necronomicon

affiliated with kinged-rp

[statusbar]

jokerkakkoii​:

Hermit || Akira & Futaba

A thoughtful silence punctuated the end of Futaba’s explanation as Akira sat contemplative, absorbing the information she’d just laid onto him. The weight of it, of young Futaba’s pursuit after something her mother had apparently been looking into, dug into his heart like a thorn. It seemed like she had a tough task ahead, searching for hints of hints to grab onto. But, he also admired her tenacity, and thought he could kind of understand her resolve behind it.

“I see,” he said to finally break the silence, and lifted a hand to rub the back of his head. “That wasn’t the type of answer I expected, but… Well, I’d just want to find it, too, I think, if I was in your position. Do you have any leads? Possible locations, key witnesses, that kind of thing? Also, do you happen to know what the research was concerning?” Futaba was smart, he knew. And, well, he might not have known the full extent of her knowledge and technological prowess, but he nonetheless considered the possibility that he was just asking questions she’d already considered and exhausted. Regardless, being newly privy to the gargantuan project she’d been working on, he definitely was coming at it from a starting point position. And even if he couldn’t end up being too much help, he felt he at least could do whatever he could do.

“Ah...yeah, kind of a lot to unload, huh? Sorry about that,” she murmured, punctuating the sentence by taking another bite of curry. His questions were all valid, but the problem with that was...she didn’t. “...No, just a lot of vague thoughts and things that don’t add up,” she answered, remembering the other strange blue haired guy who’d delivered such a cryptic message about her mom. “The only thing I know for sure is a bunch of guys in suits showed up after she died and read me a note they claimed she left behind, and they took all of her research with them.” 

That was a lie, probably. That was the conclusion she’d come to the more she thought about it, the more she actively tried to remember what life had been like. Sure, her mother had been a bit strict with her sometimes and frazzled but...most of the negativity was a product of her own mind, a specter she’d conjured up with her own guilt over something that was definitely not her fault. 

As for the subject of the search, that was easy. “Human Cognition,” she answered without looking up from her plate. “She wanted to study the different factors that could change a person’s cognition, if you could rehabilitate say, a criminal, by changing their cognition.” She wasn’t sure if her mother had found what she was looking for, or if she’d gotten to close to a truth certain people didn’t want getting out. 

“Her research is online but....like I said, I just get the feeling something’s missing or not right...”

[innoscentbro]

1337 // 9S & Futaba

@statusbar​

Curious and curiouser, 9S thought to himself, reciting the popular line from a certain eponymous character in Alice in Wonderland. The more he attempted to hack into the YoRHa servers in his free time the more interested he became in what information they were so dedicated about keeping away from him. 9S certainly wasn’t the only hacker employed by YoRHa. If he had to guess there were at least a handful. Perhaps more. At the rate he was going it would take him forever to get in. At this point it wasn’t even about skill. It was about time. 9S’s eyes widened as an epiphany gave halt to all current physical functions and thought processes, his fingers, which had been flying across the keyboard had come to an abrupt halt in midair. That’s it! Perched atop his long desk were six monitors, all of them alight with a program or two running. He rolled his chair over to the furthest one, which was to his left, minimizing some task and bringing up his preferred internet browser of choice. Of course it was taking him forever! If he had to use an analogy, it was like a lone soldier facing off against an army. There was always someone working around the clock to thwart his advances. Now that his gears were turning, 9S’s fingers danced across the keyboard with renewed purpose. Hours had gone by in the blink of an eye, and the project that 9S had busied himself with the entire time had been completed. The white-haired boy leaned back in his seat, it creaking with the shift in weight, and he pushed his glasses up, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “Phase one complete.. Now initiating phase two.” He spoke aloud to himself as he pushed his chair forward once more, his eyes obscured by his glasses that were now reflecting whatever was on screen back at him. He quickly logged into reddit, browsing the forums for a subreddit dedicated to hacking and got to work typing up a post. Now with “phase two” complete, all he had to do now was sit back, relax, and wait for phase three to begin. He admired his post for a moment then leaned back in his seat, taking a huge gulp of water from the water bottle that had been on his desk.

Posted by u/cachemoney 1 minute ago. Bet You Can’t Hack This I created a website with supreme security and encryptions. Let’s see if you can break through. Address below

Included at the bottom of the post was a link to the website that 9S had created.

9S smiled and wondered if anyone would be able to do it. They’d have to be a hacker of greater or at least equal skill of his own to do it. Once they were able to break through the websites defenses all that would be left is a phone number for the “winner” to call or text. Surely if they wanted an even greater challenge his phone would ring or chime soon.

Thirty minutes had passed and the subreddit was already filled with posts from users whining about the difficulty. It was only a matter of time now…

[statusbar]

She’d been browsing on a bored whim, having gotten herself caught up on all the shows she was watching, but feeling too lazy to find something else or open up a game to play. Farming was definitely a mindless activity, but the drop rates sucked, and getting what she needed would probably take more time than she had right now...well, that was a lie, she had plenty of time. There was no shortage of free time for a girl who shut herself in her room, unable to set foot into the outdoors, around people.

Futaba grimaced into her hand, taking a slow sip of her soda as her eyes skimmed over the screen. She was reading but at the same time, not really seeing anything. At the very least, nothing was sticking out to her as something she wanted to do. But then, her cruising brought her to a rather peculiar post. 

She shifted in her chair, leaning closer to the screen as she read the post. A challenge, huh? It sounded interesting, given that all of the comments she’d read so far just seemed to be complaints that it was too difficult. Medjed may have gotten out of her hands, but at least Alibaba was still a secret, a secret weapon when the time came to finally take Medjed down. 

She wasn’t bitter about that at all, not when Medjed had been such a cool name. Not at all when they’d started holding information hostage to get whatever they wanted. (She was absolutely still bitter.) Medjed had been created with the intention of exposing injustice, but the identity had been ripped away from her. But fine. That was fine! She went by Alibaba now, and she’d continue doing the same thing she’d been doing. But, well, a challenge never hurt. 

Sojiro was still at work, so she quietly stepped out of her room, retrieving another soda and some snacks--after all, she’d need the sugar to help keep her brain running quickly, then returned to her seat. With her preparations out of the way, she settled in to get to work, fingers dancing across the keys.

The security was definitely challenge, but there was always a loophole somewhere. No matter how small it might be, if she could find that one little crack, she could slip in. Well, she’d also had a lot of practice going up against codes like this, but she guessed she could understand why others might find it hard. Time slipped away from her as she worked, eventually forgetting the food and drink in front of her as she focused on her task. 

Then...finally, she had done it, greeted with...a phone number? She grimaced, pushing her glasses up to rub her eyes. Well, she definitely wasn’t going to call. She blinked blearily at the time as she slowly became aware of her surroundings once more. She could at least...text, she guessed. At least, this was as Alibaba, not...Futaba. 

Carefully, she opened her messaging app, safely encrypted with a program of her own making that made it hard to trace her number, and typed in the number.

This is Alibaba. I solved your challenge.

She pursed her lips as she hit send. Short, sweet, to the point. Then she set the phone down and pushed it away before the anxiety came out to play.

[statusbar]

jokerkakkoii​:

Hermit || Akira & Futaba

Although Akira couldn’t see the screen very well from where he stood, the page open on Futaba’s laptop did seem to be the homepage of a popular video-hosting website. Since no video was actually open yet, it displayed many suggestions based on her own view history as well as what was popular. He could also see that at least one other tab was open, although the name of the tab was too scrunched for him to read. Still, if anything, the layout of her screen just served to corroborate her own account.

After staring at her screen for what felt like forever - although in reality it was just a few seconds - Akira finally averted his gaze to grant her her privacy. Considering her age, it wasn’t unusual for her to be doing research for school or something, so there was a good chance that whatever it was was boring.

“I see,” he said simply, taking a seat opposite Futaba. It wasn’t like there wasn’t work left to do - he still had dishes to clean, trash to take out - but he could afford a small break. He had already finished most of his own homework as well, so– “Did you need any help with it? The research, I mean.” She seemed to be at a dead end, and, being a student himself, he knew his way around researching a little. “You were so focused on it for so long, did you really make no progress at all?”

She blinked as he sat down, a bit curious why but she didn’t voice the question as he continued to speak. Instead, she chose to take another bite of curry as she listened to him. Well, help would probably be appreciated but...she wasn’t sure this was something anyone else could help with. She wasn’t even sure if she could find what she was looking for. Honestly, the only person who’d probably know for sure what was missing was no longer among them. 

Futaba adjusted her glasses before giving a small smile. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not sure anyone can help,” she answered. “It was my mom’s research, there’s just something...off about it, I can’t really put my finger on it. It just feels like there’s something missing, something purposefully being left out but..” she shrugged, glancing down at the plate of curry. “There’s always a chance it’s just me imagining things. It’s not like I remember any of her research since I was still pretty young...” 

She wasn’t sure where she could go to look. If someone was going to great lengths to hide key pieces of her mother’s research, there was only so much she could do. Even peering into the site’s code could only do so much. An archival site might help, but if that person was being thorough about it, then...well, that probably wouldn’t do much good either. It was highly likely that any archived page containing the missing information would have already been scrubbed.

“It’s more like, I don’t even know if there’s progress to be made there. If I could find a copy of my mom’s research somewhere that she had hidden, I might be able to tell for sure but all the information I can find is the same. If someone’s purposefully altering and hiding her research, they’re doing a really good job of it. Or I’m just crazy and chasing ghosts that aren’t there.”

[statusbar]

healinghitman​:

Social Anxiety | Noi and Futaba

Noi nodded. “Alright. Let’s go!” She turned towards the direction of the bookstore and began walking, careful to slow her steps down since her normal stride would definitely leave Futaba behind. Luckily, people tended to give Noi room to pass since her stature made it a bit unreasonable to not step aside for her. 

Every so often, Noi would glance over her shoulder to make sure Futaba was keeping up with her. It didn’t take too long for them to reach the bookstore, fortunately. Noi opened the door and stepped inside, holding the door for Futaba as she looked around, surveying the people milling about.

“Well, it’s not too busy in here, so that’s good!” she commented. “Though I guess a lot of people are starting to read more on their devices, but I don’t think anything can really stack up to turning pages yourself.” She paused in her ramble to bend down a little closer to Futaba and lowered her voice a little. 

“Are you doing okay?”

At the very least, it gave her plenty of time to compose herself and psych herself up for the challenge ahead. As long as the store was relatively empty, she’d probably be okay. The real trouble would come when it was time to approach the counter to get her order...but she’d cross that bridge when she got to it. However, it was approaching too quickly for her liking.

Still, it did feel a bit easier to move around in crowds as she hurried along behind the much taller woman. It must have been nice to have people move out of the way for you. But then again, that’d probably only make her anxiety worse, wouldn’t it? Then she’d be left to wonder what she’d done, if she had something on her face or if her clothes looked weird. Maybe it was just better to skirt through the crowd unseen. Yeah, definitely better. At least maybe then, pretending she was some kind of ninja would keep her distracted enough.

Actually, that was a pretty good idea. Ninjas were sneaky and good at not being noticed. If she could encapsulate even a tiny percentage of that energy, maybe outings like this wouldn’t be so stressful. And just like that, they’d arrived. Thankfully, for her poor, frazzled nerves, there weren’t a lot of people. 

“Mm, you’re probably right. For a lot of people, it’s easier. I can kind of understand it,” she nodded, “there’s some things I can only read electronically.” Though she did smile at Noi’s next words and nodded. “Yeah, even with the convenience of technology, you can’t really beat having the actual thing in your hands.”

She faltered a moment at the question, glancing around once more. “...Yeah, I’m okay. For right now.”

[statusbar]

ihai​:

Falco didn’t answer the girl’s observations, being able to see that himself. Plus, a response only made more noise in the uncanny silence, and he didn’t want to risk that. As he reached the top step, he peered around the corner of the stairwell. Nothing to the left. The right was the same.

The sound of a door opening in the distance, followed by the sounds of two, three sets of footsteps and a noise like something being dragged across the floor, caused Falco to duck back into the stairwell. “Shit,” he hissed under his breath.

“Doesn’t sound like a shift change to me. They got a body with them, so they’re probably occupied.” Falco cocked his gun in preparation. “Could take ‘em down while they’re distracted…” He was mostly thinking aloud, and his confidence in his ability showed through his tone of voice. “I don’t want to let them roam around while I’m trying to get out of here.”

Futaba felt her heart jump to her throat at the sudden noise. By sheer luck, she managed to keep from giving a startled scream and followed his lead, shrinking into the shadows of the stairwell as best as she could. She hadn’t calculated for this, she’d just assumed their only issues would be shift changes. Panic squeezed her chest and she swallowed hard. No, now wasn’t the time to get caught up in those thoughts. 

She wouldn’t be able to think straight and she’d be dead weight if she didn’t calm down. She forced herself to take several slow, quiet breaths. Right, okay. With her head a little clearer, she considered his words. It was probably the best course of action. Though the gunshots would definitely draw attention. She’d just have to buy them enough time to get away if it came down to that.

As nervous as it made her, these were clearly bad people they were dealing with. Her eyes fell on the gun in his hand and she exhaled slowly, already weighing the pros and cons. “Alright, I’ll trust your judgement on that,” she murmured, though she didn’t necessarily agree with it. “The gunshots will likely draw attention so I’ll see what i can do about jamming the doors long enough to give us time to make a getaway.” Or at least to a safe room where she could code a door for them to escape into the city.

[statusbar]

goemoned​:

achievement unlocked || yusuke & futaba

The impending doom of having to interact with another human being, was it? Yusuke folded his arms and nodded his head as though it was an absolutely acceptable and viable conclusion. “I see..” Well, he didn’t really care to interact with others anyways. Besides, he rarely got anything out of it. Except for this time. 

“I am quite used to crowds so this arrangement works out perfectly.” He didn’t design to elaborate, but there was always a lot of people at his Sensei’s art exhibits. He didn’t care much for them either, but at least he was used to them. 

Yusuke’s stomach noticeably growled as the smell of coffee and curry permeated throughout the cafe. It generally always smelled like this here, given that it was LeBlanc’s specialties, but it was his first time being able to sample the food. His only thoughts now were focused on just how quickly the food would come out. He wasn’t one to be embarrassed by trivial things, but nevertheless he placed a hand over his stomach to soothe it and suppress any sounds more out of politeness and good manners than anything else. 

Honestly, it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Well, at the very least, a huge chunk of the weight on her shoulders. Maybe not the biggest worry, but at the very least, something she could breathe a little easier about. It was hard not to feel relatively at ease within the safety of LeBlanc too, so that also helped a great deal. Sojiro set a mug down in front of each of them before turning to get started on the curry.

“Perfect,” Futaba smiled easily at Yusuke’s agreement. “Then I’ll be counting on you from now on, Inari.” Or was she supposed to say ‘I’ll be in your care!’ instead? She didn’t exactly know how these things went. But at the very least, she could say she had a friend now, even if it was rather unconventional. 

“I’ll let you know whenever something comes up,” she continued, “so let’s exchange numbers.” Had she known it’d turn out like this, she would have added her number into his phone when they’d been in line. A moment of oversight on her part, but it was fine, and easily remedied by doing it now.

A laugh did escape her at the growl of his stomach. “You really weren’t kidding when you said you were hungry. You probably shouldn’t take that starving artist thing so literally though?” she tapped her chin in thought, and of course, Sojiro was quick to save the day by placing their orders in front of them soon after. 

He regarded the boy for a moment, brows furrowed as he looked between him and Futaba. “...It’s on the house, just this once.”

Futaba blinked and jerked her head up. “Hold it, hold it, I told him it was my treat!”

“He’s a friend, right?” Sojiro asked, fixing her with a stern look. “Just this once.” He’d allow it just this once because she’d actually brought a person in and spoke to him like she’d known him for years. No, he wasn’t crying. He’d just cut some onions. 

[statusbar]

soulphrxse​:

Dead Mom || Minato & Futaba

He had already said more than he was used to contributing in one conversation, but it seemed he had no escape for now. She wouldn’t believe him if he just walked off now, and her mother wouldn’t be pleased with him either. It would be troublesome to be spoken to again by that woman, and it’d be even worse for him to show his face in LeBlanc again after saying such an odd thing to a stranger. He had no explain himself…but why would this girl…Futaba, even believe him? It was clear that his statement caught her off guard, but that was to be expected. “Ah. Sorry.”  His apology was soft and short, not bothering with any other formalities. 

“…She told me,” he offered plainly, finally looking in her direction, although he doubted it helped. His expression gave no hints about if he was lying or not, as he remained poker faced. He didn’t offer so much as a smile as some kind of encouragement, but he supposed at the very least, he had to mention his ability. In a city with Shizume, something like that wouldn’t be that shocking. “…It’s because I can speak with the dead. So she was able to tell me.”

Part of him was the tiniest bit jealous of this girl, having her mother watch over her even if she didn’t know she was there. Minato had been cursed with such an annoying ability ever since his parents had died, and yet he hadn’t seen them once. He would have preferred to have no strain ability at all if he knew it would be like this, but it wasn’t as if he was ever given a choice. 

Her eyes widened at his admission. Her mother had told him? It seemed so strange but then again, this was a city full of people with weird powers. And she was pretty sure this guy would have had no way of knowing details like that. It wasn’t like it was public knowledge--Sojiro never even spoke of it here. His power was to talk to the dead... Shizume really was a strange city, wasn’t it?

She didn’t speak for a moment, mulling over the information he’d given. With the blank expression he wore, it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Still, despite that, she didn’t get the sense that he was lying. He spoke straight-forwardly, meeting her gaze...She could only assume he was telling the truth, that he’d really spoken to her mother. 

Futaba faltered for a moment, her brows furrowing. “But..if that’s true...then why did those guys frame it as...with the note and everything..” Was it just to steal her mother’s research? Taking advantage of a complete accident...? Anxiety spiked within her at the thought, her fingers coming up to clutch at the fabric of her shirt as her breathing quickened, her chest tightening. 

She’d spent so long blaming herself because of that note, and now it felt like the rug had been yanked out from under her. A secret truth she’d had no idea about.. “S-sorry, give me a minute,” she managed to say, forcing herself to try and remember how to breathe properly.

[statusbar]

jokerkakkoii​:

Hermit || Akira & Futaba

Shock rippled through Akira at the ear-piercing screech unleashed by the girl and the subsequent rattling of the table as it shook, causing him to jump and stumble a few steps backward, though he managed to keep the plate in his hands balanced enough to not spill its contents onto the floor. Sojiro had instructed him that Futaba could be shy and was easily startled, but still, this kind of reaction… he had just not expected it.

Releasing his own anxieties following that in the form of a sigh, Akira quickly regained his composure and stepped forward once more. “Are you okay?” Setting the plate on the table in front of the girl, he turned his concerned gaze towards her. The way she held her knee, and the way she had jumped, he could guess that she’d smacked it into the table in her surprise. While he was fairly confident that it wouldn’t amount to much more than a bruise, it still looked painful.

“Here, I’ll get some ice.” Saying that, Akira quickly retreated back into the cafe’s kitchen, where he grabbed some ice cubes from the freezer. He wrapped these in a spare cloth, and then brought this back and offered it to Futaba.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that. What exactly were you doing?” Although it wasn’t particularly his business, Akira couldn’t stop his welling curiosity from pulling his eyes towards her computer screen.

“Y-yeah,” Futaba answered, gingerly rubbing the injured area. “It happens a lot..” Not that she really moved too much when she was at home, but it was still very easy to bang her knees and shins on the desk whenever she did get up--or even just spinning around mindlessly. It wasn’t the first time, and certainly wouldn’t be the last, she was sure of it. Though she had whacked it pretty hard so it was likely going to be a nasty bruise later. 

“Oh you don’t have to...” But he was already going. Once she had the makeshift icepack, she rested it on her knee, wincing slightly at the cold temperature. The chill was quickly chased away by a bite of curry. She couldn’t help the happy hum that left her lips. The curry here really was the best. 

His question made her pause though and she blinked. Could she tell the truth? Well, there really wasn’t any reason to lie about it. “I was just looking into some research stuff,” she answered. “I didn’t find what I was looking for though so I was going to watch some vines or something.” It still unsettled her that it seemed like her mother’s research had been mangled to hell and back, even if she couldn’t remember just what the original papers had looked like. She did at least remember her mother had a habit of leaving frenzied notes all over the place..something Futaba herself had picked up as well.

“It’s nothing super important,” she added. Probably. At least, it didn’t seem like a big deal right now. Not like the other glaring problem rearing its head, but that wasn’t something she could talk about as freely. 

[statusbar]

healinghitman​:

Social Anxiety | Noi and Futaba

Noi laughed at Futaba’s answer. “Maybe that’s true. Though I guess even if I didn’t scare the daylights out of you, I’m not someone easy to forget.” When Futaba was back on her feet, Noi found that her suspicions were correct about Futaba’s stature in relation to her own. So as not to intimidate her even more, Noi was slow whenever she rose back to her feet, careful not to move too quickly.

“Yeah, I’m sure! I was thinking of stopping by the bookstore today, anyway.” Noi didn’t often have a lot of leisure time, but she enjoyed spending that time either eating, hanging out with Shin, or reading. She wasn’t short on reading material, but looking around never hurt.

“Do you want me to lead the way, or would you rather walk behind me?” She wanted to make sure Futaba was as comfortable as possible. It didn’t seem like she was used to the big crowds of Shizume, and Noi could understand why someone with anxiety would have trouble in the city.

Futaba wasn’t sure how to answer exactly, so she nodded her head. It was true that the woman didn’t seem like someone easily forgettable. She couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone that tall before. She couldn’t even imagine what it was like to be that tall, always having to duck through doorways. It sounded like a pain. Well, she’d never had anything against her own height, except when she needed something from a tall shelf.

Truthfully, she did feel a bit better if the woman was planning on going to the bookstore anyway. Unless she was just saying that to put Futaba at ease? But if she thought about that, she’d just end up getting trapped in the spiral of her own thoughts. “Alright,” she conceded, “if you’re going anyway.” It’d probably help, at least. 

She blinked at the question, eyes widening slightly. Come to think of it, the woman was basically a giant shield wasn’t she? ...Was that rude of her to think? She scratched her cheek, weighing the pros and cons in her mind..but there weren’t many she could think of. At least, walking behind her she wouldn’t be subjected to the worst of the crowds. 

“I’ll uh, walk behind you,” she nodded. “That sounds less...stressful.”

[statusbar]

ihai​:

For as terrified as this girl seemed whenever she had first woken up, Falco was honestly a little surprised to see that she was so ready to take action to get out. She seemed the type to just curl up and accept her fate initially, but he couldn’t say he hated that she took his order fairly easily. As the cell door swung open, Falco stepped out into the open, looking up and down the rows of cells, listening for any sign of movement or life among the lines of bars.

None. It really was just them imprisoned down here. So were the rest of the people in this town brainwashed and yielding to the wills of those people? It was weird. And Falco had seen and experienced incredibly weird stuff in his lifetime, but even that seemed a bit much.

He began to quickly make his way to the staircase, careful not to make too much noise as he did, keeping his attention fixed on the sounds around him. His footsteps. The girl’s footsteps. Nothing else that he could hear. It was eerily quiet… He didn’t like that at all.

She followed the stranger out of the cell, keeping her attention on both where she was walking and the map displayed in front of her. It was better this way, since they would be able to navigate far easier, and it’d show their proximity to any guards they happened to run into. Easiest for them to avoid conflict. Well, she hoped they wouldn’t have to fight at all. She wasn’t a strain or anything, so the most she could do here in this strange virtual world was...her hacking skills. 

But perhaps if push came to shove she’d be able to create some sort of block to protect them, perhaps a wall between them and anyone who came at them? But coding something like that would definitely take time, and she wasn’t sure if she’d have enough time for something like that. She’d keep it on the back burner at least. It didn’t hurt to have contingency plans. 

Still...she was surprised at just how quiet it was. Even though she was trying to make as little noise as possible, the fact it was so silent felt...unnatural. The map didn’t display anything unusual, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be walking right into a trap. 

“It’s...a lot quieter than I expected,” she murmured, barely above a whisper as they ascended the steps. Then again, they were the only ones here. Had they given them lax security or something..?

[statusbar]

goemoned​:

achievement unlocked || yusuke & futaba

“I do not think what I did was much, but if you say it was then I have no place to refute it.” He closed his eyes and tried not to focus too much on the prospect of food. The thought of eating that much coveted curry that he had yet to try was really gnawing at his greedy stomach. 

The nickname that the ginger haired girl gave him made his eyes snap open in confusion. “Inari?” Why was she giving him a nickname? Not to mention one that reminded him of food. No one had ever given him a nickname before and he was a little confused by the custom of nickname giving. Well, no harm no foul he surmised, even though every time she called him that he’d end up thinking of food. 

“A deal?” Yusuke raised a brow quizzically. For someone who had been so at a loss for words inside that store she sure was full of them now, slinging them one after another at him without giving pause. “Hm..” He cast his gaze downwards as he mulled it over. The prospect of being fed was a worthy payment but they could go over the details after they’d filled their bellies. He really hadn’t been kidding when he said he was famished. 

He followed behind her in silence as she led the way to Cafe LeBlanc, pushing the door open and he grabbed it immediately in case she let go of it too soon and it swung back to greet him in the face. Futaba greeted the Master cheerfully who did so in kind before his eyes bugged out once Yusuke had entered his field of vision. Yusuke didn’t understand the meaning behind that look but he was too hungry to bother deciphering it. 

“I can have something besides the curry?” His question was posed in a light tone of voice as if his question was already lost as he focused more on the menu. “If you are sure, then.. Master, I would like to order the House Blend, please.” He blinked at the older male for a moment, waiting for him to stop staring at him so intently and get started on their orders and once he had he settled into the stool beside her.

“Futaba, I would like to discuss this arrangement of ours in more detail. By help do you mean assisting you in a similar fashion like our earlier excursion?”

She was glad he’d at least accept that, even if he didn’t understand how much help he’d been. But that was fine. He probably wasn’t the type to dwell on things like that either. Or maybe it was just the hunger clouding his brain? Still, she smiled. That counted as a friend, right? She was aware Sojiro was staring like there was something wrong with them, like one of them had sprouted another head on their shoulders or something.

Still, a snort left her lips at the artist’s question. “I told you already, it’s my treat as thanks for helping me, so order whatever you want,” she stated, adjusting her glasses as she tilted her head slightly before grinning up at Sojiro. “You heard him!”

It seemed to snap the man out of his daze as he shook his head. “...Yeah, coming right up,” he murmured, continuing to shake his head even as he moved to make the male’s order. Was he dreaming? It sure felt like he’d entered some parallel universe. Still, with his back to them, no one would see the faint smile on his lips. She’d made a friend, huh?

With Sojiro occupied, she turned her attention to Inari once more, propping her chin up on her hand. “Basically, yeah. I...I’m not good with crowds, like you saw but..I’m trying to get better. Having you there helped a lot because I had something to focus on other than the crowd and the impending doom of having to interact with another human being.” Hm. Maybe that was a bit much? “But like I said, in exchange for helping me out like that, I’ll treat you to lunch or whatever!”

[statusbar]

girlphobic​:

take out disaster || yata & futaba

Normally Yata had no qualms about cooking for himself. He’d gotten enough practice cooking for a very picky roommate at one point in his life, but after a hard day of work he was just way too damn tired. He’d made the order for a Chinese take out place thirty minutes in advance and then he was whooshing down the sidewalk on his skateboard, the wind rustling his hair from the speed. He’d entered, paid, then walked out. He hadn’t even bothered to check but when he finally made it back home and had pulled out the food it hadn’t been what he’d ordered at all. 

“Tch!” Yata clicked his tongue, glaring at the spread before him. What now? He could still eat it.. It wasn’t like he was a terribly picky eater but.. He did have his heart set on a particular meal and this just wasn’t it. Scowling, the ginger haired male packaged the food up again, placed a very disgruntled call to the restaurant and was back on his skateboard again. 

Once he was just about the corner, he hopped off his skateboard, tucking it under the same arm that was holding the bag and just as he rounded it he nearly collided with someone. Yata made a sound of surprise but then when he recognized those noticeable traits, long straight hair, long feminine eyelashes, pink glossy lips.. Those were what made him yell out startled. 

Okay, he knew that they had nearly collided and he knew that he had just about yelled too but why was she shrieking at him also!? At least he had an excuse! Not a very dignified, manly one.. But still!!

Oh, he was screaming too. She couldn’t help but scream back, both out of being startled by his sudden appearance but also the fact he was just as startled. Somehow, it had started some strange sort of feedback loop. On the plus side, at least, she didn’t feel queasy anymore. Anxiety had been momentarily forgotten so perhaps the screaming had been beneficial? But people were going to start staring if this kept up.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, her gaze rapidly flicking between him and a very interesting spot on the sidewalk. “E-er...ah...sorry, um, about that,” she managed out in a rush, her fingers tightening on the bag of food in her hand as she forced herself to try and remember to breathe. “D-didn’t see you there so...” he’d understand from that, right? 

Hopefully he wouldn’t get mad about it. Ah, thinking about it made the queasy feeling return. Futaba bit her lip, reminding herself of her task at hand. She had to make it back in there and say she got the wrong order. But this was sort of an opportunity, wasn’t it? Inari wasn’t here for moral support but there’d be times like that, right? She couldn’t always expect him to come to her aid at the drop of a hat, so there’d be situations like this where she’d have to deal with it on her own. She could view it as a sort of trial run before she made it into the restaurant.

“I, uh, I got the wrong order so I was..t-trying to psych myself up to go back in there and...yeah,” she finished lamely. Okay, not the most ideal way to kick off a conversation but hey, she was trying her best here!

[statusbar]

goemoned​:

achievement unlocked || yusuke & futaba

“I see..” Yusuke politely and quietly listened to her reasoning and then gave her a small smile. “Truthfully, I don’t really think I did much to deserve appreciation, but nevertheless I’d be remiss if I didn’t graciously accept it when it is offered.” Especially if it came to food. For the girl, perhaps it had been a big deal but for him to spend some of his time accompanying someone it didn’t feel that way at all. It wasn’t that he was diminishing or making light of what she went through, but that it really wasn’t too hard on him to do.

Seeing Futaba’s casual reply about the change she was owed be redirected back to Yusuke, he shrugged and decided to pocket it. It wasn’t much that anyone would have missed it, he supposed, but money was money no matter how small the amount was and if she didn’t care for it he’d more than happily take it for her unless she changed her mind later, and it seemed that their time together was not coming to an end just yet. 

As usual, Yusuke kept calm as he watched the shorter girl mull over their two choices. It seemed that this Soujiro person that she seemed to hold some amount of affection for and his specialty had won her over in the end. “Un, a fine choice.” he commented, a small smile once more creeping into his generally passive expression. “Futaba, I see.. I’m Yusuke Kitagawa.” 

“You might not think so, but you were seriously a big help,” she responded. She wasn’t entirely sure how to get it across that he’d really saved her back there. Heck, even going along with her the whole time just for the promise of food. Well, she could understand that at least, especially for food. It was a pretty good motivator. She’d definitely make it up to him, whether he thought she needed to or not, especially if she’d be able to call on him for more things like this. 

“This was the first time I managed to successfully get there and complete the goal. It almost got derailed, but then you showed up like some god of fortune...” she paused, eyes widening before snapping her fingers, a grin on her face. “That’s it! I’ll call you Inari!” She hummed happily as she led the way back to LeBlanc. Of course, he’d just introduced himself, but it was fine. He had a nickname now. That meant they were friends! ...They were friends now, right? Was this how it worked?

“Why don’t we work out a deal, Inari? I’ll help you out with anything you need, and you can help me out with stuff like this in exchange for food or something,” she offered. He liked art, right? Maybe she could offer to get him some supplies or something. Well, it was up to him.

Finally, their destination was in sight and she pushed the door open, the bell chiming over head. The cafe was surprisingly empty, with only the older male behind the counter. A bright grin crawled across her lips, finally feeling completely at ease--though Yusuke’s presence had definitely helped that. 

“Sojiro! I’m back, and I brought a friend! Two plates of curry, please!” she declared as she waltzed up to the counter and settled herself down. “Do you want anything else? It’s my treat.” 

For his part, Sojiro looked like his eyes were about to bug out of his head. Futaba? Bringing a friend...?

[statusbar]

ihai​:

Falco shrugged. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’m not sure how all of your technology stuff works, anyway.” Not that Falco anticipated getting shot or dying here in the first place, but he knew when he was outnumbered, and he liked stacking the odds in his favor as much as he could. Plus, he still had his ability he could use if it came down to it… but he would rather hold off on that, as well. That sort of thing was best kept under wraps.

Falco looked at the map and where the girl was pointing, listening to her explanation and formulating plans as he processed the information she was feeding to him. “Even if we weren’t the only ones here, I don’t know if anyone else would be out to help us. Use us, maybe.” Though that’s exactly what they were doing with each other, isn’t it? At the very least, this girl had a more valuable skill than Falco did, so if there was anyone else, Falco wouldn’t be much concern to them.

“Alright so… fifteen minutes to get to the next floor with new guards every two hours. Perhaps we could use the shift change to our advantage, but if this damn place is big enough to take us two hours to get out, we may be in over our heads. Unless we disguise ourselves or something.”

Falco looked in the direction of the security camera pointed at the stairs. “Well, we’ll figure that out when we get there.” He readied his gun and looked at the girl. “Loop the footage. We’re not getting anywhere waiting here.”

“Yeah, best to assume most people we’ll encounter, especially in this building, aren’t going to be very friendly,” she nodded, grateful the odd situation at least gave her something else to focus on so she wasn’t preoccupied with the fact she had to interact with a total stranger. At the very least, with her mind focused on the information and planning, she felt calm. Well. Calmer than normal.

“It shouldn’t take us two hours at least. As long as we can get to this room here,” she gestured on the map, “we should be able to bypass most of the building. If I can alter the code, I can just make us a door, but it’s a bit harder to do it underground.” That’d involve either coding a tunnel or a new staircase and room, and she didn’t think they had the time for that. Disguises could be helpful though, so she’d keep that in mind if they happened to run into more.

“Alright then,” she nodded, her fingers flying over the keys to alter the coding for the security camera, looping the footage to give them enough time to start moving. A few more taps of the keys and the cell door swung open. As quickly as she could, she rose to her feet, keeping the map displayed to guide them.

“Okay, let’s go while we’ve got the cover.” This was...actually sort of cool. It felt like she was in some sort of spy movie, or anime. The tiniest of grins found its way onto her lips. Maybe this wouldn’t be that bad.

[statusbar]

healinghitman​:

Social Anxiety | Noi and Futaba

“Futaba… that’s a nice name,” Noi said, beaming at the small girl. It took her a lot of effort to actually hear what Futaba was saying, as she was mumbling and Shizume was a very busy city, but Noi managed. It’s a good thing she had learned to be very attentive in her line of work. “It’s nice to meet you too, even if I accidentally scared you at first. Talk about first impressions, huh?”

Noi offered her hand out to Futaba to help her to her feet, but she remained crouched on the ground. Honestly, she figured she would still be eye level even if Futaba stood up completely, and it was better not to move too quickly, probably.

“It’s very busy here and there are a lot of people. I can come with you if you want to. I’ve been told I make some people feel safer.” The only one who ever felt more comfortable in Noi’s presence was Shin, so that meant that she technically wasn’t lying to the girl.

“Th-they say memorable first impressions are better,” Futaba responded shakily, adjusting her glasses once more. Wait, was that right? Did people really say that or was she just making it up? Still, her cheeks warmed at the compliment and she dipped her head, mumbling a quiet “thanks”. Was it really a nice name? She wasn’t sure about that, but it was the name her mother had chosen for her, so there had to at least be something to it. 

Slowly, she took the other’s hand and let her help her up. Whoa, Futaba knew she was short, but even standing at her full height, this woman still seemed so much taller than her and she was still crouched down! How in the world did someone get that tall?!

She blinked at the offer, surprised. Her glasses slid down her nose a little as she regarded the other. “A...Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to..interrupt any plans or anything.” Surely, she had other stuff she’d rather be doing than dealing with the ball of anxiety currently standing in front of her. Though she certainly wouldn’t deny the woman’s physique would probably make anyone feel ten times safer than normal.

“I...just have to pick up my order from the bookstore..” She’d done it on purpose in an effort to practice..but, well...that hadn’t worked out as well as she’d hoped.

[statusbar]

take out disaster || yata & futaba

@girlphobic​

A grimace tugged at her lips as she stared at the food in the bag currently clutched in her hands. It had been simple enough. It was takeout from a nearby place. Something she could manage. She’d already paid, so it was as easy as just...picking up the food and leaving. Of course, she had sped out of the restaurant as quickly as she could. Once she was able to breathe, she glanced at her order...only to find the one she’d been handed wasn’t what she ordered at all.

Her brows furrowed as her lips pressed into a thin line, a soft grumble leaving her lips. That meant she’d have to go back and deal with that... Anxiety spiked and she hung her head, a muffled whine leaving her lips. She really didn’t want to do that...She’d been so confident she could at least do this much on her own. Maybe she should have called Inari after all. Well...not call. Texted. Texting was better.

But now. Now she had to go back and brave the crowd of people to say she had the wrong order. Or she could just keep it and eat it and suffer. She sighed and lifted her head, pouting slightly. Alright, she could do this. This would be fine. She could make it. All she had to do was speak up and say she had the wrong order...except now she was beginning to feel queasy. 

Slowly, she turned, only she hadn’t expected to find someone else approaching, and startled by the sudden appearance, she couldn’t help the strangled yell that left her.

[jokerkakkoii]

Hermit || Akira & Futaba

@statusbar

For being as small as it was, Café Leblanc’s convenient and cozy location within Shizume City nevertheless made it a hotspot favored among students from the nearby university in particular. Incidentally, its close proximity to the university also happened to be how Akira came to be aware of its presence. Being in a tight spot after having just moved here from another city, then, it was only natural that he took up the position posted for help, effectively surrendering many of his evenings to the flimsy whims of customers in exchange for the much-needed yen.

Sundays actually tended to be fairly slow a lot of the time, and today was no exception. The only reason he’d been called in was to cover for the owner, who apparently had something he couldn’t bail out on. So today it was really just Akira manning the shop. Well, Akira and the orange-haired girl, whose name he recalled as Futaba Sakura. He didn’t know very much about her, just that she was the owner’s daughter and as such would happen into here sometimes. That’s what the owner had more or less said of her. She tended to keep to herself, but of course, Akira couldn’t help the burgeoning curiosity, and given that the day had been slow and only getting slower as time dragged on–

“Sakura-chan?” Calling out to her like this, Akira stepped out from behind the bar and closer to her. In his hands, he held a fresh, hot bowl of curry, which he’d originally begun preparing for himself as dinner, but it occurred to him that he hadn’t seen the girl eat anything. “…Are you hungry?”

[statusbar]

The good thing about having a laptop was being able to carry it wherever she needed it. It was also a good thing that LeBlanc was slow today, otherwise she might not have stayed as long as she had. Though the cafe always felt safe, even when there were other people, and she could always retreat up to the attic if absolutely necessary. At least, she was locked on the screen, rather than whatever lingering customers still filled the room. 

Something about the page she was on looked off though, as though there was something missing. Of course, it wasn’t like she had the original source on hand to check. She was pretty sure those guys had taken every bit of her mom’s research they could get their hands on... She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, shutting her eyes tight. This was just going to give her a headache right now, so it was best to just leave it alone for now.

Her other problem was Medjed...or rather, the group of people claiming to be Medjed. She’d have to deal with that sooner or later too, she supposed, before it really became a problem. She clicked away to another tab, ready to just watch some silly cat videos to decompress, or maybe find some amvs or vines when suddenly a voice spoke out, earning a startled screech from the girl as she jumped, her knee banging into the table.

Of course, she’d forgotten he was there, the part-timer Sojiro had brought in to help deal with the flood of university students. She cradled her knee, blinking away the tears that threatened to form as she took in the sight of the plate of curry. “U-um...s-sure...” she managed. “S-sorry about...er...screaming.” 

She still had to work on that...though at least she supposed this time it was a person of average height, even if the tall woman had been incredibly nice and helpful. “I was pretty focused on what I was doing...” Oh, it’d already been an hour. Jeez.