2355/Crash Into Hello

Crash Into Hello
Date of Scene:	31 May 2015
Location:	Boston-666
Synopsis:	Haruko crashes into Nathan Hall, and attempts to worm herself into his life.
Cast of Characters:	168, 792

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Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    If one's looking for conflicted maturity, they found it. Nathan Hall has that certain kind of head, if you look at it just right, or can sense some N.O. potential. He's gone out to the city today, grabbing things for the office that his own Shinki can't. Or presumably that's what he wants to do anyway, he's only been out of the office a short while, walking in his usual way, which is to say, a way that's slow, deliberate, almost a robotic sort of shuffle.

    It stands out in its normalcy, in a way; it's generic enough to spot it in a crowd if you're looking for that. He's also not wearing his full adventuring gear, because who does that around town! It's just a shirt and jeans here today, none of that cloak and robe and bracer and such nonsense. As per the norm, he's lost in thought, and not likely to notice anything approaching until long after it's there.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     It's hard to tell what Haruko is doing here. She's definitely talked to Nathan a couple of times, so it is entirely reasonable to assume that she might have come, seeking him out deliberately. But, at the same time, she has made her job clear a few times: She is a wandering house keeper, who geos where ever she feels like, without much reason or planning.

     Of course, the truth of the matter is probably a lot less pleasant.

     The first sign of Haruko's approach is the loud sound of her vespa. The second sign is the repeated sound of people honking and screaming at her to get out of the way. As she comes into sight, her face is /covered/ in a map, the force of her vespa moving forward slamming it against her face. It must be near impossible to see. She's also trying desperately to get the paper map off of her face, even swinging at it with her blue bass guitar, trying to get it off her face. Traffic is forced to sharply move out of her way, as she /somehow/ manages to weave through it without being hit.

     Finally, the map flies off her face, and into the sky. She sighs in relief, her guitar stretched out. And then, a freaked out reaction is on her face, her mouth opening wide. Because her Vespa has managed to make a straight path towards Nathan, and her guitar is on the path to Nathan's forehead.

     "HEEEEADS UP!" is all she can manage to shout out in the brief window before her guitar is likely to hit Nathan's head.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan reacts very slowly; anyone who has known him for a while will know he's very delayed on reactions. By the time he's turning back and squinting at the strange raucous event behind him, he's already too late to get out of the way. By the time he sees the map over his assailant's face and has comprehended exactly where she's headed for, it's too late to protect his head. And by the time he understands the guitar swinging at it, he can do very little to avert it. Though he does make a distinctly worried noise.

    He will be taking the thing square on the noggin; depending on the force of the impact, it might just knock him over, or it may well send him flying. There is one constant: No matter how severe the impact, his expression will remain utterly stoic throughout the event, and long after, when he settles down in a state of internally stunned shock.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     With the force of the impact? Nathan is definitely going flying. And Haruko is slamming on the breaks of her Vespa, leaving a skid mark along the road and sidewalk as she finally comes to a full stop. In a swift motion, she brings the guitar onto her back, locking it in place, and then leaps off of her Vespa. She looks down at Nathan, before pulling her goggles off of her face and letting them rest against her helmet. An absolutely terrified look is on her face at the moment.

     She grabs ahold of him by the shirt, and starts shaking. This? This is not what you do when you just crashed into anyone. But she does it anyways, trying to wake Nathan up. She cries out, for all to hear, "OH NO! THE JOHN DOE IS DEAD! WAKE UP, JOHN DOE! PLEASE I CAN'T GO TO THE SLAMMER! I'M TOO BEAUTIFUL FOR PRISON!" She still continues to shake, her eyes wincing in what appears to be fear.

     "DOES ANYONE KNOW CPR OR DO I HAVE TO?!"

     She looks around, fairly desperately.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    After flailing about, the Librarian comes to rest limply, in a state of sort of mentally crashing. Nathan may or may not actually already be awake, it's not entirely clear immediately. He's maintain an utterly stoic expression, despite currently suffering what would seem to be an intense and panicked confusion. Who is this woman? Why is she shaking him? Why does she have a guitar? Who is John Doe? Why is she yelling about jail? These thoughts and others zip through Nathan's mind in a panicked storm, having precisely no effect on his expressionless face, which has gone a bit limp from shock.

    Despite the copious panic and confusion in his mind right now, he can muster the energy to raise one hand, index finger pointed in objection. "CPR is actually used for heart or respiratory emergencies, not head trauma." He says, in a perfectly flat monotone, and utterly in spite of his baffled and confused state. And then, due to mild pain and exhaustion, he goes limp again for a moment. Good lord those would theoretically be some ironic last words.

    Haruko will notice that he seems to be very much assuming that she's actually concerned with his safety, so at least there's that. He doesn't seem to be reacting in a negative or aggressive way at all, in fact, it's a little uncanny!

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     The moment Nathan talks, Haruko /immediately/ lets go of him and stops shaking. This, of course, likely has the effect of causing Nathan to fall back onto the sidewalk and hit his head, again. She stands up, freaking out. Sweating. She grabs at her head, and screams up to the sky, "OH MY GOD! HE'S COME BACK AS A ZOMBIE! AN INTELLECTUAL ZOMBIE! INTELLECTUAL ZOMBIE JOHN DOE!" She continues to squirm and freak out over this.

     And then she promptly moves to sit on him, specifically, sitting on his chest. She is trying to pin him down, using her legs to hold his arms down. Her hands grab at his head on the sides, to try and keep it down too. She looks around, still panicking, "Does anyone here know how to deal with an intellectual zombie?!"

     A pause. Her entire attitude calms down for a moment, before she looks down at Nathan.

     "Hey, John Doe. Are you a zombie?"

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "Philosophical zombie?" Nathan says, in a dazed and confused state. "Are you a physicalist? You seemed more like a motorcyclist." Then the pain seems to hit him and his eyes close sharply. "Ow." He says, in a perfect deadpan monotone. "I'm told, actually, I'm told zombies don't feel pain unless they're the philosophical kind, so as long as you're a physicalist and not a necromancer I am fairly sure I'm not a zombie, really, not any kind of undead at all."

    Squirming and fussing from the odd attention to his head, Nathan makes another worried noise. He's reflexively trying to hold his hands to the pain at his forehead. "I seem to have suffered a head injury. What exactly did you do?" He says, and then makes a tensely urging tone, apparently at least concerned about the wound.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko just stands up tall, looking down at Nathan a lot more calmly. She rubs her chin a bit, nodding along as Nathan talks. "I'm not a physicalist or a motorcyclist or a physicalist motorcyclist. So you're not a philosophical zombie, or a zombie. Which is good. Because I think the only way to kill a zombie of any kind is shooting the head." A brief pause, and then, "...Though since we met via way of head injury, I /think/ I can rule out the zombie thing. So I am gambling on you not lieing."

     She holds out a hand to Nathan, grinning widely. Her grin is fairly catlike in many ways. As she offers to help him up, she also offers an explaination, "Well, I was following my map which is now.... misplaced?" She glances around. And then suddenly the map lands on her face, blown by the wind. She holds it up, still smiling, "Yeah, following this map, trying to find Tokyo. Been following this map for a while, and I'm /beginning/ to think I might be a bit off. But got blinded by the VERY MAP I put /so much trust/ into and got BETRAYED BY. SUCH BETRAYAL! And of /course/ the best way to deal with a map in the face while driving a vespa is slamming it off with your guitar."

     She leans forward a bit, looking at Nathan. Smiling. She slowly reaches a hand to his forehead. Slow enough he could stop her, if she wished. "Your head is /pretty/ red though. Is it okay?"

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "If I start feeling an urgent need for additional brains, you'll be informed, you'll be informed quite quickly I'm sure." Nathan says, both hands planted firmly on his head where the impact of the guitar struck. "My promise on that." He remains frustratedly, dazedly on the ground for a while before taking the hand. He squints at the grin, but doesn't otherwise seem to react to it. He also lets the explanation go on with an utter lack of expressed reaction. It's a full two seconds after she's done that he makes a baffled noise. "Your map may be faulty and traitorous in more ways than that." He says, with a plaintive gesture. "You are currently in Boston, rather than near regions of Japan, not really anywhere near. I can entirely sympathize with frustration towards betrayal, though, I can sympathize a lot."

    The red spot on his head is bruised, and when Haruko goes to pry at the wound, he instinctually covers it with both hands, almost a kid-like reaction to the pain despite it being done through deliberate, emotionless, un-reflexive actions. He's also subtly using some of his magic on the side to cool it down, believing it will reduce swelling, but that's not entirely visible. "I am unqualified to diagnose the wound, really, not qualified. You said you were using a... Guitar?" He shuts his eyes again for a brief moment, squeezing them while he remembers the impact. "It certainly felt more like getting struck by your entire vehicle, felt a great deal more like that."

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     As the head is covered, Haruko pulls her hand back. There is a frown on her face, for just a second. And then, it's right back to a smile. "...You /probably/ should at least let me look at that. I'm not really qualified either, buuuuut hey, better to at least see /how/ bad it looks."

     But, then, back to the map. She frowns glariny at it. She crumples it up in both hands, and tosses it into the air. In a flashing movement, she grabs at the guitar on her back, and swings it full force at the ball of paper. Sending it flying into the sky.

     "DIE TRAITOROUS MAAAAP!"

     And, in the same motion as the swing, she's putting the guitar back onto her back. She cracks her knuckles a bit, smiling, "...Well. That /would/ explain why the map was leading me astray. Hard to trust a traitorous map. ...Though guess it's my own fault for /buying/ a traitorous map. Can never trust something that betrayed you, really. ...But ehh. Boston is as good as Japan, doesn't really matter /too/ much where I end up."

     She stretches out a hand, grinning wildly and cheerfully. Simple handshake. She introduces herself, still full of energy, "I'm Haruhara Haruko! A nineteen year old housekeeper! It's nice to meet you, John Doe! Please treat me kindly!"

     A pause, and then a smile, "Oh, and yeah, my guitar /can/ hit like a truck. So lots of reason for confusion there."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan's eyes narrow briefly. It looks like his mild pettiness might make him inclined to keep the hands over the bruise, but then Haruko seems to unsettle him, inscrutably, through her aggression about betrayal. "Yes." He says. "Suppose you can't really trust something like that." He then lets his hands split, with a slow, stoic sort of gingerness, which makes it obvious that he's manually quashing his own reflexive pain responses.

    He carefully takes Haruko's hand as if he was just asked to shake hands with a bear trap, or perhaps some sort of giant crab. "Nathan Hall, librarian." He says, providing just enough grip that it doesn't seem rude, but not enough grip to seem like he's got any energy to it. "Treat you kindly?" He seems confused by that last part. "Suppose... Suppose so? Seemed like an accident, really, an innocent sort of accident, I won't hold that against you. Been easing off the grudge thing." He seems to assume she was talking about him being mad about the hit-and-not-run, rather than assuming she was talking about anything else.

    His forehead will remain uncovered. There should probably be a heavy but external bruise there, but given the situation, who knows /what/ showed up! "I think I recall you from the radio, actually, I think I remember... You were looking for something? Something in major urban centers, then?"

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko's handshake is firm, and wild, shaking Nathan's entire arm. Yes, she's as energetic in that as she has been in anything else so far. But, she shrugs a bit at the confusion on the 'please treat me kindly' thing. "It's a Japanese introduction. Sort of like 'nice to meet you'. Not sure how /best/ to put it in English. ...Was trying to brush up on Japanese culture for my visit there, but /oh well/."

     She looks up, pondering a bit, just glancing towards the clouds. She draws out her speech as she talks, trying to remember, "...Leeeeet's seee. I was talking to a /loooot/ of people recently. I /thiiiink/ I remember you though? ...Think you said holistic librarian? ...Or are you just another librarian and not the holistic one?"

     She leans back a bit, placing her hands on her back, somewhat trying to crack her back a bit and relax a bit more. "Well, yeah. Been looking for work. People who need a housekeeper. Preferably ones who need housekeeping down to their very souls. Cause, you know. Said this on the radio, but housekeepers don't just keep house. They help people with their problems. I've helped families come together, helped people get over their fears, helped people deal with their failings, helped people who have been betrayed, helped people who were poor achieve basic needs..."

     A smile.

     "Are you the type who needs help?"

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan's entire arm is shaken, once again shaking his body too, and once again his expression remains firmly stoic while his whole body is flopped around like a limp noodle. "Pleasure to meet you, head trauma aside." He says, after that's concluded, as if it didn't happen. He seems to do that a lot. "I am a holistic librarian, correct. We spoke. Briefly."

    The mention of betrayal again provokes what one could think of as the opposite of a reaction; when Haruko mentions that, she'll be able to see Nathan's face get more stoic, his expression more lacking, and his overall mannerisms more emotionless. There's clearly more reactions being quashed deeper down, now that she's brought up the betrayal so repeatedly and thoroughly, and gotten it on his mind. "I don--" He starts, before seeming to halt himself, closing his eyes silently, and then speaks in a more firm monotone, with more structured words.

    "My history of knowing whether or not I need help is poor. I do not believe I do. What others, like yourself, choose to believe is not my business, nor anything I am... Qualified to really object to." He seems to finish that off early, as if there's more that was supposed to be said but he refuses to say it.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko already knows that Nathan needs help. In fact, it's part of what is even driving her to this region of the Multiverse. Though the exact details of what he did in response to Elliana are unknown, the rumors pop up on occasion. But, at the very least? For a figure as high up in the Multiverse as him, for him to be a very General of the Union and still have these rumored emotional problems? Trying to run a faction, while not even knowing how to control your own life?

     The level of conflict in his life must be insanely high. The few times they spoke only made it more certain. And today, it is becoming even /more/ set in stone.

     Nathan is the perfect target.

     She lets go of his hand, and casually places her hands on her hips. A catlike smile is on her face again. She giggles a little bit. And then speaks, in her normal energetic tone, "Well. Sounds like you /do/ need help. Because /something/ is obviously bugging you. Something is wrong. And you need help working through it. I can tell it due to your tone. And hey! I don't even just mean the monotone. I'm guessing that's normal for you. Trust me, I'm good at reading people. You /need/ help."

     Her eyes focus on his forehead for a moment, before looking back at him. Another sly catlike grin.

     "So I /think/ I'll be your house keeper. It's fate. I was supposed to be in Japan, end up here, and crash into you. How about it?"

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan seems, in a sense, unsettled by the claims. But, in another sense entirely, he's recently found himself unable to have much confidence in his ability to self-assess his own needs. He goes back to rubbing the bruised forehead, still not doing any actual wincing at it. It hurts like hell, though! The unsettling imposition of someone entirely new making the same assessments is throwing him off his metaphorical game and has him uneasy, awkward.

    "I think you're mistaken, really. Really think you're mistaken." He says, breathing out heavily, back to the old, more exhausted, less structured tones. "But, well, no good myself at telling. No good at all. Suppose I think, rather than knowing. Can't say I know much about fated encounters, always seemed like... Kid stuff. Well, at least, the sort of things that happen to kids." Nathan isn't even that much older than Haruko! "You can do as you like, if you feel like it's your job, if this sort of thing's your job."

    He takes a moment out of speaking to nurse his head wound a little more, the way someone might grasp at a body that wasn't even their own, and then continues on. "Sounds like you've got more of the experience anyway. How long have you been doing this, exactly? How /do/ you do this?" He's trying to figure out what she's decided she's going to do here.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko smiles, a bit more casually than her normal cat like smile. She puts her goggles on. She walks over to her vespa, and hops onto it, driving it a bit closer to Nathan himself. She sort of just lets it idle, near Nathan. "Hey, hop on if you want. I'll take you home."

     She is under the assumption that it will take Nathan a bit to decide whether to hop onto the vespa. After all, even she realizes: She is /incredibly/ strange, and really forceful in her pursuits. But at the least, with Nathan being /so/ broken... That should make things a lot easier. She still talks while waiting, though.

     "Ehhh, no clue on fate, really. But hey! Random chance encounters can still lead to good things, in my experience. Buuuut. I haven't been doing this /too/ long. I started when I was eighteen. BUT hey, people say I'm pretty good at the job! Helped a lot of people get over their problems in that short amount of time!" It is worth noting that she looks more like she is somewhere in her twenties. "And how I do it, well... Not /too/ hard. I just clean your house. Problem come up? I'll help. Not sure quite /how/ I'll help you yet. Gotta know you better first. But. I have a feeling about you. Like I /need/ to help you."

     She leans forward on her Vespa, looking straight at Nathan. Her eyes piercing. Her tone soft, and a lot more empathetic sounding than usual. "You seem like the type who is holding a lot in. Your emotions, your fears, even your thoughts about yourself. All of it is being bottled up, isn't it?" Her tone sounds a bit more sly, though still empathetic, as she continues, "...If you /keep/ holding things in, it will... Overflow. Explode."

     "And you don't want /that/ to happen. Because once you've overflowed once, you'll keep doing it."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "A year." Nathan says, in a tone that seems utterly un-judgemental. "I see." He then considers the next words. "The problems I tend to face, you know, the problems I deal with, they're very difficult. Suppose as a housekeeper you might to keep some distance, some... Healthy disassociation." And then the next words are spoken, discussion of bottling things up, overflowing. Nathan does that "un-reaction" again, where it's clear he's counteracting some emotional impulse deep under the surface.

    "Any emotional self-limitation I indulge is done so with the utmost understanding of the consequences of its failure." Nathan says, returning to that old, structured way of speaking. He's far more deeply unsettled by the idea that things will "explode" again. "I am taking all reasonable actions possible to ensure there is no such event likely to occur. It is not going to happen ag--..." She's hit a nerve, clearly; nothing that Nathan will be capable of being aggressive towards her over, but one that he's very averse to thinking about. He closes his eyes for a moment, doing his best to shove the thought out of his mind.

    "I, and others, do what is possible to ensure that nothing of the sort happens. So it will not happen. The arrangements I have now are as such for a very good reason. It is the way things are supposed to be." He does stop his indecision though; her keen awareness of his psychological issues has distracted him from all objections to getting onto the bike. He's not entirely sure about the mechanics of how or where he ought to be sitting, but he seems to accept it in some capacity.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Once Nathan is on the vespa, Haruko starts driving. She picks a direction at random, but she speaks up, over the sound of the engines, "Just tell me which direction to go. I'll take us back home." Haruko probably actually does have an idea of where Nathan lives. But she isn't going to let it be obvious.

     Luckily, since Nathan will be behind Haruko on the scooter, Haruko's massive grin at the fact that Nathan admitted the explosion is wonderful. He's emotionally hurt. Weak. Easy to poke and prod at. It shouldn't be hard to push him even further, in the wrong direction, while making it look like /help/.

     "Ehhhh, it can happen again. /Especially/ if you don't address the source of the problem. Which probably /isn't/ you. Not your fault you feel however you do! But like, for example. Explode over your ex girlfriend? Gotta cut off contact with her. Someone causing you pain? Gotta stop them from it. Neighbor have a noisy dog? Gotta file a complaint. Or move. Can't just dance around the problem. You gotta tackle it, head on. Constructively."

     She quiets down for a moment, more or less just giving Nathan a chance to keep giving instructions. It's also giving her a chance to figure out how best to manipulate him as well.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan direct Haruko towards Heavan or Hell's residential structure. That thing's relatively easy to spot, at least, and it's not too far away. While he does, he considers Haruko's words. "I made an attempt to address the issue. It did not go well. This is how the issue ought to be addressed." He says, in a matter-of-fact sort of monotone. "This is the way that has been the most successful in the past, so it seems like a bad idea to... Deviate, again." He is very off-game here, especially when unsteady on the Vespa.

    "In a sense, I believe this is the 'head on' tackling. And statistically, the only solution that seems to have worked." He's still all structured again, instead of the more exhausted tones he uses when off this nerve, so it's still working fairly easily. He's not tough to push buttons for. "I suppose there is a certain sort of solution available in the near future, but it is still somewhat... Mmmmh." He seems to trail off, as if the idea of considering it doesn't settle well with him. He's looking forward to the end of the quick drive.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko drives somewhat crazily towards Heaven or Hell's residential structure, weaving between cars. Despite the wild ride, it's surprisingly smooth, and there is no point where it seems like she is actually going to get the two of them into another accident.

     "Well. I can't offer much advice without knowing the situation. But sounds like you're trying to ignore it and go with the flow. That's not taking it on head on." A grin. Another idea. "But. Hey. If it doesn't work out? If you feel an overflow of emotions again, so much so that it's like something is bursting out of you? Tell me the full of it then. I'll do what I can to help."

     She turns her head back, to look at Nathan. A pleasant, calming smile on her face, "At the least, just talk to me. Letting me know what's going on will at least get some of it off your chest. ...Though, heck. You're /really/ trusting. We've just met, and you're trusting me already? Maybe that's part of your problem. Dunno though."

     And then she pulls up, parking the Vespa in front of the building. She looks up at it, smiling, "...Well. So this is the place? Man, it's been a while since I had a really needy client! I /really/ look forward to being your live in housekeeper!" And Haruko lifts a hand to noogie Nathan on top of the head, just slightly.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "I give everyone trust." Nathan says, with a tone of voice that feels particularly... Flat. "Until it is abused. Once it is abused, I do what I can to make them regret that. It tends to work. Tends to make things work out, generally." Nathan says, trailing off and almost mumbling at the end of it. "What is going on is... Well. It tends to be something the others like to keep as their own secrets as well. Maybe best if I respect that. You could talk to them, if you're interested." He seems to curl up a bit in his posture, but remains inexpressive. A subtle sort of private gesture.

    "Didn't make a good first impression. You didn't, I suppose, in a way. In a... Wounding way. But things tend to work out. Suppose you'd hear about it anyway if I... 'overflow', or something like that. Anything like that. Gets a little loud, not very private, not very private or very quiet at all." He rubs his head again after they stop.

    "Needy." He says, stoically squirming against the noogie, as if trying to turn the word over in his mouth and discern some detail of it with his tongue while ineffectually worming his way out of the gesture. "I don't think I'm needy. I think I'd probably be fine, probably. Suppose you'll make your own decisions. I've found the best way in life is to go with what seems like the flow. So that's what I'm doing." He scratches his head after the noogie, a bit, not making any curious noises or expressions, but seeming curious regardless.

    "Can't imagine why you'd look forward to that. Fair warning, too, fair warning, there's someone else around the home, she handles the... Small scale matters, I suppose you'd say. And, well, the live-in part, I'm not in charge of that. Not in charge of it at all, really, you'll want to talk to Psyber."

    He doesn't head on in, though. Just in case she's a vampire, he doesn't invite her, instead just letting her walk in on her own after she parks. "I can show you around, though. Give the tour for people wanting to join. Still a bit confused though. Room and board aside, what do you get out of this? The whole... Therapy housekeeper thing?"

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko is not, in fact, a vampire. As such she is able to enter uninvited. She smirks a bit. She's realizing that, in a lot of ways, her current attitude is completely contrary to Nathan's. Happy, cheerful, and energetic, versus monotone and withdrawn. But, the fact it is working helps. She won't speak much more on his hidden secrets. At least for now. Permission to seek them from others should be enough, for now. She can approach his secrets laterally.

     "Yeah, I'll listen out for you overflowing. Hell, when it happens? I'll be there, if possible. ...But. You definitely need me."

     But, there is a bigger question right now. Far bigger. The question of what she gets out of it. If she lies, and it is discovered? He'll be mad later. If he doesn't like the truth, she'll be pushed away. Luckily, she has an idea that is somewhat in between.

     "Well, for starts, I would like /some/ pay. A ritzy place like this? Yeah, I bet /someone/ here can afford paying me. Plus...." Her tone changes. A little bit more serious. Not by much. Still very casual, but there is more weight to her tone. "I'm seeking something. No idea if I'll find it here. ...Specific person, more accurately. Keeping an eye out for him." Her look gets distant for a moment, before turning into a smile, as she looks at Nathan. "But hey, for this job? Part of it's just because you're /really/ interesting seeming. I want to see what course you take."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan isn't particularly relieved, he's just following protocol. Seriously, though, thank goodness she's not a vampire, Nathan doesn't know what to do if a vampire latches onto him. "I believe it is not so inevitable. Not really an inevitability at all. Hope so. You can can make your decisions, I suppose, you can make your judgements." And then he slips on inside the simple, clean lobby area as well. "Payment? Certainly, assuming you can function appropriately in the office. I assumed it was a given."

    And then he tilts his head. "Finding unusual individuals is part of the purview of our organization." He says, making a shrugging sort of gesture. And then the eyes squint a bit. "Interesting. Can't imagine interesting anyone, really, I'm not the kind of person who interests people. But you can think whatever you like about that, really, whatever you like. Learned to just go along with this sort of thing." Then he puts a hand to his chin, thoughtfully. "Suppose I ought to give Psyber a call. Ask him about things."

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko smiles, listening. This is all giving her a huge insight into who Nathan is. She's still acting friendly. Still a bit calmer than she was earlier. Trying to establish herself as a helpful presence. "Inevitable or not, eeeehhh, we'll see. If you /want/ to stop it from happening, though, just /hold it back/ with all your might." This, of course, is bad advice. Holding things in /too/ much is a bad idea. But, hey, this way, Nathan will at least pick the wrong choice either way!

     The 'finding unusual individuals' part catches Haruko's attention a bit. She's heard of Heaven or Hell. They seemed more like they might be enemies. But... Could they help her? It's best not to gamble on it. Work with them, but keep in mind they could be a potential enemy. She ponders aloud, "...Well. You /might/ be able to help me find him. But we'll see. Everyone has their secrets. And this one isn't that big. Just looking for some guy. For... Reasons." She'll let it stay at that. Let him make assumptions on his own, rather than explain why she is looking for a specific man. It'll tell a bit about Nathan, too.

     "And everyone is interesting. But with you? You're interesting in the fact that you're just /so/ plain and monotone. Never met anyone like that. Hell, even some /robots/ aren't as monotone as you."

     Haruko has, of course, heard of Psyber. But this simply means she has an immediate way to cause Nathan some immediate anguish.

     "...So, Psyber. He your boss? Or...." Pause. "...Life partner?"

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "That's the plan. That's the plan, I'm hoping anyway." Nathan says, to that first bit of commentary. "Hoping that works out well." It seems he's entirely embracing that bad idea. It is a /really bad idea/. "As for the person you're after, I'm not going to press. Not going to press about anything, really." He says, with an exhausted sort of element creeping into his monotone. "Figure you'll do whatever's best to find them. I respect privacy."

    And then there's a raised eyebrow at Haruko. "I doubt I am particularly unique, I doubt it. I'm not especially unusual, in a way, I've just got a certain sort of philosophy to my actions. To my words, too, to all my words. Have to stick to it. Just the right thing to do, you know, in general." With that, he rubs his head, and rattles off a few frequencies and codes. "Some arrangements can be made for you, I think, if you talk to him. Just the necessities, for now, shouldn't be much difficulty. Not sure I understand you, but I've long since learned to just go along with it. Just go along with this sort of thing."

    And then he remains oddly silent for several seconds at Haruko. "He is a professional partner and my best friend." The insinuations didn't go over his head, but he chooses to leave it unreacted to, in a deadpan, flat sort of way. :