Mutants & Masterminds: The Indigo Children - [Prologue 2] Ross and Tomoe

[Evo]

Sunday, April 25th

10:30 AM

Ross tossed and turned, before his body finally surrendered to the light streaming in through the window and he woke up. Albeit blearily, as having slept from 2 AM to now was still keeping exhaustion holding on, briefly. He groaned, then sat up and yawned. During the process, he noticed that his cell, left on his nightstand, was blinking.

Snatching it up and taking a good look, it appeared he'd just missed a phone call. Last night was that tiring, was it? Well, it had been his superhero debut, and he certainly would be hearing about it everywhere, even though no one would know who the new guardian of the city was.

Eyes raised as they noticed the caller ID. Hannah Argon. A friend from the high society set, a long-legged blonde of 20. Ross wondered what she'd called about, but he'd let that be after breakfast.

45 minutes later...

Ross picked up his cell after finishing up his meal. Ramen and clementines were actually a good combo, and not too expensive altogether.

A speed-dial call, and Hannah picked up immediately. After a half-minute of explanations and pleasantries, Ross asked her about her call.

"Oh, yes. There's going to be a little informal party this afternoon. Just some people of the wealthy sort and their families, but not a function or anything. Uh, you're on the guest list."

"Am I?" Ross remarked with a hint of amusement. There were very few that he kept up with from the old days, and he took pains to turn down anything that could possibly put him on a collision course with his family. Particularly when Mr. Argon's shipping conglomerate was a client of Brendan Shreveson's legitimate business.

But he knew that Hannah was aware of that, so yes, he didn't have anything today to stop him.

"I suppose I'm free, though this is a little impromptu. What time?"

"3:00 PM, dress nice. Not black tie though."

After the conversation was concluded, Ross hung up and smiled. He did enjoy taking stress away from riding hard on him, and last night had given some stress out of the vending machine.

"I'm going to a party." he said to himself, smiling.

[SalmonMax]

Sunday, April 24th

10:00am

Tomoe was sitting by herself at the round white table on the back deck of her family's house. A big umbrella poked out of the middle of it, shielding her from the sun. From here she could see the maze-like garden that dominated the south side of the grounds, and it reminded her again of where she was. Even though she loved the newness of New York, and found its alienness exciting...in the quiet moments, she missed Japan still. Americans had no grasp of subtlety in their aesthetics it seemed like. Their gardens were as big and explosive and overpowering as their movies. They were breathtaking...but one didn't always want to have one's breath taken.

The whisper of the sliding glass door behind her alerted Tomoe, and she quickly skewed her attention that direction, though nothing about her body moved. What, or rather who, she saw was a surprise. Her father, Satoru, coming out onto the deck and pausing respectfully so as not to startle her.

Dutifully, Tomoe tilted her head just a little, to aim an ear at the door, and called, "Is someone there?"

She could just tell him, Tomoe knew. Times like this it was tempting. No more charades. No more dark glasses or tapping canes or shelves full of audio books. She could have a normal life. But...that'd also mean no more unguarded moments where people didn't watch their expressions around her, and she'd have to explain WHY she could see and HOW she could see, and that could lead to being forced to reveal what ELSE she could do... Tomoe wasn't even sure God knew what would happen then.

"I am," her father said from behind her, his voice as grave-sounding as always. He started to walk forward. The sight of his daughter, simultaneously so beautiful and so frail in her white sweater and pink skirt, brought the usual confused mix of emotions to his heart. Love, of course; the protective love of a parent. Anger at the unfairness of her condition, and at the many sacrifices that had been made to accommodate it. And yes, despite everything, there was still shame there too. The shame of having produced flawed progeny. He'd been advised that there was a different cultural attitude towards 'handicapped' people in America, but Satoru was a proud man from a proud family.

Tomoe awkwardly turned towards his voice in her seat and bowed forward at her waist with a quick, deferential, "Oto-sama." She couldn't think of a polite way to ask him what the hell he was doing here, so she let that statement of recognition stand.

"How are you doing?" Satoru asked.

Tomoe's mouth almost dropped open. Only long experience concealing her emotions and reactions saved her. "I...I am fine," she said back, wondering with something like panic where this was all going.

Her father paced to the deck's railing and looked out over the gardens. He wasn't a large man, and his face was creased with scowl lines far before its time. He had always worked hard, and expected the same of those around him, which didn't always make him popular...and not being popular had made him hard, at least on the surface. To see him in a moment of reflection like this was all but unheard of.

"Elizabeth tells me you are lonely."

Tomoe thought fast. Elizabeth was their maid, an American woman. Her mother thought it would be good to have a native in the household, to help with the culture shock. She'd been right too...Liz was a very nice woman in her 40's with kids of her own and a sort of fading beauty that had probably been model-esque at some time in the past. Liz was also very good with people, and it didn't surprise Tomoe much to learn that she'd figured at least that much out about her.

"Sometimes, maybe," she carefully admitted. "But I can get out more here than before..."

"Your mother and I are attending a party," Satoru said, cutting her off. He looked over at Tomoe then and added, "You will come with us."

Now Tomoe's mouth DID drop open. He was taking her out? Into public? "I'm...what?"

"Coming with us," Satoru confirmed firmly. "You must overcome your shyness. You will never conquer loneliness until you do. This party will not be too formal, but it will have good people at it, people like us. Even some your age."

"But father," she said, really more stalling for time as she struggled to figure out what all this meant. He wasn't having it though.

"Elizabeth will help you find something appropriate to wear. We will come for you when it is time."

And just like that, he was leaving. Turning and walking away.

Not sure what to say, but feeling she needed to say something, Tomoe called after him, "Oto-sama. Arigato."

Satoru paused a moment, then nodded and left the deck.

Head still spinning, but now with possibilities, Tomoe picked her cane off the table and headed for her room to start getting ready.

[Evo]

Ross stepped off the bus and began walking down the final leg of the journey to the Argon house. More of a big mansion to be honest. He was wearing nice clothes under a jacket. Not casual, but not a tuxedo, with darker, subdued colors. This hadn't happened in a while.

He plodded up a small hill, paralleling the long driveway and came up to the door of the Argon manor. It was a large expanse of well-maintained building, which was relatively good-looking from the outside, but somewhat plain. The luxury, Ross knew, was inside.

Taking a brief breath, he rang the door bell, which seemed to echo in the expanse of the building, even from outside.

When Hannah opened the door, she was smiling and running a hand through her hair. "Come on in, Ross. Great to see you again." She took his hand, and led him in, going through some rather expensively carpeted, furniture-filled, and wall covered with artwork rooms, before she showed him where everyone was holding drinks and appetizers and speaking in a casual manner.

"The snacks are in the dining room. Just in case, you're hungry." She added with a wink, gesturing to the room beyond.

Ross smiled, though he wondered why she seemed a bit, flirtatious?

Click to reveal..

Dining Room-

Menu- Marinated mushrooms, party platter of vegetables, sauces and dips, fruits, meat slices, hor d'oeuvres.

Social Room-

[SalmonMax]

It hadn't been ten minutes, and already Tomoe was fidgeting.

Her dress was uncomfortable. It was brand new, and still a little stiff. It looked good, of course...clinging to her slim figure without revealing much skin, with white up top that faded into black at the hem of the skit via a sort of checkerboard dissolve. But it was strapless and she kept feeling like she should tug it up.

Then there were the shoes. Tomoe didn't wear heels often. She didn't MIND them, exactly, but they added a certain complexity to moving that was irritating, like a constant quiet droning noise in the background would have been.

The final insult was her minder; her 'seeing-eye-person,' an American-born Japanese girl named Cora, who kept resolutely at Tomoe's elbow and maneuvered her gently around while occasionally whispering things that would have been important had Tomoe actually been unable to see. For the sake of the game Tomoe had to put up with it all.

And all that was before she'd even set foot on the grounds.

When they rang the bell at the door of the Argon estate, Tomoe expected a butler to answer. Instead Hannah herself opened the door, greeted her parents warmly, and exploded with a girlish squeal of delight on seeing Tomoe standing forlornly there, and instantly enveloped her in a hug that was several degrees more familiar than Tomoe was comfortable with. Then Hannah beamed and repeated 'konnichiwa' a couple of times in an atrocious accent, clearly proud of the five minutes she must have spent online looking it up. Satoru smiled courteously and bowed...not quite as deeply as he might have, Tomoe observed...and they were all ushered inside.

Instantly Tomoe was separated from her parents, which suited Tomoe fine. She dutifully asked Cora in low tones to show her to the refreshment table, and suffered herself to be guided to it, even as her pride roiled from the implicit insult.

As Cora poured her a cup of punch, Tomoe sighed and tried not to dwell on the evening to come.

[Evo]

Ross walked over to the refreshment table, feeling still rather out of place himself. The conversations had turned into topics he'd generally left behind quite a while before and had less taste for anyway, and the small talk wasn't really socially amusing at this time.

Standing on the side opposite Cora and Tomoe, he poured himself a little lemonade, letting the liquid drop into the cup and watching in a fashion of false interest.

He was bored and out of place, and watching lemonade drops seemed more interesting. Great. "Wish there was someone actually worth talking to." He said to himself, though it was out loud.

[SalmonMax]

Tomoe heard the quip and lifted an eyebrow under her big round sunglasses. While on the one hand she could sympathize with the sentiment, on the other hand hearing it from someone else made it sound insufferably arrogant. Who did he think he was, judging everyone unworthy of talking to?

Suddenly her mental self-image underwent a paradigm shift, and she became in her own mind a soft-spoken Buddha. A teacher on the path to enlightenment.

"Often the shortcomings we see in others only reflect what we refuse to see in ourselves," Tomoe intoned gently unto Ross as Cora filled her glass with punch (no wine for the kiddies!). "To find worthiness, one must first be worthy."

She offered her dainty little hand over the table, making sure to let it waver uncertainly a bit, as if she were reacting to the somewhat imprecise sound of his voice. "Ishimura Tomoe."

(OOC - She hasn't got her cane here, but she's not looking straight at Ross and her hand's a bit off, so it doesn't take an Int check to guess she's blind...or a good actress. )

[Evo]

Ross turned his head as he saw the girl trying to speak to him. He gingerly took her hand, and lightly shaking it, a courtesy to, he could tell, her blindness. "Well, not what I meant, though misinterpretation was likely with words like those. I don't fit in with everyone else any more. Basically, being a ordinary man on the street for the past year or two has changed my attitudes a bit. And preferred topic conversations."

The next few words, could verbally and facially, be construed quite obviously as something painful and embarrassing, and so it was. "I'm Ross...Shreveson. That as well, being the black sheep of an rich high-class family is an issue, no matter how black they are, the folks here tend to gloss over it politely, but it's there, hovering over the head."

[SalmonMax]

Tomoe raised her eyebrows at that. Cora tightened her grip on Tomoe's arm and murmured something in Japanese. Tomoe shook her head and replied in kind, then said to Ross, "My babysitter's worried I'll embarrass myself and my family, mingling with American royalty," she reported with a smile. "I'm not."

"So what brings you here, Ross Shreveson? You're obviously not here by choice...but why would your family pressure you to come after a year or two of leaving you to be an 'ordinary man on the street?'"

[Evo]

Ross snorted with utter derision and contempt in his voice. "They have nothing to do with it. The only king my father may be is the bandit king, and I left that world as soon as I could. Hannah's an old friend, and she invited me here. I decided to oblige her. Besides she promised my family wouldn't be here. If they were, then nothing would get me to come and possibly associate with them."

His face, projected with the understanding that Tomoe would not see it, was mixed with anger, hatred, and disgust.

[SalmonMax]

"Well if they're not here, then there's no reason to be so upset," Tomoe pointed out with a smile. "But lets talk about something else. What is the preferred topic of conversation for an ordinary man on the street?"