They Fight Crime. (Thoma - Jess)

[Jessica Jane]

"If your offer is still on the table, then I'd be beyond a fool to refuse." That shocked her a bit, honestly. After the big meltdown, she'd half expected to be turned out on her ear. But the guy really did seem interested in her well-being... She really should swallow her pride here. "And I... really appreciate it."

Actually, come to think of it, this guy would probably be in a better position to handle rogue Dopants than most. He was a Dekaranger, right? Yeah... this was probably one of the better opportunities to be handed to her in recent memory. She'd best make the most of it.

[Thoma Hirako]

He smiled, relieved that she had taken his offer. It would make things easier in the long run, he figured. Hopefully they wouldn't have any more misunderstandings like this, "Good; well then," he gestured to the shop, "shall we? Or did you want to avoid this part?"

[Jessica Jane]

"I suppose that we shall." Jess nodded. It wasn't like she could decline after that.

She moved to follow him into the shop, not quite sure what to expect. The entire thing had left her... feeling rather surreal.

[Thoma Hirako]

Thomas was pleased that at least she was going along with him, and making it easier by cooperating instead of raising arguably valid arguments against him.

He went to momentarily speak with the man at the counter, someone he knew, as he knew the owner of the store; he liked to know people like that, stores like this. He walked back to Jessica, "Well, let's see what we can find for you."

[Jessica Jane]

(OoC: Not that I'm not enjoying their little verbal sparring match, because I infinitely am. But for the sake of clarity, I'm following your lead, here, so if you ever want to time skip over the shopping expedition, feel free to go right ahead.)

"Alright... It wouldn't hurt to look, I suppose."

Shopping quickly turned out to be a foreign experience. Jessica had become so used to simply having one set of clothes that having options was... downright jarring. But a few moment's of thought and a second of flipping through the clothing racks brought back some old reflexes of how to go about this.

That didn't stop her from feeling like a fish out of water, though. Most of this was significantly beyond anything that she could ever hope to afford; the thought of spending a few cold nights in an alleyway wearing these fancy digs caused all sorts of consternation.

The thought gave her pause, causing her to stop with her hand a breezy blue little number. She tried to cover her thoughts by pretending to study it.

[Thoma Hirako]

We probably will skip. It is a fun verbal sparring, though.

He approached her, "Don't worry about any prices; I'll cover all of it," he assured her, "And I'll make sure that you're taken care of, as long as I can, even past our partnership, so don't worry about having to take extra things with you, wherever you go, if you plan on staying on the streets."

He had spent time figuring that she might wonder about that, as he had been trying to find the store. It was a worthwhile concern, though, he felt. He wanted to try to assure her, though, if she was thinking of that or not.

[Jessica Jane]

"That's a lot of cash for one Dekaranger to be tossing about." Again, the words came out before she could catch them. "Are you sure you aren't robbing banks or something in your spare time?"

She was having to fight with another bought of paranoia over this one. But she kept reminding herself: Gift Horse; Mouth; Shut Up.

Jess tried to turn her attention back to the clothing rack. What size was she, again? Eh... it'd been too long and she'd lost a lot of weight since back then. The dress looked to be about her height... She pulled it off the rack. If nothing else, it would give her a baseline fit to work off of.

[Thoma Hirako]

"I...I have my ways," he assured her, "No; I'm not robbing banks. I...just have a way with people. Let's leave it at that."

He took a closer look at what she had chosen, "Looks like it's you size," he commented.

[Jessica Jane]

Ouch. So much for keeping any sense of mystery in this dynamic, Jess allotted herself an extra mental sarcasm. She then cleared her throat and continued: "I guess we'll see... Pardon me a moment, unless you intend on following me into the dressing room."

The nice thing was that Thoma was off by just a hair. The dress was actually a hair too big... but if she downgraded a size... She suppressed a shudder. She had lost much more weight than she'd ever have liked. Now there was irony.

She donned her old clothes and left the dressing room, gravitating back to Thoma.

"Close, but no cigar." She reported. "But I'm pretty sure what to look for, now."

[Thoma Hirako]

He nodded, "Please continue, then, I'll make a reservation," he walked a bit away and placed a call on his phone from speed dial, "Hirako, Thoma. Table for two, expect us anytime."

[Jessica Jane]

A bit of work and a short amount of time later left Jessica feeling... slightly dazed. Her old pants and hoodie were gone, stashed away for delivery, and in their place was a nice little black number that she found workable. It was limber enough to be flexible but long enough to be modest. With her Gaia Memories stowed in a purse, she was ready to go.

"... Thanks again." Jess said to Thoma, feeling slightly flustered and guilty about accepting such charity... but unable to refuse. "It... It's quite nice."


(OoC: Let me know if that works for you.)

[Thoma Hirako]

Works for me.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "Come on; I'm sure you may want to get cleaned up before we dine."

He paid the man at the counter less than it was worth. The owner owed him, and let him get away with it, though they were almost even again, but Thoma still had sway over him.

[Jessica Jane]

Yeah... now what...? She followed Thoma. Retreading the same old ground didn't seem to be worth anything. It was probably time to start being productive and earn her keep in this exchange.

"So... uh..." Way to be awkward, Jess. "I'm not trying to pry, but... if you don't mind my asking... what happened between you and this guy?"

[Thoma Hirako]

He stopped where he was and pointed to a room, "There's the bathroom for you."

He paused for about ten, fifteen seconds, and then took a breath and turned to look at her, "Nothing. Like I said, I believe he either knows who killed Yuka, or he did kill her. Otherwise, nothing."

[Jessica Jane]

And that came out wrong. She wanted to know what the story behind the crime was, not if there was a vendetta. Still, it felt like she'd hit a nerve, so it was probably best to let Thoma reveal the story in his own time.

"... Sorry... that... yeah..." She averted her gaze from him. "I'll be right back."

They both needed a chance to think. She stepped into the restroom and, once the door had closed, dropped her head against the wall. Why did this have to be so difficult?