Day 2: Later Afternoon, starting at 4pm, spanning into the evening

[arcadia_central]

Who: Everyone except the exploration team, which has left by this point.
Where: Central Square
What: Following from uSUC's invite.
Rating: G
Warnings: TBA

Comments

[lil_rookie]

Elena had been ordered to go with Rude in search of Reno, and after a slightly restless night's sleep, she had been ready to do that. After fixing herself that morning to the point where she could leave her makeshift apartment without feeling completely embarrassed (oh, had she ever valued a shower as much as she had that morning?), the Turk had been on her way to go find Rude when she happened across this...what? Board meeting? At least, the set up seemed vaguely reminiscent of one.

As she started to approach, she caught sight of Rufus' clothes (no one could miss such vibrant whiteness), and she hung back. If she investigated this, he'd probably claim she was spying on him or breaking orders or nagging being overbearing or something of the like. She was given a mission, after all, and to break it when he was already in a pissy mood things were in a dire and crucial situation was just asking for trouble.

But there were sandwiches. And she was still hungry, dammit. And she couldn't really work well on an empty, un-caffeinated stomach.

Slipping into the crowd as quickly and silently as she could, she snatched up a sandwich and cup of coffee, noting that synthetic smell once again. This wouldn't be good, but it'd be useful. That was enough.

[14thsummoner]

Tea. That was what had Raidou going at the moment; honest, bitter, strong tea. After fooling around with Kaworu, he'd asked for a cup, and now he'd gotten himself another one, wondering what on earth had gotten all of the people together in one place. And why there was random green everywhere. Had he missed a memorandum?

Baffled and feeling far too tired to deal with new people, though that qualification neither showed on his face nor in his voice, he decided to talk to someone he'd at least met before. Hopefully she wouldn't mind the bags under his eyes or the laborious way he sat himself down, not bothering with any of the questionable food that had been offered.

"...hey," he offered after a moment, "how are you holding up?" Might as well be a good Husband guardian and see how the dame was doing. Didn't seem to be too many of them, which was kinda weird. Maybe uSUC didn't want the competition?

[lil_rookie]

Elena nearly jumped as she heard the voice addressing her, whirling around in a flicker of blonde and black. Raidou. Of course it would be him, but that meant other people might look at her which would lead to Rufus looking at her, and after their last discussion, she wasn't sure she wanted that sort of attention.

So, she walked on the opposite side of him, trying to put him between herself and her president's line of sight. It wouldn't save her, really, but it would be enough for the moment to dodge it.

"Um, fine." And she was, really. Sleep had done wonders and this disgusting tumeric seasoned liver on multi-grain synthetic bread sandwich{anti-oxidants and protein rolled into one!) was giving a bit of her life back to her, at least. She was about to ask the same of him, but one look in his body language and at his face, and she already knew.

"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" She asked it nice enough, yet scrutinizing in a big-sister/mother fashion. "You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else.

"Would you like me to take some shifts from you?" And she almost regretted asking; Rufus would probably get a little pissy if he saw her moonlighting with another job, but she thought she could bribe him with the idea that it would gather more information about the other inhabitants and the computer. Bah. She'd handle all that when she came to it.

[14thsummoner]

The boy blinked as Elena walked around him, rather baffled and confused by the sudden change in Elena's demeanor. Was something wrong? Seemed like she didn't want to be seen... which meant that she was in the wrong place entirely, due to just how open the square was. Ah well, dames were allowed their quirks.

But then she asked that question and scrutinized him, and Raidou cast his gaze down. His voice, however, was quiet instead of defiant; more a scolded puppy than a fearsome guard dog. "C'mon, lay off. I've already gotten a full load from uSUC, I don't need anyone else nagging me about it."

After that, though, he quietly laughed, looking up at her with a little grin. "But nah, I wouldn't want to impose. Besides, we've finally got people here now! How could I take a nap when there are things to settle?" That grin became wider, more genuine, and his eyes gleamed with happiness. This was the duty of a Kuzunoha! To protect people, to keep things on an even keel, to keep lives on a steady course... that was what his line had done for time out of mind, and now he finally had a purpose again. Compared to that, he really didn't feel tired or hungry, not in any more than a physical sense.

[lil_rookie]

And this dame woman had her own set of quirks problems, and it wore a white suit on the other side of the square.

Elena's eyes watched him looked like she kicked him, and with a labored sigh, she patted his back in the strictly platonic I'm sorry I yelled sort of fashion. "Who cares? What good are you to anyone like this? You're exhausted! Remember when I ran myself into the ground and how useless I was? You're doing the same thing to yourself, Raidou."

Impose? Impose? Was that what he thought? Brown eyes leveled at him, flat. "It's no imposition. As someone who lives here, too, I should be able to pull my own weight. Plus, you know I can defend myself..." And she smirked, referring to their stint upon their first meeting, that little fight in the apartment. "All you have to do is tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

[14thsummoner]

"Yeah, well..." Raidou blinked in confusion as Elena patted him on the back- he could count the number of times people had touched him since he'd got his title on one hand- but he did have to admit that she had a point. Still, it wasn't like this was the first time he'd burned the candle at both ends, or that he'd admit that he was running himself into the ground. "...way to be a wet blanket. Besides, I'm used to running around all over the place at all hours; I know my limits. And uSUC'll drag me off to bed sooner or later anyway."

Said kind of sourly; he was a mostly full grown man, he didn't need a set bed time!

At Elena's smirk, Raidou grinned at her. Okay, he'd admit it, she had a grip and she knew her holds. Would do a whole lot of nothing against most demons, but at least she could handle herself against any palookas who might want to try something. Some of the guys Raidou had seen were kinda... questionable. "I guess if you're stuck on it, you could ask uSUC for an assignment. I'll make sure to have one of mine look after you, just in case." But his face suddenly looked doubtful, the boy considering first Elena, then the large screen for uSUC. It was fine for Raidou to be Husband a servant, because that was what he was supposed to be. But Elena was a real bearcat, and she wouldn't be happy in that position. Would she?

[lil_rookie]

Although hardly the "touchy feely" type, Elena didn't mind giving credit or comfort where it was due; wasn't there some sort of rule, Golden or Silver or Bronze, that stated doing unto others, so on, so forth? Yeah, it came back to that; she was returning the favor he had given her enough since she had arrived.

"I'm not a 'wet blanket'!" she huffed, her lips screwing in a little frown as she braved another bite of the sandwich. Who the hell combined THESE things together? But then again, this was Central they were talking about, and Central was making one terrible wife, in Elena's opinion.

And then... then he had to open his mouth, didn't he? Elena scowled, narrowed her eyes, and leaned in close, nose to nose with Raidou. Look after her? LOOK AFTER HER? Didn't he get who she was, yet?

Of course not. He had never heard of Turks, had he?

"I don't need a babysitter," she hissed, pointing at him with her sandwich like the deadly weapon it could be. "I can handle myself better than you could, probably. I'm a Turk, I'll have you know!"

[14thsummoner]

Raidou honestly wasn't sure which was worse: Central's cooking, having said cooking aimed in his direction, or Elena right in his face when he was tired and wanted some space. Not that she wasn't a cute dame and all, cute as a button, but apparently Raidou had unleashed a monster when he'd let her take him down. If that was the best she had, she was going to go the exact route that all the ladies went in Raidou's experience- charging right in and then expecting him to bail them out when things got rough.

Indulging in latent misogyny a quiet sigh, Raidou didn't say a thing in direct response to that, just shifted his eyes to the left- 'rolling' might have been a better phrase, really. That last statement, though, had him a bit baffled. "Okay, so you're a Turk; I'm Japanese, myself. What does that have to do with anything?"

[lil_rookie]

Bail her out?! Oh, he was so lucky he didn't voice his thoughts on that one; she would have had a field day with that one. After all, she had helped save the president when he fell off the building! She did the saving, dammit! Well, most of the time. If one didn't count the battles with Cloud, that is.

She retracted her dangerous weapon food when he looked away, biting her tongue against commenting that a gentleman didn't roll his eyes at a lady, no matter how loud or beligerent she was being. "'Japanese'? I've never heard of them. What are they, some elite fighting group or something? Must not be that special if they're not talked about." Hmph. Point one for her, at least in her mind.

[14thsummoner]

"Only the nation that's in all the papes," Raidou shot back, "and home to all the devil summoners, and becoming a major power? While the Turks are still doing their thing in Istanbul, we're cleaning house!"

He could be, perhaps, forgiven for a little bit of nationalistic pride; there were great and exciting things happening in Japan, and while he disapproved of the spiritual decline of his country, at least there was something to gain in exchange. At the least, he wasn't going to argue from a point of weakness.

[lil_rookie]

Japan? Was it a nation? She frowned a little, sitting back as she looked at him with confused eyes. "The only places of consequence are Midgar and Wutai. And Costa del Sol if you're looking for a good time. And what the hell is Istanbul? I've never heard of it!"

Really now, he must be too tired, if he was spouting weird things like this. Taking another bite, she peered around his shoulder, spying at Rufus before hiding back behind Raidou once more. Shouldn't Tseng be attracted to this large gathering? What was going on? And where was Rude?

Why... why did she feel so alone and alienated from all of her people?

"Is there anyone you know here?" she whispered. "Anyone from your world?"

[14thsummoner]

"Istanbul is where all the Turks are," Raidou stubbornly insisted, "and they get creamed every time they try to pick a fight with anyone." Really, it was too easy to forget that they were from entirely different worlds... even though Elena was mentioning places as unknown to Raidou as Raidou's names were to her.

But Elena was acting really strangely, even moreso than normal, and Raidou finally cocked an eyebrow, his detective instincts nagging at him. "Nah, there's nobody from my world except me." And he managed to not let any sadness enter his voice; he was awfully proud of himself for that. "And you're looking jumpy; where's the fire?"

[lil_rookie]

She ignored the further talk on Istanbul; as far as she was concerned, it might have been a piece of cake he was talking about, and then referring to food fights afterwards. Her mind was elsewhere, and it was obvious to everyone apparently, because even he asked.

"My boss is over there." She muttered the words carefully, almost numb, before looking up at him. How would she explain that he had yelled at her already for nagging, that she was supposed to be on her mission to find Reno, that she was in direct violation of all rules and performing a blatant act of insubordination by even being here? And how would that make her look in Raidou's eyes when she was only moments ago telling him what a great Turk she was?

Shame. Shame shame shame.

"He can't find me. He can't."

[diamond_edged]

Except when the screen had started playing, uSUC prattling on, Rufus had started looking around.

And right now, he was looking right at her, eyes narrowed.

[14thsummoner]

Raidou glanced around as Elena said her piece, knowing entirely how it was to have a boss breathing over one's shoulder. Heck, his boss had been the herald of a god; didn't get much more stressful than that! But in all actuality, he didn't really need that prompting to know where Elena's boss was.

Who else would have looked in their direction with such a look on his face? "...sorry to rain on your parade, but I think he's already found you." Said as Raidou swept around, not even pausing or making a sign that he'd recognized Rufus; he was a detective, after all, he wanted to keep Elena out of trouble as much as he could. Shame that it looked like she had stepped into something really unpleasant this time.

Sadly, the boy was already trying to think of a way to get Elena out of there without too many problems. That was just the Joe he was; when a dame was apparently going to be catching it, he'd step in and do what he could. Even if he couldn't quite think of anything quite at the moment.

[lil_rookie]

Continued here.