sagittariusly | (no subject)

...it was a good thing that her hands were full with holding both the book and her phone. Tomoko gripped her book tighter and nodded. "...Mm," she said, trying to fight the nervousness she was feeling. It's just a picture!

She fiddled with her phone a bit, then outstretched her hand and asked, "Ready?"

"Yes." Smile. Smile. Don't grimace, don't blink, or they'd be here longer. He was holding Tomoko up; who knew how fresh her other ingredients had to be, and maybe the shop she had in mind would close by the time they got there. And he wanted to take the picture with his phone, too. "Ready."

Tomoko smiled, which was a mere quirking of the corners of her lips upwards, and for a few seconds she didn't dare breathe - not until a crisp snap was heard from her phone, which indicated that their photo was taken. Quickly, she flipped the phone over to look at the picture. A cursory glance at it told her it looked all right; her eyes weren't closed, though she did look a little odd. Then again, all her pictures were like that.

On the other hand-- "Ryusei-san, you photograph really well," she said, showing the picture to him. It didn't surprise her; after all, most described him as an ikemen. Of course he'd photograph well.

That may or may not be so, but it was better than the picture she would have taken if they didn't do this. "Tomoko-chan, can I...?" He held up his phone.

She blinked. "O-Of course," Tomoko said. Far be it from her to deny his request, anyway. "Should we stay here or--?"

"Here is fine," Ryusei was saying even as he raised his phone. Just a quick snap, and they could go.

Quickly, Tomoko assumed the position she did before, though instead of one arm clutching her book to her chest she now used both. She smiled again, and patiently waited until their photo was taken.

Oh, good; it'd come out okay. Ryusei came out looking slightly foolish when he was the one taking the picture, but it was fine. Fine enough, anyway, to not warrant staying in the uncomfortable position for the second it took to snap another one.

"Shall we go now?" he said as he took the step away that was natural for someone freed from a camera frame to take. "What's the address for that shop?"

"It's several blocks away from here," she said. The detour to Ryusei's house brought them closer to the store, though not by much. Tomoko glanced at the street to their left and pointed at it. "We could pass under the bridge there to get to a shortcut." It's one of the two shortcuts she knew, the other being the one she normally took when walking to the store.

How many blocks? Ah... Perhaps Ryusei had been hasty back there when he'd suggested taking the bike. He felt silly over worrying about the shop's closing time, too. Oh, well.

"Do you go there often?" he asked, making small talk as they strolled back to the bike. There couldn't be that many shops selling this kind of thing, surely.

She shook her head. "Only when the shop I go to has no supplies of what I'm looking for," Tomoko replied easily. "That store only sells books, relics, and equipments, and sometimes it carries dried ingredients like powders and leaves too. But if something needed fresh body parts, I need to go somewhere - and usually, the second store carries it."

She paused. "Someone told me that the two owners of the shops were lovers who had separated because of their beliefs, but I can't be sure." It was an interesting thought, though, and Tomoko often wondered why the two didn't end up together.

Oi, oi. Was that story supposed to be romantic? ...Not like Ryusei went there or anything. And maybe it made sense in a way: one store carrying what the other didn't. But... So pointless....

"Fresh body parts, though. That doesn't sound...." Wait, stop! Don't insult her. "—Uh, well. Is that the source of the differences?" What was the difference between the types of ingredients? Ryusei wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

For now though, he picked up the two helmets and held out the second. "Try it on."

Tomoko squinted at him. She was certain he was thinking of something else about what she'd said, but for some reason he didn't pursue that train of thought. Others would have.

"I think it's because brews which call for fresh body parts are generally considered 'stronger' than those which don't. It's like delving into a deeper level of witchcraft and maybe the woman didn't want to do that." It's just conjecture on her part, though, since she hadn't talked to the man yet. He wasn't as easy to approach as the woman.

She stared in horror at the helmet, then self-consciously reached up at the side of her head. "But... Ryusei-san, my--my ribbon." The helmet would flatten it if she put that on! It would ruin her ribbon and she'd hate that a lot.

Edited 2012-10-11 13:39 (UTC)

Stronger, huh? Ryusei was totally not going to shudder at the thought; it was just that a breeze had blown by. "I...see." Just how strong was that brew? JK must have come down with a case of the serious jitters—possibly even medical in nature. He'd call Gentarou about it later and tell him to check it out.

"Don't worry about it," he said, putting the helmets back on the handlebars. "It isn't that far away, right? I'll walk you there."

And now she felt torn. On one hand, she was looking forward to riding Ryusei's bike since she had yet to do something as reckless as that. On the other hand, she was also reluctant to remove her bow in front of him, and not wearing it wasn't an option - she'd feel naked without it. While Gentarou and the others had seen her with incomplete get-up, she was careful not to let that happen again.

"B-But--" Her reluctance could be seen on her face, "--can I just not wear the helmet?" As soon as she said the words, Tomoko realized how impossible her question was.

"Definitely not," Ryusei said as gently as he could. There was no compromising on this safety measure, even if Ryusei was the most confident driver in the world.

"Is something wrong?" Was the ribbon some kind of safety charm? He could understand that—er, he knew the theory behind that kind of thing, but there was no substituting superstition for a piece of armor that was specifically built for protection. But the option to walk there didn't seem entirely welcome, either....

How about a compromise? "We can always ride another time."

"It's just--" Tomoko shrugged, tucked her head again. "--I don't want to be seen without it." No superstition involved, just a quirk that she had. Perhaps one day she'd share about how she got detention by deleting the entire photo library of Amanogawa because she found a single picture of her with her ribbon not in its proper place, but... maybe now wasn't the proper time.

She did look up when he mentioned the compromise. "I'd like that." Very much, she thought. "I'm sorry I'm being difficult."

Edited 2012-10-12 00:54 (UTC)

"—Not at all," he said quickly. It had been so sudden, after all; he'd sprung it on her out of nowhere.

He'd never given any thought to Tomoko's ribbon, though, and the way she'd worded her concern... Well, she'd just finished telling him about how some ingredients were more potent than others if they were fresh. (Toes.) So, why the concern over being seen...? It was just Ryusei.

...Maybe he'd ask Yuuki sometime. "This way, right?" He turned in the direction Tomoko had pointed out earlier.

"Yes," she said, quickly falling into step beside him. From this point it'd be a ten-to-fifteen minute walk, faster if they set a brisk pace, but for now Tomoko would take her time in getting there. It would still be a good three hours before it closed, anyway.

Then Tomoko remembered something as they were walking. "Ryusei-san, I hope you don't mind me asking, but..." She paused. "That picture in the cabinet. What happened...?"

Were they really returning to that? Damn....

"... Something some older kids decided to do as a joke," he said eventually. "I was just starting then—martial arts, you know—and they did it to make fun of me...." He was being vague, but that was on purpose. Why was beating some older kids something to be proud of? He hadn't won (they'd been disqualified) and he hadn't done it with any grace or skill. Everyone should just forget it ever happened. "It's... It's embarrassing for me to talk about."

So I'm changing the subject. "—Anyway, how'd you find out about these two shops?"

...oh. That experience was something she could relate with - being made fun of. Though, maybe Ryusei's stopped before he reached his age now, whereas hers still continued on up to the present.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I don't understand it, myself, why some people need to make fun of others--" But then Ryusei said this topic embarrassed him, so she'd oblige him.

"When I was very little, I stayed in the library - which was where I found this large book." Actually Tomoko was hiding from her classmates then, and she'd ventured deeper and deeper into the library until she literally stumbled upon it. "It was a history book, but it had a section that dealt with the occult - so I... took it home and read it. Interestingly enough, some of the pages have notes scribbled on them, and I realized they were ingredients for--" Here she cast a look his way, then, "--spells. I asked my mother where I can get some of them, but she didn't know, so I asked one of my aunts and she was the one who brought me to the first store - the one owned by the woman."

Tomoko paused, remembering that day. She was about eight, then. "The shop owner took an interest in me since she said she never saw anyone that young walk into her store willingly. I like her. She's very nice."

So did that mean... "How does she feel about you going to this other store?" Not that Ryusei wanted to accuse anyone of anything, but what had Tomoko said about stronger witchcraft?

...Maybe Ryusei shouldn't meddle with that. "It sounds like your aunt was good to you. Do you see her often?"

"Well... Manami-san doesn't forbid me to go to the other store. I suppose business is business, after all." Although maybe Manami still cared for Kyohei somewhat, which was why she often advised her customers to check his store should hers be lacking. "She wasn't the one who told me about their history, though - Ritsuko-san was the one who did." Ritsuko certainly knew a lot about the occult - more so than Tomoko could ever dream of. She wondered briefly where Ritsuko had gone after she graduated.

She grew a bit quiet after the second question. "She's... no longer with us," Tomoko replied, after long moments of silence. "She died three years ago." She paused. "Here, Ryusei-san - we'll turn here."

"I'm sorry," he said as they turned. Nice going, Ryusei you idiot! He stuffed his hands back in his pockets.

...

To return to an earlier topic.... "That book—History book? Did you find out why someone scribbled in it?" There were other books more suited to that, wasn't there? The book Tomoko was holding didn't look like her spells were in there secretly. Though, really, Ryusei wasn't so much curious as he wanted to not linger over the prior speed bump in the conversation.

She quickly shook her head. "It's all right. You didn't know." Tomoko didn't think she shared anything about her family to anyone in the club, and appreciated him asking about them. People rarely did, after all.

"I didn't. When I tried to borrow the book, the librarian said they didn't have a record of it and she didn't remember having acquired it. And, well--" Here she could feel her cheeks redden. "--I haven't returned it yet."