A Stunt for One, a Stunt for All (Open to 2)

"Please stop crying," he would say to the little kid, kneeling down and his bike leaning on his shoulder. He didn't mean to make the kid cry, and normally he'd not care too too much, but this was straight bad looking and might ruin his career if he let it happen without trying to stop it. He was simply testing out his new mountain bike's springs, when he hit a ramp and flung over a car, and scared this little kid.

So after a few more moments of consoling, the kid would stop freaking out, and then started laughing as he ran off. Deth would stand up again, and frown a bit. "Such an odd kid," he would say, walking his bike a few steps. He would then sit on his bike, and waddle with his feet, god only knew him pedaling would make him scare another kid. That was an issue Deth seemed to have with kids in the small town: they were so not used to big city things like stunts, and Deth's exciting appearance to city folk startled peoplr in his neighborhood. It was totally unfair to him really.

As he would sift along the ground at a leisurely pace, he'd stop to see something head... or maybe it was someone... The sun was in his eyes so he was having a rough time determining. A horn suddenly went off, and he would sift lazily to the right, onto the walkway. Not many cars on the road normally, but he watched as two passed eachother. Such a rare occurance here, so dull of him to notice. He wondered what the next stunt he would do was... Deth totally wanted to tie a rope to a car and skateboard. It would be wicked.

Hayabusa was more rural than Ruo had expected. It was her first visit in Hayabusa, and there seemed to be less people, which brought a small degree of comfort to her, as she rather preferred her solitude as opposed to large crowds. She actually put her hood down, revealing her black hair hanging to her lower back, her blue eyes, and her pale grey skin. Though “skin” was probably not the greatest word, as it was merely synthetic coating. Her coat reaching to her hips was zipped up, and her shorts were practically concealed under said coat so her legs were mostly revealed as well. Larger clothing to Ruo was rather constricting and could get in the way, especially if she ended up having to fight, which was something she was always prepared for. Taking one look behind her to see if anyone was there, she would walk down one of the major roads of Hayabusa, not doing much, just planning to survey the area so she will know some areas if she ends up visiting once more.

Nothing of note had happened before this moment. She had been doing her routine in surveying, and nothing would come up, until she heard the sound of a crying child. Ruo did not take a particular hurry, but she would walk near the noise, to see a child crying and a man acting in a comforting manner to the small child. This man was quite distinctive, that even if Ruo did not plan to remember him, the look alone may remain in her memory. Most of him was purple, including his hair and clothing. Apart from the earrings he wore, he looked practically like a human grape. Did humans dress as oddly as he did? She has not met many humans since she woke up, but none of them were quite like this, not at all. Ruo much rather preferred staying inconspicuous, lest she be spotted by random passersby, but this man may not be a “fugitive” as it were like she was.

He took some effort in comforting the crying child, to the point where Ruo would remain there to watch, fairly interested. How humans find ways to want to help one another was something to marvel, as Ruo hardly cared for another life apart from herself, and maybe a certain person she knew. She was concerned with preserving her own life and surviving. She did not understand the concept of empathy, not that she disagreed, it was just….odd to her for lack of a better term. Once the child had gotten better and ran off, the man would stay near his bike for the most part. Ruo figured at this point this man might have noticed her, as she may be sticking out, just standing in place, due to lack of many hiding areas or places of concealment in this part of town. Though she could not bring herself to walk up to him, as her fears were getting in the way. She would continue on ahead, though unfortunately, she would feel a familiar jolt in the back of her neck, and her feeling suddenly shifted to a look of pure curiosity as she turned to the man. “Is the boy alright?” she would ask. “What happened to him?”

Weaknesses:

It was indeed a girl, which was actually pretty interesting. There were rarely any girls walking around outside, let alone any who would outright talk to him, at the very least in this neighborhood. That wasn't to say it was an unwelcomed surprise, he enjoyed the sound of the feminine voice in comparison to the cries of a child. The sound difference was pretty great really, a much better tone quality. In all seriousness, he was caught off guard by this girl. Her inquisition pertained to the child, he would speak up, "Eh? Him? He should be fine, I just spooked him a little bit when I landed my jump." Now at a full stop, Deth would look this girl up and down, a fine example, though her cladding was a bit scanty. "You alright in that ensemble? It looks cold," he would ask her in a worried tone.

Deth looked about, checking for a quick route to the business block. If he followed the right side for a bit, he could turn and make it to the arcade in a few minutes, 4 or 5. He had intentions to be the high score in the House of Horrors game that day after his after school workout. Something crossed his mind again, and he wondered how much effort it would take to take his bike across the roof tops... His mind snapped back to the conversation at hand, "Ah, right, right." He responded without paying attention to the response he'd get. He figured since this girl was kind enough to speak with him, he'd be nice in return, "Were you heading anywhere in particular, I can give you a ride there if you want, if you don't mind a few bumps," he spoke, pulling a pair of pegs out from his jumpsuit's torso innards and showing them to the girl.

Ruo would remain there, trying to get her personality back in control. Her hardware was very incompatible, and this caused random spikes in her from time to time to the point where for brief moments, some longer than others, her personality would take an alternate perspective and change completely. It was a rather annoying feature of her that did not seem like it intended to go away. The man himself did not seem too troubled at all. Actually, he seemed fairly eager to explain. Apparently the man had jumped, to some unknown degree and frightened a child. She did not comprehend a jump so massive it could frighten the child, and she had her own fears to worry about. Perhaps he jumped via his bike. She herself have never seen such a thing occur, but maybe it did look fearsome. She would look behind her to see no child anymore, nor people staring at her. She would turn back to him and nod. “Really? How often does this happen?” she asked with curiosity. Unfortunately she had not gotten complete control over herself. She was practically having an internal battle to control her hardware, and finally got some relief after getting control, and keeping it stable.

When asked about her clothing, Ruo now in control of herself, gained a calm demeanor as she spoke to him. “I find it helps when I walk. Less intrusive,” she explained as best she could without telling him too much. She did not lie per se, just not tell him the whole truth. It also helped in that it did not interfere too much with combat, and would give her less of an opportunity to trip herself up. It was also equally good for concealment when she is surveying areas. There really was not much more to say on the matter. He seemed a bit lost for a second, so she remained quiet until he spoke again, asking to give her a ride. “A ride…?” she asked. He had then pulled out two small pieces of metal. She had never seen anything like them. In fact, they might as well look like bits of hardware inside Ruo. “What are they for?” she would ask. Hearing the odd request, she would not go with it without knowing. Better to be decisive than take too many unneeded risks.

He would twirl one of the pegs around his thumb, maintaining balance with his ibdex finger while holding the other peg with his three free fingers, just a bit out of range. That was a cool trick he picked up so he looked like he knew what he was talking about, usually making people believe a guy like him. He used it because he looked untrustworthy, and he knew it. Deth spoke with a knowing tone, confident in his knowledge, "These are pegs, you may have heard of them, they're a common bike accessory. While two sets are good for tricks a back set allows me to peg a passenger. They just stand on these, once screwed on, and hold on to the pedaler. It's a simple process." He found that giving even the boring details was also good for his credibility. As the guy wearing a purple jumpsuit and dressing like a cosplayer from the Power Rangers, he needed all the psychological aids he could get.

Sure it made him seem a bit like a creep, but he hated to be misinterpreted and such. He held the pegs in such a manner that they formed a plus. "So, you want a ride to wherever you're going? I can make a detour from the arcade, it's no trouble, if you don't mind my style of biking," he spoke with a smile, friendly and awkward at the same time, aware that he was probably creepy. At the same time, her response didn't make a difference to him, if she wanted a ride, he'd have a longer practice session for his bike stunts. Suddenly something would hit him, and after whatever response he'd have to give to her answer, he'd follow it with, "Ah, I didn't catch your name! I'm Deth Derby, a local Stuntman. By what can I addess you?"

The dexterity of this man was rather impressive to say the least. With Ruo’s projectile weapons located in each of her fingers, she tended to be a proper shot and did not miss too often, if ever. This man could balance one spinning metal object on one finger, while holding the other with the rest. If Ruo had a spike in her emotions, she probably would have complimented him, but she probably would now even then. “Quite impressive, I shall give you that,” she said gesturing to the man’s impressive balance. It did not particularly help her discern what it was, so was the man just trying to impress her? She was impressed, so he did succeed, but to what end? Ever since gaining her Persona, she has been judging some new feelings that have been popping up in her, that were not from her glitching out, but were sincere feelings. What did it all mean? It was hard to grasp as a concept, as it was far too abstract and metaphysical. How does one feel “impressed” by a feat that they have never seen, and furthermore, why do people try to impress? Surely some ulterior motive Ruo would believe. Being the paranoid android she was, that option was easily possible, but what was it?

The man spoke of the metal parts, calling them “pegs”. She has probably heard the word before, but has never tried to look them up via the modem in her head or any other sources. Putting two sets of pegs will help for tricks he said, but did he mean…..”You mean the bike yes…” she said as if confirming her suspicions. Humans had such odd objects. Then again, being one who searches for any random object to find its use, Ruo had no reason to speak of this. Then the man would offer to give her a ride, as in take her somewhere. That immediately caused Ruo to make half a step back. Wasn’t too noticeable, but she would always be worried someone may have noticed. She would look a couple times in directions away from him. Maybe he was with someone, spying on her. Maybe they were ready to strike….but she did not know. And that was what bothered her.  She needed an excuse fast. “ I live rather far away. I actually do not live in Hayabusa. Forgive me, I would prove rather a big detour,” she said with a calm expression. She always spoke properly, but a way of speaking that people of older generations might have spoken. Who programmed that into her, she did not know. When asked for her name, after giving his own, perhaps if Ruo’s name was even recorded on anything besides the notes her creators left behind, she would have hesitated, but there was no harm. “Ruo. My name is Ruo. A pleasure Deth,” she said.

Deth would respond to her words on a ride first, "Really? You were planning on walking all the way back from Hayabusa to anywhere? Why were you here, I wonder...?" He dismissed the thought after realizing his error, and introductions began. The girl's name was Ruo. A pretty name, simple... he didn't know the meaning of it, but it rolled off the tongue nicely. Deth would smile, "It's a pleasure."

He looked ahead staring at the road ahead of him. A bench was perfectly placed for a grind on his bike. He could easily bunny hop to that height... it seemed so perfect. His attention wavered as he stared at the bench for a bit. He would shake his head after a few seconds, and snapped his attention back to Ruo. "Umm. So you wanna go to the Arcade instead? It's right up the road."

(Sorry, short post)

He was quite the curious man. Or perhaps to Ruo, he was rather invasive. She had no reason to tell him why she was here nor did she really care to. Granted, her reason could not be interpreted to something that can be used against her unless he knew proper context, but it did not change the fact that this man was far too curious. Perhaps Ruo could have interpreted this as just humans when they partake in; as they say, “small talk”. If she tried to act odd now, she may cast suspicion on herself. To that end, she would try to see if she could get away with another answer. “I walk around town every now and again. I have just moved here into town if you will,” she said, speaking on her proper tone once more. Now she would normally use stories that were not necessarily lies, however, that could not have been any more false, considering her creation was in this very town, specifically in Shibakuzoi. She had only just recently of last month or so begun living a semblance of a life. Her goal was to learn the areas around her, which really did not have much to do with her Persona and the supernatural, as she had been doing this already before she got it.

She would nod at Deth’s acknowledgement of her greeting. She noticed however his glance up ahead, towards a bench and various other things along a sidewalk. What was he thinking? Did he have focus issues? That was one thing Ruo did not have an issue with. She could easily keep her mind and body centered on something, whether it was trying to blend in, or combat if it came to it. It was a function of hers. Perhaps in proving so, Ruo did not turn and look where he did when he did so, and simply waited until he spoke once more. If Ruo could avoid it, she may probably leave him if she must, though he would ask one thing more of her. He asked her to join him to the arcade. It was a peculiar request, and she most likely would have said no, but after a recent talk with someone she knew, she learned that perhaps she should be looking for a new “hobby” apart from collecting random objects she finds on the ground. Perhaps that will help her grow in wisdom. After a brief pause, she would give him a nod. “Alright Deth. I shall take you up on your offer,” she said. She would give him a light greeting smile. Perhaps she should try and be friendly if she was going to be with this man for a bit. “Should we walk? Or use your bike?” she asked. If he decided to walk, she would go on ahead without a word. It was just something she did. If he said by bike, Ruo would hesitate, losing her greeting, before finally nodding and doing what was required to stay balanced on the bike via the pegs. She really would have no choice without openly refusing.

Strength:

((Read Carefully, didn't color dialogue))

Deth would hear her secondary answer in the back of his mind, but he just figured she was earlier trying to get him to lay off. It probably would have worked, if she hadn't actually accepted his soon-following hangout proposal. It wasn't often that he spoke with people his age outside of school, after all. Her question pertaining to the mode of transportation was a little offputting, was she scared of bikes? He figured anyone could have a bad experience with bikes bad enough to be afraid of them. Wait, he wasn't clear to begin with, so this wasn't a fair string of mental questions. Silly him.

"I was thinking we could use the bike," he would say. He stood up from his lowered height on the bike for a moment to get off, and crouched down, looking up at her as he absentmindedly screwed on the pegs. Deth would then say, "These pegs are high quality, once screwed on, even I'm hard pressed to get them to fall off. So it's safe, if that's what worries you." His words refered to the look of hesitation she appeared to have, though it didn't look like a 'changing my mind' hesitation, it was closer to a 'never done this before' kind of hesitation. "As long as you don't flinch too much," he added.

He would then reseat himself. He placed a foot on his pedal, as she would stand on the pegs, once her feet appeared to be in place, and she seemed stable and held on enough to go, he would take off... except no he wouldn't because his chain was missing throughout the whole time! He would place his foot on the ground again, and look over at her, "Something's up. We'll have to walk for now..." He would allow her to dismount first before he would also unseat himself, and walk along, with a distrought look his eyes, calculating how much money he needed for a new chain.

In truth, she had little reason to doubt Deth’s claim that the pegs were sturdy, as small as those pieces of metal were. Though for just small bits of what is basically pipe, she could probably see how to distribute her own weight among it to create balance. She had plenty of tiny equipment in her that still functioned just fine, so she knew that well enough. At the same time, Ruo was still a bit nervous about the ordeal. Though, she would have to learn to adapt in the event she cannot blend right? Ruo really just had to break down and go along with the plan. Though if she fell off, she would have to be ready to roll, lest she hit something. It might have made her look a bit off, but it was perhaps better to look suspicious and live, as much as the fear of suspicion practically blinded her. Though, while she was at least going to try and be comfortable with this, something was brought to her attention that she was curious about. “Fall off?” she asked. “Are they just attached to the bike?” If that was the case, Ruo may be in a worse situation than she thought. If her equipment in her started to act up, it would weigh her down. She would not be heavy to someone else, but she would not function well, and she would be pushed down by her own hardware, and thus throw the bicycle off balance. Perhaps she should warn him via some excuse.

On the pegs, she was already lifting her leg lightly towards the ground in order to get off and warn him, but he had already begun to pedal the bike. Though nothing would happen. He tried again, and the bicycle did not move. After a small glance from Ruo, it did not take long for her to deduce that the chain was missing; it was an essential part of the bike after all. Before Deth even spoke, Ruo would be off the bike, standing to him. He would explain that they had to walk, to Ruo’s relief. Though to Deth’s face, he seemed very disappointed in the matter, and it would probably be worth mentioning his issue. “Your chain appears to be missing. Maybe you should find it, or acquire a new one,” she explained. She was not looking out for his distress per se, as Ruo did not have a concept of empathy, she was just explaining to them the issue, and maybe it could be alleviated in time. After it was agreed they would walk, Ruo would already be moving on ahead at a rather stiff, slow pace, as is standard to how she normally walks. She would keep with Deth if he decided to catch up on the way to an arcade.

Deth grumbled a bit as Ruo would state the now-obvious. If she had successfully used his lack of chain earlier than that, he probably would have appreciated the gesture. However, as he had noticed just a bit beforehand to this, he was completely missing his chain. The costs to him weren't too pretty either. Deth would count it up in his head and he had just about enough money for like... 5 games. If he supplied Ruo with enough for 3, that would leave him with possibly enough to beat the high score on the House of Horrors game.

The rest would have to go towards his new chain. Deth looked up and saw Ruo really far ahead of him, "Woah woah, Ruo! You're fast!" He would hurriedly walk his bike to catch up with her. He couldn't just leave his bike there, he'd never see it again, or something. He wondered if the chain he chained his bike up to fences, racks, and poles with would also suffice as an actual bike chain, for riding. No... that was stupid... but how was he going to do a cool trick without something to ride on? He left his boards and blades at home. It was all pretty lame.

His attention turned to Ruo once again, "Haha, if you were wanted to ditch me, you should have just said so. I'd have understood." Deth spoke a bit awkwardly, he was generally used to having to think like that when he was local. The only time he was appropriately dressed was at school and whenever he got a job. Work would be pouring in soon, so he could sort of explain always being dressed for work. But he wasn't looking for an excuse. Deth Derby was nothing less than a man of pride in who he was. Apparently.

He was coming down from an adrenaline rush, as the two hit main street, he would chain his bike to the corner by the frame and both tired, using a lock and key and a seperate chain, his usual method. He'd then catch up to Ruo in a jogging manner. "So Ruo, what's your favorite type of video game? RPG, FPS, MMO?" he ask using stock gamer slang.

Come to think of it, how did the man make a jump and either did it without the chain, or not notice it was missing after said jump? It was Ruo’s first thought as she was walking down the sidewalk. The arcade as she saw it was getting closer to her as she walked on. Perhaps the bike was not necessary after all, and walking would have taken less time. It was fairly comforting to know her fears were not unfounded and that getting on the back of a bike; something already rather unsafe, was not needed. Once Deth seemed to catch up with his dysfunctional bike, he seemed a bit amazed at how quick Ruo was. Ruo didn’t really think she was in particular…but if a normal person cannot catch up with her easily, then that does help. “It is just how I normally walk. I have not changed my pace,” she explained, to give clarity to her pacing. This ma seemed to get intense about certain things, from the bike chain, to her clothing, and even her running. Maybe she made a poor decision in going with him if he was going to point out everything she did. That would make her even more paranoid than she already is.

Though he was being a bit presumptuous. “I had no intentions of leaving. I am rather interested in the arcade myself,” she admitted with a confirming nod. She was not planning to “ditch” him, at least not yet. Coming up to the arcade itself, it was full of many different machines, making lights as various people were playing on them. Deth had finished chaining up his bike and went to ask her what type of game she preferred. That brought a genuine look of confusion on her face. She knew what video games were of course, something that humans do in their free time for fun, but she had never tried it herself. So she had no real response other than to explain her situation. It posed little risk anyway. “I have not played any video games before. I am new to it,” she said, looking at the area. The machines were interesting enough, no autonomy like Ruo or other machines with her nature, just made to be interacted with. Then again, that could easily be her reason of creation. Or is it still her reason now? That would be something to ponder. She would go in only if Deth would, and would remain outside if he did not.

Deth would have a look of total shock in his eyes! What kind of broken, strict, downright evil home was she brought up in? He wouldn't confront her on it, "Really now? Well then, we need to get you some fun, stat!" Deth used a humorously professional tone of voice, as if in an immediate medical emergency. Not enough video games was bad for hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and problem solving skills after all! With this, he would immediately enter the arcade.

He would head over to the change dispenser, and pulled out small wad of money, he counted out how much he could use, and was about right, enough for only 5 good games. He broke that money down into hundred yen coins and gave 4 games worth to Ruo. "While I had this trip planned since my last paycheck, the missing chain has me a bit messed up, financially. Take this, and put the specified amount into any game that catches your intrest. I've got a date with a House of Horrors," he would instruct. Then before Ruo would really have time to ask questions, he would point her to the general area where the games he thought were good lay, you know, the stock arcade fighting games like Tenken, Dance Dance Rebellion, Riff Hero, and other real game ripoffs placed here to remove copyright/patent issues, before walking a short distance in the same direction, and then sliding into dark blue and brown motif-ed game booth with curtains on either side clearly stating 'House of Horrors'.

Nobody was in there at the time, so he just slid the coins in, pulled the pistol controller from the dock, and entered a figurative new world of horrifying beasts, zombies, and other grotesque things.

Ruo continued her confused expression. He was very intent on teaching her how fun it was. She might as well give it a go. What if she enjoyed herself? That was something new she had to consider after what had happened. All these odd feelings and interests were stressful, and at the same time, fascinating. Deth was very over the top with his wish to get her to join and play. Maybe she should at least humor him and see what came of it. Before she agreed to join him, he had already run off into the arcade, to which Ruo would follow, albeit a bit warily.

Inside, she would get a better view of the admittedly dazzling lights on the machines and the area itself. People were playing and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Ruo would give her left arm a light squeeze; half to check and see if it was intact, the other half from her nervous reflex. Too many people were around her, and only made her feel even more paranoid. She was practically shaking, with a distracted expression when Deth returned with several yen to give to her. She jerked her right hand out from her left hand to accept them, with a nod, and an awkward smile. “Thanks…” she said. It was not a lot of money by Japan’s standards, but apparently it was enough to play a given amount of machines. Though turning to Deth, he gave his explanation, which sounded a bit off to Ruo. “Should you not try and focus on your chain and make travel easier?” she questioned curiously. She was direct, and had poor social skills, never really needing them. It was also that she was decisive, and did not want to make a decision without knowing all the facts. Also, given his rather distressed look at the loss of it, maybe it should be something to focus on. Though, by the time she said it, he was already in a game called “House of Horrors”, protected by two curtains, to keep the atmosphere intact most likely, so he most likely did not hear what Ruo said.

What did Ruo want to do? She had to figure out if this may be a possible hobby, and took a moment to think while looking around. She had seen a particular machine depicting a frog crossing the street and then a river. Arbitrarily deciding to pick it, she would talk to it, and put in a token and began to grab at the joystick, which was all that was apparently necessary. The frog had a journey to make across the river; perhaps Ruo would be around to help him through it.

Deth would sit in the atmospheric horror game for what seemed like hours to him, but was probably better represented by ten minutes. He felt an adrenaline surge that was generally unable to be experienced without playing a horror game such as the House of Horrors. But Deth was pretty unskilled at guns and games that used realistic mechanics as such. He could hold his own for a while, but he simply couldn't reload fast enough while also keeping ammo supply in his head. It was a major bummer, but his single game was pretty much screwed over by the first thing that took more than a clip to kill, which happened surprisingly early.

So with a weary look in his eyes, he would simply relish the adrenaline he had leftover and he would leave the booth. A nerdy young boy waited outside the booth, wearing those thick-rimmed glasses that make one want to punch little hipster punks in the face. But they were a bit more circular than that, so he would let the poor kid slide. His chortling nasaly tone as he asked if Deth was done, Deth would give him an intimidating, yet ultimately verifying facial expression. The kid shrank a couple inches and then ran into the booth.

The game was clearly less scary than Deth. Deth would blink a bit, and let the feeling of loss pass. He would regain his composure and stuff, and then check to see how his surprisingly-accepting-of awkward-friendly-advances aquaintance was doing. Arriving, it appeared that she had been playing... Froggy? An odd first choice of game, but when it comes down to it, Deth understood the futility of attempting to beat the classics. "How's the game going? Froggy's pretty challenging I hear," he would greet and inquire.