Scene #7442: Special Cases Outreach-1

Owner	Pose
Go Shijima	The Special Cases Department is the least funded department in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. If there was any immediately obvious sign of this, it should be that they operate out of one or two rooms within the Kuruma Driver's License Center, while every other department operates either within the headquarters or within localized stations. This would merely be unfortunate, if their mission weren't so crucial: they are tasked with monitoring and handling the Roidmudes, supporting the Kamen Riders who do the same. Fortunately, they do quite well with the funding they have, thanks to the leadership skills and connections of the department's chief, Jun Honganji. But could they do more? Following a conversation on the radio regarding the complex topic of systemic violence, Go Shijima, also known as Kamen Rider Mach, has decided to use a sum of money he recently obtained to try and answer that question. The chief, who quite liked the idea, has invited Go and any like-minded fellows of his to the office, to discuss social issues currently impacting Tokyo, possible solutions, and implementation strategies. The rest of the department will be present, as well, to offer their perspectives--and because there's nowhere else in the building for them to work while the meeting goes on. The office is cramped, but not without a sort of lived-in charm. There are six desks in total. The chief's occupies the back end of the room, with his back to the windows which overlook the plaza outside. It is covered in a carefully arranged mix of good-luck charms and curios, beneath a framed picture of the SCD's logo. He looks up from a flip phone as everyone enters, little charms hanging off of it by a tiny keychain. "Ah! Come in, come in, come in!~" The chief rises and quite literally does a little dance. He's a middle-aged man with black slicked-back hair, and one of two people here in uniform. "Let me introduce you to everyone!"
Go Shijima	"This is Lieutenant Genpachiro Otta, our liaison to the TMPD's First Division--" A stern-looking man in a suit, who seems the very picture of 'hard-boiled detective,' with a face naturally given to mean-mugging (likely even when he doesn't mean to.) He gives a stuffy, kind of goofy but one hundred percent earnest salute. "You can call me Gen for short!" says Lieutenant Otta. Quietly, "Everyone else does..." The chief continues his introductions. "Detective Kiriko Shijima--" The other person in uniform here. Go's big sister. Polite, but in an all-business kind of way. She doesn't at all seem like the type to share Go's sense of humor. She, too, gives a salute, but it looks snappier and less blustering than Lieutenant Otta's. "Rinna Sawagami--" "Hello~" A woman who appears to be on the path of mastering the powerful energy of 'wine aunt' waves, turning around in her chair and standing up to greet everyone with bubbly aplomb. "I keep the SCD equipped for success, including the Kamen Riders! Let's all do our best today, okaaaay?" Double thumbs up. The chief gives her two back, alternating between the left and the right. "...then there's Kyu Saijo, our researcher," he continues. Kyu doesn't notice that he's been introduced at first, his face buried in his computer screen, behind a little fortress of dolls and figures from his favorite anime. "Kyu! Kyu, Kyu, Kyu~" The chief's voice rises high, well past 'normal conversation' and into 'you're kind of eccentric, aren't you.' "Oh! Hello!" Kyu finally notices, stands up, and introduces himself. "Yes, I scour the internet for leads about the Roidmudes! They tend to mimick the humans they copy, so I'm glad to be able to help in that way." "And, of course, you've met Go and Shinnosuke!" The chief clasps his hands together and smiles brightly. "Now... before we get down to business..." He flips his phone out again. "Would anyone like their fortune told?" The way everyone else looks when he asks this, it's clear that saying 'no' is an option.
Shinnosuke Tomari	As everyone gets their introductions, Shinnosuke just kinda looks up when his name is mentioned. Luckily, he's been met, so he doesn't have to wave, right? He does anyways. About the fortune... His look is the exact same as everybody else's. This is weird and awkward, as usual! But, there's no sign of dislike of the chief. Shinnosuke is dressed in his normal wear as he sits nearby at a desk, to be exact. He's fidgeting with milk candy. Anyone who comes past him gets offered a piece!
Roxas	The young man who arrived presented a Paladins ID, but otherwise hasn't been seen in these parts previously. It wasn't altogether clear exactly where he came from, either. He just sort of showed up, arriving from somewhere deeper within the building rather than coming in off of the street. The DMV is a bleak, grey place; of course Corridors of Darkness open up somewhere in them. Ordinarily he would stand out quite sharply, but today Roxas is wearing a black-and-white banded sweater with a light blue scarf, jeans, and black-and-white running shoes. Introductions pass without him making much of a response. There's a sour, surly demeanor that he's carrying, and the only person who really seems to break it even partially is the Chief-- and it seems to be a matter of responding to his sheer energy more than anything else. The first time Roxas actually speaks up without being directly and personally prompted is to respond to the offer of fortune-telling. "Sure," he says, moving forward to look interestedly at the Chief's phone. "But... how do you do that?"
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry Princess is here in what's become her casual dress- white button-up shirt, black jeans, and a comfy jacket around her shoulders. She's left her handgun at home for once- this is Japan, things are different here!- but the long, slender carrying case for her wand is still slung diagonally across her back, making its absence implicitly moot. After ducking under the doorframe, Strawberry awkwardly slides through the cramped room with the grimacing little smile of someone who's uncomfortable with even slightly inconveniencing others. Shinnosuke's little milk chocolate makes her forget her woes for just a moment, though- her face lights up with a childlike delight as she turns the foreign candy over in her hands, finally resolving to tuck it into her pocket for later. (Oh no! It'll melt, Strawberry!) She responds to the varied introductions with a smile and a wave to each of them, trying to fumblingly give them her name in turn. It's written in the quiet contrition of her face that she absolutely expects to forget all their names and feel guilty about it later. Unfortunately, she does not catch the group's drift vis-a-vis the fortunetelling, seeming to treat it instead as a charming cultural ritual which she certainly ought to indulge. Holding out her hand as if she expects her palm to be read, she says: "Oh! I'd love that, Mister... you didn't tell us your name, did you?" A little prompting smile, then- "I'm Strawberry Princess. It's wonderful to meet you." And, as an aside to Roxas: "And you, too! Sorry, I- maybe I should recognize your voice, but we haven't worked together, have we?" The green shield patch on her jacket sleeve ostensibly marks her as a fellow Paladin, at least.
Roxas	"We've met really passingly. I'm Roxas," Roxas replies to Strawberry Princess. "At Arx Zenith. I was the one who mixed up an ongoing training exercise." He holds a hand up to cause a bunch of miniature columns of light to skate around on the palm of his hand, demonstrating the Dumb Boss Mechanics he applied to students in the field. They dissipate harmlessly an instant later.
Strawberry Princess	Even at the mention of 'Arx Zenith' and the training exercise, Strawberry just stares at Roxas with a polite blankness. Something's not quite clicking in her head somehow; something's jammed before firing. When he conjures up the little columns of light in his palm, though, it instantly sparks recognition. "Oh. And the- healing, too, you gave to Lilian. I remember now. It's- good to see you again, Mr. Roxas." She turns back to the chief, patiently awaiting her fortune-telling. "I remember now," she says again, but to herself this time.
Go Shijima	"Oh, it's pretty easy, young man!" Chief Honganji flips his phone open, and shows Roxas the screen. The website he has pulled up looks like something from ten years ago, which hasn't put malware on his phone solely because the phone is just as ancient and probably doesn't have the memory to even run a virus. "We just put your name in this box here, and we'll find out what your lucky color is, and your forecast for today!" He takes an inventory of who's here. "Let's see... you're... Roxas, right?" He's a pro with the keypad. Name: Roxas Lucky Color: Gold Forecast: Every exit is an entrance to new experiences. The Chief is quite pleased to make Strawberry's acquaintance, his brow raised wide, eyes glimmering, "Myyyy," This man is very energetic, in a way that suggests he might not even slow down thirty years from now. "Goodness! W hat polite people the Paladins are!" He grins, offering her a hand to shake. "I'm Chief Jun Honganji. Strawberry... Princess..." Taptaptap. Name: Strawberry Princess Lucky Color: Green Forecast: Happier days are ahead of you. "There!" says the chief matter-of-factly. "Now we know." Go is leaned back against the wall. "Yo, Chief," he says, giving an informal wave. "Can we get to it, now?" "Oh!" The chief slaps his forehead. "Of course. So, I suppose we should start with the issues, then..." His mood is immediately more sedate and serious as he moves back to sit behind the desk. "In total, 108 Roidmude were created, but because of their tendency to mimic humans, it's common for several days to pass in between finding and apprehending one, which brings us to what we could be doing during our 'downtime,' as well as... what we'll do when the Roidmude have all been dealt with." "Go suggested that we run some social programs, and I like that idea!" He raises a finger and waggles it firmly in a show of support. "There are a number of issues we could fix... first and foremost, the government is unpopular. So much so that during the Global Freeze, Detective Tomari here was dispatched to apprehend a group of armed anarchist insurrectionists. If people feel as though that's necessary to get what they want..." "Poverty, employment, social alienation... these things are what cause crime, not the other way around. So how can we combat the causes instead of treating the symptoms?" He taps a pencil on a notepad. Rinna has taken the liberty of flipping a whiteboard over, should anyone want to use it.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry's handshake is crisp and firm! It's one of the few parts of social protocol she's really got down pat. "Happier days are ahead of you," she repeats softly, looking down at the phone with a kind of gentle wonderment. It seems to have genuinely set her at ease; she's still wearing a helpless smile as she finds a bit of unoccupied wall to lean against while she listens. By the slightly befuddled, helpless demeanor that seeps over her as she contemplates the scope of the problem, one can tell that Strawberry feels out of her depth. She chews on her lip as she tries to find a place to even start. (Think. What would Director Velt say? ... She'd say something like: 'systemic problems require systemic solutions.' And then she'd talk about NATO or something. ... I think destroying NATO is probably outside this department's budget. So that doesn't help.) After having been silent for slightly too long, she finally says as a stopgap: "Have you thought about... asking them? Poor and unemployed people. What it is they need the most, to have better lives." But she's clearly still mulling over something more concrete.
Roxas	"Ah... yeah, I did that too, didn't I?" Roxas acknowledges, apparently not having remembered that part in particular. He doesn't seem perturbed by the lapse of memory from Strawberry Princess, though. He just says, "Likewise! But 'Mr. Roxas' just sounds weird. I don't even have a surname, just stick to plain 'Roxas'." He leans in at Chief Honganji's further prompting, nodding further confirmation of his name. The lucky color gets slightly raised eyebrows; he's never worn gold in his life, that he can think of. Roxas's mind flicks towards a tie Gilgamesh was brandishing that he found particularly gaudy... "Hmm..." He doesn't seem to know what to make of EITHER of these things, petering back off into a seemingly withdrawn demeanor until the actual subject of today's gathering is finally laid out on the table. "I don't... know what Japan is supposed to normally be like because people don't go to Japan on my world," Roxas says, "but usually when people act out like that it's either because they're sick or because the environment is doing something that makes it feel like it's the best option like you said. So, um..." "What's this country doing specifically that's making crime look better? What's the alienation? Why is there poverty? Why are people stressed out by employment? You should probably stop that," he says, simply.
Shinnosuke Tomari	"What if we created a survey?" Shinnosuke responds to Strawberry's idea. "Kyuu could set it up, target it at the people who need it. From there..." He pops in another milk candy, crunch, chew. "What about, like...we have a lot of downtime between Roidmude cases. We could set up a community relief type system, where people who are afraid of asking the 'regular police' for help can come to us. We work out of the DMV - if we can separate the fear between the police as an 'arm of government' and ourselves, we might be able to help more people, and push to spread that to the wider police over time." Roxa's questions give Shinnosuke some consternation, though. He...isn't sure how to answer that. "Well, it's very complicated." Is all he manages to get out there, but now he's wondering the same.
Go Shijima	<J-IC-Scene> Strawberry Princess says, "So, the basic answer is to just... give money to poor people. Right? Because- being poor is expensive. Your car's bad, but you can't afford a new one, so you- end up paying more, in repairs, than you'd have paid for a new one. That kind of thing." <J-IC-Scene> Strawberry Princess says, "So, for something to be a 'good' answer... it needs to be more effective than that. Than just giving the money to poor people directly." <J-IC-Scene> Strawberry Princess says, "And it's hard to beat that." Gen, not the chief, is actually the one who answers Strawberry's question, frowning thoughtfully and setting his jaw. "It's very expensive, to be poor," says the detective with a nod of agreement. "Sometimes, just to avoid being homeless, low-income people here will resort to paying by-the-night in hotels, because it's cheaper than rent would be. But that... leaves them with less money for food, necessities, and taking care of their children. Working with the First Division," he says solemly, "I often speak to people in that situation." A nod to Roxas. "People who feel like the walls are closing in often get desperate." Kyuu is already typing away at his computer, adjusting his glasses and giving Shinnosuke a thumbs-up. "Right! Asking us for help should be easy--I can push an update to the Heaviness App, or maybe a companion app where you can anonymously ask us for help!" Tap-a-tap-atap, "I'll start scouring message boards, chat rooms, social media... and come up with a questionnaire we can send out, based on what people are saying! That won't cost us much but time." He picks up one of his dolls, a black-and-white lady with a large pencil, and taps the pencil to his chin. "Hmm... it'd have to be trustworthy enough that people would bother being truthful... Detective Tomari, Go, can I use Drive and Mach's pictures for this survey?" Go is fine with it, because of course he is. Gen, meanwhile, further considers Roxas' questions. "Tomari isn't wrong. It is complicated... but I like what you're trying to do here, so I'll do my best to explain. Crime looks better... because there isn't a better option, I think. Take my earlier example. If those low income people were to become homeless, sure, there are programs in place to help them. But in practice, a homeless person here has to navigate all kinds of bureaucracy to get the help they need. It's the same, unfortunately, for others in bad situations, because there's a prevailing mindset that someone should have to prove that they need help in order to get it..." His chair creaks as he leans back. "And even the best intentioned bureaucrat still exists to stop up the process. So it's often easier to commit a crime for something you need right away than it is to wait months for a board of strangers to potentially tell you... to go away." The chief nods, standing up. "I think," he says, pacing slowly, finger wagging as he gathers his thoughts, "The alienation... there's no longer a sense of community. When I was a kid, you knew everyone in your neighborhood. Not just your neighbors, but the person running the store down the block, the teller at the bank, and so on. But now... so many people are renting, in and out all the time." He waves his hands back and forth to illustrate. "There are many single parents who don't have time to get to know other people. When a young person goes to school, it's for the purpose of getting them a prestigious job, often at a big company..." He shakes his head. "So they don't really have the time to socialize, either. Or if they do, they suffer for it." Rinna is squeak-squeaking away at the whiteboard. ALIENATION, POVERTY, UNEMPLOYMENT. Each has a Cause and a Solution section. "If we really do our best, and show that programs like our Outreach Idea can work, it would really," she says, with a gung-ho sweep of her arm. "Put a dent in the unemployment problem!~ Stuff like this just needs determination, so anyone who wants to help could make
Shinnosuke Tomari	"Of course. Kamen Rider Drive's a great image to use." Tomari gives the thumbs-up, as he considers what Gen and the Chief are saying, and nods to Rinna. "Right. On the alienation problem, though...agh, I don't know. Head's all fuzzy." He eats yet another milk candy. It seems he's not in top-gear right now, and that's causing him problems.
Roxas	It's immediately obvious that Roxas doesn't approve of Shinnosuke's response. He looks at him, briefly, with contemptuous intensity that could easily be interpreted as out-of-character for how mild he usually is. The expression disappears from his face when Gen answers and acknowledges the realities of the situation. Whatever the feelings are there, they either just aren't sustainable or the reasonability of what everyone else has to say simply cools the fires. Heaving a great sigh, Roxas says, "You should figure out how much money you have to work with, determine the most long-term good you can do, and do that. If you have enough money to make places where people can live until they can manage something else, it won't help the biggest number of people, but it probably will result in sustainable long-term outcomes and develop the sorts of communities that you want." "I don't have a lot of things," he says, "but I do understand how important it can be to have someplace to go and a bunch of familiar neighbors." "But..." The intense expression returns, as if a switch were flipped-- in this case, contempt intermingles with resentment. The only one who gets a direct accusatory look is Go-- otherwise Roxas's disgust by all appearances seems to be generalized. "I came here to find out what sort of people you really were. You're not as bad as I thought you'd be. Even so, you... weigh the eventuality of exterminating a species," Roxas raises a hand to draw a thumb across his neck, "With so much more comfort than you address the problems you've been taught to look away from. Why are people suffering and dying for no better reason than 'money' things you're less willing to really use your power for?" "The fortune-telling thing was neat. Thanks for showing me," he asides to the chief, picking an empty stretch of floor to generate a swirling black portal. Roxas waves and steps through, shutting the way behind him.
Shinnosuke Tomari	As Roxas gets frustrated as Shinnosuke, he seems kinda sorry, but it abates with Gen's explanation. But as Roxas reveals his thoughts on the group, and their mission against the Roidmude, he's frozen. He tries to say something, but Roxas is already done, and already leaving. He's gone. "Well, that dampens the mood." Shinnosuke is frustrated, placing his candy on the desk. But, he was a smart kid, so maybe his words had things to think about. Even if... Well, the Roidmude problem was an important one. They couldn't understand what he was going through, could they? "Ah...Kyuu, do you have any ideas about the alienation thing?" Trying to distract. Maybe Kyuu has advice!
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry's expression shifts over the course of Roxas's diatribe, from intently listening along to wincing sympathy to queasy unease. As he finishes, it looks as though she's going to try to say something conciliatory- but before she can find the words, he steps into the dark portal. "Mister- Roxas! Wait! We can talk about... oh." Having dashed across half the room to try and put a hand on his shoulder, she's left holding thin air as the portal shuts behind him. Her shoulders slump with a long, hollow exhalation; she takes a few steps back and uneasily leans back against the wall. "That's... eugh." (That's true, isn't it? He's right. The Roidmudes are people, and the purpose of the SCD is to 'defeat' them. Are you contaminated just by being here? Does it make you complicit in hurting people? ... No. Right now we're talking about helping the poor. When we talk about the Roidmudes some other time, then we can find a better solution for them, too.) She spends a couple of moments looking contemplative and conflicted, arms crossed over her stomach as if she's mildly unwell. Finally, Strawberry brightens up abruptly. "You could try starting a worker cooperative," she says, reinvigorated. "Like... sort of like a business. But instead of turning a profit, extra money goes back to the workers. And the workers get a say in decisions." "If you do it in an industry that doesn't- have a high barrier to entry, for most of its employees, that could help with unemployment and poverty. And if it can turn a profit at all... then you're giving those people more money, right, than you could if you just gave it away directly. It might- might even be self-sustaining, after a bit, and then your budget would get freed up again." Strawberry clasps her hands in front of her with the anxiously hopeful demeanor of a kid who's just given an answer in front of the whole class.
Go Shijima	Go scoffs, having met Roxas' gaze directly from the moment it was levied against him. "'A species.' Easy for him to say. The best you can do with a snake... is put it somewhere it can't bite you. If you guys wanna handle snakes looking for one that won't kill you, be my guest. I'm not gonna stop because one functional Roidmude manages to stumble out of the woodwork." Go pushes off of the wall. "I'm outta here." He retrieves a bookbag from the corner, slinging it over his shoulder and leaving. Tomari was right. It did rather put a damper on the mood. "Go..." Kiriko doesn't seem to agree with her brother's convictions. But she doesn't stop him from leaving. Kyuu, in particular, shifts uncomfortably in his chair when Roxas mentions 'exterminating a species,' and retreats further into his seat when Go says his piece. His eyes quickly disappear behind the monitor in front of him. He is very, very, relieved, when Tomari changes the subject. "Y-yes! The Internet! As long as you're not doing something illegal there, you're often left alone in this country," he says for the benefit of Strawberry. "I mean... there's advertising companies, and all, but... what the Chief said got me thinking!" "Ehhh?" Chief Honganji makes a drawn-out, dramatic, interested noise. Like a museum curator who's just been told something new and interesting. You can practically hear the stroke of a zither's strings. "Virtual neighborhoods! Like a message board, but really, really local!" Kyuu stands up, hands compressed into a tiny box shape, and moves over to the whiteboard to draw on it. Rinna gleefully hands him a marker. "It'd be a little expensive, but easy--there's a little over a hundred stations in the city, so if we divide it that way, that's a hundred localized message boards where people can talk to each other on their time, get to know who's in their community without the..." He scratches the back of his head. Clearly, he's trying to explain the benefits without ratting himself out. "Anxieties of doing it in person. That'd be more expensive in terms of hosting, security, and labor " "A worker cooperative..." Strawberry's idea seems to have really intrigued the Chief, who wheels around and points a finger theatrically into the air. "I like that! I'm friends with some people in the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. I could set up a lunch date, we could talk about what sectors could use the stimulation, how they'd benefit from unskilled labor..." He strokes his chin. "...and we could use the funds Go and Tomari gathered to get it started off, and to keep the workers from having to deal with lean days while it gets off the ground!" He nods. "Veeeery astute, Strawberry Princess! Why, it might even stem the tide of people hurrying off to those big companies for work, if they see that there's a living to be made elsewhere." He says her name in a weird, all-over-the-place kind of tone, like he's a stage actor chewing the scenery to bits--but it's enthusiastic and at the very least not negative or insincere in the slightest. "Oh," he says, suddenly pausing. "I think Detective Shijima wants your attention." She does indeed, looking up at Strawberry with a serious expression. "What Roxas said... I don't think he's entirely wrong... the Roidmude are dangerous, but... their Grim Reaper was here. And instead of taking advantage of the situation to hurt us or destroy our equipment..." She purses her lips, hands folded before her. "...he helped fight the Humagear that went rogue, and didn't hurt a single human. If Roxas won't speak with you about it, then I will. Soon." She means it. "Would that be okay?" No one else in the SCD seems to take issue with her assertion like Go took exception with Roxas' point.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry's earlier queasy unease seems altogether banished by the chief's approval. She can't muster quite the same level of lust for life that he seems to have, but his energy resonates with her nonetheless. "I'm glad you like it, Mr. Honganji! I don't know- much of anything, about how you'd set it up. But... I think Director Velt probably knows some people who'd know. So I can ask her, if you need any help with- getting it off the ground." Her gaze slides over to Detective Shijima, as soon as she remembers who that name belongs to! She looks at Go first by mistake before remembering he has a sister. "So the 'Grim Reaper'," she repeats uncertainly, "doesn't hurt humans after all. And... the fact that he doesn't means that other Roidmudes might not? Or, at least, there might be... might be a way to make them stop." She looks overwhelmed again, until the Detective suggests they have a discussion later. Then her posture relaxes a little, and the smile that the chief inflicted on her reappears on her face. "I'd love that, Detective Shijima. It's... I don't know if I can help, really. I'm not smart like that. But I'd definitely like to learn more."