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Touta Konoe After the events that had transpired on the bridge a request had come to Xiaomu and Reiji concerning the recents events that had transpired with the recent Holy Grail War and the interesting characters that had been revealed to the group as Servants, Touta Konoe had later decided to contact two of the people he had been more familiar on the scene to discuss their feelings on the matter. But he also had wanted to request their advice for another matter as well and for that reason Touta had brought it upon himself to make arrangements to meet the two of them in their own Japan.

He's been to a few different Japans in his time throughout the Multiverse and some Japan like places. As far as this one was concerned it definitely seemed pretty normal in its appearence alone. Granted there was less magic and about probably 70 to 80 year time gap between this one and his own. Not that he was complaining. It was going into the past essentially.

As he arrived into town he was wearing the usual attire he normally had on. A black gakuran, a red t-shirt underneath, a pair of black slacks, and that ridiculously black spiked up hair. Though for obvious reasons the black katana he always had out in the open was wrapped up in a kendo bag on his shoulder. Last thing he wanted after all was for someone to try and confiscate Kurobo, that'd be real trouble!

"Alright, so I think this is the right stop... Wonder if Hime-chan's cafe is around here too?"
Xiaomu Xiaomu *should* be keeping an eye out for Touta, and a corner of the back of her mind is still focused on keeping an ear perked and half an eye open for the unlikely vampire; however, she got to Shibuya quickly enough that she had a chance to pick up a new volume of manga from the bookstore next door to the train station, and she's ...

Well. She's an otaku. She's already halfway through the volume, and Touta could probably park himself right in front of her and issue a formal challenge to a duel before she'd extract her attention from the panels on the page. She certainly hasn't noticed Reiji catching up with her yet.

Fortunately (???), she didn't bother with a hoodie or a hat or anything that would hide her ears and tails (which, as always, are 'disguised' as her hair rather than sprouting anywhere closer to where you'd *expect* tails to be), so it's easy enough to identify her even with her nose all but buried in a book. At least she was patient enough to get into the train station proper before she started reading - and if Touta's heading for the station's big main entrance, he *should* go right past Xiaomu.
Reiji Arisu Reiji has had an... Interesting past couple of days. The exorcist has been somewhat preoccupied with processing the fact that his father, a man who by all rights should be dead, is... Anything but. What do you do when the man who raised you suddenly turns up and he's not even an evil clone or brainwashed or anything like that?

Life has not prepared Reiji for this new development, and so he has largely tried to put it out of his mind until he can get a better handle on how to deal with it.

And so he's come here instead of dealing with his problems. Where he...

Promptly appears from behind Xiaomu in something approximating the attire of a salaryman out for the day. That is, a short-sleeved button-down shirt and slacks. And a plastic tray of inarizushi.

...Which he unceremoniously rests on top of Xiaomu's head, right between her two 'ears' of hair.
Touta Konoe It doesn't take much to spot Xiaomu in the distance near the main entrance. It was true that she was very easy to spot in a crowd with her unique appearence to say the least. At least more easy to spot than Touta would be...Just as long as nobody put him near a mirror or something. Though it's apparent that she's more into whatever she's reading than tracking him down. Must be a good read apparently. He's almost interested enough to simply just stand beside her and read over her shoulder as she goes through the manga.

And he can even pick up on Reiji behind her. He looks a bit more casual than he recalls seeing him the last time. He's just about to wave the both of them down till he notices Reiji put something on Xiaomu's head, which if he's seeing correctly is definitely something that will grab Xiaomu's attention from his prior experiences with her...If she notices the tray on her head at all. That being said Touta decides to take this moment to casually walk over to the two, greeting Reiji with a wave but remaining just quiet enough that he can reach atop Xiaomu's head and partake in some of the inarizushi before Xiaomu has a chance to devour them herself.

To which after a taste, "Wow, these are really good. You make these yourself?"
Xiaomu "... ?" Xiaomu's ears twitch a little as she feels the weight settle atop her head. Right, in fact, where - if she moves her head too abruptly - whatever it is would fall off before she can reach for it. She slips the stock slip into her manga as a bookmark -

And Touta reaches up to sample from the box before she can do so. "Hey Touta, hey Reiji," she says casually, nestling the manga tankoubon in her elbow as she reaches up to take off her 'hat' - although by that point, she knows roughly what's in it. "How was the train coming in?" she asks the vampire boy.

She is, perhaps surprisingly, not flipping out at some of the inarizushi being purloined right before her eyes. She even holds the box where Reiji can take some if he wants.
Reiji Arisu "No, they're just convenience store inari," Reiji answers in that matter-of-fact affect he always carries himself with. "I didn't have the time this morning to make any fresh."

He does, however, take a bite of some of the stuff. Is Xiaomu trying to avoid immediately stuffing them into her face to maintain appearances, or is she just feeling not in an inarizushi-ish way today?

Impossible. She always goes for tofu. Unless she's secretly the kind of fox that prefers HUMAN LIVER?

(Probably not)

"So," he says to Touta, "I think you wanted to meet with us for a reason, didn't you?"
Touta Konoe "Not bad, a bit more crowded than I was expecting though." He gives a wave as Xiaomu finally recognizes his arrival. He also takes another piece while he's at it. He's pretty hungry, and sorta surprised that it was just convenient store food. Actually now that he thinks about it, has he even had the convenience store brand food before? Most of his life he's lived in either the boonies or an island so probably not.

But he'll have to put that off for later since Reiji goes right down to business. So before he even gets a chance to eat his second piece he'll acknowledge Reiji's remark.

"Yeah, where do I begin...Mmmm, well I guess first thing I wanted to talk about is pretty obvious...I sorta want to find those Servants from before and since well... You said that your dad was one of them you might be willing to help me look for them."

He's not really sure what Reiji's relation with his father is exactly but judging from what he saw back on bridge it was definitely more healthy than whatever sort of relation he had with his great grandpops at least.
Xiaomu "Hold that thought a sec," Xiaomu speaks up. "Better places for this discussion than standing around the Shibuya station's front hall."

And assuming the two guys follow her, the sage fox leads them to ... a nearby karaoke box? One that's staffed by maids with very realistic kitty-ear headbands, apparently.

On the plus side, the karaoke booths themselves *are* soundproof, and there are comfortable seats lining three walls, plus they can order drinks (strictly non-alcoholic) if they so desire. "Remind me to order a sashimi platter for delivery here on our way out," Xiaomu says in an apparent non-sequitur once they're all settled in. "Anyway, yeah. I'm ... really hoping we can track at least a couple of those Servants down, I have questions for Shogo - Archer, apparently? - and *his* Master." She shakes her head, picking up a piece of fried tofu to munch on. "Still can't believe it's really him - but that's part of why I've got questions up the wazoo."
Reiji Arisu There's a reason those kitty ears look so realistic.

...And twitch periodically.

Reiji sets himself down on one of the bench seats, resting his arms across his lap. He sighs as if dreading the topic at hand. "I don't know how to feel about this whole situation, honestly," Reiji says after a moment. "He was my father, there's no doubt about that, but... I've never seen him like that before. And that he's fighting in a war for the grail is just not how I expected to encounter him again. I think if you wanted to talk with Archer, though, Xiaomu might know how to get a hold of him."

As for his master, well...

...That's a whole 'nother can of worms, isn't it?
Touta Konoe Touta is now the one completely infatuated at the moment! Perhaps one would think maybe it's the cutesy nekomimi-maids but it's just the fact that he's never been in a karaoke booth. His friend always told him about them but he had never been in one before so he's a little curious to see how everything works here and there. But after realizing how to work the song choices his attention returns if only briefly back to the task at hand.

"Mmmm, to be honest I think I have a friend that could help track these Servants down. But if Xiaomu has a better way than all the better. But...I sorta wanted to ask you a question since your his son. Hime-ch, uh, Caster-chan told me that a reason that a Servant is able to be summoned by the Grail is because of a wish they have. So I figured it might be worth asking you, but do you know what your dad's wish would be at all?"
Xiaomu "It was definitely Shogo Arisu," Xiaomu states. "Same look, same voice, same mannerisms ... if he'd been regular flesh and blood instead of a magical construct in the semblance of same, I'm sure he would've smelled just like him." She lets out a breath. "Your father was a more complex man than you remember of him, Reiji ... lots of facets you didn't have the chance to get to know as well as I did. *Nobody* could have gone to the lengths that would be necessary to make this compelling of a fake, so ... yeah. It's definitely Shogo."

She pauses, munching on another piece of fried tofu. "As for getting in touch ... I could try by magic, but I was figuring on him to use something a little more mundane. He *should* remember my mobile number, it's not like I've had to change it in the last ten years. I figured that was a good little subtle extra test, but if he doesn't get in touch, we can try tracking him with magic. The only problem with *that* ... we don't know how paranoid his Master is. Showing up without warning or invitation could make for trouble."
Reiji Arisu There are always things sons don't know of their fathers. The very act of becoming a father changes a man irrevocably, so it's not odd that the Shogo Reiji remembers and the Shogo they encountered at the bridge are... different from one another.

Reiji thinks for a moment, then slowly shakes his head. "That's not the only problem. While I'm pretty sure we could track my dad no problem, he'll probably be able to do set up all kinds of extraordinary measures in advance. While I don't think dad would use them on us, I don't know what his Master might have in mind."

Command Spells are powerful things, after all. Not even Shogo could resist one.

He's quiet for a moment on the subject of a wish, then looks to Xiaomu. "I guess I don't know my dad well enough to say," Reiji sounds... sad? Disappointed, maybe? Mostly confused, regardless. "But if I were to hazard a guess, a second chance at life maybe. Or something to do with mom."
Touta Konoe Touta can't really say he's gotten to know Xiaomu and Reiji too well, but if there's one thing he can relate to is wanting to see his father...Well, even now he wasn't even sure that thought could be considered true. Still he'll place those thoughts aside for now.

As Xiaomu addresses the concerns of trying to meet up with Shogo without warning Touta can only nod in agreement. If Reiji's dad is anything like the other Servants he's been up against that he can only assume how much of a wild ride.

"Hmmm, guess that makes sense for you guys. Still I really want to find Nag- Eeer, Ruler sooner than later. So I'll at the least be looking for him. Anyway we can leave all that stuff on the back burner for a bit. I also came here cause I wanted to ask you guys for a bit of a favor..." He stays silent for a moment as if trying to think of the best to phrase his request.

"Mmmmm, do you think every now and again I could go a round with you guys?" Yeah that gets the point across right?
Xiaomu "There are a few possibilities," Xiaomu admits, looking at Reiji. "But they're ultimately his business ... and we don't even know yet if the Grail in that city is reliable, or just a reservoir of problems waiting for somebody to start peeling back the seal for them to spill out. If we're letting that War play out, somebody's going to have to check around the edges, find out what we can about how much trouble might be lying in wait.

She finishes another piece of fried tofu, sipping some ramune to wash it down. "As for sparring ... where did you have in mind?" she asks Touta. "That Shrine of Adversity place, maybe?"
Reiji Arisu "That's true," Reiji answers with a long sigh. "We can't even be sure the grail war itself is legitimate. Can you imagine what kind of power you'd need to summon heroic spirits from all across the multiverse like that? Is this really about granting a wish? It feels as though there's another hand at work here but I'm not certain whose or how."

"It's a risk," Reiji concludes, then, "To take anything at face value."

He pauses a moment when a nekomimi meido walks in with a tray with a couple mugs full of frothing beer and... A carton of milk. Reiji takes one of the booze mugs and sips at the frosty froth. "As for a spar... Hm."

"Fine. But only on one condition."
Touta Konoe Touta can't really disagree with Reiji, as far as he's ever heard all these Holy Grail Wars have happened in there own worlds and timelines. For some sort of Grail War to be occurring across the expanse of the Multiverse truly did seem strange. Which only reinforced the idea in his head that he wanted to talk more to Nagi. After all, if what he Nobunaga had said on the comms before were even slightly true he was the arbiter for the war. He had to know something of what was going on. It was definitely something that was probably going to need to be looked into.

"Well, if I find Ruler I'll definitely see if I can get him to spill what he knows about this war. As for the training I'd be glad to go anywhere. But I have been meaning to go to that Hall of Adversity at least once but keep missing the opportunity."

It's at this point the nekomimi meido drops by and Reiji weighs in on Touta's request. He decides to just take some water. He fully intends to sing at some point during this and doesn't want to mess with his throat one way or another.

"What kind of condition?"
Xiaomu Xiaomu cocks an eyebrow at the beers being brought in, then looks at Reiji. Well, if *he's* bending the rules of the establishment ...

"I'm guessing that condition is something like 'don't complain when you get brutally owned in the ring,' or something like that," the sage fox says philosophically. "I haven't forgotten the thrashing he gave Fayt back when we had Njorun's training facilities to play with ... I doubt Fayt's forgotten either, for that matter."
Reiji Arisu Reiji catches Xiaomu's cockeyed glance and shrugs. "We're getting them sashii later. Besides, I need a drink."

There's a beat, Reiji looks over to the young vampire and takes a long draw from his beer.

"We," he deadpans in that most Reiji of ways, "Require a babysitter."
Touta Konoe Touta raises an eyebrow. He then looks to Xiaomu...Then to Reiji...Then back to Xiaomu...Then to Reiji. Something is clearly not clicking in his head..."You guys have a baby?"
Reiji Arisu "We have twins," Reiji answers between sips of frothy, frosty booze."
Xiaomu Xiaomu just takes a sip of the other beer, watching the two guys over the rim of her glass.
Touta Konoe "Twins huh? Doesn't sound too bad, how old are they?" He's never really baby sat before but it's not like he hasn't dealt with kids. What's the worst that could happen?
Reiji Arisu "They're both about two," Reiji says evenly. "Konoe and Hirume. I'm sure you'll all get along great."
Touta Konoe Konoe huh? Touta gets a smile out of that at least. He's already got something in common with these kids. "Alright, so when would you need me to watch them?" Also now that he thinks about it...He watches kids all the time. Maybe not two year olds but he watches kids at the orphanage all the time.
Xiaomu Xiaomu looks at Reiji. This is *his* idea, she's letting him handle the details.

Although if she thinks the babysitter might not be entirely reliable, she might set up some kind of fallback ... she may be an otaku and a slacker, but there are still things she takes very seriously indeed.
Reiji Arisu "I'm thinking saturday nights," Reiji says with a shrug. He rolls his shoulders as if loosening some kind of deep-set ache. "It'd give Xiaomu and I a chance to unwind for a little bit."

There's a non-zero chance this is also part of Touta's training... Somehow. But how bad could taking care of kids be?
Touta Konoe Touta can't really see how watching children is suppose to be any sort of training. But he does think for a bit on it. "Mmmm, don't know if I can come every Saturday unless you'd want me to bring them back to work with me. We have a kid area that they'd probably enjoy. But besides that I can help you guys out every now and again when we train. Besides maybe I could surprise everyone back home with something from your world."
Xiaomu "A kid area back at your friends' base, huh," Xiaomu muses. "Should I check it out before we entrust the twins to your care? I mean, if your allies are fine with their own children being there, it's probably fine, but ..."
Reiji Arisu "Mmm, I'd need to check your base out first, I think," Reiji agrees afer a moment. "But more importantly, I don't think every saturday is reasonable. I'm sure you have other things to be doing as well; two saturdays per spar should be acceptable, I think."
Touta Konoe "Well, it's not exactly our children. See our base is sorta a safe spot for non-humans who can't live out in the rest of the world. So my boss has a orphanage set up for when we end up finding kids, mostly demi-humans and take them in. If you guys want to come in and check it out sometime feel free to. I'll give you the tour myself. The kids love visitors so I'd bet they'd love to see you guys. Plus if you guys ever want somewhere to relax we have a pretty cheap hot springs you can try out too."

Truth be told he has no doubt that the kids would be safe at the base. They'd essentially be safeguarded by a dozen or so immortal monsters. How much more safe could one get? Probably the most dangerous thing would have been just going through the Warpgate to get there. But upon Reiji's agreement Touta nods. "Alright, I can do that. I'll see you guys next Saturday then." And with that he holds out his hand to shake with the two of them. But after that he's totally going to be using the karaoke machine.

Hope you guys like 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong.