Scene #3765: Seriously, what am I doing?!

Owner	Pose
Kazuko Kawakami	The past 24 hours have not been kind to Kazuko. Between having her dreams dashed, doing nothing productive all day, and snapping at a well-meaning friend, it's rather clear that she's not in the best state of mind. Somehow, she's actually managed to will herself out of her room at the temple, trying to find something to take her mind off everything that's happened. It just so happens that she's found herself in Njorun's cafeteria. Her tray is devoid of food, however, save for a untouched bottle of soda and single chicken wing. She's also resting her head on the table, watching Elites and employees passing by, milling around, and going about their own business.
Yang Xiao Long	The view of those people passing by might be blocked for a moment or two, as someone comes from the opposite direction, rounds the table and parks themselves in a chair across from the dispondent martial artist. They say nothing to start with, merely leaning on the table with their elbows, and likely watching the girl. After a moment or two, a familiar and likely unwelcome voice comes from the new presence. "You look like a dog that's been kicked down the side of a hill, wondering what you did wrong." It's Yang.
Kazuko Kawakami	Kazuko doesn't react much when her view is blocked since plenty of people have passed by her already, some even pausing to stare, but it's when Yang actually addresses her that the dog-like warrior actually lifts her head slightly. She blinks at Yang slowly, almost looking as if she's been half-asleep, then rubs her eyes quickly before forcing an incredibly strained grin. "H.. Hi, Yang. Is it that obvious?" She chuckles awkwardly for a moment before putting her head back down, the smile fading almost immediately. "Sorry... Nn. Did you want something?" She doesn't sound irritated. Just ashamed and exhausted.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang is quiet for a few moments, then sighs softly. "Do you know why I fight? Why I became a Huntress?" she asks, eyes closing as she dredges up memories she'd purposefully buried. "You might laugh, but it's for purely selfish reasons... Beacon Academy? The Union? Your Sister? All stepping stones to my one, true goal." A pause for effect, or just to make sure her voice doesn't give out. "Find my mother."
Kazuko Kawakami	Raising an eyebrow at first, Kazuko stays quiet as Yang speaks about her motivations. She doesn't laugh, although the mention of Yang's mother does get the girl to actually sit up again. She still takes some time to consider the blonde's words and rubs her neck lightly, eventually managing to ask a single question. "Did you... Did you not know her, either?" Would that make her a kindred spirit, then? Or is Kazuko just reading too much into things? If nothing else, at least she's sounding something other than depressed.
Yang Xiao Long	"She left not long after I was born... I only found out after my other mother, Ruby's mom, didn't come back from a Hunt, and Dad told me about his 'First Treasure' and how he'd now lost his 'Second'..." replies Yang. She can still see the elder Xiao Long's painstricken face. "My point though... is that you can't fight for someone else. Not if you want to be strong." Lilac eyes lift to stare right into Kazuko's. "Your dream of supporting Momoyo got crushed under an armoured boot last night. Now you're lost and aimless, right?" she states, more than asks. "What're you going to do about it?"
Kazuko Kawakami	"Oh... That's... Sorry to hear that." Kazuko offers Yang a sympathetic look, although she's still not ready to offer her any physical consolation in her current state. She's still rather withdrawn into herself, almost looking as if she's afraid of moving at all. That's only reinforced when Yang reminds her of what happened just last night, and hits the nail right on the head when it comes to her current state of mind. She clenches her jaw for a moment before staring at the now-cold chicken wing on her tray, that look of shame and utter hopelessness returning to her face. "... I dunno. This... I've been working for this ever since the KAwakami Temple adopted me. Training every day no matter how hard it got, practicing their techniques even though I could never do them as good as Momoyo or anyone else. But if I don't have any talent to help my si... Momoyo, then what am I even doing here?"
Yang Xiao Long	Yang furrows her brow a bit. "What are you doing here." she echos. "What you're doing here right now, is moping about and not looking forwards. You never stop learning, you never stop growing." "Keep Moving Forward." Those words, so similar to the Kawakami Spirit. "Want to know what I think you should do?" she asks next, leaning back in and resting her chin on her laced fingers.
Kazuko Kawakami	"Looking forward. Pushing forward. That's... That's easy to say." A bitter laugh escapes Kazuko after she says that, and she pulls her legs up onto her bench to rest her head on her chin. It's not a natural position to sit in at all, but it feels... Right to just curl inward like that further. "Ten years, wasted..." She rubs her eyes again before staring right back at Yang's eyes, gold matching lilac. "What do you think I should do, then? After ten years with nothing to show for it, what?"
Yang Xiao Long	"You still have those ten years of training. What you /lack/ is a drive, a spark for greatness." says Yang. "I saw it when I sparred you. You're a solid fighter, you lack natural talent, but you make up for those flaws with determination and hard work. What you need, is a focus, something to strive for... something, I'm sorry to say, selfish." "Don't fight for other people. Don't get better so they praise you, and don't let anyone tell you this has been for nothing." she attempts to drive home. "I've not made any progress in finding my mother for ten years. I've not given up on that, and you shouldn't give up just because you can't be an assistant master at the dojo."
Kazuko Kawakami	Although the tension in Kazuko's eyes are gone, it's replaced by more of the dullness from when they first spoke at the table today. "Even that's... If I can't become an assistant master any more, then what good was that training even for?" Her eyes start drifting to the table again, and there's a strained noise coming from the back of her throat once again. "All I know is how to fight like the other students, but that's..." She pauses, raising her head just a bit. Are the gears finally starting to turn? "... Can I really use that for anything else? What else can I use it for? It's easy for Momoyo to have fun fighting, but.. I don't know if I can do that."
Yang Xiao Long	"You look up to Momoyo, don't you." it's a statement, not a question. "Do you know what her reason for fighting is?" asks Yang then, watching the other girl closely. "The one sole reason she pushes herself like she does. The one reason she gets out of bed in the morning."
Kazuko Kawakami	"Eh? Of course I do! She's the strongest person I know." Kazuko's gaze turns back to Yang as she nods slowly, questioning starting to show again in the girl's face. It's still an improvement, at least, over the despair and nothing she was showing earlier. "She fights because she likes fighting. It excites her. It's everything to her."
Yang Xiao Long	Yang nods. "And she's looking for strong fighters. She needs a stream of strong fighters to feel alive... if you can't support her from the bottom, you get above her and drag her up from above. Become stronger than she is, and show her."
Kazuko Kawakami	"Getting... Stronger than her? But I already failed the test to become an assistant master. How..." Kazuko's chokes back a strained noise again. "If working for so long isn't enough to make up for not having talent for the Kawakami Style, then what chance would I ever have at getting even /stronger/ than her?"
Yang Xiao Long	"Branch out. Find other people to learn from. Expand your horizons." replies Yang. "I have. I jumped at the chance to learn from Momoyo, I'm learning from everyone I meet and spar with. Every single day is a new learning experience."
Kazuko Kawakami	Other combat styles. Other techniques. She had seen lots of them over the past week, hadn't she? Kazuko's expression changes again, and she's looking thoughtful. Still lost, confused, and a little distracted, but thoughtful as well. "... I can try? I... I just need to figure some things out first before that." Getting up from the seat, she takes a long breath before moving around to the other side, and she actually manages something resembling a smile before sitting back on the table itself and watching the people passing by once more.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang nods, and smiles back. As Kazuko comes around to join her on the same side of the table, the Blonde drapes an arm around the smaller girl, giving her a friendly, if brief hug, before settling in to people watch too.