perfectmatch | week three

Edamura and Shoko are taken to a classic style izakaya. There is beer. There is karaage. There is takoyaki. Enjoy! Wait, didn't I say that last week?

Highlights

It's the same exact spot as last week.
But the food's still really good.
They will remember Shoko.

[time to wash away all those greasy cheesy pretzel memories with a nice serving of sake and sashimi!!]

There's something to be said for trying something new, and something to be said for enjoying old comforts. This week, we're definitely the latter.

[ Aw, they remember her... Which is how they know immediately to brig a pitcher of beer, karaage, takoyaki...

And then

of course

A bowl of edamame. ]

This really is more our style, isn't it?

[. . . stares with ABSOLUTELY LONG SUFFERING at the bowl of edamame before them. . .]

[. . .]

Edited 2025-06-16 22:58 (UTC)

[plucks up some chopsticks to help himself to some karaage]

I can't help but agree. Especially when the staff seems to like you so much.

Is that surprising?

[ She's her, after all!! And she probably tipped them generous beyond whatever the show covered—

She pours them each a nice, cold glass of bear, sliding one over to his side of the table. ]

Sheesh, if I keep coming back here, I might end up feeling really homesick.

Not in the slightest.

[pops the karaage into his mouth!! and then quickly washes it down with the alcohol provided. this food is already sooooo much better than the distillery's. . . though he has to admit, the German beer is still pretty tough to beat]

Homesick. . . well, we've only got two weeks left. I guess that means we'll be back home before we know it.

[. . .]

What waits for you after the show is over?

[ Without even thinking about it: ]

Hopefully not another funeral, heh.

[ . . . ]

[GIRL????]

[freezes with his chopsticks hovering in the air above some sashimi, features growing slack]

[. . . . . . .]

Things are rough for you back home right now. . . aren't they?

Hmm? [ She looks up from her beer glass. Oh. ] Eh... It's true that things were rough up until pretty recently, but... they're slowly getting better now. That's the only reason I was able to step away and come here, anyway.

[ . . . ]

I'd just helped one of the students lay his sister to rest after everything before I came here. That's why I said that.

Edited 2025-06-17 03:21 (UTC)

[. . . nnnngh. he knows death is a natural part of a physician's job, but why does he feel like she deals with it far more than any doctor actually should. . . ?]

That's. . . awful.

[a little exhale. he toys with his chopsticks between his fingers, but does not use them to pick up another piece of food. yet]

. . . do you ever feel like your job is taking an unhealthy toll on you?

[ Shoko takes her chopsticks to grab a piece of karaage, too, without pausing at all for Edamura's question as she answers, again without further consideration: ]

I know that it is.

[ The mental toll, physical... the sleepless nights and drinking and smoking... ]

But it's something only I can do. Haibara used to say about why he wanted to become a sorcerer too - that's my kouhai who never made it out of school. You saw his ghost. Guess what he said stuck with me, too.

[it all comes together when he thinks about what she has been through. her poor habits, her horrendous sleep schedule. he doesn't know much about her "curses," but that in and of itself sounds. . . awful. the deaths of her friends. the deaths that surround her students. he bets the school she works at may even be similar to the one she attended herself, too]

[. . .]

So even if it hurts, you're determined, huh. . .

. . . that's pretty brave of you.

[a tiny quirk of a smile]

But I hope you know that even if it's only something you can do, you don't have to do it all alone. Someone can help you carry those memories. Make them a little. . . lighter.

[. . . he doesn't mean to, but his gaze dips down as he thinks back to what she said about Poppy]

[ Brave has never really been a word she'd use to describe herself. It's a word for the sorcerers and students who go out on missions, fighting curses and whatnot, risking their very lives. So at that, she can't help but stare at Edamura, and even more so when he seems a little down. ]

...Edamura? What's the matter?

[ She knows what he's thinking about, what he's referring to, and yet even for Shoko, who'd said those things herself at the ceremony, it isn't so simple. ]

-- huh?

[his gaze snaps up quickly, loose and wide-eyed]

Oh-- it's nothing. [snags another piece of chicken!] . . . I guess I just wish there was some way I could help.

[he truly has no desire to be anything but completely and utterly average. and yet, at times like this. . . when someone he likes seems to be struggling so much underneath the weight of her responsibilities. . .]

But I don't know anything about sorcerers, let alone curses.

[ ...Ah.

She takes a long sip of her beer. ]

...Neither does Poppy, you know. She doesn't even know about any of this. And it's not like I'm hiding it from her, it's just—

[ there's never been a good time to talk about it. At length, Shoko just sighs, putting her beer down and leaning back, staring up at the ceiling. ]

When I talked about feeling "lighter," it's a feeling of... Not being trapped by what I do. And going out like this, eating and having drinks and just talking together makes me feel more... normal. That's what I meant. So— you're helping just by being like this too, Makoto.

[Mak--]

[. . . . . .]

[. . . truly unfair, isn't it? a small exhale, and then smile]

. . . that makes me pretty happy to hear, Shoko.

[he supposes if he can do that much, then. . . it's enough]

Are you going to tell her? I get the feeling she'd. . . appreciate it, you know?

I want to. Honestly, it's kind of crazy how she's managed to avoid finding out one way or another. Sometimes, it feels... Hm. [ grabbing another chicken ] Like she has an idea of me that she might not want to let go of.

[ And it's unfair of Shoko, to want to hang onto that in a way. But as nice as it has been to simply just be Shoko around Poppy, she'll always be Dr. Ieiri, too. ]

...I also told her that she shouldn't limit herself, moving forward. I'm not the only person here that sees what she can offer. [ Going back to Edamura's discussion topic that Shoko had stayed on the sidelines for. ] And I think it would be good for her to see that, too.

[. . . something about that resonates with him. the thought of someone clinging to an ideal and not the actual person. after all, isn't that what had happened to him, back when he was--]

[. . .]

[. . . he should probably tell Shoko about that sometime, shouldn't he?]

. . . you're right. Poppy's pretty great. [energetic, funny, enjoyable to be around!] Is she the type who is incapable of seeing that for herself?

She strikes me as the type. It's like when you know you can be great, and you can seem confident, but at the same time, that confident version of you feels like a separate person from your real self.

[ As she reaches for the beans (literal) this time, giving him a pointed look. She's thinking about the show he'd put on during their date last week, how easily he seemed to slip into another persona. ]

[. . . hey! that pointed look!! Edamura pretends he doesn't notice as he munches on some more sashimi]

So she needs a little push to be more confident?

[and someone to push her into that. . . hm! that's food for thought for later, when they're working through the other matches]

Or to learn that her confident self is the same as her real self.

[ Points the edamame pod straight at him and nods. ]

That's exactly it. Though I know it's not so easy.

[ She leans and props her head up with her free hand. ]

When it comes to someone's 'real self,' I'm not even sure I know the answer for myself, sometimes. But that's alright.

[. . . . ]

You know. . . I think the "real self" can be pretty multifaceted. Nobody has just one side to them, right? We're all far more complicated than that.

[what's this. . . ? bean getting philosophical??]

There's the side of you that you save for work, for your friends, for your family, for strangers .. . [a beat] . . . for the people you care about! Right?

So maybe there isn't just one "real self." Maybe you have several.

edamura and shoko

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