Returning to normality....? (Haruka thread)

[Liddo-kun]

Haruka stares curiously at Viluy as she waits for someone to answer the door.  "Would you like to introduce yourself as Haruka Ten'oh as well or will you be leaving that for me?" she asks, poking fun.

The nervous inner outburst from before seemed to have done some measure of good for her as the wild butterfly swarm had settled to a more gentle, yet still present, flutter.

[Anastasia]

"I don't have on the right clothes for it," she smiles back, stepping back so that you are the only one in front of the door. "I'm just anxious too, I suppose."

And thus, the door opens....!

A middle aged man, small, mousy and squinting with a slim pair of glasses, opens the door. "Yes," he asks, brushing at the front of his dressy shirt and pants. He looks like a banker if anything.

[Liddo-kun]

"I'm wondering if a Megumi Kushui lives here," Haruka asks the man standing before her.

Did she remarry? she wonders.

[Anastasia]

"Oh, that's the woman whom I keep getting letters for," he notes. "Oh...I believe she was the last tenant here before me," he explains. "Left a few months ago, but I still get mail for her once in awhile." Taking off and polishing his wireframe glasses, "Do you want to come in? I have a forwarding address if you want it."

[Liddo-kun]

"Thank you," Haruka tells him, bowing her head in thanks at his generosity as she accepts his invitation.

[Anastasia]

INside is a tidy, clean apartment. The decor is minimal and almost sterile. No sign of a woman's touch is about, only cleasened and dry surroundings. The couch isn't too bad to sit on, at least. "Ah, yes..." he goes to a drawer nearby, rustling. "I still get letters for her all the time - even a package once. It's a shame...shipping further than Tokyo costs money," he notes, coming back.

[Liddo-kun]

Haruka nods politely, taking everything in stride.  "Did you want me to take them off your hand?" she asks, regarding all the mail he's been saddled with.  "I'm sure my mom would like to look through the stuff, though I'm not sure what she can do if there are any bills mingled in," she finishes.

[Anastasia]

"Oh, she's your mother," he smiles, handing you a goodly pile of envelopes. "Here, then...it's easier than sending them back through the postal. Atop it is another slip of paper, an address written on it. "The forwarding address she left is a P.O. box in Osaka," he notes. "I vaguely recall the landlord mentioning she was going overseas. If you're going to meet up with her..."

He taps his knee as he sits, thinking. "I want to say that they mentioned England, or was it France...or Germany. Somewhere in Europe."

[Liddo-kun]

Haruka takes the bundle and glances at the address briefly before nodding to the man.  "Europe...?" she echoes with a touch of frustration in her voice.  Running a hand through her hair with a huff, "Man... she sure makes getting a hold of her a challenge."

A shake of her head in disbelief then Haruka stands thanking the man for his time.  After a quick question regarding where to find the landlord she gets ready to head on out.

[Anastasia]

With a polite goodbye and passing out into the hallway..."Europe," Viluy muses, putting great meaning into the word. "Not so easy at all, I suppose," she smiles to you despite that. "We'll find her, though."

[Liddo-kun]

Haruka smiles and nods, not arguing her encouragement.  "After the chat with the landlord, I think I'm going to call it a day.  I'm not up for an Osaka roadtrip right here and now," she tells Viluy.

[Anastasia]

She nods. "And if we have to go to Europe..." she muses. "The Twins can save us the plane ticket, I suppose. It can't be harder to go across the Earth than it is to go to the Moon."

[Liddo-kun]

The thought of this misadventure now going international coaxes an unpleasant grimace from Haruka at that.  "Maybe how difficult this is getting is a sign to give it up..." she mutters distractedly, punctuated by a tired sigh.

This WAS getting frustrating, unbelivably so.  It felt like some higher power was jerking her chain for kicks just to see how much further she'd go on.

[Anastasia]

"No," Viluy shakes her green trussed head. "It's not a big deal - even if we have to take a plane or even a boat, it's worth it. Don't you want to meet your mother," she asks, as you come to where the landlord lives.

[Liddo-kun]

"I thought I did, but every roadblock we run into makes Father's words seem so right," Haruka tells Viluy, before she shakes her head to dispel further negative thought on the matter.  She was going to talk to the landlord, get whatever she could from the man then rest, and hope things would be better come round 2.