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

Kegare couldn't help but be a little....amused with the carefree flavor that Rita seemed to apply to her reasoning. Even in the midst of Self reflection, the girl just couldnt' seem to shake her tendency to sortof downplay things in the flavor of 'Eh thats just how the world is!'. It was...... cute. Seeing how stuck she was in that mentality, and in some way she couldn't help but feel it was hardly an innacurate way to....SEE the world. She didn't know if she herself could stand LIVING with that kind of view point. But maybe that's just what she needed. A bit of changed perspective. But that was up to her......right?

But then Rita continued, and somewhat outted herself. Looking around at the Bar around them, she began to wonder. Was this even her usual scene? Would she be here if not for Kegare? She had just assumed that Rita was down for whatever... but she did wonder. If this had been someone else, would she have just wanted to go somewhere else? Did she stomach it for Kegare? She ....DID seem more Rity than a place like this. She smiled ever so slightly.

"Hm. That's quite something to admit. That you want to be close with me. We don't really know eachother that much, but ...hm. My energy you say? That's.....cute." She paused, and gave something of a mysterious smile. It was interesting. Rita was clearly older than those she was used to dealing with in this.....vein. But she still had that very same ENERGY she found in strays. Girls that lost their way and needed a new shot at life. Only this one didn't need her financial or organizational support. She was something else entirely. She had all the financial and material backing she could want. And yet, she still seemed just as lost.

"I don't shy away from it. It's something, at least in my experience, that happens naturally. There was a time when I preferred to be alone. But when you've been alive for so long... the idea of pushing everything away can only last for so long. Eventually, people slip in through the cracks. When I first started out, I couldn't help but try to make things better for others. It's a long story, but I ....suppose I felt an obligation. And by doing that.... I wound up with those I valued over others. I grew close... And that was simply how it went. Though I suppose there was a certain...distance I put between myself and those I helped. Most of them were nothing more than misguided kids. So I don't think any of them naturally fit in close to something like say.... an equal friend, or even something more near and dear."

She looked back up to Rita, smiling.

"So. I'm curious. Would you mind describing this 'energy' I have?"

Kegare raised a brow at that and couldn't help but chuckle softly as she listened to the woman and shook her head. "It's not about being walked all over. I give those girls plenty. It's not about them walking all over me. It's simply that I see them as......children. They grow up.... but I still see them as the scared, confused young men and women who needed me. IT's ....not quite as simple as just letting go of that idea of them as someone that depends on me. And so there's not so much a matter of keeping them from taking advantage of me. It's about establishing a friggin ......parental boundary I guess." She sighed and frowned a little as she ....listened to more of what Rita said.

And she couldn't help but feel more and more distant.

"An obstacle fucking you over...." She murmured quietly. Exhoing the words. It was .....hard to see things from rita's point of view. It was ...bizarre. Sure, she SPOKE as if she was on the top of the world. But she acted as if everything was built against her. Distance from people was so that they couldn't walk all over you. Obstacles weren't just OBSTACLES, they were enemies that fucked you over. In a lot of ways, it seemed....childish. To Kegare, there was no enemies. There were ....some friends. But in truth, the world wasn't for OR against you. It was an uncaring neutrality. Sure, people could screw you over. But 'fucking one over' was such a personal thing. It assumed that the world wasn't just uncaring, but ACTIVELY aggressive. Which sure, might work, but she could only imagine what that would do to someone's world view. No... she KNEW that that kind of mindset did. IT was strange.

Rita didn't have the mindset of someone who had clawed their way to success. She had the same mindset as the drug dealers and thugs that she had to deal with every day. who saw the whole world as an enemy. EVEN thinking about the little ...'issue' she'd had. She remembered how Rita had responded. So keen on capitalizing on any benefit, that she didn't even imagine the notion that more money could possibly be something bad.

"I'm not entirely sure. You seem to have gotten a good bead on my energy. But I frankly don't understand yours at all. You're so .....cagey. You seem so set on throwing yourself into a good time that I wonder if you really enjoy it...." She leaned to the side. "This entire time, I've been trying to get that energy of yours down. A relaxed atmosphere... a calm conversation. But the way you are, even when you aren't moving around.... you still talk with so much....excitement it's a little exhausting." She closed her eyes, tapping her fingers and then standing up.

She walked her way over to Rita, and gently set her hands on either of the woman's shoulders. "Do you really think the world's out to get you? Do you think I'm out to get you?" She asked in a soft, calm curiosity. There was no judgement, no frustration in her voice. Only a calm, placid curiosity. The only thing those eyes sought was an answer. To see if there was anything BENEATH that....wired energy she had.

The woman's words at least seemed to confirm her suspicions. Rita did nothing to actually assauge her questions. She had included the qualifier of the world not being out to get her simply because she hadn't made it big enough. And the fact that she doubted she was after her, but that included a certain...uncertainty. Hm. Maybe she was just overthinking things. But it was....interesting. Even if Rita didn't seem to THINK of such things, simply the way she spoke and composed her thoughts seemed to imply just as much. Not only that, but Rita had quite sidestepped the part she'd mentioned about wether the woman was truly enjoying herself. But well, maybe that was a bit heavy of a question to go throwing around.

She leaned back in her seat and lightly drummed her fingers along the counter. She couldn't help but chuckle ever so slightly as Rita asked her that question. "I'm not exactly a mind reader. I'm just trying my best to learn more about you. I, in truth, don't have the slightest clue if you're paranoid or not. Nobody's gonna know if that's the case or not probably." She glanced at the other woman and gestured to the seat beside her.

"So here's the million dollar question. If I hadn't been some wealthy woman at a benefit, would you have given me the time of day?" She asked with an amused smirk. In truth, it was a potentially pertinent notion. All of this...... she had no idea how it was going to go down. Managing these branches. All of this ...corporate nonsense. She'd found herself missing the days when she was just some researcher in the Gotei. And she wondered: Did she NEED to be in the position she was in? Seeing Rita and nwhat it took to accrue money and success. And seeing the way her own companies were attempting to atrophy towards dirty deals.

Did she want any of that? Maybe if she were younger, and had a stronger back to carry all of these burdens. But....she really wasn't. So she was curious. And admittedly: She had a feeling she knew what Rita was going to reply with. The polite thing to reply with. But still...there was always hope for a more realistic reply. So she waited to see which she received.

Kegare couldn't help but chuckle. She supposed there was always door number 3: a rather unclear and diplomatic response. The woman admitted it would have potentially been hard to notice her, but at the same time noted that there were other things involved in the decision to approach. But of course, she couldn't help but be a bit amused. Maybe she was just a ......simpler woman, but she hardly minded the more drawn out answer.

"Is that right?" She hummed softly, closing her eyes and taking another sip of her drink as she took a moment to let the answer sink in for a bit. It was all just still business with her. Even if Rita said that she could detach herself from her work, the question of it was: did she believe her? Thinking back to this whole conversation, it had become abundantly clear that the woman just couldn't handle being outside of where she was. She'd already made it clear: Even if Rita lost all her business and riches: She'd just go right back into trying to start accumulating it again. Even when asked about how she would react on meeting if Kegare wasn't where she was: Her caveat of finding Kegare again was 'through her network'. Once again, an assurance hinged on what she'd built around herself.

But, perhaps what had been most troubling was hearing the woman's initial perception of her. To hear what it was that had drawn Rita's attention: That Kegare had seemed business Savy. So that was it? That was the energy that Rita had been so affixed to? Even if she hadn't intended as much: that alone pretty much answered Kegare's question. And she couldn't help but give a rueful smile. Wasn't she herself the same? She'd been thinking about this for a few months now. Even gotten together a little emergency stash away. A clean break... and some tucked-away stash in the event of an emergency. But she wondered...... did she NEED it? Or was she also just clinging to her money, thinking she couldn't get by without it? And more and more as she thought about it.... she began to realize she wasn't bothered by Rita. She was bothered that she saw parts of herself in Rita, and not necessarily the parts that were good for her. All the same, that sad smile at the very least would let Rita know how her response had been received, though not why.

"Hm, that's a pretty fair answer." She hummed, finishing her drink before setting it aside. "Though I have to admit, I'm afraid your instincts might have been a little on the wrong side. I'm not really Business-Savy. I can barely stand what humans call 'business'." She noted, reaching up, a finger lightly tracing the jagged scar on her features.

"Someone could come in behind me and slit my throat right now. And what will all of the money I've built up ammount to? Drug dealers take over some of my shops. Others will just get bought out, probably go public and get snatched up by shareholders. The only thing that I'd leave behind of value would be the ones I helped out." She closed her eyes and briefly, took on a pained look. Because she didn't know if she HAD helped them. Some of them had gone on, done what they were passionate about. But others had tried to prove themselves. Got into business as well. For some of them, they got swallowed up in the same monster she had. And those that failed.......had failed hard. Wouldn't it have been better if she could have led them into something different? IF she had been anything else......could they have turned out alright? If she had been a ....DIFFERENT kind of role model?

"Every day I feel my old edge wither away just a bit more. Sitting at a desk. I wasn't made for this business stuff. And the strangest part of it is: everyoone else in it seems just as miserable." She smirked a little to herself. "Or maybe I'm just projecting my own misery." She glanced at Rita and snorted, giggling a bit to herself.

"Aren't I just the life of the party? Sorry for getting a little down there. I brought you here to relax, and look what I went and did." She shook her head and slowly stood up, "I think I need to take a walk. Care to join me?"

Kegare paused, staring just a little at Rita for a moment and smiled slightly. Briefly, she took a bit of amusement in how much Rita seemed to enjoy talking. "You talk like a politician, you know that?" She chuckled softly. Even when Rita wasn't saying much, she still managed to somehow be.......she didn't know what to call it. It was a strange thing, as if every single word was made to be ....inspiring? She honestly didn't know how to handle it. Sure, it was kinda nice, but the more it happened, the ....weirder it was. Almost felt like Rita was just.....talking? Well Gee Kegare that's kinda rude of you to think. She smiled a bit at herself. Well it wasn't like she ever said she was a good person, she kept the thought to herself in the few brief seconds it crossed her mind, there would be barely anything to tip off Rita that Kegare had let her mind meander for an instant as she occupied the space by taking care of the check. Preemptively handling the bill before Rita had a chance to offer.

"You're not a bad inspirational speaker hon. But you might need to dial it down a bit. Kinda a lot to take in where I'm at." She chuckled. She was ALREADY reeling from well....the whole of their conversation coursing through her, and Rita kept piling on the metaphors. She reached out and gave a hearty pat to the small of Rita's mid-back. "Alright, new game, Ritz. No talking for the duration of the walk. Pantomimes until we get to my hotel." She hummed lightly, promptly miming zipping her lips as she made her way to the door of the establishment and then gestured in a 'Ladies first' kinda way for Rita.