You peek at Rin, who's quietly rocking her cup of tea back and forth, looking down and staying quiet. Mami, at your side, is regarding the entire table with her usual, placidly calm demeanour, but the moment she feels the weight of your gaze on her, she turns to smile at you. You smile back, and she returns to her quiet contemplation of the people around the table.
Kirika just looks bored, sketching drawings in the crumbs of her cake, long since devoured. Messily. There are still crumbs stuck on the side of her mouth.
You look back at Chouko, leaning forward on the table. "Um... Miss Tsubaki, " you say, garnering her attention. "Following on that... please don't call for help yet?"
The girl, the leader of her little group, frowns. "You- we-"
"No, look, I'm not asking that you give up or anything," you say hastily, waving your hands in what you hope is a placating manner. "Just... let me take a shot at ending this whole conflict first and yes, that includes Akiko's... tax. And if you call in more favours... Akiko has just as many,
more, even. She'll match you girl for girl."
"I... hm,"
she frowns, and looks away.
You chance a look at Rin again - she's looking away, unable to meet anyone's eyes, her coffee cream cake still untouched. "Look," you say, shifting your attention back to Chouko. "I want this to end peacefully. I just need people to
talk, not fight," you say. "That's all I ask."
Chouko nods slowly.
You take a sip of tea, as punctuation. "OK, then," you say. "If you don't mind... Can you tell me the details of the 'tax'? Or rental fee, or what have you? Did she offer you anything in exchange, how did she approach you, that kind of thing? I've heard it from others, but... what's
your side of the story?"
The blue haired girl sighs. "Three Grief Seeds a week," she says, holding up three fingers to demonstrate. "We can... could barely keep up with it. My parents... I don't live with them anymore," she smiles bitterly. "The same goes for most of us, really. It's... better than the alternative."
The entire table's silent, now. Mami's sitting up straight, eyes flinty, and Kirika's still lounging in her seat. Rin... the healer's completely unable to meet anyone's gaze, opting to inspect her cake minutely. Varying levels of discomfort go around the table.
"Something in return?" Chouko continues, tone bitter. "I don't know what drives Hamasaki. Greed, or megalomania, or something. I have no idea. She
takes, and takes, and
takes. I... she's polite. Civilized. She came and talked to us, but when we tried to protest... She was happy enough to kick us around."
"She's just a bitch, through and through," Haru grumbles.
Chouko shrugs. "That too."
"Right," you say slowly. "So... what about Miss Fukui? Was it Hamasaki's... policies, or was there a breaking point?"
A shadow passes over Chouko's face. "That was part of it, yes," she says, and doesn't seem inclined to elaborate any further.
Yuko looks at you, and then at Chouko. "Tell her about about Chika," she says wearily.
Chouko sighs, closing her eyes. "Ayano Chika was our friend. She died. To a Witch. Because we were reckless. Kuzue was... broken up over it," she says, in short, clipped sentences. "She left."
Mami looks stricken, and one of her hands grope for yours, squeezing lightly. You don't particularly need to look at the University group to guess at their expressions - the stark presence of Grief bubbling into their Soul Gems at the reminder is enough. And, surprisingly, or perhaps not so much - the same applies to Rin, too, if at a lesser degree.
"I see," you say. "... I'm sorry, for your loss, and for touching on a painful subject."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Mami echoes, while Kirika nods, face completely solemn.
"Thank you," Chouko says, accepting on behalf of her whole group.
A moment passes in silence. "Sorry, but... moving on... do you know what else Hamasaki's done? Beyond invading Ishinomaki at regular intervals, or something?"
Chouko shakes her head. "Not much. Roams around a bit, I guess? Mostly drags Tachibana with her, teleporting, you know. No idea where, before you ask, the most we know is that she's not in town from time to time," she says.
Less than you'd hoped for. "Alright, then. Last question, are you willing to... speak your mind, with Hamasaki at the table? Or other members of her group?"
Chouko sucks in a breath. "I'd... rather not," she says, and the rest of the University girls nod in agreement.
"Agreements made in the flesh..." you trail off - Chouko's already shaking her head,
no.
You sigh, tilting your head back to look at the sky, rapidly shading towards night. Dark clouds on the horizon - looks like a storm rolling in. It's sort of funny, but it rained the last time you saw Akiko, too, didn't it?
... nah. Probably a coincidence.
Still. Time to bring her in?
[] Call in Akiko
[] Negotiations
- [] Tone, points?
[] Write-in
=====
Also, since it was asked of me a few times and you'll probably not find out in story - Rin is considerably different in her first introduction as compared to now. She was trying to cultivate a) a reputation and b) a professional persona. You guys... kinda broke the latter.
A little like Mami, now that I think about it.
