2025-10-22: A Thorny Housewarming Bash

• Log: A Thorny Housewarming Bash
• Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Hibari Aoki, Ichika Kawase
• Where: Hirasaka - Ex-Safehouse
• OOC Date: 2025-10-22
• IC Date: Mon Jul 30 2012
• Summary: Hibari and Ichika come over to help Tsubasa settle into their new place -- and hear the story of how they told their father to take a hike with his old one. Hibari brings snacks!!

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<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

        Tsubasa has has... a rough few weeks. They were the primary victim of the Aoba Park Arsonist -- and then blamed for it, because no one believed it was the Joker Killer. They hid out, for a couple of days -- before the police found their safehouse and forcibly captured them. Then they were under guard at the hospital, since the Joker Killer had locked them in the burning exhibit building and their burns had grown infected without proper care...

        ... until they sent out texts, a full week later during the Tuesday of their exams, having gotten back home around sunset.

        Well, given that they didn't even drag themself to class until Thursday... they really needed to re-sit the exams. Thanks to Dr. Kawase and his lawyers, they even listened to reason and let them!

        Of course, they've been busy moving, since they don't feel safe in a house provided (controlled) by their parents after they called the Joker Killer. (Specifically, their mother; they don't often speak of her.) They've invited no one who didn't previously know the ex-safehouse's location to help, but that's not so strange; Tsubasa never invites anyone to their house. The only person in their gang who's seen how they live is the Boss. But then, Tsubasa has always been quite gruff and reserved; only recently did they tell the rest of the gang about their father's behaviour at all.

        Which is why it might be surprising to see Tsubasa texting Hibari and Ichika, on Monday evening, after their exams began. ... and, as it happens, after they met with their father to tell him they've moved out.

        > hey im fucked
        > u wann come ovr
        > housewarmin or we
        > dwb stelth thats fuckd alredi

        (The Princess and Shuyo, tragically, are both not even in Sumaru right now, both attending family trips at the start of Summer, so any attempt to get the gang all together is a touch fraught. They did their best.)

        Conveniently, they sent their address over with the missive. The safehouse is -- at least compared to their old shoebox -- quite nice; it is at least clean and not so cramped you can barely fit one person inside. There's a couch with a coffee table! Tsubasa's dumped a six-pack of soda bottles on there, the fun kind with the marbles in the lip, and there's a bowl of chips and a jar of salsa too.

        Lance is also here, and she does a happy little dance and bork when Tsubasa answers the door to find friend people. "Yo," Tsubasa says, taking a step back. They're still in their Kasugayama boys' uniform, with that fake-to-orange tan and concealer trying to cover up the massive old burn scars over their right side, plus the dressings on their limbs and shoulder following all those more recent burns. Today, their wig is magenta, cyan, and yellow! "C'mon in." That is, if they can pass they gauntlet... of a tosa inu who is REALLY happy to see them both.

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

Tsubasa *has* had a rough few weeks!

Hibari has only been involved around the edges of it, but not for lack of trying. She certainly hadn't been able to visit Tsubasa in either the police station, or at their safehouse, though she did ask for a message to be passed along.

She wasn't able to counter the rumour (if it counts as a rumour with the whole weight of what feels like inevitability behind it) that Tsubasa was responsible; she had a more extreme plan to do so but decided not to for Very Good Reasons... though she really wanted to.

But she as glad to see Tsubasa back at school, and as soon as she got the text message:

> OK!
> I'll bring some stuff

It's a relatively short trip for Hibari, being as she lives in Sumaru and isn't travelling for summer vacation; her father is still working after all. The only place she could really be sent is bundled back to Inaba, and she didn't want to go. So though she has to transfer down from Konan Ward, that's a hell of a lot closer than, say, Iwatodai.

And that's why Hibari is here now, carrying her backpack despite the fact that she is very definitely not at class. And definitely *carrying* her backpack, because she is trying to hold it up away from Lance while still petting Lance as soon as the door's open for her.

Hibari is a heavyset student with, currently, hair dyed in an ombre from her natural brownish to a vivid red near the tips. She is wearing a wrap top in a green that sets off the red of her hair and a pair of wide-leg jeans. And she's trying to keep her backpack out from Lance's prying nose because she has food in it, though this may not be obvious at a first glance. Truly the gauntlet is a challenge.

"Hey you!" she says to Lance, ruffling behind the ears, before she straightens up again to focus on Tsubasa. "And *you*... I'm so glad to get a chance to talk you again! I tried to pass through a message or two but I have NO idea if they ever got there!" Probably not. "And it's not the same when we're all stuck at exams while you're moving..."

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

As it happens, Ichika wasn't in Sumaru, either. On the other hand, she's not as far off as the Princess or Shuyo, and she's always willing to hop on the train if it means something good for Tsubasa. Because they've had a hard few weeks! So obviously...

>I'm in

She is a little worried about stealth but she tries not to be.

But the transit is why Ichika shows up last, even though she left first. She's tall (but not so tall as initially reported), dressed in green and black today, a skull top as per her regular preferences and green cargo pants. Her hair remains incredibly long and bleached. Her makeup is perfect. And...

Lance!!! Ichika also pets Lance, and is stuck at the door for a good few moments.

"Hey," Ichika says. "Good to see you two."

"And you too," she tells Lance, finally standing back up. "Yeah, I didn't get to talk to them til they got out..."

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

"Hey to you too," Hibari says to Ichika, though she's seen her a lot more recently and talked a lot more. "Glad you could make it back... I wasn't sure how the train trip is." Hibari's never been to Iwatodai.

Hibari is used to being on the shorter side in any gathering that involves some or all of the gang. It, like pretty much anything else along those lines, does not bother her. Similarly, she does have makeup on but it's a lot less dramatic. She also does not mind Lance's attention, she just doesn't want her in the backpack.

"I was hoping Yeo-san could pass *something* along given they were taking care of Lance, but..." That was an awkward time all around and things didn't really line up. She shrugs, somewhat expressively, with an apologetic smile. "It's fine. You've got this place all set up..."

Which is a real step up. An actual kitchen! "There's a few easy things you can do that aren't microwaving, but today I didn't know if you had anything to use in it, so..."

Hibari opens the bag, pulling out bento of all things: one, two, three of them. "I figured you didn't have time to cook anything," she says with a slight smile. "Nothing fancy here, but if you were going to call it a housewarming, I thought I'd join in..."

And indeed she has; rice, little bites of karaage, shibazuke (eggplant and cucumber pickles), a cabbage salad with ginger and sesame. As promised, nothing fancy, but well-prepared at least. And it's meant to be eaten room temperature!

"It can wait until later though," she says, "it'll keep for a few more hours." Bento's meant to be eaten room temperature, and make it some time, but it won't last indefinitely!

She considers Tsubasa for a few moments, then nods to herself. "If you told him that... good work." From everything she hears, he deserves it, at least where Tsubasa is concerned. (Of course she mostly knows whatever Tsubasa has told her.) "With the officer too..." Hibari is torn between her desire to not talk to cops and, well. The realities of the situation. She decides it was probably for the best.

Hibari is okay with either sitting on a chair (probably wrong) or the couch, depending on where everybody else piles and the room available.

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

"It's not too bad," Ichika says, which could mean it actually does suck but she doesn't want to say so, or could mean she actually didn't mind it. Or both! It definitely doesn't mean it's actually good. Train rides!

But, "It's fine," Ichika says of Tsubasa not getting out more. And having a kitchen? Great.

Ichika will sit on a chair wrong, for her part. But bento!! Ichika looks down, and beams. "Wow," she says. "This is really nice."

But... that will have to wait. Because there is more than that. "Glad it went OK," she says. It really could've not. "This place is better than your old place for sure," Ichika agrees. "...You deserve a decent place to stay. For sure."

But with the officer, "...Couple cops did right by you here. I won't forget that. I won't forget the ones that didn't, either."

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

        "Thanks for comin', Boss," Tsubasa says, of the train rides, knowing full well how unpleasant they can be for her.

        (Both they and Shuyo do a lot of body-blocking for the girls of the gang, when they're in transit together.)

        "Kinda... came set up," Tsubasa explains, rubbing at the back of their neck. "Was s'posed to be Yeo-sama's safehouse, but... 'pparently they'd been workin' on narrowin' it down a while or somethin' already, so th' pigs burst in at like, two am or some shit. Anyway, since it's on file now, ain't no more use for hidin' out, so... they put me up here instead."

        They shrug. "When I got back to me old place, it'd been searched... mighta been th' cops, but I can't say it weren't my father, neither. More I thought 'bout that, more..." They trail off, and don't quite finish their sentence.

        But it must be hard to sleep soundly, knowing a man who wants you dead can get into your house.

        However: bento! "Sick as," Tsubasa says, with enthusiasm, and the only reason they don't snatch one up immediately is because Hibari and Ichika have more to say. They do toss Ichika a soda, though. And they hand one to Hibari, who clearly sat on the couch beside them!

        Cracking open one of their own, Tsubasa shrugs a shoulder. "Ain't like I'm friends with no pig," they insist, "but Officer Shimizu an' Sergeant Suou are different, man. They, like... actually wanna help people or whatever instead a fillin' their quotas with whoever's lookin' guiltiest. Ain't like ya wanna trust 'em with everythin' -- 'specially not the Sergeant, he's, like, religious 'bout followin' th' law -- but..."

        Tsubasa shakes their head, sinking back against the couch. "... even with Detective Akechi doin' what he could, were a whole lotta guys wantin' me to rot for the crime a bein' targeted. Tch... y'know what they told me when I got out? Said I better not step outta line again." And the fact that this keeps coming up, for Tsubasa, is the surest evidence that it really bothers them.

        They take a long chug of that soda, fearless of the marble inside, even if as a kid they were always scared it was going to come unlodged and get stuck in their throat and choke them to death. Well, maybe that's why they're so fearless now. They've ascribed too much toughness to the action...

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

Hibari does not mind being bodyblocked for. She isn't quite as assertive - or at least, isn't assertive in the *same way* - as most of the other members of the gang. Even as Kasu most people just think she's a bit soft and would be easy to push around if it wasn't for the mystique of the rumourmonger and the presence of the Thorn Gang.

It's not entirely true, but Hibari doesn't exactly have to defend herself physically on a regular basis, so...

"Hmm," is her thoughtful comment, as she sinks down onto the couch. "In that case it's not them I'd be worried about as much as their bosses, but it sounds like they could back you up in the moment, so that's not so bad." Plus, even Hibari will agree that it's better to have the cops on your side when someone is threatening you.

As opposed to not on your side, when they're breaking into safehouses. It might have been Tsubasa's dad. It might have been the cops. For all she knows it could have been Tsubasa's dad asking the cops to do it; that fits in with her knowledge of how the police operate.

It must have been scary, Hibari agrees, and she looks sympathetic even if she doesn't out and say it. Some things are better left unsaid, especially because she does not want Tsubasa to put on a front for her benefit; better to more honestly reveal their emotions, if they choose to. The part about not stepping out of line gets her to frown for a moment with her own thoughts on the matter.

"Thanks," she says, opening the soda. Mysteriously she has a lot of experience with these kinds of bottles and also drinks from it smoothly. "Help yourself to the bento, I made them to be eaten!"

"So with staying here now - is that a permanent thing? Or temporary, again?" If they told their father where he could shove the old place, they can't be going back, but that doesn't mean they don't have somewhere else to be months down the line. "Because she's right; you do deserve somewhere nice to stay."

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

"You're welcome." They can be; as it stands, she can handle herself for the most part... but sometimes it's nice not to have to. She definitely doesn't object.

"Still..." Ichika still feels bad that she might've helped them find it, but she doesn't bring that up instead. Instead, she takes the soda and, "Yeah, I guess that's true," of the bosses.

"Well, your dad can fuck off," Ichika says. "That's the point of telling him all that, right? You don't have to hear from him for a while."

But Ichika remembers Suou, herself. "...Yeah," she says. "He seems like that."

But, of course what they said was that. Ichika scowls. "Sounds like them. ...'Course, I'm not..." She trails off, shakes her head.

Ichika also knows the sodas!! It's like they grew up with these or something. But, "Thanks," she says to Hibari. "Looks real good." And she will; she's hungry, since she skipped dinner to get on the train...

"Depends," Ichika says. "You still up to come with me for the summer, Tsubasa-kun?"

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

        It's fine, Tsubasa will jump people on her behalf. They're not afraid of punching someone for stepping out of line, and that means that pushing around Hibari isn't nearly as costless as it might have been if she had to rely on her own willingness to get in a brawl.

        But when it comes to creeps on the train, well, the men and men-adjacent amongst them have just got to step up. (What? No one in high school is a man yet? Man, tell that to them.)

        "Yeah... my father's friends with the Sumaru cops," Tsubasa frowns, deeply, speaking of the bosses. "But not the one with principles, I guess." Katsuya has principles! Apparently, that's more than they can say of most cops.

        They pause, a moment, before they look to Ichika. "I... told him to leave me alone," they say, after that ellipse. "I didn't need nothin' from him... I mean, shit, that's everythin' he wanted the whole time."

        Tsubasa takes a breath, and shakes their head. "Yeah, it's permanent," they say. "Better be... since I ain't gettin' no more handouts from my father. But it's whatever," they shake their head. "Rather rough it than owe it to him, even if the cops repossess the place or whatever."

        They lean forward, to grab a bento box. "Yeah," they add, looking to Ichika. "Too bad I ain't showed up earlier, they put my exams in th' first week... uh, 'least ya got time to set up or whatever, tho'. But... it'll be good." Of course they're cool about it now, but Ichika knows how excited they were when they first heard about it.

        "Now, c'mon. Ya gotta be hungry." For one thing, it's Tsubasa that's hungry, and for another thing, Tsubasa doesn't just want to put Hibari's food off to the side for too long because Hibari makes the best snacks. And so, they crack some chopsticks, and --

        -- look, they might not totally be a guy, but they're definitely more of a guy in terms of eating food. It just disappears down their gullet like they're some kind of walking, talking black hole.

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

Sometimes you have to be pushy. Even Hibari understands (and agrees with) this... especially these days. Just don't ask her to punch someone; she'd probably tuck her thumb in and hurt her hand.

"Well, I know you weren't going back; I just didn't know if you had somewhere else planned eventually. But this is a pretty nice place!" Hibari looks around it again. It's not that big, but it doesn't have to be; it's not like the apartment Hibari shares with her father is exactly huge either.

And, more importantly; it's *Tsubasa's*. Especially given their family, that makes a difference... she doesn't *quite* laugh when Ichika says their dad can fuck off, but it's kind of a strangled sound. Yeah, he would deserve that.

"You know this Officer Suou well?" Hibari has heard of him, but never met him. "I know Yeo-san does, too. Hmm... and don't say that, I'd get you into my apartment before you had to rough it." Where would they *put* them? There's not any empty bedrooms, and Hibari's dad might have something to say about it. But she'd sure try.

Still...

"Oh, you're going down to Iwatodai too?" Somehow, Hibari hadn't heard that; it hadn't come up. "That'll be nice. Maybe I'll visit the city; I've never been there but I hear there's some interesting places around. Even if half the things I hear about it have to do with the school."

Both because most of the people Hibari talks to are students, and because of Tartarus. Sometimes things can be more than one thing.

"It's an art school, so some of the students are a little eccentric," she adds, by way of explanation. "Lots of gossip. Most of it's not worth passing on, and it's not like you're attending or anything - it's just most of what I know about the Port Island."

Hibari is a lot more restrained about the bento than Tsubasa is. Only one of them can make food disappear like that and it's not her; she just likes flavours. But she enjoys it, too. (She tends to make things she likes for obvious reasons, unless they're for someone else - which this is, but she's sharing it, so.)

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Ichika will do the punching! And Tsubasa! Together...

But Suou, "Not super well," Ichika confirms. "But a little. ...I think he's actually on the up and up. But he's still a cop, and he isn't like, willing to go outside his job. It's not that he'll do us any favors, he just... won't fuck up."

Told him to leave them alone... "Good for you," Ichika says. "You shouldn't have to deal with him." But not going back. "Right," Ichika agrees. "Comes down to it, we'll take care of you. But we won't have to. Yeo-san's a good one." Adult, that is.

"It's cool," Ichika says of showing up earlier. "And yeah; nobody knows yet but me and Tsubasa-kun," she confirms for Hibari too, which is why she hadn't heard about it. "Well, and my family."

"...Gekkoukan's OK. My little sister goes there." Her brother did, too. "And one of my guys goes there. He's an artist, too."

Ichika is the most restrained about the bento, almost delicate. She's not so on a diet that she can't eat it, though. "You'd be welcome," Ichika says, to visit.

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

        Tsubasa would certainly try to advise Hibari on the basics of punching, but she's just not the kind of person they have that kind of discussion with, all things considered.

        "Nah, nothin' else," they shake their head. "But... it is pretty cool." Nicer than their last place, though of course Tsubasa's embarrassed to say that.

        Luckily, they can count on the Boss not to point that out.

        "But, uh... thanks, guys." It's still kind of weird to Tsubasa to have people they can count on; that doesn't mean they don't appreciate Hibari's offer to smuggle them into her apartment, or the Boss insisting they'll take care of them, either. "Yeo-sama's legit, yeah. As for Sergeant Suou, uh... like the Boss said," they defer their comments to Ichika, as they typically do.

        (Tsubasa's been voted 'world's strongest guy who folds their arms and looms menacingly while the Boss does the talking' for two semesters running. ... before then? Sorry, Haruna was still better at it. Where do you think they learned?)

        In much the same way, they nod, to Ichika, when she explains why Hibari hasn't heard. "Yeah."

        But Gekkoukan is an art school, huh... "... yeah," Tsubasa says, a touch more quietly. "My big brother went there after we got kicked outta Shujin, too... uh, he graduated already, tho'." Does that mean Tsubasa's folks used to live there?

        No: it means they still live there. That's probably fine. Don't worry about it. Rafflesia probably isn't a disaster waiting to happen.

        "The mall's cool," they add. "Paulownia. We should all go hang out sometime." Because of course, what are shiftless teens going to do but loiter in a mall? That's, like, a free action.

        Once the bento is consumed, of course, they must move on to working out what you even do in a house party. With exams looming over them preventing them from going out and celebrating in the usual way, Tsubasa may well suggest playing cards. Which means, devastatingly...

        ... everyone gets to hear about Fairie: The Beckoning.

        The weirdest thing is hearing Tsubasa actually be into something instead of acting super cool the whole time.