Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "No, I'm ...doesn't!"

Ikeda Kiriko | 池田妃凛子 (apathyisboring) wrote in disappear_rpg,
@ 2009-08-06 22:34:00

Entry tags:

Errands, etc.
Who: Kiriko and Kozue
What: Shopping and Socializing
Where: Places there are shops
When: After the meeting, before the party.
Why: I consider the why part of this form to be useless!

Kiriko met with Kozue just outside of the girl's dorms, greeting her with a wave and a friendly sort of simper that was better than her usual deadpan expression, no matter how halfhearted. She really did appreciation that her classmate was offering to help, whether or not she was doing it entirely out of the goodness of her heart. Her other friends were too high-energy and chatty, but she didn't much feel like going alone either.

Besides, surely Kozue needed a distraction from all they'd been tasked with, too.

"I haven't really decided on anything, but I do know where we can go for the stuff. It's a little party shop with good prices. I can pick up some ornaments and wall decals and some other stuff. If people think it's neat enough to tear off the walls and take home, that's less clean up for me. I don't really care where we detour, but I did want to pick up a dress to wear, at least."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-07 03:09 am UTC (link)

Kiriko was right - Kozue did need a distraction. And how. The beginning of the week had been brutal, emotionally, and the promise of a party at the end of it had done some good towards improving Kozue's general mood, but... it wasn't soon enough, really. Shopping, however, was a perfect mid-week break.

She came out of the dorm, still in her uniform, with a bag slung over one shoulder, and returned Kiriko's wave with one of her own, and a smile just a bit more full. Then again, Kozue's default expression was a mild smile, not a flat stare, so it came much more naturally.

"Oh, that's one of the detours you meant? I'm up for that." She nodded, just to emphasize. She hadn't picked out her outfit either, but it was Kiriko's party - Kiriko's dress-picking should take precedence. "And the theme's still up in the air? Hm. Maybe they'll have some good stuff at the party store."

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apathyisboring
2009-08-07 03:13 am UTC (link)

"I'm counting on it. It's more like a decorations place - I went there before when I moved here to pick out a decal for my dorm - but they've got cheap stuff for parties too. I think we'll do the dress first though, if that's fine."

She was already leading them to the store she had in mind, so it would have to be fine.

"Are you bringing anybody, by the way?"

She figured if Kozue answered no, then she would expect to leave with a boy on her arm rather than arrive with one.

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anthesphoria
2009-08-07 03:50 am UTC (link)

"To the party? Oh, I haven't asked him about it, but I'm probably bringing Ito-sempai," she said, setting off alongside Kiriko, following her lead. She left it at that - if Kiriko had heard the rumors, it would make sense, and really, she seemed like a savvy enough person that she'd have heard. It'd been all over school in its various permutations.

"And, yes, dress shopping is the best place to start, you're right. So where are we going?" Which meant, actually, that Kozue was curious about where Kiriko shopped. And what kind of dress she meant to wear - were they thinking white and puffy sweet sixteen like in America? Short and sexy? (Wait, would Kiriko really ever choose sexy of her own accord.) Elegant? Or... what?

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apathyisboring
2009-08-07 04:02 am UTC (link)

"Ito-senpai?" Kiriko did not consider that her incredulous response might be considered rude until after she'd already said it. "I didn't think those rumours were true. So are you guys together now?"

Her first thought was 'that wouldn't last,' and the second 'duh.' They must have hooked up after the dungeon. She wondered vaguely if Keiichi really knew what he was getting himself into, he was so sentimental about that kiss...

"There's a string of dress stores down this way. I don't want anything too fancy or too young or too stuffy. I think I saw something I liked in one store, but we can just look around."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-07 04:23 am UTC (link)

"You don't have to be surprised." Kozue said with a laugh; "So you'd heard. You know, he didn't know about it at all until I explained it to him?" She wandered along, as they arrived at the mouth of the little shopping street. Kozue had been here herself before, on occasion, with friends: and there was a really nice lingerie boutique about a block from here, but there was no way in hell that Kiriko would be interested.

She peered around a little, looking for a likely place to begin. "Oh, can we start here? I heard this place sells a lot of unique pieces." She stepped over to the door of the smallish store, wondering if her companion would approve.

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apathyisboring
2009-08-07 04:31 am UTC (link)

"Oh, so you did hook up then?" Maybe that was rude, but Kiriko was curious and Kozue always seemed pretty forward. It's not like she was judging or anything. Surely her classmate would understand the impulse to gossip. "Huh? Oh, sure, we can start here."

She stepped in, holding the door open for Kozue behind her, then starting to mill around without a backwards glance. She was checking the mannequins first, and she'd rifle through the other racks later. Something caught her eye within a minute - light blue with zebra print on the hem and sash, flashy but nice - and she slung it over her arm for when she hit the dressing room.

"He's kind of... I didn't really think he was your type, Kondo-san. Not to insult Ito-senpai or anything, he's a good guy."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-07 05:20 am UTC (link)

"Mmmm," Kozue lagged a little behind Kiriko, watching what she picked out, debating her answer. And then, "He's not really the kind of guy I usually go for, so... maybe not so much, yet," she admitted, stopping to examine a creamy lace dress - ooh, it had ruffles. It would swoosh when she moved, it'd be cute. "The rumor greatly exaggerated the truth, I'm afraid."

Why, she almost sounded sorry about that. "So, what are you thinking about the dress-code being? Fancy? Casual? In-between?"

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apathyisboring
2009-08-07 05:25 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, he's a bit bland," she agreed distractedly, eyeing the dress Kozue was looking at. She soon moved on to the next rack.

"I want something in between. That way if people show up too fancy or too casual it's not such a big deal. So, obviously I'm looking for an in-between dress..."

Kiriko gave the rack of gaudy, overbright dresses a lingering look as she passed. Maybe for some other occasion.

"Just as long as everybody who's coming has fun, I guess."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-07 07:17 pm UTC (link)

"I'm sure it'll be fun - you've got drinks and music and a big group of people, you've done pretty much everything you can at this point. It'll be fun, or, at least, exciting." Not that exciting was always a good thing, but it was certainly far better to have hosted an infamous but thrilling birthday bash than a total bore.

"I guess since most people seem to be hearing about it by word of mouth, it's a bit late to institute a dress code. You know, three different girls in our year told me about the party, and how I should definitely show up?" She grinned - gave a small chuckle, and kept shifting through the one rack she was looking at.

Pastel colors were good for her; nothing too extreme, nothing too loud, and definitely nothing from that rack of dresses. Wow. Was that leopard print?

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apathyisboring
2009-08-07 09:10 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, it all got a bit out of hand." She smiled to herself, chuckling as well. "But like I said, it wasn't even my idea to start with. I think it's more like an excuse for a party than anything specific at this point, but really, that's fine with me."

Bigger was probably better in this case - it meant not having to deal with the sticky business of guest lists and being a proper entertaining hostess, the kind of stuff she really didn't have the patience for. It would be easier to relax.

"What do you think of our new team mates? I'm starting to think everyone who goes to that place becomes like us. We'll have the whole school on board before long..."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-08 02:56 am UTC (link)

Out of hand was fine by her; weren't huge parties supposed to be better, anyway. "At least you'll get a zillion presents. Most people who crash will probably think that bringing a present will make it easier to get in." She flashed a sort of what are you going to do, that's how people are smile, shrugged, and moved on to another rack of dresses.

"Do you think that's it? I've been wondering about it myself. There isn't anyone we know of that's gone there and not - joined the team, so to speak?"

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apathyisboring
2009-08-08 10:12 pm UTC (link)

"I doubt half of them will be any good, though. Somebody's probably going to try to give me their shoes and act like it's a present they didn't have time to wrap."

The next dress Kiriko slung over her arm was thankfully more tasteful than her first two picks, and the one that followed was similarly attractive. The disparity was enough to make one think she was deliberately looking for the most garish dresses available. Four now hanging from her forearm, Kiriko beelined for the dressing rooms.

"Might be good, though - maybe we aren't "special" and "responsible" after all."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-09 03:19 am UTC (link)

She snickered at the used-shoes present, having absolutely no trouble imagining some of their schoolmates pulling nonsense like that. Here, Ikeda-san, on the occasion of your birth, please accept my left sock. Then again, the many boys who admired Kiriko would probably make up for it with really extravagant presents.

"I kind of like being special," Kozue pointed out in a quiet voice, following Kiriko to the dressing room; about midway there she stopped, and made the decision to try on that cream-and-lace dress anyway. If only so that she has something to do while Kiriko goes through her four choices. She hustled to catch up with the other girl at the changing area.

"Not so much the other stuff that goes along with it, of course, but, whatever. But the new people seem like pretty decent people." You know, not delinquents or lunatics, so better than a fair portion of the current team lineup. "I don't know any of them, except for seeing Tanaka-sempai at club once in a while."

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apathyisboring
2009-08-09 03:29 am UTC (link)

"I don't know. Maybe it hasn't really hit me yet, but something like this should feel more... life-altering than it does. I don't really feel any different. Kind of how I feel about birthdays, too," Kiriko reflected, pulling her arm into one of the dresses and speaking to Kozue through the closed door.

It was an odd analogy and probably not an apt one. Birthdays should feel significantly less life-altering than something like discovering a magical and vaguely occult world with horrible dangers, then being elected as some kind of psudeo-leader of a group of warrior-teens. They knew about the murders, now, but she still wasn't convinced it was within their power to stop whatever was happening from happening. As for being leader, well, it was hard to feel anything but irritated at being appointed in-charge of such a dysfunctional ragtag group. They'd just be depending on her to do the impossible.

"They seem quiet," she agreed. "I don't know them well, but compared to the rest of the group..."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-10 06:03 am UTC (link)

"I know what you mean." Compared to the rest of the group, quiet might be a blessing. "And Sakuraba-sempai is practically the entire Kendo Club, from what I understand. That's got to be good, right?" Kozue stopped talking after that, realizing that she really couldn't continue without drawing some strange attention. Besides, she was in a dressing room - she couldn't actually see if anyone was listening in from outside, or one of the other stalls.

"How old are you going to be, anyway? Sixteen?" Kozue asked, after that pause, deciding to shift topics. And Kiriko had mentioned birthdays, so it wasn't the most awkward of moves. As she spoke, she was shrugging out of her school uniform and into the dress she'd been admiring. Oh - it was loose around the top. And it fit a bit funny around the hips, and, as she turned to get a better view of it in the mirror, she saw that the skirt length was... off, somehow.

It figured. With a sigh, she started pulling it off again. "And how are the dresses coming along?"

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apathyisboring
2009-08-10 06:19 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, sixteen. Technically I'm already sixteen, the party's a bit late..." Kiriko didn't mind the evasive subject change - she'd said all there really was to say about the newcomers, who all seemed thankfully boring compared to the likes of Tom, Kanaye and Reizo.

"I'm coming out, take a look for me? I'll look at yours too, if you want."

She stepped out in one of the later dresses she'd added to the pile, which was a deep purple and thankfully devoid of animal print. She chewed the inside of her cheek and tried to inconspicuously investigate how it made her bum look before looking to the changeroom where Kozue was.

"I didn't ask you what you think of our current team, though."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-10 07:10 pm UTC (link)

"It didn't really fit - it actually kind of fell off, but hold on a second, I want to see," she said, grabbing her skirt from the floor and putting it back on hastily - her white shirt followed, and she poked her head out the door.

"Oh, I like that - it's a good color on you." And it wasn't eyeball-hurting loud like the blue-and-zebra number that Kiriko had picked up first. Although blue would probably look even better... animal print. Honestly.

"The current team?" Kozue made a noncommittal thinking noise, buttoning up the last part of her shirt collar, that she'd left undone when she popped out to see Kiriko. "Well, it's made up of a few very strong personalities - that are going to constantly butt heads - I really don't know if there's any solution for some of them..."

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apathyisboring
2009-08-10 07:23 pm UTC (link)

"Who are we talking about in particular?"

She flashed an amused sort of smile at Kozue before ducking back into the changing room. The purple was nice, but she still wanted to try out the zebra print one.

"Shirai is an obvious problem," she mused, squirming out of the dress and unzipping the next one. "But he's one I'm used to dealing with, so I don't mind him personally. Sagaki is a real piece of work, though, huh? I think he actually has some, like... disorder, or something like that. I mean, the way he is, that's just not normal."

Kiriko's voice sounded slightly more animated than it had for most of the day. Complaining about her teammates apparently had that effect on her. She stepped out again in the zebra-print dress this time, still adjusting it around the top.

"Satou's completely shameless and never takes anything seriously - can you believe anybody finds him charming? I guess if you like a really direct approach, direct like 'Look at me, I'm staring down your shirt'..."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-11 04:38 am UTC (link)

Kozue dropped into a convenient chair to wait while Kiriko changed, laughing a little at the portrait of Kanaye. Well, that was definitely accurate. "I think he's probably well-meaning, but he just never shuts up."

She kicked the leg of the chair a little, thinking. "Sagaki-sempai is... You know, I'm not sure, maybe he does have some kind of problem. I sometimes get the impression that he was raised under a rock or something, but he's not cruel. Shirai-san is exactly the opposite." Not strange, but quite cruel. She sighed, quietly, in a slightly resigned way. How long would he stick around--and what was keeping him there, anyway? Kozue couldn't imagine that he stayed out of some sense of responsibility or concern for other people; it simply wouldn't make sense to her.

"Do you have a good way of making sure he doesn't hurt anyone?" Anyone else, that was?

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apathyisboring
2009-08-11 05:17 am UTC (link)

"What do you think of this one?" she asked, turning full circle in front of one of the mirrors on the outside of the changeroom, still in the zebra-dress.

"Maybe he was raised under a rock, or maybe he does have some kind of problem. I don't know. He's all over the map, I really don't get him, but I don't think he likes us very much. As for Shirai..." Kiriko grimaced. She had a better idea of what he was like than the rest of the group, but didn't really want to be considered the authority, and therefore blamed whenever anything went wrong.

"He isn't really the loose cannon everybody thinks he is. I don't mean, like, he's sunshine and rainbows on the inside, I just mean that... well, he's a yakuza," she dropped her voice at the last word, not wanting to be overheard, but the effect was giving it more significance than she would have liked. "And he acts like one. Which is to say, if you don't get in his way and don't challenge him, he'll leave you alone. Everything's fun and power games with Shirai, and the best way to win is to not play."

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anthesphoria
2009-08-11 05:27 am UTC (link)

"Maybe he's a yakuza, but he's also just a jerk. Fun and power games?" Kozue asked, blinking a little. "What's that supposed to mean? And I don't think that's necessarily true, about him leaving people alone if they don't bother him." She sighed again, and turned her attention to the dress, instead of the problem of Shirai Reizo. Things like that really shouldn't get to her, but...

Whatever. Maybe Kiriko's advice was sound. "Do you like the print?" She asked, trying for diplomacy instead of it looks like it belongs in a zoo. That was her grandmother's voice in her ear, of course; it was, actually, rather exciting, and the blue was nice.

"What about our other teammates? Do you know any of them well?"

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apathyisboring
2009-08-11 05:37 am UTC (link)

"Well, yeah. Anything that doesn't fall into the 'staying on top' category falls into the 'fun' category, which is the hard-to-predict part... I usually just steer clear when he looks like trouble. You can tell when that is, his smile gets way too big."

She wondered absently if she should be telling the rest of the team these 'tips,' but they seemed to her like they'd be wasted - not that they wouldn't be somewhat wasted on Kozue. She was usually a pretty polite person, Kiriko couldn't see him giving her trouble. The ones she could see getting in trouble probably wouldn't listen to her anyway. Really, the more she thought about it, the more pointless it seemed to talk about in the first place. Kiriko shrugged and held the ends of her dress out.

"Yeah. I don't have much of it, though, my parents think it's hideous. I just think it's more interesting this way."

Deciding that she would come to no further revelations about the dress, she slipped back into the changerooms to try on a third one.

"Our other teammates? I know Misaki-chan well. But, you probably do too, she really wears her heart on her sleeve." Kiriko sounded slightly disapproving at this. "I've known Emi-chan for a while as well, and Tanaka-san likes to come to Ikebana club and lecture people. I've got no real prior experience with anybody else, though I'm getting to know Ito-san and Oubai-san a bit. They seem easy enough to figure out, but I could be wrong. What about you?"

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anthesphoria
2009-08-11 05:56 am UTC (link)

"I didn't really hang out with any of them before this, no," she replied, shaking her head as Kiriko headed back to change again. "I mean, I certainly never dated any of them." She laughed a little--it was a bit too well-mannered to really be a giggle, though it came close.

"I know my parents--well, my family--would never pay for a dress like that - then again, if I wanted to host a party like this, I'd probably be in trouble, too." She covered the parents slip - her mother would, probably like that kind of dress, and had been telling her she should have a sweet sixteen party, but her grandmother was the one who made those decisions, in all practical senses.

"I think people would be surprised to see you in that dress, but it suited you. What is the next one like?" Meaning, was it one of the tasteful ones, or one of the loud ones?

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apathyisboring
2009-08-12 06:45 pm UTC (link)

"Not as interesting."

Kiriko stepped out, and indeed it was one of the tasteful ones, this time a teal colour. Again, she frowned and investigated its fit in the mirror.

"My mom mostly manages my clothes, and she tends to go for whatever's in style. I just usually get paraded past my dad for an 'acceptability check...' but neither of them are around right now, so I can get what I like as long as I look nice in all the pictures."

Family was usually a tricky subject for Kiriko, but Kozue had already met her parents. It was much more comfortable mentioning them, however sparse the details were.

"I think I know what I'm getting, anyway. Did you want to look around any more or should we move on?"

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anthesphoria
2009-08-13 04:28 am UTC (link)

"At least she likes what's in style," Kozue said, with a short nod, looking at the teal dress. It was nice, if bright. "You picked already? Hm, I should probably get the rest of my stuff from the dressing room."

My, but that was a lack of enthusiasm. "I'm pretty much done," she said, standing up. Or, she could be done: if she was going to stay to look at more dresses, it might take her a really long time. Longer than she'd wish to inflict on Kiriko--and probably longer than they had for shopping, for that matter. She'd have to try on everything she liked at least twice, if not three times, for one thing.

"So they want nice pictures from the party?" She grinned, as she scooped up her blazer and the rest of her things; "Should be fun to find the acceptable ones for parents to see."

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apathyisboring
2009-08-19 04:28 pm UTC (link)

"I'm just going to take a few of them outside at the beginning when everyone is still fairly.. upright, I guess."

She emerged from the dressing room for a final time, now back in her schoolclothes with the dresses slung over her arm once again. When they approached the counter, it seemed she'd opted for the purple.

"I've got a belt at home that would go really nicely with it, I think," she explained as she set it on the countertop and searched her bag for her wallet. "But yeah, I don't think my mom would mind the drinking as long as I keep a handle on myself, it's more my dad who has a problem with that type of thing. He'd say it was 'unattractive behaviour,' which I guess means I'm still okay as long as I'm not getting wasted, personally. Either way, a couple of acceptable pictures from throughout the night should be enough."

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