Utsugi "Suspicious Eyebrows" Lenka (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
probablynoteren) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
tornheart2017-05-30 02:35 am
probablynoteren) wrote in tornheart2017-05-30 02:35 am
Entry tags:
Stop the presses, we're building a bridge and utterly failing to get over it--
Who: Haruka Sorazawa (Lenka Utsugi) & Michi Yamashita (Yuuto Kidou)
When: 5/28
Where: City outskirts, to the general southeast
What: Two little Eligors attempt to leave the city. Traffic and bridges conspire against them. Forever.
[Eddan is well-known for its impressive array of bridges, since the entire sprawling metropolis fills its island to the brim, and Haruka has done his best to investigate the state of each bridge -- construction, possible closing hours, accessibility -- before committing to Sunday's plans.
A lot about this impromptu day trip is impulsive, however, a reaction against what's been building against and within the app's unwilling userbase; in a way, he's let Luci provoke him to this, and he knows that. But it's a pretty big stone to leave unturned, all the same.
They've arranged to meet outside the school gates in the morning: common ground, and even if Haruka has few misgivings about meeting with Michi it feels safer and more fair for both of them if they start here. The spot is also chosen so as not to draw any unneeded attention, as the campus and sundry buildings are open to any students engaging in club activities or other Sunday needs. Haruka himself has bowed out of his gardening club duties (apologetically and somewhat last-minute, though much of it is just catch-up and paperwork following the festival) and would prefer not to get entangled with any club members during departure.
Still, he's pretty conspicuous, parked next to his green-and-silver scooter under one of the trees by the wall and doublechecking his phone a little too much. Whenever he spots Michi, or at least someone Michi-shaped, he'll raise his hand in a small wave.]
When: 5/28
Where: City outskirts, to the general southeast
What: Two little Eligors attempt to leave the city. Traffic and bridges conspire against them. Forever.
[Eddan is well-known for its impressive array of bridges, since the entire sprawling metropolis fills its island to the brim, and Haruka has done his best to investigate the state of each bridge -- construction, possible closing hours, accessibility -- before committing to Sunday's plans.
A lot about this impromptu day trip is impulsive, however, a reaction against what's been building against and within the app's unwilling userbase; in a way, he's let Luci provoke him to this, and he knows that. But it's a pretty big stone to leave unturned, all the same.
They've arranged to meet outside the school gates in the morning: common ground, and even if Haruka has few misgivings about meeting with Michi it feels safer and more fair for both of them if they start here. The spot is also chosen so as not to draw any unneeded attention, as the campus and sundry buildings are open to any students engaging in club activities or other Sunday needs. Haruka himself has bowed out of his gardening club duties (apologetically and somewhat last-minute, though much of it is just catch-up and paperwork following the festival) and would prefer not to get entangled with any club members during departure.
Still, he's pretty conspicuous, parked next to his green-and-silver scooter under one of the trees by the wall and doublechecking his phone a little too much. Whenever he spots Michi, or at least someone Michi-shaped, he'll raise his hand in a small wave.]
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What if he really was one of the dangerous people? Michi didn't think he was, but why did he feel that way? Was it just because he was an Eligor, like Michi? That couldn't be it. But he'd agreed to it without thinking too hard about the idea. That meant that he can't back down. Both of them, after all, want the answer to this.
Michi walks slowly, deliberately, eyes scanning his surroundings for anyone. He turns to walk backwards at one point, and gets just turned around enough that when he turns back he runs straight into a street sign. Michi recoils, hissing in pain. And that's probably how Haruka first sees him, rubbing his nose gingerly and muttering to himself.
What a great first impression!
He freezes when he sees Haruka - or what probably is Haruka - and lifts his non-occupied hand to wave back.]
no subject
Are you all right...? [Or. Haruka can be his slightly-too-blunt-and-concerned self and call that out too, sure. He's absently digging around the storage of his scooter for his spare helmet as Michi approaches.] I think this will fit. It shouldn't take too long to get to the nearest bridge.
[Normally, he's sparing with gas, but taking public transportation would severely limit how well they could explore the city outskirts, especially if one or more of the roads or bridges turns out to be a dead end.
It's probably a bad omen to think of dead ends right now.]
no subject
Yeah, yeah I'm fine.
[He's pretty sure, anyway. Still, Michi will only take his hand off his face to accept the helmet.
This is still a bad idea. He's going off on an adventure with a stranger from a strange version of the internet on a scooter. That small inner voice that Michi only realizes is yelling at him when it's too late to listen is telling him that there's people murdered almost every week.
... he puts the helmet on, anyway.
He's never ridden on a scooter. His mom is pretty solidly against anything that's got two wheels and a motor; if she knew he was doing this he'd be in some very real trouble. But all that means right now is it adds to his apprehension, looking both to the scooter and Haruka for cues on what he's to do next.
Michi Yamashita is pretty sure he's not that smart a person. But if that's the price he has to pay to get something answered...]
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[Somehow, Haruka hadn't expected someone younger, someone he'd have to look down a little to talk to; then again, he has no idea what he expected. Nothing about the app has been particularly predictable, but he's finding meeting and recognizing his fellow not-so-demons in the real world particularly disorienting. It's not entirely a bad thing, though.
Judging by their acquaintance so far, neither of them are particularly the type to act their age, which is likely how they ended up here in the first place. He's willing to accept working with those who are willing to act -- that's all there is to it.
For the moment, he leads Michi next to the scooter to show him where to get on, making certain he won't bang into anything or trip over himself with the limited visibility. No need for that again. It's funny: he's normally the more cautious one in groups, but it's likely because he's the driver here that he has a little more free reign. That being said, even if he were some kind of kidnapper whose sick mother needed money for medicine or whatever, it's a little harder to kidnap someone on a scooter. First of all, his scooter doesn't even go all that fast -- some cyclists can pass him on a bad day.
Still, as they get ready to putter off and before he gets his helmet on, Haruka takes a moment to tell his passenger over his shoulder:]
Don't worry. I'm a pretty good driver. We'll head south, and go north if we need to.
[And he is. He doesn't quite go grandma-speed, granted: caution vs. delivery times is a factor here. They'll make decent time as long as traffic holds.]
no subject
[He does as directed, and immediately comes across the awkward question of where to put his hands. On a bike, he'd be able to grab hold of the handlebars in order to maintain total balance, but he doesn't have that luxury here. The alternative seems to be... what, exactly? Fold them?]
Uh...
[The question quickly distracts him from any other initial worries. It makes him aware that he's sitting way closer to someone than he's used to, just to add that extra level of awkwardness to the situation. But people do this, don't they? People far more cool than Michi, that's for sure. And of course, when given the chance to prove himself, the first thing he does is mess it up by wondering what he's doing.
Haruka would likely feel Michi twist around to investigate the sides. There's nothing there to hold onto. He's not even sitting entirely on a seat, there's so little space; he's perched somewhere between the seat and a metal hump behind him.]
Yeah, okay. Let's do this.
[There could be a question of 'what am I supposed to hang onto? am I supposed to hang onto something?' there, but nah. Of course there isn't. There are some questions even Michi feels stupid for asking.
That will probably last until he's either told flat out to hold on, or they hit a bump that ends up with Michi reflexively grabbing hold of the one thing there to grab hold of: his driver. While he ends up hanging onto Haruka, it's not without some tense awkwardness and a mumbled apology that isn't quite soft enough for the engine to drown out.]
no subject
By the time they hit the rougher roads, though, they're a fair ways out from the school already and getting into the suburbs; it's been a relatively quiet ride, Haruka not being given to small talk while he's driving (or otherwise, really, unless directly prompted) and somewhat preoccupied with what they might find ahead: he hasn't really had cause to cross the bridges or even to come particularly close to doing so lately. He alternates between that and trying to focus exclusively on the road, and...
Still, Michi's sudden apology wakes him up a little. He glances over his shoulder quickly to check on his passenger before giving a small shrug, the best he can communicate with the wind and their helmets between them.
Eventually, they'll arrive at the first bridge: situated a little south of Pointe-a-Tarte and directly aligned with Eastmount, it matches the more upscale neighborhood that leads into it, all graceful curves and modern steel -- there are also some decorations left over from the Blossom Festival the week before. So, strangely, it looks much more welcoming than what two apprehensive teenagers might have expected.
The only issue is that there isn't a single car or living thing in sight, on the bridge or near it.
Haruka slows to a stop a little ways from the bridge. He's slightly unnerved by the stillness here, even if he does his best not to show it as he takes off his helmet to get a better look. It's the suburbs. It's not going to be as busy as downtown, or even the Green Valley area.]
This is the first one. I don't remember there being any bridge closures, or... anything.