nexus_sages | At What Price Respect

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At What Price Respect

Verity in the forum? Not a strange sight. Verity without coffee? Rather less common. Verity slumping, exhausted, into a couch? Unusual. Verity covered in scrapes, bruises, and dust? Definitely strange.

"Help isn't if it's forced on someone. This is true. Someone not in possession of all of the facts cannot give fully informed consent. This is also true. But nobody can be forced to listen." Of course Verity has things on her mind. Who here doesn't? "How do you reconcile that? Is ignorance truly bliss? Or do you do what's needed to save someone despite their choices?"

((A note before you come to play with Verity: she's got a magic spell stuck in her that lets her always know when someone is lying to her. This includes sarcasm and knowing when someone believes something to be true when it isn't. This doesn't include lies of omission. She can also see through illusions. Please respect this; if your character is trying to lie to her, please make that known so she can react appropriately. [I completely understand this isn't going to be everyone's idea of fun.] Thanks.))

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"I thought you were busy being 'bad at caves'." Katsuya tries to smile our joke, but it's weak.

"I'm sorry for worrying you Verity. I didn't think of anything other than making sure things didn't get worse in Sumaru." He gives a tired sigh. "You can take care of me now if you'd like?"

It's a flimsy offer, but it's all he's got.

"I was looking for Loki." Which might explain why she went places she obviously shouldn't be going...

It's a better offer than she's heard all week. "You want me take you home and tuck you in and... there's supposed to be singing at that point I think? I'll skip that, I don't know any songs. But the food'll be good." This sounds like a good time to her.

She didn't look pleased when she got here. Katsuya is assuming she didn't find him. He'd be rather cross of she did and he hadn't offered to help her himself.

He chuckles weakly.
"You don't have to push yourself that hard. You just invited me to rest here after all."

If she ever finds Loki, Katsuya will know from the super-excited introduction she'll be making between them.

"I wouldn't mind. And I don't think you want to sleep on one of the couches here, they're not all that comfortable." This time, she's going to push just a little bit. He really does need to rest.

Taking her back. To his world. To his home. Katsuya nods and gets up from the couch and leads Verity back to his door.

It's different now, with Schon's magic holding it together. Barely looks like the simple glass door it once was. A constant reminder of his failure. He tugs the serpentine handle and leads them to his apartment.

The first thing Verity will notice is the thin layer of dust. Proving how little rest he's had between work and hunting demons. The second is how utterly quiet it is. There's a television that hasn't been used in years, old magazines on the coffee table, neither of which is cooking related.

There are photos in the shelves. A stern man with a warm looking woman and two bliss in front. The older with thick glasses holding his younger brother by the hand. They're all smiling.

A very androgynous student in a boys blue uniform pulling an iris from their front pocket as they get on the back of a motorcycle with a boy in a black uniform, remarkably similar to Katsuya in appearance.

A photo laid frame down.

Katsuya weekends get into his home quietly. As though he doesn't quite remember what is like to have someone else here.

"Here we are..."

She doesn't say anything about the new door. Not to Katsuya. Not now. But she does pause to look it over, running her fingers over the handle and one of the branches of the tree. That is not subtle imagery Schon chose. Fitting, perhaps, to warn people away from a place with demons, but not kind.

She doesn't say much about the state of the apartment either, but her fingers are twitching a little. Someone's going to be cleaning once he's asleep. "It's nice. What do you want first, food or sleep?"

Katsuya would be doing the same if he could work up the energy to care. His kitchen is minuscule, a combination microwave and stove, a sink made for a child and a small fridge/freezer combo. Everything is quite efficiently set up, however. The only appliance allowed to clutter the small bit of counter space was a coffee maker. Everything else was stored in the pantry and taken out when needed.

"There's the kitchen..." He tries to make it a tour. "And there's the toilet in there. Separate from the bathroom in Japan." He adds, pointing out each door. There's a door at the far end of the hall that is open when Katsuya leads her down the hall. She catches sight of some band poster and a red blanketed futon before Katsuya pulls the door shut. He doesn't have the energy to deal with that right now. There's a tiny laundry nook next to the closed bedroom and another small bedroom tucked around a corner. It's spartan--white walls, little to no decor. Katsuya's briefcase sits next to the door, along with a few ties strewn over a chair. "And this is the bedroom. I'm rarely here so it's quite clean. If you ever need a place to stay." He shrugs.

Unsure what else to do, Katsuya runs a hand through his hair, messing it from its carefully styled state and untucking his shirt. He'll lead her back around the corner to the main room and take a seat on one side of the couch.

"It's home." There's something kind of empty about how he says it. "Oh, hell." He mutters under his breath. "I'll put a pot of coffee on. I'm sorry. I'm not thinking straight."

The tour is nice, and the offer of refuge gets a smile from her. But she's relieved when he sits down.

"Shh. No." She's got a hand on his shoulder before he can get up again. "No. You sit. Rest. Let me take care of you. Please." This is what she can do. If this is the portion of the burden he'll let her shoulder she'll take it gladly and thank him for it.

"Now. Katsuya. All you have to do is tell me what you want, okay?" Enjoy her obedience while it lasts, this is a limited-time offer.

"..Al..alright." He nods, slumping back into the cushions. "The coffee is in the red bag in the top left shelf." He tries desperately to think if there is any food in his house in a packaging she will understand. He hasn't been to the grocery store in weeks, so there's not any fruit or vegetables in the fridge.

"Help yourself to anything you'd like otherwise. Uhm..and don't hesitate to ask if something looks odd."

She'll go to make the coffee, and doesn't ask for any help. She does seem to be playing with her phone a great deal. And adding salt. "I have a translation app on my phone. It seems to be working pretty well. A little preparation goes a long way."

See how much she's been thinking about him. Demons she can't help with, but not making a nuisance of herself? That she can work on. Pretty soon the coffee is brewing and she's poking around the rest of the kitchen to see what he has. She's never going to complain about a New York kitchen again. Not even the ones where the tub is in the kitchen.

"A what?" Smart phones aren't a thing in 2003 Sumaru. And Starkphones are double not a thing because who the hey is Tony Stark?

There's a little shelf built into his pantry that has a food processor, a rice cooker, a mixer, and a blender tucked safely away for when they're needed. There's baking supplies, though for some reason the baking powder and soda come in these little premeasured packets instead of a container. Packets of Konbu and bonito flakes for making dashi. Jars of miso. Standard Japanese pantry fare.

There's no checking in on Verity going on from the other room. Katsuya seems to have faith that she can get around halfway decently.

"Wha--oh. Short for 'application'. A program on my phone. I take a picture of foreign text and it translates for me. It'll also translate into Japanese if I need to go out for something and you're not with me." She really has put some thought into this. "I'll just tell people I'm beta-testing a next-gen cell phone."

She's going to have to look up what a few of those ingredients are, but she's sure she can make something. She can probably figure out miso soup, all the ingredients are there. There's rice, there's some kind of beans hopefully, there's spices. It won't be her most amazing meal ever but it'd be filling and healthy and that's the most important thing.

"My phone is a tiny computer. It does all sorts of things for me. We should get you one. You'll love it."

There isn't an immediate verbal reply from the other room. Katsuya's probably satisfied or impressed by this answer.

Rice, beans, firm tofu, miso, dashi stock, soy sauce, sake, mirin. Katsuya's got it all. She can certainly make a basic miso soup. Hell, if she roots around in the freezer she can probably find frozen shitake mushrooms to toss in there too.

Coffee might have to wait a while. When Verity does finally check in on the officer, he's dozing on the couch, chin threatening to slip off the hand he has it propped on.

She's not surprised when she finds him asleep. Actually, she's glad. He needs it. She'll get a blanket and a pillow to try and make him more comfortable, and then will find ways to keep herself entertained while he sleeps. If he sleeps long enough, not only is his apartment cleaned, she's got soup simmering and a fresh pot of coffee made. (She drank the last one.) (And that picture turned face-down is still in that position.)

It's too bad Katsuya is sleeping in the living room. Japanese game shows and really variety tv in general is hilarious. A silly culture shock of a good kind.

He wakes to the sounds of movement in the apartment and the smell of miso soup.

"Jun? Ima, nanji?" His speech is slurred with the haze of sleep and very much in thick Japanese as he slowly wakes up.

(("Jun? What time is it now?" Very informally asked, as if to close family.))

Maybe she can catch some of those later. She'd rather be doing something useful right now anyway, and sometimes she actually likes cleaning.

She comes over to the couch when he speaks, resting a hand on his arm for a moment. "It's Verity," she explains. "You've been asleep for a few hours. Feeling better?"

She can be enamored by the names of the cleaning products, some in very deliberate Engrish while she works. His apartment is small enough that she can find pretty much everything easily enough.

He jumps when he sees it's Verity, a flush of embarrassment cropping up on his face.

"Gomen, er. Sorry. Verity." He scrubs at his face beneath his lenses, trying to hide behind his hand a moment. He'd known it wasn't Tatsuya wandering around. The boy wasn't known for cooking. Jun however had always been handy around the apartment, cleaning and cooking where he could to help out. Still, to be that confused after all this time...He sighs and sits up straight. "Yeah, sorry again." He shrugs. "Guess I was confused for a moment there."

She takes a step back when he jumps, deliberately looking away. If she's not looking at him she can't see how embarrassed he is, right? "It's okay. You're tired." If she's upset or disappointed, it's hard to tell. She's never been one to smile habitually.

She is disappointed that he isn't glad to see her when he realizes she's there, but it's the sort of foolish disappointment that only makes her more disappointed in herself. "I made some soup if you're hungry? I think it came out pretty good..."

One more complicated issue to toss on top of the pile of things they should be talking about and instead aren't.

"You made soup." He blinks. Glances at the kitchen, then back to her. And then smiles wide. "It smells perfect." No wonder he thought Jun was here, what with decidedly Japanese comfort food wafting in from the kitchen.

That pile is getting pretty big. They really should deal with it before it collapses on them.

The snappish comeback she'd been forming is delayed by the smile. And then, well, maybe she doesn't need to say it after all. "I said I was going to take care of you, remember?" She'll go to get him a bowl. "You want anything with it?"

This explains so much really. Katsuya ducks his head in thanks.

"I thought....for a minute. My brother and his friend were back." He admits, giving a sheepish smile. "I must have been seeking your cooking and reminiscing while I was asleep."

He shakes his head quickly.

"No that's more than fine."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you." She says it so lightly. It must be a joke. Otherwise, she's been saying that a really long time. She serves up a bowl for him and one for herself; she'll sit on the far end of the couch after he's taken his soup. "I hope you like it."

"Not a disappointment, just confusing." And embarrassing, but well. Katsuya is trying to ignore that.

He looks really impressed by the soup. Really. For one, most of his friends aren't exactly known for their culinary skills, and for another he doesn't expect Verity to be good at Japanese cooking. So yes. Very happy indeed.

She makes a little sound of relief then; it's the sound a person makes when something stops hurting. She isn't aware she made that sound out loud.

She's good at reading directions, and she's had miso soup before. She can muddle through a lot of things with directions and familiarity with the goal. Chairman Kaga wouldn't be impressed, but if Katsuya likes it that's enough for her. This time. She'll get better.

It helps that the soup itself is fairly simple. And that mmmost Japanese soups start off with the same four basic ingredients before branching into whatever dish they will ultimately become.

Right now it's warm and healthy and Katsuya is quite content to enjoy his unexpected meal in peace. He still feels a bit muddled from sleep, but begins to take note of his much cleaner apartment. His gaze flits to the shelves--but no. That photo is still face down.

The frame holds several small pictures inside. A photo booth strip of a boisterous woman in a gaudy top dragging a panicked officer Suou in halfway while she makes faces. Another of a petite brunette American flashing a peace sign outside of the Konan PD. A third, mostly hidden behind the other two, of a group of people outside the Araya Shrine. If Verity peeked. But it's face down still, so Katsuya doesn't seem alarmed.

"It's not nearly as nice as your place." Katsuya seems a bit nervous now. "But it's home. I hope you didn't trouble yourself too much. T..thank you for helping me clean up." He honestly can't believe he slept through that.

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Wow my phone garbled that last bit up. Sorry.

That's what I figured happened. No worries, I think I figured it out.

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Watch all of Cooking With Dog Verity!