2026-09-30: Shimokitazawa Shopping Surprise
- Log: Shimokitazawa Shopping Surprise
- Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Ann Takamaki
- Where: Shimokitazawa - Street Scene
- OOC Date: September 30, 2026
- IC Date: Thursday, January 17, 2013
- Summary: Ann and Kazusa are both engaging in retail therapy, albiet for different reasons. They haven't spoken in a while, but when they run into each other in a store (figuratively and almost literally, a long overdue talk happens. Kazusa confesses a wrong, Ann calls out Kazusa for her past deeds... but then, shopping ensues.
(|======================= Shimokitazawa - Street Scene =======================|)
-================================================ Tokyo/Shimokitazawa Ward ====-
Shimokitazawa is a neighborhood of densely-packed buildings near the
Shimo-Kitazawa Station, where the Odakyu Electric and Keio Inokashira lines
intersect. The winding alleyways and smaller spaces for shops and venues have
kept away the big-money chains, leaving space for dozens of small and
independent fashion shops to sprout up, cozily tucked and intermingled with
bars, cafes, live music venues and theaters.
The narrow streets of Shimokitazawa can be confining, especially when there is a
crowd; the shops have colorful signs, and offer a panoply of experiences, each
of them striving to radiate a vision of their own kind of cool. A crisp and
efficient tile-and-straight-edges men's clothier sits across from a
heavily-tagged used clothing shop. The streets stay lively at night, with music
belting out to the lonely hearts of the big city from dozens of hole-in-the-wall
jazz bars and rock venues. In summer, dance festivals trail throughout the
narrow streets, bringing back a traditional vibe... until the next day, of
course.
Local landmarks include the station itself; the Matsuda Theater, a 400-seat
venue that has helped drive the boom in smaller-scale theater throughout the
neighborhood; and the not-too distant Gotoku-ji temple, famous for its vast
collection of beckoning maneki-nekos, each of them enshrined in a place of honor
on the temple grounds.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa should be holed up in her studio for safety. She knows this. It's more tolerable at home, safer than being on the street where a certain monster in human flesh can spot her, and yet...
Even she can get sick of cooping herself up in there sometimes. And with school being so utterly abysmal as she tries to keep stone face around the monster in her classroom... she needs a release.
She needs shopping.
And so she is here, trying to keep a low profile. A low profile that includes glancing over her shoulder every now and again to furtively scan the store.
But for the moment, her attention is fixed on two different dresses as she tries to compare them. She herself is dressed in a dusty pink coat over a long red dress, dark tights, ankle boots.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Finals were a bitter, bitter struggle.
Things have gone completely sideways with Morgana, seemingly out of nowhere.
This Homunculus problem just seems to be getting worse and worse and, on a personal level, this newest one... makes Ann Takamaki both deeply uncomfortable, and deeply angry.
And to make it all worse, the school year has started again, and Makoto will surely be watching her grades like a hawk. Like a hawk!! So. It's time to turn over a new leaf. It's time for a better, more vigilant Ann Takamaki!
"Shoppiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing~!"
... after she's done with her shopping.
LOOK.
Things are rough! She needs her outlets! And nothing can compare to the sweet feeling of making purchases, in person.
It's that dopamine rush that Ann Takamaki is hunting for as she arrives at one of the many small-scale independent boutiques that dot the Shimokita landscape that Kazusa is currently occupying, bags slung on the crook of one arm and a look of effervescent joy bubbling to the surface of her fair features. Now, it's not like she has a problem with chain stores - she likes them quite a bit in fact, especially when she's going bargain hunting! - but when you're in need of a good splurge that will give you something quality, something bespoke, something unique that will be decidedly yours? There's no better place for that right now to her than Shimokita.
Her long platinum blonde hair done up in a messy-yet-stylish bun, a scarlet, double-breasted maxi coat and a thick white scarf bundled high around her neck help keep her warm; the thigh-length black dress, semi-sheer, and cute black ankle boots? Those are for keeping her fabulous.
She hasn't quite noticed Kazusa yet, considering the other girl is being discreet, but Ann is... well...
"Shopping shopping shopp-ing! Shopping shopping shopp-ing~!"
... not.
she's just not.
So it should be easy to spot her!
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa doesn't know what a Morgana is, but she is worried about Kasumi, whose struggles are a lot deeper than she ever realized--and with seemingly no clear solution in sight.
... The fact that Kazusa maybe actually cares about her is its own kind of frustration, in a weird way, but she's stubbornly pushing forward with the support anyway. Because maybe that's the time of thing a decent person would do.
But yes, the Homunculus is deeply upsetting.
'Bargains' aren't usually something Kazusa has to worry about. Well, not for clothes anyway. Her father doesn't bat an eye at her clothing purchases for... some very distressing and upsetting reasons she's never really managed to vocalize toanybody.
But lucky her that something she likes to do is also an 'acceptable' activity for a girl to do, as far as her father is concerned.
(It's not fine.)
Her long straight black hair is, as always, well-conditioned, but styled in a way so that it doesn't look styled. And while she doesn't have a scarf, the coat she's wearing does have high sleeves that she can use to hide her face. (Which isn't hidden right now, of course, since she doesn't want to look like a creep in a boutique store.)
But she is considering two dresses, and neither of them seem to be keeping her attention, as her thoughts keep drifting. Shaking her head, she puts them back and picks up her own bags. "Ugh."
She wanted to get out, and now she can't even focus on the thing she wanted to do. What's wrong with her? She moves to leave, turning a corner around a set of racks--
and almost walking wright into Ann! She makes a startled noise and pulls herself back. "H-hey, watch it--" she starts to say, but the rebuke dies just as quickly as she sees who it is.
"T-Takamaki-san..." her eyes widen in surprise. It's been a few months since she called off their regular Yoga sessions, offering to let Ann use the place she'd recommended and finding another one for herself.
And having finally run into her again, she's not sure what to say.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Shop-ping! Shop-ping! Shop-"
This is the mantra of Ann Takamaki ready to engage the world of FASHION.
TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR: Ann is absolutely not looking where she's going. She's got shopping fever! Who can pay attention to anything when the fever hits them?! Therefor, Ann absolutely does NOT see MYSTERY SHOPPER K as she rounds the corner until she is suddenly RIGHT INSIDE HER PERSONAL SPACE LIKE A MASTER THIEF.
Ergo:
"Shop-GACK?!"
This is the mantra of Ann Takamaki not ready to meet a tragic end.
They almost collide. Almost. Noticing the sudden presence of someone else breaching her bubble, Ann's sky blue eyes fly wide and she suddenly, gracefully wheels (flails) backward, bag-totting arm going wide with the dangerous mace-swing of those packages that just narrowly avoids disastrous collisions of their own as Ann stumbles --
and bumps against the door JUST as it closes, meaning she, thankfully, does NOT go barreling out of the store again, ass-over-teakettle. Instead, she just kind of -- jostles the door open again before she grips the handle and halts herself.
*ding-ding-ding*
goes the welcoming bell as Ann, recovering, lets out an earnest if hectic, "I'm so seriously sorry, are you okay?! You didn't drop anything, did you?? I'm SO Motojima-san?!"
Ann Takamaki stalls out for a second as those wide, blue eyes fixate on a familiar face. The second passes.
"--I-I mean, I'm not Motojima-san! YOU'RE Motojima-san!!"
And thus Ann is left in an awkward position where her brain briefly blanks and then soars at a thousand thoughts a second.
Thank god she clarified first.
She stands there, for a moment, thoughts running rampant. It'd been a while since they talked. Ann figured that after everything, Kazusa needed space -- she understood that well enough, and was happy to give her that space without comment. Because, after all... she understood, better than most, what Kazusa was going through. But what could she actually say to HELP with that?
"Oh hey Motojima-san, I totally know what you're going through.
I'm so relieved you kicked that weird brain monster out of your brain realm!"
"How could you possibly know that?"
"Duh! Because I'm a Phantom Thief obviously~!"
[ X ]
B A D !
yeah no that's out.
She hesitates for a second. For a single second, before a friendly smile tugs on bubblegum pink lips. She inches forward from the door and leeeeans in on her tiptoes, brows raising and eyes widening with cheerful, conspiratorial curiosity. She knows that there's nothing she could say about all of that. But she knows how Ren helped her. And part of that was...
"Soooooo. Going shopping?"
... treating interaction with her like it was normal, and that it didn't have to be anything but that, no matter who she was.
It's something that Ann has taken to heart.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
To be perfectly fair to Ann, Kazusa was also really distracted in that moment. (But she was still somewhat aware of her surroundings. Or, perhaps, a bit hyperaware.)
She had a scathing remark queued up by reflex, (sad as she finds that now), but when she sees Ann's flailing reaction her own purple eyes open wide in alarm. "Wh--"
It takes her a moment to see the pattern of what is unfolding, and the door catches Ann, but then it starts t open again, and she steps forward to extend a hand and try to help stabilize the situation. "H-hang on--"
Because Ann is apologizing, Kazusa is blaming herself, for potentially hurting someone, even if this time it was entirely accidental.
'I'm SO Motojima-san?!'
Kazusa immediately draws up short, hand awkwardly left half-extended, suddenly uncertain of the gesture. Then the clarification comes, and Kazusa can only nod. "Y-yeah..."
By the same token, how can Kazusa actually explain herself to someone she doesn't know is informed about the Supernatural? She was a bully, she's trying not to be (and stopping bullying is one thing, being a better person though is a lot harder, and an ongoing struggle.)
(Surprisingly, that Phantom Thief secret might actually be safer with her than one might expect. But no, best not to test your luck.)
Once it was clear that Ann was not about to fall through the door Kazusa let her hand drop to her side. She instead backed up a step as Ann leaned forward. "Uh... y-yeah, I was just... leaving. Are you okay?"
She still looks troubled, for reasons far beyond this one awkward encounter.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Kazusa is obviously worried. Ann can understand why. Beyond just the issue with the Homunculus -- she knew the other girl's reputation. She knows how Kazusa reacted to Ann's eclectic group of friends, Ren especially, during the fireworks that night.
And she knows what she saw in the principal's Palace, too.
She isn't oblivious; she knows the type of person Kazusa is, or was. The kind of person who would have been right along with all the other girls, spreading rumors about how promiscuous she must be.
And yet, to Ann, even if she could clock those things about Kazusa, mostly what she seemed to her was...
... sad.
It's still there, when Ann looks at the other girl with those wide, blinking eyes. Drawing shopping backs closer to the crook of her elbow with the casual roll of her shoulder, she regards Kazusa with a thoughtful - but smiling - expression as the heiress answers her. "Ohhh. Just leaving, huh... hm..." Ann murmurs to herself, as if this was pertinent information to... something. Whatever it is, it's tabled for the moment as Kazusa asks that single question.
Are you okay?
Ann blinks. Her head tilts, her expression blithely oblivious. "Of course," she answers easily enough. "Why wouldn't I be?"
As if it was obvious. As if her almost having a very bad spill doesn't even factor in. Out of sight, out of mind, she's already put it all behind her. Is this the power of Ann Takamaki--?
Before an answer can come to what may well be a rhetorical question, Ann takes a step forward, regarding Kazusa with pursed lips.
"Are you okay?"
Ostensibly, about the run-in, that Ann has already just kinda shrugged off.
Ostensibly.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
And even beyond the issues with her own Homunculus, or what Ann was able to observe directly... Kazusa hasn't escaped the school's rumor mill etirely. Right at the beginning of second semseter, there had been talk about her father catching her out in cosplay at a convention and all but dragged out by him.
... And then she had come to school a radically different person.
Make of that what you will.
(That's to say nothing of Shinichi('s Homunculus) slamming her against a wall during finals week and threatening to make her go down dogeza style to apologize for her past misdeeds...)
Still, Ann's observation isn't wrong. Despite being widely known her actual, genuine social circle is vanishingly small, and always has been. But that's how she conducted herself at school, pushing others away to protect her secrets.
And those secrets came out anyway.
Kazusa looks rather taken aback as Ann so casually dismisses what just happened. Why wouldn't she be? "You... almost fell out the door?" If that statement sounds uncertain it's only because Kazusa is confused that she's having to explain this to the operson it just happened to.
"Yeah, I'm... fine." She definitely isn't. Except from this near run-in. She's trying to figure out what to say next, but it's proving extraordinarily difficult.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
For very understandable reasons, Ann Takamaki has nothing but contempt for the Shujin rumor mill.
Unfortunately, it's hard /not/ to hear the rumors flying around the school, even if you have no interest in them. Some students practically feel like they just stand at corners 24/7 shouting the freshest rumors into the void sometimes! So, for reasons both obvious and not, Ann's heard what people whisper about Kazusa.
Frankly, it's only deepened Ann's impression of her.
So past that momentary potentially disastrous gaff is Ann in the here and now, though, that she does not even so much as give passing thought to Kazusa's very understandable and slightly bewildered explanation to Ann's largely rhetorical question. Nope! Ann just isn't seeing it, and besides, she's moved on!
To KAZUSA!
The blonde considers Kazusa for a few quiet, contemplative seconds as the darker-haired girl answers. 'I'm... fine.' Ann can't - and does not - mask the incredulity that paints her expressive features at that answer, from the arch of a brow to the sidelong-glance she affords Kazusa, to the prolonged, thoughtful, "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." that escapes pursed lips. She's not buying it. Obviously.
And yet... she doesn't seem to push it, either. Instead, before awkward silence can even threaten to settle its comfortable presence on the proceedings, Ann suddenly turns, arms folding over her chest as she regards the store she had only just entered.
"Welllll," she begins, "I was gonna suggest we shop together for a bit, but if you're done here..."
That sentence trails. Lingers. Like it might suggest that Kazusa should just move on, and they should go their separate ways--
"-- I guess we'll just have to find a new shop to go to!"
Ann proclaims instead,
grinning such an infectiously warm grin that it squeezes her eyes shut with the sheer mirth of it.
But didn't she literally just get here--?
"Where were you thinking of going next??"
Once again, Ann of the present has no time nor consideration for Ann of the past. That was like thirty seconds ago or something! Besides...
... she thinks this is more important.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa hasn't been such a big fan of it recently either. And yet... it still persists. She used to weaponize it, even, though she hasn't partaken as much as of late.
It's still hard to disconnect completely, though. It's kind of a survival thing that she still has going.
For the second time she flinches back, as she sees that scrutiny on Ann's face. "What's that look for?" Did Ann see through her half-hearted answer? Is she being judged? Kazusa wouldn't blame Ann for it. (She may be biased towards expecting negative outcomes. That's also something she' working on.)
(She's working on a lot, as it happens.)
Ann starts a declaration, and trails off. Kazusa can read the room, she thinks, and just nods. "You... don't have to do that." She steps to the side, like she's making to get to the door. "I'll just--"
'-- I guess we'll just have to find a new shop to go to!'
Kazusa tenses, and if her cheeks turn a little red as Ann beams that great big smile that squeezes her eyes shut--shut up, no they didn't. She quickly looks away. "Look, you... really don't have to do that."
But Ann keeps pressing ever forward, asking her what stop she was going to check out next. Kazusa's expression grows more troubled. "Please don't do that. You know I haven't exactly been great to your friends, right? And there's..."
She hesitates for a long moment before she forces herself to say it. "... I owe you an apology. When I approached you before I was mostly just... hoping to get fashion info out of you. I know that's kind of messed up, so... sorry. I'll leave now, uh... check out the rack in the corner, I think there's a few things there that'll compliment your skin tone."
And with that she starts to try to head to the exit again.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
You really don't have to do that.
Shifting about towards the exit with the smooth pivot of one well-heeled shoe, Ann Takamaki pauses as Kazusa, red-faced (don't worry; Ann's oblivious to such things except when truly inconvenient, for her or others), insists against a unified shopping strategy. Head cant to a leftward angle of cattish curiosity, those big blue eyes consider Kazusa curiously as she admits to her negative attitude and actions towards people who are Ann's friends -- and even towards her.
"..."
Ann's expression is an impassive thing as she regards Kazusa. It's hard to tell just what she's thinking of in those moments as Kazusa confesses and apologizes, either good or bad. She just... watches the other girl, for a few quiet seconds.
No; it's only when Kazusa says she'll leave, and makes that recommendation,
... check out the rack in the corner, I think there's a few things there...
"Great!"
That suddenly there's a red-colored silhouette brushing right past her,
"I'll totally circle back and check them out when we're done!"
and opening the door to the exit for them both with a jingle-jangle of the bell.
It'd be normal, really, in any other situation for someone to just quietly let Kazusa leave. Maybe chat up their friends about it after about how weird and random it all was. Maybe it wouldn't even be unwarranted, all considered.
And yet there is Ann, stepping outside into the chill of the winter air, as if fully intent to just bull past Kazusa's objections and engage on this shopping odyssey with someone who just admitted to wanting to use her.
She takes one step out, two. And then she stops, back to Kazusa, one hand settled on the straps of her purse. A few strands of platinum blonde fall free and dangle gently off that bun as she shoulders that purse closer.
"... You know? When I first came to Shujin in middle school, everyone was quick to make up nasty rumors about me because of how I looked. How I must have had a ton of boyfriends because I was 'foreign,' how I was so standoffish and rude to other girls. They trapped me in this... cage of things I must be, because of the color of my hair and eyes. I always hated people like that. People who said one thing to your face and another behind your back. I didn't ever want to be that kind of person."
Ann tilts her head until sharp, piercing blue eyes are looking at Kazusa from over one shoulder. No pretense or polite affectation. Just that calm, level stare.
"You were a jerk to my friends. To Yoshizawa-san. To a lot of people, I'm pretty sure. You did a lot of crappy things, and I don't know why you did them, but you did." She lets that linger there for a moment, before she continues on, voice level.
"... But I also know you've been trying to make it right with people. You stopped coming to yoga because you felt guilty. Right?" She doesn't talk about what that thing had been doing -- but maybe Kazusa will think Ann just assumes the Homunculus' actions were part of her efforts to 'change herself'.
"People have approached me for all kinds of ulterior motives, and most of them were for a whole hell of a lot lot grosser reasons than wanting insider fashion intel or whatever. And those people never even bothered to apologize, or feel guilty, or think that maybe what they were doing was wrong."
Ann shakes her head. And then she turns, to face Kazusa fully.
"So yeah. You were a jerk. But from where I'm standing, it looks like you're trying to be better. And I'd rather trust in that, than just assume the worst about you."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
(It's fine, Kazusa is still pretty oblivious herself.)
It's wide, troubled purple eyes that stare back in confusion as Kazusa continues to keep watching Ann. But she can't really look for long before her gaze drifts off to the side and down. She's supposed to know how social interactions like these go.
... right now she's so totally off the map she's struggling to make sense of things. So Anne's impassive expression makes it all the harder for her to get a handle on what's going on.
Meanwhile, Kazusa, who formerly used her Demon Queen status as a sort of shield to hold others at bay... is currently an open book. Uncertain, ashamed, scared...
And still lonely. But Ann's always picked up on that.
Kazusa flinches a bit when that udden 'Great!' comes, and she finally looks back at the declaration of circling back. "But you're already here--"
And all she can do is stare as Ann just holds open the door for the both of them. She has no idea what to do. If she stays, Ann can just stay. If she leaves, Ann seems intent on joining her, and she can't leave now without walking directly past Ann.
Asking didn't work. Admitting what she did didn't work. What does she have to do, just... make a run for it? The socially-aware part of her brain shuts that down immediately as drawing too much attention to herself, but it didn't have to work very hard to suppress that thought.
She steps out into that brisk air, and then turns to look at Ann. Waiting for the other girl to step out with. This situation is weird, and tense, and awkward... but it's still something.
She quietly pushes a lock of hair back behind her ear, as she listens to Ann's tales of when she first started at Shujin middle. Kazusa might not have been so bad way back then, but... it didn't take her a long time to get there, under her father's unyielding pressure.
'You know?' Kazusa nods mutely. She does.
She was a jerk. And she was crappy to Ann's friends, and Kasumi, and many others. Kazusa nods silently again. She doesn't know why... Kazusa sighs, glancing away again. "... I could tell you why. But the reasons aren't very good. And it doesn't change the fact that... I'm still responsible for what I did."
The Yoga classes. Kazusa gives a slow nod. She's thinking Ann might believe the Homunculus' actions were an attempt to manipulate her or make herself appear more appealing... but she certainly isn't about to try to offer clarity.
And so she listens. Far grosser things, and none of them after apologized, or gave it second thought. She's not even sure how to feel, that her actions that feel so large ad looming in her own mind... might not even have been the worst thing to happen to Ann this school year.
Her face tightens as Ann says she wants to trust in the Kazusa who is trying, rather than believe the worst about her. "I wouldn't blame you if you did, though," she admits. She finally looks up, drawing in a shaky breath. "I am trying," she admits, in a tremulous voice. "But I'm still... angry, and impatient, and kind of a mess. I don't know if Niijima-senpai and I will ever see eye to eye, and my reputation at school..." She shrugs helplessly, unsure of how to finish that. An was just saying how the rumor mill treated her.
"... if... you're willing to put up with all that..." Her eyes search Ann's face, still searching for any signs of rejection, still unable to fully believe yet even as she makes that offer.
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
But you're already here--
"Then it's something I know I have to look forward to! It's like, um, that psychology thing. Delayed ramification!"
Ann is very wrong about that psychology thing. Kazusa, however, is not wrong. There's no escape from this situation.
n o e s c a p e
But at least her certain doom is fashionably appointed and rocking a winning smile. Ill omens have never been so chic!
The point is: Ann is content to stay there until Kazusa makes her exit or resolves to stay, and the second she does walk out, so too does Ann, the shop bell tolling a sweet chime of farewell behind them.
One hand on her purse, the other hanging at her side, Ann relates her tale of her struggles at Shujin. It's something she wouldn't have said a word about before with someone she barely knows -- truth be told, only a handful of months ago she probably wouldn't be talking with Kazusa at all, given her own situation at school and knowing exactly the kind of person Kazusa was. But, well.
Times have changed. And now, Ann doesn't feel the same need to close off and protect herself that she did before.
She has Ren and the others to thank for that.
So she tells Kazusa, so that Kazusa knows exactly why she's willing to give her a second chance. And when Kazusa responds, first by saying the reasons don't change her culpability for her own actions, Ann says nothing at first. It's quiet confirmation; quiet affirmation. It's the right mindset to have, if you're going to apologize for anything, Ann thinks: accepting responsibility.
As for the rest, well... sky blue eyes shut for a second. Ann lets out an exhale. And then she turns to face Kazusa fully, pulling strands of flowing platinum behind one ear to give it stability against the winter breeze buffeting her back as she speaks.
"People badmouthing you isn't the end of the world. Trust me," she chooses to address that unfinished thought about her reputation first, head cocking. "And maybe you and Makoto won't ever see eye-to-eye. Maybe she won't forgive you. And she's got every right not to. You're not entitled to anyone's forgiveness. Sometimes they just won't give it, and that's okay."
Ann considers Kazusa for a quiet moment. She is an open book right now, moreso than she ever was -- and certainly moreso than her Homunculus was. She can guess, just from that... thing... and the way she's been acting today, some of the issues plaguing the other girl. But most of all:
"If you can deal with that and you're willing to keep trying despite it, and if you can handle the fact that I seriously will not hesitate to call you out on your crap if I ever catch you slipping..."
She knows, and has always known, Kazusa is lonely most of all.
So she puts forth her own conditions. And then, with a grin, offers a hand.
"... then let's get this shopping trip going already! There are so many good shops here--!"
Offers something other than the rejection Kazusa is searching for.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa stares at Ann for a moment and then looks askance for a moment. "... delated gratification," she comments, quietly. She kind of regrets saying it the moment after she does, though, since that's really not what's important right now.
The smiles of ill omens have never been so inexplicably distracting, either. But Kazusa's got enough to worry about without trying to acknowledge that.
Kazusa might not have reached out to Ann, either, if there hadn't been something she thought she could get out of it. Back then, she needed to be able to justify her actions, to insulate herself.
... Now, though, times have changed. She's become far more aware of just how straining the way she's lived her life has been, and would rather spend it just... enjoying the things she likes. Which, unfortuantely, is still a lot harder than it feels like it should be sometimes.
She used to protect herself, similarly to ann, though her version of that involved a lot of tearing others down to keep herself on top.
... though in truth, it was never really the people at school she feared the most. And if Ann is surmising anything from how her Homunculus acted, then... she might be able to make a guess who that person is.
Still, she's trying to change, but she can't help second-guess every moment of silence, affirmative or not. She pulls her coat tighter against the wind as she waits pensively for Ann to respond.
Not the end of the world... Kazusa looks down for a moment. "... kind of feels like it," she admits in a small voice. "I'm not..." She shuffles uncomfortably. "... used to not being in control of my situation."
The situation with Makoto is complciated. Kazusa's not even sure how she'd explain--it's a tangled web, between her own past actions, the actions of the Homunculus, Makoto's actions toward the Homunculus, and what Kazusa believes but that Makoto refuses to confirm.
... frankly it's kind of a mess.
Ann remarks she's not entitled to Makoto's forgiveness. Kazusa nods quietly. "... yeah."
Maybe this, too, is something she deserves, after the things she's done.
Maybe that's a side effect of her Transmutation, intended or not: just as it exposes her True Self in cognitive spaces, it's also laid bare many things about herself to herself. Certainly, it leaves her more open to vulnerable moments like these.
There might be a flicker of a smile as Ann promises to call her out on her crap if she starts slipping. "... that's fair," she concedes quietly. "I think I can live with that."
It only hits her a moment later that she is, essentially, agreeing to this shopping trip by implication, and perhaps a new friendship, too.
Still, she stares at that hand for a moment, and listens to Ann decalre that the shopping trip should commence. She sighs and shakes her head. "Fine. Since you clearly aren't going to take no for an answer, I guess I have no choice."
Don't act like you don't want this too, Kazusa.
She stands a little straighter. and then starts to walk forward to join Ann properly. "Alright, where should we start?"
<Pose Tracker> Ann Takamaki has posed.
Don't worry.
There was absolutely zero chance that Ann Takamaki would have retained Kazusa Motojima's correction, even if she heard it.
She knows where her priorities are, and it's not in delayed rammification (gratification)!
Her priorities are also not in giving a good gosh darn what people think about her, either -- but having felt similar to Kazusa (if for wholly different reasons) when she first returned to Japan and felt that monumental pressure to conform to expectation, her brows do soften with the overall gentling of her expression as the other girl anxiously shuffles around that confession.
"Mmm." Ann exhales that musing sound slowly as she considers Kazusa. Her head cocks rightward.
"Then maybe focus on getting control of the stuff that really matters. Like the stuff that makes you happy," she suggests simply, with a blunt addendum:
"And tell all that other crap and what others think about it to go to hell."
Otherwise -- well, there's not much she can say about Kazusa's situation with Makoto, which seems... fraught, at best. One of those things that, maybe, they need to resolve on their own. ... or simply let stand where it may. For right now, Ann just focuses on the immediate moment, laying out her own terms. And when Kazusa agrees--
"Great! Then let's do this!"
she exclaims because yes Kazusa absolutely just negotiated her way into their shopping joint venture. Which is why she grins with such smug and cheery victory it squeezes blue eyes shut as Kazusa relents (to what was INEVITABLE).
"Hee hee. Uh huh, suuuuuuuuuure~."
She sees through you, Kazusa Motojima!
So, when Kazusa approaches, and asks where they should go first?
"Oh! Oh, this way! I saw the cutest boutique on the way to this place that does, like, artisanal hats and stuff!"
Ann's response is simply to take her by the wrist to pull her along towards a corner store down the street, to get swept up into the momentum that is
Ann Takamaki:
"And from there, I think we should totally go to this shop down the street that has the some really really great seasonal outfits - oh, and there's, like, a boutique with a real peacock here--"
FORCE OF SHOPPING NATURE
Survive this experience, Kazusa Motojima, and friendship is within your grasp...!
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Maybe that';s another thing Kazusa will have to get used to: Ann not weating the small details.
... she might be a little bit jealous of someone who can live that way, honestly.
Kazusa, meanwhile, remains pensive, a bit contrite, uncertain... a far cry from the girl that once terrorized otherws without giving a concern.
Getting control of what makes her happy... Kazusa thinks of her art studio, saved by her brother's intervention, of her upcoming work working on Ryuji's food vlog, which she still isn't sure why it appeals to her but it's her chance to do something with her skills that's real...
And even just, starting to form real friendships for the first time in a long time, though that one';s still a struggle for her.
'And tell all that other crap and what others think about it to go to hell.'
Kazusa lets out an unexpected laugh as Ann says it so directly. It does loosen some of the tension in her body, even if she's shaking her head. "Iiii wish it were that easy, but... thanks."
Thinks with Makoto will... remain what they are for a while, probably. But if Ann is willing to be her friend, even knowing that one relationship is strained, well... maybe that's the best Kazusa can hope right now.
But the things that make her happy... she considers, for a moment, opening up about her artistic ambitions--
Only to have her thoughts derailed by that smile again, and the at the retort she huffs and glances away. "Sh-shut up!" But it has far less bite to it than it would have once upon a time.
She knows she's been caught out. She's still embarrassed by it.
And any chance of chasing her earlier train of thought go out the window as she's grabbed by the wrist and dragged along. She lets herself be pulled along, even laughing a little at Ann's enthusiamsm. "Oh the hat place, I know the one you're talking about!"
She's starting to get swept into it.
"Oh I've been dying for a new coat and--" A boutique with a live peacock. "Oh, yeah, I hear they're super exclusive though..."
But maybe this day will turn out okay after all.
Especially if it means making a new friend.