grotto_logs | [Open Log] Research at the library...

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[Open Log] Research at the library...

Who: Naoto Shirogane, Open

When: Spring 3rd.

Where: Bower Village Library

What: Researching where they've ended up, hoping to find answer for how to get back home...

Rating: Projected PG to PG-13 for possible mild language.

Naoto was not one to just sit around and wait for something to happen to her. When presented with an unusual case, after all, the best thing to do was to go and gather as much information as possible and start to build a theory from there. That's what she had done in Inaba and here was no different.

Thus, she found herself the next day at the Library, asking for Mary's assistance in trying to discover anything and everything about this new place, any sort of leads she could find on how they could possibly get home. It was rather disconcerting that Mary had no idea where 'Japan' was, let alone Inaba, but that did not stop Naoto from delving into the book collection.

You'd find the Detective Prince busy somewhere in the corner of the Library, nose buried in 'The Cape at the Throne of the King', hoping to find something useful...

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Naoto's eyebrow raised as Kanji told her his tale. The girl with the long hair? ...She had thought she'd seen a young woman with blond hair that she couldn't seem to see the end of, but she thought she had just imagined that. Was that who Kanji was speaking of?

But that thought trailed off for now as he continued to explain. His notes about the necklace was fascinating, and she wanted to experiment with him to confirm his findings as an inkling of an idea was starting to cross her mind. That thought was cut short as he explained meeting...

"Do you mean--" She turned a few pages of the book in her hand, before turning it for him to see. The illustration now were of cute, tiny sprites, compared with the size of a human body, "These creatures?"

Wait a second. He told them he'd...

"...'clean it up real good and make use of it'. Kanji-kun, what exactly does that entail?"

As she eyed him picking up the book on farming, Naoto's expression became all the more flat and annoyed. Oooh no, Kanji, you did not just make some sort of contract for a long term investment with the local mythological figures, did you? Without talking it over with her or investigating it further than some sort of imp you met in the middle of a field?!

Edited 2013-04-03 12:16 (UTC)

Kanji turned to check out the illustration, and pointed to it. "Yeah, those! There was a little green guy and a couple of 'em in red."

But Naoto didn't seem too impressed, there. When asked what exactly what he'd said entailed, a little niggling doubt formed in his mind. His decision to take it all on was kind of an impulse, and how cute the Sprites were didn't help any. That flat, annoyed look cut to the bone, and Kanji quickly looked down at the book in his hands, slipping it open to stare at the table of contents instead.

The Shirogane Stare. Few could survive the Shirogane Stare, least of all him. But he couldn't back down here. With a shake of his head, he explained:

"It hit me after I got back to the inn that I told 'em I'd run a farm... a damn farm! But I think- I think it'll work for me." A brief glance her way, but she was still glaring, and he turned back to the book.

"I wandered all over this place, Naoto, and I couldn't find anything that looked like a way out. No buses, no trains, no taxis... not even a damn airport. But I got to thinkin': Izanami wanted to test the 'potential of humanity', and those Sagiri things had a reason for doin' what they did, even if we didn't agree with 'em. If the Harvest Goddess brought us all here, she wants us here for some reason... and I think it's 'cause she's hard-up for help. That camp had nothin' on it but weeds and random plants and stuff! I couldn't back down from that."

A firm nod, and he looked back. "I think we're here to fix it up. If we do that, then she's gotta send us home, right? So I'm gonna give it my all!"

"Run a farm?!"

Naoto's voice raised for once, and she sat up, that glare becoming more intense.

"Kanji-kun, do you even know how to grow crops or raise herd animals? Do you realise how much of an investment this will be?! You can't just agree to do this without some serious thought...!"

She was angry, yes-- angry that he'd run on impulse and not THINK over the consequences of his choices! She took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down and listen to him as he continued. Okay... perhaps he had thought a little more about this then she'd given him credit for, and his logic did make some sense. She sat back again, giving him a hard stare as he reaffirmed his decision.

"You are entirely too rash, Kanji-kun."

Another part of her wanted to ask 'so what am I supposed to do now' out loud, but she swallowed it down. Kanji wasn't her responsibility, not really, and she wasn't his either...

Edited 2013-04-04 03:37 (UTC)

"H-huh!? - N-naoto, we're in a freakin' library-" He glanced away, and they were definitely being stared at. His face burned, and he took a minute to settle that racing heart as the detective pelted him with... honestly? Some pretty damn good questions.

But he wouldn't let even good questions deter him from this decision. When Naoto settled down, he let the chiding slide right off of him. He propped that farming book in his hands and flipped to the introduction to make a point.

"A man's gotta stand behind his decisions, and give it everything he's got. I dunno how to grow crops or raise animals, but I'm gonna learn how, damn it!" He paused.

"And I'll put together a damn nice place to stay. For me, for Rapunzel, and... and y-you..."

He quickly focused on the book's pages and shrugged stiffly. "Y-y'know, if y'want it, but it's totally fine if ya don't! You're pretty- pretty private and that probably sounded really weird n'..."

"I'm aware of that, Kanji-kun."

Meaning you angered her enough that the social situation didn't matter to her when it came to scolding you.

Her expression didn't change much as he continued, frowning more when he spoke of what a 'man's gotta do'. Did he not think she did not know about male behaviors, after all?

But it was his soft suggestion that she stay with both of --wait, Rapunzel? ...she'd get to that in a moment-- both of them that had her flush, looking a little embarrassed as she glanced down at her own book.

"...Are you certain you'd want me around? I'm not exactly skilled at farm work myself, either."

What followed was a nod, and an awkward silence as his eyes remained on the book before him. It was breezy and cool outside, but for some reason it was a little too warm in here. Too quiet.

Kanji cleared his throat and turned the page. "W-well, I ain't exactly a pro farmer, and... and we're a team, ya know?"

And in a weird-ass place like this, I worry about you, his thoughts added, and he held them back before they tripped and landed on his tongue, allowed him to voice such a thing. G-god forbid.

"..."

She kept her gaze down at the book in her hands, returning a small nod.

"Yes... we are team mates. Alright, Kanji-kun. Though..."

Now she looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow.

"When you said 'girl with long hair' and 'Rapunzel'... do you actually mean the fairy tale figure?"

How much more bizarre could this world get?

"Huh?" Now he was looking up, but his glances her way were brief before they'd instead turn to the table, the scattered books. When he scratched his cheek, he shrugged.

"I dunno if she's the storybook figure. I mean, that overbearing mom of hers probably had a messed-up sense of humor and named her after the story... I don't remember lanterns or nothin' when I read the book." Sure, there were several variations on the story, but none of them pointed to lanterns. No, they were kind of a hell of a lot worse and awkward.

"I, uh, didn't really see any reason to ask, neither. Had a lot on her mind, ya know?"

"Lanterns... no, I do not remember that either."

Bizarre... Naoto would have to talk to the girl herself. Her curiousity being peeked, after all.

"It's just... so far I have met someone who has never heard of Earth, let alone Japan... and the other. Well, she introduced herself as a clone of Joan of Arc. So you can not blame me for being curious."

Looking back up at Kanji, she tilted her head.

"Now... you had mentioned something previously about those heart shaped pendants, correct? Would you mind if I conducted an experiment?"

Kanji's response was a mildly confused look sent her way. Having never heard of any Joan of Arc, period, she may as well be speaking in another language to him. but with the shake of his head, "N-nah, I ain't blamin' ya for anything!"

He also didn't appear to understand rhetorical phrases, either.

Ah, but this was something he felt he had some grasp of! His hand went to his pendant and grasped it, canting his head before looking down at the black stone in his hand, the core vaguely shimmering yellow.

"Uhm... e-experiment?"

"...Joan of Arc was a french historical figure and is a patron saint of France. She received religious visions that lead to several victories during the Hundred Year War-- one between France and England. In the end, she was betrayed and burned at the stake at the age of 19, only to be later declared innocent and made a martyr. This was nearly 600 years ago."

She could see that clueless look, Kanji, so allow her to dump some knowledge on your head. Watching him grasp the chain, she nodded.

"Alright. I'm going to say a person's name, and we'll watch the colour that it changes for each. I'm interested in the spectrum we're observing."

Her eyes zeroed in on his pendant, Naoto began to list off names.

"Your Mother. Souji Seta. Chie Satonaka. Naoki Konishi. Ryotaro Dojima..." And the last one had a strange bitter edge to it- "...Tohru Adachi."

Hi-ho history lesson. Kanji blinked incredulously at her and was confused all over again. Visions? She was psychic or something? But it seemed like it freaked someone out and they decided to have a messed-up barbecue. Oh, history. This is why Kanji falls asleep or doodles in class.

But he was ready. She'd just list names and he'd think about them, make the heart change. ...What's with the spectrum stuff though? Maybe she'd explain that.

Kanji nodded and looked into the stone, concentrated. Within the murky black, the color began to shift albeit vaguely.

"Ma..." Pink.

"Senpai..." Yellow.

"Chie-senpai..." Green. Figured.

"Naoki..." Blue. Man, he hadn't talked to him in ages, and his sister dying had him withdraw into himself even further.

"Dojima-san..." Purple.

"That grinning bastard." Ugh, why did she name him of all people? Goddamn scumbag. The color didn't shift... actually, the stone turned darker, hardly a sheen in that black stone.

"...I see. My suspicions were correct."

She nodded as he finished, looking up at him again.

"The light spectrum of the rainbow goes more or less red, orange, yellow, green, blue... and well, specifically indigo and violet, but most just combine them to purple. It seems the heart pendant changes according to our feelings of attachment or how familiar we are with someone. Black is when there's no previous attachment or you dislike someone... as with Adachi. And then it goes up from there."

She nodded as she continued.

"You're familiar with Dojima-san enough that you don't detest him, and have visited the house while he's around, but you're not really what one would call... 'friends'. And though you've just met Rapunzel-san, I suspect if you agreed to get a farm together, you're getting along rather well. Konishi-san, I believe you knew growing up, so he's a little more familiar. Chie-san is your good friend, and... well. We're all rather close to Souji-senpai, after all that..."

She glanced down for a second, steadying herself, pushing away that uncomfortable memory that if it wasn't for Souji-senpai's actions, they would have--

"...A-and of course, your mother is someone you love unconditionally. Though I'm curious as to why it's pink, and not red."

But... that left her with an odd, nagging question. When they had first interacted with the stones, his had turned slightly yellow, and her own green. She was thinking of Kanji at the time, but... why was his yellow?

Edited 2013-04-13 06:30 (UTC)

She was the smartest person he knew. The way she explained it made perfect sense; the stone turned a little pink when he thought of his mom and he loved her despite all the complaints he made. On the other side, there was nothing redeemable about Adachi, so the stone didn't change.

"You're sayin' the colors show how close we are, yeah? Pink n' red can mean a huge difference, y'know? R-romantic love as opposed to how much a kid loves his parents, maybe? I mean, I dunno if this thing can even turn red, but... if we're goin' by the rainbow it might be there!"

He went pink then, turning the stone over in his hands. If he didn't hide this thing under his shirt, anybody could see how he felt about certain people, right? Kanji hadn't realized it at first, but when his gaze lifted, he seemed to be looking at her yet off into space, hand tightening over the pendant. It was yellow when it came to Senpai, since he'd saved his life, right? But everyone else was green. But Naoto was yellow to him. Yellow, because...

"I..." That had to be why it was yellow. Maybe even orange, he couldn't tell. It was an experiment, right? Maybe this would be good info to add to her theory, and she'd figure something else out!

But Kanji choked, and he turned back to his book, pulled it closer. Damn it, even as an observation, he couldn't say it!

"...I-I think you're onto somethin'."

"That's true. You can have an extremely close platonic relationship with someone, as opposed to a romantic one. Parents, siblings, best friends... it's unfortunate we don't have anyone here who we could use as an experiment for that. It's logical to assume that orange is between pink and yellow, of course..."

She'd noticed Kanji gripping his pendant a little more, and averted her eyes. Whatever the reason his pendant changed to whatever colour was none of her business. In fact, perhaps later when she was alone, she'd make a point of putting her own under her shirt.

She was never one to wear her heart on her sleeve, after all, and she wasn't inclined to others knowing how she felt about them. At least, not until she became more familiar to this place.

"I'm glad you agree with me. Now... where did you say again, that this 'farm' land would be? We'll need to get some funds for equipement and the like... "

Which only reminded her more of how useless her own talents were in this world; who needs a detective, no matter how talented, in such a peaceful place?

He seemed redder in the face as he listened, nodding in agreement. "Oh, uh, it's in the field at the foot of that mountain to the north. It's all rose bushes n' stuff right now, but I'll figure out what to do with it and keep stayin' at the inn... but only until I get my shit settled, no later! I hate stayin' in a place like that without payin'..."

He decided he'd clean the inn or something to make up for everything, but he'd never built a house or anything like that. Maybe the village had apartments or something along those lines to work with?

"But right now, I'm workin' in the kitchen at the inn. I get pay for runnin' the three-meal duties, so if I work full days I should have to cash to get somethin' started... tools shouldn't be too expensive, yeah?"

"Mountain... ah, you mean Mt. Throne."

She'd studied the book pretty thoroughly, and was able to picture where the land was probably located. She nodded as he spoke about needing to stay somewhere without paying... lord knows, it was an issue with her as well.

...He really was more adapt to a place like this then she was, wasn't he?

"I didn't know you were so inclined to cooking, Kanji. Another one of your talents? But yes, I doubt they'll be that expensive if you're working that frequently."

He went a little pink as he shrugged, fidgeting a bit with the pages of the book before him.

"Well, y-y'know, I wanted to give Ma a little break. Been at it since I was little. Lotta my lunches at school're from her since she insists anyway, but if I'm quick I'm able to tell her I made somethin' for myself." Which was probably more than she needed to know, so he shut up.

"Now that I think about it, I think Senpai's the only one who's tried my cooking out of all you guys," he thought aloud. He never really had everyone over, but even if he did his mom would probably jump in and take care of dinner no matter how much he shouted.

"I see. Yakushiji-san often prepared our meals and the like, growing up..."

She paused to think about it, tilting her head with a slight frown as she remembered trying to prepare that Christmas cake with the other girls. Oof.

"I wouldn't say I'm a horrible cook, as what I can make is edible--which I'm sure you're aware for our group of friends can be considered something of a feat-- but I never put much time into practicing. What I create ends up rather plain, besides."

She took no real joy out of cooking and tended to eat out more then she should, really, or get premade lunches. After all, her work took precedent.

"I'll have to make sure I get a meal at the Inn then, to try your cooking out."

"I've had the others' cooking, Naoto. Ya saved Christmas. Seriously." If it wasn't for her, the cake would have been something distressingly monstrous, and he - along with the rest - risked a hospital visit. To think, they were trying to make a cake right after Nanako and Dojima are let out of the hospital!

But he went bright red, then, and quickly looked away again. She wanted to try his cooking?! W-well, okay, she was curious to see what he could do, but how was he supposed to know when she'd be eating!? He wanted to be ready, and go all out and make sure he didn't miss an ingredient and--

"Wh-what about tonight!? I-I'm makin' dinner and we deliver up to the inn rooms, so..." He paused, but his mouth kept running on without him.

"L-lemme bring somethin' up to ya!!"

"I'm not sure I'd go quite that far-- Rise-chan isn't too bad herself, she just tends to emphasize making the food more 'mature', to the food's detriment. ...Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai on the other hand... I will take credit for saving the cake from them. It took three tries to get them to listen to me, even then."

Seriously, what was with their senpais being so stubborn about that? And the way Yukiko and Chie reconfirmed each others mistakes... not a very healthy situation there at all. Perhaps giving them lessons one on one would be more effective?

But that line of thought was cut short at Kanji's sudden declaration. She blinked at him, confused.

"... Now you are the one forgetting we're in a library. You don't have to do that tonight, you realise."

Why was his face so red?

He clamped his mouth shut and shook his head, lowered his voice.

"I-I wanna do it. I mean, if I deliver some trays it gets me outta the hot kitchen for a little bit. Then I get to say it ain't just Senpai who tried the stuff I make, y'know?" He closed the farming book, made a mental note to just check it out instead. He wouldn't be able to study it when he's getting flustered like this.

"Which, uh, wh-which reminds me that I gotta go check this out and go take a run! A long, long run. Blows some energy, good work-out, so on n' so on." He was sweating, too.

"I... suppose so. Though again, I don't see what's so important about doing it tonight. But I'll do my best to be on time for supper, if that's what you'd prefer."

Again, she raised her eyebrows at his pronouncement of needing exercise. Why in heaven's name was he so agitated?

"Take a run? Don't wear yourself out too much, especially if you're planning on doing physical labor at this farm in the oncoming days. I'll be up to help you, but it wouldn't do to overstress your system... you're sweating already, besides."

She understood Kanji's need to go at his work with everything he had, but he shouldn't overdo it.

"It's not as if Yukiko-senpai, Teddie or Souji-senpai are here to keep our stamina up, after all."

"Well, y'know... got a lot of energy to burn!" He replied quickly and looked away.

"I know. Never stopped me from givin' it my all outside of the TV world, right? If I get tired I just take a little break. No problem." Kanji shrugged. It really was no big deal, and it always felt kind of good to end the evening weary, ready to crack into bed and curl up.

He gathered up the book. "I-I'll letcha know if somethin' else pops into my head about the pendants. S-seeya!"

After a hurried stride to Maria to get his library card and check out, out the door he goes. Hmmm... does he go on that run or not?

Nobody knoooows.

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[Open Log] Research at the library...

Make a contract with me and become a farmer!

Kanji would probably derp his way out of a Kyuubey contract... "PET THE BUNNY"

Pet the Bunny is always the right option.

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