's heard what people say. "Normal friends," she affirms, again, with a nod, and then squeezes Miho's hand, looking back to her. "You're doing really good, Mimi," she smiles, to her. "I'm... I'm glad you got me to do this, actually. At first, I wanted to say, no way, I don't want him in our house!... but if Hasegawa-san was always this big scary thing out there, my brain could make up all kinds of awful stuff... and he's not really that scary, right? I guess he's really kind of nice..."
Something new enters her eye when she looks back to Tomoki, though... concern! "Oh... was it hard for you, growing up? I'm sorry... we didn't always have a lot, but my parents were always kind to me. I... I saw people who didn't have good relationships with their parents, though. It seems like it's really tough." She looks down, to her belly, and then up to Miho again. "But me and Mimi, we have a whole plan! I'm going to nurture Hiroki, and she's going to teach him how to be strong! What I really want is for him to take after her saber, too... so she can teach him all the stuff he knows! But it wouldn't be so bad if he liked ballet, either," she adds, smiling. "I actually know a good bit about dancing male parts, since I teach dancing now, and some of my students are boys. Though... maybe he'll decide he likes something totally different! Like collecting coins! If I had a son like that," Yua nods, firmly, again, "I'd learn everything there was to know about coin collecting so I could support him best!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Yua wants to hear, and Tomoki's encouraging, so Miho explains, after a moment. "I felt guilty," she says. "On the one hand, I was going behind Yua's back, even if she knew about it. On the other, I want to be good to you, Tomoki-san. So I couldn't really do both things at once so easily..."
"The wine made that simpler," she finishes.
Tomoki frowns a little. "I see... I didn't realize."
"I wanted to," Miho clarifies. "I wouldn't have if I didn't. ....I just also felt guilty for wanting to."
"That makes me feel better," he says. "Not that you felt guilty... but that you still wanted to. No guy likes to hear his partner's not into it..."
Well, that's not necessarily true. But Tomoki isn't that kind of guy.
As to this space...
"Yeah, that'd be weird," he agrees. Less so if they were all to be together, but Yua made clear that that's not the arrangement... which is fine.
This woman is cute, but way too exacting. Twice the judgement...
"I'd be fine with the guest room when I came over even if you didn't make it 'my' room," he says. "I am a guest, after all. But..."
Miho says, "I like it when everything has a space," she says. "Designated. And I would like to have you over sometimes," she says, looking at Yua for a moment.
Spa bath, though. "...Spa bath is nice," he admits.
But his industry.. Tomoki shakes his head. "I've got some political ideas that are inconvenient to air," he says, "But mostly it's just that I want my friends to be able to live their lives more openly."
A smile is nice! He smiles back.
Miho smiles, too--when Yua says she'll do her best. Yua's rudeness isn't such a big deal though; Tomoki's body languge suggests he's not too bothered, his hands coming up now to gesture. "It's fine, it's fine. Hm. ...Well, that makes sense. Be cautious, by all means. I'll show you both the kind of guy I am."
"Your grandpa, huh? That's great." Miho looks thoughtfully between the two of them for a moment. Her grandmother, too, after all.
"I can imagine that." Yua vibrating out of this plane of existence... "Best not to chance it."
He will, though. And people do say that, and while Tomoki certainly wouldn't have expected it after this conversation... it's good to know exactly where he stands.
Miho squeezes Yua's hand back. "Good," Miho says. "It was my sister who told me it needed to happen... and she was right. Keeping you apart because I was worried how you'd react wasn't helping."
He does like being 'kind of nice', anyway.
"Sometimes," he says of it being tough. It's a little noncommittal, but it's also true. He listens, though--and actually smiles.
"That's great," he says. "Really great. ...And Miho-san is good at being strong. Trust me, I see that."
"But being able to support your child whatever his interests... That's really good."
"Anything else you want to ask me?" he offers. "Or tell me? Either's good."
Miho considers it for a moment. "...If it's all right, Yua," she says, "I'd like to talk to him about our relationship--his and mine--a little later."
Tomoki adds, "That'd be good. Like I said, I don't mind coming in second... but I do want to place. I won't be satisfied as just a hookup. But I think after all this, we can work something out."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"You're under a lot of pressure, Mimi," Yua points out, gently. "I can act like Kimi-san tells me to act, but I don't really 'get' a lot of stuff about the world I'm in... you actually know about it, though. You know just what you're being asked to do... and you can be really hard on yourself too, you know?" She takes a breath, and lets it out, in another of those sighs. She is just FULL of sighs, tonight. "It's okay... it's okay that you wanted to. Um, I think... it was just really hard for me to hear that you were leaving while we were at work... it threw off my whole thinking, you know, planning dinner, all that stuff... I expected you to come home, and you didn't come home. Can we, um... schedule your dates in advance instead of just deciding on the day? I like schedules. I can show you mine!" She adds, as she looks back to Tomoki. "I have a binder!"
Yua has SO MANY binders. (No, not that kind.)
She smiles, when Miho cuts in to insist that Tomoki be correctly filed. "I know," she assures her, rubbing at her arm. "That's why I thought we should make a room for him! And... I think that's okay," she says, a touch cautiously. She's of course thinking of the worst-case scenarios immediately, but if she wants Tomoki to be part of things instead of off somewhere else luring Miho away...
"Our spa bath is really nice!" Yua adds, brightly. "Mimi got it installed because I get a lot of aches and pains these days, but I don't feel good going to a public bathhouse... so I asked her if we could get a fancy bath, and she said yes!" She giggles, though, as she thinks back: "Um, not that our last bath wasn't fancy... Mimi doesn't have anything that's not fancy. Even our cat's fancy!"
Beat.
"I hope you like cats," Yua adds. "That's very important. If you keep hanging around you're going to meet our baby boy, and you have to love Tiger, too!"
Political ideas, though... "I guess whatever it is can't be worse than all the nationalism in our family," Yua sighs. "I mean, they're nice about it, but being treated like a vassal person is really super uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. And so's all that talk about us being a prefecture... and Japanese superiority!... oh, but I shouldn't say that," Yua remembers, covering her mouth with her dark fingers. "I don't want to cause trouble amongst people I like, which I guess they call 'rocking the boat', even though that's really quite silly, boats rock all the time, just because of the waves..."
(Miho's already heard Yua's Boat Rocking Rant. It's okay, she ALSO absorbed his point about people living their lives.)
"Okay," she nods, when he promises to show her. She'll accept that. And she smiles, again, when he praises her grandpa!
Yua probably could vibrate out of reality, though. "I mean, it might solve a lot of our problems," Yua adds, sharing a look with Miho, "but only if I could find my way back after... I don't want to leave Mimi!" It's a fun joke, but also, you know, what if--?
... that's probably not how they reach their better world, though.
"I mean, I did totally chew him out," Yua sighs, and at least she seems to feel a little bad about that. "Like I bit his head off! Except I guess I didn't really bite him, I just words bit him... but maybe I needed to do that. Pretend pretend pretend, pretending for men is tooooooo hard... if I only have to pretend for one, that's better, right?"
She hears him hedging on his own past, but she forgives it; probably she's kind of weird for telling him everything, right? Instead, she smiles, and it's quite bright, as she affirms: "Mm! Whatever Hiroki grows up to be, he'll always be the best to me!"
... did she rhyme that on purpose.
Yua tilts her head, when he asks his next question -- and looks to Miho. "That's okay," she smiles, to her. "Why don't you show him to that room we were talking about when you do that? You can figure out how it should look, too."
She turns her attention back to Tomoki, once she's answered her wife. (She insists that she is, regardless of whose ring is on her finger.) "Coming in second... that's okay," Yua nods, thoughtfully. "Well, I wouldn't have told you everything everything if I didn't think you ought to stay... so long as you're okay with me?" If you wanna be Miho's lover, you gotta get with her emotionally labile, wounded, strange, and intensely exacting wife. We've all heard the song.
"But first... I have a very serious question!" Yua's cheeks puff up, as she grasps Miho's arm for strength.
"What... are your food allergies! And likes and dislikes, too!!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Pressure... "I am," she admits. "And I can. But I want to fulfill everything that's expected of me... including, I suppose, what I expect of myself. It is..." Pause. "Difficult, to have a problem I cannot face head-on. So having been unable to do so here..."
But stress because of timing? "Oh," Tomoki says. "Yeah, sure, I can do that. Spontaneity's nice sometimes, but I have to schedule around shoots anyway, so scheduling personal time isn't hard..."
Binders. "Sure," he says. "We'll all schedule together."
It's a little weird, but it's also fine.
And Miho is glad Yua can pre-empt her needs. "Good," Miho answers Yua. "I'm glad."
Spa bath!! "Oh, yeah?" Tomoki asks. "I bet it works wonders for her, too--since you're such an exercise fiend," he addresses both of them in turn. "Cat... I have wanted to meet him," he admits of Tiger.
He actually laughs a little about the nationalism. "Yeah," he answers, "I get it. I grew up doing a lot of traveling--I'm from Inaba, but for a few years we were moving around a lot before we moved back home again, for my parents' work. So I didn't spend all my time here in Japan. Accordingly... Well, let's just say I've got some different ideas about our place in the world. Namely, that we have a place with the world, instead of being best off worrying about ourselves."
Pause. "Boats do rock," he reflects. "That's true."
Miho is glad, though; they seem to be getting along there. She remembers that rant.
It's a good rant.
Solve their problems...? Tomoki tilts his head. "I guess we'd all feel better if we could just space out now and then."
"Right," Miho says, and does not explain. it is probably not how no.
"I'm a tough guy," Tomoki assures Yua. "I can take it." Pretending for men.. Hmm. "Yeah," he says, "I've seen a lot of that. You don't like to think you're the one she's pretending for..." He trails off, shakes his head. "So fine with me. I like honesty."
Always be the best to her. Miho beams.
"All right," Miho says, smiling back at Yua. It's a little hesitant at first, but only just. "Sure. We can do that."
Tomoki rolls his shoulders a little, thinking. "Well, that's good. I would rather 'stay'," in her life, not necessarily tonight, obviously, "But I'm... definitely OK with you. Now that I see how you two are with each other, it's hard not to appreciate you. I..." Question?
Blink blink.
"Oh..." He grins. "Well, since you ask. I really like grilled and pan-fried dishes best... Oh, and pickled fruits and veggies. I'm a beef guy--Inaba's great for that--but I like fish, too. I'm not actually allergic to any food. At least, not that I know of. I'm not that bad a cook myself, you know--living alone for a while, you learn."
"But let's see... what do I dislike? Well, the thing I dislike most is small portions," he jokes. He's a big guy! "Not huge on dairy... Bell peppers are probably my least favorite vegetable. It's a little childish, I know--I'll still eat them, but i don't love them."
"How's that?"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"You have high expectations," Yua sympathises, with Miho. "For yourself, too... and when you saw how upset I was..." She sighs, rubbing at her arm. "I'm sorry I made you feel bad, too, Mimi. But! But, but! We're all head-on now! We're being super direct!"
She looks very relieved to hear Tomoki being open to scheduling, though. "Yay!" She chirps, when he declares that they can all schedule together. Did... did she really just say 'yay'...?
She smiles, sunnily, to Miho; Miho being glad makes Yua glad, too. And she giggles, when Tomoki points out the practicalities of a spa bath. "Yup!" She chirps, brightly. "Oh, oh! We have home exercise equipment all set up, too!" ... though Miho has to take it easy with it right now, given her arm...
"You won't miss him," Yua promises, as she gestures with her free hand. "He's thiiiiiiiis big." He surely can't be that big... can he?
oh lawd, he comin'...
"Ohhhhh," Yua says, with realisation, when he shares that he's well-travelled. "... I like those unspeakable opinions better!"
And she nods, quite happily, when he agrees with her boat wisdom.
"Mm... yeah!" Yua agrees, with another glance to Miho. It is a glance which saves him from the horrors of having to understand the fragility of reality. Miho's just that good.
"I like being honest better, too," she smiles, to Tomoki. "I have to lie a lot, but I don't like lying much at all. See? I spent all my lying energy, and now I can't lie one bit..." Is that how it works? ... that might actually be how it works.
"I'm going to leave that room to you, so it's your job to make sure it's decorated like you guys like, okay?" Yua encourages Miho, a little more, having sensed that hint of hesitation. "He's a guest when he's coming over, but... he's a special guest!"
Yua smiles, looking back to Tomoki, a hand still on Miho's arm. He appreciates them! That makes her feel better. She tilts her head, and considers...
"Then... can you come to dinner tomorrow? I'll make grilled fish with a side of umezuke and rice... oh, and karashizuke!" Pickled plums and vegetables, she means. "Oh, I can even show off and make some namasu... that's just for you two, though, I can't eat uncooked fish with the baby." Namasu -- pickled uncooked vegetables and fish -- needs to be marinated for several hours, as Tomoki may well know. "And I won't put in any bell peppers," she adds, assuringly. "I won't call you childish for it, either! I get called childish sometimes," Yua sighs, "and I always hate it. Like, I like being cute, but that doesn't mean I'm a child..."
She takes another moment, looking between Miho and Tomoki. How brave is she feeling, scale of one to ten...? "If you want to come over," Yua says, after taking a biiiiig breath, "I had better just take Eiko-san and go shopping... it's kind of late, so we'll be an hour or two, but we'll get it all for tomorrow, okay? Um, so if you need to talk, or... or get your room set up!... you can probably do that without our help, right?"
Yua leans up, to whisper, to Miho, "You know..." Miho knows, but Tomoki will have to hear it from Miho, later, because she's speaking far too low to be heard.
She is being SO BRAVE Miho you had BETTER give her a sticker later.
Okay maybe more than a sticker.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"We are," Miho agrees. "It's good."
'Yay', she says. Tomoki manages not to laugh. Instead, he considers spa baths and exercise equipment... "You know," he says, "I have to stay in decent shape, too. Not on Miho-san's level, though..."
"That's a big cat... But that does match the pictures..."
Of course Miho shows people pictures of her cat.
But these unspeakable opinions are better. "That's good," he says. "I don't... talk politics much with Miho-san's sister. We get along for other reasons."
Lies... Miho nods. "That's how it works," she says. "I've seen it."
"A special guest... That's nice," he says. "Sure. We can make sure we both like it." He nods to Miho.
Tomorrow??? That's... pretty generous. Tomoki can't quite hide his surprise. "Really?" Pause. "Well, that sounds delicious. I'd be honored."
So that's how she is... Tomoki thinks he understands Yua a little better after that. "I get it," he says. "I work with a few idols... they're pretty adorable, but the adults don't want to be treated like kids off the stage."
But Yua is feeling VERY brave, as it would happen. He doesn't immediately get it; it takes looking at Miho's look of surprise to start. Then, she hears Yua's whisper...
"I... think I would appreciate that, yes," Miho says. "I can be done with that in two hours, certainly."
Miho is going to give Yua a lot more than a sticker.
...After she explains to Tomoki what just happened.