Too Many Buildings, Not Enough Space (Dream Eater)

Making sure to bring extra protection if necessary, she now had on her jeans, her seemingly trademark black jacket, which she usually would wear anywhere, and a simple pocketknife hidden in one of the pockets. It wasn't actually all that much new protection, since to her, the knife was enough. She may meet unsavory people in a place like Iwagodai. She had learned yet another building was being worked on in that city, so it was her job for her own personal map of Ueitawa to know what it is and where it is. She had also brought her lovely red headphones for the trip, finding it very difficult to get a certain song off of her repeat as she road the tram to Iwagodai.


Getting off was the simple part, and apparently so was finding this new building. It was apparently a decent-sized restaurant being built around a local square of the part of town. People were still working and building it it seems, and the noise slightly persisted. She found a local bench to sit at and sat there, not too far from the entrance to the side, blocked with some tape restricted to workers with text reading "EMPLOYEES ONLY". She would continue to watch construction go on to see how it is coming along. She could barely hear her music with all the construction going on, and twisted her lips, before taking off the headphones and resting them in her lap, staying silent as work went on.

Cursing at his partner, Damien just barely managed to avoid being flattened by the wooden cross beam they were putting it, throwing himself to the side and rolling as his shoulders hit the ground. “Hey, don’t drop it, ya moron! The damned thing has broken 3 toes already, and I’m not willing to be the owner of number four! It’s not that freakin’ heavy!” Crouching down once more, Damien exhaled slightly before lifting the actually rather heavy load bearing beam. Exploding upwards, he threw it onto his shoulders, from where he began the slow, second trek up the scaffolding. This time, he would put the wooden monster in himself. That, or he would drop it on his workmate’s head. He wasn’t done deciding yet.

However, greed beat out wrath today, as they needed to get this beam in by today to get the bonus, and it was nearing closing time. “Damned rich snobs, wanting all wood because it feels more rustic. Don’t they know how damned heavy this stuff is?” Damien’s workmate cursed. Damien himself was inclined to agree. Steel would be a quarter the weight and size, and still would end up twice as strong. Plus, they could always cover it up when they were finishing up. There was literally no reason why they had to use nothing but matchsticks for this thing, when steel and stone would have been far safer, faster, and cheaper, but there was no accounting for taste. Or idiocy.

“Yo, Takashi, throw me the sledgehammer, would ya?” Catching the heavy tool without so much as a grunt, Damien raised it high above his head while Takashi placed the first nail, something that looked like it should be holding trains together. This was the Godzilla of the nail world. “Go for it.” Takashi grunted, bracing himself. Swinging with all his might, Damien dropped the figurative (and literal, but that was another matter) hammer. The nail embedded itself halfway into the wood, and Takashi whistled. “I still have no idea how you can do that. It’s still freakish to me.” Damien grunted in appreciation as he raised the [s]foehammer[/s] once more. “Yes, it’s freakish. It’s also getting us that sweet bonus.” Once more the hammer sang out, and the nail was in. “Let’s hurry up. We’ve only got 30 more minutes, and a crapload of nails remain.”

With a blow that drove the final nail in home, all the other workers cheered. Damien had finished the crossbeam with a minute to spare, and they were going home with something nice for Christmas this year. Damien dropped down through the roof to the second floor, holding the sledgehammer across his shoulders like some kind of Japanese John Henry. “Hey, Gridiron, remind me to buy you a round for your next birthday. Damien shook his head good naturedly and gave him the bird. “Daichi, you barely ever pay for your own drinks. How the hell are you gonna pay for mine?” Daichi roared in appreciation, slapping Damien on the back.

After a few more congratulations and thank you’s, Damien dropped the sledgehammer and slid out of his work clothes, changing into his infinitely more comfortable street clothes. Gone was the hardhat and neon vest, and out came the beloved hoodie. Clocking out, Damien stretched, his back cracking slightly in appreciation. Oh man, that bonus is gonna look pretty sitting in the bank. Damien thought with a smirk. There was no way in hell the owner was expecting to pay that much out, so it would be worth it to see the look on the man’s face when he heard the news. That would be worth every penny.

But not nearly worth that pretty blonde over there… Damien thought, eyeing the girl that seemed fascinated with his building. The familiar ache dared him, and Damien couldn’t find a single reason to disagree. He was flying high with the promise of green, so why not include a little gold to boot? With these thoughts in mind, Damien sauntered over to the girl, still enraptured by the restaurant. Well, let’s see if we can’t change that, shall we? Damien grinned once more, as he finally reached the girl. “Heya, sweetheart. Mind if I join ya?” Without waiting for an answer, Damien slid down on the bench, close to her. “Why so interested in my building? Trying to be an architect?”

Her eyes mulled over the construction as she placed her headphones under her jacket. Still on her lap, but hidden. She paid attention to how things were coming together, and she could tell certain things, like how many rooms one larger area would have, or more simply, the shape some areas would turn out to be. It seemed to be more than just a decent sized restaurant. Maybe a complex or condominium of sorts? She didn't know fine details, being too lazy in school to learn said details. She did catch however some cheering going on inside, however not being able to discern what was going on. 'Although, I might cheer to if I didn't have to work there for the rest of the day...' she thought to herself. She found the thought amusing enough to chuckle. She patted her chest to feel the bump of the hidden pocketknife, still semi-reassured it was there. She didn't notice someone speaking to her until he was right next to her.

The boy...or should she say, clearly a man, was wearing normal street clothes, yet still didn't seem to get all of the dirt from construction off, as some seemed to still be on his face. Would she call him hot? Not really. Attractive? Possibly? But she would never deny how muscular this man was, which you probably would have to be to do what he did. He saw his grin as he spoke to her, in a nice enough voice. Not that she expected him to have a mean, gruff voice of coal miners, but she grinned back at him nonetheless, moving aside as if to acknowledge he was join him. She was interested already in the boy. Very up front. Quite unlike the last character she met here, which was quite refreshing. 'Sweetheart he said? Wow, I cannot believe how surprised I was to hear that...' she thought in her head. Being regarded among school as the typical high school 'slut', she would normally not get comments as tame as this from random strangers. Refreshing sure, but she almost enjoyed the flirting. So she gave him a wink and a gentle smile to bounce back to his happy comment. "By all means, go right ahead," she said invitingly. She inched her body down the bench a bit acknowledging his sitting down.

She chuckled slightly. "Well your build is currently what interests me," she said laughing a bit. That flirt she could seriously not resist. How could you pass that up given the situation? Sometimes she did not regret the sudden shift in her life when that one boy had used her the way he did. One of the times she would almost want to think about the possibility of thanking him. "But no, I just like to map things, so I guess I am sort of a wannabee architect. How did work go? You seemed pretty eager to leave," she said smiling at the new man who stopped to pay her a visit.

Damien had liked the look of this girl from the get-go, and with the first few sentences, he found out that he was dead on right. Unlike half the stuck up, frozen girls that he found around here, this girl looked like she knew how to have a good time. He almost couldn’t stop himself from deadpanning when the girl actually flirted back. Wow. It was like he was back home. “My build, eh? Such big words from such a little lady- I’d be careful with who ya flirt with like that. I might just turn out to be a regular villain, ya know?” Damien chuckled and flashed his new companion a mischievous smirk, one just daring her to help him get into trouble.

“Oh, so you do want to be an architect, eh? Well, I can see why- after all, with the wonderful architecture you’ve got going on, I’d want to study it, too.” Once again, that devilish grin snuck its way onto Damien’s face. This one was a bit more brazen than the first flirt, but at this point, Damien’s vices were all but screaming at him. He could always pray that it was esoteric enough to be funny. Turning to the next statement, Damien laughed slightly at the misinterpretation. “Oh, no, it wasn’t that we were happy to leave today- we were happy to get our work done before we had to leave. Bossman client promised a bonus to all of us if we could get the crossbeam in by today, and we finished with a minute to spare.”

Damien laughed once more, just at the ridiculous circumstances that they had managed to pull off. “There was no way in hell that miser was expecting that we would make it, so we were all laughing about how we would spend it in front of his face when the final nail went it.” Once more Damien smiled at his luck before continuing. With a sudden start, Damien realized that he had not once given his name- or asked for that of the lady’s. Berating himself for his terrible manners, even if his desires were trying to override his every thought, Damien decided to rectify this immediately.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I got your name. I’m Damien Lier, a student over by Kizuna Academy. I just transferred there last week. What about you? Might I know your name?” Waiting for a moment, Damien got an idea. “Also, if you don’t mind helping me celebrate, would you care to grab something to eat with me? Consider it a ‘thank you’ for dealing with this random stranger.” Damien laughed.

She smiled seeing her flirt worked, and giggling as he stared for a bit at her, which almost gave her the need to try another flirting tactic, which she didn't, but she almost did. "Implying I am a little lady Mr. Sir," she said finding a default nickname for him without knowing his original name. "And by the way, I have reason enough to believe that once you hit on me, I can do the same back," she said bringing her hand to her chin making a sort of, deduction face as a joke. "If anything, I can be a victim. Don't kidnap me," she joked.

She then laughed. She was not expecting the man to be so bold when he bounced back at her. Maybe he was starting to act a bit like the other boys at school, but hey, he was one person and the school had too many. "It was somewhat subtle when I said that, now it is obvious when you said it," she said seemingly calm and cool at his comment, almost as if she didn't lose any sweat over his fun little comment. She nodded hearing his explanation. "Well that's good. good to get a bonus in these poor-looking conditions. And it helps get the building finished quicker," she said. She wished she wasn't as lazy as she was to look for a job. Having money through her parents was nice, but some extra stuff on the side was even better. But she just didn't like working, and held nothing but respect for those who did for the most part. She grinned at his last comment. "Always nice to prove other people wrong. It is quite a hobby of mine when I feel like arguing," she said grinning.

Damien was his name. Not that his name had any particular meaning behind it, it was just 'Damien'. It wasn't bad at all, and it seemed fine. She gave her own respects as well giving out her full name. "My name is Lorielle Rutherford, a pleasure indeed," she said, her British accent seeming to come out a bit saying her last name. She was a native there, and took the accent over when she moved to Japan, and it always seems to come at the most random of times. "Oh? You go to Kizuna as well? So do I. I will have to show you more around that school. It'll be fun!" she said. He seemed nice enough, certainly a fun guy. She did frown however when she asked her to go eat somewhere. "Dammit all. I would, but my mother wants me to return home early today. for whatever reason. Sorry...." she said. It wasn't a lie, her mother probably was going out that night, and wanted to check up on her before she left. However something hit her, and she held her hand out slightly to him. "Here can I see your phone for a second?" she said. If he gave his phone to her, she would fiddle around with it, adding her number to the list of contacts he had, so he could contact her on a later date for that dinner date. It seemed like a pleasant surprise she would hope to the boy, considering he worked, and would probably not be able to see her all that often. If he didn't have it or just say no, she would pull her hand back and nod and tell him straight out. "I can give you my number if you'd like, that way we will set up a day. I am probably free this weekend for that, among other things," she said giving a sly joke-ish smile.

Damien winced ever so slightly. He was right; his joke was too blunt. Oh well- time to mend fences. Nothing a little self-deprecation couldn’t fix. Jumping up from the bench, Damien swept his arm across his chest, bowing low to Lorielle. “Faith, show some mercy on this poor peasant, mi’lady.” Damien straightened up, flashing that disarming grin of his once more. “Caught up in the moment as I was, I did not mean to offend.” Damien declared, mimicking the tone of the old English knights he had been told stories about ever since he was a kid.

Laughing at his own failing, Damien sat back down next to his newfound friend. “Lorielle, huh? You have a beautiful name.” He said, no trace of dishonesty in his voice whatsoever. However, his smile quickly returned when he heard that Lorielle also attended Kizuna. “Seriously? Sweet! Glad I got to know someone from the school.” Here, Damien decided to throw in another jab at himself. “Be careful though- for some reason they put me on the discipline committee, so you might not have many friends left after hanging around with me!” Damien laughed, a rich, hearty sound.

Upon hearing the disappointing news, Damien shrugged. “Eh, that’s alright. Ya win some, ya lose some- after all, you have to listen to your parents.” Though his outside was the picture of nonchalance, his insides were in turmoil. Damn! Damn damn damn damn damn! She seemed so interesting, too… He thought. With his work schedule, the best he could hope for was maybe seeing her whenever she came to check up on the building, if he was lucky. But Damien was far more than just lucky, as proved when Lorielle asked for his phone. Hardly believing his luck, Damien fumbled around for a moment, patting down his blue jeans before finding the thing.

“Gimme a second…okay, here you go.” Damien managed to find his phone, and retrieving it, handed the simple Motorola Razr to Lori. It wasn’t nearly as advanced as today’s smart phones, but it could call, and it could (and indeed, often had) survive a sledgehammer to the screen. The casing was slightly chipped from when it had been accidentally knocked off a building, but other than that, the skinny silver phone seemed almost pristine. “Yeah, that would be absolutely wonderful. I’d love to see you again- this Saturday, maybe?” Damien asked, sliding the cellphone back into his jeans after Lori was finished. But then that mischievous smirk found its way back to his face, as Damien asked, “Would mi’lady care for an escort home?” Once more Damien laughed, his body resonating with the sound.

She smiled, not intending to hurt the man's feelings, until he broke out doing a fun little expression of a typical knight. It was quite the sight, and quite funny to watch a muscular man kneel and suddenly talk all English on her. She couldn't help but snort and giggle at him. "I grant thee permission to rise," she said this time, bringing out her British accent to add a comical effect. She laughed some more scooting a bit closer, by a few inches when he sat back in the bench. "Thanks," she said. She listened to him smiling as he mentioned his status at school. Disciplinary Committee? She was fairly sure that they were with the Student Council in some form, but she wouldn't know. "Ah, it's alright. At least you don't look like a criminal," she said.

She nodded frowning when he mentioned her parents. "Yeah, it sucks. But there is a nightclub in Nadashiki that I went to one night, and I snuck from my house, so I am not always in a complete prison," she said looking triumphant. She was sure in not mentioning that her parents were out that night, so it wouldn't lessen her "skill". "But hey, we can probably go another day, I can meet you here, or somewhere and we can go out to eat. I have been dying for something out lately," she said grinning. Lately her laziness had been causing her to eat frozen meals or ramen noodles. And, they were good, but she had money, and never had the patience, or more importantly, the people to go with out for food. This would be a good occasion to have.

After adding her number she had given it back to him nodding. "There you go. Feel free to call or text whenever. I have nothing else to do on days like these," she said. She thought for a bit. 'Saturday....nope! No plans!' she would think to herself before giving a smile. "Yeah! Saturday sounds good! We will have to go in Nokiawa or Shibakuzoi, they have the best places," she said, already feeling the excitement from going. She actually had a plan, and it was pleasant to know. She laughed a bit standing up off of the bench, grabbing her headphones before they fell from her lap, and putting them around her neck, not turning on any music. "I actually live in Nokiawa, which is a bit far. But if you want, you can walk me to the train station," she said giving a welcoming smile to him. If he were to agree, she would walk with him, talking of frivolous things on the way, before giving him a small hug, and leaving for the subway tram. If he decided to not go after all, she would give him a small hug with a slight pouting face and walk to the station herself on the way home. 'Fun guy. Gotta see him more...' she would think to herself either way.

((Exit - However she does depends on your post.))

Damien smiled knowingly as Lori talked about the Nadashiki Nightclub. “Oh, you managed to get in there, huh? Nevermind that they don’t card, but hey- aren’t you a bad girl?” Damien teased, nudging her slightly with his shoulder. The two talked for a bit longer, before Lori finally assented to Saturday. Nokawia, huh? Looks like I’m gonna be starving for the week. Damien thought good-naturedly to himself. But then Lori dropped an absolute bomb of information that all but floored him. Holy hell… she lives in Nokawia? Damn, no wonder her parents are so strict. Despite this, Damien tried not to let the surprise show on his face. Successful, he lifted himself off the bench around the same time Lori did, mirroring her smile.

“Anyways, I would love to walk ya home. What kinda guy would leave you to these villains and thieves?” Damien laughed. The worst thing you could find around Iwaigodai was maybe a persistent heckler or two. “By the way, call me up the next time you hit Nadashiki- I’ll make sure to give you the full nightlife tour.” Damien laughed. Maybe she was rich, but she certainly wasn’t stuck up like all the other spoiled brats he met. She was actually pretty cool to hang around. This playful back and forth continued, interspersed with some of the more random topics, continued until the pair reached the station.

“Well, I gotta say, that was pretty fun. I’m lookin’ forward to seeing ya on Saturday, Lorielle.” She then went on to surprise him with a hug, which he was all too happy to return. Careful not to crush her, Damien nonetheless wrapped up Lorielle within his own hug, before releasing her as the train started to close. Sticking out one arm, Damien grabbed the door and prevented it from closing by sheer force alone. “Best hurry now. You probably don’t want to miss your train, interestin’ as I am, and the conductor probably doesn’t want me walkin’ home with his door. See ya!” Lorielle boarded her train, and Damien watched the steel behemoth depart before he himself started the long walk back home, to Nadashiki. Oh yeah, this is gonna be interesting. Maybe Japan won’t suck, after all.