open || helping people is a way of life

[complementing]

WHO: Minako Arisato and YOU!
WHERE: All over Recollé
WHEN: All of June
WHAT: Performing tasks for Zee, and anything else she's going to do for the rest of the month
WARNINGS: None for now. Feel free to PM this journal or message me at raynestorm if you want to work out something for a prompt!

FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY
Anywhere in Recollé; any time of the month

[Minako's list of available prompts is here! I'm open to doubling up, but no more than that, please. If you're looking for an excuse to bump into her randomly instead of doing something preplanned, the Confectionary prompt would be best, since she works there!]

A PUPPY PHONE
Anywhere in Recollé; any time of the month
"Do something nice for your neighbor" for Viea Village, or "pamper someone" for Enprise

Hmm...how am I supposed to do this without ruining your Evoker?

[It's a question asked to the air. You might find Minako walking her silver Shiba Inu on the streets, looking at some Bluetooth devices on her phone's browser-- or maybe she's in the electronics store, browsing the shelves. Either way, Koromaru is patiently walking beside her, making sure his Leader doesn't trip or bang her head on something as she muses to herself.]

Maybe I should just experiment. If I break your collar beyond repair, thanks to Retrospec it'll come back brand new...probably.

[Koromaru gives an agreeing bark.]

Okay, let's do that then. [And noticing someone near her, she waves them down.] Hey there! Question for you! What brand would you recommend for a Bluetooth device?

[Or maybe you see a text message from her.]

if I wanted to give my puppy a phone in his collar, how would I go about doing that?

Comments

[reaquila]

That's why, yeah. You got it right in one go. I don't want them to lump me in with a bunch of bad guys.

[It makes him happy that Minako's so perceptive. ]

If I study hard enough I can move away and start a new life. That seemed like the best thing to do. Do you think that it'll be able to break away from this when I'm older?

[He really wants to hear Minako's opinion. She's a smart girl.]

[complementing]

[She gives him a gentle smile.]

You're already here and not in Japan, so I think you're on the right track already. I'm sure that more people here know you as Nanashi, and not your father's son.

[reaquila]

That's what I was hoping for. [Heh, Minako is so friendly it's easy to be open with her. Nanashi frowns a little because there's even more issues that he hasn't spoken of. His family is a huge mess.]

I did something shitty back home. My sister couldn't come with me to Recolle and she's mad at me for it. I don't get along with her too much these days. Is it normal for siblings to fight like this?

[It's not Nanashi's fault. He couldn't afford to bring his little sister with him to the city, but he takes the blame for it anyways. Minako's got a sibling too. She knows how it's hard sometimes. ]

[complementing]

[Most anyone else in her position would probably say the same thing, but she's glad that he feels comfortable enough with her to confess so much.

While the topic of siblings usually has her second-guessing herself, this, at least, she knows how to answer now.]

Oh yes. It's supposed to be healthy. [She smiles wryly.] Me and my brother didn't fight at all when we were little, and now it's harder for us to get our thoughts across.

Have you explained your reasons to your sister?

[reaquila]

I see.

[That does fall in line with what Minato said a few months ago. He mentioned that he had trouble communicating with Minako sometimes. Apparently things are better now. Nanashi nods once to Minako's question.]

Hm, I've tried to talk to her. She thinks I'm just running away from my problems instead of starting over.

[That's why she's so upset all the time. ]

I dunno man. I'll give her some space and try again later. I'll let you know how it turns out?

[complementing]

[She nods encouragingly.]

Of course. My door is open any time you need me. [A tilt of her head.] You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but-- your sister. Does she know about what your dad does? Is she being hard on you because she expects you to follow in his footsteps like everyone else?

[reaquila]

No, it's okay. I don't mind answering these questions.

[ Nanashi nods and tries to make a reassuring smile. It's fine, Minako. ]

She knows what my dad does, yeah. Sometimes she helps him out because she thinks that he's hopeless. It's not like she's doing that 'cuz it's fun. [A pause.]

I don't get her sometimes? It's hard for me to figure out what she wants from all this. I'm a bad brother, Minako.

[Older brothers are supposed to help their little sisters out. He doesn't do that. Woops??? ]

[complementing]

You're not a bad brother. You're doing the best you can.

[She pauses a moment while their waiter delivers their coffee, then methodically mixes milk and sugar into it.]

Take it from someone who's been there. If your sister is going to be cagey about her reasons, or if she's just going to try and shut you out in general, you need to be patient while you try and talk things out. It was the hardest thing for me, wanting to rush in and fix everything between me and Minato, but eventually he helped me realize that I needed to keep working at it over time, and to give him his space.

[reaquila]

[Oh geez. That's not fun. Minako's been stuck in the same situation as him. He understands her position and he can sympathize with her. Nanashi frowns in response.]

Waiting is the best thing you can do when you can't talk right away. I'm not fond of waiting too much....it's like you're wasting time? Then you feel like crap when you stand still.

[He's never been a patient person. Running ahead with guns blazing with guns blazing everywhere is just the way he does things. What is waiting???]

That sounds a lot like senpai. He's kind of stubborn sometimes.

[complementing]

[She laughs faintly.]

Those are my feelings exactly. But patience allows you more time to observe and see everything that's going on in the big picture. Waiting lets you appreciate everything in the moment. So as hard as it is, sometimes it's necessary.

[And then she laughs again, but this time in a more tired kind of way.]

Yes. He's like the ocean. His feelings are so deep, but the surface always seems so calm. And when it isn't, that's when you know things are bad.

[reaquila]

Damn, okay. I'll try to wait more and let time sort out my issues.

[He'll be able to see things more clearly then. Minako's good at giving at advice. Nanashi appreciates it. When Minako talks about her brother Nanashi doesn't even look surprised by any of this.

He's known his senpai for a while and that's a pretty accurate description of how Minato handles things. ]

Your brother's a good guy. If you're patient with him it'll pay off in the end I think. He's an adult. He can handle his own shit.

[complementing]

Yeah. [She lifts her cup to her lips and breathes a sigh over the coffee.] You'd be surprised how long it took me to realize that.

[reaquila]

It's cool. We aren't perfect, Minako.

[No one's expecting them to do everything flawlessly. Poor Minako's just doing things to the best of her ability. Nanashi starts munching down on a snack and thinks about what they're discussing. ]

I hope that I can talk to my sister someday. She lives away from me and the only family I've got in the city is Jouhei. Is senpai your only family in Recolle?

[He looks up at Minako then sighs.]

[complementing]

[She doesn't recognize the name Jouhei, so she can't be sure if this person is approving of Nanashi leaving Japan or not-- hopefully they are?]

No, my aunt and cousins are here too. They're the closest relatives I have.

[reaquila]

[Yeah, Jouhei's alright with it. He approves of Nanashi leaving the gangster life. They're both in Recolle for the same reason.]

Oh shit, really? Are they okay? [His mouth drops in surprise.]

They better be doing well. The city's such a hot mess it's easy to worry about your loved ones.

[He doesn't know if Minako's cousins are app users or not. It'd be easier to keep track of them if they were.]

[complementing]

My cousins are on the app, their mom isn't. [A deep sigh and then a sip of her coffee.] The app keeps bringing kids into this hot mess. It's infuriating.

[reaquila]

That's terrible. I wish that they'd stop bringing children into this too. I met a few kids younger than me on Retrospec.

[ He ruffles his own hair in anger. ]

Lily's only twelve and Shinji's nine. Someone's gotta look out for them.

[complementing]

Ideally we all look out for them, but it's difficult to keep track of kids sometimes... [She tilts her head.] Do you know them well?

[reaquila]

Just Shinji. I don't know Lily too much. We spoke once or twice.

[Nanashi goes for another helping of snacks....it's a good distraction, okay.]

I'm helping that kid with school and other things. Seems like Sakura worries about him too sometimes.

[complementing]

Given what we've seen? I don't blame her.

[She studies her coffee for a moment, closing her eyes and thinking of her cousins.]

There isn't much we can do about their own past memories, though. We can talk them through it, but in the end, it falls on them to bear whatever they see...and that's what worries me.