Dine N' Catch-Up? (Rita/Kegare) [Toyko, Japan]

Lunch meet-up, huh?

Not too long ago the likes of Rita had received a notification on her business line that a previous contact wanted a follow-up to their encounter a few weeks ago. As far as Rita was concerned she felt that the interaction may have gone south toward the end and was somewhat surprised the other still wanted to engage again. So, with her afternoon quiet for the time being, she more than accepted; not really sure of what to expect when the two met.

So, if nothing else, she'd handle the reservations to a cafe that seemed to serve various types of drinks, coffee, food from around the globe, and so forth. It was a global world these days, so it wasn't particularly too hard to get whatever your heart desired in the depths of one of the largest cities in Japan outside of Karakura Central. And, being that it was a nice day, the woman wanted to feel the sun against her skin, the breeze flowing through her hair, and not be trapped inside a stuffy environment. Ergo, Rita got them a rooftop spot as she sat down, ordered a coffee, and basked in the quiet for the time being.

"Any minute now...."

Muttering to herself, she let the jolt of energy jitter in her body like an electric relief. As while the caffeine shocked her senses, it was comforting and for one reason or another, she felt off today and needed the comfort.

Rita gave a relaxed wave once her guest sat down. There was a lot swirling through her mind, but her perception couldn't think of anything in particular that stood out when Kegare had asked her about any developments. Sure, she was keeping busy managing all of her employees, business, operations, and other assets; but it wasn't anything too out of the norm. So, she lounged back in her chair, wriggled her nose, and spat out the truth:

"Hell no. Still the same ol' grindstone. But I guess that's for the best, eh? Better to have work than to be out on your ass begging for scarps."

The woman gave a firm nod of her head as she seemed pretty sure of sentiment. True, things weren't moving the way she desired, but it wasn't like she was struggling at the moment. Of course, given her own ambitions, that ship was going to be rocked at some point and this time was better spent preparing for that inevitable outcome as this world had a way with fucking with you.

"If anything, I'd like to hear more about you and how you've been. I ain't some psychic witch, so I'll cal it a hunch, but I have the feeling your past few weeks have been more proactive than mine."

"Well, that's bitchin'. Shit, I'd investigate that further and see why it's generating so much revenue without you having to do much else to change your daily activities. See if you can apply that magic to other areas if possible based on the data you find and the feedback you get from everyone down there."

Stars started to light up behind the teal eyes of Rita as if nothing else she did seem to have a knack of excitement to better understand where the cash flow was coming from with varying businesses. Suppose that is why she is where she is, eh? No sense in working harder in her mind if the process could be automated, turned passive, and make more money in your sleep so you can pursue more opportunities.

...blah.

Too much inner thought.

"Anyway, I'm getting beside myself. It's cool that you still decided to see me since I'll be honest and say I thought I fucked up the last meeting."

...too blunt? Eh, who cares. That's just how Rita rolled and there was little point in holding back her tongue since she needed to be honest with herself to feel comfortable. If the woman felt she fucked up, she wasn't too above admitting where she felt she was wrong.

"Would you say it's good on a personal level the two of us haven't gotten fucked over by life in these past few weeks since we saw each other?"

There was a look of amusement on the face of Rita when she saw the reaction given by Keagre. Apparently, whatever had happened with her endeavor was generating something which was too abnormal. Of course, Rita herself wasn't unfamiliar with shady practices being done to inflate numbers. Given her own past, there were certain things she had done in the pursuit of trying to achieve some type of comfort for herself and those who followed her.

So even if the revenue that was coming in had been totally out of the businesses norm, it wasn't particularly too hard to fudge the numbers or circumstances to pass off the bullshit money as legitimate. In spite of that, Rita would never step on someone else's business. If she wanted to go the legitimate route, she had no desire to force her own a path that wasn't comfortable. While Rita couldn't care too much about how she earned her money, those limits were not the same for the next person over.

"I ain't gonna tell ya how to run your own operation, but if you feel something is off, then I'd snuff that problem out as soon as you can. I can probably help with it if you need it, but the longer the shit goes on, the worse the problem gets like an infestation of cockroaches you allow to build up. When you finally decide to do something about it, it becomes a hellish task to get rid of em."

That was sincere. She hadn't much interest in meddling with someone's system unless it was asked, but the hand was given if needed and she'd handle business if required. For the time being, however, her teal eyes focused when she heard the response given in regards to the whole powers and business angle. True, they were convenient, but there was still a certain level of skill needed not to get your own brain splattered on the pavement. As Rita knew her gifts, but there were far too many ugly beings in this world that could slit her throat and she figured she'd use what she got to leverage against some of the ungodly threats that existed in this realm.

"Aye, I ain't shy about using whatever resource I got to stack the deck in my favor. This world doesn't give a rats shit about me, so I better care as I sincerely doubt anyone else gives a fuck about me."

There was a sense of coldness uttered in that statement, as perhaps Rita felt some disdain with the circumstances that this world puts others into and her own recollections of the past. Yeah, she felt blessed, but some part of her certainly felt something was off. As if there was a piece of her heart that was missing by becoming so merciless in her pursuits in response to a bleak world. Still, it was childish to really mutter in as everyone had their own challenges and the only route Rita saw ahead was to move forward or lament in her own self-pity and let the vultures of this world eat her alive. So, when posed with the question of losing everything she worked for, Rita paused for a moment, processed it, and tried to give an honest answer.

"I'd be fucking depressed. I've invested a lot to have what I made now, and to have it stripped all away would make me want to not even be here in some ways."

There was no mincing her words as there was a far more stern expression on her face than where this conversation started, but she persisted.

"But, I'd still move forward. It's in our blood as a human to thrive in even the worse circumstances. I'd want someone to put a bullet in my head, but I feel too much disdain and contempt to give in at this point. I'd make a plan, figure out how I made my riches before, apply myself, learn and see what angle of this world is un-seen that I can make a profit in. There is always more money to be made and you have to persist even when the obstacles seem so...dismal."

She then closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh.

"I doubt that's the answer you are lookin' for, but in my experience, I haven't seen anything to make me question otherwise. What the hell do you think I should do? I'm curious because I feel fucked up and torn up with some of the things I've done, but I fail to see an alternative when my whole existence can be snuffed up by some superpowered brat having a temper tantrum and deems me a threat."

Rita's mind felt blank. Not out of contempt, sadness, or anger; but because no one had really popped out in her mind that she was particularly close to at this point. Of course, her parents held some kind of bond with her because they gave her life even if they failed to prepare her for the world. That bond was still important enough to retire them with the money she made from her exploits with Shadow Fall and through her own entrepreneurial and investment decisions after that miserable bunch of vermin disbanded from the earth. Still, apart from that, she had just seen the world as a vicious place.

Static played in her head as she had no ill-will toward others, and a part of her even wanted to prevent some of the tragedies of the old world from befalling this new generation of humans. So she can't say there was outright malicious loathing for every person and she even loved to entertain people, but more interpersonal relations were lost to her at this point in her life. There were many surfaces and professional relations due to her contributions and resources, yet the woman still held tight to her guard. So it even confused her as to why she even chased after Keagre. Perhaps some part of her thought maybe someone cut from a similar cloth could provide insight or some experience to open something in her is what she naively believed at least.

"Can't say there is anyone, apart from my folks, that I'm super attached to. I ain't out here wishin' to fuck over n' kill people for shits n' giggles, hell, I'd rather the world I grew up not be a reality for this next crop of folks growing up in the new society that's forming now that Shadow Fall shit the bed. I just can't forget what I've been through, so maybe that's my own shallowness, bitterness or whatever you wanna call blinding my judgment."

Rita then leaned back in her chair, exhaling a cool breath of air before her eyes narrowed in.

"I ain't borin', but I ain't exactly easy to know. I'll give you an entertaining night, but it's hard gettin' close to my heart."

After taking a moment to digest what was spoken after she had finished, Rita took a glass of water, guzzled it down, let it's cool content flow into her body and pressed ahead of the conversation.

"I like to invest in people to see them grows in ways I can't, I love to have me drinks/smokes, have entertaining conversations with people from all walks of life n' I like to travel across the globe...."

She then closed her eyes and sighed.

"...but if I'm being honest, in some way or another I feel these are all connected to whatever overall objective I have at the time since my type of work does require me to go throughout the globe. Eh, probably think I'm shallow as fuck right now; but I feel so entrapped in this cycle I ain't sure what the hell to do but keep reaching for loftier goals. Perhaps I'll find what I'm looking for by having enough resources to provide and care for others on a grander scale as I don't dislike the people that work under me and it makes me happy to see their lives flourish."

Now opening her teal eyes, Rita focused in as she tried to make sense of where things were going with this conversation internally.

"Tell me: what passions do you live for? How do you not let the bitterness of the world blacken yourself? You seem to have gone through a similar or darker history them myself, what have you done to not let that hollow you out and trust others? Or am I too drunk on success to see the obvious in front of me?"