288/Is There Anyone Else

Is There Anyone Else
Date of Scene:	23 August 2023
Location:	Cafeteria Plaza
Synopsis:	Koji has some friendship questions for Darien. Also, a beach trip to propose.
Cast of Characters:	Koji Silvia, Mamoru Chiba

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Koji Silvia has posed:
Sitting at a small back table in the Cafeteria, Koji has his little notepad and his phone out. Since it's not a language a lot of people here speak, and only read spottily, he has two names on it in English:

    Jason?

    Takashi?

His phone has a text sent to Darien to meet him in the Cafeteria and a picture of the table before Koji sat down so it could be easily found in the huge space.

Almost as a peace offering, there's a cup of coffee covered with a saucer across from him, as the young man has a small cup of fries and a soda next to him, slowly being worked on as he taps his little half-pen on the table.

'Who are you...'.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Darien's almost always on time, he's almost always 'nearby' when summoned--

--this time is no different, because maybe two minutes later, the taller of the two black-haired bespectacled boys slides into the seat with the coffee in front of it and lifts the saucer. "Ee, thank you," he says cheerfully. "So what's this about?"

Today he's not dressed up or down -- he's wearing light-grey slacks, dark shoes, a black t-shirt, and that stupid green jacket he won't get rid of.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Not dressed up either, Koji is just in a T-shirt and cargo pants, which is always function over fashion with him.

"Look... I'm sorry to drag you away from things, Darien-san... I really am. I'm just running up against something I need your help with. And... I feel a little uncomfortable asking, to be honest." Koji starts with, and then pauses to dip a fry in some ketchup/mayo mix in a little cup, and nomph.

"You've got your social life away from the room, I get that. I also get you've got your work-life, which is it's own dread beast of a thing... but... I need to know who's what, so I know who I can talk to and who I shut up about."

He turns the pad around and pushes it towards Darien, "Who are they, really? Something about Takashi is offputting to me... like... he's older than he is... and this other one... just came up out of the blue from Naru-chan."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
When Koji starts in with apologies and awkwardness ahead of time, Darien's initially wary and then relaxes, because if it were something really damning he's pretty sure Koji would just blurt it out without preamble. So he sips his coffee and waits.

When the pad gets turned around, Darien looks at it; he listens; he's glad he's put his coffee down because he would otherwise have probably spilled it. "Takashi, older than he is?" he tries not to be too loud about it, but it's clearly a very funny idea to him. "I grew up with him. He's just really smart and unfortunately arrogant about it. He needs more socializing."

He picks up his coffee again, then sets it down again without drinking anything this time. "Jason's a very good friend of mine, but be careful, I also work with him. He does go here. Sometimes I have lunch with him, but he's not in our class."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji asks, in a very uncharacteristically blunt fashion, "Is there anyone else I should be aware of?"

He pauses, and then sighs, "I mean... okay... these are your friends obviously, and I don't want to intrude. We don't HAVE to have the same friends. But... if someone drops by or drops a name, I'd like to know just so I'm not putting up defenses for no good reason."

Another fry is dipped and eaten to cover his chagrin.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Masato Sanjouin and Yoshimitsu Zaibatsu," Darien says easily. "Also my little sister, Himeko Soryuu. She's not great at keeping secrets. But listen, Kojikun, they really are my friends, and they are important to me."

His voice lowers. "You know I have a lot of people I'm friendly with, and you know there are a number of people who consider themselves my friends, and you know how much smaller a number of people it is that *I* call friends. You know you're one of them. They are, too."

Darien finally picks up the coffee to sip it again, and this time the drink's a little bigger. "At any rate, it's actually a *bad* thing if all our friends are in common. And I don't know many of *your* friends. And-- I did already tell you, you don't have to keep lying for me."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Holding up one finger as he chews and swallows, chasing it down with a sip of drink, Koji replies, "I did not lie for you. But Naru did ask when you were in so she could drop something off for Jason. I told her to leave it at the door because neither of us tend to be around in the evenings right now. So... promise kept."

Taking his pad back, he writes down Masato and Yoshimitsu's names, though the second one seems vaguely familiar to him, tapping the back of his pen next to it before he finally adds Himeko to the List.

"The only people I could really count as friends here at school outside of you, Usagi, and Chiyo... would be two other girls I've met. Rashmi Terios. Her parents run the Korma Chameleon, and a girl named Hannah who... is dealing with a lot of problems moving to Radiant Heart."

Fair is fair after all, "There are... A LOT... of girls here. A lot. You have no idea how much of a relief it was to meet Kazuo-san. I just hope I didn't give him a bad impression of me when we talked."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"... I can't read him well yet, but I don't think you made a bad impression. I also don't think he takes first impressions as rock-solid anyway, since he's still talking to me," laughs Darien. "Good so let's just invite him if and when we do stuff outside school. I like him a lot."

A pause. "Rashmi Terios, huh? Well, her family's restaurant is awesome. And if you're friends with her, she must be awesome too."

He reaches over to tap Koji's pad. "Jason Dite, and Takashi Agera."

Koji Silvia has posed:
And the conversation bumps right into Elephant-san, who of course waves it off as if it was his fault... but then STAAAARES...

So Koji sits back and then says, "Rashmi is nice, but introverted. She kinda needs someone to drag her out of her books. Chiyo I think will be good for her like that. We all sort of met over celebrating Finals at the Gullwing by the beach. It was nice. You and Usagi-chan would have had fun."

Then he almost blushes, "Hannah and I met over a... misunderstanding. She took a swing at me, I defended, it escalated...but apparently, she likes people who'll be honest with her, so... there you go. She kinda... reminds me of you, in some says."

You can see him saying 'Dite' a few times over Jason's last name, like he's trying to parse it, before finally giving up and clicking the pen closed, "Soooo... the other reason I wanted to chat you up outside the room is because... I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the beach on the last week of summer break. Maybe a small group, or just..."

He falters, "Okay, I know I'm sounding weird, but this is a weird situation. Some of my old friends I keep up with on social media before my parents moved me here put up pictures of them all hanging at the beach. It looked fun. And I thought of you and how you're ALWAYS either school or work. So... I've been hoarding some funds and working a couple jobs here and there to put together for an overnight trip. Day at the beach, a night someplace cool, then back here."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Hannah Steiner? From self-defense class??" Darien says, eyes wide. "You got in an escalated fight with her and didn't end up in a body cast? Well done! I have no idea how she reminds you of me, but I guess I'll take it?"

He takes his coffee and finishes it, then grimaces because it was still a little too hot to do that. And then his eyebrows go up at 'chat you up' and then 'small group' makes them go down again; he's not going to tease. "Well," he says thoughtfully, "first, thank you for thinking of me! Second, if you want to also put pictures on social media of you having a good time at the beach with friends, a small group sounds better than just the two of us."

And then he pauses again and his face falls a little. "I have to be findable though. And I'll have to have my work phone on. So I can't promise I'd be there the whole time. I mean hopefully if anything DOES come up I can fix it remotely, so I'll bring my laptop too."

Koji Silvia has posed:
That last part causes him to frown, "Okay..."

And he leans forward on the table, both of his hands atop it and flat against it, "That is bad business. My mom is corporate and she does not allow it to intrude on her private time. Vacation time is just that... you are supposed to be relaxing and recharging, you're not supposed to be sitting there wondering minute to minute if work will ruin things for you."

Shaking his head, he looks you up and down, not noticing you should've burned your tongue on the coffee, "What is so important that you'd have to ruin your experience?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Sometimes lives are on the line," says Darien really quietly, looking away. "I fucked up once a couple of years ago. Someone working for me died because I didn't read between the lines of his reports." A beat. He looks back at Koji. "I'm not just an intern. I think you know that, but I can't remember if I told you or not."

Then he waves a hand around. "I don't spend the whole time waiting for my phone to ring! If I did that, I wouldn't enjoy anything ever. I wouldn't have gone to the arcade with Usagi yesterday~"

Koji Silvia has posed:
"You've never told me, but I've suspected." Koji says back just as quietly, "And... I'm sorry. I've never lost anyone like that. It must still hurt."

Glossing over the fact that that meant it happened when Darien was 13-14... instead, he just scribbles the 'two years ago' on his notepad, and then tilts his head to look back up, smiling again, "Good."

And that is that. No pressing or anything. Instead... he pushes his little plate with the cup of fries and the fry sauce across to Darien, offering him some of his food.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Darien definitely leans to steal fries. He is the fry thief extraordinaire. The gentleman fry thief. He keeps everything that's glossed over... glossed over, and includes responding about the 'it must still hurt' in that: of course it does. And it was a seminal part of his identity today, considering how far back he actually remembers.

"So I hope it's okay if I come with those caveats," he offers after swallowing, "and we can ask other people to come with us. I'll pitch in anything you don't have covered! Especially for other people."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Sitting back, he looks down at the list that he has in front of him, and then puts a line under it all, adding 'Kazuo Saito' like it was a different heading.

Finally, he asks, "You said you knew Takashi from before you came to school... would he want to go on a beach trip too?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I can ask! He might just automatically turn into a tomato in the sun," says Darien with a laugh. "Do you want just guys going, or a co-ed trip? I'm given to understand that the dynamics are different."

He eats more of Koji's fries. "Also, Takashi and I literally grew up together, and I don't remember most of it. I really only remember back a couple of years. I definitely thought I told you that before."

A beat. He says wryly, "I know I've told you before that I have massive memory problems."

Koji Silvia has posed:
The talk about the memory issues puts a neutral expression on Koji's face, and he slips 3 pages back on his notepad to where a single name is written and circled...

    'Mamoru'

It's in a position that Darien can't see it, but he still looks for a moment, as if half-suspecting the ink would have faded... but it hasn't.

One of the special perks of his brand of magic. This little notepad gets kept in his Device when not needed, just in case.

"Actually no... you never really told me you grew up together, just that you were really good friends."

He doesn't look sad or put out by the gap in knowledge, and his expression isn't one that shows anything that could be taken or given as hurt, "But if you're that close, he should be given the chance to say yes or no. This is something where... who knows when you'll get another chance? We're only young for so long... maybe it's my dad talking, but we've got to take advantage of it. Go get bad beach food, enjoy the sun too much for our own good, maybe watch you get hit on by girls... maybe watch Takashi-san get hit on by girls..."

The last is added with a faint grin as his recollection of the other young man is a bit... one-sided, "But anyways... I'm trying to give you a present here. I get the impression people don't just give you stuff without having some kind of 'thing' attached. And maybe... finally make an apology for the way I hurt you."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The extent of the memory problems seems to grow every time they talk about it, doesn't it? But it makes sense, especially if it's ongoing. At least, to Darien, most of the gaps are noticeable gaps.

"Of course I'll ask him," the fry-eater says warmly. Then he laughs. "And, getting hit on all the time isn't a vacation, y'know."

There's a silence for a second as Darien watches Koji at the end there. "You already apologized," he points out gently. "And we already even had a fight. We had one then, and then we had another one over the steak, which I picked deliberately because I was mad at you for stupid elephant reasons. So I think we're more than even on the apologizing side." Then he dips a fry in sauce and points it at Koji. "I accept your present. Just... know that if we go and it's just you, me, Kazuo, and Takashi, it's going to be awkward."

Koji Silvia has posed:
It comes out as almost sheepish, "That's just it... I don't know any other guys well enough to ask."

Blowing out a breath, he just leans his head back over the back of the chair, almost letting his hair touch the ground, "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should just stop... or consider making it co-ed. But then it'd end up being almost like a school trip. We'd have to ask someone to chaperone, and the only one I -KNOW- who'd want to I don't want within 100 meters of anyone." Bringing his head back up, he looks back to you, "Anyways... Give me a couple more days to maybe firm some things up in my head, and then make the final pitch before you go asking anyone."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I'm ambivalent about the beach. I wouldn't mind being a lifeguard, but that's a job where I basically wouldn't have to talk to people for hours," Darien says, grinning as he finishes off Koji's fries. "I'll be happy if we go, and it's really okay if we don't, and we'll find something else to do if that's the case. I also don't think we'd need chaperones, but that's more or less because most of the girls here can kick our asses."

The elephant is wearing a lampshade now. Next comes the toga.

"Either way, yeah, let me know and then I'll ask."