Shibuya

[Bloodedge]

"No reason for you to assume that, yes. The face you wear never exactly says 'friendly' when you're upholding conversation, Ashikaga-chan. Trust me; I play councilor more often than I thought I would in this field of work." Kimiko could argue being anything but strange all she liked, but the truth of the matter always was: she was an outlier in normal society. Those who couldn't catch on to the lie of a smile she wore, and even those that could without seeing the true intentions beneath it, were all sorted into a pool of lesser beings left to combat the absolute power they were up against by Kimiko's position and known skills alone. No way could she truly comprehend the difference in status from the other side, when she most often knew nothing of being lesser than the person sitting across from her.

If nothing else, perhaps Romani could salvage his sense of self over time after that crushing blow to the gonads. Well... she didn't start her response with something like ew, so at least his good looks weren't brought into question. Whatever the case, his stance was effectively broken. Arms uncrossed, one hand taking a pen from his coat pocket to tap the writing device against the arm of his chair repeatedly. One leg remained crossed over the other, but his elevated foot was repeatedly swaying to and fro.

Not many people would tell her no? Of course not! Such a thing only fed into his earlier claims, though most of his point went without saying. As Kimiko went about retrieving the condoms from his drawer, she claimed he was a good man. 'Baka. Don't have the nerve to tell me that while I'm grieving my own ego,' he thought. "It is part of my job to make sure no one is doing things that would affect the mental and physical wellbeing of themselves and others. Your personal life is no exception to that, Ashikaga-chan. I'll wipe my history and all, but that'll never be enough to stop Tom-Tom anyway. Have fun~"

[Apollymi]

According to Romani her face didn't say 'friendly' while she was speaking to people. It was good to have confirmation of that... in her adventures in the other world, Kimiko had been left to wonder if truly she was misunderstanding the way her face and actions were normally interpreted. This only solidified one thing for her... the weakness of the general population and her desire to possess that which didn't buckle in the face of her ambitions. "Is that so? I do aim to look friendly more often than not... you must be really good at your job if all that is true and I still manage to have a staff," she commented absently. In truth, Romani was one of the most trustworthy individuals she'd ever come across. When she'd found him, in her young age, he'd not faltered, even before the time of fake smiles and the words 'fuck off' hidden behind that large smile of hers. Romani was truly a good man.

Still the lass known as Ashikaga Kimiko didn't feel bad about effectively crushing his ego. She wasn't at all romantically interested him... even in a passing sort of way. According to him after this, he wasn't good, he was merely doing his job. Even his interference in her personal life was apparently something done to keep her workforce productive. "Oh? What an open interpretation of your job duties," she said with a cheeky smirk. "Though I do appreciate the effort," Of course, he'd take her advice and clear his history but claimed that wouldn't keep a certain invasive individual from knowing what he'd done. "Yes, Tomoko does know far too much about all of our computer activities, but it will keep her from telling you to do it. One embarrassing conversation avoided is worth it. I'm off for the day, keep up the good work. Ja ne.~" she said, knowing she'd had the same conversation with the lass the day prior to this one about her own internet history. In truth there was no more embarrassing conversation to have than that one, even for Kimiko who managed not to feel the slightest hint of embarrassment outside of a few choice situations. Her lack of such things was more than obvious by the end of this conversation.

Work was all finished for the day, a quick conversation with Romani and by 2:45 the lass had stopped by her office, and gotten ready to leave again. A quick trip to her private bathroom, teeth brushed and minty fresh, checked her general look as well. Pink designer hoodie on, large glaring sunglasses as well. And she routed herself the best route to her chosen destination. Assuming nothing needed her attention, and armed with contraceptives and a good attitude, she left out the office building through a side door on the bottom floor. She was already walking... headed to the meeting she'd wanted since the moment she'd returned home the night before. 'Yugi! I hope you're up by now~' she mused a real smile slipping over her face as she looked forward to something worth doing this afternoon.

[Bloodedge]

She aimed to look friendly, did she? Well, she failed miserably. She had no idea exactly how good at his job Romani was, nor how many times he had to deal with the worries of other workers. Luckily, he wouldn't take another job if it was offered to him, even if there was somehow higher pay in doing so. This place had become something like a family over time, and that hadn't been very much time at all, in fact. "Always willing to accept more benefits, Boss," he said ever so casually. As it seemed their time was coming to an end here, Romani turned his chair again. He'd be returning to a more casual exploration of the internet, albeit not Rule 34 or any such thing this time, and only after leaving himself a note regarding one Gojo Satoru. What sort of person was this detective, he wondered. Judging by what Kimiko had to say, he'd certainly find out sooner or later.

An audible farewell met the silent reaction of a wave as Romani jotted down his note. He didn't care about conversations with Tomoko about his leisure activities, nor did he care about Kimiko knowing so long as there wasn't any misunderstanding about his approach. With all that mess behind him, he now only had to figure out his next activity of the day.

While Kimiko made her way out of the office, she wasn't as alone as she should have been. Only two days ago, records of her arrest disappeared from the police station, along with the girl herself. The order for her arrest, however, hadn't gone anywhere─ nor did the knowledge that she'd been brought in. What had the result of this little mishap been? A separate order delivered directly to Gojo Satoru himself. It was demanded that he keep tabs on Ashikaga Kimiko, seeking all forms of information regarding her day-to-day dealings. Why? One poor detective didn't know, but he could only do his job. A white Mazda SUV with dark tinted windows casually rolled down the street, several car lengths behind the lass as she moved toward a location other officers saw her leaving the previous day. "Yare yare. I'm too early in my career to be dealing with this sort of thing," he commented absently from within the vehicle.

[Apollymi]

Strangely, more than most would ever realize, Kimiko was aware that her countenance wasn't very friendly, even while she was smiling. She was also acutely aware of the usefulness of a person such as Romani Archman in her staff. Her ability to retain staff, aside from paying them salaries which far exceeded industry standards, circled around a few key pieces of her main team. Though Kimiko was herself a young, motivated individual... she kept around herself young, affable, hard-working extras who were better at dealing with... people on a case by case basis. By doing this, a community was built around her, even though she felt herself to be little part of it. The young lass took solace in that, knowing that ones such as Romani were gateways to her dreams and key components in helping her achieve her desires. He'd take his payment for his extra work in benefits... she was far ahead of him in that case. Knowing she would be torturing him a bit today, she'd already arranged for a bit of a pay bonus, not just to him, but her entire immediate team. She was gone for three days and nothing was amiss when she returned, by her own standards... they deserved it.

Besides with the aspects of her work properly taken care of, Kimiko could focus properly on the thing which would make her happiest. And that thing currently was Aiba Yugi. She walked casually towards that little box home of his, all the while with a tingling feeling across the back of her neck. 'Am I being followed... again?' she wondered as she walked into an appropriate crosswalk. Taking such an action would lead to her being able to scan the streets, taking notice of a particular make and model of car she was familiar with belonging to the police force. 'Oh... that makes sense.' Kimiko was a lass who was raised to take note of where people who could help her were located, even when they were in plain clothes. She might have used this information when her life was in danger when she was a child, but as a teen she'd taken note of such things and routinely used it to skip out on her protective details. Ah, but it was probably for the best if she didn't get too worked up over such a thing right now... the cops knowing where she was all day and all night could only work to alibi her for whatever crimes they thought she was committing. Oh well, that was something to consider for another time, instead she found herself standing in front of the box and knocking on the door, like a normal human being. Waiting for the arrival of the one she'd come looking for. She had all the confidence in the world right now, her breath smelled nice, she looked nice... she'd picked out a fresh and cute set of underwear, she was armed with a box of condoms and a sense of freedom, all was right in her world right now.

[Bloodedge]

Why did it have to be him on these miserable jobs? Since the day he joined and became a high-ranking officer, he'd been 'put in charge' of jobs that left him in the worst situations. Here he was now, forced to stalk a billionaire teenage girl who'd done nothing more than disappear for a few days. Where even was the case?! He'd done nothing today thus far, other than hang around at a distance while this girl attended school, went to work... and generally just did things teenagers in her position would be expected to do. "This isn't even the sort of job rookies should be on. I should just tear down the whole system," the young man heaved. This girl was no one's enemy, unless perhaps they made themselves enemies of hers first. There was no point in following her around, unless whatever culprit they were truly looking for happened to throw themselves in the fray to actually abduct her. Would that be happening today? No. Kimiko moved with purpose, until Gojo Satoru stopped on the side of the street near... a storage crate? Well, that would normally be suspicious, but it was very obviously placed on the property of an affluent-looking house. Ah, it must've been someone's hangout spot─ he always wanted one of those for himself.

True enough, a young man with shaggy black hair opened the door to that box soon after it was knocked upon. Oh. This was that sort of meeting, was it? No wonder Ashikaga Kimiko seemed so pleased as she traversed the streets of Shibuya. He really didn't need to be here, and immediately after seeing that Kimiko was meeting with a boy, he reported to his superior. "Sir. I'm dropping the case of Ashikaga Kimiko. She's done nothing but school and work all day, and now it seems she's just meeting with a boy. She isn't the one we should be investigating for this," he insisted, much to the chagrin of the man he was speaking to. Apparently, the location he'd stopped at only made matters more suspicious, being the former residence of the detestable previous Prime Minister. "Sir, these are two teenagers meeting in an obvious 'man cave' next to the house. Given how they look, I think it's pretty obvious they're just─" Interrupted at a moment's notice, Gojo was. Of course the person on the other end of the line wasn't trying to hear any of that. He wouldn't be allowed to simply drop the case, nor would he be allowed to argue against staying on it. An audible sigh escaped the male prior to his response. "Yes sir. Understood," he said, offering his final words while ending communications.

Meanwhile, the lad who answered the door was not at all surprised to discover who the knocker was. He didn't expect anyone other than Kimiko, and she did say she would be meeting with him today. "Yo," he said, a smile on his face that he strangely couldn't control. It was a bit awkward-looking, almost nerve-induced, though it mostly looked as such because he was trying not to be such a dweeb. An epic failure, it most certainly was. Right... more than just 'yo' was probably standard for such a meeting, huh? "Uh... No half-dead pizza guy this time? I'm really gonna need something epic to happen before I open the door, or there's gonna be too much focus on how bad I am at saying hello─"

[Apollymi]

While she was being reported on to a superior officer, Kimiko was happily meeting with the boy of her choice. She smiled brightly as the door opened and shown the shaggy haired male with an obvious smile on his face. Oh, he wasn't playing at being normal now was he? The raven haired lass smiled up at him, though in a manner admittedly different from how she smiled at everyone else. She was well and truly happy to be in his presence. "Of course there's no half-dead pizza guy, Yugi. I wouldn't have to do anything like that today.... I'm being followed by the cops instead~" she said as if it was literally the most amusing thing to happen to her.

In a moment like this the obvious height different between this pair would be a bit upsetting to her. In the other world, she was constantly floating along on a pillow or seated within his very lap so her access to him was a bit easier to gain. Right just now, she wished to greet him happily so she motioned his taller self down to her level, with a beckoning index finger. "You shouldn't worry so much about your greeting, though... I still think it's cute~" she mentioned. If her previous desire was met properly she'd simply aim to press her lips against his in a chaste brief meeting. "Tadaima, Yugi. Let me in?~" Oh she couldn't resist that slight bit of teasing, but she hadn't been so happy all day. She really did need to convince this lad to go to school so she could have someone to converse with throughout the day. What was more, her last statement was a question, but it was rather obvious she didn't intend to take no for an answer at all. Ashikaga Kimiko treasured this lad, and wanted to spend more time with him... she'd have this desire met here and now.

[Bloodedge]

No brutalized pizza guy was anywhere to be seen, but according to Kimiko, she was instead being followed by the cops. Yugi stared, intermittent blinks consuming his visage as if he wasn't sure whether this was meant to be believed or not. Jokes were always possible, but he didn't think she was lying at all... especially considering her tale of the previous day. "Huh. Just a fun life on both sides of the weird ass world then?" he quipped, his tone strangely bland when doing so.

The difference in height between them had never been missed by Yugi. There was a time several months ago, particularly in Dwargon, when he first became incredibly curious about the lass... when he finally realized who that face belonged to. During that time, he'd spent a great deal of time staring at her, which he always found himself looking down to do. Such was only normal considering the average height difference between genders, but it was always worth noting when the difference wasn't made up for by positioning or magical floating. Now though, it came to his attention because he was being beckoned down toward her face. Seriously? She was being followed by the cops, meaning eyes were undoubtedly on her at the time, and she wanted to kiss him before even entering the room? Astounding as it was in reality, there was only one thing to be done in the face of such madness. Yugi pressed an arm against the doorframe, reducing his posture to a slouch to reach Kimiko's level. Lips pressed against each other, but it was no more than a fleeting peck before Kimiko spoke again. Ah, right... she wanted to be let in. Strangely though, she spoke as if she were returning to where she belonged. Well... maybe that was more exciting than strange as an idea. That awkward air finally lifted, freeing the smirk he wore of its influence to allow something a bit more natural. "Okaeri. C'mon. No point giving cops too much of a show, right?" the lad asked, shifting to one side of the open door to allow room for entry.

[Apollymi]

"It really is..." she said about her current predicament. It was obvious that she had no real fear of this apparent police presence. What were they going to do? Arrest her for having a boyfriend, going to school and working a job part-time? She was hardly abnormal in her day to day activities, if one didn't think too hard about what her part-time job entailed. More importantly than her police detail, was Kimiko getting what she wanted in this moment, in a strangely wholesome way. Yugi, leaned his arm against the doorframe and slouched down to present his face to her. Yes, she was being watched by the cops but she wouldn't stop herself from enjoying the lad she was trying to enjoy. That brief kiss made her smile grow wider and soon after, Yugi's seemed to become something less forced and more genuine. To Kimiko nothing could have been more awe inspiring than this.

Or so she thought...

She'd greeted him as if she belonged in this place. She made such assumptions of her placement all the time, but... Yugi acknowledging her as such by his response, made her cheeks redden slightly. She really didn't know what to make of her own reaction, but slid into the microhome when he moved aside. She managed to say something lighter than her face would have let on in the moment. "Yeah, besides... if the one tailing me, is the one I assume it is... He's done nothing to earn anything but an easy shift from me," she concluded. She did wish for it to be on record that she was doing nothing out of the ordinary, but she didn't have to do anything particularly outlandish in front of one Gojo Satoru. She wished to employ him after all, she might as well put her best foot forward from this point onwards. Perhaps, seeing her as somewhat normal would help her cause when it came to him? Since apparently she was still unnerving enough to cause problems for Romani in the number of people he had to deal with.

Inside of the crate, she'd make herself comfortable immediately, removing her shoes, sunglasses, and hoodie without much hesitation and seating herself properly on his couch. She seemed so very at home in this place she didn't seem to bother much with anything other than achieving a relaxed state. Here and now she'd seem the most relaxed she'd been all day as she stared towards Yugi with that same happy smile on her face.

[Bloodedge]

"I'll bet," Yugi said as his eyes scanned the outside area, taking note of an unfamiliar SUV parked across the street, obviously tucked away just enough to leave a line of sight toward their current location. With windows that dark, it was easy to surmise that such a vehicle belonged to the police Kimiko mentioned. How long would they be sitting outside his house, he wondered. Well, if they were thinking to listen in, they would hear something very much not what they were looking for. They might even be traumatized, considering how the previous day had gone for these two.

As Kimiko entered, she commented on her assumption regarding this particular officer. So then, the one in charge of pursuing her was just someone following orders for the sake of following orders? If that were the case, there probably wouldn't be any listening; they probably understood that there was nothing amiss... in a terrestrial sense, at least. "He's not going to make it then," Yugi spoke while carefully closing and locking the door. By the time he turned around, Kimiko was already seated on his couch, sans shoes, glasses and hoodie. That was much quicker comfort than he expected, but it was good to see. Witnessing the lass sitting there, happy as if she'd recently escaped from an annoying business meeting to return to her own home and relax... it was somewhat cathartic. Yugi could do nothing but lean against the door, arms crossed and brow lifted as he gazed into that bright smile. "Followed by the cops, and you're happy. You definitely had your coffee today, didn't you? I should probably feel like I'm the guest here. Mind giving me a tour of your box?" he joked.

[Apollymi]

Unfamiliar police vehicle outside, two teens inside, all the casualness in the world in a single girl's visage. She was well and truly relaxed within this space, Kimiko had been doing 'normal' things all day, and besides her little test of abilities she was mostly bored and waiting to get to this point. Within this space created by Aiba Yugi for the pair of them, Kimiko found herself in a constant state of smiling happiness. His words about the young detective were not wrong at all, he surely wouldn't last very long on the force given the sorts of tasks he was currently being handed. "You're right. He definitely won't remain a cop for very long at all. Whether he gets out ahead of it or not, though... that will be the question. I hope he does... I have a job in mind for him," she said as if she was casually commenting upon the weather and not the livelihood and potential future of an entire human being, older than she was.

His following commentary made the lass keep her gaze upon him, even as she further situated herself. He was standing arms crossed, leaned against his door. He stared into her smile and made a few playful observations. She was being followed by the cops, and she was happy. It was apparently obvious she'd had her morning coffee and... he made the joking claim he should get a tour of her box. How very pointed. "Of course I had my morning coffee, Yugi. Once at breakfast and then again when I got to work. How did you sleep?" she explained and questioned, though coffee alone was hardly a reason for her good mood. "Why should you feel like a guest? This space is yours... I'm just happy to be in it..." she said cutting her eyes in his direction. "Not that I wouldn't happily oblige giving you a tour of my box. And you could definitely make yourself at home there as well~" she mentioned playfully. Her posture on this couch was absolutely perfect, but still those legs of hers were crossed at the knee and her hands clasped within her lap. Though that last bit would only occur after she sat a box of condoms on the top of the desk beside her, as if she hadn't done a single thing.