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Akira was tired of sleeping on the couch. It wasn't as if he hadn't been provided with a bed upon moving in with his roommate, Taiji, but the brunet just wasn't accustomed to beds. His room had never had one growing up and he wasn't comfortable on one now.

It wasn't as though he hadn't tried, but he just couldn't sleep properly on a mattress and Taiji had refused to buy new furniture simply to cater to 'her majesty's every whim'. He'd been told that if he had wanted something different, then he would have to save up and buy it for himself. This was easier said than done on a shop clerk's salary, particularly while paying half the rent and other bills.

However, at long last Akira felt he had finally saved up to purchase an alternative to both the bothersome bed and lumpy couch. It was time to go shopping, and what better place to explore furniture options than a popular commoner shopping center such as a mall?

As he had been similarly side-tracked and thus oblivious to his surroundings, Akira had not the sense nor foresight to see what was coming and to step out of the way. He jumped, somewhat startled, but was only more alarmed when he realized what had happened.

Though he opened his mouth to apologize, the girl was already talking and he would not interrupt her. The language she spoke, however, was almost completely alien to him and it was all he could do to stand there, dumbfounded. "U-um...pardon me...?" he uttered hesitantly. He needn't have worried, though, because a few moments later she seemed to have realized what she'd said and was kind enough to translate. At least, he thought she was translating.

"No, no, the fault is all mine," he answered quickly, guessing the heat in his cheeks must have meant his face was at least as red as hers. He bowed, partly out of apology and partly to conceal the sudden ruddiness of his complexion. "I wasn't paying attention either. Heh...this place is pretty distracting, isn't it?" he chuckled uneasily.

Were curtsies like that normal for commoners? Akira wasn't so sure. He didn't recall anyone else exhibiting such behavior, apologizing or not. Then again, her mannerisms may have originated from the same place her language had.

He nodded with a bemused smile, saying, "I've never really come here before myself, either. Don't do much shopping, I guess." Then she was apologizing again and he raised a brow before chuckling when she mentioned what for.

Such politeness he hadn't known since before he'd left home. "Not at all; I forget all the time. I'm Akira," he answered, holding out a hand to shake. "Would it be too rude of me to ask where you're from, Miss Nicolette?"

"Oh? And why is that?" he dared ask, mostly for polite conversation, but somewhat out of curiosity. "I thought young girls such as yourself enjoyed shopping. Surely there has to be something in this whole mall that suits your tastes...?"

Noticing her hesitation, Akira smiled awkwardly for half an instant as he recalled his previous usual greeting upon meeting girls. Hoping she wouldn't mind, he gently lifted her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it before letting go. "The pleasure is all mine." Were people familiar with this gesture where she was from? He hoped so, or he would have just looked like an idiot.

"Grande Ile?" he repeated dumbfoundedly. "Oh...you know, I think I've met a person or two from there. It seems more and more people are leaving there and coming to Kodo. I wonder why that is." He put a finger to his chin thoughtfully before her question to him registered. "Me? Ah, I'm from the Sinnoh reigon; no where particularly special." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Well, that was the impression I got," Akira said with a laugh. "I can't be certain myself, not being a young lady." Not technically, anyway. "Oh, that's right - the things they have for sale here probably seem dull compared to the extravagant, intricate tastes and styles of Grande Ile. Guess it's not called 'grand' for no reason." He paused. "Or do you enjoy the contrast?" As one who had been used to formal wear and custom clothing most of his life, he himself certainly found the concept of mass production and fashions appealing to the general population to be quite interesting.

When her face seemed to light up, he listened and smiled good-naturedly. Father, huh? It seemed she hadn't come to Kodo having severed ties to home. Perhaps she was just visiting, but then why mention a house? "You have a house here in Kodo? Or is it in Grande Ile?" he inquired. "If you don't mind me asking. Your parents must be very...doting on a daughter like you." She didn't seemed spoiled, but she didn't exactly seem knowledgeable about the outside world, either. Not with a padding of her family's fortune between herself and reality.

The fact that she knew and mentioned Luke took him by surprise at first, but then he realized that Luke belonged to a noble family. Of course the wealthy would know one another. He nodded slowly. "Yes, I've met him. I think you're the only other one I know of, though. Perhaps I've just yet to be more social." He shrugged. "Sinnoh...? Oh, it's just another reigon like Kodo. Nothing special, really."

He looked up at the sign of the store. "Furniture, hm? I'm looking for something myself, actually. Why don't we explore our options together?" he asked, going to open the door for her. "Ladies first."

"Well good, then we're in the same boat," he told her with a smile at her confession. "Actually, I'm not exactly used to these styles either, but clothing isn't exactly my passion, so I've never really thought to look at what they sell here."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Akira couldn't help but be a little envious of Nicolette's arrangement with her parents. Then again, like Dove, she was a girl, so it wasn't likely they'd depend on her to carry on the family name. Thus they'd have less reason to try to lock her up and keep her from the world like Luke's and his own parents had done. "I see," he remarked, thinking. "Sounds like a fun experience. Though I have to say, I'm a little surprised your parents would allow you to do such a thing. Are you their only child? I'd think they would miss you a lot."

"O-oh, I'm sure there are," he amended quickly, "but like I said, I'm not too social a person. I haven't had much time to meet too many people between my job, buying groceries, paying bills, and such, so there must be a lot more...Grande...Insulaire here that I don't know about."

It was his turn to look sheepish when she asked about Sinnoh. Yes, he had originated there, but as Luke didn't know much about the city he was from, let alone the rest of the region, Akira wasn't too familiar with Sinnoh, either. "Um...you know," he tried, "It's, uh...like any other region, I guess. Like Kodo. I'm sure you'll find out when you travel there; I wouldn't want to spoil the surprises ahead of time."

Glad to have a change of topic, he grinned as Nicolette asked what he was looking for. "Heh, that's one of my favorite song titles," he murmured absently, "'What are you looking for'..." Then her words sunk in. "Right. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for. Something that could work as a bed, but isn't one, I guess. And not a couch, either." He was pretty sure either of those would be out of his price range, anyway.

"Maybe something cheap, like a sleeping bag." Though that was kind of depressing. To have to sleep on the floor? Ugh. "I'm actually curious if they have anything like an indoor hammock, but I don't want to get my hopes up," he confessed. "What about you? No matter what it is, I agree; it's nice to have company in a new store."

Ah, he'd dug himself a deeper hole. "I - well, they're different than what I know from Sinnoh," he told her. Nevermind that most of what he'd known was formal wear. "But I didn't pay too much attention to clothing."

Her downcast gaze didn't escape Akira's notice when they went in. His brows furrowed thoughtfully. "I'm sorry, is something the matter...?" he asked, his voice saturated with concern. "Was it something I said?" The question about siblings only caused a knot in his stomach and he chose to focus on her change in demeanor instead. He wasn't about to let it go just like that; this girl was probably used to hiding her true feelings about certain things when they were negative.

"Oh, of course you can ask, it's just that, I, um...it's a little embarrassing. But I work as a stock clerk at a convenience store," he confessed with a sheepish smile. "It pays the bills, though, and that's what counts, right?" As they passed by a couch, he absently stroked a cushion, feeling the velvet of the fabric under his fingers. It was then he noticed her obvious disappointment regarding his lack of disclosure on Sinnoh.

"Uh, er..." The young man flinched, unsure what to reply to that. "Well...the whole region isn't like where I'm from. I lived in Snowpoint City," he explained. "It's very cold there, but sometimes instead of snow, there's this stuff that falls called Diamond Dust and it's beautiful. Um, for a young lady of your class, though," he continued, "you might be more interested in the luxurious Hotel Grand Lake or the Resort Area. They should be able to accommodate you comfortably."

The girl was certainly curious, wasn't she? "I have it on my ipod," he said. "You can listen to it later if you like." Perhaps she'd forget about it as they continued to shop. There were a lot of interesting pieces around. That one set of furniture reminded him greatly of the white, contemporary motif that had once been a part of his old room. And then Nicolette was asking more questions.

Laughing lightly, he turned to beam at her. "I don't sleep in a bed. They're not...as comfortable to me," he said, thinking it wasn't a complete lie. He hadn't slept in one often enough to know if he preferred them over his hammock, but that was just as well. "But what about you? You didn't answer my question," he pointed out with a teasing smile.

Akira didn't seem to mind the distraction from his words; in fact, he welcomed it. He liked listening, but talking about himself was something he wasn't sure he was too comfortable with because he never knew how much to tell or not to tell. In any case, the furniture was a distraction for him as well, but he had to keep reminding himself why he had come to the store in the first place.

"Pardon me, you just seemed a little sad when you mentioned your family," he explained. "But it probably wasn't my place to inquire into personal matters. Pretend it never happened."

"As far as my job, I've had worse," Akira said, chuckling. "It's easy; I'll say that much." It was also tediously boring, but why spoil her idea of the career?

Nodding at her reply to his mention of Snowpoint, he said, "Make sure you dress warmly if you do. I may not remember much of clothes, but I know they had to be enough to keep out the cold. They don't call it Snowpoint for nothing." The adorable tinge of her cheeks as she smiled excitedly caught his attention and he couldn't help smiling in return.

But then it was gone as the topic went back to the question of where he slept - or rather, where he didn't sleep. "No, but it's because I choose not to, not because I don't have one," he explained before she could ask. Sure he was poor, but he wasn't that poor. "I sleep on the living room couch in an apartment I share with my roommate. It's alright, but he needs the couch sometimes when I'm using it and I like the privacy of my room."

Shaking his head at her apology, he laughed and put up his palms. "No, please, I was just teasing. A chair sounds nice. I hope you'll find one you like." Glancing about, he browsed with his hands behind his back, feeling a bit awkward. "I don't want to keep you or anything, so if you find something you're interested, feel free to go investigate."