2026-04-21: Can You Be Nostalgic For A Dish You Haven't Had?
- Log: Can You Be Nostalgic For A Dish You Haven't Had?
- Cast: Ririka Kawase, Hitomi Mandai
- Where: Shibuya Station - Buchiko Exit
- OOC Date: April 21, 2026
- IC Date: Saturday, October 27, 2012 (Evening)
- Summary: On their way back from Akiket, Ririka and Hitomi stop off at a diner on their way back to Iwatodai. While there, they discuss a variety of topics (and avoid discussing certain others, just yet.)
(|====================== Shibuya Station - Buchiko Exit ======================|)
-====================================================== Tokyo/Shibuya Ward ====-
Day in, day out, throngs of people choose to pack themselves inside shining
metal behemoths called "trains" that then hurtle them towards a set destination.
They then get out at these "station" nodes, acting as if it were entirely
normal! This particular one is a confusing, winding labyrinth that seeks to
distract them from escape with underground malls, juice stands, and offers of
gainful employment. Eventually, one solves the maze and ascends to see the
sunlight once more.
The square above is just as full of humanity, from down-on-their-luck teen
buskers looking for their big break, politicians in front of restored train cars
making speeches that speak to the history of this place, and even smoky booths
cordoned off by glass to make certain no one should suffer from their vice. A
statue of the loyal pup Buchiko stands here enshrined like a local god,
surrounded constantly by tourists. Go further, and you'll see the busy checkered
crosswalks and looming screens above that demand the attention from all who
pass, showing them what the powers that be demand they focus upon.
Welcome to Shibuya.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka needs more days like these. She's tired, and a bit drained, but it's the good kind of tired, of having enjoyed herself on a day out and gotten to see new things, hang out with friends, and see their passions and creative efforts.
And... maybe she got some of the things she was looking for with a bit less effort than she had originally planned on. But surely in the middle of the con hadn't been the best place to have any deep, meaningful conversations on those.
Still, her goods are secured safe and sound in her backpack, and Ririka's been humming and fingertapping as they rode the train over to Shibuya, deciding to get off and have dinner here where there were more options.
And so they found a diner, and once seated, Ririka was humming to herself as she looked over the menu. She has her hair back in a ponytail, and she's dressed in a light purple hoodie, a dark purple graphic tee, a black skirt, and sneakers.
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
Hitomi's still in her winter-friendly cool lady outfit. She does kind of look like she's 22, though the watery sleepless-eyes look she's had for a while seems to be subtly receding. Is she getting sleep? Were the bits Niko cut off holding her back? A mystery!
Maybe it's just joy.
"Oh I am *so* hungry," Hitomi says, reaching for a menu, eyes wide. "I didn't even get much at the place, right? Like I grabbed some rice and soup on the way out, and Aragaki cracked an egg over it so that was SOME protein," Hitomi continues, gesturing with the menu, "and then at the PLACE I did sneak out and get some famichiki but ohhhh I am going to diiiiie."
She opens the menu.
She flips through it, frowning in thought.
Hitomi looks up towards Ririka. "Are you in a hurry? Like. I think we have tons of time before we have to get back on to get out to Tatsumi."
Her eyes flick down to the menu. Back up.
"... actually, I'm not sure how much money I have left."
Little action lines radiate around her stuffed-full tote bag. Contents? A MYSTERY
(And during the convention, Hitomi had received some requests for guidance. Ririka might have figured out that Hitomi knew more but that doesn't mean everything. It was probably more along the lines of 'I think this is probably more your speed' a couple of times.)
(But she would have also been the straw buyer for a couple of individual works if asked.)
(She didn't get anything too visibly weird, either. Though there were a couple of bizarre gag manga, tha tmight just be JOKES.)
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka has been... quite a bit distractable lately. There's been a lot going on, between everything with the Joker Killer, midterms, that encounter with the Black Mask, the recent anniversary of her brother's death, an incredibly packed summer, tons of practice for various obligations she's taken on herself (not to mention, of course, her ongoing work with SEES.) But at least for a moment, she seems in a good mood.
"Yeaaaah, I ate on the way out, too, but we were walking around for hours, and there was so much to see..." Ririka comments, a bit distractedly. That last one didn't drain her hunger bar, just her mental battery. But she can handle a one-on-one interaction, mostly.
Right now she's holding the menu with both ahnds, so she isn't finger tapping. But under the table one of her heels is bouncing lightly. Not against the floor, so it doesn't make a sound, but it's there if you look.
"Yeah, we should be good on time. I've come back from Sumaru way later than this. And... I left the evening free, since I didn't know how long we were gonna be out, so... no rush for me."
Ririka's backpack is under the table, and likewise full of mysterious contents. But when Hitomi mentions she might not have enough, Ririka pauses, to consider. "Well..." She scratches her cheek a little, which might be a bit red. "... since you, um, helped me out... if you don't have enough I'll help cover you." She looks up from her menu and offers Hitomi a small, shy smile. "I figure... it's the last I can do, to thank you for your help."
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
boy howdy it sure has been a lot of a lot, hasn't it
Even if Hitomi doesn't share all of those points, she has shared the outlines.
"Mm," Hitomi says with an agreeable nod, and she rocks over to get her wallet out of her bag... and pauses as Ririka speaks.
Hitomi's face flushes slightly. Just a little.
"Ah, well," she says, sheepishly, "I mean, you don't..."
Hitomi's eyes turn down to her wallet. Then back up.
"Tell you what," she says. "Cover me for an extra side. Then we're even. Sound alright?"
Hitomi then shifts herself back upright, and toys with the menu. She doesn't perceive, perhaps, the bouncing heel, but she does seem faintly tense. Tense? Flustered, maybe. She riffles the pages of the menu she wasn't looking at for a couple of seconds.
"... but yeah," she says, "I've been lying about my age when it suits me for a while, heh... I guess that sounds lame when I put it like that, doesn't it? Um." Her eyes turn down to the menu. Then back up.
She speaks more quietly when she says, "Were you scared I was going to judge you about it? Like what you were getting."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"I don't, but I want to," says Ririka quietly. But Hitomi has an offer, and Ririka smiles and nods. "Sure. I can do that."
Aside from looking at Hitomi to make that offer, Ririka is still staring at her menu. And it is more staring than reading. she's just tired, so it's taking her a bit to really process it. But she doesn't quite notice Hitomi's tension, for a moment.
But she does look up as Hitomi mentions the lying. "Don't worry. That'll stay between us. And I mean... it's not that lame," she says with a small grin. But that lasts for a moment before she goes back to trying to read the menu.
But she freezes wen Hitomi asks that question, and finally puts her menu down for a moment, looking up to Hitomi. There's a small nod, and she lowers her voice, too. "Y-yeah... um... kinda," she admits. "But you were talking about... you know, some of what you wanted, and I thought..." She looks down at the menu again. "... well. Maybe you'd be cool with it."
It's kind of a terrifying thing to admit out loud to someone--even if it was technically in text at first.
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
Hitomi smiles as she is reassured: It's not that lame.
The rest, though, sits for a minute. Hitomi's hands come together to close the menu, though she doesn't put it down. She lets it rest in her right hand. She looks at Ririka.
A couple of blinks and a moment of surprise crosses Hitomi's face. Then there's two beats. Ririka can probably tell beats really well.
Hitomi doesn't talk during those beats. BUT BOY DOES SHE THINK:
huh
So it's not just the manga
yeah, this definitely isn't just being horny.
is this a [Coming Out]?
ah shit, what do you say??
shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok what *do* I say here
well, it can't hurt to try:
At the end of that second beat, Hitomi lifts up the menu and tilts it forwards - on its edge - to tap the leatherette backing of it against Ririka's forehead for a moment.
"Ka-wa-se-san," she says, deliberately a little sing-song.
"I am cool with it," Hitomi says as she leans back. "But, it's your affairs, ultimately, so you can talk about it, or not... anything you want to share, I won't pass on, but," and now Hitomi shrugs her shoulders, "you don't have to say anything either, you know?"
oh yeah
i nailed that
11/10 landing *sick moves*
but how's she gonna take it
how how how how
how!!
Hitomi's eyes, maybe, have a hint of that weird look she had at the real crunch times, a hint of a grin that isn't quite peeking above the horizon of her lips. But, over the course of another beat or so, she opens her menu up again -- dramatically!
Her eyes turn down for a moment, but then lift up. They're visible over the rim of the menu.
did she do that on purpose
(yeah)
"I guess I'm not really sure where to go from there because I also kinda fell out of most of the stuff on TV during my first year back in Sumaru, so I don't even know some of that stuff I saw, real talk. I'm guessing that's this year's Pr*tty C*res, right? I did play CoW though, like, I ended up doing a lot of that instead so that was my fandom."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka knows a thing or two about beats. (Her heel has started boucning agian, and it's bouncing to the rhythm of something catchy she heard at the con that she hasn't gotten out of her head yet.)
To be fair, it's not not about being horny. But that's not something she's used to admitting to other people. Mostly because it's awkward.
Did I say too much? Did I miscalculate? Oh no, should I play it off as a joke? Say it's for a friend? Did they change to a sus chord on the second chorus? Crap, focus, Ririka. Ahhh, why isn't there a good way to ahve this conversation? Is it awkward for Mandai-chan too? Is it okay for girls to be horny at BL stuff but not GL stuff?
The cold, clammy grip of doubt is slowly settling in her stomach.
Well Ichika-nee has sex all the time and that's okay, right? But this is different and oh my god I wish someone had written all these rules--
She blinks, her train of thought derailed and grinding to a halt as Hitomi boops her with the menu.
She looks up, still blinking, and listens as Hitomispeaks again.
Hitomi says she is cool with it... and Ririka can talk, or not. There is a bit of a blank stare as she tries to process this new information, to weigh the pros and cons, to make some sort of precise, calculated choice...
... and she really doesn't have it in her right now to try and do the social calculus for that. So she just goes with her gut, which wants to share.
"Well, um..." The flush on her cheeks grows deeper, a she fumbles her way through how to broach the subject. Her voice goes quieter and quieter. "I'm... you know. Into... girls."
Her gaze drops back down to the menu, though her eyes flick up to read Hitomi's reaction to that admission. It's a weight off her chest if this gos well, and if not... well, she'll cross that bridge if he has to.
"Yeah, it's this year's season, and it's music-themed, so, you know, it's extra good," she offers quietly. But then she looks up again. "CoW?"
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"Mm!" Hitomi mms! rather affirmly, looking up and smiling. Her eyes still have that little glint in them. Is that just... liveliness?
hahahahaha nailed it
alright i should focus up
but i've landed this
i can do anything
"... I mean," Hitomi continues, faltering slightly, "I'm not surprised! I mean, from what you said, not like-- They smell nicer, anyway, don't you think?" Hitomi then smiles suddenly, and that warm look in her eyes seems to have disappeared because
oh no
i blew it
hahahaha this rules
no it fucking doesn't
yeah it does
stop laughing!!
it's an abstraction but i am laughing
topic change!! my luck comes through
this time, wwwwwww
Oh," Hitomi says, with a subtle relief that is nonetheless profound, "the MMO -- Condemnation of Witchcraft, did you see the commercial? -- I got an account, right, at the start of high school, which is kind of like giving a baby a knife haha, but I mean it was FINE, and I could just hang out and do stuff, talk to people... I was kind of getting BORED with it honestly, just because I'd gone through all the story stuff, and all the other stuff, and pretty much all there was was standing around chatting in the city squares or doing the ultimate battles..."
"I mean, there's only so much sitting in public and chatting you can do, right?" Hitomi asks. "I heard they were going to implement mahjong but I guess they didn't get around to it... but yeah, my subscription lapsed, but the art's great. The Witch Queen is the like, main enemy of the game, like the Dark King in Drake Adventure, right? But there's a lot going on, she's really complex."
The Witch Queen is not complex. They just hired a writer who actually has published novels before.
"Anyway, I think I'm gonna get the Nostalgia Steak here... I didn't eat steak at home so I gotta see what the fuss is about. And if you want to say sankyuu for real, no problem we can put it off, BUT - I also want this spinach and eggplant salad? I mean, " she tilts the menu around, "LOOK at it, I can practically taste the garlic..." (Which is indeed credited as a primary seasoning.)
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka is still kind of just... holding her breath after that admission, but seeing Hitomi smile gets her to smile and relax a little bit.
Maybe... this is okay. Maybe I didn't just do the stupidest thing I've ever done and it isn't about to blow up in my face.
Hitomi's not surprised, and well... Ririka did just go buy some very specific manga, so, you know, fair. But then Hitomi mentions the smell and Ririka lets out a surprised--but delighted--laugh before clamping down on the volume. "Oh my god, right? I've never been able to say that to..."
She trails off as her brain finishes processing what just happened.
Wait... did Mandai-chan just say... Does... does she...
There is a surge of a light, happy feeling of anticipation, but Ririka tries to tamp it down to keep from getting ahead of herself. And there is also a topic change, but Ririka is still mulling over how to approach the topic as she listens. "Oh, cool. I've played a different one on and off... I don't always have a lot of free time, between everyting I do, but... I get what you mean, about finishing the story stuff. Usually that's the thing that keeps me interested, too."
And the music. But that should go without saying.
"But I'm glad you can still enjoy the art," Ririka adds with a smile. "Maybe if I ever have some spare time I'll check it out."
But then it comes to food, and Ririka nods and picks up the menu again. "Oh, right, um... food." She totally blanked on actually reading the menu. "... you know what, I'll get the Nostalgia Steak, too." That's easy. And for the side... Ririka nods. "Sure, we can do that. I think I'll hold off for... oh, no. I'll get some fries."
She looks to Hitomi curiously. This isn't the only thing she wants to ask, but... "How come you didn't eat steak at home? If you don't mind my asking, you don't have to say if you don't want to."
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"Haha!" Hitomi says, about how nice girls smell.
From the looks of her she does not want to dwell on the topic, but perhaps her journey is different from Ririka's. Afterwards though, she nods along. Games are much comfier territory. "I could pick it back up, but part of it was just being lonely, you know? People would talk to you. Haha, I was in a couple of guilds but usually there was drama..."
Is nowhere safe?
"Yeah, I just don't really get it. And yeah, I'll trade you a bite if you wanna know how that stuff tastes," Hitomi adds, about, perhaps, her mature and vitamin-enriched salad. And then there's a question. Her lips purse.
"Oh!" she says. "Well, like..."
She sweeps one hand around, letting her hand flop illustratively. "So my family has a temple, right, in Konan ward back in Sumaru. Like it's one of those little inherited temples and it's ours. Mandaiji, that's why I was telling people to go there, I figured those were kids from the block and they'd know where it was."
A second or two passes.
"It wasn't like we were strict but we didn't really cook red meat at home," Hitomi says, looking over. "Maybe a little pork in hot pot? Otherwise even for grilling it was always chicken on skewers. I don't know if that's better or whatever... anyway, even that got rarer when my big brother was serious about studying to be a for-real priest, not just like an inherited priest."
Hitomi smiles a little. "I think Dad thought it was a challenge, so it was like," her eyes flick up, "five weeks before there was like any meat at all? I actually had mom going like, Hitomi-chan are you hungry? Here's a thousand yen, please, get a bigger dinner if you wanted... (I think she was under-seasoning things to try and like, pressure both of them.)"
"Then one day, since nobody'd died for like a month and he was at loose ends, Dad was like, alright, I'm making dinner, everyone get lost, and it was just this big bowl of chankonabe. You know what I mean, right, like the sumo wrestler stew? He actually nailed it, it was restaurant grade."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka is not going to pressure Hitomi into saying anything she isn't ready for. Though thinking on it... she was kind of knowledgeable at the con, wasn't she?
"Ugh, drama. Yeah, that sucks. When you just want to play the game and not get sidetracked by fighting... Well, it'd be something we could talk about, if I played, so maybe it wouldn't be so lonely." But playing a game with Hitomi reminds her. "Oh wait--we were talking about Blade World, right? I still wanna give that a try sometime."
"Sure. I'll trade you a bite for some fries, if you want."
"Oh, right, I remember you mentioning..." She'd started trying to locate it, but the way the situation developed... But she explains... It seems like it was a religious practice, more than anything else. "Oh, I see. That's kind of interesting, I never really thought about that."
It kind of makes sense, though, now that she is.
She giggles a little at the idea of a challenge, and keeps listening as the tale concludes with stew. "Oohhh, I see. That makes sense, then, if you didn't get to try it a lot before, that you'd want to now." Ririka considers it for a moment. "I know a killer burger place or two. If you ever wanna check them out, try it in a different form, we can."
She falls quiet for a moment after, considering. Hitomi moved on pretty quickly, but... her fingers tap on her thigh as she considers. "Hey, Mandai-chan. If there's ever anything you want to discuss... I'm willing to listen. No pressure, just... wanted to make sure you knew that, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"Now that I think about it," Hitomi muses, "like, outside view -- oh awesome, like Wilduck? That place rules, I am pretty sure there's actual duck in 'em -- anyway, outside view, both of them were wrong but if I explain it it's gonna sound super religious."
She takes a deep breath.
"... Thank you," she says then.
Hitomi then smiles, a little slowly.
"I just don't want to share stuff before I'm ready," Hitomi says.
The smile stays for a second or two, before - "But, like, if you ever want to hang, I mean, that's fine. I just don't know if I can like... say anything useful? Most of the stuff I just read online..."
Hitomi then glances down for a moment at the menu - there is an interval now, where the hostess arrives and the ORDERS are PLACED.
Once she's gone, Hitomi looks back over. (In addition to that stuff, she got a green tea, but that's basically trivial on this scale.) "It's not that I really like want it want it," about meat, "I just get what tastes good. You know? So... I guess I'm a lot more relaxed about vegetables. But meat's alright too."
She adjusts her glasses.
"... I feel really boring when I say stuff like that," Hitomi continues, "but I guess it's just honest. But part of me's like, geez, you're just saying that to be nice, right? Do you ever get mad at yourself about that kind of thing? Like 'wow, way to fake it, idiot' - that sort of thing?"
("Sorry if that's kind of a shift, haha, I... know that's not, exactly what you were talking about...")
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Yeah, like that! I think you might be right..." She giggles a little. "Well, we can save that for another time then, if you don't want to get into the super religious stuff."
But Hitomi doesn't want to talk before she's ready. "Yeah, that's... totally fair. Like I said, no pressure, you know?" Maybe this is the real thanks she can give Hitomi, time and space. "Yeah, I've done... a lot of that," Ririka says with a sigh. "Reading online, I mean." But then she smiles again. "Hangs are still good, though."
Ririka will get a soda, which is also unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
But saying stuff just to be nice. "Oh yeah, no, totally. Or like, when you don't know what to say but you're just trying to think of the thing you're 'supposed' to say? That kind of thing stresses me out."
("It's fine, we're just... having a conversation. It's cool.")
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
There's a faint look of relief and understanding on Hitomi's face. Perhaps a gratitude more subtle - truer? - than what she's voiced.
"Right I mean, sometimes you just don't give a shit and it's like 'sure, either is good' because if you say 'I don't care' people think that means you don't care," Hitomi says. "I got past the 'i dunno what to say' part but, I mean, people should not use my method."
WHICH IS?
probably being crazy
or is it?
Hitomi takes another breath.
"So... I wanted your advice, actually, now that I think of it," Hitomi continues. "I'm designing another good module for Blade World, right? And I was thinking -- so most of these are like... you've played games, you know how I mean with a dungeon and everything, right? Like you're in a place, and you're going through it, and there's like a sequence. Right?"
"But that sort of thing doesn't happen in real life," Hitomi continues, "or like, it's rare. I mean most people don't have to go clear a dungeon out. Maybe you have to like, clean a store room or something. So I was thinking, how could you have an adventure that was all like in one place, during an event?"
"So it has to be a really cool place," Hitomi says, "and a really cool event, so people don't just ignore it while doing a mission."
Hitomi leans forwards a little.
She then says a cryptic phrase: "Akur, Akir, Akam."
"That one came to me when I was in the shower," Hitomi says, "and I looked up Dwarf language online, like, fantasy dwarves not, small people, and it turns out that means something. So now I have to use it."
A beat passes.
"And if we include sheet music, people can sing along."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Yeah, yeah, and sometimes, like... you're just realy tired and you don't want to spend the energy to make a choice, or there's too many choices, and..." She rubs the back of her neck a little. Don't think too hard about how she picked the Nostalgic Steak because Hitomi picked it, please. "... it feels like it'd take way too long to consider them all."
Ririka looks at Hitomi curiously. "Your method?"
But she sits up a little straighter once Hitomi mentions asking her for advice. "Oh? Sure, what's up? I remembered you wanted to talk about doing music for Blade World, too, right?"
She nods quickly. "Yeah, yeah. Dungeons, RPG stuff. Sometimes it's a cave, sometimes it's a tower, or a ghost ship, yeah. Treasure chests, maybe some traps, a boss at the end. Yeah, I got you."
"During an event... like... what kind of event do you mean? Like an event in the game, or in real life, or...?"
She blinks. "... Akur, Akir, Akam...? What does that mean.../" It's Dwarf language, but... that doesn't give her much to go on. She's not /that/ kind of nerd, sadly.
"Sheet music? Do... you want to use it in a song, then?"
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
"Oh! I just go with what pops in my head," Hitomi says, "which at least means I can just relax if it is seriously 'don't care.'"
She looks a little nervous.
"Well, that phrase means something like champion reward fortune, which made me think of like a gladiator fight," Hitomi says, "except that sucks if you're not a fighter, right, it'd just be sort of a centerpiece, though it'd be good to have stuff for fighters, too."
"Then I got to think," Hitomi continues, "where would there be something like that, like as an event? And where there might be others?"
"A dwarven royal wedding," Hitomi concludes.
She smiles.
"Yeah basically," she says. "Nothing super complex, like... I don't remember the exact words... just sort of like a melody and some chorus and verse, right? If that's super easy we could do a couple. I was thinking it would be awesome as something people could do while the fighter *was* in the pit, right?"
Hitomi twirls her finger around. "Everyone passes around the sheets you print out, and maybe someone has a recorder or a violin or guitar, right? So it's like everyone else does that, because that way it's more exciting. The imagination always works better if you guide it."
"Especially," Hitomi says, raising an index finger, "if you don't tell the fighter player it's gonna happen..."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
So that's Hitomi's method. "Wow... you're... kind of a lot braver than I am."
"Gladiator fight makes sense..." But there's a frown as Hitomi outlines the difficulty. "Oh, I guess... I think I've seen colesium fights in RPGs before? But... maybe it's different, in something like Blade World..."
A dwarven royal wedding.
Ririka blinks.
And then blinks again.
"Oh, wow. Iiii don't think I've ever had a fight at a wedding... that sounds really cool."
"I could do something like that, sure, no problem," Ririka says of the song. "So... people will be singing the dwarven wedding march while the figher fights? Hmmm..." Ririka drums her fingers on the table. "Well if I'm around I can handle the guitar, or an ocarina or whatever... we could add some simple percussion parts, if we want to make it more immersive, like a tambourine... What does dwarven music sound like..."
She's getting a gleam in her eyes. Oh, this is going to take research. And she has a new musical challenge.
She almost misses the last point, and then giggles. "Oh, ohhhh. Wow, that's... I can't tell if that's good or bad but it definitely sounds interesting."
<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
What does dwarven music sound like?
"Oh, that's easy," Hitomi says as the food arrives.
"Rock."