What's That Sound? (Tomomi/ Melina)

In his usual litter picking garb of comfortable clothes with latex gloves and a hygiene mask covering his lower face, Tomomi walked through the alleyways of the backlight, picking up loose litter using a picker on a stick, and shoving it into a black bag that he carried with him. Jacket slung over his shoulder, the boy repetitively continued the act of moving things such as bottles and cans into a black bag.

Yet this monotony was not to continue, as without realising it until it happened, the boy tripped upon a loose shoelace, falling down face first on the alley's cold ground, the sound of glass and metal clattering from the bag still tightly gripped in his hand despite the close encounter his face had received with the ground.

"... Ow..."

Standing on the balcony of her apartment Melina looked out over the city, yawning with boredom. Being so new, in a sense, to the city meant she was often rather bored on her days off. Sure there was always television but that relied on their being anything good to watch which sadly, today at least, there was not. With an exasperated groan she slumped over the railings, pouting irritably.

It was then she heard the sound glass and metal clanging from the alleyway below, reverberating upwards to her apartment thanks to the close proximity of the alley walls.

"Mmm....yeah I might as well go take a walk and see what's happening." A few moments later Melina slipped into her boots, sliding a black leather jacket over her tank top and walked down to the alleyway. First thing she saw a figure wearing a hygiene mask and gloves.

"Hey kid. You alright? I think I heard ya from my apartment." Melina stood there with a smug smile, cocked hips and a hand resting on her right hip.

Still lying on the ground, Tomomi looked up at the new source of the sound, registering what was said, before laughing slightly awkwardly as he began to slowly get up. "A-ah! Um! Yeah, I'm fine! I just uh..."

Before finishing the thought or sentence, the boy stopped, kneeling down and seemingly ignoring the stranger just to tie up his undone shoelace. Slowly... Slowly... Slowly...

Task done, the boy began getting up, dusting himself off. "Ah, where was I? Oh! Um! Yeah! I'm okay, I just tripped. Oh, uh, and uh... Sorry for disturbing you! My shoelace was untied and I didn't notice while I was working, so, I'm afraid I just tripped! Um..."

Voice falling quieter, Tomomi looked down at the ground, the woman that loomed over him casting a shadow from the lights. "Um... Hopefully not too many people were disturbed by that sound..."

With an amused expression on her face Melina waited, patiently, for this mask wearing individual to tie up their shoelaces. It seemed like an odd thing to interrupt a conversation over but Melina had done many odd things herself. Speaking of odd things, she was wondering why this person was even out here in the alleyway. It may have been early in the day but surely their was better things to do than trip over yourself in a dirty alleyway.

"N'aw. I doubt many people would be bothered. Noise is a rather common thing here...plus most people are at work except me of course but today's my day off." Melina would, uninvited, reach out to assist in dusting off Tomomi but pull her hand back realising such a thing wasn't necessary.

"Still...I live here but what brings you here?...Or is my ravishing beauty just too irresistible?" Melina had never seen this person before but it was unlikely they were here with nebulous motivations in mind. After all, they'd be a pretty god awful spy if they tripped over and gave their position away constantly.

Listening to the stranger explaining that the noise wasn't a big problem, Tomomi let out an exasperated smile. That was a relief and a half to the anxious mess that was Tomomi. So caught up in not being the subject of total public humiliation, the boy was entirely unaware of the nearly attempted assistance. The question of why Tomomi was there caught him off guard, although the less than humble suggestion at the end caught him off guard more, the face behind the hygiene mask flushing a bright red.

Shaking his hands and head frantically, the boy spoke up, voice quick and now failing to hide his accented tone. "Ah! Um! No no, um, nothing like that! I just work as a litter picker! So, streets, alleys, and stuff like that! I just um, didn't tie up my shoelace properly, and so tripped up! Please don't get the wrong idea! I uh... I do not usually fall over!"

... That was a lie. He fell over far too often. It was just usually quieter an act than the clatter he'd just gone through. Then, a realisation dawned on him. "Wait... I'd... Already mentioned the shoelace... Um... My bad... Anyways! Yeah! Sorry to cause trouble!"

"Oh you have wounded my pure maiden heart..." With an elaborate movement of her arms, Melina gripped her chest right above where her heart would be in a mock display of indignation. The distraught expression on her face passed pretty quickly as Melina giggled, stretching her arms upwards flexing her oddly well built body. She did admit to being immensely curious as to this boy.

"Ooooh? well having a job is a good thing...but hmmm...was being a litter picker all you could get? Having paying work is great and all but it must be unpleasant." Litter picking was a job Melina would never do and that was utterly down to arrogance. She had no issues getting her hands dirty but the very notion of doing something as unbecoming as picking litter? That was beneath her. Still that was a secondary matter to Tomomi's flustered state.

"Ehehehehehehehe. You do not have to be so flustered you know....It's not like I bite...much but hmmm...got a name kiddo?~" Melina's laugh was warm and jovial but the malicious glint in her eye made it clear there was most definitely something behind her choice of words. In all honesty, while Melina was definitely acting in a way that could be interpreted as flirting she did not actually consider it flirting. Would this boy view it the same way though...?

"Ah, well... Uh... As a student, it was one of the easiest jobs to get... Um... Not much competition in the market so, plenty of job openings... Oh! But I don't like, necessarily hate the job! Kind of... Not entirely... I'm grateful for having a job!"

Was it unpleasant? Yes. Yes it was. But, it at least kept a roof over his head. At the comment about how flustered he was, the "bite" comment went right over his head, but it was nonetheless embarrassing to have the embarrassment pointed out. Social anxieties, HOH!

Still, it would have been incredibly rude to not introduce himself. And Tomomi wasn't rude, at least not intentionally. "Bite...? Oh! And um, it's Tomomi! Tomomi Jōmyaku! Um, and what about you miss?"

"Hmm..yeah that's probably a good point..being a student probably does make getting a job a challenge." In all honesty? Melina had no idea what it was like trying to have a job while attending school. Her "human self" had been daddy's little caged bird and educated home while never having to worry about anything. That may sound great to some people but Melina had hated it. To be trapped inside her home, unable to do what she wanted or have any education beyond how to be a good housewife. It was a horrible nightmare worse than the demons.

"Hmmm...don't mind that. Just a little bit of amusement on my part~ As for name...hmmmm it's Melina. Always nice to meet another resident of this simply delicious city but..don't call me miss alright?" Conveniently, there was one of those old CRT TVs just left in the ally, most likely as a result of being thrown away, which Melina decided to use as a seat. Sitting her rear down atop the oddly clean seeming television, she folded one leg over the other, staring at Tomomi.

"So you're a student hmmm? Do you study anything specific or are you still in high school?" Melina's general lack of knowledge regarding what public schooling, hell any schooling beyond home tutoring, shined through yet again.

Melina... n top of that, it seemed that he had to be sure not to allow any of his accidental formality to slip in here. Avoid miss, avoid miss... Got it.

At the question about if he was a student for high school or something specialised, he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Ah. Um, I'm not advanced enough along the normal or generic education to really, well, specialise in anything right now, so, I'm still in high school. I... Think it's called high school? Um... Seven Stars, that place! The academy that's fairly recent! I actually run the martial arts club there!... Although I kind of wasn't the one that set it up..."

Shaking his head quickly as he remained as flustered as ever, the boy continued. "Ah! What about you? Um, judging from what you said mi- Melina, do you not go to school or something? Do you have a job or something? Oh, unless that's too personal!"

"Oh you know martial arts? Hmmmm...you should teach me some time yeah? I'm serious it sounds like fun to try hmmm...do they accept non-students as members?" At this point that was all she was really interested in. Yeah Melina considered it a genuinely good thing that this little kid was still in education; sadly it was over shadowed by the Shadow's own interest in milking him for martial arts.  It might sound selfish, which is was, but spending time with people for selfish reasons was fine.

"Me? Go to school? At my age?...Ahahahaha...no. I was home schooled my entire life...well, in a sense I was...but yeah. Home schooled. Never gone to a public, or private, school. And yeah, I do work. Bartender and waitress at a Gastro Pub in the Backlight." She jumped up from the T.V she had been using as a chair, dusting herself down in the process and chuckled slightly. With a smile growing across her face Melina slowly walked towards Tomomi before using one of her fingers to lift his chin upwards forcing him to look into her eyes.

"And if I can't join your little club...hmmm....well I suppose I'll see you around this area again sometime? You should pop by for a cup of tea some time~ I don't get guests often." And with a sly wink, she stepped back from Tomomi, turned her back on him and waved.

"I am serious about the lessons! It's got to be more fun than picking trash up right?" A hearty laugh was the last thing Tomomi would hear from Melina, just as suddenly as she had arrived, she left retreating back into the apartment complex. Melina had honestly enjoyed talking with Tomomi but she was a LOT more interested in kidnapping him for some private tutoring in martial arts!

"Uh... I don't know if not students can join classes or clubs at the academy... I'd have to ask... Although I'm pretty sure the academy doesn't have age limits? Although I could be wrong..." The boy spoke, voice growing more and more quiet as he muttered beneath his breath, growing more unsure of what he said as he progressed. Honestly, he had no idea, but given that he wasn't a natural born leader by any stretch of the imagination, the chances of him actually working up the courage to ask about things like that?

Yeah, it wasn't happening.

Still, at the suggestion of meeting up again, Tomomi smiled, giving a thumbs up. "Yeah, that sounds goo- OH CRAP!" And that's when it hit him. Picking trash up. His job! If he didn't get back to work, his boss would make sure his bones were found among the next litter pick up. "I-I really should get back to working! Um, see you around Melina! Bye!"

In a borderline panic, the boy retrieved his tools of the trade, running off to continue his work down the alleys, bags and picker in hands, stumbling over a once more untied shoelace, and just generally a wreck.

[Exit]