On Break (Ruo)

Kahn sat at a table, cellphone in hand like just about any other kid his age, and let out a sigh. He was on break for another forty-five minutes, and he was a little bored. He already ate most of what he had ordered from the mall's cafe. The food was good as usual, he wished had received more vegetables with the Lo Mein, but as with most other restaurants, vegetables are considered secondary. A shame really, if people ate healthier then obesity would not be a problem like it was in America. Though the people of Ueitawa were far better than most others, so he had no reason to criticize them.

Granted, he just had a rather unhealthy meal, so who was he one to talk? Oh well, he felt like eating something unhealthy, and sometimes you just have to live a little. A diet is great and all, but you gotta pace yourself. Set goals, and not over do it. Your body needs a break every once in a while, just make sure you control what you eat after taking a bit of a break. The young man pondered what he would do with the 42 minutes remaining of his break. Maybe waste the rest of time in a music store, perhaps one of his bands came out with a new single or something.

Walking into the mall, Ruo would look around the area. She had only explored the bookstore and the first hallway of the massive mall in Shibakuzoi. She found herself practically on the other side of the mall now, in a place she herself did not expect to be: their café. Ruo was not really an eater; that is to say, she cannot eat. She wondered how she found herself here. All she was really doing was roaming the stores and looking at the stores before she had noticed she was in a larger area with more people. She would continue along for just pure interest to at least see what kind of food they had.

Before she even got a decent look, she would notice a familiar shade of red hair and emerald green eyes. She recognized this man as Kahn Azame. She had sparred with him not too long ago, and was her new ally to help solve the mysteries behind the Masked Man and perhaps the Killer. He was a rather skilled fighter, at least more talented than her. He seemed like he could handle a fight. Perhaps she should at least speak with him. She would walk up to his table, refusing to sit until given permission. “Kahn, hello,” she would say. If he looked confused at all, she would nod. “My name is Ruo. We met that day at Naito Tsurinai’s living quarters to spar. Are you well?” she would ask, remaining standing until something came up.

Kahn heard someone address him, and looked up to see Ruo. She took the courtesy to remind him where they had met, he would nod and gesture for her to take the seat across from him. He was curious what Ruo was up to in her spare time since they had sparred...he had never seen her at school so perhaps she was not a student, though she looked like she could pass as one quite easily. "I've been good just a bit bored because I'm on break for my job." He would reply, waiting for her to sit before continuing. Granted, her appearance was maybe a little odd, but then again so was her persona. That thing was huge, and the way she summoned it was quite interesting. From her eye if he recalled correctly, granted summoning his from a card was no less strange. Well now that she was here, he supposed it would be proper to make small talk between them.

"What about you, what have you been up to since our spar? What brings you to the mall?" He would inquire curious as to what brought her here. She did not seem like much of a shopper or a person who liked really populated places, but perhaps she had her own reasons.

So Kahn had a job. Ruo almost had a job until she fled her makers. Perhaps if she stayed she would have a better life? Or did breaking out really help her? Either way, one could not be too sure. He was apparently on break, which was an interesting concept. Apart from turning her system off, she never got “breaks” like humans had. But it was not like she needed them. She never grew tired. Her only issue was her hardware slowing her down in combat, but fatigue would never be an issue. How do humans deal with such odd issues? She had her own, but did it really weigh down on her like bodily issues weighed down on humans? She would have to read on that or ask someone one day. But for now, she would keep her attention on Kahn for now, as she felt he may be rather easy to talk to given the circumstances.

Sitting down finally in a chair across from Kahn, she would listen to his question before responding. “I have not been doing much since. I only am around if I am needed. Lately I have been meeting new people to find something to do,” she said. She almost said too much. Only Hibiki knew of her mechanical nature. And Kahn was far from knowing anything about that. Maybe in time he will learn. The flame in her eyes from her coolant with her Persona did not seem to be mentioned by him at the moment, so she felt as though she was safe for now. “You were rather impressive Kahn. Not necessarily in strength, but you seemed to have clever tactics and skills in combat. I refer to that circle of light you created to trap Hibiki and I. I only at the last minute was able to think of a solution,” she said. In truth, Ruo’s mind does not slow down, which is one thing her body can do right. But she really did have a rough time with quickly thinking of a way out, until she called forth Maya to stem the lightning thrown at her. “You must have good experience with your Persona,” she said, shifting in her chair and sitting rather stiffly. She was still a bit nervous, and did not know what to think about this man. Only time and more talking would tell if he was worth trust or not.

"Only around when needed huh? Funny that you mention such a thing, cause I was bored till you showed up. You do seem to have that unnatural timing I suppose." He would say in reply to her statement of being around only when she was needed. That much seemed to be true, as far as he could tell. Moments later she was complimenting him on his combat style and cleverness. Well that was rather nice, and very observant for her since she had only seen him fight once. Maybe that little eye trick of hers was more than a means of summoning her Persona. It was very interesting, but he decided instead that he would respond to her compliments.

"Yes, well I've had to be in the past. I may not seem like it, but I'm a sharper tool than what some like to think. After all the smart people are the ones that are better able to protect his or her friends, which is something I try to do at all times." He would say in response to her comment, "However, you still found a way out, proving a flaw in the trap. Something that I need to adjust and work on if I am to use it in the future against a real enemy. Granted, when it comes down to that...hopefully I'll be a lot stronger. As for experience...well I have some, and I have a fair understanding of how it works. Not as much as I want, but a fair amount of experience. What about you? You and Hibiki seem to know each other a bit, ever gone into the other world with him?" The red haired young man would ask a bit curious and wanted to get a gauge of how much experience she had in comparison to himself.

Ruo chuckled lightly. For whatever reason, her personality found that rather humorous. Did she really have good timing, or was Kahn just complimenting her as a token of appreciation or compensation? Either way, the man at least took her compliment, and went on to speak of his own ability. Did he have an ego at all? “Is that a fact? Up until now, I have been looking mostly after myself. It was only recently I met Hibiki and he directed me to you all. I do not know much beyond this what it means to protect others,” she explained. She wasn’t made with that in mind. She was made to give orders, and listen obediently to her makers. She sometimes wondered if that was her only purpose if she had never broken out and her tests were deemed successful. Did they have other plans for her? She was most likely meant to awaken to her Persona at one point, but were they gonna force it out of her immediately? Or would they have waited. Those are questions that will probably never get answered.

“You probably have more experience than I. I have been to Limbo with Hibiki once, and we fought a couple groups of Shadows before we decided that it would be too risky to continue. I met him not too long ago. Before I even got my Persona. He is clearly stronger than I in it. I also have learned more or less about what you guys are looking for. That said, I am “up to speed” as it were,” she would say.

"Looking out for yourself isn't that bad, but I like to think that I'm past that point. Friends are very important to me, some would say I'm too over-protective and perhaps that is true, but I just don't like for them to get hurt. I've done some crazy stuff for them..." He would reply after she explained why she put herself first. Though he would trail off.....he had failed some of his friends recently, and that left him more than upset. However, his face hide it well as he glanced down at his phone. 25 minutes....was time really going by that fast? It did not seem like it at all. Well he still had a little time. If he hurried that is.

Then she informed him that she was in the loop about what was going on that was good. This meant that she was really on their side if she was trusted with such information, "Hibiki told you? Good, and don't worry experience is something that we can build over time. If you want, we can spar some time in order to better ourselves. Granted, we have to treat it like a real fight so you will get to see a few more of my tricks. Just to give you fair warning about what lies ahead should you accept that offer. Who knows you may be the one who teaches me a trick or two." It was always a possibility, granted Kahn may have more experience but he was always willing to learn new tricks. However, he made it a point to learn new tricks very quickly this way he did not make the same mistake. He wondered if Ruo would be able to adapt to such a change as well, granted she did have very unique characteristics, "By the way you have a very interesting way of summoning your Persona. Through that eye of yours...never seen anyone do it like that. Kinda cool if you ask me."

“Crazy stuff….” She said trailing off as well. It wasn’t a question. She merely repeated what Kahn said. Was helping others truly more important than self-preservation? Ruo always went out of her way to keep herself safe and tried her hardest to quell her fears. But does that expect to be put behind the welfare of other people? How did that even work? If you fell, you could not help those you cherished correct? Would the sacrifice of your own being for their sake even help in the end. She would look towards the table, lost in thought. The man’s words clearly seemed to have an impact as they made her question these things. “….If I may Kahn. If these events are not too personal, may I know what you have done? I still do not think I understand putting friends before yourself and what that serves,” she said. From her words, she was clearly not being heartless. She genuinely did not understand any of it. What could be understood? Why was this question causing so much confusion for Ruo? It was one of these times where she felt fear worked best. Perhaps she would leave soon. But she felt that would be unwise to do that to an ally. She would have to stay.

Though Kahn would mention an opportunity to train with just each other, to which Ruo nodded. “The more we learn of everyone’s fighting habits, the easier it is to plan with them in mind. I shall happily do so wherever you can find a safe place. I would rather grow stronger as quickly as possible for the battles up ahead. I fear I am far behind you all,” she said. She would need to get stronger in order to fight properly with the others. It was her only option at this point.

But Kahn would also mention the burning eye Ruo would have when she summoned her Persona. It was a blue flame, so hot even the oxygen outside when activating her coolants would not turn it red. Though Kahn would not really question it, rather than give it a compliment. Ruo would give him a light smile. “Appreciated. You could call it my way with coping with a Persona,” she said. She would not go beyond that. Maybe later down the road she would explain what she was to Kahn…..or she might now. Who knows. “You all seem to have interesting ways as well,” she said trying to change the subject. “Using a card to smash and summon your Persona? Persona-users seem to come in all shapes and sizes,” Ruo would say in an impressed tone.

Kahn heard Ruo repeat one of his phrases, and then she inquired about some of this crazy stuff that he had done in the past. A general rule was not to mention what he did, but perhaps he could give an example or two. "What have I done? I've done a lot of things, I guess I could give you one example since this isn't something I normally talk about. Two guys assaulted one of my friends and robbed her...well I happened to bump into the two of them. To put it simply, I kicked the crap out of them, and please pardon my language." He would say, "With that example, I would rather not talk about it anymore."

In response to her fear of being too weak, "Well that's why I fight for my friends to protect those who cannot defend themselves. It's just who I am...it may not serve me the best, but I've learned a bit here and there." He would say, and it was true. He had made a few enemies and gotten a few scars, but hey he walked away alive. Just life lessons, sometimes dangerous and violent ones but life lessons nonetheless. It was just who he was as a person, or well he was taught to value his friends by his best friend, who....wasn't around anymore. If she didn't understand it...well she would not be the first, and he honestly would not be that surprised.

Then they went back to talking about how she...'coped' with her persona. That was an odd word for it, summoned or called upon would have been better. Then she said that he had an interesting way of summoning, "I guess, but my way seems to be the standard way....then again summoning anything from a mere card would seem impressive for the average person. But tell me why did you use your eye to cope for your persona? That seems a bit strange, did it have any adverse side effects?"

Kahn really was a sort of avenger. The lengths he will go to make sure his friends deserve justice. Is that what it was all about? She would not be sure. She would grip her arm lightly and tilt her head to the side in confusion. Her personality was not going haywire at the moment. It was just her thinking. What could she come up with in response? He clearly did not want to continue the subject, so maybe she would just let it go for now and just move for something else to talk about. Maybe the atmosphere would get less tense for him in the meantime.

She listened to his words and took them to heart. It still confused her, but she did have some kind of idea on what it was all about. “So does it come down to the type of person you are? If that is so, I may find it difficult to do what you do. I cannot understand that concept. Forgive me, I am rather confused after getting this new found power,” she said. She felt conflicted with talking about her past. At the same time, she was also wondering what it would take to be that kind of person. To put your life for others. How did that even work?

Asking how her eye worked on her Persona was a bit of an expected question from her own wording. She probably should have chosen something better to say; now she has him curious about it all. What could she say that didn’t involve revealing her true nature to the man? But he did ask if there were side effects. She thought the most she could do is avoid the question and continue on. “It was how it was made for me. I didn’t seem to have control over it when I gained my Persona. As for side effects, there doesn’t seem to be much beyond the fact that the flame is actually hot and will most likely hurt whoever touches it save for me. My vision is just fine actually,” she said giving a smile. It was something she should probably be grateful. If anything, that fire could be burning her eyes off, but luckily, all it did was spray out, so she was just fine when she fought. One of her defections turned out to help her function in the end.

Ruo asked an interesting question...he did just say he was just this way but is that entirely true? Was he just born this way? No that was not entirely true, he had a few experiences that shaped him and made him this way. "Maybe....heck I don't know. I'm not a philosopher, but maybe it was how life shaped me. What I've experienced through my relatively short life that made me this way. Personally, I think it's different for everyone. You may not understand because you haven't had the experiences that would shape you into something like me, or perhaps some are simply born this way. I don't claim or pretend to know because I don't have the answer to that question." He would offer as his reply. That was something he could not answer, perhaps something that not even experts could answer. Hopefully that helped Ruo because he was not sure what else could be said about it other than that.

Then she went to explain how her eyes was made for her, and that she did not have any control over it. Well, Kahn supposed that wasn't too strange after all he choose for his evoker or summoning process to be a card. Or did he have a choice, to be perfectly honest he had no idea. However she did say it would be too hot to touch, and it did not affect her vision at all. "Huh...not sure I had much of a choice in mine either. Well it is what it is, we just gotta go with what we got if we want to figure out what is going on around here." He would glance down at his phone and notice that he only had ten minutes to get back to the gym, his break was almost over. "Oh...crude. I'm sorry Ruo, I gotta go back to get work, otherwise the boss may get a little mad at me." He would say as he took an unused napkin and a pen and quickly jot down his contact information. "That's my cell if you need me or want to get into contact with me. Don't be a stranger, and I'll see you later."

((Exit))