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Tweak says, "SPOON!!!"

Ito Keiichi (伊藤慶一) (keiito) wrote in disappear_rpg,
@ 2009-07-02 22:56:00

Entry tags:

keiichi, kiriko

ITT we discuss Inaba trout.
Who: Kiriko and Keiichi
What: Cooking some trout, because Kiriko ordered it from Tanaka.
Where: Dorm kitchens.
When: Thursday evening
Why: BECAUSE KIRIKO WANTED SOME INABA TROUT, OKAY?

It was evening, which meant that Keiichi was in the kitchens. Tonight, though, he'd be cooking for two, an unusual occurrence at best in his life, especially considering he wasn't home with his family.

The refrigerator and cupboards were stocked with what he needed to prepare Inaba Trout Almandine, of all things. It had been a while since Keiichi had worked with fish, but the recipe wasn't that complicated.

Now, all he needed was for Kiriko to arrive with the trout, and he could get this show on the road. As he'd promised, one of the small tables in the kitchen area was set with a tablecloth and two placesettings, nothing fancy, ostentacious, or involving candlelight.

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apathyisboring
2009-07-08 04:39 am UTC (link)

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he spoke, sipping from her waterbottle as she turned over what he said in her head. He was trying to avoid conflict, insofar as he could tell, but his criticism of her still annoyed her.

"Satou acts like a child. When he does it, he puts everyone at risk. It's more important to try to stop him than it is to be cordial and complacent, isn't it?"

She eyed him rather critically as he said it, though her gaze soon shifted to the food in front of her. The plate looked pretty simple, and suddenly she wasn't quite certain what to expect. All the same, she dug in without hesitation - she'd been pretty hungry upon arrival and any kind of trout almandine beat the hell out of pot noodles.

"Thanks... Hey, this is pretty good."

It shouldn't really be that shocking - head of the cooking club, and he obviously knew his way around a trout. Either way, she was pleasantly surprised and her expression said as much.

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keiito
2009-07-08 05:35 am UTC (link)

"He does act like a child most of the time," Keiichi agreed. "He's a shameless flirt, too. But I think he's right. This isn't a coincidence. I don't believe in those. Something's happening. Something bigger than all of us. It's not a game, you're right. Sometimes, I really, really wish it was."

Keiichi forked some of the fish, and took a bite. Not bad. Not bad at all.

"Don't mention it," he replied. "I'm just glad it came out well. Not used to cooking for other people outside my family, really."

The expression on her face made him happy. He, after all, wanted to do this for a living in some capacity one day. "Sorry if I sound a little non-optimistic about this whole problem," Keiichi said. "I worry for the same reasons you mentioned earlier. I don't like Kanaye anymore than you do, believe me."

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apathyisboring
2009-07-09 04:17 am UTC (link)

The conversation was beginning to ruin her apetite. Kiriko had lapsed into thoughtful silence and begun shoveling food moodily around her plate, occasionally taking small bites and chewing about as discontently as one can chew a delicious meal.

Something bigger than all of us.

The thought left her feeling tired and disconcerted. All that she could really make of it was that she did not like things that were bigger than her. It was easy to be clearheaded about things when she believed she actually had a choice in the matter, or that this was all some freak accident, but what if he was right?

"Well... what do you think we should do, then?" she asked quietly.

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keiito
2009-07-09 04:28 am UTC (link)

"The only thing we can do is go forward," Keiichi managed. "That much we've already all figured out. The questions are how we do that, and with what attitude we do that. When we went back into the hospital...it was all arguing and bickering over nonsense. I'm afraid we're not taking it seriously enough, and if something happens..."

His own bite of trout wasn't especially happy, either.

"I talked to Akuba-san about it a little bit. Now you, too. Cornering Satou-senpai and getting his mind on task is, as you might imagine, a difficult task. And Shirai-san..."

Keiichi's voice trailed off. He really didn't want to go here, but odds were it was inevitable. Besides, if she asked, it'd probably let him get it off of his chest.

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	apathyisboring 2009-07-09 04:43 am UTC (link)
	"Maybe it would help to split into smaller groups or something," she suggested with a faint shrug. "It's so many people to manage right now, so maybe that would help with arguments and organization." She caught his hesitance and it really only made her more interested. She inclined her head curiously. "What about Shirai?" she prodded when he didn't continue. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

keiito
2009-07-09 04:50 am UTC (link)

"That's probably a good idea. Maybe work it so that everyone's with people they like, or at least can get along with." Keiichi frowned for a moment. "Though, that still doesn't solve the Kanaye problem..."

The tilting of her head more or less meant that he had to say it. Well, if he did it generally, maybe it would be okay.

"I tried to talk to him about the entire situation. He...sort of punched me in the face." His expression was equal parts sheepish and annoyed, both at Reizo for being a bit of a dick, and himself for failing to realize that talking with Reizo wasn't the smartest idea ever.

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apathyisboring
2009-07-09 05:09 am UTC (link)

Her expression was not precisely one of disbelief - actually, that was a fairly believable scenario. The look she gave him was more dull, some odd cross between 'Well, who wouldn't have seen that coming?' and 'I can't believe I didn't figure that out right away.' Still, she did look appropriately disturbed by that bit of news. She flicked her eyes over him as casually as she could, checking to see if his nose was bent in some way she hadn't previously noticed or if there was some other bruise she hadn't paid attention to just yet. She contemplated asking whether or not he was alright, but insofar as she could tell, he was, and he'd clearly been alright enough to not bother telling any of them, so there seemed little point in asking.

"You shouldn't try to talk to him about it," she concluded, tone a little darker than she'd intended. A thoughtful bite of trout separated that statement from the next. "He likes to pick on older boys. If you need to get something across to him, next time, just ask me and I'll talk to him for you."

Another distracted bite. In her head, she was trying to play out various ways the event might have transpired, in search of one that didn't involve severe imprudence on Keiichi's part.

"What happened, exactly?"

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keiito
2009-07-09 05:25 am UTC (link)

"To make a long story short, I was walking back from the store one night and I saw him...beating up this kid."

Another forkful of trout and swallow of water followed. "This...is going to sound really bad, but I didn't call out to him to try and save the kid. What happens if he gets arrested? I don't like him at all...but he's the only one of us with any real fighting experience to speak of. He's useful. Important."

Yeah, it was all a bad idea. But what was he supposed to do? Just sit there and not try to do anything?

"One thing led to another. We were talking...you can imagine how well it went. I was trying to get him to realize how important this all is, and..."

His fingertips brushed across his nose, and Keiichi sighed audibly enough to make the end result quite clear.

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apathyisboring
2009-07-09 05:46 am UTC (link)

"He's such a damn idiot."

There wasn't enough food left on her plate to moodily shovel around, so she had to settle for staring rather crossly at a fixed point near the far left table leg instead. Kiriko offered no explanation for the decidedly angry conclusion (and wasn't sure that she could if asked), instead opting to sip from her waterbottle and try to wipe the angryface off before it got stuck for the rest of the night.

"Anyway, you did the right thing," she muttered. "But you shouldn't stick your neck out. Just call the cops next time. I'm sure he'd rather punch them than you, anyway."

She stopped playing with the last bits of her food and ate them instead, staring quietly at her empty plate when she'd finished.

"It was good. Thanks."

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keiito
2009-07-09 04:51 pm UTC (link)

Hearing her anger...comforted him in some small way. It was his fault, of course, in the sense that he'd engaged Reizo to begin with. Still...

"Yeah," Keiichi replied, shaking his head. "Because he pretty obviously doesn't care about any of this."

In some way, Keiichi supposed that was because the younger boy had enough on his plate already. Like mayhem. And beating up people. And being a delinquent.

"Don't mention it. I love cooking. I'll also get you a few easy recipes for the rest of the trout. Tanaka-san is...ah, quite generous with his bounty."

Keiichi had never seen so much trout in one place before. He was also still wondering why Tanaka considered trout to be an Amazing Commodity, though it had been quite nice.

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apathyisboring
2009-07-14 06:40 pm UTC (link)

Kiriko shrugged her shoulders, still looking distracted with a heavy undercurrent of perturbed. When she spoke, however, she sounded pleasant enough.

"Actually, I was going to leave the rest with you, Ito-san. Simple recipes or not, I'd probably just waste them. Besides, you took the time to clean them and cook some for me, so if you'd like the rest of it, then consider it yours."

She flashed a quick but genial smile at him, then stood to carry her plate to the sink and deposit it.

"Honestly though? I only care about all of this stuff because I don't have a choice. I'd like to be able to shrug it off."

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keiito
2009-07-15 06:17 am UTC (link)

With a grateful nod of his head, Keiichi spoke. "Thank you, Ikeda-san. I appreciate it."

Dinner was taken care of for the next few nights, then. Seafood was healthy, and Keiichi knew lots of simple ways to prepare it. It was important for him to eat well, especially lately, considering he was dragging around a two handed sword in his spare time.

"I...sort of get how you feel," the boy stated, after several moments of thinking. "It's not exactly the sort of burden we want or need. School is enough trouble. Still, I'm going to see it through as far as I can. Wouldn't be able to forgive myself otherwise."

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apathyisboring
2009-07-16 03:19 am UTC (link)

She nodded in apparent understanding. Truthfully, she wasn't sure. She might be able to live with herself- if no one else turned up dead. But, that was a fairly large stipulation, and she was a fairly curious person. The first few nights after discovering her Persona, she hadn't been able to sleep because her mind wouldn't leave her alone about it, and had even resorted to poking through an otherworldly version of her hallway until she saw another shadow and verified it for herself. Leaving it alone might mean never sleeping.

Kiriko said none of this. Instead, she responded with a wry smile and stood, pushing her chair in behind her.

"Thanks for having me over. If I get any more ingredients like that, would you mind if I called on you again?"

She was putting on her jacket as she spoke.

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keiito
2009-07-16 03:54 am UTC (link)

"Not at all. Feel free." His own smile was somewhat happier. This was, after all, his element. Paradise could only loom so much when he was cooking. It was his escape from the mundane world of school, so why wouldn't it help him forget about Paradise when he needed to?

He would have a little bit of cleanup left before he could return to his room and get back to his homework.

"Have a nice evening, Ikeda-san," Keiichi called, setting about that task, figuring that her jacket meant she was planning on heading back herself.

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