doku | VISIONS I HAD BURIED UNDERGROUND / RETURNING TO ABUSE US

[He can feel the tension radiating off of her. He figures some time will allow it to dissipate, but in reality it's just getting worse.

Eventually, he stops, putting his hands on Noriko's shoulders and giving her a level stare.]

Iko. Look at me.

[She tenses the moment he puts his hands on her - it's an automatic reaction, it has nothing to do with him, she's just wrung too tight. Even looking up at him takes a little more strength then it really should.

What's even worse is how mildly humiliating this is, to react so strongly over a very simple thing, a natural reality of what they do. It's not a part of herself she likes to show to anyone, let alone a man she actually respects. She's supposed to be stronger than this.]

It's--just--noise.

You owe them nothing. They owe you nothing. It's just static, okay? Like flipping through channels to find the one that gets reception. Don't get yourself all wound up for a bunch of nosey paparazzis. They're not worth it.

[Fuck strength, and fuck being supposed to have it, too. The labels never really taught them how to deal with it, so it was all up to them to learn by trial and error.]

[He puts such emphasis on what he's saying that it's difficult do anything but believe him.

But what really gets to her, what sticks to the side of her head is that he's definitely got one thing spot on: She doesn't owe anyone anything. She doesn't have to answer invasive, stupid ass questions, she doesn't have to smile for every single picture knowing that if she didn't it'd probably end in a lecture or a smack.]

Okay. [Because Krieg wouldn't make her sit and talk if she didn't want to, she believes that. So there's nothing to be so scared of. And while it doesn't get rid of the anger, it's a good step.] I won't say anything to them.

[She can do it.]

Hopefully they figure it's not worth coming over here for and we're worried about nothing.

[Here, have something else to think about.] Which of these do you want for sandwich meats?

Hopefully.

[Deep breathes - and questions, apparently.] Roast beef and ham.

[If nothing else she can always divert to thinking about food!] Do you think they'll have decent salami here?

[He puts in an order for her requests. Smoked ham, not salted.]

In a pinch? Sure. If you want something top-tier we'll have to go to an independent deli, probably.

Depends on how desperate you are for sausage.

Sausage.

[Desperate for sausage! Which, with her, is actually a moderately valid concern! But she's usually pretty enough to have it come find her.

Not that any of it keeps her from laughing kind of stupidly behind her hand. At least she's cheered up?]

[He said it with a completely straight face, but the next time she looks at him after laughing, he has a content smirk on his face, resting his elbows against the handle of the cart and balancing his chin in his palms.

It's not a face he usually puts on, so enjoy it while you can.]

[She absolutely does, it's a really nice look for him and in that moment she really can't do anything but completely appreciate hime.]

Hey. [Her arm loops around his for just a second in a sort of makeshift hug.]

Thank you.

[This ... Might not look good to anyone following them but she doesn't care about that right now.]

[He bows his head to the side when she locks an arm with him.]

You looked like you needed a laugh.

[It doesn't, but it'll just be yet another unanswered question.]

[She grins a little wider, squeezes, and then lets go.]

You're the best.

[Alright, let's do this shopping thing.]

[So they do, without much advent about it, and Krieg makes a cautious scan out of the sliding glass doors before they exit.]

It's not too bad. Two news crews, a couple paparazzis. We've been through worse.

[He turns to Noriko.]

I'll go first to break up the crowd, and you stay close behind. Remember: they're just noise. You got the keys out?

[And here they go. She bites at her lip and shifts the groceries on her arms.]

Right, definitely made it through worse.

[Her head bobs up and down, the keys lift in her right hand - it's very good of him to trust her not to run the fuckers over once she's got the truck on!]

Let's do this.

[She's going t follow Krieg's back and remember the weight of his hands on her shoulders. So long as Nariko's got that this won't be anything but a mild annoyance.

Hopefully.]

Right.

[Of course he trusts her. She wants to get out of here, not locked in a cell, right?

It pretty much goes the way he expected. People get mostly in his face since he's the bulwark, and the worst Noriko has to worry about is phones of both smart and micro variety being poked in her general personal space, but she doesn't have to worry about wrestling through the masses. There are no questions--rather, there are a ton of questions, but it's hard to hear just one at any given second.

They get through the crowd and uncomfortably shove into the truck when they get there, groceries and all, but Krieg has enough leg room to move the bags to the backseat cabin to get them out of the way once the doors are closed and locked.]

Yeah. Not so bad.

[Except they're crowding the front of the truck, leaving them boxed in for now. Technically they could take off, but it'd be too easy for someone to intentionally get caught under the wheel and sue for damages.]

...I guess we'll just wait until they get bored now.

[So much flash photography. Krieg shields his eyes with the back of his hand.]

It's a little bad.

[Not only because he took the worst of it and she just had to avoid a camera shoved perilously close to her boobs, but because it'll take a while for these fucking vultures to get bored. They have a cool sister to get to in a different state, and she knows this isn't exactly the best response to have, but she's very in control of herself as she goes about it!

Hopefully that'll count for something.

Without any warning to their information hungry assholes or to Krieg himself Nariko slams on Desdemona's horn and doesn't let up. Quit a few of them jump back, the lights dim in favor of some raised middle fingers. Nariko doesn't respond, she lets go of the horn, waits for them to come back in towards them again .... So she can slam on the horn.

Fuckers better get the point or no one will be alive to sue for anything.

It takes a round or two of this, but eventually there's enough of a path that she can slowly back them out of the parking lot.]

[Krieg is one of the people that jump at the horn, even though he sees it coming out of the corner of his eye. He watches her execute her plan, and by the time she's able to part the seas enough to move forward, he gives her a sporty little pat on the upper arm.]

Good thinking.

Thanks.

[She probably could have found some more polite way of going about it but just sitting there while all those assholes took picture was just - she didn't do such a good job of blocking out the noise, then. But he's not upset with her so she doesn't really care!

In relative silence she drives them back to the trailer so they can put everything away, hitch it up, and leave.]

I hated that they were always in our lives. I don't mind talking to fans, hanging out with them is great but I ... [How does she even say it, so that it can make sense?] I always hated that reporters got to know everything from my cup size to where I had lunch. And I could never be angry about it or even complain, drove me nuts.

[Repression isn't good for anyone, kids.]

It'll die down eventually.

[Admittedly, he spends a lot of time playing tetris with the fridge. Maybe they overestimated how much they could bring...]

They're still feeling the gaping wound left behind by the industry fallout. We'll suffer the disease for a while yet, but people will adapt. Or forget.

Hopefully, like this...we'll be able to get closer to our fans. There's no corporation standing between us and them anymore.

[Better to be over prepared than under, right? Or something along those lines. While he plays with the fridge she tries to figure out what to do with all the pillows.]

I've never been so eager to be forgotten, to be honest.

[She fluffs her pillow and sets it off in the far corner of the very small bed.]

Keigo. [The way she blinks over at him does nothing to explain what the hell she just said or why she said it.]

I still can't believe people would want popularity just for popularity's sake.

[His head pops out from the side of the door (as he's currently sitting on the floor to figure this out, he's too tall to pack the fridge standing up.]

Come again?

I used to when I was a kid, but now that I've actually had it ...

[Definitely no. Not anymore. But as far as his very reasonable question:]

It's kind of like smashing our names together, and I think it sounds cool. And ambiguous enough for anything we might end up doing.

[In other words, it's a name suggestion.]

Isn't...isn't that a Japanese word? Keigo?

[He's not complaining, by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, there might be something here they can use.]

Mmhm. It's a specific way of speaking to people, if I remember correctly.

[Specifically an incredibly polite form of honorifics.]

A way of speaking to people...

[He repeats it thoughtfully as he finishes packing the fridge and he closes it, stands up, and sets the temperature on it.]

Speaking to people.

[He likes the sound of that.]

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the most mature, classy response

keikaku doori

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