Just another day[Noctis]

The white haired man sighed as he stood behind the counter. He was tapping on his phone, playing Cytus, a rhythm game. Of course, he couldn't wear headphones during work, he'd get reprimanded by his annoying boss. So, he played it without headphones. He was waiting for customers, still playing when he heard a fwap as something hit his head. He dropped his phone in surprise and rubbed where he had been hit, feeling a light throb. He hissed and looked at his boss. His hair was short, spiked, and slicked back with an unneeded amount of hair gel. Standing at 5'8" his boss wore a black shirt with the words Come to Kamikaze Fireworks, We'll Blow You Away! on it. His pants were grey and covered in dust, or gunpowder, the pale skinned boy couldn't tell. He was looking at Nagito and held a metal trash collected in his hand. He was obviously angry. The man shook the collector at him in his hand.

"Oi! Get back to work you slacker! I don't pay you to sit here and play on your damn phone! You never know when some big customer is gonna come in, so get back to work!!"

His boss walked out and he put his phone away. "Better get back to work like he says." he thought. Suddenly the bell on the door jingled and he got up, putting on a fake smile.

"Welcome to Kamikaze, we'll blow you away!"

He looked at the customers, a couple, obviously getting some fireworks to save up. They just ignored him, like most other ones do. He just ignored it. He was used to that sort of thing, being ignored while the rest of the world just went on by. They looked around for a few more minutes before coming back with some small bottle rockets they kept around, and a few firecrackers and sparklers. He rung them up and got the money, putting it in the register. He sighed and stood there, watching out for anymore customers.

It was almost the end of the year, just in time for fireworks season. Noctis the Attendant always wondered why this time of the year was not only a romantic time, but made even more magical by fireworks, which to his knowledge were these....explosive lights? He had never seen them himself, but asking another customer in the store, got him an explanation that was rather confusing. The fire into the air? Explode? Lights? What in the world was it all? The idea made Noctis nothing less than curiously eager to see it all in action, so he had walked in to look for himself to see the fireworks explode.

He was mildly confused; when he walked into the 'Kamikaze Fireworks' as it was named, the fireworks came in all shapes and sizes completely covering every aisle. But none of them were exploding. He pursed his lips in confusion. He took a mental note. 'Fireworks need a certain incentive to be able to give off their light' he thought. He then saw as some customers brought some to the register paying for some before leaving. He nodded; of course it obviously costs money for this area. How he didn't deduce that was beyond him. But h didn't know one set of fireworks from another, so he walked up to the counter looking upon a short-haired, employee with gray hair looking at him. "Hello sir, I am curious. I myself do not know too much of fireworks, can you inform me of how they work?" he said laughing a bit nervously in an attempt to give off a feeling of friendliness. He was being friendly after all.

He head the bell on the door ring once again. He got up and put on a fake smile, just as he had before.

"Welcome to..."

He stopped as he heard the guys question. He didn't know what fireworks were? Was he joking? Maybe he was just another bully or a friend of some jerk at the academy. But, he had to do his work, so he ignored it as always. He grabbed a fire cracker, a dud and pulled it out. He held it in front of the mans face, and spoke to him.

"Well, first you have to use gunpowder. It's a substance that, when lit on fire, explodes. It's used in bombs, guns, and most other explosives. Fireworks, however, packs it into a cardboard like casing, and adds a wick to the end. There is a lot more stuff to do, but I don't necessarily make them. Coloring is also mixed in so when they explode, they have a color to them. This is a basic one, for kids. It just crackles and makes sounds, it's called a firecracker..so pretty much the name says what it does. They're just for everyday use, not really anything in particular. We have some others..."

He pointed over to a box which was filled to the brim with large fireworks, multiple colors and shades, some for Christmas, some for multiple holidays.

"Those are really big colored ones. More for special occasions and such. If you want, when I get off work I can get some and show you how they work."

He shrugged, the stranger seemed nice enough. Plus, he was always doing this kind of stuff for people. You could say he was a.....kind of magnet.

Noctis nodded at the sales clerk as he described the fireworks. They needed fire? Of course! That is how they explode! He wanted to examine the firecracker, see how it works. 'So some things that explode cause romantic feelings in one another?' he would think to himself before he was directed to the other fireworks. He smiled walking to them to look at them. 'Snapdragons? Can dragons even snap?' he though looking at the different types of fireworks. At this point he was almost forgetting about his study, and wanting to see how they work, particularly focused on the Christmas-themed fireworks.

"Ah, so people have fireworks for Christmas as well? And other holidays?" he asked. So not necessarily for the reasons he thought people had fireworks, but sometimes. He would have to remember that for later. He would put a knuckle to his lip thinking. Which ones should he start with? Considering it was best to go the easy route, he took a pack of 'Snapdragons', one small 'bottle rocket', and something called 'Sparklers', which proudly boasted "Give off amazing lights from the palm of your hand!" "....Alright. I will take you up on your offer," he said carrying the fireworks to the desk and pulling out his blue wallet, preparing to buy, giving a friendly smile.

He saw the man get a bunch of Snapdragons and some bottle rockets. Nagito rung them up and the total came out to 3000 yen.

"Okay, well for these it'll cost 3000 yen."

He held out his hand waiting for the money, as he waited he forgot he hadn't even told him his name yet. He mentally slapped himself. 'Wow, you're an idiot. He sighed.

"My names Nagito, by the way. Nagito Komaeda."

He smiled nervously, he also had a bit of a little title that he never told anyone, not even his late grandfather. He would surely be called a freak if he told anyone about it, so he just kept it to himself.

He looked at the total and nodded. He didn't expect the fireworks to be so cheap, especially is used on momentous occasions like these....or does this store make good enough business that it doesn't matter? Either way he nodded, taking out the necessary money from his wallet, taking particular time to get exact change so as to not have anything left over, and placing it on the table. He was proud of himself when things went perfectly for his sake. It meant he could have more time to study, or at the very least, nothing will be in excess, or shallow, and that was just in money. Many little things he got excited from, many little things gave him simple pleasures, and hopefully soon, the objects called "fireworks" may do the same.

He looked at the boy who told his name. 'Nagito Komaeda'. He didn't understand why people had two names. Did people like being known as more than one person? He deduced it was family names, but why have family names at all? Organization? Honor? The many possibilities confused him, soon distracting him as he took a turn to the other fireworks pondering the question. Then something hit him that he suddenly forgot. He was paying for something for the employee! He rushed a bit back to the counter shaking his head. "Sorry sir. I seem to have gotten lost," he rushed out smiling a bit. So many questions to ask, not enough time to think and answer. "My name is Noctis," he said, not having a last name of any kind. Maybe if he asked his other associates, he could get one. "This is your store? It is very nice," Noctis complimented.

He saw the man start to leave after he had paid. Weren't they gonna go shoot off fireworks afterwards? This guy sure was weird, but then again he wasn't exactly the most normal human being out there. He apparently remembered right as he walked out the door because the man came rushing back, apologizing to Nagito. How did he get lost in such a small store?

"Noctis huh? Sounds like a nice name."

No last name? Nagito just decided to not pry. I mean, there must have been a reason for not telling him his last name. Maybe he was some part of a big gangster organization or something...that'd be cool. He widened his eyes and laughed nervously, putting his hands up as he said it

"Ah, this isn't my store, it's my Bosses. His family's owned this place for generations, I just work here. I get off in a few minutes though, so we can go shoot off those fireworks pretty soon. You don't really have to wait for me either..."

"He felt awkward, Noctis seemed a bit too nice. It was almost unnatural.

He smiled and nodded. He liked his name. Nothing ominous or special, just based in a language he found fascinating. "It is Latin for 'Night'" he explained holding a finger to his shoulder. He saw his hand up and looked at it. Then he looked back at Nagito. His curiosity got the better of him and he had to ask. "I am curious. How do fireworks spark emotions?" he asked bluntly. He didn't really know how to elaborate. And he didn't think spawning the question on him was right. He shook his head. "Never mind, no need to answer," he said now nodding. He listened as he explained. He didn't know fireworks were around for that long. then again, he had only just been out of his home recently, now marking at two months since he left his home to live in this world mostly. "I can wait if you need me to. It is up to you," he said. He didn't want to trouble the employee more than necessary. He would just have to find fire, and do this on his own.

Night. Seemed to fit for this strange guy. Well, he heard his boss say in the back that he was done. So he shrugged, and took off his little work apron and got on his jacket, pulling it over his head. "Alright, Noctis, I'm off work for today so we can go check out those fireworks." Nagito walked to the door and opened it, holding it for him. At least he wasn't going home and laying around all day like he usually does.

He nodded as he grabbed the fireworks, neatly carrying them on his hip, holding them in place as he walked outside into the cold air looking as snow fell. It was a perfect day to blast off the lights. He looked back at the employee smiling. "Where should we go?" he asked. He was very eager to check them out.

He thought. They did need somewhere to set them off. He saw an open field where few people were hanging about, he pointed over to that area and looked at Noctis. "Why not over there? People won't get hurt or be disrupted by the falling ash when it explodes, so I think it'd be best to fire them off over there."

He walked out suddenly remembering. He was to come home early today to report to Master. The problem was, he had his fireworks with him. He would have to put some of the smaller ones in his coat and hold the bottle rocket. He would look around trying to find a place to hide the bottle rocket for the night. Hopefully he would be able to capture it the next day, so he could use it. He looked back at Nagito. "Uh, s-sorry! I have to go home early! Thank you for the fireworks, and I will find a way to use them!" he said. He would grab his hand with his free hand and giving it a shake, as his best greeting possible, before making a noticeable fast-walk out down the road in  the direction of a certain door, to the room of pure blue.

((EXIT))

He started walking when he heard him behind him. And when he turned around he was running away. He raised an eye brow before looking to the left at the shop, and when he looked back he was gone. Nagito sighed and shrugged, starting to walk home to his dorms.

[[Exit]]