View source for 2026-09-01: Let's Say There's A Hypothetically Doomed Woman

*'''Log: ''' Let's Say There's A Hypothetically Doomed Woman
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]]
*'''Where:''' Rengedai Community Theatre
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-01
*'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 03 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua and Shinobu go to see the community theatre again, and one thing leads to another, and they end up talking about the hidden difficulties of childbirth -- and Shinobu's lack of interest in finding a man and settling down. Yua gives her some advice on the perils of acquiring a beard... but of course, she launders it all through hypotheticals, so it's totally okay! Right? Also: a discussion of love for music and care for old things.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]


 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        Yua wants to go to the ''community theatre.'' Unlike the fancy-pantsy stuff, Rengedai Community Theatre is a single hall with a single stage; the seating are ''benches'' rising up with stairs to access the higher seating. It's a good place to start out, and there have been plenty of instances of someone ''getting into'' serious acting from their hobby acting here... but there are also plenty of people who are just in it for the love of the game, like Granny Watami, who's been doing work with lights for the past fifty years with no signs of slowing.

        Today, they're presenting ''DNA Seller Opera,'' a musical about a far-flung future where designer organs can be commissioned and implanted... and repossessed, when they're not able to make their payments any more. It's the kind of off-beat thing one might expect a community theatre to present, given this property is much more popular as the ''movie'' which came out afterwards.

        Yua -- who has arrived in a long-sleeved leotard, which at this point is ''definitely'' a maternity leotard, she's 27 weeks along -- is sitting at the end of the front row with Shinobu, because, like, when you're approaching your third trimester the idea of clambering up stairs and shimmying into a pew is just the least appealing thing in the world. Luckily, someone's scared up an actual chair with a backrest for her to plant herself in. (Granny Watami had five kids, man. She knows what's up.)

        The presentation is charmingly hacked together; it's in no ways an expert showing. But everyone really ''wants'' to be there, and that's what shines through; Shinobu may catch Yua clapping along to musical numbers, quite enamoured with it all.

        It's also hard to miss her, "yaaaaaaaaay!!", as everyone claps at the end of proceedings.

        Even though the subject matter was kind of grim, she had fun, huh?


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
This kind of place, as they discussed that day at the park, is far more Shinobu's scene than the bigger, fancier theaters. She appreciates the general vibe of people just doing what they love and making the best of what they have to put on a good show. That's something she can sympathise with.

She initially arrived here in a winter coat, but that has since been removed and set aside. Underneath was a T-shirt with some manner of wild logo belonging to a rock band she likes.

She did her best to help Yua along, but thankfully the crew have seen it all before and were able to provide her with a chair. Shinobu sure doesn't mind being up this close to the stage, seated at the end of the bench next to Yua's chair.

She did indeed catch her clapping. It's cute - even, or perhaps especially, when contrasted with the grim subject matter of the ongoing play. Fortunately, that kind of thing was right up her own alley, too.

And when the theater erupts with applause, Shinobu claps right along with them. She does not emit a loud 'yay' - she'll let Yua express that enthusiasm for the both of them.

"Thanks for inviting me, Ijuuin-san. That was a pretty good show, huh? Everyone really gave it their all." She says, looking to the side.


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        "Mm, mm!" Yua hums, cheerfully, and if Shinobu happens to offer her help to get up, she'll definitely ''take'' it. "Everyone really gave it their all! The repo man's daughter had a marvellous comeback during her song, too...!" She looked like she'd ''forgotten her lines'' at the end, for a moment, before unleashing a stirring monologue which may or may not have been entirely ad-libbed.

        "Thank you so much," she smiles, to the usher, as he comes by to take the chair and put it back in the cafe area. "You were a big help!"

        "No problem, ma'am," he smiles, back to her.

        Yua watches him heading off to the eatery, and looks back to clasp her hands together and urge Shinobu, "Come, come! Let's get something to nibble!"

        It's just one of those little cafes that operate beside these places -- they do ''great'' numbers in intermissions, but there's money to be had for people dropping in for something to eat before or after a play, too. Yua orders some juice and biscuits, and of course covers ''Shinobu's'' snacks... and she'll have already heard her asking her not to order black coffee from those earlier snacktimes.

        (The smell is just much too much these days...)

        "Haa," Yua sighs, with relief, when she sits down again at a table with her ''snacks.'' "I really did like how we followed that man repossessing people... we got to see how he really did care about his daughter, even though he had to do an awful job. You know, I think a lot of people who have work like that, they're probably not very happy about it...?"


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu does, indeed, offer to help Yua up. And as she does, she listens to Yua enthuse about the repo man's daughter's performance.

"Yeah, she really knew how to roll with it. And comin' up with a speech like that..." Shinobu massages the back of her neck with a small laugh. "It was pretty moving."

"Thanks, man." Shinobu adds, nodding her thanks to the usher too as he comes by to retrieve the chair. She looks back to Yua, then, who suggests grabbing something to eat. It's hard to turn it down when she asks like that...

"Sure. I could use a bit." She agrees. They go out to the cafe nearby. She remembers Yua's request and respects that now, instead following her example in getting some juice alongside a big muffin.

Shinobu sits down across from Yua as they take their seat, and she thinks back to the play as Yua comments on it. A man with an awful job who nonetheless loves his daughter...

"...Yeah." Shinobu agrees with a nod, after a moment of thought. "Some of us have jobs that suck, but... we're all still people. Life's more complicated than saying someone's outright good or bad and leaving it there."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        "We're lucky she's performing here!" Yua declares, all sparkles. And Yua, too, has a glorious performance -- the performance of ''cuteness.''

        (She might feel a little more embarrassed about that cuteness if she figured out certain things about Shinobu, but really, that all depends on whether she's more like her or more like ''Miho...'')

        "I've, ahhh... known some people like that," Yua admits, scratching at her cheek, "so maybe I'm a little biased...? But I think... even if you're in a position where your boss is asking you to make a company acquisition that will lay off a lot of people," because of course it's that kind of ''normal'' sucky job, "or something like that... well, sometimes a man like that is supporting a new baby himself, and he has to think about his family, you know? It can be like that."

        She sighs, as she adds: "But thinking about being blind because someone came to take my eyes is really spooky! I only have the one left, you know?" You know, on account of her ''left'' eye being covered in that omnipresent eye patch. "Like... what's the thing you'd most hate to lose, Nobumizu?" ''even her nicknames are cute''


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu laughs.

"Yeah, we are." She agrees.

Yua admits to knowing people like that - people who work jobs that suck. Shinobu wonders what kind of people she knows... but she guesses that's probably something that just happens naturally when you get involved with a rich, important family.

"...Yeah." She admits after a moment. "It's never easy when you've gotta weigh your family against countless other people... Hope ''I'm'' never put into a situation like that."

She takes a sip of her drink, looking at Yua over the top as she continues.

"That ''would'' be spooky." She agrees and frowns thoughtfully. She does smirk a little, at the cute nickname even in the middle of this somber conversation. "...That's a good question..."

She leans back in her chair a little, 'hm'ing thoughtfully.

"Like, losing an arm or a leg would suck, and I wouldn't like to lose my eyes, either..." She considers. She taps a finger against her chin. "...Oh, maybe my tongue. Does that count? At least if I lose the other things I'd still be able to talk. Not that there aren't other ways of communicating, but... it'd be harder."

She picks up her muffin from the table, tossing it up lightly and catching it on the way down.

"...And I wouldn't be able to ''taste'', either, and that'd be real miserable." She adds.


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        "You're more like the kind of person who'd protect people from stuff like that, aren't you?" Yua asks, tilting her head. "Not that I could tell you why I think that... nothing's ever happened, after all."

        Specifically: nothing happened, in Sevens, that day when Ikkaku's life was threatened and a normal teacher called Yua Ooshiro got between him and a hellhound's claws.

        It never happened, so the school was repaired in an eyeblink... and since Yua's never given off any hint of Resonance, even if ''Miho'' has, she's perfectly susceptible to being taken in by Rumours like that.

        But of course, during that event which never happened, Yua had the opportunity to see Shinobu fighting, even though she's not capable of anything...

        "Oh, that would be awful!" Yua gasps, a hand clapping to her own mouth. "You wouldn't be able to talk, or taste, or--!" Whatever that third thing is, though, she cuts herself off before it can be revealed. It will have to be an ''unspoken'' horror.

        "Haa, but you're kind of lucky you're not having a little one of your own, you know?" Yua sighs, hand lowering. "It makes you smell things really good, but that also means you get sicker a lot easier... and if you're not lucky, you can end up really struggling to eat at all. I'm lucky, they eventually figured out medicines for me, but... if I didn't take my pills, these bikkies would betray me," she says, sadly, holding up a biscuit with a wibble.

        Apparently the cuteness is just a free action for her, even when she's talking about morning sickness.

        "Oh, though that's not to scare you off, of course... if you'd like to have one, most people don't have these problems!" Yua adds, quickly.


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
'Nothing's ever happened'. It's a good reminder. It's easy to forget, sometimes, the way people forget when things like that happen. All's it takes is a Rumor that nothing happened at Sevens... and even someone who threw herself in front of a demon to protect someone else can forget.

"You think so?" Shinobu replies with a small laugh. "I'd like to think I am, anyway... so if that's the vibe I give off, then I must be doing something right."

Yua agrees that that ''would'' be awful, not being able to talk, or taste, or a secret third thing.

"Right?" Shinobu agrees. And then Yua sighs, talking about some of the difficulties she's been having. Shinobu nods along sympathetically. She shakes her head at the hypothetical betrayal of the biscuit. "That'd be cruel..."

Yua hurries to assure her that most people don't have these problems, and Shinobu laughs good-naturedly.

"It's cool, it's cool." Shinobu assures. "Everyone's different, right? Sounds like it's been rough on you... Hang in there, alright?"

She's been with Ayame through some of her experiences, so she knows how it can vary. She shrugs, then.

"...I don't plan on it, myself, anyway." She says.


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        "Hee hee... you're right! It's the ''vibes,'' man! The viiiibes!" Yua tries to affect the speech habits of a Californian surfer... but she's still being insufferably cute about it, so it can only really work so well.

        "Don't worry, I'm hanging in just like the kitty!" The kitty on the poster which urges students to hang in there on every library's wall, she means. You know the one: dangling from a tree branch by two paws, with an expression as if the Reaper is approaching... Yua demonstrates her dedication to this by ''nomming her biscuit.'' Chomp! "See? Thanks to my vitamins and stuff, I'm okay!"

        (That'll be vitamin B6... and 'stuff' is doing a lot of heavy lifting, in that sentence.)

        But then -- the very space of ''if'' is a subtle indication that Yua's a little more progressive on the matters of women's work than her traditional trappings suggest. Tradition demands a woman marry a man, have children, and raise them -- often alone, while the man deals with gruelling overwork in the field. But when Shinobu shares that she's not planning on it, Yua smiles, to her. "That's okay," she says, gently. "Having kids is really a lot to ask from a woman, you know? I think there's a lot of things you can do with your life which would make it hard to have them. Like... Mimi's an Olympian, you know? If she had to have a baby, all her work on her perfect body would be crushed!"

        Yua quiets, glancing aside. "Actually... if I knew how hard this would be... sometimes I think I would have made a different decision," she relates, quietly. "Ahh, that's not really the sort of thing a new mother should say, right...? But it has been... very rough. So... so, it's not just because I know some ladies have different careers, you know? I think... it's unfair to just assume everyone will do this stuff."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu laughs as Yua puts on a surfer act. It might not have the ''intended'' effect... but it's still pretty effective in its own right.

Yua assures her that she's hanging in there just like the kitty - which gets a small chuckle out of Shinobu - and that she's okay thanks to her vitamins 'and stuff'. Shinobu nods.

"That's good." She replies.

She appreciates that 'if'. She appreciates, too, the way Yua assures her that it's okay. She nods as Yua continues.

"Yeah, it's... hard on you." Shinobu agrees. "I'm no Olympian, but... most of the work I do is pretty physical, so it'd put me in a pretty rough spot."

She sees the way Yua glances to the side - and then admits that if she knew how hard it'd be, she thinks she would have made a different decision.

Shinobu shakes her head, though, when she says it isn't the sort of thing a new mother should say.

"No, it's alright. I think... it's better to voice it than to bottle it up, you know? No one's gonna expect you to be happy every step of the way - or at least they ''shouldn't''." Shinobu assures with a small smile. "...But, yeah. It's unfair. People look at me and ask when I'm going to find a guy and settle down, especially since I'm pushing thirty," Her parents have probably been no small source of this. "But I don't ''want'' that. If someone does it it should be because they ''want'' to, not 'cause they feel they ''have'' to, right? That's not fair to them or the hypothetical kid."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        Yua would probably be a ''pretty good surfer,'' in fact, considering Okinawan beaches...

        ... maybe not when she's this round, though.

        One can imagine that being this round would make the kind of courier work Shinobu engages in pretty hard, too... "You shouldn't have to give up your work just to do what they say you're supposed to do," Yua insists, shaking her head.

        (Someone else with jewellery that fancy might have suggested that Shinobu's work was ''unskilled'' and that she'd be losing nothing if she took some years off to ''be proper,'' but Yua, traditionally, has had to dig in her heels and fight ''against'' that point of view... or, well, pout and say it's not that ''simple,'' getting away with her disagreement by virtue of her cuteness and newness to her position, and notably ''without'' putting up much ''significant'' pushback...)

        "Thanks," Yua smiles. "Some of these things... even fighting hard for him, there are decisions I needed to make which aren't very motherlike." She tilts her head and listens to Shinobu's perspective, in turn. (With a small stab of surprise, as she realises how old Shinobu is.)

        "You definitely shouldn't marry a man because you're obligated to," Yua says, firmly. "That's the most vulnerable position a woman can be in... if she's not even in a loving relationship." If she's speaking from experience, she doesn't say so ''directly.'' "At least if he loves you, he'll have some reason not to be awful. If you don't want to find a guy... it's definitely a bad decision to force it! In a situation like that...!"

        Yua pauses, glancing down to her plate. "Well... you'd need to do extra work to make sure your child was okay, I think."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"Definitely." Shinobu agrees with a nod to Yua's insistence. If Yua was the type of person who would look down on her for the type of work she does... Shinobu imagines they wouldn't be sitting here eating snacks together right now.

"Yeah... I bet." Shinobu murmurs sympathetically. She can't know exactly what sort of not-motherlike decisions Yua has had to make... but she can at least offer that sympathy.

Yua agrees that she shouldn't marry a man out of obligation - and Shinobu is surprised at how intense she gets about it. She doesn't ''say'' she's speaking from experience, but...

Shinobu can make a few guesses.

"Yeah. That's... not the kind of relationship I want. Maybe it'd make life easier in some ways... but it's not a life I'd want to live." Shinobu agrees. She considers Yua for a moment. "...I'm not gonna blame anyone who ''does'' end up in that situation, though, or look down on her. I know things sometimes get more... complicated, than that."

She looks down at her drink for a moment.

"...I'd just hope she's got someone to support her."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        Some of those decisions are secret, and dire... but what Yua thinks of, when she says that, is deciding who the surgeons should save if the birth goes wrong.

        Which is secret and dire in its own way -- but one far more universal amongst the housewives' network.

        "It can get... very complicated," Yua says, holding her juice in both hands. "Even if it begins very simply, you know... if someone was really important to you, and you wanted... to support her... and be there when she comes home." Yua, as it happens, is still living in ''Miho's'' home. "You can just think... oh, there's no way she could have a son... but I could! And we could be together! But of course, that's not how it works... society won't accept that... so you're given to a man. And he's... fine, really..." Yua's smile grows a touch more fixed, "... but you don't love him, you can't... so you end up living a lie to save face. But that woman would never give up on you," she adds, shaking her head. "Not for a second, so... even if things were very hard, you'd be okay."

        Yua takes a moment, here, to sip her juice.

        "Just... maybe you'd want to turn back time and go back to not asking too much of the world... you know?" She asks, distantly, still looking at the juice rather than Shinobu. Until --

        "Ahahaha," Yua laughs, looking to her as she smiles. "I do make up these funny stories, don't I? Don't mind me, really! They say it's hormones!"


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
It can get very complicated, Yua says - and Shinobu listens as she tells a story. Someone important to her, someone you wanted to support and be there for when she comes home...

It doesn't escape her. Shinobu's expression softens as she listens. It's quite the tale Yua spins... and though Yua tries to play it off as just a funny story due to hormones, Shinobu isn't laughing.

No - the story makes her heart hurt. It's all too painfully real. Too real for her to be able to just play along and laugh it off.

"...Funny's not the word I'd use, Ijuuin-san." Shinobu comments quietly. "I think it's... sad, that someone has to jump through hoops and put on an act, even if it hurts her, just to have a family and be with the person she really loves."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        "I just, you know... I think that if there was someone in that position... if things were like that, I'd want her to know it was a lot of trouble, you know? Especially if she was in a place she liked already... sometimes it's better not to want too much," Yua says, her gaze dropping, again.

        "And that's for people who really, really wanted it... if it's not even like that... you know?" She ventures, quietly, as she recognises the differences in Shinobu's approach and hers just the same. "... but sometimes it would be very sad, I suppose. There'd be a lot of pressure... even if everyone was very welcoming... it would be hard to fit in."

        She shakes her head, trying to smile, again. "But you know what I'd tell someone like that? I'd say... going to community theatre is good for the soul! If you have to act all the time, sometimes, it's the stage where you can be the most honest, you know?"


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu looks back up at Yua, watching her even as Yua's gaze drops again. It was a lot of trouble. Sometimes it's better not to want too much... There's something sad about that statement, too.

"I couldn't blame her for wanting it, though." She comments.

The pressure, though - and finding it hard to fit in, even if everyone is welcoming...

"...Yeah. That's true, I bet." She admits. She glances away for a moment - and by the time she looks back Yua is smiling, or at least trying to.

"You would, huh? I suppose if there's one place you could bare your heart, it'd be that." She comments, with a hint of a smile of her own. "...That, and music."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        "It's really hard to want something you can't have... so I'm sure a woman like that would be happy if you didn't blame her."

        If anything, Yua's demure language is in overdrive, speaking of such pure hypotheticals as this; very indirect, very polite, very moderated. But then... she's talking about herself, isn't she? A rich woman like Yua... it must be frightening to be honest about her romantic feelings, when she demonstrably ''has'' appeared in tabloids at least once before over her emotional outbursts, most notably when she got upset about being blocked from seeing Miho after a tournament in Hawaii.

        (She had to go on Flower Talk and smooth over her image...)

        "Mm, mm!" Yua hums, smiling, as Shinobu picks up on the meaning of the ''stage.'' "Music is really good, too! Haa, I miss dancing... these days, I'm not sure I could even go ''en pointe''... but without music, there can be no dancing, you know? I have a ''boom box'' I bring to class and to the studio and stuff, it's ''old school!'' Well, kind of," she adds, "it ''does'' have a slot to plug MP3 players into, so I guess it's not that old... but it reminds me of the old ones a lot! When I get to play a CD in there, I'm really happy!"

        So there are still things which make her happy, huh?


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"It is." Shinobu agrees with a nod, and then offers her a slight smile. She would be happy, huh... "I hope so."

It's an indirect conversation, but Shinobu understands how frightening it must be. It's difficult even for ''her'', and she doesn't have countless eyes on her waiting for her to make a wrong move.

Yua agrees enthusiastically about music, though laments the inability to dance...

"That sucks." Shinobu sympathises, but listens intently as she continues.

"That's true. Even if you don't have a backing track, you probably have ''some'' kind of beat in your mind." Shinobu agrees. The mention of a boom box gets an appreciative whistle.

"Really? Nice. I've still got my old one back at home." She replies, and nods as she enthuses on CDs. "I get you there. MP3s are convenient and everything, but there's just something about CDs, yeah? It's nice to just pop it in and let the music go. I guess something that can do both would be the best of both worlds..."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        Well, as soon as Yua heard that Shinobu wasn't interested in finding a fella... at least on top of everything else... she could make a couple of guesses, in her head. If she wants it to be okay to be like this, she should reach out to people like this, right...?

        Besides! It's fine! If she's wrong, it was all hypothetical and no face got lost anyway!! Man, hypotheticals are magic!

        "That's right! I'd really like to see the woman who can waltz without counting one-two-three!" Yua might be dressed like a ballerina, but apparently, that's not the ''only'' dance she's capable of. "Oh, oh, and you have your old one, still?! I'm impressed! My old one is back home out at Kukojima Island with mama..." Who gets a much more casual and familiar term than the archaic samurai references she makes to her ''in-laws.''

        "But the CDs are definitely best," Yua says, her tone bright and bubbly again. (Maybe it's not ''just'' a mask... moms can have many facets.) "Because the artists arrange the tracks just ''so,'' and when you listen to them in order, you can tell what they wanted to say! Oh, though sometimes I like just looping ''one'' song over and over... if I've got a favourite, I really like just listening to my favourite... hey, hey, what about you, Nobumizu? Do you like listening through every track in order, or just listening to one over and over? Or -- or are you some kind of ''anarchist'' who hits the ''shuffle button?!''" She looks aghast at the very notion.


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
She isn't wrong. But Shinobu's happy to help ease her into it rather than dropping it all on her at once.

"Right?" Shinobu agrees about the waltz with a small laugh- and nods, as Yua asks about her old boom box. "Yeah, I took mine with me when I moved out. It still plays music well enough, even if I've had to get it fixed up a time or two, so it feels like a waste to just replace it outright, you know?"

Maybe she'd appreciate a nicer, newer one too... but those cost money that she doesn't have. So she might as well keep using the one she has for as long as it lasts. It also helps that she has an older sister who's handy with electronics.

"It's back home, huh?" Shinobu considers. She takes note of the more familiar term. "Well... I'm sure she's taking good care of it. It'll be waiting for you when you get back, yeah?"

With that bright and bubbly tone, Shinobu can't help but smile.

The specific arrangement of tracks... Shinobu thinks about this - and the deathly seriousness at which she brings up the shuffle button gets a small laugh out of her.

"Sometimes if I'm in the mood I'll repeat a favorite... but usually I just like to let it play out, you know? Really immerse myself in the sound, or let it accompany me while I'm doing something else." She replies.


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        It at least means they can ''suspect'' she's a friend... 'they', of course, because Yua will have to pass on how she kind of hypothetically outted ''Miho'' later, too.

        "Fixing things is important," Yua says. "They're alive too, you know? If you care for your things, they'll work really hard for you... but if you just throw them out, you'll get a ''bad reputation!''" That sounds like Shinto thinking -- and in broad strokes, at least, Yua's brand is ''similar.'' "It used to be that we'd fix everything ourselves growing up, but now, whenever I want to fix something I can hire a professional... I hope my things don't get offended I'm asking for help," she wonders, looking up, thoughtfully, as she taps a finger to her lip.

        (Which is really just another of those aspects of Yua not viewing wealth as obviously ''better'' which marks her as ''new money.'' Even if she knows people who are foreclosing hundreds of jobs to save their families, surely ''she'' could never do something so terrible... right...?)

        "Mm, mm!" Yua hums, brightly. "I'm gonna see her for the Purification at the Beach," which isn't Japanese, though it ''does'' sound close, "real soon... we all get together to make offerings to our ancestors for the new year, so of course we need to go back home!" She's so excited...

        Getting Shinobu to laugh makes her smile, though of course if she asked she would insist the shuffle track was HIGH TREASON. Luckily, Shinobu is ''not'' that much of an anarchist, so Yua's smile remains bright. "Mm, mmhm! That's a good way to be! Dive into the music just like it's the sea!"

        Yua pauses, and then giggles: "Hey, I'm a poet~! o''`"

        Somehow, she manages to pronounce the musical note perfectly.


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Yua agrees that fixing things is important, and Shinobu nods. Caring for one's things is certainly something she can understand - she has to be mindful of how much she's spending, so she can't afford to be wasteful.

"Yeah, it's important to take good care of 'em." She agrees. Fixing everything themselves, though... Shinobu thinks on it for a moment. "I can do some of it on my own... but sometimes it's easiest to just go to someone who knows what they're doing."

She shrugs.

"Maybe they appreciate that you're going to an expert?" She offers.

Yua agrees that her old boom box is waiting for her - and also says that she'll see her mother for the Purification at the Beach. It's not something she recognizes off the top of her head, though she can make assumptions based on what Yua says next. And especially with how excited she sounds...

"I don't think I'm familiar with the Purification at the Beach... That sounds like fun, though. Have a good, safe trip, you hear?" She encourages. It's nice to get together with family... at least, the ones you like.

Yua agrees with her, too about her music-listening technique, and Shinobu laughs when she points out her own rhyme(marveling briefly at her ability to pronounce music notes).

"Well said, Ijuuin-san."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        Yua doesn't have the pressures of not being able to ''afford'' to waste things any more -- but she at least still has ''moral'' qualms about wastefulness. Besides, she's sure Father would disapprove! Doesn't he teach his family to be thoughtful stewards?

        "Hmm... that's true! I'm doing the best with what I have!" Yua sparkles, as she adds: "But I don't think your things would be offended if you do it yourself, either, Nobumizu! You're doing your best, too!" Yua would be ''aghast'' if the spirits were ''classist.''

        "The Purification at the Beach is an island thing," Yua explains, smiling. "I follow Ryukyu Shinto, so it's a bit different! Mm, mm, but don't worry, I'll make sure to wear my foot prisons and get up on the plane and do all the things so I won't get sick... mooouuu, I wish I could take a ''boat,'' but it does take a long time by boat..."

        Yua, at least, sounds terribly fond of her family. Even the in-laws she talks about like they're actual goddamn Samurai.

        ... except for her husband, but, well, perhaps her distance with him is ''respectful?''

        "Mooouuuuu," Yua pouts, again, "we've watched a musical together, and we've eaten, and we've talked! So... it's Yua-chan!" She declares, clapping her hands together. "Okay?"


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"Right." Shinobu encourages - and then Yua turns it right back around on her. She laughs lightly. "''That's'' good. I trust my best to take care of 'em, anyhow... I'm sure that comes through."

Yua explains, then, the Purification at the Beach. It's an island thing, and she follows Ryukyu Shinto... Shinobu nods thoughtfully.

"Huh, that makes sense. That's cool." She replies. Yua assures her, then, that she'll do all the things necessary to keep herself safe, and Shinobu nods. "Good. You wanna be in good health for it, right?"

A boat, though... she nods sympathetically. She's heard before how much she likes the water.

"Guess you gotta take the pros and the cons..." She replies.

But - Yua ''pouts'', when she calls her Ijuuin-san, and declares that it's Yua-chan. Even for Shinobu, who tends to be casually informal with the people she meets, it feels strange to refer to someone who's paying her that way...

...But it's true that they're not just acquaintances, now. They have, in fact, been hanging out. And since she asked for it...

"That's a good point..." She concedes, and then offers her a smile. "Yua-chan, then."


</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

        "It really does!" Yua says, all a-sparkle. "You're a really caring woman, Nobumizu!"

        Is it weird to say that of her when she's more gung-ho than her sisters? Yua doesn't think so. Surely even Shinobu's righteous anger is an expression of her care!

        To wit: her concern over Yua's health. "Mm, mm!" Yua nods, cheerfully. "I have to take good care of myself! If I don't, that's bad for Hiroki, too! And Mimi will worry! And it will be a bad example for Tykko...!"

        (Do young women learn about getting sick from their mothers? ... honestly, in more ways than one, Yua's quite sure.)

        "Don't worry," Yua assures her, "we'll get boat time some other time!"

        And lo -- Yua's casual intimacy strikes. It's capped off with her adorable, "Yay~!", plus some ''happy hand flapping'' which she at least realises she's doing a moment later only to shove her hands in her lap with an embarrassed look. Still, she smiles, to Shinobu. "Mmhm, mmhm, we're friends! Let's go see lots more theatre shows later, Nobumizu...! Oh, but just as friends, remember! I'm married, you know!" Her husband isn't really an operative factor here, of course... but perhaps one day Shinobu will learn that there's more than one way to skin a marriage ceremony.

        Her fate... is sealed.

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"You think so?" Shinobu replies with a sheepish laugh, massaging the back of her neck. That's not the kind of thing she hears all that often.

Yua assures her that she'll take good care of herself, and how it'd be bad for the others, and Shinobu nods.

"Good." She replies - and nods, too, about getting boat time some other time. "Glad to hear it."

She smiles at the enthusiam with which Yua replies to her accepting of 'Yua-chan', and doesn't seem to mind the happy hand flapping.

"Friends... Yeah, we are." Shinobu agrees, and nods. "Sure, that sounds like fun."

And then, she laughs.

"Just friends. I already know you're taken." She assures with a nod and a conspiratorial wink.

...She'll be surprised when she learns just how much they've thought this through.
</poem>