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Mizuhame; NANA'S IN THE HOSPITAL / ask first
Topic Started: Sep 6 2013, 08:53 PM (706 Views)
The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
"Didya have t'bring that up?" Kyo asked in an exasperated voice, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Hiroko's--I mean--"

I still can't see what you see in him, either, Nevan put in cheerfully. Kyo's closed her eyes, an annoyed grimace coming over her face.

"Well, I was just thinkin' ya might wanna actually be able t' use the library for stuff from time t' time," Kyo said abruptly, shifting right on back to her previous track. "But if you're sure, alright then. Don't overwork yourself, though, dammit."

Kyo looked to Tsukasa, somewhat uneasily, but it was good that she was willing to bury that hatchet, at least. Plus one support unit for Nana? Right, plus one support for Nana. A company halfway-full of people she couldn't trust not to stab her in the back hardly counted as support, after all. They were more like mooks than anything... vaguely sympathetic mooks with enough economic and psychological trouble to fill Noah's Ark and sink it with weight alone, but mooks nonetheless. Kyo would have probably wagered that Nana couldn't count the number of people she could even halfway-trust in that outfit on one hand, so having a few people willing to actually watch her back couldn't hurt.

"Anyway," Kyo said in a more serious voice. "We know y'can heal yourself up easy enough, but--what about the office? That's gonna be a bit more of a problem, ain't it? Or is it insured or somethin'?"

Money was a thing; that and Nana were the two things holding that damned organization together. Nana would be fine, but her having taken such an injury probably wouldn't do her reputation any favors. And if the office being firebombed constituted a large enough financial hit, things could be tight for the organization for a while. If that caused it to destabilize... well. Nana was employing a record number of volatile, immature teenagers. Of course it was cause things to destabilize, at least a little bit. And maybe there were factors involved that Kyo didn't necessarily know about.

Kyo most certainly didn't want Samurakami Road and Building to destabilize, in any case. That was a safety hazard for her friend, and for anyone caught in the crossfire if things went really bad.
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Your Empress, Pokeh
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don't stare at it too long

Tsukasa seemed relieved that Nana had taken the apology well. A little too well almost. But she was fine with simply settling with the current results.

"I mean... we could try fixing it ourselves, right?" Tsukasa asked, somewhat innocently, even though she was fully aware of the sheer scale of damage fire could do to a building. "I mean if you... need a physical hand to help fix it..."
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FirebreathFishslap
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I'm the best! I'm the king of me! I'm gonna eat chips out of the garbage!

Nana sighed and flopped back into a lying down position, which she immediately regretted as that meant flopping right onto her still healing burn grafts and giving her a fresh sting of pain. She clenched her eyelids shut and hissed through her teeth as the pain faded away to a dull hum in her arm and back.

"The office is a much bigger problem, yeah..." Nana said. She waved her uninjured arm in the air as she talked. "I mean, yeah, it was insured, and all our stuff was hosted on an offsite server, but what're we gonna do while we're waitin' fer the insurance funds t' come in? And there's stuff that was off the books that all went up in smoke too. Important stuff that we should've been makin' copies off. And even once those insurance funds come in, it's gonna cost a lot t' rebuild. We're gonna be in the hole fer a while."

She sighed again. "Fuck, man. I shoulda prepared better. Shoulda thought that someone might do somethin' like this, 'specially wit' all the murmurin' round the backstreets lately. The people who don't like us've been 'specially loud lately. Shoulda known they'd make their move soon enough."

She waved toward Tsukasa. "Naw, ya ain't gotta do nothin' like that. Yer a good kid, I wouldn't wanna make ya do work fer me like that. Nah, I'll get some o' the guys 'n' girls t' help out if they're still willin' t' listen t' me after that."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Kyo winced at that hiss of pain. Maybe she shouldn't have brought it up. But as Nana began to talk, Kyo found herself in a very surreal position: she was actually listening to Nana talking about her problems.

Listening to Nana. Talk about her problems.

What. The fuck.

Well, it wasn't her personal problems, so it wasn't like the other green-haired girl was (gods forbid) OPENING UP or anything. But still, it was weird. Not in a bad way. In fact, Kyo could almost visualize Nevan jotting down notes in the back of her mind. Kyo slumped a bit further down in the seat she was sitting in. "Yeah, I figured somethin' like that," she said. "Christ. Well, y'could do what Treo-dude did with his files from now on--y'know, keep copies in a different place that ain't got nothin' t' do with your business. I mean, he kept his at Sweet Dolls I think, so when Masquerade raided his office he was able t' just y'know sorta, get the missin' files back. But uh, obviously it'd need t'be with someone y'trust t' keep your stuff secret and all--all that."

Kyo faltered just slightly as she recalled something she herself had said in her recent Bedlam interview: It's also partly 'cause I had a dream o' my Persona tellin' me she'd kill me if I told anyone any o' my friends' secrets again, after I told somethin' I really shouldn't've t' someone... yeah, so, even off-camera--and I don't wanna cut anythin' from the public version if I can help it!--even off-camera I wouldn't be able t' say unless she toldya first.

...Oh, right, she'd publicized that? Ahem. Well, hopefully Nana wasn't in any state to remember that and use "bomb in the head" as a substitute for "trust," because Hiroko probably wouldn't like it if Kyo got shanghai'd into keeping Nana's off-the-books back-up copies under the bed with the "toys."

Moving on from that awkward hypothetical, Kyo looked to Tsukasa, somewhat surprised the girl was willing to offer help with repairing the office. Perhaps Tsukasa was thinking along the same lines as Kyo herself: she just didn't want Nana in danger from her own damn gang.

Or maybe Tsukasa was just simple and offering help, and Kyo was thinking too deeply about this. One or the other.

"Well, I'm offerin' too, so if y'know ya wind up, actually needin' a few extra hands, I can lend ya mine," Kyo said. "I'm a tough, strong, independent gal who don't need no powerdrill t' screw in a screw, I think I can do a bit o' repair work if it's really needed..."

There was a slight nervous edge to Kyo's voice. If they're still willing to listen to me after that, Nana had said. She damn well hoped those bastards were willing to listen, because when they stopped being willing to listen, that was when Kyo would have to start worrying about Nana being stabbed in the back or something.
Edited by The One True Nobody, Sep 26 2013, 10:52 PM.
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Your Empress, Pokeh
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don't stare at it too long

"Hey, I can work as hard as twenty people!" Tsukasa said brightly, slowly starting to cheer back up. "Why both with a bunch of people when you can have Mask Yellow helping you out?"

She wasn't sure she really understood the full extent of damage Nana had gone through, but it seemed as though the situation was still perfectly salvageable. Mostly.
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FirebreathFishslap
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I'm the best! I'm the king of me! I'm gonna eat chips out of the garbage!

Nana gave Kyo a kind of wide eyed, flat look that said, 'are you fucking kidding me' at the mention of Sweet Dolls. "I ain't hidin' my sensitive work shit in a maid cafe! That's fuckin' sick. But yeah, I see yer point. It'd have t' be someone who could protect themselves if shit came t' that too... maybe Sharpshooter-chan'd be willin' t' help? Then again, I've already asked a favor o' her already. That might be a bit much."

She threw Tsukasa a thumbs up. "Well, if it's Mask Yellow, that's another story, ain't it! Alright, alright. If ya guys are really that adamant 'bout it, ya can help out. Ya can be honorary employees! Hell, I'd even give ya a paycheck if we weren't so in the hole right now."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Kyo spoke without thinking, sounding defensive.

"Oi, oi, y'don't gotta get her involved in that stuff, it's bad enough--" And she paused. Her knee-jerk reaction to the idea of Suzume being pulled into yet more of Nana's gang activities was to say fuck no in the most irritable way possible, but she realized there was another angle she could mention here... "...She's got someone with their eye on her about other stuff right now. She's not a basket y'wanna put them kindsa eggs in, yeah? She told me someone'd sent her some creepy texts. If someone's watchin' her, that makes things a bit complicated. Your stuff might get wrapped up in hers or hers in yours and goddammit it's a mess when that happens."

Of course, the part about Suzume herself telling Kyo this was a point-blank lie, but the truth of it was, Kyo had no real compunctions against mentioning the phone itself to either of them. The real problem was that YourSecretTruth's messages and the responses he'd gotten all contained sensitive information... showing those messages to either of the two might result in that girl learning the other's secrets, and...

And that just won't fly. Right, me~?

Kyo took a breath, and scratched her nose. Dammit, dammit, dammit, and there was only one viable consolation for taking away an option: giving one. "I could hold onto that stuff if ya want, I'd just... hafta not tell Hiroko about it, that's all."

Please just say you don't trust me or that there's some other reason I wouldn't be a good choice, Kyo couldn't help thinking. As for helping with the office, she waved Nana off.

"And never mind employees or paychecks're whatever, the hell're friends for, anyways? Rebuildin' each other's offices and divertin' awkward conversations, that's what," she said in a deadpan, devil-may-care tone. "Anyways, just gimme a ring when ya need me. We still gotta have tea sometime anyways."
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Your Empress, Pokeh
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don't stare at it too long

Tsukasa's brow furrowed. There were far too many bad things happening in town all at once. How the heck was she supposed to keep track of all of it? It was like studying for a midterm.

"Yeah, you don't need to pay us." Tsukasa concurred. "I mean it's... enough if we can make you a little less sad, right?"
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FirebreathFishslap
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I'm the best! I'm the king of me! I'm gonna eat chips out of the garbage!

Nana shrugged at Kyo's response. So Motou had been harassing Suzume too? Well, that just couldn't be left alone, now could it? She laughed at Kyo. "Oh, come on, that wouldn't be too sexy, would it? Doin' it on top o' a buncha tax forms 'n' shit, I mean. I mean, unless yer int' that kinda thing. I dunno, is sexy lawyer a fetish?"

She turned toward Tsukasa and grinned. "Me? Sad? Naw, ya got the wrong girl here. I'm the happiest person around, don'tcha know? You ain't gotta worry 'bout a thing." She reached over with her left arm and patted Tsukasa on the head.

"But really, thanks a bunch fer helpin' with the shop stuff. Y'all really don't gotta worry 'bout too much. I'll just put Chieko in charge o' this stuff 'til I'm better, let her handle the papers 'n' shit, have her call y'all up when we get 'round t' rebuildin'. And I'll make sure we get that tea, Greenhair!" Nana said. "That one's fer sure."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
As Nana patted Tsukasa on the head, Kyo couldn't help but give Nana a slightly sour look that clearly said, Bullshit. The look passed as quickly as it came, and, when thanked, Kyo shrugged and said, "Eh, it's nothin'. But so y'know, sexy lawyer's a fetish, yeah. Actually everything's a fetish--if it exists, there's porn of it. And y'know those business uniforms're great for femdom roleplay and--and I'm just going to shut up now."

The older of the two green-haired girls coughed into her fist and then folded her hands atop her knees, looking upward at the ceiling as if she were a perfect little angel and in no way deviant from society's expectations. (Ignore the green peek-a-bang and boys' clothing.)

She was relieved that Nana hadn't taken her offer just there, but... also, she felt strangely disappointed at the same time. It wasn't as if Nana ever opened up about anything, so Kyo couldn't do her usual thing and be some kind of emotional support. And if she couldn't be that, the most she could do was little favors and to be a moderately fun person to chill with, but
(don't be like me and apprentice and live in the past all the time and just cycle around like it's nothin')
as much as she'd bitched when it felt like she was being pressured into it, Kyo couldn't help wanting to know what really made Nana who she was, why she was doing all this. Was she sad? There was exactly one time when Kyo had seen that jovial facade crumble away, just for a bit, nothing depressing and mostly just another lecture like that first one except directed at Kyo but
(kanon her name was kanon)
every now and then Kyo thought back on it and wondered Why the hell did she tell me that girl's name? because Nana had just segued right into the don't-go-spreading-that-decapitation-story-around right after she did. Why had it been even vaguely important that Kanon's first name be known?

Me? Sad? Naw, ya got the wrong girl here. I'm the happiest person around, don'tcha know? You ain't gotta worry 'bout a thing.

Maybe it was just because of how fucking frustrating it was to never get anything personal out of Nana, but worry was about the only emotion Kyo could muster about the younger green-haired girl. Besides, if she were really that happy, there wouldn't be any reason for her not to talk about herself, right? It seemed like a simple mathematics equation to Kyo.

The worst part was this nagging notion in the back of her brain that she had some crucial piece of it all buried in there somewhere and just couldn't find it. Which was kind of silly, because literally all Kyo knew about Nana outside of their limited interactions were that she had trained Ryuunosuke, that she had gone monster form after losing a loved one in the ruins (Happiest person around, amirite?), and that she'd nearly been lynched by her own gang--something the probably-deceased Emi Kashiwara had been involved in, and an event that had been foretold in Kaede's predictions, just like Kyo's own averted murder.

Kyo couldn't really think too much about it at the moment. She was feeling a bit exhausted, truth be told--sleepy. Another annoying thing about Dream Catcher was simply that her brain always felt sluggish if she went without draining someone's magic for too long. To be expected, really, since she couldn't get any restful sleep without doing that.
Edited by The One True Nobody, Oct 8 2013, 10:42 PM.
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