Strange Suzuki Rumors!

Hinote Kagari has been around Seiyou a bit. Preparing for the play. He was wondering why he was bothering at this point. Would he even /still be on Earth/ when the time came around for it? It was this general mood that was ending with him becoming detached from the Drama Club a little. It was noticeable. Some of his friends were worried about him. Hopefully, everything was fine at home. Few people pried, and those that did got a warm smile and insisted he was fine.

Though while around Seiyou, he heard some rumors about Suzuki. He had only met her once before. But--- something felt off. She was-- nice. And this didn't sound like the Suzuki /he/ had met. He asked around, sluethed a little, and soon found himself in the beach district, trying to track Suzuki down in the late afternoon. The sun was low, and perhaps, just on the verge of setting. Not quite night yet.

     The rumors were half-true. Suzuki /had/ actually started saying no to more of the asks to help. She didn't have anything weird or bad behind it -- at least not aimed at anyone else. No, Suzuki was just not feeling up to helping other people right now. Tonight was one of those nights where she was trying to help herself.

     Likely, Hinote had spotted her walking calmly through the streets, making her way towards the beach. As the rumors had stated, she also seemed to have her kendo equipment on her, or at least there was some sort of /something/ in a kendo stick carrying bag. When she finally came to a stop, she had taken off her shoes and socks, and was walking barefoot on the beach, her shoes casually held over her shoulder. It was a relatively remote part of the beach, further than most people bothered to travel; the path was rocky and could be uncomfortable on the feet if you didn't know where you were stepping. But if one perservered, there was a small area. Likely where there had once been a tidepool at some point. Suzuki set down a bag, carefully standing a piece of driftwood in the center of the area, one that looked like it had been battered and beaten many times. She was focused in her task, so it would be easy enough to remain unnoticed if Hinote wished, as she simply worked at ensuring that driftwood was relatively firmly in a small hole that had been dug several times in the past.

Hinote Kagari thinks he spotted Suzuki walking down a path, towards the beach. He blinked a bit. Things got father away from the main strip, and soon things became sparse, and more private. He frowned, just a bit, Hinote is generally a decent guy- and this was starting to feel----- off. He could just turn around and try to catch Suzuki another time. But... well. Would he even get a chance again? For all he knows, Runealy could call him at any moment saying they came across some sort of energy windfall and they'd be leaving tommrow. Unlikely. But he'd rather not have questions- or regrets. So he follows, and pauses a moment, just to see what it is Suzuki is doing. She's setting up a piece of driftwood. He stayed hidden, for a moment, just to see what was going to happen. He keeps quiet, and low, and his distance. He'll probably properly announce himself in a minute.

     Once the driftwood was in place, Suzuki carefully tapped it a few times, making sure it was secure. And then that kendo bag was dropped off of her shoulder, set on a large rock nearby. She unzipped it, carefully pulling out... an old and well-used kendo practice sword, one of the kind made out of strips of bamboo. It seemed as if it had been used enough that its bindings were starting to come loose; and showed signs of multiple rebindings. Cheaply done ones, at that.

     Suzuki then carefully lifted the practice sword, focusing on that battered and beaten piece of driftwood. "...Haaaa!" She calls out, as she suddenly swung the sword towards the driftwood, striking it firmly. Almost immediately after the strike, she moved the blade to the other side, striking at it to keep the drifwood from falling over. It was almost like a strange duel. Swinging, fighting against time to keep the driftwood from completely tipping over with swift strikes. The look on her face is one of focus -- but also something more vulnerable; a pain that she didn't feel comfortable allowing anyone to see.

Hinote Kagari was still not skilled at Kendo as he should be. But he's getting better-- at least enough to know that what Suzuki is doing right now is a little different from 'normal' practice. Alright, that's enough hiding in the shadows for him. He steps more properly forward- trying not to make his arrival a surprise. He meanders a little closer and gives a soft smile as he can manage.

"Uh, hey there Suzuki!" he starts a little awkwardly. "Are you practicing out here because the waves help you concentrate?" he asks, looking over to the ocean.

He doesn't mention the string of rumors that led him here, of course.

"It is nice and rythmic, don't you think?".

     Really, honestly, it was increidbly improper training for just about anyone or anything. It was purely an attempt to work off stress and emotions for the girl -- in a private place where nobody else could see. And then there's the subtle sound of feet stepping along the sand, and Hinote comes out. Suzuki turned almost immediately, just before he calls out to her. Her kendo sword was in a defensive position -- but then she realized who it was.

     Her composure was right back in place, and her face back to its usual relative neutrality. "It's peaceful. Away from the crowds. The waves are nice, though." Suzuki responds quietly, as the driftwood that she'd been keeping standing fell over. "...It is very rhythmic, though I try to avoid getting into a rhythmn too much unless I'm attempting muscle memory training. A lack of rhythmn keeps enemies on their toes better." She murmurs in response, looking towards Hinote. On the inside, she was panicking a little though. How had he found that place? Had he been following her? Were there others that had seen? Had her hidden private place been irrecoverably violated?!

Hinote Kagari woahs and raises his hands. "Woah, please don't knock me out." he asks with a sudden smile and maybe one of those big ol' anime sweatdrops. "I heard some girls talking while I was helping with performance setup, and things soundded off. I asked around and I was pointed into this direction." he says. He looks down a little, and then back up.

"I guess...I wanted to come and find out if you were alright." he asks a little. "Since what was described of you didn't really match what you acted like when I met you the first time." he admits.

"I worry for other people. It's things my mom taught me, ya know- you can't just look out for yourself. You should make sure your neighbors are okay, too. Sometimes some people have a bad day. But sometimes, it's a little more." he says a little softly.

     When Hinote says not to knock him out, Suzuki relaxes a bit; she'd almost forgotten that she was brandishing that katana at Hinote. She lowers it until it was casually held in one hand, the tip of it pointing towards (but not touching) the ground. "Ah, sorry. Reflex. Late night. I wasn't expecting people to come here." Suzuki murmurs quietly, taking a small breath. To come and find out if she was alright? Hm.

     "I'm fine, there's nothing really to worry about." She says. Nevermind the fact there was a small bandage over her right face still. "Hmm? Described of me? ... Strange." Suzuki says, tilting her head. People had been talking about her? ... Well, she supposed that wasn't a surprise. She was an outlier. Tall and mostly quiet. "...I see. People must have thought something was up." She says, before she reaches to lift the sleeve of her right arm -- showing a fair amount of bandaging there. "There was a small accident. I got injured. I can't help people as much because I need to heal." She says. It wasn't entirely a lie, though that wasn't the main reason.

     That last thing... she wasn't entirely sure how to respond, so she somewhat ... 'winged' it. More or less. She was bad at people. "I see... it sounds like your mother is teaching you good things. I'm glad to hear that you seem to have a healthy home environment." Yep. That's the best way to put it. Really.

Hinote Kagari nods. "Words like Delinquent were thrown around. I don't believe the rumor mill usually, but well." he shrugs. "I'd rather double check than ignore it." then he frowns at the bandages. "What... happened? That doesn't look like just a small accident." he frowns a bit. "Did a car hit you? That's happening a lot recently it seems. I think Tokyo is starting to have a terrible traffic epidemic!" he huffs as he crosses his arms.

"With all these people being hit by cars and trucks all the time!" he insists.

He head tilts. "not to mention the whole coma thing recently." he says as he takes a deep breath, blowing his bangs up a bit.

     "...Delinquent? ... Well, if they saw me walking out this late at night, I suppose they might think that." Suzuki responds lightly, thinking on things quietly. The question of what happened gets a slight tilt of the head from Suzuki. "...I don't believe getting hit by a car would only get me bruised and a cut on my arm." Suzuki responds simply. "It was nothing too serious. I was simply preparing my lunch and there was some water on the floor; I slipped and the knife I was using got my arm."

     It was an incredibly flimsy lie, but not /entirely/ wrong. That had happened! She just hadn't gotten injured from that, she had caught herself before anything serious had happened. Still, there was something guilty about that.

     "...Be careful walking out on the street if there are a lot of reckless drivers out recently." She murmurs quietly. "...Coma thing? I apologize, I must have missed it. I don't hear much of rumors and don't tend to watch the news much..."

Hinote Kagari sort of closes his mouth...teeth pressing down a bit in thought. Something doesn't seem right. He can't place it. He's either being lied to, or Suzuki doesn't know herself--- and he's not about to go straight to lying. "Yeah there was some...strange epidemic or something. But it dissapeared. Glad everyone's okay." he admits.

He looks down, and looks back up. "Look... if you.. ever need to talk, or something-- even if you think I won't understand. I'm going to be around Seiyou a bit as I help prepare for the upcoming production." he says a little.

"It's bad enough that...I might not make the production myself." he says. "I dunno know if I could leave before making sure that most people I met are happy." he admits.

"I'll leave you to your training now." he admits. "It's good to know that it was just an accident..." he smiles a bit.

     Suzuki actually had managed to be oblivious of the comas; otherwise she'd have likely run off like the knight she is to try and help out with them. She frowns slightly as she gives a nod. "That's... that's good that the epidemic was taken care of... there's so many strange things happening lately. I'm glad that it didn't reach my district -- and that it seems to have passed. Hopefully there were no deaths." Suzuki says softly.

     The offer of an ear if Suzuki needed to talk got a small smile. "Ah... it's alright. I wouldn't know what to say. You could probably understand better than I could put it to words." Suzuki murmurs. "...I'm a simple person, I can work out my issues by hitting some driftwood enough times." She says, glancing towards the fallen driftwood.

     The mention that he might not make the production got a very small frown though, and Suzuki steps towards Hinote. "...I would like to talk about /that/ sometime soon though. But yes... you should probably get going now, before the rumor mill labels you as a delinquent too. I'll be out here training for a while yet." She murmurs.

Hinote Kagari smiles. "Well. I'll be around Seiyou, as I said. Just come by, I'll talk about it as much as I can." he admits.

He scoffs. "Nah, I'll never be labeled a delinquent. People know what to expect of me now." he admits. "---and yeah. Lots of strange things happen lately." he says as he looks down the path. "I think your spot here is safe though. Nobody knew exactly where you were. I just heard, well. 'The Beach Area'. Pretty big area with just that clue." he smirks.

"Talk to you soon, I hope!" he says.