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Tweak says, "kisses and snuggles"

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kondo kozue | 近藤 梢 ([info]anthesphoria) wrote in [info]disappear_rpg,
@ 2009-07-14 21:57:00

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Entry tags:keiichi, kozue

Who: Kozue and Keiichi.
What: It's a thing. Coffee and pastries are involved.
Where: Chagall Cafe in Iburi.
When: A few days after Toru's dungeon: after school.
Why: She owes him dessert! That's totally why.


When Kozue found out that tennis practice had been canceled - the captain was down with a cold or something, and the other girl in charge had sprained her ankle while running sprints in gym, and besides, they didn't have any matches coming up for what seemed like ages - it was the perfect time to make good on her promise to Keiichi. And to take a break and get some kind of pastry - which, really, she deserved after that insane experience in Ishinomori's version of "Paradise". Maybe she could get some kind of personal reward program going: a pastry or a candy bar every time she fought a Shadow? Or something like that.

Although the trip through Toru's dungeon didn't seem, in retrospect, as horrible as her team-mates were making it out to be - sure, the thing with the tentacles had been horrifying and sinister in a late-night-anime sort of way, but that "ren'ai" level had been no worse than a game of truth or dare. Well, maybe a bit of a risque one, but... Truth be told, that was one reason that coffee with Keiichi had jumped to the front of her ideas for her empty afternoon: she wanted to see what he thought of the fact that she'd kissed him. It had been a game - a kind-of sort-of game at least, but some boys sure got weird if you kissed them.

She made her way up from the athletic fields to the second year hallway, pondering that as she started looking for Keiichi. School had barely ended - she hoped he'd still be around, although, if not, she could always check the dorms. Still, she wondered, distracted, why did boys get weird like that? Weren't girls supposed to be the emotional, clingy ones? But no - she'd once kissed (well, that and maybe a few other things besides but) a boy from another school who had almost immediately started discussing what their children would look like and what kind of house they should have. Creepy.


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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-15 07:51 pm UTC (link)
"I'm pretty much fine," she responded with a smile, when he patted her shoulder - "Although that might be because I'm in shock. Who knows." The smile turned a bit flippant at that - she probably wasn't or anything, but making jokes made things easier. It was definitely something that the other Persona users seemed to have figured out, although 'making jokes at other people's expense' wasn't really how the old wisdom went.

"But I definitely don't want to get used to anything that has tentacles and a wish to try and kill me. It's probably not good for my mental health." Or schedule; or school work; or life in general. Would it actually be good for anything? Jury was still out.

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[info]keiito
2009-07-16 12:24 am UTC (link)
Making jokes did seemingly make things easier. Even if some of them were mean-spirited and at the expense of others in the group.

"I don't think any of us do," Keiichi managed, weakly. "But we're the only people who can go in there. We've sort of had it put upon us, I guess." He wasn't especially happy about that fact, but nothing much he could do.

He didn't know anywhere near enough to make judgments. Which meant that he had to try to be a typical second year. "As long as you're okayish," he continued. "I would have felt terrible if anything would have happened for you." He did, admittedly, sort of consider it part of his responsibility to make sure that everyone came back in one piece.

As they walked, his hand subconsciously brushed against hers. At least this time it didn't almost give him a heart attack.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-16 01:21 am UTC (link)
She felt the brush against her hand, and looked up - oh, this made some sense. Had he meant it on purpose, or was it just an accident? Somehow, she found it hard to believe that it was pure coincidence: boys didn't do that. Not with her, at least, when they knew - well, anyway, not with me - but he didn't have the look of having done it as a prelude to taking her hand. It was a little weird, Kozue decided. But then again, she was used to guys who took control, and the Cooking Club president seemed a bit more easygoing than that.

"That's sweet of you, to worry about me," she said, pulling her hand back slightly. "Are you just worrying about me getting hurt, or is it something else?"

She would have added 'like the fact that I kissed you in a video game', as she was starting to think that it was on his mind, but she wanted to see if he'd bring it up first.

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[info]keiito
2009-07-16 01:35 am UTC (link)
He watched her hand pull away, but he wasn't especially upset. It had been an accident. If he showed any signs of anything other than surprise, she would be unlikely to believe that particular explanation.

Everything seemed so...awkward, lately. He wasn't used to being so sociable. Keiichi was much more used to being in the kitchens most of the day, maybe reading a bit after doing homework, and then going to bed.

It didn't seem that he was *bad* at it, at least. Just awkward. Very awkward.

"I worry about everyone," came the reply as they walked on towards the cafe. "The stakes are...pretty high." Which was his way of saying he wanted everyone to survive. Even Reizo.

The fact that she'd kissed him in a video game was, admittedly, on his mind, but damned if we was going to bring it up. That was embarrasing.

And right now, Ito Keiichi was embarrassed enough in general for several dozen lifetimes.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-16 02:32 am UTC (link)
"I hadn't thought of that," she said, feeling a drop somewhere in the pit of her stomach - the stakes were pretty high? Like, they could die? Was that what he meant? Her face fell.

Of course, when she looked at it now... Sato Kei already had died, and some people thought his death was connected to this. And if they hadn't gone to get Toru, he might have - as well - or so they said. But that was the kind of thing that Kozue's mind brushed aside and shied away from. The idea that people could even die. That she herself could die...

And this was supposed to have been fun. Getting coffee with a cute upperclassman - when had her life gotten so weird that her conversation topics were limited to tentacle monsters and "high stakes"?

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[info]keiito
2009-07-16 03:00 am UTC (link)
The expression on her face made him feel something like he'd kicked a puppy. Just because it was true didn't make him feel much better.

"Nothing'll happen to you," Keiichi told her, making sure to look her directly in the eyes. "I promise. They'll have to go through me first."

That was what he was. One of the groups 'tanks', to borrow the phrase from Matsuri Online. He soaked up damage.

"Sorry for worrying you," he managed, as the cafe was in view. "No more talking about depressing Paradise things. We're almost there, anyway."

Smiling at her, he was nonetheless screaming at himself mentally. He was, he decided, the only person on Earth who would discuss death when on something that the rumormongers would probably construe as a date with a pretty girl.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-16 04:02 am UTC (link)
She looked up, hearing the serious tone in Keiichi's voice, and caught his eyes. "That's..." She swallowed on a dry mouth, suddenly impressed. He meant it. Well, as far as she could tell, he meant it. "That means a lot, sempai, although I really hope it doesn't come up."

She sped up in walking towards Chagall, impressed: this was another side of Ito, one she'd seen shades of while they were in Paradise. It was... well, attractive, actually, in a way that she hadn't really considered the chef to be.

"It wasn't all bad, though," she declared after a moment. Let it hang. See what he'd think of it. (Why Kozue couldn't just leave these things alone? She didn't know. She had to poke them.) Then, "I mean, some of those costumes were really incredible, for one thing." She'd like the jingly pants - and the giant gun hadn't been bad, either.

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[info]keiito
2009-07-16 04:23 am UTC (link)
Keiichi nodded, and flushed quietly, not saying any more on the subject. Dying wasn't something he wanted to think about, but the possibility was there.

His own pace quickened to match hers as they moved on towards the coffee shop. Coffee would be good right now, as would a nice pastry. Especially considering the heavier than expected conversation.

"I will admit, a lot of the scenery was quite nice," Keiichi concurred, a bit begrudgingly. (Because really, it was the lair of a tentacle monster. How could that be *in any way* nice?)

Swallowing hard, Keiichi came to the realization that she likely wasn't going to bring it up. Nor was he about to say something hokey like "About that night in Paradise..." That was sitcom fodder.

A sigh. "No, it wasn't all bad, really," he admitted. He had lots of questions about the dungeon, among them being why Not!Toru had paired him and Kozue and left the others to rather, err, interesting situations. "One part was actually kind of nice..."

And after trying not to have this conversation, here went nothing.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-16 06:07 am UTC (link)
They were coming to the entrance of the cafe now: Kozue stopped, listening, as Keiichi brought up the kiss. Obliquely, yes, but he did bring it up, and that was good - she'd wanted to gauge what he thought about it, when she'd decided to go out today, after all. Finding out was rather important, for reasons... well, because it was. In case things got weird, if they had to go to Paradise again. Not to mention, they lived in the same building.

"I'm glad you weren't upset about it - it seemed like a lot of our team mates would have been... less than thrilled. To put it mildly." The thought of Kiriko and her whip popped into Kozue's head: where had her classmate gotten that thing, anyway? Did she just keep it lying around? Was it her hobby or something?

Anyway - Kozue shook off a train of errant and explicit and totally not helpful thoughts about people with whips - focus, focus. "I'm also kind of glad I haven't heard rumors about how I kissed you yet. These things usually get around pretty quick. Thanks for not telling the whole school." She smiled in a way that rather suggested this was not usually how things went down.

(But really, if he'd opened with "about that night in Paradise" Kozue probably would have been delighted: it was hilarious. It was so cheesy. Pure gold.)

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[info]keiito
2009-07-16 06:19 am UTC (link)
"I didn't exactly have much of a reason to be upset." A bit more forward than he'd liked, but really, in this situation, it was the truth. He hadn't had a disembodied voice trying to get him to strip, or hold hands with a member of the same sex. Kissing her had been easy, even if he was nervous due to the environment and it being in front of everyone. "The rest of the group had it far more difficult. That, and most of them don't...really like each other much."

Oh, and there was also that little fact of it being his first of record. In a VIDEO GAME. If he ever lived to have children, there was no way in Hell he'd be able to tell them about dear old Dad's high school days.

"Don't mention it. I'm not the sort to spread rumors. Things...do have a tendency to get around school really quickly. Ridiculously so." The expression on Keiichi's face indicated that he considered this a Bad Thing. Particularly because most gossip about him seemed rather negative. "I also try to make sure that whatever happens in Paradise stays there. Fewer people who know the better."

Grabbing hold of the door, and pulling it open, he made a slight sweeping gesture with his arm "After you," Keiichi grinned. This was getting less mortifying by the minute.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-16 06:47 am UTC (link)
"Thank you, senpai," she said with a smile, walking into the cafe. The atmosphere was great, she decided - already she could smell something delicious brewing, and everything was kind of blue-ish. Very calming. Quiet music played.

If the thank you had been for holding the door, or for Keiichi's decision not to brag, well, Kozue wasn't saying. Or maybe it was for both.

"I'd noticed the antagonism," she agreed after looking around. "Do you want to choose where to sit? I don't care."

I don't care was actually Kozue-speak for I can't pick, and we'll be here all day if I try. But not caring was easier and the more 'gentle feminine' choice, all in all. "It wasn't that difficult. Well, except Shirai-san, that was perhaps a tad bit extreme. Everything else was pretty tame."

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[info]keiito
2009-07-16 03:47 pm UTC (link)
Ito-san's only response was a nod. He'd been brought up to hold open doors, mostly by his mother. Chagall was quite the nice cafe, he noted. Calm and soothing was good, especially considering how chaotic his life had become as of late.

Somehow, it was far easier for him to take control of a situation in Paradise. At the very least, Sagaki had picked up on that fact in their earlier conversation. That didn't mean that Keiichi *never* controlled things otherwise, of course.

It just meant that he generally wasn't used to it.

Nonetheless, he guided them over to a small table, and pulled out her chair for her.

"I don't know," he mused. "I think it was more the circumstances than everything else. Creepy disembodied voice telling people what to do in front of their friends and classmates, most of whom don't like each other to begin with. And yes, Shirai-san's was a bit over the top."

If only stupid Voice-san would have accepted the offers of the girls to strip instead. Actually, he might not have made it out of the dungeon due to acute blood loss, so it might have been for the better that it never happened.

He took a quick glance up at the menu, but turned his attention back to Kondo-san quite quickly. "It's over now, though, that place. Hopefully we'll never have to go back in that game."

Keiichi shivered slightly. "Enough about all of that, though. We're sort of in public again."

Ideally, now they could move on to discussing caffeinated beverages and tasty treats.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-16 04:34 pm UTC (link)
She just nodded, settling into her chair, crossing her ankles underneath the seat - they had shorter chairs here at Chagall, so her feet touched the ground - and ooooh, the chairs were comfy. "And we have to order," she agreed, putting the topic to rest. Probably not forever, but for the moment. (Eventually, the temptation to talk about it more would probably overwhelm her: she couldn't exactly go tell her normal gossiping buddies about it, so her conversation partners were quite limited. Oh, but, if she told Ayako, Ayako's head would explode.)

"Let's see what they have on the menu." She looked down, scanning quickly. "Hmmmmmm. Okay, pastries. Here's a cheese--actually, they have a lot of cheesecakes, don't they." A pause, she read more. "Chocolate ganache. Chocolate croissant. Something with mochi, but I kind of want something Western. See anything good?"

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[info]keiito
2009-07-16 09:09 pm UTC (link)
The chairs *were* comfy. Sort and warm and easy to sink down into. The last time he'd been here, he'd sat alone along one of the walls and sipped away at a latte.

This was much nicer. The entire "being social" thing in general was much nicer. Made him wonder why he hadn't done it much before.

"Hrmm," Keiichi mused, looking over the menu carefully. "They have lots of things here. Pies and cakes and danishes and what not." It all sounded good. "Western...chocolatey or not?" He needed to narrow down the options somewhat, otherwise, they'd likely be there drooling over the menu all day long.

"We could," he offered, "order two desserts and split them? That way we could have a better variety." Besides, that meant it would be easier to come to a choice on two as opposed to one.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-19 08:16 pm UTC (link)
"Oh, that's a great idea," Kozue said, a genuine smile spreading across her face - she didn't have to pick just one? She could go with two? Oh, but which two?

"Something chocolate, definitely. What about the Black Forest Gateau?" She pointed to the picture on the menu - of course Kozue would go for the items of which there were pictures on the menu: they popped right out, and she didn't have to do any more work than look at the picture and the title. "Oh, this, how do you say this? Sa-che-ru..." She frowned, staring at the katakana label for the Sachertorte. "Do you know what this one is, Ito-senpai?"

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[info]keiito
2009-07-20 12:28 am UTC (link)
"It's...Austrian, I think," Keiichi told her, looking at the label. "Sachertorte. I'm surprised they have it here."

It was one of the dozens of foods he only knew about because he'd seen it made on Tungsten Chef: in this case, one of the show's Valentine's Day Dessert Specials.

"It's a very rich chocolate cake. Sometimes it has a layer of apricot jam, and they serve it with whipped cream."

Of course they did. Most things here were probably served with whipped cream, the first year across the table from him excepted. Pity on that point.

"One chocolate, one not," he asked her, before offering another alternative. "Or both chocolate?"

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-20 05:12 am UTC (link)
"Probably one chocolate, and one not... Don't you think it'd be too much, otherwise? Hm." She paused and thought, before remembering to be gracious. "Well, what do you want?" She asked, flipping through to the next page of her menu. "Chocolate or not? Maybe fruit?" She flipped another page, still just looking from picture to picture. When she ran out of menu, she started back through in reverse, even less carefully. "What looks best? What'd you like most of the stuff here?"

Well, if she chose a chocolate one and he chose the other one, that would be the fair way to figure things out.

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[info]keiito
2009-07-20 05:20 am UTC (link)
Flipping through the menu again, Keiichi set his sights upon something he hadn't had in a very long time: peach cobbler.

"Ooooh," he exclaimed, pointing at the cobbler treat on the menu. "This looks good, and we can get it served hot with vanilla ice cream!"

That settled that. Now, it was up to Kozue to decide what chocolate goodness they would murder themselves with.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-20 06:30 pm UTC (link)
She leaned over to get a glance at what Keiichi was pointing out, although his description had already mostly sold it for her - actually, just the fact that he'd decided was good enough. "That looks delicious. So we can have that, and how about the Austrian chocolate cake? Unless you think that apricots wouldn't go well with the peaches? I don't know much about pairing a menu, so I'll defer to you on food."

As if that hadn't become rather obvious by this point. "I'm curious, do you make any of these dishes in Cooking Club?"

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[info]keiito
2009-07-20 06:40 pm UTC (link)
"It should be fine," Keiichi replied. "There's not a lot of apricot jam. Just enough to play off of the richness of the chocolate in the cake. The two of them should go well together."

He wasn't an *expert* at this by any stretch, but he did know enough to know what tasted good.

"I wish," Keiichi replied, sadly. "Cooking Club is really designed to help teach novices how to cook basic things," Keiichi replied. "I make most of the fancier stuff on my own, but to be honest, I haven't really made a lot of desserts. That apple pie we had was one of my first. I'm used to making dinners and lunches and things."

Primarily because he'd cooked dinner at home before coming to Iburi, and he had lots of practice at it.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-20 07:10 pm UTC (link)
"Oh, that's too bad - about the club, I mean," Kozue said, closing her menu and casting her eyes about for a waiter. There should be one around here, right? Now that a decision had been made, she was hungry.

"Although I'm sure that the novices really appreciate being taught the basics. So what kinds of things do you make? Normal dinner foods and things like that? Lunch?" Maybe they taught bento-making? Who knew. After all, that was something important. Even if Kozue had to practically lock herself in the kitchen to force herself to make even a simple lunch, once she'd finished she was usually pleased she'd done it.

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[info]keiito
2009-07-20 07:21 pm UTC (link)
"Yeah, basic stuff like that. A lot of kids are living in the dorms away from home for the first time in their lives. We have a cafeteria, but it's nice to be able to make your own lunch." Not to mention the cafeteria was, in Keiichi's opinion, the REAL threat to burn down the school.

Not that the club had a lot of members.

"We work on basic things from a variety of cuisines. Bentos, sandwiches...basically, we want Cooking Club members to never have to rely on the cafeteria." There was a touch of pride in his voice, as he too began to search for a waiter. Dessert was, after all, serious business.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-20 10:07 pm UTC (link)
"So you teach bento-making." She smiled just a little, pleased that her guess had been right, even if she hadn't articulated it. "And other things for lunches. That's a good goal, I suppose," Kozue said, nodding. "It's something you can apply practically right after you learn it. Which isn't like the clubs I'm in at all."

That was said without any particular regret, or need for sympathy: it was merely true. She really only did Tennis because she liked the uniform, and Ikebana was almost completely useless in a modern high school. If they'd had a Tea Ceremony Club, they could use the flower arrangements, sure. But there was no Tea Ceremony Club.

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[info]keiito
2009-07-20 10:21 pm UTC (link)
"Clubs are about having fun," Keiichi replied, without missing a beat. "Unless of course you're one of those really ambitious kids who takes five clubs so it looks good on their resumes..."

He made a small face. Cooking Club had several of that sort of kid, and they tended to not do anything.

"It's much better to do what you enjoy than what other people think you should be doing." Darkly, Keiichi thought that applied to a lot of other things.

Flagging down a waiter, Keiichi ordered for them, the two desserts and a coffee for himself. "Anything to drink for you," he asked Kozue. All of a sudden he was ravenously hungry.

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[info]anthesphoria
2009-07-20 10:32 pm UTC (link)
"Can I have an iced coffee with milk?" She asked, looking up at the waiter quite sweetly. It sounded good, at least as far as coffee beverages went. Anyway, she was in Chagall Cafe. They were absolutely famous for their coffee: how could she not get something with coffee in it? "Oh, and lots of sugar, please."

She looked back to Keiichi, handing her menu to the waiter, and trying to figure out why he'd looked almost upset for a moment. "Do you think so? I mean, about doing what you like, instead of what other people think is best?" She resettled again in her chair, and tipped her head a little. She thought perhaps she could see why that had come up when they were talking about clubs - he was a guy, and he was the leader of the cooking club, after all. People had to have given him trouble about it: Kozue herself had initially wondered a bit.

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(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-21 02:38 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-21 03:17 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-21 04:18 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-21 04:58 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-21 05:16 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-21 05:31 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-22 03:32 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-22 04:09 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-22 04:41 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-22 05:12 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-22 07:24 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-22 07:39 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-23 12:40 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-23 02:21 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-23 02:42 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-23 03:32 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]keiito, 2009-07-23 04:20 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anthesphoria, 2009-07-24 03:53 am UTC

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