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"It sounds as though you're a well-rounded lady," he mused, one long leg spreading out to allow himself room to stretch as he mulled over her description. A woman with a pedigree, from the sound of things. Akio couldn't help but wonder what Cerissé would say about something as lackadaisical as picnicking in the park or late nights spent performing karaoke until throats were raw.

Something told him that she was more for the sensible world than letting loose and finding a more playful side of things. He debated even suggesting a round of karaoke, to see if it were possible to stay uptight and proper when one was singing along to Lady Gaga.

"Fencing?" He knew of the practice, though had little desire, much less experience for the sport. "I would worry that your weapon might compromise your hands when it came to the violin; I imagine those are your lifeline, no?"

Another bite of the cookie, another chew. Watchful eyes dropped down to glance as her hands before returning to her delicate face.

He sat straight up at that, his lax form tensing at the mention of attack. Chocolate eyes narrowed as his carefree expression fell into seriousness.

"Attacked?"

Rearranging himself to sitting more gentleman-like in his chair, he looked back onto her hands as if to view her wrist for any imperfections caused by such an event. "Are you alright?"

It came to no surprise to hear that she'd befallen an injury in the city. The fight escalating between the two factions was dangerous and ridiculous - innocent people, like Cerissé, were falling victim to their heartless warring.

"Did they manage to catch whoever did it?"

"That's because there wasn't crime back then like there is today."

The entire conversation was unsettling, the thought alone turning his serious expression into a grimace. The battle between the two sides had gotten completely out of hand and if neither one let up, there would be dozens more casualties every month within the city. Hundreds by the year's end. Did no one care about the innocent bystanders that stood on the sidelines without any sort of super power to protect them?

Strumming one finger against his pant's leg, he paused and thought about his reaction. Akio realized how perturbed he must have looked and suddenly did his best to backtrack and return to a nonchalant state - even if it meant faking it for the sake of decent conversation. "Well... enough of that horrible talk of crime, right?"

It was time to drop the question.

"Have you ever considered going out and doing... karaoke?"

"I thought as much. About the not singing part - the part about not listening to music is a travesty, my dear."

Akio was clearly not put off at the thought of telling her how he felt, regardless of the bluntness of his statement. "Music is a gateway to the soul. It's how lovers express their affections to one another, how heartbreak has an outlet to wail to the world. Happiness, sadness - all of it can be construed through lyrics and song, if you try hard enough."

Hands moved out to steal the pencil from in front of her without permission, then moved to crease out one of the extra sheets of paper he eyed cast to the side. In a matter of moments, a number was jotted down before both the paper and pencil were returned to her.

"My number." As if it hadn't been obvious enough. Taking hold of the bag with the extra cookie and then her CD, the young man rose from the table and casually slid the chair back under. "Give me a call when you feel like having some fun. One night with me and I bet you'll find yourself enjoying music more than ever before."

Cocky, maybe. Confident, no doubt.

Grinning, two fingers moved up to salute the young lady as he pulled his headphones back out from his pockets. Feet were already heading towards the door as he nodded in her direction. "Til next time, Miss Belcourt."

With that, he was out the door, off to find the next distraction away from his homework.