2025-12-16: Penthouse Money
- Log: Penthouse Money
- Cast: Yua Ooshiro, Shinobu Shimizu
- Where: Aoba - Penthouse
- OOC Date: 2025-12-16
- IC Date: Sun, Aug 26 2012
- Summary: Yua invites Shinobu in for cupcakes, after she makes a particularly arduous trek across Greater Tokyo to get them a parcel. They have a nice chat which ends in Shinobu (and Reiko!) getting invited to Yua's remarkably traditional wedding, just like Ayame and Ikkaku... though Shinobu has a few private concerns about the arrangement.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Miho Ijuuin has tasked the courier Shinobu with several tasks, by this point; none explicitly illegal, though they're all matters of discretion. Today, though...
... today, the package is addressed to the penthouse of a tower in Aoba. It's not totally dissimilar: Shinobu's had one or two packages to be delivered to Studio Chura, a dance studio on the first floor of the commercial levels of the tower. Above the commercial levels, though, there's residential housing... and at the very top of the tower, well...
There's an elevator that goes straight up there; without a card to swipe in, Shinobu needs to buzz an intercom to be let up, run by tower security. (There is a fire escape that runs up there without the need for an elevator, but, well... Shinobu's not being a criminal right now, she can go in the front door.) The hallway leading to the penthouse has a front door with an adorable little welcome mat ('Tigers Live Here'), and two name placards below the unit number...
M i h o I j u u i n
and
Yua <3 Ooshiro
(Their door isn't the only one here -- there's another door further down the hall, which, if investigated, apparently belongs to one 'Eiko Ikeda' -- but there definitely aren't a lot of living spaces taking up the rooftop floor.)
There is a bell. When the door's opened, it's not the formidable Ijuuin who answers; it's the teacher who let them into Gekkoukan, Yua Ooshiro! (She was also there when Ikkaku was almost murdered by Sudou; trying to protect him, even though she had no Persona of her own. Ayame thought that might have meant he was cheating on her with the beautiful young part-timer, but she later figured out that Yua has no interest in that. She doesn't even like lions...) She's dressed in a black dancer's leotard, with a sheer skirt hanging to her knees, but her dark teal hair's down instead of up in a bun right now -- revealing that she has an incredible amount of it hiding back there, falling all the way down to her shoulderblades. Still with that eyepatch over her left eye, of course; and that fabric decoration stretched over her right hand.
And an engagement band around her left ring finger, rich mokone gane. There are rumours flying around that Yua's marrying a rising star policeman; they were even on daytime television about it, at one point.
It took her a few moments to reach the door -- but surely she can be excused for that. Their maid doesn't work on Sundays! Busy, busy...
"Oh! Shimizu-san! Thank you very much!!" Yua chirps, when she opens the door to greet her, taking the box... and steps aside. "That must have been quite the trip... would you like to come in and have some water or juice before you head back out?" (It was a long trip: Miho sent her all the way out to Akihabara to get whatever's in that box, and while Sumaru might be part of the Greater Tokyo Area, it's definitely not part of Tokyo by any reasonable man's measurement. This is Sumaru City!) "We have guest slippers, um... here!" She adds, popping the box atop a cabinet beside a handy shoe-swapping chair, so she can lean down to open its doors up and pull out a clean pair of slippers.
(Again: normally Eiko handles this part. Can't blame Yua for taking a minute.)
... this is definitely a rich woman's house. The couch and chairs visible in the lounge beyond the entry hall are leather, with a lovely glass table; the television is very large. There's a prominent display case along one wall -- along a terrifying AMOUNT of one wall -- featuring dozens upon dozens of medals, trophies, and placards, with three Olympic medals most prominently featured. There are several houseplants dotted around, vibrant if occasionally slightly nibbled on -- and far more plants visible, alongside a staircase to the roof, when stepping into the loungeroom to see the full glass panels and sliding door leading out to the extremely generous deck. An archway leads into a dining area which is just as ridiculously spacious as the lounge, and a hall leads deeper into the penthouse, where things like living spaces and studies must be.
Which means... they're bound to have some sweet-ass snacks in here.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
It's hard to turn down courier work - even the type that requires discretion. Discrete she can do - she doesn't like 'illegal' when she can help it. More than the level of pay or anything else, it leads her all over, which helps keep things fresh - which is good, for someone like her who tends to lose interest in things quickly. It's nice to have an excuse to do a lot of traveling around... even when a particular delivery involves a lot of traveling around. This one was like that - going out from Sumaru City to Akihabara and then back again.
And now, here in Aoba, Shinobu goes through the motions. Maybe not here specifically, but it isn't the first time she's had to be let in by security. And the elevator takes her up, and up, and up...
Until finally she reaches the top and the designated door, with two name placards... and a cute little welcome mat. She wonders what it means by 'tigers', but she doesn't let herself get distracted for long.
She shifts the package into her other arm and rings the bell - and soon enough, she's greeted at the door. She remembers Yua, alright. Her eyes briefly track toward that ring.
...She remembers the rumors, too, about her upcoming marriage. She's wondered why someone who professed to not like 'lions' would do that... but it isn't her place to pry, and she certainly knows that there's any number of reasons why someone would.
"Ooshiro-san. Good to see you - can you sign this?" Shinobu greets in return with a nod, shifting the package again to offer it to her, along with a clipboard with a paper attachment, for confirmation that the package has been received. She expects it to be just a quick exchange - but then Yua steps aside, and invites her in.
"Uh..." Shinobu pauses for a second. ...Usually, she'd politely say 'no'. But it has been a long trip, and she's done enough work for Miho by now that she isn't really a stranger, and she does work with her sister's husband from time to time. "...Sure, so long as I wouldn't be imposing."
"Thanks." She says, exchanging her work shoes for the guest slippers, and stepping inside...
Where she is immediately stunned by what she sees.
"Uh, pardon me..." Shinobu says, out to the room itself. It's the sheer fanciness of the place, the lived in nature and that imposing wall of awards, rather than any innate sense of decorum in Shinobu that causes her to greet it. She feels sorely out of place - her courier uniform is just her usual jacket, t-shirt, and jeans, with an ID pin attached. It's almost intimidating...
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Oh, nothing's illegal. Surely Miho would never be so gauche.
"Oh, sure!!" Yua chirps, grasping the pen and signing Shinobu's clipboard... with the world's cutest signature. It's the kind of thing Shinobu's more used to seeing from teenage girls than grown-ass women, just, fully kawaii, which at least means it works great with a ball-point pen.
"Not at all!" Yua adds, just as brightly. "You're Watanabe-san's sister, right? So it's fine!" Well, at least they have the same kind of thought, there...
But Shinobu pardons herself to the room, and Yua -- well, Yua giggles, a little self-consciously, fingers fanning her lips. "Right?" She asks, sympathetically. "I felt super out of place when I first started living here, too... I knew Mimi's family were super-important, but it's different when you're in highschool, right? You don't always 'get' how big a deal it is..." She steps forward -- despite her leotard she's in nice, ankle-supporting shoes and compression socks, notably -- and gestures her over to the dining room and its lovely dining table, complete with flowers on the table, and a very stern-looking tablecloth. "But this place doesn't bite, I promise! I was just baking up some cupcakes for when Mimi gets back... want to try some?"
Yua is, of course, already grabbing a plate so she can put a cute little cupcake on it, icing on top like adorable orange kitties. Kitties which resemble...
... the absolute fucking BEHEMOTH of an orange cat wandering in from down the hall. He's a Norwegian Forest Cat, and a big one; it's probably easy to mistake him for a moderately-sized dog, before he meows curiously.
"Oh! Tiger! We have a guest!" Tiger... this is the tiger who lives here. "Be nice to her, okay?"
Mrrrooooowwww? Tiger asks, as he wanders closer to the dining room chairs.
"Is water okay?" Yua asks, as she brings out the cupcake for her guest and what Shinobu might recognise as much milder rice crackers out for herself. "Sorry, it's fancy, too... but it's good!!" The fanciness of the water is because it's filtered, apparently. She has a jug of it she can bring out with two cups, and she adds: "Please help yourself to more if you need it, it's so hot out there right now..."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Thanks." Shinobu replies, accepting it back. She gives it a quick look over... and sure enough, that's a pretty cute signature... She won't judge, though. Everyone has their style.
"That's right." Shinobu confirms with a nod. But if she's comfortable having her in her home, too, there's no reason to say no...
...and, it seems like her reaction was the same, when she first got here. She sends her a small smile back, at the sympathy.
"Hah, yeah, I'm not used to this kind of thing, either... Nice, though. Feels homey." She admits with a shrug. Her whole place could probably fit in here with room to spare... She follows her over toward the dining room, and before she can answer, a plate is already being set out... At that point, it'd be rude to say no.
"Sure, if you don't mind." She decides - which is when she meets the tiger that the doormat foretold. And he's certainly big enough to match the name - and, bears quite the resemblance to the kitties on the cupcake...
"So there's your model." Shinobu comments with a good-natured, bending down for a moment to get closer to Tiger's level. "Hey, Tiger. Nice to meet you - I'm Shinobu Shimizu. Hope I'm not intruding too much."
Of course she's going to be polite to him - but then she straightens up, as Yua offers water.
"Don't worry about it." She assures, as Yua apologizes. "But yeah, water's great, thanks."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Frankly, Yua hasn't had any visitors ALL DAY and she was about ready to call Seiji and go on a random visit to the Cardboard Dragon because she was so BORED, so Shinobu appearing is really a stroke of luck.
(Well, two strokes of luck. ... she doesn't know the Cardboard Dragon is closed, right now.)
"Thank you!!" Yua chirps, when Shinobu declares that the home feels homey. "Ever since I got here, I've been working to make it warmer... the plants are all mine, heehee!" She honest-to-goodness giggles. Is Yua... real?
She's probably real. She's standing right here!
Tiger sniff, sniffs at Shinobu... and then pads closer to weave around her ankles and rub up against them. "Oh, dear, you're Tiger's now," Yua sighs, as if it's a terrible fate, as she's getting everything together in the kitchen. (You can actually turn around in this kitchen. There's bench space. There's even a stool you can sit on while cooking.) "I'm afraid there's no coming back from that...! Shimizu-san, property Tiger... just like us!"
Yua sits down with her water and her crackers, and her smile is warm. "He is my model, though," she affirms, pleased that Shinobu noticed. "He's our special baby boy! So I thought he'd make the best decoration... oh, can you tell me if they're too rich? It's been a little difficult for me to taste-test, right now..."
(Luckily, they're not too rich, but they are a little decadent. Lovely, creamy chocolate, all fluffy at the edges, with just a hint of orange flavouring and, of course, that delicious orange icing.)
Yua nibbles at a rice cracker, instead of any kind of cupcake. "Thank you for always being so diligent in your deliveries," she adds, smiling to her. "Mimi says you're very reliable, and sometimes it's hard to find people who are, you know? We noticed that when Mimi asks you, things always get where they need to be." How is she able to sparkle while smiling like that? It must be the lighting, or the glow across her tawny skin. "My dad used to make deliveries to other islands sometimes, too, you know? Since you really need a boat for something like that, unless you want to wait all day for the ferries... he used to say that if you can help people stay connected, that was the right thing to do!"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
The plants are hers, hm? ...And Tiger's too, by the looks of it.
"You did good." Shinobu assures with a nod. An actual giggle... It's a bit surprising, but she smiles. And then, she feels something brush up against her legs - she looks down, seeing Tiger rubbing up against her ankles. That, and Yua's reaction, gets a small laugh out of her.
"Guess so. Well, I can think of worse fates." She replies, in a tone that suggests she's perfectly fine with this outcome.
Yua takes a seat - and so Shinobu does too, maneuvering while being mindful of Tiger. It would've felt a little rude to seat herself before her host.
"Sure. Juggling a lot of things, or...?" Shinobu starts to ask, before picking one up to take a bite. Her response is an almost immediately. "Oh wow."
She's mostly used to store-bought pastries, but something made by hand is a pretty different experience.
"That's pretty good... It's a little on the sweet side, but not overpowering?" Shinobu says. "The touch of orange works wonders."
She takes a sip of water, then, as Yua continues, thanking her for her work. Shinobu shakes her head.
"No problem. That's my job, y'know? ...One of 'em, anyway. Wouldn't get anywhere if people thought they couldn't count on me." Shinobu replies with a shrug. She can't help but smile a little, though - it is nice to receive recognition every now and then, and Yua seems very grateful for it. She listens, then, as she explains how her father used to make deliveries to other islands.
"Oh yeah? That's pretty impressive... Piloting is something else, since you've got a whole lot more to consider... Don't think I could do that." She comments. "Still... That's a good way to thinking. That's important, y'know?"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Ah, resignation... a common reaction to Tiger's building empire.
Soon, he will command THE WHOLE WORLD -- and then ALL houseplants will be his to consume!!
(He has a row of catnip by the big window-wall which is particularly well-chewed... maybe Yua really isn't sending the right message here.)
"Oh, just an upset stomach recently -- nothing you can catch, don't worry!!" Yua adds, quickly, because of course she'd hate to make someone think they might get sick. "But since I've had to cook meals which are a lot milder, over the past month or so, I wanted to make Mimi something nicer to eat..."
She brightens, when she hears Shinobu's evaluation. "That's great!" She chirps, as if Shinobu's just made her day, which, being fair, seems like it's entirely possible. "I wanted them to be sweet... oh, and I'm glad the orange works, too! It's a little bit of sharpness on top of the sweetness, right? Citrus is great for that little 'kick'!" Yua... definitely goes and chats to Ayame about this sort of thing. This is absolutely Housewife Talk.
Yua nods along, as she listens to Shinobu's perspective, with little 'mmhm, mmhm!'s to let her know she's engaged. "Boating is a lot of fun... if you get a chance, definitely try it sometime! I don't get out on the water too much these days, and I guess if I went with Mimi's family it would be one of those big fancy boats I wouldn't know what to do with... but it's super relaxing when you have the waves to move with, too."
Tiger helpfully weaves around Shinobu's ankles again, down there, as Yua smiles. "Yeah!" She agrees, clasping her hands in front of her. "I know sometimes people aren't very nice about doing work like deliveries, and to be honest, usually they're in homes like this... but they just don't get how it matters, I think. So I'm really happy we can rely on you!!"
She tilts her head, clasping her hand to her cheek. "Say... if you want to do something fancy one day, would you like to come to my wedding?" She asks, smiling. "It's all going to be very traditional, very yukata... but Kimi-san assures me there'll be plenty to eat! I was inviting the Watanabes already, but why not Watanabe-san's sisters in law, too...? We can have a big party!"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Yua assures her that it's just an upset stomach, and Shinobu nods. Still, wanting to make something nicer, since she's had to cook milder meals...
"That's thoughtful of you." Shinobu comments. Yua continues, and Shinobu can practically see the way she brightens. She smiles, just a little, as Yua goes into it.
"You sound a lot like my sister." Shinobu observes, but fondly. It may be because of Ayame that Shinobu herself thought to give a more detailed evaluation. "But, yeah, it does. Kinda helps broaden the profile."
Yua explains that boating is a lot of fun.
"I'll have to keep an eye out, then. Dunno who'd trust me with a boat, but it'd be worth a try. You like sailing, then?" Shinobu says. She might put herself down, but she's actually pretty good with vehicles. Yua continues, saying she doesn't get out on the water much these days... "Guess I can see the appeal to that, too. Probably easier to focus on who you're with, anyway."
Tiger weaves around her ankles again and, with cupcake eaten, one hand extends downward idly, dangling for him to investigate if he chooses to do so.
"...Yeah, sometimes." Shinobu admits with a wry smile. "But it isn't always bad. But you're right, this was kind of a nice surprise. And, hey, you're welcome. Glad to help out."
Something seems to come to Yua's mind, though - and nothing could have prepared Shinobu for a wedding invitation. 'Kimi-san' - is that her fiance...?
"Wow, uh... You sure?" Shinobu asks, surprised. Her free hand moves to massage the back of her neck awkwardly. That's a lot of trust to extend, and 'fancy' isn't really her scene... But if she's inviting her sister and her family already, and she seems so excited about it...
"...Sure, then, if you'd have me. I'd be glad to go." She replies with a nod and a slight smile. "Hopefully Reiko-chan'll be able to make it, too."
She knows the department is keeping her younger sister pretty busy lately... surely they'd be able to let her take time off for this.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Ah, thank you!" Yua smiles, when Shinobu calls her thoughtful. And -- "Oh, Watanabe-chan! Heehee... she's really good at this, so sounding like her makes me happy!" Oh no... the housewives are unionising...
She giggles, again, behind a boat, when Shinobu characterises it as trusting her with a boat. "That just sounds like you'd be an exciting person to boat with! But yeah, I really like it... like, before dad joined the defence force, he was a fisherman, you know?" Yua sighs, a touch wistfully. "I used to dive around the rocks and fish things up that way, too... it really was fun. But it would be fun to go on the water with Mimi, too, even if it was on a big yacht or something weird like that...!"
Tiger sniff, sniffs... and starts nibbling at Shinobu's fingers. She was handling food. She should feed him, as is his right as God-Emperor of Mankind!!
Yua smiles, when Shinobu accepts her gratitude. And then -- her invitation!!
"That's great!" Yua says, sparkling again. "Mmhm, mmhm, I'm very sure... Kimi-san has all these people to invite, but I'm kind of a homebody, you know? But it's going to be a big party, so I'd like if more people could come...! Mm, and Shimizu-san the younger, too!! I heard how she's a police officer, too... just like Kimi-san is!"
Yua laughs, as her fingers rub over that ring, far too fine for her finger. "Maybe they know each other... wouldn't that be funny? Oh, but I can't assume that, it's hardly as if all police officers get together for a big party... um... well, I don't think they do?" She -- doesn't know? Isn't she getting married to one...?
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Yua thanks her - and then seems positively excited about being compared to Ayame. Shinobu can't help but smile.
"Yeah, she does some great stuff... It all kind of goes over my head sometimes, but I'm glad she has someone to talk to about it." Shinobu replies with a nod. That she'd be 'exciting' gets a laugh out of her.
"In that case, I'll definitely have to try it." Shinobu decides, then listens with interest as Yua reminisces. It sounds like she really loves the water.
"That sounds pretty nice. You can imagine we don't get a lot of the time in the water up here - if we wanna go to a beach, we've got to prepare for a trip. Even going to the pool means making a whole day of it." Shinobu comments. "Here's hoping you two get a chance to do that then, sometime."
She really speaks of her so affectionally...
As she's thinking this, Shinobu... feels a nibble! Alas, she has no more food to offer - but she does attempt a scratch under the chin, to assuage Tiger's wrath.
Yua seems particularly excited to hear her accept the invitation, too. It sounds like there'll be more on 'Kimi-san's' side than her own...
"That's right, yeah." Shinobu confirms with a nod, and smirks just slightly. "Yeah, that would be funny. Where's he centered? Reiko-chan's in Tokyo."
Yua doesn't seem to be sure if they have big get togethers like that...
"Maybe some of 'em do... I think they tend to kind of stick to their general area, though." Shinobu considers.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Maybe it'll make sense one day!" Yua encourages Shinobu, brightly. She doesn't know, of course...
... but then again, Yua's out here making cupcakes for her 'roommate', so maybe she knows more about it than she's letting on.
(Her fingernails are quite short.)
"Yeah!!" She encourages Shinobu to terrorise the water, even though she's a cute little housewife and surely not any kind of megavillain. "Yeah, it's hard to get to the water.... there's Ebisu Beach, but..." Yua can't tell Shinobu about why she doesn't like going there any more; see above, definitely not a megavillain. "The good place about this place, though," she perks right back up, "is there's a pool!!"
they have a fucking pool up here these people have too much money.
Tiger... will accept chinscritches! He even thonks his head into Shinobu's hand. Truly, she is blessed....
"He's based in Sumaru! You know, the big department in Konan Ward? Apparently he works under a Captain Shimazu, so maybe it's good they don't mix with people from that far away... they'd get all confuzzled!" Yua. Yua, that's not a real word. Yua, stop being so cute, we're begging you.
"Um... the Ijuuins are very traditional, so... the marriage was arranged, too, you know?" Yua explains, perhaps realising, in her own confuzzlement, that she doesn't sound very attentive to her apparent fiance. "Ah, though that isn't to say -- you know, Kimi-san is a very nice man!" She hurries to assure Shinobu, still smiling brightly. "We just haven't had that much time for personal conversations like this, especially since he's handling all the preparations for the wedding..."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
'One day', huh. Shinobu catches the implication, there, and cracks a smirk.
"...Yeah, maybe." She says, noncommitally. 'Roommates', though. She's definitely noticed.
Yua encourages her, though, and Shinobu cracks a smile as Yua sympathises. Ebisu Beach...
...Yeah, it's hard to look at that place the same way. Even if their reasons are closer than she looks, while simultaneously very different.
This place does, however, have a pool.
That takes Shinobu completely by surprise. Almost enough that she's nearly distracted away from giving chinscritches! Tiger mercifully reminds her of his presence with a thonk into her, though, and she moves to a scratch behind the ears.
"Wow, this place is fancy. Doesn't it get cold up here?" Shinobu asks, curious.
Yua explains, though, that he's based in Sumaru! ...Shinobu hasn't had a lot of great interactions with Sumaru police. She can only hope he's closer to the Katsuya side. Her comment, though, gets a laugh out of her - the word choice certainly helps.
"Yeah. Yeah, I could definitely see that." She agrees with a grin. Yua continues and - oh.
"Arranged, huh? I didn't know that." She remarks. When she says traditional, she means traditional traditional. She wasn't sure arranged marriages still happened... but it does bring a lot into focus.
"Is he? That's good..." Shinobu considers, as Yua rushes to assure her about him. "If you two are gonna be living together, though, he should really make more time to get to know you better."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Don't worry, it's heated!" YUA SAYS THAT SO CASUALLY?! "Plus, right now, it's always really hot... so if the water's cool, that's actaully good!"
Tiger is definitely purring down there. He has decided that Shinobu may live. Yes... these earscratches are acceptable.
Yua giggles, when Shinobu agrees that Shimazu and Shimizu are very easily mistaken. She, at least, is delighted by it.
(She doesn't realise how much of an insult Kimitake would view it as, comparing an ancient samurai clan to -- to -- the eighteenth most common name in Japan?!)
"Is it a little surprising?" Yua wonders, looking down at her ring. "Actually, I was surprised, too... but Father was looking for a way to bring me into the clan, so it's not really surprising I'd marry Mimi's cousin." There's Miho, being the star of the show again. "But even though they're kind of an intimidating family, he's done everything he can to avoid startling me... I was surprised at how gentle he was!"
She looks over at her lovely flowers, on the table.
Living together...
Well, he's promised her that she can still stay here, most of the time.
"Oh... he just has an important job, you know? And he's busy with the wedding..." Yua shakes her head, though, hands clasping in front of her again. "But -- you know what, you're right! I need to call him up and ask to spend more time with him! That's right... it's all part of being assertive!!"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
It's heated. Shinobu is stunned into silence again. That must be no small feat up this high...
"That's a good point. Must be really nice this time of year." Shinobu agrees, once she's regained her composure.
Shinobu can hear the purrs. She's done her job well... but she also realises she's put herself into a position where she can't actually stop until Tiger has decided he's had enough...
...Such is life.
"I'm not, uh, a very 'traditional' sort of person." Shinobu admits with a slight shrug - but Yua admits that she was surprised, too, but that was his way of bringing her into the clan...
...They call it a clan. That's super traditional.
He was gentle, though, huh...? Shinobu nods.
"...That's good." She replies. And Yua insists that he has an important job, and that he's busy with the wedding...
...It didn't really stand out to her before, but now that she mentions it again...
"Is it normal for these, for one of you to take care of it all?" Shinobu asks. "Not very traditional, like I said, so I dunno how it usually goes..."
Still, Yua seems to have found more resolve, and Shinobu nods.
"Yeah, there you go. It's all about two people coming together, right? You at least ought to be able to talk." She agrees.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Mmhm, mmhm! Sometimes Mimi sets up a fake reef made of plastic, and I get to have a lot of fun finding all the fake sea creatures, just like I'm back home!" Yua's referring to playing games despite being an adult. Is this why she's so good at connecting with the youth...?
(Play should be part of more adults' lives, Yua thinks.)
"It's okay," Yua assures Shinobu. "These are modern times, so most people aren't like us old fuddyduddies at all!" She's including herself in those apparently old-fashioned people, though...
Still, Shinobu notices how he's handling everything. "Ah... no, normally it would be a lot more of my job, I think, but..." Yua shakes her head. "Kimi-san didn't want to make me do a lot of hard work, since I was kind of surprised with the engagement, you know...?"
She laughs, scratching at a cheek. "But he has a lot of ideas about how he'd like it to go... you know, traditions and stuff? Like, I'm going to get fitted into his family's wedding dresses soon, and... you know, their shiromuku and iro-uchikake, they're, like, hundreds of years old...? I don't know a lot of those little details, so... it's much more efficient for him to take care of it! And much less stressful for me, and... I have to be really good at managing my stress right now." For some very mysterious reason.
"But oh, dear, look at me going on... this must all sound like another language to a modern woman like you!" Yua laughs, smiling to Shinobu. "Would you like me to send you off with a few more cupcakes? You might like one for later, or have someone who might like one..."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Yua recounts the way Miho sets up a fake reef for her, and Shinobu can't help but smile at the mental image. For someone who likes the water, that's probably a blast. She can't judge - it's not like video games are that much different.
"...That's actually really sweet." Shinobu comments. "I'm glad you two have something like that."
She laughs, then, as Yua assures her - and she notes the way she includes herself, too...
"Guess not." She replies. And when Shinobu brings up her concern, Yua explains... and a slight frown crosses Shinobu's face. The way she describes it... She can't help but be a little concerned.
It's efficient and less stressful, huh...
"Gotcha... Hopefully you get to add your touch somewhere, at least." Shinobu considers. But Yua says she's going on, and Shinobu cracks a smile. "Heh, just a little. But hey, thanks for chatting with me."
Cupcakes... She considers the offer for a moment, but ultimately, there's only one answer.
"Sure, if you're offering." ...They were really good.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"It really is," Yua's smile is deeply fond, recounting Miho's efforts towards her wellbeing. "It makes me so happy..."
Miho makes her so happy. You know. Like friends do! Friends who live together and bake cupcakes for each other and do all these things together.
Very friendly friends.
Is it concerning...? Shinobu isn't the first one who's gotten concerned. Sometimes, even Yua gets concerned. But it's just because it was a surprise, really!!
"I'll... talk to him about it! Yeah!" Yua nods, firmly. "Hehe, but sorry I was talking your ear off, too... I like having visitors!"
And Yua looks delighted when Shinobu wants cupcakes to take home. "Great! I'll box some up for you, okay? Just remember to keep them in the fridge so they stay fresh!! And don't worry about the tupperware... we have plenty!"
... which means that not only does Shinobu make out like a bandit with a full half-dozen cupcakes from Yua's most recent batch, she also gets a very nice tupperware container they're boxed in.
Don't feel bad, Shinobu, these people have penthouse money.