2026-04-01: Chatting in Line

• Log: Chatting in Line
• Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Haru Okumura
• Where: Toyo Cinema, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo
• OOC Date: April 01, 2026
• IC Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012
• Summary: Two Shujin students who need a break from midterm prep happen to run into each other at the movie theater. One of them is significantly less awkward about seeing SMILE than the other.

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(|========================== Central Street - Main ===========================|)
-====================================================== Tokyo/Shibuya Ward ====-
Chances are, if you're a fan of a youth trend in Tokyo, it started here. Less   
than a five minute walk from Shibuya Station, Central Street is lined with      
businesses that cater to youth culture. Boutiques and media stores are just as  
common as cafes and fast food. Arcades display the cabinets and claw games with 
the latest merch, while back alley shops serve more merchandise for more niche  
interests, such as military otaku looking for realistic-looking model guns at   
Untouchable.                                                                    
                                                                                
Drug stores, convenience stores, book stores, discount stores, video rental     
stores? You name it, they got it. Sports gyms, karaoke bars, movie theatres,    
diners? Yup. The local Big Bang Burger stands out most of all with its flashy   
space-themed pneumonic entrance.                                                
                                                                                
While it has a reputation as a safe neighborhood for both tourists and locals in
order to preserve its image as 'for the youth,' darker elements have started to 
creep in from back alley folks that try to offer school kids opportunities for a
quick buck or job opportunities for tourists who find their passport stolen in  
short order. Or so the rumor goes.                                              
                                                                                
Still, rumors are just rumors, aren't they? There's no reason to hold back, so  
come on in, enjoy yourselves.                                                   

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

Kazusa... has been having a hard time of things. Shoved into a supernatural space for a little over a month, literally having to fight her way out with the support of others after confronting her own worst impulses on loop, only to find out that the creature that replaced her made a mess out of her life.

And to top it all off it was the week before midterms and she basically hadn't studied at all. The other her, had, but Kazusa didn't really absorb anything from that.

So she's having to start from scratch.

She should be studying right now. There were still several days of midterms left, she couldn't really afford to lose focus now in her attempts to salvage her grades for the semester. She absolutely, positively, did not have any time to waste on frivolous activities.

She was also dead tired from studying so much that the pages were starting to blur.

Okay, she'd thought to herself after she found herself faceplanting into her textbook for the third time in an hour. Maybe I can afford a small break.

And so she is here at the theater. She's icognito for the moment: there is no way she'd risk being caught out in her school uniform or recognized on sight. She's wearing a fitted black hoodie with the hood bunching around her head, apaired with skinny black jeans and sneakers. She's got most of her hair up in a loose bun, with a long lock of hair left on each sie of her face to frame it, and her purple eyes are half-hidden behind a pair of shades.

And right now she is in line to buy popcorn. She'll order hers without butter to watch her figure and then utterly give in to temptation to get a drink that is approximately 25% sugar by volume.

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

As always, it's a bad time to be having midterms. Especially for Kazusa's position, but does anyone like juggling the spiritual world with the mundane reality of studying. ...Well, being in her last year and close to married off, it's hard for Haru to feel like it matters in any way, except maybe to prove the assumptions about her wrong, but she's still disciplined enough to put a proper effort into it. Still, everyone needs a break, and Haru finds herself spending her own over at the movie theatre. Seeing SMILE with Makoto was a ton of fun, but she wanted to see if there's anything she'd catch on a second viewing that she missed the first time around.

Rather than her Shujin uniform, she's dressed in a simple pale-pink blouse along with a checkered skirt, her hair worn as it always is. She makes her way from the lobby to the concessions, and finds that the line is... very long. It's a popular time for high schoolers to catch a movie to distract themselves from the impending doom of midterms. Haru approaches the line, and catches a glance of... someone familiar. Haru is passive enough that she's usually not one to involve herself in other's affairs or even make small talk in the popcorn line. But if that's who she thinks it might be...

"Excuse me," Haru speaks up softly to the girl in front of her. "I'm sorry to bother you, but is this the line for the concessions?" No better way to it than to play a little dumb.

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

Kazusa hasn't even tried to engage with the supernatural aspects of the world yet--not anything beyond talking to the people involved in her rescue, anyway. But she is absolutely too tired to try and get involved in anything yet. (Spending a month in a supernatural space without being Awakened can really take a toll on you.)

Kazusa hasn't even seen SMILE once--though she had been looking forward to it. Not that she'd ever admit that to... well... anybody.

Maybe it's the sense of making up for lost time that's got her unable to focus today. Really, once she was reminded... she couldn't get it out of her head.

Kazusa is keeping one eye on the line but she also has her phone out--a proper smartphone, a new prototype produced by the Motojima Corporation.

'Excuse me.'

Kazusa sighs. Right now she really just wants to be left alone. ... Ugh, it's a quick question with an easy answer, she can just answer and go back to waiting.

She turns half way. "Yeah, it is, I just saw them start a fresh batch--" She pauses as she catches sight of Haru, blinking a little in surprise.

'Haru-san is just fine.'

Kazusa seems stumped for a moment for what to say, then slowly her posture stiffens a little, and she slips the shades off to hook them over the zipper of her hoodie. Any familiarity the other her might have had at Haru's insistence isn't present in the moment. "Okumura-senpai," she says carefully. "I didn't expect to run into you here."

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

Kazusa doesn't look too happy to be spoken to, perhaps understandably so. "Thank you! It's awfully busy today, isn't it? I can hardly find my way around..." Haru nods, her tone of voice remaining soft. "Hehe. It'll be nice to get the fresh batch, though." Seeing as the other girl doesn't really look willing to chat, Haru would usually be polite enough to be content to leave their interaction there.

Although the lobby is filled with chatter amongst the other theatre-goers, a brief silence falls between the two of them, until Kazusa finally expresses her surprise to see Haru. Any doubt in Haru's mind fading, she's nonetheless surprised herself Kazusa actually bothered to say her name. "Oh! It really is you... Motojima..." Haru almost instinctively uses -chan here, but after a moment's reconsideration, she uses -san.

"I could say the same for you, hehe. I suppose we both had the same idea to take a break from studying." Haru smiles. "How have... exams been treating you?" It's the exams she's bringing up, and it sounds like just small talk but her tone might suggest she's thinking about something heavier than that. No matter how kind or not Kazusa may be, Haru has been worried about her.

"Oh! Are you here to see SMILE?" She inquires, a little brighter, secretly a little hopeful that she might have someone to actually discuss the movie with.

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

Let's be honest--aside from her brief stint as a Homunculus Kazusa doesn't really ever look... happy. So this state of affairs isnothing new. And she usually shows respect to her senpais--emphasis on 'usually.' (Makoto will have some valid objections to lodge.)

"It is," she says of it being busy. "... I guess everybody is slacking on their midterm studies," she mutters. Glass houses, Kazusa. (Look, she has a perfectly legitimate excuse she can't share with most people.)

Fresh batch. "Yeah, I guess. I really just want to get to my seat."

"Yeah, it's me." She might not be giving Haru the time of day (or the location of the popcorn line), except, well... their families have done business. And whether she likes her father or not, she's not about to bring down any more trouble on herself for by jeopardizing future business relationships.

Breaks. "... yeah, I guess." Without the shades on Kazusa is looking a bit bedraggled. She still hasn't fully recovered from her experience, and pushing herself in her studies is not really letting her rest. She shrugs one shoulder at the question. "... they're fine." They don't seem fine. "You?"

But then Haru asks about SMILE and Kazusa quickly looks away, checking her nails. "... n-no. Of course not," she says a little too quickly. "Why would I be interested in a movie like that?"

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

"I suppose so!" Haru laughs, when Kazusa mutters about people slacking on their midterms. "I can't imagine Mako-chan would be too happy about that..." Haru taps her cheek. Apparently, she's close enough with the Student Council President to give her such a cutesy form of address... "But I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a break. You study hard, don't you, Motojima-san? As long as you know that... I think it's okay."

Their families may have done business with each other, but personally, Haru doesn't feel like that should have any bearing on their own relationship - even if corporate mandate says otherwise. Whether they become friends, or not, should be up to them. "I get that. At least it looks like they're moving through the line fairly quickly." She nods.

Kazusa answers that she's doing fine, and Haru can tell she's a bit strained in saying that. Nonetheless, this is not really the time or place to press on that. "Mhm. They're fine on my end as well." She nods, though she doesn't sound too enthusiastic about them. "If you ever need study notes for your year, just let me know, okay? I think I probably still have mine..." She is the senpai here, after all.

"Oh, you're not?" Haru tries to push back her disappointment, just a little. "It's getting quite popular, so I thought you might be here to see it." The embarrassment in Kazusa's tone might just suggest otherwise, considering what they all saw in her Monad. "Hehe. Not that I'm assuming you only care about what's popular." Haru briefly glances over at the posters of the other movies. Not much else had caught her eye walking in. "What are you here to see then, Motojima-san?" She asks, innocently.

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

Kazusa arches an eyebrow at Haru as she calls Makoto Mako-chan, of all things. She even opens her mouth like she wants to comment on it... but then she remembers the last interaction she--or rather, the other her--had with Makoto and promptly closes her mouth again. A noncommittal "Mmm" is all she says instead.

"Yes. I've been studying very hard." For a reason she can't explain, and she's still not certain how her exam scores will fare. She set a pretty high bar for herself in the first semester...

Kazusa probably could use a few more friends, though she'd never admit that out loud. And if it's with someone who understands some of the pressures, well... "Seems like," she says, of the line.

Haru is also fine. "Mm. Good to hear, senpai." She glances at Haru out the side of her eye. "... your own studying is in order, then?" Right after she says that she winces internally and looks away. IT came out a lot more pointed and sharp than she meant to. "I just... hope your midterms go well, that's all." Trying to sound genuine and sincere really isn't her strong suit, even for a polite platitude.

Must just be the tiredness.

But then she blinks and looks back as Haru makes that offer. "... uh... sure. But..." Why would you do something nice for me like that? We aren't really friends. "... I'll remember that."

"No." Kauzsa says quietly. There's definitely some embarrassment there, as Haru notices. And Kazusa is used to hiding, well, a lot of herself and her genuine interests. It's safer for her that way. "Well, good for them if it's popular, I guess." But when Haru asks what she's here to see, Kazusa freezes. She's been out of the loop for a month, she didn't even look at the other posters. Don't let her see you looking at the posters. You have to know another movie that's out. "... July Rain."

She saw that movie during Summer Break with Wakana. (Wakana, noticeably, isn't here right now.) It's a Romance film focusing on flowres as a thematic and has some artsy shots in it.

And Kazusa has absolutely no enthusiasm for it, so she quickly tries to pivot. "... What about you, Okumura-senpai?"

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

Haru giggles a little at the confused look at 'Mako-chan', but leaves it there. After all, she made a promise not to give up an important secret of Makoto's related to this very movie theatre, and Haru is one to keep her word. As for Kazusa's agreement that she's been studying hard, Haru gives her an encouraging nod. "As long as you've been studying, I'm sure you'll be okay. I like to think spending time doing something other than studying can give you a new perspective once you get back to it." ...Even if spending that time in a movie theatre to catch a horror flick is hardly anything educational.

"I think so~" Haru chimes, when Kazusa asks her about her studying. "I try my best to keep my notes all organized, at least." She smiles, then, when Kazusa says what she really means. "Aww. Thank you, Motojima-san. Let's both do our best, okay?" She doesn't take any offence to Kazusa's tone, at least.

There's some awkwardness as Haru offers her study notes to Kazusa, which she can understand. Haru's not really used to interacting with other students outside her immediate circle, so she hopes she didn't come off as too forward. "As your upperclassman, I just feel like it's the right thing to do to help out." She feels the need to answer, even if Kazusa didn't actually voice that question.

Haru decides not to judge on the immediate deflection and take Kazusa's answer seriously. "Oh! July Rain, hmm?" Haru nods. "Let me know how it is. I am fond of gardening, so I might have make a note to see that sometime." Maybe next time with Makoto? She might find that kind of thing boring, though... Anyway.

"As for me, I'm here to see SMILE." Haru answers simply, without a hint of shame.

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

The last time KAzusa--or the other Kazusa--spoke to Makoto, it involved Makoto agitating the Homunculus into revealing herself and recording the incident. Kazusa is in no way eager to cross paths with her right now.

Also there's the whole matter of the rumor the other her accidentally helped start...

"Of course I've been studying," Kazusa says, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. All that lost time... She sighs. "... but I did need a break."

"I keep my notes organized too, of course." Her other self, on the other hand... well, the best thing you can sayu about them is that they exist.

(To be fair they're 'okay', but Kazusa has high standards for herself.)

Let's both do their best. "... of course."

As her uperclassman... well, Haru's doing a better job as a senpai than Kazusa has, at least. She recalls her conversation with Kasumi yesterday... "... well, I'll remember that if I need it."

Fond of gardening... Kazusa frowns and mutters to herself, "... oh, right." They--that is, Haru and her other self--talked about that, huh? "... you'd probably enjoy it, actually," Kazusa admits, in something approaching a normal, conversational tone. "It has some gardening scenes, though I couldn't speak to how accurate they are." Oh, so she's seen it before. She sure doesn't sound enthused for it, though. She's still not quite looking at Haru.

But she pauses as Haru says she's there to see SMILE, already running through the mental calculus in her head. If Haru is there, she can't exactly just walk in without being seen, especially now that they're already having a conversation.

Should she keep walking past the theater and double back? That might look weird, but what are the odds someone there who knows her sees her in that exact moment? But after the movie's over... nnngh. She could leave early, try to get out before Haru sees her...

Is it too much to ask to have something go right in her life???

Instead she slowly looks at Haru out of the corner of her eye, her expression guarded. "... really? I wouldn't have expected that from you, Okumura-senpai."

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

That does sound like the exact approach Makoto would have taken to the Homonculus. But considering those strange rumours about her and Ren, Haru wouldn't really be able to blame her for that.

"I didn't mean to imply that you might not have been," Haru nods - she tries not to let Kazusa's tone get to her all too much, but it isn't entirely easy. "In any case, that's good. Hang in there! I'm sure you'll do well!" She reiterates once again, with an encouraging tone.

Haru isn't actually sure how much Kazusa can recall about the conversations had by the Homunculus, so she'd been assuming she's on a fresh start with the real Kazusa. It isn't really anything new to the student body at large that Haru enjoys working on that garden on the rooftop, though. "It'd probably make for a rather boring movie if it was entirely true to life." Haru giggles a bit at Kazusa's comment. "I can't complain about 'boring' in the real world, though." Either way, Kazusa doesn't sound that enthusiastic about it herself. "You're not interested in flowers, Motojima-san?" Well, it's not for everyone.

Unfortunately, their meeting has led to quite the awkward situation, and Kazusa looks really quite guarded about the topic of SMILE. Haru frowns, not sure what to make of her. "It's actually my second time seeing it. Is that really so strange?" Haru asks. As Kazusa will learn, she's not the only one with some hidden 'unconventional' interests. "Don't worry, I won't spoil anything for you." She smiles. "But the twists make for a very thrilling story... and it's even based on real Japanese mythology." Her eyes light up when talking about it more than any other point of the conversation. "Horror might not be for everyone... but I quite like it."

They finally walk far enough up that they're at the front of the line for popcorn. Haru moves over to the left booth and gets her own medium sized popcorn and iced tea combo, and circles back to where Kazusa's getting hers - and the awkwardness of the moment reaches its tension point. "I suppose this is where we part ways?" Haru asks, tilting her head. "But.. are you feeling okay? You seem a little out of it." Well.. considering everything Kazusa's been through, she can't blame her.

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

That rumor is only one of several messes the other Kazusa has left for Kazusa to deal with. And Kazusa isn't exactly eager to see what Makoto will do if she feels the need to use those martial arts skills on her.

Kazusa is, at least, trying not to be as much of a menace. Key word, trying. She's also very tired and still ab it emotionally drained from her experience, so her ability to self-regulate is... yeah. ".. Right. Thank you."

If it was realistic, it might be boring. "... maybe," she conceeds. Haru asks if she doesn't like flowers. As it happens, Kazusa has... a very rocky relationship with flowers--or at least, with the art of ikebana. But gardening might be a different matter. "... the cinematography is nice," she offers, trying very hard to muster up some enthusiasm and utterly failing.

Another small reaction of surprise--it's her second time. Kazusa hasn't even seen it once. Kazusa looks down at her phone as if checking something. She's too tired to come up with a response to 'Is it so strange?' The mythology is what she's there for, at least in part. "I guess that would be interesting, if you're into that sort of thing."

She doesn't even sound dismissive. She mostly sounds tired.

She gets her own order, a medium popcorn and a soda, She steps away, and runs into Haru again. Where they part ways. Kazusa glances to where the staff member is taking the tickets, and suddenly the exhaustion just hits her. Of course. She could delay, make an excuse, try to go through the line separately...

"I'm just... tired," Kazusa admits. Keeping up shields and social deflections is for people with energy. Kazusa glances around a little. "I know we don't really know each other that well, but-- can I ask a favor?"

She steps off to the side, so they're out of the flow of traffic. And away from any eavesdroppers. "... Look, I'm here to see SMILE, I just... I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone? Please? I know we don't really know each other that well, I just... I'd rather not have this get out."

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

Haru does appreciate Kazusa's effort. She's... different, but this Kazusa might be the closest to the Kazusa she'd briefly seen at the dinner party with her family. The 'real' Kazusa, for whatever worth 'real' even is in a world filled with masks.

Haru does recall that the Homonculus had a much more positive opinion on Kazusa's mother's art, which she speculated at the time might not be shared by Kazusa herself. It seems that suspicion was correct. "...It did look pretty in the trailer." Haru agrees. "Though, as funny as it sounds, the best tasting crops can often be the worst looking ones." She giggles a bit.

She does feel a little bad keeping this conversation up with Kazusa, who sounds so exhausted. It's not as if she never feels that way herself, after all. "...I understand." Haru nods. "I'm... sorry for intruding. I really wasn't expecting to see you here at all." She sighs.

So she is here to see SMILE after all. "I can keep a secret. I tend to keep to myself, so..." Haru agrees. It wouldn't even be the first secret related to SMILE that she promised to keep. "Honestly, I stopped bothering to hide my interest in what I like. I... don't have the energy for that." Especially not with her fiance who has only ever cared about the idea of her body. "But it's different for you, right?" Anything Kazusa does, rumours will spread like wildfire. "I don't envy that at all." She frowns. "I won't tell anyone, so... let's have fun with it, okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

One might wonder who the 'real' Kazusa is... or why her supernatural self presents so... distinctly.

Haru was right on the money, there. The line about the best tasting crops ears earns a... puzzled look from Kazusa. "... if you say so."

Haru apologizes, and Kazusa stiffens and then shakes her head. "it's... fine. I've just been studying a lot, that's all." It's a lot more than that, as Haru would know--though of course, for Haru to reveal that she does know that would be... tricky. And messy for certain secrets.

Haru can keep a secret through, and some of the tension in Kazusa's expression and shoulders seems to relax a bit. "... Thank you, senpai." Is that gratitude? No, she's probably just too tired to project disdain, that's all. "... yeah, well apparently I don't have the energy for it today," she grumbles, mostly to herself. But for her? "... yeah," she says quietly.

All those rumors about the convention, what happened with her father... and Haru saw that memory in Kazusa's Atelier, too, so she's well-aware of what Kazusa is dealing with. Haru suggests that they both have fun with it, and Kazusa nods quietly. She stiffens for a moment and then offers a small, quick bow of gratitude. Just enough to show the act without making a big display.

"We'd better get going, then..."

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

"Hehe. Sorry if that sounded weird." Haru laughs a little awkwardly, about the reception to her gardening trivia.

And indeed, Haru has opted not to mention anything related to the Atelier or the Homonculus -- not that she's entirely sure Kazusa would have any recollection of any of that.

Whether it's gratitude or not, Haru decides it's easier to just give Kazusa that grace and accept it that way. "You're welcome," She says, softly, with a little bow to show she means it.

"...Maybe the jumpscares will keep you awake?" Haru suggests, as a solution to Kazusa's low energy. "Just kidding. It could help though, right?"

"Yes. Shall we take our seats?" Haru asks, as she checks her phone for the time. "...It was nice getting to know you a little better, Motojima-san." She adds, more quietly. She doesn't make it any more of a big deal than it needs to be. They might not be friends - at least not right now, but whether it was their intention, they're here to enjoy a movie together.