The Adventures of Love and Death (Tomomi)

As tends to happen, what had once been extraordinary had become commonplace. Nadia didn't marvel at the skulls in the window of the shop as she wiped it down with the clear blue solution. As she wiped the suds away, she could see her face, plain as ever, she found herself wondering what it was Cecil saw in her. Then she giggled a little, face splitting into a grin as she imagined him doing the same thing.

Quietly, for her own amusement, she made a mockery of his sad, mopey face in the window. Following it with a fond smile. She wished he would surprise her by showing up, uninvited. Oh how that would brighten an otherwise boring day! But alas, he was probably studying or something... maybe he was out with Tomomi. She had no way of knowing. It wasn't as though she was jealous per se. But she was certainly curious. And the more she found she enjoyed Cecil's company, the more difficult it was for her get off the rush of curious vigor that filled her.

She had begun staring off into space as she thought about how much she wanted to go and do something, not realizing it when someone strode up to the shop front looking expressly for her.

Today was a day Tomomi had gotten off work. No work. No academy. But he didn't let himself do nothing. Indeed, instead, Tomomi had something to do. At least, in some degree by his own volition. So, since early morning, Tomomi had been going all over the city, taking the bus, running around a bit, taking the bus, running around a bit. Finally, he went to the backlight, and walking through the streets looking as though he'd just been running a marathon with sweat dripping down his face, Tomomi saw the person he was looking for.

Voice strained with exhaustion, the boy called out, slumping slightly and his posture growing slack. "N-nadia! I found you! H-hi! A-a-are you free for tea?!"

Nadia hadn't noticed the boy come up. When his voice jolted her from her reverie, she found herself blinking in the midday light. "Oh! Tomomi!" Where had he come from, all of a sudden? He looked exhausted. She remembered him from the other night, his transformation into Ribbon. He was a Psyche Terrorist too. It seemed most of the people she ran into were either Terrorists or Cadets. The look she tendered him was one of confusion. The haste of his approach made it seem like there was some emergency. Yet he had only just asked her to Tea.

She rose a hand to her mouth. Was he asking her on a date? This was just like the climax of one of those movies she had seen, where the boy comes running up out of nowhere to confess his feelings. She didn't really expect those kinds of feelings from Tomomi. They hadn't known each other that long...but wouldn't it be better to be safe than sorry?

She probably took a few too many moments thinking about it before she replied. "I don't mind. But if you're asking me out...I already have a boyfriend, sorry..." she replied. That's what she was supposed to say, wasn't it? "Let me close up the shop, and then we can get some tea, okay?" she finished almost immediately, with a smile, before heading back into the shop and turning the "Open" sign to "Closed."

After a few minutes, the lights would go out in the oddity shop, a curtain would draw to cover up the morbid display of bones, feathers, and taxidermied animals I'm the shop's window. Nadia came out and locked the door before turning to smile at Tomomi. "Did you have a particular shop in mind?"

It took a moment for Tomomi to figure out what Nadia was talking about, tilting his head in confusion. Boyfriend? Asking out? She had a boyfriend? Good for her, hopefully it was someone that would be kind to Cecil. Still, that wasn't his concern. Instead, he rubbed at the back of his neck and shook his head. "N-no, nothing like, um, that."

Waiting for Nadia to close up shop, Tomomi stood still and waited, simply catching his breath. As she returned, Tomomi offered a smile, back to his usual, slightly withdrawn but not exhausted posture. "Um... N-not really, but, somewhere private? So that we can talk about stuff that's private, like, um, work, and that meet up we had the other night with some friends?" Tomomi said, placing mild emphasis on the word work. "Since, well, we can't really talk about how work's going when things are, like, um, people listening? Privacy and stuff. Yes."

Nadia was glad he wasn't trying to ask her out. She figured he wasn't, but it would be really awkward if one of Cecil's friends did that. It would cause them all undue stress. No, what he wanted to talk about was Terrorist matters. Their meet up the other night, "with Friends."

Nadia frowned a little bit, thinking. "You'd better come up stairs, then." She replied. "Would want anyone to gossip about our late night activities." She gave him a wink and smile that was vaguely reminiscent of Nightingale's wry and playful smile.

Leading Tomomi around the building, Nadia showed up up the stairs to the loft she rented above the shop. Once inside, it would reveal a small, sparsely furnished living area and kitchen, with a door to a bedroom. "I'll get us some tea. What kind do you prefer?" She asked, heading over toward the kitchen.

Tomomi was incredibly believed that Nadia understood what he meant. After all, it wasn't something he could say any more blatantly, without being forced into something like, being arrested, or wanted. So, Tomomi followed along, nodding as he added in a bit of a chime. "Y-yeah, I mean... I've got enough gossip to deal with as is."

As the went upstairs and Nadia let Tomomi in, the boy shut the door behind him, and let out a heavy, almost relieved exhale. "Phew... Um... A-any tea is fine, but, um, no milk or sugar please." The boy declared, standing around with no idea where to go or sit, and just holding the bridge of his nose for a moment in silence, before speaking up again. "So... We're both a part of that other lifestyle huh?"

Nadia pulled tea down from a cupboard and started getting the pot ready.  She stooped to peer at Tomomi under the cabinets and waved her fingers at him. As she did so, she summoned her Soul Bound claws only for a moment, and then returned to her work. "It seems we do. I know Revenant too. And Sultana, but if you don't know them, I won't tell you who they are. It's not my business to say." she added, as she turned to put the kettle on the stove.

"I haven't been with the playhouse for very long. Maybe a month or so? What about you?" she asked coming back around the counter. Seeing that she hadn't sat yet, she gestured to the arm chair and the futon. "You can sit down if you like."

At this, Tomomi shook his head. "I've met Revenant, although I have not met Sultana." He replied simply, sitting down on the futon when gestured, and summoning one of his Kama in response to Nadia's summoning of the claws, before letting it fade away.

"So, you're also Playhouse. I wasn't sure if you were or not... I don't know if you know, but, Playhouse isn't the only terrorist group out there. But I've been there a bit longer than that. Never would have thought you'd be a terrorist too... Was it... Scary for you too? The first time, I mean... O-oh, and as an aside, um... Why were you out of costume with Revenant around? Or, why was Revenant in costume when you weren't? Isn't that... Obvious?"

Did he know Revanant's Identity too? Was that what he meant? If he did, he would probably have said "Cecil" instead of "revenant" unless he misunderstood. All these names and secrets were a little taxing. But necessary.

She sat in the arm chair and thought a minute about her answer. "Revenant is my..." she was about to say boy friend, but if Tomomi learned they were dating and didn't already know Cecil's identity... "um...friend. we were walking around. He just changed before me because he has been doing this longer. I honestly didn't think about it, or I would have changed my appearance before we got there was well." she explained, smoothing her hands over the knees of her jeans nervously.

"Do you know Revenant? Outside of night time, that is?" she asked. She had to know for sure so she didn't let anything slip needlessly.

Tomomi nodded at the explanation. Nadia was tense, but, so was Tomomi. It was a stressful conversation after all. At the question on if Tomomi knew Revenant outside of their terrorist guise, Tomomi scratched his head in thought. "I don't think so... But, I guess you can never know right? But, um, as far as I'm aware, I don't know them, so, um... I'll just go with no? Honestly, I don't know many identities. Yours, my own, and the identity of the woman who awakened. I was also present for one more, but I don't know his name. So, um... No, I don't know."

At this, Tomomi sighed, before deciding to repose the question. "So... Was it scary for you too? I... I still remember my first night clearly... Vividly... It freaks me out to think about... The feeling of terror... Of the alley coming alive with a desire to end me... That closing darkness, and the pain of it all sinking in and happening..."

So he didnt know. That was okay, she would keep the secret. And...he had asked another question hadn't he? She had been so focused on the questions about Revenant. She breathed a sigh and relaxed into her chair.

"Rev was there, so it wasn't as scary as it could have been...but I still remember the voices...and the demon with its knife coming toward me. But Ereshkigal kept me safe, just as she said she would. Your Persona...do they talk to you the way mine does?" she asked lightly. It was a good thing having someone else to talk to about these things. Her and Cecil scarcely ever spoke about it.

"Goole..." He replied at first, scratching at his head. "He does. But not often. He only speaks every now and again... Affirmations... Negations... Agreeing with me... Disagreeing with me... I've... Still not really figured it out. I'm not sure if it has its own personality, or if it's mine... Still... I'm guessing Revenant told you about the Platinum Playhouse? I get the feeling he's like a sub leader there or something... At least from when I've seen him there."

Sighing, Tomomi rubbed his hair through once more, evidently it being some form of coping mechanism. "So, um... You do tea brewing?"

"He's been there for a while, that's what Shotaro said. I get the feeling most of them trust him. Which I can understand. He's strong. Now If only I could convince him of that." she joked lightly.

As the boy mentioned the tea, she nodded. No sooner had he mentioned it than the kettle started whining, and she pushed herself up to go and retrieve the Tea. "One of the few things I learned from my mother...that I actually use."

After a few moments she come around the corner and passed him a cup of steaming tea. It was delightfully warm, and she held her cup in two hands as she settled back into her chair.

He was unsure of himself? Tomomi never got that impression from him from what he saw. Strange, but, perhaps that was a sign of how the mask worked to conceal your true self - even your personality? Tomomi would take that into account when he went out - hide his fear and panic.

As Nadia mentioned how she got into tea making, Tomomi nodded, and watched her walk off, accepting the cup of tea as she handed it to him, allowing the steam to float gently from the cup for a moment of peaceful silence, simply taking in the senses of the tea. Embracing this for a moment, Tomomi let out a clearly elated sigh. "Thank you very much."

Taking a sip of the tea, Tomomi smiled to Nadia, before thinking for a moment. "So what do you make of it all? The government, the demons... All of it. I... Personally don't know what to think of it all..."

Nadia blinked up at Tomomi over her cup, analyzing his question. She took a moment before she answered. "At first I didn't think of it at all. We're all doomed in this world, afterall. Does how we die really matter? How we live is more important. So I've just been running, trying to make sure I make the most of everything, even this power. I just wanted to use it. To find out what that meant. But after talking with Shotaro...after nearly getting..." she paused, staring at the cup. "After that night with the ghouls... I guess what I'm saying is I don't know how to deal with it, but I'm glad we have a team. I'm glad I don't have to go it alone, or my life would be even shorter." She confided, looking uncharacteristically somber.