Silent Night, Bright Night (Open to Three)

Nadashiki seemed like the better idea for Ruo’s next exploration in her task to map out Ueitawa. It was not only one of the more notable places with a wider variety of things to do, but it was also more populated than that of Iwaigodai. Normally, Ruo would be against the silly notion of being around other people, though recent events have seemed to change her opinion. It was probably best to learn more about the area rather than stick to one, so she would know where else to go, and where she could learn new things, in the event where it becomes necessary. However, she would refuse to return to Shibakuzoi due to matters obvious to only her. She was also hesitant to go to places that were very much populated, like the local schools. It did fairly fascinate her enough about how it all worked, but she would risk being noticed in that environment, as well as possibly going haywire and causing another accident in the meantime. With that in mind, she would walk across the plaza silently, her jacket around her and her hood over her head. Anyone who would notice her really would not think twice, or perhaps think she was a criminal. But no one would raise any sort of shout, perhaps because the people there seemed to evade the law themselves.

When she had walked into the mall, she removed her hood, exposing her black hair reaching to her hips. Her gray skin would be noticed under the light of the mall, and her blue eyes would eye the mall over from the left to the right, and then turn behind her to look and see if anyone would follow her inside. But she did not notice anyone in particular, only the sound of the closing door that she herself opened in order to walk in. It was a deep night tonight, the moon being half full, and it being pretty quiet, even in the mall. She fully expected it to be full of people, but even in here it remained relatively scarce. There were people sure, but they were far off ad few between, and could easily hear some conversations they were having. It was good to see a favorite type on environment of hers simulated in other areas of town. Less people the better right? Though, she would remember in her mind, her reason was to just explore, without having a set goal on what to do.

She eventually began to walk around the mall, finding a café, an arcade, and all sorts of things she only knew from the internet, and what certain people told her before she found herself in her new home. She could never even imagine finding things like this in Iwaigodai; the place was mostly barren of any activities that normal humans in her mind, would do. Perhaps that was why it was so underpopulated as it were. It fascinated her in a way, but not to the point where normal visits like these were going to be customary in the future unless it was necessary. Just scouting out this area was her job. That is all.

Ruo found fair interest in the local electronics section of the mall, perhaps because of her own origins, or her own biases. She would bring her right arm to her left, giving it a light squeeze to see if the part was alright. Of course it was, as it usually was. It never broke down. But to Ruo, it never meant it could not break down, and she would give it a squeeze again as she walked through the section, rather quickly. She felt a bit of pressure on her mentally, that should not in theory, exist. She debated running, but that could put possible strain on her, and that would not work out well in her worrying mind.  She would soon approach the food court, not really noticing anyone who would come near her for once, as she was too focused on her hardware’s status at the time.

Weaknesses:

Ruo , walking in the food court would find herself looking at the various foods there. She herself could not eat, nor was it necessary for her to live. But it did bring her curiosity up well enough to see what people would eat. So many foods humans had; pizza, ice cream, hamburgers? She would have to look that up some other time. She may have not added that to her memory until then. She would walk a bit closer to the restaurants in turn, until she saw a certain restaurant catch her eye. It seemed to serve ramen, as well as other national food that would be standard to Japan. She could not smell, nor taste, but every other sense was available to her. The place seemed relatively deserted save for a few people, one man in particular was at the counter, with noticeable aviators on his face. The look seemed to confuse Ruo, as he doesn't seem to mind his position being fairly compromised. Though, if one were to focus on him, she would go unnoticed. Once more, she should probably explore more in order to gather more about her surroundings. “Profound Wisdom” as the people would call it.

Walking in the restaurant, she would slowly look upon the man and notice he was ordering a staggering amount of food. She was only able to catch this because the man had still been ordering several seconds after she walked in. The orders weren't even that long! His stomach must be larger than the average human head, unless he just has a strong sense of will. It almost intrigued her in a way, enough to slow down slightly when walking by him. However, a familiar sting would form itself in the back of her mind. It was not painful really, but it had enough behind it to completely alter her personality for a brief moment, and she would suddenly become curious and surprised. “Are you going to eat all of that?!” she said putting a hand near her mouth in reflex. Whether it was because she was trying to get herself to quiet, or because of the shock, she would not be able to remember. If he noticed her sudden exclamation; which with her own luck she would be, she would quickly turn to the side and fumble slightly and pretend to look at the menu. For Ruo, who was a survivalist as a creation, she certainly will never get over her emotional spikes in her defections.

Weakness:

Ruo could not be in a bigger bind. She probably was exaggerating it, but she could not help but fear her own mistake may cost her. Though, it was not like she could control it. It happens far too much in her existence for her to not know it at this point, but sudden shifts in personality due to issues with her creation was fairly common in her state. Though, even now that she had his attention from the looks, she could not simply continue to act that way. She would probably take the route of just acting as natural as she could, and the man had given her the perfect opportunity to do so. “Sorry,” she said a bit formally, much different to her previous tone. “I don’t…I’m not hungry really,” she eventually answered. She was however intrigued by the man’s sense of mystery. He also had a very easy way to grab someone’s attention. Though, asking for ridiculous amounts of food may have done the work for him. She would eventually relent and sit on a chair next to him. It probably would not cause so much harm to her at the moment.

She would look at his amber eyes once he removed his shades. They seemed to go well with him, and did not particularly stick out. In truth, Ruo probably did not stick out either, especially with her hood up. But she could never tell herself that and get away from her stunning sense of denial. “In any case…sorry about my outburst before….” She said looking at the menu once more. She did not explain why; not like she could and at the same time, be understood. Plus, she had no idea what the man was like. Lately people have been like that for her: able to have her in a calm sense, but ready to snap at a moment’s notice if it was necessary. She may have to leave if something were to go wrong. But again, she was worrying over the worst-scenario that she would never realize was unlikely to happen.

She would soon turn back to the man. Figured it was a best time as any to learn his nature. “My name is, R-“ she said before giving a face of confusion, which to others, may look like she suddenly forgot her own name. She had never thought of her name, only the ones given to her, but the ones she had before were far too revealing, or odd to have in a natural environment. She took a second to think before she eventually thought of something particularly quaint to her, that she could use. “My name is Ruo. How are you fairing today?” she would ask.

Ruo was needless to say, not worried about this man. He acted completely aloof, like he did not know what he was doing, yet at the same time, he knew, and was just enjoying himself. Ruo could only feel uncomfortable around the man, not because she felt he was dangerous, but she felt that he would easily draw attention to himself, and by extension, her. She would look at the man who would refuse the multiple plates for his meals, probably intending to tackle them all at once. Did this man have no sense of being inconspicuous? She would turn her head behind her to see if anyone had been behind her, but the only ones who were just people at their tables, happily eating, a couple looking upon the man. She would turn quickly back to the table, twitching her fingers and fiddling around. She could not think of what to do or say at the moment.

Luckily, the man would scarf down pork buns as though others were after them, however still remaining to make no mess or be impolite. Ruo would look unimpressed, or rather, expressionless, but just watch as he ate for a moment before speaking up. “Do you eat like this on normal occasions, or is this a special night for you?” she asked quite bluntly. She had no sense of empathy, and could not think of a better way to sugar-coat what she was saying. She could only be straight-faced and honest with the man. She did not think she was being too rude. Regardless of his answer, she would only give a light nod, not really interested in his occasions, but at the very least, she was willing to stay a bit longer. The man had given her a smile when he mentioned her name, which brought her a bit of confusion. “Did I say something humorous perhaps?” she said. Deciding her name in her head was not too difficult. Perhaps he was just listening to her, or laughing on the inside. Though, he seemed very welcoming either way.

The man had named himself “Alphonse”. Taking a second to look any nuance or meaning in the name via her connection the modem in her head had with the internet, she could only find a very broad definition of the word, being “noble”. She had no real way to approach his name, so that would be an option lost. “I appreciate the offer, but truly, I am not hungry tonight. I came for a walk and happened upon this place,” she said in a proper manner. She did not know how to act around others, and can be awkward at times, as he seemed to be as well. So her best option when approached by anyone would be to become as proper as possible until she learned more about the person, assuming she even bothered to care. Her train of thought would be interrupted by what he intended to do around the area of the strip mall. “Purchase a building? May I ask why? Seems rather odd someone would do it at this time of the evening,” she said. This avenue of questioning seemed to be possibly more fruitful than his eating habits, and Ruo would hope it would lead into some insight upon him, and the people around the area.

“You have an odd way to refer to me. Is that how you tend to go about things? I am for the most part, unfamiliar with the culture around here,” she said. She was now slowly getting curious enough. She could probably assume the man meant no harm at this point, and for once, she would feel a bit relieved to be able to think and believe so. What she had said was not really a lie; in fact, it was most certainly the truth. She knew little to nothing about how people would act around others, and it would never hurt to try after all. Actually thinking about it, the man must be an expert in that area, if he was as resilient as he was to eat all those pork buns, not really mind who sees him. Ruo was in a way, fascinated by the man named Alphonse.

“I was not offended. I was just rather confused. I had paused to dwell on the subject. I suppose there was no trouble introducing myself. You seem like a fair enough man,” she said rather stiffly. It was rare for her to make a compliment such as this. In fact, she had never made a compliment to anyone outside her creators. It was quite difficult for her to say, externally, and internally alike. No doubt in her mind suggested she had much else to offer him in the way of compliments, and it was not like she was immediately judging him already. She was far too careful in her head to judge anything, and always be wary in any situation no matter what. Perhaps this would be a way to make him more friendly if he was not already. Ruo would sit back against the chair, easing ever so slightly in the environment, still on high enough alert and ready for a situation. She would lift her right hand to the table and use her left hand to squeeze it lightly, checking how it was. It would turn out to be alright, and she would let it go, determined to try and not bring up the thought once more.

The man would at the moment, exercise what she would understand as etiquette, wiping his mouth for any excess food. She would wonder what that felt like. Is food worth eating? That may have sounded like a silly question in her head, and it probably was, but she had never tasted. She in fact did not know if she could, but she would dare not take the risk and possibly crash her hardware or system. But the thought of eating food made her curious enough. Who would have thought the man positively binging on pork buns would raise the thought to her.

The subject would soon revolve around answering her question. She would take the time to notice his vocabulary was very…specific for lack of a proper word. “Surely you would be around a lot if it is as important as how you put it, but empire? What an odd thing to say. What are your plans?” she asked, in a monotone, yet clear enough confused voice. He could easily have been messing with her or making a joke. But the idea of purchasing vacant buildings for an empire made her think of her own empty living quarters; the abandoned warehouse in Iwaigodai. Would that become part of his ”empire”? What was his intentions if she was over exaggerating it in her head? She would await his answer with decent curiosity.

The chef would come out with Alphonse eager to eat. Clearly they were ribs, and quite decadent looking ones at that. Alphonse’s eyes practically got brighter at the sight of it all, and began to eat, with much more grace this time. The man had a “casual” all over him like it was his daily clothing, and that was one thing she would never deny. To be fair, Ruo was fairly interested in the man. He probably did not care what others thought of him, much less what Ruo thought. Then again, Ruo had no opinion of the man as of yet. She would listen to him as he told his plans with the area and his reasoning for buying out area in the strip mall. The man seemed to be some sort of event-planner, if that would ever turn out to be a real occupation. Ruo was not even aware those who did such a thing could be paid for it, though it did make sense when you thought about it. She would have to check the internet and learn about these different occupations and what they do, as he seemed do other things beyond events as well. If he was as successful as he says he is, who knows what people could do?

“Admittedly, that is impressive. I had not thought there were so many options out there. Quite the fortune,” she would say. The honey-eyed man would continue, clearly intending to absorb the areas available in this area, a high feat indeed he would say. “Perhaps it could be done. Humans have overcome so many things, this would just be another great feat someone has accomplished,” she said calmly. She did not know how to feel, or perhaps, express respect, however she did know that humans were able to overcome so many things. It was the very means by humanity’s decisions that they remain to this day. Whether some would live or die off would be up to their choices, but maybe that was the beauty of it. Autonomy and the ability to have an ego. If nothing else, Ruo found it interesting. “More to the point, you probably have planned this long before today. I imagine you took care into planning it all?” she would ask. She did not know how to initiate her own small talk, and she did not dare tell him anything of herself, at least not for the time being. Not to mention it was getting late, but that does not mean she did not have a bit more time to chat.

The man named Alphonse at least took her comment. Perhaps she was acting silly in that regard, so pointing it out probably would have made her look around to see if anyone was watching. Though this time, she would resist the temptation, as sweet as it was. She would listen to his explanation of his goals. He truly knew what he wanted, and that Ruo could at least admire. Knowing what you wanted to do and why was something to be admired by others. It showed decisiveness, and the unwilling to not do anything. Ruo herself went by that method if nothing else. Survival to escape her creators, and learn to blend in to achieve said survival. Truly there were individuals who had things in common with one another. She would look back at him, after his large lesson and gave a light nod. “It is good that you know the risks and dangers before making a decision. It will help you in the long run,” she said. Knowing not all information before making a decision was nothing less than foolish in Ruo’s mind, and was not nor will not be how she goes about things. It was better to see decisive people like Alphonse.

She would turn away to look out, and see the moon closing in on the middle of the night sky. It was getting late, and Ruo needed the time she needed to go home. She had already explored the area once before after meeting another man. So she would have more time to go home. She would stand up from her chair, and bow slightly to Alphonse. “It was a pleasure to meet you Alphonse. I have to return home. I am rather weary,” she said calmly. Though her words were a bit disjointed each sentence, as she still was barely grasping conversation that she had to express externally. She would one day master it, hopefully. She would wait for him to give her his goodbyes, giving him her own as well, and turn to leave out into the night, putting on her hood, as to mask her appearance for the most park of the night. The moon was the only thing bringing light, but it was as though it was Ruo’s perfect scenery. It could help her remain stealthy, and perhaps one of the rather more interesting things, was that while it seemed to have its unsavory characters, it also had people like she met, and did not cease to create a serene feel in the environment.

((EXIT))