[ OPEN ] trust in me

[kaientai]

Who ⬤ Sakamoto Ryouma + others!
What ⬤ Ryouma has more business meetings...
When ⬤ the end of June and throughout July
Where ⬤ his office + wherever else around the city!
Content Warnings ⬤ None at the moment! Will add if anything comes up.

pm or hmu @ koutenko to request a starter!
also open to wildcards!

Comments

[kaientai]

[ ryouma laughs nervously a little, less because of the idea of having to answer the question and more because the answer to that question a lot of the time is... izō also gives him a hard time. ]

Well, that depends. Izō is always Izō, no matter what. That's somethin' I really admire about 'im. Even when he's bein' nice, he's still who he is.

[ which is to say, izō will never let him live if there's an opportunity to give him a hard time instead, but ryouma is fine with this. ]

Besides, ya gotta be a real stand-up guy t' stay friends with someone after they shot ya.

[ izō tells everyone, so it's not like it's a great big secret. laugh until it doesn't hurt anymore or something like that. this is probably not what kate was hoping for at all... ]

[bratherine]

( Honestly, if they ever stopped sniping at one another, they'd probably be great friends. And in another timeline they were.

But um. Wait what. )

Y'shot 'im?

( She's trying to resist the urge to say he deserved it, honestly. )

[kaientai]

Yeah, I did, durin' that whole curse business. I didn't mean t' do it, but I didn't mean for anything else I ever did t' hurt more'n they helped either. I figured he'd be real justified in decidin' t' write me off after that...

[ so... it's complicated. and he would have her believe izō is too. he continues, as if he knows what she's thinking. he doesn't, but it's an easy guess. ]

He was tryin' t' save me. Didn't wanna leave me there and that's how he got repaid for it. That's the kinda person he is. Izō's real rough around the edges but the guy ya want on your side in a pinch.

[bratherine]

( ... Here she was, hoping for something silly and stupid, but instead Ryouma paints a different portrait of the man.

Sigh. Dammit. Now the man is more than just a cackling bird villain in her mind. How rude. )

... Tell 'im to buy me coffee and I'll forgive 'im.

[kaientai]

Yeah?

[ ryouma beams brightly. look how happy you've made him, kate!!! izō will probably not ever buy her a coffee but it's the willingness on her part to entertain the idea of peace (??) that counts! ]

Then I'll tell him so! Hehe, I bet ya don't get along 'cause you're sorta alike. Nicer than ya both let on...

[ once again, he perceives. ]

[bratherine]

( Ugh.

Shudder. )

Never say tha' again.

[kaientai]

Hehe, which part?

[ the part where they're alike or the part where she's nice. he's not going to listen, but good to know anyway. ]

[bratherine]

All of it.

( Being nice or like Izo. Gross. )

[kaientai]

[ ryouma just gives her a look that suggests that reaction isn't doing much to convince him otherwise. ]

Don't worry, I won't tell nobody!

[ he'll protect her street cred~ ]

What's wrong with bein' nice?

[bratherine]

( What if she glowers at him, what then? )

...

( Pizzas come to their table and Kate shuts her mouth before she starts talking, waiting for the waiter to leave before she answers. )

Don't suit me.

( She feels like she's been angry for so long, rebuffing pity and making mistakes, that actually being nice has to be a mistake, right? )

[kaientai]

Oh, I see. Well, that just means those times ya are nice, it must be extra special then, huh?

[ he will continue to make this worse. he ordered another seafood horror pizza that has way too many things on it at once. ]

[bratherine]

( Yeah, she's very glad she's just eating this veggie special. Healthier than her usual cheese concoctions, mostly because she's eaten one too many junk meals since getting here. So let her pretend that a vegan pizza is a better option than cheese with extra cheese. )

Ugh...

( Don't make her out to be nice, Ryouma!!! )

[kaientai]

Hehe, I'm just kiddin'. Wouldn't be so much fun if ya didn't react that way, y' know!

[ maybe he should be making more of an effort to be... professional? mature? maybe. ryouma is not really responsible at all when you get right down to it, but he makes the effort when it's needed. it's appreciated that this is a very casual sort of friendship. because only friends have pizza dates, right??

that being said, he brings his hands together in front of him happily because thanks for the food and then picks up a slice that has enough on it to necessitate folding it. ]

Don't like the meat kind, do ya?

[ is this a roundabout way to ask about her preferences? maybe. ]

[bratherine]

( He's more helpful of a friend than he might realise, and the fact that he doesn't always act like An Adult™ is certainly part of it. It keeps things fun and not a series of encounters where someone tries to take care of her.

Also, there's pizza. )

... It's too heavy. ( Also she fucked up cooking meat the first few times she tried to cook for herself and it's made her feel nauseated ever since. )

There's other ways to get protein anyway.

( Not what he asked, but y'know. Ex-athlete brain has to consider diet at all hours. )

[kaientai]

Oh, yeah, s'pose that makes sense. People have so many options nowadays ya never really have t' eat anything ya don't wanna anymore, which is why I just make up for lost time!

[ this is his excuse for the state of this pizza: all the fish he couldn't have before. no such thing as a diet in his mind. ]

Next time, how 'bout you pick the place? I'm curious.

[bratherine]

( To be fair, pizza generally shouldn't be a food you think about healthiness with, but Kate's conscious of how many festivals and general "excuses to gorge oneself" she's ran across lately. )

Didn't I—

( ... Actually, she supposes she didn't. This place was Ryouma's answer to her desire for pizza. So... Hm. )

... I'll think about it.

[kaientai]

It's pretty easy t' forget. A lot's happened in a pretty short time.

[ despite only being here for a few months, it sure feels like a lot longer than that. but curses that rain blood from the sky and all his legwork trying to pull deals together really do a number on your sense of time. ]

[bratherine]

( And, honey, they got big storms comin'. )

Better than nothing happening.

( The rain was awful, but the thought of Jigokucho letting them breathe and things being quiet would worry Kate more. At least this way they feel like they're doing something. )

[kaientai]

[ haha, boy do they ever... ]

Heh, yeah. That's for sure! What's gonna be important now is stayin' ahead of it all. I've been playin' catch up since I got here since somebody had t' start pickin' up the pieces when some people thought the Daitengu wasn't comin' back. Finally, it's startin' to come together.

[ if he sounds like he wasn't one of those people wording it like that, that would be a correct guess. ]

Just make sure you're savin' some room in there for a little fun, huh?

[ once again, he's being an awful hypocrite and not taking his own advice. then again he's out drinking a lot, so that's technically fun?? ]

[bratherine]

( She's got alcohol and places she can parkour. She's got plenty of fun, even if she doesn't always think she deserves that. )

Isn't tha' what this is?

( Pizza = delicious = fun. )

[kaientai]

Hm? I mean—... yeah! It counts if ya think it's fun!

[ kate!!! that's so nice!! he's beaming! someone thinks he's fun!! ]

Hehe, I didn't wanna assume...

[bratherine]

( she wants to be mean but it's a bit like kicking a puppy, isn't it? dammit. )

Wouldn't waste my time if it weren't.