soniaroadsqueen | Tokyo, Japan, Monday

Portalocity was weird. Ringo hadn't really traveled with them much, so this was something of a revelation for her. Somehow booking a reasonable late-morning departure from Fandom resulted in a just-after-dawn arrival in a small park a couple of miles from the apartment she shared with her sisters. Of course, despite that, all three of them were waiting.

Rika, with her knowing, motherly smile, managing to look like a carefully-styled model even this early. Mikan, tomboyish hair cropped short and sticking out every which way, smirking mischievously and tapping her foot with nervous energy. Ume, seated on a bench playing with her dolls, but glancing up and meeting Ringo's eyes when she arrived.

With a grin, Ringo dropped her bags and rushed forward into a big group hug, melting into the group for a moment. All worry and stress disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Now then," Rika said as they eventually disentangled themselves, "why don't you introduce everyone, and then we can go get some breakfast?"

[ooc: For those along for the ride. NFB for distance.]

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"We're getting ready for the festival," Kathy said, trying to not visibly smirk at him. "You know, with the New Year and everything?"

"There's a festival?" Dante asked, squinting.

Not so much because he was genuinely wondering about that. More because he had a hangover.

"Yep," Kathy said. "Don't worry, though. Ringo made sure to get you a traditional men's yukata to wear!"

Bwahahaha.

Dante had no idea what that even meant, but he still shrugged. "I got fresh pants," he said, "I'm good."

Because Dante hated all things cultural apparently.

"Dante, it's New Year's Eve! In Japan! You can wear those pants anytime. Do you have any idea when the next time you'll be able to wear a yukata without me yelling 'cultural appropriation!' at you? Probably never! Seize the opportunity! I am." She smiled at him, a very smug smile. "My dad would flip out if he saw me like this."

Because all of her things cultural were, like, dead bugs and stuff!

... He'd had plenty of fun with the sake last night, thanks.

"What the fuck is a yukata anyway?" Beat. "And what's your dad got to do with it?"

Untrue! ...Though since the yukatas were made of silk, he technically wouldn't be wrong in this instance.

"It's like what we're wearing," Kathy said, gesturing to her own yukata. "But you'd wear the guy version. It's not half as uncomfortable as a corset, I'm sure." And she'd seen you in one of those, Dante. "And my Dad is a bigot and really hates, well, all of Japan. So having me, here, wearing a something cultural would really just stick in his craw."

It was like a giant 'fuck you!' That, you know, he'd be unaware of, but details.

"Yeah, but the corset's hot," said Dante, who possibly had different criteria for clothes than some.

... though he'd seen Kathy in that dress last week, so maybe not.

"... Though hey, we should take a picture of you in that and send it to your dad."

That was sure to fly.

"We are not giving my dad a heart attack on New Year's Eve," Kathy said sternly. "He'd just recover and drag me home from school. I'm still convincing him that's a terrible idea after Eliot punched him over Parent's Weekend."

Dante pulled a face. "You play it way too safe," he told her. He shrugged. "We should take a picture anyway. You can send it when you fuck off to college."

"So you mean, when I'm in the same state, rather than across the country?" Kathy said, laughing. The ornaments in her hair made a light chiming noise as a counterpoint. "All right, fine. Take a picture, huh?"

It would be nice to have one picture of her on his phone where she was wearing clothing, if nothing else.

"It's not like him showing up to kill you is what you're afraid of," Dante said with a shrug. He reached into his pocket to produce his phone.

If he dropped a note with someone's phone number on the floor while he was doing it, eh.

"Is that important?" Kathy asked, nodding at the fallen paper before grinning at the phone and flashing V-signs. "And no. It's the inevitable yelling lecture followed by a few weeks of him pretending I don't exist. Which," she admitted with a sigh, "will be a lot easier to deal with when I'm not living with them."

Dante shot the piece of paper a glance. He shrugged. "Nah."

It wasn't like he'd been planning to call, really. Anyway, he was distracted now by snapping the actual picture. "And you'll be an adult all on your own," he said, "You can always slam the door shut in his face."

Tokyo, Japan, Monday

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