2026-03-10: Lost in the Underground
- Log: Lost in the Underground
- Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Haruka Konno
- Where: Shibuya Station - Buchiko Exit
- OOC Date: March 10, 2026
- IC Date: Sunday, October 07, 2012
- Summary: Haruka has travelled to Shibuya Station to shop for some rare books... and unfortunately runs into a Homunculus doing a little shopping of her own. They ask for directions out, which Kazusa is all too happy to provide.
(|====================== Shibuya Station - Buchiko Exit ======================|)
-====================================================== Tokyo/Shibuya Ward ====-
Day in, day out, throngs of people choose to pack themselves inside shining
metal behemoths called "trains" that then hurtle them towards a set destination.
They then get out at these "station" nodes, acting as if it were entirely
normal! This particular one is a confusing, winding labyrinth that seeks to
distract them from escape with underground malls, juice stands, and offers of
gainful employment. Eventually, one solves the maze and ascends to see the
sunlight once more.
The square above is just as full of humanity, from down-on-their-luck teen
buskers looking for their big break, politicians in front of restored train cars
making speeches that speak to the history of this place, and even smoky booths
cordoned off by glass to make certain no one should suffer from their vice. A
statue of the loyal pup Buchiko stands here enshrined like a local god,
surrounded constantly by tourists. Go further, and you'll see the busy checkered
crosswalks and looming screens above that demand the attention from all who
pass, showing them what the powers that be demand they focus upon.
Welcome to Shibuya.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Shibuya Station! Above ground it may be busy and complicated but underground is even worse. Not only are theire multiple stations and exits one has to keep track of if they're trying to, say, commute somewhere or transfer, plethora of stores, restaurants, and other stands provide a rich tapestry of visual distractions to the uninitiated.
Kazusa, however, doesn't suffer from this problem. She lives in Shibuya, after all, and she's navigated these halls many, many times. After all, it's just a short train ride from here to Shujin Academy, right?
She's dressed rather casually today, her long straight black hair left loose, with a pink headband on top and wide, purple eyes. She's wearing a warm, loose-fit beige sweater with a lacy white camisole top that peeks out of the neckline, and down below is wearing a multi-tiered green skirt with laced edges and pink floral patterns. She's got a purse slung over one shoulder and a pair of ankle boots on. To all appearances, she's just a normal, teenaged girl enjoying a day of shopping, sipping from a juice drink held in her free hand.
Of course, to those blessed (or cursed) with awareness of the Supernatural... to look at her is to know that something is not right with her. Some of the mundane people might feel the hairs raise on the back of their neks and not know why s she passes, but to someone like Haruka, she is a beacon of wrongess that clearly reads:
This is a monster wearing a teenage girl's skin.
And it's a supernatural danger they might be well-familiar with, having encountered something similar once before.
<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.
Shibuya Station. A place that Haruka occasionally visits when they need something special. Usually, they would find what they needed in Sumaru but Shibuya had a few antique book stores that made the trip worth it.
Haruka Konno is an obnoxiously pretty individual, sporting feminine beauty that made many turn their heads as they moved down the walk way with his shopping bag. The biggest tell was their boy's uniform from Seven's, which hung loosely over their athletic form. They moved through the underground mall, darting their eyes from store to store.
They seemed turned around as they sighed, wondering how this could've happened.
While outwardly Haruka's face was soft and almost friendly, internally they were actually rather annoyed with the situation.
They move toward the first person in the area to ask...Haruka feels a degree of discomfort even approaching the person. Maybe that is why they are approaching Kazusa, trying to see if this feeling is anything.
Haruka puts on a smile as they stop in front of Kazusa, confirming their suspicions. This was like back then....This girl was a monster.
But they couldn't do anything right now. Haruka feels the smile somewhat waver as they look over the girl, immediately pricing out each thread of clothing in their mind. This one was probably wealthy but Haruka really didn't like the outfit.
"H,hi...I think I'm turned around...can you point me to the exit?" Haruka speaks softly, running a hand through their purple hair.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
It's true. Kazusa does come from a wealthy family, and while she doesn't exactly flaunt it, she's not doing much to hide it, either. Designer labels, plenty of accesories, a nice purse... and a relatively high-end smart phone if that comes out in a moment to be viewed.
But however much of a monster she is on the inside, on the outside she seems nothing but cheerful and upbeat, stopping when Haruka steps in front of her, blinking in surprise. "Oh! Hello." She looks over Haruka too--mostly that uniform jacket, studying it curiously for a moment.
Haruka admits to being turned around, and Kazusa giggles lightly. "Yeah, it can be pretty confusing if you're not from around here... Are you wearing...." She seems to think hard for a moment. "A Sevens uniform? Are you from Sumaru?"
Kazusa turns, indicating the exit with her drink hand. "It's over this way. Want me to walk with you to make sure you don't get lost? It's surprisingly busy on Sundays."
<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.
Haruka is also from a decently wealthy family but they find the flaunting of such things to be kind of tacky. They note all the things and wonder if this girl is some kind of spoiled yakuza princess, flaunting their treasures like they were everything.
They note the eyes on the uniform. That much was fairly common. People got weird about Sevens.
"Yeah." They say, eyes going over Kazusa as a hand goes underneath their chin. "I'm a 3rd year at Sevens..."
"Sure." Haruka says, wishing they didn't need to walk with this...girl. They could feel the bad energy radiating off of her like it was a unpleasant heat source just shining on their face.
"I, I'm Haruka Konno...Nice to meet you." Their greeting is soft and hesitant. and They force a smile, wondering if it's the Homunculus making them feel disgust or sickening sweetness on top of everything else.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa happens to think she's tasteful and stylished. And her father is definitely not a Yakuza boss! He's e legitimate businessman.
But Haruka confirms that they're from Sevens. "I knew it! What brings you all the way from Sumaru?" she asks, cheerful and oblivious to any discomfort.
"Great!" Kazusa turns and heads for the exit, stopping to make sure Haruka is following them. "Kazusa Motojima," she introduces herself. "I'm a second-year at Shujin Academy. I'm on the Rhythmic Gymnastics team." She seems... quite proud of that fact, too.
It could be both things! Kazusa, ddespite all of e cheer, still radiates wrongness that most other people don't seem to notice. And if the girl is this cheerful... what must her real self be like?
It's too bad there's no way to ask the Homunculus that.
Still, Motojima is a fairly well-known name. They make all manner of consumer electronics, consoles, and video games. Could this girl be related to that family?
<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.
"Oh! Um, well I go to the...book stores...out here I mean." Haruka replies, unsure if they are comfortable having this girl know the city they're from. Oh well.
Haruka is following, keeping their eyes on her as he thinks about this girls condition. They know nothing about her and getting into someone's Atelier was a pain without preparation...as far as they knew anyway. Really besides that one time--Haruka has mostly kept to the Dark Hour for training so far.
They nod at the introduction and responds. "Oh...um cool." Haruka feels their smile disappear as they discard the information Kazusa just provided. Haruka wasn't interested in Kazusa so much as their condition. It could be useful to know more about this. So they follow, looking around to avoid staring at Kazusa.
What was she like indeed. When someone's deepest desire was to be nice....Haruka frowns as they consider the monster Kazusa must be without this thing inside of her. Just like his friend...Hiro's girlfriend. They are still unsure of how they dealt with that.
Haruka sighs, staring at Kazusa's back. That surname seemed familiar but they couldn't seem to dedicate the brain power to it right now. Surely later Haruka will immediately understand Kazusa and immediately judge them further.
Maybe Haruka will say something cutting. They were getting better about speaking their mind but between the sickening feeling the Homunculus was giving them and being somewhat at this girl's mercy, they are going to just keep their mouth shut.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Well if you didn't want to be recognized as a Sumaru resident, there's an easy way around that, Haruka. Kazusa is a student of fashion, and that includes school uniforms, seemingly.
"Oh, the book stores... cool." Kazusa at least seems pleasant enough about the topic. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
Is this Kazusa's deepest desire? While it's true she wasn't that great a person before... to really know this version of Kazusa would be to know how much of an empty shell she is. But that would require a 'before' to compare her to.
But Kazusa seems pretty oblivious to Haruka's internal deliberations as she walks along. She keeps glancing back, and seems to be in a chatty mood. "So, do you come out this way often? It's a pretty long trip, isn't it? Though if there's that one place that has something you just can't get anywhere else, I get it. I go to Paulownia Mall all the time, they have a bubble tea place that's to die for."
<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.
"Oh um, yeah I did" Haruka glances toward their bag, thinking about the old book on Witchcraft they picked up. A smile comes to their lips before it fades when they look back up at Kazusa.
They almost flinch when Kazusa looks back. While Haruka wasn't afraid of the Homunculus, it was still rather unnerving to have her look at them. "I'm here every so often..." Either for rare books or a competition, Haruka thinks as the continue to move with Kazusa, keeping a read of their posture in case of some shenanigans.
"Bubble tea? I,I'll need to try it." Haruka says somewhat shakily, wondering if this thing has different tastes than the unpossessed host. It was something to think about anyway. There is a uncomfortable silence before Haruka breaks it. "I'm more of a fan of just juice or smoothies though."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Haruka did get the books they wanted. "Oh, good!" Kazusa has a cheerful smile for Haruka, and unfortuantely seems to keep looking back, probably to make sure Haruka isn't getting lost in the crowd. She'd be a bad guide, otherwise, right?
"So," she asks, completely innocently. "What kind of books did you get?"
"Oooh, juice and smoothies are good," says Kazusa immediately. "And better for you." She rattles her own juice cup for a moment. She sighs. "A girl has to watch their figure, you know? Especially when she's a gymnast..."
It's her, it's her having to watch her own figure. Though honestly, she's already pretty slim and graceful. Probably, at least, that sweater might be hiding some of her figure.
<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.
Haruka forces a smile when she looks back, wondering if they bit off more than they can chew by agreeing to follow the possessed girl. They place a hand on their chin in thought.
What makes them jump visibly is the question of what their books were. Even if Kazusa wasn't currently a monster, the answer to this question would be weird. Plus they didn't want her dirty hands on the grimoire they just scored. "Oh...Um..well. It's just some...textbooks?" They don't sound very convincing as their social anxiety is coming out pretty hard at the moment.
Haruka eyes the drink and then her. "I...I'm a martial artist so I need to remain in fighting shape." What the hell did that mean? This girl was getting under their skin so words were coming out awkward. "Yeah...being an athlete is...um hard."
Haruka notes her figure but says nothing on it. Instead they look up. "So the exit is pretty far, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Thankfully for Haruka... whatever the original version of Kazusa was like, this version doesn't react to Haruka's socal awkwardness. Or... even really notice it. She just continues chatting merilly as if nothing is happening.
But she does trip on the answer. "Textbooks...? Sevens hd had to send you all the way to Tokyo to get them...?" She looks at Haruka for a moment and then shrugs. "Weird. Well, glad you found them okay, then!"
She... seems to have bought it?
"Ohhh, a martial artist, huh...?" Kazusa looks to Haruka again and looks them over, and brightly says, "Wow, I never would have guessed by looking at you!"
What is that supposed to mean!?
"Do you think you'll ever try out for the Olympics or anything like that?" It's a casual, easy question, but why would her mind immediately go to the Olympics?
"Nope, it's right over here!" Kazusa turns a corner, and.. there it is! "Here you go! It just feels like a long way away because of all the walking."
<Pose Tracker> Haruka Konno has posed.
Haruka is thankful that their lie about the books worked. They didn't need this girl getting any power over them. Especially with how she was right now.
The look over and comment about not looking like a martial artist get a neutral expression from Haruka. They take in a sharp breath and just look at Kazusa, muttering -And you look like what a classless person thinks is wealthy...-
"Hmm? I suppose I could." Haruka blinks at the sudden about face. First they didn't look like a martial artist. Now they are good enough to compete on a world wide stage. They just stare before sighing, flipping their hair once again.
"Oh good...Well...it was nice meeting you." Haruka isn't lying. This whole encounter has been illuminating, if somewhat uncomfortable. "Have a good day." Haruka begins to move, keeping the corner of their vision on her in case something goes down.
Once out of sight, Haruka looks down at the bag again. They were going to need to figure all of this out. For Hiro and for them.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
"Well, good luck if you do!" chirps Kazusa. She gives them a friendly wave as they head up the sairs. "Take care, it was nice meeting you, too!"
Fortunately for Haruka, Kazusa turns away to continue navigating the underground mall, so doesn't seem in any danger of launching a sneak attack.
In fact, she's humming cheerfully to herself as she goes, pulling out her phone to check it before vanishing back into the crowds.