Scene #8962: Snake And Fox

Owner	Pose
Angela	Fukuoka's Soba joint restaurant is having a busy day but the food remains as good as ever and-- Ace is probably used to it thanks to Tsumuri's own tendency to pop in out of nowhere, but the woman who wasn't there one second ago--not even in the building one second ago--who is now sitting across from him doesn't look very much like Tsumuri. She's got long black hair, dyed purple at the last portion of her hair and is wearing a purple snakeskin trenchcoat. A headband pushes back her hair and she is openly carrying three different swords, although they're all in their scabbards, one on her back and two across her waist. She is wearing black leggings and black shoes and is looking right at Ace with purple eyes. "So what do you suggest?" The strange woman asks--she's older than Tsumuri too--she's in her thirties at least but may be older. "Among the specials, I mean. I like to try something new whenever I find a new restaurant--just in case it's hiding any surprises." It seems to occur to her a moment later to share a name, "Ah, the name's Iori. You're Ace right? You're quite famous." She leans back against the back of her chair, crossing one leg over the other. "You're a safe bet, aren't you?" She reaches out to snag a menu and opens it up as if she'd been invited to.
Desire Stars	Ace Ukiyo can eat in public places, with the knowledge that it will often be under the adoring eyes of the public. A small party of patrons fawns over him from their table with politely constrained excitement. So what do you suggest? His brown eyes meet Iori's. He smiles, lowering his chopsticks. "I'm fond of the zaru soba," he says. An old-style dish served chilled, on a bamboo tray, garnished with nori and served with a cold dipping sauce. "Especially during the summer. If you like heat, there's the kare nanban, or if you'd prefer something savory, the nameko." He helps himself to a mouthful, dipped in the cold tsuyu sauce, as she pauses and shares her name. Ah, the name's Iori. You're Ace right? You're quite famous. "Yeah." His eyes twinkle with amusement. "Maybe the brightest star there is. It's only natural to be drawn to that." As she takes a seat, he grins. "This feels like destiny."
Angela	"Zaru soba--Well it is a hot season--oh I might prefer hot dishes but sometimes you have to have a cold dish because if you try to eat something hot you'll only regret it later when you go out later and the sun hits you and you're already flushed because already warmed yourself up." Iori takes another look at the menu and then sets it aside. "Too much of a good thing when our bodies are designed for a tightly wound balance--though our hearts desire excess." She sighs, "Maybe it is fate but the truth is I'm not always the best judge of character. There was this cute sweet child I've been mentoring but then she up and betrays me, sharing private information with others when I'm trying to avoid being a bright star myself. I've been wondering about what to do. I ''was'' going to help her win this round of the DGP since she'd done what I asked without complaining too much until now but...This certainly throws a wrinkle in my own plans. If only ''I'' was as clever as a fox, instead of simply being a sneaky snake." A waiter comes by to take her order and she puts it in thoughtlessly and asks for some rice wine as well to go with it. "Setting up nigh-impenetrable barriers and simultaneously rewinding time and erasing memories. The DGP is really something. Not so unlike a Wing where I'm from." Her smile brightens. "I was hoping to learn more, but since Yuri's been naughty, I might have to give up on that. Isn't that a shame?" ''Maybe the brightest star there is.'' "Brighter than Sirius?" She asks.
Desire Stars	If only ''I'' was as clever as a fox, instead of simply being a sneaky snake. Ace smiles. Brighter than Sirius? "Maybe so," he says, lifting a little mass of noodles. "Bright enough that anyone should be able to find me." His eyes flicker with something like amusement, before he dips the noodles into the tsuyu and has a bite. "You're some kind of supporter of Yuri's, then," he surmises. "Or you were. I'm guessing you haven't signed on as a sponsor because of your privacy concerns. The DGP really is something," he muses. "A game where the prize is a world of your own desire." "What is it you were hoping to learn?"
Angela	''You're some kind of supporter of Yuri's, then.'' "Mm." Iori says like she hasn't really made a decision on it one way or the other. "It's natural to expect a bit of betrayal... What would you---ahh, perhaps you've never been betrayed though." ''I'm guessing you haven't signed on as a sponsor because of your privacy concerns.'' "Mm...It seems a little reckless to get involved with people with such control over time ''and'' space. Besides, they seem to have trouble satisfying your appetite, why would I expect them to be able to find the world I want.--or would deign to give it to me. I know powers like this usually have their limitations, their costs. Even I'm a little hesitant to carelessly involve myself." Her order arrives and she snaps free some chopsticks to mess with her noodles. "My goal is simple--simple enough that I could tell it to anyone--but it isn't one I'm willing to gamble away even if I'm a little tougher than most."
Desire Stars	It's natural to expect a bit of betrayal... What would you---ahh, perhaps you've never been betrayed though. Ace's smile holds strong. Maybe he has. Maybe he hasn't, and he's just got a very good poker face. My goal is simple--simple enough that I could tell it to anyone--but it isn't one I'm willing to gamble away even if I'm a little tougher than most. Ace opens his mouth to reply, but pauses, to offer an autograph to a middle-aged man trembling with excitement at the periphery. The other people at his table quietly cheer him on, and he gives a meek but gracious thank-you before leaving with the rest of his party. With the others gone, it's just him and Iori, save the chef in the back. "It's the same with me," he says. "At least, mostly. I can afford to gamble, because I have collateral that most people never will. What I really want is simple, like you--but for whatever reason, the Desire Card wouldn't accept my wish." "There was someone in this round who wanted 'a post-apocalyptic world,'" the star muses. "Makes you think, doesn't it?"
Angela	When Ace has to turn away to offer an autograph to an adoring fan, Iori slurps up her noodles, shoving a truly unconsciounable amount into her mouth all at once. Some habits die hard. "Simple wishes are the hardest to fulfill, I noticed. I wonder if it's because they are so simple, if complex desires are easier to slip in because they are complex. I can't say I'm not curious. Ah--you're right, you're right--this is delicious. And not even all that messy." And just as suddenly she stops playing the part of a just a goofy weirdo who dropped in--not that it was an especially convincing disguise. Everyone knows what snakes are like. That's why she never gets too fussed about being betrayed. "I see... But you can't really win even if you win every time... But I suppose it is not so different from anyone in The CIty. Even the winners never quite get what they really are looking for--that's such a shame. I suppose I should at least teach my little apprentice a lesson." She starts on her wine and--of course--offers to pour Ace a cup as well. "It is always easier to destroy a world than build one. And post apocalyptic shows are popular, aren't they? Especially when the current day seems terrible enough that a world where everything is destroyed seems like a relief. I think it is a bit of a naive attitude and like most naive people, individuals like that are bound to call everyone around them naive intead, no?" She sets down her bottle either way. "How about I show a little trust myself. ''My'' wish is to meet with my son." She winks an eye. "I wouldn't say it's a ''big'' secret, but it's a nice starter secret. Since you've been forthcoming about one truth about this game that seems very important, I can share this much, no?"
Desire Stars	''My'' wish is to meet with my son. Ace lowers his chopsticks, leaning back in his chair. "Hoh? Interesting." He studies Iori. "I can understand a wish like that. I hope you find him." "From what I understand of Yuri's situation, she was going to wind up betraying someone no matter what. You, or that Company. That's the trouble with spies--what happens if they get caught," notes Ace. After a pause to snag some noodles and dip them, "Always has been." "I'm sure you have your reasons for laying low. I don't know how much Yuri knows about your situation, or how badly she could hurt you if she keeps talking. But, she's willing to risk her life for her ideal world, and that's on top of whatever she risked to find out about your son." "I'd like to ask that any 'lesson' you teach her doesn't take more from her than she's already given. I can pay whatever it costs for you to find a new hideaway somewhere less... busy, if that's what it takes."
Angela	"Thank you." The Purple Tear says. The smile hasn't faded but it doesn't reach her eyes. She's someone who has learned to never stop smiling. "I hope you get your wish. A death game in which you can win any wish except for the one you really want seems gauche to me, but I admire your tenacity!" She sets the bottle back down. Ace reveals he does know more about Yuri than he previously let on, but Iori's poker face is pretty good too. "She'd done her job, she could've just asked me to wisk her away." She says but stalls as she's noticing something about the Fox before her. It could be a trick, but she can't see how making this request would benefit his own goals. Oh sure, she doesn't think Yuri's a threat to him in ''this'' game but she can certainly be trouble in future games. Even her foresight has some limits ... but a game where the same person wins every time is also boring. "That's quite a request. I thought I was already being gentle. But I could be persuaded." She smiles again. "Not with money. How about you just let me check in with you every now and then to see how your search for your own ideal world is going. I don't mind my plans being muddled--but losing company is what really bothers me. But I have to ask--WHy are you looking out for her? She is a competitor, no?"
Desire Stars	"Sure, she's a competitor," admits Ace. "But I can win on my own merits, and it's more entertaining that way for you. Don't you think?" It's a very smug answer. It's not even untrue, at least where his ability to win is concerned. There are potential futures where he loses, and some of them are closer than others. In all of them, Ace Ukiyo faces defeat like someone much older than the man sitting in front of Iori--with respect to what can be learned from it, rather than only how it is avoided. More to the point, many of his decisions and actions after his defeat in the DGP hint towards a plan existing not solely within the DGP. 'In war, sometimes you lose a castle to keep a province,' says a potential future Ace. She can likely infer that even if Yuri does beat him, Ace Ukiyo is a very driven sort of person, always looking for a way to move closer to what he actually wants. But, curiously, despite his tricks and half-truths in many of those potential futures, even when he's losing, Ace isn't the sort of person to pull others down in pursuit of what he wants. "A mysterious woman from another world, keeping up with my exploits." The Ace of right now smiles, evidently satisfied with the idea. "Joining me for dinner... I like it." He sets his chopsticks down and wipes his hands with a naplin, his noodles finished.
Angela	It's interesting to Iori that his victory is indeed not set in stone--even against Yuri--but she has to imagine that sort of future is unlikely even if it's possible. That's the danger of a power ilke hers--plenty of things are ''possible'' after all. It takes her own will to manipulate those probabilities to steer them into one she actually wants. Anything else is playing careless with an ability that could easily drag herself down with it. What does it take for someone like her to be able to meet her son? Or more relevnatly, what does it take to keep someone like her from meeting her son? ''And it's more entertaining that way for you. Don't you think?'' "Mm... I know it might seem otherwise but I don't actually get off on seeing suffering.... But you've been such a splendid conversational partner, it seems a meager ask. I suppose you're right. She'd lose more than I could even take if she loses and that is already more punishment than I intended to inflict. I'll leave her to you, then." Well, not exactly more punishment than she intended to inflict considering it'd be on ''top'' of that but she isn't really trying to deceive here--she is just seperating the two 'losses' from one another. "I'll save my debut for another time. My advice to you...is to not be afraid to lose a castle to keep a province." Advice from a future version of him who lost but did not give up hope. "It's a plan then. I'll root for you, Ace.--Ah, that's right..." She draws out a wallet and places down enough local currency to pay for her meal. "I know you can afford it, but it'd be gauche, don't you think? I like you Ace, the clever people from my world are just so eager to go for blood so quickly." She waits a few moments, but after that--the next time Ace blinks--she's gone like she was cut out. No fancy portals. Just ... gone.
Desire Stars	Ace sits alone, Iori having vanished the moment he blinked. "What a remarkable woman you are, Iori," he muses to himself with a smile. The chef comes out to take the dishes, blinking at the empty seat. Wiping his hands on a towel hung from his belt, he furrows his brow in confusion. "Gone just like that? I didn't hear the exit bell..." "That's just the kind of company a star keeps," Ace replies. The chef pauses, then smiles, nodding. "I guess so. Was everything to your liking?" "To mine, and to hers," Ace nods. "Here," he says, procuring a clip of bills. It's enough for his meal, plus a generous tip. The chef takes the dishes away, smiling wide, leaving Ace to ponder on his meeting with Iori. He reaches into his pocket, procures that ever-present golden denarius, and holds it up to the light.