A Meeting with "Royalty" [Add, Blaez, Kogoro]

Mae sat in the Dormitory lounge looking out the window. Snowflakes were silently falling from the sky, covering the streets in a soft white blanket of powdery white goodness. Mae had no idea what to do. She had already finished her homework yesterday, and She had just hung out with most of her friends this week. To put it bluntly, Mae was bored.

"Yeeesh! I can't sit here all day, doing nothing." Mae fell back in the couch. After a couple of minutes, she went upstairs to her room, and put on her fluffly, red Jacket, her pink earmuffs. She hung the long white scarf around her neck before she went back downstairs, and put on her white boots. There really was no reason for her to stay inside, so she went out, and headed towards San Malarus. There's gotta be something worthwhile doing there.

One tram-ride later, and she arrived at San Malarus Island. It was then she noticed her stomach had begun to growl. She was hungry. So, her first order of buissness was to find somewhere to eat. After a short walk, she found what she was looking for. A Hamburger resturant. That'll work. She went inside, and ordered a Cheeseburger with a medium french fries on the side and a small cola. She sat down near the windows, after getting her food. The place was suprisingly empty for being a fast food resturant, and on a sunday at that. Then again, with the rumors that have been floating around, Mae didn't blame people for not going out unless completely necessary.

The door swung open, bringing in a cascade of small snowflakes with it....

Blaez was barely at his room most times,standing still just isn't his thing,he likes to walk around to clear his mind,he prefers less crowded places,the emptier the better,but recently the streets were rather empty and the weather just helped it,in snowy days most people stay at home.Blaez walked around for about an hour and he was getting hungry,luckily there was a fast food restaurant across the street"Do i have enough money?"living by himself wasn't easy,he had to earn his own money and couldn't spend it with trivial things,he reached his pocket to grab his wallet,it seems he was lucky,he could buy one meal without having to empty his wallet.

Blaez quickly made his way to the other side and with a quick movement he opened the door.

Spoiler:

He looked around the restaurant for a second to check if it was empty before actually getting in,there were just a few people in there,he stepped in and headed to the counter to buy his food.He didn't wasted any time,he knew what he wanted,and after getting it he sat down quietly.

Standing in the snow was very annoying. He was cold, and shivering. He had none of the clothes he found on the street with him, because he didn't think that it would end up snowing like this. Kogoro brought his hand up to his mouth, and exhaled hot air onto them, rubbing them together. The cold all over his body wasn't even the biggest problem. It was the bitter coldness in his hands that numbed his fingers. He couldn't even feel them at times, let alone use them for things such as zipping up a coat. He kept flexing them as he walked down the streets of San Malarus, hoping to keep the blood flowing.
   
He thought back to why he was even here in the first place. He had been in the alleys of Standasen, trying to hide from the incoming cold. It was cold there, but it was much more bearable. He was trying to sleep when suddenly, he could hear loud footsteps running through the other alleyways. He also hear the sound of what seemed to be equipment, as well as what seemed to be orders being yelled. Needless to say, he could easily assume who it might be. It seems the Yachiru group had someone found him, despite his efforts to stay hidden. He quickly took Argentum, who was next to him, and ran. He needed to go away for a while, and wait for them to disappear. He decided San Malarus because it was the only train with enough people to sneak on.
   
A cold stinging breeze brought him back to the present,  and he ground his teeth together. The closest seemingly warm place was a hamburger shop. He sighed and decided it was for the best to spend time in there. He opened the door with his frozen fingers, ignoring the pain that came when he did. He absolutely hated being unprepared for the cold. The shop was warm though, so his fingers quickly began to feel like they were a part of his body once more. He sat down at an empty seat in the back, trying to stay as hidden as possible as his body warmed up. There were two other people, but he paid them no mind. Only took into account that they were high school students and wouldn't be people that could threaten him or alert his pursuers as to his whereabouts.

It was still winter season, with bits of snow around the San Malarus Island. Not so long ago the young man was in a sushi restaurant and he felt like continuing the quest. So far he hasn't been discovered in this region, so it wouldn't hurt to know where he could eat, what he could eat and what would it cost him. Since he visited a proper restaurant last time, he decided to go for something with sort of modern feel. Add put on his usual, and ordered the Dynamo to form a pattern that would correspond with the other decorative pieces on the outside of his coat. Putting on his hood, he would step outside of his apartment.

It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for. A plain fast food restaurant. He honestly didn't expect much, but he didn't mind at least giving it a try. However, as he looked around, he noticed a lack of people walking up and down the street. It was most likely due to the things happening lately, not to mention the weather. With a shrug, he would step inside the establishment.

It was considerably warmer inside. But the lack of people was present here aswell. Some teens and a figure sitting in the back. Even though it felt quite impolite, Add decided not to take off his cat-eared hood. The young man quickly placed his order, but the lady told him to wait for a moment until his order is ready. With a nod, he sidestepped, in case somebody else came in and patiently waited. Food is not to be rushed if you want it to be delicious.

Mae looked at the teen who stumbled through the door, and from what she saw, the teen was shivering from top to bottom. Mae flew up from her seat and placed a hand on his back, concerned. She gasped. "Oh my gosh, you're cold!". She grabbed her jacket that she had swung over the back of her chair and swept it around the poor, shivering fellow. She just could not bear seeing someone in this condition. It was really cold outside, so why didn't he wear anything better suited for winter? She looked at him. He wore quite thin clothes considering the season. Was he a hobo? "You okay?" She whispered gently, looking him in the eyes. "Are you hungry?" Mae asked softly. She didn't want to startle the poor guy. He wouldn't last very long in this weather without shelter. Not that anyone normally took kindly to hoboes like him. Mae just could not ignore him. They were almost the same age. She looked at the other two in the room. Had none of them noticed that this guy was almost freezing to death?

After Blaez entered the restaurant two other guys entered after him,the first one was wearing light clothes and he was shivering,he just sat down on the back and didn't ordered anything,probably a hobo trying to escape the cold;the second one was a rather fancy guy,different from the first one he ordered something,and now was waiting for his meal to be made.

The girl for some reason jumped to help the "hobo" guy,she gave her jacket to they guy and started to question the guy's well fare,he would simply ignore but the girl looked at him and the white haired guy as if she was expecting them to do something,the disapproving look on her face wasn't enough,besides,even if he wanted to help the guy the most prudent thing to do was to wait for the guy to do anything about what just happened,you never know someone's true intentions.

Kogoro was startled by the girl's sudden appearance and the fact she had randomly placed her jacket over him. He looked at her with the blank face he gave most everyone, though he was a bit annoyed. He didn't particularly like people like her. Spontaneous and doing things when they're not asked. Especially not with her jacket. It smelled weird, too girly for him. He wasn't used to such a smell and it made him feel kinda nauseous. But, he could tell she meant to only be kind, so he decided to respond in a similar manner. "Thank you, I was really cold." It might sound much more heartless and cold with his monotone way of speaking, but he couldn't help it. He had become accustomed to being emotionless in front of people he didn't know. It made him uncomfortable, and as if he was claustrophobic.

He pulled the around him tighter. Despite the complaints, it was definitely warmer, and his body felt less rigid as his muscles loosened. He sighed in relief. He decided to order water from the person taking orders. Usually water was free, or at least extremely cheap. He guess he could use some of his very little money to get him a drink. He looked at the newcomer who came in the moment the girl walked over. His hood seemed...strange. The cat ears mostly. Why cat ears? He saw him sit down, and took a good look at his face.

Now this guy seemed strange. He felt Argentum stir slightly as he was placed next to him, held in a mess of wrapped rags and clothes. Kogoro looked at him to see anything in particular that was different about him from the others. He had a bit more of a rough look despite the 'cuteness' his jacket gave. But it also seemed like something else was a reason. Something that made him similar to Kogoro. He just squinted his eyes before looking away. He had to investigate more before doing anything. All he knows is that he doesn't seem like the others. Looking back at the girl, he removed her jacket, folded it, and handed it back to her politely, smoothing out his own suit as he did. "Thank you. I don't need it anymore though, so I think you should take it back." Afterwards, he kept giving the cat-eared hooded man quick glances.

As the young man waited for his order to be ready, he heard a sort of commotion in the back of the restaurant. It seemed that the figure he had seen when he first stepped in was an another teen who underestimated the cold weather and a teen girl took pity on him by flinging her jacket around him. The girl did look around and shot a glare towards him and the other teen sitting in the establishment. It was most likely due to them not pitying the underdressed one. Add personally felt like it just simply didn't concern him.

The order was ready and Add gladly took it and sat down, somewhat in the back. The teen with the girl's jacket walked nearby shortly after. Add felt his eyes upon him, not sure why. Was he truly sticking out like a sore thumb? It didn't really matter to him that much, if he had to be honest. Something didn't feel right about... He was probably just thinking too much. The young man felt continuously more and more warmer, most likely because he refused to take off his coat. There was no way he was going to do that, since it would mean removing the hood and the possibility of revealing the Dynamo.

The burger... thing he had ordered was still too hot for him to eat, so Add decided to observe the situation, for now. He watched as the boy handed the girl back her jacket. He also noticed the several glances, the boy gave him. He wasn't sure whether it was because of his appearance or something entirely different. With a small sigh he would take the slightly cooled off burger and took a bite.

"Thanks! I'm just glad I could help. If only little. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask, ok?" Mae smiled warmly at him, as she grabbed her jacket. She sat back down in her seat and continued her meal. What was with the other people? Well, I guess they just have a slight urk against hoboes but still. He was still human, wasn't he?

"What's your name?" Mae asked him softly, a bright smile spread across her face. What was he doing out in this weather with clothes like those? If Mae had to guess, the hobo had ran away from something or someone... Perhaps angry parents or something? "You sure you're okay?" Mae gave him a concerned look. Something wasn't right. And the way he had looked at the guy with the hoodie raised even more questions. What was going on?

The girl sat down in the same table as the "Hobo",he still looked vaguely suspicious,mostly because he was constantly glancing at the man with a hood.That girl's kind heart could put her in danger,going around talking with strangers,despite being indifferent towards the girl's safety,he decided to sit down with the two,if that guy was planning a heist or something like that,it probably would involve Blaez too.

He grabbed his plate and sat down next to the girl,he slowly turned the french fries to the man and said"You must be hungry,feel free to eat it if you want."It's incredible how Blaez could be friendly sometimes in contrast with his intimidating usual look.

With the barrage of questions the girl was giving him, as well as how close she was getting to him, Kogoro was getting a bit annoyed. Why do people ask so many questions and get so close? he thought. He moved away from her a bit, wanting to get more space. He was really beginning to feel uncomfortable and annoyed. He never let anyone get this close to him. Ever. Especially not someone he didn't even know, no matter how harmless they look. He cleared his throat and decided to answer her questions. Maybe that would make her less intrusive. "My name is Kogoro. Thank you for the offer, but I think I'm fine for now. I was just a bit cold is all." He made sure to leave out any annoyance in his tone.

A moment later the waiter came back with his water. He took a deep sip and gulped it down. He was quite thirsty and needed that. Water was probably his most favorite drink. Well, it's needed to stay alive, so of course he enjoyed it. But, his moment of slight joy was disturbed by the appearance of the other teen in the restaurant. He realized they may have been attempting to be nice, and if he were a normal person he would have enjoyed it. But he wasn't normal, he was....the most correct and less hurtful word he could find was a freak. He looked at the new person in front of him, and noticed his appearance didn't seem to match with his actions. He seemed like he was similar to Kogoro, someone who distanced himself from others. But he was offering him food. Kogoro reached out and took one of the fries, putting one in his mouth and eating it. They were extremely delicious. Salty, greasy and having the taste of potato mixed in. He hadn't had food like this in years, most of his life in fact. He began eating them quite hungrily, stopping for a moment. "Thank you, these are really delicious." He looked back at the other figure near the front of the store, eating his burger. He still was suspicious of him, and his clothing.

Add didn't expect much from a fast food chain, but this was just simply horrendous. One bite was all to make him wanna vomit. He couldn't understand how people in some countries could eat this as dinner most of the time. Perhaps his standarts were placed too high for such establishment, but still. He somehow managed to swallow the bite he took and instantly put the thing down on the tray. However, he did notice the other teen give his fries to the hobo-looking one who passed by him earlier.

The one that was being taken care of surely looked like a hobo, but Add thought that he didn't look that dirty. To help or not to help, was the question. Well, he looked wierd, was being quite impolite with the hood on, so he decided to do a good deed for the day. He would take out his wallet and head to the table where the teens have gathered.

The young man would walk over to the table and put down the tray. Without saying anything he would pull out several banknotes from his wallet, which summed up to a kind of high number and placed them on the tray. "Feel free to take it." He would say, looking from under his hood in the direction of the 'hobo'.

"Phew. I'm glad you're feeling better, Kogoro-kun. I'm sorry if I'm a bit intrusive. It's just a part of who I am... Hehe" Mae sighed in relief, with an apologetic smile on her face. At least Kogoro-kun was okay. "I'm Mae Iharu, by the way. I guess it was a little rude of me not to introduce myself earlier. I'm a student at Zela Academy, actually. Just transferred here last sunday."

Mae looked up at the new arrival, sharing his fries with Kogoro. Mae smiled at him brightly. "And you are?" Whoever he was, she had not expected him to share his food. But Mae found herself to be pleasantly suprised that she was proven wrong. See, everyone has a bit of good in them. That's at least something which Mae believed to be true.

Mae sat there for a second, stunned at the amount of money the man had laid on the table in front of them. She gave the man a look which said 'Are you sure?'. She was amazed. Now both of the two strangers had reached out to Kogoro. Was it something she had done which had inspired them to do the same? Regretably, that was not a question Mae was capable of answering just yet. But perhaps, eventually she would, if she continued to hang out with these three.

"Blaez."He said to the girl,it's impressive how she was friendly to everyone,maybe way too friendly,but again,not his problem,if she wanted to be friends with everyone,he wouldn't stop her despite thinking that it's imprudent.The hooded just had placed a great amount of money over the table,weird...Some people do give money for those that need,but still..."It seems entering this restaurant was more helpful than you expected... "He said to Kogoro,he wanted to sound like he really meant to help the guy without showing any signs of his suspicions towards him,but at that point,he was almost giving up on the idea that Kogoro was a bad person.

Kogoro was busy eating the fries, enjoying them quite a lot. He couldn't tell if they were good, or bad since it had been such a long time since he had real food, or food that wasn't found on a stall that he could steal from, or in a plastic wrapping. He felt bad somewhat for how cold he had been to them. Well, at least hwo cold he'd been to them in his mind. They did annoy him, but they were treating him kindly, which is more than he's ever gotten from most people. He looked at the girl, who he now knew was named Mae, and wiped the salt from his mouth. "It's alright, Mae. Thank you for the help." He took note that she was a student, and looked over at the other man.

"Thank you as well, Blaez. The fries were very good, especially since I was hungry." He could feel that this Blaez did not entirely think he was who he was. Which is to say, a homeless man who lives in the streets. He assume it was due to the suit he always wore and took great care of. It was the only memory and present given to him by someone who truly cared for him. He promised himself to make sure it was never damaged and, in the case that it ever was, to get it fixed. It was a part of him, just as much as Argentum was a part of him. Well, not as much since Argentum was quite literally inside him, but it was still something of dear importance to him.

And then there was the last person in the restaurant, the one he felt quite strange about. He still heard a low rumbling noise in his mind. He didn't feel like this person was normal, and Argentum obviously did as well. And not just because of his clothes. He reached to his side and put a hand gently on the cloth that wrapped the elderly shadow weapon. "Calm down, and stop that annoying sound. It's gonna make me get extremely annoyed, and then I may end up taking out on these kind people." He heard another sound that seemed to be a scoff. "It seems to me, boy, that you have become somewhat trusting of these people just because they have given you some food. And that one man does not sit right with me, something is definitely different about him." The shadow replied, and Kogoro sighed in his mind. "I know I am, and be quiet. It is simply so that I don't seem selfish or ungrateful. I do have some semblance of manners, and do I really have a choice? I am essentially trapped by them in this seat. And from what I can see they are not any threat. Now, like I said, be quiet old man." The old shadow stayed quiet at this, though he could feel it's annoyance.

He nodded at what the young man named Blaez had said, coming back to reality. He looked at what the strange man had put down. It was quite a lot of money, and he was very tempted to take it. He didn't want to get charity, he could survive on his own. But he had felt that some money would help with shelter from the snow and the cold. He reluctantly took it and looked at the man with his bright, ruby red eyes. "Thank you, I am extremely grateful. Could I get your name, so I can thank you properly?" Getting the name of this man could help him find information on him later. He could look through the multiple street connections and listen for chatter and rumors. Maybe he could get some information, who knows? The streets have loose lips for their own. He put the money in the inner pocket of his suit coat, leaving it there for safe keeping as he took one more fry and place it in his mouth.