1882/The After Party

The After Party
Date of Scene:	28 August 2016
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - Penguin Public Library
Synopsis:	Yuzuki gets to meet Seishi and learn about both her teammate and the team in general.
Cast of Characters:	Yuzuki Amemori, Seishi Tamashige

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Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori needed to finish up the last paper of the break, as such it was a pretty good excuse to set a meeting at the library to talk to Seishi-Akashimaru. Her head has a hard time parsing that, what with memories not lining up with the mental image. Then again, her personal image of herself is a touch skewed as of last night too, what with a conversation with Hakuomaru, the gist of which started out strange and went from there.

She's slowly turning page by page through a book, scanning for details, enjoying the nice cool AC of the building to beat the heat outside. Her phone is next to her, playing music at a respectful volume and from time to time, she checks the time to make sure that if chance to meet up with Seishi runs long, she can make sure she didn't sit at the wrong place in the library or something.

Not that she'll admit it, but there's a book on ancient sword styles, two different manga about samurai and a book about psychology buried under the notes and books.

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The library is familiar territory for Seishi - a good place to meet, especially since telling her father she's going there usually prompts minimal questions.

Plus, she's got schoolwork to finish up over the break herself.

So, with her backpack slung over her shoulder, Seishi comes wandering between the shelves of the library, looking for the girl she met the other night. When she spots Yuzuki sitting at the table with her books and notes spread out before her, Seishi heads over to pull out a chair and slide quietly into it.

"Hey," she says, as she lowers her backpack to the floor next to her.

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori is given largely free reign to do what she wants as long as she maintains her grades, something she's more than happy to take advantage of. That said, saying she's going to the library gets minimal questions, which means she doesn't have to feel bad coming up with excuses.

The sound of approaching footsteps gets her to sit up and look around. What, she had her music super low! At least as far as she's concerned. Headphones pulled down around her neck, she waves to Seishi. "Hi!" There's some hesitation, then she says, "I'm Yuzuki- uh, like this?" She seems completely lost on the idea of having another 'self'.

Should she bow? Probably not, she's doing a book dump too. "Do I really smell like sake and gunpowder?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
She's still recognizably the same girl, but Seishi looks rather different here in the quiet of the library. No long samurai ponytail, for starters. Just your average teenage girl, dressed in jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt, shoulder-length hair pulled back from her face in a half-ponytail tied with a red ribbon. She offers Yuzuki a lopsided smile and a little nod of greeting.

"Nice to meet you," she says. "Properly, I mean. I'm Seishi, when I'm like this." She had given the other girl her information at the beach party, after all the hue and cry had settled, but... well, it never hurts to be polite.

Books and notebooks come out of the backpack, laid out over the table in front of her in much the same fashion as Yuzuki's. At the question she pauses, eyebrows lifting for a moment before she laughs quietly and shakes her head. "You don't smell," she promises; "that's just O-Yasu. He's a baku, so he can sense things about people's dreams. I don't quite get it either, but it's useful sometimes."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori adjusts her glasses, something that she's surprised didn't carry over to her samurai-self. Her hair's secured back with a black hairband and she's wearing a dark blue halter and a pair of cargo shorts, because a nerd can never have too many pockets! There's a bicycle helmet nearby, hinting to how she arrived. "How did you make yours a ribbon?" She asks, having not gotten to that question.

There's a pleased smile after, "It's nice to meet you too! It's also nice to have those dreams of mine explained, you know?"

Resting her chin on her hand, she nods quickly. "I always thought they'd look different- when I was younger. Me, that is." There's a scowl and she asks, "I should stop trying to think of it as me and me and more as past me and modern me. Or just me." Pencil down, "Uh, sorry! It's kind of overwhelming you know?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"How did I - oh, this?" Automatically, Seishi's hand goes to the back of her head. "I didn't really... it's just a normal ribbon, it's not magic or anything. I can transform without it. It's just kind of a focus, I guess, to help me get in the right frame of mind."

She smiles again, sympathetically, as she rests her hands on the table. "Believe me," she says, "I totally get it. I'm sorry you had to get hit with this whole thing all at once like that. I was hoping I'd get the chance to warn you before you actually had to face a Nightmare in person, but... well..." Her shoulders lift in a helpless shrug. These things just happen.

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori shakes her head and lifts her glasses to rub her eyes. "I'll have to remember that. Makes it easier that way doesn't it." There's a beat and she says, "I can do that with a backstage pass probably." Glasses back in place, she smiles while asking, "So do they normally take the form of nightmares? Hakuomaru had... less relevant questions last night. Do you ever get used to that by the way?" Not that she's probably ever going to get used to the strange samurai in her head.

The mention of trying to find her before the nightmare had interrupted the show, she leans forward and asks, "Wait really? How long have you been looking? Were there others?"

Realizing she's probably a touch too excited, she quickly leans back, adjusts her glasses and coughs. "I mean uh- thanks for finding me when you did! The others weren't the same right? They weren't wearing armor- though there was that ninja girl that disappeared..."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Around the time Yuzuki is asking 'do you ever get used to that?,' Seishi's expression turns very wry. With an inarticulate little sound, she slumps forward until she's facedown on the table. "Look, just be glad you don't have to put up with mine. Hakuomaru can't possibly be as much of a jerk."

She stays like that for a moment before, sighing, she pushes herself back up. "I don't know if I can say you get used to it exactly. More like you start redefining what you think of as 'normal.' Dreams are supposed to be the brain's way of figuring things out as we're sleeping, right? Ours just... have a really specific form that can take."

Looking down, Seishi fiddles with a notebook without really seeing the notes written across the page she's opened it to. "It's not always Nightmares, but we have a particular responsibility to fight those, I think is the way to put it. I've been doing this, um... a bit over a year, I guess. Not entirely on my own, but - it's complicated. Those other two who helped us weren't quite the same, so. I don't know the ninja girl, but the other - she's connected to us, sort of, but she's different."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori resists the urge to patpat the slumped over girl, what with not knowing her yet. "He poked me in the back of the head and asked what it was like being a girl. I don't think he's rude, I just think he's..." she rubs the back of her head, "Strange?"

She leans forward, arms crossed and her chin resting on them to ask, "Is it every night?" Not sure if that's good or bad at this point.

Watching Seishi push herself back up, she returns the wry smile, "So we've got very specific dreams-I guess I can live with that. I mean it was kind of neat getting all of that armor and the sword- and you know, not looking like an idiot swinging it around. A complete idiot at least."

"So... help out when you can and keep an eye out for nightmares? The bad kind that is. Do you have like... a notebook of things I should know what to look for? Maybe a little hammer and glass thing I can break in case of emergency?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"There isn't," Seishi admits, "but that's a good idea. I should try and write something up. And no, it's not every night. Akashimaru usually only shows up when there's something I need to ask him, or something he needs to tell me... stuff like that. Yours could be different, though, I don't really know."

She falls quiet for a few seconds, seeming to be organizing her thoughts. "The short version is, there's an enemy that our past lives weren't able to defeat. It was sealed for a long time, but now it's starting to get loose. That's what's making the Nightmares - the enemy is trying to steal people's dreams."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori chews her lip and tries to think of what she wants to ask first. Then decides it might be better to ask the more important questions. Then she realizes she has no idea what the best questions to ask actually should be. There's a moment where she looks overwhelmed, then slumps forward herself. "I think he's going to be a chatty one. He's nice, but... I get the feeling I was weird back then too."

She doesn't lift her head, eyes closed and enjoying the nice cool table. "So we need to keep them from stealing dreams and we had to seal them at one point becauseat least I died. I know that much- sort of. I just don't... know the full details."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi nods slowly in confirmation as Yuzuki goes over the facts. "Most of what I know is what O-Yasu's told me," she admits. "I don't remember a lot of the details, myself. But I'm pretty sure most of us died, back then. Or at least, from everything I know, it was really ugly. Even Akashimaru doesn't like to talk about it."

Perhaps inspired by Yuzuki's earlier suggestion, Seishi flips to a fresh page of her notebook and picks up a pencil, making some notes as she talks. "You've already figured out that this is all about our past lives," she says. "Our enemy is the Eater of Dreams. That's not a metaphor. He's still sealed, for now, but he has dream-stealers working for him - like the ones we fought the other night. They're the ones who make Nightmares, corrupting people's dreams in order to try and steal them."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori slowly pushes herself up and tries to get a peek at what's being written down. "I only know because Hakuomaru is chatty. He seems to like telling stories." There's a bit of a laugh and she says, "I will admit he was funny when telling about the times he burned his eyebrows off. Uh, so yours was a jerk? Does he remember anything about the others? Hakuo liked him I think. I don't think he hated a lot though either you know?"

With the brief history lesson, she nods quickly though. "That's the part I was curious about, if he's getting free-" she fishes around for her notebook and starts taking notes too, "If he's getting free, do we know how long? Or is sticking the thieves with sharp things keeping them from getting him out further?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Nothing much of interest on the page: it's pretty much just noting the points down as Seishi mentions them out loud, an outline for that hypothetical introductory manual. "O-Yasu's keeping watch over the seal," she says. "That's what he's been doing since back then. As for a timeframe, it's kind of hard to tell. Keeping them from stealing dreams for him to eat will prevent him from gaining strength, though, so that's more or less been the approach I've been taking for now."

Here she stops writing, resting the pencil against the page of the notebook as she looks across the table at Yuzuki. "Of the others, mostly I've heard about Renge-dono. You might've seen her in your dreams, or maybe Hakuomaru mentioned her; she was... kind of everyone's leader. O-Yasu's been looking for her, which is how he found you. If she's been reborn, though, he hasn't found any sign of her yet."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori drums her fingers and asks, "Think we were all reborn at different times to keep guardians going the whole time? Or is it a fate thing, things went wrong, everyone wake up?"

She shakes her head, thinking back on her dreams. "Shame we can't put out oblique messages on a board saying, "Have dreams you were a samurai, ninja or onmthingy? Come to our con!" She laughs lightly, not entirely being serious, but finding that it would have gotten her attention. Which makes her sigh, she's such a nerd.

"Do you know how to find others? I mean without O-Yasu? Or is it really just down to luck? I kind of want to help out there. I want to help out otherwise because- honestly it was fun. I'm not sure if I should really be afraid or not there though."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
That first question makes Seishi pause for a moment, eyebrows lifting in vague surprise. "...I don't know," she admits after a moment. "O-Yasu seems to think we should all be out there somewhere, ready to awaken, but - I haven't really asked him if there's a reason he thinks that or not." Picking up her pencil, she makes a note to ask.

"Unfortunately," she says, without O-Yasu it's mostly luck. We can visit other people's dreams, but that's pretty random itself, and there's no guarantee of recognizing the person if you meet them for real after traveling through their dream."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori is surprised by the surprise, she hadn't been expecting that! (Clearly). She makes a few notes in her book as well. "Well that would mean we all are out there, but not awake until we're needed." She laughs and asks, "Did you need a big bruiser for some reason?"

She seems cheerful enough about the idea. "I kind of wish I had a smaller weapon, everything is so big and heavy. It doesn't feel heavy, but you can feel the weight you know?" She's sure that doesn't make any sense at all. The last comment gets a light shrug, "So I don't need to worry about that girl recognizing me or vice versa?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"You're probably safe on that," Seishi confirms with a little nod. "People don't always remember the details clearly, to begin with. Dreams are like that. She'll remember the important parts, but I doubt she'd recognize you as Hakuomaru if you passed each other on the sidewalk or something."

A beat, and then Seishi cracks a lopsided grin. "Your sword is cool, though. I mean, I don't even have one. What kind of samurai doesn't have a sword?"

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori nods and says, "So even without the mamba-" beat, "Menpo, they wouldn't recognize us? Good. I don't want her coming up to me in a year as DJ Samurai Fangirl or something." Though that would be funny. She might have to do a song about that. Leaning forward to scribble a few notes, she asks, "Were you there for the music or because of O-Yasu thinking I was there? If you don't mind my asking?" Hey, she's a musician!

The question about her sword gets a smile and a laugh, "The sword is neat! Just really big. Uh, the smart kind though. Most didn't bother with swords. It was all spears and bows!"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"You wouldn't know that to hear Akashimaru tell it." Seishi rolls her eyes expressively. "I think he's probably kinda biased, though. Not the most reliable source."

At Yuzuki's question, she can't quite keep from ducking her head a little. "I, uh, was mostly there because of O-Yasu," she says, looking sheepish. "Not that the music wasn't interesting! It's not my usual style, though. Plus, I don't think my dad would've approved of my going to a night concert on the beach."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori shrugs and says, "I should ask Hakuomaru about it. I know he uses the sword because... he thought it was fun." She's not sure if she's happy with that revelation- however it IS rather fun to actually use.

The sheepish look gets a soft laugh from her again! "Oh! Well uh, sorry you had to go to the show for that. I mean it worked out for the best, but it would have been nice if it was your kind of music." Curious tilt of her head, then she asks, "What do you prefer to listen to? I've tried to do more traditional music too, but the bands I wanted to even try for, had guitarists already!"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi shakes her head at Yuzuki's apology, raising her hands. "No, it's all right. I'm not sorry I went. It's good to try new things sometimes, right?"

She has to stop and think about her preferences for a moment. "I guess mostly I like lyrical music... stuff you can sing karaoke to. I like to listen to movie soundtracks when I'm studying, instrumental stuff, but I don't know if I'd call that my favorite. I'm not really educated on music or anything," she admits with a little shrug.

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori grins, "It's always great to try new things. When I was over in the states, I got to try a lot of new things. Some of their food is... horrific sounding. But tasty." Beat, "Uh, I loved the music while I was over there, a lot of old western rock and stuff. Got me into guitars!"

Don't tell her most of those are European, she knows, but it took going to the states to hear it regularly! "Lyrical is nice, I wish I was good enough with a piano to try anything there, but while I can kind of play it, I stick with the digital style for a reason."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Oh yeah?" Seishi's eyebrows lift in interest. "I've listened to some American music, too - it's interesting, hearing lyrics in another language and all."

A beat, then she lets out a little laugh. "Hey, you're doing better than me. The most I can claim is the ability to carry a tune, more or less. Meanwhile, you're out there playing concerts. I don't have to know much about digital music to know that's amazing."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori looks down over her notes, snapping the notes shut. Looking at Seishi, she asks, "Hey what school do you go to? What do you do? I mean, if we're going to be working together, I want to get to know you!" There's a beat and she adds, "Just so I'm not annoying you or anything. Or so I can spring lunch sometimes or something!" Hey, try to make friends with you... is it boss in this case?

"I've known a lot of people that can't carry a tune or carry one lik- weeeell they're not good." The note about her doing concerts gets an embarassed smile, "I've only really done smaller shows. Even that big show was just a side show-" She sounds quite proud though

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi blinks at this, and then smiles, shaking her head a little. "You're not annoying me! Especially since we'll be fighting alongside one another, it'd be good if we could be friends, right?"

She sets down her pencil, though unlike Yuzuki she's not closing the notebook just yet. "I go to Verone Academy. Second year." Lacing her fingers together, she grins at Yuzuki. "No need to downplay it. Even if it was a side show - it's something you wanted to do, and you put the work in to be able to do it. Am I wrong? I think that's fantastic."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori drums her fingers and says, "I didn't mean right now- though I'm glad I'm not annoying you now. I meant just... getting to know you right?" She shakes her head and smiles happily, "I would love to be friends though, much easier to work that way and much more enjoyable as a whole right?"

"Verone huh, I go to Infinity, I think I'm a year behind you though." She taps her fingers together, "As for the show, I did work hard for it, both in my music and networking and on the behind the scenes stuff. I had to do a lot of support for shows as a sound tech. Which to be fair is awesome because that's a lot of free concerts and time spent with bigger names.'

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Right," Seishi agrees, nodding. "I think that our past lives were friends, too. At least, Akashimaru seemed happy when I saw you transform. And believe me, that doesn't happen often." For a moment, her smile goes a little wry.

Then Yuzuki is talking about the work she's done, not just for her music, and Seishi leans forward a little, listening with interest. "See, that's what I mean," she says. "Most people our age are like me - I have a goal I'm working towards, but it'll be a long time before I make much progress. You're already taking steps. I admire that a lot."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori nods quickly and says, "I think Hakuomaru was happy, but then again, that's common so far right?" At the wry look, she looks a touch sad and asks, "Is he that bad? Or is it just like, butting heads?"

She looks even more embarassed now, "I've been pushed hard and I have to work hard, but it's not going to slow me down! In the long term, I'm hoping I get noticed and can do music for a band" She taps her fingers together before adding, "Or maybe for games or an anime. I really like Michiru Yamane."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi pauses for a moment, shakes her head. "I'm probably exaggerating a little, since I'm stuck with him hanging out in my dreams and making noise in the back of my head. He's kind of a pill, but if he were that bad, I doubt he and Haku would've been friends... right?"

She sits back a little in her seat, letting her hands rest on the table. "With that kind of drive, I'm sure that you can do it," she says with complete sincerity. "I'll look forward to hearing about your success in the future."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori slumps forward and says, "I think I'm either going to become a great musician or I'm going to finally get a full night's sleep. Whichever comes first." She stifles a yawn before saying softly, "I'm sure he's not that bad. Have you ever asked why he's so grouchy or is he just prickly in general?"

She turns her head to watch Seishi from her lazy position and asks, "What are your goals? You knew mine, but I have no idea what yours are. Maybe I can help you in moving towards them?" Hey, try to be helpful, right?

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"I haven't really... he tells me what he wants to tell me, is pretty much how it goes," Seishi replies, making that rueful face again. "Besides, there's not really a polite way to say 'why are you such a pain?'"

But then Yuzuki is shifting the subject towards her goals, and Seishi lets out a breath, seeming somewhat to be shifting mental gears. "I'm going to join the police," she says, "and become a detective. That's why I transferred to Verone, even though I went to middle school at Seiyou - more chances to make connections."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori grins and asks, "Really? Like the old movies? I need to get some sax sound libraries to do you a theme!" She seems pleased with the idea, even if it is kind of silly. "Does Verone offer scholarships or was it something else?"

For the first part though, she loops back to it quietly, just a quick, "I can maybe ask Hakuomaru if you have any questions? Maybe we can figure out what Akashimaru likes so you two can have something nice to chat about? I don't know. I feel bad that you butt heads"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
The idea of her own film noir detective theme has Seishi laughing quietly, amused and pleased as well. To the question about Verone, she nods quickly. "Oh, I'm there on scholarship for sure. There's no way my dad could afford to send me if he had to cover the tuition."

A pause, and then she smiles. "It's okay, really," she assures. "I complain a lot, but he and I mostly manage okay. It's like... kind of like having a jerky older brother, except mine hangs out in my subconscious. If that makes sense?"

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori fishes around in her bag as the sound of a phone going off on vibrate interrupts. She pulls her phone free and clicks the button off and stuffs it away. "The scholarship's good stuff! You'll do fine! We should look for clues or something for the attacks. Good practice for you and might help out!"

Then as she starts packing her stuff away, "If you're sure. I mean I know it's weird enough when I think he's nice. If you need someone to rant at, let me know, I'd be happy to help you out Tamashige-" then she stops and says, "I don't mind if you use Yuzuki. Good start"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Seishi is fine," she replies with a little nod. "And thanks, I'll keep it in mind. And if you have any questions, or you just need to freak out a little about how weird all this stuff is - I don't have all the answers yet, but I'll help out as much as I can."

She glances down at her notebook, then looks back up. "I feel bad for dragging you into all this, but... I can't say it won't be nice having someone backing me up. So thank you, Yuzuki."

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori ties her school bag shut and smiles, offering her hand out, "I look forward to working together as friends Seishi-san." Bag slung over her shoulder, she says playfully, "I'll have your theme done next time we meet if we're lucky." Then as a side note, she slips her hand into her pocket and pulls out one of her business cards, a white card with a graffiti style design embossed and her name. "There we go, that should make it easier, just in case." nevermind that they were called for this and all.

She shakes her head and says, "I don't think you dragged me into anything. I took the offer and ran with it and it was probably going to happen either way, right?"

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
"Probably." Seishi accepts the handshake that's offered, and the business card after it, studying it for a moment before she reaches for her phone. In a moment, she'll program the number in and send her contact info. But it's not an immediate necessity, so for now she looks up again. "It'd just be nice if you had a choice. But since we don't really, it's better to do it your way, huh?"

Yuzuki Amemori has posed:
Yuzuki Amemori grins and says, "Give me a call if anything goes wrong, if you want to grab lunch or if something comes up." Glancing over her shoulder as she heads for the exit, "And sorry to do this, but I need ot help out at home, but-" She turns, walking backwards, "Why cry and stamp your feet at life, if I can reach out and grab it, I might as well take it."

Seishi Tamashige has posed:
Seishi grins, dips her head in agreement. "Not a bad philosophy." With the business card still in hand, she offers a little wave. "See you later, Yuzuki. I'll send you my number, so call if you run into anything weird. Or whatever."