2025-08-13: Mutual Gratitude
- Log: Mutual Gratitude
- Cast: Shinjiro Aragaki, Shinobu Shimizu
- Where: Izakaya Shiraishi, Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: August 13, 2025
- IC Date: June 25, 2012
- Summary: Shinjiro and Shinobu end up talking while waiting for ramen to be served, learning a bit more about each other. The topic drifts to their mutual boss, while the banana ramen is pretty good.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
On a Monday like today, Izakaya Shiraishi is fairly empty. Ma'am is making ramens as usual, and at the least, there's few Kasugayama students out right now, despite the closeness to school.
But there's another delinquent here.
Shinjiro Aragaki sits at the ramen bar, trying to figure out if he's going to order banana ramen or not. He's in that usual warm red coat, despite the season, his beanie snug on his head as he tries to quickly thinks. He needs to try it if he's ever going to replicate it...
"One banana ramen," he finally says very audibly. Ma'am just gives him a nod, as he sips a canned coffee.
He seems fairly lost in thought... that conversation with Tyler went poorly, too. And then that hug with Niko... frightening. Maybe he'd like to be interrupted...
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu Shimizu lives and does most of her work in Hirasaka, so she's a fairly familiar sight in Izakaya Shiraishi. It's a good place to stop by to grab a meal, and she likes to check in on Toku-san every now and then, too.
Today, though, she's here for the former. She walks through the door, offering Ma'am a nod as she approaches the ramen bar and takes the first available seat - one only a few spaces down from Shinjiro.
"Afternoon, Ma'am. I'll have today's special." Shinobu greets. She sits back, and for a moment one might wonder if she even saw Shinjiro until...
"Aragaki." She greets him with a nod, too. "Surprised to see you here."
Not so much because he's school-aged but not at school, though. She knows the type - but he's a little different from the Kasugayama students also ditching.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
As Shinobu enters, Shinjiro glances to her, but doesn't say anything until addressed. He glances over again, appraising her more, before nodding once.
"Shimizu." Shinjiro tilts her response in his head, thinking of how to address it.
"I don't have anywhere better to be," he decides on. "Kitchen's out of ingredients and I'm hungry. Grocery run's too expensive right now."
Oh, right, he's staying at one of Myunghon's safehouses... "What about you? Not working today?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinjiro nods back and explains that he doesn't have anywhere better to be.
"Fair enough." Shinobu replies. Kitchen's out of ingredients, though, and a grocery run's too expensive... She does remember hearing he was staying at one of their places. "Did you let the boss know? Let 'em know what you need and I'm sure they'd restock real quick."
...She lets that hang in the air for just a moment before adding -
"But if that's not your speed, I could forward you to some folks if you're looking for work, instead." She offers.
As for her working, she shakes her head.
"Nah. Finished up a job, so I'm back on the hunt again." She replies with a shrug.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro scratches the back of his neck, briefly. "I don't want to become a nuisance. They're being gracious holing me up at all, and they've got their own issues."
Though, when Shinobu offers to forward him for work possibilities, he considers. With a nod, he agrees. "Sure." He doesn't need to ask what, because if it was shady it wouldn't change too much about his answer, and if it's on the level, that's fine.
"Freelancer, huh? Pay good, or trying to stay afloat?" He needs money at all, so it doesn't affect him. "I'll let you know if I hear anything about opportunities, if you want."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"I don't think they'd see it that way, but... I get it." Shinobu replies with a shrug. She knows what it's like. She's head to lean on her sisters from time to time, and she prefers not to when she can avoid it in any other way. She won't push him on that any further. She nods, though, when he agrees.
"Sounds good. I'll give you the names and numbers when we're done, then." She replies. Most of them are on the level, it happens. She tries to make sure the work she takes on is aboveboard, though that doesn't mean things don't slip through the cracks.
She considers her answer, then.
"...Little of column A, little of column B. I've just... never been able to hold down anything more long-term, is all." Shinobu replies, and then nods. "Sounds good. I appreciate it."
A bit of mutual help never hurts.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro nods to the information and work trade, though as food is cooking, he's considering something Shinobu said about Myunghon.
"I wish I knew how to pay them back. Like, we're helping them with saving the business, but that's something I'd do even if they weren't helping me." A pause. "Food's my usual thing, but that doesn't work here."
He looks towards his ramen being cooked, smelling the waft of banana. It really does smell good... weird.
"You've known them a while, right? Were they always like this? The work there seems like it'd be pretty stable for you." He has a lot more clues than he used to, but... he still doesn't know the full Myunghon.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu has to think about that... What could he do to pay them back? Shinobu 'hm's to herself. And food's no good... That doesn't surprise her - that he'd think about it, and that it wouldn't work.
"...Yeah, they're not the kind of person you can just shop for." Shinobu replies with a nod. "Just start with lettin' 'em know how much you appreciate the help, and that you've got their back. Baby steps."
Her own meal arrives too - but she's briefly distracted by his reaction to the banana ramen. It really is surprising.
"A little while, yeah. And... more or less." She replies, looking back to her own meal. She doesn't answer right away, though. "...Yeah. It probably would be. If I asked, they'd probably hire me on longer term. But... I guess I don't wanna lean too much on them, either."
As much as she calls them 'boss' as a sign of respect, she does consider Myunghon a good friend. ...It'd feel too much like using them to avoid her own problems.
But despite how long they've known each other, she can't say she knows the real Myunghon, either.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Heh." Shinjiro replies about the shopping for them, though also because he realizes he was overthinking it. "Good point. Talking to them about it simply might just be the best thing to do... just difficult to broach." As his food comes out, he's hesitant to actually *try it*.
"I don't blame you. Commitment can be dangerous, especially in our line of work..." He considers the whole picture.
"...the thing I like about them, and sometimes everyone around them, is it feels mutual, I guess. Doesn't feel like I'm being pitied, but understood." Shinjiro can't say why he gets that, though. "They've collected a bunch of ragtag misfits like it's a fantasy story or something, after all, that's a hard line to walk, and they still do it." He chuckles to himself once.
Though, he'll start eating now. The banana ramen... is good?!
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"...Heh. Yeah." Shinobu replies with a knowing smirk. Just suggesting it is easy enough, but actually saying it to their face... Opening your heart like that can be one of the hardest things to actually do.
"...Yeah. Anything can happen." She agrees with a nod. She knows that all too well. In a way, she's structured her life around it. ...Though how much of that is just her running away from it, she prefers not to think about.
He has an observation, though, and she pauses to listen him. It's mutual - he feels understood, not pitied. Shinobu nods thoughtfully. And a ragtag bunch of misfits...
"...Yeah. I dunno how they do it, sometimes... But they've made it work." She shrugs. "I like that about them, too."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Let's keep supporting them, then..." Shinjiro settles on after a long moment of silence. That, in itself, might help them the most.
Though he'll go quiet as he begins eating his ramen. How to recreate it... that's the question on his mind.
Despite the fact it's rumor-powered, of course. This will be a certain group's Future Problem.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Right there with you." Shinobu agrees - and she's fine with leaving things like that for now as she attends to her own bowl. Sometimes, sharing a meal in peace is fine, too.