Lightning Bug B3, Thursday Morning

[intraspective]

Ino had to admit that country was not normally her music type, no. But the song that she kept finding herself singing was fun at least, and it amused her enough that Ino really didn’t see a need to try and stop.

She just kept the singing down sort of low as she sprawled out on her bed and read.

“My daddy always a gentle man
Never the kind to ever force his hand
He would always be the last one to raise his voice
If anybody ever put us down
Well you can bet that he would stand his ground
Then he would tell me son sometimes you got no choice

You've got to kick at little and cause a stir
Sometimes you got to make some noise to be heard
If anybody ever tries to hold you back
Yeah you got to kick a little and be tough
You got to let 'em know you've had enough
Remember that unless you want to finish last
You've got to kick a little!

Some people judge you by the way you look
They see you once and say you ain't no good
Feels like they're never gonna take you for who you are
That's when you have to stand up and be strong
And go the extra mile to prove 'em all wrong
Just remember when they push you way too far

You've got to kick at little and cause a stir
Sometimes you got to make some noise to be heard
If anybody ever tries to hold you back
Yeah you got to kick a little and be tough
You got to let 'em know you've had enough
Remember that unless you want to finish last
You've got to kick a little!

You've got to kick at little and cause a stir
Sometimes you got to make some noise to be heard
If anybody ever tries to hold you back
Yeah you got to kick a little and be tough
You got to let 'em know you've had enough
Remember that unless you want to finish last
You've got to kick a little!”

Ino snickered, humming it, and turned to the next page of her book. Kicking she could definitely do. Totally amusing, geez.

[Open for visitors, cabinmates, phone calls what have you.]

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[withoutverona]

And lo, in Tokyo Romeo was bored enough to pick up his phone and dial a familiar set of digits. Ino's phone rang.

[intraspective]

Ino picked up the phone--yay phone!--flipped it open and was planning on saying a very usual, but nice and normal 'hello' when Fandom had a difference of opinion.

"C-A-L-L-I-N-G now, I'm calling youuu, calling you now~" she sang, and he could probably hear the sound of her face meeting her hand.

"...hi," she added, stifling her giggles. "Uh, well, that's what I meant to say."

[withoutverona]

"Good mood this morning?" Romeo asked with a grin. "Good morrow! I just wanted to call and say hi."

[intraspective]

"Fandom," she said, rolling her eyes and laughing. "I keep singing, and I'm pretty sure it's not me 'cause I don't even know half these songs normally. I was singing country earlier."

Ino shut her book, keeping a finger there to mark her place. "And now that you've said hi are you going to hang up?" she asked. "That would be cruel and unusual you know."

[withoutverona]

"Oh, you're singing again?" Romeo said wistfully. "We were doing that the day -- well, when Yurika and I fell in love."

Please ignore the sound of saccharine. "That was a nice day. But no, no hanging up."

[intraspective]

Ino was making faces at her phone. It was probably a good thing he could see her.

"Such a sap," she said fondly. "And good, you're totally not allowed to hang up. I forbid it, you know, and my word is law."

Well, she wished it was sometimes anyway.

[withoutverona]

"It was nice!" Romeo defended himself. "And I'll subject myself to the royal whims of Ino. How are things there? Did you have living inanimate objects last weekend?"

[intraspective]

"Saaaap," she teased, then laughed. "It got you too? I know it got Reno already! I did, I had a ribbon with an attitude, and a very adorable flower pot come to life on me."

Oh. Er.

"And, you know, meeting new people and stuff. I threw a party with one of the new girls--her name is Elena." Ino tugged on her hair and contemplated ruining his mood.

[withoutverona]

"My wedding ring wanted to sing at me, and Yurika's phone was a girl who talked all day," Romeo informed her. "It was so strange that it became funny."

A pause. "Elena's a pretty name. Was it a good party?"

[intraspective]

"Did you get pictures?" Ino asked interestedly, then laughed. "Elena," she informed him, "is from Reno's world. It's interesting. And it was a good party! I talked to about a million people and--"

She gave her hair another tug then decided to, what the hell, go for it:

"Met someone, uh, named--Tybalt. Um. Capulet."

Ino prudently held her phone slightly away from her ear, just in case.

[withoutverona]

"No, Yurika wasn't too fond of the ring being a person and the ring didn't like that there was a Yurika so --"

Hang on. Yes, that ear being held away might soon prove itself prudent. Though for the moment, Romeo was in denial.

"Tybalt? Odd coincidence, that two should share that name."

[intraspective]

Even though she was sort of anticipating some sort of reaction Ino couldn't help the snicker at the wedding ring v. Dojima-san. "Dojima-san must have been thrilled."

"I'm not sure," she said carefully, "that it's all that coincidental. He's um--from a Verona. And talks like you used to." In for a penny, in for a pound, right?

And again with the inching the phone away from her.

[withoutverona]

And that would be where Romeo's heart and breath stopped.

"What does your new friend look like?"

[intraspective]

Ino was pretty sure 'hot' wouldn't be appropriate here.

"Um," she said, "dark hair, with this kinda silly little mustache thing happening. Smokes cigars? Looks really arrogant and kinda exudes the feeling that he thinks he's better than everyone else?"

A beat.

"And he's not a friend! I just met him at the party."

[withoutverona]

No. No, hot would not be a helpful thing to say at all.

"Villain," Romeo said (and this would be where the phone away from the ear would be helpful). "He waits for me to leave to reclaim another of his nine lives on ground I saw as all but home. The damned, miserable, cowardly bastard. Trust him not."

[intraspective]

Ino prudently had the phone at a bit of a distance oh yes.

"Uh," she said, a bit warily, and a bit louder because no way was she putting the phone to her ear. "He mostly seems interested in flirting with people right now."

[withoutverona]

"He would," Romeo said. (Pot, kettle, black, yes.) "He had an affair with his own aunt" -- the wife of his uncle, but still! -- "in Verona, you know. Everyone knew it. Lecherous, goddamned, over proud insect of a cat of a man."

The slanders, they might last a while.

[intraspective]

Yeaaah, Ino was totally not going to ever tell Romeo that she actually had kinda thought Tybalt was fun.

Ino liked jerks when it came to men, okay?

"Well," she said mildly, "yes, that's well, uh bad."

That wasn't useful, Ino.

[withoutverona]

If Ino ever breathed a word about liking Tybalt to Romeo, he'd come to the island and kill the ratcatcher in his sleep.

"'Bad,' Romeo repeated disdainfully. "It's an incestuous, monstrous sin against god and man." And again with the ignoring that Tybalt and Gloria weren't blood relations and he was only reporting gossip in any case.

"I gave him a chance at mercy, twice, and he tried to kill both times," he reminded Ino. "I thought him in his grave for good, but -- well, it is the island. You are certain he's no purpose on the island? Did he ask after me?"

[intraspective]

"I know," she said, sighing. "I'm wondering if maybe it's a--timeline thing? 'Cause he didn't say anything 'bout you," she said, because really addressing his diatribe would only give her a headache. "He just kinda complained that he was surprised that so few people here knew anything about Verona 'cause of it's reputation. And radio hasn't said anything about him asking after you either."

[withoutverona]

Romeo already had a headache; it would only be justified if he shared.

"He's a few years older than I am," Romeo grudgingly admitted. "If he's in high school now, it must be a timeline thing, or he's even more stupid than I believed."

"Will you tell me if he does the first thing to start a fight on Fandom?"

[intraspective]

"I'll tell you if he starts one," she promised, wondering if he'd catch the fact that if Tybalt defended himself Ino was totally not going to bother. People were allowed to defend themselves after all.

She pulled a strand of hair out in front of her face. "He hasn't done anything but flirt," she assured him.

[withoutverona]

"I pity the poor girl who lets herself be charmed into that arrogant oaf's bed," Romeo sulked. "Do tell me. Perhaps I needn't worry; perhaps the island is a fresh start, and will tame the feral beast."

He doubted it, but he could hold out hope.

[intraspective]

Ino tugged her hair.

"I will tell you," she repeated. "And so far you don't have to worry. He was more concerned with the fact that we've the living dead as a band and seemed rather startled when I informed him that fighting in the bar would result in landing in the lake."

[withoutverona]

"Maybe he could just be induced to spend all his time in Caritas," Romeo said, some hope creeping into his tone. "He can do no harm there."