1366/Face the Music

Face the Music
Date of Scene:	29 March 2024
Location:	Four Clover Mall
Synopsis:	Iona finds Philip Toms in a music store and offers him coupons and a smile and Phantom just... is done with smiles and friendship (and especially coupons and gifts).
Cast of Characters:	Phantom, Iona Hikawa

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Phantom has posed:
Ever since the music megastore opened in the mall, Phillip Toms has been a regular. Mirage Corporation pays him well for his work, and he's taken on a liking for some older vinyl. In paticular...

He's currently dressed in the 'stick man' shirt from the Pearl Jam tour circuit, coupled with a pair of torn blue jeans and sneakers. A collar is around his neck and a small bracer type device is on his left wrist has a small red gem imbedded in it. His mahogany hair is in it's usual style, blue eyes behind a pair of sunglasses.

And he is currently perusing the grunge records of the mid-1990s in the retro section of the store, looking for something he hasn't heard yet. With as much as much free time as he has between deployments? He has plenty of music to listen to. The whole vibe of the store if retro music store. A melody of different genres plays over the intercom system, and areas are set up for listening to music on oversized headphones.

Iona Hikawa has posed:
Iona is a habitual client of the music megastore at Four Clover Mall, because why frequent any other music store when this has everything she could wish for? Percussion instruments? Check. Pop music? Check. Karaoke kits? Check, check and check.

Today she is passing by the pop section to check for any new entries to the genre, and of course she is armed with her trusty coupons and discounts and promotions booklets, because, her sense of business is as sharp as ever. She totally isn't studying which stores have what like her grades depend on it. No, that's just your imagination.

Recently, though, she has stumbled upon an obvious problem. Among all the coupons, she has recently been gathering a by now sizable stack dedicated to vynil records, and she just doesn't know what to do with them. Which is why, in the effort to get rid of the useless waste of space, she has been sneaking a glance inside the appropriate section in the hope of finding a needy soul that would take them off her hands.

Which is why when she spots the tall redhead with the torn jeans, she approaches him with a smile and asks "Excuse me, do you happen to shop in this section regularly?" Coincidentally, there is no sign of Glasan here. She must have stayed behind at Iona's dorm room.

Phantom has posed:
As Phillip is looking over one of the records, he pulls it from it's sleeve and twirls it in his hand, studying it's grooves and shape before slipping it back into the dust cover to put back in the container to move on to the next one.

Just as he was about to pull another one, there's someone calling out to him. Turning to face the tall dark-haired girl, he tilts his head curiously for a moment. "I do. You work here?" he asks. "I'll buy whatever I pick out."

Apparently he's been harassed in the past about looking like a would-be shoplifter and addressing that before there's any type of complaint. "And there's nothing wrong with making sure a record isn't scratched before you buy it. I like my records clean."

Iona Hikawa has posed:
Iona raises an eyebrow when the man reacts to her question on the defensive. She doesn't even have the shop's uniform, what makes him think she works there? Nevermind the fact she definitely looks her age, so there is no way she would ever get hired here.

Anyway, despite the odd vibes the man is giving her, she still keeps on the polite smile she started with and explains herself. "No, that's nothing like that at all, mister. In fact, as a consummate costumer, I agree with checking that your products are up to standards and that you keep with current promotions to get your money's worth", she explains with enthusiasm, clearly regarding that as a commonality between the two of them.

And at this point she rummages through her bag, taking out the stack of coupons for vynil records and giving it to Philips. "I frequently collect coupons due to that reasons, but many I have ended up with recently for this store are for vynil records, so I was hoping to give it to a fellow customer of this music store", she says calmly, smiling at the redhead.

Phantom has posed:
There's a wariness in Phillip's eyes - not that Iona can see it. Clearly, the teenager has trust issues. "What, are they all expired?" he asks, a small smirk on his lips. "I've seen that prank." he points out to her.

But, he hasn't said no, nor has he walked away. And if he's recognized Iona, it doesn't immediately show. As she presents him with the stack of coupons, there's a small snort of a laugh. It doesn't quite qualify as amusement. "It seems that you need to work more on what you purchase." he points out.

"So what, you give me those, I try to use them, it's all tied to some account and I get in trouble?" he asks, pretty sure, in his mind, that's what's going to happen. He clearly has trust issues.

Iona Hikawa has posed:
Ok, something was definitely odd with this guy. Why was he even so cautious? Nobody is going to give him trouble just for shopping in a music store. And that accusation from Phillip... Well, that ears a "hmmf" from Iona with the clear expression of somebody who thinks such pranks are beneath them.

Well, this is not the first time she would help people with learning something (even if it's the first time she would do it regarding someone's behaviour and moreover, unsolicited), so she is going to help this guy get over his general mistrust, even if she has to face 100 Terribads for it.

"Mister, I assure you this is no prank and I am not trying to get you into hot waters", Iona start assuring him, back to sporting a smile that would come across as reassuring to him. "I will even give you proof", she adds, grabbing one of the disks from the column Phillip was checking out. Hopefully she picked one to his taste.

Going towards the cashier, she gives him the record she picked, and very clearly using one of the coupons, Iona pays for the difference in her own money, and then asks the cashier "Excuse me, none of these coupons are associated to an account, and they aren't expired, right?" The cashier looks over them, glancing between the stack and the purple-haired girl. "No, they are still valid and free-use", the staff says in a disinterested tone, loud enough for Phillip to hear.

Walking back to the redhead with a triumphant smile, Iona this time gives him both the coupons and the records. "Here you go, is that proof enough? The record is a gift now too."

Phantom has posed:
There's a moment where Phillip (Philip? He's still figuring that out) bristles when Iona becomes assertive and takes the record he was just looking at. "Hey, wait..." he starts to protest - but no, the tall dark-haired girl is already on her way to the cashier and all he can do at this point is follow her, because that was the record that he wanted.

And then she's offering it to him after she just had to prove her point, purchasing the record for him and then handing it over to him. He holds the disc in his hands, looking at it and then at Iona. He's not sure what he is supposed to do.

Scorn was right - things have gotten strange while he was away - and whatever is happening in Tokyo now is just an influx of happiness, positivity and now here he is, holding it in his hands. A gift, from a cute, random girl. If Mirage knew about this, she'd be furious.

As for Phantom? He's finally snapped out of his thoughts. He doesn't smile, so hopefully she doesn't expect that. Instead, he glances at the record, at the girl. "You didn't have to do that." And then he turns and starts to walk out. Not even a thank you.

Iona Hikawa has posed:
Iona isn't really dismayed at not being thanked. She can't expect all she does to bear fruit right away, and anyway, he has clearly walked out of the shop, so there really is nothing more to be done, except go to the percussive instruments, and maybe see if there is something that catches her eye. Her normal tambourine is starting to show its age by now...

Except of course, there is a problem with what Phillip did. Namely, he left the coupons with her. That won't do, it was the reason she even approached him to begin with! "The coupons, mind the coupons!" she shouts after him, and it doesn't take long to reach him anyway, since he was just walking.

"Mister, you forgot the coupons", Iona smiles at him, holding them out for him to take. "They are really going to be more useful in your hands, I would appreciate if you took them", she looks at him with a clearly friendly expression.

Phantom has posed:
Why is she following him? What is her deal? Philip, yeah, that looks better - is trying his best to just walk away from Iona. He has enough problems - the girl at the candy store. Now the teleporting girl. Why? WHY? Something deep inside fights back, something that he needs to surprss, push down.

Protect.

He turns when she catches up to him. The purple haired girl. He's seen one like her before. She's in his graveyard. Why does this girl /remind/ him of her? He doesn't know. He doesn't care. He just stares at the pretty girl with the pretty smile and her friendly expression. Offering him tickets.

And Philip hits his breaking point. His hand reaches out - but instead of taking the coupons, that warm, friendly offer, that first offer that is always a first step to friendship? His hand collides with hers, slapping the coupons out of her hand.

The coupons scatter, spread around on the recirculated air of the malls AC system. And for a moment, Iona may see just the briefest flash of red behind his darken lens of his sunglasses. "I don't need your charity." With that, he's walking away, leaving the girl to figure it out as he turns a corner - disappearing into one of his mirrors before she can follow him.

But he still has the record.

Iona Hikawa has posed:
The coupons fly all over after that loud smack, as Iona is left flabbergasted to look at her reddened empty hand where the other guy hit it, then glancing around at the scattered pieces of paper, and at the guy that has sped up, now turning behind a corner.

Frustration mounting inside her, she doesn't bother giving them to him anymore, and instead walks back into the store after gathering everything that fell to the ground. She will just leave them in her bag, and focus on her shopping instead.