Charles Patricius

Even though they were all moving along to the proper dango stall for Kei's preferred selection, Kazuhiko remained mostly silent for quite some time. In that silence however, there was much contemplation. A few instigating words were sent his way by Rindou, but none of them seemed to register as Kazu took in the scenery and reached a state of inner peace ─ one that was found far more easily than normal. His eyes were constantly wandering, taking breaks only to shift in Kei's direction and ensure everything was going smoothly with her dango purchase. All the while, Rindou's decision was coming with ease. He even fell silent as well, if only to shift away and set things up. Whenever the pair of youngsters were done indulging in confections, he'd be ready and waiting by another stall ─ one sponsored by the IPC's newest product that he happened to be here to market. Surely nothing could compare to a bit of early access of a desirable product. . .

Kama believed the child, who could have only been alive for the past hour or so, may have been upset with her. Hiruko didn't have a clue why or how that could be possible. He'd seen some toddlers who looked angry, but even those were mostly pictures shared to the masses for comedic purposes. Still, Sakura seemed so nonchalant about that mention. "Not too bothered though, huh?" he wondered. Either way, Hiruko had two children for certain... and perhaps a third? Even Miko, the would-be mother, wasn't entirely sure. "And here I thought I was going on a crazy mental tirade about group concession after hearing Sakucchi mention plural dads. That'd be fine either way. I think I'd make a better stepdad than a real dad regardless," he mused half-jokingly. The more Hiruko moved around, the more comfortable he felt in his own skin. This feeling was not unlike a full sauna trip and a relaxing workout ─ one that left him energized in the aftermath. "I don't think there'll be any problems here. You're free to treat me anytime, doc♥~" he flirted while attention was brought to Miko's ringing phone and her... brother? No. Apparently, she didn't have one of those. Well, such things happened in friendly interactions; Hiruko wouldn't be prying. On the other end of the line, Miko would hear a Takao that was once again just slightly intoxicated. "I didn't expect to call you today, but get this: Mitchel somehow lost his tour bus. He's here with me now... and uh... sober."

They moved along, Kei ordered her dango and paid for them without thinking about it too much. Even without knowing exactly what Rindou had planned she was willing to take a wild guess it was another random product or expensive thing. Truly, she didn't like the idea of arranged marriages because of the types of attitudes these older men had. The entire time they'd been on this date, she'd only become more sure that they'd never work as a couple. She'd hate every second they were together and she had enough life experience to know, the runner her mother pulled on her father would be a kindness compared to how she would act. Her four orders of dango were picked up and then she approached Kazuhiko directly. "Here! Have one with me..." she offered to Kazuhiko. She truly planned to enjoy these so she approached a nearby bench for the pair of them to sit on for just a moment and picked up one of her dango sticks. It had one green, one white and one light pink dango on it. And they were considered good luck and festive food. "I love these, it's like three different food experiences at once. It's great!~" Kei chimed.

At the same time, Kama was discussing her child who she thought was upset with her. Some children did just have angry dispositions and she might have blamed that given what her first son looked like, "No I am not worried. A child of wisdom should be able to work through it's emotions eventually. And if he feels I wronged him during his creation I can make it up to him..." she said carefully. Still, she didn't consider anything she'd done during his creation to be bad. Beyond that the idea of shared parentage, was something that crossed Hiruko's mind weirdly. "I have five fathers, multiple parents putting in on children is the way to get well rounded children, who can evolve and walk many different paths," Kama mentioned. Meanwhile a simple thought slipped from Miko before that phone call... "Step-daddy is a good way to think about you~" Miko uttered with flirty tone only to gently reconsider. "I fell so far..." she mumbled abashedly, still she meant that comment. As for his physical condition, from what she could hear, he was fine and from what he had to say... he'd recovered nicely. "Hai hai, I'm glad I could help. Call me anytime♪♥~" Miko flirted just before answering a rather tense phone call. Kama had heard Miko's reply and the lass had offered to always answer her questions so she was amassing a list for the time period. "Why wouldn't she be able to put in his name?" She wondered. Of course Miko would get back to that... for now, she was answering yet another phone call from a Takao she could tell was mildly intoxicated, "Am I drunk? Those words you strung together didn't make any fucking sense." Miko asserted flatly. The name Mitchel and the word 'sober' didn't belong in the same sentence she was certain. "Was it like on purpose? Is he like trying to get clean? And how does one lose a vehicle in modern times? Especially one that size? Is he okay to perform? Are we still doing the thing?" Miko uttered quickly. Part of her excitement this week was going into a new recording session with these two individuals. But what was a sober Mitchel? She'd not heard any of his new music, mostly because she couldn't get into the sorts of venues he played normally so she was quite looking forward to it.

In the midst of Kazu's contemplation, he was approached by Kei. The movement occurred while he wasn't looking her way, but his attention was grabbed quickly. It seemed she'd decided to share the acquired dango. How strange. The way she enjoyed food, it would be easily assumable that she'd also hoard food she liked. Either way, it wasn't an offer he'd be rejecting. Kazu reached out to take one skewer and subsequently joined Kei on the bench. "Hell yeah! Merci~" he said in the moment. Once seated, Kazu took what may have been an unusual approach to the skewer. One hand was used to pinch the topmost dango and pull it from the stick. Though it stuck to his fingers, he used them as a vessel for reaching his mouth. "It is, huh? Variety is always awesome," he agreed. All the while, Rindou was a few meters away, having his subordinates package the IPC's newest product: a pair of augmented reality glasses that were being upsold with the idea of improving the fireworks show experience. Interestingly enough, both Rindou and Kazuha were thinking ahead to the fireworks.

Kama had no problems with whatever emotions her son had. Well, she obviously had more insight than Hiruko did on the matter. As one who apparently had five fathers, she also had the necessary input to describe the functionality of having multiple. "That's not something I've ever seen in action, but that's just my belief system at play. I won't bring philosophy to your science when I've got nothing to work with~" he commented. With that, there was a... perhaps accidental utterance from Miko about a... step-daddy. Indeed, she'd fallen quite far. "You know what? I'll take it~" he said, laughing. Moments later, Hiruko had only one additional comment to give. Kama didn't understand the necessity of hidden names. Well, she'd been hanging around him since the day before; she'd have to find out eventually. "Because sometimes hidden identities are necessary... for any number of reasons. Think of how I can't have a teenager calling me dad, and you can't have one calling you mom. It's questionable. Besides those reasons... protecting someone's identity from the general public or specific enemies is a good thing to do," he explained. All the while, Takao was on the phone being bombarded with a series of questions ─ questions that felt like they were coming without a single breath between. "Woah woah! We're two seconds into the call and you want me to write his biography? We're still doing the thing. And... he's technically good to perform, and is working on something now. But, that's the problem. His tracks have always been pretty concerning, but what's coming together right now feels... really bad. If you're able to, you should get here and check it out before it's time to record."

Kei went and got her sweets and she was willing to share them with Kazuhiko. Specifically, she was the type who would hoard food she enjoyed, but she was also the type to share with someone she thought deserved it. Kazuhiko could appreciate a nice snack food and as such he was to be given one of hers. Not many people received such treatment from Kei, it was one of a few ways she actually managed to show affection. "You speak French too? That's awesome~" Kei claimed, choosing to only acknowledge his thanks with a playfully turned up nose. "I don't share often but I know you appreciate it," it was such a backward way of accepting appreciation but she was kind of a backward person in this regard. Still, there was something else she wanted to share with him, before anything else, "Besides, you've been putting up with something pretty ridiculous just to hang out with me. You deserve a reward..." Kei mentioned, never one to take advantage of someone else's time and energy. She fully realized that dealing with her in this world was far more complicated than it had to be. Beyond that point they sat together and she watched as he had his first bite in a rather odd way. But she still enjoyed seeing it. She took a different approach herself. Biting the whole first one off the stick and squealing with delight. "Oommm♥!~ It's so perfectly balanced and spongy. It's sweet but not overwhelmingly so. I love it♥~" she exclaimed. She'd then go on to push the others up the stick while she waited to eat each one. a similar amount of excitement happened with each.

Meanwhile, Hiruko was making the claim that he'd never seen something work but he wouldn't bog down Kama with his own philosophy. "Hm, science and philosophy aren't so separate where I come from..." Kama mentioned casually. Still, she appreciated the sentiment. Beyond that, Miko claimed to have fallen, using the term 'Step-daddy' in a way that implied to Kama that she was among those who called Ajax 'Daddy'. "That answers that question..." Kama murmured about Miko's words. At the same time, Hiruko claimed that he'd take the title of 'Step-Daddy'. Miko turned to him and stared a grin coming to her face, feeling better about that lost utterance. Once Miko was on the phone however, Kama's question was answered by Hiruko. "Sou ka... that makes sense I suppose. Subterfuge seems to be a normal part of life, even for innocent and honest people," Kama contemplated. And while that occurred MIko was busy hurling a thousand questions at Takao, who didn't take very kindly to it, "Yes, words man... you could write his biography." Miko snapped only to exhale, knowing that had come from somewhere else. But there was information being processed in her mind. The one called Mitchel was apparently making music that had gone from concerning to bad. "How bad is bad? I mean happy sad songs are kind of his thing..." Miko said trying to give it some consideration. "And like does he need something? I can probably help pick him up something," she offered freely as she always would for certain people.

Kazuhiko once again had to realize how little he'd been sharing about his past in the other world. The surprise after he spoke a phrase in French wouldn't have existed otherwise. "Oh... yeah. I keep forgetting I haven't even mentioned who I am. I grew up French the second time. I ended up being one of the historical figures. I'm guessing you already know about those," he mentioned. With that, they were moving on to the consumption of dango. Kazu had only one skewer, but he'd have only consumed one anyway. Frankly, they'd been through a lot of food today. He was more than content to consume what he had, with reason behind his strange method. Kei was the first to praise the dango. Surely it was for the best that she was, as he'd never have respected it the same way she did. "You're right," was all he could say, agreeing while plucking the second dango from its stick. Before tossing that one into his mouth as well, Kazu circled back to the allegation that he deserved a share of the confection. He wouldn't waste time arguing whether it was deserved or not, but he did have to argue the reason. "I haven't been too bothered about anything going on, actually. I've forgotten about the whole competition thing at least twice, and I think it has actually been a good excuse to see some places we might not have walked by otherwise."

Kama claimed there was little difference between philosophy and science where she came from. In all actuality, Hiruko figured as much. Alas, he had enough things to come to terms with... and it seemed he was keeping an ear open for Miko's conversation as well, though for no particular reason other than the habit of keeping informed. Only when Kama spoke of subterfuge and its use even by the honest people did Hiruko have more to say. "Lying, scheming, sneaking ─ it's all just survival tactics at work. Most people I know find success in making themselves the least noticeable people in the room," he said. Meanwhile, Miko was being a little snippy toward the 'words man' as she called him. "Well, sounds lady, why don't you just get a feeling for what's going on instead of asking me a thousand questions?" he responded with a bit of snark. As for the details Miko sought, Takao found it hard to explain. "Uh... yeah, happy sad songs are cool, but... it's not that. It's more like sad sad songs that just had a bad day," he explained as best he could. Takao thought to answer the question about Mitchel's needs immediately, but he hesitated upon wondering how she had the ability to acquire what they were discussing. "If we're having the same conversation right now, I have a thousand questions about why you're able to do that. You still haven't given the last album or two a listen, have you? Uh... pretty much anything gets thrown into his system, really. Pills, powder... generally all the stuff that doesn't make a guy look like he's on it."

Kazuhiko hadn't been sharing much about himself, and for all her meddling, Miko hadn't been too forthcoming with information about him either. She'd left it up to each individual person to get to know him on their own terms. As such, confirmation that he grew up French in his second life was a new piece of information. And when shared in the context of this date, it felt, oddly humanizing. "Hai, I know about those, my mentor is Emperor Zheng..." she said about noting historical figures. "I'm not as into history as some of the others... more interested in art, but if you're one of the bigger ones, I'd know who, I think..." she mused as if it was a perfectly normal thing to discuss. They were allowed their dating conversation and enjoyment of dango. Each one had its own flavor and thus would be enjoyed in order. It would seem that Kazuhiko shared her opinion and waited on it, for reasons she didn't even understand. As such she at the next one in peace. "Mmmmm♥~ It's mild with a gentler texture. Perfectly accenting the lingering sweetness of the previous one. It's such an interesting progression~" she queried. For her... food was like an adventure. Each thing something new to experience and worth experiencing. Meanwhile, the annoyance of this date was considered in a strange light. According to Kazuhiko the bug buzzing around them, technically led them towards things they may not have checked out on their own accord. And he managed to forget about the competition and have a good time regardless. "Sou ka... I didn't imagine you'd be such an optimist about it. It's a good attitude to have," she said softly. This man was very good at accidentally showing his beast features.

Meanwhile, Hiruko was explaining some of the more 'negative' aspects of humanity as survival tactics. Kama heard that had had some understanding of that situation, instincts kept people safe and tactics allowed people to navigate other sentient people. "Sou ka, it's probably a learned behavior then..." she concluded, knowing she'd be able to confirm the information with more observations. At the same time, Miko was having her usual snarky conversation with Mikami Takao. "I did get a feel for the situation and it caused normal amounts of confusion. My questions are completely warranted, sir." Miko finished that aspect of the conversation and easily moved on. Happy sad songs, were par for the course for Mitchel, but... the music he was working on was sad sad on a bad day. "Oh, well shit. Okay, yeah... I don't like the way that sounds at all..." she said quickly. Beyond that, there was the matter of help for the other man. There were a 1000 questions if they, were having the same conversation. "We are having the same conversation, and if there are a thousand questions... box 'em," Miko said. She was still the type of person to attack problems in order of importance. How she would manage to get what was needed wasn't important, she'd do so for a friend simply because she could. "No, I haven't given that last album or two a listen... he's one of the people I have an absolute preference for hearing perform his songs before I listen to them at studio quality and I can't go to the venues he likes to perform in most times..." she murmured. "Where are you guys? I'll make it there in a bit," she said in absolute confidence, with regard for the curfew or anything else.

Kei's mentor was clearly one of Sakura's fathers, as it seemed was the case for Miko's entire friend group. Kazu had seen the whole group, but he was only vaguely familiar with one of them. Emperor Zheng was a name he knew, not very well, but enough. Whatever the case, Kei claimed she might only know who Kazuhiko's other identity was if he was one of the more well-known historical figures. It was a strange topic to approach. He liked being a recognizable, cool figure... but he also didn't want to be smug about it. As a result of that contradiction, introductions of his other self were quite strange in this world. Well, there was nothing to do but give the name. "Well... it was Charles Martel, the second. After I cleared the Labyrinth of Aincrad, it became Charles le Mange," he said simply after chewing through the second dango of his set. With that, he moved right on to the third while Kei further praised the flavor profile from her second bite. While chewing his third, Kazu rubbed his fingers up the length of his empty skewer to claim what flavor remained from it. "It is really good one after the other. Buuut..." A quick reveal of his forefinger and thumb showed fingertips coated in the flavor of all three dango. When he was done chewing his last, Kazu's thumb went straight between his lips. It was in such a way that he'd taste all three at once as a little bonus treat for himself.

The longer Miko's conversation went on, the more Hiruko figured he'd soon have another phone call to make. In fact, he was already moving to pick up his phone and ready a number ─ specifically the number of one Kirihara Kyoka. All the while, an argument the likes of what one would hear from an old married couple was taking place on that call. "Warranted? Yes. Plentiful and overwhelming? Also yes. If you're going to do that much of the talking at once, you may as well get on stage~" Takao teased. Regardless, Miko clearly understood the problem of what Mitchel's music currently sounded like, even without hearing it herself. She'd surely understand even better upon hearing it. They were both talking about acquiring drugs for the other musician, with Miko suggesting that Takao box all the questions he had. "I'm probably just never going to ask. Sounds like a can of worms, and I don't think I'd like eating that," he replied. "I get the preference. Help me get him fixed up; you know it'll be easy to get a live performance out of him after. Anyway, we're at a studio right now to get some early work done. Track my bus; it's right outside."

Kei's understanding of history wasn't as great as a few of the others. Her own interests were things like art and math... as such she had less mind for history, but she was still the top of her own class, so she had enough knowledge. The initial name of Charles Martel II wasn't one which Kei would have know. Ah, but what he said after that... caught her attention for multiple reasons. Charlemagne was an emperor, and one whom was mentioned quite a lot in history and by a certain fanatic type of individual. "Like the Emperor Charlemagne..." she said that aloud and managed to look surprised. Even so, in her head she was reeling. 'Mi-sen is never going to let any of us live it down. If all of her historical favorites list is hot!' she thought only to sigh. "You are surprisingly down to Earth to be someone like that..." she said simply, a compliment of his character as an individual. Even so, their shared meal was something worth comment. One after the other was good according to Kazuhiko but all together... was a different story. Apparently his choice in eating habit was done to have a taste of all three. "Sugoi. I thought I'd be the only one to do somthing like that..." she said. Having already eaten the last one on the first stick she picked up another one and swiped all three into her mouth sideways. She had a full mix of flavors and textures and at first all she could do was squeal happily. "SQEEEEEE♥~" Kei would be seen with both hands on puffed out cheeks chewing in the manner of the small child with hearts practically floating over her head as she fell in love with the flavor combination.

At the same time, Miko's half of a conversation was interesting to observe. Whoever she was talking with she was quite close to, and she sounded like she was planning a rescue of some sort. Miko's caring nature had her agreeing to help with a situation and Kama found it, surprisingly nostalgic. "She was also like this was Kazzun was falling apart when we first met," Kama murmured a small smile on her face. On the actual phone call, Takao had contrasting things to say about Miko's questions. "I am made of contradictions. Now isn't the time to find out how many I have, Takushi... don't tease me♪~" Miko said... that one may or may not have been some kind of threat. As for any questions he apparently had, he wouldn't be asking them... as apparently he saw this as some kind of act of can opening that would lead to worms. "As you like, we've got enough to talk about..." Miko said earnestly as she already needed to speak to him about his magical condition as well. "Get him straight, private concert, regular tracking. I was planning to replace my stuff in there tonight ahead of the sleepover anyway... Got it. Ja... I'll see you soon~" Miko mentioned willing to hang up and make progress towards getting where she needed to go and whenever the phone was hung up she'd be looking to Hiruko with big pleading eyes. "So, I need something very weird from you... and I know you probably caught enough of that for general purposes, but I'd feel weird not being upfront about it,"

Emperor Charlemagne was technically Kazuhiko's proper title in the other world. He did question the legitimacy of that title after the way it was acquired, but there was no reason to discount it just yet. According to Kei, he was far humbler than she would expect for such a person. He could almost laugh at the thought of that. "You'd be surprised how different those people can be. You've met Hayami-sensei, right? Would you believe she's Saint Martha? Jeanne d'Arc and King Arthur are sisters, who... alongside King Gilgamesh and the Pharaohs Ramesses and Nitocris, are all famous streamers," he explained briefly. While the pair enjoyed a flavor combination in their own ways, Rindou was on his way back with that package in tow. Kazuhiko didn't get an opportunity to say anything else before that man was speaking again. "The winning move has been made! If you two are done, I have the one thing that will settle this!" he announced.

In the meantime, Miko's phone call was approaching an end in the strangest way. A note of her contradictory nature came with a threat that wasn't masked at all. "I never said anything about a contradiction, but whatever," Takao said flatly. Whatever the case, there was a functional plan laid out and agreed upon. It seemed Miko had already acquired some new items to leave in Takao's tour bus, so he didn't expect much of a wait. "Hai hai. Just send a blip when you're here; I'll let you in," he said before the call ended. Just then, a glance in Hiruko's direction finally confirmed what he'd been assuming the entire time. Miko had a request... and she was both right and wrong. Hiruko caught her half of the conversation, but the knowledge he had was worth more than just general information. In fact, he was already making that phone call to someone who could get what she needed. "You need drugs because Chase, who's with Dreameater right now, probably had his party bus nicked and doesn't have his fix. Already on it. I can get what you need, and maybe it'll only cost an autograph from one of them... or, maybe all three. . ."

Apparently, some pretty big deal people over in the other world, were normal... to normal adjacent people here. Kei ate while hearing out what Kazuhiko had to say, it was quite interesting. She even had time to begin the slow bites of each individual piece on the stick to try out a different order combination. Hayami Saori was one such individual. A few conversations had happened between the girls and that particular woman and it was quite true she hadn't been pegged as a saint at all. "Saint? I figured she was more or less just like the hard-ass teacher type," Kei mentioned but before any greater detail could be reached the return of Sukoto Rindou had been determined. Of course, he wouldn't allow them to just enjoy the parts of their date that included downtime. And not much to Kei's surprise he returned with a pack in hand and speaking of his 'victory'. "At least I'm already done eating. Go ahead..." Kei said with flat affect. She thought that at some point in the future, she'd definitely enjoy another date with Kazuhiko that didn't include this kind of animosity, where she could actually talk and get to know someone fully.

Meanwhile, Miko had been a bit too direct with her threatening nature in the end of that phone call. She'd definitely blame the amount of contact she'd had with Soma for that, but also knew that such oddities with her, weren't really a problem when it came to the relationship between her and Takao. With a demand for a blip upon her arrival that phone call would end without much drama. With that phone call ended Miko was turning to a page with a strange app on her phone. It was one she used when meeting with Takao in particular while he was on tour which she did to locate his tour bus specifically, but soon enough she was looking at Hiruko who seemed to actually have a good grasp of the situation. Her eyes widened gently at the mention of three potentially needed autographs but as someone else already had one, that wouldn't be that big a deal. "Yeah, yeah... apparently the equivalent of a variety box minus injectables and stuff that makes you look like you're on drugs. And I can get the autographs or provide one if that is the preference," she murmured. If this kind of thing continued, she was going to end up outed regardless of her own desire to stay hidden. "I really don't like these parts of my life overlapping..." she murmured while rubbing the back of her head. As for that phone call, it would ring a few times before the girl on the other end would answer. "If you're calling me, directly, right now... what you want better be so fucking easy..." No greeting, no well-wishes. Just a very straightforward opening that implied leftover annoyance.