School Lab [Destiny]

    At the sound of the bell, the girl dropped to the floor, grabbing frantically at her bag. By the time she stood up, hefting her large handbag in both hands, the boy was gone. She let out a brief sigh before she hurried out, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. Well, her parents should know that she was going to be home a bit later than planned.

==Time skip==


    The bell for the last class let out a piercing ring. Before the sound had stopped, most of the students were already out of the classroom, their laughter and banter nearly drowning out the shrill alarm. Normally, Destiny would sit and wait for the crowd to thin out before she even attempted to leave campus, but today she had an appointment to keep. Pulling her coat on and buttoning it up fully, she snatched up her bag and followed the gaggle of kids racing towards the gates.

    The blonde almost didn’t feel the vibrating in her coat pocket. After juggling her possessions for a moment, she managed to dig out her cell and flip it open, pressing the receiver to her ear as she questioned breathlessly, “Hello?”

    “Hey angel.” It was her father. “I got your message. You’re just going to the Market, right?”

    Destiny began to nod, only to belatedly realize he couldn’t see her. “Yes. I’ll pick up the things you asked for too while I’m there.”

    There was a brief silence. For a moment, Destiny panicked, thinking she’d accidentally pushed the END CALL button as she worked through the crowd. His voice, however, finally reached her ears. “Stick to the main roads. And be back before dark. And…" he sighed heavily. “Just be careful, alright?”

    Finally breaking free of the building and reaching the bitterly cold although welcome outdoors, the blonde grinned softly, a combination of understanding and relief coursing through her. “I will, dad. Always am.” She scanned the crowd, searching for a certain silver head of hair. She finally saw the boy leaning against the gates, his eyes trained on his phone. “Ah, I have to go. I’ll see you at home, dad. Love you.”

    “Love you too, angel.” There was a dull click as he hung up the phone, leaving Destiny free to push the electronic back into her pocket and bound up to her earlier partner.

    “I didn’t mean to make you wait.” she huffed slightly, coming to a stop in front of him. Offering a small smile, she turned her head slightly in the direction of Hayabusa. “I suppose you’re ready? Let’s go then.” She waited for him to stand before she slid through the crowd, allowing him to catch up to her before she continued in the direction of the Satoshi Market.

The Tsurinai's sullen eyes would slowly raise to look at the girl who had finally arrived on scene. Closing his phone and placing it back within his blazer, he'd give a nod and begin to follow behind her with a calm stride. The stoic young man didn't say a word as he followed behind the young female. Naito seemed to be on cloud nine, almost as if he were dazing off while following her towards the market. Knowing him, he was probably thinking about various things that held no importance to anyone but himself. This would go on for several minutes as they walked down the snow covered path towards Hayabusa that was only a mile or two away. He didn't seem to be in the talking mood, or rather he just failed at making small talk. He saw it as a waste of time, which that was what it was after all. However, he suddenly stopped at the sound of a child standing off to the side of the road alone. The stoic young male would stop and look towards the child who seemed to be alone. However, an older adult came by and seemed to be a relative of the child, taking them by the hand with a rough grip and dragging them off further down the road. Though usually indifferent in expressions, Naito's eyes did wince for a fraction of a second. Obviously he did not approve of the behaviour, though he kept the reason to himself.

For someone who had a younger sibling they looked after the majority of their life, he did have a sort of complex when it came to younger siblings. Seeing them overly neglected or treated last trash did grind his gears slightly, as it reminded him of his days before he was shipped off to Ueitawa. His silver hues remained downcast and sullen, but when he remembered he was actually in the middle of something, his gaze went back towards the young blonde that was leading him to the market. Regaining his composure, he'd continue off with his usual confident stride without looking back once. Instead he was looking towards the backside of the female accompanying him. There was a certain longing to strike up a conversation, yet at the same time what should he say? There wasn't much he knew about her, other than the fact she wasn't from Japan, nor did she like to dissect dead amphibians. Raising a gloved hand to his chin, he'd narrow his eyes and ponder on a subject to discuss; somewhat hoping she had something to say before him. After all, he wasn't the easiest person to hold a conversation with and he was aware of this.

    The silence was starting to make her nervous. Sure, Destiny thought the boy trailing behind her was a bit on the quiet side, but she didn’t think he’d be this quiet. Come to think of it, however, the only reason he’d spoken to her in the first place was because he was eager to finish their experiment.  

    The girl had been glancing over her shoulder every few seconds, just to make sure the silverette was following her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pause for a moment, his head turned to the other side of the road. Slowing her pace so as to get a good look, she searched for something that might’ve caught his attention, but all she could see was a small child. It was only when an adult came over and dragged the youth away did she realize that, by the way his head panned to follow their movements, it was indeed the child who the boy found so interesting. Turning away from the protesting pair across the street, she focused her eyes back on the snow-covered ground in front of her.

    Whatever semblance of sound that had filled the air was gone now, leaving the uncomfortable silence. It didn’t exactly help that, in her anxiousness to depart from the large crowd of students, she had hurried ahead, leaving the boy a few paces behind her. She could feel his gaze on the back of her head every so often, and the red in her cheeks soon bloomed more out of self-consciousness rather than the cold.

    In an effort to calm herself, she shifted her speed, slowing down enough so that she could match the boy’s stride and walk next to him. Changing her position actually helped a bit; being able to see his expression clearly rather than guess made her feel just a bit more at ease.

    “I didn’t mean to get so far ahead of you.” Despite the evenness of her tone, the words felt like they tumbled out of her mouth. “Pardon my haste.” She flashed him a small smile before she breathed into her hands, lightly rubbing them together. The friction countered some of numbness gathering in her fingers, but she stopped after a moment when the heat became just a little too intense.

    The blonde glanced at the teen next to and took in his light clothing. He couldn’t possibly be alright with just that light blazer, could he? “Are you cold?” She held the collar of her coat with her finger and thumb, pulling it up slightly. “If so, you could borrow this until we get there.” Yes, her coat might be a size or two too small, she realized, but at least it could drape over his shoulders, or keep his arms and chest warm. Someone not used to this cold could catch their death of pneumonia, or worse. And she really didn’t want to find out that her lab partner would be paying the hospital a visit due to one long walk to the Market after school.

It was almost as if the female had eyes on the back of her head how well she could tell the Tsurinai was following her with his sullen gaze. When she suddenly turned around to get next by him, his silver hues continued to follow her as he tilted his head. She surely was a strange one and he had a feeling thoughts went through her head a mile a minute. Though he could respect that, it most likely kept her on her toes for the majority of her time wandering around. When she began to rub her hands together, he figured she was cold and made the notion to reached into his satchel to remove an extra pair of gloves. However, before he could pull out these gloves she had offered him her jacket for some reason. The Tsurinai hadn't noticed, but it was rather cold wasn't it? By no means was he not immune to it, it was simply that he had grown so accustomed to the weather even though he had only been there a few months. Plus there was a pride issue plaguing him that would not allow him to take the young woman's coat that would easily be too small for him either way. While waving a hand he would shake his head and give a blank stare towards her. "That won't be necessary. Telling by how cold your hands were, you need it much more than me. Either way, we should get there before any serious issues cut in. I can endure this minor annoyance." Naito wasn't entire sure how to thank the female, so he would raise his hand and pat her head as if she were a child. It was even odder how he did this because even as he patted her head, he kept that indifferent expression on his face.

After a few seconds of patting, he lowered his hand and placed it on his side. "That should be fine. Let's continue on." The silver haired young man would give a nod before picking up his pace and continuing down the path towards Hayabusa. It wouldn't be much longer now. "We're almost there. Good, I can't say this walk was a "breeze"." He spoke with his usual blunt tone before turning to look towards the young woman over his shoulder. "So, I suppose this question intrudes on your personal life. I'm curious, do you have any older or younger siblings?" Tsurinai Naito didn't usually ask others of their personal life information, but thanks to the scene before he wondered. Curiosity did kill the at, but this situation had nothing to do with that saying, did it? She could easily refuse the answer and he'd drop the subject completely. After all, why continue on with a conversation if it needed to be forced and was not natural?

     Besides blinking once or twice, the blonde didn’t offer any protest at his gesture. She didn’t mind it, really; her family was very big on showing their affection through touch, so she had no qualms about others doing the same. However, even though he’d done it once before at school, the girl was still a bit surprised; the action seemed…natural. It was a bit odd for the personality he seemed to have. Was there someone he was close to, someone who he was used to treating the same way? Her mouth opened slightly as she attempted to get her voice to work and ask, but snapped shut as she remembered that his personal life was an off-limits topic. She opted instead to give him a small, shy grin, watching as he pulled his hand away and quickened his pace.  

     Destiny scampered back to his side, falling in sync with his footsteps once again. As she settled into their new pace, her ears perked at his inquiry. Questions? Those she could handle. “It’s alright, I don’t mind you asking. I have two sisters, both older than I am.” The girl’s eyes dimmed slightly, her soft smile taking on a solemn twinge as she added, “I don’t see the eldest one much, but the other still lives at home, so I can at least see one of them on a regular basis.” She’d brightened at the last bit, seemingly pleased that one of her siblings was still close.

     Glancing at the boy next to her who seemed to be listening, she mentally stumbled. A normal reply on her part would be to ask about his own family, get him to reveal just a little about himself. But when her default inquiry was automatically ruled out, how in the world was she going to continue this conversation? She hoped something in that brief answer interested him. Otherwise, the two would lapse into silence again, and the girl wasn’t sure if her nerves could handle another round of that.

Naito's sullen eyes found some life when she mentioned she had two sisters. This small spark of interest soon subsided, but it did seem to get a reaction out of him as he narrowed his eyes. "I see. So we have something in common. I, myself, have two siblings. Though I have an older and younger sister." The Tsurinai, though previously quite harsh about personal matters, didn't seem so reluctant to share this information with his traveling partner. Keeping his arms crossed above his chest, the silver haired teen would shift his head so his bangs no longer draped across his pale face. "I have a higher respect for those who have siblings, possibly because I'm in their same shoes. Though I will not lie and say I've been keeping in contact with my family ever since I was sent here to Ueitawa, I do still cherish the relationship I have with my younger sister. She's quite important to me, and I'm sure your older siblings think the same of you." The usually stoic young man let a thin smile come across his face as he took a breath of fresh air. "Thinking about it, that must make you the baby of your family. Heh, I suppose that's not too bad. You must get perks with such a title. I, myself, hold no such perks. Though I am the only male child, my only use to my Father is to be married away so the family's power grows. It's quite humorous when you think about it. Being so greedy for power you'd attempt to have your son married away to a rival family. He was surely shameless, and of course I refused. Thanks to that refusal I was sent away, and alas here I am in a god forsaken region that does nothing but bore me." Well it did until recently. Perhaps he should have been grateful he was sent away because of his defiance, since it did allow him to come across this new power of Persona. The power to change the world as one knew it. Though Tsurinai Naito, though he'd never admit it, did have some regrets after being sent away. For one, seeing his younger sister was out of the question. They were practically worlds apart, and there was still a chance his younger sister had a place in the family where he had lost his. Take it from him, he did not care that the Tsurinai saw him as a black sheep. But with how he acted, the majority of the people he met in his life thought the same thing. He had yet to make any "friends" in Ueitawa because of his usual condescending nature and harsh remarks he sent towards others. Did this bother him? Of course not, it wasn't a Tsurinai's M.O. to get upset over such trivial things. It was nothing to him. Nothing.

After their short discussion to pass time, the two students would finally make it to the Satoshi Market in Hayabusa. Naito's sullen silver hues would stare towards the doorway before he'd take a step forward and open it. He'd hold it open for the young woman accompanying him, and would follow her inside once she entered. "So, what was it I needed here? I believe steak skewer since it's supposed to be their specialty." He spoke loud enough for the blonde woman to hear, but his eyes were scanning the various isles as if attempting to identify someone in the crowd. This would most likely be his last attempt of attempting to find a suspicious party in the Market. His next step would need to question Satoshi Anya in the hospital whenever possible. But for now he'd follow through with this outing that he started with this classmate of his. Lucky for him, and probably her, she was leaving quite a positive opinion on him. Though there was some incompetence during the lab, he could easily overlook that since she was assisting him here and now. Anyway, he didn't enjoy leaving his grade to others, so he would have most likely took over the lab regardless of outcome or competence from the secondary party.

     The blonde listened quietly, her eyes widened just enough to suggest pleasant curiosity at the teen’s words. She was surprised, of course, that he’d responded so readily, and even more shocked at the finer details he added near the end of his little monologue. A splash of nostalgia hit her as he glossed over the relationship he had with his own sibling; her sisters did say something to that effect once before, hadn’t they, that she was important to them? Ah, but that had been ages ago, and it had been years since they used that one little phrase her parents tossed out like candy. No matter; they probably felt the same way now and just hadn’t the time to say it. Yes, that was probably it. It took her a minute to place that last sensation. It wasn’t exactly “sadness”, but it wasn’t “pity” either. Perhaps…sympathy? Yes, that seemed about right. She could hardly imagine her own happy-go-lucky father even thinking of doing something similar, and just the thought of hearing that sort of proposal made her a little ill. The silverette called it funny; personally, she found it deplorable. Still, her mouth never twitched to suggest a frown, and she never took her eyes off of his face. Nothing in her expression ever betrayed  the thoughts and fleeting sentiments in her head.

     Finally reaching their destination, she checked her phone, pleased to find that they’d made it there quicker than expected. The boy spoke again, drawing her attention away from her cell and onto his words. Of course, food! That was the reason they came here, wasn’t it? The blonde affirmed his comment with a nod, adding, “Yes, you’re right. They sell them right there.” extending a finger, she pointed at a counter where a worker or two stood, greeting the customers with a smile. Tilting her head inquisitively, she asked, “Would you like me to get one for you or would you rather do so yourself?” He’d admitted at school he found talking to others difficult, but perhaps he’d want to try conversing with the salespeople himself. After all, he seemed perfectly at ease talking to her, and although he said a few strange things, none of them seemed particularly odd or rude. Still, if he wanted assistance, she’d give it to him. That was the nice thing to do, wasn’t it?

Naito placed a gloved hand on his side as he looked towards the direction the young woman pointed. "You've done well, I can handle this part alone." The Tsurinai nodded towards his partner before heading up towards the stand and gazing over their selection. He stood there for a few minutes, conversing with the young man who was responsible for preparing the meals. At the end, Naito did receive two skewers and would walk back over towards the female. Handing her one of the wooden sticks that held a separate slice of steak than his own; he'd look down at his own with a curious expression. "I asked him where their establishment purchases the meat, and if the steer are home grown and raised on an organic location. He could not answer, leaving me very curious on if this meat is safe to consume." His silver bangs draped over his head as those silver hues glared towards the stick of meat. "What was the saying? Nothing ventured, nothing gained? Hmph, I suppose that would play a role here." Tsurinai Naito had always had food prepared a certain way, ever since he was a child. Fast food, or otherwise food found in small restaurants never made it to his lips, and this was because his family hand very strong standards. This wasn't the first time he had eaten something his family did not recommend, but it was the first time he ate from here specifically. So when he took his first bite into the steak and ripped a chunk off into his maw; he'd give it a few indifferent chews before swallowing it. "This is... surprisingly good. It has a certain type of taste. Is this what they mean by commoners having a different variety of foods?" The pale faced young man continued to stare at the stick of meet before looking up at the blonde with a quizzical expression.

     The girl hadn’t been expecting him to buy something for her. Although she accepted it without complaint, she hurried to recall how much the food actually cost. Perhaps she’d be able to pay him back at the end of her shopping trip? Yes, that would do.

     “I’m not surprised.” Destiny shrugged her shoulders lightly when he mentioned the workers couldn’t tell him where the ingredients came from. Most employees didn’t care about the products they served, much less how it was made. Understandable, if you thought about; if they had no real passion for their job, why would they put extra effort into it?

     She bit off a small piece of her own skewer a moment after he did the same, curiously watching his face. The food wasn’t the prettiest nor the best money could buy, but it tasted good and the owners made sure that everything was made fresh. She smiled slightly when he seemed to enjoy his purchase a little bit. Holding a few fingers to her mouth, she chewed and swallowed before she made an attempt to answer the question. “I suppose so? I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to. All food tastes different.  It really just depends on who made it.” Taking another small nibble, she glanced around the store. Normally she’d sit down to eat, but the tables and chairs were outside in the bitter cold. It was better for her health to stand inside, granted she didn’t block the flow of traffic. Finding that there weren’t many people around, she turned back to the silverette, finishing the food in her mouth before she asked, “I take it you don’t come to places like this much?” In hindsight, it must have seemed like a silly question; it was quite obvious the answer was “yes” based on his reaction to the food. But it was more of Destiny’s way of indirectly finding out what the boy was used to. After all, he said he wasn’t exactly comfortable in Ueitawa yet. Perhaps she could show him somewhere that might seem somewhat familiar? It wouldn’t be much, but perhaps it would be enough to help him settle in just a bit easier.

The silver haired Tsurinai stared at the steak skewer for several seconds without any words. He took in what the young woman had said to him and considered if he should answer or not. After that small moment of silence, his silver hues did look back towards the female. "I suppose I haven't..." With one final glance around the store, the young man would determine that everything was going according to regular order. Perhaps he was becoming too cautious these days, and maybe even alittle paranoid to believe the culprit would attempt to go for Satoshi Anya again. After all, if he wanted to really kill Anya, he had plenty of time to before Naito had saved her. Regardless, this was beside the point at the moment...

The pale faced young man found himself staring at the young woman who had escorted him to the shop. It was strange for someone to do such an selfless act without reward, but he supposed this had something to do with him completely the lab for her. Giving a thin smile, he'd close his eyes and begin to walk towards the exit of the store. "That's enough for the day, thank you for your assistance. Perhaps when I have the time, you can show me more places around Ueitawa." He seemed to leave abruptly, as he opened the door and went back out into the cold. Raising a hand nonchalantly, he'd give a slight wave to the young female before going about his way. With one last visible bite of the steak, Tsurinai Naito was then out of sight.

[Exit - We should do this again soon]

     “Oh—good-bye…?” She managed to say before he walked out the door. Now standing alone in the middle of the market, Destiny stared at the spot the boy had occupied only moments before. It took a moment before she turned away, reaching into her pocket for the shopping list she’d been given.

     As she walked over to the produce section, the conversation she’d held with her partner replayed in her head. She’d been polite through their entire interaction, right? A wince flashed across her features as she remembered her stumbling earlier at the school lab, how her words could have been chosen a bit better and how she could have been much more helpful than she had been. Polite, yes. Confident…not so much. Not like he’d been. She couldn’t help the small smile that spread over her face. He was blunt, yes, but so sure of himself. It wasn’t too often she’d see someone that poised, especially at her age. It was, in a word, interesting.

     Oh well. These thoughts wouldn’t help her finish her shopping any. With a sigh she reached into her bag with her free hand, searching for her wallet. It would be best to check how much she had on her; it wouldn’t be good to get to the register only to find she didn’t have enough money to—

     Her eyes widened and her hand ceased its rummaging. Money! Oh for the…how could she have forgotten to pay her classmate back? She had half a mind to run after the silver-haired teen, but she wasn’t sure where exactly he’d gone off to. Perhaps he’d gone home? Ah, but she didn’t have the slightest idea where that could be. Wandering around at this time alone was against her better judgment, and it would be foolish to traipse all over Ueitawa looking for one person. Shaking off her agitation with a slight nod of her head, the blonde went back to her shopping. She would just have to wait until she ran into him again before she could pay back that debt.


[Exit]